By Becky Striepe •
July 2, 2009
[Creative Commons photo by nicubunu]
From the land involved to the waste produced, conventional dairy production has a huge environmental impact. Not only is conventional dairy not great for the planet, it’s not so great for you. You can do yourself and your body a favor but cutting back on or cutting out the dairy in your diet.
Whenever folks learn that I don’t eat dairy products, there are certain questions they seem to always ask. One of the most common is:
But don’t you miss chocolate?
The assumption is that chocolate has to contain milk, and that’s just not true at all. What makes chocolate….chocolate…is cocoa butter which despite its name is a plant ingredient. There are tons of companies making great dark chocolate that is 100% vegan and 100% delicious! Finding vegan chocolate is as easy as taking the time to do a bit of label-reading. While you might not be able to just grab a Hershey bar, you don’t have to live a chocolate-free existence, either. Here are just a few tasty options:
By Vanessa Brown •
July 1, 2009
For almost two years we’ve been eating vegetarian or vegan twice a week and seafood twice a week. I guess you could consider us part-time vegetarians. Eating this way keeps us from overloading our diets with too much meat or dairy and cuts down on our grocery bill. It forces us to eat more fresh produce and to shop locally so the produce actually has flavor.
It is extremely eco-friendly to eat vegetarian twice a week; eating meat takes a toll on the environment big time. The beef, poultry and pork industrial farms notoriously contribute to water pollution, use large amounts of fossil fuels and generate prodigious amounts of greenhouse gases. The United Nations has actually issued a call for citizens of the world to go vegetarian one day a week to curb global warming.
My girls love fresh veggies and fruit on their own, but I also like to puree it and add it to other meals. I’m not trying to hide it but it’s another great way to add more essential vitamins to their diet. When my girls were babies I made their baby food and always used organic ingredients. Their teeth came in quickly and they moved onto solids sooner than later, so both times I ended up with extra bags of frozen cubed baby food. I started adding the pureed butternut squash into their grilled cheese for lunch and whole grain pancakes for breakfast. During that time two cookbooks were released dedicated to adding pureed fruits and veggies to favorite recipes!
By John Chappell •
June 25, 2009
One of my favorite places to eat in town is Jyoti-Bihanga, a tasty vegetarian/vegan restaurant run by the Sri Chinmoy folks. If you aren’t familiar with them, I’ll tell you this - they make a fantastic fake meatloaf, they call it Neatloaf.
You can imagine how excited I was when a friend of mine e-mailed me the recipe, so now I can have delicious Neatloaf in the comfort of my own home. The recipe as it stands is vegetarian, you’ll need to replace the eggs with an equivalent amount of egg substitute to make it vegan, switch the ricotta cheese with soy cheese or silken tofu, and double check the Lipton Onion Soup Mix as well.
Also, since I cook for a Celiac sufferer, I make it gluten free by simply replacing the Special K with gluten free corn flakes, which changes the consistency a little bit, but keeps the recipe well within the realm of “delicious”.
Here are the ingredients for the Neatloaf:
By Cate Nelson •
June 15, 2009
Think a romantic meal of beef tenderloin with a side of potatoes sounds delicious? Maybe with a nice Bordeaux? Perhaps it does (especially if it’s grass-fed beef!), but it may decrease your chances of conception.
A new study shows that men who want to be fathers should increase their intake of fruits and veggies and decrease their consumption of fatty foods like red meat and creamy dishes.
Men who ate healthy diets not only had faster sperm, they had more sperm in their semen. It was both a quality and quantity effect.
Dr. Jaime Mendiola of the University of Murcia, Spain said of his research:
In this study, we have found that people who consume more fruits and vegetables are ingesting more anti-oxidants and this is the important point.
We saw that, among the couples with fertility problems coming to the clinic, the men with good semen quality ate more vegetables and fruit than those men with low seminal quality.
There are obviously many factors that influence fertility, and this is only one.
By Becky Striepe •
June 15, 2009
Between June 20th and 28th, folks all over the world will be holding vegan bake sales to raise awareness about awesome vegan food and raise money for the causes of their choice!
[Vegan Green Tea Cupcakes. Photo (and cupcakes!) by Becky Striepe]
Meat production has gotten a lot of coverage for its impact on the environment lately, but what about all those dairy cows? Whether they’re slaughtered for meat or milked, we’re still talking cows and all the impacts that go along with raising them. The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale organizers strongly feel that veganism is better for the planet and its inhabitants. Check out their intro to veganism to learn about the story behind animal products like eggs and dairy.
From New Zealand to Nigeria to New York, groups around the world are holding vegan bake sales during the last two weekends of this month. They’re encouraging both vegan and non-vegan groups to hold events, as long as the baked goods at the sale are completely vegan. To help facilitate, they’ve set up a page of vegan baking tips and vegan recipe resource guide. Each participating group is working to benefit a cause that matters to them. Check out some of the participating groups:
By Gina Munsey •
June 10, 2009
The dawn of summertime — just over a week away — calls for barefoot lunches, iced coffee, blossoming flowers, and colorful produce. And what better food to showcase summer’s brightness than a refreshing, cooling coleslaw? Purple cabbage, white-stemmed chard, orange carrots, and green zucchini combine for the perfect combination of crunch and tang. This naturally wheatless dish is bursting with color and packs a powerful serving of Vitamins A, C and K.
For most people, the beginning of summer is marked simply by Memorial Day weekend. I, on the other hand, need something more: Ice cream. More specifically, a scoop of ice cream in a sugar cone on a warm, sunny day. Being vegan, I wasn’t super interested in the ice cream run my family took to the local Dairy Bar over the holiday weekend, but that’s OK, because as of today, I can make my own ice cream. The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-Free Ice Cream That Tastes Better Than the “Real Thing” is finally available!
It might not be Monday, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sneak in some meat-free, carbon friendly eats at your weekend barbecues! While burgers and hot dogs might be traditional, they’re certainly not doing the environment–or your health–any favors. Why not surprise your hosts or guests by providing some unexpected and delicious vegan options at your next summer get together? Here are my favorite ideas for meat and dairy free barbecue dining:
By Jamie Ervin •
May 27, 2009
My favorite vegan, GMO free margarine is Earth Balance. It works well with the many allergies and celiac in our family. Because soy is among the eight most common allergens, Earth Balance now has a soy free spread and to get the word out we get to give some free coupons away.
Earth Balance Soy Free Spread is vegan, all natural, free of gluten, lactose and soy, has zero grams of transfat and is a great source of omega 3’s.
Here’s our favorite recipe for a gluten free, dairy free, vegan treat which everyone loves. We always bake with Earth Balance. The best part is no one knows these goodies are healthy (sweet, yes… but also chock full of good stuff) unless you tell them!
By Gina Munsey •
May 22, 2009
For days, the rain hasn’t stopped tumbling out of thick woolen clouds. Slowly crawling across the monochromatic canopy, these persistent clouds wrap their heavy grey fingers tightly around the leafy crowns of the brilliant rain-soaked trees. Even when I push back the patterned curtains as far as the window frame will allow, no light comes through the glass. The sound of raindrops crashing against the rooftop is periodically punctuated by sharp jarring claps of thunder.
Outside, brave little seedlings are gasping for breath while new blossoms hold their eyes tightly closed against the rain. Shoots of bright green grass struggle to keep their slim heads above water. I see an orange cat dart across the street. He struggles to maintain aloofness, but it is clear that the weather has taken a severe toll on his dignity. The mail retrieved from the streetside box is soggy and lifeless, the adhesive on the envelopes succumbing to the humidity. Even inside, newly washed clothes hang limply, moisture stubbornly clinging to the threads and fibers.
On a day like this, what better thing to do than to curl up with a book? I just received a brand-new copy of Vegan Rustic Cooking Through the Seasons, authored by Diana White of the UK’s Vegan-Organic Network, an organization whose fascinating farming methods go a step beyond traditional organic farming.
Tofu. For those of us who have learned to master this culinary chameleon, its sort of miraculous. Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever its seasoned or marinated with, while its texture can vary depending on the mode of preparation. I always keep a couple of blocks of the stuff onhand for quick stir-frys or sandwiches, but really, that’s just the beginning of what tofu can do.
There are two main different types of tofu: Silken and firm. The silken variety is Japanese in origin, and is soft, delicate, and creamy. It doesn’t hold it’s shape too well, so is best used in its pureed form for smoothies, eggless/dairyless pies, dips, or soups. Firm, or Chinese-style tofu, is (as its name implies) much firmer, and holds its shape when sliced for marinating and baking, cubing, or crumbling.
If you’re seeking to expand your tofu repertoire, look no further than this list:
