Vegan

Exciting news, Herbies! Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Howard Jacobson's new book, WHOLE, has been released! and it's already a New York Times Bestseller! I got a chance to read this amazing book a few months ago and I can't recommend it enough. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to share an excerpt of the book with you today AND I'm giving away THREE copies of the book! (p.s. Fun fact: Dr. Campbell and I have the same publisher!) So what's the difference between The China Study and WHOLE? Dr. Campbell: The China Study was basically a summary of the evidence and what I thought it showed. It was based on my own career, of course, but also involving the work of others. Whole, in contrast, is to count why. In other words, the China Study was: Here's the scene, here's the evidence, here's what we think it says. And Whole is sort of an explanation of why this evidence actually works. It really has a dramatic effect on health - even more than I thought when I finished writing The China Study. I mean I was pretty confident in what I was saying, of course, but nonetheless, since that book was published, what we now know about this is just truly dramatic."** I also was interviewed by co-author Dr. Howard Jacobson about living the plant-based lifestyle, which was a BLAST. And you can listen to the interview! (The link downloads an mp3.) And don't forget to check out The China Study Cookbook, which was recently released as well. An excerpt from WHOLE: Making Ourselves Whole “If a little bird were to take a grain of sand in its beak from the seashore and somehow manage to fly it to the furthest quasar in the universe, and if it returned and repeated the process until all the sand of the oceans both from the beaches and the bottoms were gone, eternity would be just beginning.”—Anonymous, written on the wall of the Maté Factor Cafe, Ithaca Commons, NY If this book does nothing else, I hope that it convinces you that we need to change the way we think about health. We must recognize nutrition as a cornerstone of our health-care system, not a footnote. We must also recognize the limitations of our reductionist paradigm and learn to accept the validity of evidence beyond what that paradigm allows us to perceive. If we are truly to understand the meaning of nutrition, its effect on the body, and its potential to transform our collective health, we must stop seeing reductionism as the only method by which to achieve progress and start seeing it as a tool, the results of which can only be properly evaluated within a wholistic framework. And we must be willing to embrace wholism beyond the realm of nutrition. The body is a complex system; bodies gathered together in societies are even more complex; and human life, interwoven with all of nature on this planet, is complex beyond our imagining. We cannot afford to ignore this complexity any longer. I realize that what I’m proposing here is a tectonic shift in the way we think about nutrition, medicine, and health. The process may not be easy. But it is possible. I know, because this shift is one I experienced myself over the course of my career. My doctoral dissertation, written over fifty years ago, was on the greater biological value of animal-based protein. I believed then, as firmly as any meat-loving cattle baron, that there was no better, more beneficial food than the protein we received from meat and milk. But as you have seen here and in The China Study, my position today is very different. I am now convinced that there is no healthier way to eat than a whole food, plant-based diet, without added fat, salt, or refined carbohydrates. For me, the source of that shift was evidence—the empirical, peer-reviewed evidence produced over many years by my own research group. It was bolstered in later years by the evidence produced by my colleagues in clinical medicine, who have been independently and convincingly documenting the WFPB diet's [Editorial Note: WFPB= w

I bought a product called "Daiya Wedge" today in the jack flavor. I've bought Daiya shreds before but never this. It's basically a compact wedge of Daiya that you can slice and use how you wish. It melts nicely. I made a gooey quesadilla with roasted red peppers. This is the pasta e fagioli recipe from Urban Vegan cookbook. I pared down the recipe because I was cooking for one so I think my liquid to pasta/beans recipe was a little off. Normally I like it more soupy. But this was still excellent. I added sauteed onion, celery and carrots to mine. I topped it with Parmezano Sprinkles, which is a parmesan cheese substititue that contains cashews, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and salt.

I arrived bright and early (hey, noon is pretty early on a Saturday) to the Seed‘s second annual “vegan experience” today, and what an experience it was. Many of the usual suspects were there, including Vitamix, Tasty Bite, Sea Shepherd, Mercy For Animals, and Rescue Chocolate. However, many of last year’s local vendors didn’t make [...]

Tofu Scramble at Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast...The Tofu Reuben carried out from The Randy Radish for lunch...Chick Pea Soup from Le Pain Quotidien with Olive Bruschetta for dinner.Half a piece of Sweet & Natural Carrot Cake (no website anymore) for dessert.A great food day. Good thing I'm not gluten free. No clue where/what I'm eating tomorrow.

Revive

Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes is out! And I am happy to be part of … Read MoreWhole Grain Vegan Baking – Blog Tour! is a post from: seitan is my motor

Makes 16 rolls Total time: 3 hours || Active time: 40 minutes I always swoon over photos of negimaki. Beautifully grilled teriyaki rolls stuffed with vibrant scallions. See? Did you swoon? A vegan version is easy enough. The meat = seitan and the scallions = well, those are already vegan, silly! I tried to keep the ingredients list as simple as possible. The characteristics that I wanted to really shine were the charred grilled flavor and, of course, the scallions. The simple marinade of hoison and mirin really does its job, keeping things juicy with the perfect marriage of sweet and savory. Don’t feel like you can’t serve these unless you’re having an all-out Japanese feast. If you’re hosting a little garden soiree (or just watching TV, or catering a bar mitvah…) you can serve these rolls right along hummus and stuffed mushrooms. I guess I take a fairly laid-back approach to menu planning; it’s more about the balance of the overall menu rather than following a strict flavor profile outlined by national borders. So I just try to have a good mix of fresh and cooked items, grains and proteins. The more flavors the merrier. That said, these would be wonderful served alongside sushi or a Japanse noodle dish. Maybe with a fresh, gingery salad? You can even serve negimaki over rice, with some steamed veggies, as a main course. However you choose to serve, have fun with it! It’s a really playful and delicious grill recipe that is worth the extra effort. SWOOOOON. Recipe Notes~To simmer the seitan, you’ll need a pot that is at least 9 inches at the base. A 5 or 6 quart pot oughtta' do it. If you’ve only got a 4-quart, then slice the seitan log in two before simmering. ~ Make the seitan a day in advance, so that it can cool in the gingery broth overnight. Or at least give it plenty of time to cool. ~ If you’re looking for a gluten-free variation, tofu might work, but if it's not perfectly sliced, there's a chance it will be too finicky about wrapping.  Yuba or Soy Curls might be better options? ~ This recipe makes more seitan than you'll need, but that’s ok! It may take a couple of tries before you get the strips perfectly thin for wrapping. And any left over seitan will be great in a stir-fry. ~ I made these on an indoor grill, but they’ll work outdoors, too! You might want to soak the toothpicks in water, so that they don’t burn too badly.IngredientsFor the simmering broth: 8 cups vegetable broth 6 cloves garlic, smashed 1/4 cup fresh sliced ginger For the seitan: 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes 3/4 cup cold water 1/4 cup soy sauce For the marinade: 1/3 cup hoisin sauce 1/4 cup mirin 3 tablespoons water 2 teaspoons Sriracha (plus extra for garnish) 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, microplaned or minced to a paste 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil Also: 2 bunches scallions, green parts only, sliced 3 to 4 inches long A few tablespoons toasted sesame seeds Plain wooden toothpicksMake the seitan: Place all the ingredients for the simmering broth in the pot and bring to a boil. In the meantime, make the seitan. Combine wheat gluten and nutritional yeast in a mixing bowl. Add the water and soy sauce and knead until it forms a stiffish dough, two to three minutes. Form dough into a flat log that is roughly 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. When the broth is boiling, lower heat to a simmer and submerge the seitan. Simmer for 30 minutes, leaving the lid ajar so that steam can escape. Let cool completely in the broth. Marinade: Once seitan is cool, start the marinade. Simply mix all ingredients together in a wide, shallow bowl. Now, slice the seitan. You want it to be about an 1/8 inch thick, but it doesn’t have to be perfectly even (you can see in the pic that mine wasn’t.) Just make sure that a the slice can wrap around your pinky nicely, without breaking or being unruly. Once you have 16 slices, place them in the marinade for an hour, flipping

"Many people express objections against child labor, exploitation of the workforce or meat production involving cruelty against animals. At the same time, however, people ignore their own moral standards when acting as market participants, searching for the cheapest electronics, fashion or food."

I did a lot of testing for Grills Gone Vegan and now it’s finally here I decided to revisit one of my favourites. In case you don’t know, all the testing and planning of Grills was done quite a long time ago and it got a bit held up at the publishers, hence this book being released so soon after Whole Grain Vegan Baking, which was co-authored with Celine Steen. I did a review of some of the fabulous recipes I tested almost 2 years ago! There’s loads to love about this book, and even as I sit staring out of my window in the middle of May into cloudy skies and endless rain, I know there are some recipes I’ll turn to again and again. One of them is the Coffee Crusted Ribs. They were the first recipe I decided to remake, partly because I loved them, and partly because I finally got my hands on another jar of instant espresso when I was in the US recently. The recipe is in two parts – you make the ribs first and then there a number of sauces and rubs that you can use on them. They are a little bit fussy but they make a lot and they freeze brilliantly. They’re a great dense texture and you probably wouldn’t guess there was coffee in the rub, just a deep flavour that adds a low note to the ribs. I served them alongside some macaroni cheese with spinach in. I generally make my own cheese sauces but while in Chicago, Matthew really enjoyed the macaroni cheese side dish in Chicago Diner, which uses Teese. I had only tried cooking with the mozarella Teese and wasn’t hugely impressed with it, but when I saw that they sold a cheese sauce I brought some back to try. For a bought product we both enjoyed it; it certainly made for a very quick pasta dish and if it was available here I might well keep a tube of it around for emergencies. Apparently it keeps for a month in the fridge once opened so I’ll be trying the leftovers in something else. I can’t wait to revisit some of my other old favourites from Grills Gone Vegan and I’ll be sure to keep you posted here when I do! Filed under: Grills Gone Vegan, Product review

You've got questions...Q: My daughter and I are doing a 5K tomorrow and I haven't run since joining the meal plan. Any post-workout/run suggestions for food or drink?A: Make sure you hydrate after the race. Some people feel queasy after running and can't stomach solids, so a liquid is the best option for the first half hour or so. A friend of mine is a marathoner and she likes to drink smoothies after long runs (10+ miles or more), but she waits 30-45 minutes when her stomach settles down a bit more. There isn't really anything special you need to eat, you just need to rehydrate and replenish the calories you've spent (make sure you include healthy carbohydrates to refill your glycogen stores). Also, make a healthy choice — greasy food, etc. after a race makes for a gagging experience :PThere's also a recipe for "homemade gatorade" that I call Herbisport on happyherbivore.com that you might want to check out for the race! Good luck!! Have a great race!!Q: My period started and I couldn't help myself — somehow I always crave so many more heavy salty fatty foods. And, of course, chocolate. And the healthy kind doesn't satisfy and I fall off the vegan wagon. What do you recommend for not going too overboard? Do more vegan women experience this? Do I need a supplement?A: I'm not a doctor, but I'm going to guess it's a food addition you're battling — especially if you just recently went plant-based. If you were craving peas, that would be one thing, but you're craving junk ;) That's probably not the body saying it needs a nutrient ;)I used to crave chips and brownies when I had my period but after I was plant-based for a while (and broke all my food addictions and habits), it went away. Unfortunately with food addictions, you just have to break the cycle.You could also try to appease your cravings by eating a small piece of dark chocolate (maybe salted dark chocolate?) or bake up some healthy baked french fries and sprinkle them with salt. Or nibble on kale chips, just to help you get through it. You could also make the single-serving vegan chocolate brownie! Resisting is hard, but in the end makes it easier. For more info, see my posts about curbing emotional eating and food cravings and addictions.Q: I have been trying to make homemade hummus for awhile now and just can't seem to get it right. I have tried several recipes, and it just tastes bitter or something — horrible aftertaste. I use tahini. Do you have any ideas that could help me get this right?A: Hmm... I'm not sure why it would taste bitter unless one of your ingredients has gone bad. Have you tried making it without the tahini? That could be the problem (tahini can go rancid). Are you using coriander (cilantro)? Some people have a taste sensitivity to cilantro (also called coriander), and maybe that's what's causing the bitter taste. Are you using cumin? Some people don't like that spice either. It's hard to say without knowing exactly what you're putting into the hummus. Try making the hummus with just the chickpeas and a little lemon. Then add flavors little by little from there. You can use my recipe for hummus on the blog or the hummus recipe in HHA, which is slightly different. Engine 2 also has a great fat-free hummus recipe. Q: I'm transitioning into a plant based lifestyle. I would say that I am about 90-95% there. Since getting serious with the plant-based diet (almost 2 months), I often feel like I have become more forgetful. Has anyone else you know experienced this? I have read that it could be a lack of B12 (I know, meat eaters can be also deficient in B12), but before I start blaming that, I was wondering if you knew of anything else it could be? If it is a lack in B12, could you recommend any food items that I could incorporate into my diet?A: If you suspect you have a deficiency, make an appointment with your doctor to have yourself tested. If you are deficient, your doctor will probably give you a B12 shot (that's what happened to both of my meat eater