Prescription for Health: A Meat-Free Diet

It’s come to this:

Researchers in the United Kingdom are now suggesting that fast food chains should hand out cholesterol-lowering drugs with cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and other menu items to combat the effects of these fatty foods. But they also say that statins don’t stop all of the unhealthy effects.

As a doctor, I agree that statins are not the solution, and I’m calling for a reality check.

Decades ago, we learned that the fat and cholesterol in meat boost the amount of cholesterol in consumers’ blood. And that leads to heart attacks. So doctors advised us to cut back on meat and get to know vegetables.

Then it was carcinogens: As meat is grilled, cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines form on its surface, suggesting an explanation for the higher cancer rates in meat eaters compared with vegetarians. Chicken turned out to produce much higher levels of carcinogens than beef.

Then it was chemicals. Studies showed that mercury, other heavy metals, and various pesticides show up in animal tissue. Suddenly, fish was our worst nightmare. State and federal monitoring agencies issued strong warnings, especially for children and women in their reproductive years. Vegetables could be washed or peeled, but that wasn’t possible with fish or other meats.

Then it was germs. Salmonella and campylobacter from the meat counter ended up on our kitchen counters and caused thousands of cases of illness every year. The bacterial threat reached a new level when E. coli O157:H7 in hamburgers killed diners of the Jack-in-the-Box chain in the Pacific Northwest. These and other dangerous uninvited guests still turn up routinely on beef, poultry, and shellfish. And government agencies spend millions of dollars trying to contain the problem.

The headlines went a step further. Mad cow disease emerged in European and sporadically in North American cattle. It is not caused by fat, cholesterol, carcinogens, or germs, but by a rogue protein, known as a prion. Government and industry officials spend millions on testing and culling operations, and neurological researchers study the relationships between mad cow disease and rare forms of dementia. Meanwhile, scientists might observe that there is no mad asparagus or mad eggplant disease.

And there is no strawberry flu or avocado flu, either. But bird flu and swine flu have emerged as potential pandemics. Birds and swine carry viruses, just as other animals. Ordinarily they would pose no risk to humans. But our collective appetite for pork and poultry means millions of pigs and chickens are raised for meat. Once the H5N1 virus enters a poultry farm, it spreads rapidly. And overcrowded pig farms offer a breeding ground for new forms of influenza, like H1N1. For months last year, swine flu hovered just below pandemic level. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all it takes to trigger a pandemic is for the bird flu to infect a person carrying a seasonal flu virus; the two viruses could spawn a disease vector like the one that killed 50 million people in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.

And now, in an attempt to counteract heart attack-inducing meat and dairy products containing saturated fat and cholesterol, we need to take a statin every day.

It’s time to wake up and smell the problem. Another study has shown that a vegetarian diet has essentially the same effectiveness as cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Millions of Americans now say no to meat. As they do so, their cholesterol levels plummet. Their coronary arteries open up again. Their waistlines shrink and their cancer rates drop 40%. A healthy vegetarian diet could revolutionize the health of the nation.

Photo Credit: flick3r&fade

Five Tips for Talking about Veganism with Kids

These days it isn’t hard to find fantastic vegan parenting advice or kid-friendly recipes. I’ve come across many blogs discussing ideas about how to talk to your kids about animal rights. My question is: How do I talk to other people’s kids about it? Working in schools, camps, and museums, I’ve been faced with this dilemma countless times. Kids are curious. I hate to pass up an opportunity for discussion, and I certainly don’t want to lie to kids or perpetuate the normalization of animal eating. However, talking with other people’s children is sensitive territory and I want to be respectful.

Based on my own experience, here are five tips for talking about veganism with kids.

Wait for the child to inquire. Unless you are very close and comfortable with both the child and parent(s), it is not productive to initiate unsolicited conversations about veganism. Once your conversation is relayed to the parents, they may become defensive. This can be confusing and uncomfortable for the child.
Only speak for yourself. If a child does ask about your diet/lifestyle, avoid responses that imply judgment of others. Instead of saying “I don’t think people should eat animals,” try saying “I choose not to eat animals.” Be honest, and try to phrase things positively. “I love animals so much! I don’t want to hurt them. I’m lucky to have lots of other delicious food, so I don’t need to eat animals.”

Express your love of food. Don’t be shy. Kids appreciate genuine passion! I rave about the colors, flavors, and textures of my favorite fruits and vegetables. I mention where and when certain foods grow. Ask kids to describe their favorites! This is also a great way to start an informative discussion with a group of children. “Who knows what it means when we say something is in season?” “Can anyone tell me what compost is?” If anyone has grown food at home, invite them to share their experience!

Get on their level. As always, talk with kids at their eye level. Listen attentively when they’re speaking. Use familiar language. Try not to talk down to or patronize them. Basically, be mindful and respectful.
Ask a lot of questions! Encourage kids to come up with their own answers and think critically about the world around them. Children are so inquisitive, and I think adults feel pressure to always have an answer. I’ve found that responding with mindful questions of my own can challenge little ones to start developing their own ethical standards, and makes them feel independent and intelligent.

These are some questions I might pose to curious kids:
“Why do you think someone might choose to eat animals?”
“Why do you think someone might choose not to eat animals?”
“Hmmm, I wonder why people love cats and dogs, but eat pigs, chickens, and cows…”
“What kinds of things might someone eat if they were trying to be peaceful?”
“Whose job is it to make sure animals are safe?”

By keeping questions at the core of our discussions, we begin to address the complexity and interconnectedness of animal eating. By verbalizing our own inquiry, we’re setting an example of critical thinking and social responsibility. Of course there are times when a direct answer is appropriate, or when a child might need to be nudged in the right direction. If I ask a child why she thinks people eat animals, and she responds with something like “because they are yummy!” I might reply, “There are lots of different yummy foods, aren’t there? Now what’s the difference between eating a chicken and eating an apple? Is there a difference?”

My new children’s book, “Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice” aims to raise some basic questions about eating animals. It does not discuss factory farming, or even the animals who are usually consumed as food. The “moral of the story” is intentionally open ended, with the hope that it will spark discussion between parent and child (so the parent can decide how detailed to be and what to focus on). When silly, juice-enthusiast Vikings decide to grind up nutritious snail shells into their juice, their friend Thora asks questions like, “What were the snails doing before the Vikings scooped them up?” and “How does it feel to be food?”

I know that kids are capable of thinking through these questions and living compassionately. Animal eating has been indoctrinated in American culture. I think we all benefit from exposure to alternative points of view. Do we want future generations to grow up believing that some forms of violence are intolerable, while others are delicious? When handled with respect and sensitivity, an explanation of the vegan lifestyle can provide kids with a non-violent option. Posing tough questions can help them develop the tools they need to become peaceful, healthy, responsible adults.

Nathalie VanBalen is the author/illustrator/designer of “Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice” and founder of ThoraThinks Press. Nathalie works with young children in schools, camps, and art museums, and is involved with the biodynamic farming community in Nashville, Tennessee.

Photo Credit: Sally London

High Quality, Healthy Vegan Diet for $3.33 A Day

Hello everyone! I’m so honored to do a guest post on CSL. My name is Melody Polakow and due to being laid off from my job as a vegan and raw foods chef in December, I am living on a very strict budget of $3.33 a day or around $100 a month for myself and two teen sons who live with me part time. I have always been a frugal cook by nature and grew up eating a vegetarian diet based on whole foods, fruits and vegetables. (Thanks mom!)

Eating high quality, healthy vegan food on a budget is very do-able, but it might require a shift in thinking when it comes to how you plan menus, shop and prepare your meals. There are several important steps I recommend if you want lessen your grocery bill without sacrificing the quality, taste and variety at the dinner table.

The first step is taking an inventory of what you already have in your pantry, fridge and freezer. I wrote everything down and started to plan meals around what I had on hand. I was fortunate to have had an abundance to start and that enabled me to only spend $1.80 a day or $50.00 in February. You can check out my starting pantry list here.

Everyone’s tastes are different, but here are some staples that I have found to be very useful: (Obviously, this is a very large list and most people do not have all of these on hand. Pick and choose which ingredients you use the most and build from there!)

Dry and Canned Goods
Brown rice
Barley
Quinoa
Bulgur
Millet
Unsweetened coconut
Cornmeal
Whole grain pasta
Wheat berries (if you grind your own flour)
Popcorn
Nutritional yeast
Various dried spices
Vegetable broth cubes
White whole wheat flour
Baking soda
Baking powder
Sea salt
Pepper
Canned tomatoes
Roasted red peppers
Pickled jalapenos
Pickles
Ketchup
Sauerkraut
Canned pineapple
Unsweetened applesauce
Molasses
Raisins
Dates
Sunflower seeds (keep in freezer)
Raw cashews, almonds, walnuts (keep in freezer)
Sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds (keep in freezer)
Roasted peanuts
Chia seeds (keep in freezer)
Dijon mustard
Coconut milk
Vinegars
Olive oil
Canola oil
Coconut oil
Hot sauce
Soy sauce
Siracha
Toasted sesame oil
Concentrated lemon juice
Sugar/sucanat
Dried beans/legumes/lentils
Rolled oats
Steel cut oats
Golden flax seeds (keep in freezer and grind in coffee grinder) or
Golden flax meal (keep in freezer)
Active dry yeast (buy in bulk and keep in freezer)

Ok, so now that you have taken inventory you can start to plan your meals around what you have on hand or on several basic staples.

What has been working for me is to base the bulk of our meals on legumes and whole grains. I cook up a pound of dried beans and 2 cups of dried whole grain and use them in a variety of ways throughout the week.

For instance, a pound of lentils ($1.29) will yield around 6 cups of cooked. 2 cups will be turned into veggie burgers, 1 cup will be turned into meatballs, 2 cups will be used in our breakfast muffins and 1 cup will be turned into a soup.

I usually cook 2 lbs of different legumes each week. Chickpeas can be turned into hummus, pasta sauce, sandwich spreads, burgers, eaten in salads, in Indian food and in soups. I often freeze 2 1 cup portions of the beans right after cooking to ensure they will remain fresh later in the week.

The vegetables/fruits I have on hand most of time are kale, collards (I can get HUGE bunches for $1.29 at my local Market Basket in Portsmouth, NH), carrots, onions, garlic, celery, cabbage, cilantro, bananas, limes/lemons, frozen strawberries and sometimes apples. I look in our grocery circulars every week to see which fruits/veggies are on sale and plan my meals around them in addition to my staples. I was very excited to get a pineapple for $1.99 and find broccoli for $.99/lb today at a store I rarely shop at due to their high prices.

I have been baking all of my own bread. It is not as daunting as it sounds because I do an ever simpler version of No Knead Bread.

We enjoy pulling some out and making fresh English muffins (on the stove) to use as a buns for our veggie burger.

I hope that some of these tips have helped you! I am going to close with this easy recipe:

Raw Thai Noodle Bowl
Serves 2

-3 large collards, chopped finely OR 2 spiralized zucchini (enough to -produce 4 c of veggies)
-1 medium carrot, shaved into noodle shapes
-2 c mushrooms, sliced and marinated in Braggs hot pepper and black pepper
-1 clove garlic
-2 inches ginger
-4 T dried coconut
-1 t toasted sesame oil (optional)
-Siracha to taste (or cayenne)
-juice of 1 large lime
-Braggs to taste
-3-4 c water
-stevia or other sweetener to taste
-1 c cilantro
-fresh mint/basil (optional but VERY good)
-sesame seeds
-black pepper

1. Chop the collards. I like to chiffonade then so they will be somewhat “noodle like”. I used a julienne peeler to peel the carrots into noodles.
2. In a blender place the garlic, ginger, coconut, sesame oil, siracha, lime juice, Braggs and water. Blend for several minutes (to get it warm) Add stevia or sweetener to taste. Pour over veggies and top with chopped cilantro, mint, basil and sesame seeds. Taste and adjust seasonings. I like to warm mine gently on the stove and I added a lot of hot sauce, so it really warms me up.

Nutritional Info based on 2 servings
266 calories, 7 g protein, 21 g fat, 17 g carbohydrates

To see what else we eat on a daily basis, check out my blog and my website.

Thanks for reading,

Melody

Shedding Some Light On Dairy

The second most frequent question I hear when I tell someone I eat a primarily raw vegan diet or suggest one of my patients try it is, “Don’t you need milk for your bones?” If you don’t want to read all the way through the blog to get the answer, I’ll give it away right now: No!

Why would someone choose to stay away from dairy when ice cream and cheese taste so good and it’s supposed to be healthy? Even the government says we should be eating it. One reason to avoid dairy is based purely on logic, not science. It makes no evolutionary sense. No other mammal drinks milk after infancy, and certainly not the milk of a different species. In addition, although most people of European descent have adapted over the years so that they don’t lose the enzyme (lactase) necessary to digest dairy, more than half of the world’s population is lactose intolerant and can’t digest it.

But if those reasons aren’t convincing enough, here is a list of problems that have been shown in scientific studies to be associated with eating dairy: constipation, acne, asthma, and eczema. With regard to cancer, the evidence indicates dairy may be linked to a decreased risk of some cancers and increased risk of others. But it definitely increases a hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) which is a tumor promoter – something we cancer survivors would just as soon avoid. Finally, it is full of antibiotics, dioxin and hormones. Even if you are drinking organic milk from a cow who was never injected with bovine growth hormone, the milk is still full of the hormones she produced naturally.

So there are a lot of reasons to stay away from dairy. But doesn’t it help make your bones stronger? How else can you get enough calcium in your diet? The US RDA for calcium is 1000-1300mg/day, depending on your age and gender. In fact, it is hard to consume that much calcium if you are not eating dairy. This may be where the confusion begins. In a study that compared calcium consumption in different countries, the countries with the lowest calcium intake, about 500-1000mg/day, had lower rates of hip fractures (the dreaded outcome of low bone density) than the countries with the highest calcium intake (over 1000mg/day). Another study showed that countries with the highest consumption of animal protein intake had the most hip fractures, whereas the countries with the highest vegetable protein intake had the fewest hip fractures.

Although a number of studies show that eating dairy is associated with a decreased risk for fractures, a similar number of studies show it makes no difference. One of the major obstacles to getting a true picture of the importance of dairy for bone strength is the way the studies are done. Study participants are asked what they usually eat and then followed to see how many end up with broken bones. Since milk is touted as a healthy food, the people who eat the best and exercise the most are also the ones likely to be eating the most dairy. Curiously, of the scientific review articles about dairy and osteoporosis, most of the ones that showed a favorable association between dairy and bone health were sponsored by the National Dairy Council.

Since people from other countries who eat much less calcium than we eat have fewer fractures, maybe it’s not all about how much calcium we eat. Actually, more important is how much we keep. There are two other nutrients, in particular, which affect how much calcium we hold onto: protein and sodium. The more protein and sodium we eat, the more calcium we urinate out. So if we eat less protein and sodium (which are all too commonly consumed in a Western diet), we probably don’t need to eat as much calcium.

The other side of the equation is the absorption of calcium. It is better absorbed in an acidic environment, such as with vitamin C. That means that the lemon juice on your green leafy vegetable is helping you absorb the vegetable’s calcium. And vitamin D also increases the amount of calcium absorbed by the body.

Finally, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are other nutrients that are also very important for bone formation, such as vitamin K (high in dark green vegetables) and magnesium (high in green vegetables and seeds).

If you are wondering if a raw vegan diet can be okay for your bones, there has actually been a small study which suggests that it is. In this study, the people following the raw vegan diet were much thinner and had lower bone density (which goes along with being thinner). The reassuring part of the study was that the blood markers of bone turnover (i.e., how much bone was formed and broken down) showed no difference between those who followed the raw vegan diet and those who followed a typical American diet that contained almost twice the amount of calcium as the raw vegan diet.

Perhaps you are starting to think you might like to take dairy out of your diet, and you want to be sure you are still getting enough calcium. Good sources are dark green vegetables, nuts and seeds. Especially good foods are collard greens, kale, almonds and sunflower seeds.

Now if you are interested, theoretically, in cutting dairy out from your diet, but need some added incentive, read on. (If you still want to enjoy your milk, however, I suggest you stop reading now!) As a result of the milking process, cows often have mastitis (an infection of the udder), making dairy full of white blood cells, aka, pus. This means your yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, etc., are also full of pus.

It’s been 10 years since I have had dairy of any kind, and at this point I no longer even miss the cheese that sits on top of my former favorite food: pizza. But if you think you need some milk or cheese substitutes there are plenty of vegan (e.g., soy or rice-based) and raw (e.g., nut or seed-based) options to satisfy your palate!

Passover, Vegan Style!

When Passover comes to mind I immediately find myself closing off my nostrils and breathing through my mouth. This innate physical reaction is due to trauma – gefilte fish trauma. I think of the beautiful traditions associated with Passover, like the Four Questions, and leaning to the left in our seats to eat the way royalty used to eat. But I personally find myself leaning left to avoid the dinner guest next to me with the gefilte fish breath, who is all hopped up on Manischewitz and wants to give me a loving embrace. That is no way to enjoy a Seder.

Last year, word got out to the family that my sister and I had recently started our own vegan food company, so of course they said that if we wanted our Passover to be animal-free, we would be cooking – for all 40 of us! We couldn’t slide by anymore with our own veggie side dish. It was time for some action. We knew there would be a few skeptics in the crowd, so we had to act strategically, with everyone’s food preferences in mind.

In planning the menu the first thing I did was make some changes to the Seder plate. We said no thanks on the lamb shank. Instead, we used a beet grown in a friend’s garden. Not only are beets used to symbolize the color of the blood that lamb shanks represent, but their high iron content can revitalize our own blood. I don’t want us to be too selfish, but let’s get the most out of our Seder experience. Beets have other amazing nutritional benefits, including detoxifying the liver. After guzzling four cups of White Concord Grape Manischewitz (my personal fave), who wouldn’t appreciate that?

Instead of the hard-boiled egg, we used fresh flowers. Flowers are symbols of spring and new growth. They are beautiful and they smell a million times better than their hard-boiled counterparts. You can also go the extra step to get some roses, pansies or other edible flowers for the Seder plate. Eating flowers with loved ones is sure to make your Passover more memorable, and roses are known to be a powerful antioxidant. Click here to learn more about edible flowers.

My sister and I knew we had to do something about the gefilte situation, so we decided to make fresh spring rolls instead of gefilte fish for our first course. Spring rolls have the same shape, and, oddly enough, similar color to gefilte fish, so they do the trick. The whole family was elated to try something deliciously different.

Below is my recipe for Passover Spring Rolls. The recipe is not too traditional, but when tradition involves opening a jar of compressed fish in a jelly and letting it thump out of the glass, I don’t feel bad about breaking tradition. If your Jewish family is like mine, as long as something is wrapped in some sort of doughy wrapper, with a little sauce, everyone will be happy. Involve friends or family in rolling these guys if you have a big party. They do take a little time and effort. Note that these spring rolls do include rice ingredients. While Sephardic Seders permit rice, you may want to consult your Ashkenazi relatives if you think it will be a problem for them.

The lesson that I learned in treating my family to a vegan Passover is that the most important traditions are those of tempting smells, new experiences, and good karma all the way from the Seder plate to the meal. There is so much love and thoughtful preparation that goes into creating a Passover dinner that it only seems fitting to make it cruelty-free.

As an end note, though it may be a pain in the tuchas to cook food for the entire family just to prove to them how right we are for being vegetarian, you kind of have to because even if you only make food for yourself, everyone else will want a bite anyway when all of your food smells the best. That is why the recipe below is portioned to feed ten hungry Jews. Double the recipe for bigger parties or really hungry Jews.

Fresh Spring Rolls
Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp roasted hot sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp agave
2 cups thin rice noodles, or bean sprouts
2 cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin strips
6-8 shiitake mushrooms
2 avocados, sliced into strips
1 cup shredded carrots
8-10 rice wrappers
*Optional ½ cup pine nuts

Procedure:

1. Bring a quart of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles as directed. Set aside when finished. Add sesame oil, rice vinegar and agave to the noodles. If using bean sprouts instead, blanche the bean sprouts and toss with the sesame oil, rice vinegar and agave.
2. Place the sliced pre-cooked rice noodles, cucumber, avocado, shredded carrot, and in separate bowls or plates, like an assembly line.
3. When you are ready to roll your fresh rolls, soak each rice wrapper in water until slightly softened. This should only take about 10 seconds. Place the wrapper on a flat working surface and fill with a line of your choice of the fillings, beginning with about 2 tablespoons of rice noodles or bean sprouts.
4. Begin by folding the bottom flap over your filling. Bring the two sides over the folded bottom flap and then bring the remaining side over the entire roll, to create a burrito shape. The trick is to not overfill the spring roll. This will make it much easier to wrap.

Almond Sauce:

½ cup almond butter
¼ cup hot water
1/4 cup organic tamari
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sesame oil (with or without chilies)
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* optional: 2 Tbsp Red pepper flakes

Procedure:
In a medium pot, add almond butter and hot water. Whisk until the almond butter is thin. Add remaining almond sauce ingredients. Whisk until uniform and creamy. Add water if the sauce is too thick.

Spork Foods is a Los Angeles-based gourmet vegan food company owned and operated by sisters Jenny and Heather Goldberg. Our delicious, innovative cuisine emphasizes organic, local, and seasonal ingredients. We offer cooking classes, In-home healthy eating consultations, and small scale catering.