Published on January 30th, 2010
Do you know what you’re having for dinner today — or “supper” as we say here in Wisconsin? Don’t panic if you don’t know. You’re not alone. Up to one third of Americans don’t know what they will be eating for supper on any given day, an underlying cause of relying on prepared food fast high in convenience and packaging and low in nutrients and local food connections.
However we slice it, our busy, chaotic, modern lifestyles generally leave us low on time and quality food options. I seem to live on either extreme: either I’m working and writing from my farm, Inn Serendipity, with a freezer full of preserved garden goodies to eat, or I’m in town all day running through a laundry list of errands or taking a road trip into Chicago, undoubtedly skipping a meal and ending up famished. And crabby.
A little planning goes along way in keeping well fueled on the road. Here’s three tips for easy green meals to go, and a recipe for Stuffed Roti (pronounced “row-tee”) with Chickpea Filling, a hearty Caribbean-inspired sandwich stuffed with curried veggies, potatoes and chickpeas that can be readily noshed with one hand just about anywhere:
1. Pack for Portability
The best to-go meals can be eaten anywhere, no silverware needed or overflowing special sauces needed. With the dough wrapped around the roti filling, this sandwich serves as the industrial sandwich wrap. These rotis taste good hot or cold – when possible I do like to microwave them piping hot and wrap in foil to keep them warm “to go.” Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 28th, 2010
Last week, a commenter on my post about giving up cheese mentioned that eggs are a real stumbling block for her. She didn’t specify whether it was eggs in baking or the whole egg that she missed, but either way it’s a topic that bears addressing!
While I can’t promise that there’s a reasonable vegan equivalent for something like deviled eggs, there are lots of options to satisfy your eggy desires without any animal products!
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Published on January 27th, 2010
I was thinking of doing a post with a title like ‘In defense of cows’ or something along those lines. This is not just because I’m a sort of carnivorous and contrarian guy (which I am), but because cows can actually do something that is objectively remarkable. I know that lots of the readers on this blog are vegetarians or even vegans, and that is fine as a life-style choice for you. But no matter what your personal food choices are, it is worth thinking about what cows can do for the rest of us.
What Cows Do
One of the most abundant natural, organic chemicals in the world (cellulose), is something we humans can’t digest at all. Cows are cool because they can eat cellulose and turn it into human-edible foods like milk and meat. The reason that I switched the title of the post is that it isn’t actually the cows that should get the credit for this feat, at least not most of it. Cows (and other ruminants like sheep, goats, bison, camels, llamas, yaks, water buffalos…) can only make this conversion because of the bacteria that they house in one of their stomachs. In the whole world, there are only a few bacteria and a few fungi that have the capability of turning cellulose (the main structural polymer of all plants) back into the energy-rich, glucose sub-units of which it is made (bacteria also do that job for termites!).
I can relate to why many people have ethical issues with aspects of how beef or milk is produced today. But that does not, at least for me, mean that we should abandon the idea of harnessing the remarkable microbial process that has allowed ruminant animals to be such an important part of the human food supply in diverse cultures for millenia. In fact I would like to see us refine not just the “animal wellness” aspect of this industry, but also its greenhouse gas issues.
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Published on January 25th, 2010
Help save the planet, the animals and improve your health with your choice of dinner tonight. Join the Meatless Monday movement (if you haven’t already) and start to reap the benefits of a plant-based diet. Try this recipe for Vegan Creamy Aloo Saag tonight.
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Published on January 21st, 2010
Goodness gracious, this has been a crazy winter! Things have warmed up a bit around here, but we’re still craving steamy soups and stews to keep us toasty from the inside out.
Often, folks associate a vegan diet with light, salad-based meals. Not that I’m dissing on salad - sometimes there’s nothing better than a big bowl of raw veggies topped with tasty dressing. At this time of year, though, when you can’t feel your toes and fingers, something with a little more substance is in order. Here are some great vegan recipes to get you going!
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Published on January 21st, 2010
Lesson number one about trading urban living for rural Green Acres: You give up that perpetual buffet of authentic ethnic food options. While just about half the U.S. population lives in rural areas, most restaurant options reflect a bland line of fast food restaurants and heat-and-serve diners.
But when we moved to our Wisconsin farm over a decade ago from Chicago and opened our B&B, Inn Serendipity, this lack of international booty didn’t qualify as a deterring fork in our road toward sustainable living in the country. We life gives you a lack of pad Thai, curry or sushi, you simply learn to make your own.
Here’s the good part: many ethnic specialties root in relatively simple recipes and techniques. Sometimes centuries old, these culinary traditions lasted both due to three factors: good taste, use of available, local ingredients and ease of preparation. A quick Internet search harvests multiple recipe options and information for just about whatever you want to cook up, transforming even our country kitchen on County Road P into an international dining mecca.
Case in point: Naan, that Indian flatbread staple. We needed to add a dash of flavor to the last of our rutabagas in the root cellar, so my husband John started sautéing them into an Indian-style curry. Bread made a natural accompaniment, with no ethnic markets or Joe, the Trader to be found within an hour’s drive. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 20th, 2010
In my last post, I wrote about Nathan McClintock’s research on the potential of alternative food to enhance social justice in economically impoverished neighborhoods.
Here, I present a different perspective.
Julie Guthman, a sociology professor at UC-Santa Cruz, thinks that alternative food activism has a tendency to reflect white desires more than the needs of the communities these programs supposedly serve.
Guthman’s surveys of UC-Santa Cruz undergraduates who do six-month field studies with alternative food organizations as well as the managers of California farmers markets and CSAs demonstrate that alternative food is burdened by white rhetoric.
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Published on January 18th, 2010
Most of us know that Vitamin C is needed for a healthy immune system, but did you know that Vitamin C is also required for healthy functioning of over 300 metabolic processes, including a healthy libido? Your body does not naturally produce Vitamin C, so it must be obtained by what you eat. C aides in the production of anti-stress hormones, helps the body fight off toxins and may even reduce your levels of LDL (the “bad” cholesterol). How does Vitamin C directly affect your sexual health? For one, C can help make a man’s little swimmers strong and healthy by protecting sperm from free-radical damage and toxins, thus increasing fertility. C also helps to build and maintain blood vessels through out the body, including the female genitals. Proper blood flow through these vessels is key for female stimulation and healthy lubrication during sex. C is also involved in the synthesis of the sex hormones, estrogen, androgen and progesterone, all of which are involved in sexual function and fertility. C is required for the metabolism of Folic Acid, which is needed during pregnancy to regulate embryonic and fetal nerve cell formation and is vital for normal development. Vitamin C is now being used in many menopause products to help reduce symptoms, as well as in vaginal creams to help eliminate dryness, which can make sex painful. A healthy and de-stressed immune system, strong viable sperm and a lubricated vagina with the ability to get aroused, sounds like it’s time to load up on Vitamin C enriched foods!
Sexy Veggie Food Choices: citrus fruit like lemons and limes, pomegranates, kiwi, guava, pineapple, chili peppers, pumpkin, cabbage, cranberries and cruciferous vegetables like, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts.
Try this simple recipe for Cauliflower Poppers to Feed Your Libido with Vitamin C tonight.
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Published on January 14th, 2010
Probably 80% of the time, when I tell someone that I’m vegan, the first words out of that person’s mouth are, “I could not live without cheese!” The other 20% are usually a comments about steak or bacon, sometimes in a mean-spirited way and sometimes not. Today, though, I wanted to talk a little about the cheese thing, since it seems to be what gets folks the most.
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Published on January 12th, 2010
Choosing a healthy, nutritious and yummy breakfast can be difficult sometimes, but it is one of the best things you can do for your body. Your choice of morning “fuel” can either enhance or hinder your moods, food cravings and your energy levels for the rest of the entire day. If you find yourself regularly rushing out the door to school or work and grabbing some greasy, fried or processed something on your way, or skipping breakfast all together, it is time to set the alarm a few minutes earlier. Waking up earlier may sound like a drag, but eating a healthy breakfast filled with nutrients and fiber can make a huge difference in how you function both mentally and physically throughout the day, not to mention the difference it could make in how much you weigh. If you absolutely cannot give up a minute of your beauty rest, consider throwing together a healthy breakfast for on the go, the night before.
Here are 11 healthier breakfast options that you can cook, prepare the night before and take with you, or look for when eating out at a restaurant.
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Do you know what you’re having for dinner today — or “supper” as we say here in Wisconsin? Don’t panic if you don’t know. You’re not alone. Up to one third of Americans don’t know what they will be eating for supper on any given day, an underlying cause of relying on prepared food fast high in convenience and packaging and low in nutrients and local food connections.
