Article

I think it may be one of my favorite articles to date.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/07/25/vegan-diet-health-america-column/30514159/

Fun to explore

I love finding new blogs to read about vegan cooking.  Here's a site with links to some I haven't seen!

More inspiration for new dinners

Some of these will need "fixin'"
http://www.misorecipes.net/miso-recipes/walnut-miso-dip/
http://www.plantbasedkatie.com/potato-waffle/
http://minimaleats.com/vegan-stir-fried-udon-noodles/
http://www.veganinsanity.com/recipes/super-cheesy-vegan-pesto-pasta/#.VBmghUtsfYv
http://www.picklesnhoney.com/2014/09/04/chickpea-scramble-sweet-potato-salsa-garlicky-kale/
http://mydarlingvegan.com/2014/09/oatmeal-date-scones/
(I wanna fix this one so there isn't vegan butter in it. I'll try do something with it to make it more Whole Foods Plant Based)
http://www.doradaily.com/my-blog/2014/09/super-lasagna.html

Need to learn more:

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/5545/a-winter-vegetable-garden-in-northern-california/page/all

Too busy

It is official. I am too busy. I am making soups on Sunday again. I got sick of making soup last fall. We finally finished off all the soups in the freezer and now, soup is fun again. Last weekend, I made a variation on Mexican Soup and it was divine! I don't know why I liked it so much, but I did. The only difference was that I used up a jar of roasted red peppers and I blended more of the veggies. I blended most of the tomatoes, 'cause they were kind of chunky.  I guess one other difference was that I used "Italian Spiced Tomatoes" 'cause that was what I had.

In other news, I just found this blog http://holycowvegan.net/ and as soon as I have time, I'll be exploring it. Yum! I'm going to start with this recipe, or this one, I think. I have some other recipes I want to try. I am hopeful I'll get some time this month to blog; I don't know why I am hopeful because I know it's going to be a really busy month, but they say that hope springs eternal.

Soy is safe!

People always ask this question... It's another good article.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/ask-well-is-it-safe-to-eat-soy/?src=me&_r=0

Some of my favorite Vegan Blogs and Websites

Some of my favorite Vegan Blogs and Websites for information, inspiration, and recipes!

http://www.forksoverknives.com/
http://jacknorrisrd.com/
http://www.veganhealth.org/
http://www.theveganrd.com/
http://nutritionfacts.org/
http://plantbaseddietitian.com/ 
http://www.diseaseproof.com/


http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/
http://www.straightupfood.com/
http://ohsheglows.com/
http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/
http://www.choosingraw.com/



Not necessarily Vegan, but smart:
http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/

Yummy fun desserts... (sometimes vegan):
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

An idea I think needs more exploration:
http://www.theveganrd.com/2012/04/is-umami-a-secret-ingredient-of-vegan-activism.html

What are your favorite sites?  I'll keep adding to this posts as I find new sites I like.

Protein!

From the vegetarian resource group: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php

(copied and pasted...)

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD weighs in on the "How much protein do I need?" question. She's the author of the "Protein in the Diet" chapter in the 5th edition of "Simply Vegan". Here's the short answer: Most of us need .41 grams of protein per pound that we weigh. For me, that's 50+ grams of protein (more for extra exercise), about 12% of my calories. Vegan athletes’ protein needs can range from 0.36 to 0.86 grams of protein per pound (2).

Here's the LONGER answer, with examples of how to do the math.

"How much protein do we need?

The RDA recommends that we take in 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram that we weigh (or about 0.36 grams of protein per pound that we weigh) (1).

This recommendation includes a generous safety factor for most people. When we make a few adjustments to account for some plant proteins being digested somewhat differently from animal proteins and for the amino acid mix in some plant proteins, we arrive at a level of 0.9 gram of protein per kilogram body weight (0.41 grams per pound).

If we do a few calculations we see that the protein recommendation for vegans amounts to close to 10% of calories coming from protein.

[For example, a vegan male weighing 174 pounds could have a calorie requirement of 2,600 calories. His protein needs are calculated as 174 pounds x 0.41 g/pound = 71 grams of protein. 71 grams of protein x 4 calories/gram of protein = 284 calories from protein. 284 divided by 2,600 calories = 10.9% of calories from protein.]

If we look at what vegans are eating, we find that, typically, between 10-12% of calories come from protein (3). This contrasts with the protein intake of non-vegetarians, which is close to 14-18% of calories.

So, in the United States it appears that vegan diets are commonly lower in protein than standard American diets. Remember, though, with protein, more (than the RDA) is not necessarily better. There do not appear to be health advantages to consuming a high protein diet. Diets that are high in protein may even increase the risk of osteoporosis (4) and kidney disease (5).

References:

1. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002.

2. Rodriguez NR, DiMarco NM, Langley S. Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and athletic performance. J Am Diet Assoc 2009;109:509-27.

3. Mangels R, Messina V, Messina M. The Dietitian’s Guide to Vegetar-ian Diets, 3rd ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2011.

4. Sellmeyer DE, Stone KL, Sebastian A, et al. A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 2001;73:118-22.

5. Knight EL, Stampfer MJ, Hankinson SE, et al. The impact of protein intake on renal function decline in women with normal renal function or mild insufficiency. Ann Intern Med 2003;138:460-7.

For more on protein follow the protein tag here...

Protein

Here's a link to an article on protein from Vegnews.com.

 I still need to think about calcium, but right now, I'm putting the final touches on my syllabus for my course for fall. 

Chocolate Chia Pudding

If you don't know about chia pudding, you're in for a treat. I learned about chia a couple of summers ago and I LOVE IT.  It's full of nutrients and super fun in its gelatin-y, pudding-like form when you soak the seeds in a liquid.  Who knew a seed could do that?

Back to the nutrients...Calcium is the nutrient I'm thinking about this week--look for a calcium post soon-- a tablespoon of chia gives you 6% of your RDA of calcium or approximately 60 miligrams.  Check out the nutrition facts for this recipe....You get 20% of your calcium (in part due to the almond milk), but WOWZA!

The girls like this "kid friendly" simple recipe. It's super easy to make and now that the recipe is on our blog, they can make it themselves.

1 & 1/2 -2  cups unsweetened almond milk (more if your pudding is too thick, it should look a little runny as it will thicken a LOT)
1/3 cup chia seeds
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Mix everything really well and put in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.   

Tip: Blend the chia seeds separately (or with all the ingredients) for less sticking in your teeth!

Here's the facts for 1/4 of this recipe. It's a dessert that is good for you!  (It also is a nice breakfast.)  These nutrition facts are based on eating 1/4 of the recipe.  (If you only eat 1/6th of the recipe you get 13% of your calcium not bad!)

If you feel like it, stick some PB2 in....(probably a couple tablespoons)...  Oh yum... I'm getting hungry just thinking about this!

Read more about chia versus flax here...I'll give a spoiler, they are both super foods!  Read about chia history here.

For more flavors and versions of chia pudding see:
http://www.choosingraw.com/recipes/ch-ch-ch-chia/
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/01/11/healthy-chocolate-chia-pudding/
http://veganyackattack.com/2012/04/01/berrylove-berry-chia-pudding/
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2012/02/perfect-pudding.html

Enjoy!