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Diabetes and Veganism
2008-01-21 06:34:00
An Indian newspaper called the Chennai News has released an article about how a vegan diet can help slow and reverse the health effects of diabetes.  The article says:The United States-based nutrition researcher Neal Bernard told students about his study, involving 99 people with Type 2 diabetes and conducted with the support of the United States National Institutes of Health. It found that blood sugar was three times more effectively controlled in people who were on a low-fat vegan diet (excluding even milk products such as yogurt and cheese). Such people had reduced body weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. Based on the results, he prescribed a diet that does not limit calorie or carbohydrate intake but suggests inclusion of a lot of pulses, vegetables, fruits, whole grain and a source of vitamin B12. Plant-based diets reduce blood sugar, cut cholesterol and lower body weight besides reducing the need for medication. According to Dr. Bernard, if Americans learned to eat ...
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Natalie Portman's Vegan Shoe Line
2008-01-18 19:25:00
Yes, she's launching a vegan shoe line.  The articles says:The Natalie Portman Collection -- made in partnership with specialty shoe retailer Te Casan and the actress' stylist Kate Young -- will feature 20 pairs of limited-edition, hand-crafted designs that are completely animal-friendly, with a price tag of $200 each.If anything, at least people will have the word 'vegan' on their lips more.  Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Vegan , Line , Shoe

Cloned food approved by the US
2008-01-16 18:11:00
In a showing up even further disregard for human and animal health, the US has approved the use and wholesale of cloned animals.  You can read the article here. It's amazing to me that we're actually stepping into this realm.  We already artificially inseminate turkeys and cows on a regular basis using unbelievably inhumane means (read about the 'rape rack') - and now we're breeding cows in labs to produce more milk, more meat and to grow larger faster.  What's next? Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Food , Cloned

Sentenced to Earth - 3 part documentary
2008-01-10 19:15:00
Below is a three-part documentary called 'Sentenced to Earth ' from the early 1990's.  I don't agree with everything Dr. Marvin Goodkind states but the overarching concept is good.  He also proposes a few philosophical points which might get you thinking. The video itself is pretty dorky at parts but does have some difficult imagery so please watch at your own risk. Posted by: The String Bean
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Ignore the Myths, Improve your Health
2008-01-09 17:03:00
Kay & Richard Hansen have written a concise article debunking the myths surrounding a vegan lifestyle.  You can read the article here.  My favorite points though were:Myth:  “I will never get enough protein from a vegan diet.”    *Truth: A simple plant-based menu that includes fruit, vegetables, some beans, soy milk and peanut butter on whole wheat bread can provide 48 grams of protein. This would easily satisfy the recommended daily intake of protein for an average adult. The amounts of protein provided by meat and dairy products, particularly with a high protein, low-carb diet, can produce a negative calcium balance in the body and increase the risk for osteoporosis. Studies have shown that reducing the meat, dairy and cholesterol intake can prevent many diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and many cancers. Myth: “A vegan diet is too high in ‘carbs.’ I’ll get fat.”    *Truth: On average, most vegans ...
More About: Health , Myths , Improve

NPR: Secrets of the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook
2008-01-09 00:13:00
Listen up!  Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero were on NPR!  You can listen by clicking here. Host Liane Hanson speaks with vegan chefs Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, hosts of the TV cooking show The Post Punk Kitchen. The pair have authored a new book, Vegan omicon: The Ultimate Vegan  Cookbook .Posted by: The String Bean
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Hungry Vegan - Nationwide Food Delivery
2008-01-02 18:58:00
If you live in the middle of nowhere and want good vegan food check out the Hungry Vegan website.  They offer vegan meals delivered to your door no matter where in the US you live.  Their site says:The Hungry Vegan was created in 2007.  Our mission is stated at the top of our web page - to prepare and deliver delicious, organic, vegan meals to customers nationwide... In 2008, we plan to offer a separate vegan menu designed to reverse diabetes and heart disease and to promote weight loss.  This menu will follow the guidelines of the Physicans' Committee for Responsible Medicine and will provide food with no fat or salt added and that is low on the glycemic scale.The menu looks good as well. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Food , Delivery

Cookie Christmas
2007-12-28 20:11:00
holiday baking = great christmas gifts for family & friends Too many days of work plus endless bottles of Proseco from Trader Joe's and I start to think I'm a baker. almond cookies from Veganomicon sugar cookies with peppermint frosting oatmeal raisin cookies hazelnut chocolate truffles Chocolate truffles are so much fun to make! All you need is vegan chocolate chips, earth balance and your favorite liquor or flavored Italian syrup. I used hazelnut syrup this time around but next time I'm using rum... Melt the chocolate in a double boiler then blend in earth balance and liquor. I used 1/3 cup but might experiment with more next time. Let cool in fridge - when it's firm enough to work with start rolling in balls. Your hands will be covered in chocolate! I rolled mine in chopped almonds and cocoa powder. It might also be fun to roll them in shaved coconut... posted by: chickpea
More About: Christmas , Cookie

'How to be a vegan' videos
2007-12-27 19:40:00
I just ran across a whole slew of videos being produced by Robert Cheeke from Vegan BodyBuilding.com.  These are all short little videos covering various topics.  The one below is the 'Why people are vegan video.'  But check out all 17 videos here. Posted by: The String Bean
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Risotto Balls
2007-12-20 19:33:00
What the hell do you do with leftover risotto? We had some leftover wild mushroom risotto the other day and decided to make these little risotto balls also known as Arancini or Supplì. This was my first time making these and didn't follow any recipe. I ended up using matzo meal to coat them before I fried them in oil. Next time I'll probably make a nice bread crumb mixture. Also, these weren't stuffed - perhaps next time I'd stuff them with a vegan mozzarella... Anyway. They are delicious dipped in marinara sauce! posted by: chickpea
More About: Balls , Risotto

Pasta Puttanesca
2007-12-20 00:22:00
I got the idea to make pasta puttanesca from Where's the Revolution. I had never made it before - this is a very easy and flavorful pasta sauce. I sauteed oil cured black olives, capers, an onion, garlic, basil, oregano and chili pepper flakes. I deglazed the pan with a little bit of red wine before adding a can of crushed tomatoes and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes. posted by: chickpea
More About: Pasta

Vegan Pastries
2007-12-19 18:12:00
We were in Point Reyes the other weekend and stopped by the Bovine Bakery right on Highway 1. They had vegan pastries! We tried the vegan morning bun (with pears inside!) and the vegan scone which also had pears and currants and apples. They both were delicious. Delicious enough that we had the same thing again the next morning. It's not often that I have a sticky sugary morning bun so I figured twice in one weekend was OK! If you're ever driving through Point Reyes Station stop by. posted by: chickpea
More About: Pastries , Vegan

5 Minutes to Educate Yourself on Dairy Farming
2007-12-18 21:15:00
If you're unaware of the common practices in dairy production I highly recommend you watch this video.  Millions of animals experience this life on a daily basis.  It's five minutes.  Press play. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Dairy , Minutes , Farming , Armin

Documentary: Eat Less Meat, It's Costing Our Planet
2007-12-18 21:01:00
Below are two videos (part 1 & 2) of a new documentary about meat production and the cost to our planet.  The audio isn't that great but the video itself is quite good. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Meat , Documentary , Planet

MorningStar takes steps towards being egg-free
2007-12-13 20:03:00
In response to thousands of letters, calls, faxes and emails MorningStar, owned by Kellogg's, has announced they'll be greatly reducing the amount of eggs in their products.  This is a fantastic change and gives me hope that companies sometimes do respond to public outcry.  It was always a little odd to me that Kellogg would create 'veggie' products for people who don't want meat but then add factory farmed eggs into them.  A news articles talking about this says:According to company spokeswoman Kathleen Eckler, in 2008 "Kellogg is reducing the amount of eggs we use in our Morningstar products by a minimum of one million eggs. We're committed to announcing even more new vegan products for our customers." After months of discussion on the topic with the Michigan-based company, Compassion Over Killing (COK) and Vegan Outreach, two nonprofit animal protection organizations, wholeheartedly applaud Morningstar Farms for implementing this policy. By red...
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Vegans Walk Coast 2 Coast in the UK!
2007-12-13 00:46:00
A wonderful vegan couple plans to walk from coast to coast in the UK.  Their website says: We will be supported by a fully vegan diet throughout the walk (and training), and whilst it is usually completed in around 2 weeks we are aiming to reach the end within 8 days. We are undertaking this challenge to raise money for St. Francis Animal Welfare, an animal shelter located in Fair Oak, Hampshire (registered charity number 263172). Formed in 1953, they take in both domestic and wild animals and look after them until they can be placed with loving homes or released back into the wild. It is their policy to never put a healthy animal down.Very cool!  If you wish to support them you can check out their website at http://www.vegancoast2coast.co.uk/. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Walk , Coast

Lower Fat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
2007-12-07 17:34:00
l just made the Lower Fat Banana Bread from Veganomicon and added chocolate chips to the batter before baking. It was delicious! This is definitely my new favorite banana bread recipe. I had to change the recipe slightly since I didn't have any apple sauce - I used soy yogurt instead and it turned out wonderfully! I always have bananas in the freezer so I can make banana bread whenever I want. I'll put one or two in the freezer if they're starting to get too soft/brown sitting on the counter. I'll save them up till have a good amount to make bread. posted by: chickpea
More About: Chocolate , Chips

More Nog!!
2007-12-06 18:43:00
That's right.  It's the season for nog...well, vegan nog that is.  In my tireless quest for nog recipes I've found another one for Coffee Nog from FARM.  Ingredients:20 oz. silken tofu 16 oz. coffee soymilk 2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup sugar 3 Tbs. brown sugar 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon nutmeg, freshly grated Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender. Process thoroughly, stopping  frequently to scrape down the sides, until the mixture is smooth and thick. Chill for at least two hours and up to 12 hours. Pour or ladle into individual glasses and sprinkle the top with nutmeg. Enjoy! Posted by: The String Bean

Vegan Egg Nog Ice Cream Pie!
2007-12-05 20:49:00
I just found a recipe for vegan egg nog ice cream pie from Dreena Burton.  The site says:Celebrate the season of eggnog with this simple, vegan ice cream pie, offering plenty of flavor without an egg or a drop of milk in sight. EGGNOG ICE CREAM PIE 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust 1 quart nondairy vanilla ice cream (Burton recommends So Delicious) 1 vanilla bean, seeds only 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1 batch butter rum sauce (see recipe below) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie crust for 7 to12 minutes until slightly golden and aromatic. Remove and let cool. Meanwhile, place ice cream in refrigerator or countertop until just softened. Slice open vanilla bean and scrape out all seeds. In a food processor, add ice cream, vanilla seeds and nutmeg. Process until seeds and nutmeg are incorporated into ice cream, working quickly so ice cream does not melt much. Transfer into cooled pie crust, distributing evenly with a spatula. Cover pie and immediately place in fr...
More About: Ice Cream , Vegan , Cream

Latkes & Kugel
2007-12-02 03:23:00
We made latkes and kugel from VEGANOMICON the other night. I thought they were both fantastic recipes - the latkes were delicious with both apple sauce and vegan tofutti sour cream. The kugel was alright - it was pretty dry but I think it's supposed to be that way. Maybe we should have used different noodles? All we had was lasagne noodles, which we broke up into bits. posted by: chickpea
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A nice little article on veganism to end your week
2007-12-01 01:08:00
I just found this article about people becoming vegan from the Tahlequah Daily Press.  My favorite part says:The term "veganism" simply refers to the philosophy or lifestyle choice a person makes to eliminate the use of animals as food, clothing or for any other purpose in their daily lives. Some choose veganism to avoid inflicting suffering on animals in factory farms, fur farms, and laboratories; others, simply to enjoy the health benefits of a plant-based diet.Vegans in America are by no means a majority, but for whatever reason, a growing number are making the choice to "go veg."A Time/CNN poll taken in 2002 found 4 percent of American adults consider themselves vegetarians, and of this group, 5 percent consider themselves vegans. This means 0.2 percent of American adults are vegans -- or a little more than 600,000.Overall, the best aspect of this article is it's actually pro-vegan all the way through.  Very nice. Posted by: The String Bean
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Story of Boris the Bull
2007-11-30 00:46:00
Here's another video from the Hillside Animal Sanctuary which has a sad but positive ending.  It's a very difficult video but does end happily for some animals.  Also, please don't think these videos are one-off situations. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Story , Boris , Bull

Factory Farming Today
2007-11-30 00:18:00
I'm sorry to keep posting these videos but they are reality.  This video, from The Hillside Animal Sanctuary shows real footage of factory farming conditions in the UK.  Please be aware there are graphic images of dead and dying animals in this film. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Factory , Today , Farming , Armin

Mad Cow Disease - An hour long documentary
2007-11-29 05:49:00
Here is a fantastic but extremely disturbing documentary on BSE (Mad Cow Disease ).  The video is from the Korean National Broadcasting System so the subtitles aren't very good but the content itself is informative and shocking. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Documentary , Long , Hour

Learn about the life of a cow raised for meat or dairy
2007-11-28 23:32:00
Below is an important but very upsetting video showing the life and death of your typical cow raised for meat or dairy.  Millions upon millions of cows are raised and slaughtered every year in the US.  Learn ing about this process is valuable.  If you're vegetarian it's even more important to watch this so you can learn about what happens to dairy cows.  Milk is not simply milk.  These cows are impregnated repeatedly until their milk production decreases at which point they are turned into ground beef.  Male calves become veal and female calves continue into the cycle of creating milk. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Life , Meat , Dairy

Grilled Cheese...
2007-11-28 20:37:00
this was damn good. Nothing like a good ol grilled soy cheese sandwich to get you through the day! Tofutti American Cheese does it best.
More About: Grilled , Grill

Easy Vegan Chili!
2007-07-24 01:34:00
This was delicious. Experiment with the amount of spices to get it as spicy as you want. It's perfect for a cold, foggy afternoon - leave it on the stove and nibble on it all day. :] Ingredients:3 tablespoons olive oila couple garlic cloves, minced2-3 onions, finely choppedground chili powderground cumindried or crushed chili flakesground coriander1 package Yves Veggie Ground1 orange or red pepper, finely diced2 cans chopped tomatoestomato pastea couple squirts ketchup1 cup water2 cans red kidney beans Saute the onion and then the garlic until it begins to soften up. I've found that adding the spices at this stage helps infuse all the flavors. Stir well. Then add everything else and simmer for about 15 minutes. Top with vegan sour cream and serve with Trader Joe's cornbread and a mixed greens, avocado and tomato salad. posted by: chickpea
More About: Chili , Vegan , Easy , Vega , Hili

Bottom Trawl Fishing
2007-07-20 20:23:00
If you don't know what bottom trawl fishing is you should read about the practice and it's effects on our oceans.  It's absolutely obscene.  Here are a few videos on this topic. Posted by: The String Bean
More About: Fishing , Shin , Bottom

The Vegan Musician - Pt. 1
2007-07-20 18:42:00
There are so many awesome animal-free alternatives when it comes to food, household items, and clothing, that most of the time I find it incredibly easy being vegan. But every now and then I am thrown when I discover an item containing animal by-products that I cannot find a suitable vegan alternative for. This seems to happen quite often in the realm of musical instruments. Today I went to purchase some bongo drums, which are traditionally made with calfskin or goatskin heads. I don't wear leather, so I certainly couldn't reconcile purchasing drums made from animal skins. My searches for bongos with synthetic heads yielded next to nothing, and the one synthetic set I did find lacked the rich sound of traditional bongos. I was frustrated, but then I stumbled on a kick-ass find: PaulE drums. These drums are completely hand made out of carved wood. The heads are made from thin but durable wood sheets, which have the most beautiful sound and resonance. These drums sound as good, i...
More About: Musician , Vegan , The V , Vega

Szechuan Green Bean Tofu
2007-07-13 18:16:00
- - - - - - - - - - We'd like to introduce you to a new bean, fava.  She's made a fantastic dish, check it out!- - - - - - - - - - This is one of my all time favorite dishes. Its super saucy and yummy served over rice, and pretty simple and quick to make. It's not super spicy, but depending on how hot you like your food, you can adjust the amount of chili paste you use. 1 lb extra firm tofu, cubed½ lb green beans1 small onion, cut into chunks2TB peanut oil1TB Chinese chili paste (I like the Lee Kum Kee chili garlic sauce)2 scallions, finely chopped1TB sugar4TB soy sauce3 cloves garlic, minced1tsp ginger, minced1TB sesame oil1½ C water4tsp cornstarch Mix the cornstarch and water together until dissolved.  Cut the green beans into bite size pieces, and steam until tender.  Make the sauce by mixing the chili paste, scallions, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil together in a bowl. Set aside.  In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil over mediu...
More About: Green , Bean , Tofu , Szechuan , Chua