VegMoms

Monday It’s Vegan Night! An all-American, stick to your ribs BBQ Tofu and mashed potatoes meal at http://bit.ly/c9IU2y

Tuesday’s Natural Health: I recently read an article in which a mother lamented that her grade school-age daughter weighed more than her older brother. The mom commented that she knew her family’s busy, fast food lifestyle contributed to her child’s weight problem. She had to admit to herself and the readers that her daughter wasn’t driving herself through McDonald’s many times a week.

According to the American Heart Association, “The prevalence of overweight in children ages 6–11 increased from 4.0 percent in 1971–74 to 17.5 percent in 1999–2004. The prevalence of overweight in adolescents ages 12–19 increased from 6.1 percent to 17.0 percent.”

This is so sad. Childhood is a time when kids are supposed to be running around, enjoying health at its peak and learning to love food.

While inactivity and fast food are definitely major contributors to obesity in American children, a lack of connection with and enjoyment of healthy, natural foods is also a major problem. There are many wonderful children’s books whose authors highlight the connection between food, life, health and kindness. We have enjoyed many of these books in our home and I hope you will find our favorites fun, connecting and useful, too:

Benji Bean Sprout Doesn’t Eat Meat

There’s a wonderful recipe for Neat Loaf in this book, which is a bonus added to the simple yet touching story.

Herb The Vegetarian Dragon

Cute character, fun, whimsical but meaningful story.

Small Pig

(Note: this book isn’t about vegetarianism, and it’s very old. I read it as a child and my kids read my old copy. But it’s the first book I can remember reading on my own where people show heartfelt concern for a farm animal and the pig has emotions, and my kids are always touched by it when we read it.

Little House on the Prairie Series

(Note: There’s a lot of animals being killed and eaten for food in this book. But what I love about this book is that the people are connected to their food source. The pioneer father, Charles Ingalls, also shows that he has a respect for animals even as he uses them for a food source (which was probably a necessity in those days, no longer). For example, portions of the books describe how he wouldn’t shoot a mother animal if it had a baby with it and he released any extra fish he caught in his nets.

All of these books help the readers connect with animals in a unique way. My kids and I have had many important discussions and touching moments during all of these books, read many times over.

Wednesday’s Serious Fun: “You are What You Say” may be just as right on as the truism “You are What You Eat.” In the vegan cookbook Vegan Vittles, author Joanne Stepaniak peppers common phrases throughout the book that use animals to illustrate a point, and offers alternatives that aren’t animal-related. Many of the traditional phrases have something to do with lordship over or cruelty to animals, and they’re heard by most of us from childhood onward until they seem like just another way to express a thought. Stepaniak suggests some seriously fun alternatives to these common sayings. Instead of:
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, say There’s more than one way to peel a potato.

My goose is cooked , say My cookies are burnt.

Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, say Don’t count your bushels before they’re reaped.

You can kill two birds with one stone, say You can slice two carrots with one knife.

Are these new phrases too politically correct or creative, serious fun?

Tuesday’s Natural Health: The American Medical Association launched a campaign last month called “Healthier Life Steps” to encourage us all to make small changes toward better health. The AMA focused on:

1) poor diet
2) physical inactivity 
3) tobacco use 
4) and excessive or risky use of alcohol.

These four personal lifestyle factors are “significantly related to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other conditions,” according to the AMA

The resources on the AMA’s website, including a free tool kit that includes a self-assessment questionnaire, action plans and progress tracking calendars, offer a solid place to start thinking about, planning and trying new healthier choices.

What I found most encouraging about the AMA program’s content was the focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains in the diet section — and not one mention of meat anywhere. Apparently, the days when a meal wasn’t considered healthy or “well-balanced” without a big slab of something dead sitting on the plate are nearing their end. Not that the AMA endorsed or even mentioned a vegan diet as a way to eliminate many risk factors related to the debilitating diseases they listed (that’s probably a few years off yet…but I bet it will eventually happen). But when a stalwart organization like the AMA links the major health problems of our time directly with diet and then focuses its health-promotion information on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, that’s a good sign of things to come.

Friday’s Vegan Gourmet: A fantastic cook and wonderful woman I knew from the island of Trinidad named Baby taught me a lot about Indian cooking. Many people from India settled on Trinidad and created this amazingly vibrant, distinct and healthy blend of Caribbean and Indian flavors. When Baby would travel home to Trinidad, she would often bring me back a newspaper with local recipes published in it for a special Hindu holiday such as Divali. Because many Indians are Hindu, a lot of the recipes Baby shared with me are vegetarian, no adaptations necessary. Here’s one such recipe called Doubles, which are a great breakfast or lunch food. They take some time to make, but freeze many and reheat for a quick, healthy lunch with some Major Grey chutney on the side.

The Dough (for the bara)
2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. saffron powder
1 t. yeast
1/3 c. warm water
1/4 t. sugar
safflower oil for frying
water

1) Combine flour, salt and saffron in a bowl.
2) In another bowl combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
3) Add yeast mixture to flour and just enough water to make a slightly firm dough. Mix well. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for 1.5 hours.
(meanwhile, now’s a good time to make the filling)
4) Punch dough down and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
5) Take about 1 T of dough, pat with both hands to flatten to a circle of 4 or 5 in. diameter.
6) Fill with the filling by placing two tbsp. on top of one bara and covering with another bara. Press sides of bara down with fork tongs around the circular double.
7) Fry in oil in a skillet, turn once and then drain on a paper towel placed on a cookie cooling rack with paper towel underneath it to catch oil.

The Filling
1 lb. extra firm tofu
1 T. yellow curry powder
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, diced very fine
bit of salt and hot pepper sauce, to taste
spray oil for frying.

1) Spray skillet with just enough oil to fry up the onion and carrots. Add the garlic to soften. Don’t over-brown.
2) Crumble the tofu in a bowl and mix with curry powder, salt and hot pepper sauce.
3) Add tofu to the skillet and fry up just until cooked and some bits of tofu become fried crisp a bit.
4) Fill bara with mixture as directed above.