Oprah, Martha, Ellen?

It's true. Many major players on the tube are now either vegan (Ellen) or leaning towards veganism (Oprah and Martha.) Why is this movement becoming so huge all of a sudden? Ah. Where to start ... So many reasons, but a big one is taste. There are a plethora of products out there that taste exactly like meat, but are plant-based. This makes the transition to a plant-based diet more appealing to those who really enjoy the taste of meat.

One big name out there you may have heard of is Kathy Freston, who recently wrote Veganist. She's  been a guest with Oprah, Martha, and Ellen. Below is an excerpt of her wowing the hosts of Good Morning America with tasty treats. What I really like about her style is her idea of leaning, as she puts it,  into this new way of eating by tweaking some of your favorite recipes. (I did this a while back with tacos and found the new version to be much tastier than the old!) She's gotten some flack from some folks for promoting processed foods that taste like meat as opposed to an all whole foods diet. While the latter is the ideal, I think Kathy really bridges the divide that, until recently, felt uncrossable for those who grew up enjoying the taste of meat but who felt bad about having animals killed for their own tastebuds. If we're being respectful to animals (and getting healthier!), I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

And here she is on The Talk...

In addition to taste, another reason plant-based food has become big is the health benefits. In July 2009, the American Dietetic Association  claimed the following about vegetarianism:

An evidence-based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals.

 

So I brought up the Oprah-Martha-Ellen star factor not so that we can emulate what Hollywood says or does, but because it shows how mainstream veganism is becoming. It also helps to nix the stereotype of the hippy-vegan when you see pretty-pretty plant-eating people who look amazing!

I'll be posting some amazing recipes soon that made me swoon. I swear I wasn't trying to rhyme that.

Kale Chips ~ Sounds gross, but astonishingly good

I'd heard rave reviews about kale chips on various websites and cookbooks and, honestly, it never sounded too appealing. I do like kale, but I've always liked it "dressed up" a bit with some other flavors.  I finally decided on Thursday, though, to just give it a shot, figuring that if I didn't like it, I'd only be out a couple of bucks.

The recipes said to preheat the oven to 350. Then you wash a bunch of kale (curly kale is best) and you dry it in the salad spinner (or with towels). Cut out the tough stems and discard, and cut the kale into strips/pieces/whatever you want. Then toss them about in a bowl with about 1 Tbs olive oil and salt to taste until the kale is equally coated. Finally you throw them on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet for about 20 minutes or so until they have a dry and crunchy chip-quality to them. (But don't let them burn!)

I realized I was out of parchment paper so I just went a little liberal with the oil. Just 1 Tbs. didn't seem like it would be enough anyway.  Ends up 1 Tbs. would have been perfect. The chips were really really good, though later my tummy felt a little overwhelmed by the oil content, so next time I'll stick with the recommended amount. Plus I think they would have still been fine without the parchment paper.

I threw the chips into a medium-sized bowl and found myself returning to the bowl all evening, in an addict kind of way.  Yes -- the rumors are true. These things are really good. Ryan even liked them, and he's none too keen on kale or most dark leafy greens. So it was kind of a "Mikey" moment for  us. :)

There's a variation on this I want to try, where you add about 1/4 teaspoon of paprika and a pinch of cayenne (in addition to the salt and oil) when you're tossing the kale in the bowl. This particular recipe I found online says to cook for 12 minutes then flip the kale on the baking sheet, and cook for another 5 minutes. Then put the cooked chips on some paper towels to soak up any excess oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. So I'll have to try that too! It sounds intriguing with the spice and sugar.

I've read that kids go nuts for kale chips, which thrills parents to no end, because kale is ridiculously nutritious. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia: 

Kale is considered to be the most nutritious vegetable in the world with extremely powerful antioxidant properties; kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory.^[1]
Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties.^{[citation needed]} Boiling decreases the level of the anti-cancer compounds; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss.^[2] Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.^[3][4] Kale is also a good source of carotenoids.

 So try it and let me know how it goes! I'll be curious to know if you become addicted. :)

"I could never give up cheese..."

This is one of the most frequent reasons people state why they could never give up dairy. It was certainly one of the reasons I thought I could never go vegan. I remember when I went down to Virginia to spend my first holiday with my future mother-in-law's family several years ago. The whole extended family were huge cheese eaters, and were very approving of my great love of the smelliest, most intense cheeses money could buy. We whipped up some of the tastiest fondues and ate ourselves into a happy holiday coma. Ahh...the food coma. But it ends up there may be something to that delightful -- though sometimes uncomfortable --  feeling.

Many scientists believe that people are actually addicted to cheese. In the animal milk that makes the cheese is a protein called casein. Sounds harmless enough, right? It's in all mammals' milk, including human milk. When we drink the milk, however, this protein is broken into peptides called casomorphines, which are opiates that contain 1/10 of the strength of morphine. The casomorphines give us a sense of well-being, similar to what heroin or morphine does. As they were intended for babies of the species that gives the milk, this makes sense; it allows the baby to relax and to drink more of the nourishing food, and it helps foster the mother-baby bond.

Cheese, however, has the water, lactose, and whey taken out, so the casein is much more concentrated. The effect of the casein, once it has been ingested and breaks down into casomorphines, is therefore much stronger. (It seems strongest in the "mold cheeses," such as Brie.) If the brain becomes accustomed to casomorphines flowing through the body, it's pretty psyched. And it's downright annoyed if its supply goes away. Thus the addiction.

To be honest, I didn't feel any symptoms of withdrawal when I gave up dairy. (And I've had caffeine withdrawal before so I have an inkling of what it might feel like.) In fact, one week after giving up dairy, my brother- and sister-in-law came over with some of my favorite cheeses to share, and I had no problem politely declining.  (So sweet of them, though!) Many people, however, claim to feel very depressed, sick, or lethargic after right after giving up cheese/dairy. It does make that commonly heard statement, "I could never give up cheese," look a little different, no?

If it's true that cheese is addictive, that's pretty great news for the cheese industry, wouldn't you say?  Makes one think...

In an earlier post, How Now, Brown Cow? I shared my ethical reasons for quitting dairy. But there have been studies, most famously The China Study, which have directly linked the consumption of animal protein to a number of cancers, among other diseases. Casein has also been shown to exacerbate the symptoms of autism.

Anyhow, I'm aiming to keep this short, as I'm behind on laundry and my keyboard's space bar is acting up.  But I encourage you to check out some of this information on your own. The movie Forks Over Knives (which I have yet to see, but plan on seeing) illustrates a lot of the damage animal protein is creating in our bodies.

As the king in Amadeus famously said, "Well...There it is."