Subscribe to FREE eZine click here

June 2010 – Evolving Appetites

Welcome to Evolving Appetites’ monthly newsletter. Short, informative and hopefully fun to read veggie bits. Let us know if we don’t deliver on this – we always love feedback from our readers. Contact info is at the bottom of the page.

In this issue

• Veg health: There is no magic bullet
• Good Veg News - Meat industry miffed at meatless Mondays movement
• Special Bulletin: Major changes at Evolving Appetites
• Recipe(s) of the month: Rice paper salad rolls with spicy peanut dipping sauce
• EVENTS update - One more class added to “Health Starts Here” cooking series: Healthy Vegan Indian (July)

Veg Health – There is no magic bullet

During my cooking classes, I get a lot of questions about specific nutrients and so-called “super foods”. Mainstream media plays a significant role in getting us focused on a single aspect of nutrition such as beta carotene or Vitamin E, C, omega-3 fatty acids, and the list goes on. While all of these nutrients are certainly important, in and of themselves, none of them on their own is the answer to good health. If you’re eating a mostly processed food diet and then taking a supplement to make up for it, the result is certainly not going to be good health.

Ditto for “super foods”. Whether it’s wheat grass shots, acai berries, blueberry juice, raw cacao, chia seeds or other fads lately making the super food rounds, if your overall eating habits are filled with animal and processed foods, you’re fighting a losing battle.

The issue with single nutrients is that they’re studied in isolation (which is necessary for scientific methodology). But our bodies don’t operate on single nutrients. And science can’t possibly study all the myriad of combinations and interactions that occur when we consume different foods. To add to the complexity, there are thousands of compounds in a single fruit such as an orange that we haven’t even studied yet. So while a study may be focused on the effects of Vitamin C in the orange, there could be hundreds of other compounds in that orange responsible for the effect that we don’t yet understand.

What we do know from works such as “The China Study” by Dr. T. Colin Campbell is that it’s the big picture that matters most. If you’re eating a WHOLE FOODS plant-based diet (void of cookies, cakes, crackers, chips, fries, soda pop, processed juices, white flour, white bread, white rice, white pasta, etc.), then you’re on the right track. You’re getting a range of nutrients that work together like a symphony – and although we may not understand the “how” just yet, we do know that plant foods play a huge role in disease prevention, weight maintenance and high energy levels.

At the risk of being repetitive, the four NEW food groups (as developed by Dr. Neal Barnard at PCRM) consisting of Legumes, Whole Grains, Fruits and Vegetables are your best bet for attaining optimum health.

(The only supplement recommended on this plan is B-12, and Vitamin D if you live in a climate that doesn’t provide year ‘round sunshine).

DISCLAIMER: This site does not provide medical advice. This web site is for information purposes only. The nutritional information on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this web site.

Evolving Appetites and its owner accept no liability for any injury arising out of the use of material contained herein, and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this publication.

When a seemingly benign effort by the veggie camp gets the attention of an all-powerful meat industry, it’s time to celebrate.

The concept is not new. It dates back to World War I era, but has recently gained momentum for different reasons. Celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney, a long time vegetarian himself, have given the idea full support as a means to reduce our carbon footprint. (As previously noted, animal agriculture causes more greenhouse gas emissions than all of transportation combined!) The idea is catching on:

• Toronto has its own meatlessmondays.ca campaign.
• There’s a national Canadian site: meatlessmonday.ca (the two are in the process of joining forces and merging content)
• The city of Ghent in Belgium last year proclaimed a meat-free day for schools and city employees.
• Baltimore City Public Schools launched meatless Mondays for its 82,000 students in October.
• Thirty-two U.S. hospitals have signed on to the Balanced Menu Challenge, a commitment to reduce meat purchases by 20 percent.
• This spring, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approved a resolution calling on schools, restaurants and stores to offer meatless options.
• Also this spring, Michigan held a one-day "Meatout" during which residents were encouraged not to eat meat
• Even meat mover and shaker chef Mario Batali threw his weight behind the movement by offering two meat-free options on Mondays at each of his 14 restaurants, designating them on the menu with an “MM”

And that folks is what has the meat industry up in arms. But instead of making a lot of noise with the public with advertising, the American Meat Institute, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Board and the Farm Bureau have been quietly lobbying the government. Their most urgent effort is to try to ensure that the current recommendation on the Food Pyramid of two servings of meat per day remains entrenched when the new guideline is released this fall. They’ve also been pressuring institutions embracing meatless Mondays by sending “cease and desist” letters. All of their efforts are in the name of profits, not public health. They’ll most likely succeed in their efforts to strong arm the government into keeping the current meat recommendations on the Food Pyramid. And some institutions may bow to their bullying. But we as individuals can vote with our dollars. And we can arm ourselves with good science not marred by industry bias.

Click here to read the full article in The Washington Post.

Special Bulletin: Major changes at Evolving Appetites

This one-person effort of 2-1/2 years is going through another metamorphosis. I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve landed a full-time job with York Region Rapid Transit Corp (vivanext.com). I’m as passionate about promoting public transit as I am about promoting a plant-based lifestyle. Both passions help preserve our fragile planet.

However, this means I necessarily have to scale back my activities drastically with Evolving Appetites. However, I plan to continue publishing this newsletter, but every two months instead of monthly. I’ll continue to provide the Meatless Monday recipe every other week to T.O.Night newspaper (I share this task with my fellow TVA volunteer Amy Symington, who provides the recipes on alternate Mondays as well).

And, the odd Sunday here and there (as schedule permits), I’ll offer a cooking class at Whole Foods as part of the “Health Starts Here” cooking series.

You’ll notice a drop in the number of Loblaws classes offered, and I can no longer offer “What’s for Dinner?” cooking demos that take place during the day.

As time permits, I plan on a major overhaul of this web site to make it more user friendly, include more recipes and “how to” tips.

If there’s anything you would like to see in future issues that I haven’t covered, I’m always happy to receive your suggestions and feedback. I hope you’ll keep visiting the site and pass on the info to friends and family who may benefit.

Wishing you optimum health!

Fresh rice paper rolls with spicy peanut sauce

I could live on these refreshing bundles of yumminess wrapped in rice paper. They’re perfect for hot summer days. While they’re mainly intended as an appetizer, if you include tofu or other protein as part of the filling, and eat enough of them, they can certainly pass as a main course. Happy wrapping!

Green or red leaf lettuce (Boston lettuce works too), washed and tough ribs removed

The trick to successful rolling is to NOT overfill. The other trick is to NOT soak the rice paper too long – leave it a little stiff, so you can handle it without tearing. If you do tear it, just grab another one, and roll over the first piece.

Use any leftover filling ingredients in a salad or soup. If you’re new to this, try rolling 4 to 6 rolls. Then give it a rest. Try again another day. It takes practice to get good at this. Don’t be discouraged if you mess up a few.

Spicy Peanut Sauce for dipping Salad Rolls – Yield – approx. 1 cup

Blend all ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet type contraption until smooth.

Events update:

  Whole Foods Market in cooperation with the Toronto Vegetarian Association present “Health Starts Here” cooking series: Join health coach Nimisha Raja of Evolving Appetites (evolvingappetites.com) as she takes your taste buds on an exotic journey of flavours from around the world. Nimisha is a Heart Health Speaker for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (pcrm.org) and an Education Alliance Member of The Cancer Project (cancerproject.org).

All menus are 100% plant based, low fat and full of fibre – important in preventing disease and maintaining optimum health. You’ll receive copies of the recipes to take home, and sample everything we make in class. Nimisha’s teaching style is fun and relaxed, and she always provides additional resources for you to explore after class. She’ll explain the nutrient value of the ingredients in each recipe and answer your nutrition related questions.

Most classes require advanced registration of 48 hours. Payment in full is required upon registration and payable by cash, debit or credit. Whole Foods Market reserves the right to cancel or reschedule classes with insufficient enrollment. Students will be notified if the class is cancelled at least 24 hours in advance. Please notify us at least 24 hours in advance if you are unable to attend in order to receive store credit. Class value can be applied to another class or redeemed as store credit.

Health Starts Here cooking series continues at Whole Foods

If you want to subscribe to our newsletter please click here

We respect your privacy and will not share your information with anyone

Tell us what you think – is the newsletter too long, too short, or just right? What would you like to see more of? Less of? Tell us your veggie success story, and we’ll publish it [we reserve the right to edit for space and clarity]. Contact us at info@evolvingappetites.com

DISCLAIMER: This site does not provide medical advice. This website is for information purposes only. The nutritional information on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

Evolving Appetites and its owner accept no liability for any injury arising out of the use of material contained herein, and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this publication.