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January 1, 2009 – 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: Eating Healthy on a budget
• Free Presentation at Divine Light Awakening Mission; complimentary lunch afterwards
• Recipe(s) of the month: Carrot/dill soup; Spanish rice
• EVENTS update

Veg Health – Eating Healthy on a budget

Recession or otherwise, the road to health doesn’t have to cost a fortune. As the economy tanks and uncertainty reigns supreme, take heart in the fact that you can feed yourself well on very little as long as you’re willing to make friends with your kitchen. And low cost doesn’t have to mean bland or boring. With some basic herbs and spices in your pantry and using fresh citrus (lemon, lime, orange) for flavouring, you can have daily low-cost tastiness that’s nutritious too.

Keeping in mind the “Four New Food Groups” developed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (www.pcrm.org), one can eat a very nutritious, whole food, plant-based diet economically. Just a reminder: the four food groups are: Fruits, Vegetables, Legumes, Grains. We’ll go into detailed ingredients in the next few paragraphs, but first let’s establish some general considerations.

Keep away from pre-packaged convenience food as much as possible. The grocery store isles are full of ready-to-eat or “heat ‘n eat” type vegan foods, but they’re grossly over priced, and don’t offer the same nutritional value as what you can do yourself. You’re paying for excessive packaging and marketing that goes into these products.

Avoid waste – the easiest way to do this is to have a weekly meal plan. This may sound tedious – but it’s literally a 20-minute time commitment. Sit down, grab pen and paper, and list what you’d like to eat for the week. Then shop accordingly. Stick to the list. Don’t buy a bag of dozen apples if you know you’re only going to manage to eat 6. Produce is especially tricky – if you have the luxury to shop more than once a week then only buy enough produce for 3 – 4 days. Otherwise, shop strategically for items that keep longer. For example, apples and oranges keep much longer than some of the softer fruits such as grapes. In the winter, take advantage of frozen berries and other frozen fruit. This also helps prevent waste.

Now let’s discuss specific low-cost ingredients that will help you put a nutritious meal together. Keep staples on hand: dry green and red lentils, mung beans, brown rice and a variety of beans (kidney, black, navy, etc.). These items are very inexpensive and are loaded with extraordinary nutrition. For example, I can get a 1-lb bag of ORGANIC red lentils at my local grocery store for $1.59! That’s a little more than 2 cups of dry lentils in a bag, when cooked, yield more than 4 cups. I can turn that into 10 servings of lentil soup (See Sept 2007 issue for recipe). I estimate the cost per serving (adding in all the other soup ingredients) to be less than 50 cents. For that tiny expenditure you get a healthy dose of fibre, iron and protein. That’s a bowl of nutritional goodness at very low cost. To increase the nutritional value of green lentils and mung beans, sprout them. (see July 2008 for recipe and sprouting instructions). They’ll double in volume, and you’ll have an enzyme-rich meal for pennies per serving. Note: red lentils don’t sprout. If convenience is a must, canned beans are still a pretty good value – just remember to rinse out the excess salt.

Take advantage of low-cost winter vegetables that have good shelf life: cabbage, carrots, onions, butternut and other types of squash, yams (sweet potatoes). All of these items offer cancer fighting anti-oxidants and fibre at affordable prices. (see October 2008 and December 2008 for recipes)

Shop at an Asian market if there’s one near you. Their prices are much better, especially on produce, than the regular grocery stores.

When you’re not consuming meat, fish, poultry, dairy or eggs, you’ll already be cutting your grocery bill substantially. But if you fall into the trap of packaged and processed foods, the grocery bill can creep up. Let’s put this into practice – see below for a carrot dill soup recipe and Spanish brown rice.

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.

Discover Vegetarianism – For Earth, Body & Soul

I’ve been invited by the Divine Light Awakening Mission (www.divyajyoti.org) to give a presentation on the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. In addition, this spiritual group will be offering a free screening of the short documentary “Meet your Meat”, and a complimentary vegetarian lunch after the presentations. All are welcome.

• how our food choices affect every aspect of life on Earth
• how we can help preserve our rainforests
• how we can reduce our carbon footprint
• how a vegetarian diet helps in spiritual evolution
• how to achieve optimum health

Carrot/dill Soup - Yield 4 servings

1 large onion, diced

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion. Sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add carrot, sweet potato, and water or broth, and cook until vegetables are soft (test with fork). Add soy milk. Puree with hand blender until smooth. Garnish with dill and serve.

Spanish Brown Rice

This can be a meal in itself. A salad is a nice accompaniment, but nutritionally speaking, it’s complete on its own. Very pretty to look at too!

3 tbsp tomato paste

Events update:

Please call 1-800-296-2332, ext. 3 to register

Please call 1-800-296-2332, ext. 3 to register

Next issue: February 1, 2009

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Previous Issues

2007 eZines

2008 eZines

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.