vegan

Recipe – Mexican Beans

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5 cups pinto or black beans

15 cups water

2 large onions, chopped

1 Tablespoon onion powder

2 Tablespoons chili powder substitute

2 Tablespoons salt or to taste

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Soak beans in water for 24 hours, changing the water several times. Place in a slow cooker with enough fresh water to cover the beans. Cook on low with all of the ingredients except the salt for 24 hours or until very tender. Add salt in the last 2 to 3 hours of cooking.

Recipe – Sprouted Sunflower Seed Pate

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Soak 3 cups sunflower seeds 12 to 24 hours. Make sure they are sprouted. When they are sprouted, they will look like the open beak of a bird. When sprouted, blend with

1 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos

Blend in a blender by continually pushing the mixture down into the middle of the blender. Continue to process until well blended and smooth. You may top the pate¢ with fresh parsley. Use as a bread or cracker spread or as desired. Other ingredients may be used to add variety to the flavor such as onion, tahini, cilantro, cayenne, and other herbs of choice. The possibilities are endless.

Recipe – Lentil Burger

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2 cups sunflower seed, soaked 8–12 hours, sprouted 4 hours

4 Tablespoons chopped parsley

4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice or to taste

1 1/2 cups sprouted lentils

2 Tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

4 carrots, finely grated

1 small onion, cut in chunks

1 Tablespoon chicken-like seasoning

4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

2–3 cloves garlic, chopped

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients. Process until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and broken into very small bits. (Depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to process this recipe in batches.) Form the mixture into 1/2 to 1-inch thick patties. Dehydrate 8 to 12 hours or leave them in the sun or warm them in a very low oven (below 118 degrees Fahrenheit). Makes 9 to 10 patties. These burgers are great served between cabbage leaves, with bread and Vegenaise, or on a plate with warm mushroom gravy.

Recipe – Nut Roast

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2 1/2 cups celery, chopped

3 medium onions, chopped

3 Tablespoons oil

3 Tablespoons water

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

3/4 cup pecan or sunflower meal

3 cups dried bread cubes

3 cups soy milk or whizzed tomatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoons sweet basil

1/2 teaspoon sage

Sauté together the first four ingredients. Combine well all ingredients and place in oiled loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cover loaf while baking except for the last 20 minutes. Serve with gravy.

Food – Protein and the Vegan Diet

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Some Americans are obsessed with protein. Vegans—individuals who refrain from eating all animal products—are bombarded with questions about where they get their protein. Athletes used to eat thick steaks before competition because they thought it would improve their performance. Protein supplements are sold at health food stores. This concern about protein is misplaced. Although protein is certainly an essential nutrient which plays many key roles in the way our bodies function, we do not need huge quantities of it. In reality, we need small amounts of protein. The protein recommendation for vegans amounts to close to 10 percent of calories coming from protein. This contrasts with the protein intake of non-vegetarians, which is close to 14–18 percent of calories.

Being vegetarian does not mean your diet will be lacking in protein. Most plant foods contain protein, and in fact, it would be very difficult to design a vegetarian diet that is short on protein. In the United States, it appears that vegan diets are commonly lower in protein than standard American diets. Remember, though, with protein, more is not necessarily better. There do not appear to be health advantages to consuming a high protein diet. Diets that are high in protein may even increase the risk of osteoporosis and kidney disease. It is now thought that one of the benefits of a vegetarian diet is that it contains adequate but not excessive protein.

Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. There are about 20 different amino acids, 8 of which must be present in the diet. These are the essential amino acids. Unlike animal proteins, plant proteins may not contain all the essential amino acids in the necessary proportions. However, a varied vegetarian diet means a mixture of proteins are consumed, the amino acids in one protein compensating for the deficiencies of another.

It is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often much, protein. Fruits, sugars, and fats do not provide much protein, so a diet based only on these foods would have a good chance of being too low in protein. Vegans eating varied diets containing vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds rarely have any difficulty getting enough protein as long as their diet contains enough energy (calories) to maintain weight.

Eating a variety of unrefined grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and vegetables throughout the day, so that if one food is low in a particular essential amino acid another food will make up this deficit, is strongly recommended.

Recipe – Stir-Fried Rice Noodles

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2 Tablespoons minced garlic

6 oz package Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters™ Grillers® Recipe Crumbles™ or TVP, soaked

14 oz package rice noodles,* soaked and cooled

1 lb bean sprouts or chopped cabbage

1 bottle vegetarian stir-fry sauce*

1/2 cup sweet chili sauce*

1 bunch scallions, chopped (optional)

Soak the rice noodles in water overnight or for two hours. Do not cook. Drain off the water when ready to fry. Heat small amount of cooking oil in a wok (Asian stir-fry pan), add minced garlic, and vegeburger crumbs, and fry for two minutes until garlic is slightly golden. Add the cold, drained noodles, sauces, and bean sprouts. Stir-fry for about 8 minutes or until noodles are soft. Once done, stir in scallions. (Serves 4–5 people.)

*Ingredients may be available in the oriental section of your grocery market or at any larger Asian supermarket.

Restoring the Temple – Diet and Diabetes

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Glucose, a simple sugar, is the body’s main fuel. It is present in the bloodstream, but in people with diabetes it cannot get into the cells where it is needed. In type 1 diabetes (which was once referred to as childhood-onset diabetes), the problem is an inadequate supply of insulin, the hormone that ushers sugar into the cells of the body. Without insulin, the cell membranes keep sugar out. About 5 to 10 percent of people with diabetes have this type.

The more common type of diabetes, type 2, usually does not occur until adulthood. In this form, there may be plenty of insulin in the bloodstream, but the cells are resistant to it. Glucose cannot easily get into the cells, and it backs up in the bloodstream. Over the short run, people with uncontrolled diabetes may experience fatigue, thirst, frequent urination, and blurred vision. In the long run, they are at risk for heart disease, kidney problems, disorders of vision, nerve damage, and other difficulties.

Dietary Approaches to Diabetes

Food can be powerful in preventing and reversing diabetes. However, dietary approaches have changed as we have learned more about the disease.

The traditional approach to diabetes focuses on limiting refined sugars and foods that release sugars during digestion—starches, breads, fruits, pasta, etc. With carbohydrates reduced, the diet may contain an unhealthful amount of fat and protein. So diabetes experts have taken care to limit fats—especially saturated fats that can raise cholesterol levels—and to limit protein for people with impaired kidney function.

The new approach focuses more attention on fat. Fat is a problem for people with diabetes. The more fat there is in the diet, the harder time insulin has in getting glucose into the cells. Conversely, minimizing fat intake and reducing body fat help insulin do its job much better. Newer treatment programs drastically reduce meats, high-fat dairy products, and oils. At the same time, they increase grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. One study found that 21 of 23 patients on oral medications and 13 of 17 patients on insulin were able to get off of their medications after 26 days on a near-vegetarian diet and exercise program. During two- and three-year follow-ups, most people with diabetes treated with this regimen have retained their gains. The dietary changes are simple, but profound, and they work. Low-fat, vegetarian diets are ideal for people with diabetes.

A 2006 study, conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine with the George Washington University and the University of Toronto, looked at the health benefits of a low-fat, unrefined, vegan diet (excluding all animal products) in people with type 2 diabetes. Portions of vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes were unlimited. The vegan diet group was compared with a group following a diet based on American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines. The results of this 22-week study were astounding:

  • Forty-three percent of the vegan group and 26 percent of the ADA group reduced their diabetes medications. Among those whose medications remained constant, the vegan group lowered hemoglobin A1C, an index of long-term blood glucose control, by 1.2 points, three times the change in the ADA group.
  • The vegan group lost an average of about 13 pounds, compared with only about 9 pounds in the ADA group.
  • Among those participants who did not change their lipid-lowering medications, the vegan group also had more substantial decreases in their total and LDL cholesterol levels compared to the ADA group.

This study illustrates that a plant-based diet can dramatically improve the health of people with diabetes. It also showed that people found this way of eating highly acceptable and easy to follow.

Exercise plays an important role in diabetes management. Through regular exercise, the need for insulin injections or oral medications can often be reduced. This holds true not only for people with type 2 diabetes, but also to some extent for those with type 1. Exercising muscles have a voracious appetite for fuel. When an individual is engaged in regular aerobic exercise, glucose is able to enter the cells without the need for as much—or perhaps any—insulin.

While people with type 2 diabetes can often reduce (and sometimes eliminate) medications when their weight is reduced and food and exercise are better controlled, those with type 1 diabetes will always need a source of insulin. The cause of type 1 diabetes remains elusive. Several studies have implicated cow’s milk consumption as a possible contributor. When milk consumption patterns were examined across various nations, there was a strong correlation with the incidence of type 1 diabetes. It may be that milk proteins cause an autoimmune reaction in which the body mistakenly attacks its own insulin-producing cells. Even so, a good diet and regular exercise can minimize the amount of insulin required.

The New Dietary Approach to Diabetes

This new and effective approach to diabetes is remarkably simple. Here are four simple steps to managing your blood sugar (and weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol) with diet.

  1. Begin a Vegan Diet: Avoid Animal Products

Animal products contain fat, especially saturated fat, which is linked to heart disease, insulin resistance, and certain forms of cancer. These products also contain cholesterol and, of course, animal protein. It may surprise you to learn that diets high in animal protein can aggravate kidney problems and calcium losses. Animal products never provide fiber or healthful carbohydrates. A vegan diet is one that contains no animal products at all. So, you will want to avoid red meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, and eggs.

  1. Avoid Added Vegetable Oils and Other High-Fat Foods

Although most vegetable oils are in some ways healthier than animal fats, you will still want to keep them to a minimum. All fats and oils are highly concentrated in calories. A gram of any fat or oil contains nine calories, compared with only four calories for a gram of carbohydrate. Avoid foods fried in oil.

  1. Favor Foods with a Low Glycemic Index

High-glycemic-index foods include sugar itself, white potatoes, most wheat flour products, and most cold cereals.

  1. Go High Fiber

Start slowly. Load up on beans, vegetables, and fruits. Choose whole grains (try barley, oats, quinoa, millet, whole wheat pasta, etc.). …

To put these guidelines to work, … choose unlimited amounts of grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. …

Grains: pasta, rice, high-fiber cereals, corn, oatmeal, couscous, bulgur wheat, millet, barley, rye, etc. …

Legumes: beans (black, pinto, kidney, garbanzo, white, etc.), peas, split peas, lentils, nonfat soy products.

Fruits: . . . Bananas, apples, grapes, pears, peaches, oranges, melons, grapefruit, kiwi, and berries, among others, are all good choices.

Vegetables: all, except white potatoes. Examples include tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, collards, squash, green beans, bok choy, sweet potatoes, and artichokes.

©2007 Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; all rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.

Recipe – Veggie Patties

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¾ cup shredded zucchini

½ cup cooked rice

¾ cup shredded carrots

¼ cup egg substitute

1 ½ teaspoons onion powder

2 Tablespoons nonfat bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 15-ounce can nonfat black beans, mashed

Preheat broiler on high heat. Line broiler pan with foil; lightly spray with nonfat cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. (If mixture is too moist to shape, refrigerate for 1 hour.) Shape mixture into 8 patties and place on prepared pan. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Great as a sandwich on roll with lettuce, tomato, and condiments.

Recipe – Seven Grain Patties

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Recipe

Seven Grain Patties
3 cups of boiling water 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (or equivalent)
1½ cups seven grain cereal 2 teaspoons onion powder
¾ teaspoon salt ¼ cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon thyme ½ cup walnuts, chopped
Cook cereal in water until done. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Shape into patties and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Yield: 6 servings. You may select seasonings of your choice to alter the flavor of the patties.

 

Recipe – Pineapple Tofu Cheesecake

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20 oz. can of crushed pineapple w/juice ½ cup Pineapple Juice Concentrate
3 ½ Tbsp. Agar-Agar  1/3 cup Honey
2 12.3 oz. pkgs. Mori Nu Silken Tofu,   extra firm Rind of ½ Lemon or ½ tsp. Lemon Extract
½ tsp. salt  
Combine crushed pineapple with Agar-Agar in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Blend with the remaining ingredients in blender until smooth.   Pour into prepared crumb crust in 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.  Chill and serve.  Adapted from a recipe by Barbara Watson in The Total Vegetarian Cookbook.