Check out Alien’s Day Out: A Vegan in Seoul, South Korea

One of our readers alerted us to a blog called Alien’s Day Out: A Vegan in Seoul, South Korea. This is exactly the kind of blog we love. It covers recipes, nice food pics, good deeds for animals, and enough info about living in Korea tossed in to satisfy our vicarious travel urges. And that bunny may be the cutest rabbit ever. Seriously. Many thanks for letting us know about it, Sarah!

According to Congress, pizza sauce is a veggie

All of you blog readers outside the United States will probably marvel at this news story: Pizza’s Veggie Status Causes Controversy in School Lunchrooms, with this statement: “Although Congress recently passed an agriculture appropriations bill that continues to recognize pizza sauce and French fries as vegetable servings in school lunches, local dietitians and nutrition experts say Congress missed an opportunity to improve the nutrition of school lunches.”

Truth can be stranger than fiction. Readers (especially from other countries), please comment and tell us what school lunches are like where you live.

Dietitians offer tips for vegans

In this HealthDay article, registered dietitian and nutrition educator Vandana Sheth and registered dietitian Andrea Giancoli offer some tips and debunk some myths. This article is well done and worth reading.

11-year-old grows veggies to feed homeless

What an inspiration! Learn about Katie’s Krops.

We’re back…

Sorry for the hiatus, everyone. While on vacation back in September, I broke my foot in three places and have spent the weeks since then learning strategies for maneuvering on crutches and expediting the healing process. Thanks to my efforts (and those of a terrific physical therapist), I’m almost back to normal. So we’ll get back into posting ASAP.

So here’s a true tale of serendipity. I spent two days in Lisbon before flying back to the States, and it was a sad affair. Instead of the planned sightseeing and city tours, I was laid up in the hotel for most of that time. Using crutches is hard enough, but using crutches on sidewalks with centuries-old cobblestones is even more of a challenge. I stayed in our hotel’s lounge while my cousin went out to see the city sights. She came back and reported that there was one restaurant close to the hotel, and she thought it was near enough that I could make it on crutches. “I don’t know what kind of restaurant it is and whether they have anything for you though,” she said.

We decided to try it. After a herculean effort on my part, we made it to the restaurant door. What kind of restaurant was it?

I laughed out loud. And enjoyed a heaping plate from the buffet:

When in Lisbon, check out Green Pepper at 14 Avenida José Malhoa. They made my day.

Study finds vegetarian diets are nutrient dense and consistent with dietary guidelines

According to a recent study from Eastern Michigan University published in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, “vegetarian diets are nutrient dense, consistent with dietary guidelines, and could be recommended for weight management without compromising diet quality.” If you’re not a junk-food vegetarian or junk-food vegan and you’re mostly consuming whole, unprocessed foods, that seems like a no-brainer.

But this is interesting: author Bonnie Farmer (a vegetarian and registered dietitian) discusses whether people can get enough protein from plant-based diets. Although vegetarians in the study had lower protein intakes than the intakes of non-vegetarians, they were not lower than recommended amounts for adults. That’s important info for anyone who claims they can’t embrace a plant-based diet because they won’t get enough protein. Vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes all contain protein. And Farmer also points out that some studies show that vegans have higher iron intakes than both non-vegetarians and vegetarians.

Raw doughnut holes

raw doughnut holes

Raw foods are even more delicious in the summertime, when the hot temperatures deter even us diehard cooks from venturing near a stove. While surfing the delightful Raw Food Nation Web site, I came across this recipe for raw doughnut holes. (It was originally posted on the Rawmazing site. This recipe is making the rounds ’cause it’s THAT good.) I happened to have a bag of Brazil nuts on hand, so I tried it right away. Yum. Let the doughnut holes sit in the refrigerator for a bit before you eat them or else the texture won’t be quite right (but they’ll still be delicious).

Fourth of July recipes

Heading out to a BBQ or other summer function this weekend? Surf our archives for some delicious recipes and take along some tasty vegan fare! Here are some suggestions: classic potato salad, boulder mountain carrot salad, baked beans, and Monika’s sesame noodles. Enjoy!

Homemade vanilla extract update

homemade vanilla extract: the finished product

Back in January, we showed you how to make homemade vanilla extract. Here’s the finished product. Wish we could share the amazing aroma with you.

Food labeling in India versus food labeling in the United States

Food labeling in India: The green image denotes a product without animal ingredients, while the image on the right labels products containing animal ingredients. Image courtesy of Kotra and the Wikimedia Commons.

A reader named Pradeep wrote to tell us about India’s veg-friendly food-labeling system, in which a green dot on a product means it does not contain any animal ingredients. Pradeep is now in the United States and has difficulty identifying veg products. He has to examine food labels and determine whether unfamiliar ingredients might be derived from animals.

And it’s no wonder. Here’s a little background for those who may not be aware of how veg food labeling works in the United States (hint: it’s much different from India’s system). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Food Labeling Guide only addresses animal products in the food allergen section, and the FDA passes the buck by saying: “We recommend that producers of meat products, poultry products, and egg products, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), contact appropriate USDA agency staff regarding the labeling of such products.” A search through the bewildering maze of the USDA’s Web site doesn’t shed much light on that agency’s stance on labeling.

Enter the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG), which provided a thoroughly researched overview of the labeling situation in 2006, concluding, “There is no federal regulation of the word ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ in the United States.” So although food products in the United States lack a federal label that would indicate products containing animal ingredients, individual organizations are stepping up to the plate to address the issue. The Vegetarian Label Fact Table in the VRG’s article compares these labels and what each might indicate.

If anyone is interested in working with Pradeep on a labeling campaign in the United States, contact us and we’ll forward your info to him. In the meantime, keep reading those labels, and share your shopping strategies with us.