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Summer 2014 A Seasonal Newsletter from the Oldways Vegetarian Network
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In This Issue
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| New & Noteworthy
FNCE 2014 Books for Cooks There's a New Grill in Town School Serves Veggie Meals Vegan Stores Take Root | | > |
Research & Reports
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Worth Watching
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Nutrition LinesBy Sharon Palmer, RD
| | > | News from our Sponsors
& Partners
| | > | What We're Cooking Now |
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Savor the Summer! We hope your kitchen is filled with garden fresh produce that you can use to create quick and easy meals. It seems everywhere we turn we discover an intriguing new way to add flavor to a plant-based meal or to move vegetables to the center of the plate. One of the highlights of our summer travels was an unplanned stop at a small roadside restaurant in Cobbleskill, New York. We started talking with the owner and learned that he had been asked to cater a vegan lunch for more than 300 urban shareholders in the Corbin Hill Food Project, a network of rural farmers in Schoharie County that delivers food shares each week from June through November to Harlem and the Bronx. As a special thank you, the urban shareholders were given an opportunity to travel by bus to the farm to eat locally grown veggies together. Why a vegan meal? As Haider Garzon, Director of Farm and Produce explained, "If the meal is vegan, everyone can eat it. " |
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Join us at FNCE!
A reminder that Oldways will present an educational session at FNCE in Atlanta on October 21 at 9:45. Speakers will include Dr. Joan Sabat� and dietitians Sharon Palmer and Virginia Messina, who will speak on Promoting Healthful Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: Research Findings and Practical Tips for RDN's.
Books for Cooks
The brand new Oldways 4-week Vegetarian and Vegan Diet Menu Plan is scheduled to come out in September. Written in collaboration with OVN consulting dietitian Sharon Palmer, this new book includes menus, recipes, and tips to support a healthy, balanced plant-based diet.
And don't miss Sharon's newest book, Plant-Powered for Life, which outlines 52 manageable goals for changing the way you eat and offers 125 recipes you can easily master.
Click here to read helpful tips from Sharon, Ellen Kanner, and Kimberly Richards about making the switch to plant-based diets.
There's a New Grill in Town
If you live in California, Oregon or Washington, keep an eye out for Veggie Grill: www.veggiegrill.com.
This hip, new "fast casual" restaurant chain, which started with one store in Orange County in 2006 and has now grown to 20 locations, offers lots of tasty options for vegetarians and vegans. Using "meats" made from organic and non-GMO soy, wheat, and pea protein, this chain promises full flavors and hearty sandwiches and salads. The menu isn't shy about offering kale and tempeh. Quinoa Power Salad anyone?
School Serves Veggie Meals
The small private MUSE school in Calabasas, California, has set the goal of becoming completely vegan by 2015. Executive chef Kayla Webb joined the MUSE team three years ago and has been gradually eliminating meat days in the school lunch rotation. This past year, she offered a vegan meal on Mondays, two vegetarian days, and two meat days (chicken and turkey only). For the upcoming year, she will be serving two vegan meals, two vegetarian and one meat entree per week, with the ultimate goal of a completely vegan menu by 2015. Here are a few of the favorites: Tomato-Basil Soup; Black Bean Quinoa Chili; Polenta Casserole with Rice and Beans; Pasta with Tomato Sauce; and Veggie Fajita Tacos. Kayla tries to keep the menus simple and familiar so that they are accessible to students with all different eating preferences.
Vegan Grocery Stores Putting Down Roots
In our first OVN newsletter (Winter 2013) we reported on the growth of Veganz, a vegan supermarket chain founded by Jan Bredack in 2011 in Berlin. Plans are underway to expand in Germany and to Vienna, Amsterdam, Zurich, Barcelona, Milan, and Copenhagen. Plus, the first U.S. store is scheduled to open in 2016 in Portland, Oregon, along with a clothing store and a restaurant. But that won't be America's first plant-based grocery store. Here are a few other popular places to find ingredients:
Seattle, Washington
Rancho Cucamonga and Santa Monica, California
An online retailer offering aged vegan cheeses, sauces, and many other items.
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Vegetarian Diets Produce Fewer Greenhouse Gases and Increase Longevity
A study and an article, produced by researchers at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and published in full in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that consuming a plant-based diet results in a more sustainable environment and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, while improving longevity. Based on findings that identified food systems as a significant contributor to global warming, the study focuses on the dietary patterns of vegetarians, semi-vegetarians and non-vegetarians to quantify and compare greenhouse gas emissions, as well as assess total mortality.
The mortality rate for non-vegetarians was almost 20 percent higher than that for vegetarians and semi-vegetarians. On top of lower mortality rates, switching from non-vegetarian diets to vegetarian diets or even semi-vegetarian diets also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The vegetarian diets resulted in almost a third less emissions compared to the non-vegetarian diets. Modifying the consumption of animal-based foods can therefore be a feasible and effective tool for climate change mitigation and public health improvements, the study concluded.
The study drew data from the Adventist Health Study, which is a large-scale study of the nutritional habits and practices of more than 96,000 Seventh-day Adventists throughout the United States and Canada. The study population is multi-ethnic and geographically diverse. The analysis is the first of its kind to use a large, living population, since previous studies relating dietary patterns to greenhouse gas emissions and health effects relied on simulated data or relatively small populations to find similar conclusions.
The accompanying article makes the case for returning to a large-scale practice of plant-based diets, in light of the substantial and detrimental environmental impacts caused by the current trend of eating diets rich in animal products. Making a switch to plant-based foods will increase food security and sustainability, thereby avoiding otherwise disastrous consequences.
Both papers demonstrate that the production of food for human consumption causes significant emissions of greenhouse gases and compare the environmental impacts of producing foods consumed by vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
The publications may be viewed by clicking on these links:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/06/04/ajcn.113.071589.short
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/06/04/ajcn.113.071522.short
Eat Your Lentils
A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (April 4, 2014) found that diets emphasizing consumption of chickpeas, beans, lentils, peas, and other dietary pulses (about 1 serving daily) significantly lowered LDL cholesterol levels compared with the control diets. Treatment effects non-HDL cholesterol were not observed.
See publication: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2014/04/07/cmaj.131727
Identifying Sustainable Foods
When environmental researchers studied the 363 most commonly consumed foods in the Second French Individual and National Study on Food Consumption, they found that meat, fish, eggs and dairy products had the strongest influence on the environment. Starchy staples, legumes, fruits, and vegetables had the least.
See publication: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24703928
Inspiring Industry-Wide Change
The second annual Menus of Change national leadership summit, co-presented by The Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition, explored the future of the foodservice industry and culinary profession. The highlight of the three-day conference was the release of the annual report, which includes a dashboard the principles of healthy, sustainable meals. These include:
- Think produce first - Focus on fruits and vegetables, with great diversity
across all meals and snacks. - Make whole "intact" grains the new norm.
- Move nuts and legumes to the center of the plate.
Read more recent health studies focusing on plant-based diets.
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Vegan Challenge
Early this year, Oprah Winfrey inspired
378 staffers to go vegan for one week.
Click here to learn more.
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Nutrition Lines by Sharon Palmer
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Sharon Palmer, the consulting dietitian for the OVN, also served on the 10-member scientific committee that helped us update our 1997 vegetarian pyramid. She is also the author of The Plant-Powered Diet (2012) and Plant-Powered for Life (2014). In each issue of this newsletter she will provide an answer to a commonly-asked question about plant-based diets. Please feel free to post other questions or share your thoughts on the Oldways Forum.
Q. How can you get enough calcium if you are a vegetarian or vegan?
A. It's easy to meet your calcium needs on a plant-based diet. Research shows that vegetarians do pretty well getting enough calcium when they include dairy foods like milk, cottage cheese, cheese, and yogurt in their diet frequently for protein sources. It just so happens that these foods are also rich in calcium. You can follow the OVN recommendations for the number of dairy servings you should get every day. If you're a vegan, it can be a little more challenging, but doable. Vegans can get their calcium from calcium-rich foods and beverages, such as fortified plant milks and juices, tofu made with calcium sulfate, and leafy greens. For the Oldways list of vegetarian calcium sources: Click here.
For additional information on meeting your recommended daily servings, see the OVN meal plan.
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News from our Sponsors & Partners
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| New Research Suggests that Fresh Avocado May Enhance Nutrient Absorption
With a nutrient profile that includes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals; beneficial plant compounds; and "good" fats that help the body better absorb fat-soluble nutrients from foods they are eaten with, there are so many reasons to enjoy avocados. In a quest to learn more, the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is funding research to potentially discover additional benefits of eating this fruit. There are currently seven clinical studies at various stages of completion in HAB's research pipeline that investigate the relationship between fresh avocado consumption and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, avocado's potential positive role in weight management and diabetes, and avocado's ability to enhance nutrient absorption. And, based on their nutrition and phytochemical components, emerging research suggests that fresh avocados may play a positive role in many emerging areas including skin, eye, joint and cellular health.
The latest avocado research publication supported by HAB, "Avocado consumption enhances human post-prandial provitamin A absorption and conversion from a novel high beta-carotene tomato sauce and from carrots," was conducted by The Ohio State University and published in The Journal of Nutrition. This research investigated if fresh avocado, when eaten with either an orange-colored, high beta-carotene tomato sauce or raw carrots, would promote the absorption of provitamin A carotenoids (alpha- and beta-carotene), and the conversion of these carotenoids to an active form of vitamin A.
Researchers found that eating approximately one avocado (150 g) with the tomato sauce meal significantly increased the absorption of beta-carotene and the conversion of provitamin A (inactive form) to vitamin A. The addition of an avocado to the meal (compared to the meal without avocado):
- More than doubled (2.4 times) beta-carotene absorption.
- More than quadrupled (4.6 times) the conversion of provitamin A to vitamin A (active form - retinyl esters).
- And, subjects with a reduced ability to convert provitamin A experienced a greater improvement in conversion to vitamin A than subjects with high conversion efficiency.
Researchers also found that eating approximately one avocado (in the form of guacamole) with carrots significantly increased the absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and their conversion to vitamin A. The addition of 150 g of avocado to the meal (compared to the meal without avocado):
- Significantly increased beta-carotene absorption 6.6 times.
- More than quadrupled (4.8 times) alpha-carotene absorption.
- Resulted in a greater increase in alpha-carotene and beta-carotene absorption in older participants relative to younger participants.
- Significantly increased the conversion of provitamin A to vitamin A 12.6 times.
The results of this study provide further insight on how eating avocados may enhance nutrient absorption and provide new insight on the conversion of provitamin A to vitamin A when avocados are eaten with foods that contain alpha- or beta-carotene. The results of this study can also inform future research on vitamin A deficient populations.
These results are based on the consumption of one whole avocado (five servings) with each test meal. Previous research showed a similar nutrient absorption outcome with one-half of an avocado (75 g); additional research is needed to determine whether the results could be replicated with consumption of a single serving, 1/5 of a Hass avocado.
To read the full study, click here.
For more information on HAB-funded research, avocado nutrition, recipe ideas, or to sign up to receive updates on HAB's research program and publications visit LoveOneToday.com/Resources.
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TRY THIS TASTY SALAD
Love avocados and kale?
Here's a great way to enjoy
this nutritious pairing.
Recipe and photo provided
by the Hass Avocado Board
Serves: 6 (1 serving ~2 cups)
Ingredients:
2 ripe fresh avocados, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 pound bag baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 large bunch kale (about 1 pound), stalks removed, leaves coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions:
- Heat the oven to 400�F.
- In a bowl, toss the carrots, oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper.
- Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet; bake 20 minutes. Add the chickpeas and walnuts to the pan, stir, and return to the oven.
- Bake until the carrots are brown and tender, an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine the kale, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and half of the avocado.
- Massage the kale with both hands until the avocado is pureed and the kale softens and turns bright green, about 2 minutes.
- Add half of the carrot mixture to the kale; toss.
- Place in a large serving bowl. Top with the remaining carrot mixture and avocado.
- Season with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
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Bring Tofu to the Masses
Soy Foods Association of North America points out that in a recent column published in The New York Times, well-known food critic and author Mark Bittman discusses the increasing appeal of tofu, a soy-based protein substitute that both restaurants and consumers are beginning to take on in their kitchens. While Bittman admits early on that tofu will not likely become America's first food preference overnight, he does discuss how this meatless protein source is gaining popularity for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike as consumers learn new and flavorful ways to prepare the product. With tofu representing the "most versatile form of non-animal concentrated protein" in our food system that is also minimally processed, the soy item can lend itself to a variety of preparations and flavor combinations. As Bittman stresses throughout the article, tofu does not have to be an unwelcome substitute for more widely accepted protein sources such as chicken or beef. Rather, by finely crumbling up tofu into vegetarian tacos, using the silken version in soups, and even chocolate pudding, or imitating the texture and flavor of eggs in a scramble for those vegan diners, tofu offers endless possibilities and should be taken seriously in the kitchen.
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Free Printable PDFs to Encourage Family Dining
Building on the success of The Family Dinner Date, a free weekly recipe newsletter, the non-profit campaign The Kids Cook Monday is excited to announce the release of free Family Dinner Date printable PDFs.
Just like the newsletter, the printable Family Dinner Date delivers a fun and educational family dining experience. Each edition includes a family-friendly recipe, a weekly cooking tip, fun facts about the recipe's culture or ingredients and a family dinner conversation starter.
Families who cook and eat together enjoy benefits such as healthier diets and increased feelings of family togetherness. Organizations can use The Family Dinner Date to encourage family dining by distributing the PDFs at promotional events, cooking classes or in children's backpacks. Grocery stores and community centers have already received positive responses to this free educational resource.
The Kids Cook Monday can easily customize each batch of printable Family Dinner Dates with your organization's logo and our staff dietitian will work with you to put together a collection of recipes most appropriate for the population you serve.
Contact The Kids Cook Monday to learn more about The Family Dinner Date PDFs or sign up for the digital newsletter here.
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Getting Kids Excited About Veggies
Veggiecation believes in the importance of food education and is dedicated to teaching youth the importance of cooking and nutrition. Global days of action like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day (FRD) complement their mission. So, on May 16, Veggiecation held an official FRD event at PS 55 in Bronx, NY, which happens to be the pilot school for their new indoor gardening Tower to Table Program. The Veggiecation Team held six cooking classes throughout the day and harvested veggies grown from the Tower Gardens to cook the official FRD recipe of the day, the Rainbow Cabbage Salad Wrap.
This event affirmed two key components that make the Tower to Table Program invaluable.
- Getting children involved in the cooking process is one of best ways of changing their eating habits. (The kids LOVED this veggie filled recipe!)
- Educating children about where their food comes from also has a huge effect on the way that they think about food.
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Over the past few months we've included a number of delicious recipes on The Oldways Table blog. Here are a few of our favorites from cookbooks you'll want to add to your collection.
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Mizuna Salad with Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower
You get a double dose of brassicas in this North African-inspired salad that calls for both mizuna, a mildly peppery salad green, and cauliflower.
Laura B. Russell, Brassicas
|  | Stir-Fried Noodles with Tofu, Okra, and Cherry Tomatoes
A stir-fry is a good home for okra because you cook it so quickly that there's no time for slime to emerge. It's nice and crunchy and complements the cherry tomatoes beautifully.
Martha Rose Schulman, The Simple Art of Vegetarian Cooking
|  | Salad Daze
Ready for new ideas for fabulous salads, including tips for building one in a mason jar? Check out this Oldways Table blog post.
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Special thanks to our sponsors and partners: Bob's Red Mill; Daisy Brand; Del Monte; Hass Avocado Board; Meatless Monday; The Peanut Institute; Produce for Better Health Foundation; Silk; Soy Foods of North America; Veggiecation; Westbrae.
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Sincerely,
Sara Baer-Sinnott
President
Oldways
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Georgia Orcutt
Program Manager
[email protected]
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To find even more information and delicious recipes, please visit:
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