Protein. That protein is good for your body is no surprise. It may be a surprise to learn that most Americans eat too much protein and in forms such as red meat that are not healthy ways of getting protein. Beans, nuts, peas, lentils, and soy products are all great ways to get the right amount of protein in a vegan diet.

Energy. When following a healthy vegan diet, you will find your energy is much higher. This blog post in Happy Healthy Long Life describes how NFL tight-end Tony Gonzalez started eating vegan and gained energy–while playing football.

Cow’s milk dairy. The human body is not designed to digest cow milk and cow milk dairy products, yet the idea of milk being healthy is pushed through advertising. As many as 75% of people in the world may be lactose intolerant and many people suffer from undiagnosed milk allergies or sensitivities. By eliminating cow’s milk from your diet, you are improving your overall health.

Read the whole list here
http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/19/57-health-benefits-of-going-vegan/

Be sure to seek out the firmest tofu made from organic soybeans you can find. Also, I suspect you could grill these, they seem like they’d hold together. The next time around I’m going to try it. If anyone else gives that a go before I do, let me know, and I’ll update the recipe.

1 pound / 16 oz / 450 g extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry, then sliced

2 large eggs
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55 g fine dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55 g cashew nuts
1/2 cup / 2 oz /55g sunflower seeds
1/2 cup / 2 oz / 55g sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon shoyu or soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

extras: whatever buns & condiments you like. I did a combination of goat cheese and homemade pickles. You could also do a lettuce wrap in place of buns. And I couldn’t resist the mini brioche buns from La Boulange.

Place all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture comes together and is free of most chunks, stopping to scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice if needed.

Divide the mixture into eight equal portions and use your hands to press and form into round but flat-ish patties.

Pour the olive oil into your largest skillet over medium-high heat, and arrange as many patties as you can without crowding. Cover, and cook turning once, until deeply browned on both sides. Roughly ten minutes. You want to make sure the middle of the patties cook through. If the pan is too hot you’ll burn the outsides before the middle cooks up, so be mindful of that.

Serve with your favorite burger fixings. I mention a few ideas up above in the ingredient list.

Makes eight tofu burgers.

First from VegWeb

Kale Chips

Simple Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash and de-stem kale. Chop or tear into “chip” size pieces.

Spread onto baking sheet. Pour the apple cider vinegar, oil and seasoning (1-2 tablespoons) onto kale. Mix to coat all pieces.

Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Serve immediately!

Makes: 3-4 servings, Preparation Time: 3 minutes, Cooking Time: 10 minutes

That sounds simple enough but what if you’re a raw vegan? try this one from renegadehealth
Ingredients:

2 head Kale, Washed and Torn
¾ cup Tahini
¼ cup Tamari
1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
½ cup Water
2 scallions
1 clove garlic
1 lemon (juice of)
¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

Preparation:

Place kale in a large mixing bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth to get a thick consistency. You may have to add more water. Pour over kale and mix thoroughly with your hands to coat the kale. You want this mixture to be really glued onto the kale.
Place kale onto a Teflex sheet, on top of a mesh dehydrator screen, and dehydrate for 6 hours @ 115 degrees. You’ll need to use two trays. Rotate kale occasionally to dry uniformly.

There are two different recipes to help you with your crunchy snack attack that will satisfy and give you a good daily dose of leafy greens.

You’ll notice, by the way, that many of the tips below have you looking at a food product’s nutrition label and ingredients list for information. If you haven’t become expert at this, time to study up. Go straight to the source — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — via the Internet at www.fda.gov, put “nutrition facts” into the search line, then click on “go” for a full menu of food-labeling information.

1. Rule number one: Buy fresh food! There is no simpler, no easier, no plainer measure of the healthiness of your food than whether it comes in boxes and cans or is fresh from the farm or the fields. If more than half your groceries are prepared foods, then you need to evolve your cooking and eating habits back to the healthy side by picking up more fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood, juices, and dairy.

2. Shop the perimeter of the store. That’s where all the fresh foods are. The less you find yourself in the central aisles of the grocery store, the healthier your shopping trip will be. Make it a habit — work the perimeter of the store for the bulk of your groceries, then dip into the aisles for staples that you know you need.

3. Think of the departments (dairy, produce, meat, and so on) as separate stores within the supermarket. You wouldn’t shop at every store at a mall the same way, would you? You know better than to idly browse through a jewelry store, don’t you? So apply the same approach to the grocery store. Target the sections that are safe to browse through — the produce section, primarily — and steer clear of the dangerous sections (the candy, ice cream, and potato chip aisles).

4. Shop with a list. Organize your shopping list based on the tip above — that is, by the sections of the store. This will have you out of the supermarket at the speed of light. If you’re a woman, consider getting your husband or son to do the food shopping, says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical assistant professor of nutrition at Boston University’s Sargent College. The latest survey from the Food Marketing Institute shows that compared to women, men are more likely to buy only what’s on the grocery list. But shopping with a list has benefits beyond speed and spending. By lashing yourself to the discipline of a well-planned shopping list, you can resist the seductive call of aisle upon aisle of junk food, thereby saving your home, your family, and yourself from an overload of empty calories.

5. Food-shop with a full stomach. We’re sure you’ve heard this one before, but it’s worth repeating. Walking through the grocery store with your tummy growling can make you vulnerable to buying anything that isn’t moving, says Blake. If you can’t arrange to shop shortly after a meal, be sure to eat an apple and drink a large glass of water before heading into the store. View healthy snack ideas and recipes.
via rd.com

As of January 2008, 175 unique zeolite frameworks have been identified, and over 40 naturally occurring zeolite frameworks are known.[3][4] Zeolites have a porous structure that can accommodate a wide variety of cations, such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and others. These positive ions are rather loosely held and can readily be exchanged for others in a contact solution. Some of the more common mineral zeolites are analcime, chabazite, clinoptilolite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite, and stilbite. An example mineral formula is: Na2Al2Si3O10-2H2O, the formula for natrolite.”

via Wikipedia

Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?

via good.is

Homemade Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

*** See Matt M’s comment below for conversions to ounces and grams ***

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a large bowl mix oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, chocolate chips, nuts, cranberries and salt. Make an indention in the center of the mixture, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well. (Using your hands makes it easier to get everything coated.)

Press the mixture into the pan. Don’t spread the mixture all the way to one edge of the pan (see photo). This makes it easier to scoop out the finished bars. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Cool for 5 minutes, cut the bars while they are still warm, and store the granola bars in an airtight container so they won’t dry out.

via witandwhistle

1/2 bunch / 6 oz / 170 g dino kale or lacinato kale, remove stems

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 – 3 big handfuls of cooked large white beans (see head notes)

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup / 1 1/2 oz / 45 g walnuts, lightly toasted
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
scant 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup / 1/2 oz / 15 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Finely chop the kale, wash it, and shake off as much water as you can. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in the widest skillet you own. Add the beans in a single layer. Stir to coat the beans, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside.

Add the kale and salt to the pan and cook for less than a minute, just long enough for the kale to lose a bit of its structure. Stir in the walnuts and garlic, wait 10 seconds, then stir in the nutmeg. Wait ten seconds and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Remove from heat and serve dusted with Parmesan cheese.

via 101cookbooks

Pan-fried Corona Beans & Kale Recipe

Serves 2 – 4.

20 (Delicious!) Vegan Meals That Don’t Suck

These look pretty good, I must say, especially the grilled salad.
“Eating lower on the food chain is a great way to minimize your personal environmental impact. Fortunately, incorporating more earth-friendly fare into your menu does not require slimy tofu or weird vegetables. Long gone are the days of rice cakes and baby carrots. Eating a vegan meal now and then is a great way to live a little greener. Is your girlfriend a vegetarian and you find yourself sneaking off to scarf a beef burrito? This post is for you. Here are 20 vegan meals that don’t suck – even if you’re an omnivore.”

via webecoist

roasted_delicata_salad_recipe

1/2 pound / 8 oz / 230 g small fingerling potatoes, washed and dried

3/4 pound / 12 oz / 340 g delicata squash
1/4 cup / 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
scant 1/4 cup / 50 ml white miso
scant 1 tablespoon harissa paste
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 ounce / 45 g kale, de-stemmed and finely chopped

4 radishes, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 ounces / 45g Marcona almonds, toasted pepitas, or other toasted nuts

Preheat the oven to 400F / 200C degrees. If the potatoes aren’t tiny, slice them into pieces no larger than your thumb. Cut the delicata squash in half length-wise, and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2-inch wide half-moons. You can leave the peel on these squash.

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, miso, harissa. Place the potatoes and squash in a large bowl with 1/3 cup / 80 ml of the miso-harissa oil. Use your hands to toss well, then turn everything out onto a baking sheet. Bake until everything is baked through and browned, about 25-30 minutes. Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit. Keep an eye on things though, you can go from browned to burned in a flash.

In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-harissa oil. Taste, it should be intensely flavorful, but if yours is too spicy or salty, you can dilute it with a bit more olive oil or lemon juice. Stir the kale into the leftover dressing and set aside.

Place the warm roasted vegetables in a bowl and toss with the kale mixture, radishes, and almonds.

via 101cookbooks