Healthy Oats Squares with Coconut and Dates

by Chinmayie Bhat: Blogger, Love Food Eat

I have never had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast EVER in my entire life! It might come as a surprise to some of you but I could never develop a taste for this very common breakfast staple. There is something about the texture of oatmeal which I can’t enjoy. Then again, I grew up eating hot Indian breakfast so there was no need for me to eat oatmeal.  Since I don’t eat oatmeal, I am constantly trying to bake with oats. I usually love Healthy muffins, cakes and cookies with lots of oats in it as my lite breakfast or snack with a mug of tea.

This time I baked these delicious oat squares with lots of coconut and dates. This cake is vegan, healthy and refined sugar free. I recently discovered baking with date puree/date syrup and I am totally loving it. These healthy squares are sweetened with date syrup and finely chopped dates which makes it definitely healthier than the ones with refined white sugar. Every bite of this cake is filled with generous amount of fresh coconut and few sweet pieces of dates. With oats there is also chickpea flour/gram flour in this, adding a good amount of protein. Flax seed meal replaces eggs and coconut oil replaces butter.

Healthy oat square is a fluffy, lite cake with a slightly crunchy oat topping. It’s not overly sweet and is wonderfully moist. This is a really easy and simple bake which is a great healthy snack. To me the sweetness in it is just right to actually make it my little dessert after lunch.  If you don’t have enough time to make a bowl of oatmeal on a weekday, you can grab a big square of this cake and call it breakfast ;)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup chickpea flour
• ¾ cup instant oats
• ½ cup freshly grated /desiccated coconut
• ¼ cup finely chopped dates
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup date syrup
• 2 tbsp flax seed meal + 6 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

Topping:

• 1 cup instant oats
• 2 tbsp date syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Preparation:

1. Pre heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.
2. Mix the flax seed meal with water, stir well and set it aside for a few minutes
3. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients with the flax seed mixture. Mix both the dry and wet ingredients.
4. In a small bowl mix all the topping ingredients.
5. Fold the mixture into a greased pan and spread it well. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly on top of the batter.
6. Bake for 20 minutes till the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the topping is golden and crisp. Take care not to burn the topping.
7. Cut small/big squares and enjoy as breakfast/snack/dessert.
   
   
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The health consequences of consuming chicken, turkey, duck and goose meat

White meat – from chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese – has become the meat of choice for manypeople living in the West. The average consumer will eat at least 1,226 birds in a lifetime. Of all types of meat, chicken is especially popular, accounting for one third of all meat consumed inthe UK.

Recent fears over bird flu, food poisoning, dubious foreign imports and chicken meat pumped up with beef protein and water knocked sales a bit, but the birds’ ‘healthy’ image remains largely untarnished. White meat is perceived to be a low-fat food; something to be eaten in quantity by top athletes.

However, modern farming’s focus on high-energy feed, little exercise and breeding for rapid weight gain means that even organic meat is not even close to being low-fat – even after removing the skin and scraping away the subcutaneous fat. A medium-sized chicken contains almost a pint of fat! And contrary to popular opinion, animal protein is not essential for building muscle or for children’s growth.Turkey has even been called a ‘superfood’. However, white meat contains no fibre, complex carbohydrates, nor vitamin C.

When white meat takes the place of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses in the diet, the result is less vitamins, fibre, and unwanted dietary fat and cholesterol –increasing the risk of a number of chronic diseases, which are discussed in this report. In the UK, 95 per cent of chickens, 95 per cent of ducks, and the overwhelming majority of turkeys are raised on large factory farms. Crowded together indoors, these animals eat, breathe and excrete in the same physical space every day.

The overcrowded, unsanitary conditions mean that infectious illnesses spread rapidly through the birds. Death rates of five to 15 per cent of all birds are common onintensive units – they fail to live to even their very young slaughter age.

The amount of meat that the world eats is expected to rise by over 55 per cent in the next 20 years. Chickens, as the most intensively farmed animals, are expected to be on the front line of this change. Human health – and the environment – will be on the front line, too.

Read Full Article Here

Reasons Not to Eat Fish (Video)

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Toxic Chemicals to Avoid in Bodycare Products

The evidence against potentially harmful chemicals in bodycare products continues to mount up. Anyone who saw the recent Channel 4 programme "How Toxic Are You?" will have been shocked at what this investigation uncovered. Indeed, this is just one of a number of reports that have highlighted the damage that certain chemicals can do to our skin and our bodies when they are absorbed into our bloodstream.

But which chemicals are we talking about? Well, here are some of the main cuplrits to watch out for:

The first ingredient is one which vegans will already be steering clear of, coming as it does, from an animal source. Lanolin can not only cause skin allergies, block pores and inhibit the natural function of the skin, but has also been found, on occasion, to be contaminated with cancer causing pesticides.

Another chemical widely used is Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. Used as a foaming agent in many products, this chemical is known to irritate eyes and skin and has also been linked with other health problems such as swelling of the hands, face and arms and split and fuzzy hair.

Even more worryingly though, like other chemicals, SLS is also absorbed into the body from skin application. Once it has entered the bloodstream, one of the main effects of the chemical is to mimic the activity of the hormone Oestrogen. This has led to it being linked with a variety of further health problems ranging from PMS and Menopausal symptoms to decreased male fertility and an increase in female cancers such as breast cancer.

Like Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Ammonia and resorcinol can also provoke adverse skin reactions too. In addition, parabens are another group of ingredients to avoid, though this is not always easy as they are used in many products, including make-up. Recent studies have shown that a woman who uses make-up every day is absorbing upto 5 pounds of chemicals every year into her body. These chemicals include bismuth oxychloride, lead, parabens and a long list of preservatives and fragrances.

In fact, manufacturers are not currently required to list the ingredients used in fragrances and many of them have previously been designated as hazardous. However, whilst they continue to be a cheap and legal constituent they are likely to remain as hidden hazards within many popular brands of make-up.

Ailments that have been attributed to some of the chemicals in make-up alone include dermatitis, hormonal disruptions, respiratory stress, dizziness, weakened immune system, headaches and eye and skin problems. In addition, many have been shown to be carcinogenic or have been found within tumour samples.

Aluminium choloride and aluminium chlorohydrate are used widely in deodorants. As aluminium has been linked to Alzheimers disease these are also chemicals that an increasing number of people are concerned about and are therefore choosing to avoid.

Thankfully there are a growing number of products available that are free from all such chemicals. The Yaoh! Organic Hemp Seed Oil range offers an entirely vegan selection of natural bodycare products and Inika mineral make-up is amongst a number of cosmetic ranges that are also vegan and free from harmful ingredients. There are other established brands too that now offer the consumer a more natural choice and some of these are beginning to make their way onto the high street.

As consumers become more aware and exercise their right to avoid these potentially harmful ingredients we can only hope that other manufacturers follow the lead of these companies and begin to produce products that are not only appealing and effective, but are also free of hazardous chemicals.


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Why food networks should add vegan cooking shows to their lineups

By  Dani Hicks

On the rare occasions when I am home from school, one of my guilty pleasures is watching food shows with my mother. The personalities range from motherly to high energy, and they have the added bonus of gluttony without the guilt. Still, as much as Paula Deen’s southern accent tickles me, her butter addiction is a little disheartening -- as well as the lack of vegan recipes featured on television. It is frustrating that with all the big show ideas that have emerged over the years, not one is strictly devoted to a plant-based diet. What it comes down to is economics: with such a small population of vegans in the US and UK, would it be worth it to make a show based on the diet? Would it be profitable for the networks? I would answer these questions with a firm yes.

There are four reasons for television programs to feature vegan cooking shows in their lineups.

1. They are losing an audience!
Recently it was found that 2.5% of the US population consumes a plant based diet. Sure, it is not a huge portion, but even that group of people could increase a programs Nielsen ratings. After all, these programs are created to be watched. More vegans would watch if they saw more recipes geared toward their diet. I like to compare a food network to a store like Dick’s Sporting Goods. If a store is specialized in one type of sport, say golf or football, then only individuals who play golf or football will shop there, creating a restricted profit window. However, with a store like Dick’s which covers all sports and recreational gear, their customer make-up is much more diverse which enables them to sell more goods and make more money.

2. Missing the chance to invest in a popular, growing community as well as the opportunity to educate.
Go to amazon.com, check the shelves of your local bookstore or library and you are guaranteed to find vegan cookbooks. All across the country, strictly, or vegan-friendly restaurants and foodcarts are popping up. More vegan products are being introduced every day. With so much going on in the vegan world, why is television not following suit? My theory is that the television industry has some pretty deep ties with the meat, egg, and diary industries. How many commercials have you seen during a food show that boast California cows being the happiest cows, or how eggs provide good, clean protein that will help your family grow big and strong? The best cheeses come from Wisconsin, and on and on. If this is the case, the problem is the mindset of consumers, and what we have been previously taught about our diets which leads me to my next point.

It surprises me that in this day and age, there are still people that do not know what veganism is. It is also frustrating that so many misconceptions exist around the plant-based diet. From my mother, as I’m sure many vegans can relate, I immediately heard "but, where will you get your protein?"  This is one of the biggest misconceptions about the vegan diet; that the lack of protein in our diets leaves us weak and frail. Animal protein is not the only protein on earth. One ounce of cooked meat contains 7 grams of protein on average. Yet, 1/2 cup of black beans contains about 5-7 grams of protein. Black beans and beans in general are a great source of protein, virtually no fat and cholesterol, along with the added bonus of being high in fiber. For those who cannot tolerate beans, there are various meat alternatives. Tofu contains about 8 grams of protein per serving depending on the product. My favorite meat alternative, seitan, has about 14 grams of protein in one serving! Vegans con also obtain protein from nuts, milk alternatives like soy, and grain products. Another argument is that many vegans suffer from B12 deficiencies. Vitamin B12 can be found in many plants such as the green sea plant, spirulina, and can also be found in fortified cereals. 

There is so much that can be learned about the vegan diet and much more that fellow vegans can teach one another. Television is a great source for this education and would allow a greater audience to be reached. 

3. Actively discriminating against an entire population
I don’t mean to sound melodramatic here, discrimination is a big word. Still, that is the case. Say you go into the grocery store, and you are allergic to peanuts. For whatever ungodly reason, this grocery store does not hold any foods that do not contain peanuts. How would you feel? If you were to go into a restaurant and be refused service because they did not have items that pertained to your diet, wouldn’t you feel singled out and uncomfortable? Some might argue that we couldn’t know if any vegans have pitched shows to food networks, and just didn’t have what the network was looking for. Perhaps vegan chefs aren’t putting themselves out there for fear of rejection. These are all possibilities, but if there was more knowledge about the diet, then this anxiety might disappear. 

4. Promoting a cruelty free diet
Many individuals that own pets say that they love their animals, that they are their best friends, and that they would never do anything to hurt them. Yet, some of those same people consume meat and dairy. The problem is that when people think “animal cruelty," they think on the micro level, citing localized cases and small-scale figures (like the Michael Vick incident a few years back). However, the meat and dairy industry is animal cruelty amplified and at the macro level. If more people knew the impact of what they buy at the grocery store or what they order in the drive through, it would change their views on animal cruelty. When I talk to others about my decision to go vegan, and the brochures and videos I’ve seen on animal cruelty and the environmental impact the meat industry has, I often hear that “only the most extreme cases are presented” or “that doesn’t mean it happens everywhere." Cruelty in any circumstance is the “extreme” option, and when it comes to our environment the actions of the individual collected into the society. The earth is our home, and we should treat it as we would our physical houses and homes. Global impact goes beyond turning off the lights when you are not in a room, or biking instead of driving to work. It extends all the way into what you put on your plate, and that is a hard pill for people to swallow.

If food networks featured shows with more vegan chefs, these types of subjects would be brought more into the public eye. There would be more talk about the vegan lifestyle, and it would dispel myths about how hard and expensive it is to transition. From my experience (even as a struggling college student) it is a very accessible and manageable lifestyle, and more media coverage would contribute more proof of this. 


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Raising Children who are Glad to be Vegan

by  Reed Mangels: Nutrition Advisor, The Vegetarian Resource Group

“You are so lucky,” a new vegan friend recently said to my teenage daughter.  “You’ve never eaten meat.”  It’s true – our children have been vegan from birth – and, to our delight, they’ve thanked their parents for the way they were raised.  Now, as they make plans for their own future, their values continue to point them along a path of awareness about the impact of their food choices on animals and the environment.

Many books and websites are devoted to the nutritional needs of vegan children.   Fewer talk about how to share the values and ethics of veganism with children.  How can parents help children realize that being vegan is something positive that they can do every day?  How can your family celebrate its vegan diet?  Here are some ideas.

• Talk to your children about being vegan.  You can talk about why your family is vegan and why it’s important to you.  Keep explanations age-appropriate and be careful not to condemn other family members who have not yet gone vegan.  Start a family poster – “why I’m glad I’m vegan” and let everyone add their own ideas.  If you do this every so often, you’ll have a record of how your children’s ideas have changed (or stayed the same) as they get older.
  
  
• Meet the animals. Farm sanctuaries often have family days where children can visit and see what cow, pigs, horses, and other animals are like.  Watch videos of animals and adopt a turkey for Thanksgiving – and talk gently about why your family is such a friend to animals.
  
  
• Celebrate holidays, vegan style. Make sure all family gatherings feature lots of delicious vegan food.  Adapt traditional family recipes to make them vegan.  And don’t only celebrate traditional holidays – World Vegan Day, The Great American Meatout, and other veg-related holidays are perfect for establishing your own traditions.  You can even celebrate new holidays like National Peanut Butter Day and Apple Pie Day.
  
  
• Take vegan vacations. You can plan your vacation to correspond to a vegan festival or conference (make sure there are plenty of child-friendly activities).  Seeing lots of other vegans of all ages is a powerful reminder that your family is not alone – there are many other vegans.  Alternatively, choose a vegan-friendly destination.  Pick a location that has many family-friendly vegan restaurants.  If you don’t live in a place with many vegan options, the first time you have vegan ice cream (and there are 30 or more flavors to choose from), is something your children will talk about for months.
  
  
• Choose books with strong vegan characters. Books for children and young adults are much more likely to feature vegan characters these days.  The Vegetarian Resource Group has a list of some veggie-friendly books.
  
  
• Cook together. First of all, because it’s fun and it’s a way of sharing your love of good food.  In addition, you’re teaching your children life skills.  We can certainly hope that all colleges will have vegan dining halls by the time your children are college-age.  If that doesn’t happen, knowing how to scramble tofu or stir-fry vegetables can make it more likely that your children will eat well even in a less veg-friendly setting.
  
  
• Get together with other vegans, preferably those with children.  Many cities have vegan play groups or family-oriented gatherings.  If your area doesn’t, perhaps you can start a group of your own.
  
  
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Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

    1 cup (2 sticks) vegan margarine, softened
    1 1/2 cups brown sugar
    2 cups all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon egg replacer (I use Ener G)
    5 tablespoons nondairy milk or water
    1/2 teaspoon orange extract
    1 1/2 cups rolled oats
    12 ounces (2 cups) vegan butterscotch chips    

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit. Unwrap the margarine and place in a microwave-safe bowl.  Heat for 15-30 seconds for it to soften, and scoop it into the mixer bowl. Add the brown sugar, and beat well with the blade attachment. 

2. In a separate mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients (through egg replacer). Mix well with a whisk or a fork. Add the dry mixture to the creamed sugar a little at a time while the beater is on low. Just mix until combined; lumps are fine. Scrape down the sides, as necessary. 

3. Once the dry mixture is all in, add the milk a little at a time, then add the orange extract. Add more milk, as needed. Once the milk is integrated, add the oats and the chips a little at a time, and mix evenly into the dough. 

4. Scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheets (I like to use a #20 disher (ice cream scoop) for scooping the dough, and silicone mats on the baking sheets). Leave enough space for the cookies to spread: this recipe makes big thin ones.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Rotate the pan after 5-6 minutes to ensure even baking. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes or so to firm up before placing on the cooling racks.  

Source of recipe: This recipe was adapted and modified from one that my mother cut off a package of non-vegan chips a few decades ago

Makes: two dozen cookies, Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 20-35 minutes


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The deal with vitamin D

By Alicia Silverstone 

I’ve always assumed that I get all the Vitamin D I need on a daily basis just from being out in the sun. Of course, too much exposure can be harmful, but living in sunny California gives me the chance on most days to soak up the sun while I’m out taking a walk, gardening or getting to and from my car.  Sometimes I’ll just stop what I’m doing, open my arms, take a deep breath and really feel the sun on my face for a few relaxing minutes.

It wasn’t until some of you Kind Lifers inquired about Vitamin D recently, that I decided to dig deeper into this subject and see if what I’d always thought was actually the truth. Do those short bursts of sunlight exposure really supply enough Vitamin D to those of us who live and work indoors in large, polluted urban areas? And, if not, what’s the deal with supplements?  Are they helpful? And, if they are, what’s the proper dosage?  For these and other answers, I decided to seek out perspectives from Dr. Neal Barnard and Christina Pirello, both of whom walked me through the whole topic with their usual brilliance and clarity. Here’s what I learned: 

For starters, let’s explain what Vitamin D is. In simple terms, it’s a fat-soluble vitamin that our body manufactures when it’s exposed to the sun. It has a number of purposes, but Vitamin D’s main job is to maintain the right balance of calcium and phosphorus in our blood, help us to absorb enough calcium in our bones and, in general, to work with other vitamins at keeping our bones healthy and strong.

We don’t have to roast in the sun all day long to get a healthy daily dose of Vitamin D, but we do have to get a good 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight to even approach our minimum requirements. But before you go thinking that a few trips back and forth to your car will do the trick, keep in mind that this minimum exposure time will generally be higher for those of us who live in cities and areas where pollution, cloud cover and other obstructions can block the vast majority of the sun’s UV rays.

If you’re getting out and exercising in the sun each day, you’re taking a big step towards meeting your daily Vitamin D requirement in addition to all the other health benefits that regular exercise offers. But, the sad truth is that a lot of us live in situations and areas where our exposure to sun is limited. Our access to sunshine can be affected and compromised by everything from latitude to climate to pollution to even our work schedules. In some cases, physical characteristics like old age, darker skin tones or very young breast-feeding infants have more difficulty getting enough Vitamin D as well. Because of any combination of these and other factors, some of us Kind Lifers might not get as much Vitamin D as we should. If you think this might be the case with you, it’s easy to have your doctor give you a simple blood test that can screen you for any vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including Vitamin D.

The point is, each of us has different individual needs. For me, a plant-based diet and healthy lifestyle fulfills most of the nutritional requirements that others might use vitamin supplements to meet.  Most people should get about 1,000 – 2,000 IU of Vitamin D per day, but, if you belong to one of the more potentially Vitamin D-deficient groups mentioned above, you may benefit from taking supplements.

As always, it’s best to figure out your personal supplemental dosage in consultation with your doctor, based on your specific deficiency levels. Or you can skip the blood test and take a small dosage of Vitamin D if you think you might need it, since excess Vitamin D is not likely to do much harm other than making your liver work a little harder than necessary. If you do take supplements, my sources tell me that the plant-based supplement D-2 is far more preferable and just as effective as D-3 which is not vegan.

How do you guys get your vitamin D? Do you have any favorite vitamin D-rich kind foods? 


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Become Vegan in 12 Minutes?

By  Alisa Rutherford-Fortunati

It took me a lot longer than 12 minutes to become vegan, but I started by meeting some really amazing long-term vegans and watching this video.

“A Life Connected: Vegan” was created by nonviolenceunited.org. It is a short, to the point, and fact-based look at the environmental and global implications of an animal- based diet.

You won’t see graphic images of animal cruelty during this video and the facts presented are sound. If you want to check out Non-Violence United’s sources, go to www.nonviolenceunited.org/veganvideo.html. At the bottom of that page, there is a link where you can download a detailed transcript of the movie as a PDF, complete with a bibliography and an explanation of how they calculated the statistics cited during the movie.

It takes about the same amount of time to watch this video as it does to brew your first cup of tea in the morning. So set the kettle to boil and open your mind to some really amazing facts.

A Life Connected: VEGAN from NonviolenceUnited.org on Vimeo.

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Egg Consumption Linked to Prostate Cancer

By Nathan Runkle 

The egg industry is notorious for abusing animals and deceiving consumers, and now research shows that eating eggs can be deadly for men. A study recently published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Cancer Prevention Research confirms that eggs aren't just loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol - they're linked to deadly prostate cancer as well. 

Led by Dr. Erin Richman from the Harvard School of Public Health, this fourteen-year-long study examined the eating habits and health of over 27,000 men. Those who consumed more than two and a half eggs each week were over 80 percent more likely to die from prostate cancer. "Eating eggs may increase risk of developing a lethal form of prostate cancer among healthy men," concluded the researchers. 

As scientific research reveals the health risks of egg consumption, MFA's undercover investigators are exposing the routine cruelties inflicted on egg-laying hens. Our recent investigation into Sparboe Farms found hens crammed into filthy battery cages, workers burning off the beaks of chicks without painkillers, and other abuses that are standard within the egg industry. 

Thankfully, it's never been easier to avoid the cruelty, cholesterol, and increased risk of prostate cancer that come with eating eggs. Please visit ChooseVeg.com for hundreds of delicious, egg-free recipes and helpful tips on cooking without eggs.


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