Pesticides and Foods You Never Realized Weren't Vegan

So here's a post without a recipe.  Already in withdrawal?  Fear not, the next post will definitely go back to having something yummy for you to create.  But I wanted to share some other information with you because you don't already have enough decisions to make when you eat out or shop for food as a vegan!  LOL

The first thing I wanted to share was something about pesticides and Conventionally Grown vs. Organically Grown produce.  The following list ranks forty nine common Conventionally Grown  produce items from worst to least, meaning celery is likely to have the highest levels of pesticides and onions the least amount of pesticides.

1. (worst) Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries - U.S. Grown
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale and Collard Greens
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes – Imported from outside U.S.
13. Lettuce
14. Blueberries - Imported
15. Carrots
16. Green Beans – U.S. grown
17. Pears
18. Plums - Imported
19. Summer Squash
20. Cucumbers - Imported
21. Green Beans - Imported
22. Hot Peppers
23. Red Raspberries
24. Oranges
25. Grapes – U.S. grown
26. Cantaloupe
27. Cucumbers - U.S. Grown
28. Cauliflower
29. Tomatoes
30. Bananas
31. Broccoli
32. Winter Squash
33. Cranberries
34. Plums - U.S. Grown
35. Honeydew Melon
36. Sweet Potato
37. Grapefruit
38. Watermelon
39. Cantaloupe - U.S. Grown
40. Cabbage
41. Eggplant
42. Kiwi
43. Asparagus
44. Sweet Peas (frozen)
45. Mango
46. Pineapple
47. Sweet Corn (frozen)
48. Avocado
49. Onions (least)

For produce higher up on the list, say the first 12-15 items, you would probably want to opt for Organically Grown instead of Conventionally Grown items.  For the last 15 items you can more safely opt for Conventionally Grown.  For the items in between, well, I personally try to buy organic whenever possible.  The fewer pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and non food chemical food additives you consume, the healthier you will be.

Your liver not only assists in the digestion of fats (emulsification of lipids), but it also functions to detoxify your blood.  So, if you have a high fat diet, and eat a lot of conventionally grown produce as well as a lot of processed foods with long lists of non food chemical additives, and drink tons of diet soda on top of that, then you are being particularly unkind to your liver.  It truly becomes overworked, and if you consume alcohol as well, I think your liver just might want to put in for a vacation or disability leave!  Keep chemicals out of your body as much as possible, keep fat close to only what your body truly needs, and eliminate any drinks with added sugar, Aspartame, Sucralose, etc.  Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum or eliminate it altogether as well.  Drink lots of water--before meals to curb your appetite, but also so your liver and kidneys can more efficiently filter your blood.

Non Vegan Foods--Who Knew?!!

• White Sugar is sometimes not vegan.  Why?  If cane sugar is processed into white sugar, bone char (yes from burned animal bones) is usually used in the processing.  Processed beet sugar is fine for vegans.  Organic cane sugar is fine for vegans.  If you use powdered sugar or brown sugar, use organic.  So eliminate the processed stuff and stick to less processed organic options, then reduce your overall consumption of any added sugar.
• Bread and Baked Items often have dairy and eggs in them if not whey or whey protein.  But even if you find something that has no dairy or eggs, if it has dough conditioners, it may very well have L-cysteine which is an amino acid.  Our bodies synthesize this amino acid when needed from proteins (plant or animal) that we eat.  The source of L-cysteine in dough conditioners, however, is usually dissolved human hair.  Did I just hear you choke a little while you were eating that Wonder Bread or Twinkie?  I thought so.
• Wines and Beers are often clarified with animal products such as milk, blood, albumen (egg whites) and gelatin among others.  Isinglass is a gelatin made specifically from the swim bladders of sturgeon and other fish.  So, that white wine you love so much may have been combined with fish guts to pull out sediments.  Use this helpful website to discover if your libations are truly vegan or vegan friendly!  Barnivore
• Fortified Milks, Yogurts, Orange Juice and Breakfast Cereals are often fortified from animal sources such as sheep wool lanolin, pig skin, or cow skin.  YUK!  I prefer my vitamin D3 from vegan sources, thank you very much.  So make sure that soy milk you drink is labeled vegan so that it has no vitamin fortification from poor dead animals!

Are you on information overload yet?  I know, it's a lot to pay attention to, but just think of all the disease you will be preventing in yourself and your loved ones.  Totally worth the up front time to prevent the worry and sadness if you or a relative were to get chronically or seriously ill!

Arroz Verde Con Sollo

OK, this could not be a simpler dinner to throw together.  It's green rice with soy chicken (sollo = pollo de soya).  It satisfies my craving for two things: chicken and rice and green rice.  It also satisfies my quest for high nutrition in a short amount of time.

Arroz Verde Con Sollo

• 2 cups brow rice or brown basmati rice
• 2 cups dried TVP chunks
• 6 cups low sodium Not Chicken Broth
• 2 4 oz cans diced green chilies
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 bunches kale, finely chopped

Pull out the pressure cooker for this one.  Combine rice, TVP chunks and broth in pressure cooker, close lid and turn burner on high.  Once pressure valve pops up set timer for 25 minutes.  While pressure cooker comes up to heat and during cooking, chop greens and place in microwave safe bowl.
Microwave greens for about 5 minutes to wilt them.  When rice and soy chunks are done, run cold water on pressure cooker.  Once steam is reduced, remove lid and stir in greens.  Replace lid and set timer for another 15-20 minutes but leave pressure cooker off heat.

This has become a real staple in my house.  Kind of like the colcannon (mashed potatoes with greens).  I mean, if you want your comfort food to be good for you as well, add a bunch of flavorful greens and you've got something tasty, satisfying, and quite healthful.

Sorry there's no picture.  I could swear I took one, but it's not in my cell phone.  I'll add a picture to this post the next time I make this (which should be later this week since we all love it so much!).

Guacamole? Or Seven Layer Dip?!!

Growing up I never cared much for guacamole, or avocados themselves for that matter.  I thought they were slimy, mushy and pretty flavorless.  As an adult, I love what you can do with avocados!  I still don't care to eat them plain, but give me the right spice mix and preparation and I can down huge volumes of guacamole.  If I have a bit more time and want to make something that will serve a large crowd, then I usually go all out for seven layer dip.  This recipe yields a huge amount and can feed eight people as a meal or a much larger crowd for snacks.  When I make this for a crowd, I use a big pasta dish to serve it in.  When I make it for my family, I use two covered containers like the one in the picture.  We sometimes end up snacking on this for the better part of a week.  If you serve it at a party, it will be gone before you know it!

Vegan Seven Layer Dip (or sometimes only Six)

• 1 15 oz can vegetarian refried beans
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilies
• 1 4 oz can chopped black olives
• 1 cup TVP granules re hydrated with 1/2 cup Merlot and 1/2 cup No Beef Broth
• 1 package taco seasoning mix (check ingredients to ensure it's vegan, McCormick is not!)
• 2 large, ripe avocados
• 1 package guacamole seasoning mix (check ingredients to ensure it's vegan, Great Guacamole! is not!)
• 1 12 oz container vegan sour cream (Tofutti Better than Sour Cream or Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream)
• 1 8 oz bag Daiya Cheddar Shreds
• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 6 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped

For the first layer, mix the beans and green chilies and spread on the bottom of your serving dish(es).  For the second layer, spread the chopped olives over the bean/chili mixture.  Mix the taco seasoning with the re hydrated TVP granules to make a nice taco filling for the third layer.  Mash the avocados with the mix and use as the fourth layer, then spread sour cream as the fifth.  Spread the Daiya Cheddar Shreds as the sixth layer.  Combine the tomatoes, cilantro and green onions into a salsa and top as the final layer!



Let's talk vegan sour cream for a minute.  Tofutti's Better than Sour Cream is great stuff, but it does not taste quite like sour cream so I use it combined with other things but rarely plain.  The Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream tastes way more like the real thing.  This I would eat on a baked potato!  When I use the Better than Sour Cream, I usually mix it with the guacamole and get a creamier, lighter guacamole layer, thus, only six layers.  Both of these products are highly processed and have plenty of fat.  If you would rather venture out to make a healthier version, try this link and give it a whirl!  Vegan Tofu Sour Cream  If you store leftover dip in your refrigerator, moisture will leach out of it moreso than the traditional, animal laden versions.  Just wick away with some paper towling and you are good to go for round two snacks.

Serve your Seven Layer Dip with baked tortilla chips, veggies, vegan taquitos, or pile into taco shells for a delicious cold taco!

What Would Superbowl Sunday Be Without Vegan Chili?

Wow! It's been more than two weeks since I posted anything. I guess I better get back to it!

What would Superbowl Sunday be without a bowl of spicy chili and some chips and guacamole, or better yet, seven layer dip! I have to say, Mexican and Southwestern foods are some of the easiest to veganize, because the real flavors come from spices, and it's easy, as well as very healthy, to let go of the authenticity of lard. Give these recipes a try and tell me if your friends could even tell the difference.  Their arteries will definitely be able to tell the difference!

Three Bean Vegan Chili

• 2 cups TVP chunks re hydrated with 1 cup Merlot and 1 cup No Beef Broth
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 4 15 oz cans organic, low sodium tri bean blend (red kidney, pinto & black beans), with liquid
• 2 15 oz cans organic, diced, no salt added tomatoes, with liquid
• 2 4 oz cans organic diced green chilies
• 1 8 oz can organic sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1 32 oz can or jar of organic, low sodium marinara sauce
• 3 heaping tbsp chili powder
• 2 heaping tbsp ground cumin
• 1 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa or cacao
• 1/4 cup masa harina (corn flour) or oat flour

Use the large Dutch oven or a large soup pot for this--it makes at least 6 quarts.  In a large Pyrex measuring cup, heat the wine and broth to boiling in the microwave then add TVP chunks.  In the Dutch oven, over medium heat, saute the onion in some broth, then add the green peppers and continue sauteing.  Add garlic and stir.  When onions are translucent and bell peppers softened, add re hydrated TVP, chili powder, cumin and cocoa or cacao.  Stir until the spices are coating everything else.  Add beans, tomatoes, green chilies, olives and marinara sauce.

You can bring up the heat and continuously stir to prevent scorching at this point.  When chili temperature is near a boil, reduce heat to low and continue to stir until heat reduces and chili is simmering.  Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.  To thicken, sprinkle in masa or oat flour at the end and continuously stir to prevent lumps.  Let simmer 5 more minutes covered.  You can leave the burner on the lowest setting, or put on a warmer, or transfer to a preheated crock pot set on low or warm.  Serve in bowls or large mugs and  top with chopped onions or scallions and Daiya Cheddar Shreds if you like.  Everyone will want a second bowl!

The next blog will be that seven layer dip!



Pasta Night!

Since we went vegan, we pretty much switched to whole grain everything with few exceptions.  We only use brown rice, we buy 21 grain bread (it is soooooo delicious!), whole wheat naan, whole wheat pizza crust, whole wheat pasta.  When I was in college, I was vegetarian for a few years when I lived with a group of other vegetarians.  Back then, whole wheat flour and pastas were rather course and almost gritty.  The pasta often seemed a bit tougher than al dente.  Today, however, they really grind whole wheat super fine.  My favorite flour is King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour.  It is made from whole wheat but has a much finer texture.  Whole wheat pastas must be made with this same finely ground flour as well because they achieve the same texture as regular pasta when prepared.  We usually have pasta once a week, and, of course that means a few meals that week because I make a lot.  I love marinara sauce, and it's easy to make vegan, but the rest of my family prefers white sauce or olive oil and garlic only.  I try to keep pasta sauces lower in fat, so I do what I can to accommodate everyone and keep the fat content fairly low.

Easy One Pot Pasta

• 1 12-16 oz box whole wheat pasta (I often use spirals)
• 2 cups dry TVP chunks re hydrated with 1 cup white wine and 1 cup No Chicken Broth
• 1 16 oz package frozen cut spinach
• 1 15 oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
• 1 15 oz can no sodium diced tomatoes with liquid
• 1 4 oz can green chilies
• 1 7 oz can sliced black olives, drained
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Vegan Parmesan

I use my Dutch oven for pasta as well.  While the water is coming to a boil for the pasta, I microwave the wine and broth for the TVP.  Once that is boiling, I add the TVP chunks to re hydrate and add pasta to the pot of boiling water.  I usually set whole wheat pasta for about 12 minutes, but it will depend on what shape of pasta you use.  Five minutes prior to the pasta being done, I add the frozen spinach to the same water.  One minute before done I add the artichoke hearts and olives.  Drain all of that (you may not want to use a Dutch oven because they are very heavy to drain, but I have strong arms!  LOL), then add the tomatoes, chilies, re hydrated TVP and any liquid with it, garlic, and the 1/4 cup olive oil.  A lot of people would use up to a full cup of olive oil for a pound of pasta.  There is still a lot of liquid in the tomatoes and the broth from re hydrating the TVP, so just a quarter cup will add the right amount of additional moisture and only about an additional 50 calories per serving.  Serve with Vegan Parmesan (from January 21, 2012 Eat Your Greens blog).  Bon appetit!


Colorful and loaded with protein, fiber and veggies!