When to Buy Organic

Buying organic is expensive. However, in a world full of chemicals and pesticides it is necessary in some cases to reduce the amount of toxins you consume. Watch Dr. Andrew Weil's explanation. To minimize organic food costs while minimizing your exposure to chemicals/pesticides buy the organic version of foods in the "Dirty Dozen" i.e. the foods with the most pesticides (even after washing and peeling some of them).... Food to buy organic: Celery, Peach, Strawberries, Apple, Blueberries, Nectarines, Bell Peppers, Spinach, Kale, Cherries, Potatoes and Grapes (Imported). Download a list here.

Your skin is your largest organ, I recommend taking care of it. I only use organic body products now. I don't like the idea of the chemical ingredients listed on the average body lotion seeping into my pores etc. All the extra artificial sweeteners and scents are not necessary, Mother Nature has us covered.

My natural body care:
Hair/Face oil -> Jojoba Oil, The Jojoba Company
Toothpaste -> Tom's of Maine, Whole Care Toothpaste Gel
Deodorant -> Tom's of Maine Natural Original Care Deodorant Stick, Tom's of Maine
Body Wash -> 365 Everyday Shower Gel
Face Wash -> Sea Buckthorn & Cucumber with Ester-C® Facial Cleansing Cream, Aubrey Organics
For my dreadlocks -> Jane Carter's Natural Hold Locking Spray

Kale Chips

Made Kale Chips yesterday. They were such crunchy delicious-ness. Kale is already my favorite veggie (a semi expensive addiction since I only like the organic kind for $3 a bunch). Now I have another way to cook it :) I give the recipe from VegNews * * * * * stars.

Kale Chips (serves 4)

2 large bunches kale, washed and de-stemmed

1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoons oil

Coarse salt, to taste, or seasoning blend (some pepper if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop or tear kale into chip-size pieces. In a medium bowl, combine kale, apple cider vinegar, oil, and salt or seasoning. Mix to coat.

2. Onto a baking sheet, spread kale (no overlapping pieces or it won't be crispy) and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Serve immediately

VegNews!

I received my first copy of VegNews in the mail this weekend. After ripping out numerous pages for "cook later recipes" and jotting tons of notes of interesting information and products, I'm sold. I highly recommend the magazine. I was hesitant at first because it's more expensive than your average magazine, $20 for a year subscription (and they come every other month = 6 issues a year). I'm happy with my choice.

Today I'll be cooking their 'Kale Chips' recipe (I'll post about that later). Later this month I plan to cook the General Tao's Tofu and Fresh Manicotti recipes.

Some random things I learned from this issue include:

• Breast milk can get a green tint if you eat a lot of seaweed
• One vegan was able to get his shopping bill to $40 a week by only buying produce from Union Square's farmers market and buying grains in bulk and canned veggies from Whole Foods and Fresh Start Organic Market
• A cool interactive vegan food "pyramid" in the shape of a plate, Power Plate
• Daiya cheese is now available in retail stores (it was previously only available via restaurants etc). FYI Daiya cheese is * * * * * awesome.

Subscribe to VegNews here if you want.

(new) Vegan Frappuccinos

I always wondered about the vegan-ness of certain Starbucks drinks..... turns out Starbucks has introduced a new vegan option :) Props to my friends who forwarded me this article:

“you can now get soymilk based vegan versions of most frappuccinos at starbucks. It isn’t being nationally announced til may 5, but most LA starbucks had to swap over to the new way of making frappuccinos because our distribution center ran out of the old base.

The old method to make them used a base that contained dairy, but the new way you basically add a thickening syrup to base of milk/ flavour syrups/ coffee depending on the drink, so as long as the drink is made with soy it’s vegan. The coffee and creme frappuccino bases are vegan, however, the light one is not— and all the other inclusions and toppings are vegan except for whip (duh) and caramel drizzle.

If you go in a store and just ask whoever working if they’ve switched to the “new” way of making frappuccino or if you can have a soy frappuccino and the answer is yes, you’re good to go.”

Otarian! This vegetarian fast food chain has me bursting with excitement

Otarian!! A new veggie fast food restaurant opened by Radhika Oswal. "Almost everything in our restaurants ..... is made from recycled materials. Our Zulu chairs use an ancient southern African technique to weave recycled plastic onto recycled aluminum steel frames. Even the ceiling decoration is made from recycled aluminium, and pendant lights are made from formerly broken pieces of glass." Its corporate office is aiming to have a 98% recycling and composting rate. People are calling it the most sustainable restaurant chain in the world.

The menu is getting me OH so excited. Every item has the savings in carbon footprints listed on the menu. I'm already dreaming of my order.... perhaps the vegan chocolate cake and portobello mushroom burgers.

"Recycling, composting, sustainable building materials and no ingredients that are shipped by air are the rules here. The carbon footprints were calculated according to standards set by the World Resources Institute, an environmental organization based in Washington." NYTimes Article

"Every menu item at Otarian has a whole string of numbers after it beyond the price. The carbon content of the item, the amount saved versus a similar meat dish, and the carbon footprint of that meat dish. Planet Green Article

NY Locations:

154 Bleecker Street (open now)

New York, NY 10012

T: 212 614 6834

947 Eighth Ave (opening soon)

New York, NY 10019

T: 212 489 3270

Vegan Chili

My fiancee made a great vegan chili Saturday. It was enjoyed by 4 returned Peace Corps volunteers and one actress/play director = 1 vegan, 1 vegan/vegetarian and 3 meat eaters. And all were satisfied :)

Vegan Chili
2 white onions
2-3 organic green peppers
1 28oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
2.5 Tbsp garlic powder
2.5 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tsp ground ginger
2 Tsp ground red pepper
4 Tbsp canola oil
2 cans of black beans (rinsed with water)
2 cans of kidney beans " "
1 12oz. Package of LIGHTLIFE Smart Ground Original veggie protein crumbles

Mix the powder ingredients and salt
Chop onions and dice green peppers (set peppers aside).
Add oil to saute pan. Sautee onions and add half of the powder mix.
Add 4/5 of the veggie ground and stir in with onions.
In a stewing pot, heat 1 cup of water on medium-high heat.
Add all four cans of beans after they've been rinsed.
Bring to a boil and empty can of diced tomatoes into the pot.
Bring back to boil and add the rest of the powder mix, onions plus veggie ground.
Lastly, chop the 2 cloves of garlic and add them plus the green peppers to the pot. Continue to cook on medium/medium-low.
This recipe makes a rather thick chili. For wetter chili, add water or juice from a can of whole, peeled tomatoes.

Vegan Brownies

Yup, you read correct vegan brownies. Hard to believe if you know that non-vegan brownies call for 3-4 eggs and 0.5-1 cup of butter. Who knew blended soft tofu could work so well in a dessert.

The texture is slightly off, a bit more chewy/cake like. But the taste is a * * * * (out of 5). I added some leftover vegan chocolate frosting from a previous cupcake making session just because I really love chocolate. Mmmm.

My future mother-in-law gave me this recipe.

Vegan Brownies

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 oz. tofu

2 tablespoons of canola oil

1.3 cups of maple syrup (I substituted 1 cup of cane sugar and 3 tablespoons of water for 1 cup of the maple syrup)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa

Blend tofu, oil, maple syrup, vanilla and cocoa in a blender. Add mixture to dry ingredients. Mix. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350*F