Comparing Meat & Legumes

Here's an interesting article from SF Gate comparing Meat and Legumes. Basically, legumes are "heart healthy" although some amino acids aren't present in legumes alone, so including other vegetable sources such as nuts and grains are important to make up for it.

The Holy Grail of Sweeteners

Stepping back and taking a look at the big picture, it appears that all sweeteners have upsides and downsides. For some time, like many others, I believed that agave syrup was a healthy, low glycemic alternative to sucrose / white table sugar. However, recent discussions indicate that agave has a bothersome issue, because it substitutes glucose / sucrose with high levels of fructose, which aren't digestible by the body and end up being removed by the liver. Therefore, completely replacing sucrose with agave likely isn't a good dietary strategy. And like the Holy Grail, "The Perfect Sweetener" may be unattainable. So, we have to understand the advantages and disadvantages of any sweeteners we use and maintain an intake level and variety that works best for us. 😉

Carrageenan: An undesirable or benign additive?

Carrageenan is derived from red seaweed and is often used as a gelling, thickening and stabilizing agent in dairy, liquid, and prepared-food products. It's a controversial additive, since nutritional purists claim it causes intestinal inflammation and isn't well-tolerated by the body, while advocates say it's a natural ingredient and of no undue concern. If you're concerned about carrageenan it's best to read the labels on food products and find out which use it. Here's a useful list from Cornucopia Institute for organic-certified products that add or omit carrageenan. The results are often surprising; with some companies appearing on both sides of the list within the same product category!

Great Pasta!

Here's a nice pasta product: Barilla ProteinPLUS® Rotini, with all ingredients that you can understand and pronounce and 12% protein, too! 😊

A veggie meal that lasts!

Some concerns with a veg* diet often are, "I need to feel satisfied and to have a meal that lasts!" or "I can't get as much protein with a vegetarian diet as I can with meat!" Considering I'm 6' 2" and 220 lbs, and I can gain or lose weight as I please, "Wait a minute, Yes you can!" For example, doing some quick research on Wikipedia shows the following protein content for 100g (grams) of the following foods:

• Potato: 2g
• Quinoa: 4g (after cooking)
• Firm Tofu: 10.7g (10.7% protein content)
• Edamame: 10.88g
• Tempeh: 20.29g
• French Lentils: 22g
  

A balanced veg* diet will include food sources that are substantial in protein, beyond small amounts (like the potato, which is included for comparison's sake). And if you include two significant protein sources in a meal, even better! For example, lentils and quinoa, tofu and quinoa, beans and lentils, nuts with chickpeas in a salad, etc. There are many ways to get creative with multiple protein sources plus it will result in a more satisfying and lasting meal, too!

Tofu and Tempeh are both high-protein sources, effectively the equivalent of meat. Tempeh is robust when sauteed in olive oil and simmered with some soy sauce, and a great alternative for folks who aren't keen on tofu.

It isn't necessary to have the same protein source all the time! Mix them up: Beans, lentils, nuts, edamame, tofu, tempeh, etc.

Finally, taking a multi-vitamin supplement is recommended for a veg* or low-dairy diet, to provide sufficient calcium and B vitamins.

Packaged Tempeh from the Grocery Store

Firm Tofu produced in Oakland, CA

Add Pulses to your diet!

The pulses.org website is a great resource to learn more about the many benefits of Pulses and how to include them into your diet easily. Check it out!

Image attribution: pulses.org

Tasty Armenian Tagine

Over the Independence Day holiday, I tried this Armenian Tagine recipe from Timeless Foods. It was really good! See the picture below, shown with a side of Cous Cous 😋

Grilling tips from chefs

This article from Bloomberg is worth a read if you're into grilling. What may seem intuitive about the craft is actually not always complimentary to the food. Good stuff to know!

NYT Article: How to Cook Beans

Here's a great article from the New York Times cooking section on "How to Cook Beans". Check it out for some great tips!

Chickpea Tips

Here are two tips regarding chickpeas (garbanzos). I generally cook chickpeas from scratch; this means re-hydrating them in water overnight, then cooking for just 30 min. I learned from Alton Brown to add 1/8th tsp. of baking soda to the peas while cooking. I'm not sure why he suggests this, but I just do it. Then, I sometimes de-husk the peas after cooking, which is beneficial for the following reasons: 1) It makes for a smoother hummus, 2) The peas will be easier to digest! De-husking can be done by gently squeezing a cooked pea between the two forefingers and thumb, the husk will slip right off. Of course, it's tedious to do this, but the benefits are as noted, and if you enlist help it will go faster! In a 1/2 cup dried peas, a surprising portion is actually husk (see the picture below). It's OK to consume the husk, but it's just fiber, with little nutritional value.

1/2 cup chickpeas with husks on the right.