Posts Tagged ‘vegan’

SASKATOON CRUMBLE

As you will know by reading my article: The Best Berry, Saskatoons are my favorite and I am happy to eat them just as they are.  For fun I do enjoy a crumble or pie so here is the yummy crumble recipe.

SASKATOON BERRY BASE

Ingredients:
3 cups Saskatoons
1/2 tsp Stevia – light liquid (Sunny Dew is best)
1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. Mix water and stevia together
2. Mix in berries
3. Place berry mixture in a baking dish

CRUMBLE TOPPING

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups rice flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice syrup
1/2 tsp Stevia – light liquid (Sunny Dew is best)

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients together
2. Mix oil, stevia and honey and add to dry ingredients.
3. Mix thoroughly.
4. Sprinkle on top of fruit
5. Bake at 350º F. oven for approximately 40 minutes.

Oatmeal Nutrition:

Oats have lots of manganese, are a very good source of selenium, vitamin B1, dietary fiber, magnesium, protein & phosphorus.
1 bowl of oatmeal a day (3 grams of soluble oat fiber) typically lowers total cholesterol by 8-23%.

Retweet

Do You Want to Help the Environment?

UN researchers reveal: One quick solution to lower our effect on the environment. 

butterfly
 
Do you know the United Nations calculated the combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat and found it  was more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together?
 
In a recent article published in July 2010 by the Guardian.co.uk, leading journalist John Vidal reported how vegetarianism may help save the world by eating less meat.
 
Behind the majority of the joints of beef or chicken on our plates is a phenomenally wasteful, land and electricity hungry system of farming that devastates forests, pollutes oceans, rivers, seas and atmosphere.
 
We mostly breed four species (chickens, cows, lambs and pigs) which need vast amounts of water and food, emit methane as well as other greenhouse gases and produce mountains of physical waste.
 
During the past year, the United nations calculated the combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat were about 18% of the global total – more than cars, planes and all other kinds of transport put together.
 
A Bangladeshi family living off rice, beans, vegetables and fruit may live on an acre of land or less, while the average American, who consumes around 270 pounds of meat per year, needs 20 times that.
 
Academics have calculated that if the grain fed to animals in western countries were consumed directly by people rather than animals, we could feed at least 2 times as many people – and perhaps far more – as we do now.
 
Eating a steak or a chicken points to an extreme water consumption, that the animal has required to live and grow. Vegetarian author John Robbins calculates one pound of beef needs around 20,000 lbs of water.
 
Farming, which uses 70% of water available to humans, is already in direct competition for water with cities.
 
Industrial scale agriculture now dominates the western livestock and poultry industries, and a single farm can now generate as much waste as a city.
 
Farming animals generate manure and urine which is funnelled into massive waste lagoons sometimes holding as many as 40 m gallons. These cesspools often break, leak or overflow, polluting underground water supplies and rivers with nitrogen, phosphorus and nitrates.
 
A meat diet is normally considered twice as expensive as a vegetarian one. According to the Vegetarian Society, meat eaters get increased probabilities of obesity, cancer, heart diseases and other illnesses as well as a hole in the pocket.
 
So what now? How can we start contribute save our world?
 
Here a quick and simple recipe to find a good meat substitute:

Tofu and Green Onion Veggie Burger
 
This healthy tofu based veggie burger receive an extra nutritional boost from wheat germ. This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.
 
Ingredients:
 
 * 1/2 container firm or extra firm tofu, mashed
 * 1 onion, diced
 * 3 green onions, diced
 * 2 tbs wheat germ
 * 2 tbsp flour
 * 2 tbs garlic powder
 * 2 tbls soy sauce
 * dash pepper
 * oil for frying
 
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Form into patties.
Fry patties in oil in a large skillet until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.
 
Now it's all to you…
 
About the Author – Martha Volz writes for the  http://www.vegetariansupplements.org  her personal passion blog related to vegetarian healthy eating ideas.

P.S.  from Randy -  Martha contacted Real Food For Life after reading our Nice Cow, Baaad Cow article . You can see it contains many of the same ideas.  I'd like to hope that great minds think alike!

Retweet

CHILI CON VEGIE

Here is my version of Chili, which is always enjoyed whenever I make it.

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped

½ mushrooms, sliced

1 – 3 cloves garlic

1 tsp. cumin

½  tsp. coriander

1 tsp. oregano

¼ – 1 tsp cayenne pepper*

1 tsp paprika

3 carrots, thinly sliced

3 cups cooked kidney beans and water (cook according to recipe: http://realfoodforlife.com/cooking-beans/)

4 tbsp. soya sauce

1 green pepper, sliced

3 tomatoes, chopped

.

Directions:

  1. Sauté onion, mushrooms, garlic, cumin, coriander and oregano.
  2. Add carrots, cooked kidney beans with 1 cup of the bean water, soya sauce and green pepper.
  3. Cook till vegetables are tender.
  4. Add tomatoes, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
  5. Cook on medium heat until thick like consistency of gravy, adding more water if necessary.

* Cayenne is easier on the digestive system then chili and there is lots of literature saying it is very good for one’s health. But you could use Chili powder or fresh chopped chilies. I actually make this without any pepper as that is my preference but when I put the recipe together I new that the people I was making it for would have been very disappointed had there been no heat in the Chili!

Copyright © Diana Herrington  You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.

Retweet

Cooking with Beans

I am quite fastidious about the way beans are cooked as I do not like experiencing the common thing we all associate beans with GAS!  So here is what I do.

beans assorted

Cooking Beans & Lentils

Ingredients:
Dried beans or lentils
Water

Directions:
  1.  Wash beans in cold water and soak overnight in three times the volume of water.
 2.  Next day, pour off the water.
 3.  Place beans in a pot and cover with water 1 inch above the level of the beans.
 4.  Bring to a boil.
 5.  Let simmer with lid ajar.
 6.  Skim off the foam.
 7.  Add more water if necessary, as the beans should always be covered with water while cooking.
 8.  Cooking time will vary according to the type, size, and age of the bean.
 9.  Most beans will need approximately 2 hours cooking time.
10.  Beans should be soft.  This is the stage that you can salt and other seasonings.  Do not add salt while cooking as above.

Adzuki Vegetable Bean Stew

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
3 sticks of celery, sliced
1 zucchini, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 – 5 garlic cloves, minced
1- 2 inches of fresh ginger, chopped
1 1/2 cups adzuki beans 
3 pieces of Wakame Seaweed, rinsed and broken into pieces
2 – 6 tbsp. Tamari
Few drops of stevia (optional)

Directions:
1.    Cook adzuki beans for 1 – 2 hours (time is dependant on the age of the beans) according to recipe titled ‘How to COOK BEANS’ above.
2.    When beans are soft, add Wakame and cook for another few minutes.
3.    Then add onions, celery, zucchini, carrots, ginger and garlic.
4.    Simmer for ½ hour or till vegetables are tender.
5.    Add Tamari to taste and a few drops of stevia.
6.    Serve with a whole grain.
 

adzuki beans

Check out the Nutrition Facts on a Serving Size 1/4 cup (48g) of Adzuki beans!

Calories 160                  Protein 11g
Total Fat 0.5g               Potassium 600mg
Dietary Fiber 6g            Sugars 0g
Total Carbohydrate 29g

For Vegan Chili recipe:  http://realfoodforlife.com/veganchili/

Copyright © Diana Herrington  You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.

Retweet