High protein snacks (from nothing but plants): A round-up

Including good sources of protein in snacks helps you feel full without eating too much while contributing to meeting your daily protein needs. When it comes to plant-based high protein snacks, aside from the obvious handful of plain nuts or seeds, here are a few ideas to mix it up– some from Eating Greener, and a couple from some other great plant-based food bloggers.

Lemon Dill Sunflower Seed Spread

This recipe from Becca’s Kitchen has a subtle dill flavour that works well as a veggie dip. She has other yummy serving ideas, so check out her post! The recipe is very simple; just remember to soak the seeds over night in advance.

Roasted Chickpeas

Eating Greener‘s most popular post (and pin!) to date–one additional factor that led me to think people are on the hunt for high protein plant-based snacks! You can roast these on their own without oil and play with the spices as you like, or roast some nuts along with them.

Jam-Candied Walnuts

These are a great way to add a hint of sweetness to your snack. All you need: a bit of your favourite jam and some walnuts (other nuts would likely be good, too). I used hibiscus jam that I brought back from travels in Senegal. See how it’s done over at Elle’s Vegan Food Diary.

Colourful Hummus

Hummus is a vegetarian staple, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Here are recipes for a pink beet hummus and an orange sweet potato hummus. There are so many other flavourful and colourful variations–try adding roasted red pepper, or cooked edamame, or substituting black beans for chickpeas.

Do you have other ideas for plant-based, high protein snacks? I’d love to hear about them, and I’ll be sure to keep posting as I come across others!

PS: Just a reminder that Eating Greener is now on Facebook— come on over and get updates right on your newsfeed!

Spilling the beans: A cook book review

“Nobody’s perfect, but in the food world, beans are about as close as you can get.”

As perfect as beans may be, and as important as they may be in cuisines around the globe, they are conspicuously absent in standard North American cooking. I imagine this at least partly explains why omnivores are so easily baffled by the concept of a plant-based diet. As authors Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan point out in their cook book, Spilling the Beans: Cooking and Baking With Beans and Grains Every Day, one of the reasons for this is likely the fact that most people simply don’t know how to cook with legumes.

My aunt excitedly gave me a copy of this book and has been cooking up a storm with beans since she came across it– and she’s not a vegetarian or vegan. While some of the recipes include meat, many are vegetarian or offer instructions on how to make the recipe without meat. Perhaps writing a cook book about legumes without using a label like vegetarian is a good inclusive strategy. The likelihood that everyone will suddenly commit to vegetarianism is probably slim, but the chances that people will cook with less meat if they learn about the alternatives seem more likely. Perhaps a great gift idea for omnivores who like to cook?

“Cream” of tomato and fennel soup (with white beans)

I know, I know… it’s spring, but as far as I’m concerned, a good soup never goes out of season. Plus, I came up with this neat concoction that I really want to share. Not only is this a hearty, meal-in-itself kind of soup, but I’ve found a way to make it “creamy” without adding cream (ie: without the animal product and unhealthy fats).

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• approximately 1/2-3/4 of a fennel bulb, chopped
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• approximately 1 3/4 cups white navy beans, measured cooked (or 1 can)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil

Instructions

1. Sauté the onions, garlic, and fennel for about five to ten minutes, until soft.
2. In a large pot, combine the vegetable stock and can of tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the onion and fennel mixture, the white beans, and the dried herbs. Simmer for about ten minutes.
3. Purée the soup with your hand blender or in a food processor.

Simplify, Substitute, Make it Your Own!

You could likely go without the fennel and just make a “creamy” tomato soup if you wanted, but I haven’t tried it. You can play with the spices, too, as always. I’ll likely be experimenting with other types of “creamy” white bean soups, too, and will share some recipes when I do!

Sh*t omnivores say: “I’m practically vegetarian; I just eat chicken.”

Granted, the labelling of different types and levels of commitments to plant-based eating can be confusing–some vegetarians eat milk and/or eggs, a lot of vegetarians seem to eat seafood (a topic for a later post, perhaps),vegans eat none of the above–but if there’s one thing I think we can all agree, it’s that chicken is not a part of a vegetarian diet.

Why is this important? First, let me say that I commend those who reduce the amount of red meat in their diets for the health benefits that this purportedly brings (the details of which aren’t the focus of this post). However, to declare oneself a “vegetarian” when doing so completely ignores the negative health and environmental impacts of producing chicken for food. As I addressed in a recent post, chicken is the most consumed meat in Canada, and its production is far from harmless. Claims to be vegetarian while eating chicken undermines efforts to communicate to restaurants and the food industry that, for example, soups and other foods cooked with chicken stock are not, in fact, vegetarian. And the little things like this do matter– how can we reduce our dependence on animal products when we aren’t willing to make the simplest, most basic substitution of veggie stock for chicken stock?

Again, awesome if you’ve reduced the red meat in your diet, but please don’t add unnecessary confusion to an already confusing labelling situation. Say it as it is: “I don’t eat red meat,” or if you feel the clarification is necessary, “I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat red meat,” NOT “I’m practically/almost/ basically/etc. a vegetarian; I just eat chicken.”

*Image © www.vegancooking.com. Used with permission.

Welcoming picnic season on Earth Day: Simple dijon-chickpea sandwiches

Buying bread is a rare occasion for me because a) I’m not much of a sandwich fan, nor do I own a toaster, and b) I’m a bit of a bread snob, so I generally prefer to go without bread rather than surrender to my bank account’s limitations and buy affordable bread. Picnics, though, are a different story entirely: I feel like they require sandwiches. Egg salad used to be my favourite, but since I’ve been aiming for plant-based whenever possible, I wanted to come up with a new type of sandwich filler that would meet all the same standards as egg salad (including being a protein source, relatively simple, and delicious), but without any animal products. I’ve found it, and it couldn’t be simpler: mashed chickpeas with Dijon mustard. Since I was out on my first picnic of the year today (to celebrate Earth Day!), I was reminded to share this with you all.

Here’s what you’ll need to fill one sandwich:

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup chickpeas (measured cooked)
• 1 generous teaspoon dijon mustard (give or take depending on your taste)

Instructions

Mash up the chickpeas (canned if you’re in a hurry, or soak and cook dried ones  if you have time) with a fork, then stir in the dijon mustard. Leafy greens (spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, whatever) give the sandwich pleasant crunch and moisture, and I added a couple slices of avocado. Divine!

Beet and quinoa salad with alfalfa sprouts

Lately I’ve been feeling pretty conflicted (pun intended) about quinoa consumption. Given that it’s a pretty pricey ingredient, it’s not something I eat very regularly to begin with. In light of recent news about the effects that increased consumption of the “super-grain” is having in Bolivia, I’m trying to cut back even more. Nonetheless, there was still about half a pack of quinoa in my cupboard when I made this decision, so in case you are in a similar position of looking for a worthwhile way of using up some quinoa, here is by far my favourite quinoa salad recipe. I’m also looking for potential complete protein substitutions for the quinoa in the recipe, too (lentils and millet, perhaps?), since it’s just so darn delicious.

I started from this recipe, but made quite a few modifications. Considering how well the salad turned out, I’d highly recommend following them. The alfalfa sprouts go perfectly, and you really don’t need to add cheese– it’s so, so good without.

Ingredients

• 4 beets
• 1 cup quinoa (measured uncooked)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar OR sugar (optional… I did without)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped (optional)
• 75 grams alfalfa sprouts (just over one cup or so)
• one head/bag of leafy greens of your choice

Instructions

1. Roast or steam your beats. I roasted mine– to do this, you need to chop off the ends, wrap them in tinfoil, and put them in the oven at 400F for about an hour, then remove the skins once cool enough to handle. If you prefer, you can find instructions for steaming here. Once the beets are cooked and peeled, dice them up into bite-sized pieces.
2. Cook the quinoa by adding it to 2 cups water and bringing it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, whisk olive oil, red wine vinegar, agave nectar/sugar, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.
4. Once cooked, remove the quinoa from the stove and immediately add half of the vinaigrette while fluffing the quinoa with a fork. Set the remaining dressing aside. Cover and refrigerate the quinoa for at least one hour, until cool.
5. Stir the alfalfa sprouts into the cooled quinoa–separate the sprouts with your fingers as much as you can before adding them so that they distribute evenly. Then add your beets and green onions as well as the remaining vinaigrette and toss the salad. Serve it over a bed of your leafy greens. Enjoy your yummy and vibrantly colourful dish!

Simplify, Substitute, Make it Your Own!

I’d say the staples for this are the beets and the alfalfa sprouts. As I mentioned, I will probably try using a combination of lentils and millet in place of quinoa next time. Do you have other ideas?

Canada copes: More antibiotic-resistant bacteria on meat + less food inspection agents

An extra post this week, because I wanted to highlight a missed connection for the Globe and Mail in light of two issues it has reported on separately in the past week or so.

The context: Under Canada’s most recent federal budget, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture Canada will be undergoing serious cutbacks, including layoffs of “veterinarians and other inspectors responsible for food recalls and ensuring the safety of Canadian meat”. As the Globe and Mail reports, this is after the Conservative government promised to increase the number of food inspectors following a 2008 listeriosis outbreak. Lots of antibiotic resistant bacteria on our meat, and less officers to check its safety. Sounds like a good mix– all in a week’s reporting at the Globe and Mail. I’m happy to connect the dots for them.

If antibiotic resistance is a crisis, so is livestock production (in Canada, too)

Last week, The Globe and Mail ran a two-part feature (here and here)  on the crisis of antibiotic resistance. I read both pieces with an eye to whether the author would give due attention to antibiotic use in raising livestock. While both pieces mentioned the issue (in a brief paragraph, late in each piece), “due attention” might be a stretch…

Part 1:

Part 2:

Yep, that’s pretty much all she wrote, and (unlike the earlier sections of the articles) these paragraphs don’t make suggestions on how people might address this issue (ie: decrease meat consumption, maybe?). Reading even this brief mention in the Canadian press, though, made me realize that most of the information I’ve read about antibiotic use in agriculture has been American-focused. So, I thought I would seize on this as an opportunity to get a Canadian perspective on the issue– and share my quick findings and thoughts.

The food sciences department at the University of Guelph (a leading Canadian university in the field of agriculture) states that antibiotics are not only used on food-producing animals when they are sick, but also when:

1. Animals aren’t yet sick but are susceptible to illness– in this case, animals will briefly be given high doses of anti-bitoics, or
2. When low-level doses are added to animals’ feed on an ongoing bases to ensure the growth and survival of the animal.

“This practice provides ideal conditions for bacteria to develop resistance over time.”

In further searches, I came across a CBC special called Superbugs in the Supermarket. The episode focuses on antibiotic resistance to bacteria on chicken, the most regularly consumed type of meat in Canada. While I take issue with a number of aspects of this special, it does go a lot more in depth than the Globe and Mail articles cited above.

Although this documentary goes further than the Globe and Mail pieces by trying to find ways to address the problem, not once does it mention the option of decreasing meat consumption. Despite debunking claims about the benefits of paying premiums for “organic” and “anti-biotic free” chicken and eggs (apparently there is no longer a single anti-biotic free chick available on the market!?), the documentary clings to the idea that we need to keep producing current levels of meat and animal food products.

I’ve referred to this idea before, and I’m sure I’ll refer to it again: Our current levels of consumption have led to and require our current systems of production. As long as we want to raise so many animals for food that we have to keep them in unhealthy, overcrowded conditions, antibiotics will likely be an essential part of the system. Those with the money and privilege to “shop differently” (ie: organic) can do so to their heart’s content, but when it comes down to it, we will have to overcome our society’s unnecessary but deeply engrained attachment to meat and animal food products to change these circumstances.

Stuffed (greener Easter) eggplant: ‘Imam Bayildi’ with white beans

When it comes to holidays, I like to have impressive plant-based main courses in my back pocket to fill the void of the traditional roast. For Christmas, I’ve discovered nut roast (and a veg tortière based on my grandma’s recipe… more to come on that in December), and for Thanksgiving I do a yummy and seasonal stuffed squash (recipe also forthcoming).

Easter had me a bit stumped until I came across a recipe for Imam Bayildi in a beautiful old vegetarian cookbook that I found in a thrift store. This is a Turkish dish, and the name means “the imam has fainted” (as in, “with delight!”). It consists of a stuffed eggplant… which made me think “stuffed Easter EGGplant!”. Not sure how an Imam would feel about that… but anyways. As you can see, it’s also pretty, not to mention delicious.

While the stuffing traditionally includes onion, garlic, and tomatoes with some olive oil, I added white beans and pine nuts for protein. The following made enough for about four generous servings, and since this dish is flavourful while relatively subtle, it should still go well with any other Easter feast veggies that you might generally prepare.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped or crushed
• 1 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used three plum tomatoes)
• 3/4 cup white navy beans, measured once cooked
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 heaping tablespoon pine nuts

Instructions

1. If you are using dried white beans, you should be preparing those a bit ahead of time.
2. Halve the eggplant and use a knife and spoon to dig out the flesh, leaving a substantial shell (otherwise it might disintegrate when cooked). Keep the flesh you scoop out for the stuffing.
3. Sprinkle the eggplant shells with some salt and leave them upside down on a plat for half an hour (this should help drain away bitter juices).
4. Use half of your olive oil to fry the onion and garlic until slightly softened.
5. Add the scooped out eggplant flesh, white beans, tomatoes, allspice, lemon juice, sugar, parsley, and pine nuts. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
6. Preheat your oven to 350F.
7. Rinse the eggplant shells (to get rid of the salt) and pat them dry. Place them in an oiled baking dish and fill them with the stuffing.
8. Mix your remaining olive oil with an equal part water, and if you like, a pinch more allspice. Pour the mixture around the eggplant halves in the baking dish.
9. Bake at 350F for about half an hour, until the eggplant is tender.

Simplify, Substitute, Make it Your Own!

Since this dish is fairly simple, most of the ingredients are pretty essential. You could skip (or substitute for) the pine nuts, though, and if you aren’t worried about protein, traditionally this dish doesn’t include beans, so you could skip those, too. While I served this hot as a main course, you could also serve it cold– it would make a yummy appetizer with some whole grain bread or crackers.

Do you have any other ideas for festive plant-based Easter feasts?

What’s wrong with what we eat? Omnivore Mark Bittman says “meat”

Believe it or not, one of my favourite talks on reasons to cut down on (if not eliminate) meat and animal products from our diets comes from an omnivore: In this TED Talk, journalist and food writer Mark Bittman not only succinctly touches on so many of the problems with our society’s levels of meat consumption, but also goes to the heart of why switching to “organic” and “local” animal products simply won’t cut it.

What do I love so much about this particular talk? Here’s the low-down:

On the Environment…

As Bittman says elsewhere:

“Think about it this way: In terms of energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.”

Given that my primary motivation for committing to plant-based eating was environmental, I obviously endorse Bittman’s focus on environmental issues and the major contributions of raising livestock to greenhouse gas emissions.

On our health…

“You eat more plants, you eat less other stuff—you live longer.”

Sounds simple… so why is it that mentioning the “v-word” so often elicits concerned (and generally ill-informed) queries and comments about personal health? Bittman does an excellent job of addressing this by pointing out three important similarities between meat and junk food– two things that we over-consume despite their negative effects:

1. Neither are necessary for health.
2. Heavy marketing has created unnatural demand for both.
3. Government agencies have subsidized the production of both to the detriment of a healthier and more environmentally sustainable diet.

On  animal cruelty and why it’s really about eating LESS animal products, not just organic or local ones…

“There is no way to treat animals well when you are killing 10 billion of them each year.”

We can’t meet current demands for animal products without an industrial system like factory farming. Smaller-scale organic operations can never produce as much. The solution, then, isn’t for privileged people who can afford organic options to increase demand for them. The solution is to demand less animal food products overall.

I highly recommend listening to the full talk, and if you want to read more by Bittman on conscious eating, his book Food Matters would be a good place to start.

Being an omnivore, Bittman also reminds us that a commitment to plant-based eating doesn’t have to mean vegetarian or vegan: there are many different levels of commitment a person can make, and any commitment is worthwhile. One more (much shorter!) TED Talk gives another example of a non-vegetarian commitment to eating plants.