PCRM sues HHS & USDA

Woah! An organization that I love (Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine) has got some serious chutzpah! The group, headed up by Dr. Neal Barnard, is suing the USDA and HHS (Health & Human Services) for not having a healthier alternative to the latest food pyramid ("MyPyramid"). Many find it confusing to read and understand. You have to admit... having a confusing food pyramid is a particular problem considering the number of people who are obese and have subsequent health problems (diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis) because of it. PCRM believes that the government should be more directly addressing these problems with MyPyramid and catering less to agribusiness. They propose using what they created - the Power Plate - which emphasizes beans for protein, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Yum.

What do you think?

Leave of Absence

Hey All!

I am up to my eyeballs in the NYU Dietetic Internship, and wanted to let you know to not expect to hear from me until I can fully reach the surface again (end of December?)! Until then - remember that you can do whatever it is you set your mind to, and go have a healthy day!

-Erica

Plant vs Animal Protein while on a Low-Carb Diet

First off - let me just say that I'm not a fan of low-carb diets. First of all - it's a DIET... which means that most people are going to eat one way while they're on it and then as soon as they stop are going to eat whatever they want. And subsequently gain the weight back. Second, I think that whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are some of the healthiest foods around and restricting them to me just seems silly. All of these foods are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals - making them nutrient-dense foods. Oatmeal, for example, is high in soluble fiber, helping people with high blood cholesterol and high fasting sugar.

That being said, a new study just came out that shows that people on a low-carb diet were better off eating plant-protein than animal-protein. A lot better. The study used data from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals' Follow Up Study - 85,168 people - and followed them for 26 years (for women) or 20 years (for men).

What the researchers found was that the people on the low-carb diet had a 12% increase in risk of dying for any cause. However, those who reached to the animals for fat and protein had it worse. These folks were 23% more likely to die from any reason, 14% more likely to die from cardiovascular problems and 28% more likely to die from cancer, when compared to those who had more carbohydrates in their diet.

Those who looked to the plants for their fat (like avocado, flax seed oil) and protein (like lentils, tofu, chickpeas) were 20% LESS likely to die from any cause, and 23% less likely to die from cardiovascular problems, when compared to those who had more carbohydrates in their diet. And the more the people ate of the plant-proteins, the greater the protection.

OK, you're convinced. Now, how do you reach for vegetable proteins? Go for beans (lentils, kidney, pinto, black, adzuki, chickpeas (garbanzo)), tofu, edamame, tempeh, seitan, nuts (almonds, walnuts) and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame). And don't forget about quinoa - a seed that acts like a grain and is loaded with protein. Then go crazy. I love this Black Bean Dip Recipe (Whole Foods) or Spiced Lentil Tacos from Self Magazine. Search away - the websites of the NY Times, Whole Foods, Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine and Epicurious all have great recipes.

Buon Appetito!

Worst Kids' Meal

Dear McDonald's, I'm not lovin' it!

The Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine just posted a list of the worst fast food kid's meals, and McDonald's topped the list. I wouldn't even recommend this meal to an adult, let alone a child. Their Mighty Kids Meal featuring a double cheeseburger, small french fries, and a 1% chocolate milk (8 oz) weighs in at 840 calories, 37 grams of fat, and 1460 mg of sodium. 14 grams of that fat is saturated (the bad kind) and there's also 1.5 grams of trans fat (we should all get zero of this).

What does that all mean? Well, aside from the fact that I'm vegan I would never touch this thing, it has more than twice the calories I normally eat in a meal, and way too much fat and sodium. For a 12-year old (who it seems like the "Mighty Kids Meal" is targeted to) who needs around 2000 calories (some do need more), this meal is 42% of how many calories they need in the day. What's worse is that it's more than half of the fat needs for the day, AND reaches how much total sodium they should have in a day. Oy.

Their "best" Mighty Kids Meal is the 6 piece Chicken McNuggets, with the Apple Dippers-Low Fat Caramel Dip, and the Apple Juice Box. This guy has 470 calories, 18 grams of fat (3.5 saturated, none trans), and 660 mg of sodium. I say... make a PB&J at home on whole wheat bread with no-sugar peanut butter, all-natural jelly, and have a whole apple with a glass of soy milk. Yum.

Want to check out the rest of the nutrition information at McDonald's? Click here.

Whole Foods to launch a vegan line!

I've admitted this before, but... I love Whole Foods. I walk into "my" Tribeca store, and my eyes light up at the sight of all the fresh produce. Although some stuff can get expensive, it is possible to stay within your budget - look for their 365 store brand, buy bulk, shop the sales, and use coupons. I just read an interview with CEO John Mackey in USA Today, and was excited to hear that they are producing a vegan line of foods in 2011! Although I much prefer people cook more and eat less processed food, there are times when we get too busy and have to pick up something that will cook quickly and that they don't have to think about. A lot of times, processed foods mean high salt, but fortunately, this new vegan line coming out is going to be low in salt, so keep your eyes open. For those nights that you do cook (hopefully most of the time!), check out Whole Foods recipes for some delicious ideas... my Quinoa Loaf is cooking right now!

Jump on the Vegan Bandwagon!

I'm back! The curry project has faded away with the hot, humid NYC weather, but I hope you got some recipe ideas as well as an understanding of how easy it is to make a recipe healthier by just making a few simple changes.

Since the last recipe I've been thinking about what to focus on for future posts. Talking with one of my dear mentors, Jackie Mills, she reminded me about the plethora of research done on how helpful a vegan diet can be for a number of different conditions or as a preventative measure - weight management, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. Not to mention that your significantly reducing your carbon footprint. And you can feel pretty darn great with this lifestyle too.

Recently, I saw an article stating that 30,000 people have signed up for the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Diet Plan presented by the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine, founded by one of my heroes, Dr. Neal Barnard. If you sign up - correction - when you sign up, starting September 6th for 21 days, you'll get an avalanche of support on making the switch to vegan. This includes celebrity tips, webcasts, daily tips, recipes, restaurants, and a community forum.
It's almost September. I love the back-to-school feel that gives us all a fresh start to some challenge we've been putting off. It's a time to take the leap into something new, great, and healthy. I'm signing up, are you? What are you waiting for? Click here for the link! As one of my amazing yoga teachers, Baron Baptiste, would joyfully remind me - "If not now, when?"

Makeover: Pineapple Curry of Mussels

Welcome to Thailand!

Pineapple Curry of Mussels sounds like it would be pretty healthy, right? We've got mussels instead of the higher fat meats that we've been seeing in the other recipes, and pineapples are good for you... However, this recipe is a wolf in sheep's clothing. There is SO much full-fat coconut milk and coconut cream in it, that it weighs in at 536 calories per serving and 38 grams of fat, 22 of which is saturated! Top that off with 1210 mg of sodium (about what you need in an entire day). YIKES!

Lesson learned: When you're going out to eat, you might want to avoid the dishes that are made with coconut milk - likely they are not using the light version like we are going to do.

The Makeover of the week transforms this Pineapple Curry of Mussels to a Pineapple Vegan Curry - much more healthy, and if you are a fan of pineapples like I am - wow, is it delicious.

The highlights per serving:
158 calories
4.5 g of fat (3 is saturated)
389 mg of sodium (I used a store-bought seitan. If you need to lower your sodium even more, you can use tofu or make your own seitan.)
and you still get 12.6 g of protein

Delicious and quick. Although, I did have to buy some extra ingredients to make this curry... I found them all at Whole Foods in the Asian foods section, or you can probably buy them at an Asian supermarket.

Pineapple Vegan Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 can LIGHT coconut milk
• 2 tbsp sucanat (This like a raw brown sugar with the molasses still in. It would be the equivalent of brown sugar if brown sugar wasn't just white sugar with brown food coloring.)
  
• 2 tsp tamarind concentrate mixed with 1/4 c water
• 1.5 cups finely chopped pineapple
• 1 package seitan chopped (or you can use a package of firm tofu, chopped)
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut in thirds, discarding the woody ends
• 1 yellow squash, diced

Paste:
(FYI about chilis - I'm not picky at all about chilis, probably because I don't know enough about them, but I'm happy to just pick whatever combination of spicy/medium-spice chilis are available. It seems to work for me!)

• 1 tbsp kaffir lime leaves
• 2 red fresco chilis
• 1 serrano chili
• 2.5 tbsp chopped galangal (bought it pre-minced at Whole Foods because they didn't have it fresh. If you can't find it, you can use ginger instead.)
  
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp cilantro, chopped
• 5 tbsp chopped lemongrass
  

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients for the paste in a blender or food processor and mix until blended.
2. In a saucepan on the stove, heat 1/4 c of the paste and 1/4 c of the coconut milk for about 5 minutes on medium heat, stir occasionally.
3. Store the rest of the paste in the freezer for the next time you make this curry.
4. Add the sucanat and tamarind water. Heat for 1 minute.
5. Add the rest of the coconut milk, pineapple, seitan/tofu, asparagus, yellow squash. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Check occasionally and stir so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
6. Take off the cover and cook for 2 more minutes.
7. Enjoy!

PS - This isn't a very spicy curry. If you want it spicer, you can use hotter chilis, or more chilis, or more paste in the first step.