Eat Pomegranate or Die

Have you eaten a pomegranate today? If not, you are lucky to be alive. A quick internet search reveals that consuming pomegranate products fights prostate and breast cancer, reduces hardening of the arteries, inhibits skin tumorigenesis, decreases the incidence of stroke or heart attack, inhibits cartilage degradation from osteoarthritis and is not toxic.

Given these findings and the recent decline in pomegranate juice prices in Toronto, QSB (Quantative Strategies Branch) is predicting a sharp decrease in hospital occupancy rates over the coming months. Just thank Azerbaijan and their exports of 100% organic “Bling Bling” pomegranate juice.

Next in this series: Animal Friendly Animals

Soy milk: which brand is right for you?

Fortified soy milk is a wonderful source of cow-friendly calcium, vitamin B12, and other nutrients. But how can one choose from the plethora of brands that crowd the store shelves? In this installment of our continuing series on nutrition, the authors discuss their favourite brands of soy milk.

vegetable95: In the breakfast department I see no other choice than Light Silk for your cereal. Light silk is the cow teat free cousin of skim milk, lacking the overwhelming creamy richness of other kinds of soy milk. As an added bonus, the company that produces it purchases wind power credits, internalizing production externalities, and thereby making your soy milk consumption more economically efficient.

Another big part of my liquid soy lifestyle is hot chocolate, which I shamelessy purchase from evil coffee corp intl. Unsurprisingly, both Starbucks and Second Cup play a role in the systematic oppression of the vegan people by charging extra for soy milk. Both produce a tasty chocolate beverage though.

therecreationalvegan: Soy chocolate milk is a pretty serious matter for me, likely a result of a childhood love for chocolate milk. I had given up on the product because of it’s all too often chalky taste… until I discovered Natura chocolate soy, a surprisingly creamy/smooth and delicious drink. Blend with ice, plain soy milk, vanilla, and frozen bananas for a healthy treat.

Next in this series: Eat Pomegranate or Die

Anti-eggplant activism

Regular readers have been asking us, “so how do I, an average citizen, fight big eggplant?” To that we say, beat them at their own game — mass marketing!

Download the Eggplant Pamphlet

The Joy of Nutritional Yeast Flakes

At this point readers are probably wondering where they can get vitamin B12, which is commonly acquired from dead animals. According to internet vegan lore, our plant-eating gorilla friends obtain all the B12 they need from bacteria on plant foods.¹ (incidentally proving that the vegan diet is not unnatural²) Herbivorous humans however, forced to live under the burden of modern society and prewashed vegetables, are unable to live in such harmony with nature and must acquire B12 from fortified sources. This brings us to the third installment in our series on nutrition in which we discuss nutritional yeast flakes.

Nutritional yeast, or “good tasting yeast” as it is known to some hippies in Kingston Ontario, resembles barnyard-variety sawdust visually and olfactorily, but actually tastes quite nice. It can be used to add flavour to a recipe (see here and here for example) and as an added benefit contains a pleasant amount of B12 (assuming you weren’t tricked into buying the non-fortified variety).

As a segue into the next installment in this series, Soy Milk: Which brand is right for you?, it should be noted that fortified soy milk contains a pleasant amount of B12 too.

¹ The Jane Goodall Institute was contacted in order to determine the veracity of this claim. To date no response has been received, but readers will be apprised of any future developments.

² The author fully recognizes that the term “unnatural” has no meaning as applied to diet or other social phenomenon, but chooses to use it here anyway.

Kale: King of the Leafy Greens?

In the kingdom of leafy green vegetables who reigns supreme? To answer this important question I researched the nutritional properties of the six most regal leafy greens: kale, collard greens, mustard greens, swiss chard, spinach, and romaine lettuce. While spinach ranks first for calcium content at one quarter of recommended daily value per cup (RDV/C), with collard greens a close second, kale dominates in terms of vitamin K with a whopping 1,327.6% RDV/C!¹

In honour of King Kale,² I present a simple but satisfying recipe: Steam a bunch of kale and dress with garlic sautéed in canola oil, and capers and lemon juice. As with all great art, the secret is in the proportions: there should be a subtle hint of caper, lemon, and garlic in each bite.

Next installment in this series: The Joy of Nutritional Yeast Flakes

² Admittedly an inappropriately patriarchal moniker, but necessary for the visual and aural alliteration that is sooo irresistible.

So if eggplant isn’t useful, can I still order 668′s #91?

My co-author recently posted an article with a comprehensive argument that eggplant does not provide any nutritious value at all. I buy the argument, and as a member of the QSB will continue this important research. But I refuse to let that stop me from ordering Cafe 668′s delicious fried eggplant with black bean sauce. It may be the best eggplant dish in Toronto (yes, I said that) and makes wonderful company to the restaurant’s tofu and soup items.

Eggplants fried with black bean sauce and thai basil, $9.99 at Cafe 668. 668 Dundas, west of Spadina.

Debunking the Eggplant Myth

New converts to veganism need to be very conscious of the nutritional content of what they eat. Every vegan who fails to eat properly provides fuel for annoying anecdotes told by skeptical carnivores. These anecdotes vary with each telling, but usually sound something like this:

“You’re vegan? I knew a vegan once. She became very ill and her doctor told her to eat meat. Once she did, she felt much better. How do you get enough protein?”

To prevent myself from contributing to stories like this, which grate on the ears of healthy vegans everywhere, I am embarking on a continuing series of nutrition related posts. Today’s topic: Eggplant – do we really need it?

An informal survey conducted by The Recreational Vegan’s Quantitative Strategies Branch (QSB) suggests that many Torontonians believe that eggplant is a good source of nutrients. I contacted (read googled eggplant nutrients and found an article edited by) Jaime Ackerman, registered dietician and nutrition associate for Ohio State University Extension in the College of Human Ecology. What I found will shock many readers: eggplant is mostly water and does not contain a significant source of any nutrient.

Conclusion: it appears that many Torontonians have fallen victim to the marketing ploys of the eggplant industry. Eggplant – do we need it? No.

Next installment in this series: Kale – King of the Leafy Greens?