Kathy Freston Weighs In On Faux

Kathy Freston lends her effervescent voice (I kind of have a crush on her, can you tell?) to the faux or no-faux debate in a piece on HuffPo today.  Referring toMark Bittman‘s TED talk on “what’s wrong with what we eat,” she lauds Mark on his indictment of the practices of the meat industry and their effects on the environment, human health, and animal cruelty.  But she comes to the defense of one of the newer targets of Mark’s criticism: faux meats.

---

Read the rest at the Plants & Animals Blog.

Friend or Faux?

How do you feel about fake?

The debate about whether imitation animal products help or hurt the vegan cause is not new. It’s also no closer to being resolved. Whether we’re talking about “fake meat” or faux fur, there’s much disagreement both within and outside of the vegan community about how those products reflect on our cause.

Does it make us hypocrites to eschew animal products but embrace man-made products intended to mimic them? Are they facilitators or barriers to convincing others to consider a vegan lifestyle?

Read more at Plants & Animals.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

So, I'm of the opinion that a muffin should actually be a relatively healthy thing. After all, the name "muffin" implies that you can eat it for breakfast, so it should be able to get you through the morning. These are full of hearty whole grains, juicy blueberries, and don't have very much sugar. They fill you up and keep you satisfied, without triggering a day's worth of sugar cravings.

You have your choice of making these with wheat germ or wheat bran. Both are part of the wheat kernel (the parts that get removed from white flour) and both are nutrient-dense. Wheat germ is higher in calories and is full of protein and fat-soluble vitamins. Wheat bran is lower in calories, high in insoluble fiber, and has a lot of healthy minerals. They have about the same texture, so pick the one that's right for you.

Cheezy Bean & Avocado Dip

If I cared enough about football to watch the Super Bowl, this would be what I'd eat during it!  It's a spicy, creamy bean dip with chunks of cool avocado throughout that combines to a perfect bite on a crispy tortilla chip.

Where's the beef-like taco filling product?

Hey, check it out - I'm a blogger on TWO blogs now!  I know, I know.  Don't pretend like you're not impressed.

Plants & Animals is the Denver vegan activism group I'm involved with, and IT'S AWESOME.  We do a monthly vegan community dinner called Chomp, which has been my first experience cooking for ~100 people.  Professional catering business, here I come!  JK, I need to work for actual money at the moment.  We also do monthly carrotmobs to support local vegan-friendly businesses, coordinated protests and campaigns, and other vegan outreach and activism.

So go check out my first post, Where's the beef-like taco filling product?, on the P&A blog.  It's insanely long.  Future posts will emphasize brevity over my need to ramble in order to fill the vacancy of self-importance inside me.  Promise!

---

The interwebs were all atwitter Monday with reports of a class-action lawsuit brought against Taco Bell by an Alabama law firm because “[t]he meat mixture sold by Taco Bell restaurants contains binders and extenders and does not meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as ‘beef.’”


IKR?  No no, go ahead and finish laughing.  I’ll wait.
...
Read more at www.plantsanimals.org.

Biscuits & Tempeh Gravy

Confession: Probably 9 out of the last 10 times I went to WaterCourse Foods here in Denver, I ordered the biscuits and gravy.  It's not that nothing else is good there - the b and g are just so freaking good, I can't help myself.

The biscuit recipe here was inspired by the biscuits at WaterCourse, which have bits of carrot throughout that I think are just lovely.  In addition, they help make the biscuits nice and moist; dry biscuits are my arch nemesis.

The gravy is a basic tempeh gravy: seasoned and fried tempeh, with a sauce that's a little more savory than your basic white gravy but not quite a brown gravy.  That said, "basic" is not to be confused with "bland." I was eating this stuff with my fingers, it was so good.

Chipotle Chili

What do you do on a snowy January day when the high is -2°F?  You cook chili.  Spicy, hearty, warm-you-right-up chili.  Sipping hot chocolate while feeling sorry for yourself is an alternative option, but I really recommend the chili.

A nice mellow cornbread is mandatory with this recipe.  Resist the urge to put jalapenos in your cornbread - the chili is spicy enough as it is.