Day 226 -- The Next Not-So-Super Food?

I was watching a new reality show the other night -- I think it's called Supermarket Superstar?  Three people come on the show and try to pitch and sell a new grocery item.  One guy came on and pitched a cricket -- yes, the insect -- power bar.  Apparently, crickets are very high in protein and can be a sustainable food source.

Insects are eaten in many places of the world.  Crickets and grubs seem to be the most popular, but people also eat scorpions and grasshoppers and even spiders!  Thiis wasn't news to me because I'd seen a news item on group that was trying to market crickets as a food source to Americans.  They're easy to raise (all they eat is raw potatoes).  They believed it was possible to convince Americans to eat crickets and were using sushi as the model.  About thirty years ago, Americans turned up their noses at raw fish and now it's one of the most popular cuisines in the country.

Strangely, my reaction to eating ground (finely, I might add) crickets was not what I thought it would be.  I was actually quite interested in knowing how much protein they offered in relation to fat.  As a vegan, protein is always a concern and if it's possible to find a good source of protein, I'm always interested.  Of course, crickets aren't vegan, but that didn't stop me from  checking them out.  I guess they're supposed to have a nutty taste.  At least they don't taste like chicken!

Day 225 -- The Next Superfood?

Huffington Post is running a contest to name the next superfood.  I found this kind of funny because of the foods listed -- hemp seed, chia seed, rhubarb, kohlrabi, tumeric, maca, kimchi and kelp -- there was only one that I haven't ever had in my kitchen.

My father is a huge fan of kohlrabi and has always had them in his garden.  I have hemp and chia seed in the house and a rhubarb plant in my back yard (although, I didn't make my favorite rhubarb dessert this year because it has dairy in it).  Turmeric is the new weapon in the war on Alzheimer's.  Kelp is . . . well, kelp.  And everyone knows about my fondness for kimchi (see multiples posts on multiple days).

But . . . I have never heard of maca!  A potential superfood that I've never heard of?  What is it?  According to HuffPost maca is a powder made from an Andean root and has been used as a fertility aid and aphrodisiac for centuries. Modern research agrees: Small studies have found that men who ingested maca produced more sperm and both men and women who take it reported increased energy.

Okay, I don't think I'm going to be adding this to the diet any time soon.  I'll stick with my kimchi and maybe up my intake of kelp.  

Day 195 -- Lipstick On A Pig's Foot

I had a discussion with my sister L. yesterday over comfort food.  More specifically over comfort food that really isn't good food but is loaded with so much mayo and cheese that you can't taste that it isn't good food. Exhibit One of One:  A recipe for Georgia Cracker Salad is from the suddenly notorious Paula Deen.

Georgia Cracker Salad


1   sleeve saltine crackers
1   large tomato, finely chopped
3   green onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1   hard boiled egg, finely chopped

In a medium size bowl, crush the crackers, add all of the ingredients, mix well, and serve immediately.

Yes, that's right.  The main ingredient in this dish is a sleeve of crumbled up saltine crackers. Something that I wouldn't choose to eat plain.  But cover it in a cup and a half of mayo and the dish is elevated to one of the most popular recipes on Paula Deen's website.  I suspect that my cat's kibble would probably taste good covered in a cup of mayo.  So why bother with the saltines or the kibble?  Why not just eat a cup of mayo straight from the jar?  Or sour cream or Velveeta?

Yesterday I put together a dish made of three oven-roasted veggies and served that over cooked farro.  No dressing, no added spices.  A little chopped parsley was all that was added.  And the tastes were so good and clean and perfect.  Now, I'm sure if I tossed the ingredients with cheese, sour cream and mayo and baked it in the oven, it would probably taste delicious, too.  But then I'd miss the taste of the veggies and get nothing but the other overly-rich ingredients.

There is something to be said for tasting a really good Roma tomato.  Or roasted leeks that are sweetly caramelized.  Or artichoke hearts that are tangy and creamy.  If the SAD (Standard American Diet) requires that we mask our ingredients with these "comfort" condiments, then people are never going to grow to appreciate the taste of pure, unadorned, whole foods.  And that is what's really SAD . . . or sad.  

Day 189 -- Yikes!

Lately, I've been getting a lot of comfort food recipes that pop up on my Facebook feed.  All of them are non-vegan, but I've taken to reading them because at one point in my life, I probably would have copied them and even considered making them for some type of family or work gathering.  This one popped up this morning and as I scanned it, I just found myself a bit taken aback.  This is a recipe for an appetizer -- BLT Dip.  A snack.  Something you eat before a meal.

1-1/2 pound bacon, cooked, drained, crumbled, and divided
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded) or to taste
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
1 tablespoons mustard
2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes
1-1/2 cup shredded Iceberg lettuce
pepper an salt to taste

The bacon alone has 300 grams of fat in it.  The cheese contributes another 66 grams of fat.  The cream cheese adds 160 grams of fat, the mayo adds 20 grams and the sour cream adds an additional 25 grams.  But then you add the healthy tomatoes and lettuce and you have a plate of dip that contains 571 grams of fat.    How many scoops of dip does this make?  Even if it made 200, which it doesn't, you're still getting almost 3 grams of fat with every scoop you eat!  By the end of cocktail hour, you might have consumed 15 grams of fat just in the dip!

I have to say that there are days when I'm glad I'm trying to be vegan.  I don't have to think about eating something like this.  It contains meat and dairy.  Although I'm willing to admit that right behind cheese on my list of "foods I dream about" is bacon, I'm not very tempted by something like this.

Day 188 -- When Good Food Goes Bad

"When in doubt, throw it out."  That's going to be my new motto.

I haven't been writing on my blog the past few days because I was brought down by a case of food poisoning.  The terrible thing was that this was entirely my fault.  I used a package of fresh mushrooms that were not quite fresh enough.  I wanted to make a dish and didn't want to run out to the store to get a new package.  My laziness has cost me two days in bed and a complete disinterest in eating anything.

Fever, cramps and an assortment of other symptoms assailed me, all because of those damn mushrooms.  So, from now on, I will follow my new motto.  I'm going to go back and write posts for the days I missed, but right now, it's very hard to think about any food without feeling a little bit sick.

Day 160 -- Dreams Of Cheese

This is my third post in a row about cheese.  Does it seem like I'm obsessed?  Well, maybe I am.  Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, cream cheese.  I ate cheese on pizza the other day and I would have ordered cheesecake for dessert but they didn't have desserts at the pizza parlor.  (Thank you, George Takei, for the meme.) 

  

I guess I never realized how much I enjoyed cheese until I had to give it up.  It's such an important part of so many dishes.  What would grilled cheese sandwiches be without the cheese?  I decided to answer that question today and open the package of Daya cheddar cheese-like shreds.  A little Earth Balance butter-like spread and some whole grain bread and I was on my way.

First impression wasn't great.  Something smelled a little fishy.  Was it the margerine?  Or the cheese?  Or the bread.  I wasn't sure, but I decided to proceed with caution.  The "cheese" did melt as the package promised but it laid between the bread like a thin slice of cold Velveeta, kind of rubbery and shiny and a bit slimy.  It didn't have a strong taste so had it not looked like cheese, I'm not sure I would have made the connection.

Over all

Day 153 -- Another Fling With Fake Meat

I guess I don't feel like I can be a proper vegan unless I go through all the typical "substitute" foods available.  You know -- the soy burgers and the soy sour cream.  I've pretty much tried all the non-dairy substitutes for milk, sour cream, cream cheese and ice cream.  I still haven't tried vegan cheese but I have a package in the fridge that's waiting for me to try it and be horribly disappointed.

Then, there's the meat substitutes.  I'm a big fan of the Boca vegan  burgers.  I've tried and hated seitan and I just bought some tempeh to try.  But I also bought some Smart Dog jumbo hot dogs.  My fondness for hot dogs is a matter of public record.  There's nothing quite so wonderful as a good hot dog (no sexual innuendo intended).  So, I looked forward with great anticipation to trying a Smart Dog.  And considering how much I love Boca burgers, I was holding out hope that these would be good, too..

First, let me talk about the nutritional value.  Each of the jumbo dogs is only 100 calories with 3.5 grams of fat.  They're high in sodium as all processed food is.  You get 25% of the RDA from one dog.  However, they do pack 17 grams of protein which is much more that my favorite veggie burger.  Add a Food For Life whole grain hot dog bun and you add 170 calories and 9 grams of protein.  So for under 300 calories you get 26 grams of protein.  Even if these taste like crap, they be worth eating for the protein.

And did they taste like crap?  Not exactly.  But they weren't that good either.  The texture was much like an over-processed Oscar Mayer hot dog.  The kind of mushy dogs that kids like.  And there was a bit of an artificial taste that came from the smoke flavoring.  Will I eat them again?  Maybe.  If I'm really hungry and need a quick infusion of protein.  But I'd still grab the Boca vegan burger first . . . and second . . . and third.

Day 152 -- I Scream for Ice Cream (Or Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert)

One of the things I've really missed as a vegan (besides cheese, of course) is ice cream.  I used to love to take a trip to the local Dairy Queen and grab a small vanilla cone at the drive-thru.  My favorite flavor of store-bought ice cream was Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia.  And it didn't take me long to go through a box of Haagen-Dazs or Dove ice cream bars.  I loved the coffee flavor.  But now that dairy is out, I didn't think I was left with any alternatives.  

Now, I knew that there were vegan alternatives for ice cream, but I couldn't imagine that they would taste good.  But I've learned to enjoy almond milk and coconut milk, so I decided to take a risk and buy a pint.  Unfortunately, it seems that nutritionally, even vegan ice cream is loaded with fat.  Still, I wanted to give it a try so I picked up a pint of So Delicious Coconut Milk Chocolate ice cream (or non-dairy frozen dessert, as it is called).  

I have to say that this was really, really good.  It was creamy and dense, just like real ice cream.  In fact, the texture was more like gelato  It did have a mild coconut taste, but I liked that flavor mixed with chocolate.   This ice cream comes in so many flavors and also comes in "no sugar added" versions although they only offered three options at WalMart.  The flavors include Cherry Amaretto, Chocolate, Chocolate Brownie Almond, Coconut, Coconut Almond Chip, Cookie Dough, Cookies N Cream, German Chocolate, Green Tea, Mint Chip, Mocha Almond Fudge, Passionate Mango, Pomegranate Chip, Turtle Trails, and Vanilla Bean.  The no-sugar-added flavors are Butter Pecan, Chocolate, Mint Chip, Toasted Almond Chip, and Vanilla Bean. 

ETA:  I also bought a pint of Purely Decadent Cherry Nirvana, which has dark red cherries and chocolate.  I thought it might taste like my favorite Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia.  Well, it didn't.  I had a really awful artificial taste and was quite unpleasant.  I managed a few spoonfuls before I had to toss it back in the freezer.  It will probably go in the garbage soon.   If I had a tag for "Not Good Eats", this would get it.