Photo from King’s Chef Salsas

In the recent issue of Vegan Journal, we ran a review of King’s Chef Salsas. There are three high quality varieties to choose from and they taste homemade.

 Read our review in Vegan Journal here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue1/2022_issue1_veggie_bits.php

For information on the company see www.cogrn.com

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Passover begins the evening of April 8, 2020 this year and The Vegetarian Resource Group is the publisher of several books that feature vegan Passover recipes. Below we share three recipes with you. In the USA, you can purchase these vegan cookbooks from the VRG Book Catalog here: http://www.vrg.org/catalog

Fresh Tomato Soup (from No Cholesterol Passover Recipes, by Debra Wasserman)

(Serves 4)

1 large onion, chopped

5 small ripe tomatoes, chopped

1-1/2 cups water

½ teaspoon fresh parsley, minced

Pepper and salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes and then cool. Place mixture in a blender cup and blend until creamy. Reheat and serve hot.

Minted Carrots with Chilies (from Vegan Passover Recipes, by Nancy Berkoff)

(Serves 4-5)

1-1/2 cups sliced onions

Vegetable oil spray

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 Tablespoons seeded and minced fresh chilies or green pepper

1-1/4 pounds carrots (about 3-1/2 cups), peeled and sliced lengthwise 1-inch thick

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Place onions in a large frying pan, spray liberally with vegetable oil, and sauté over medium heat until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and chilies and stir. Allow to cook for 1 minute.

Add carrots and add enough water to just cover. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Add mint, cook for 2 more minutes. Serve hot.

Russian Potato and Mushroom Croquettes (from The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook, by Debra Wasserman)

(Serves 5)

1-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped

5 cups water

1 onion, peeled and chopped

¼ pound mushrooms

1 teaspoon oil

1 Tablespoon water

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup matzo meal

1 Tablespoon oil

Boil potatoes in 5 cups water until tender. Drain and mash potatoes.

In a separate pan, sauté onion and mushrooms in 1 teaspoon oil and 1 Tablespoon water over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Mix the mashed potatoes, sautéed onion and mushrooms, seasonings, and matzo meal together in a large bowl. Form 10 burgers (croquettes).

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry croquettes for 8 minutes, flip over and continue frying for another 8 minutes. Serve two croquettes per person.

Don’t forget, you can purchase these vegan cookbooks from the VRG Book Catalog here: http://www.vrg.org/catalog

photo of Shroomacon from Meat the Mushroom

Each issue of Vegan Journal includes reviews of vegan products that we feel readers should know about. In the latest edition we featured Shroomacon manufactured by Meat the Mushroom. When cooked, this bacon crisps up and has a smoky, complex flavor.

To read the review, go here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue1/2022_issue1_veggie_bits.php

For info on this company, see: https://www.meatthemushroom.com/

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo by Rissa Miller

In the latest issue of Vegan Journal Reed Mangels, PhD, RD contributed an article on the pros and cons of vegan processed foods. Read the article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue1/2022_issue1_vegan_processed_foods.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo from The Veganaire

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide (Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many are doing take-out and/or delivery now):

Amo Kakatl Asada, Cookhouse Food Hall, 32117 Temecula Pkwy., Temecula, CA 92592

Dine at communal tables in a fun, casual indoor setting, or outdoors in a garden space suited to the plant-based menu. Besides the popular Mexican fare like quesadillas, burritos and tacos, some dishes are made with jackfruit, or aioli. They also serve Mexican sandwiches called tortas or burgers and plantain fries. It’s been said they even incorporate hibiscus flowers in some of their dishes! All sauces and salsas being made in house. Their Del Mar section lists vegan “seafood” choices like beer-battered “fish-less,” “shrymp” or oyster mushrooms. Sauce options are tartar, A la Diabla, Garlic Mojo, or Ranchero. Watch for weekly specials and seasonal surprises like blueberry and strawberry barbecue sauces. Breakfast is generally served 11am-2pm, but if you’re craving it outside those hours, depending on the day, they just might be able to accommodate you. Choose from full breakfast plates, or tofu scramble sandwiches, or burritos with Soy Chorizo, or Ham-less Bakon. For the sweet tooth there’s Kamboucha transformed into a Float, by a scoop of ice cream, or bunuelos chips—cinnamony fried tortilla chips topped with date syrup. Gluten- and soy-free options are available. They also offer a children’s menu featuring quesadillas, burritos and jacktofu bites.

Elder Gods Vegan Pizza, White Center, 9629 16th SW, Seattle, WA 98106

Elder Gods Vegan Pizza is a handmade vegan pizza restaurant inside Full Tilt Ice Cream. They make a limited number of pizzas daily, so it is advised to order in advanced. Sample pizzas include seitan pepperoni, just cheese, and more.

Fresh to Deaf, Southern Park Mall, 7401 Market St., Youngstown, OH 44512

Fresh to Deaf serves Zucchini Portobello Mushroom Lasagna, a veggie burger with stuffed avocado, veggie pizza, fresh juices, fresh salad, fresh fruit, and more. The owner is half deaf, which inspired the name for the establishment.

One Grub Community, 901 Arizona Ave., El Paso, TX 79902

One Grub Community has a Diner Located inside First Christian Church, with seating available both inside and outside, but it is much more than that: the outside seating overlooks a garden where they grow fresh produce, and their mission includes community service and combatting local food insecurity: All tips go to their Pay it Forward program, which enables people to get a full meal in exchange for one hour of work in the garden or kitchen, and they also have education and volunteer opportunities, in addition to a market selling cold food to be heated at home (including seitan, cashew-based Not’Cho Queso, and garden produce). The space is simple and wholesome, and the lunch and all-day brunch served on site has a dedicated following, with the menu varying each week (see their Instagram for updates) that can include the likes of soups, salads, bagels, ribz made from jackfruit, seitan or tempeh, setain steak migas, tacos, and posole verde.

Radish Kitchen, Campustown Shopping Center, 1200 W. Main St., Peoria, IL 61606

Radish Kitchen is a vegan café that offers a small made-to-order menu, a weekly meal subscription pre-order service, grab-and-go items, and several vegan bulk items in store. Their made-to-order menu changes weekly and includes items such as crunchwraps with black beans and cashew-based nacho cheese as well as a pita pizza with house-made pita bread and cashew mozzarella cheese. Pre-order items include butternut squash carbonara with coconut bacon, tofu quiche with hollandaise sauce, and lasagna with cashew ricotta. Several desserts are also available such as orange chia seed pudding, tiramisu, and a pineapple tart.

The Gray Zebra, 5101 W.Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027

Enjoy a wide variety of dishes including Curry Fries, Supreme Nachos, Herbed Tofu Sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Burrito, BBQ Burger, Baja Salad, and more. They also have smoothies and shakes. This is a women-owned and operated vegan restaurant.

The Veganaire, 3549 Electric Rd., Ste. D, Roanoke, VA 24018

Based in the Shoppes at West Village just off the 419 in Cave Spring, Roanoke County, this place focuses on fast take-out service, but with high quality, hearty and healthy food.  An alkaline vegan approach means all their food is soy free and non-GMO. Their menu rotates daily, but expect to find a selection of pasta dishes, stir fries, soups etc. based around expertly prepared vegetables and the likes of quinoa, lentils, chickpeas, jackfruit, and mushroom…in addition to desserts such as apple pie and muffins.

In the recent issue of Vegan Journal, we reviewed Ancient Harvest’s legume-based pasta. Choose from several varieties including red lentil rotini, chickpea elbows, or green lentil spaghetti. You can find them in a wide variety of supermarkets.

 Read our review in Vegan Journal here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue1/2022_issue1_veggie_bits.php

For information on the company see www.ancientharvest.com

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Each year The Vegetarian Resource Group holds an essay contest for children. SUBJECT: 2-3 page essay on any aspect of veganism/vegetarianism. Vegetarianism is not eating meat, fish, and birds (for example, chicken or duck). Vegans do not use any animal products. Among the many reasons for being a vegan/vegetarian are beliefs about ethics, culture, health, aesthetics, religion, world peace, economics, world hunger, and the environment.

Entrants should base their paper on interviewing, research, and/or personal opinion. You need not be a vegetarian to enter. All essays become the property of The Vegetarian Resource Group. DEADLINE: Must be postmarked by May 1, 2022 for current year of judging.

Previous winning essays and complete details can be seen here: http://www.vrg.org/essay/

A reader asked about a detailed list of sources of oxalates.

For those interested, you may want to look here.

https://regepi.bwh.harvard.edu/health/Oxalate/files

https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(15)46915-7/fulltext

This seitan info may also interest you: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/08/14/what-is-the-amount-of-oxalate-in-seitan/

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Each issue of Vegan Journal includes books reviews. In the latest issue find reviews for Our Animal Neighbors, by Matthew Ricard and Jason Gruhl; The Big Book of Plant-Based Baby Food, by Tamika L. Gardner; and Vegan Boards, by Kate Kasbee.

Read the reviews here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue1/2022_issue1_book_reviews.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The phrase “ultra-processed food” seems to be appearing more commonly in scientific publications. This phrase was created by scientists in Brazil (1).  They were concerned because existing food categorization schemes considered an apple, sweetened applesauce, and sugary fruit drinks all to be “fruits.” They proposed an alternative system (2); one that classifies foods into four groups:

1. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods. This group includes basic foods that have undergone minimal processing in order to preserve the foods, make them safer, or more palatable. Processes could include drying, chilling or freezing, pasteurizing, fermenting, and reducing fat. Foods in this category include grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables, fresh meat, and dairy milk.
2. Processed culinary and food industry ingredients. This group includes substances removed and purified from the first group in order to produce ingredients. Processes that these ingredients might undergo include milling, refining, and hydrogenation and radically change the nature of the product. Items in this category are used in the preparation of unprocessed or minimally processed foods. This group include flours, oils, fats, salt, sugars, and high fructose corn syrup.
3. Processed foods. These foods are made by adding salt, sugar, or other ingredients to unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Examples of foods in this category include canned beans and vegetables, unsweetened canned fruits, and salted nuts.
4. Ultra-processed food products. These foods are ready to heat or to eat with little or no preparation. They have undergone processes such as salting, baking, frying, pickling, and canning. They are typically high calorie, high sodium, low fiber foods that are contain little protein, and few vitamins or minerals. Foods in this category include ready-to-eat snacks and desserts, soft drinks, margarine, frozen pizza and other frozen foods, instant soups, candy, commercial breads and buns, and sausages.

I am increasingly seeing articles which classify foods that may be eaten by vegetarians such as plant milks, seitan cutlets, and commercial veggie burgers as ultra-processed foods (3-5). This is concerning because, just as the originators of the concept of the 4 food groups chafed at the idea that both brown rice and packaged snack cakes would be categorized as grain and cereal products, I find it hard to equate a fortified soymilk and a soft drink in terms of nutritional quality.

Ultra-processed foods are thought of as being high in calories, salt, sugar, and fat and are often associated with being the foods we crave, despite having little to recommend them in terms of nutrition. This hardly seems like the correct category for foods such as plant milks or some brands of veggie burgers.

In addition, this scheme moves vegan foods fortified with important nutrients, that are high fiber and low sugar, into a category that people are being told to avoid. And yet, meat and dairy milk are in the unprocessed or minimally processed category which is being promoted. Something doesn’t seem right.

The American Society for Preventive Cardiology has proposed a new category of “smartly processed” foods which includes fortified plant milks and plant protein-based meat and egg substitutes (6). They describe these foods as low in saturated fat, refined carbohydrates, and cholesterol and state that these foods can add nutrition value.  This makes sense to me.

To read more about our take on ultra-processed (and processed) foods see:

Beware of Diets Based on Ultra-Processed Foods

Vegan Processed Foods: Embrace Them? Shun Them?

References

1. Monteiro CA, Levy RB, Claro RM, Castro IR, Cannon G. A new classification of foods based on the extent and purpose of their processing. Cad Saude Publica. 2010;26(11):2039-2049.
2. Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutr. 2019;22(5):936-941.
3. Orlich MJ, Sabaté J, Mashchak A, et al. Ultra-processed food intake and animal-based food intake and mortality in the Adventist Health Study-2 [published online ahead of print, 2022 Feb 24]. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022;nqac043. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqac043
4. Gehring J, Touvier M, Baudry J, et al. Consumption of ultra-processed foods by pesco-vegetarians, vegetarians, and vegans: associations with duration and age at diet initiation. J Nutr. 2021;151(1):120-131.
5. Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Vadiveloo M, et al. 2021 Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2021;144(23):e472-e487.
6. Belardo D, Michos ED, Blankstein R, et al. Practical, evidence-based approaches to nutritional modifications to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: an American Society For Preventive Cardiology Clinical Practice Statement. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2022;10:100323.