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Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD, says you can use spinach anywhere you normally use lettuce — on sandwiches, chopped in wraps or tacos, or in salads. Fresh spinach is a hearty base for entrée salads. Toss fresh spinach with finely diced pineapple, sliced strawberries, chopped pistachios, sunflower seeds or soy nuts, and nutritional yeast. Create a dressing with balsamic vinegar, pineapple juice, and touch of mustard.

To quickly (and we mean quickly) cook spinach, spray a frying pan with vegetable oil, sprinkle in some chopped fresh or dried garlic, and get the pan hot. Toss in the spinach and flash sauté, turning constantly. This should take one or two minutes, tops.

Use your stove-sautéed spinach as a hot or cold vegetable with your entrée, as part of a sandwich filling, to top pizza, or added to a tofu scramble. If you would like to make “creamed” spinach, whisk crumbled silken tofu or vegan sour cream into the sautéed greens, just as you are removing them from the stove. If you have leftover cooked spinach, you can purée it and add it to hummus, salad dressings, or soups.

To learn more interesting spinach facts, see: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2020issue2/2020_issue2_cooking_tips.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal: www.vrg.org/member

The PawsandPlants.org Summit will be a five‑hour virtual event featuring four veterinary researchers—two from the UK followed by two from the US. These scientists are conducting ongoing clinical research demonstrating improved health and welfare outcomes for companion animals on fully plant‑based diets, while also showing that guardians can reduce their environmental footprint by an average of 25-30%. This summit aims to ground the conversation in emerging veterinary science and give attendees the opportunity to hear directly from the researchers leading this work. For more information, see: http://pawsandplants.org

Be sure to follow The Vegetarian Resource Group on Instagram: @vegetarianresourcegroup

photo by Audrey Fox

Livia said, “Realizing my school’s cafeteria had no food that I, as a vegan, could eat, I met with my district nutrition manager, who stated that adding plant-based options to the menu wasn’t possible. Still, I worked tirelessly for over two years to address her concerns, organizing and presenting at events, distributing hundreds of vegan donut holes and wristbands, collecting over 350 signatures, meeting countless times with school administrators, and working closely with Balanced, who assisted with the intricacies of vendors and regulations. Plant-based options are now offered daily at all five high schools in my district since the first day of my senior year.”

Livia worked with Planted Society and talked to over 40 restaurant owners to promote the adoption of plant-based meals. In Livia’s 9^th grade biology class they were required to seal fish without adequate food or filtration within bottles containing small amounts of water. She sent a proposal outlining how they could meet the learning objectives without using fish. The original assignment was eventually removed from the curriculum. She also spent a year and a half to bring a SYNTHETIC fetal pig pilot to her school’s freshman dissection program. Livia participated in Farm Sanctuary’s Youth Leadership Council as well as Peta2’s Youth Advisory board.

The deadline for the VRG scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20^th of each year. For details, and to see other winners, go to  https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support VRG’s outreach to young people, donate at vrg.org/donate.

Join at https://www.vrg.org/member/

Have you ever wondered if an ingredient listed on a food label is vegan or not? The Vegetarian Resource Group has an online guide to food ingredients that lets you now whether a specific food ingredient is vegan, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, typically vegan, typically vegetarian, may be non-vegetarian, or typically non-vegetarian.

You can search through this guide here: https://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

To support this type of difficult research, please consider making a donation to The Vegetarian Resource Group: vrg.org/donate

Image by Valeria Aksakova on Freepik

Here are some radish cooking tips from Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD:

• Microwaving: Place 1/2 pound (about 3/4 cup) sliced radishes in a microwaveable dish with 1 Tablespoon of water or broth. Cover and cook until tender. Cooking time: four minutes on HIGH.
• Steaming: People who find raw radishes too spicy may enjoy the milder taste of steamed radishes. Cooked radishes will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, so prepare extra. Steamed red radishes will turn pink. Place whole radishes in a vegetable steamer and cook over boiling water until barely tender. Shredded daikon can also be steamed, cooled, and added to salads. Cooking times: for whole radishes in a steamer, 8-12 minutes; for shredded daikon, five minutes.
• Stir-frying: Sliced radishes or thin strips of daikon combine well with other vegetables, tofu, or vegan “meat” alternative in stir-fries. Be careful not to overcook the radishes so that they retain most of their crispness. Cooking time: 3-5 minutes.
• Roasting: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Scrub radishes and remove greens. Place on an oiled baking sheet and allow to roast until just soft. This helps to sweeten radish “heat;” and makes a wonderful side vegetable. If your barbecue or grill is already hot, make a foil packet of radishes and allow to roast over the coals.
• Quick Pickle: When all the pickles are gone from your store-bought pickle jars, cut cleaned and de-greened fresh radishes in quarters, and place in the remaining pickle brine. Refrigerate and enjoy your radish pickles!

Do you know exactly what nutritional yeast is? An article by Reed Mangels PhD, RD, and Debra Wasserman in a previous issue of Vegan Journal answers this question and also provides the following vegan recipes containing nutritional yeast:
Lemon Rice Soup
Tempeh Mushroom Casserole
Mushroom Gravy
Tofu Pimento Spread
Spicy Nacho “Cheese” Dip
Tofu Dip
Baked Lima Beans

Read the article here:
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue3/2017_issue3_nutritional_yeast.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal by visiting:
http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

After watching a video in seventh grade, Tomer told his parents he would no longer consume animal products. He said, “I later learned that veganism is actually a decision about what kind of person you want to be when nobody is watching.” In high school, his club successfully lobbied the Las Virgenes Unified School District to include daily vegan meals five days a week across all LVUSD schools. Tomer is also a co-founder of Peta2 Los Angeles. With Noelle (another scholarship winner), they hosted giveaways of Tofurky, vegan ice cream, vegan meats, and vegan milkshakes. The summer before his senior year, Tomer interned with the Animal-Cruelty Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Tomer’s future goal in life is to major in political science and then attend law school, building a niche in animal rights law.

The deadline for the VRG scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20^th of each. For details, and to see other winners, go to  https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support VRG’s outreach to young people, donate at vrg.org/donate.

Join at https://www.vrg.org/member/

Augustus said, “Because I live in a rural area, most of my school is connected to the animal agricultural industry – many students and faculty members are a part of FHA, 4-H, fifth-generation animal farmers, and oftentimes all three. I, too, come from a family that used to raise animals as livestock. Despite these circumstances, I still chose to be vegan. Right now, the morality discussions are in full swing at my school because I just recently had a paper about speciesism that was published in a Harvard undergraduate journal, The Harvard Brain. My paper, “From Pig to Pork: How Society Rewires Our Empathy” explores biological and social themes amongst the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, and many more … Additionally, I write for a student newspaper for the St. Louis metropolitan area, and I have written articles specifically about veganism … I would say the social isolation caused by this large portion of America that knows next to nothing about both vegans and the animal agriculture industry is the hardest challenge I face. When I have a discussion with my German teacher who has lots of experience working in slaughterhouses, we have common ground because we know the reality … Why is it that the vegan and the slaughterhouse worker have the most common ground? … Because veganism also applies to other humans, I hope to become an ophthalmologist, which would allow me to provide life-and vision- saving services to those suffering from extreme poverty.  

The deadline for the VRG scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20^th of each year. For details, and to see other winners, go to  https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support VRG’s outreach to young people, donate at vrg.org/donate.

Join VRG at https://www.vrg.org/member/

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Most people in the United States meet (and usually exceed) their protein needs. With the current emphasis on protein and a proliferation of foods pumped full of protein, you may be wondering if it’s possible to get too much protein. As is true for many issues in nutrition, high protein diets are a controversial topic.

Generally speaking, most people can safely consume more than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein. In the past, excessive protein was associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and of kidney disease.

More recent research has failed to find a connection between higher protein intake and poor bone health provided calcium intake is adequate (1-3). There is some evidence of higher protein intakes being associated in an increased risk of fractures in those with very low calcium intakes (4, 5). A diet high in animal protein from meat is likely to be low in calcium.

People without underlying disease do not appear to be at higher risk for kidney disease due to a high protein diet (6, 7). Of course, many people are not aware that they have a disease or condition that may be worsened by a high protein diet. For example, a study of older women found that in those with a mild loss of kidney function, high total protein intake, particularly high intake of nondairy animal protein was associated with a more rapid decline in kidney function (8). Another study found that older adults with a history of heart disease had a decline in kidney function with regular use of a higher protein diet (9).

High protein diets often are based on a lot of animal products including meat, dairy products, and eggs. These foods represent a significant source of saturated fat, a type of fat associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Additionally, high protein diets based on animal products contain little dietary fiber and may be low in vitamin C and other nutrients, as well as phytochemicals.

Diets higher in animal protein are associated with increased risk of overall mortality and of death from cardiovascular disease (10, 11). Replacing animal foods with plant foods may contribute to reducing the risk of breast and colorectal cancer, cancer mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, total mortality, and the incidence of type 2 diabetes (12, 13)

There are health concerns associated with use of a high protein diet, especially one based on animal products. That’s not to say that higher protein intakes aren’t beneficial in some situations.

If you eat a varied diet vegan based on whole foods that includes generous amounts of beans and whole grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds, it’s likely you will meet protein needs

If you have questions or concerns about how much protein is right for you, consult a registered dietitian with expertise in vegan nutrition.

To read more about protein for vegans see:

Protein in the Vegan Diet

Protein for Vegans & Vegetarians

Protein for Vegan Children

References

1. Shams-White MM, Chung M, Du M, et al Dietary protein and bone health: a systematic review and meta-analysis from the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017;105:1528-1543.
2. Darling AL, Manders RJF, Sahni S, et al. Dietary protein and bone health across the life-course: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis over 40 years. Osteoporos Int. 2019;30:741-761.
3. Rizzoli R, Biver E, Bonjour JP, et al. Benefits and safety of dietary protein for bone health-an expert consensus paper endorsed by the European Society for Clinical and Economical Aspects of Osteopororosis, Osteoarthritis, and Musculoskeletal Diseases and by the International Osteoporosis Foundation. Osteoporos Int. 2018;29:1933-1948.
4. Meyer HE, Pedersen JI, Løken EB, et al. Dietary factors and the incidence of hip fracture in middle-aged Norwegians. A prospective study. Am J Epidemiol. 1997;145:117-123.
5. Dargent-Molina P, Sabia S, Touvier M, et al. Proteins, dietary acid load, and calcium and risk of postmenopausal fractures in the E3N French women prospective study. J Bone Miner Res. 2008;23:1915-1922.
6. Devries MC, Sithamparapillai A, Brimble KS, et al. Changes in kidney function do not differ between healthy adults consuming higher- compared with lower- or normal-protein diets: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nutr. 2018;148:1760-1775.
7. Van Elswyk ME, Weatherford CA, McNeill SH. A systematic review of renal health in healthy individuals associated with protein intake above the US Recommended Daily Allowance in randomized controlled trials and observational studies. Adv Nutr. 2018;9:404-418.
8. Knight EL, Stampfer MJ, Hankinson SE, et al. The impact of protein intake on renal function decline in women with normal renal function or mild renal insufficiency. Ann Intern Med. 2003;138:460-467.
9. Esmeijer K, Geleijnse JM, de Fijter JW, et al. Dietary protein intake and kidney function decline after myocardial infarction: the Alpha Omega Cohort. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2020;35:106-115.
10. Chen Z, Glisic M, Song M, et al. Dietary protein intake and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: results from the Rotterdam Study and a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Eur J Epidemiol. 2020;35:411-429.
11. Song M, Fung TT, Hu FB, et al. Association of animal and plant protein intake with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176:1453-1463.
12. Fernández-Fígares Jiménez MDC, Storz MA. Cancer risk and mortality following substitution of animal foods with plant foods: A systematic review. Curr Nutr Rep. 2025;14:99.
13. Lamberg-Allardt C, Bärebring L, Arnesen EK, et al. Animal versus plant-based protein and risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies. Food Nutr Res. 2023;67.

The contents of this website and our other publications, including The 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.