As a parallel segment to Vegetarian Journal’s Nutrition Hotline feature, The VRG Blog runs a Nutrition Blog-line feature. In this installment, Julia Driggers, R.D., answers a question about leafy greens. This question comes to us by way of a number of people recently asking about the nutritional benefits of dark greens at VRG’s tables at events such as DC VegFest and the Baltimore Book Festival. If you would like to submit a nutrition question, you can email it to [email protected].

Many of us know that we should eat our leafy greens, but how many of us know why? Dark greens are important because they are a good source of essential nutrients such as iron and calcium. common dark green leafy vegetables in the United States include spinach, collards, bok choy, kale, and turnip greens. In addition to iron and calcium, these green veggies are packed with other vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, fiber, and folate. However, each dark green leafy vegetable is unique and varies in nutrition content. It is important to vary your intake of all leafy greens, but if you are focused on increasing a specific nutrient in your diet, the table below can help.

**Although the calcium content in spinach appears high, it is not a good source of calcium. Spinach also contains oxalates which block the absorption of calcium in the spinach thus making spinach a poor source of calcium.

If you are focused on increasing your calcium, collards, turnip greens, and bok choy are excellent choices. In addition, good sources of folate (a nutrient particularly important for women of child bearing age and those who are pregnant) include spinach, collards, and turnip greens.

Won’t it feel better eating your greens now that you know how good they are for you? Enjoy your leafys and keep ‘em coming!

Here are a few other articles that you might also find helpful:

How to Cook Mouthwatering Greens: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2001may/2001maygreens.htm
Calcium in the Vegan Diet: Calcium in the Vegan Diet: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm
Nutrition Hotline (Question #2, about calcium content in raw/cooked vs. frozen/cooked greens): http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2009issue3/2009_issue3_nutrition_hotline.php

Your body loves you,

Julia

Don’t forget to support VRG by the end of the year – your gift is fully tax-deductible! Click here to make your donation online.

Click here to read VRG’s latest report on L-cysteine at McDonald’s, also pasted below.

L-cysteine is “A common dough conditioner, flavor enhancer in human and pet foods, and precursor in some dietary supplements is most often derived from human hair or duck feathers and to a lesser extent from pigs’ bristles and hooves.” (for more information on L-cysteine, click here)

L-cysteine in McDonald’s Apple and Cherry Pies is Derived from an Animal Source

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

A Pacific Northwest VRG member asked us about the source of the L-cysteine in the cherry pies at her local McDonald’s. Erin, a McDonald’s customer service representative, told us in January 2009 that since the cherry pie is not a national, “core” menu item, no information about the pie was available. Erin suggested that we contact the local restaurants that carry it.

The VRG made several random calls to McDonald’s restaurants in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. We were given a wide variety of answers but the general conclusion was that no one knew because they had no ingredient information. We were directed back to the corporate offices of McDonald’s.

The VRG discovered that the Bama Company supplies McDonald’s with their pies. We left several messages and sent several emails to Bama in the spring of 2009 but received no response.

In May 2009, The VRG received a call from Kathy at McDonald’s Illinois corporate office. She told us that the L-cysteine in McDonald’s cherry pie is derived “from an animal source.” When we inquired further regarding the specific animal source, Kathy told us that the supplier did not provide any more specification. Kathy also noted that supplier and ingredient information may change and that they guarantee no product as vegetarian.

As a follow-up, The VRG called the McDonald’s consumers line again and asked if the L-cysteine in the apple pie was also derived from “an animal source.” In November 2009, Michaela told us that the L-cysteine in the apple pie was from an animal source. When we asked for more specification, Josie, who works in menu development at McDonald’s corporate office, called us and said that the L-cysteine in the apple pie is from “an animal source but not human-derived.” When I asked for more specification (specifically, whether it was from duck feathers), she said that she had no other information and said that degree of specification is proprietary information.

Interested readers may refer to our article on L-cysteine available here: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue1/2008_issue1_lcysteine.php Readers may subscribe to our free enewsletter at www.vrg.org for further updates on ingredients used at McDonald’s and all other major restaurant chains.

In a new article, Bucking the Trend: Preventing Childhood Obesity, Alison Ventura, PhD, discusses a variety of ways to prevent childhood obesity. As she says, “Vegetarian families have a head start on preventing childhood obesity, […] however, the development of childhood obesity is complex and does not arise from only one or two behaviors (for example, drinking soda or watching television), but from a great many factors that occur throughout a child’s development. Thus, although the ADA’s statement suggests a vegetarian diet is a great first step towards preventing childhood obesity, there are even more steps that can be taken to further reduce the risk of childhood obesity.”

The final section of the article is excerpted below:

Summary: 10 Tips for Preventing Childhood Obesity in your Family

1. Give your child the best start by maintaining a healthy diet and weight during pregnancy; consult with a registered dietitian to make sure your pregnancy diet meets all requirements for calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
2. Breast-feed to promote healthy growth, responsiveness to hunger and fullness cues, and acceptance of a broad array of healthful solid foods for your infant.
3. Educate yourself and your children about what portion sizes are appropriate for their specific nutritional needs. Serve these portions sizes on a regular basis.
4. Strive to cook balanced meals at home; if this is not possible, educate yourself about the healthiest fast-food and food away from home options.
5. Encourage your children to drink water, low-fat or fat-free milk, soy milk, or 100% fruit juice instead of soda.
6. Get your family moving! Encourage your children to get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week by making exercise a family affair.
7. Limit screen time (television, computer and video games) to no more than 2 hours per day.
8. Be familiar with how much sleep your children need and encourage them to meet sleep recommendations on most nights.
9. Practice responsive feeding by recognizing your children’s levels of hunger and fullness, setting limits, and sharing feeding responsibilities with children.
10. Adopt a “do as I do” not “do as I say” attitude; model healthy eating and physical activity behaviors for your child.

Click here to read the article in full.

The National Restaurant Association surveyed 1,854 American Culinary Federation chefs to predict hot culinary trends for 2010. Meatless/vegetarian entrees came in number 11 in the “Main Dishes/Center of the Plate” category, and vegan entrees ranked 13, with 52% and 48% respectively. Locally Grown Produced ranked number 1 in Top 20 Trends.

Click here for press release and here for PDF of survey results.

Julia Driggers, R.D., shares a recipe for a vegan stew:

Fall Slow-Cooked Stew

(Makes 8 bowls)

Ingredients:

2 cups Vegetable Broth
1 cup Tomato Juice (use low-sodium if preferred)
1 cup Water
6 oz Tempeh, diced into squares
1 Can (15 oz) Mixed Chili Beans
2 cups Broccoli Florets, Fresh
1½ cups Mixed Vegetable Melody, Frozen (or fresh if preferred)
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 TSP Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
1 TSP Minced Onion
½ TSP Black Pepper
1 cup Dried Whole Wheat Fusilli (spiral) Noodles

Directions:

Combine diced tempeh, beans, broccoli, and mixed vegetables into a 3½ to 4–quart SLOW-COOKER. Pour broth, tomato juice, and water over top. Stir and cover. Cook on LOW 6 hours or HIGH 3 hours.

Add noodles, olive oil, and spices. Stir and cover. Cook 20 minutes longer or until noodles are done

Serve with a crusty whole wheat baguette and side salad for a delicious meal!

Nutrition Analysis per Serving

Thanks to Great Sage for donating 10% of their proceeds from 10/18/09 to VRG! The food was delicious, as always. If you are near Clarksville, MD, check them out. Click here for their menu.

Two of VRG’s nutrition advisors, Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, and Nancy Berkoff, Ed.D., R.D., were on Southern California Public Radio on Monday 9/9/09 on the Pat Morrison show.

They spoke about the health benefits of vegetarian/vegan diets, and about raising vegetarian/vegan children.

The audio file of the segment can be found on this page or downloaded here.

The American Dietetic Association’s 2009 Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets, which was co-written by Reed Mangels and was discussed in the radio segment, can be downloaded here.

Julia Driggers, R.D., shares a recipe for vegan pumpkin pancakes:

Pumpkin Panckes

(Makes 8 medium sized pancakes)

Ingredients:

4 TBS Pumpkin Butter or puree
½ Banana, Mashed
1¼ cups Soy Milk (or other rice/nut milk)
1 TBS Maple Syrup
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ TSP Cinnamon
¼ TSP Allspice
2 TSP Baking Powder
¼ TSP Salt

Directions:

In large bowl combine mash banana, soy milk, and maple syrup. In separate bowl mix flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, and salt. Add banana mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium high heat and grease with vegan butter or canola oil. Pour pancake batter (approx. ¼ cup) for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Top this yummy holiday treat with pumpkin butter and powdered sugar to enjoy!

*Variation: Add ¼ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips for an extra sweet treat!

Nutrition Analysis per Serving:

Thanks to Sam, Susan, David, Reed, and Arnie for representing VRG at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival on 10/31/09 and 11/1/09!

For more info on the event please visit: http://www.bostonveg.org/foodfest/