Great Sage, organic vegetarian restaurant in Clarksville, MD, is donating 10% of proceeds to VRG tomorrow. They have an amazing brunch from 10am-3pm and dinner after until 9pm. Come if you can!

http://www.great-sage.com

Click here to check out a veggie-friendly take on the classic game of Memory! You can download a 24-card set that you can print as a fun game for kids.

Artwork by Jessica Dadds.

On our running National Restaurant Chains Poll, the top ten restaurant chains picked by our readers as most vegetarian-friendly are currently:

1. Chipotle
2. Qdoba Mexican Grill
3. Taco Bell
4. Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes
5. Subway
6. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
7. Noodles & Company
8. Moe’s Southwest Grill
9. Panera Bread
10. Baja Fresh Mexican Grill

Click here to cast your vote!

Julia Driggers, Clinical Dietician, shares a recipe for a vegan chickpea spread:

Garden Fresh Chickpea Spread

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

1½ cups Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
½ cup Celery, chopped
2 TBS Scallions, chopped
1 TBS Green Chili Pepper (may use green bell pepper)
1 TBS Sesame Seeds
1 TBS Spicy or Dijon Mustard
2 TBS Vegan Mayonnaise
½ tsp Dill Weed, Dried

Directions:

In large bowl combine all ingredients and mix. Place mixed ingredients into Food Processor or Blender. Blend on medium speed for 30 seconds or until chickpeas are mashed and mixture appears smooth.

Take mixture and spread on whole wheat bread and top with lettuce, tomato, carrots, or your favorite vegetable. It’s also great for dipping and topping vegetables and crackers!

*Variations: Add 2 TBS Dried Cranberries or Golden Raisins to add sweetness!

Nutritional Analysis per serving:

The beginning of a new article by VRG Research Director Jeanne Yacoubou, MS, entitled “Factors Involved in Calculating Grain:Meat Conversion Ratios” is excerpted below, and can be read in full here.

Factors Involved in Calculating Grain:Meat Conversion Ratios

Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

“An environmental argument for vegetarianism often involves a discussion of the relative efficiency by which livestock convert grains and legumes that they consume into meat eaten by some people. The process of converting grain, legumes, and their byproducts into human-edible meat is commonly expressed as a grain:meat conversion ratio.

While researching the quantities and types of feedstuffs needed by livestock to produce meat, the writer noticed wide discrepancies in grain:meat ratios calculated by various scientists, government agencies, nonprofits, and agribusiness. Some ratios ran as high as 16 pounds of grain per pound of meat to a low of 0.3 pounds of grain per pound of meat. Thus began an investigation into some of the many factors involved in calculating grain:meat conversion ratios. The investigation revealed the importance of considering the assumptions implicit in all of the determinations. Without a working knowledge of authors’ assumptions, the ratios lack meaning. When two competing values based on different assumptions are viewed together, they cannot be accurately compared.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thanks to Compassion Over Killing and the Vegetarian Society of DC for hosting DC VegFest last weekend — and thanks to everyone who came over to talk with us! Our table was buzzing the whole time.

Check our homepage to see upcoming events where VRG will be: http://www.vrg.org. Next up are the Natural Products Expo East (Boston, MA – 9/23-9/26) and the Baltimore Book Festival (Baltimore, MD – 9/25-9/27).

Compassion Over Killing has more photos from the event here.

Julia Driggers, Clinical Dietitian, shares a delicious (and simple!) vegan dinner recipe with us:

Sweet Turmeric Tofu and Vegetable Quinoa

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

7 oz Extra Firm Tofu
½ cup Water
2 TBS Brown Rice Vinegar
1 TBS Canola Oil
1 TBS Agave Nectar (or brown rice syrup or maple syrup)
1 ½ TBS Turmeric
1 cup pre-washed uncoated Quinoa (found in box and bulk supply stores)
1 cup Vegetable Broth
½ cup Water
1 TBS Turmeric
1 ½ cups small-cut fresh, chopped (or frozen mixed vegetables)

Directions:

Pre-cut tofu into 1½” cubes and set aside. In medium sauce pan combine water, brown rice vinegar, canola oil, agave nectar, and turmeric. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling add in pre-cut tofu. Cover with lid and let boil on med-high heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until tofu is browned and marinade has evaporated. Stir regularly. After tofu is cooked remove lid and pot from heat and let cool for 4 to 5 minutes.

In medium sauce pan combine vegetable broth, water, quinoa, vegetables and turmeric. Bring contents to a boil then cover with lid, decrease heat, and let simmer for 15 minutes.* Stir occasionally. Remove pot from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

Place quinoa mixture on plate and top with tofu. Serve with a vegetable such as cooked spinach, collard greens, or kale.

*If using a rice cooker to cook quinoa, use 1 cup quinoa, 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 cup water, 1 ½ cups mixed vegetables and 1 TBS turmeric.

Note: Turmeric is a spice that can stain dishware and utensils if left unwashed. Make sure to wash cookware promptly after use.

Highlights from this issue include:

FAQs About Vitamin D
Super Savory Pancakes
VRG Nutrition Interns Develop Protein/Calorie Supplement for Vegans
Raw Southwestern Cuisine
Texture Alterations for Vegan Diets
New FDA Labeling Rules for Cochineal Extract and Carmine Coloring
Fish and the ‘Pareve’ Designation

To join VRG and receive The Vegetarian Journal in print either:

* join online with $25
* call (410) 366-8343 and order by phone with your Mastercard® or Visa®
* or complete this form and mail or fax it to:

The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203
Fax: (410) 366-8804

As a follow-up to Julia’s nutrition article on soy/rice/nut milks, we want to know what your favorite soy/rice/nut milks are.

Since there are so many flavors and varieties, we’ve listed only brands and milk type.

You can vote for more than one choice!

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As a parallel segment to Vegetarian Journal’s Nutrition Hotline feature, The VRG Blog will run a regular Nutrition Blog-line feature. In this installment Julia Driggers, Clinical Dietitian, answers a question about milk alternatives. If you would like to submit a nutrition question, you can email it to [email protected].

Question:

Hello Julia,

Of the milk alternatives, which do you think is best? I get soy protein from tofu and such, and I’m not sure how much soy I should be eating in a day. Plus, I’ve heard that most companies are adding a lot of sugar to their soymilks. I like almond milk a lot, but I don’t know much about it except that it’s made with water and very little almond. I’ve also heard that rice milk is pretty much just carbohydrates. Just trying to make an educated decision now that I have found all 3 of these kinds of milks in my grocery store. Thanks!
Erin

Answer:

Dear Erin,

Good question. It’s a great thing that we have a growing number of milk alternatives, but as a result it can be tough to know how to choose between them!

The most important factor that you should consider is the nutritional benefits that each offers, and how this complements the other elements of your daily diet.

Out of all the milk alternatives, fortified soy milk provides the most protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and omega-3s. Two cups of fortified soy milk a day will ensure that you are receiving a good amount of these essential vitamins and minerals for a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Unfortunately, almond milk and rice milk do not provide nearly as much protein as soy milk (soy milk: 7 gram protein/cup, almond milk: 1 gram protein/cup, rice milk: 0.42 grams protein/cup) nor do they have equivalent amounts of other vitamins and minerals. A comparative example:

You’ll want to consider the nutritional content of the other foods you are eating and supplements you are taking so that you can incorporate the appropriate amount of milk alternatives into your diet. If you only use a cup or so of soy milk a day, you will be obtaining about 30% of vitamin D and calcium, so be sure to get additional amounts of these and other nutrients from other food or supplement sources.

Most brands of alternative milks are sweetened with sugars. Regular soy milk typically has 6 grams of sugar/cup, original almond milk typically has 7 grams of sugar/cup, while rice milk typically has 10 grams of sugar/cup. Of course, to put this in perspective, 1 cup of cow’s milk has 12 grams of naturally occurring lactose sugar. If you are concerned about added sugar, make sure to watch out for some flavored milk alternatives like vanilla and chocolate products which tend to add additional sugar. Alternatives with lower sugars will likely be indicated with words like “plain,” “unsweetened,” and “no sugar added,” but you should read the labels as well.

If you drink a lot of milk alternatives daily, I would recommend switching it up: keep a couple of options on hand (easy because most of them are shelf stable!) and use soy milk in your cereal, for instance, but add almond milk to your coffee.

Wow, I’m thirsty. Now I’m in the mood for some vanilla soy milk! Or maybe even some chocolate almond iced cocoa…

Your body loves you.

Always,

Julia

P.S. Some additional links related to this topic that might be of interest:

http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2003issue3/2003_issue3_hotline.php
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue1/2008_issue1_updateguide.php
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj98jan/981milk.htm