Favorites! Shepherd's Pie

This is one of my favorite new go-to hits. 

Shepherd's Pie from Engine 2

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into quarters

½ cup unsweetened soymilk

Cracked pepper to taste

16 ounces fresh or frozen green beans

2 onions, diced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 cups cooked lentils (any color)

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos

6 ounce can tomato paste

1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Steam potatoes for 15 minutes, until soft.

Drain and mash in a bowl with soymilk, rosemary and pepper.  Set aside.

Steam green beans for 7 minutes, or until bright green and still firm.

Sauté onions on medium heat in a large skillet for 5 minutes, until translucent

Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary to the onions. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices.

Add lentils,  black pepper, and Bragg’s.

Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, adding a small amount of water as necessary to combine ingredients.

Place the vegetable meat crumble mixture in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or casserole dish.

Spread green beans atop mixture.

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, or until potatoes begin to brown lightly.

Variations:

Use frozen peas in place of green beans.

MSG, Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein...AKA: Why does this taste so good? (and is so bad?)

While doing research into ingredients, I learned about the Umami effect.  Do you know about this?  I have put together the following which just touches the surface of this topic.  Suffice to say, it is an essential part of why our food tastes good to us.  Read on!

Umami /uːˈmɑːmi/, a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes, together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. A loanword from the Japanese (うま味^?), umami can be translated "pleasant savory taste". This particular writing was chosen by Professor Kikunae Ikeda from umai (うまい) "delicious" and mi (味) "taste". The kanji 旨味 are used for a more general meaning to describe a food as delicious.

The human tongue has receptors for L-glutamate, which is the source of umami flavor. For that reason, scientists consider umami to be distinct from saltiness.

L-glutamate is found in its' free form in many protein containing foods and vegetables, such as tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes. This unprocessed form of glutamate is processed in our bodies without any ill effects.  

The highly processed form of glutamate, (Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein and others) is very different from its natural form.  These forms are used in many processed foods to stimulate the umami receptor on our tongue.  Store bought broth often has one or more of these ingredients.  

What is the big deal, you may ask?  Here is a statement on MSG from the FDA:

FDA states:

“Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well.

Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain.”[5]

Although the FDA continues to claim that consuming MSG in food does not cause these ill effects, many other experts say otherwise.

According to Dr. Blaylock (A neurosurgeon and vocal opponent of MSG who coined the word "Excitotoxin"), numerous glutamate receptors have been found both within your heart's electrical conduction system and the heart muscle itself. This can be damaging to your heart, and may even explain the sudden deaths sometimes seen among young athletes.

He says:

“When an excess of food-borne excitotoxins, such as MSG, hydrolyzed protein soy protein isolate and concentrate, natural flavoring, sodium caseinate and aspartate from aspartame, are consumed, these glutamate receptors are over-stimulated, producing cardiac arrhythmias.

When magnesium stores are low, as we see in athletes, the glutamate receptors are so sensitive that even low levels of these excitotoxins can result in cardiac arrhythmias and death.”[6]

Many other adverse effects have also been linked to regular consumption of MSG, including:

• Obesity
• Eye damage
• Headaches
• Fatigue and disorientation
• Depression

Further, even the FDA admits that “short-term reactions” known as MSG Symptom Complex can occur in certain groups of people, namely those who have eaten “large doses” of MSG or those who have asthma.

According to the FDA, MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as:

• Numbness
• Burning sensation
• Tingling
• Facial pressure or tightness
• Chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Headache
• Nausea
• Rapid heartbeat
• Drowsiness
• Weakness

No one knows for sure just how many people may be “sensitive” to MSG, but studies from the 1970s suggested that 25 percent to 30 percent of the U.S. population was intolerant of MSG -- at levels then found in food. Since the use of MSG has expanded dramatically since that time, it’s been estimated that up to 40 percent of the population may be impacted.

For all of these reasons and possibilities, and the fact that it makes me swell and have a headache, I avoid all processed glutamate substances in my food.   

This is difficult to do if you buy broth in a can or carton, or some of the broth pastes and bouillon cubes on the market. Even many of Whole Food's prepared soups and foods contain yeast extract. I now happily do without any of these items since finding Mark Bittman's One Hour Vegetable Broth recipe posted below.  

There are other ingredients that I have used to increase the Umami effect of food.  Bragg's Liquid Aminos, soy sauce, highly caramelized onions, tomatoes, potatoes, nutritional yeast (not the same as yeast extract), are some of my go-to ingredients.  Working with recipes on this is very different than simply adding salt to something.  The goal is creating a depth in the flavors that goes beyond saltiness.  I am forever experimenting with this.   

My New Favorite Website

If you haven't discovered www.nurtitionfacts.org yet, you might want to check it out.  There are endless short (2-3 minutes) videos on just about everything you could possibly want to know about nutrition.  The best part about it is that all of the information on this site is backed up by clinical research and all the studies mentioned are sited.  

Check out the website.  Use the search box to find what you are interested in. 

Draw your own conclusions about the posting below...it does grab your attention though, doesn't it?  

 

Cancer-Proofing Your Body

January 31, 2013 by Michael Greger M.D. in News with 6 Comments

Lifestyle medicine pioneer Nathan Pritikin was an unlikely candidate to spark a nutrition revolution. He wasn’t a doctor or dietician but an engineer. As featured in my 2-min. NutritionFacts.org video Engineering a Cure, he reversed his own heart disease with a plant-based diet and went on to help millions of others. He even saved the life of my own grandmother, which is what inspired me to go into medicine.

Pritikin’s work has continued though his research foundation. Once Dean Ornish proved that Our Number One Killer Can Be Stopped, the focus shifted from heart disease to cancer. In my 3-min. video Ex Vivo Cancer Proliferation Bioassay, I describe an elegant series of experiments in which people were placed on different diets and their blood was then dripped on cancer cells in a petri dish to see which diet was more effective at suppressing cancer growth.

As you can see in the video, even the blood of those on a standard American diet (S.A.D.) fights cancer, but the blood of those on vegan diets fights about 8 times better. The blood circulating within the bodies of vegans appears to have nearly 8 times the stopping power when it comes to cancer cell growth. That was after maintaining a plant-based diet for a year though. Subsequent studies against breast cancer showed the power of eating plants for just two weeks. Watch The Answer to the Pritikin Puzzle to see the remarkable results.

This dramatic strengthening of cancer defenses was after 14 days of a plant-based diet and exercise—they were out walking 30 to 60 minutes a day. Although Pritikin started out reversing chronic disease through diet alone, later—to his credit—he added an exercise component as well. That’s great for the patients, but scientifically it makes it hard to tease out which intervention is doing what. Maybe the only reason their blood started becoming so effective at suppressing cancer growth was because of the exercise—maybe the diet component had nothing to do with it. This had to be put to the test.

In my 4-min. video Is It the Diet, the Exercise, or Both? I describe the experiment. Three groups were compared: a plant-based diet and exercise group, an exercise only group, and a control group that did neither. The diet and exercise group had been on a plant-based diet for 14 years along with moderate exercise as simple as walking every day. The second group was exercise and hardcore exercise at that: 14 years of daily, strenuous, hour-long exercise like calisthenics, but they ate the standard American diet. Which group was better at fighting cancer?

The researchers took petri dishes brimming full of human prostate cancer cells and dripped blood from each of the three groups on different dishes to see whose blood killed off more cancer. Watch the diet vs. exercise video to see actual photomicrographs of the effects on cancer cells. Basically they found that strenuous exercise helped, but nothing appeared to kick more cancer butt than a healthy diet.

Even though diet appears more powerful than exercise in terms of rallying one’s cancer defenses it doesn’t mean we can’t do both. In fact eating certain plants may even improve athletic performance—check out my video series that starts with Doping With Beet Juice and ends with So Should We Drink Beet Juice Or Not?.

-Michael Greger, M.D.

The Perfect Vegetable Stock, where is it? HERE!

Since going plant-based, I have used vegetable stock/broth in almost everything I make.  The store bought versions are quite tasteless and have ingredients in them that I avoid (yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, sugar, etc-more on these later).  I started looking everywhere for the perfect recipe and tried many that turned out to be duds.  UNTIL I discovered Mark Bittman's recipe.  This is IT!

I have made this without using any of the oil this recipe calls for.  I water saute my veggies.  This needs to be done on a lower temperature for somewhat longer, but the effect is the same.  Make this when you are hanging around the house and can let it simmer for a long time.  The longer it simmers the richer the flavor.  I have occasionally doctored it up with a bit of added Bragg's Aminos for some added depth.  Don't be afraid to customize it to your taste.

One-Hour Vegetable Stock

Makes: about 1 quart

Time: 1 hour, somewhat unattended

For this stock, you cut the vegetables into small pieces, which extracts greater flavor; you pan-cook them first, which browns them at least a bit and makes the flavor more complex; and you add a couple more flavorful ingredients (the mushrooms make a difference, as you’ll quickly see, as does the soy sauce).  If you have more time for simmering, use it.

Double the quantities here if you want to make enough stock to freeze. Recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, quartered (don’t bother to peel)

1 potato, sliced

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 or 3 cloves garlic (don’t bother to peel)

5 to 10 white mushrooms, halved or sliced

10 to 20 parsley stems or stems with leaves

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the oil in a deep skillet or broad saucepan or casserole over ¬ medium-¬ high heat. When hot, add the carrots, onion, potato, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook without stirring for about 5 minutes, then stir once or twice and cook until the vegetables begin to brown. (If you have more time, brown them well, stirring only infrequently.)

2. Add the parsley, 6 cups water, the soy sauce, and some pepper. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture simmers steadily but gently. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender. (Longer is better if you have the time.)

3. Strain, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more soy sauce or a bit of salt, before using or storing.

"Where do you get your protein?"

A common question!  Here is the answer...


Beans
Legumes
Whole Grains
VEGGIES (one cup of cooked peas has 9 grams of protein. One cup of cooked spinach has 5 grams of protein, just to give you a couple of examples)
Tofu
The list goes on...Google it.

Geeking Out on My Cholesterol Numbers

I stopped by the employee health event at work last week.  Since going plant based last year, I have been wondering what my numbers would be now. The last time they were checked in 2011, my total cholesterol was 158.  I don't remember the breakdown among HDL/LDL/Triglicerides but I do remember thinking that my HDL as low.  ANYWAY...back to the present...

Total Cholesterol 144
HDL 57
LDL 69
Triglicerides 80

NICE!

What's for Dinner???!!!

This question has finally gone from being filled with pressure to being a fun challenge.  When I was considering all the things I thought about before becoming a parent, one of them definitely was not the fact that I was going to have to feed people everyday.  Gone were the days of having a bowl of cereal for dinner when I didn't feel like cooking.  (Although now that my kids are older, this may have to be introduced as a healthful way of having a quick meal and saving our sanity when necessary...hummm, let me give that some thought...)

The evolution of the dinner conundrum to being a fun challenge has everything to do with my new way of eating. I think the reason it was easier cooking BV (before vegan) is that I was used to it, even pretty good at it.  I had my go to recipes, didn't need to look up anything.  I often ran out of ideas or got sick of my cooking the usual fare, but it was easier to get by on the fly because it was so familiar to me.  Since going vegan, I have had to completely reorganize my thinking about food and cooking, which has taken some time to do.   Now that I have been doing this for many months, the time I spend preparing is lessening.  I have a small repertoire of go to recipes and my time in the kitchen is finally going down.  I think it is even safe to say that I am a better cook now too.

The question remains, what is for dinner?  

I find inspiration in all kinds of places.  I have found great websites with free access to recipes and ideas.  I have started a list on this blog and constantly update it as I find new treasures.  I read cookbook reviews on Amazon and then check out those that are available at the library to vet the recipes.  The ones that I like I buy.  My favorites are listed on this blog. I don't read books much right now, I read cookbooks.  I mark the recipes that look interesting for quick reference later.  I used to make the mistake of making a market list as I was reading a new cookbook, only to then purchase the items and not know what recipe I had intended to use them for.  Doh!

Another new favorite resource is Chowhound.  This is a culinary website that has EVERYTHING related to cooking and eating that you could possibly imagine.  It was my go to source for discussion/reviews when I was contemplating my new cookware.  I enjoy this discussion thread that is all about Vegan meal ideas and resources: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/887213  Check it out and see what you think.  Cut and paste the address into your browser.  Spend a moment or two looking around the site.  I am constantly finding new things to like about it.

The website NutritionMD.com has free meal planning resources and recipes to simplify things a bit.  Engine2diet.com has a free 28 day meal plan with some of their recipes online.  Happy Herbivore has a paid service for those looking for a weekly meal plan with all the recipes included.  These are just a few of the possibilities out there to simplify things.

Making this transition has been time consuming in a good way (most of the time.)  I really enjoy the investigating, the shopping and the experimenting in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking (and eating) so much more now. Dare I say, I am even having fun! It has been a challenge, for sure. And there are definitely frustrating moments, like spending over an hour on a new recipe only to have it received with an "ew, this is BAD!"

I have found the physical and emotional benefits of our culinary and dietary changes well worth the time investment.  I see the positive changes in my family.  This is all the fuel that I need to keep doing what I need to do to answer that perpetual question, "WHAT'S FOR DINNER?"  And to do so with joy.