Thursday, December 23, 2010

Yam Pie - as good as Pumpkin Pie

PCRM Recipe of the Week

December 23, 2010

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Yam Pie

Dear PCRM supporter,


Similar in flavor to pumpkin pie, this tasty dessert is a rich source of beta-carotene.

Directions

Makes 8 servings

2 medium yams
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 Fat-Free Pie Crust or unbaked store-bought pie crust

Peel yams and cut into 1-inch chunks. Steam in a covered pot over boiling water until tender when pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Mash, leaving some chunks. You should have about 2 cups.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch or arrowroot, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Stir in soymilk and yams. Pour into the pre-baked Fat-Free Crust or an unbaked 9" or 10" store-bought pie crust and bake for 35 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Nutrition Information

Per 2" slice (with Fat-Free Pie Crust):

Calories: 165
Fat: 1.1 g
Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
Calories from Fat: 6.2%
Cholesterol: 0 mg

Protein: 3.8 g
Carbohydrates: 36.5 g
Sugar: 14.9 g
Fiber: 3.1 g

Sodium: 164 mg
Calcium: 75 mg
Iron: 4.9 mg
Vitamin C: 5.2 mg
Beta-Carotene: 3566 mcg
Vitamin E: 1.2 mg

Recipe from Eat Right, Live Longer by Neal D. Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond M.S., R.D.

Please feel free to tailor PCRM recipes to suit your
individual dietary needs.

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E-mail: info@pcrm.org

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Calling (the public celebration of) 'Christmas' 'irrational'

The irrational part is that it's not about anything at all except self-indulgence in self-destruction. The destructive part about Christmas is NOT a belief (valid or not) about some historical event that (is believed to have) occurred at a precise point in the material continuity of material unfolding, but the self-indulgence in self-destruction that is cloaked in what I'd term 'coercive frivolity' (everyone feels that we ought to participate in the self-indulgence and excess).

Some say, oh, it's a myth and we should "celebrate reason"... Does my work does NOT (in some sense) "celebrate reason"?

Celebrating reason is not bowing before the goddess Athena or Minerva - or even paying lipservice to some image (mental or graphic) of the human brain. It's USING our lives (including the neurological capacities) to their optimal extent and keeping our bodies and brains healthy and functional for as long as possible.

Bring on the cultural anthropologists... I do NOT want to get drunk or eat dead animals...

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Maynard Clark's vegetarian background.

Maynard Clark has been organizing and building vegetarian networks and studying its culture since he became vegan in the 1970s, including several vegetarian conferences, major indoor and outdoor vegetarian events, and several decades of vegetarian speakers and outreach events. He brought together the Boston Vegetarian Society and began the Vegetarian Resource Center, served on the Regional Council and as VP of the Vegetarian Union of North America, and until recently had a Yahoo! blog with over 1.4 million readers. He's a longtime Harvard employee and a Master's candidate in research administration. More important, he's committed to enriching the herbivorous community's self understanding with the critical tools of the social sciences and the insights of community organizing.

Maynard Clark's vegetarian background.

Maynard Clark has been organizing and building vegetarian networks and studying its culture since he became vegan in the 1970s, including several vegetarian conferences, major indoor and outdoor vegetarian events, and several decades of vegetarian speakers and outreach events. He brought together the Boston Vegetarian Society and began the Vegetarian Resource Center, served on the Regional Council and as VP of the Vegetarian Union of North America, and until recently had a Yahoo! blog with over 1.4 million readers. He's a longtime Harvard employee and a Master's candidate in research administration. More important, he's committed to enriching the herbivorous community's self understanding with the critical tools of the social sciences and the insights of community organizing.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Building Vegan Culture(s) Globally


The task of building vegan culture has been undertaken throughout the millennia by religious and spiritual communities, vegetarians and vegans with a worldview, and the vegan and vegetarian dietary practices are intertwined in their understandings and with all their other beliefs.

Building sustainable and non-idiosyncratic vegan culture(s) and subcultures globally is a challenge very few vegans seem to be willing to take upon themselves in a committed and systematic way.

These resources offer some background.

E-Mail: Building-Vegan-Culture-owner@yahoogroups.com

Websites:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Building-Vegan-Culture/
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Building-Vegan-Culture/

In addition to joining them, thoughts in this forum could help us think out the task of building vegan culture and its sustaining resources (including our own self-history and community histories).

Again, throughout the millennia, this task has been undertaken by vegetarians and vegans with a worldview which may be different from our own outlook or view of living, and vegan diet for them was for them, as it is for most of us, part of our lives. In that context, like it was for them, it is intertwined in their or our understanding and with all their or our other beliefs.

As before - in the past, vegetarians and vegans today, both religious and secular, continue intertwine beliefs, both dietary and nondietary.

Issues in culture building arise constantly whenever there is talk about "increasing the number of vegans".

But modern social science understandings of culturebuilding OUGHT to give us profound insights into the importance of economics, material infrastructure, celebration, and intergenerational communication.


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Monday, December 06, 2010

Doing without

Last night, on the Simpsons, Lisa Simpson (not in her dreams, where she had become an entirely different character, some of it very bad and, from a vegetarian's perspective, one of those horrid nightmares of self-doubt about being a good person) bemoaned the family's Christmas Tree.

Her resolution of the "Fir is Murder" issue was clever...

Cartoon of the Week

43 Island "Nation-States" feel like Deserted Islands

At Climate Summit, They're Feeling Like Deserted Islands

from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)

Cancun, Mexico -- In the scrum of 9,000 negotiators gathered in Cancun to wrangle over a global climate treaty Ronny Jumeau has no patience for diplomatic niceties.

"I won't shut up," said the pugnacious chief of the three-member delegation from Seychelles, an Indian Ocean archipelago. ... Jumeau is a member of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a negotiating bloc of 43 nations already suffering the ill effects of climate change: longer droughts, bigger floods, stronger hurricanes and rising seas. The countries circle the globe from the Pacific to the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, and they are furious that the industrial nations--the big emitters of greenhouse gases--are not moving fast enough to ensure their survival.

As the 12-day summit moves into high gear this week, small island nations may be the noisiest critics, but they are hardly alone in their frustration that a legally binding agreement to reduce planet-heating pollutants has no chance to be concluded here.

http://ow.ly/3kz84

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Maynard S. Clark | 617-615-9672 (GoogleVoice) | Skype: MaynardClark

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Chris Voight, Washington State Potato Commission, eats 20 plain potatoes each day for 60 days

Chris Voight works for the Washington State Potato Commission.

To prove to people that the potato is a nutritious food and not just an empty carb, he has eaten 20 potatoes a day, and little else, for 60 days.

He has produced some funny videos which he has posted along with his blood work on his website: http://www.20potatoesaday.com/

"Hi, I'm Chris Voigt, and I'm eating 20 Potatoes a day, for 60 days straight.

I'm the Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission. In an effort to remind the public about the nutritional value of potatoes, I am going on a diet consisting of ONLY POTATOES, nothing else. No toppings, no chili, no sour cream, no cheese, no gravy, just potatoes and maybe some seasonings or herbs and a little oil for some of the cooking.

I will be on this "potato only" diet for 60 days straight, starting October 1st and ending November 29th. I want to show the world that the potato is so healthy, that you could live off them alone for an extended period of time, without any negative impact to your health. And who knows, maybe it will make me healthier by lowering my blood pressure and cholesterol?

As part of this 60 day diet, I will be posting online videos, comments, and blogs about how the diet is going, interesting trivia about the potato, and some zany stuff too! You can follow the diet and let me know what you think here!

Each Monday I'll announce a contest for the week where you could win some cool potato stuff! I look forward to hearing what you think about my 20 potatoes a day! Remember to tell your friends and come back often!

Chris Voigt
Washington State Potato Commission
509-765-8845
info@20potatoesaday.com

Home Diet Facts Blog Videos Contact Us Diet Facts A person my height and weight needs to consume 2200 calories a day just to maintain my weight. An average potato (5.3 oz) contains 110 calories. I'll need to eat 20 potatoes a day to maintatin my weight. Below is an example of the nutrients I'll be getting from my 20 potatoes a day... Vitamin C
Vitamin B6
Potassium
Dietary Fiber
Maganese
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Copper
Thiamin
Niacin
Iron
Protein
Folate
Pantothenic Acid
Vitamin K
Zinc
Ribofalvin
Calcium
Selenium
Vitamin E
Vitamin A 942%
423%
345%
252%
220%
165%
164%
155%
153%
151%
124%
116%
115%
85%
68%
55%
54%
34%
12%
1%
1%

What it means to "defend animal rights"

We need to
(a) BELIEVE in the social construct of rights

(b) BE ABLE to clearly conceptualize and express the social construct of rights and the rightful inclusion of nonhumans within the scope of that construct's applicability
(c) BE ABLE AND WILLING to consistently live out the practical implications of that social construct (e.g. veganism)

(d) BE ABLE AND WILLING to tease out the long-term implications for each society of the practical implications of that social construct (e.g. abolition of all animal agriculture and exploitative social USES of animals), in ways that are attractive to the broad reach of each society and highly desirable (more desirable than any status quo exploiting animals or any ACTUAL new way of exploiting animals or the POSSIBILITY of any (some) new way appearing in the future that could be used to justify the exploitation of nonhumans.


I'd say that's a very tall order. I'd also say that we are only beginning to achieve the aggregated social maturity as a vegan movement to deal with that whole-cloth, in the aggregate, even though a number of really great books (Lee Hall's included) have appeared to help us individually work through these issues and implications in our individual lives.

Dubai event encourages a vegetarian lifestyle

Fruitarian, vegan, or raw foodie? If you have wondered what the difference is, then the Meveg Congress, opening today, might be the thing for you.

The two-day event at the Dubai World Trade Centre brings together 16 proponents of healthy living from as far as Singapore, Russia and the United States.

The effort seeks to convince audiences that ditching meat, even if only for a few days each week, can help people and the planet to become healthier.

That message is particularly relevant in the UAE, which has very high levels of diabetes and obesity, as well as a deep environmental footprint in the world.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the UAE has the highest per-capita footprint at 10.68 hectares. This indicates what portion of the planet's natural resources people living here need to sustain their lifestyles.
--
full story:
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/dubai-event-encourages-a-vegetarian-lifestyle

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Unforeseen Consequences of TRYING to Do Good for Others

I would be MORE eager to support more animal rescue efforts if this were part of a broader effort to liberate ALL animals globally (rather than merely rescuing some animals at the expense of others; 'competitive rights' where some lose - "food animals" - in order to feed the rescued animals).

When they address this issue so that the pining souls who adopt countless animals are at least conversant with the topic of why farmed animals deserve to NOT be killed for food, I'll be  ore likely to be on board with the companion animal rescue effort.  Most 'pining souls' are NOT conversant with the topic at all, have no idea that there MIGHT be future options such as cloned meat or even collective buying of non-hinsic vegan-friendly pet food, etc.  For them, it's more about providing solace, a home, and food and veterinary attention to individually rescued animals than about a global noncompetitive ecological justice for all.  With pet-food, we have a deep ecological and inter-species moral problem on our hands, and it demands a deep and profound conversation across the entire humane movement, but most folks are recoiling from the conversation, presumably from the anxiety of losing the appearance of their moral high ground if they acknowledge that we really don't know what we're doing here.

Unforeseen Consequences of Doing Good

I would be MORE eager to support more animal rescue efforts if this were part of a broader effort to liberate ALL animals globally (rather than merely rescuing some animals at the expense of others; 'competitive rights' where some lose - "food animals" - in order to feed the rescued animals).

When they address this issue so that the pining souls who adopt countless animals are at least conversant with the topic of why farmed animals deserve to NOT be killed for food, I'll be ore likely to be on board with the companion animal rescue effort. Most 'pining souls' are NOT conversant with the topic at all, have no idea that there MIGHT be future options such as cloned meat or even collective buying of non-hinsic vegan-friendly pet food, etc. For them, it's more about providing solace, a home, and food and veterinary attention to individually rescued animals than about a global noncompetitive ecological justice for all. With pet-food, we have a deep ecological and inter-species moral problem on our hands, and it demands a deep and profound conversation across the entire humane movement, but most folks are recoiling from the conversation, presumably from the anxiety of losing the appearance of their moral high ground if they acknowledge that we really don't know what we're doing here.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Militant WHAT?

I recall how actor and comedian Woody Allen, in writing about his metaphysical agnosticism and his struggles with religious, ethical, and metaphysical issue, noted that he did NOT aspire to being world's best-known agnostic (or atheist).

That self-deprecating spirit is very different from the militant and seemingly hostile atheism we see around.

But then, it might be occasioned by a sensitivity to what appear to be public professions of faith (typically INSIDE buildings, thanks to property protections in the name of "freedom of religion").

To me, it always seemed impossible to deny something we could not coherently define; so, in that sense, a clear statement of atheism seemed irrational, where agnosticism is not because we could describe, with growing bodies of analysis along with neurological and other evidence how certain kind of knowledge, how some kinds of knowledge may be impossible for us.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Harvard's Vegan CIO Dr. John Halamka unworried by report linking microchips to tumors

Monday, September 10, 2007

Halamka not worried by report linking microchips to tumors

halamka%20150.bmpDr. John Halamka (left) is used to fielding questions about the radio frequency identification chip embedded in his arm, and not just when he sets off security alarms atHome Depot.

The chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,who had the microchip containing his medical data implanted in 2004, says he isn't worried by an Associated Press report that the US Food and Drug Administration ignored studies linking the chips to cancer in mice when it approved the devices.

"The chip is ceramic, surrounded by medical-grade glass that is, to my knowledge, invisible to the immune system," he said in an e-mail today. "Thus, I cannot imagine how a chip could induce tumors."

Halamka said he has talked to veterinarians who have implanted thousands of the chips into dogs and cats, with no side effects. He suspects that the studies of mice are not applicable to humans because mice are predisposed to developing tumors at the site of any injection.

"I've had no side effects or tumors," he said. "Should I ever develop any issues with my implanted chip, you'll be the first to know!"

Posted by Elizabeth Cooney at 04:12 PM

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird's' mouth was rude, obnoxious, and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music, and doing whatever else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up, and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot, but the parrot became angrier and even more rude. In desperation, John
threw up his hand, grabbed the bird, and locked him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.
But suddenly, there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said:

"I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions, and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly,
"May I ask what the turkey did?"


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird's' mouth was rude, obnoxious, and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music, and doing whatever else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up, and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot, but the parrot became angrier and even more rude. In desperation, John
threw up his hand, grabbed the bird, and locked him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.
But suddenly, there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said:

"I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions, and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly,
"May I ask what the turkey did?"


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Term of the Day: searching (on the Internet) - defined

searching

Exploration of the World Wide Web by following one interesting link to another, usually with a definite objectiveand a planned search strategy. In comparison surfing is exploration definite in objective but not in strategy, andbrowsing is exploration without a definite objective or search strategy.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Harvard: Are Biofuels the Answer? Science and Economics of Alternative Energy

Are Biofuels the Answer? The Science and Economics of Alternative Energy

Are Biofuels the Answer?

Thursday,
November 18, 2010

6:00-8:00 pm.

Harvard Business School,
Aldrich Hall, Room 112

Boston, MA

Given the risks and costs of oil production,
the environmental impact of greenhouse gases,
and the need for energy security,
are biofuels the answer?
Join the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA)
for a discussion on the impact of biofuels
featuring prominent scholars in the field.

Panelists include:

Mitchell Dong '75, Executive Director,
Mohave Sun Power LLC

Forest Reinhardt John D. Black Professor of Business Administration and Faculty Chair, European Research Initiative, Harvard Business School.
Recent articles.

Noel Michele Holbrook,
Professor of Biology and
Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry,
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University.
Recent articles

Alumni and friends of the Harvard community: $10
Undergraduate Students: complimentary (free)

Register here


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Maynard S. Clark | 617-615-9672 (GoogleVoice) | Skype: MaynardClark

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The value of graciousness


I think this headline hurts the cause. The issue is how one leader's personality works against the growth and gradual development in the general public's minds - on their own terms - of pro-vegan (and animal-friendly) personal and social values.

Attacking someone who isn't quite 'there' yet (even when he tries heroically) is IMHO not in the interest of the goals we're trying to seek, nor even in the spirit of the argument that is made here.

Gary is not a fascist; he is a law school professor who may not really listen very well. He instinctively wants the bully pulpit all the time, but he's a good-hearted man with a curious sense of humor (that I oddly enjoy in a Homer-Simpson-like way).

Let me share a Francionism:

GaryFrancione:
"Folks often ask me, and surely they ask all of you, too, 'What do you eat as a vegan?'. For me it's very simple. Black coffee and cigarettes."

Now, I think that's all pretty awful and it perpetuates the socially endogenous image of the animal rights advocate as someone doing potentially wise things poorly in order to 'do it for the animals' in a self-sacrificing (and thus self-destructive') way that is both unwise and unhealthful.

But I think that our community is larger than our problems. I've watched Prof. Francione mature amazingly well during this past decade, and I cheer him on.

Newcomers are tempted to make cult figures out of any of us who are 'out there' in a public, effective, productive, diligent way. As Patrick Battuello argues, the 'movement' (which once was not a movement, but now is, I would argue) is not any one person, group, or perspective, but the deeper, broader theme, so that any of us can defer or back away from any of the tangential, side issues that are often co-packaged with vegan advocacy (and there ARE a multitude of confusing side 'social issues' which COULD be fundamental to any one vegan's personal veganism, multiplied by however millions of other vegans feel that way, but which may not always be inherent in every OTHER individual's 'personal veganism' (and thus, not inherent in 'veganism' itself.

I've been attending Friday evening contemplative evenings with vegan buffets and meditative talks long enough to appreciate the value of graciousness in the lives of vegans and vegetarians. Let us cultivate a spirit of generosity.

As Gary Francione himself has been noted saying of late:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Try out this new Vegan Meal Planner.


Try out this new Vegan Meal Planner.
Tell me how it works for you.
Is it good for Thanksgiving?

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

IRAC and 'fact patterns'

In my graduate Contracts class, I was assigned to criticize a contract, basing all my arguments on the IRAC writing method.

Some claim that the IRAC method is based on answering questions based on identifiable fact patterns.

While others have criticized the IRAC writing method online, I found this site online, also.

http://www.leews.com/

It has a nice but short analysis, yet the LEEWS (method/program website) is offering us a sales pitch for the LEEWS method (and training in the LEEWS method). I won't cry COI, but note that legal analysis BEGINS with FACTS - a list of facts (observed or acknowledged facts), from which the ISSUE is discerned.

How would medical, scientific, or business reasoning proceed?

So 'fact patterns' are the observations from which one discerns relevant facts - facts relevant to the conversation or controversy.

However, we would hardly enjoy the ambiguity of discussing IRAC/Iraq in the 21st century if we terms this the FIRAC system, would we?

Ambiguity might be as fundamental as death and food and sexuality - for mentally active persons way up there on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

http://www.DoNotEatUs.org

A wonderful 2-minute video spot can be downloaded and shared from http://www.DoNotEatUs.org website.

Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Friday, November 05, 2010

Coffee: The Good News

banner
Welcome to HSPH Nutrition Source Update, an e-letter to help you cut through confusing information and find practical strategies for healthy eating.

November 2010
Coffee: The good news

coffee cup

More than half of American adults drink coffee every day. Recent scientific studies suggest moderate consumption may help reduce some disease risks. Learn about some of coffee's possible health benefits, compare caffeine levels in popular beverages, and get the scoop on coffee's downsides in this interactive graphic.

According to HSPH coffee expert Rob van Dam, coffee is more than just a vehicle for caffeine. It's actually full of hundreds of compounds that can lead to diverse health outcomes.


"That's why we do studies on very specific health effects--for example, studies of how coffee affects the risk of diabetes--but we also conduct studies looking at coffee consumption and mortality over a long period of time, which better reflects the overall health effect."

A few key findings:

  • Drinking up to six cups a day of coffee is not associated with increased risk of death from any cause.

  • Some people may still want to consider avoiding coffee or switching to decaf, especially women who are pregnant, or people who have a hard time controlling their blood pressure or blood sugar.

  • It's best to brew coffee with a paper filter, to remove a substance that causes increases in LDL--that is, bad--cholesterol.
Healthy Beverage Guidelines
Try it at home
strawberries
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Of all the foods we eat, fruit contributes the least amount of sodium to the average American's diet, yet most Americans fall short of the goal of eating three or more servings of fruit a day. One strategy for incorporating more fruit into your diet is to eat fruit for dessert, or to create desserts that are mostly fruit. The addition of whole grains, nuts, and olive oil make this a very satisfying dessert your family and guests will enjoy.


Did you know?
water
While it's impossible to set a single requirement for how much water the hypothetical average American needs each day, the popular advice to "drink eight glasses of water every day" would fulfill most of a person's fluid requirement.
Learn more


Monday, November 01, 2010

DHA Fish Oil IMPOTENT and very harmful

No Benefit of DHA Fish Oil for Postpartum Depression, Child Neurodevelopment
DHA-rich fish oil capsules given during pregnancy do not decrease postpartum depression or improve cognition or language scores in offspring compared with vegetable oil capsules.
Clinical Review, October 2010

World Vegan Day is ALSO ...

It's SO nice to know that World Vegan Day is ALSO (in America, at least) National Weatherization Day. Brrrrr, the 'weather' can become SO very cold. Think of all those farmed animals out there in the open, as well as in the heated factory farms, sweating from ambient heat and walking in their own excrement.

Celebrating National Weatherization Day

November 1, 2010

Today, Energy Secretary Steven Chu made the following statement on National Weatherization Day. The statement can be found on the Energy Blog.

Celebrating National Weatherization Day
Posted by Secretary Steven Chu on November 01, 2010 at 1:55 PM

Full story

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

PCRM Vegan Recipe of the Week: Pumpkin Spice Vegan Muffins

PCRM Recipe of the Week

October 27, 2010

Print Friendly


Pumpkin Spice Muffins

These moist and delicious fat-free muffins are great for breakfast or afternoon snack.

Directions

Directions

Makes 10 muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 15-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin pur�e
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup raisins
vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Add pumpkin pur�e, water, and raisins. Stir until just mixed.

Spoon batter into vegetable oil sprayed muffin cups, filling to just below tops.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until tops of muffins bounce back when pressed lightly. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes in pan. Remove muffins from pan and cool on a rack. Store cooled muffins in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information

Per muffin:

Calories: 158
Fat: 0.6 g
Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
Calories from Fat: 3.6%
Cholesterol: 0 mg

Protein: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 37.1 g
Sugar: 15.8 g
Fiber: 4.5 g

Sodium: 331 mg
Calcium: 106 mg
Iron: 1.9 mg
Vitamin C: 2 mg
Beta-Carotene: 2952 mcg
Vitamin E: 0.7 mg

Recipe from Healthy Eating for Life for Children by Amy Lanou, Ph.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.

Please feel free to tailor PCRM recipes to suit your
individual dietary needs.

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Vegan Halloween Round-Up!

Vegan Halloween Round-Up!
Healthy. Happy. Life.

Spooky, scary, creepy, crawly fun is all around us because it's (VEGAN) Halloween Week!

So gather up your closest ghouls, goblins, ghosts, zombies, skeletons, witches, black cats, pirates and vampires and get prepared for a Halloween Weekend of fun frightsand fantastic vegan treats!

Here is my Vegan Halloween Round-up of some fun vegan recipes, vegan treats (from gourmet goodies like the Cocoa V chocolates shown above to Drug Store stand-by's like Swedish Fish!) and resources to make your Halloween vegan-tastic..

Treats! You can't have a happy (vegan) Halloween without a few vegan treats. And that includes both treats to hand out at your door, and treats for an at-home Halloween party as well.

Vegan Blog Halloween Treats Bonanza..
Here are a few Halloween Treats cooking up on the vegan blogs..



Devils Food Cake Halloween Cupcakes by MeetTheShannons

Homemade Candy Corn lemon-flavored by VegSpinz

Festive Halloween Maple-Glazed Doughnuts by VeganGoodThings

Asparagus Skeletons in Puff Pastry
by VegSpinz

Halloween Gingerbread Cookies by The Mommy Bowl

Fried Wonton Ghost by VegSpinz

Pumpkin S'mores Cupcake (with ghost face) by NewVeganing

Ghoulish Green Cupcakes with Purple Frosting (no artificial food dyes!) byBittersweetBlog

Instant Vegan Candy chocolate-coated by BittersweetBlog

Ghastly Tortilla Chips and Ghoul-ca-mole by ManifestVegan

Jack-o-Lantern Halloween Biscuits by WeeklyVeganMenu

A few festive fall bevies..

Almond Chai Latte by MeetTheShannons

Scary Cherry Fizz Punch by (moi) Lunchboxbunch

Fall Mocha with Whip! by Lunchboxbunch

..All the above finds were founds on www.FindingVegan.com #Halloween - (Finding Vegan is my new site that launched a few months back)

Trick-or-Treating Candy

Check out VegNews Guide to Halloween Candy to discover which mainstream brands are indeed vegan. That includes sweets like Pez, Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids - all vegan. Yes!

VegNews also has a nifty Halloween Craft Guide up this year.

PetaKids Guide to Candy
is also a great resource - it contains both vegan candy and vegan snack ideas (who knew Nabisco Gingersnaps, Nutter Butter Bites and Triscuits were vegan?) - this page also lists a few helpful ingredient definitions.

Ecorazzi also has a Top Ten vegan Halloween Candy List (with commentary).

And a SheKnows list of fave vegan Halloween candy. Twizzlers stuck out to me on this one!

Ready to Start Shopping for some vegan Candy??

Check out the Natural Candy Store's supply of yummy, cute, spooky Halloween candy. Those ghost and bat lollipops are adorable. And the vegan peanut butter cups - yum!

Another vegan peanut butter cup I love: Gone Pie Bakery in NYC. (mail-order available!)

Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe with a Halloween Candy 'store' has a few fab treats like marshmallow ghosts!

Also check out Vegan Essentials Vegan Candy for sale online.

GoMaxFoods Vegan Candy Bars are pretty darn awesome. I love the Mahalo Choco-Coconut flavor.

Craving a few Gourmet Treats?

Check out Blossom Restaurant's vegan chocolate-themed cafe/bar: Cocoa V for seasonal Halloween treats and festive goodies like ghost lollipops, orange-frosted cupcakes and more. In NYC.

The Cocoa V truffles and chocolates are fantastic. Some of the treats I picked up last time I was there...

Cocoa V PB Chocolate:


Cocoa V Caramel Chocolate:


Cocoa V Halloween Cupcakes:


Check out OneLuckyDuck's Halloween Macaroons! Orange and black colored. Raw. Vegan.


Babycakes
Vegan Bakery in both LA and NYC also has a wide range of festive vegan treats.

Or try a vegan cinnamon roll with Pumpkin Spice frosting from Cinnaholic. In Berkeley, CA.

Not into edible treats?..
Try Stickers! This article has a great idea to hand out stickers instead of candy. Because really, what kid doesn't love stickers??

Peta has some cute vegan stickers if you want to spread a message.

Or you can find a huge variety of stickers (Halloween Themed!) at Oriental Trading orZazzle. Here's my Ghosty Tomato Trick-or-Treat Sticker.

More Vegan Halloween Fun from the Web:

These spooky skeleton hand Vegan Halloween Cupcakes are amazing! Made by MegaTom via Etsy.

GirlieGirlArmy
has a fabulous Vegan Halloween Guide with a recipe for Vegan Peanut Butter Cups!

Cute and Delicious's vegan Ghost Cookies are just that: cute and delicious-looking!

A Vegan Halloween Party Menu from VegParadise

SpookyVegan's blog is a great site to find Vegan Halloween Sugar Cookiesdecorated as tombstones, scary pumpkins and more. Lots of spooky fun on her site.

And the NoTrickTreats website is genius! Find homes in your neighborhood that are giving out candy that fits your child's needs! Vegan, organic, kosher, raw and more! You can even add your home's goodies to the growing database.

Epicurvegan has a great list of Vegan Halloween Recipes!

Lots of creepy, gross, spooky Vegan Halloween Party Food ideas at Very Vegan Holiday's blog.

Here are a few vegan Halloween EVENTS!

NYC - 10/29 If you are craving a vegan Halloween Party and live in/near NYC I'd check out Veggie Conquest's Halloween Bash! Tickets on sale now. Candy-making contest, vegan goodies, music, fun and party emcee Michael Parrish Dudell (of Ecorazzi.com, Vegdaily.com and Live a Dam). The VC folks throw great events!

Berkley, CA - 10/30 Go Vegan Week's Costume Party.

Need a Trick-or-Treat Bag? Try these designed by me:

"Trick or (VEGAN) Treat" Halloween Bag

Halloween Lunchbox Bunch Bags

And lastly costumes! For veg*n's who like to dress-up like their food...
Have a safe and Happy Vegan Halloween!!

*if you want your link featured on this page - all you have to do is email me! Or post link in the comments section.

Cocoa V Ghost Pop: