Viva Sustainable

delishyourdish: “Niche Quiche”- Vegan Quiche with Carmelized...

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:38:49 -0400

“Niche Quiche”- Vegan Quiche with Carmelized Onions, Leeks and Mushrooms and Millet Crust

Last week I had cooked up a recipe for a friend of mine out of one of her favorite cookbooks. I had never had vegan quiche, let alone cooked it, but I’m pretty good about trying anything once. The quiche was phenomenal! I couldn’t wait to get into my own kitchen and cook up my own batch. This time I added a few different veggies and baked the millet crust before putting in the filling. The quiche was so delish, that I unfortunately only have 1 piece left for tomorrow…if it lasts until then.

What You Need:

2 Onions (1 diced, 1 thinly sliced)

Fresh Thyme (to taste)

1 Clove Garlic (minced)

Salt/Pepper/Cayenne (to taste)

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp. Tahini

2 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast

1 Large Leek (cleaned and chopped)

1 Cup Mushrooms (sliced)

1 Cup Millet (rinsed and drained)

1 1/2 Blocks Tofu (I used silken and firm)

3 Cups Water

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

1. In a greased, medium/large pot, sweat the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add a pinch of salt and chopped thyme. Then, add the millet to the pot and saute for about 1 minute. Then pour in the 3 cups of water. Bring the millet to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer until all the water is absorbed. The millet should be slightly chewy.

2. While the millet is cooking, blend together the tofu, soy sauce, tahini and 1 tbsp. of nutritional yeast until smooth. Set aside.

3. When the millet is cooked, press it in to a greased baking dish or tart pan. Place the tray into the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until millet crust is crisped slightly.

4. While the crust is baking, toss the leeks and onions into a greased saute pan. Slowly carmelize the veggies, then toss in the mushrooms. Add in chopped thyme to taste. Saute until mushrooms are tender. Then, combine the veggies and tofu mixture in a medium bowl. Fold the ingredients together until well combined. Season to taste.

5. Then, remove the crust from the oven and fill the crust with the tofu/veggie mixture. Top the quiche with the remaining nutritional yeast and bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into it.

7 Reasons to go Veg (from @PurelyElizabeth)

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:36:35 -0400

7 Reasons to go Veg (from @PurelyElizabeth):

stylehousepr:

Here are 7 compelling reasons to go veg:

Vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease.

Vegetarians have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters.

Meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are.

The consumption of meat, eggs, and…

Chelsea Clinton's Vegan Wedding Cake

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:37:55 -0400

Chelsea Clinton's Vegan Wedding Cake

The Most Veg-Friendly Cities in North America

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:49:00 -0400

The Most Veg-Friendly Cities in North America:

New York ranks #9

"Food manufacturers sure don’t make it easy for consumers to shop conscientiously"

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:13:38 -0400

“Food manufacturers sure don’t make it easy for consumers to shop conscientiously”

- “Decoding Ingredients: Different Names for Unhealthy Items” (via DivineCaroline) http://www.divinecaroline.com/22177/99473-decoding-ingredients-different-names-unhealthy

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on the blog here (though I’ve been continuing...

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:12:26 -0400

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on the blog here (though I’ve been continuing to tweet @vivasustainable) and that’s because I got married last weekend (!) and the lead-up has consumed me, to say the least, for the past 8+ months.

My husband and I are very excited to be entering this new phase in our lives, and with all the amazing new kitchen items we’ve received as gifts I look forward to sharing our cooking and food adventures here. Stay tuned!

Changes in store for school vending machines

Wed, 19 May 2010 14:55:19 -0400

Changes in store for school vending machines:

New regulations may shift focus to healthier foods for students

"The American Food Revolution needs to start now! If you care about your country and the health of..."

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:25:18 -0400

“

The American Food Revolution needs to start now! If you care about your country and the health of its children please help us make a difference. We need your support to get people back in touch with food and keep cooking skills alive before it’s too late. We want to make sure every kid gets good, fresh food at school. It’s proven that real food promotes more effective learning. If you want better health for your kids the junk food must go. I need to be able to show The President and industry how many of you out there really care about this issue so please don’t wait, sign up today. It will only take 30 seconds.

America’s health needs you!

Thank you. Please forward this to your friends, family, classmates, teachers, colleagues and anyone else who you think cares as time is short.

”

- Jamie Oliver
Please sign the petition here! http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

Eat-onomics: The Ten Most Inspiring People in Sustainable Food

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:27:19 -0400

Eat-onomics: The Ten Most Inspiring People in Sustainable Food

Note From Barack Obama in My Inbox This Morning

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:09:56 -0400

For the first time in our nation’s history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we’ll finally start reducing the cost of care — creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we’ve faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right — and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

A Month Without Monsanto

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:34:18 -0400

A Month Without Monsanto:

Just discovered this site, really powerful!

Jonathan Safran Foer Makes Second Appearance On Ellen DeGeneres Show

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:30:07 -0400

Jonathan Safran Foer Makes Second Appearance On Ellen DeGeneres Show

Click to View Today's Incredibly Misguided Article on DailyWorth.com

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:29:00 -0500

Click to View Today's Incredibly Misguided Article on DailyWorth.com:

MY RESPONSE COMMENT BELOW THE ARTICLE: There is a high cost to cheap food and you pay it to your (or your children’s) doctor down the line. I’m all about sretching your food dollar, but wisely. Read the ingredient labels and figure out what the best use of your dollar is. Everytime you buy food you are “voting” for the principles behind that food and what brought it to your plate.

How is your child asking for fruity cheerios a precious mom moment?! There’s nothing precious about artificial coloring and high fructose corn syrup or sugar as the first or second ingredient in food you are serving to your child.
How about playing a game with your child of reading the ingredients on food labels. If they can pronounce every ingredient on the list then you buy it! That’s more my idea of a precious mom moment.

Lunch with the FT: Jonathan Safran Foer (Published: February 26 2010)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:03:00 -0500

Lunch with the FT: Jonathan Safran Foer (Published: February 26 2010):

“I think we’re going to shift away from thinking about it as a lifestyle; it will be more an awareness of the choices in front of us The real problem is the question, ‘Are you vegetarian?’ It doesn’t leave a great deal of room … If we all had one less serving of meat a week, that would be the equivalent of taking 5m cars off the road. One serving a day – 35m cars. There is nothing that we could do that would have a greater impact on the environment. Just don’t eat the shitty thing at lunch that you don’t even like anyway.”
- ‘Eating Animals’ author Jonathan Safran Foer in the article linked above!

Jonathan Safran Foer on Colbert last night

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:03:04 -0500

Jonathan Safran Foer on Colbert last night

Amy Goodman from Democracy Now interviews Michael Pollan. I...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:02:56 -0500

Amy Goodman from Democracy Now interviews Michael Pollan. I could just listen to him talk forever! The full transcript is here http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/8/michael_pollan_on_food_rules_an

Meat Free Mondays in Today's GOOP

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:47:30 -0500

Here is a great letter from Sir Paul McCartney to Gwyneth and GOOP readers:

Hi Goopsters! Hi Gwyneth!
Ok, here’s the story on Meat Free Monday. In 2006, the United Nations issued a report which stated that the livestock industry as a whole was responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the whole of the transport sector put together.
I found this interesting particularly because people at the UN are not a vegetarian society and therefore, could not be accused of bias. They pointed out the following facts:
• The Livestock industry produces gases that are extremely dangerous for the future of our environment.
• The two main gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are considered to be more harmful than CO2 (methane is 21 times more powerful than CO2 and nitrous oxide is 310 times more powerful than CO2) so the data suggests that this is causing a highly dangerous situation for ourselves and, more importantly, for future generations.
• Methane also remains in the atmosphere for 9 to 15 years; nitrous oxide remains in the atmosphere for 114 years, on average, and is 296 times more potent than CO2 - the gases released today will continue to be active in degrading the climate decades from now.
• Livestock production is land intensive: a recent report by Greenpeace on land use in the largest meat producing state in Brazil found that livestock (cattle) production was responsible for vastly more deforestation than soya.
• A third of all cereal crops, and well over 90% of soya, goes into animal feed, not food for humans. Eating less meat will free up a lot of agricultural land which can revert to growing trees and other vegetation, which, in turn, will absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Livestock production is water intensive: it accounts for around 8% of global human water use. The estimated 634 gallons of fresh water required to produce one 5.2 ounce (150g) beef burger would be enough for a four-hour shower. For comparison, the same quantity of tofu requires 143 gallons of water to produce.
• Livestock production is the largest source of water pollutants, principally animal wastes, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops, and sediments from eroded pastures.
• The meat industry is set to double its production by 2050 so even if they manage to lower emissions by 50%, as they have promised to, we will still be in the same position.
With this in mind, my family and I launched Meat Free Monday in the UK, an idea which has been gaining support from people like Tom Parker-Bowles who, after a lifetime of denigrating vegetarians, recently wrote in his Daily Mail column, “I wince at the memory of my boorish antics” and who pronounced himself “intrigued” by MFM: “There’s no doubting the plain common sense of the message…Meat Free Monday is something to really savour”. Another supporter is Al Gore who stated that initiatives like Meat Free Monday “represent a responsible and welcome component of a comprehensive strategy for reducing global warming pollution and simultaneously improving human health.”
Even a number of schools have already done this in the UK with great success. The town of Ghent in Belgium has a meat free day and, amazingly, Sao Paulo has one even though Brazil is a large exporter of meat. In Sweden, the government is now labeling food to give the consumer the opportunity to understand the dangers of indiscriminate food consumption and there are many more examples appearing online.
The point is that so many people these days are looking for ways to “do their bit” for the environment. We recycle - something we never would have dreamt of doing in the past. Many people now drive hybrid cars but most people understand that we cannot leave this important issue to the politicians of the world. Recently, at the Copenhagen Conference for Climate Change, this issue was not even on the agenda and so I believe it is once again left to us, the people, to do it ourselves.
It’s amazingly easy to take one day in your week, Monday or any other day, and not eat meat. When you think about it, there are so many great alternatives, for instance, in Italian cooking, so many of the dishes are vegetarian already and Thai and Chinese cuisine are the same. All it means is that you have to think a bit about what you’ll eat that day but, in actual fact, far from being a chore, it’s a fun challenge.
Having been a vegetarian for over 30 years, I find it very simple and in fact, tasty and most enjoyable.
So there it is! Next Monday - don’t eat meat and do your bit to save this beautiful planet of ours. For more information, ideas and lots of meat free recipes, go to the official Meat Free Monday website.
Thanks Goopsters! Thanks Gwyneth!
Rock on ya’ll!
Paul
.

Genetic food giant Monsanto is at it again...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:40:13 -0500

(from Ana Sofia of FRESH The Movie) Genetic food giant Monsanto is at it again. Its next target: a new product that could eliminate all organic alfalfa, a key food for raising organic-fed cows and pigs without any genetic engineering.

The USDA is well on its way to approving Monsanto’s genetically modified alfalfa. In its own report, the USDA says that not enough consumers care enough about organic foods for the USDA to block Monsanto’s modified alfalfa seeds. [1] This is absurd since one of the main reasons people buy organic food is to avoid genetically engineered crops.

The USDA is only accepting public comments for the next two weeks. We need you to write to the USDA right now and tell them they must not approve Monsanto’s mutant alfalfa. We’ll deliver your comments before the deadline. [2]

Click here: http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1753

Alfafa is one of the major food sources for certified organic animals, not only because of its quality as forage, but because Monsanto’s patented genes are already found in 95% of soybeans and 80% of corn. If the USDA lets Monsanto sell its new alfalfa, it will inevitably overtake organic alfalfa crops through the natural pollination process. [3] As a result organic farmers may be feeding their cows genetically modified food.

Just like its corn and soy, Monsanto’s alfalfa is designed to tolerate its leading herbicide: Roundup. We can’t allow Monsanto’s greed to take-over one more crop. The consequences to our choice as consumer, to biological diversity, to the survival of our small and organic farmers depends are too dire.

Monsanto’s domination of our food must stop. For the USDA to shrug it off like nobody cares is to add insult to injury. We only have two weeks to submit our comments.The fight for FRESH food will continue, and with your help we’ll make it clear that people care about the food they eat.

Let’s show the USDA and Monsanto that people want food free from Monsanto’s modifications. Write your comments to the USDA now and say no to genetically modified alfalfa.

The fight for FRESH food will continue, and with your help we’ll make it clear that people care about the food they eat.

Thanks for all you do.

ana Sofia joanes
FRESH the Movie

————-

SOURCES:

1. United States Department of Agriculture. Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Events J101 and J163: Request for Nonregulated Status. Draft Environmental Impact Statement-November 2009. P.T-2.
2. Docket: APHIS-2007-0044: USDA Seeks Public Comment on Genetically Engineered Alfalfa
3. United States Department of Agriculture. Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Events J101 and J163: Request for Nonregulated Status. Draft Environmental Impact Statement-November 2009. P.95.

"I think part of the problem in Washington is that Obama is more highly evolved than most of the..."

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:28:53 -0500

“I think part of the problem in Washington is that Obama is more highly evolved than most of the people in congress. He’s post- patriarchy and they hate him for that - they probably hate him more for his pleas to come together (no Beatle shout out intended) than for his blackness.”

- My wise mother Candy Leonard

Healthy (movie) Popcorn, well, sort of

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:09:58 -0500

I went to the movies last night and on the way I felt like I was already smelling the delightful smell of movie popcorn. I used to eat movie popcorn all the time, sometimes as my dinner! I thought it was a great, light, healthy snack with a lot of fiber and very few calories. It is, when you make it at home after all. Then I read this article Movie popcorn, soda = 3 burgers, 12 butter pats. Uy…

So on the way to the theater last night, I stopped into a bodega and I stumbled upon what I think will be my new go-to movie snack: Good Health Natural Foods Organic Popcorn (with a hint of olive oil). Luckily I had a large enough purse to sneak it into the theater, but they also come in small mini-bags. So tasty, filling, wholesome feeling/tasting, and NOT too salty. They are based in Quincy, MA so relatively local as well.

Check them out! http://www.goodhealthnaturalfoods.com/

Oh, and don’t see Leap Year. We only saw it because Avatar was sold out. An hour and a half I’ll never get back!