Blog

Are you sad? I often am. Anyone with a genetic predisposition to depression knows what it’s like to have the blues for no earthly reason. And when you are an animal rights activist, it can make things a whole lot worse.

Let’s face it, when you care about animal suffering, it’s pretty easy to feel despondent and despairing. How many of us can read about factory farming or puppy mills or fur farms without feeling anger at the least, and more often a sense of overwhelming sadness.

Maybe we can’t change our genes or control all of the things in the world that make us unhappy. But lifestyle, including diet and exercise, can make a big difference. For example, vegans can be at higher risk ... Read More >

What is this love affair that everyone seems to have with bacon these days? It seems to appear in every other recipe published on the internet. The most recent ones I saw were for bacon candy and bacon brownies.

Now the latest internet claim is that lard—which is rendered fat from pigs—is supposedly good for us. Ugh. The basis for this idea is that much of the fat in lard is either monounsaturated (like the fat in olive oil) or is the type of saturated fat that doesn’t affect cholesterol levels.

I don’t know–maybe so. But, dietary fat is a bit more complicated than that. Some types of saturated fat (including the palmitic acid in lard) have been shown to have other effects in ... Read More >

I’ve never had a very high opinion of the foodie movement. To me it’s no great coincidence that foodie (sort of) rhymes with snooty.

Sure, I like food that tastes good. But I can’t help being turned off by an extreme and expensive obsession with luxurious foods in a world where 2 billion people don’t have access to clean water and another billion don’t get enough calories. Who cares if your goat cheese is handcrafted or your guindilla peppers were cooked in the Basque tradition? Shouldn’t we just be happy to have enough?

And, I admit it—I don’t trust most foodies to make ethical decisions about food. Foodie-ism tends to be about pleasure, not making the world a better place. If paté foie gras ... Read More >

I take some flak for my stance on raw foods and low-fat-vegan diets. But that’s okay; I stand by my opinion that neither is a good idea. I’m bothered as a dietitian because I don’t think these diets are the most healthful way to eat. But it bugs me way more as an activist since I don’t think either approach helps animals. In fact, I think it hurts them.

If our goal is to put an end to the inhumane treatment on factory farms, we need to encourage as many people as possible to embrace vegan diets. To do that, we need to show them that this way of eating is healthful and practical and appealing. Promoting additional restrictions that have no known health ... Read More >

Okay, I’m no food photographer. But when I plated up this dinner last night, I was so impressed with myself that I had to take a quick photo. It’s not just that this meal is fabulously healthy, delicious, and pretty. It’s that it took me all of 10 minutes to pull it together.

Granted, the grains were leftovers. But if I hadn’t had those, I would have substituted something quick-cooking, like quinoa, or maybe just a nice slice of toasted grainy bread.

I started with a veggie patty made by Don Lee Farms and sold at some Costco stores. It’s not frozen but is fresh chopped veggies and grains, and it doesn’t pretend to be meat. (I have nothing against veggie burgers that ... Read More >

I treasure my wonderful group of vegan friends and colleagues, people I know both on and off the internet. They provide a sanity-saving little oasis for me in this non-vegan world. They are also a source of information and inspiration, which I think helps me to be a more effective activist.

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where everyone shared our vegan values and goals? Where you could always find vegan food on the table and didn’t have to watch other people eating meat? How great would it be if no one made fun of your diet and lifestyle and not one person ever asked where you get your protein? This question came up a few weeks ago on Twitter: If ... Read More >

It’s safe to say that we have more questions than answers about zinc in vegan diets. This mineral is found in a wide range of plant foods, and many studies show that vegans have intakes on a par with omnivores.

But other evidence suggests that vegans fall short. In addition, zinc absorption from plant foods can be low. In fact, the percent of zinc absorbed from different meals varies dramatically—from around 8 to 32 percent.

Because of the absorption issue, some experts suggest that vegetarians could need as much as 50 percent more zinc in their diet than omnivores.

There is no evidence that vegans suffer from overt zinc deficiency. But zinc is needed by the body for more than 50 different ... Read More >

I love products that help make vegan diets effortless. Lately, I’ve become a devoted fan of the Follow Your Heart company, which makes it especially easy to whip up many of the foods I love—homemade pizza, traditional potato salad, and mac ‘n cheese. I’ve been using their Vegenaise for several years. It’s a huge leap forward in taste and texture from the tofu mayonnaise products of the past. In fact, it tastes more like real mayonnaise—the old-fashioned homemade kind—than commercial mayonnaise does.

More recently, I’ve discovered their Vegan Gourmet line of dairy substitutes. I recently used the sour cream and cream cheese substitutes in place of my usual favorite Tofutti brand for my favorite mushroom strudel recipe and was very happy with the results ... Read More >

I’m going to make these tomorrow for friends who are stopping by for dessert. Chocolate chip pancakes are so divine and since they are served hot from the griddle, they feel sort of gourmet-ish.

It’s easy enough to make these from scratch, but obviously even easier to use a mix. If I’m making them just for my husband and me for a little treat, I try to be as healthful as possible by using a whole grain mix. If it’s for company, I want them to be super light and fluffy so I go with a standard white flour mix. (This is dessert, after all, hopefully following a very healthy dinner!) Pancake mix is usually vegan, but do a quick label scan; the more ... Read More >

In the midst of a potential swine flu pandemic, we are being reassured that it’s okay to eat pork. News releases from the government and industry declare that swine flu is not transmitted by eating pork, and my fellow dietitians are busy advising consumers about safe pork cooking practices.

Pork is safe? Doesn’t this miss the point completely?

We have factory farms because there is no other way to satisfy appetites of Americans and other westerners for meat. Among their other horrors—which include environmental destruction and horrendous animal cruelty—factory farms are breeding grounds for disease. So now we have swine flu. And the response from the farm industry and even from health experts is to encourage people to engage in the very habits ... Read More >