This week’s book review pick is New Vegetarian Cooking by Rose Elliot, which presents 120 “fast, fresh, and fabulous recipes”.  Rose Elliot made a good name for herself with Vegetarian Fast Food, and that track record continues with this title.

The book, which retails for $19.95 in the U.S. and $29.95 in Canada, offers up yummy meat-free recipes beautifully laid out with large color photos.

Accompanying the recipes are numerous useful mini-sections on a hoard of topics of interest.  Pregnant?  There’s a nutrition section for you!  Have children or teens, which you want to raise vegetarian?  There’s sections for that too!  Also handy is the advice for international cooks in the introduction (recipes use international measurements, such as grams in addition to traditional U.S. cooking measurements).

Here’s two delicious selections to whet your interest:

Green Pea Soup With Mint

Ingredients:
2 lb. frozen peas or, preferably, garden-fresh organic peas in the pod
1 large onion
6 garlic cloves
(optional) Salt and pepper
(optional) Fresh mint leaves
(optional) 3-4 tablespoons thick plain yogurt

Instructions:
Put peas in a saucepan, simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Empty contents into a food processor, adding a bit of water if the mixture seems dry.  Puree in the food processor, then return to the saucepan, warming until hot.  Ladel into bowls, garnish with mint and yogurt.

Deep Fried Tofu and Hijiki Balls

Ingredients:
Balls:
2 tablespoons hijiki seaweed
1 cup (250 g) tofu (drained and blotted)
2 tablespoons (50 g) grated carrot or turnip
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons ginger
5 tablespoons sesame seeds
vegetable oil

Dip:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon grated raw ginger root

Instructions:
Cover hijiki with boiling water, soak for 10 minutes.  Drain and cover with fresh water and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.  Pat dry.  Break tofu in food processor.  Add hijiki, turnip/carrot, and ginger and blend to pulp.  Roll walnut-sized balls of mixture in sesame seeds.  Fill frying pan 1/3rd full with vegetable oil.  Heat until sesame seed immediately rises to top and begins to brown when dropped in.  Drop the coated balls into the frying pan and fry for 3-4 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and serve with dip.

…….

That gives you a taste of what New Vegetarian Cookinghas to offer.  Check it out!  Thanks to Rose Elliot and her wonderful book for these recipes.

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image via Desizn Tech

The account is new,  we just started it up last week and the schedule is not yet fully determined, but I plan to update there atleast twice a week or so.

Essentially I will scour the interwebs and post any awesome vegetarian coupons and samples I come across.

Be sure to follow @vegetariandeals, so you don’t miss out.

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R.I.P.

Michael Jackson

1958-2009

What is your favorite MJ songf? Mine is Billie Jean. If your body doesn’t move when that song comes on - you’re dead.

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The Macbeth line of sneakers are all made from vegan materials, and this model is clean, sporty, cruelty-free and with the light tan/white color linen - is perfect for the Summer.

FYI - I couldn’t find this particular LINEN model anywhere other than online at Journeys.com

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A reader wrote in:
Do you know if whole grain oat cereals are the same, better, or worse than just plain oat bran?

To answer this question and get to the bottom of whole grains, I went straight to a prestigious medical source — the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic has a whole page dedicated to just how great whole grains are and why you should add more to your diet.

image via tvol on flickr

First a definition — whole grains are any grains that haven’t had their brand or germ removed by milling. Sometimes bran or the germ are sold alone, but these do not provide the complete benefits of whole grains.

While all grains are low in fat, good sources of complex carbohydrates, and full of vitamins and minerals, refined grains cut out the nutrient-rich bran and germ. The bran contains extra fiber, essential to digestive health and the germ contains selenium, potassium, magnesium, and other vital vitamins and minerals.

Even if you know how good they are for you, it can be confusing to identify whole grains.

Sources of Whole Grains

Did you know white rice is not a whole grain? But wild riceis!

Couscous, corn flakes, enriched pasta, grits, white rice, and white bread are among the popular foods that use refined grains — avoid these. Brown rice, wild rice, whole wheat (or rice) pasta, bulgur, buckwheat, millet, oatmeal, popcorn, and whole wheat bread all contain whole grains — pick these instead.

Eat lots of whole grains — it’s an easy way to improve your diet and your health!  And try to buy organic grains to avoid unhealthy pesticides and herbicides.

(A special thanks to the Mayo Clinic for its excellent and informative page on whole grains!)

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12.  Crops require less land than livestock, easing global starvation and conflict.
11.  Going vegetarian helps put a stop to rain forest destruction.
10.  Vegetarians don’t have to worry about getting parasites from undercooked meat. And worries about mad cow disease are also a thing of the past.
9.  With an ever expanding array of vegetarian-catering stores, including Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market, it’s easier than ever to try the lifestyle.
8.  Vegetarians tend to eat a richer, more varied diet.
7.  Quitting meat can help lower your cholesterol.
6.  Going vegetarian can add three to six years to your life! [1]
5.  Reductions in dairy and meat can lower allergies and PMS symptoms, according to multiple studies.
4. Studies show vegetarians have better sex! [2]
3. Vegetarians tend to be slender and attractive — many celebrated celebs are vegetarians or vegans.
2. Recent research has proven even “primitive” animals like crabs can feel pain.
1. Meat is not a natural part of the human diet — humans can’t properly digest uncooked meat, though uncooked veggies are a tasty treat!

A special thanks to these informative sources…

[1] NursingDegree.net: “57 Health Benefits of going vegan”
[2] New York Post: “NBC Pulls Sexually Themed PETA Superbowl Commercial”
[3] MSNBC : “Lobsters and crabs feel pain, study shows”

Pic: Sunny,  a runner-up in PETA’s “Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door 2009″

Editor note - Wow! Sunny looks an awful lot like Allyssa Milano.

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ACT, which is based in New york, has a new line of vegetarian hair color product which is entirely plant-based.

The hair color is formulated with very pure, natural plant dyes that enhances existing color, covers gray, and adds highlights without any harmful, synthetic chemicals or peroxide.

The ACT all natural, vegetarian and vegan hair dye is available online and at select Whole Foods stores.

via TheFrisky.com image via Splendora.com

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To enter readers had to leave a comment highlighting their favorite vegetarian or vegan dessert recipes. The entries brought in a bevy of fantastic veg recipes ideas, you have to check out the contest post to see them all. (click link above)

I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a comment and share their recipe with me and my visitors. Great great stuff!

After 33 entries and countless veg dessert recipe ideas, the winner is…listed below.

The winner is Elizabeth Holli Wood.

Congrats! Elizabeth.

Do send me your deets as soon as possible, to claim the book. You have 48 hours to claim it, before another winner is picked.

Again a big thanks to all who participated.

(vegan chocolate cupcake image) via downtown pet

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3. And The Winner Is…..Drum Roll.

The video was created using my Flip Cam and although it’s a pretty cool camera, it doesn’t zoom very well. I was trying to highlight the different tabs and key areas on the blog, but the shots get blurry on close-up. I’ll try again some other day, but the point is thanxs for liking my blog! Appreciate it.

I also make a brief (very brief) appearance on the video. Yikes!

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I’m the manager of a Texas Hill Country Bed and Breakfast that caters to vegetarians, among other visitors.

One of the most interesting things about my time here has been observing people and their dietary habits. Of course, not everyone who comes here is vegetarian and not all vegetarians eat healthy. But most people interested in nutrition find this topic fascinating, so I thought I would contribute here, to Groovy Vegetarian, the top five unexpected dietary habits I have observed while working in a food service capacity.

1. Lachanophobia: Or fear of vegetables.  Some people are so afraid of vegetables that the mere mention of anything grown outside, like a carrot or tomato, gives them the shivers and causes their faces to crinkle in utter disgust.  I once had a man need to be fed by his wife with an airplane-like motion because the omelet he was eating contained fresh, garden-grown rosemary!
2. Super High Protein for Older Women: Some people who have had gastric bypass surgery or those on Atkins type diets must have higher amounts of protein, but these types of special restrictions are not what I am referring to.  There is a segment of 50 to 60 year-old women who demand huge amounts of animal protein for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It does not matter what is served as long as the animal protein is there. The reasons they give tend to be either they are trying to maintain their strength or simply that they have always eaten that way.
3. Anti-“Healthy” People: Words like “healthy”, “organic”, and “nutritious” can be enough to make some people refuse to even taste the food.  For example, we serve Innocent Chocolate, which is some of the best tasting chocolate most people have ever tasted and it’s sugar-free and dairy-free.  I learned early on that many people would refuse to eat the chocolate if I told them it did not contain sugar or dairy before they ate it.  We once had a woman who had just complimented us on how good the food was, stop mid-chew and refuse to finish her meal.  Why?  We told her the vegetables were organic!
4. Vegetarians Who Won’t Eat Vegetables: Typically, the reason they call themselves vegetarian is because they don’t eat meat.  They still eat primarily processed foods like nachos, French fries and Twinkies.  Vegetables, however, turn them off just as much as meat.
5. Diet Soda Addiction: This is a huge problem.  There are a number of people who are addicted to diet soda and many of these people are vegetarians.  Almost every weekend we have people bring 12 or 24 packs of soda (usually diet) with them and they drink all of them during two-day stays. I’ve even seen vegetarians chug a diet soda, like it was water, everyday after a run.

The saddest part about most of these people is that they are usually somewhat overweight and when I speak with them, they complain about everything from diabetes and high cholesterol to cancer, but don’t make the connection between their health and their poor diet choices.

Editor Note: Thanxs for the interesting article, Jason.

image via culture feast

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