The Basics and Benefits of Delicious Vegetarian Sandwiches

Vegetarian sandwiches are delicious, guilt-free masterpieces that are as filling as their meaty counterparts once done right. Best of all, they allow a lot of creativity, and some of the tastiest recipes can be derived from the simplest ingredients. Added to this, the constant addition of new food items and their variations to the grocery shelves make it easy for newcomers to be just as satisfied as veterans, allowing the transition to be pain free. Many will also be happy to know that these points/benefits are not merely limited to sandwiches.

Basic Ingredients You Will Need:

There are some basic ingredients to always have on hand whether you a veteran or just adopting a vegetarian diet. In fact, these basics can be mixed and matched to create a world of possibilities. Plus, they tend to form the base of most sandwich recipes you will find. These are:

Bread and wraps of your choice (the more variety, the better)
Hummus, sandwich spreads, and sauces you like (you can even find recipes for homemade versions)
Seasonal veggies (since these tend to be more affordable)
Tofu, seitan, or tempeh
Peas, beans, and sprouts of all kinds (these can help make sandwiches tastier and more filling)
Cashew and other vegan cheeses

3 Things to Remember: Continue reading “The Basics and Benefits of Delicious Vegetarian Sandwiches”

How to Cater Vegan

Veganism is a popular lifestyle that comes with a long list of mental and physical benefits. If you are a practicing vegan, or must plan a catered party for an upcoming vegan-themed event, you will appreciate these vegan catering tips! Continue reading to learn how you can cater your party with a vegan meal spread.

What is Veganism?

To better understand how to cater to vegans, it is helpful to learn what veganism is about. A vegan is a person who follows a diet that is free of animal meat and by-products. This includes all dairy, such as milk, cream, cheese, and butter. It also include all animal meat and by-products, including poultry, beef, pork, lamb, eggs, and seafood. Some orthodox vegans also avoid using or wearing anything made from animals, such as leather, feathers, hides, furs, and more.

Beverages and Cocktails

There are endless choices for vegan beverages, alcoholic cocktails, and even mocktails. So long as you do not use any mixers that contain dairy, you are in the clear. Stick with lemonades, wines, beers, iced teas, hot tea, coffee, soda, juice, and liquor. Avoid milk-based products, or substitute them with coconut, cashew, or almond milk products. Continue reading “How to Cater Vegan”

Soybean Side Effects – Mad About Soy

Not because I hate soy but because I hate the way the Soy industry has lied to us and poisoned us for profit. You must read Kaayla T. Daniels’s book The Whole Soy Story to truly understand the history and damaging effects of soy. The book contains many compelling testimonials, about the dangers of soy, from real people. The serious health problems caused by heavy soy consumption are unbelievable. Soybeans are a cheap, crappy, hard to digest, food source with many harmful side effects. Once again you have been lied to and I will not tone down the truth so corporations can market waste products as health food. I know what you’re thinking. If soy is so bad then how come most people think it is good? This is why:

First of all, the origins of soybean use, 3000 years ago, in ancient China, Japan and Indonesia came out of poverty and famine. The soybean did not serve as a food until the discovery of fermentation techniques.1 Soybeans were used for crop rotation to add nitrogen to the soil.

They were not eaten. Continue reading “Soybean Side Effects – Mad About Soy”

Healthy Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss

If you are looking for healthy smoothie recipes for weight loss, you have surely come to the right place. At this point in time, the number of people who are becoming more and more health conscious is increasing by the day. With the hype from the media as well as initiatives by the government to promote healthier eating, many people are searching high and low for ways to lose weight responsibly without starving themselves. And there is definitely a solution for that.This is where smoothies come in!

Contrary to popular belief, smoothies can substitute for a meal or two during the day without endangering your health. There are numerous healthy smoothie recipes for weight loss that you can make yourself in your own kitchen. Breakfast is a great time to indulge in a smoothie instead of a calorie-packed and oil-ridden meal. Smoothies are easy to make, delicious and highly convenient as you can take them with you and drink them on the way to work or school. One of my favorite breakfast smoothies is the banana-berry smoothie. For this recipe, all you need is 1 ¼ cup of orange juice, 1 medium ripe banana, 1 cup of frozen berries, ½ cup silken tofu, and 2 crushed ice cubes. Throw all the ingredients in the blender and blend until it is smooth and frothy. You may also add a tablespoon of sugar if you wish. This smoothie is so healthy that it composes 93 percent of the required daily value of vitamin C! It is also nutritionally equivalent to 1 ½ fruit and ½ portion of lean meat. Continue reading “Healthy Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss”

Calcium for Good Bone Health

Did you know most of the calcium in your body is found in your bones and teeth?

What is calcium?

Calcium is a mineral vital to health and the most abundant one found in your body. You might recognize this nutrient from dairy milk advertisements. If that’s the case, then you know the mineral is important for building strong, healthy bones. Beyond that, calcium is important for blood clotting, muscle contraction, and heart beating. These are some reasons why getting enough calcium through the food you eat is so important. If your body doesn’t get enough calcium it can lead to weak bones, low bone density, osteoporosis, and broken bones.

How much calcium do I need?

Continue reading “Calcium for Good Bone Health”

Meat Substitutes for Vegetarians

Any person on any type of diet is going to be hungry from time to time. At this point, when your stomach is rumbling and your scavenging for food, most people are at their weakest. This is especially true when it is close to time for a big meal like lunch or dinner. These meals generally consist of a sizeable portion of meat for most people. In the case of the vegetarian there is a wide range of delicious foods for you to eat when you experience these hunger pangs. These include grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, and meat substitutes.

Now, before we jump right in and talk about meat substitutes, it would be helpful for us to define the term in a simple way. Meat substitutes are grains and vegetables which are formed to look and taste like different kinds of meat. There are meat substitutes for everything from turkey to breakfast sausage, but soy burgers and tofu are the most commonly recognized meat substitutes.

With soy and tofu it is possible to get all of the same nutrient value as a similar sized portion of actual meat (this includes protein). They are by far the easiest to find and cook. Most grocery stores and supermarkets have at least one of these products available. But the great thing about vegetarian diets is that they are so flexible and easy to manipulate. If you are looking for a meat replacement it is possible to form your own patties using many different types of vegetables. Continue reading “Meat Substitutes for Vegetarians”

The Advantages of Pressing Tofu

Pressing tofu is a very simple way to make any tofu dish taste better and improve the texture. Although not all tofu recipes specify to use pressed tofu, it can be applied to any recipe. Some people buy tofu presses which are in the shape of a box and specifically designed to press tofu. However, there is no particular advantage to this as the same results can be seen with some paper towel and a heavy object.

The main advantage of pressing tofu is that it enhances the flavor. The liquid that tofu is packaged in is not as tasty as the marinate or the flavor of the dish you are cooking. Therefore, by removing this tasteless liquid, the tofu can absorb more of the flavors you are cooking with. For this very reason, many restaurants press a majority of their tofu dishes. Continue reading “The Advantages of Pressing Tofu”

Grilled Tofu: 3 Recipes For Your Next Backyard Barbecue

Tofu is loved because it’s flexible. It might not be much on its own but when seasoned or dipped, it can make for an amazing dish. When cooked on the grill, it is given a delicious smoky flavour that is hard to resist. For your next grilling session, substitute meat with tofu and try these oh-so-yummy grilled tofu dishes!

Grilled Sriracha Tofu

What you need:

1/4 kilogram extra-firm tofu, sliced into cubes
1 cup sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Continue reading “Grilled Tofu: 3 Recipes For Your Next Backyard Barbecue”

Want to Live Longer? Drink Sour Milk (or Fermented Foods!)

That is a famous quote from the eastern European country of Georgia (formerly of the Soviet Union) relating to the long life of the people in that region. They have traditionally consumed large amounts of fermented foods, including yogurt, but this is not very realistic in many areas of the world today, including the United States. Many people are lactose intolerant, but you can still eat fermented foods!

Today the benefits of fermented foods are really catching on, but did you know that the fermentation process was originally used to improve the keeping and storing of foods? It’s thought that camel, buffalo, goat, sheep and cow milk were initially fermented naturally into yogurt. The hot temperatures (110 F) of the North African deserts were ideal for lactic acid-producing bacteria to ferment the milk carried by camels in goat bags. Almost every region in the world has developed fermented foods in their quest to acquire new tastes and improve shelf life. Farmers, rather than scientists, used their ingenuity and imagination. They were thinking in terms of how to best provide for their families, not realizing that thousands of years later, scientists would be examining the potential health benefits of fermented foods. Continue reading “Want to Live Longer? Drink Sour Milk (or Fermented Foods!)”

Probiotics Help to Boost Your Immune System

Hundreds of species of bacteria live on and in your body. Nowhere is that relationship more important than in your digestive tract, starting with the saliva in your mouth and working through your entire system. This population of billions of bacteria is comprised of both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria. As long as the beneficial bacteria represent eighty-five percent of the intestinal flora, they will suppress the ability of the pathogens to do you any harm.

Many of the foods we eat, including processed foods, gluten, starch and sugar are food sources for pathogenic bacteria. When the balance surges in their favor, they release toxins that lead to inflammation, fungal infections and poor nutrient absorption. This puts the immune system into overdrive to fight the toxins that could be prevented by simply making better food choices. If the toxic condition is sustained, many of the toxins and pathogenic bacteria can pass through the intestinal wall and make their way into the body, leading to chronic inflammatory illnesses. Continue reading “Probiotics Help to Boost Your Immune System”