Vegan Diet Guy

Strolling through Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park today, I came upon some leafletting animal rightists planning a demonstration against animal testing. I proudly told them I followed a whole foods plant-based vegan diet, and naively assumed they did, too.

Somewhat guiltily, one admitted she doesn’t eat meat unless it’s served to her (and would therefore go to waste if she didn’t eat it), while the other said she would ideally like to be vegan, but not being vegan doesn’t mean she can’t help animals, such as rescuing rabbits from laboratory tests. I asked whether they didn’t think it hypocritical that they were protesting animal testing, when animals are routinely abused, and then slaughtered in food production.

The irony is that I started off as a dietary vegan, but now feel I am more protective of animal rights than most animal rightists, because I understand how unnecessary it is to use animals for anything. In fact, the greatest animal suffering of all is caused by food production, followed by clothing production, laboratory testing and entertainment (zoos, circuses, etc.), according to PETA. Those girls must have been sorry they picked the wrong guy to leaflet!

If you proclaim to love your household pets and other animals in general, then how do you explain being able to eat fish, cows, pigs and chickens, or the product of their suffering, i.e. eggs, milk, dairy products, etc.?

One thing those following a healthy plant-based diet must know is the importance of reading labels carefully. Not only because food manufacturers sneak animal ingredients into the most surprising of places, but because labels often mislead you to believe unhealthy food is nutritious.

Take “soba” noodles for example. Soba is the Japanese word for buckwheat, and synonymous with the popular noodle dish. The main reason for eating buckwheat–besides its fragrant aroma–is its exceptional nutrition (high protein, vitamins and minerals) and health benefits (protecting cardiovascular system and controlling blood sugar).

However, just like “whole-wheat” bread–which may contain as little as 5% whole-wheat flour–soba noodles typically contain less than half soba flour (some have practically none), instead using unhealthy white  flour made from wheat.

Even in my neighborhood grocery in Tokyo–where there are over 15 kinds of soba noodles (both dry and fresh)–not a single one is 100% buckwheat. Only a couple even listed soba as the main ingredient, and of the two that did, one contained egg-whites of all things! Consequently, most so-called soba is little better than plain-old white pasta, and perhaps worse.

Why is this? (more…)

Several months ago, I received a message from 4-Hour Work Week author Tim Ferris entitled “How to Keep Feces Out of Your Bloodstream (or Lose 10 Pounds in 14 Days)” touting claims from Robb Wolf’s “Paleo Diet Solution”.

While it was the first time for me to hear about the Paleo Diet, I later found there were numerous books on the so-called “caveman diet”, built around the premise our diet should consist of foods available before the advent of modern agriculture.

The subject line of Ferris’ email, and Wolf’s claims sounded so sensational that I didn’t feel it necessary to inject cynical remarks before forwarding it to a friend who had nearly adopted a vegan diet.

Where I had quickly written Paleo off as yet another fad diet–one that glorifies animal protein, no less–what a shock to later learn that my friend not only tried Paleo, but became a big Paleo fan!

btw did i tell you i’ve been doing the no grain or potatoes diet you sent me? no bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, oatmeal, bulgur, etc, or added sugar. OMG i wish i had done it 40 years ago, Seriously. i have so much more energy, feel sooo much better. and i lost about 10 pounds almost immediately. the cravings for sweets stopped almost immediately when i started the diet. isn’t that something!?

In the interest of open-mindedness, I decided to look into the Paleo diet and found more similarities between it and a healthy vegan diet (i.e. whole food, plant-based aka “WFPB” diet) than I expected. For example:

• Like a whole-food, plant-based diet, Paleo recommends seasonal and local fruits and vegetables, and shuns dairy products (WFPB excludes all dairy products).
• Both diets encourage eating healthy fats (i.e. avocado, nuts) vs. processed fats (i.e. oil)
• Both discourage processed grains, oil, salt-containing foods, and sweets.
• Both discourage processed grains (Paleo all grains, while WFPB diet just processed ones).

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Recently, taunted by an aged jar of sauerkraut that I had bought intending to make “Potato and Mushroom Sauerkraut Pierogi” from Vegan Brunch–before I realized the Polish dumplings required 4 time-consuming steps–I decided to tackle something so easy anyone can make: a vegan reuben sandwich.

How simple? Besides its trademark sauerkraut, a vegan reuben requires rye or pumpernickel bread, stand-ins for the meat and Swiss cheese, and usually vegan thousand-island dressing (in deference to the original non-vegan reuben).

Fortunately, I came across a reuben recipe that suggested using mustard, instead of thousand-island dressing that had previously put me off. Another big attraction of Nava Atlas’s recipe : it’s baked, rather than fried, therefore no need for margarine or oil on the bread. Baking the sandwiches is also a time-saver (especially when feeding a crowd), and even the sauerkraut gets nice and crispy around the edges!

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Like the Italians who believe milk and sugar ruin the taste of espresso and that cappucinos are not for real men, Japanese purists must be shocked to see their prized matcha green tea being mixed in everything from lattes to ice cream to Oreo cookies, candy bars, and martinis, too!

Some of us may have even added sugar to Japanese green tea when we first tried it (what are those packets of sugar doing on the table, anyway?) However, since most people with an appreciation for Japanese culture and cuisine prefer their green tea straight, I was recently surprised to meet a Japanese-American who sweetens her green tea.

After serving a wonderful macrobiotic dinner, she offered us a “matcha latte”. Once I explained that I limit milk (non-dairy) to a single cafe latte at breakfast (for caloric purposes, not out of respect for Italian taboo), she insisted that we just give it a try. Mixed with sweetened vanilla soymilk and honey, the green tea bag and the tiny amount of matcha powder that accompanied it were overpowered by the sweetness of honey and added sugar in the flavored soymilk.

Ever since that day, I had been craving a matcha latte made with the rich taste of Kyoto (“Uji”) matcha and unsweetened soymilk. Once I got past the idea of pairing matcha with my breakfast oatmeal, I’ve been happily alternating matcha lattes with chai lattes and cafe lattes ever since. Try it for yourself, and let me know what you think!

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Although you may just be considering a vegan diet for the first time, you probably already know that the fewer animal products you eat, the better–with a 100% plant-based diet being best for health, as well as ethically and environmentally.

However, given all you’ve heard about the Mediterranean Diet, “healthy fats”, and “good cholesterol” you may be surprised to learn that a diet containing NO (zero!) added oils is both optimum AND possible to achieve.

While it is true that a Mediterranean diet is superior to a Standard American Diet, this is mainly because the Meditterean diet contains less animal protein and more fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.

A big reason for the confusion over dietary fat is that “healthy” is a relative term, and even foods that exclude animal products can be health-promoting OR health-degrading.

Olive oil is healthier in comparison to animal fats such as butter, but unfortunately cannot be considered health-promoting. In fact, olive oil (even extra virgin) has virtually no nutrients, except fat–and our body already manufactures all the fat it needs. Excess dietary fat from any source contributes to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Many people have become obese on the Meditteranean diet consuming too much fat, mostly in the form of olive oil.

According to Dr. John McDougall, the oil extraction processes remove the “naturally-designed and balanced environment of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and ten thousand other chemicals” of the whole food (olives, corn, soybeans, etc.) to such a degree that “Free-oils are not food—at best these are medications, causing some desirable effects, and at worst; they are serious toxins causing disease.”

Rather than using olive oil (or other processed oils), choose instead to eat the whole food, such as olives. One tablespoon olive oil has 126 calories vs 154 calories in one cup of olives. Olive oil may contain traces of the benefits of olives–such as polyphenols–but has none of the fiber, mineral or vitamins contained in whole olives.

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Recently, while pulling weeds from my tiny Tokyo garden, I flashed back to my childhood when my mother gave me the onerous chore of plucking weeds from our brick walkway.

Being a precocious (and lazy) kid, I went to the hardware store and invested a few week’s allowance in a bottle of Roundup, an herbicide from Monsanto that obliterates everything it contacts. Roundup became my weed-slaying hero—freeing my time to spend on important pursuits, like listening to music, playing air hockey, swimming and brushing up on my cannonballs at the pool, etc.

Each summer, when my family rode to the Eastern Shore for vacation, we would pass by farm fields with signs advertising they were being genetically engineered by one of the big chemical companies. Little did I (or the small farmers who welcomed the GM crops, apparently) realize the evil that was lurking, and if you’ve read or seen “Food, Inc.” you know what I’m talking about. (more…)

My family back home in the States kept asking how I would celebrate my birthday this year.

I replied that my girlfriend was going to cook me a dinner of Cauliflower Mushroom Marranca and Kale with Cashew Cream Sauce from FatFreeVegan, but I guess somehow cauliflower and kale didn’t sound festive enough, because they persisted in inquiring about my birthday plans.

In recent years, due to long working hours, it had become increasingly rare to celebrate my birthday on my birthday (let alone find time for a relaxing meal anytime), so I would celebrate a little here and there, whenever I could over the course of what became “birthday week”. Usually, this added up to an excess of rich foods and alcohol, and extra weight that had to be exercised off.

Prior to becoming vegan, I would usually request my favorite comfort foods such as stewed lamb shanks, coq au vin (chicken cooked in wine),  or spanakopita for special occasions. Now, I still celebrate with rare foods (kale was unknown here in Japan until recently) and new methods of cooking (or even raw dishes).

People frequently ask me if vegans are allowed to drink alcohol. (more…)

Although you wouldn’t know it from the dictionary, there are millions of things to cook on the barbeque besides meat, chicken, and fish.  And I don’t just mean fresh vegetables, although lovingly barbequed vegetables can be a gourmet meal unto themselves.

A gas grill may not have the same charm as charcoal or wood barbeques, but there’s still something magical about cooking and eating outdoors, especially at night under a starry sky. No complaints about easy clean up, afterward, too.

So, with a let up in the rainy season, and a fresh tank of gas in the grill, I decided it was time to grill my first pizza.

I just threw my pizza stones on the gas grill, and turned it to the highest heat for about a half-hour. While waiting, I rolled out the dough and cut up all the veggie toppings, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, bell peppers, as well as grated cheddar and mozzarella-style Teese.

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Natto is an acquired taste for anyone. Even in Japan, aversion to the smelly, sticky fermented soybeans is so strong that foreign residents who like natto are often said to be “more Japanese than Japanese”.

Although relatively unknown outside Japan, for those on a vegan diet natto is a taste worth acquiring, because it’s really healthy: a probiotic rich in vitamins, especially B-12–which vegans often require dietary supplements in order to ensure they’re getting an ample supply.

Long before becoming vegan, I was eating natto stuffed into sushi hand-rolls, called “natto temaki” in Japanese. Wrapped in a sheet of nori, topped with a mound of sliced green onions and doused in wasabi soy-sauce, the aroma and texture of the natto is barely discernible (for a neophyte natto-eater, this is a blessing). You may even be able to find natto rolls in N. American sushi bars.

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