Vegan Diet Guy

My mother used to buy halvah bars when I was young, believing it safe to keep the adult-tasting treats in the refrigerator–that was until I discovered just how delicious they were. After growing up and turning vegan, I rediscovered the wholesome snack.

Halvah of all varieties has been cherished all over the world for at least 3000 years, and is considered “food of the gods” by some accounts. The 2 main types are flour-based and nut-butter based. This sesame-based recipe is my favorite because it contains no animal products or sugar, instead using dates for sweetener. Note that many store bought halvah bars contain dairy products and eggs, so always check labels carefully.

I ground the sesame seeds into tahini without using any added oil, as per the original recipe. The food processor got very warm, and you may need to let it rest a while as you go. Unless you have a high-speed blender, you may prefer to purchase tahini instead of making it from scratch.

The recipe is quite flexible. You can adjust the number of dates you use depending on how sweet you like it (I used about 10 dates per 250g of sesame seeds), as well as stir in any kind of nuts and dried fruits you like. I added some tart dried cherries and vanilla syrup to a recent batch, and it came out tasting like a cherry pie!

While halvah is more nutritious than the typical candy bar, be aware it is far from low-calorie. According to the recipe’s author, it has 528 calories per 100g, and 70 percent of calories from fat. Portion control (and sharing) is advised, or you may devour the whole batch (1600 calories) before you know it.

Yet another reason to avoid added oils

Recently, in the course of looking for recipes using the natural sweetener and wonder food lucuma, I discovered one for butterscotch tahini bars containing tahini and coconut oil, a popular ingredient in raw vegan diets. (more…)

The ultimate result of Tai-ichi Matsuda’s battle with his conscience is great news for Japanese diners, and animal lovers everywhere.

It all began when the owner a popular south Kyoto yakiniku-ya (Korean-style barbequed meat restaurant)* went searching online for a family pet, and landed on some animal rights web sites.

For the first time, Tai-ichi learned about the way breeders and pet shops abused animals, how meat production is cruel to animals and pollutes the environment, and that eating animal products was harmful for one’s health, too.

Like most people, he had always believed we needed meat to survive. But the more he learned, the more he questioned his values and came to understand a vegan lifestyle was the right path for him. Within a week, Tai-ichi proceeded to give up meat and fish, quickly followed by eggs and dairy products.

He had kept it a secret for a month, before his wife became suspect. “Why don’t you eat meat any more?” she asked. He feared telling her, especially since the yakiniku-ya had been their livelihood for 10 years. Thankfully, Atsuko (along with his 3 young children) agreed to share his vegan crusade, yet doubted the former meat-lover would stick with his decision for long.

But while Tai-ichi never questioned his own ability to stay vegan, deciding the fate of his yakiniku restaurant consumed him with worry and depression for months.

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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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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…)

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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Fast Tube by Casper

Unless it’s every night that another U.S. celebrity talks about going vegan, it sure was a coincidence I happened to see Mike Tyson on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” yesterday.

When I visited the States last November, I caught Janet Jackson on Leno discussing her “on again off again” vegan diet and favorite vegan restaurants, and then Craig Ferguson poking fun at World Vegan Day.

This time around–jet-lagged after being back just 3 days–I was just about to sleep when the late night host announced Tyson would be his next guest. Tyson adopted a vegan diet last May, and (although any reason for giving up meat is a good one) I was curious if the boxer would be discussing what triggered his decision.

Struggling to stay awake through endless commercials, Tyson finally came on to plug “The Hangover Part 2”.  Fortunately for me, within a minute, the conversation turned to his vegan diet.  Looking remarkably fit, Tyson mentioned that he had lost 130-140 pounds since becoming vegan.

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It’s been a little difficult for me to go back to writing about a vegan diet and new vegan recipes given events of March 11 and the ongoing crisis just 150 miles away in Japan’s Tohoku (northeast) region.

We grieve for those who lost loved ones and property, now staying in evacuation shelters and perhaps unable to return to their homes. Indeed, thousands have had their towns decimated, or made uninhabitable due to radiation. Countless farm animals and pets were swept away, and many roam in the perimeter of the reactors, without food.

Trivial by comparison are the psychological effects of those indirectly affected, and others who now realize they are living near active earthquake zones, coastlines, or more than 50 nuclear power plants in Japan: (more…)