I’ve received a response from my e-mail to Claim Jumper regarding their vegan options and the following are their suggestions:

“The following is a list of selected items that are/can be prepared Vegan with little or no alterations:

• Soft Pretzel — Comes brushed with butter, so ask for no butter
• Candied Walnut and Asian Pear Salad — Ask for no Blue Cheese Crumbles
• California Citrus Salad — Ask for no Blue Cheese Crumbles
• Crunchy Spinach Salad — Ask for no bacon, or feta cheese
• House Salad — Ask for no bacon, egg, cheese or croutons
• Our Citrus Dressing is the only Vegan salad dressing option, but it is delicious!
• Roasted Vegetable Soup
• Thai Cole Slaw
• Shoestring French Fries
• Fresh Charbroiled Asparagus
• Seasonal Roasted Vegetables or Steamed Vegetables
• Baked Potato
• All of our pizzas and calzones can be made without cheese.
• Our sourdough bread, French bread, wheat bread, and squaw bread are all made without eggs, milk or whey.

We are currently in the process of compiling nutritional data on our vegetarian items and that information will be posted as soon as it is available. I hope this information is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if you have any additional questions or need any clarification. Thank you for choosing to dine with us!” Thanks, Claim Jumper, for taking the time to respond!

My original post dated April 6th, 2010:

Hey guys!

Oh Claim Jumper. l love your big booths, your dim lighting and your chocolate cake the size of my large 5-head. But, you’ve got some issues. Like, maaaaaajor issues. Freud would call them attachment issues — you’re totally attached to high calories and perhaps this is a subconscious effort to remain childishly plump, but you’ve got to grow up sometime and grow a pair…of discriminating and fully-conscious eyes (all the better to see nutritional info. with! buhaha!)

Here are the vegetarian options at Claim Jumper and ways I think you can make them vegan. I’ve noted the nutritional info. for these items because, well, it’s shocking (but we knew that already!). They recently did something abominable…they got rid of their veggie burger (it was a Boca patty loaded with avocado and caramelized onions) and my go-to item! They’ve replaced it with a vegetable sandwich with goat cheese and portabello mushroom. Bleh. It tastes alright (though I get it without cheese and the huge mushroom, and change the bread lol), but it’s no veggie burger and it’s also harder to de-calorie-fy (<– yep, that’s a word

Vegetarian Options

Appetizers

Fire Roasted Artichoke (Seasonal)
Marinated and grilled artichokes served with garlic mayo 10.95
1165 calories, 13g sat. fat, 1986mg sodium, 35g fiber, 23g protein
Bottom line: Well stab my (artichoke) heart — run away from this “vegetable” dish that’s really fat with a side of artichoke! Presumably vegan if you don’t use the mayo,but who cares? Don’t eat it.

(Small Bite) California Quesadilla
Grilled corn tortillas filled with jack & cheddar cheese, fresh avocado, green onions, mild salsa & black beans. Served with salsa ranch 10.95
834 calories, 22g sat. fat, 1504mg sodium, 9g fiber, 31g protein
Bottom line: By “small bite” they must mean “feat in engineering”! How you can inject that many calories in something small is crazy sauce! Split this with 4 friends and you’ll be alright except you’ll probably each just get a crumb since it’s a “small bite.” To veganize you’d have to ask for it w/o cheese and verify the beans are not cooked in lard.

(Small Bite) Oven Roasted Tomato Flatbread
Baked in our stone hearth with alfredo sauce, mozzarella and smoked gouda cheese, roasted herb tomatoes, fresh oregano topped with fresh spinach 4.95
591 calories, 17g sat. fat, 970mg sodium, 3g fiber, 20g protein
Bottom line: What did you expect? It has alfredo sauce and cheese! Can’t veganize this one.

Avocado Rolls
Wrapped with crushed chilies, sweet red peppers and fried crisp with ponzu ginger dipping sauce 9.95
894 calories, 6g sat. fat, 1883mg sodium, 15g fiber, 14g protein
Bottom line: Sounds delicious, but if I’d like to keep a lid on the junk in the trunk I’d see if they could steam instead of fry, and then I’d split with 4. This is potentially vegan — but you’d have to ask your server for the deets.

Nacho Platter
Melted jack & cheddar cheese, black beans, diced tomatoes top crisp chips with fresh guacamole, sour cream & chives. Served with mild & roasted salsas 8.25
2246 calories, 41g sat. fat, 2243mg sodium, 24g fiber, 77g protein.
Bottom line: A misanthrope’s delight. I think I gained a pound just reading about this dish.

Pizzas

Tomato Basil Pizza
Fresh roma tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and chevre cheese 9.95
1163 calories, 27g sat. fat, 2357mg sodium, 6g fiber, 54g protein
Bottom line: I’m noticing a trend in these dishes and wondering why I’m even bothering…

Classic Cheese Pizza
With marinara sauce, mozzarella and fresh oregano 9.95
Nutritional info. unavailable, but I think we don’t really need to confirm what we already can surmise, ya know what I mean?

Entree Salads

BBQ Salad
With corn, black beans, jicama, tomato, green onions, cilantro & crisp corn tortilla strips. Topped with sweet BBQ sauce and tossed with homemade ranch dressing 12.50
(Info. includes the version with chicken) — 1009 calories, 12g sat. fat, 2120mg sodium, 10g fiber, 65g protein
Lighter portion 9.50 (info. includes the version with chicken) — 701 calories, 10g sat. fat, 1310mg sodium, 5g fiber, 47g protein
Bottom line: I’d get the lighter portion (sans chicken, of course) and order without BBQ sauce, dressing or tortilla strips. I’d then add salsa for dressing. I can’t give exact nutritionals, but I guarantee that would knock off a few hundred calories and most of the fat.

Vegetarian Cobb Salad

Danish bleu cheese crumbles, avocado, corn, black beans, diced egg, tomatoes with homemade Danish bleu cheese dressing 12.50
(Info. includes the version with chicken and bacon) — 1829 calories, 41g sat. fat, 3104mg sodium, 12g fiber, 110g protein
Lighter portion 9.50 — 1265 calories, 30g sat. fat, 2080mg sodium, 7g fiber, 74g protein.
Bottom line: Unless you’re trying to win a contest for eating the most calorie-filled and protein-injected salad, stray far away from this beast. You’d have to take so many things OFF this salad to make it healthy or vegan, that you might as well get the produce bar and make your own.

Chinese Salad

Crunchy noodles, almonds, sesame seeds, green onions, carrots, basil and cilantro tossed with sweet & spicy peanut dressing 12.50
(info. includes version with chicken) — 890 calories, 10g sat. fat, 1483mg sodium, 8g fiber, 66g protein
Lighter portion 9.50 — 673 calories, 10g sat. fat, 1146mg sodium, 4g fiber, 46g protein
Bottom line: Not sure how the lighter portion has the same amount of fat as the hefty portion. Take off the crunchy noodles and get the dressing on the side if you’re vegetarian and health-conscious. If you’re vegan, avoid the dressing as well.

Entrees

Vegetarian Stuffed Baker Idaho
Stuffed with seasonal veggies, melted jack & cheddar cheese and fire-roasted salsa 9.95
818 calories, 17g sat. fat, 5124mg sodium, 14g fiber, 34g protein
Bottom line: If you’re vegetarian and order this “as is,” this is actually one of the best options on the menu calorie-wise. But why order “as is” when if you ask for “light on the cheese,” “no butter on the veggies” and “light oil,” you could knock off at least a hundred calories and more likely a couple. To veganize, I ordered without cheese, asked for a sweet potato instead of an Idaho (sweet potatoes are more nutrient-rich and DELICIOUS) and requested that my veggies be steamed without butter and no oil. I’m guessing the calories came in around 300 calories.

Vegetarian & Goat Cheese Sandwich
Marinated eggplant, zucchini and Portobello mushroom in balsamic vinaigrette with onion, carrots, sliced avocado, oven roasted tomatoes and field greens. Served on grilled herb bread with fresh pesto sauce and goat cheese 8.95
1227 calories, 17g sat. fat, 2215mg sodium, 19g fiber, 52g protein
Bottom line: If you’re a calorie-conscious vegetarian, order w/o goat cheese and with the pesto on the side (that way you can just dab a tiny bit — pesto alone has around 230 calories per 1/4 cup (per Calorie King)). I’d also switch the bread to a rye, whole-wheat or squaw. I’m waiting to hear back from Claim Jumper, but it’s usually safe to assume pesto is vegan.

Vegetarian Bow Tie Pasta
With spinach tortellini tossed with homemade alfredo sauce 12.50
Nutritional info. unavailable, but alfredo sauce + tortellini = calorie catastrophe.

Lighter portion 9.50

Bottom BOTTOM Line: Get the produce bar and a bowl of vegetable soup (82 calories per cup! and it’s made in veggie broth), or the vegetarian baked potato (w/o cheese for the calorie-conscious or vegans).

If you’re feeling crazy and un-vegan (then you’re probably one of my friends — hi!), you can order a slice of the Chocolate Motherload Cake (see what I meant about maternal attachment issues, CJ?). Coming in at 2723 calories and 55g sat. fat, you’ll be sure to feel a dare-devil’s euphoria even if just for a second. Keep your doctor’s (& therapist’s) numbers handy, though, the physical and mental remorse is sure to kick in at some point. You could always split a slice with your 20 closest friends.

<3,

The Cranky One

p.s. I’ve sent an e-mail to CJ asking if the beans are vegan, if the herb bread is vegan and verifying a couple things (oh and also asking where I can find nutritional info. on the specifically “vegetarian options” like the BBQ salad w/o chicken). I’ll amend to this post when I get it.

p.p.s. Thanks to reader Sam for pointing me to this info.!

Today is National Cereal Day! First, I want to give some love to my favorite cereal: Peanut Butter Puffins

Puffins remind me of Butterfinger filling in a puffy, crunchy cereal square. Delightful!

Since we’re on the topic of cereal, I might as well break out my…

Cranky Guide to Cereal

• Choose cereal that has less sugar than a pile of Oreos. Generally, you shouldn’t have more than 6 teaspoons/22 grams of sugar per day if you consume a total of 1600 calories a day. If you eat around 2200 calories a day, you shouldn’t consume more than 12 teaspoons/44 grams of sugar per day. Sounds like a lot, right? Not really when you consider that one cup of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal has 20 grams of sugar–that’s about four Oreo cookies worth of sugar. Yowza!
• If you’re vegan — watch out for animal crap masquerading as a hard-to-pronounce other. Here are some things to consider: “confectioner’s glaze” comes from insects; E471 is a synthetic fat additive that comes from both vegetable and animal sources (fat) and, unless it’s explicitly defined, you don’t know from which source when it’s listed; and Carmine/Crimson Lake/Cochineal/Natural Red 4/C.I. 75470/E120 are red food dyes that come from beetles. That’s not an exhaustive list, but, seriously–unless you’re eating a certified vegan cereal–the added sugar alone is probably not vegan (white sugar is typically filtered – to de-color – through bone char); so, in my wise-ass opinion, I say: be mindful, not overzealous.
• Choose a cereal that has a reasonable amount of calories per serving size. I don’t know about you, but this pretty much encapsulates how I eat cereal: [source]
  Beware of misleading serving sizes!  Most of us eat 2 servings or more of cereal and don’t even realize it. When you add your dairy or non-dairy milk to the equation, you’re eating about 400 calories of cereal if you’re not careful (plus loads of sugar!). Check out Hungry Girl’s serving size experiment and video here for more of an idea what I’m talkin’ ’bout! You might also want to try her cool tip to “Puff That Stuff” (see here). Basically, you can add volume to your favorite cereal by adding a puffy cereal with less calories. For example, I am not satisfied with one serving (3/4 cup) of Puffins for 110 calories; but you can add a cup of puffed millet for 60 calories. That way you have a total of almost 2 cups cereal for only 170 calories. A cup of unsweetened almond milk is 40 calories — which is more than half the calories of non-fat milk.
• Compare/Contrast. See how your fave cereal compares to others out there. You might be shocked or pleasantly surprised. Check out this cool comparison here of some mainstream commercial cereals.
• Remember that “No Trans Fat” doesn’t mean no trans fat. Technically, if a cereal product has less than .5g of trans fat per serving, it can list “0g” of trans fat. But, pals, if we don’t eat just one serving of cereal, doesn’t that mean that by the time we’ve licked the bowl clean from our 3rd serving, we’ve ingested a bit of trans fat? Why yes, yes, it does! D’oh! You can find out if a cereal really has trans fat by checking for “hydrogenated” and “partially-hydrogenated” oils in the ingredients list. Post’s Cupcake Pebbles has “0g” of transfat listed, but if you check out the ingredients, “hydrogenated vegetable oil” comprises the 3rd ingredient! Yikes! Might as well generally be a bit skeptical of claims made on cereal boxes — see here on how Kellogg’s wants to make weight loss claims on its cereals!
• Some Like it Hot. Bored with cold cereal? Try it hot! My favorite brand of hot cereal is Country Choice.  I like to eat it with just a little stevia added. One serving has 130 calories and is FILLING!
• Think Outside the (Cereal)Box. Use your cereal for somethin’ other than a cereal bowl! Try my recipe here for yogurt pie in a Puffins crust. You can use soy yogurt to veganize it. You can also make vegan Rice Krispy Treats.

What’s your favorite cereal? Any fun ways to eat it?

<3,

The Cranky One

So anyway, a friend from high school has decided that she’s going to eat vegan for lent (even though she’s not Catholic lol), and has asked my advice on how to make the switch (side note to my readers: dudes, I’m totally flattered! This chick has been vegetarian for 13 years and I’m like new to this whole vegan thing, but confidence is key, right?). So, yea, totally, I’m game to share my tips on making the switch.

First things first! Anytime you’re making a big lifestyle switch (even if just for lent!), figure out what kinda “changer” are you. Are you one of those baby steps, make a flow-chart, break out the Power Point and ladder-step-approach kinda people? Or are you a dive-right-in, give-it-to-me-straight, I-don’t-need-your-baby-steps kinda people? In between? It helps to know ahead of time to ease the switch. If you think of going vegan and gasp, “oh, but think of all of the things I can’t eat!” or one of those, “hmm, what will I eat?” kinda types matters, too. Generally, if you worry about not being able to eat your favorite foods and prefer baby steps, then you will probably benefit from using a lot of vegan substitutes and recipes for your favorite omni foods until you get more adjusted. If you’re not particularly sad about giving up  meat, dairy or cheese, then it’ll certainly be easier for you to dive right into the wondrous ocean of vegan foods. Either way, don’t expect instant gratification (as I had to remind myself in my post here about some reality t.v. chick who expected spiritual enlightenment after 3 hours of not smoking).

In honor of my friend who’s making the switch for lent, I’m going to dedicate my next few (maybe more) posts to debunking myths about vegan eating, profiling some cool vegan bloggers (or hosting guest posts from them), providing the best vegan resources out there for newbie vegans, sharing the best vegan recipes I’ve tried and pretty much learning more as I go along, and sharing with all of you. This is gonna be fun! Knowing some of my friend’s fave foods and concerns, I will definitely be posting on the following things: the best cheese substitutes (are there any? harhar), the best vegan desserts (and ice cream substitutes) and getting enough protein (inc. which protein bars and powders are vegan) aka The Protein Myth.

Since I always think it’s better to refer someone to a product after you’ve tried it yourself, I immediately felt inclined to try a cream-cheese substitute knowing that my friend likes her bagels and cream cheese. I could have saved this for a separate post, but I am too excited to share the results!

So, I went to Whole Paycheck Foods to see what I could find in a cream cheese substitute. I ended up buying some Tofutti Non-Hydrogenated Plain “Better Than Cream Cheese” and some Alvarado St. Sprouted Wheat, Onion & Poppyseed Bagels (all in the name of Blog Research, which I think should also be an extra line on our tax forms under business expenses, no?

I came home, heated up the bagel and lathered some of this “cream cheese” on.
[photo cred]

I sighed as I shoved this mess into my cranky mouth, thinking about how “Blog Research” is a tough job, but some one’s gotta do it…

hmmm…I started to feel less cranky. The texture and taste were not like cream cheese, they WERE CREAM CHEESE! The skies started to get brighter and part as an angel floated down singing some beautiful verses about Tofutti cream cheese (something about how I had been “toFOOLed”). I realized I had died and gone to cream cheese substitute heaven where they, duh, hand out Tofutti cream cheese. Philadelphia Cream Cheese — you don’t have smack on Tofutti!

Friends, please excuse me while I go lather Tofutti fake cream cheese onto everything in my pantry. Again, this is “research,” people. Research.

Hey you — yea, you! Who are your favorite vegan foodie bloggers? What are your fave vegan foods, products and/or recipes? Please share! (Oh and, uh, if you give up stuff for Lent, whatcha gonna give up this year?)

<3,

The Cranky One

Restaurant Guides

Organic

• Eat Well Guide

Vegan

• Happy Cow
• Veg Guide

Vegetarian

• Happy Cow
• Veg Guide
• Veg Dining

Los Angeles/Orange County Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurants (These are the ones I know of — but there are *tons*)

• Native Foods (Vegan) – Los Angeles & Orange County
• Real Food Daily (Vegan) – Los Angeles
• Swingers (Has vegan, vegetarian and/or organic options) – Los Angeles
• Veggie Grill (Vegan) – Los Angeles & Orange County
• 118 Degrees (Raw Vegan Organic) – Orange County
• Urth Cafe (Organic with some vegetarian and a couple vegan options)
• Baby Cakes (Vegan Desserts) — Opened yesterday in downtown Los Angeles!!!

Online Vegan Stores

• Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe
• Vegan Essentials

My Fave Vegetarian Recipe Blogs/Websites

• 101 Cookbooks
• Vegetarian Times online (Has option to search only vegan recipes, too)

My Fave Vegan Recipe Blogs/Websites

• Vegan Yum Yum
• Happy Herbivore
• Fat Free Vegan
• Post Punk Kitchen
• Dreena’s Vegan Recipes
• Vegan Lunch Box
• Vegan Feast Kitchen
• What Do Vegans Eat?

Additional Resources

• Check out the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart (backed by doctors and Alicia Silverstone) — A vegan challenge began the first of this year and the site provides recipe plans each day for 21 days.
• List of vegetarian restaurants in Los Angeles, CA here

Tips for Eating Out at Non-Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants

• Do your research beforehand!  Most large restaurant chains put information online as to what’s in their dishes and even break it down for you in list fashion which dishes are vegetarian and/or vegan.  For instance, check out California Pizza Kitchen’s vegetarian/vegan list here. Check out Subway here
• Google search your fave place to eat and its vegan/vegetarian options. A lot of your co-veggie-peeps have done the research for you and have put their research on the web for your convenience! (Always double-check and use your good judgment though…;)

Any of you have additional resources to add?

<3,

The Cranky One

CHOCOLATE.  Oh dear God. Chocolate is my kryptonite. My Achilles’s heal. My tragic flaw. I bypassed the See’s candy on Christmas with super hero strength, but I think that was the strength of novelty — the added power of “this is new, can’t fail yet” sentiments added with an audience of family who could call me out on my b-s. But put me in a room alone with chocolate and no matter how much game I’ve got in me, chocolate will most likely win. Damn you! Damn you, chocolate!

I think I just heard the voice of reason entering my blog post with “Uhh, but Bella, there are vegan chocolates, no?”

Yes, Reason, there are vegan chocolates — but the preponderance of chocolate that has surrounded me has not been vegan and I’ve been weak. So, so weak.

Ok I’ll stop this tragedy I’m writing and just say — yep, eaten vegan except for a few pieces of milk chocolate thrown in here and there. Oh and a couple Skinny Vanilla Lattes. The lesson I’m going to take from this is what we all know has been proven before in all health-related goals — don’t expect to have everything you want in a flash second. As I was watching horrible trashy reality t.v. today (what?! I’m on break!), there was some chick on a cooking show who was trying to quit smoking. She brought in a hypnotist to help her and a few hours later complained that she had not yet achieved the mental “clarity” that was supposed to come from not smoking. I chuckled to myself and was like, “woman, woman. It’s been THREE HOURS! And mental clarity ain’t going to come after three hours of not smoking. No matter how zen you are.” Then after pointing and laughing at her my finger reversed and hit me in the head and I had a “duh” moment. I can’t expect to just “be” vegan after a few days. Set backs are inevitable. There is one step I need to really take — clarifying my goals in eating vegan. I was a bit evasive in my “coming out” post. and yet I feel that’s just reflective of the truth of the matter — I feel being vegan is a great lifestyle choice for health reasons and even has the added benefits of being good for the environment and passionate towards animals. But, truthfully, I don’t feel that burning passion (or maybe zealousness?) that I feel is required for any lifestyle change that requires a ton of commitment. So, I’ll continue with the soul-searching and the vegan eating and see if I might get that mental “clarity” that reality t.v. smoker chick and I are searching for.

I got a lovely e-mail from someone asking what my favorite vegan snacks have been and, well, I haven’t been vegan long enough to really give you a good overview, but here a few things I’m enjoying:

(hehe sorry the labels are backwards!)

• Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels (w/ no salt on the pretzel) — $2.99 — Ingredients: Enriched unbleached wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), peanut butter (peanuts, sugar, salt, monoglycerides and diglycerides [emulsifiers]), palm oil, corn syrup, yeast, bicarbonates and carbonates of sodium Nutrition facts (11 pieces): 150 calories, 8g fat, 1g fiber, 5g protein. These are delicious! They taste sooo bad for me, which tastes soooo good.
• Trader Joe’s Organic Whole Grain Drink — $1.99 — Ingredients: Filtered water, organic brown rice, organic evaporated cane juice, organic inulin, organic expeller pressed canola and/or organic expeller pressed safflower oil, organic brown rice syrup solids, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, vitamin mineral pre-mix (tricalcium phosphate, vitamin A palmitate, ergocalciferol [vitamin D2], cyanocobalamin [vitamin b12]), soy lecithin, natural flavor, carrageenan, organic amaranth, organic millet, organic quinoa. Nutrition facts (1 cup): 70 calories, 2.5g fat, 3g fiber, 0g protein. I like soy milk as a dairy replacement in recipes and in my green monsters, but not on its own. This whole grain drink is perfect alone.
• Trader Joe’s Mini Cafe Twists — $2.29
  
  Ingredients: Wheat flour, soybean oil, palm oil, beet sugar, cinnamon, salt. Nutrition facts (4 pieces): 120 calories, 4g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein. Love the minimal ingredients. They taste like palmiers!

The thing about being “vegan” (and it’s the same with being vegetarian) is that you can just as easily gain weight or eat like crap as you could being an omnivore. So, let’s be real! When I did a review of Alternative Baking Co.’s vegan cookies here, I saw they each had over 400 calories. So, being vegan is not a free-pass to eat whatever you want as long as its free of animal products (if you’re health-conscious, that is).

My other go-to snacks still remain the same as when I was an omnivore as they just so happened to be (mostly) vegan! See those here.

Has reality t.v. ever taught you a lesson? What’s a new snack find you’d share with the cranky one?

<3,

The Cranky One

I wanted to share the recipes for the vegan meals I made on Christmas. I chose Thai food a) because it’s delicious and b) because Vegetarian Times did a piece on how Thai philosophy emphasizes health by eating seasonal foods and balancing the “four basic elements of life: earth, water, wind, and fire.” I wanted a nice, hearty meal with kick and these dishes provided just that!

Stir-Fried Tofu
Recipe from Vegetarian Times, January 2010 issue

Ingredients

• 1 tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. red bean paste, or miso (I used the brown paste I had on hand from the miso soup I made for Thanksgiving)
• 1/2 tsp. white peppercorns, roasted and ground, or 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
• 1 19-oz pkg. extra-firm  silken tofu, drained and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 green onion, finely chopped (2 tbsp.)
• 1 tsp. sesame oil

Directions

• Combine soy sauce, bean paste, peppercorns, salt, cayenne, and cloves in small bowl. Set aside.
• Heat large skillet or wok over medium high heat 1 minute. Add oil, let warm 30 seconds, then add garlic. Stir-fry 6 to 7 seconds, or until garlic is pale golden. Add tofu, then add bean paste mixture and ginger. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until tofu is heated through, shaking pan or gently stirring to toss tofu in spice mixture. Stir in green onion and sesame oil. Transfer to bowls, and serve warm.
• Nutritional information per 1/2 cup serving: 115 calories, 8g fat, <1g fiber, 6g protein

Citrus Salad
Recipe from Vegetarian Times, January 2010 issue

Ingredients (Dressing)

• 2 tbsp. agave syrup
• 1 1/2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Ingredients (Salad)

• 2 oranges or blood oranges
• 1 grapefruit
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped arugula
• 1 shallot, peeled, thinly sliced crosswise, and loosened into strands (1/4 cup)
• 1 tbsp. coarsely chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbsp. crushed roasted peanuts or dry-roasted almond slivers, for garnish
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

• To make dressing: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Taste for balance of sweet, sour, and spicy, adjusting seasonings as necessary. Set aside.
• To make salad: Slice ends off oranges and grapefruit. Stand fruit on cutting board, and slice away skin and pith from outside with knife. Cut fruit segments from membranes, and transfer to bowl; toss lightly with arugula, shallot, and mint. Toss with dressing. Serve garnished with peanuts and sesame seeds.
• Per 1/4-cup serving: 142 calories, 3g fat, 3g fiber, 3g protein
• *Note: I changed this recipe when I made it by making it more of a green salad. I used 3 cups of arugula, one orange and half a grape fruit. I loved the taste this way and quenched my green salad craving.

Fried Brown Rice
The Cranky One’s Recipe

Ingredients

• One cup of long-grain brown rice cooked as instructed on its package
• 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 scallions chopped
• 1/2 cup diced red onions
• 1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

Directions

• Heat sesame oil, scallions and red onion in large skillet over medium heat. Once onion is slightly browned, add cooked brown rice. Once brown rice mixture is warmed, add brown rice vinegar, remove from heat and enjoy.
• Nutritional information per 1/2 cup serving: 163 calories, 6g fat, 2.3g fiber, 3g protein

What is your favorite Thai dish?

<3,

The Cranky One

One of the keys to living a healthy life is knowing what you’re putting into your body.  I rarely buy anything without having first carefully reviewed the ingredients list and nutritional content.  However, one thing I’ve pretty much chosen to ignore is Splenda and other artificial sweeteners.  While I tend not to eat much processed food anyway, I do have a big ol’ cup of Joe every single morning…with three Splenda packets.  When in school, I can have up to FOUR MUGS (yes, mugs) of coffee a day…each with three Splenda packets.  We’ll save the caffeine debate for another day because today I’m seeking out your knowledge and insight on the use of Splenda and other artificial sweeteners.  Here’s what I could gather myself:

Splenda (Sucralose-based)

• Pros: No calories, tastes good to me, more concentrated than sugar so can use less. Good sub for sugar if you are diabetic.
• Cons: See Duke University Study here: Basically, those who interpreted the results reported that Splenda may decrease good bacteria in the gut, increase fecal PH (um, I looked it up and am still confused what that is), and limit “bioavailability of orally administered drugs” — I think that means it interferes with the absorption.  Other articles have reported Splenda is linked to weight gain (see Time article “Can Sugar Substitutes Make You Fat,” 2/2008, here).
• Other:  There is an entire site called “Truth About Splenda” here, which is run by the Sugar Association (go figure).
• Bella says: Gag me with a spoon, I give.

Stevia

• This seems to be the sweetheart sweetener of health food bloggers.
• Pros: From Wiki: “Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.“
• Cons: More research still needed.  See here from Center For Science in the Public Interest, toxicologists voice concerns over male reproductive issues, cancer and energy metabolism (may interfere with carb absorption — which, correct if I’m wrong, I think some are touting as a benefit?)

Oh me oh my!  What are we to do?  My fave excerpt from the Live Science article titled, Bitter Battle over Truth in Sweeteners,” 3/15/07 (wow, I guess all this debate is old news, eh?), here:

“Splenda’s makers packaged their product to sound more natural, knowing consumers worry about alleged health consequences of other synthesized sweeteners, such as Equal (aspartame) or Sweet & Low (saccharine). And the plan worked. Within two years after its introduction, Splenda overtook Equal and now commands about two-thirds of the artificial sweetener market.

Just because a synthesized molecule is similar to a natural sugar molecule doesn’t make it safe. Just a one- or two-atom change makes a big difference when ingesting water versus hydrogen peroxide, beer versus wood alcohol, or carbon dioxide versus carbon monoxide.

The true test of safety lies in long-term health studies, not wordplay. Splenda does have dozens of studies to demonstrate that it is generally safe for human consumption, so many countries have approved its use in beverages and baked goods.

Yet all sweeteners, artificial or natural, have pluses and minuses. Sugar is associated with obesity, tooth decay and hyperactivity. One must wonder whether such a “chemical,” atom for atom, would be approved by the FDA if it were made in a lab. Recent case studies have revealed that Splenda, like Equal, can cause migraine headaches, but the incidence is rare.

Sugar can make bitter foods more palatable, which is why the World Health Organization allows some added sugar as part of a healthy diet. Splenda, Equal and saccharine have been a godsend to diabetics and dieters. Some folks will accept a remote chance of developing cancer, although none of these products have been shown conclusively to cause human cancer.”

I also enjoyed the article here from Examiner.com (wow, I’m using some really impressive and legit resources, eh?

So what’s the take-home message if there is one?  MODERATION!  No matter what you choose to use, just use it moderately.  I, for one, am going to wean myself off the Splenda.  One packet here and there, fine.  But up to 12 packets a day is NO BUENO!

Ok enough of the sweet stuff – real quick want to share the following:

• Made a Mediterranean Roasted Broccoli & Tomatoes dish from the Eating Well recipe here.

Per serving (1 cup): 76 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein. I added a mini yellow bell pepper, not included in the nutritional info. given.  I’d definitely recommend it if you want an easy way to use up and eat your veggies!

• If you are a vegan or vegetarian, check out this article from Calorie Lab called “The Good and the Bad of Vegetarianism” here. From the article, “Vegans had about 6 percent less dense bones than those who ate meat, but people with mostly vegetarian diets who also ate dairy and eggs showed almost no difference in bone density compared to people who ate meat.”

So tell me where you stand on the sugar debate?  Do you use an artificial sweetener? How much a day?

If you are vegan or veg, do you take calcium supplements?

Have a great day!