Eggs for Pregnancy

I know it has been a while since I posted, but I hope you will still read this. I just read an interesting article stressing how important it is to eat 2 eggs a day for pregnancy. What did you non-egg eating mommies do to get your protein and nutrients?

Secret Vegan Bakeries

Interesting article in today's WSJ - click here to read. Whether you agree with the bakeries' decisions to keep a low profile or not. I think it's good to know in general that Mighty-O-Donuts in Seattle and Pattycake Bakery in Columbus, Ohio offer vegan baked goods.

I also found it fascinating that adzuki beans are now something to use for fudgy brownies! Love it when baked goods can be even healthier. And how cool is it that vegan cupcakes have won Cupcake Wars?

Are any of you familiar with using adzuki beans for brownies?

Mint Bistro Las Vegas

It has been a while since I have posted. But I'm back for now. I have been meaning to blog about this awesome, hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant I found off the strip in Vegas last December. They offer Nepalese and Tibetan food in addition to Indian, and have plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and even Jain options. Their menu identifies vegan and vegetarian items, and I was especially impressed with their lassi bar with soy lassis! There was so much selection on their menu, and the food was really good. I had the chili paneer, which was even better than the one I had in London last May (I could have just not gone to the right place in London though). The people in the booth next to us had already come the night before. If you get a chance to check it out, let me know what you think.






click here for more information on Mint Bistro Las Vegas

Quaker Oats Chewy Bars

A reader wrote in to me stating that they had heard that the glycerin in Quaker Oats bars was animal-based. However, I received the following response when I wrote into them.

"Thank you for your inquiry about the source of glycerin in Quaker Chewy Bars.

I'm pleased to tell you that in all Quaker products, the glycerin is from a vegetable source and is kosher pareve. (Kosher pareve means it doesn't contain meat or dairy.)"

Pareve does mean the products can contain fish, from what I understand.

Have any of you heard different?

Quaker Oats website

Bright Star Vegan

Rancho Cucamonga now has vegan thai food at Bright Star Vegan. Aside from Thai food, they also serve vegan burgers and wraps. Their dessert of banana spring rolls sounds very interesting! Thanks for the heads up, Krystal! Let us know of how you like it if you get a chance to go out there!

click here for more information on Bright Star Vegan

Saffron

Saffron is a casual dining restaurant with two locations in Downtown LA and Beverly Hills on 230 South Beverly Drive. The owner provided me with the following information:

"In our Beverly Hills location, we have two tandoor ovens. One is used
exclusively to cook tandoori chicken. The other is used exclusively
to make naan bread. (FYI: The bread is not made with eggs. It does,
however, contain dairy.) In our downtown location, we only have one
tandoor oven. That oven is used exclusively to make naan bread. (We
do not serve tandoori chicken in our downtown location).

Our vegetarian entrees are not made in ovens. All of vegetables are
cooked stove-top completely separate from any meat. Our aloo gobi
(Beverly Hills only) and channa masala are vegan. Our tofu tikka
masala and saag paneer (Beverly Hills only) both contain dairy."

One of the owners has been vegetarian all her life, so they are very sensitive to dietary restrictions. I can't wait to check them out.

click here for more information on Saffron

Beetle Secretions in Skittles?

I got the following infographic from thedailygreen.com. I need to look further into what exactly the "beetle secretions" mentioned below are. I know that cochineal beetles are used for red color, but I haven't heard of their use for shine. Could these be another set of beetles? I'm really confused, considering that Skittles are listed to be free of animal-products in a comment recently posted by a reader here. Perhaps they are not counting insects as animals?

click here for the previous post on Skittles


Via: Weight Loss

Essential Kitchenware for the Vegetarian Chef

The following is a guest post from Jennifer Kardish, a communications coordinator at RTA Kitchen Cabinets. She is a vegan and asked to share her knowledge on kitchenware. I felt that she had some useful basic tips.

If you’re thinking of becoming a vegetarian, or you’re one of the many already ascribing to a non-animal diet, then you have probably realized that it’s not exactly easy to convert. Besides the fact that many people don’t understand your decision, it can be extremely difficult to find the foods you need to maintain a healthy diet (especially if you live in a rural area). There’s also a good chance that you live (or eat) with others who do not share your veggie-centric views on consumption. If you are one of the many that share a kitchen with an omnivore, or even if you’re just starting on the path to a vegetarian lifestyle, there are few kitchen items you may want to consider.

1. Designated cutting boards. This can be especially convenient if you share your cookware with a meat-eater. You don’t necessarily have to get separate cookware, but a set of cutting boards marked with handy pictures of fish, meats, and veggies can ensure that you don’t chop your carrots on a board that was recently used for raw chicken. (It’s just a good sanitary practice anyway).

2. A chef’s knife. This is an extremely useful utensil for chopping vegetables and should be a staple of any vegetarian cook’s kitchen. There are two types of chef’s knife, the German style, which is curved towards the tip to promote a rocking motion when cutting, and the French style, which is straight all the way to the tip and is better for slicing (as in pulling the blade toward yourself to cut). Your preference will determine which is right for you, but you should definitely have at least one.

3. A food processor. A diet rife with vegetables can be, well, bland at times. You may find yourself eating the same pasta and bean dishes over and over. A food processor is a handy tool when it comes to mixing it up (pun intended!). You’ll undoubtedly want to experiment with different textures, mixtures, sauces, and so on, and that is where a food processor can be very helpful. (It’s also great for making your own pesto, peanut butter, vegenaise, etc.)

4. A collapsible colander. If you’re going to be washing, steaming, and eating a lot of vegetables, a good colander is invaluable. They can, however, be a bit bulky. So check out one of the many collapsible options on the market. They come in different shapes and sizes (some even rest over the sink so you don’t have to worry about them tipping or touching a sink surface that may have had raw meat on it) and flatten down to the height of a dinner plate for easy storage.

5. A crock pot. You thought this was just for long-cooking items like pot roast, but you can use it for soups and stews of all types, even vegetarian. The great thing is, you set it to simmer early and when you come home from work, your meal is ready and the whole house smells amazing!

More on Eat Pastry

After reading about Eat Pastry on their website, I was interested in learning more. Jessie, one of the founders, kindly gave me an interview:

1. What is your company's background?

Alfred and myself met while attending pastry school at The French Culinary Institute in New York City. We launched our cookie dough in June of 2009, and still remain a very small company. We personally test each batch of cookie dough to make sure it's yummy delish perfection. And yes, we are vegan.

2. What led you to create your product?

Both of us were always interested in health and the environment, which is one of the things that brought the two of us together. After having attended pastry school, we knew we didn't want to make things for people that were bad for their health, and so detrimental to the preservation of the environment. All the butter, eggs, and cream that we used to make traditional pastries was excessive, and borderline gross. So, we decided to save our money by leaving NYC, move in together (yikes! that was a gamble...glad it all worked out), and start creating vegan recipes. As we worked on the recipes, the recipes worked on us as we gradually became fully vegan ourselves. It was a lot of fun, and definitely a life changing experience.

3. Were there any obstacles that you had to overcome to create your product?

Oh yes, there were many obstacles that we faced creating EatPastry. If I listed them all, we could be nearing a novel size response. Developing the product was the 'easy' part I suppose because it was something we had 'know-how' of doing. As far as running a business goes, that was something that we had to, and still have to, learn as we go. Deciding on packaging was also difficult because the designers we worked with at Moxie Sozo were so talented, and there were many different avenues to go down. With a lot of love and communication we've found clever ways of overcoming our obstacles.

4. Are there any more products you hope to create in the future?

Sure, we have a lot of vegan recipes that we created when we were experimenting, and we still experiment with new recipes today. There will definitely be more products down the line, but that's top secret ;)

5. Is there anything else you would like my readers to know?

I get asked a lot whether the dough can be put in the freezer...yes! hooray! Our cookie dough freezes well, and will last forever if it makes it that long...we're all cookie monsters at heart, and self control is overrated in my opinion

Thank you, Eat Pastry!