VeggieTalk

This is the big health news story of the day, on the front page of the paper, and all over the net wire services. To quote the Associated Press article:

Sydney - Obesity has reached pandemic proportions throughout the world and is now the greatest single contributor to chronic disease, an international conference was told on Sunday.

“This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world,” Australia’s Monash University professor Paul Zimmet, chair of the 10th International Congress on Obesity, said on the opening day of the conference.

The spread of the problem was “led by affluent western nations, whose physical activity and dietary habits are regrettably being adopted by developing nations,” Zimmet told more than 2,000 delegates.

The world now has more fat people than hungry ones, according to World Health Organisation figures, with more than a billion overweight people compared to 800 million who are undernourished.

Read the rest of the story, and lots of related links. This is just so aggravating! With all the public education and information out there, the world is just getting fatter and fatter.

I know a lot of vegetarians and vegans read this blog. Do any of you struggle with weight? In my family, it seems like our vegan diets allow us to eat and eat and eat, and yet we are all at ideal weight. As I have written before, I even have to make sure to do some calorie-loading for the two teenage boys as they are both thin. What are your experiences with veg/vegan lifestyle and weight? If I get some interesting repsonses, I will put them together for a piece in my next newsletter.

In the most recent query to Vegetarian Kitchen’s new Reader Q & A column, a reader asks if a vegetarian diet can help her lose and keep off 20 pounds. In doing a little research for a recent study to quote in my answer, what I know in my heart to be true was confirmed—that a plant-based diet is the most healthful. Vegetarians and vegans are slimmer, live longer, and suffer from fewer cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.

I know full well that the world is not ready to “go veg,” but the message needs to be louder and clearer—more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and beans!! Fewer animal products, and NO white flour, high-fructose corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated fats. Unfortunately the U.S. has been exporting this kind of crappy, poisonous eating throughout the world via fast food and soft drinks. It just makes me so mad!

And furthermore, while I am still ranting, what about exercise? In Amsterdam, for instance, where people get around by bicycle, we did not see a single overweight person. As countries develop, there is more reliance on cars and less on walking and bicycling, and it shows up in rising rates of overweight, with the exception of cities that are set up for walking and biking.

So, I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on how your veg/vegan diet and activity level affects your weight.

Everyone needs to be aware that good nutrition is a major part of a long, happy life.

Even though September continues to be warm for the most part, even here in the Hudson Valley, Labor Day for most of us is the symbolic end of summer. But fortunately, summer produce will still be in full stride for some time. The local corn and tomatoes have been wonderful this year, so full of flavor for a change!

Here’s last night’s dinner. I’ve been thinking about combining potatoes and black beans into a warm/cool salad. This one was a snap to make, and I was very happy with it. Once I made it, I thought it would have been nice to use one sweet potato for additional color and nutrition, in place of a couple of the red-skinned potatoes. For some reason, I was not as happy with how the salad tasted as a leftover the next day; somehow the freshness of the warm potatoes with the cool ingredients was what made it work for me.

I also imagined that tofu would be delicious broiled with lemon juice and garlic, but somehow, I was not thrilled with it. If I make the potato salad again soon, I’d rather team it with Mediterranean Tofu; that would actually be perfect for an end-of-summer meal, with the fresh tomatoes and basil.

Warm Potato and Black Bean Salad

4 to 6 servings

The liquid from the artichokes provides plenty of moisture and flavor for me, but if you’d like a bit more, add a splash of olive or flaxseed oil, or your favorite vinaigrette.

• 4 to 5 medium red-skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes
• One 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• One 6- to 8-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, chopped, with liquid
• One medium red bell pepper, cut into short, narrow strips
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Mixed baby greens
• Pumpkin or sunflower seeds for garnish, optional

Microwave the potatoes until done but still firm. Plunge into a bowl of cool water until just cool enough to handle.

Combine the beans, artichoke hearts, bell pepper, parsley, and scallions in a serving container.

Peel and dice the potatoes and add them to the bean mixture, then add the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve at once, while the potatoes are still warm. Place each serving on a small bed of greens, and sprinkle with some seeds, if desired.

Variation: Replace half of the potatoes with sweet potato. Microwave it separately, so you can be sure remove it from the microwave when it’s still nice and firm.