Netflix Movie Reviews: Forks over Knives, The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue, Vegucated

I just got back from a health-related conference and one of the topics that came up was diet's effect on disease.  One of the speakers recommended the movie Forks over Knives, and I was so impressed by the speaker's overall talk I watched the movie on Netflix as soon as I got home. From there, it led to another movie, which led to another movie! Here's a quick review of all three movies I watched:

Forks over Knives
I know I'm late to the game on this one, as this movie has been out since 2011 and I've heard people praise it for years! I just never bothered watching it because I feel like I don't need convincing that a vegan diet is the way to go. WELL! This movie turbo-charged me into vegan mode! There seems to be a great deal of peer-reviewed scientific data that shows a strong correlation between animal protein and several diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  I do have health issues, and it seems like going vegan is the answer to all my concerns. Also, a lot of the science in this movie is based on The China Study, and I'm Asian so I feel like if anything is going to work for me it should be the thing based on a study of millions of Asians. I just checked out the China Study book from the library....

Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue
I was so excited by the idea of improving my health through diet from watching Forks over Knives, I went ahead and clicked on Netflix's recommended related video, Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue. The main guy in Engine 2, Rip Esselstyn, is the son of one of the physicians in Forks over Knives. He's a former professional triathlete and fire fighter in Austin, TX. He is on a plant based diet, and I have to say, he's an excellent spokesperson for the lifestyle. Let me put it more simply: He's super hot! In this movie he helps makeover two families' kitchens and attitudes towards eating. One thing that really separates this "diet" from any other vegan diet is the avoidance of processed food (there is a cornucopia of vegan junk food out there!) and emphasis on vegan whole food (fresh, unprocessed). It makes sense to me why avoiding processed products would make a significant difference in the health factor of foods.

Vegucated
This movie focuses more on the environmental and ethical aspects of veganism, evidenced by the acceptance of lots and lots of processed and packaged vegan junk food. Overall, I found this movie to be less compelling than the Forks over Knives - it's less data driven and more antidotal.  One thing I disliked was the fact that they do show (very brief) video clips from slaughter houses because I'm very sensitive to those kinds of images.  On a rational level I know it takes place every day at slaughter houses across the country, so I guess it was a necessary wake up call that our society dissociates what's on a plate (or in a bag, a wrapper, a box, etc) with where it comes from. This movie was good at showing the very real challenges of maintaining a vegan diet in our society, and it also shows the very real benefits.

Take aways: See Forks over Knives if you are looking for a new approach to improve your health. Even if you're already on board with veganism, this will give you the added motivation you may need to really commit! See Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue if you're on board with plant-based whole foods but don't know where to start (or if you are trying to convince a macho friend that tough guys can be vegans too!).  See Vegucated if you're new to the ideas of a vegan lifestyle and want to know more about the multitude of reasons why it's good all around!

Easy Recipe: Vikka Masala

(No picture because I ate it all already. It was delicious!)

So I love Indian food.  And lucky for me, a lot of it is vegetarian, and if you can avoid the dairy, it is also easy to get it vegan as well! You should know by now that I barely ever cook.  Ever. So when I manage to make something I like to parade it around like it's a huge revelation.  I'm really proud of this one! And this was SO EASY! It's made mostly of things that people have around.

A note: I don't put quantities or times on anything, because once a friend's Taiwanese grandmother tried to teach us how to make dumplings and the whole time she was like "if you like X, add more X, mix this and that till it looks right, cook it till it's done" etc etc.

Ingredients:

• An onion. The more you like onion, use a bigger the onion
• Garlic.  The more you like garlic, use more garlic (duh!)
• Rice.  In my case, it's leftover rice from the last time I ordered delivery. Those restaurants are always delivering too much rice! You can make fresh rice if you're up for it. 
• Marinara Sauce. A simple one is good, mostly tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt. I had half a jar leftover from when I made spaghetti the other day (also a major event!). 
• A ton of spices.  I added curry powder and lemon pepper from Trader Joe's, coriander (I don't even know what this really tastes like, it was just in the cabinet), and some chili pepper. Basically add in whatever you've got, the more the merrier. Depending on what's in there, this will end up somewhere on the Tikka Masala/Tomato Risotto spectrum.  
• Olive oil.

Chop up the onion and garlic. Sautee the onion in olive oil on medium heat until it gets browned. Add in the garlic, stir that around too. Mmmm, enjoy the smell. Dump a ton of spices on top of the onion and garlic, and stir that round too, adding a little more olive oil if you feel like it.  Dump the rice in, stir that around.  Dump in some pasta sauce. Stir that all around, add a little water if it's too thick. Add more spices.  Eat it straight out of the pot with your spatula, but be sure to put a trivet on the table first.

You're welcome!

Wannabegan Cooked! ANGEL HAIR WITH TOMATO AND BASIL

You know I don't really cook, but tonight my husband and I cooked for the first time in... a really long time. First time this year for sure (HA! It's only Jan 2) but honestly it was probably a full year or more since I used the stove to heat anything.

But I had three cans of organic tomatoes that are expiring next month (THAT should give you an idea of how often we cook) and I wanted to use them up!  So I found a recipe (when I was searching for it, I mistyped it reciepes, recipie, and reicipe before my husband told me how to spell it) online that used canned tomatoes (it's from the brand of the tomatoes I bought).

Here is the original recipe, and this is what we actually did (which was DELICIOUS!! I'm so proud of us!!):

Ingredients

• Undetermined amount of extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 large red onion
• 2 pieces of dried chiles from a garden in Indiana
• Undetermined amount of crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cans (14.5 oz) of organic tomatoes, 2 crushed w/ Basil, and 1 skinned whole plum tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic (I learned the difference between a clove and a head of garlic the hard way when I was 24) 
• Undetermined amount of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt (an elderly Taiwanese woman gave me a recipe where every quantity was, "If you like X, add more X....)
• Angel hair (capellini) pasta
• 1 small package of fresh oregano

Directions

• Fill your biggest pot 5/8ths full of water and bring to boil (easy!).
• Peel off the outer layer of the onion, and chop off the ends. Use an apple wedge cutting tool to cut the onion into 9 pieces, struggle to chop a few of the slippery wedges with a knife.  Put all of the onion pieces into a blender and struggle to blend the onion. Put all the onion, including the giant unchopped chunks in your second largest pot with some olive oil and stir around. Remember to turn on the burner so the onion gets mushy.
• Intend to open the 2 cans of crushed Tomato with Basil, but actually open 1 can of Tomato with Basil and 1 can of skinned whole plum tomato by accident. Put can of Tomato with Basil back in the cabinet.
• Turn off the boiling water, because it's going to be a while before you're ready to boil the pasta.
• Pour 1/2 can of crushed Tomato with Basil in the blender with the onion and blend briefly on low. Blend the garlic with everything else as well. Pour everything you blended into the second largest pot. 
• Scoop out the whole skinless plum tomatoes out of the pot and blend those as well, then return to the pot.  
• Add some salt, the red pepper flakes, a ton of pepper, and the chiles to the tomatoes.  Strip the oregano leaves off the stems and add those too.  Stir it around while it boils up, then turn the heat down to simmer.
• Bring the big pot of water back to a boil, add some salt and spill half of the dry pasta on the floor (and sweep up then discard). Boil the remaining pasta for 4 minutes.
• Scoop out the pasta into bowls, and then pour some of the tomato sauce you just made on top! Enjoy!

Serves 2, with lots of sauce left over.

Limegreen vegan home and body products

I was wandering around Chelsea Market the other day, and found a great new brand in the Artists and Fleas space over on the 10th ave side of the Market!

Limegreen offers "completely natural vegan products" that smell amazing and are made in Brooklyn! You know I'm not into perfumey stuff, but I do enjoy natural fragrances from essential oils and the like, and these are made from "unrefined, certified organic, raw, wild harvested and steam distilled ingredients, such as Coconut, Olive, Castor, Sweet Almond oils, Soy Wax and Alcohol Free Witch Hazel Distillate. We seek the ‘Best’ ingredients and look to support local business."

I also like that a lot of their products are double or triple duty- for example the BAR you can use for washing face and body and hair, which makes traveling so much simpler, as well as the shower ledge. The OIL moisturizes hair and skin, and also removes makeup! The MASSAGE CANDLE smells amazing and as they melt they turn into massage oil! I've really been into candles lately, I think because it's winter and dark and candles make the space seem cozy and also smell nice.  I was thinking this is a great gift on so many levels, don't be surprised if you know me and you get one!

More Chloe!

I have a crush on vegan chef  Chloe Coscarelli (see previous post here), even though I haven't actually made any of her recipes yet!  I just think she's so gracious, I love her message, and obvi she's super cute.  So I was really excited when I saw her make a guest appearance on another blog I follow, Marie Forleo!

Marie focuses on inspiring entrepreneurs, and she interviewed Chloe about how she built career.  In the process, Chloe talks about her own wannabegan approach to food! "It's my goal to show people that hey, this food is actually good, and it can make you feel satisfied, and it's not something that you have to commit to 100% of the time if you're interested in it so I like to think of it not as an all or nothing, you're either an extreme vegan or nothing, I like to think that you can eat vegan once in a while... and maybe you start to like it!"

Check out her vegan recipes online, or go out and get one of her cookbooks!

Italian Apple Cake WANT

This post is entirely lifted from a newsletter email of this vegan chef I am fond of, Chloe Coscarelli, who is promoting her new vegan cookbook, Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen. I don't cook but if you make the recipe, let me know how it is, or even better invite me over for a slice!  You know how every family or household has “the cake”? Well, this is the cake in my New York City apartment. In advance of any birthday or snowy day, my roommates will ask, “Are you making the cake?” We’re all obsessed with it. Everyone has her own copy of the recipe and makes it frequently. I have no doubt that if you try this cake once, it will become the cake in your house, too. If you’re feeling adventurous, try replacing one of the apples with a pear!

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round pan and line with parchment paper. Grease again. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until just combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be very thick, but the apples will release moisture as they bake. Arrange some of the apples in a circular pattern to cover most of the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Then gently fold in the remaining apples into the batter. Spoon the batter into the pan, being careful not to disrupt the apple pattern on the bottom. Use a spatula or your fingertips to pat it evenly into the pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is set and the cake is lightly browned on top. Rotate the cake halfway through baking time. Once cooled, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake, and gently unmold so that the apple design is on top. Peel off the parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

1½ cups all-purpose flour* ¾ cup sugar ¾ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup canola oil ¼ cup water 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar 3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced Powdered sugar for serving *For a gluten-free alternative, substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour plus ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum (page 257 from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen).

Pants Up @ the Pop Up! May 5 - 11, Chelsea Market

My home is not totally vegan.  One of the things I've been meaning to donate to Salvation Army and replace is my husband's leather belt. He only has one belt, it still functions, and he wears it every day, so I have to find a replacement before I can get rid of it.  

I think I found it!  Yesterday I was walking through Chelsea Market, where they have an "ID Pop Shop Independent Designers Sale" (lots of really cool unique stuff there, I don't know why people who visit NY from around the world bother shopping at the big mutli-national chains because that stuff is the same around the world. This is the place to see REAL local NY talent).  ANYWAY I saw this one booth (above) with really cool textured accessories - made from CORK.  I timidly asked the lady working there if there is any leather in the belts, thinking maybe there was leather layer in the middle, and she proudly responded that all their products are vegan!  Well, in that case, let me take a look around!!

The shop is Cliff Belts, and they actually have a ton of different accessories that are typically made out of leather, plus guitar straps(!).  My favorite items are the ones with the natural cork color and texture showing through (they also have colored and embossed styles). So unique! The lady in the booth showed me some cool features of their belts, where some of them are mix-and-matchable with the buckle and strap, and another line of belts are made out of recycled subway car grab poles!  Super awesome!   

​I love that it is strong, durable, ecological, cruelty free, and lighter than leather. Cliff Belts says, "Cork is environmentally preferable to leather as it comes from a lower carbon impact source (tree bark) and does not use animal products in its manufacture (a vegan product). The environmental concerns associated with leather include the energy and carbon intensity of generating animal products and the chemicals used in the leather tanning process that can be damaging to human health and the environment. Cork is a naturally beautiful and greener alternative to leather."

Anything from this shop would be great for anyone who wears pants, wants to define his or her waist, or carries things (so basically everyone).  And probably also for anyone that loves wine (because wine people are into cork).  I'm going to get this belt for my husband, and I want this for me, I'm hoping I can put a little notebook inside it.  

PS - Reminder, Vegan Dinner at Ayurveda Cafe is tonight! 

The Love Affair Continues

I really love shopping at Trader Joe's, and I shop there despite the closest one being pretty far from my apartment and I have to haul all that stuff back home in multiple backpacks and tote bags (they do have delivery, I've just never used it).

ANYWAY!  I wrote to them the other day:

"I LOVE your unscented cruelty free skincare products (Nourish oil free antioxidant facial moisturizer and Nourish All-in-one facial cleanser)! Thank you so much for making those and clearly labeling them with the no-bunnies logo, it so easy to check if it can go in my basket or not! I often buy Tom's unscented deodorant when I am at your store, but am curious about your Trader Joe's Unscented Deodorant with Cotton - is that tested on animals? There is no indication. 
Thanks and keep up the great work! Please introduce more unscented, cruelty free products!"

And they responded super fast with the following exciting information!

"Our HABA (health and beauty aid) products are ALL cruelty free - no animal testing. This includes our deodorants."

YES!  So my husband switched from the Tom's deodorant to Trader Joe's Unscented Deodorant with Cotton and he likes it a lot better!  He uses it on a daily basis and it has even held up through his martial arts classes (he comes home literally DRIPPING with sweat and his clothes are soaked with sweat, but he does not smell!)

So I also discovered that they also list all their vegan products online which makes it super easy to pick what you want to buy ahead of time!

"Goodbye, Easter Bunny"

Above: Tully, available for adoption in Chicago

Aww! I didn't realize this is STILL a problem in this day and age!  People buy baby rabbits for Easter, and then the kids don't want them after a few days, the parents don't want to deal with caring for them, and then the most innocent party in this whole ordeal (the rabbit) gets abandoned :((((((.  NYTimes article here.

Things I didn't realize and learned from the article:

• Rabbits require as much care and maintenance as dogs(!)
• Once the rabbits hit puberty...male rabbits spray urine everywhere, while females grow territorial
• It can cost $300 to spay or neuter a rabbit
• Because determining a young rabbit’s sex is difficult, owners who thought they had two female rabbits can suddenly find themselves with litter after litter of bunnies
• A rabbit can live more than a decade

Above: Ty, also available for adoption in Chicago

My cousin and his wife are huge rabbit lovers and have had three (that I know of) over the years, so I've seen how rabbits can be really great and beloved pets. They are REALLY into their rabbits, they even made a rabbit room in their house, and they spend a lot time of caring for them. Rabbits are awesome but you really have to be prepared to handle the work and responsibility that comes with along with them.  If you are ready and live in the Chicago area, check out the rescue where my cousin got his most recent rabbit: Red Door Animal Shelter. (That's also where I got the pics of the bunnies I put in this post.)  Here's the bun they adopted from Red Door:

BONUS: Rabbits are authentic, for-real 100% vegans (not just wannabegans!). I think they are popular pets with vegan humans because you can feed your leftover vegetable bits and scraps to the rabbits and they love it.

East Side Eating

I am firmly rooted on the West Side of Manhattan, but I do occasionally venture across Broadway and spend time on the East Side!  Last weekend, I wanted to check out an exhibit on Museum Mile (Masterpieces & Curiosities: Diane Arbus's Jewish Giant at the Jewish Museum), and of course all the walking around made me hongray so my husband and I wandered around in a totally new neighborhood in search of food.  

Right around the corner was a lovely spot that reminded me of my neighborhood favorite, Juice Generation.  It was called Juice Press!  

juice press

Vegetarian / Vegan Restaurant and Juice Bar

1296 Madison Ave. (at 92nd St.), New York, NY 10128

They had similar pre-prepared vegan raw/dishes, and they were delish!  I found everything to be a tad bit pricy, but it's all organic, and according to the cashier, also raw, kosher, and vegan. We followed up our raw falafel and hummus wrap with a juice, I forget which one 

In other East Side dining news, I actually missed the Vegan Meetup at Organic Grill, but there is another NYC Vegan meetup coming up, and it's on the Upper East Side! 

What: Vegan Dinner at Ayurveda Cafe

When: Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 7:00 PM

Where: Ayurveda Cafe

706 Amsterdam Ave. (bet. East 94th & 95th Sts.)

New York, NY 10025

For complete information and to RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/nycvegans/events/177101402/

I already RSVPed, hope to see you there! 

Back to the Start

I'm still alive!  I wasn't sure I would be at one point though, I was really sick (likely the flu, although I never tested positive for it).  Anyway, I was a hot hot mess, and I'm just now finally getting back to my full potential.  It's been hard with the cold, I think just being exposed to the elements really drains a lot of my energy.

So anyway, I just started another meditation course, so it means I'm back to the East Village once a week, which is chock full of great places for wannabegans to eat!

Last night was our first night of level 2 meditation class, and we went to the same place where we went on the first night of level 1 mediation class, ANGELIKA KITCHEN!  I have such affection for this place, because back when I was a wee young wannabegan (... let's just say over a DECADE AGO), I worked in the takeout/juice bar section of the restauruant (apologies to all the people that I messed up their orders).  I loved it though!  Actually, the reason why I applied for a job there was because I loved the food so much, but as a scrappy young thing I didn't have enough $$ to eat there as often as I wanted to.  When I worked there, I got a meal every shift!  I was SO HEALTHY and energetic and fit back then (partially due to youth), random people would comment that my skin looked amazing (true!) and overall I was probably the closest to ideal health I've ever been.

OK, enough reminiscing.  Last night was COLD, and I wanted nothing more to warm up with a hot meal!  To start off the meal, we ordered the CURRIED CASHEW SPREAD (all raw) and KOMBU VEGETABLE BOUILLON. I love that boulion - definitely warming. For entrees, my husband and I both ordered the DASHI AND NOODLES.  We almost never order the same thing because we like to sample as many things as possible from the menu then share, but we both wanted the exact same thing and it's so good, we did it even though it didn't make sense to. Also super warming, and we both love that dish so much!  We had finished our meal but we had a teeny bit of time to kill before our class started so we went ahead and also ordered my favorite, favorite tea which is nearly impossible to find in stores: MU 16 TEA!!  My husband has a sweet tooth so for a dessert we got a MAPLE TOFU WHIP, which is kind of like whipped cream or vanilla pudding, which Hubby loved.  I was pretty full, or else I would have gotten the Kanten Parfait, which is layered cookie bits, nut cream, and kind of a fruit pie filling.  For some reason I love the parfaits, and I generally love Angelika Kitchen, but I have to agree with my husband that their one weak spot is their cookies.  On their own, they just taste like what I imagine cookies taste like during war time or the great depression.  Mixed up in the parfait, they are great!

So anyway, it was another great meal at a place full of nostalgia for me.  I definitely recommend coming here if you want something hearty, warming, and comforting in the middle of winter.  (They also have juice and lighter fare, but we can talk about that once the trees have leaves on them again.) Also I love being able to order ANYTHING off the menu and not think about if it is vegan or not.

(Follow me on Foursquare if you want to know what and where I'm eating wannabegan!)