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Yahoo News: McDonald's Is Opening Its First Vegetarian-Only Restaurants

I've always liked Indian cuisine (Palak Paneer, anyone?).

With this news, I have two hopes:

1. Visit India someday.

2. Have McDonald's open a vegetarian-only restaurant here in the Philippines too.

photo credit: http://doctorfeelgood.co.nz

Read Kim Bhasin's full article here.

Edit: Don't get me wrong. With regard to McDonald's as a corporation, I wish animal suffering didn't play a big role in their success as a business. I think it's cool though, that they came up with an idea like this to accommodate vegetarians. If you're a vegetarian who hates McDonald's and you get stuck and hungry in the middle of nowhere with only McDonald's and steakhouses around, you'd wish McDonald's had vegetarian option too.

Yahoo News: World May Be Forced to Go Vegetarian By 2050, Scientists Say

Fingers are pointing at water shortage on being the main reason to go vegetarian.

Read Dylan Stableford's complete article HERE. 

photo credit: http://www.greenplanetawards.org

What do YOU think?

MEAT THE TRUTH

I'd like to share this very informative documentary about climate change. It's been more than four year since its world premiere and in my opinion, the topic it addresses will still be a prevailing issue for a very long while.

An excerpt from their website:

The documentary Meat the Truth is the first major project undertaken by the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation. Meat the Truth is a high-profile documentary, presented by Marianne Thieme (leader of the Party for the Animals), which forms an addendum to earlier films that have been made about climate change. Although such films have convincingly succeeded in drawing public attention to the issue of global warming, they have repeatedly ignored one of the most important causes of climate change, namely: intensive livestock production. Meat the Truth has drawn attention to this by demonstrating that livestock farming generates more greenhouse gas emissions worldwide than all cars, lorries, trains, boats and planes added together.

http://www.meatthetruth.nl/en

Replacement for Eggs?

It is always easy to find vegetarian recipes on the internet but many of them still contain eggs. It was usually frustrating for me to finally find something that looks really good just to see that one of the ingredients are eggs. Thankfully, there are available replacements for eggs depending on the purpose you will use it for. I found a very helpful guide on the internet and my favorite part so far are bananas, which I use when I make pancakes.

Bananas
When making banana bread and other cakes containing bananas, the fruit itself has binding qualities and can stand in as an egg replacer. For every egg you need, simply mash or purée 1/2 banana.

Here is the direct link to the complete guide: VegWeb Guide to Egg Replacers

The website itself is full of very useful information and mouthwatering recipes that are worth trying! :)

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Further reading:

Egg Replacement - Peta.org

Pinoy Vegetarian Kitchen

Hey everyone! I hope you had a good long weekend. :)

I usually buy groceries during weekend and make sure I have everything I need for the rest of the following week. Let me share what I think are must-haves in a vegetarian kitchen and what I buy at the supermarket.

A vegetarian kitchen should never be without herbs and spices. I like the brand McCormick but feel free to explore other brands. They are available at any supermarket.

basil

oregano

bay leaf

black pepper

cayenne pepper

chili powder

cinnamon
cumin
garlic
marjoram
nutmeg
rosemary

sage
thyme
turmeric

ginger

These are what I have in my kitchen. There are other spices and herbs but these are the ones I frequently use. I just buy the others when I need them for a special recipe.

photo credit: http://4.bp.blogspot.com

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Tofu! Tofu! Tofu!

Tofu is a vegetarian staple that you cannot be without. I usually buy 1.5 kilos of tofu weekly. This is also a good source of protein, something that non-vegetarians always ask about. Price of tofu can range from 25php-50php per 500gms depending on the brand. 

You will notice that there is silken tofu, which is primarily being used in broths and soups (miso soup, anyone?)

photo credit: http://superspark.files.wordpress.com

There is also firm tofu, which I use mostly to replace meat for almost everything.

Oh, and yes, I love taho too!

photo credit: http://my_sarisari_store.typepad.com

photo credit: http://media.tumblr.com

 

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Fruits, Vegetables, and Beans

My favorites are mangoes, avocados, bananas, and tomatoes. They are usually cheap when in season. There are a lot of other fruits you can choose from but these are my top favorites for many reasons:

photo credit: facebook.com/oasisadvancedwellness

photo credit: http://asweknowitlife.files.wordpress.com

photo credit: http://i.ytimg.com

photo credit: http://lh5.ggpht.com

The vegetables and beans I usually get are:

labanos (radish)

mongo (mung)

talong (eggplant)

gabi (taro)

malunggay leaves (moringa, horse radish)

sitaw (string beans)

sweet pea

kalabasa (squash)

sibuyas (onions)

chickpeas

blackbeans

patatas (potatoes)

mushrooms

broccoli

 celery

lettuce

Other vegetables I buy are usually for special dishes like asparagus and spinach.

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Rice! What is a pinoy meal without rice? I go for the usual white rice but brown rice is also available in the supermarket for at least 45php/kilo.

I am still in the process of learning how to make vegetarian sushi and that will require Japanese rice. 70php/kilo at the supermarket.

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Other grocery items you may consider buying:

 

pasta (check the ingredients because some may contain eggs)

condiments and sauces (soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce)

dairy products (substitutes are available for vegans)

pancake mix (watch out for egg solid ingredient)

cereals (Kellogg's Frosties has the label 'Vegetarian')

Share what you have in your kitchen too. :)

Further reading:

Kitchen Guide

Benefits of Mango

10 Health Benefits of Mango

The Ultimatest Vegetarian Grocery List!

How I Started Out As a Vegetarian

The first question I always get asked most of the time is: why? Not just me but almost all vegetarians get asked that question too. Well, I used to love meat, I can tell you that.

I used to take up wushu classes before and some of my friends there were vegetarians. Like many others, I thought that going meatless would make you weak but I saw that my friends were good athletes and you wouldn't really know they didn't eat meat unless you learn about it. So I told myself, "Why not try it out and cleanse myself of the animal corpses I eat most of the time?" I won't have to take part in the sufferings of the animals, I won't have to worry about food poisoning from eating meat I always hear and read about, I won't have to worry about my weight-- I'm happy, the animals are happy!

Now I should begin by saying that I don't think it's a good idea to remove ALL kinds of meat from your diet overnight. That would be devastating. 

photo credit: http://www.fitnraw.com

• I started by removing animal flesh from my diet (beef, chicken, pork). After a few months, I removed seafood from my diet, then after a few months, I removed egg. Now I'm a lacto vegetarian.
• I constantly browse the internet for products I can use as an alternative to make sure I still get the nutrients I need, as well as restaurants that offer vegetarian options. I will write separate posts for those restaurants and meat replacements but I will start right now by saying that tofu is a staple of the vegetarian diet if getting protein is what you are worried about. :)
• I consult and talk to my vegetarian friends to get advice on what-where-how questions.
• I go to bookstores to look for vegetarian cookbooks (very affordable at Booksale!)
• It's a little frustrating at the start but be patient. I used to crave for meat when I was starting out but it was just a matter patience, discipline, and not being hard on myself.

There are different types of vegetarians:

• Pescatarians will not eat meat and animal flesh except from fish.
• Lacto vegetarians will not eat pork, beef, poultry, seafood, and egg, but will consume dairy products like butter and milk.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarians are similar with  lacto vegetarians except for the fact that the former consume eggs.
• Vegans will not eat ANY meat-related products, as well as products containing animal-derived ingredients. They also refrain from consuming and using products that have been made using animal products which include (but not limited to) fur clothing, wine/beer, sugar.

 photo credit: http://www.vegetarian-nation.com

You may find other types, others that I didn't even know existed until I read about them: raw food diet, fruitarian, and pollotarian. Maybe there are other types which I haven't heard of to this day.

Point is, there are a lot of choices out there but make sure you do a research first. All choices have potential risks; the important thing is to make sure that there is an alternative to what you are giving up.

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Further reading:

Vegetarian 101

Making the Transition

How to Become a Vegetarian, the Easy Way