Wholewheat pancakes

It’s one of those weekends when you feel like messing in the kitchen and experiment a little bit. The following recipe was proven to be a complete success.

Wholewheat pancakes with ice cream and jam

Ingredients:

(serve 5-6 pancakes)

- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup wholewheat flour
- semi-skimmed milk “till the mix is liquid enough”
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 pinches of baking soda

Mix everything and fry the pancakes in very little butter. Actually, if your non-stick pan is really non-stick, you shouldn’t even need the butter.

Then add a little scoop of ice cream to each pancake. I used ‘clotted cream with fudge’ ice cream, so I really didn’t put too much. It will slowly melt and the icy cold / hot mixture will be sublime. The other nice topping is jam. I had some delicious home-made Daivison plum jam. It matched perfectly with the rest.

Other weekend experiments:

- Dala horse banana bread

- Quick & easy pasta

Worth reading!

No offense, I like soy. But I also don’t. Actually, what I don’t like is the huge business behind soy-based products and how in some countries they are advertised as the (almost) only healthy option to replace meat or to top up your protein intake as a vegetarian. The following article very simply and clearly explain why a lot of processed soy-based food should not be included in any healthy diet, vegetarian or else. So… soy sprouts or dry soy beans, fine. But any processed soy is most likely as unhealthy as any other processed food. Food for thoughts… Click here

I guess I’m gonna make soy-free veggie burgers!

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Comments from another website where I posted this link:

SL: I tried the soy protein thing and just felt miserable every time I tried to eat it. I finally gave up. Then a friend sent me links to articles on why it bad for me. I figured my better judgement was doing its job and have never tried it again.

Sara: The thing is, all the GM stuff started with soy. I’m okay with responsibly farmed and produced soy, but there’s a huge industry behind soy-based food and if we try to eat healthy, we should avoid processed food, soy-based or else. So… I think I’ll just avoid heavily processed soy
Besides, veggie burgers can be done without any soy at all.

TS: ICKY!!!

SL: When I was a vegetarian I had never heard of tofu. My best friend was also a vegetarian and she did not eat that processed soy/tofu either. I do not remember what we did eat but we were healthy.

Sara: I don’t think tofu is the biggest problem. The real tofu from Asia is probably good, I don’t know, I’ve never tasted any tofu. But it really makes me laugh when I see “veggie meat” on labels. Either you are vegetarian or you are not. Period. If you are vegetarian because you believe it’s better for your health or the environment (I would argue the latter), then do NOT look for “meat replacements”, you shouldn’t even need the word “meat” on the label, ya know… I mean, one thing is eating choices and habits, one thing is fashion and business and consumers being manipulated, so that they think they need (heavily processed) “healthier” food.

SL: I definitely did not look for ‘meat’ substitutes.
Also, I was wondering if tofu was the substituted ingredient in veggie burgers. If I understand your comment tofu is not that ingredient.
I just did some quick reading. I see what you mean about tofu not being bad -that it is other forms of soy that may be/are hazardous. In retrospect, I think I was just overdoing the tofu at the time I was feeling negative about it.

Sara: Yep, the article doesn’t really focus on tofu, but rather on all other soy-based stuff. I also believe the “veggie burger” in the title is to refer to “vegetarian food in general”, not only veggie burgers. As you said, tofu is not found in veggie burgers. not that I know of.
I actually like veggie burgers, when they are made with fresh, healthy, sustainably grown ingredients. I make my own. Years ago, we used to cook a lot more than we do now. When I was a child, my mother didn’t by as many processed food. She still doesn’t, as we prefer fresh groceries.
But the amount of heavily processed food out there for the consumers to buy, is impressive now. Blame it on the lack of time… but I think we, as a society, have become more lazy, maybe. I can fix myself a perfectly healthy meal in 15-20 minutes when I get back home from work, but it’s definitely easier to stick something from the supermarket straight in the oven or the microwave. Well, unless I bought something homemade in some deli or vegetarian shop, what we find in most supermarkets is not even half as healthy as we’d think.
The other thing I’m also thinking is that being vegetarian requires that you do spend time cooking or preparing your veggies. So… maybe we, again, as a society, just need to find more time to spend in the kitchen?! lol

I read a lot of news, studies and reports on the Livestock Revolution. Still some support it, some never did it, some don’t support it anymore. I believe we should have learned by now that extreme measures are not the answer. Use moderation.
But no, we still want it all. Or nothing. It’s either black or white, never grey. It’s either “pushing the sector to its limits” or “not developing at all”. We should have noticed by now, that there always are limits to whatever we do. Let’s try to find an optimum that doesn’t break those limits and start doing us harm, instead of improving our lives. When did we started believing that we should eat meat every single day, maybe even twice a day?

This is just one of a series of articles on milk and the dairy industry. The things we don’t know…

via Care2.com

via USAToday.com

via TreeHugger.com

My favourite healthy snack

Living on campus has some advantages indeed, like cutting on transportation. But eating at the canteen can easily become a boring routine, especially if the food served is varied, but still, it’s not the same as cooking for yourself. Canteen food also tends to be less “veggie-friendly”, a lot of sauces, trans-fat and sweets.
Then, I decided to turn to some healthier snacking and bought some carrots at the local market. Carrots are high on fiber, contain a lot of Vitamin A (good for eye sight and skin) and crunching cuts on food cravings in general. I feel better already!