All I can say is "oh vey!" I mean really, was that the best veganism has to offer? Veganaise, Daiya Cheese, Tofurkey and other highly processed meat and cheese substitutes? Did you get a load of the vegan dinner that the Oprah staffer made for her family? White pasta with some disgusting sauce made out of vegan sausage and a pizza with vegan cheese? Where were the fresh vegetables?
When "The Veganist" shopped with said staffer at Whole Foods what did they fill the shopping cart with? Vegetables, fruits and beans? Hells no! They filled it with Earth Balance, a vegan substitute for butter made of oil. Was I the only one outraged by this show?
The guests on the show joked about how a vegan diet could consist of junk food and thus be an unhealthy way of eating, so how ironic was it the healthy whole food got about 30 seconds of airtime while highly processed vegan foods seemed to take up one quarter of the show? Was this a product placement opportunity for the makers of Tofurkey? I'm guessing it was.
Honestly, the show angered me. I don’t know what happened in the editing process, but I cannot believe that it was never mentioned that a healthy vegan diet should consist primarily of vegetables, fruits, beans, real whole grains, nuts and seeds. I mean Michael Pollan was sitting right there and did he speak up after all of that talk about Veganaise and Tofurkey . . .? Really? I was cursing at my television right in front of my 11 year old daughter. It’s this type of misinformation that hurts the public, not helps society. We are in a crisis of epidemic proportions in the United States. Oprah herself is obese. This episode was such a missed opportunity. Oh well, more work for healthy vegan authors and bloggers!
Like I said, oh vey . . .
So what would you do if you wanted to make a truly healthy vegan meal? You'd ask Debby, aka The Healthy Librarian, over at http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/! Here were her suggestions for a wholesome Plant-Strong Super Bowl Party:
A chili with lots of kick that you can eat all week long. Get the recipe here.
Knock Your Socks Off Whole Grain Pizza
A vegan cheeseless pizza made with greens and Sami's Bakery Millet & Flax Crust. It's The Healthy Librarian's other go-to company pleaser. It's made with all out-of-the-jar ingredients and comes together fast. No omnivores miss the cheese. Find that recipe here.
Appetite for Reduction's Guacamame
A guacamole made with 1/2 the fat---uses avocado & thawed edamame. It's delish on top of the chili! You'll need Isa Moskowitz's book for that one. It's definitely making it onto my Super Bowl menu!
Popcorn
Says Debby, "I'll just pop corn in our air popper. Here's our Esselstyn 'cheat.' As it comes flying out, we're armed with an organic canola oil spray can, and some Morton's powdery popcorn salt. A few sprays of the oil as the the popcorn comes out--and a few shakes of the salt. Gives it a good taste. Could try it with nutritional yeast and whatever herbs Whole Foods used. The spray is the only way I know to get the seasonings to stick. Oooh--I bet it would fabulous with some shakes of Bone Suckin' Sauce Seasoning & Rub--for a barbecue taste."
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with dippers
Debby would serve the hummus with Mary's Gone Crackers Curry & Sea Salt Twigs--they're whole-grain, no added fat--and gluten free.
For dessert, Debby would serve:
Strawberries & Clementines
Double Rainbow Chocolate Sorbet
and maybe some of The Wannabe Chef's Dessert Snicker doodle Hummus with apples and cinnamon pitas. Debby took this to work for a baby shower where they were serving potato chips and sour cream dip and a sugary cupcake cake. All of the snicker doodle hummus vanished. Get that recipe here.
Thanks for your fabulous submissions Debby!
The Plant-Strong Super Bowl fun continues with recipes from Gena over at the Choosing Raw blog. First up is this gorgeous three layer dip. Gena promises to reveal all of her vegan Super Bowl Party ideas over the next week on her blog, so we can all rejoice! Get Gena's three layer dip recipe here. And if you don't already know Gena, I highly recommend following her on her blog. She is an amazing writer and so very creative in the kitchen. Some of my all-time favorite plant-strong recipes came from reading Choosing Raw. Gena also just decided to leave a career in publishing to pursue a degree in medicine, so her story could get very, very interesting.
Do you need a little inspiration today to make the right choices? Check out this article from a medical doctor.
So, do you know what you'll be cooking up this Sunday? I think I do!
Did you see Oprah? What's your opinion of the vegan episode?
What inspires you to consider becoming Plant-Strong or to stay that way?
Toodles!
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