Category Archives: Food

My Mom’s Frying Pan

My Mom’s Frying Pan

By Aadya Agarwal, grade 8, New Jersey.

They asked my mom, “What inspires you, Ms. Anne?”
Pat came her reply, “It sure is my frying pan.”
Her crisp reply left them confounded.
After all, she clearly left the Sun and the Moon grounded.

My mom was sure of her inspiration.
And this is what she offered as her explanation.

“Frying pan might look like a plain Jane tool.
But look! how, its emptiness itself makes it useful.
It tells me that nothing really belongs to you.
You are just a medium to pass things through.
You must clean yourself of the smallest residue.
So that you are ready to receive something new.”

“Frying pan has taught me to choose to be humble.
Go through and show up after every rough and tumble.
Seasoning through slow and high heating.
Strengthening through scratches and beating.
And not to suffer from any self-pity.
Be assured that you are where you are meant to be.”

Mom further said, “For me, frying pan is an unsung beauty,
That creates complex dishes through its simplicity,
And keeps my family fed by doing its duty.”

By Aadya Agarwal, grade 8, Princeton Day School, Princeton, New Jersey.

Lifestyle Medicine—The Six Pillars of Health

Lifestyle Medicine—The Six Pillars of Health

By Dr. Charlie Ross, Oregon

One of the youngest specialties in medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, places emphasis on the root causes of our chronic illnesses.

The Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine are:

  1. What we eat
  2. How we move throughout the day
  3. The chemicals we choose to consume
  4. How we deal with stress
  5. How we sleep  
  6. Our social connections

Of all premature deaths, 40% are attributable to these three factors: tobacco use, poor diet, and alcohol consumption

  1. Tobacco Use: 18.1% (About one in seven people still smoke.)
  2. Poor diet and physical activity: 16.6% (About three out of four people eat too little fruits and vegetables, and about four out of five people do not get enough exercise.)
  3. Alcohol consumption: 2.5%

Let’s explore how to focus more attention on the root causes of what brings us health or what leads to disease.

  1. What We Eat:  Looking around the world (especially, in the Blue Zones, where people are the healthiest and live the longest) the evidence points to eating a more unprocessed whole plant food diet as the healthiest choice. The healthiest diets incorporate fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and some nuts and seeds. Fiber in the food that allows our good bacteria (in our microbiome) to produce chemicals like butyrate (which decreases inflammation) and serotonin (that reduces anxiety and depression).

Did you know that FIBER is only found in plant foods? There is no fiber in animal foods. So, increasing the amount of whole plant foods in your diet will add to your overall health. To help you understand better the food choices and how to get a variety of plant foods in your diet, you might want to download the free app “Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen” on your smartphone. Or you might choose to do the free “21-day Vegan kickstart” program suggested by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, PCRM. (Visit: www.pcrm.org).
The best evidence-based book is How Not To Die, by Michael Greger MD.

  1. How We Move Throughout the Day—or the lack of physical activity—is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. There are several types of exercises for us to consider:
    • Aerobic/endurance exercise (large muscles movement for sustained period)—lowers risk of all-cause mortality
    • Strength or resistance exercise—muscles contract against an external resistance—with the goal of increasing lean body mass and muscle strength and endurance
    • Flexibility exercise—range of motion that is possible at a joint
    • Balance exercises—static and/or dynamic exercises—decrease in falls and injuries like fractures

Any amount of activity is better than no activity. A physically active person engages in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Moderate exercise elevates your heart rate but allows you to comfortably talk whereas vigorous exercise makes it difficult for you to speak more than a few words at a time due to increased breathing effort. Sitting for prolonged periods of time leads to lessening of life expectancy. Keep your sitting times no longer than 50 to 60 minutes without a five-minute movement break. An excellent resource book on the benefits of exercise is: Spark, by John Ratey MD.

  1. The Chemicals We Choose to Consume: Tobacco, alcohol, and street drugs continue to take a toll on our health. Prescription drugs, like opioids and side effects from other prescription drugs also exact a toll. Toxins from the not-regulated supplements and even plastic material (endocrine disruptors) found in foods like fish are potentially health damagers. The book Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss is a good read to help your understanding about why we choose what we choose.
  2. How We Deal with Stress: Stress can be helpful (if not overwhelming) or harmful. A stressor is a situation, circumstance, or stimulus that is perceived to be a threat. This threat alters homeostasis in the body.
    Categories of stressors: There are four types of streesors.

    Psychological: thoughts, beliefs, or perceptions;
    Physiological: illness, infection, disease, or hunger
    Social: major life changes, personal conflicts, or financial insecurity
    Bio-ecological: weather, pollution, food additives, or chemicals

  • Health effects of chronic stress: Impaired immune function, inflammation, decreased bone density, problems with memory, increased appetite, weight gain, abdominal fat deposition, insulin resistance, increased glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides, increased blood clotting, Impaired wound healing, poor sleep, pain and fatigue, poor mood, adoption of less healthy habits, decreased longevity (telomere shortening), and etiology of many chronic diseases, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
  • How to Manage the Pathological Stress Response:
  • Breathing tools: Lengthening exhale breath, Abdominal breathing
  • Movement: Physical fitness, yoga, Tai chi, Qigong
  • Meditation
  • Connecting with Nature
  • Self-expression: Playing a musical instrument, singing, creating art, or dancing
  • Community Engagement: Volunteering for meaningful causes, quality time with family and friends, spiritual or religious activities
  • Reading self-help books and websites
  • Massage
  • Listening to music
  • Light therapy
  • Mental health and Nutrition: Fried foods, refined grains, and sugary products are associated with increased rates of major depression and anxiety disorders, A plant-based dietary pattern with no meat, fish, or eggs in a randomized, controlled trial showed a significant improvement in depression symptoms in just two weeks. Fruit and vegetable consumption has been associated with improvement in depression, anxiety, higher productivity, and higher optimism.
    A wonderful resource book to get started in this area is: The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living, by Amit Sood MD

5. How we sleep: Average sleep is 7 hours a day, but 20% adults sleep less than 6 hours. Short sleep duration has increased in all age groups. 60 million people in U.S. have frequent difficulty sleeping (but only 10% seek professional help)

  • Indirect costs of Insomnia: Presenteeism (people at work but not productive), Increased risk of long term disability, Mistakes, errors, and accidents
  • There is no recognized objective test for how much sleep a person needs
  • Healthy sleep duration and quality as well as circadian physiology promote improved health; Lower cortisol and glucose levels, greater insulin sensitivity, higher daytime leptin and reduced food-seeking behaviors, lower sympathetic tone, greater nighttime peripheral perfusion, increased stamina and faster cardiovascular recovery time.
    A Recommended Resource: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD is a very good book resource on this topic.

6. Our Social Connections: A Harvard study concluded that our relationships matter! Our relationships and how happy we are in those relationships has a powerful influence on our health. Taking care of your body is important but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care also. Childhood nurturing plays a significant role in midlife thriving. Marital happiness and social connectedness moderate our health and happiness.

  • Social Networks: Being part of a social network improves longevity
  • Positive Psychology Interventions
    Counting our blessings everyday (e.g. thinking of three things you are thankful for)
    Expressing gratitude and appreciation (e.g. what challenges did you manage this week?)
    Savoring the pleasant things in life (e.g. taking five minutes a day to savor a particular activity)
    Writing down how we want to be remembered (I want people to remember me for…)
    Connecting and interacting with others regularly in person, not solely or mainly through social media (Belonging to family, social groups, sport groups, spiritual groups, etc.)
    Regularly practicing acts of kindness (how do you feel afterward?)
    Doing activities that feel meaningful (Reflect on what makes this activity meaningful)
    Thinking of one’s happiest days frequently (Look at photos and think about emotions experienced)
    A Recommended Resource:
    Together by Vivek Murthy MD is one of the best reads on social connection.

If you have an interest in learning more about any of the above these six pillars of health, feel free to connect with me at cataniaross@msn.com. I am retired medical practitioner, and I do not charge to help you along on your journey toward improved health.

Wishing you the very best of health to you in 2025 and beyond,

By Charlie Ross DO, DipABLM. Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Osteopathic Medical Practitioner. Website:  www.livelifestylemedicine.com

The Power of Veganism

The Power of Veganism: On the Vegan Way of Living

By Prof. Joanne Kong, author and speaker, Virginia

This is a slightly condensed transcript of a powerful presentation made by author and speaker, Joanne Kong, to a gathering of Eugene Veg Education Network (EVEN) on May 24, 2024.

Prof. Joanne Kong with Olive, at River’s Wish Animal Sanctuary in Spokane, Washington

We are dealing with many challenges at present. Some of them affect our very existence—climate change and its effects all around us—increasing numbers of catastrophic weather events, rising temperatures, losses in the natural world, and the looming danger of rising sea levels. And with the COVID-19 pandemic (that we went through for a few years), out of necessity, drastic changes to our daily habits and livelihoods caused us to re-examine the ways in which we interact with others. We still live under social tensions, racial divisions and harmful political divisiveness. No wonder we feel powerless; unable to change these circumstances. We feel as if the problems are too big for us to solve, and that we can’t make a difference.

How do we heal the world? How do we rise above these serious problems, and find strength, as well as inner peace?

I believe that we have arrived at crossroads in our lives, where the choices we make WILL determine our shared destiny. I’m not minimizing or discounting humankind’s extraordinary achievements. But I want to say that the threats to our sustainability are very real, and affect many spheres of our existence—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, and also our Earth, and other beings with whom we share this planet.

I suggest that a VEGAN lifestyle offers a way to heal.

Food We Eat:

Plant-based eating has been identified as a definite, top trend in recent years. That’s evident in just a casual trip to the grocery store! Veganism is one of the fastest-growing movements today. While physical health is certainly a primary reason why many people decide to go plant-based, I want to point out that veganism has unique power to impact so many aspects of our lives. I hope that you will gain deeper insights into your own values and what are some of the influences that have shaped your food choices, whether you consume animals or not. I wish to discuss aspects of our food consumption in relation to the Natural World, Our Perceptions in Regards to other animals, our own Physical Health, and the State of our Mindfulness and Spirituality.

Over the course of humanity’s existence, there has emerged a growing loss, of the sense of just how deeply connected we are to the natural world. COVID-19 was like a spiritual “alarm bell” that we have reached a state of disconnection, with human influence reaching its point of greatest damage upon the planet. The growing risk of zoonotic diseases is directly linked to the widespread environmental damage caused by us human beings, which has brought us into increased contact with wildlife. As David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Pandemic, writes: “We invade tropical forests and other wild landscapes, which harbor so many species of animals and plants—and within those creatures, SO many unknown viruses…. We disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural hosts. When that happens, they need a new host. Often, we are it.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci says: “It boggles my mind, how when we have so many diseases that emanate out of that unusual human-to-animal interface, that we don’t just shut it down.” We hear about animal wet markets, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Industrial factory farms, spreading around the world and accounting for more than 98% of animals killed for food in the USA, are a global health threat.

Dr. Michael Greger, infectious disease specialist, has been sounding the alarm on pandemics for over a decade. He likens each animal to a test tube, capable of brewing up the next new virus. “When we overcrowd animals by the thousands, in cramped football-field-size sheds, to lie beak to beak or snout to snout, and there’s stress crippling their immune systems, and there’s ammonia from the decomposing waste burning their lungs, and there’s a lack of fresh air and sunlight—put all these factors together and you have a perfect-storm environment for the emergence and spread of disease.”

At least 75% of emerging infectious diseases can be traced to animals, and the escalating rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in factory farms is already a global menace. If we remain complacent and fail to see COVID-19 as a wake-up call to rapidly move away from industrialized animal agriculture, it will only be a matter of time before more, potentially deadlier pathogens arise.

Environmental damage is occurring on a vast scale—through fossil fuel extraction, mining, drilling, logging, construction, urbanization, and most destructive of all, the livestock industry. As Peter Singer, philosopher at Princeton University and author of the groundbreaking book, Animal Liberation, has noted, “The kind of secret source of greenhouse gas emissions that no politicians are talking about at the moment are the emissions that come from the livestock industry.” While cutting emissions from energy and transportation, and making a decisive shift away from fossil fuels to renewable and alternative energies are vitally necessary, this will NOT be enough to successfully combat climate change, especially in light of projections that global meat consumption could rise as much as 75% by 2050 due to population growth, urbanization and rising incomes.

Livestock production currently accounts for at least 51% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases; that’s 4 times the amount of emissions from all modes of transportation combined, worldwide. The one major global initiative that will have more rapid and greater impact is to bring about planetary healing through a profound transformation of our food production systems, in particular, by ending the mass killing of animals for food. This must be nothing less than a broad-scale intervention for the health of our planet. Ilmi Granoff, Director of Sustainable Finance at ClimateWorks Foundation, said: “Forget cars. Forget coal. The fastest way to address climate change would be to dramatically reduce the amount of meat people eat.”

We can cut our carbon footprint in half, just by going vegan.

In one of the most comprehensive studies showing the connections between food consumption and the environment, a research team (headed by Dr. Marco Springmann at the University of Oxford, in 2018) concluded that reductions in meat consumption of 75 to 90% in Western countries would be necessary to avoid the ravaging impacts of climate change. Furthermore, it’s startling to realize just how massively inefficient our current food production systems ARE—meat and dairy industries are enormously water-intensive, accounting for at least a third of global water usage. Almost 80% of the Earth’s usable agricultural land is dedicated to livestock, yet the resulting yield is less than 20% of all calories produced, worldwide.

Why this disparity? Farmed animals eat huge amounts of food over their short lifespans. At least 70% of that energy is lost, through the animal’s metabolism and waste. We become SECONDARY consumers of those plants. It is far more efficient to gain nutrition from the source, and eat plants directly! If we made a decisive global move towards plant-based foods instead of growing massive amounts of feed for animals, we actually wouldn’t have to grow as many crops, and could free up over 70% of the earth’s arable land that is dedicated to raising livestock in the US.

Large-scale deforestation, for grazing land and growing livestock feed, not only increases the risk of infectious disease spread; the staggering loss of biodiversity Impacts the survivability of all living beings. Animal agriculture is the Number One cause of Species and Habitat loss. We have ushered in the Sixth Mass Extinction, with up to one million animal and plant species facing extinction; more than at any other time in our history. It’s no wonder that our era has been labelled as the Anthropocene, for it is HUMAN activity that has become the dominant force upon climate and the environment.

Scientist Ron Milo and others note that 60% of all mammals on Earth now consist of Livestock, and only 4% are wild animals. And 70% of all birds are Poultry. Humanity accounts for just a tiny 0.01% of all the Biomass on Earth—that includes all animal and plant life and bacteria, yet we’ve destroyed 83% of wild mammals, and half of plant life.

Did you know that the animal agriculture industry is directly tied to world hunger? Nearly half of global feed crops go to animals raised for food, instead of to the people who need them the most. Did you know, only 6% of soybeans grown in the world actually get used to feed human population!

A decisive shift towards plant-based foods could make it possible to sustainably feed a global population expected to reach close to 10 billion by 2050.

Professor and Scientist Peter Smith at the University of Aberdeen says: “We know food choices are very personal, and that behavior change can be difficult to encourage, but the evidence is now unequivocal—we need to change our diets if we are to have a sustainable future. The fact that it will also make us healthier makes it a no-brainer.”

In considering our relationships to other beings, it is helpful to look at historical and cultural contexts, to see what shaped our perceptions throughout the centuries. Our path of human culture has followed a long trajectory, from our early existence as nomadic hunter-gatherers to the growth of tribal and agrarian societies.

We know that the origins of animal agriculture in human culture can be traced back to roughly 10 to 12,000 years ago. Prior to that, we existed as foragers—nomadic, opportunistic eaters—gathering, hunting, and scavenging for food. We co-existed with animals in a complex web of life, highly observant of their unique abilities and behaviors, and fascinated by the powers they seemed to hold. As our culture developed, a shift in this relationship began to take place. Along with a rise in population, people began to abandon nomadic lifestyles, seeking and settling in places where food, shelter, and land for growing crops were available. Agriculture slowly took hold, as did the concept of ownership, not only of land, but also of animals, beginning with cattle, sheep and goats.

This marked a critical change in our perceptions of animals; we began seeing them not as kindred spirits, but as commodities, objects, even tools for our use. The ultimate rise of urbanization and consumerism which shaped the foundations of our modern culture, served only to reinforce this view of animals—that they are units of production within industries whose sole goals are efficiency and profit.

This perception has become internalized in society’s daily customs. Cultural inertia is a powerful force; it’s a part of human nature to resist change, and it’s often much easier to just stay with what has been established and accepted as the status quo. It’s a kind of subconscious acceptance—everyone else is doing it, so it must be right! We derive this sense of security, stability and even validation from continuing the habits we grew up with. This is especially the case with our food habits, for what we eat is a matter of daily personal choices that can be grounded deeply in family and cultural traditions. I want to make it clear that my views are in no way intended to be judgmental, or to lay guilt.

I often ask, “Were any of you here BORN vegan?” And as you might expect, usually no one raises their hand. Through no fault of our own, most of us, including me, were born into a meat-eating culture, one that dominates and exploits animals. That is the simple reality. Only when I learned about factory farming (as a graduate student in college), did it hit home that our society as a whole has grown further and further away from seeing other living beings as our equals. We grew to hold onto, even if subconsciously, a false belief that consuming animals is necessary for good health, and that there is some kind of hierarchical food chain that requires us to eat them, despite our clearly-herbivorous physiology. We have created a set of beliefs, an egocentric view that humans are superior to other animals, that it is acceptable to abuse and kill them for our own needs, pleasure and profit.

Some believe this all ties into an anxiety about our own mortality.

Anthropologist Ernest Becker wrote, “Mortality is connected to the natural, animal side of [human] existence; and so man reaches beyond and away from that side. So much so that he tries to deny it completely. As soon as man reached new historical forms of power, he turned against the animals with whom he had previously identified—with a vengeance, as we now see, because the animals embodied what man feared most, a nameless and faceless death.”

Writer Michael Mountain says, “The terrible irony in our behavior is that it is our very efforts to raise ourselves above our fellow animals that are, in fact, bringing about our demise. The more we seek “progress”—building an industrial civilization through which we strive to take dominion over nature and its cycles of life and death—the more we are playing into our very worst nightmare: not just death, but now mass extinction. We are part of nature, and life becomes a lot more comfortable when we stop trying to defend ourselves against it. While we may never be able to dissolve our existential terror altogether, we can gain comfort by embracing the world of nature rather than constantly trying to transcend it. That means acknowledging that we are animals, just like all the other animals. And it means ceasing to exploit them as commodities, in our quest for immortality.”

On HEALTH:

Part of the irony of our exploitation and dominance over animals is how using them as a food source has impacted our health, all over the globe. Yes, it is true that early man adopted meat eating when it was necessary for survival, as nomadic, opportunistic eaters. But today, for most of the world’s population, it is not a necessity to eat animals in order to survive. Our typical Western diet is responsible for over 70% of health issues. These include our so-called “diseases of affluence,” heart disease (leading cause of death in the world), hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. And obesity rates are rising globally.

In the US, it’s called the Standard American Diet, or SAD. A 2015 landmark report by the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies processed meat as carcinogenic, and red meat (that’s consumption of cows, pigs, goats and sheep) as a probable carcinogen. And it’s not only the pandemic risk associated with using animals as a food source; meat carries the highest contamination risk for foodborne illness—salmonella, E. Coli and campylobacter. The chronic diseases and conditions associated with an animal-centric diet are among the leading causes of deaths worldwide, both in developing countries and industrialized nations. Globally, consumption of meat has more than doubled in the past 20 years.

However, there is a growing awareness that plant foods are the key to maintaining optimum health, and preventing, even reversing, diseases. One of the most proactive, powerful things we can do to maintain our health is to increase our intake of plant-based foods. We know that countries with the greatest intake of plant foods HAVE the lowest incidences of disease. What are the benefits? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds—offer a wide range of nutrients that include the all-important fiber, antioxidants that protect against cell damage, and thousands of phytochemicals that support good health and boost our immune systems. We’re starting to see a real shift towards a new model of healthcare, with the emphasis on PREVENTING disease through nutrition.

There are many physicians taking active roles in promoting the vegan lifestyle. A few of these include Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Neal Barnard, and Dr. Michael Klaper. Unbelievably, the study of nutrition is not standard curriculum in a large percentage of medical schools. The Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics found that most medical students have only an average of 11 hours of nutrition training.

Dr. Kim Williams, past president of the American College of Cardiology, went vegan for HIS own health reasons, and now recommends a plant-based diet for his patients. He says: “There are two kinds of cardiologists—vegans, and those who haven’t read the data.” He also says: “I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want it to be MY fault!”

You are what you eat! It is really no wonder that eating animals and their products are tied to so many physical problems, as we are ingesting THEIR negative states of pain and suffering.

On Spirituality and Consciousness:

I believe that ALL life is energy, and all matter IS a manifestation of vibrating energy. Negative vibrations are heavy and low, resulting from stress or fear, and we know that in such instances the hormone Cortisol is released. So the negative energy carried by the animal upon its death thus transfers into OUR bodies upon consuming them. In fact, comparative studies have shown that mothers who ate a greater percentage of meat vs plant foods during pregnancy gave birth to children who grew up with significantly higher blood pressure, compared to moms who ate primarily plant-based. The energies of everything we consume enter ALL levels of our being—the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Abbott George Burker, of the Light of the Spirit Monastery in New Mexico, puts it this way: “When the energies within us are positive, they produce harmonious states of mind and behavior. But when the energies are negative, they move in a random and chaotic manner and produce negative states of mind and, consequently, negative behavior. Moreover, these toxic energies can also manifest as physical illnesses or defects. Substances that are toxic to the body–such as meat, alcohol, nicotine, and drugs–are toxic on the inner levels as well, and their ingestion poisons all our bodies…”

For many, turning away from consuming animals and animal products, whether a gradual process or an overnight decision, is something that at its deepest level becomes a reflection of spiritual values. This is even true of those who initially go vegan for health or environmental reasons; once they are no longer are taking part in another being’s suffering through their food habits, their openness and capacity for kindness naturally expands. For some, going vegan leads to a spiritual awakening, for others, it’s the reverse.

If we define Spirituality as: “The quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things, we can see that veganism opens up that part of us that touches on our emotional, mindful, and spiritual lives.

There is a greater sense of connection to Nature and all life; seeing we are all One, seeing ourselves in others, that we are all expressions of the same Divine Source. I call this aspect COMPASSIONATE ONENESS. To me, ANIMALS, human or non-human, are deeply interconnected because we EQUALLY share in this oneness—we are all conscious, and we are all aware. Think of all the ways all animals are alike, in what it means to be a sentient being! The desire to live free from pain, seeking adequate nourishment and shelter, freely engaging in unique ways of social interaction and communication. We protect and raise our young, care for one another, we breathe, we all can experience pain, fear and joy. Other Animals, they are unique as WE are unique, and I feel we should not abuse them, exploit them, treat them like property or commodities, and then subject them to the ultimate suffering which is the loss of their lives. You can’t quantify scientifically what consciousness is, but you see the life force in every animal, whether dog, cat, pig or cow.

Veganism thus widens our circle of empathy, sensitivity and our INNATE compassion. Modern industrialized animal agriculture IS the greatest amount of suffering and violence taking place on our planet today, happening every second of every day, yearly exceeding the sum of human deaths by at least 2,000 times over. It is also the greatest area of society’s cognitive dissonance, a situation in which our decisions or behaviors are in conflict with our core values or beliefs. Case in point: most people continue to eat meat, even though on some level they know that meat production entails unnecessary suffering, violence and death. In order to avoid the mental and emotional conflict of this inconsistency, they avoid bringing the issue to the forefront of their conscious awareness. This avoidance is perfectly exemplified in what is probably the most common response when you try to tell people about factory farms—what do they say? “Don’t tell me; I don’t want to think about it!” By distancing themselves from the conflict, this allows them to eat meat without a sense of guilt or complicity. People want to protect their sense of self; they don’t want to see themselves as enablers of such horrific violence, and they’re able to do so by distancing and disconnecting themselves from that reality. Certainly, the ingrained acceptance of food habits is a strong factor, reinforced by marketing messages. The industry employs misleading feel-good labels, like “cage-free,” “free-range” “natural,” “humane certified,” and “grass-fed,” falsely implying that consideration is given to the welfare of the animals. But any industry whose main goal is to profit from the slaughter of innocent animals can never be humane.

There is also the invisibility of meat production. How many of us know where factory farms are located? As a result, the immense suffering that happens behinds their walls remains largely hidden, and most of us have become desensitized to the ongoing violence that IS a part of our everyday lives as consumers. On the path of becoming plant-based, it is a transformative shift in our identity, when we no longer consume food that was borne of violence. It’ a raising of our vibration level and expanding our sense of unconditional love.

Veganism can be a part of our spiritual journeys—moving beyond material desires or temporary taste pleasures.

I invite you to consider a new perspective, one that you may have not thought of. We give serious thought to many of our choices every day, but what distinguishes meal choices from many others, is that it can involve another living being. Writer Mark Hawthorne puts it best when he says, “A person’s “right” to eat whatever they want ends where another’s life begins.” In the relatively SHORT amount of time it takes to eat a meal, your choice is an opportunity to give your capacities for compassion deepest consideration. You may ask yourself, “Does the taste I enjoy from eating this animal, justifies what it went through, to become my food?”

For many of us, one of the aspects of Spirituality is: Seeking inner peace, that center of calm within us. It’s about knowing that our individual actions, and how we express Love in the world, build a powerful energy that shapes the world around us. This can be immensely powerful, and sometimes we get messages that arise from our inner self or subconscious mind. The following is a quote from vegan activist Gwenna Hunter. She lives in Los Angeles, and actually created the city’s first vegan food bank!

“I dreamed once that I was flying in the sky overlooking a beautiful bright green pasture. I noticed a beautiful cow looking up at me. Our eyes connected and when they did it was like I flew inside of her and became one with this cow. I was the cow. We merged and I felt her joy. Her sorrow. Her grief. Her love. Her excitement. Her joy. Giving birth to children. Loving her children. Enjoying companionship and her love for humans. I emerged from the dream in shock, knowing what I experienced had to be real but of course I questioned it. I was crying uncontrollably because what I felt more than anything was their immense capacity to love. It was a love that was pure and kind and gentle and sweet. It was unconditional. But how could a cow be capable of this? After all weren’t they put here for us? As I cried and sat up in my bed I suddenly felt a physical warmth on my chest right where my heart resides. I took my right hand and put it on the warm spot and I was paralyzed with the most beautiful feeling of tranquility and complete peace. I also want to share another dream I had—another experience that was beyond the normal limits of reality. I found myself in a different space and time, and I was standing outside of a slaughterhouse where there were cows and pigs standing in line waiting for their turn to be slaughtered. I instantly had a telepathic connection with them and I knew that they had full awareness of what was going to happen. I began crying and yelling at them, telling them to stop reincarnating back to this planet and to not come back to earth because we keep killing them and hurting them. All of a sudden one of the pigs turned to me and spoke to me in the most powerful male voice and said, ‘We will keep coming back again and again until you all get it right. We love you all that much. Our suffering gives some of your lives purpose.’ He then sent an impulse of his love to my heart and it was so incredibly pure and beautiful. This impulse let me know that it’s not just us trying to save them but they are also saving us.”

One of the aspects of becoming more spiritually aware through our food choices can manifest in the desire to be of service, to make the world a better place. For myself, my journey as a vegan is about filling every waking moment of my life with the highest good and intentions that I can put out into the world, towards ALL beings. It is about AHIMSA—non-violence—to do no harm. I can best describe it as feeling more in the flow of just how sacred all life and Nature are. Our times, more than ever, call for our innate gifts of kindness, empathy, and seeing ourselves in every other living being, to create a more peaceful world.

I would like to end with a quote by Albert Einstein:

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his our consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.”

About the Author:

Dr. Joanne Kong, D.M.A., has been praised as one of the most compelling advocates for plant-based nutrition today, centered ethically in raising awareness that greater compassion for animals and our planet is vitally necessary for transformative growth and positive world change. Her TEDx talk, The Power of Plant-Based Eating, has over one million views on YouTube. Her vegan advocacy has been recognized around the world with international talks in Italy, Spain, Germany, Norway, Canada, and a three-week, 10-city tour of India. Dr. Kong is the editor of Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers (Lantern Publishing & Media, 2021) featuring 50 vegan advocates from around the world, is the author of If You’ve Ever Loved an Animal, Go Vegan, and was profiled in the book, Legends of Change, about vegan women impacting the world. She appears in the major documentary Eating Our Way to Extinction and the upcoming documentary, Taking Note. 

Dr. Kong is a critically acclaimed, award-winning classical pianist on the music faculty at the University of Richmond, and draws upon a diversity of skills as a musician, writer, speaker, and creative artist in her advocacy activities. She performs and speaks in a duo known as Vegan Virtuosi with fellow animal advocate Christoph Wagner. Find further information about her on the websites www.vegansmakeadifference.com and www.joannekongmusic.com.

Born To Be A Chef: Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Born To Be A Chef: Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

The Woman Who Taught America How to Cook Real Chinese Food

By Fanny Wong, author, New York.

Standing on the kitchen stool, Yin-Fei could barely see the wok on the stove. Who would expect a five-year-old to cook with a wok and a spatula?

It was Ah Po, Yin-Fei’s grandmother!

“Just the right age to learn cooking,” Ah Po said. “And never have a short temper or use bad words when you are in the kitchen.” She then pointed to a paper image of Jo Kwan, the Kitchen God, and added, “You want Jo Kwan to think well of this family.”

Baba, Yin-Fei’s father, instructed her, “Eat first with your eyes, then with your mind, then with your nose, and finally, with your mouth.”

Luk Gu Jeh, her aunt, was another teacher of hers. “With patience and practice, you can create something that brings happiness and miles of satisfaction,” she told her.

With a family like hers, Yin-Fei was born to be a chef.

Yin-Fei’s skills grew with Ah Po’s instructions.

“Chop the choy sum properly.”

“Stir the fish mixture in one direction to make it stick together.”

“Pour the hot peanut oil and soy sauce on the steamed fish.”

For Yin-Fei, the learning was easy, but finding the joy in cooking was hard.

Too much time cutting and dicing.

Too much time waiting for the oil to be hot enough to stir-fry.

Too much time waiting for the meat to be tender in the braising pot.

But then Ah Po’s birthday changed everything for her.

Yin-Fei was to contribute one dish for Ah Po’s birthday. She picked the White Cut Chicken recipe because in her Chinese culture, a chicken was always cooked for special occasions.

Yin-Fei placed the whole chicken breast side up in seasoned boiling water and covered the pot. When the water returned to a boil, she lowered the heat to simmer, turned the chicken and let it simmer again. She had to time the cooking just right, and allow the chicken to rest in the pot to finish the cooking. Otherwise, the chicken would be overcooked or undercooked.

Yin-Fei lifted the chicken from the pot. She prepared a dipping sauce of soy sauce and ginger. It looked perfect, but did it taste perfect?  

Yin-Fei watched Luk Gu Jeh cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces with a cleaver. Ah Po, surrounded by her family at the table full of many delicious dishes, chose to eat the chicken first. She took a bite, closed her eyes, and chewed it slowly.

Yin-Fei held her breath and waited for Ah Po to finish swallowing.

“Hm….” Ah Po opened her eyes that crinkled with a wide smile and commented, “That was the best chicken I ever had.”

Everyone at the table loved the chicken! Not a single piece was left over! An eleven-year-old girl had made her loved ones happy with her cooking skills! From that moment on, making delicious dishes was her gift to others in the family, a way of showing her love and respect.

Now, she was eager to learn more from Ah Po. She learned that what people ate had to be balanced within their bodies.

Foods such as fish and most vegetables brought them coolness.

Foods such as most meats and some fruits brought their bodies heat.

The combination of these two types of food brought balance and good health to the body.

Yin-Fei learned to cook balanced meals for good taste and good health.

But life was not balanced in their village of Sun Tak. To escape the repressive government in China, 12-year-old Yin-Fei fled with her family to Hong Kong. There, she continued to improve her cooking skills by learning from her aunt. She also learned English in night school and picked an English name for herself—Eileen.

When she was 21, she met an American journalist named Fred Ferretti, and they fell in love and soon married. They moved to New York City. And that was when Yin-Fei’s life took another turn!

Her new in-laws brought her to a Chinese restaurant.

“What is this? This omelet is like an overdone pancake covered with a brown sauce,” she remarked.

“This is egg foo yung, our favorite Chinese dish,” her in-laws said.

From that moment, Yin-Fei had a mission! She wanted to teach Americans how to make good-tasting, authentic Chinese food.

First, she gave her friends Chinese cooking lessons at her home.

“You must write a book!” her friends said.

And she did. Eleven books in all! Each book taught readers how to cook traditional Chinese food at home.

She also taught at cooking schools and appeared in cooking demonstrations on television.

And when a renowned chef invited Yin-Fei to create a dim sum menu for his restaurant and teach his cooks, that’s exactly what she did. She took charge of his cooks!

“No, no, no, do it this way, let me show you.”

If she felt a Chinese restaurant was not up to her standards, she was not shy to say to the chef, “Make it this way, don’t Americanize your food!”

Yin-Fei had found a new passion. She wanted to teach others about how to make good Chinese food.

“Always learn, learn, learn, and never take a short-cut in cooking,” Eileen Yin-Fei Lo told her students. “The food you cook shows your love and respect.”

Yin-Fei became a great chef and a teacher who taught Americans how to cook authentic Chinese food. Born and raised near Canton, the capital of Guandong Province, Cantonese cooking was her specialty.

She taught at The New School in New York City and beyond—from Singapore to Helsinki. Cooking shows on television invited her to demonstrate how to make authentic dishes. She won two International Association of Culinary Professional Awards. Many Chinese food writers that came after her still think of her as the foremost Chinese expert chef.

Yin-Fei passed away at age 85 in 2022, leaving a delectable and mouth-watering legacy.

By Fanny Wong, Asian American author, New York. Fanny has written often on multicultural interest topics and been published in Skipping Stones frequently.

Love in Farsi

Love in Farsi

By Madeleine Kashkooli, age 17, California.

Love in Farsi is nazar
The amulet on the bracelet my aunt gave to me
To protect against the evil eye

Love in Farsi is taarof
The offerings of the host
And the appreciation of the guest
Taarof is steaming ghormeh sabzi, crispy tahdig, and sweet nan-e nokhodchi
It is my relatives making sure I never leave without
Seconds or thirds

Love in Farsi is azizam
The word my relatives call me
It means “my dear,” but I don’t need the translation—I understand
Just from the way they say it

Love in Farsi is jan
It has a similar translation to azizam, but it’s used
Right at the end of a name with no pause in between
When I attach jan to someone’s name, I’m saying:
You and my love for you
Are bound together, one and the same
Inseparable

—Madeleine Kashkooli, 17, high school senior, California.

Madeleine adds: “I wrote this poem in honor of my Persian family. I wanted to capture the beauty of my Persian heritage through different aspects of the culture, such as its language, food, and customs. In particular, I sought to explore how some Farsi words have direct equivalents in English while others require more explanation.”

Stone Soup

Stone Soup

By Laurel Aronian, 16, New York

Elizabeth gave us our assignment:
“Today in class you will be making stone soup.” She held up the book for all to see.
“You want us to cook?” a bold boy asked.
“Of course,” said Elizabeth, and handed us the aprons.

We went into the kitchen in the parallel classroom,
And listened to the clink of knives and the bustle of our classmates.
Each of the grades would provide a vegetable,
And as fourth graders, we were assigned the onions.

My friend and I wondered what genius had given us this task.
The teachers only provided us with long, silver knives, intentionally dulled down.
We set to work at our stations, passing the onions and shielding our eyes.

Over time, we came up with useful solutions to protect us from the sting and fiery smell.
Some kids passed around their glasses.
Others grabbed goggles from the science cabinet.
Some even asked the teachers for a slice of bread to hold in their mouths.
We were some wimpy fourth graders.

Yet things improved when we found solutions that worked.
The goggles fared well against the fumes,
And we learned to take turns passing around the glasses.
Soon enough, we had seven big bowls filled with the slices.

We walked outside as a pack and sat on shedding tarps.
We huddled closer around the fire, shielded from air like needles,
We felt our size as we sat with the lower grades, leaders of the school.
And we watched Elizabeth take the lead and open the book once more.

The rumble turned to patter as she began to read,
As the students slowly deposited their chopped vegetables
The smell of the soup filled the air,
The bubbling pot and voices a chorus on the wind.

When it was our turn, we stood up with our bowls of onions.
Full of pride, dropping them in the sizzling soup.
We realized what Elizabeth was trying to teach us,
Standing there with our dulled knives and aprons.

If we were given the solutions to our problems,
We would never learn.
We would never create.
For the next time we made soup without assistance.

The sound of the realization was the clink of spoons,
The passing of mugs, the shatter as one fell,
The clatter of a dustpan as we swiped up the shards,
The happy chatter as well enjoyed good food.

The smell of the vegetables mingling together,
The burning wood within the fire,
The earthiness of the dirt on which we sat,
The wool of our mittens in the chilly air.

Tasting the soup was the ultimate prize,
If we hadn’t been the chefs, we wouldn’t have realized,
The distinct change the onions made to the overall aroma,
And never would’ve known to add them.

Elizabeth taught us more than numbers that day,
She taught us the impact every action makes,
Not only would we be able to make stone soup once again,
But we’d learned creativity in solving the problems at hand.

By Laurel Aronian, 16, Connecticut.

“I love to write in all genres (poetry, prose, journalism). I also enjoy taking photos and creating art. I have a passion for music and perform as a singer-songwriter and accompany on guitar. When I’m not writing or making music, I play competitive chess.

My poetry submissions highlight multicultural awareness as I am of multicultural heritage and recently celebrated Ramadan, Passover, and Easter. My pieces also reflect the awe of nature, earth stewardship, and our planet’s majesty and magic.”

My Life Experiences

My Life Experiences: In and Out of Afghanistan

By Fatimah Habibi, age 18, Connecticut.

To observe and experience so many terrible things at such a young age had a lasting effect on me. When my brother was kidnapped, I was just seven years old. I may not have known as much at the time because I was so young, but when I saw my family, I knew something wasn’t right. Everyone at home cried for a week, and it appeared as though someone had passed away. He was discovered by the police after the week was over, and they took him to the station. As he saw our family when he got home, he started crying. My parents were crying as well. It “felt like I had been gone forever,” he said. After that, life became more difficult for everyone in my family; we were unable to attend school for almost six months and no longer could leave the house. As long as we stayed in Afghanistan, there was no easy moment. For the protection of my brothers and ourselves, we were forced to make the decision to leave our homeland. Every time I watched my brother or other children playing in the park or outside, I wanted to join them and have fun just like they did. I was happy to hear of my family’s decision since I had always thought that once we left Afghanistan, I would be allowed to play freely in the park like they did without anyone objecting.

I was around age nine when we moved to India, and it was quite traumatic and terrible to leave my entire family behind. It was a good feeling of freedom, but I also faced a lot of challenges like at first, it was very hard for me to learn their language, culture, food, and the most important and shocking thing was their religion (Hinduism).

It was my first time to see a lot of people of different colors and different beliefs. This was something totally new for me. However, on the other hand, I felt as though I had started a new life. I could do whatever I wanted without anyone bothering me. I attended school there fearlessly and learned a lot, including Hindi, English, and a ton of other things. There, I knew what exactly life is and how it felt to be a free woman.

I made a lot of friends, and had a normal childhood. I was really satisfied in India, and I lived there for almost three years. However, after spending three years in India we went back to my country to see my uncles, aunts, and grandfather. We stayed about a month in Afghanistan, and when we tried to go back to India, sadly, my Grandfather passed away. We were unable to go back, so we stayed in Afghanistan. There were no easy moments as we stayed in Afghanistan again, especially for me. I was used to wearing whatever I wanted and going outside whenever I wanted; but in Afghanistan, I couldn’t do any of that which was very hard for me. Going to school with fear and then returning home and spending the entire day at home is not simple.

For our freedom and education, we had to leave Afghanistan once again. We traveled to Turkey and stayed there for a year. I was very tired of being forced to move from one country to another and didn’t want to do it again until we came to the United States.

I experienced a lot of difficulties. People treated us differently because we were strangers, which obviously had a big impact on our mental health. I don’t know why, but as I went outside, the people looked weird. But after a year, I began to get used to it. We lived in Turkey for two years before coming to America. At first, I had the impression that because we were immigrants, everyone would treat us differently, the school and people would be like in Turkey. After a few months, I started going to school and there were really nice, respectable people there. I have come to the conclusion that everyone is the same, regardless of their origin or belief. Everyone follows the same process. In the years that followed, I finally understood how to live and now I feel very free.

The United States offered me and my family a chance at a brighter future. We were able to take advantage of the many opportunities available to us, from education to employment. I was able to pursue my studies at a good high school with plans to attend college and study what I want. My journey from Afghanistan to the United States was not only a physical one, but also a mental and emotional one. I had to learn how to cope with the new culture, language, and people I encountered in my new home. I also had to learn how to adjust to the freedom and independence that I was granted—the freedom and independence that I did not have in my country.

My experience as an immigrant in the United States has been an enlightening one. I have been able to gain an appreciation for a culture different from my own and to gain an understanding of the difficulties that come with the process of acclimating to a new environment. I have also been able to gain a greater sense of appreciation for the many freedoms and opportunities available to me here. I may have left my homeland behind, but I will never forget the strength and courage it took to make such a big move. I will always carry with me the lessons I learned, and the experiences I had during my journey from Afghanistan to the United States. Finally, I have arrived at the place I had planned for myself. I am able to live independently and attend school. I have the opportunity to pursue my dreams in the U.S. and make them come true. I’m a senior in high school now, and intend to go to university to pursue a career that I hope to have and love in the future.

By Fatimah Habibi, age 18, h.s. senior, Connecticut.

Fatimah adds: “I was born and raised in Afghanistan. My cultural background is Afghan and I was raised in a household that placed a strong emphasis on our cultural traditions and customs. One of the traditions that is most important to me is the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. During this holiday, my family and I gather together to pray, give gifts, and share meals. It is a time for us to feel connected to our culture and to pass on our traditions to future generations.

I was also taught about the history and values of my culture, which has had a big impact on my worldview and how I approach life. For instance, the importance of family and community is something that is very important to me and something that I try to incorporate into my daily actions. My cultural background and traditions have played a significant role in shaping who I am and have given me a sense of belonging and connection to my heritage.

The most popular and my favorite dish in my country is called Qabili palau. This is how we make it.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of basmati rice
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 pound lamb or beef, cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Recipe:

  1. Rinse the rice in a fine mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
  2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until it is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the lamb or beef to the pot and cook until it is brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and garam masala to the pot and stir to coat the meat evenly.
  5. Add 3 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil.
  6. Add the washed rice to the pot, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the water has been absorbed.
  7. Stir in the raisins, almonds, and parsley. Cover the pot and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
  8. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve. Enjoy!

Editor’s Note: If you are a vegetarian, like many people are in India, you can choose to skip the meat—lamb or beef, etc. The rice pilaf dish will still be very tasty.

A Letter to my Grandchildren

A Letter to my Grandchildren:

How To Save Our Health and the Health of the World!

With Earth Day approaching I have been giving a lot of thought to how I can contribute to making this world a healthier and safer place for you. We have a number of issues that may be stressful for you… but I would like to share some of my thoughts on why the food choices we make can be powerful factors in improving the health and safety in your life as well as the health of the world.
What are some of the problems we face?

  1. Global warming leading to extreme weather (storms, floods, tornadoes, droughts, etc.)
  2. Species extinction due to loss of habitat
  3. Crime and violence
  4. Pandemic issues
  5. Obesity and increase in chronic illnesses (like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, etc.) 

What is one of the most effective ways to reduce these problems? It’s Food!

Why? When you look around the world…you will discover that certain populations live longer (into their 90’s and 100’s) and are healthier than others. The book, The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner, documents the five regions of the world that have a number of similarities—a whole plant food diet, movement throughout the day, and good social support from family and friends.There are two sources of food available in our world—plants and animals. In the Americas, raising animals for our main food source contributes more to global warming than all the transportation we use. It uses more water and land than using plants for our main food source. And raising animals in close quarters has led to spreading diseases to humans and has contributed to antibiotic resistance. Animal foods are high in saturated fats, which leads to inflammation and clogging of our arteries. Saturated fats also are an underlying cause of obesity, diabetes, and many other chronic illnesses. Also, the processing of our foods to increase shelf life and to make food choices more attractive has increased the fat, salt, and sugar content, and at the same time, made them highly addictive. Addiction leads to anxiety, depression, and a lower quality of life. It may lead to mental illness and potentially to increased crime and violence. All in all, raising animals for our food is not only contributing in a huge way to making our health worse but it is also making our planet sick.

So what is the solution? The one thing we can all do is to start asking ourselves questions like: “Are the food choices I am making now because of my habits or will they help me reach my goals and help improve the health of our planet?” Greta Thunberg’s answer is to just eat plant-based foods. And eating plants as they have grown in nature (with only minimal processing) is the healthiest choice we can make.
What gets in the way of us making healthier choices?

  1. Family and friends
  2. Our culture
  3. Myths we live with…

Let’s look at some of the myths we live with.

Myth# 1. Our Genes Determine Our Health
We used to believe that our genes were the main determinants of our health. We now know that genetics account for about 20% of our health. 80% of our health is determined by our lifestyle (what we eat, how we move throughout the day, the chemicals we use, and how we deal with stress). A good analogy is this… If you put a bullet in a gun, no one gets hurt unless the trigger gets pulled. Our genes are like the bullet. If we choose unhealthy foods, live a sedentary lifestyle, use tobacco or alcohol, or do not learn how to handle stress, then our trigger gets pulled and we can develop the diseases that hurt us. So if you want to be the healthiest, do not stress out too much about your family history, but instead concentrate on the lifestyle choices you make. And eat healthy foods regularly to achieve your best health.

Myth# 2. The Best Source of Protein Is Animal Foods
The building blocks for protein are called amino acids. All of these building blocks are made by and found in plants—greens, beans, legumes, grains, roots and tubers, seeds, fruits, and nuts, etc. Animals are like a middleman. They eat plants and plant products to make protein. Our teeth and long digestive tracts are meant to grind up plants and make our own protein, just like the strongest animals on Earth—elephants and gorillas. We have no need to eat other animals. When we eat protein from animals we decrease the fiber content of our diet. Dietary fiber is the main deficiency in the American diet—the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Myth# 3. Protein Is Deficient in our Diet
If you eat enough calories and a variety of foods in the day, you will get enough protein. Do not focus your attention on getting enough protein, but do focus on how you are going to get enough fiber. Why is fiber so important? Fiber provides bulk and makes us full so we do not overeat. Fiber hooks up with excess cholesterol, other excess hormones, and toxins and wheelbarrows it out quickly through our intestines. For every 10 grams of fiber you add to your daily diet, you decrease your colon cancer risk by 10% because the toxins pass through the intestine so quickly they do not have time to do as much damage to the cells lining your colon. Fiber is the food for the good bacteria in your colon. These bacteria are called your microbiome. When you feed these bacteria they feed you back with chemicals like butyrate and serotonin. Butyrate is an anti-inflammatory chemical which helps heal the body. Serotonin is a hormone that prevents anxiety and depression. Remember… more fiber from whole plant foods leads to better health.

Myth# 4. Carbohydrates Are the Enemy
Many of us are confused about this issue. We all know that eating more fruits and vegetables is healthy. But we are told not to eat carbohydrates. Yet fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates plus fiber. So, why wouldn’t we be confused?

Carbohydrates packaged with their usual fiber are healthy and not harmful. That is why eating whole plant foods as grown in nature is healthy, but processing these same plant foods by stripping away their fiber leads to inflammation and spiking blood sugars that lead to disease. So avoid all processed foods like white sugar, white bread, sugary drinks and sodas, and artificial foods that are not grown in nature.

Myth# 5. Willpower Is the Main Factor in Obesity
Willpower is not the main factor in the epidemic of obesity in the Western world. Our foods have been altered (processed) in such a way as to make them highly addictive. Like any other addiction, high calorie density foods light up the pleasure centers in our brains and keep us wanting to eat more…even though we know this is harming our health. Transition your food choices to low calorie density and you will not have to worry about your weight. It may take several weeks for your body to adjust to eating low calorie density foods rather than the high calorie density foods that you are used to eating.

Myth# 6. Milk Does the Body Good!
Milk has been promoted for its calcium. However, science shows that milk drinkers do not have lower rates of bone fracture. In fact, sometimes they have higher rates of bone fracture. Get your calcium from the beans and greens in your diet. 75% of the world population lacks the enzymes to metabolize lactose (the sugar in milk). This lactose intolerance leads to bloating, increased gas, and a lot of unnecessary abdominal pain. Milk has IGF-1 (a hormone that promotes growth). That is good when you are a baby…but it is not so good if you are older and happen to have some cancer cells whose growth might be stimulated by the Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 hormone.

Myth# 7. You Can Trust your Doctor or Health Care System for Nutrition Advice
Currently there are very few medical schools that share the science of ‘food as medicine’ in the curriculum. So do not be surprised if your doctor or healthcare provider actually learns from you. If you look around and see the number of people who are overweight, have diabetes, or other chronic illnesses, you might ask yourself, “Do I really want to trust the information (nutritional advice) that my healthcare system has been promoting for many years?” or “Do I want to do some research and find a better way?”

Myth# 8. Animals that We Eat are Well Cared for
This might be one of the biggest myths. Big Ag (agriculture) has taken over how animals are raised and killed for our food. Animals are kept in very crowded conditions (I think of these conditions like concentration camps) that require the use of antibiotics to prevent spreading disease in these animals. This use of antibiotics has led to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is an important issue because if a person gets an infection that our antibiotics no longer can treat…it could result in increased rates of disability and death. The way we treat others (and that includes animals) will influence how kind or compassionate we become as human beings. The way we have been treating our animals is not an example of how I wish to be treated. My choice is to not support an industry that treats animals inhumanely—as is currently practiced in the meat and poultry industry.

It took over 30 years for the United States to understand that smoking causes cancer and death. Food has become our new tobacco. Promote transitioning to a whole food, plant based diet and watch the reduction in deaths from most of our chronic diseases as we eliminate calorie-rich and processed (CRAP) foods from our diet. We will feel healthier as we replace these with greens, beans, legumes, grains, roots and tubers, seeds, fruits, and nuts in our daily diet. Some of these can be eaten raw while others can be soaked and cooked—boiled or baked to make them digestible and palatable. Minimizing salt, oils (fats) and refined sugars and using whole grains (rather than white flour, white rice, etc.) in preparing meals, and fresh fruits rather than fruit juices ensures that we get that important dietary fiber in our digestive system.
The time is right to transition what we eat…let’s be thoughtful about the science of healthy food choices…not only for our individual health but also for the health of our planet!

Love,
Papa

By Dr. Charles “Charlie” Ross. Doctor Ross is a practicing osteopathic physician for over 45 years and a part-time Assistant Professor at Western University of Health Sciences in Oregon. He wants to change the practice of medicine from treating symptoms to treating the root causes of disease. He practices Lifestyle Medicine and co-teaches free community classes on the science of nutrition and food as medicine.  

 

 

A Scallion Pancake Recipe Inspired by French and Asian Cuisines

A Scallion Pancake Recipe Inspired by French and Asian Cuisines

By Owen Lu, age 16, California

Introduction:

This pancake recipe is surprisingly simple and versatile, allowing for many variations by adjusting the portion size or adding other ingredients of your choice. The batter in the recipe resembles that of crepes, the traditional French pancakes. Chinese cuisine also contains many similar versions of this recipe, like Jian Bing(煎饼)and scallion pancakes. The dish I present here combines elements from these two cuisines.

The original pancake recipe (without additional ingredients) was passed on from my grandmother. The recipe stemmed from the hope to create an easier version of scallion pancakes; scallion pancakes are much more complicated to make as you have to carefully layer the dough to create a crisp exterior but maintain a soft interior. This pancake recipe produces a dish with similar ingredients but in a much simpler way.

I fused my dish with Chinese Jian Bing, which often contains crisps inside that provide a texture contrast. After some research, I found that the crisps can be easily made by shallow-frying, pre-made wonton wrappers.

I hope you have fun experimenting with this quick but tasty recipe!

Ingredients: You will need:

  • Wheat flour (type of flour doesn’t matter too much), 3 cups
  • Eggs, 2
  • Water, 3 cups
  • Green onions (finely chopped), ½ cup
  • Cilantro (finely chopped) ¼ cup
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil (type of oil doesn’t matter too much)
  • Chili Oil, Fermented Bean Curd (optional)
  • Wonton wrappers
  • Any other toppings / additions of your choice to wrap inside the pancake

DirectionsThis recipe produces around 5 servings.

  1. Add 3 cups of flour to a bowl.
  2. Crack 2 eggs into the bowl
  3. Add cold water slowly into the bowl by keeping the faucet barely open and taking the bowl out every 10 seconds or so to mix.
    1. Mix thoroughly—at first, as you add more water, you may notice “clumps” forming in the mixture. Be sure to continue stirring until these clumps mostly disappear.
    2. The purpose of adding the water slowly is to prevent these clumps from growing larger—it is hard to dissolve the clumps if you add too much water at once
    3. The consistency we are looking for at the end is in between the dough and soup. The exact amount of water needed for this recipe is hard to measure because we are adding it incrementally.
  4. Chop green onions and cilantro relatively finely and add them to the mixture. Chopping them too big may prevent them from properly incorporating into the batter. Chopping them too small may make them burn before the pancake is fully cooked yet.
  5. Add salt and any additional spices you wish to include. I often like to include a bit of spice, so I mixed chili oil and fermented bean curd and added this mixture to the batter. You may instead want to add additional ingredients, like onion, peppers, etc.
  6. After adding all the ingredients, be sure to mix thoroughly one last time.


To cook the pancakes: 

  1. Add oil to a nonstick pan on medium-low heat. Medium low heat guarantees that the pancake will not solidify before you finish spreading out the batter into a circular shape.
  2. Add a few spoons of the batter to the center of the pan and spread the batter out until it more or less fills up the pan and forms a circle.
  3. Turn the heat slightly up to medium or medium high so that the pancake can form a nice color on the outside.
  4. Flip the pancake when the other side develops a brown color; be careful! This process only takes around 1-2 minutes. If needed, flip the pancake around a few more times to fully cook it.
  5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you use up all your batter, making sure to adjust the heat according to the instructions. You may also need to add more oil before you begin cooking each pancake.

If you want to, you can stop here. However, if you want to add a few extra ingredients, please follow the steps below: 

  1. Take out your wonton wrappers and bring them to room temperature—if needed, you can defrost them using the microwave.
  2. Season the wonton wrappers with a touch of salt and pepper to give them some flavor
  3. Turn the heat up to medium-high
  4. In the same oil that you used to cook the pancakes (which should have developed some flavor by this point), place the wonton wrappers in.
  5. Carefully monitor the wonton wrappers and flip them over when the other side turns brown. With medium-high heat, this process takes only 15-25 seconds. I find it easiest to flip them over with a pair of chopsticks.
  6. Take the crisps out and let them dry on a towel.

About the author: Owen Lu, age 16, California, is currently a high school junior and is particularly interested in STEM subjects like physics and computer science. When he’s not solving problems, he enjoys playing the violin, sailing, and cooking.

Pumpkin Cakes: A Traditional Chinese Breakfast

Traditional Chinese Pumpkin Pies (Cakes) Make a Perfect Chinese Breakfast (and a Delicious Dessert too).

To make the traditional Chinese breakfast of pumpkin cakes, you will need:

1/4 pumpkin, 2 tbsp sugar, 200g rice flour, red bean paste (optional), and white sesame seeds (optional). 

You will need to prepare the pumpkin first.

  1. Get rid of pumping seed and it’s inside fiber.
  2. Peel off pumpkin skin. 
  3. Slice into thin pieces ~3mm. Thinner pumpkin slices will reduce the time it takes to be cooked. 
  4. Boil the Water first and Steam it in a bowl for 10 min.
  5. After steaming, pour out water from the bowl if any.
  6. Will need to add 2 tbsp sugar and smash it until there are no pumpkin lumps left. 

Making the dough

  1. Add in 50g of the rice flour, and mix evenly. Repeat 4 times. Do not add-in all the flour at once.
  2. What we want is a rather soft dough. (If you have reach this texture, you don’t need to add exactly the same flour amount as I did; different pumpkin and flour will perform differently).

Making the pumpkin pie 

  1. Take approximately half a hand fist of dough. 
  2. And rub into a ball shape, then press over the dough making a round cake shape. 
  3. If you have red bean paste you can take a scoop of it and place it on the pie shaped dough and close it up and repeat step 2. If you are adding the paste make sure your pie shaped dough is thinner and bigger. Don’t add too much of the paste. 
  4. If you have a plate of white sesame, run both sides of the finished pie in the plate, you can press upon the pie softly allowing sesame to stick to the surface of the pie. 

Cooking the pie 

  1. Preheat the frying pan.
  2. Put in enough oil to cover the bottom of the frying pan.
  3. Add in the pie when oil is hot enough. 
  4. Cook the cakes on low medium heat. 
  5. After every one minute, flip the cake(s) over to the other side. Prevent overcooking on one side. 
  6. To test if it’s cooked. You press upon the pie (cake) and if its shape returns quickly it means it’s cooked. Normally it takes 2-4 minutes.

Pumpkin pie is full of nutrients and is very delicious. Chinese often have pumpkin pie as a dessert or breakfast. Pumpkin pie has the best taste the day it’s made, so please enjoy and finish them quickly after made. This recipe makes 5 to 8 pies; you can adjust the recipe proportionally for your family size!

Wendy Mou, age 16, California. Wendy is an active student who enjoys creative outlets including food. For example, baking is her preferred way to relax after school work and family chores. Since her childhood, she has always held respect for the natural ingredients that go into her food. Currently, she is in the process of starting a food science club at her school. She looks up to those unique recipe makers, and hopes to become one someday.