http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/09/eveningnews/main6191530.shtml?tag=contentBody;featuredPost-PE

In the past I was a big fan of soup in the can. It’s simple, not too bad for you, and easy to make. But recently I have been making my own soup and it’s SO EASY. The other day I made vegetarian chili and it turned out so good even my non-vegan friends gave it a try.

I started with a large can of diced tomatoes and added a cans worth of water also.

Then I added a can of pinto beans as well as a can of mixed of beans. (I bought them in a can and rinsed them before throwing them in but you can buy them in a bag or however).

Then I chopped and added olives, carrots, green peppers, red peppers, spinach, and any other vegetable I could find in my fridge.

I let the whole thing stew for about an hour while I watched the superbowl, adding salt, basil, oregano, and cumin as I went to make it flavorful.

The product was a delicious, hearty chili with more than two daily servings of vegetables in each bowl. I even had left-overs so I can whip up a bowl real quick all week!

Paula Mann has been coming to Blacksburg from West Virginia once every two weeks since sometime in the 70’s to shop at Eats, though she can’t remember exactly what year. “I have to eat organic stuff,” she says, “because I have a problem with allergies and the stuff they spray on [non-organic] food.”

About three or four years ago, Eats Natural Foods burned to the ground for no apparent reason. The store had been there since 1974 and had survived recessions and booms. It has since been rebuilt at a new location on North Main Street, just as the organic market has revamped itself in the United States.

Once reserved for the “peace and love” crowd of the 1970’s, shopping for natural and vegan foods has become a mainstream and popular way to shop.

According to the Organic Trade Association Manufacturer’s Survey, the organic industry has grown by $1 billion in the past decade and is expected to grow 18% each year from 2007 to 2010.

Glisyn Jarrells, an employee at Annie Kays, another local natural foods store in Blacksburg, can attest to that, she says, “In the past 5 years or so,” people have become more aware and, “Even in the last year, year and a half, it has become trendy.”

The dining halls on campus have noticed the trend and updated fast, a-la-carte places like D-2 with a variety of healthy vegetarian and vegan wraps. The Town of Blacksburg seems to be catching on too. This year they have begun constructing an official site off Main Street for the Farmer’s Market, where local growers can sell their organically produced items. Also, the group titled, “Friends of the Farmers Market, Inc.,” was recently made an official organization.

Even Kroger, a popular chain grocery store, has recognized the growing demand for organics by their customers. Shirley Dosse, a Kroger employee for over 28 years, has noticed a difference. The new Kroger in Blacksburg offers frozen organics, natural foods, natural sports bars, and natural cleaning supplies has. It has more organic food and fruit as well as more non-organic products than it did before, and it’s not the only one.

The Kroger website touts an expanded line of organic produce that “makes it convenient to find organic options,” with “50 organic varieties in most stores” and “more than 100,” in others.

When asked if the “Nature’s Market” section of the store is popular with customers, Dosse simply responds, “Oh yeah.”

Local natural foods stores are convinced, however, that they carry something that large grocery store chains do not.

“We have a longstanding joke about that,” says Stan Davis, an employee at Eats for 30 years and a Vegan since the 70’s. “Ask them about a product and see what they say. They will probably point to what aisle it is in, but that will exhaust their knowledge on the matter.”

Eats, according to Davis, is filled with “a dedicated staff, able to answer your questions.” He says, “This is our lifestyle, almost all the employees are vegetarian or vegan.”

Davis also says that unlike large grocery stores, Eats is conscious of economics, but not as focused on the bottom line. “We are selling the highest quality items at the lowest price,” says Davis, “We adjust prices in order to operate our business but we aren’t looking to make a profit. Everyone gets paid their hourly wage and we have no motives to push particular products. A lot of stores look at it as an economic thing and not necessarily for the best choice for customers.”

Some shoppers, like student, Audrey Griffen, are still skeptical, saying, “Organic food is way too expensive.”

Jerrells argues, “It can be an affordable choice, especially if you buy in bulk.”

Fellow employee, Deb McKenna, understands that it can be expensive and suggests that consumers “bargain hunt,” to get the best deals because it’s worth it. “The reason snack food and soda is so much cheaper is because the government subsidizes farmers that are growing inorganic food or corn [used to feed cows that are raised inorganically].”

“Organic and natural food tastes better,” adds Jerrells.

In other countries, like Switzerland, Governments actually subsidize the production of organic foods. So why isn’t the U.S. there yet?

“If demand is there, then there will be more supply,” Jerrells explains.

And demand is definitely getting there. The “slow-food” movement in Blacksburg has been growing over the past decade. “Slow food,” which is the opposite of fast food, emphasizes community gardens, local products, and self-sustainability. They even have their own website for the area at http://www.slowfoodblueridge.org.

If natural foods stores acquire more business, great, but for now, employees seem to be happy either way.

“It’s not a competition,” Davis says. “People look up this kind of store.” And if his store doesn’t offer what people need, Davis isn’t hesitant to share. “If people come in here with recommendations for meat products, I send them over to Annie Kays, that way I don’t have to mess with meat.”

Annie Kays offers such locally grown options as buffalo, beef, and pork, as well as lunch meats. Eats, in contrast, chooses to focus on its large variety of cheeses as well as their home brewing and wine making supplies. Both offer an assortment of vitamins, natural medicines, non-food products like soap, and even pet food.

Of his products Davis says, “We know what we take in before we buy it. We have clean good products that aren’t necessarily intended to turn a profit. We are open to what people want, it’s all based on customer recommendations.”

And customers are appreciating it. “We get a mix, we get a lot of people in here that live in the town,” says Davis, but he also says, “people visit the store before they decide if their kids will go [to college] here.”

Looks like local natural foods stores will be able to survive another three decades here in Blacksburg thanks to the growing consumer demand for organic, vegan, all-natural options.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound manicotti
• 2 pounds firm or soft tofu, patted dry and mashed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach (optional)
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce

Preparation:

Prepare the manicotti according to package directions. Gently drain and rinse the noodles.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed tofu, garlic, soy milk, olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper, parsley and spinach.

Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce. Gently spoon the tofu mixture into each manicotti until they are all full. Place the filled manicotti noodles in one layer on top of the spaghetti sauce.

Pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed noodles. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the sauce bubbles.

1) Be Prepared: know where you’re going and what you might be able to eat there, whether it be a restaurant or a tailgate

2) speak up: If you are good friends with the people you are hanging out with they probably already know you’re vegan but they may not know exactly what that means (read the blog people) so tell them what you enjoy and maybe you’ll see it as part of the spread

3) Have a Backup Plan: bring a granola bar, apple, or easy-to-travel snack just in case you get hungry and the only choice is queso dip

4) Eat Before: if you know you are going to a restaurant that your only choice will be a salad, get some soy protein or a snack before hand so you’re not still hungry after dinner

Listen up meatheads. You’re wrong. We are not carnivores and all it takes is a careful comparison between us and carnivores to realize that. Here’s one I found from www.healthfree.com:

• Carnivore: long, sharp, pointed teeth for ripping and chewing flesh. Jaw moves up and down ONLY for tearing and biting.
• Human: Have molars for crushing and grinding and jaws that move side to side for eating vegetation.
• Carnivore: Saliva is acid for digesting animal protein.
• Human: Saliva is alkaline and contains ptyalin for digestion of starch.
• Carnivore: Stomach is a simple round sack that secretes 10 times more hydrochloric acid than humans.
• Human: Stomach is oblong, complex and convoluted with a duodenum, the tube that leads to the small intestine.
• Carnivore: Intestines are 3 times the length of the trunk, designed for rapid expulsion of meat, which rots quickly.
• Human: Intestines are 12 times the length of our trunks, designed to keep food until all nutrients are extracted.
• Carnivore: Liver will eliminate 10 – 15 times more uric acid than the human liver.
• Human: Liver produces no “uricase” enzyme to eliminate uric acid.
• Carnivore: Do not sweat through their skin and have no pores.
• Human: Sweat through the skin to eliminate wastes.
• Carnivore: Urine is acid.
• Human: Urine is alkaline.
• Carnivore: Tongue is rough for licking blood and flesh.
• Human: Tongue is smooth

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE YOU MEATHEADS!? DIDN’T THINK SO.

I can’t tell you how many times people have told me I don’t get enough protein if I’m vegan or I’m not going to be healthy without eating meat protein. This is BULLSHIT, excuse my French. Here’s why:

Historically: populations that consume meat-based diets or high protein diets have higher rates of obesity, heart disease, and breast cancer than populations that have mostly vegetarian diets. People that live the longest eat a diet that consists of 70-80% high-water-content foods like fruits and vegetables and little to no meat products.

Physically: animal protein is the most difficult food for the body to digest. It takes 25-30 hours for food (other than fruit) to pass through the entire gastrointestinal tract, for meat, it is doubled. Furthermore, undigested protein has to be eliminated by the kidneys which stresses them out and causes lesions to develop and hard tissues to form (think pancreatic and colon cancer).

Currently: Most americans eat more than 100 grams of protean a day, 5 times their actual need. Most sources say that people only need 5% or less of their daily calorie intake to be from protein.

VEGAN Protein sources (don’t be shocked that vegetables have protein!): spinach (49% of daily calories needed in one serving!), broccoli (45%), cauliflower (40%), lettuce (34%), peas (30%), green beans (26%), cucumbers (24%), celery (21%), etc. etc. etc. Soy also has a lot of protein and comes in a variety of forms. I like to drink soy milk, eat edemame, or cook with tofu to add some extra protein to my veggies or carbs.

Bottom line: We only need 1.5 pounds of protein a month to be healthy! The meat industry has spent BILLIONS of dollars on advertising to make us think otherwise. There is no such thing as “complete proteins.” And meat is NOT GOOD FOR YOU! STOP BEING A MINDLESS ZOMBIE! THINK FOR YOURSELF! All the protein you need can come from vegetables and it’s healthier for your body!

http://dumbledoresveganarmy.wordpress.com/