The Buddha on the Forum

Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman / freedigitalphotos.net

I have recently discovered the joy of Coursera, a wonderful resource for anyone with a passionate love affair with learning. In short, by making an account, you can sign up for free courses made by Ivy League schools and other very highly rated universities. Some are able to be completed for credit. Almost all of them are interesting if you just like learning new things and having a set-out curriculum.

Anyway, I found this lovely site and signed up for 3 courses (The Fiction of Relationship, The Social Context of Mental Health and Illness, and Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, if you're curious). All of them have been wonderful, but the third course has unfortunately been driving me crazy, for reasons entirely unrelated to the teacher (who has been doing a very good job).

Let me say this flat-out. I am not vegan for health reasons and do not advocate it as the perfect health diet. I partake in health research simply because I like to see what science is discovering about how to eat well, and because I have an uncommon diet for which precautions are occasionally necessary. I like to eat a lot of greens, and I don't like to eat things from a box or a TV dinner, but I am by no means an expert, a guru or even a health nut. I am also not qualified to tell you what to do or what to eat.

However, far too many people in this course have the slightly disconcerting idea that they know everything about the perfect diet in the world, and it is their job not to watch lectures and complete assignments, whilst learning about what mainstream science has to say, but to search for pointed counter-studies to everything that the professor alleges and push their biased agenda. It's all too common and has made the discussion forums of the course, where I love to go in my other two courses to share ideas and learn new things, a place for bickering and superiority. It goes something like this:

"Hi, I'm joining this course because I'm a vegetarian and I want to hear the professor say why vegetarianism is the healthiest thing on the planet!"

"That's idiotic. Paleo diets are the best. Anyone who eats grains is going to gain ridiculous amounts of weight and suffer from numerous vitamin deficiencies. Also, nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise."

Some people who believe in other diets are speaking too, but it's mainly an argument between veg*ns and paleos. I don't like it at all. Why?

Because first of all, veg*nism is an ideological diet; in other words, its founding principle is ethics and assuming that science and nutrition naturally line up with these ethics is biased and hence a bad idea unless you have some very strong evidence. While nutritional needs can be met on a vegan diet (and many people do thrive on the diet, myself included) it does NOT mean there is not some healthier or equally healthy mix out there.

Furthermore, a paleo diet may have merit (and of course does, for lots of people) but it lacks the backing of significant research and professional attention that a diet purported in a widely distributed nutrition course would have. Doesn't mean it is absolutely not a good diet, but the jury is still out.

So, in short, the problem is that neither party, veg*n or paleo, has any right to claim that they know the answers. Each one has some research in favor, and some research against. Both are armed with anecdotal stories. Neither are armed with something definitive.

This issue is easily summed up by an old saying: If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

"Buddha", in this turn of phrase, indicates anyone who claims to know everything or have all the answers. They claim to be a god, with prophecies that are unquestionably true. The philosophy is that if anyone is not constantly seeking truth and questioning everything, then they are not following an honest path and are leading you astray from the road to real enlightenment. Someone who supports the scientific method will undoubtedly find worth in this philosophy; after all, the foundation of science is to repeatedly test one's observations to ensure they stand the test of time.

As a vegan, it is tempting to claim that the diet is ideal. However, my ethical choices do not make it so. Only research can indicate whether it is a good idea for health reasons. For now, vegans, vegetarians, etc. must understand that in the pursuit of truth, we must be willing to accept what appears. Even the idea of veg*nism may become outdated due to future ethical discoveries or an even better way to care for the world around us; let us not let our traditions and preconceived notions lead us away from the pursuit of understanding.

Lazy Easy Meal #1: Black Bean Spinach Pitas

In case you hadn't noticed, I like low-maintenance food. I do enjoy from time to time going all-out with my meals, but those moments tend to be rare at best and are more likely about showing off my ability to follow directions on a lengthy recipe to all my kitchen-impaired friends than they are about filling my tummy. Most of the time, I don't feel like being tied to the kitchen for hours (and who has that time, anyway?) In that avoidant, lazy spirit, I whipped up one of my favorites this afternoon. It follows the tried and true method of some kinda bean + a ton of veggies + some form of grain = yum.

Black Bean Spinach Pitas
Yield: 3 or 4 pitas

Ingredients:
Oil for sauteeing
1 can black beans
2 or 3 big handfuls spinach
1/2 c chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
A dash or two of hot sauce (Sriracha and Louisiana Hot Sauce both work very well)
3 or 4 pitas
Lettuce or greens, to taste

1. Begin sauteeing onion, garlic and spinach in the oil. When spinach begins to wilt and onion and garlic are starting to become clear, add black beans and stir thoroughly.
2. After a minute or two, add nutritional yeast and hot sauce. Throw your pitas on a plate and microwave them for about 30 seconds just to loosen them up.
3. When pitas are done, slice each one in half. Give them a scoop of the beany mixture (not enough to fill them up completely), then add the lettuce on the top.
4. It's that simple! Enjoy!

How to Get a Little Extra Green...

...in your diet. No, unfortunately this is not a post about making more money. It's about salad!

Usually, before you become a vegan, you're not some kind of health guru. Some people switch with health in mind as well as ideology, but most of us are in it for the animals and aside from that don't really know what we're doing. Because of that, adjusting to everything is a huge learning experience and we end up way more knowledgeable about health than the average bear. However, it still doesn't make eating healthily very easy.

Some changes are easy enough - switch to whole grains, eat fruit as a snack, etc. - but how do you incorporate the massive amounts of veggies (particularly leafy greens) that are so healthy into your diet? When society teaches you that vegetables are regulated to the role of side dish/afterthought, what do you do? Fortunately, constant experimentation and supreme laziness have led me to some quite easy answers.

1. Whatever you're making, dump it on a bed of greens.
Beans and rice for dinner? How about beans and rice and spinach? The easiest way I've found by far to make salad is to simply make whatever you're usually making and eat it with lots of greens. It's usually tastier than trying some new recipe with ingredients you don't usually work with, and if you're the type who likes a hot meal much better than a cold one it is really satisfying. You don't even need to worry about salad dressings, as long as the meal you were going to eat alone is seasoned well.

2. Use large leaves as "tacos" or wraps.
As a professional burrito eater (not a high-paying profession, but certainly a fun one ;D) as well as a vigilant label-reader, the least healthy part of a burrito or a taco is usually the tortilla. It has so many unpronounceable ingredients, bleached grains, etc. You can go to the health foods store and get something fancy and confirmed vegan, but why not just use greens as the wrapper? For more bendy greens, like collard leaves, it is easy to wrap them up like a tortilla. Crunchy greens, like lettuce, make "tacos" that are really delicious; just load them up and fold in half.

3. Throw a handful of baby greens into whatever you're making.
The wonderful thing about baby greens is that they don't require any chopping. Much like pre-chopped veggies you can just toss them into your food and they will come out great.

As for other veggies, I really just operate on a "the more the merrier" policy. When I make beans and rice, for example, I throw in onions, garlic and whatever's in my pantry at the time - could be jalapeno, peppers, carrot, celery, mushrooms, potato, you name it. Soup is just a means for me to come up with new veggie combinations. The wonderful thing about healthy eating is that there needs to be no formula; just incorporate abundant plant foods and take basic precautions to make sure that your diet is adequate. Happy eating!

Much Ado About Parsley

I have a very disappointing message for you.

This blog actually isn't about parsley. (Gasp!)

It is not about tabbouleh, or techniques for creatively garnishing salads and main dishes. It is also not about how good parsley is for you. It is not even about Ogden Nash, who once wrote a poem named 'Further Reflections on Parsley', and is kind of a badass (though I'm sure his unique wisdom shall be featured in this blog from time to time).

So what is it about?

The most honest answer I could give you is that I'm not 100% sure yet, but I have a little bit of an idea. To get a solid starting point, I'll list a few things that will almost certainly be featured at some point.

1. Vegan recipes. I am a vegan, and I cook. A lot. My super epic recipe-making process is as follows: I am craving something yummy. I look at pictures and recipes on the internet for a while, find a recipe that sounds like it is exactly what I want to eat and end up changing it almost beyond recognition. I encourage you to similarly "own" the recipes you find by modifying them as much, or as little, as you see fit.

2. Arguments for social activism, general kindness, optimization of life and harmony with the world and whatnot. Possible topics include feminism, animal rights, LGBT issues, easy ways to help one's environment, healthiness, happiness, anti-consumerism, and why I don't shave or wear makeup.

3. References to literature and art. I am an undergraduate student pursuing a BA in English Literature. I read a lot, and I tend to use what I read to evaluate the world around me. I am very, very likely to share these reflections on this blog and garnish my posts with recommended reading or illustrative examples (as opposed to garnishing them with parsley, which I hear is big these days). Film, music, etc. are not off limits either.

4. I may also occasionally reference my life or talk about personal situations but it is my intention to keep this a very small portion of this blog. I am a young married woman and my husband (we shall call him Mr. Parsley) will almost certainly feature from time to time in this blog.

5. Alright, alright, I'll talk about parsley from time to time! Yeesh.

TTFN!