Thanks, Shenanigator. I do take B-12 supplements. Sources seem to agree that it's the one thing you can't get from a vegan diet, since weirdly, it comes from bacteria. I think you can also get it through nutritional yeast but that doesn't sound very appealing. Well I say "vegan" but really this is stricter than vegan. It's plant-based whole foods, whereas vegan is just no animal products but could include all kinds of processed foods, sugar, etc. So I'm not sure just "vegan" is necessarily good nutrition. Husband's cholesterol dropped in half in just one month and he's gotten to go off meds. (I still have a ways to go but maybe next month or whenever I'll be allowed another round of blood work). We noticed several other unexpected improvements in just one month, such as the GERD I've had for years being gone so off prescription meds for that, and both dropped weight nicely with no portion control or calorie counting and etc. Very promising. I think the American diet is generally pretty terrible and does lead to overall poor health. Even according to govt. stats, over 70% of adults are overweight, and heart problems, diabetes rates, etc. are insanely high over decades ago. I'll probably stick with it for the most part but make an exception whenever I really feel like it. I like it better the more I learn to prepare good meals. Not sure how much I can do about the weirdness though lol. Maybe being icked out over any animal product will change, no need for 100%.
Nutritional yeast doesn't have the true B-12 either. You can stop espousing the supposed benefits. to me. I don't have cholesterol issues, I don't believe it's healthy, I know too many vegans who act batshit crazy, and and I'm allergic to most of the things that are meat substitutes, particularly soy. ETA: I eat 70/30 or 80/20 whole foods, no preservatives, no dyes, organic foods and have been eating this way since 1998.
@Shenanigator- I do feel free to post whatever I have to say the same as you do. Also, I go by medical results and advice from those with the credentials to give it. So I don't know anything about "batshit crazy vegans" or care about either recruiting or arguing.
This post is about my and husband's monthlong trial of a whole foods, plant-based diet, if anyone's interested. With some years on, health issues are mounting so we tried changing our diet in hopes of improvement. The results have been promising so far. Husband's cholesterol dropped remarkably (from mid-high 200's to 130). Now he's well within normal range. My longstanding GERD just seemed to disappear, and we dropped a nice chunk of weight. And a few other, smaller (or more personal) things, too. I thought we already ate pretty well, mostly fish, chicken and seafood, little red meat, fried foods, processed foods, etc. So I was especially surprised at what a difference it made. What the bloodwork, the scale and personal observation as the owner of a body show are pretty solid evidence in a way, but one month is still only one month and cutting out animal products wasn't the only change. We also cut out aspartame, all processed foods, canned foods, soda and most booze and salt. Without trying (no portion control or calorie counting) we lost 15 and 20 pounds. I'm sure that drastic level wouldn't continue, but that much weight loss in itself could probably cause changes in cholesterol levels and GERD. We weren't overweight before but that doesn't mean weight loss wouldn't have an effect. So it's looking good but I think we also need to check the results over more time. Now we're not following it quite so strictly (it's too hard!) and waiting to see how it looks in maybe three more months. If anyone wants to look into it, Forks Over Knives is a documentary we liked.
Last night I made sous vide ribeye steak with roasted brussel sprouts and a curried carrot puree. Tonight I'm making cream of onion soup with a margherita flatbread (fresh mozzerella, sliced tomatoes and basil).
Is the man the carrot puree, the cream of onion soup or the margherita flatbread? Maybe a combination of all three?
I study this stuff for my own health as well, you know. (I manage a chronic condition via nutrition in conjunction with my M.D.'s as part of my treatment.) And while I may have said it a bit harshly, Carly, whether you realize it or not, your posts about this have a tendency to sound like a commercial. So the cynic in me always thinks it must be the subject of your next book, and that you're posting about it as part of your marketing campaign. Maybe that's on me, but it gets old in a thread that's simply supposed to be a fun thread about what we're having for dinner. Back on topic now, Greek food: grilled chicken skewer, grilled beef skewer, greek salad no feta, and tzatziki. ETA: I didn't cook it. Ordered in.
Um, those how-to books aren't even under this pen name but under a pen name I've never once even mentioned on here, so your accusation is asinine but nice try. The fact is, twice now when I've mentioned what I'm cooking and eating- on this cooking thread, on this writing forum - you've replied to my general posts with your own opinions that were not at all this light "what are you cooking only" stuff that you claim but weird hostility, then basically rudely told me to shut up about my own opinions. I have not bothered you at all, you've made a point of coming after me. Also, I don't need your approval for anything I post or anything else. I'm not interested in many of your posts either but I just skip over them. Your personal issue with vegan people in your past or whatever your issue is, is not my problem. Back off.
Next time I will buy an additional steak for you - I have to admit that Mr. Kelly and I completely demolished the one I bought.
I'm beginning my first-ever batch of biltong, South African beef jerky. We'll see how things go. I looked over several recipes, and sought out the common points. Some of them insisted on something called "brown vinegar," one wanted white distilled vinegar, one apple cider vinegar, and one red wine vinegar, so I compromised and used what was in the house: Japanese rice vinegar. The meat was supposed to be low-fat, some were calling for sirloin or London Broil (which is a technique, not a cut, unless it literally* isn't), others insisting that it would work on anything, and one noted that the origins of biltong are from pre-colonial Africa, so... I found a tri-tip. At least, I think it's a tri-tip. It was triangular, and the kanji said "three corners," which also means "triangle," so close enough. One recipe said to sprinkle vinegar on the meat and let it marinate overnight, one said to soak it in vinegar, then spice it, then put it on a draining rack in your spare fridge... Yeah, my spare fridge. I'll get right on that. Anyway, I averaged out a whole bunch of basic recipes, opting for the variants that called for more curing time, more salt, whatever seemed safer. It'll go in the salt and spice this evening, and hang tomorrow.
Raw vegetables and homemade curry hummus dip. Sliced eggplant, topped with homemade marinara sauce and baked. Bananas and walnuts. Bird seed, grass, leaves and pebbles.
Thinking about getting a hot air fryer but idk, I've bought so many things like that only to end up sending them to Goodwill. Has anyone tried one?
I went nuts at work and cured a bunch of pork belly and salmon. Then made some duck confit with the weird looking legs we didn't want to put on a plate. It's nice having a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment sometimes. Never heard on them. Sounds counterintuitive. What's the fat component?
Well I think that's the point, there's no added fat. Then again, I don't really understand how they work. Maybe it's just a gimmicky name and really no different from using the oven or stovetop, not "frying" at all. ?
Maybe it works like an air popper? Though I am still trying to figure out those weird infra-red cooker things. Be just as well off with a good old nuclear oven, since microwaves cook things with the power of radiation.
Yeah, it's hot air circulator, so that would make it... a convection oven? And--wait for it--it frys (fries?), grills, roasts, steams, slow cooks, toasts, and BBQs, so that would make it... a magical cooking emulator? I'm not even going to deconstruct how ludicrous that statement is (BBQ? really? that's not a cooking method). Seems pretty gimmicky, but it probably does what it's supposed to. Except for the fry part. You can't really cook without fat... or, at least, substitute a non-fatty component for a fatty component. That's the basis of all culinary technique. This from another site: "These appliances are designed to circulate extremely hot air in a fashion that mimics the movement and flow of heat currents in a pot of boiling oil, to crisp up the outsides of food while cooking it inside." (um, no... air molecules and fatty oils could not be more dissimilar) "Air-fried food will, obviously, taste a little different from deep-fried food, but most fans think air-fried actually tastes better: you don’t have the taste of the sodden-grease that later sinks to the pit of your stomach." (that I doubt... you only get the "sodden grease" if you're doing it wrong) "What’s truly unbelievable, but true nonetheless, is that most of us thought fried foods were basically banned from our lives forever" (shit, I need to call work... 42% of our plates have been banned. Is it too late to return our four deep-friers?) Kidding and professional umbrage aside, it looks like a small convector, so it might be worth it if your oven is broken or sucks or something. But unless it cooks several things at once, you're going to need all the traditional equipment up and running concurrently anyway.
