Seagan Eating: The Lure of a Healthy, Sustainable Seafood + Vegan Diet - Softcover
A cheat sheet for vegans who want to stray the healthy way
People choose to become vegan for different reasons, but for some it's tough to stick to such a strict diet. Seagan Eating offers a healthy alternative by motivating you to adopt a "seagan" diet--largely plant-based but including seafood. At the same time, the book discourages "evil" ingredients and addresses many of today's food conundrums (GMOs, organic versus nonorganic, etc.). A recipe section features easy-to-make fish dishes, plus some of Amy's most decadent vegan recipes. As with the authors' first book, The Vegan Cheat Sheet, all recipes are oil-free. It's the ultimate manual for delicious, healthful eating.
You will learn to:
Maximize your nutrient intake with plant-based, nutrient-dense foods, along with omega 3 rich fish.
Enjoy more freedom when preparing meals or dining out by including some seafood in your diet.
Prepare satisfying portions by eliminating or lightening up on unhealthy fats.
Avoid the "bad boys" (additives, sugars, trans fats, etc.).
Use healthy replacements for popular "guilty pleasures" (i.e., fast food and junk food).
People choose to become vegan for different reasons, but for some it's tough to stick to such a strict diet. Seagan Eating offers a healthy alternative by motivating you to adopt a "seagan" diet--largely plant-based but including seafood. At the same time, the book discourages "evil" ingredients and addresses many of today's food conundrums (GMOs, organic versus nonorganic, etc.). A recipe section features easy-to-make fish dishes, plus some of Amy's most decadent vegan recipes. As with the authors' first book, The Vegan Cheat Sheet, all recipes are oil-free. It's the ultimate manual for delicious, healthful eating.
You will learn to:
Maximize your nutrient intake with plant-based, nutrient-dense foods, along with omega 3 rich fish.
Enjoy more freedom when preparing meals or dining out by including some seafood in your diet.
Prepare satisfying portions by eliminating or lightening up on unhealthy fats.
Avoid the "bad boys" (additives, sugars, trans fats, etc.).
Use healthy replacements for popular "guilty pleasures" (i.e., fast food and junk food).
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
AMY CRAMER is the founder of Vegan Eats (VeganEatsUSA.com), which produces a line of grab-and-go vegan meals for Heinen's, a midwestern supermarket chain, and will soon be available in midwestern Whole Foods stores. Amy has taught private vegan classes throughout Ohio and in New York City and Westchester County, New York, and has been a guest lecturer at Bronx Community College. She also offers one-on-one vegan coaching to those who need more guidance and hand-holding. Whole Foods Market frequently invites her as a guest instructor.
An award-winning copywriter, coauthor LISA MCCOMSEY graduated from Bucknell University with an art history degree and has worked on staff and as a freelance copywriter for a variety of publications, including Vogue, Allure, People, Life, Real Simple, Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, House & Garden, the New York Times, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. She currently works as a freelance writer, marketing consultant, and public speaker.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
An award-winning copywriter, coauthor LISA MCCOMSEY graduated from Bucknell University with an art history degree and has worked on staff and as a freelance copywriter for a variety of publications, including Vogue, Allure, People, Life, Real Simple, Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, House & Garden, the New York Times, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. She currently works as a freelance writer, marketing consultant, and public speaker.
Chapter 1
Seduced by Seafood
Some Will Say We're Sleeping with the Enemy
Others will call it bait-and-switch. As authors of a how-to-go-vegan guide and cookbook, The Vegan Cheat Sheet, we know we're taking a bit of a risk by admitting to this doozy of a no-no: cheating with seafood.
Both of us went vegan for health reasons, and we followed that regimen for many years. Now we've converted to a seagan (seafood + vegan) diet, also for health reasons. Plant-based foods still comprise the bulk of our daily diets and deliver nearly every nutrient our bodies crave. But, after doing tons of research, we decided that the high-quality, essential omega-3 fatty acids you can get only from fish were a missing link-and it was time to take the plunge.
This wasn't an easy choice. Not all seafood is good for you (mercury!). Not all seafood is sustainable (overfishing!). And, of course, ethical vegans will find our infidelity unforgivable. But we believe there's a right way to go seagan, and we do our darndest to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions about which fish to eat (or not).
You Can Easily Get Hooked
For the gazillions of omnivores out there, becoming seagan is a healthy compromise that feels a lot more doable than going "whole-hog" vegan. While we found the vegan diet surprisingly easy and satisfying, we know most people will go vegan only-to quote a friend-"when hell freezes over."
Seaganism is both approachable and-we believe-the new gold standard for healthful eating. It not only allows for more meal variety and supplies our bodies with precious omega-3s, but it makes life easier when eating out.
This Book Isn't for One-Track-Mind Diet Purists
It's for those who:
Flounder in the "messy middle" as they strive to look and feel their best but simply can't accommodate a militant, all-or-nothing approach
Prefer to make small, incremental changes to their diets rather than drastic overhauls
May ultimately long to go vegan but prefer to do it in baby steps-they can ditch the unhealthiest stuff first and use seafood as a bridge to full-fledged veganhood
Our Goal Is Overall Health
It's easy to be a fat, nutrient-deprived vegan or seagan (think potato chips and fried shrimp). That's why we share tons of tips on how to shop, cook, and eat better and more mindfully.
We don't believe in deprivation diets, or, for that matter, even counting calories. Our stance is simply this:
Follow a well-balanced, mostly vegan diet
Eat fish two to three times a week, as recommended by the American Heart Association (Note: while not all seafood is technically "fish"-crustaceans and mollusks, for example-we use the term broadly to encompass all these sea creatures)
Cut way back on junk
Indulge now and then
We Take You to Market
Whether in a local fish market or a supersize grocery store, food shopping has gotten complicated and confusing: Should I buy the farm-raised or wild-caught salmon? What's all that gibberish on the ingredient label-and should I be wary? Do I really have to spring for the organic apples? Why all the fuss about GMOs (genetically modified organisms)? Which "superfood" is in vogue? Last week is was goji berries, this week it's bulletproof (buttered) coffee.
Argh!
We unravel all that and share some teeny-tiny ways you can punch up your nutritional intake (they're called nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices). We give you shopping lists, fish-buying recommendations, restaurant advice, weekly meal menus, and lots more scoop inside this handy, take-everywhere guide.
Best of all, you get tons of Amy's decadent recipes-proving you can eat luxuriously and healthfully every single day. Most are super easy to make, all are oil-free, and every single one is a crowd pleaser.
Anyone who knows us can vouch that we love food-rich, flavorful food, right down to our crab mac and cheese and frosted fudge brownies. You'll find those recipes (and many more) in the pages that follow.
Hooked yet? Read on-we think you'll love being seagan as much as we do.
Chapter 2
Why We Cheated on Plants
How did two random women-one living in Colorado, the other in New Jersey-come to follow a similar eating path and decide to write about it?
Quick rewind: Years ago, we met in New York City while working at People magazine and became fast friends, running sidekicks, and eating buddies. (If you'd ever tried Amy's homemade meatballs, you'd finagle a way to be her friend, too.)
Eventually separated by geography (Lisa moved to Costa Rica, Mexico, and New Jersey; Amy went to California, Ohio, and Colorado), we remained close and continued to share our passion for food, health, and exercise.
In 2013 we co-wrote our first book, The Vegan Cheat Sheet. Our friendship survived that collaboration and now we're back for round two.
Here's the rest of our vegan-to-seagan journey.
Amy's Story
My husband, Ken, and I swore off animal products in an effort to naturally lower his genetically high cholesterol (he'd been on meds for years and hated their side effects). For more than ten years, I was a fairly strict vegan.
The change in diet worked fabulously. We followed the stringent vegan, no-oil guidelines set forth by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. in his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. It didn't hurt that I was a chef and could turn out some pretty mean dishes. I loved experimenting with new recipes and eventually approached my writer friend (and now coauthor), Lisa, about collaborating on a simple guide to going vegan. That idea resulted in our first book, The Vegan Cheat Sheet.
Not long ago, while on vacation, I found myself in a famous New Hampshire lobster restaurant surrounded by veganish and carnivorous friends. For several years I'd hidden my "dirty little secret": I occasionally ate fish. Oh my! So I chose that moment to "come out" to my friends and boldly ordered a two-pound lobster. Go big or go home.
My so-called friends pulled out their phones and tried to snap pictures of my scandalous cheat. I quickly attempted to confiscate all electronic devices and declared that I was just being a tad naughty, since I was on the road and away from my home kitchen. I guess I wasn't ready to embrace my belief in the health benefits of eating seafood.
Over the next months, I did a lot more research on the reasons why eating fish can be a very good thing. I am now a proud seagan!
Lisa's Story
With the encouragement of Amy-and in the hopes of winning a family get-fit weight-loss challenge-I decided to go vegan "for a month," thinking it would be a boring starvation diet with little more than carrot sticks and tofu on the "approved" list.
Boy, was I wrong. Not only did I eat a ton, I discovered a whole new world of flavors and foods. It was an exciting change, I felt amazing, and going vegan was so much easier and more fun than I had ever imagined. I stuck with it for years.
But being the health fanatic and research-obsessed person I am, I started learning more and more about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids. Vegans will say you can get these essential fatty acids from certain plants-and that's true, to a degree. Fish, however, are the sole source of the healthiest forms of omega-3s-EPA and DHA (we explain all that in Chapter 5, The Health Benefits of Seafood, page 19)-and so I had to rethink my plan.
Seafood simply offered too many benefits for me to overlook its importance. So I started eating fish now and then. It wasn't an easy decision. I had a lot at stake in the vegan world-our book and my reputation, for starters. Like Amy, I "cheated" surreptitiously at first. The vegan police were out in hordes, pointing out my every transgression: "That's not vegan!" "Fish isn't vegan!" Arrest me then!
I've since made peace with all that, gone public with my vegan infraction, and have come to embrace the seagan way.
Chapter 3
What the Fluke Do Seagans Eat?
Here's what we're not: doctors or nutritionists or scientists.
Here's what we are: a pair of health-enthusiast foodies and research fanatics. What follows is the result of our exhaustive nutritional "fishing expedition"-and the reason for our vegan-to-seagan transformation.
During our fact-finding mission, we became frustrated with all the misconceptions, misrepresentations, and industry "secrets" that make it hard to choose food wisely. We give you a road map for easier, healthier decision-making.
So What Exactly Do Seagans Eat?
We follow a vegan (plant-based) diet-that includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains-with one allowance: seafood. No red meat, no pork, no poultry, no eggs, no dairy. And because we strive to be healthy seagans, we try to avoid a lot of sugar, oils, fried foods, artificial chemicals, and junk like that. (The operative word is strive. We're not perfect.)
There are arguments for and against just about any diet you can think of, and it's easy enough to hear what you want to hear (we're praying that the hot-fudge sundae will one day be declared a superfood).
It all boils down to this: Choose what works for you. We believe seaganism is an incredibly healthful, easy, and satisfying way to eat.
So let's start with why we ditched dairy and meat and limit our oil intake. For the detailed lowdown on seafood, check out The Health Benefits of Seafood on page 19.
Bye-Bye, Meat, Dairy, and Eggs
So long, Amy's veal Milanese. Good riddance, cheesy omelets. It was nice knowing you, ice cream. I'll never meet a smoother snack than you, Greek yogurt. Ah, breaking up is hard to do. But like many breakups, it can open the door to healthier relationships.
Our decision to go splitsville with these admittedly delicious foods was not a capricious one. No one in her right mind parts ways with Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Half Baked without a damn good reason. Or several. Here are ours:
Americans' waistlines are expanding, with more than a third of adults now classified as "obese" and two-thirds as "overweight or obese." Childhood obesity is on the rise, too.
We're a sick nation. Despite our access to one of the most advanced health-care systems in the world, we suffer from ever-increasing rates of chronic ailments and life-threatening illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer's.
We are what we eat-and if what we eat is high in fat, sugar, and other disease-promoting muck, we'll likely pay the price. (Hello, doctors, hospitals, and meds.) Cleaning up our plates is one of the simplest and most profound ways we can take better care of ourselves on a day-to-day basis. By decreasing our consumption of the nasty stuff-and boosting our intake of whole, nutritionally dense, plant-based foods and the occasional slab of omega-3-rich seafood-we'll enjoy a spike in health, energy, and maybe even longevity.
Doing away with foods rich in saturated fats (meats and dairy) and introducing those brimming in omega-3s (seafood) is part of our plan.
As it turns out, the government agrees. A 2015 report issued by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee found that the American diet is "suboptimal and has major adverse health consequences"; it is "low in vegetables, fruit, and whole grains and high in sodium, calories, saturated fat, refined grains, and added sugars."
Their recommendation? A largely plant-based diet "higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, legumes, and nuts . . . and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains."
A later 2015 report by the World Health Organization determined that consuming processed meats like hot dogs, ham, and bacon increases the risk of colon cancer and that eating red meats-including beef, veal, pork, and lamb-may heighten the risk as well.
Meat Packs a Nasty Environmental Punch
Raising livestock for meat exerts a huge toll on the environment. The industry has an unquenchable thirst for land, water, and other precious resources, and pollutes like crazy: More than half the global greenhouse-gas emissions come from, yes, flatulent cows and pigs; plus, untreated animal waste makes its ways into rivers and streams.
Speaking of water, it takes 850 gallons of H2O to produce an 8-ounce portion of beef and 330 gallons for 6 ounces of pork. By comparison, an 8-ounce serving of kale "drinks" just 18 gallons.
Meat production also goes against the grain: About 13 pounds of the stuff is needed for just one pound of beef. That means more than half the world's crops are grown to feed livestock-not humans.
Oil, We Love You, But . . .
You've heard the news: Certain vegetable oils are good for your heart. Right? Well, like many claims in the food world, there's some controversy surrounding the oils-are-healthy assertion.
Detractors believe that oil-while plant based-is not a whole food, since its nutrients and fiber have been squeezed out. What's left is just a fat- and calorie-dense liquid that merely serves to pack on the pounds and clog arteries. (Better options: Eat the olives, not the olive oil; the sesame seeds, not the sesame-seed oil; the coconut, not the coconut oil. You get the idea.)
While all that's debatable and we haven't sworn off oil completely, we've learned to use it sparingly. For example, you don't need oil for sautéing-a dry pan with a touch of water or other liquid works beautifully. Oils in baked-good recipes have suitable replacements, like applesauce. Salad dressings can be made without oils and still taste rich and delicious.
Our collection of oil-free recipes (beginning on page 64) gives you plenty of proof. You'll save hundreds of calories and likely won't taste the difference.
So next time you reach for that bottle of oil, ask yourself: Do I really need it? Do I really want it? Will I even taste the difference? Instead of dousing your food in that caloric, high-fat olive or coconut oil, you may just want to slather it on your skin and hair-they make wonderful natural moisturizers!
Chapter 4
Seagan Staples Shopping List
Wondering how a seagan stocks her kitchen? Here's what you'll find in our pantries, cupboards, and fridge-lots of healthful staples for easy, creative cooking at the drop of a hat.
Baking Ingredients
Arrowroot powder (root starch that acts as a thickener)
Baking powder (aluminum free)
Baking soda
Cacao nibs
Chocolate chips-dark or semi-sweet; check label for no dairy (cocoa butter is not dairy-it's the cocoa's natural fat)
Cocoa or cacao powder-unsweetened (avoid Dutch-processed or alkalized varieties, which strip the cocoa powder of up to 90 percent of its antioxidants)
Cornmeal
Flour (white whole-wheat and whole-wheat pastry are the best choices for baking)
Maple syrup
Molasses
Sugar-brown, confectioners’, and white cane (vegan or organic)
Vanilla extract
Beans and Legumes
Beans (dried or canned; buy BPA-free cans when possible)-black, cannellini, garbanzo, great northern, kidney, lima, navy, pink, white, and so forth
Lentils (dried)
Beverages
Coconut water
Coffee (preferably organic)
Kombucha (only in Lisa’s pantry; it makes Amy sleepy)
Sparkling water-plain and/or flavored (no sugar or sweeteners)
Seduced by Seafood
Some Will Say We're Sleeping with the Enemy
Others will call it bait-and-switch. As authors of a how-to-go-vegan guide and cookbook, The Vegan Cheat Sheet, we know we're taking a bit of a risk by admitting to this doozy of a no-no: cheating with seafood.
Both of us went vegan for health reasons, and we followed that regimen for many years. Now we've converted to a seagan (seafood + vegan) diet, also for health reasons. Plant-based foods still comprise the bulk of our daily diets and deliver nearly every nutrient our bodies crave. But, after doing tons of research, we decided that the high-quality, essential omega-3 fatty acids you can get only from fish were a missing link-and it was time to take the plunge.
This wasn't an easy choice. Not all seafood is good for you (mercury!). Not all seafood is sustainable (overfishing!). And, of course, ethical vegans will find our infidelity unforgivable. But we believe there's a right way to go seagan, and we do our darndest to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions about which fish to eat (or not).
You Can Easily Get Hooked
For the gazillions of omnivores out there, becoming seagan is a healthy compromise that feels a lot more doable than going "whole-hog" vegan. While we found the vegan diet surprisingly easy and satisfying, we know most people will go vegan only-to quote a friend-"when hell freezes over."
Seaganism is both approachable and-we believe-the new gold standard for healthful eating. It not only allows for more meal variety and supplies our bodies with precious omega-3s, but it makes life easier when eating out.
This Book Isn't for One-Track-Mind Diet Purists
It's for those who:
Flounder in the "messy middle" as they strive to look and feel their best but simply can't accommodate a militant, all-or-nothing approach
Prefer to make small, incremental changes to their diets rather than drastic overhauls
May ultimately long to go vegan but prefer to do it in baby steps-they can ditch the unhealthiest stuff first and use seafood as a bridge to full-fledged veganhood
Our Goal Is Overall Health
It's easy to be a fat, nutrient-deprived vegan or seagan (think potato chips and fried shrimp). That's why we share tons of tips on how to shop, cook, and eat better and more mindfully.
We don't believe in deprivation diets, or, for that matter, even counting calories. Our stance is simply this:
Follow a well-balanced, mostly vegan diet
Eat fish two to three times a week, as recommended by the American Heart Association (Note: while not all seafood is technically "fish"-crustaceans and mollusks, for example-we use the term broadly to encompass all these sea creatures)
Cut way back on junk
Indulge now and then
We Take You to Market
Whether in a local fish market or a supersize grocery store, food shopping has gotten complicated and confusing: Should I buy the farm-raised or wild-caught salmon? What's all that gibberish on the ingredient label-and should I be wary? Do I really have to spring for the organic apples? Why all the fuss about GMOs (genetically modified organisms)? Which "superfood" is in vogue? Last week is was goji berries, this week it's bulletproof (buttered) coffee.
Argh!
We unravel all that and share some teeny-tiny ways you can punch up your nutritional intake (they're called nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices). We give you shopping lists, fish-buying recommendations, restaurant advice, weekly meal menus, and lots more scoop inside this handy, take-everywhere guide.
Best of all, you get tons of Amy's decadent recipes-proving you can eat luxuriously and healthfully every single day. Most are super easy to make, all are oil-free, and every single one is a crowd pleaser.
Anyone who knows us can vouch that we love food-rich, flavorful food, right down to our crab mac and cheese and frosted fudge brownies. You'll find those recipes (and many more) in the pages that follow.
Hooked yet? Read on-we think you'll love being seagan as much as we do.
Chapter 2
Why We Cheated on Plants
How did two random women-one living in Colorado, the other in New Jersey-come to follow a similar eating path and decide to write about it?
Quick rewind: Years ago, we met in New York City while working at People magazine and became fast friends, running sidekicks, and eating buddies. (If you'd ever tried Amy's homemade meatballs, you'd finagle a way to be her friend, too.)
Eventually separated by geography (Lisa moved to Costa Rica, Mexico, and New Jersey; Amy went to California, Ohio, and Colorado), we remained close and continued to share our passion for food, health, and exercise.
In 2013 we co-wrote our first book, The Vegan Cheat Sheet. Our friendship survived that collaboration and now we're back for round two.
Here's the rest of our vegan-to-seagan journey.
Amy's Story
My husband, Ken, and I swore off animal products in an effort to naturally lower his genetically high cholesterol (he'd been on meds for years and hated their side effects). For more than ten years, I was a fairly strict vegan.
The change in diet worked fabulously. We followed the stringent vegan, no-oil guidelines set forth by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. in his book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. It didn't hurt that I was a chef and could turn out some pretty mean dishes. I loved experimenting with new recipes and eventually approached my writer friend (and now coauthor), Lisa, about collaborating on a simple guide to going vegan. That idea resulted in our first book, The Vegan Cheat Sheet.
Not long ago, while on vacation, I found myself in a famous New Hampshire lobster restaurant surrounded by veganish and carnivorous friends. For several years I'd hidden my "dirty little secret": I occasionally ate fish. Oh my! So I chose that moment to "come out" to my friends and boldly ordered a two-pound lobster. Go big or go home.
My so-called friends pulled out their phones and tried to snap pictures of my scandalous cheat. I quickly attempted to confiscate all electronic devices and declared that I was just being a tad naughty, since I was on the road and away from my home kitchen. I guess I wasn't ready to embrace my belief in the health benefits of eating seafood.
Over the next months, I did a lot more research on the reasons why eating fish can be a very good thing. I am now a proud seagan!
Lisa's Story
With the encouragement of Amy-and in the hopes of winning a family get-fit weight-loss challenge-I decided to go vegan "for a month," thinking it would be a boring starvation diet with little more than carrot sticks and tofu on the "approved" list.
Boy, was I wrong. Not only did I eat a ton, I discovered a whole new world of flavors and foods. It was an exciting change, I felt amazing, and going vegan was so much easier and more fun than I had ever imagined. I stuck with it for years.
But being the health fanatic and research-obsessed person I am, I started learning more and more about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids. Vegans will say you can get these essential fatty acids from certain plants-and that's true, to a degree. Fish, however, are the sole source of the healthiest forms of omega-3s-EPA and DHA (we explain all that in Chapter 5, The Health Benefits of Seafood, page 19)-and so I had to rethink my plan.
Seafood simply offered too many benefits for me to overlook its importance. So I started eating fish now and then. It wasn't an easy decision. I had a lot at stake in the vegan world-our book and my reputation, for starters. Like Amy, I "cheated" surreptitiously at first. The vegan police were out in hordes, pointing out my every transgression: "That's not vegan!" "Fish isn't vegan!" Arrest me then!
I've since made peace with all that, gone public with my vegan infraction, and have come to embrace the seagan way.
Chapter 3
What the Fluke Do Seagans Eat?
Here's what we're not: doctors or nutritionists or scientists.
Here's what we are: a pair of health-enthusiast foodies and research fanatics. What follows is the result of our exhaustive nutritional "fishing expedition"-and the reason for our vegan-to-seagan transformation.
During our fact-finding mission, we became frustrated with all the misconceptions, misrepresentations, and industry "secrets" that make it hard to choose food wisely. We give you a road map for easier, healthier decision-making.
So What Exactly Do Seagans Eat?
We follow a vegan (plant-based) diet-that includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains-with one allowance: seafood. No red meat, no pork, no poultry, no eggs, no dairy. And because we strive to be healthy seagans, we try to avoid a lot of sugar, oils, fried foods, artificial chemicals, and junk like that. (The operative word is strive. We're not perfect.)
There are arguments for and against just about any diet you can think of, and it's easy enough to hear what you want to hear (we're praying that the hot-fudge sundae will one day be declared a superfood).
It all boils down to this: Choose what works for you. We believe seaganism is an incredibly healthful, easy, and satisfying way to eat.
So let's start with why we ditched dairy and meat and limit our oil intake. For the detailed lowdown on seafood, check out The Health Benefits of Seafood on page 19.
Bye-Bye, Meat, Dairy, and Eggs
So long, Amy's veal Milanese. Good riddance, cheesy omelets. It was nice knowing you, ice cream. I'll never meet a smoother snack than you, Greek yogurt. Ah, breaking up is hard to do. But like many breakups, it can open the door to healthier relationships.
Our decision to go splitsville with these admittedly delicious foods was not a capricious one. No one in her right mind parts ways with Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Half Baked without a damn good reason. Or several. Here are ours:
Americans' waistlines are expanding, with more than a third of adults now classified as "obese" and two-thirds as "overweight or obese." Childhood obesity is on the rise, too.
We're a sick nation. Despite our access to one of the most advanced health-care systems in the world, we suffer from ever-increasing rates of chronic ailments and life-threatening illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer's.
We are what we eat-and if what we eat is high in fat, sugar, and other disease-promoting muck, we'll likely pay the price. (Hello, doctors, hospitals, and meds.) Cleaning up our plates is one of the simplest and most profound ways we can take better care of ourselves on a day-to-day basis. By decreasing our consumption of the nasty stuff-and boosting our intake of whole, nutritionally dense, plant-based foods and the occasional slab of omega-3-rich seafood-we'll enjoy a spike in health, energy, and maybe even longevity.
Doing away with foods rich in saturated fats (meats and dairy) and introducing those brimming in omega-3s (seafood) is part of our plan.
As it turns out, the government agrees. A 2015 report issued by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee found that the American diet is "suboptimal and has major adverse health consequences"; it is "low in vegetables, fruit, and whole grains and high in sodium, calories, saturated fat, refined grains, and added sugars."
Their recommendation? A largely plant-based diet "higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, legumes, and nuts . . . and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains."
A later 2015 report by the World Health Organization determined that consuming processed meats like hot dogs, ham, and bacon increases the risk of colon cancer and that eating red meats-including beef, veal, pork, and lamb-may heighten the risk as well.
Meat Packs a Nasty Environmental Punch
Raising livestock for meat exerts a huge toll on the environment. The industry has an unquenchable thirst for land, water, and other precious resources, and pollutes like crazy: More than half the global greenhouse-gas emissions come from, yes, flatulent cows and pigs; plus, untreated animal waste makes its ways into rivers and streams.
Speaking of water, it takes 850 gallons of H2O to produce an 8-ounce portion of beef and 330 gallons for 6 ounces of pork. By comparison, an 8-ounce serving of kale "drinks" just 18 gallons.
Meat production also goes against the grain: About 13 pounds of the stuff is needed for just one pound of beef. That means more than half the world's crops are grown to feed livestock-not humans.
Oil, We Love You, But . . .
You've heard the news: Certain vegetable oils are good for your heart. Right? Well, like many claims in the food world, there's some controversy surrounding the oils-are-healthy assertion.
Detractors believe that oil-while plant based-is not a whole food, since its nutrients and fiber have been squeezed out. What's left is just a fat- and calorie-dense liquid that merely serves to pack on the pounds and clog arteries. (Better options: Eat the olives, not the olive oil; the sesame seeds, not the sesame-seed oil; the coconut, not the coconut oil. You get the idea.)
While all that's debatable and we haven't sworn off oil completely, we've learned to use it sparingly. For example, you don't need oil for sautéing-a dry pan with a touch of water or other liquid works beautifully. Oils in baked-good recipes have suitable replacements, like applesauce. Salad dressings can be made without oils and still taste rich and delicious.
Our collection of oil-free recipes (beginning on page 64) gives you plenty of proof. You'll save hundreds of calories and likely won't taste the difference.
So next time you reach for that bottle of oil, ask yourself: Do I really need it? Do I really want it? Will I even taste the difference? Instead of dousing your food in that caloric, high-fat olive or coconut oil, you may just want to slather it on your skin and hair-they make wonderful natural moisturizers!
Chapter 4
Seagan Staples Shopping List
Wondering how a seagan stocks her kitchen? Here's what you'll find in our pantries, cupboards, and fridge-lots of healthful staples for easy, creative cooking at the drop of a hat.
Baking Ingredients
Arrowroot powder (root starch that acts as a thickener)
Baking powder (aluminum free)
Baking soda
Cacao nibs
Chocolate chips-dark or semi-sweet; check label for no dairy (cocoa butter is not dairy-it's the cocoa's natural fat)
Cocoa or cacao powder-unsweetened (avoid Dutch-processed or alkalized varieties, which strip the cocoa powder of up to 90 percent of its antioxidants)
Cornmeal
Flour (white whole-wheat and whole-wheat pastry are the best choices for baking)
Maple syrup
Molasses
Sugar-brown, confectioners’, and white cane (vegan or organic)
Vanilla extract
Beans and Legumes
Beans (dried or canned; buy BPA-free cans when possible)-black, cannellini, garbanzo, great northern, kidney, lima, navy, pink, white, and so forth
Lentils (dried)
Beverages
Coconut water
Coffee (preferably organic)
Kombucha (only in Lisa’s pantry; it makes Amy sleepy)
Sparkling water-plain and/or flavored (no sugar or sweeteners)
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- PublisherTarcherPerigee
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 0399176942
- ISBN 13 9780399176944
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages272
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