Vegan Cooking for Taste and Health :: Hudson-Mohawk Road Runners Club

Vegan Cooking for Taste and Health

by Christine Bishop

I have wanted to explore the vegan alternative to eating and living so when I heard that Danielle Kollarus-Maslowsky, a distinguished runner, and Anouk Booneman, a graduate of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), were offering a Spring Into Health Workshop featuring a talk by Bill Hoffman, who is a vegan and also writes the great column for the Pace Setter, Tales from the Trail and where we as participants would feast on four vegan recipes made by us with the help of Anouk and Danielle: Who could resist! So off Charles and I went for a fantastic talk by Bill about running the Leadville 100 (100 as in miles!) with the help of our own Tom O’Grady, and a vegan super supper prepared by us with the help of Anouk and Danielle.

Veganists basically follow a diet that gets protein from plant-based sources and eschews eating or using any animal based substances. So a veganist does not eat honey as it comes from bees, eggs, fish, poultry, and meat. Veganism extends to more than eating. Any products made out of animal parts are avoided such as wool, furs, suede, silk, feathers, and leather. The diet may sound unhealthy but it is not as long as vitamin B-12 is added along with occasional supplements. In fact, many dieticians think a vegan diet is one of the healthiest as it helps to lower body mass index and blood pressure; reduce risks for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Of interest is to compare the most vegan friendly countries’ life expectancy to ours, which is 76 years Males (M) 81 years Females (F). Interestingly Canada’s is 80 M, 84 F.

The Most Vegan Friendly Countries in the World with life expectancy

Taiwan (M 80 - F 85)
South Korea (M 79.5 – F 85.6)
Italy (M 80.5 - F 84.9)
Austria (M 79.4 – F 84.2)
Turkey (M 73.3 – F 79.4
India (M and F the same 69.5)

Japan has the longest life expectancy in the world – M 81 and F 87. Their diet is rich in vegetables and low in calories. They have the lowest obesity rates in the world and also have world’s greatest number of centenarians.

For those who want to find out more about the vegan diet and life style, I am including links that Anouk has recommended with recipes to come next month.

Anouk's favorite blogs / websites

http://smittenkitchen.com

http://www.mynewroots.org/site/

http://food52.com

Cook Books

http://www.amazon.com/Veganomicon-The-Ultimate-Vegan-Cookbook/dp/156924264X

http://www.amazon.com/The-No-Recipe-Cookbook-Beginners/dp/1620876167

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/books

Books

http://www.amazon.com/Foodist-Science-Weight-Without-Dieting/dp/0062201255/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403524589&sr=8-1&keywords=foodist

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-An-Eaters-Manual/dp/0143124102/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403524664&sr=8-2&keywords=food+rules

https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Fat-Get-Thin-Sustained/dp/0316338834