#but i cannot subsist solely on cheese

[ghostoffuturespast]

Double helping this Fem V Friday.

I treated myself to some early holiday presents and one of them was some VP commissions from the lovely and incredible @breezypunk!

They were sweet enough to throw in a couple of freebie portraits of Grandpa with the rest of the ones I commed 🥲 Def recommend commissioning them! Their VP is lovely, they were super easy to work with, and not too expensive if you don't have a ton of funds.

I handed them a chunk of change though, so expect to see the rest of the photosets over the next couple of Saturdays... (But not this one. Look, I've got it all mapped out, okay?)

[severelynerdysheep]

gaytheiestbandkid

My last response below, because while I respect that you blocked me (though I have no clue why) the fact that you did you after making your own response that I then cant respond to via reblog is a tad iffy. And I at least feel that I should be able to post my own response anywhoo even if I cant do so directly. If not only cause I spent a heck of a time writing this “^^

“ done yet? if you have the idea that there’s a “carnist bias” in my post then you’ve got me all wrong. i wholeheartedly support taking down the animal agriculture industry.”

Well it certainly looks like you don't support the abolishment of the animal ag industry since you pay for it when its possible and practicable to avoid doing so. You literally called the social justice movement dedicated to taking down this industry along with every other form of animal exploitation a “cult” and you make a post filled with lies and misrepresentation about animal agriculture and plant based diets. As well as promoting as supporting the needless consumption of animal flesh/secretions as a “personal choice tho”. If that isn't bias then water isn't wet.

“ by means that actually work rather than putting a band-aid on a gushing arterial wound, by means that people can get on board with rather than moral absolutism.”

Any solution which doesn't include the avoidance of all forms of animal exploitation as far as possible an practicable as the very least that people with moral agency have a moral obligation to do. Any solution which spreads lies an misinformation about the form of injustice attempting to be abolished, any solution which places sole blame on capitalism, which absolutely doesn't work with animal exploitation since is would exists in any system. Is not a solution in any sense of the word.

By your logic its fine to support/inflict violence against women because having the basic requirement that people shouldn't inflict  violence/exploitation absent others as individuals is just a “band aid” for a gushing would in any social justice movement. Instead of holding said people who claim to oppose said injustice while inflicting it accountable as adult in control of their own actions. And yes being opposed to people needlessly exploiting, abusing/torturing and murdering other sentient beings of another species for their own personal pleasure is intrinsically an issue of rights and wrongs. Just like its an issue of rights and wrongs when victims are humans because all victims are sentient. If saying needless violence, exploitation and murder is wrong is moral absolutism. Then I would hope that the vast majority of people would happily sign up to stand on that hill.  

“ and your response to the “buying local” point is clearly emotion-based and disingenuous. the point was clearly about environmental impact, yet you made it about the poow suffewing animaws”

Fist of all, you simply said “the only way to truly have a low-impact diet “ So you could have been talking about either the ethical or environmental impact. Secondly, you seemed to have missed the whole of the part before I talked about the ethics (which is the most important issue, and its simply disgusting that you would joke around about that. Yes they are suffering and people like yourself are responsible) And I will link to the section where I explained why your “buy local” for the environment argument is wrong.

So locality means very little when it comes the the environmental impact of a food, with transport costs being just one small fraction of the overall footprint of a food item as It has been demonstrated that an average of 83% of a food product’s carbon footprint is caused during production. And transportation accounts for only 11% of the product’s greenhouse gas emissions. This means that choosing a plant-based option will always have a far lower impact than even the flesh of locally raised, exploited, abused/tortured and murdered animals, even when it is imported from abroad. Simply put, the idea that “buying local” in in any way comparable to (let alone better than) doing your best to avoid supporting the injustice that is animal agriculture as a consumer when it comes to either envionemtat impact is simply not based on facts.

“i don’t remember saying people should go out of their way to buy meat locally? only that they should buy locally in general if they claim to be making near-zero impact”

I mean in a post dedicated to spreading falsehoods about animal agriculture, I think its pretty safe to assume that you were trying to claim that a diet than including animal flesh/secretions that is entirely locally brought has a lower impact on the environment than a plant based diet which isn't fully local. Which isn't true. I’m happy to be corrected though, if you weren't saying that, and you recognise that even a fully local diet that includes animal flesh/secretions has a much bigger impact than a non local plant based diet.

“ by holding those in power rather than the everyday civilian accountable for massive-scale ecological destruction (telling me the 71% statistic is about fossil fuels in no way undermines the broader point of bringing it up.”

Your specific claim was “100 companies are responsible for over 70% of human-linked carbon emissions; as an everyday civilian, your carbon footprint is very nearly zero compared to that of big corporations, which are the real problem to begin with” This is a complete misunderstanding of the study and absolutely undermines the broader argument that you were trying to make. Since it in no way supports that argument. The study shows that 100 companies produced 71% of the fossil fuels which are then used by other industries and by consumers via their individual actions. 100 companies aren’t causing 71% of emissions, they’re producing 71% of fossil fuels. Those are completely different things. Completely different. Heck, the animal flesh industry (the industry exploded in this study) is responsible for as many GHG emissions as 70 of these companies combined. An industry which is exists entirely due to supply and demand. Individuals carbon footprints are included to make up both those 71% of fossil fuels as well as the GHG emissions from the animal flesh industry, let alone other animal ag/animal exploitation industries.

“ your pound-for-pound examination of food costs is yet another poorly-thought-out point without any nuance. 1) the low pound-for-pound costs of plant based foods are typically attributed to bulk prices and 2) you can’t ignore calorie density. someone unemployed or living paycheck to paycheck can feed themselves for longer on a $5 bag of chicken nuggets than on a bulk purchase of plant-based foods, many of which will go bad within the same time frame anyways.“

Again, this isn't true. I wasn't talking about pound just as in weight, I was talking about pound as in money. So say an average daily intake of 2500 calories is generally the cheapest when it comes to pounds (as in £) worldwide compared to the same amount of calories on a diet that included animal flesh and secretions. Which is one reason why the poorest population subsist on primarily plant based diets. This is because the cheapest items are the staple items such as the rice, pasta, potatoes, beans and lentils, tinned veg/fruit, oats, etc. All of which are staple items which are included in the diet of those who consume animal flesh anyway. For example, people can feed themselves for longer on pasta and tomato sauce, or rice and beans, than a bag of breaded chicken flesh. And the bag of breaded chicken flesh will go of sooner than the former foods. with the former being full meals as opposed to breaded chicken flesh which you would eat with something else.

Sure, bulk buying is a great way to shop if you can, but even if you aren't talking about bulk buying, a plant based diet is still the cheapest worldwide. As I explained in my original response. Not surprising then that double the percent of vegans are in the lowest come bracket compared to middle and higher incomes.

And your original claim was that many people cannot go plant based (or vegan) because vegan products are more expensive than their non vegan counterparts. Never mind that fact that you don't have to eat plant based meats, cheeses, ice cream etc.. of a plant based diet.

But lets use these plant based alternatives to compare to their non vegan counterparts for a sec:

~  At Asda you can buy 8 plant based burgers from their own brand frozen range much cheaper than Asda’s own brand frozen animal flesh burgers. 1.75p for 8 plant based burgers vs 2.00p for only 4 animal flesh burgers. And this is the same for pretty much every UK Food store brand.

~ Let’s look at cheese and look at its costs at Tesco, another popular supermarket. A 200g block of own brand Tesco cheese is exactly the same price as 200g of vegan cheese being sold.

Of course if you include these plant based products it will be more expensive than sticking to the staples, your diet will probably be closer to that of someone who doesn't eat a plant based diet. But if you stick to the staples then yes, its absolutely cheaper. And I did link to lot of sources of more information which it looks like you didn't check out unfortunately.  

!i’m hesitant to bring up this point because it really does get misused by non-vegans a lot, but the industries for plant-based foods aren’t the pinnacle of morality. many plant food industries– including those that vegans partake in far more than non-vegans, subject workers in developing areas to literal slave labor in downright horrible conditions.”

Can you tell me which specific industries vegans take part in more than non vegans which are ethically worse than the non vegan equivalent? Keeping in mind both that no vegan claims to be 100% cruelty free as a consumer, and that the diet of a non vegan includes far more plant crops (and therefore more crop labour/worker exploitation) than a vegans does. Nobody is saying that being vegan is the most you can do, its literally the least you can and should do. Its the baseline, the starting line, the very basic requirements for anyone who claims to have consideration for others. And really, I don't see what this has to do with any of the falsehoods made in the OP? It’s is a pretty big deflection it seems from any of the claims made in the OP.

“ there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. getting hung up on the specifics of what kinds of consumption are/aren’t ethical implies that absolutely everything we eat or use or otherwise consume is a product of exploitation, misses the point, and designates the public as the public enemy rather than the ones running the system.”

Are you trying to use the statement “there's no ethical consumption under capitalism” to justify the individual actions of consumers place all of the blame on capitalism? Because that is completely bananas.

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

This fab article by WorkingClass Vegan

A great post on this very site by @mickibuddy here

Quick edit: @mohs-hardness-scale I saw you reblogged my response with a  response of you own, though I can only see the first part of your reply that says “its not my job to provide you with sources. Google exists” since your friend blocked me and deleted almost all notes on their post. I wonder why. But please feel free to repeat your response via reblog of this post So I can have the common curtesy of being able to respond. Or if you don't want a public dialogue my ask box is always open. 

[whitespired-blog]

on cole and becoming human.

a list of things cole has to deal with after his personal quest.

eating and sleeping.

and other general human needs that come along with it, like, say, using the privy. he’s not initially a fan of eating (he says blech! when blackwall mentions it) - both because the first time he tries something he really dislikes, it makes him not want to try anything else ever for a little bit, and also the whole process is sort of. something he initially wishes he didn’t have to bother with. like, it’s so much work?? putting food in you three times a day?? for the first while, he keeps forgetting he needs to - which actually doesn’t affect him as badly as it would someone else, he still takes some energy from the old songs, but it does add up after a while, and then you’ve got a grumpy cole experiencing low blood sugar for the first time. 

he does warm to it eventually, though. and, surprising absolutely no one, develops a killer sweet tooth. literally just give him all the pastries. actually, you may have to remind him that he cannot subsist solely on pastries, and steer him towards vegetables. he also likes fruits, over-spiced meat, and cider. he hates cheese, though. cheese is a personal affront.

as for sleeping - he mostly likes it. he’s fascinated by dreams, as they become his main connection to the fade; like mages, he has a level of control over his dreams that stems from his memories of the fade. he does, however, have nightmares sometimes, generally when his conscious mind is feeling overwhelmed, and he isn’t very good at handling them. he tends to have nightmares either about the original cole and being back in the spire (alone in the dark, unseen, unremembered, terrified of fading away), or about being bound and used to do evil (undone, unraveled, twisted to terror, purpose perverted). 

fatigue and overstimulation.

as a spirit, helping people was never particularly draining to cole. this ties into the fact that he didn’t remember the details of his interactions with the people he helped afterwards, so he didn’t carry the weight of them around with him. it was easy to go from person to person, letting their pain slide through him and away. it didn’t stick. now it does. it wasn’t personal before, but now their pain becomes his own, a little, every time; it doesn’t wash away. for the first time he has to deal with real emotional fatigue.

and that’s difficult. on the one hand, he doesn’t hear people’s pain as clearly as he used to, unless he wants to (his own “noise” drowns it out), so it is easier to block it out if he can’t handle it. but he’s not good at recognizing when it’s too much, or knowing to stop. he’s going to try to continue helping people, even though it hurts, and may accidentally take on too much, until the emotional toll becomes overwhelming for him. that’s when it’s important for someone to remind him to take breaks, that humans can’t take on too much of other people’s suffering, that it’s damaging. it’s difficult for him to reconcile that, because who is he if he can’t help?

he also gets overstimulated more easily, both because people’s pain becomes more personal for him, and because he isn’t used to being the target of attention. he’s more real, which makes the world more real, and he can feel people watching him, knowing him, the weight of their recognition sticks to him, heavy. plus, sometimes he has a hard time separating his thoughts from the thoughts of people around him. all together it can get overstimulating and distressing, and he has to escape to somewhere quiet or risk lashing out.

also, he just gets headaches. whether from people’s pain, or from overstimulation, or from the frustration of trying to grasp complex concepts he couldn’t understand before (discussed below), he gets headaches of varying intensity, which is new for him.

morality, consequences, purpose.

this kind of ties into this meta, but a very real thing that cole has to sort through is his change in perception. as a spirit, he had a limited perception and capacity to learn. now, as a human, the fact that he can remember things and process how people react to him help him learn and grow in his understanding of the world. but it’s a difficult process.

cole: it hurts. everything hurts. everyone remembers me now. i can only make them miss me for a few heartbeats. but...i’m real. more real anyway. and i understand more than i did. cole: i remember more things, though. it lets me learn. i sometimes see why something i said bothers cullen. maybe i’ll do it less.

iron bull: hey, cole, did you know the servants at skyhold remember you now? cole: yes. i’m more real. what they feel sticks, holding, heavy. i can't wash it away, but it lets me learn.

cole: i was wrong to kill lambert, wasn't i, cassandra? cassandra: what made you change your mind? cole: i can see more. i could have helped the rebel mages. i could have warned someone. things are connected, tied in a tangle. fixing one thing might break something else. how do you do it?

the more he remembers, the more he begins to understand, but it’s confusing. it was easier back when he was one thing, one emotion and one purpose, when he thought the world was a particular way. now he can see how much harder it is than he thought, to make things right, when tugging the tangle one way might knot something else up. he honestly doesn’t understand how people can go through life, making mistakes without being able to start over and correct them, making decisions that might make things worse later on, not knowing what will happen.

he’s used to barely existing. his choices never mattered much before, because he never mattered. he made only a small imprint on the world, footprints washed away in the sand, it wasn’t about him, only about helping. but now he exists, solidly, and the choices he makes stick with him, and he’ll have to accept their consequences. it’s a frightening thing, coming to terms with being real, knowing that something you do now may hurt someone else later, and everyone will know it was you. he compensates by trying to understand, trying to learn, what things are right and what aren’t. but humans are tangled and complex, and it’s hard. and unlike most people, he wasn’t raised into the understanding that it’s going to be hard. things were simple until they weren’t. it’s a shock.

he also has a bit of a - well, an identity crisis. as a spirit, he was. he was compassion. that was his purpose and he understood it. but humans build themselves. they choose what to be, and that’s a bit of ah overwhelming concept. not knowing your purpose, having to decide it for yourself, having to understand your own wants (knowing that they could change at any moment) - how do you handle that? he has to figure out all over again what he’s supposed to be. especially if the inquisition is disbanded, because at least up until then he could define himself as part of a whole. it’s harder to understand himself, as an individual.

[derrickappleus]

Pantry Essentials for Your Plant-Based Kitchen

Seven years ago, I weighed 340 pounds and had a 52-inch waist. My cooking skills were limited to microwaving packaged foods and boiling Top Ramen. I primarily subsisted on a “window diet,” meaning most of my meals were prepared by someone else and handed to me through my car window or the front door of my home. Then, as described in my new book, Walking with Peety, the Dog Who Saved My Life, I turned my health around by switching to a plant-based diet, and by adopting a dog and walking him for a half hour twice daily. After some trial and error, I’ve learned how to best manage a plant-based diet, and I’ve put together a list of pantry essentials for your plant-based kitchen to help you get started, too.

As part of my journey to a healthy weight, I learned to prepare my own meals from whole plants. Out of season and during winter months, I buy frozen and canned vegetables to fill in what I can’t buy fresh. I always make sure my canned foods have BPA (Bisphenol A) free liners. BPA is a polycarbonate resin used in many food containers that has been linked to various health problems, including obesity, cancer and enlarged breasts in men.

I also learned what bulk foods and ingredients to stock in my pantry to supplement the fresh plants I prepared, and how to cook those products. By learning how to cook my own meals and changing from a standard American diet to a plant based diet, I lost 150 pounds in less than one year, and have maintained my new 185-pound weight and 33-inch waist ever since.

The main bulk foods and ingredients always stocked in my pantry include:

Arrowroot powder and cornstarch:

Excellent thickeners for sauces, gravies, with various uses in baking.

Baking products:

I have known several people to gain weight after transitioning to a plant based diet, because that is when they learned to bake. Baked goods are calorie dense foods that should be minimized or avoided if you want to lose or maintain your weight. If you aren’t trying to manage your weight, there are thousands of excellent standard and gluten-free vegan baking recipes on the Internet, just search and try the ones that look good to you. In my limited baking, I get by nicely with these products:

Try-

Baking powder: Baking powder leavens bread by causing an acid-base reaction to release carbon dioxide gas bubbles into batter or dough. Double acting baking powder causes this reaction twice, first when added to the dough or batter, and again when heated in the oven during baking. There are many brands of baking powder, so look for one that is both double acting and aluminum free, based on health concerns about ingesting aluminum.

Baking soda: This is another leavening agent that produces gas bubbles to lighten and improve the texture of baked goods. Baking soda must interact with an acidic ingredient to produce this reaction, and apple cider vinegar is an ideal reactant. The only active ingredient in baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, so I recommend a pure formulation with no additional ingredients.

Yeast: Active yeast is another leavening agent, and depending on the recipe, may be used instead of, or in addition to, baking powder and baking soda.

Flax seed and aquafaba: I use each of these products as egg replacements in baking. To replace one egg with flax seed, mix 1 tbsp ground flax seed with 2 tbsp of water, whisk well, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.  The result will be a sticky egg substitute. Or use aquafaba, which is the liquid byproduct from cooking garbanzo beans. Use three tbsp of aquafaba from a can of chickpeas as a complete egg replacement in baking. You can make your own aquafaba by saving the leftover liquid from cooking chickpeas in your slow cooker, and freeze excess liquid for later use in ice cube trays.

Flours: I don’t use wheat flour because I’m gluten intolerant, but there is no harm using wheat flour if you do not have this limitation. I prefer Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour as a substitute for wheat flour, and rice flour, oat flour, and coconut flour for other baking and culinary uses.

Bread crumbs:

Why pay $3 or more for bread crumbs at the supermarket, when you only need to toast a few slices of bread and drop them into a food processor or blender to make crumbs.

Coconut cream:

I keep a few cans of coconut cream in my pantry for use in sauces and other recipes.  The difference between coconut cream, coconut “milk” and reduced calorie or “lite” coconut milk involves the proportion of water in each, so I just use coconut cream and thin as needed.

Legumes:

Legumes, including beans, offer excellent nutrition and high protein, and provide the full spectrum of amino acids when served with rice. Canned beans are convenient, but beans made from scratch can be made to taste better, with the lowest cost per serving of just about any meal. You can buy dry beans in bulk for pennies on the dollar compared to canned beans. As a rule, one cup of dried beans equals three cups cooked.  I usually cook as many beans as I can eat in a week, since beans keep well for up to a week in the refrigerator, and almost indefinitely frozen. Dried beans yield the best result when cooked within a year after harvested. Beans cook faster, more uniformly and may be easier to digest when soaked overnight before cooking, and with salt in the water. The gaseous properties of beans may be minimized by adding a piece of kombu (seaweed) to the water before cooking. Other legumes, such as adzuki beans and lentils, cook quickly and don’t require soaking, and are great additions to soups and salads. I always keep my pantry stocked with pinto beans, black beans, red beans, and lentils.

Nuts:

I use cashews to make ice creams, imitation cheese sauces, and other recipes requiring a creamy texture. For best results, soak cashews for at least 30 minutes then puree with the least water possible in a high-speed blender. I also use almonds, and walnuts in various recipes. To toast nuts, preheat your oven to 350° F and spread them on a baking sheet. Different nuts require different toasting times, usually between 5 and 15 minutes. When you smell your nuts from the oven, they are done. Nuts are high in fat, and should be used sparingly, if at all, if you are trying to lose or maintain weight.

Oats:

Oats provide a concentrated source of fiber and nutrients and a legion of health benefits. As a breakfast food and baking ingredient, I prefer old-fashioned oats to steel cut and other types of oats. Oats are listed within the category of “gluten grains,” but as someone clinically diagnosed as gluten intolerant, I do not have any gluten reaction to oats, while I do with wheat. Buy no more oats than you can use within two months, since oats go rancid more quickly than other grains.

Onions:

I use onions in most of my cooking.  Onions can be grouped into two main types: (1) expensive artisanal varieties of sweet onions, and (2) more familiar varieties commonly found in supermarkets.  The first type, sweet onions, are usually only available from April through August, depending on place of harvest. These include the Walla Walla from Washington, “1015” from Texas, Vidalia from Georgia, and Maui sweet onions from Hawaii. Each of these onions have a fabulous light flavor. You should buy and use them for all cooking needs when in season and affordable. Common onions are marketed by color, as yellow, white and red. These common onions are available year-round, have more pungent flavors, and are less expensive than sweet onions. Store all onions outside of the refrigerator. You should store them in wire or other ventilated baskets, and away from potatoes. The ethylene gas released by each potato will spoil the other. The nutrients of onions are most concentrated in their outer layers, so peel off as little of the outer layer as possible when prepping onions for cooking. And never throw away onion peels and tops, use them to make vegetable broth as described below.

Pastas:

I only use gluten-free pasta, and prefer Tinkyada brand organic pasta, which has brown rice as its sole ingredient. I prefer this brand because it holds its shape wonderfully in cooking, and friends often cannot tell the difference between it and wheat pasta. Whatever brand you use, be sure to read the ingredients to avoid pasta made with eggs.  I stock various shapes of dry pasta in my pantry, including penne, elbow, spaghetti, pad Thai noodles, and lasagna shapes.

Potatoes:

Baked, roasted, boiled or steamed, potatoes are a low calorie, high fiber comfort food with significant nutritional benefits. I only buy organic potatoes based on concerns about the toxic effect of different pesticides and herbicides used to treat non-organic potatoes. Potato skins are so nutritious and high in fiber that I leave them on for cooking.  Discard potatoes that are sprouting or have green tinted skin, since that indicates the presence of a toxin that may degrade taste and cause unwanted health effects. Store potatoes in a cool, dry, ventilated place away from onions, since each emit gases that may shorten the life of the other. These are the most common types of potatoes in US supermarkets, which I use for the purposes listed:

Red skin: Red potatoes have firm flesh and hold their shape well when diced. They are the worst to use for mashing but are great for potato salads, soups, and oven roasting.

Yukon gold: These moist, general purpose potatoes are great for mashing, baking, roasting, boiling, and grilling.

Russet: The most common potato in the US, these are light and fluffy, but do not hold their shape well when diced. Therefore, they are great mashed or baked, but are not a good choice for potato salads and other dishes that require diced potatoes.

Rice and Quinoa:

Rice makes up about half of the calories consumed by half of the world’s population.  I eat some type of rice almost every day, since it goes well with so many other foods. I primarily use brown rice, and use white rice only sparingly, since the process of converting brown rice into white removes most of the nutrients from the rice. A meal of brown rice and beans includes the full spectrum of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. No matter which rice you use, rinse it well before cooking to clean, reduce stickiness, and improve fluffiness. I often mix quinoa with brown rice in a 1:1 ratio to get the nutritional benefits of each grain, and enjoy this mixture as much as plain brown rice.  Rice and quinoa will store nicely for about six months in a dry, airtight container. I keep these varieties in my pantry for different uses:

Basmati: A long grain, aromatic brown rice primarily grown in India and Pakistan.

Jasmine: A long grain, aromatic rice in both brown and white varieties, primarily grown in Southeast Asia.

Paella rice: Traditional paella rice is exceptional at absorbing flavor and produces cooked grains that are nutty, dry and separate well. Some people substitute Arborio rice for paella rice, but in my experience Arborio produces a creamier result and is better suited to risotto. I prefer Matiz brand Valenciano rice in my paellas.

Quinoa: Quinoa is traditionally grown in the Andean region of South America. Quinoa has higher protein than rice and can be cooked and used in the same manner as rice. I stock both white and red quinoa in my pantry.

Sprouting Seeds:

Sprouts offer one the most cost effective, concentrated nutrition sources of any food, if you grow your own from seeds.  The cost of organic home-grown sprouts is just pennies per serving. Grow sprouts in one-quart Ball jars with stainless mesh screens and plastic screw tops. I consume sprouts every day in smoothies, salads and sandwiches. I always have these sprouts growing in jars next to my kitchen sink:

Try-

Mung Beans: Add 1/3 cup of mung beans into a one-quart sprout jar, fill with water, and allow to soak underwater overnight.  In the morning, drain, rinse and drain again. The only time you should allow the beans to soak covered in water is during the first 10-12 hours after you add them to the jar. After this initial soaking, drain, and then only “water” the beans by rinsing then completely draining them twice each day.  Harvest your beans when the jar is fully sprouted and filled, which should occur in 3-4 days. Once harvested, spread your sprouts out in a mesh bag and air dry them for a few hours. Store in refrigerator and consume within a week. You can store any excess in Ziploc gallon freezer bags. Defrost them at room temperature and consume within one year.

Broccoli seeds: Broccoli sprouts offer one of the most concentrated sources of nutrition of any food. One cup of organic broccoli sprouts costs about 25 cents to grow on your kitchen countertop, and contains about the same amount of the phytonutrient sulforaphane as 27 cups of broccoli. Start broccoli sprouts by adding 3 tbsp of seeds to a 1 quart sprouting jar. Next, grow and store exactly as described for mung beans above. The only difference is that broccoli sprouts will be slower to mature and typically fill your sprout jar in 5 to 6 days.

Seed mixes: To vary the nutrients I get from sprouts, I also use a few different seed mixes. I purchase most of my sprouting seeds from Sprout People. This is based on my long-term satisfaction with their germination rates.  My favorite seed mixes are Italian and French seed mixes. With each of those mixes, I use 2 tbsp of seeds in my sprouting jar. Then, I process exactly as described above for broccoli seeds.

Sweet potatoes:

Sweet potatoes and yams are members of different botanical families. Because of similarities, they are often confused and mislabeled by supermarkets. My advice is to not worry about whether you are buying sweet potatoes or yam.  Instead, just make sure eat them often. These are among the most nutritious of all edible plants. The more orange the flesh, the higher the beta carotene content. I keep my pantry stocked with a combination of light, orange, and purple-flesh variations. Then, I combine them in my cooking for nutritional diversity. I try to purchase organic, when possible. This makes me feel confident about avoiding pesticides and herbicides when leaving the nutrient-rich skin on for cooking. Sweet potatoes cook faster than regular potatoes. They can be ready to eat in about six minutes when microwaved whole or cut into cubes and steamed. Eat yours before they sprout, usually within two weeks of purchase. Store them in a dark, dry, cool place outside of the refrigerator.

Tofu:

I often hear people say that they hate tofu. When I ask why, it’s usually because they have only tried it once or twice. Their experiences are often at an Asian restaurant where it was served as slimy white chunks. I also dislike tofu served in this manner! Fortunately, after much experimentation, I have learned why millions of people around the world eat tofu every day. First of all, it’s a complete source of protein and a delicious meat alternative. Grilled, baked, or sautéed with vegetable broth, tofu can be browned and cooked without oil. By coating with arrowroot powder or cornstarch and any flour, tofu chunks can be sautéed until golden brown. Tofu is sold based on firmness and water content:  Silken, medium, firm, and super firm. Tofu is a chameleon food and has little flavor of its own. Soaking tofu in a marinade for at least an hour will imbue it with the flavor of the marinade. Simmering browned tofu in a sauce will imbue it with the flavor of the sauce.

Vegetable broth:

Stop buying vegetable broth and make your own!  Recycle vegetable tops, peels, and expiring produce to make broth rather than throw them in the garbage or composter. Keep a gallon plastic bag in your freezer. Fill it with the vegetable ends and peels you generate while preparing meals. When the bag is full, dump it into your pressure cooker, add 8 cups of water, and salt to taste.  I also add a piece of kombu (seaweed) to my vegetable broth for additional nutrients and ocean flavor. Set the manual timer on your pressure cooker for 10 minutes. Next, use the quick pressure release when the timer beeps. Strain and refrigerate unused vegetable broth and use within one week or freeze. Freeze some broth in ice cube trays for small needs.

Eric O’Grey is an inspirational speaker with a bachelor of science in finance from San Jose State University and a juris doctor from Emory University. Eric enjoys long-distance running with his dog, Jake; gourmet plant-based cooking; and spending time with his wife, Jaye. He is passionate about animal kindness, plant-based nutrition, and helping others reverse obesity and achieve their optimal weight and happiness. Learn more about Eric and his initiatives at EricandPeety.com and in his new book, Walking with Peety.

The post Pantry Essentials for Your Plant-Based Kitchen appeared first on Skinny Ms..

source https://skinnyms.com/pantry-essentials-for-your-plant-based-kitchen/ source https://skinnymscom.blogspot.com/2018/04/pantry-essentials-for-your-plant-based.html