Color Me Green - Reflections on Earth Day

As we celebrate Earth Day on April 22 this week, I have set my mind once again on contributing to the survival of the planet. This is the time when we are inundated by green and eco messages that abound everywhere, and we feel the urge to chime in, drink one less can of soda, recycle more stuff, or donate to an environmental non-profit.

In the spirit of the season I have compiled what I believe to be the most complete list of Earth Day Events, Green Events, and Vegan Events in the US for April and May 2011. Please find an event near you and participate in the efforts that your city or state have undertaken to save the planet.

Among all the good intentions and willingness to do more for Mother Nature, something often stands in our way, and it's two-fold: convenience and ignorance. Two powerful opponents that can drown any sensible effort to change our lives for the better of the planet. As it is with human nature, we often need a serious calamity happening somewhere or see our own life impacted to be shaken out of our comfort zone and to embark on a change in habits or, God forbid, in lifestyle.

I will not drone on the Japan disaster and the insanity of pushing nuclear energy as safe and desirable. Anybody with cognitive ability should have recognized the events that befell our Asian neighbors as cataclysmic enough to be jolted into immediate action for Mother Earth: cease and desist! But, as media attention wanes and people go back to their own convenient life, it is hard to tell how much a catastrophe like the Japan earthquakes (which do still continue as afterquakes), will resonate well enough to attack the problem at hand, and what ha been known for many years: Humans are the one life-threatening force that can - and will - bring all life as we know it to extinction, if we don't change our behavior radically today, not in 5 months and not in 5 years - today!

Of course there is one thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint that makes a greater impact than anything else: start with your plate! You can go green with your food and save more greenhouse gases than driving a hybrid car or buying expensive gadgets. See here for yourself how this works.

But apart from embracing a meat-free diet, we also need to look at our own trash: we have to clean-up our act and eradicate the plastic in our lives!

And that brings me to the story of the day, as I just watched a brand-new powerful documentary called "Bag-It", which takes us on a journey through the history of plastic, it's (ab)use in today's societies, and why we poison and suffocate ourselves in the endless streams of plastic in a mind-blowingly accelerated way every year.

Some plastic facts:

• First of all, plastic is made from highly undesirable, un-renewable resources: fossil fuels. Petroleum or natural gas are used to make plastic (natural gas is NOT green, even if the producing energy giants want to make us believe so). As we attempt to cut lose from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy, plastic in all its forms has to be eradicated, and particularly in consumer goods like packaging. There are many very good uses for plastic in many industries, but consumer packaging is not one of them: it’s a huge, wasteful, and often redundant use of plastic. More than anything else, we use plastic bags and plastic bottles.
• Even if you recycle, only very few recycled plastic items of types 1 and 2 will re-enter the production cycle. The vast majority of plastic – recycle symbol or not, ends up on landfills and in our oceans. 
• And why isn’t all plastic recycled that has the chasing arrows symbol on the bottom? Because US plastic companies prefer the freshly made clean plastic pellets that they can mold into any form, rather than repurposing old, recycled plastic materials. So what happens to all our recycled stuff? It is often shipped to Asia, where underpaid, unprotected workers sift through the barrage of dirty, filthy, highly toxic plastic waste to find anything they can still reuse for their own needs. The rest? It’s often burned without filters in large open incinerators, and the toxins invade nearby cities and streams.
• And then there is the main perpetrator, the ubiquitous plastic bag, which cannot be recycled at all. It will end up in landfills and in our oceans, where it never fully degrades.

Some staggering stats on plastic:

• In the US alone, 800 lbs of plastic packaging are used per person every year.
• 106,000 aluminum cans are used in the US every 30 minutes.
• 60,000 plastic bags are used in the US every 5 seconds.
• Bottled water has now surpassed the sale of beer in the US, and soon will surpass soda as well.
• The energy content of one plastic bottle is enormous: fill it half with petroleum and you have the amount of energy that is used in the making and transport of just this one bottle.

But even as we citizens may be ready to roll up our sleeves and use both arms to dig us out of this man-made mess, corporate America does not allow us to make a real change for our planet! We already know that the oil, food, and drug industries have our elected officials in their pockets and make them dance like wooden puppets, but now add the American Chemicals Council to the list. The ACC is responsible for all things made with chemicals, among which are, of course, plastics.

I honestly think we could move more in this country if citizens were allowed to elect the board members of the largest industry councils, but that’s a story for another day.


So what is the threat of plastic?

• It is estimated that 6 million pieces of litter enter the oceans every day, mostly plastics.
• There are 5 major trash gyres in the world’s oceans, which means the trash floats there forever and will not be washed away by currents. The largest is the “giant garbage patch” in the Pacific, which has now reached the size of Texas.
• Plastic does not degrade in the ocean, it “photodegrades” in the sun, which means it degrades into smaller pieces and affects wildlife, which mistake it for food.
• When plastic degrades, its toxins concentrate.
• In many parts of the oceans there is now more plastic than plankton, which marine life feeds on. The ratio of plastic to plankton is now 40:1 in some areas. This affects every ocean species from fish to sea turtles. Needless to say, these plastics make it back into the human food chain too.
• When not ingesting it as food, wildlife gets entangled and suffocated by plastic.
• It is estimated that plastic kills over 100,000 marine animals per year.
• Plastic contains bisphenol A (BPA) and phtalates, which are highly toxic and can lead to diseases and disorders like breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, reduction of sperm count, hyper activity disorder, and endocrine disruption, which upsets the hormone system.
• Phtalates are often used to soften consumer plastic products, and as opposed to BPA, it is not required to be labeled as ingredient and may often appear as “fragrance” on bottles, including baby products.

So what can you do to avoid the most harmful affects of plastic on your health and on the planet with its marine life?

• Don’t use plastic bags – period! If you still don’t own a good reusable shopping tote, strike two goals at once and get one from one of these very worthy non-profits who fight for human health, animal welfare, and the protection of the planet:
• Greater Good Network allows you to pick your favorite cause and then shop for bags & totes here. A percentage of the proceeds will benefit the cause of your choice.
• PCRM is the Physicians Committee for responsible Medicine, which offers excellent information about fighting and preventing diseases with the right diet and lifestyle choices. They also support healthy school lunch programs and fight to end the lab testing on Great Apes. Check here for a sleek and compassionate PCRM tote. 
• PETA is a well-known animal rights organization that fights for the rights of creatures large and small all over the planet. You can sport your message in support of exploited animals with a PETA tote too.
• Don’t drink bottled water! Instead, filter your tap water and store it in glass containers in the fridge, then take it out in reusable bottles that are not laced with BPA.
• Bring your own reusable bottle to the coffee shop – don’t use styrofoam cups. They never degrade!
• Bring your own tupperware to the restaurant for leftovers after dinner.
• Don’t microwave your food in plasticware, it’s toxic! Instead, get some good glassware of ceramic containers to heat your food. 
• As a general rule, don’t eat or drink anything in plastic if you can avoid it.
• Buy as little as you can in plastic or tin containers (while tin is recycled many times better than plastic, the tins are often laced with BPA). Instead, look for paper or glass containers. Even better: bring your own, clean container and buy your groceries in bulk, so that you can avoid access packaging. Here are some ideas on what you can buy in bulk and save some money on the way.

I hope that my reflection on Earth Day this year gave you some inspiration and ideas on what you can do to protect the planet. While it may appear that big corporations can force us into unhealthy behaviors and products, we the consumers – you and I – have the power to make a huge difference.

A single step can start an avalanche of great change, so never ever give up the hope that we can save our earth and her creatures. We just have to really want it – and demand it loudly!

Happy Earth Day!

Ina Mohan

New healthy lunch creations - skip the animal junk food to get your body into swimsuit shape

Summer is just around the corner and many of us are now starting one of these diets again that promise to fit us back into our swimsuits fast and easy. Some of these diets seem to work for a short while, but they come at the cost of essential nutrition and your long-term health.

This is where I can help with such delicious and simple food creations, that the diet drug industry would drag me to court if they had any way of preventing this simple truth: you can lose weight and keep it off at a steady pace and with long-term health benefits, if you simply skip the junk foods.

And my definition of junk food is not limited to French fries and cream cakes, it actually comprises all animal-based foods.

Now you may ask why I call ALL animal foods junk. Well, the problem is that no matter where you get your chicken, steak, fish, cow milk, or eggs, they are always loaded with rubbish and unnatural ingredients that put your health at risk and forces your inner organs into continuous overload to rid themselves from toxins and gunk. As they say, "rubbish in - rubbish out", so if you regularly consume foods that are non-essential and burden your system, there is simply no way that you can maintain a lean healthy weight until all the inner workings are sorted out.

What's in animal foods that make us sick? First of all every animal food has cholesterol and saturated fat - both non-essential for your body and therefore a burden. And yes, lean chicken and fish have cholesterol too!

Apart from that, we humans eat whatever our food animals have been fed. To illustrate this, here is just a short list of ingredients that farm animals are fed nowadays, and that includes fish too:

• A high percentage of grains like low cost corn and soy, which is cheap but has little nutrition.
• So called "animal proteins", which are a mix of meat, skin, bones, hair, feathers, and blood from animals of the same species.
• Animal feed can also legally contain rendered road kill, dead horses, and euthanized cats and dogs.
• Swine waste, cattle manure, and poultry litter. Of course where there is waste there is dirt, so you can also find rocks, sand, wood, and dirt in animal feed – yummy isn't it?
• Plastics – used as "roughage" to get this otherwise indigestible concoction through the animals' digestive systems. If they would eat their natural diet of plants they would get fiber, which naturally aids the digestion.
• Drugs and chemicals – as high doses of growth hormones, pesticides, and antibiotica are needed to keep the animals alive and grow fast in otherwise unbearable living conditions. This non-therapeutic use of antibiotics speeds the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and "superbugs"”, which can make animals and humans sick.
• Metal compounds are also used in animal feed, where they are intended to promote growth and feed efficiency.

I even read that scientists are testing to implant a kitchen scrub into farmed animals' stomachs to aid digestion and to provide "natural roughage". Can you believe this?

Very appetizing isn't it? Needless to say that any and all traces of these ingredients in animal feed find their way into the human body by way of consuming animal flesh, their mammal secretions, or their eggs.

If you still believe that a protein-rich, low carb diet is your way into the bikini shape for summer, please read this and then think again: diet dangers of low carb diets.

The simple solution for this mess


I hope you have restored your appetite again, because we have some delicious, healthy, low calorie lunch creations below that will make losing pounds easy and fast - without killing any animal or ingesting any of the rubbish you have learned about:

Healthy Lunch Recipes that are fresh, fast, light, and vegan

I always like to tinker with my food and create new combinations, which sometimes results in unbelievably tasty new dishes and sandwiches. So how about trying some of these healthy lunches to slim down for summer:

The latest creation is the healthy crunchy vegan wrap with sprouted grain tortilla, red kale and soybean sprouts - a taste explosion with complete nutrition.

Or how about the whole wheat sandwich wrap with spinach and ginger? Always go for whole wheat or whole grain bread to get more health from your bread.

I use toasted sprouted grain bread for this delicious garden sandwich with swiss chards and chipotle hot sauce

Mix and mingle these healthy sandwich creations any way you like - experiment with fresh seeds, mint leaves, or fresh oregano to add extra flavor.

I promise that you will find these healthy sandwiches filling and satisfying - and they are all low calorie!

Now that's a great choice for detoxing your body, restoring your natural metabolism and alkaline balance, and for losing weight easily and naturally. You'll be fit for your swimsuit in no time and your body will never have to deal with the unpleasant dieting effects!

How Organic Does Your Food Have To Be?

A Belsandia reader asked me recently if there is really such a big difference between organic and non-organic food. She wants to be vegan but finds it hard to afford costly organic foods all the time.

So, how much of a health impact does organic food actually have?

The health benefits of eating organic lie in the fact that certain pesticides and growth chemicals inhibit the nutrients in some fruits and vegetables. It is not clear to what degree, but generally the nutritious value of your produce appears to be lower in conventionally grown foods. It's already good if you don't eat meat and fish, as these are by far the most highly polluted foods.

You don't need to buy everything organic, as there are some foods that are worse offenders than others. Also try multiple different places to get these foods cheaper. While I love Whole Foods, I only buy specialty products and great offers there, to spread my budget further. If you have a Trader Joe's or Fresh & Easy in your neighborhood, these grocery stores often have good deals on some organic produce. In Las Vegas, I also get some organic options at the Smith and Vons stores ever so often, albeit rather pricey. In the Eastern US, I found some organic options at Giant, Safeway, and Publix too.

By far the best for your organic and environmental food choices would be a local organic farmer, where you can buy produce in bulk.

But even if your budget options for healthy organic foods are limited, remember that not everything has to be organic. There are some foods that absorb chemical pollution more than others, and these should be bought organic wherever possible. With other foods it does not matter quite that much, so you can select these as conventionally grown from your trusted budget grocer.

Here is a list of the 12 worst contaminated foods with pesticides - get these organic if you can. At least peal the skin off the ones you can't get organic:

The Top 12 Offenders – Buy These Organic:
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Blueberries
Nectarines
Bell Peppers
Spinach
Cherries
Kale/Collard Greens
Potatoes
Grapes (Imported)

If you do consume soy products, I recommend to get these organic as well, as soy is almost always GMO and is heavily treated with pesticides too. It can make a difference here.

Below are the least contaminated foods, which you can buy non-organic too.

The Clean 15 Foods – Lowest in Pesticides:
Onions
Avocado
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Mangos
Sweet Peas
Asparagus
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe Melon
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet Potato
Honeydew Melon

I have compiled some additional "eating healthy on a budget" options here for further tips and ideas.

Vegetarian Diets and Climate

A reader of Belsandia.com asked me the other day if there is a scientific background for the fact that it's harder to eat vegetarian foods in cold climates. He stated that he has no trouble at all to stick to a vegetarian diet in warmer countries and temperatures, but that it pulls him towards the meat when he travels to colder countries, or when the temperatures at home are freezing.

Why is that the case?

While I don't know of any studies about this, I can think of the following reason why we are drown to heartier foods when it's cold outside:

I actually agree that eating vegtarian foods is easier in warmer temperatures, as we naturally gravitate to lighter, fresher meals and more fruits and vegetables then. However, eating great healthy vegetarian and vegan dishes that provide adequate nutrition is just as easy and satisfying when it's cold outside.

The trick lies in knowing what to eat to keep your body warm and to feel full and satisfied, while getting the right nutrition. When it's cold we often reach for foods that have more fat, as we instinctively seek to build-up our body's fat layers for better cold insulation. So we vegans  reach for more legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. Vegetarians who eat cheese may gravitate to those dishes more.

How to do get healthy vegetarian meals when your body is longing for warm comfort foods?

A great option to warm up from the inside out is a thick, spicy vegetarian chili. Take a look at this chili recipe if you like to create it yourself.

The focus on colder days should be more on grains and legumes, which offer large quantities of protein and many protective vitamins and minerals. Bean casseroles, refried beans (without lard), lentil soup, green pea soup, pasta, quinoa, and barley dishes are all hearty and highly satisfying in winter. I personally love seweet potato dishes in al variations too.

If you travel a lot, go for soups, stews, curries and baked items in colder climates. A hot gravy is often key to feeling warm and comfortable, but these can be vegetarian or vegan too.

I suggest focusing on Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese foods if you like these flavors and are looking for a hot steaming meal. Almost every restaurant has so far been creating great vegetable curries and hot soups with veggie broth for me while overseas, even if they did not have any of these on the menu.

In Western cuisines, I often start with hot vegetable, bean, or potato soup followed by a dish based on potatoes or noodles. If they don't premake the food, you may get restaurants to create a hearty vegetarian tomato or pesto pasta sauce, or oven-baked pasta.

Some countries are harder than others for vegans (and that includes my native Germany). So I focus on complex carbohydrates, nuts and seeds wherever I can: brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, almonds, walnuts, power bars with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. Germany also has great winter vegetable dishes made of Brussels sprouts or red cabbage.

Europe is generally great for breads - and the darker and more grains these breads have, the better. These make very hearty sandwiches for the winter too. Just replace the mayonnaise or butter with hummus or veggie spread.

If all is lost and there is no food on the restaurant menu that strikes your vegetarian fancy, why not combine a few side dishes or starters? I have been eating in steakhouses as a vegan during business dinners and enjoyed it! My dinner there would be a colorful array of a potato dish, greens like spinach or broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, some fried veggie, and a big loaf of hot, steamy bread right from the oven. Then I load on the ground black pepper and chili flakes, which spikes the heat level in my body so much that I can take off the sweater. Et voila: I'm a happy vegan even in a steakhouse!

A bit of flexibility and courage to ask for your needs will usually accommodate your vegetarian diet - no matter if you are in minus 30 or plus 30 degrees Celsium around the globe!

Please share your opinion about eating more or less vegetarian foods in colder weather. Do you find it harder to get full, warm, and satisfied with veg food when the temperatures drop? What is your favorite veg dish in winter?