Category: Free Inquiry

Have you ever had a compost soup? Also called garbage soup, kitchen sink soup, and other equally unappetizing names. Sounds gross, but it’s a great way to reduce food waste and get your veggies in. I make it once in awhile when I have some veggies in the fridge that are getting wilty. Super easy–roast some veggies for extra flavour, caramelize some onions and garlic, throw it all together with some veggie broth and blend with an immersion blender. The end result is flavourful, packed with veggies, and usually super cheap.

I tossed leftover veggies from the fridge in olive oil, salt and pepper. This time I used carrots, brussel sprouts (pictured but not used in the soup), broccoli (not pictured) and cauliflower. I also cooked some onion and garlic in a pot and then added the veggies once they were browned and covered it all with water and some plant-based bouillon.

Right before I was ready to blend I added a whole head of wilted spinach after removing the stems (spinach? really? yes. you will not notice the taste, and it adds a very vibrant green and adds a bunch of great nutrients)

Mix, blend with an immersion blender, and enjoy! This will keep in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer indefinitely. I love it with some toasted crusty sourdough or an everything bagel.

It is impossible to stress how culturally symbolic various plant-based milks – but especially oat milk – have become to me since I joined TikTok. I cannot explain why ordering an oat milk latte has become to me a symbol of queerness, nor why IBS and needing to avoid dairy is supposedly a staple of being gay, but this is the power of TikTok’s mysteriously-personal-yet-somehow-universal FYP.

Regardless, plant-based milk is growing in popularity, but which plant you milk seems to be a trend that cycles over time. Oat milk was once a bit of an underdog, but has now easily surpassed its once-reigning predecessor, almond milk. And soy milk seems to be a niche product for a niche group of people, never truly stepping into the spotlight. People choose plant-based milk for a variety of reasons, not all of them environmental, but the dairy and beef industries use massive amounts of water and there is definitely a push to use less dairy to reduce one’s environmental impact. If you’re going to make the switch to plant-based milk, what should you choose and why?

This doesn’t necessarily give the whole picture: although Soy milk ranks fairly well according to these statistics, it’s a major contributor to deforestation in the Amazon. Almond trees absorb lots of CO2, but almond milk uses far more water to make than oat or soy.

Currently, oat milk seems to come out on top overall: nearly as good as soy in terms of emissions, water, and land use, but oats grow in more temperate climates and are less associated with wildfires and deforestation.

There are, of course, even more factors to consider when ranking environmental impact: what is the milk packaged in? Does it need to be refrigerated? Is it being shipped all over the world before arriving at the consumer? Plant-based milk is much less nutritionally dense; does that balance out the environmental factors at all? This study warns against using plant-based milk as a nutritional alternative to bovine milk, especially for children.

Have you tried plant-based milk? Would you consider making the switch?

Seitan or “wheat-meat”: what is it and why is it so popular in vegan cooking?
Seitan is a kind of vegan meat-substitute that is made using the gluten from flour. It can actually be pretty similar to bread dough, but with a different kneading process. With most kinds of bread you want to avoid over-kneading so the bread stays fluffy and doesn’t get overly stringy, dense, or chewy, but with seitan the point is to knead and work the dough to that chewy and dense texture that resembles meat. Seitan can be made with whole wheat flour or vital wheat gluten. Either way, the processes involves removing the starch (by rinsing or other processing) to leave only the high-protein gluten behind to produce a shreddable texture. The result is a mildly savoury-tasting product that is surprisingly close to meat in look and consistency, and it can then be used as a meat substitute to make dishes that resemble pulled pork, fried chicken, wings, or even steak.

I first learned about seitan on TikTok and was intrigued by this mysterious “wheat-meat”. It can be made with as few ingredients as flour and water, but many people also add chickpeas for extra protein, spices, tofu, miso, and other plant-based additions to enhance flavour and texture.

https://www.tiktok.com/@himynameispriya/video/6987723530880191746

https://www.tiktok.com/@desperatelyseekingseitan/video/6934433575337004293

How does Seitan compare to meat and other meat-substitutes nutritionally?

Seitan versus tofu: Nutrition Facts.

Seitan:calories: 90

fat: 1g

protein: 18g

carbs: 3g

iron: 1.2mg, 6% RDA

Selenium: 10 mcg, 14% RDA

Phosphorus: 65mg, 5%RDA

Tofu:calories: 98

fat: 5g

protein: 10g

carbs: 3g

iron: 1.6mg, 9% RDA

Selenium: 13 mcg, 19% RDA

Phosphorus: 136 mg, 14%RDA

Manganese: .8mg, 38% RDA

Calcium: 175mg, 18%

(Nutrition facts from https://healthyhappylife.com/tofu-versus-seitan-taste-texture-and/)

The two are pretty close in calories, but seitan has lower fat and high protein than tofu. In terms of texture, tofu is lighter and fluffier and more useful as an egg substitute, while seitan is denser, chewier, and closer to chicken or pork. According to a bit of internet searching (and personal experience) seitan is more likely to be mistaken for real meat and to be liked by meat-eaters as an alternative.

What about how it stacks up next to real meat? According to https://vegfaqs.com/seitan-vs-chicken/:

• Chicken (breast) typically has a bit higher protein content than seitan, but not as much of a difference as I expected.
• Chicken is a complete protein, but seitan is low in lysine (however it is easy to add ingredient that are hi in lysine such as chickpeas or nutritional yeast).
• Neither are particularly good for getting vitamins or minerals.

I haven’t tried making seitan yet but I am intrigued to give it a go!

One of the things I love exploring on TikTok is food, and every once in awhile an amazing plant-based creator pops up on my FYP and inspires me to incorporate more plant-based meals into my weeks.

Tonight I was in a hurry and hungry, so this video recipe for “Vegan Lazy Noodles” caught my eye. (video is by@fitgreenmind.de on TikTok)

@fitgreenmind.de

VEGAN LAZY NOODLES 🤩 Made in 15mins, super easy! #foryoupage #fyp #vegan #veganfood #veganrecipes #veganuary #vegancooking

♬ Originalton – Fitgreenmind

I didn’t have tahini so my sauce is missing that, and I decided to add a head of broccoli I had left in my fridge from the week.

Mine turned out a bit less saucy and the sauce seemed less sticky than hers. I think a bit more cornstarch and a higher sauce-to-noodles ratio would have helped that.

Rating:

This meal is CHEAP. The package of rice noodles is about $2 and I only used half. The ingredients for the sauce were fairly scant and the head of broccoli was $3.49, so altogether about $5 for a meal that will feed me, my partner and maybe even a lunch tomorrow.

What this recipe really lacks is protein so I wouldn’t make it every day. It’s a little carb heavy and I’m glad I added the broccoli to balance it a little more. But the flavour was good and for something thrown together in about 15 minutes it was pretty alright. Overall I would give it a 6/10.