The rising value of food

I am in LA visiting my sister and her family for the week (thus, the delay in posting to this blog). To make sure my "rawer vegan diet" is being fed, this weekend I went to food markets to purchase fresh fruits and veggies. When at home, I don't really need to shop at grocery stores as much of my produce comes from the food pantry where I weekly volunteer, or from the kitchen at the camp where I work. Thus, this weekend was the first time in a long time I entered a store to buy food for myself. I was shocked by the prices I found! Surprised. Blow away. I had heard that food prices had risen because of the rising costs of fuel, but I could not believe what I was seeing as I walked down the aisles.

I discovered just how much more organic locally grown food really is, and how expensive fresh fruits and vegetables currently are. Thus, I realized how lucky I am to have access to the bounty of produce, which is always available in the refrigerators at camp, even though it is not organic but similar in quality to grocery stories. And I also realized how blessed I am when organic selections become available at the food pantry, which is stocked by Trader Joe's through the "scraps" pulled from the shelf when the "sell by" date is reached. The multitude of perfectly wholesome food would literally be taken to the dump, if it was not for the non-profit groups that thankfully and gratefully pick up the many many bags everyday. (The group I work with gets the Saturday and Sunday scraps from the Trader Joe's in Millbrae.)

With food costs on the rise, and me, personally seeing the domino effect that American lust and obsession with autos has created, it becomes even more of a horror for me now to see food go to waste. Each piece of fruit has so much more value - with value being assessed not just by the grocery bill factor.

Though the value of food is accentuated today because of its economic cost, vegan-me is also learning about how the value of food is increased because of its nutritional value.

When I share about my dietary transformation to vegetarian to vegan to now a "rawer vegan" (a vegan considering and transitioning into a raw foods diet), people always ask questions about something they assume I would be lacking, like protein or calcium, enjoyment or taste. To be honest, I've never felt like I had a good succinct answer as I still am coming to understand nutrition, what the body needs, what my body needs, the amino acids of protein, the purpose of calcium, and so forth. While the resources are helpful (to a point), some are confusing, others conflicting, a few overly technical with too much information, and a few too simplistic with no good explanation. It's been a challenge.

A resource I found recently by George Eisman, one of the nation's foremost educators on nutrition, has provided the simple clarity I've been looking for and needing. The author of The Most Noble Diet:Food Selection and Ethics, Eisman in his second work, A Basic Course in Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition, provides an excellent overview of the advantages of the vegan dietary, expert guidance on the "whys", and clear nutritional information with insightful illustrations. With my limited background and non-scientific mind, this resource has been a God-send.

A study-at-home course on basic nutrition, one copy is listed on Amazon for $49.99 + $3.99 shipping! I bought my copy for less than the cost of shipping -- $3.98 at Half Price Books in Berkeley. I value my brand new copy now more than ever, though copies are available for $21.95 from American Vegan. However, in the coming weeks, I will be highlighting (for FREE - a real value) some of the key nutritional insights I'm gleaning from the text related to protein, calcium, and other issues with which vegans are confronted.

For me, one of the key breakthroughs in my transition to a raw vegan diet is the simple realization that to benefit from the nutrition in raw plant foods, I will need to eat more. I'll explain why in the coming weeks, but the value of food is increasing in my life as I recognize the life-giving energy in whole, natural, unprocessed foods, as the Creator has intended.

Because of my limited financial resources, I was not able to purchase all organic vegetables and fruits for my time in Los Angeles this week. I did get to a local Farmer's Market for a few valuable purchases like large luscious locally grown apricots, but at the grocery stores, my most valuable purchase by far was a homemade local raw vegan chocolate brownie, which I've been enjoying (in small chunks) after each run - definitely worth the sticker shock $5.95 I paid!

Eisman writes, "We each must choose foods everyday, and in that choice some rippling effect takes place. Every dollar spent for food sends a message to food producers, some of which are the largest and most powerful corporations in the world. They are motivated by profit, and will respond to what is and what isn't consumed. Therein the power of the individual lies." (A Basic Course in Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition, p. 123)

Happy cow. Happy vegan.

In these past months, I really have enjoyed my vegan journey. It has not been as difficult as I thought it might have been, though eating out (especially with meat-eaters) has been my biggest challenge. I am learning, however, to navigate those dining experiences as I discover resources on-line, which are making it easier for vegan-me to find food anywhere. One important resource I recently discovered: HappyCow.net

HappyCow's Vegetarian Guide offers an international, searchable directory of vegetarian and vegan restaurants and natural health food stores, and includes recipes, cookbooks, and information on vegan and vegetarian issues related to nutrition, health, diet, and travel.

With reviews, ratings, and a brief description of the menu, the restaurant search has become the most valuable resource on the site for me. I used it to find Bean Sprouts, a Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Arcadia, when visiting a friend in Southern California last month. I used it to find Udupi, a vegan-friendly Indian restaurant in Berkeley, when friends from London were in town. And most recently, I used it on Thursday.

In a last minute decision, the camp where I live and work needed me to drive 2 people to Oakland airport through rush hour traffic. They offered to reimburse my gas expenses and dinner before I head back up the mountain. With a free dinner at a restaurant of my choosing, how could I refuse? I immediately logged onto HappyCow, and discovered Central Vegetarian Cuisine in Alameda. They had no link to a website or menu, but from the airport, I could get there via surface streets and avoid freeway traffic. With "vegan-friendly, Chinese, Thai" as the description, it seemed like it would be the right place for me. And it was.

A grand re-opening sign was still up on the front of the Park Avenue entrance, near Lincoln. Street parking around the corner was easy. Though the restaurant is a single store front and small, the décor was clean, contemporary, airy, and inviting. With only a few customers, I snagged a table with a view of the street and proceeded to enjoy my solo dinner down from the mountain, courtesy of the camp.

Though "fake meat" selections were listed throughout the menu (I don't do "fake meat" when I have the choice), there were plenty of other options. A note on the bottom of the menu ("Majority of our dishes can be made Vegan") made me smile. No worries about what I would eat here, even though the grand re-opening menu was more Vietnamese than Thai in its selections.

Since it was just vegan-me, it took a while to decide what one dish to order. I toggled between a few as there were many I wanted to try. I selected the Sesame eggplant tofu with brown rice on the side, and within minutes, it came out on a good size platter. The Japanese eggplant tasted fresh and was not mushily overcooked. The tofu was firm, lightly pan-fried and pleasantly seasoned. Though the sauce was a bit heavy in garlic, overall, it was a very nice entree. With good food and pleasant environment, I'll definitely go back to Central Veg in Alameda.

The best highlight of the evening, however (and another reason why I'll return), is the unexpected dessert on this ethnic food menu - Vegan mocha chocolate cake.** Seeing it, vegan-me was happy. Enjoying it with a glass of cold soy milk, vegan-me was VERY happy. Knowing the camp would reimburse me for it, priceless!


**THE CHOCOLATE CAKE REVIEW:
Though the vegan mocha chocolate cake at Central Vegetarian was dark and moist, it was on the lighter side and lacked the dense texture and rich taste I appreciate and prefer. It was not overly sweet, which was nice, but it did lack the subtle bitter chocolate bite that I associate with superior cake quality. It was a nice cake, but the cake needed the mocha and chocolate frosting to give it a full chocolate depth. My grade: B.