Healthy Eating for Diabetes: Introducing the Glycemic Index

May 26, 2009 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

The Palmerston Theatre

Dr. David Jenkins, Professor and Canadian Research Chair at the University of Toronto will be discussing his research findings at the “Healthy Eating for Diabetes: Introducing the Glycemic Index” workshop hosted by Toronto Vegetarian Association. Dr. Jenkins will explain research findings that show lower diabetes prevalence among vegetarians as compared to omnivores due to the reduced intake of high-glycemic foods, reduced fat storage in cells and increase intake of fiber.

As the creator of the Glycemic Index, Jenkins will provide useful information regarding food and its impact on health, specifically Type-2 Diabetes. The Glycemic Index is a numerical Index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (i.e. their conversion to glucose within the human body). Individuals with diabetes have an inability to secrete or process insulin causing their blood sugar to rise too high, leading to medical problems. The theory behind the Glycemic Index is simply to minimize insulin-related problems by identifying and avoiding foods that have the greatest effect on blood sugar.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP, PLEASE CALL THE TVA OFFICE AT 416-544-9800 OR EMAIL BARBI LAZARUS AT This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Today Liam and John have some silliness bubbling over that they need to get out of their systems.  This comes in the form of discussing some of the odd things that they ate when they were children.

When they do get down to business they talk about the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank and how TVA accepts donations for them in the form of non-perishable food items.

One perishable food item that is worthy of discussion is ice cream.  Specifically vegan ice cream.  A visitor this week mentions that there is a vegan ice cream shop in New York City.  John's research into this shows that there are in fact two vegan ice cream shops in New York City.  Liam is very excited about the talk of ice cream and mentions Toronto's own Soy-n-Joy.  While there is no promise that the TVA resource centre crew can compete with the pros they will be giving out free samples of vegan ice cream on June the 6th between 1 and 4 p.m.

Liam also discusses his recent (separate) experiences with vitamin D and a slow cooker.

As John promises during the show here's the link to the TVA resource centre blog.

This week's podcast is a chewing on a frozen mock-meat fish stick 34 minutes.

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May 2009

Welcome to the May edition of eLifelines. Spring has truly sprung, but believe it or not, we're already thinking about the fall! The Annual Vegetarian Food Fair is never far from our minds here at TVA. Read on to hear about what we've been up to in the past month, what our plans are for the future, the latest updates on the Annual Vegetarian Food Fair, and of course some tasty recipe ideas to keep you healthy through the month of May.

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events!

Do you know someone who is diabetic? Bring them to Healthy Eating for Diabetes: Introducing the Glycemic Index (May 26). Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on facebook.

Today Liam and John have the chance to talk with Gary from Compassion for Animals.  Gary is part of a team who is working on the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.  TVA will be a part of this and will have its Vegan Bake Sale from 12 to 2 p.m. on Saturday June the 20th on the patio of Vegetarian Haven (17 Baldwin Street).  You should really come by, or even better, help out by making your favourite baked good for us to sell - more information will be forthcoming.

The free cupcake event went so well a couple of weeks ago that there will be a part deux.  This time there'll be vegan ice cream.  On Saturday, June the 6th come to the Resource Centre between the hours of 1 and 4 p.m. to get your taste of homemade vegan ice cream.  Listen to future podcasts to get more details.

Liam spends some time this week discussing the seal hunt.  While Liam is appalled by this he feels that the atrocities done to farm animals are far greater.

John discusses the Ethiopian food experience he had this week while dining with a gaggle of omnivores.

This podcast is a Sidney-Crosby-free 32 minutes.

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John and Liam were happy to have some very interesting visitors come into the office today. There was a visitor who recently decided to go vegan due to a workshop he was at featuring Nimisha Raja. There was also a visitor who wanted to get more information about Brendan Brazier as he was at Brendan's talk recently. It's great to know that the TVA workshops which are being put on are really helping people.

Another couple who visited are podcast listeners (Hi Shôn and Roman!) and the discussion was all over the place. Liam got some interesting information about the Dufferin Grove farmer's market, growing your own mushrooms, and permaculture. John got more information about travelling in South America and where to eat when in a foreign country.

This week there are two questions of the week: 1) Do you have a favourite vegan cheese? 2) Would you eat eggs from a chicken that you knew was ethically treated?

Although it wasn't mentioned on the podcast, you should really consider coming into the Resource Centre on Wednesday night (May 6th) for the workshop on how to make marvelous meals for mother's day.

This week's podcast is a frozen pizza pizzazz 25 minutes.

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Don't miss these upcoming Healthy Eating workshops

Tuesday April 28
Healthy Eating for Diabetes with Nimisha Raja
7pm @ The Big Carrot (348 Danforth Ave)

Thursday April 30
Plant-Based Sport Nutrition for Optimal Performance with Brendan Brazier
7:30pm @ IronKore (3076 Dundas St W)

Tuesday, May 26
Healthy Eating for Diabetes: Introducing the Glycemic Index with Dr David Jenkins
6:30pm Palmerston Theatre (560 Palmerston Ave)

To join us, please register with us by calling 416-544-9800 or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Today John, Colleen, and Liam surprisingly had the energy to podcast after eating a whole lot of food from Hot Yam. Hot Yam catered an event for Utcare and the trio were some of the beneficiaries.

The three also discuss a really helpful resource to help anyone in Toronto to live a more environmentally friendly life.

Liam's question of the week: what are your thoughts on vegetarians dating non-vegetarians? It seems as though the three co-hosts differ in opinion on this topic. John points out that K-os, who John believes to be vegetarian, is smitten with Natalie Portman, who John also believes to be vegetarian. John feels that this proves that "vegetarian love" extends into the celebrity world as well - Colleen suggests that lots of guys love Natalie Portman just because she's beautiful.

If you're looking for ethical jewellery/wedding rings this episode will be of assistance .

In case you don't know yet you can find out more about the resource centre crews and podcast co-hosts on their blog.

TVA will also be taking part in the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale on June 28th at Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market. There will be baked goods exchanged for a "suggested donation" available on that day.

Also, check out How to Make Marvelous Meals for Mom, and the Healthy Eating Workshops on April 28th, April 30th and May 26th.

This Podcast is a lime in the coconut 35 minutes.

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Jazlynne, Erika and Amy at our table on Friday, April 24, 2009.

Toronto's Green Living Show was the weekend of April 24-26. Colourful Eating for the Earth factsheets explaining the connection between meat and the environment were handed out, and around 100 people signed up to take the Veggie Challenge.

Our large table banner titled A Planet at "Steak"! prominently told show visitors that:

Livestock production accounts for 30% of the entire land surface of the planet and 18% of climate change.

– Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN

Slow Food Toronto was there with some delicious local vegetarian food options. I got the beet salad with diced apples and fresh sprouts, plus homemade chips with a bean and heritage carrot dish pictured below for $4. There were several other options that included goat cheese and or dairy products. – Steve

This week, Angelina and John dip into food lit, revamped restaurants, and ethical quandaries - all in the name of plant-based eating.

Atop Angelina's recent reading lists are Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, ruminations on how we perceive of what we eat, and Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, in which she reflects on her family's year of producing all their own food. Topics brought up in these food politics books also tie in with a variety of TVA-sponsored health talks and how-to events coming up in the near future.

Kensington Market is on everyone's mind at the RC today. Angelina has recently rediscovered Hibiscus, a cozy, mostly vegan eatery on Augusta that serves delicious buckwheat crepes and exotic homemade non-dairy ice creams. Ask for the experimental rice cheese! John has noticed that King's Cafe is hopping in the first weeks after its recent renovations. As well, he interjects ethics into the podcast discussion with two tales of dietary profiling.

For more information about T.O.F.U.magazine's tour click here.

Also, don't forget about next Saturday's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over Your Stomach at the Resource Centre.

Today's question of the week: if you could get a food based tattoo what would you get?

This podcast is a musky 27 minutes.

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Don't Miss These Upcoming Events! Healthy Eating for Diabetes (April 28) and two talks by Brendan Brazier (April 29 and 30). Find out more in the TVA in Action section or on facebook. Save Money at Over 80 Vegetarian-Friendly Businesses! Purchase our discount card today.    Tweet if you love TVA! Come follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/torontoveg We’re on Facebook Join the Toronto Vegetarian Association Facebook Group to receive invitations to events and more!

April 2009

Welcome to the April edition of eLifelines. This is a busy month for TVA, as we participate in numerous spring events and host three of our own! Read on for all the details.

This Month...

TVA in Action - Upcoming events, bringing Harold Brown to Toronto, activities of TVA social groups and Directory updates.

In the News - BOCA announces removal of eggs from vegetarian products, Hot Docs Schedule. 

Nutrient of the Month - C is for Colourful: A Rainbow of Sources of Vitamin C.

Recipe - Kale Salad.

Compassionate Eating During Holiday Season - Veggie ideas for Easter and Passover, Chocolate Matzo Recipe.

eLifelines Readers Corner - Quiz: What kind of vegetarian are you?

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Vegetarian restaurants

King’s Cafe (192 Augusta Ave, s. of Baldwin, 416-591-1340) has finally re-opened after a major renovation. The beautiful interior incorporates stone and dark wood. The space is now one large dining room with a boutique off to the side selling a wide selection of exotic teas and some frozen mock meats. Everything including the menu is more upscale and fancy. Gone are the messy brochures and newspapers. The new menu includes dim sum, soups, sushi, mock meat dishes and combination specials. Many dishes are the same, but the serving presentation is more fancy. New is a whole page of different teas. They served me a delicious pot of Lychee Black Tea. I ordered the $13 combo special of tofu seaweed strips with steamed bok choy, purple rice (brown, wild and red rice), organic salad, tofu nuggets (ask for the vegan nuggets if you avoid dairy), a spring roll and soup of the day. Other dishes include: Sweet 'n' Sour Lappa (battered burdock balls), Curry with Mushrooms, Enoki Mushroom Balls, and Schezuan Style Spicy Tofu. There is also a kid's combo for $9.50. Vegetarian cardholders still receive a 10% discount. –Steve

Update (April 22): Bangali Sweet House has openned a second location in Etobicoke at 2651 Islington Ave (second plaza north of Albion Rd, 416-746-9393). Tom reports that the menu is "typical of the Bangali and Punjabi styles at neighbouring restaurants, Indian Gate (formerly Gagan Sweets), Brar Sweets and, directly across the street at Rajdhani. I had a vegan thali with plain salad, rice, eggplant with cashew nuts, cauliflower, chickpeas, spinach (happily absent of cheese!), and plain roti. It was all delicious with pleasant spicing (including a whole cardamom pod in one of the items), and quite filling." They offer sit-down and takeout service with a full Bangail vegetarian menu. Their other location is in North York.

Hot Yam! (33 St George St, n. of College) had their last regular vegan, local, organic lunch for the school year at the International Student Centre on April 8. They will be back in September, and maybe during the summer.

Indian Spice Kitchen Restaurant (748 Markham Rd, n. of Lawrence, 416-850-7781) is a new North Indian pure vegetarian (no meat or eggs) restaurant with lunch and dinner buffets, thali, a la carte, samosas and Indian sweets. Tracy writes, "I highly recommend them. The ambiance, food and owners are wonderful. You can either order from the menu per curry or have the buffet like we did ($7.99 lunch or $8.99 dinner). On the buffet, there were at least 10 curries, rice, soup, chat papparis, fresh garlic or regular naan (frankly the lightest and tastiest I have ever eaten) and two desserts – you can also order a separate dessert from their small bakery section. I am always on the look out for the best chai tea and frankly I believe I have found it!..."

Update (April 24): Pulp Kitchen Juicebar & Eatery (898 Queen St E, at Logan, 416-461-4612) has now closed, but are "in the process of finding new digs." Search for them on Facebook if you want to stay informed.

Komala's Restaurant at 5651 Steeles Ave E (at Middlefield) is closed. April 23: There was a breach of lease notice taped to the door.

Pure Vegetarian at 668 Dundas closed a few weeks ago.

Kosher restaurants

Thanks to Hagit, we now have a whole page of vegetarian-friendly kosher restaurants posted. Along Bathurst Ave (north of Eglinton) and in Thornhill, there are a number of kosher (dairy) restaurants. One is vegetarian and the rest are close to being vegetarian, but they serve some fish. Many include vegan options.

Vegetarian-friendly restaurants

Antoine, Eliana and Steve were invited by Alecia (who is vegan herself) to sample Rancho's new vegan offerings.

	Rancho's deep fried vegan ice cream is a first in the city and maybe even North America.

Rancho Relaxo (300 College St, w. of Spadina, 416-920-0366 ) is a Mexican dinner restaurant with a new vegan-friendly menu that includes such dishes as Tofu Borrache, a delicious combination of tofu, tequila and cactus, stuffed chili rellano peppers with spinach and tofu, Burrito con Guacamole, quesadillas, fajitas and enchiladas available with vegetarian (no meat stock) rice and refried beans! Save room for dessert, their deep-fried soy ice cream – battered, deep fried and topped with cinnamon and raspberry syrup – is a first in the city. Vegan cheese and sour cream available as an option. And discount cardholders receive a 10% discount!

Adam Wilson writes April 14: "I can confirm: vegan heaven! ...our wonderful waitress says that something like 50% of their customers are vegetarian. Oh, and by "wonderful" I mean probably the best waitress that I've ever had. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, she was not only warm and friendly, but expressed real passion about both Rancho Relaxo and its vegan options. She was sooo excited about their TVA discount. Her name is Ileana."

Mocha Mocha Cafe (489 Danforth Ave, e. of Chester, 416-778-7896) is a semi-counter service, multi-ethnic cafe restaurant. Maydianne writes: "It's one of our favourite places for lunch/brunch. It has many delicious vegetarian options (my favourite is their brown rice salad)."

Vegetarian cooking classes

Vegetarian & Raw Classes by Hearty Catering (www.HeartyCatering.com, 416-410-2928) now offers raw meal preparation, vegetarian cooking workshops and food demos. See their website for details about classes scheduled to take place over the next several months.

Shri's Indian Vegetarian Cooking Lessons (East end of Mississauga, at Dixie Rd and Rathburn Rd, 416-824-6023) offers $200 Indian cooking courses that run for 5 Saturdays or Sundays. Each 3 hour class includes a meal. "Learn how to cook healthy North and South Indian vegetarian foods like Naan Bread, Paneer, Chappati, Roti, Channa, Dosa, Poori, Upma... The classes are very hands-on and small in size (max of 5 people) so that you will get individual attention during the class."

Raw foods

Make It Raw Catering and Meal Delivery (www.makeitraw.com, 416-629-2529) provides raw/vegan/fusion high energy gourmet cuisine, specializing in raw vegan lasagna, pizza's, burgers, flax crackers, cakes and more; available for local pick up (around Bathurst north of Steeles) and full service catering for any occasion. They also do weekly or monthly meal delivery in the GTA, and sell from the Organic Village Market every Saturday morning at 9100 Bathurst St, in Thornhill.

Toronto Sprouts (formerly at 720 Bathurst St, 416-535-3111) is moving to Etobicoke by the end of April.

Discount updates

Organics on Bloor (468 Bloor St W, e. of Bathurst, 416-538-1333) has reinstated their discount to cardholders of 10% ($20 min).

Panacea (588 Bloor St W, w. of Bathurst, 647-350-3269) is Toronto's only all-vegan grocery and eco store. They are offering 5% off to cardholders.

Rancho Relaxo mentioned above is offering 10% off to cardholders. 

Today John and Colleen are on full recovery mode from yesterday's chickpea indulgence. A small group got together to have a "hummus-off"; there were nine hummus entrants competing for the elusive title of "Hummus Champion Of The World". The names of the hummuses ("hummi"?) were as diverse as the flavours. The winner was the "Healthy Hatha Hummus"; the runners up were "Conquistador" and "¡Garbanzo Caliente!".

There are lots of fun events in the near future which you will be invited to as well. On Saturday, April 25th John and Colleen will be making their favourite recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World which will be free to sample in the Resource Centre. There are also rumblings of some active events too, including ultimate frisbee, soccer, and softball.

Colleen's heart is all aflutter due to the following cookbooks: Vegan Brunch, Vegan Soul Kitchen, Ani's Raw Dessert, The 30 Minute Vegan, Skinny Bastard and The Vegan Table .

John's mouth is running amuck with regards to the state of vegetarianism in Wisconsin.

This podcast is a hummus of a thousand suns 23 minutes.

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