A traditional day for lovers, St. Valentine's Day originated in ancient Rome with the feast of Lupercalia. Young women's names were written on small pieces of paper or billets and tossed into an urn for young men to choose from. The chosen couples would be lovers for the coming year. Since the early Christian church could not eradicate the custom, it chose to Christianize it by making it the feast day of St. Valentine.

The following recipes are from Bryanna Clark Grogan's The (Almost) No Fat Holiday Cookbook

Why is rennet controversial? The controversy around soy. Ingredient glossary. Animal ingredients in food, cosmetics, and other products. How can vegetarians avoid hidden animal ingredients at restaurants? Find out here.

Book store shelves are stocked with "Eat more, weigh less" nutrition books, but little is written on healthy ways to increase your caloric intake. Vegetarian diets, particularly vegan diets, tend to have low calorie intakes because of their low fat and high fibre contents. 

There are many cases where "high octane" foods are required to accommodate high energy demands. Those engaged in physical sports have increased energy needs ranging from 2000 to 6000 calories per day. Others such as pregnant women may easily meet their energy needs but may not necessarily meet nutrient requirements unless some attention is given to nutrient-dense foods. Even children, with limited stomach capacities have high nutrient requirements.

Unfortunately, the fats and oils best suited for cooking are not those which provide us with the essential fatty acids (EFAs) that we require for health [See Omega 3 on our Nutrition page ]. EFAs are very unstable and will break down into very unhealthy compounds when exposed to light, oxygen, and heat. For example, flax oil provides us with both EFAs: linoleic acid (omega 6) and alpha-linoleic (omega 3). Cooking with flax oil is NOT RECOMMENDED because these EFAs will break down very rapidly into various toxic compounds including "free radicals", thus turning a good oil BAD! When choosing fats and oils for cooking, we should look for a lower content of EFAs (polyunsaturates), and a higher percentage of mono-unsaturated and saturated fats (most stable).

Another option for sautéing is to start with some water before adding oil, and use garlic and onions for their protective organic sulphur content to minimize "free radical" damage.

Here are some suggestions:

• Deep frying - not recommended
• Occasional pan frying - butter (clarified), coconut butter, Macadamia nut oil
• Light sautéing - as above, also almond, hazelnut, olive, sesame
• Baking (ingredients) - as above, also canola, safflower, sunflower (use butter or tropical fats, coconut butter, to grease pans)

Remember, any fat, oil or food that smokes, burns or is overly browned is toxic! Methods of commercial processing make these oils unhealthy, therefore, unrefined oils are recommended. Extra virgin olive oil is the only "commercially processed" oil that can still be categorized as unrefined.

Adapted from the Northern Vegetarian Society Newsletter, July 1996, Volume 2, Issue 3, page 7.

From the January 1997 issue of Lifelines

Choosing a peanut butter used to be just a choice between smooth and crunchy. But now there are reduced-fat and low-sodium peanut butters in the major brands. Should peanut butter lovers rejoice, or wince?

First, the tough issue: is it nutritionally correct to eat peanut butter? Yes, in moderation. Peanut butter is an inexpensive protein source with no cholesterol. Two tablespoons, the official serving size, contain 10 grams of protein, plus B vitamins (including folacin), potassium, magnesium and fiber. However, it does have 190 calories and 16 grams of fat, and thus derives nearly 80% of its calories from fat. Still, it is mostly unsaturated. While peanut butter is not exactly for dieters, it represents a good choice for sandwiches for vegetarians.

Natural varieties, available at health food stores, are unsweetened and often unsalted. They also have no emulsifiers or preservatives and therefore must be refrigerated. Refrigeration also slows the separation of the natural oil from the pulp.

Commercial brands contain small amounts of hydrogenated oil and emulsifiers, salt and sweeteners.

Low-sodium peanut butter has about 65mg of sodium, about half that of regular peanut butter.

Low-sugar has 2 grams of sugar instead of the usual 3. (No big gain here.)Reduced-fat peanut butters [these may only be available in the US] typically contain only 60% peanuts, so they have about 25% less fat than regular brands (about 12 grams in 2 tablespoons). But they contain more sugar (corn syrup solids), plus some soy protein and/or other extenders, so the calories are the same as regular brands. These may not be labelled as "peanut butter" since consumer legislation in the US forces peanut butter to be 90% peanuts. Tasting panels have found these fat-reduced brands seem to lack taste and, after all, are not all that much lower in fat than the real thing.

If you are interested in getting more nutrition and taste from nut butters, you might try almond or cashew butter.

Adapted from the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, Jan '96.

From the May 1997 issue of Lifelines

Enjoy an Autumn tradition

1. When selecting chestnuts, pick the ones that are full, dark and shiny. Avoid ones that are dull on the outside and shriveled inside. This will reduce the likelihood of there being mold inside.

by Anne Dozell

After making all those thick soups and heavy casseroles that keep us going through the hard winter months, it's great to know that spring is coming. We can look forward to fresh local vegetables, salad greens and fruit. So let's start moving towards lighter meals in anticipation of all the great tastes to come. Here's a selection of different recipes you can try to help celebrate spring and a new feeling of health and lightness.

Oriental Salad

• 3 cups torn spinach or lettuce
• 1-1/2 cups sliced Chinese cabbage
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced cucumber
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced radish
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
• pinch of garlic powder

Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. Combine all dressing ingredients and toss with salad. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

by Sally Grande

The following is an amusing anecdote from Richard Dawkins' book, Climbing Mount Improbable, which explains how bananas exist with unusual anthropomorphic flair!

Note that the banana:

1. Is shaped for the human hand
2. Has a non-slip surface
3. Has outward indicators of inward contents (green = too early, yellow = just right, black = too late)
4. Has a tab for the removal of the wrapper
5. Is perforated on wrapper
6. Biodegradable wrapper
7. Is shaped for the mouth
8. Has a point at top for ease of entry
9. Is pleasing to taste buds
10. Is curved towards the face to make eating process easy

While bananas seem to have evolved for primates, the same cannot be said for all fruits. Raspberries, for example, must have evolved for birds -- thorns deter mammals.

• Americans buy 2.7 billion packages of breakfast cereal each year. If laid end to end, the empty cereal boxes from one year's consumption would stretch to the moon and back.

• The cereal industry uses 816 million pounds of sugar per year, enough to coat each and every American with more than three pounds of sugar. The cereal with the highest amount of sugar per serving is Smacks, which is 53% sugar.

• Americans consume about ten pounds, or 160 bowls of cereal, per person each year. But America ranks only fourth in per capita cereal consumption. Ireland ranks first, England ranks second, and Australia ranks third. 49% of Americans start each morning with a bowl of cereal, 30% eat toast, 28% eat eggs, 28% have coffee, 17% have hot cereal and fewer than 10% have pancakes, sausage, bagels or french toast.

• In terms of dollar value breakfast cereals are the third most popular product sold at supermarkets, after carbonated beverages and milk. Cigarettes are the fourth most popular item followed by fresh bread and rolls.

• In 1993, more than 1.3 million advertisements for cereal aired on American television, or more than twenty-five hours of cereal advertising per day, at a cost of $762 million for air time. Only auto manufacturers spend more money on television advertising than the makers of breakfast cereal.

Adapted from Cerealizing America: The Unsweetened Story of American Breakfast Cereal, by Scott Bruce and Bill Crawford. A no-bowls-barred look at the cereal industry.

From the January/February 1997 issue of Lifelines.