By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

It’s simple, right? We all think we know which foods are good for us and which foods are less likely to be health promoting. But when medications enter the mix, it may get more complicated. Some foods that many of us think of as healthy, can interfere with the actions of some medicines, making the medicine less effective or even dangerous.

For example, there are long lists of medications that grapefruit or grapefruit juice can interact with. These include some drugs to lower cholesterol (some statins), some drugs used to treat high blood pressure, some anti-anxiety drugs, some corticosteroids, and some antihistamines. Seville oranges (often used to make orange marmalade), pomelos, tangelos, pomegranates, and pomegranate juice are sometimes identified as having effects similar to those of grapefruit and grapefruit juice (1).

People taking some types of anticoagulants (medicines to reduce the risk of blood clots) are warned to eat a consistent amount of green leafy vegetables and other food sources of vitamin K rather than eating a lot of kale, say, one day and no green vegetables the next (2).

A type of antidepressant called an MAO inhibitor can have dangerous interaction with foods high in tyramine or histamine. These include aged cheeses, pickled or fermented food (sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi), fermented soy sauce, tempeh, and yeast extract.

Your health care provider or pharmacist can help you determine if you need to avoid or limit certain foods because of medications that you are using.

In addition to foods, other products including dietary supplements, herbs, non-prescription medications, and other prescriptions medications all have the potential to interfere with a prescribed medication. It’s a lot to keep straight.

Johns Hopkins Medicine website (3) has these sensible recommendations:

• Ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider if there are foods, beverages, vitamins, or supplements you should avoid with your medicines.
• Read the prescription label on the container. If you do not understand something, or think you need more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.
• Read directions, warnings, and interaction precautions printed on all medicine labels and instructions. Even over-the-counter medicines can interact with foods, beverages, or supplements.
• Check with your pharmacist or healthcare provider before taking vitamin pills at the same time you take medicine—vitamins and minerals can interact with some medicines.
• Be sure to tell your healthcare provider and pharmacist about all medicines you are taking, both prescription and nonprescription.

References

1. FDA. Grapefruit juice and some drugs don’t mix. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/grapefruit-juice-and-some-drugs-dont-mix. 2021.
2. National Jewish Health. Anticoagulants and some drug-food interactions. https://www.nationaljewish.org/conditions/medications/cardiology/anticoagulant-and-drug-food-interactions?modal=1. 2013.
3. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Food-drug interactions. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/fooddrug-interactions

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

The Vegetarian Resource Group is celebrating its 40^th Anniversary this coming fall and this year we have changed the name of our quarterly magazine to Vegan Journal. You’ll find the same type of articles and recipe pieces in an updated format. Enjoy in-depth original research, product and book reviews, scientific updates on veggie nutrition, delicious vegan recipes with gorgeous photos, plus so much more. Both long-term vegans and those new to a vegan life-style will enjoy this magazine.

To subscribe in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

The Vegetarian Resource Group first learned of Every Company (formerly Clara Foods) in March 2021 in an article on its “animal-free” pepsin.

At that time, we were curious to find out more about the source of Every’s pepsin. Since this digestive enzyme, common in many nutritional supplements, is typically derived from hogs on a commercial basis, pepsin is considered an animal-derived ingredient.

So how could pepsin be “animal-free”?

Every Company “animal-free” products

On their website viewed in January 2022, Every Company lists three “animal-free” products they make by precision fermentation.

• egg white protein
• egg white replacer
• porcine pepsin replacement

According to the website, these products are suitable for a wide range of foods and beverages.

For egg white protein and egg white replacer, these include:

• assorted beverages
• protein bars
• bakery
• dry mixes
• sauces
• dressings
• patties
• pasta
• binder in meat analogues

Pepsin, in particular, was noted as a possible food processing aid as well as an ingredient in nutritional supplements.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, processing aids do not have to be listed on food and beverage labels.

At the time of writing this article, Every Company was in partnership to sell a vegan protein smoothie in California and New York as well as online.

In the description for this product, there was an asterisk after the word “vegan” which lead to this disclaimer:

“Contains egg allergens. This is not an animal product and is not created from chickens.”

Here was the complete ingredient statement for this product:

Apple Juice, Water, Pineapple, Banana, Spinach, Avocado Pulp (Avocado, Citric Acid), Lemon Juice, Egg White Protein (Non-Animal Source)

Every Company manufacturing process

On their website, Every Company states that it “…decouples proteins from the animals that make them using fermentation.”

To do this, they use a DNA sequence library. After copying the genetic code for a specific animal protein, they insert it into yeast. Every uses chicken and porcine DNA sequences for their products.

Then the yeast are grown on a medium containing sugar. Through fermentation, the yeast produce the animal protein according to the genetic instructions previously inserted.

Every Company FAQ page

On the website FAQ page, Every Company writes:

Note: Because our egg proteins are nature-equivalent to chicken-made eggs, they are considered egg allergens. People with an egg allergy should not consume our proteins.

Q: Why do you call your proteins animal-free?

A: Every Company conducted extensive consumer research to identify the clearest way to describe our proteins and the fact that no animal or animal cell is involved in our process or product. Our research indicated that animal-free is the clearest, most understandable way to describe animal protein made without using a single animal.

Note to reader: There are varied opinions on the labeling of these types of products, which will continue to evolve. Here is a YouGov national U.S. adult poll concerning how meat and dairy alternatives based on DNA originally from animals should be labeled: https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/CulturedMeatYouGov2022.pdf

What do readers think? Which terms would you suggest be used or not used?

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

By Chen Zeng

Fermentation is a process that people used to produce foods for decades. This process traditionally involves the conversion of sugar into alcohol and CO2 by yeast. In recent years, precision fermentation of “animal-free” protein has attracted a lot of attention from consumers and investors. What makes precision fermentation different is not the microbial process itself. Similar to traditional fermentation, yeast used in precision fermentation turns sugar into other ingredients except that no alcohol and CO2 will be produced. According to Good Food Institute, “precision fermentation uses microbial hosts as ‘cell factories’ for producing specific functional ingredients.” And by inserting the target gene into the yeast, yeast can be instructed to produce ingredients that people desire. This might sound like a brand new technology but in fact it has been around since 1980s. At that time, precision fermentation was used to produce human insulin that is used to treat diabetes patients. Before then, insulin used for treatment was derived from animals and this technology has brought down the cost of insulin.

A lot of startups that popped up in recent years are taking this technology into the food industry. What some are calling “animal-free” proteins, like whey, egg, and heme proteins that are identical to their animal counterparts, are being introduced to the market. They are being called “animal-free” as animal DNAs are easily accessible with a simple swap sample or in the online database. By incorporating these animal genes into the yeast, they produce animal ingredients without using the animal themselves. As many people are concerned about the presence of GMOs in the final food products, companies in this field are claiming that no GMOs will be present in the final products and their methods will bring down the environmental impact of animal agriculture and the cost eventually. Also, as novel ingredients, these “animal-free” proteins are not required to be labeled GMOs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because they do not contain genetically modified organisms. But in Europe where regulation is different, it is uncertain how these ingredients will be labeled. And some that call them “animal-free,” may call them vegan (while many others wouldn’t). However, these proteins are still identical to animal ones and can trigger allergic reactions among those that are allergic to the animal version. Therefore, we are talking about a novel food category that probably requires some new labels to avoid confusion.

Chen has a Masters in Food Science from Cornell.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

By Nadely Requena, VRG Intern

When I was offered the chance to lead a vegan cooking class, I didn’t feel an ounce of hesitation to accept the offer.

It sounded like a lot of fun, a way to crawl out of my introverted shell that formed during the pandemic, and an opportunity to experiment with vegan cuisine. As someone who was vegetarian for four and a half years, and only recently became vegan, I have been slowly re-learning how to cook after living in the university dorms for a year. Most importantly, I’ve been trying new recipes and expanding my palate. So anytime I can cook, it brings a smile to my face.

I would be teaching a group of men at Christopher Place, a residential program providing education, training, and recovery support to formerly homeless men of the Baltimore area. Hearing this, I really wanted to know more about these committed men and their stories. I truly wanted to have a chance to not only cook delicious food, but also have the chance to be a part of the experience these men take away from their time at Christopher Place.

So, I took a leap of faith and decided to teach a vegan cooking class, having prior teaching experience, but sub-par cooking skills.

I chose a recipe titled “Korean-Mexican Styled Bulgogi Tacos”, which was entirely an experimental recipe that I made once from leftovers the previous week and really enjoyed. I had recently learned to cook vegan Bulgogi, which is traditionally Korean BBQ grilled steak. As someone who loves altering recipes to feel more individualistic and unique, I grabbed some flour tortillas, as they’re something I grew up eating in my Mexican household, and added a couple more ingredients to create the final dish.

All I can say is that there’s nothing more fulfilling than a group of people taking a bite into your recipe and collectively giving you a thumbs up, signaling how delicious it is. I was genuinely surprised at all the positive feedback and teaching this class definitely boosted my confidence in the kitchen.

Speaking to all the men present that day inspired me as well. A few of them were vegetarian and vegan, which was something I wasn’t expecting. It made me very happy to know that cooking and nutritional classes were proving to be very useful, according to the lives of these men.

Throughout the class, they kept reassuring me that I was doing a good job and that in itself meant a lot. I learned that it’s okay to experiment, to not know what you’re doing, and to essentially not know the outcome. Through all the laughs and smiles, I realized that we’re all just trying to survive and it’s important to not let everything get to your head. No matter the setbacks, or particular circumstance that one is in, it’s important to acknowledge the situation. But also realize that nothing can limit the things one does in life as these men showed me when making delicious tacos.

Most importantly, I learned food is best when it’s shared with others.

Here is the highly acclaimed recipe that the men of Christopher Place deemed their favorite so far:

Bulgogi (serving size: 4 tacos)

• 2 cups (around 10 pieces) of plant-based chicken tenders (recommend Gardein)
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 12 ounces Korean BBQ sauce (recommend Ocean’s Halo)
• 1 scallion
• 1/2 cup of red onion
• 1 cup of green bell pepper
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Tacos

• Flour tortillas (1 per taco)
• Vegan provolone cheese (1 per taco) – (recommend Daiya slices)
• Jalapeño hummus

Steps

• Plant based chicken tenders
  • Microwave method
    • Place 10 tenders (around 2 cups) in a microwave-safe plate, evenly spaced apart > 1 minute > Then, flip tenders to the other side > 1 minute > Flip one more time to other side > 1 minute

• Once tenders are warm and soft, place them on the cutting board and slice each tender vertically (fajita sliced)
• You should have chicken strips > place on plate for now

• Pan method
  • Add 1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan over medium heat
  • Add the 10 tenders (around 2 cups) into the pan; begin moving the tenders as they begin to break apart from being frozen
  • Cook for 10-15 minutes, make sure both sides of the tenders have been turned
  • Once tenders are warm and soft, place them on the cutting board and slice each tender vertically (fajita sliced)
  • You should have chicken strips > place on plate for now
• Cutting Vegetables
  • 4 shiitake mushrooms > rinse, cut off the stems, then place the caps facing down and cut into thin slices (fajita sliced) > place on plate separately from chicken strips (on veggies side)
  • 1 scallion > rinse, then cut off 1 inch of white stem (side with roots), cut the rest into 1 inch pieces > place on plate separately from chicken strips (on veggies side)
  • 1/2 cup of red onion > rinse, then cut red onion in half (put the extra to the side), then julienne the remaining red onion > place on plate separately from chicken strips (on veggies side)
  • 1 cup of green bell pepper > rinse, cut of top half of stem, then julienne the remaining green bell pepper > place on plate separately from chicken strips (on veggies side)
• Making Bulgogi
  • Preheat pan over medium heat > slightly oil it
  • Once hot, place the mushrooms, scallions, red onion, and bell pepper into pan
    • Cook until veggies are slightly charred and soft
  • Then, add 12 ounces Korean BBQ sauce
  • Once veggies are mixed with sauce, then add the sliced chicken tenders and mix together > you now have bulgogi, proceed to season with sesame seeds (place on plate)
• Making Tacos
  • Making quesadillas: on a pan, cook one side of the tortilla, then flip, and add a slice of cheese to the cooked tortilla side. Proceed to fold in half and cook the uncooked side of the tortilla by flipping it every 30 seconds or so. Repeat with each taco.
  • After each quesadilla is made, open it, and add the jalapeño hummus and bulgogi
  • You now have “Korean-Mexican Styled Bulgogi Tacos” !!!

For more information on VRG internships, see https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

To support Vegetarian Resource Group outreach and internships, go to www.vrg.org/donate

Or join at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

photo from A Taylored Experience

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide (Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many are doing take-out and/or delivery now):

A Taylored Experience, 2453 Commercial Park Dr., Mobile AL 36606

Head on down to A Taylored Experience where you will find authentic soul and southern comfort food. Menu contains classics such as waffles and wingz served with a side of syrup, wingz w/ seasoned fries, skillet taco mac & cheese, chili and cheese hot dawgs, and even a chopped cheese steak. Wings can be tossed in 6 different types of sauces: BBQ sauce, lemon pepper sauce, sweet chili sauce, hawt sauce, buffalo sauce, and hawt lemon pepper sauce. Taylor’s menu is abundant in selection including 8 brunch options, 4 pastas, 8 sandwiches/burgers, and a selection of 3 types of loaded fries. Taylor has truly tailored her soul food menu to include her unique flair into just about any food genre.

Himalaya Vegan Organic Restaurant, 4160 Northgate Blvd., Ste. 4, Sacramento, CA 95834

Their menu changes daily; however, enjoy dishes such as yellow split pea vegetable soup; red lentils with onion and ginger; collard greens and kale with onion and shiitake mushroom sauce; coconut pie; key lime pie, etc.

Make Out Miami, 3255 NE 1st Ave., Miami, FL 33137

Make Out Miami is a casual café-plus-marketplace, allowing it to offer made-to-order smoothies, coffees, and menu items, as well as grab n’ go options. Its menu will suit your needs whatever you’re in the mood for, whether that is an All-Day Breakfast item like the Superfood Oats, or the namesake Make Out Salad that includes hemp seeds, spiced macadamia nuts, and a chili-lime vinaigrette. You may opt for a savory Falafel Bowl or the Sesame Almond Noodles, or choose to indulge in the coconut-cashew-based ice cream that is made in house—and that can be enjoyed in traditional scoops or as part of an ice cream shake. There are several specialty coffee drinks as well as smoothies chock-full of superfoods—like the Peanut Butter Buzz that includes dates, cashews, cacao nibs, maca, and hemp seeds. The café’s moniker “every-day plant food” clearly means that this is a place you will want to visit every day.

Mr. Charlie’s, 612 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036

If you’re ever on the corner of Melrose and La Brea Avenue, you may stumble across a familiar looking fast food restaurant with its bright red and yellow exterior. However, don’t be mistaken. This is Mr. Charlie’s, also known as “Vegan McDonalds” on TikTok, who have taken a not-so-serious approach to sharing vegan cuisine with the world. Here, you will find timeless American classics with a plant-based twist, such as “frowny meals,” “not a double double,” “not a cheeseburger,” not a chicken sandwich,” “not chicken nuggets,” and everyone’s favorite, french fries! Mr. Charlie’s is not only on a mission to bring approachable plant based food to communities, but are also partnering with the Dream Center to give opportunity to those transitioning from homeless, incarceration, or addiction. Eating at Mr. Charlie’s will do more than turn that frown upside down!

Pure Grit BBQ, 36 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10010

Merged between 23rd and 24th street in bustling Manhattan, Pure Grit BBQ continues to serve its Texan inspired barbecue. From main dishes including their Impossible cut barbecue, smoked mushrooms, pulled jackfruit, tofu, and their daring fried chick’n, Pure Grit proves how barbecue isn’t just for meat lovers. Their sides include timeless options such as coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, fries, fried sweet potato bites, and fried tofu bites. In the mood for something different? Try their popular Fried Daring Chicken on a Waffle drizzled in hot maple with pickles, pickled red onion, coleslaw, and BBQ ranch. Truth is, Pure Grit’s menu has mastered the skill of combining sauces and seasonings with excellent vegan grilling that will have you coming back in no time.

Tastefull Vegan Frozen Desserts, 2265 Porter SW, Wyoming, MI 49519

Located in a quaint, white-bricked shop, Tastefull Vegan Frozen Desserts will satisfy your sweet-tooth cravings with its delicious dessert options. All of their menu items exclude the top 8 allergen ingredients, making them gluten, egg, dairy, nut, soy, and refined sugar free. From classic vanilla soft serve, chocolate chip cookie flarry, strawberry lemonade slushie, magnificent bars, and mango and strawberry freezepops, Toppings include cherries, whipped cream, sprinkles, and chocolate chips. With a mission to prove how no allergy, dietary lifestyle choice, or anything should prevent one from enjoying life’s greatest treats, Tastefull Vegan is making sure you find your sweet treat that is full of flavor.

Terror Tacos, 3191 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63118

Are you a passionate heavy metal fan and constantly crave Mexican cuisine? If so, Terror Tacos may just be a paradise for you! With hard-core rock filling every corner of the restaurant as you walk through the doors and a line of plant-based tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and more waiting for you to try, this restaurant is perfect for anyone willing to try an experience like no other. Feeling adventurous? Try the extra spicy Deathwish Taco, double-layered and stuffed with house-made spicy chorizo, a fried jalapeno filled with chipotle cheese, and topped with Arbol chili-infused sour cream as well as diced and pickled jalapeño. Have a more tender mouth? Stick with something like the Tofu Terror Quesadilla, topped with cilantro lime tofu, green chili sauce, black beans, grilled fajita veggies, red cabbage, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. Kids menu is available too! No matter who you are and what you need, Terror Tacos has something for you.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in new regulations said, “vegan food” means the food or food ingredient, including additives, flavourings, enzymes and carriers, or processing aids that are not products of animal origin and in which, at no stage of production and processing, ingredients, including additives, flavourings, enzymes and carriers, or
processing aids that are of animal origin has been used.”

Also, “The food products to be called vegan, shall not have involved animal testing for any purpose including safety evaluation, unless provided by any Regulatory Authority.”

“If the same production line is shared with non-vegan products or ingredients, thorough cleaning or comparable measures in conformity with Good Manufacturing Practices shall be carried out before production of vegan products commences and the same shall extend to all associated machinery, equipment, utensils and surfaces.”

For more information see: https://www.fssai.gov.in/upload/notifications/2022/06/62ac3f9dba33cGazette_Notification_Vegan_Food_17_06_2022.pdf

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Recent topics brought up include:

– Vegan Journal shared Chef Jay Staten’s vegan recipes that can be made using an air fryer

– Info on the 5 high school scholarship winners promoting a veggie lifestyle from The Vegetarian Resource Group

– Review of Ripple Kids Milk

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids around the world. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.

Here’s a sampling of vegan food festivals being held around the world this year: https://ecoworlder.com/vegan-food-festivals-2022/

By Chen Zeng

It was an overall good experience for me dining at Moosewood. Moosewood Restaurant has been around for more than 40 years in downtown Ithaca, New York, and they are known for their cookbooks that are vegetarian-friendly. The restaurant is located at Ithaca Commons which is a tourist spot, and they focus on locally produced foods, so the price is on the higher end of the spectrum. For many college attendees, it will not be an everyday go-to restaurant compared to the restaurants at Collegetown that cater to students.

The restaurant is well-decorated and it was quiet enough for conversation among the tables. When it comes to the foods, all dishes on the menu are now vegetarian and many of these dishes are also vegan and can be made vegan without the addition of cheese. For a starter, I had the Hummus with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and Whole Wheat Pita and I really enjoyed this dish. The hummus was smooth and nicely seasoned without being too tart and the pita bread was warm and soft. For an entrée, I ordered the Jambalaya. This dish was flavorful and the vegetarian sausage in this dish also tasted good. The vegetables were chunky. Some may prefer to cut them smaller when eating. My friends had Lasagna and the other dish was Strozzapretti. Both dishes had cheese in them. For a side, we ordered Mashed Sweet Potato with Toasted Walnuts and Scallion. The Sweet Potato paired nicely with walnuts and it helped to cut down the heaviness of the entrées. For dessert, I ordered Vegan Chocolate Cake. The cake had a good balance of bitterness and sweetness but the texture was a little dense to my taste, probably because it was gluten-free. Other than food, they also had a wine menu that featured a lot of local wines of the Finger Lake region. If you’re interested in their cookbooks, they also have a corner in the restaurant that sells all their merchandise.

Overall, I think it was a decent meal. The environment and service were good and it was a good option for gatherings if you want to find a lot of vegetarian/vegan options on the menu.

For more information on Moosewood, see https://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/

For more vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, see https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php