By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Tempeh (also known as tempe) is a traditional fermented product that originated in Indonesia. It is made by hulling, soaking, and partially cooking whole soybeans or other legumes, grains, or seeds. The beans are then inoculated with a tempeh starter (most commonly rhizopus spores) and incubated. The final product, tempeh, is a solid cake that has a mat of white mycelium (fine filaments) holding together the beans, grains, or seeds. Tempeh’s taste has been described as “nutty,” “cheesy,” “yeasty,” or “like mushrooms.”

Commercial varieties of tempeh, in addition to soy tempeh include Tofurky’s Five Grain Tempeh made with soybeans, brown rice, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and millet; Lightlife’s Three Grain Tempeh made with soybeans, brown rice, barley, and millet; and SoyBoy’s Five Grain Tempeh made with soybeans, brown rice, millet, kasha, and quinoa. Soy-free tempeh products include those made with azuki beans, chickpeas, and black beans, split peas, and lentils.

Nutritionally speaking, tempeh has a lot going for it. A 3-ounce serving of soy-based tempeh has 150-190 calories; tempeh made from other legumes may be somewhat lower in calories. Tempeh made with soybeans has more protein than a similar amount of tofu with a 3-ounce serving of tempeh containing 11-20 grams of protein. Tempeh made with other legumes and/or grains is lower in protein. Tempeh is a good source of fiber with 2 to 5 times more fiber than a similar amount of tofu.

Tempeh is a reasonably good source of iron with 2 milligrams in a 3-ounce serving and of calcium. A 3-ounce serving of soy-based tempeh has 70-100 mg of calcium. Unless vitamin B12 or a vitamin B12- producing bacteria are added during processing, tempeh is not a reliable source of vitamin B12.  Tempeh is low in sodium although it may be used to make higher sodium foods like tempeh bacon and tempeh burgers.

Tempeh can be marinated and broiled or grilled, sautéed, added to stir-fries or soups, used to top pizza, and to fill tacos or burritos.

For tempeh recipes see Cooking with Tempeh and Tempeh Temptations

To read about soy-based tempeh being approved for use in school meals see https://www.vrg.org/blog/2019/11/07/soy-based-tempeh-options-in-school-lunches/

To read about making your own tempeh, see:

Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments by Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey. Storey Publishing; 2019.

The Book of Tempeh by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi. Harper & Row; 1979.

The Stanford Inn Resort, is offering guests the opportunity to grow their lunch and eat it too with two new vegan retreats – one this summer and another in the fall.

“Everything we serve at our resort is organic, plant-based, and conscientiously prepared with respect for the land,” said Jeff Stanford, owner of the resort. “We field so many questions, we felt a couple of retreats would allow guests an authentic hands-on experience.” From cooking to nutrition, effective habit-change to environmental and ethical issues, guests will learn everything they need to know to be a happier, healthier person. The luxury eco-property has its own USDA Organic certified farm that provides produce for the Resort’s award-winning plant-based Ravens Restaurant.

The vegan retreats offer guests of the Stanford Inn Resort a chance to learn how to practically and logistically be vegan, and to show how simple it can be with regard to nutrition and cooking. There seems to be a feeling that transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is difficult. Stanford Inn Resort takes the guess work out of the process, and clears the confusion.

There are two vegan retreat sessions available:

·      Thursday, July 29 – Monday, August 2

·      Thursday, September 9 – Monday, September 13

Each vegan retreat includes:

·      4-night stay

·      4 breakfasts

·      4 dinners

·      2 cooking classes

·      Nutrition/healthy living class with author/nutritionist Sid Garza-Hillman

·      Sid’s Small Steps Approach with author/nutritionist Sid Garza-Hillman

·      “Bringing it Home” talk with Jeff Stanford & Sid Garza-Hillman–how to apply what you’ve learned!

·      Complimentary book copies of: Dining at the Ravens Cookbook by Jeff & Joan Stanford and The Art of Play by Joan Stanford; Approaching the Natural by Sid Garza-Hillman

·      Raising Healthy Parents: Small Steps, Less Stress, and a Thriving Family by Sid Garza-Hillman

·      Mountain bike rental

Cost:

$2150/person + tax (single occupancy), gratuities not included

$1390/person + tax (double occupancy), gratuities not included

The Stanford Inn Resort is located at 44850 Comptche Ukiah Road, POB 487, Mendocino, CA 95460. In addition to its farm and sprawling ecological landscape, the Stanford Inn Resort also hosts the Environmental Leadership Field School, an intensive experience that mobilizes future leaders from different fields to support and enhance the environment, biodiversity, and equitable relationships.

Guests at the Resort wander freely on the grounds, where they’ll see a variety of plants including edible flowers as well as a small menagerie of rescued animals. Those seeking a variety of other experiences make their way to resorts wellness center, which offers massage in the forest, nutrition and cooking classes, creative play shops, guided hikes, and various yoga and meditation classes. The Stanford Inn Resort’s outdoor shop offers different paddling and peddling experiences and specializes in redwood outrigger custom built canoe rentals, including the Canine Cruiser series – the only canoes in the world designed specifically for dogs and people to cruise together safely in style, with a raised and padded pooch floor.

By Shantika Bhat, VRG Intern

In high school there are many opportunities for activism. Participating on debate and ethics bowl teams can help educate your classmates.

I was a part of my school’s Ethics Bowl team where we would prepare for competitions. Ethics Bowl Competitions are when two teams debate (in a kind manner) many real-life ethical cases. The point of these competitions is to learn how to be a critical and analytical thinker, develop teamwork, and have fun. Ethics Bowl is different from a debate competition because you are not assigned opposing views; rather, you defend whichever position you think is correct while providing advice and constructive criticism to the other team. The cases you get are pre-set and everyone gets the same ones. Before your team goes to competition you develop your own arguments and opinions which could also be the same as another team. In addition, you are being judged by engaging in respectful and supportive efforts to compete with your other team. Overall, this competition teaches you how to appreciate multiple viewpoints, civic engagement, and civic discourse.

One interesting case we were assigned was about factory farming, which was the term used by the ethics bowl organizers. The agricultural industry call these Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs).

People can have very different opinions. As a vegetarian or vegan, you can decide for yourself how strong you want to be about your thoughts during the competition, and what style will have the most reach.

This case impacted a lot of my friends on the team about their lifestyle choices. Most of my friends consume meat but never knew about the cruelty that goes on to get the meat that they eat. A lot of those friends are more accepting of vegetarian and plant-based diets now compared to before they read this case.

Here are other ideas for activism: https://www.vrg.org/teen/#activism

Be sure to follow The Vegetarian Resource Group on Instagram: @vegetarianresourcegroup

By Shantika Bhat, VRG Intern

Shantika Bhat is interested in the intersection of ethics and medicine so she decided to ask Jay Lavine questions about his experience as a doctor.  Dr. Lavine, a retired opthamologist, answers questions about promotion of healthy diets and the medical system.

The current medical system

The current medical system focuses a lot on trying to fix people, which can be problematic in the long run, said Lavine. Prevention of diseases and solving them at the root cause should be the main focus of the medical system. However, according to Lavine, he thinks that the medical system is too focused on giving drugs. Thirty-seven percent of all deaths in the United States are attributable to four health behaviors: smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, and problem drinking according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. To Lavine the healthcare system has turned to more of an economic standpoint of trying to gain profit rather than doing what’s in the best interest of the patient. According to Lavine this is why patients he had were scheduled for unnecessary surgeries and given drugs when they could’ve fixed their problem by simple diet changes. However, when focusing on the diet aspect often doctors don’t have time to follow through with such lifestyle changes. A study titled Time Allocation in Primary Care Office Visits found that doctors spend a median of 16 minutes with patients age 65 and older, which isn’t enough time to explain diets, answer questions or concerns, and more. Lavine says the systematic approach to earning the most money for the medical industry has been to make doctors see more patients in less time to maximize profits which has hindered many physician and patient relationships. Relationships are key for trust between the patient and doctor so that positive change can be made, but the system needs to be changed to allow for more productive time.

Educating and Advocating for Vegan/Vegetarian Diets

Note from Shantika: I discussed several of the following topics with Dr. Lavine. From all the books, shadowing experiences, and more that I have experienced, I have seen that implicit bias, patient autonomy, and cultural competency have always been a huge struggle and influence in the medical industry. These three factors all come into play when it comes to lifestyle changes such as diet. Implicit bias is when we have attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge. Patient autonomy is about patients’ ability to advocate for their self-interest. Cultural competency is about where doctors understand different cultures and can advise with that in mind.

In Lavine’s description of medical school he believes that one’s perspective and exposure plays a huge role in the way they treat their patients. For example, doctors who are vegan/vegetarian themselves have more tips and advice to give patients because they are themselves vegan/vegetarian; however, a non-vegan and vegetarian will only learn those tips from exposure in medical school. If doctors who don’t follow a vegan or vegetarian diet don’t get exposed well enough during medical school about implicit bias and effective diet teaching, then their way of explaining to patients about diet change might be less well rounded. From what Lavine witnessed he saw that everyone gets different level exposures to different procedures in medical schools. This is why he saw peers with negative biases about suggesting vegetarian and vegan diet change. Since there is no standard that each gets, bias can seep through when the doctor advises the patients. Jay Lavine once attended a lecture and it was about the prevention of heart diseases and the speaker was only talking about different medicines. Lavine asked about diet changes and then the doctor made jokes about the diets with negative connotations. Overall that action highlights that different doctors may say negative comments like that because of their own dietary preferences or they believe that the patients won’t follow through. This is where better training on bias and preventive techniques should be taught more.

“My adoption of the vegan/vegetarian diet symbolized to me the philosophy that one should conduct one’s life in a way that doesn’t cause harm to other beings both human and not human,” said Lavine. His perspective and exposure to a vegan/vegetarian diet helped change the way he treated patients to a more preventive route compared to other colleagues who didn’t have the same lifestyle. “We should all be for ourselves but that shouldn’t be at the expense of using others,” said Lavine. In terms of education, there could be much done to improve the way doctors educate patients on diet changes. Jay Lavine would explain and suggest dietary changes and give recipes to help patients figure out a plan to adopt it. He thinks the best way for doctors to educate is to 1) repeat terms a lot so that the patients can internalize it; 2) give handouts and articles that the patient should read because it allows patient autonomy to choose what’s best for themselves; and 3) give people the benefit of doubt and not assume that they will not change. Those are his three tips to start when suggesting a change to a patient. In addition, patients have the responsibility to try to understand what the doctors say and go for the change if they can do so.

It’s good to acknowledge that not everything is easy when it comes to switching to a healthier diet, says Lavine. One is the fact that many Americans in poverty may not be able to access healthy options, which is why social history, follow-ups, and support programs should be implemented. Health disparities are a huge issue that society needs to fix for healthier communities. Another fact is that cultural differences can cause some conflicts between the diet change if the doctors don’t educate themselves about their patients. There needs to be more diversity and cultural competency training in medical school as well. “You can turn any cultural foods vegan/vegetarian if the knowledge is applied,” said Lavine. Finally, the topic of the younger generation of kids wanting to change diets can cause conflicts in the household if parents don’t agree. Each parent responds differently but, highlighting the parents who may think a vegan/vegetarian diet can cause a lack of nutrients;  Lavine suggests giving parents literature and tips to read to help mediate between kids and parents.

“I think that there is too much judging and the lack of open mindedness in seeing things in the way that patients might see them,” said Lavine. He believes that doctors should try to understand how patients may feel and try to help them rather than quickly assess that patients will not follow through on diet changes.

“Nutrition is the main determinant of health,” said Lavine. Prevention and the focus on changing diets should be more advocated in the healthcare industry. Overall, training on implicit bias, patient autonomy, and more exposure in medical schools are ways to improve doctors’ ways of educating patients’ healthier diets.

Dr. Lavine is author of the Eye Care Sourcebook. See https://www.amazon.com/Eye-Care-Sourcebook-Jay-Lavine/dp/0737303956

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):

Baked by Chanice, 2800 10th St. NE, Washington, DC 20017

Satisfy your sweet tooth with the mouthwatering bakes at Baked by Chanice. Chanice is a teenage baker who opened her cookie and cake business out of her kitchen during the COVID pandemic, and in May 2021, had the grand opening to her storefront location. Order a custom cake or indulge in a Chocolate Lover’s Collection, a box including Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Coconut Walnut, S’mores, and Kitchen Sink cookies.

Fudi Fast Food, 115 Plymouth Rd., Plymouth Meeting, PA 19642

Fudi Fast Food is accomplishing the impossible: combining fast-food guilty pleasures with healthy, vegan ingredients. With their wide array of fast-food favorites turned into well-balanced nutritious meals, you can satisfy your cravings without breaking your diet or your wallet. Try one of their mouthwatering wraps, like the Santa Barbara BKT, a unique spin on a BLT with Fudi Chkn, kale, Bkn, tomato, and feta, or pair the Chkn strips with one of Fudi’s numerous housemade sauces, such as the Citrus-miso Cesar, K-pop Ketchup, or Cabo Diablo. If you have a sweet-tooth, then you must try the smoothies, acai bowls, frozen banana bowls, or, the Fudi special, Banana Wrap!

Herbie Butcher’s Fried Chicken, 735 E. 48th St., Minneapolis, MN 55417

Enjoy this all-vegan fried chicken shop. Not only do they serve chicken, but they also offer milkshakes, biscuits, and mac n’ cheese. It’s tried-and-true American comfort food. Their mission is to create vegan meats and cheeses that are even better than the real thing! Vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores will all find something to enjoy at this fast-casual restaurant in South Minneapolis.

Ka Papa Cuisine, 1830 S Osprey Ave., Ste. 104, Sarasota, FL 34239

This family-owned restaurant is upscale serving dishes inspired by Asia, Europe, and North America and has something everyone can enjoy. They source many of their ingredients locally and offer a full beer and wine menu. Be sure to try their Ricotta-Spinach Ravioli which is served in white wine lemon-caper sauce. 

kb&co, 10224 104 St. NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 1B8 Canada

kb&co is a casual conscious eatery that values lowering their carbon footprint and preserving the planet’s water supply through an animal-free menu, mindful ingredient sourcing, and eco-friendly packaging. They have a wide variety for breakfast and lunch such as different smoothies, wraps, soups, snacks, and more. Examples such as green curry stew (green curry, onion, red & green bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, mushroom, basil, coconut cream), cashew cream cheese avocado toast, sloppy joe (chili, avocado, red onion, tomato, romaine, sweet chipotle cashew cream), and more. They are located in Fox One Tower in downtown Edmonton.

Llama Love Vegan, 11633 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025

Llama Love Vegan is a delivery-only restaurant inspired by traditional Peruvian foods and drinks. The menu features a variety of foods native to South America including quinoa, maca (Peruvian ginseng), and aji (Peruvian sweet pepper). Specialties include a quinoa bowl with salsa criolla, “Guacamaca” with fresh chips, and a spice rice surprise with spicy aji. Elixirs of life are also available including wellness juice with a dash of turmeric and chicha made with fresh Incan purple corn juice. The Peruvian menu is rounded out with desserts such as hot chocolate made with 100% cacao and vegan Arroz con Leche (Mexican rice pudding.

Maya’s Cookies, 4760 Mission Gorge Pl., Ste. G, San Diego, CA 92120

They sell a large selection of cookies, including Classic Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, White Chocolate Macadamia and Drunken Grandma. They also have wheat free cookies including Chocolate Chip S’mores, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Wheat Free Drunken Grandma. Finally they offer specific “collections” like The Pride Collection, The Graduation Collection and The Father’s Day Collection

Thank Goodness it’s Vegan, 27 West Main St., Goshen, NY 10924

Thank Goodness it’s Vegan offers a variety of American vegan comfort foods and desserts. Some examples of food that they have are Tofu Scrambles, vegan BLT, Sesame Teriyaki Littles, Chocolate Encased Cannoli, and more.

Nan’s Noodle House, 3103B Edmonton Trail NE, Calgary, AB T2E 3N6 Canada

If you’re in need of some homemade comfort food, then look no further than Nan’s Noodle House. With mouthwatering bowls of Rich Miso Ramen, a creamy broth loaded with wheat noodles, green onions, corn, shiitake mushrooms, menma bamboo, and topped with your choice of vegan Hay’m slices or Chick’un, you can indulge in delicious favorites. Bite into a steaming Gua Bao, buns packed with glazed Chick’un, pickled vegetables, and cilantro, or snack on the Yakitori Chick’un Drumskicks served with a tangy BBQ dipping sauce. Make sure to take a look around the Vegan Market inside of the restaurant while sipping on a Thai Coconut Iced Tea or Thai Iced Coffee.

The Farm Café and Concessions Food Truck, 12 Emerald St., Keene, NH 03431

Food served includes soup of the day, bowls, wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas, burgers, salads, yummy sides, as well as gluten-free bakery boasting a cookie of the day. Mouth-watering options such as Buff-a-Flower Power Wrap with grilled cauliflower, Green Monster Quinoa Bowl, All Buffed Up Mac & Over the Rainbow just might make you want to road trip to NH!

On Sunday June 27, 2021, a groundbreaking virtual conference called TEMPETHON 2021 will go live to spotlight the Indonesian fermented protein, tempeh (spelled “tempe” in Indonesia). A staple of the Indonesian diet, tempeh has only recently caught fire in western markets. In the USA, tempeh products are exploding with an annual growth rate of 30.1% in Natural Food Stores and 29.7% in Conventional Grocery Stores. The next big thing in plant-based products, chefs and consumers alike rave about tempeh’s firm texture, nutty/mushroom flavor, and versatility. Nutritionally, tempeh packs a big punch with 15 grams of cholesterol free protein in a 3oz serving, establishing itself as one of the most nutritious sources of plant-based protein on earth.

TEMPETHON 2021 includes:

1. A TEDx talk by Amadeus Winarno, PhD and co-founder of the Tempeh movement.

2. Cooking classes from a variety of world cuisines, hosted by Melania Edwards, Author, Founder, and CEO of The Tropical Kitchen. Live cooking demonstrations will include exotic Indonesian recipes from The Tropical Kitchen. Renowned tempeh chef and author JL Fields will demonstrate how to create tempeh burgers using simple ingredients. Ecuadorian Fermenter Cata Vallejo will showcase tempeh in South American Cuisine. Tempethon 2021 will also include special recipes from the famous Miyoko Schinner of Miyoko’s Creamery and Lightlife’s Executive Chef.

3. A tempeh innovation panel hosted by Seth Tibbott, Founder of the Tofurky Company. This will showcase some of the cutting-edge innovations driving growth in the tempeh space. It is a chance to learn about hi-tech home tempeh incubators, a new 100-million-dollar tempeh plant in Indiana, KETO friendly tempeh snack foods, a plan to build 100small tempeh plants in India, a UK tempeh start up that raised £1.6m in less than three hours of crowd funding and a Portland, Oregon producer making amazing non soy tempeh out of various grains and legumes.

The event is sponsored by the Indonesian Tempe Movement, a non-profit organization with branches in the USA and UK. To register for complimentary tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tempethon-2021-tickets-155571569753

Create and submit a video relating what you want to tell others about vegetarianism/veganism.

Some possible topics: food, nutrition, your feelings about veganism/vegetarianism, water usage and vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights, or other vegan topics which appeal to you. Humor and feelings are appreciated. All videos should be positive, not be critical of anyone, and not include any footage of animal cruelty. You may submit a video you have already made.

Aspects of judging include accuracy and judges wanting to share the video with others. Entrants give permission to The Vegetarian Resource Group to post and share the video, to link to and from the video, and share the video with the media. Deadline to enter this year is July 15, 2021.

Details on the contest can be found here: https://www.vrg.org/videoscholarship.php

These have become a favorite at The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck! This recipe from Keryl Cryer (former Senior Editor of Vegetarian Journal) replaces evaporated milk (or cream) with almond milk, which makes it vegan and adds an even nuttier flavor to the pralines.

KERYL’S PRALINES

(Makes approximately 40 pralines)

• 3 cups organic white sugar
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (at room temperature)
• 2 Tablespoons non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
• 2 dashes ground cinnamon
• 1-2 cups pecan halves (at room temperature)

In a medium-sized pot, combine the sugar, almond milk, margarine, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 20 minutes until bubbly and foamy.

While the mixture cooks, lay out sheets of aluminum foil, shiny side up, on a flat surface, such as a counter or table. When the mixture is bubbly, remove from heat. Stir in pecans until evenly coated. Use a large serving spoon to spoon mounds of coated pecans onto the foil. Work quickly but carefully. If the mixture starts to harden in the pot or becomes sugary before you finish, add some more milk and mix until smooth.

Allow pralines to harden on the foil for approximately 10 minutes. As soon as the pralines are hard, move them to a serving platter or a storage container. Store pralines at room temperature.

The next time you’re passing through either Maryland, New Jersey, or Virginia and see a Silver Diner, you may want to stop in since they offer many vegan options that are clearly labeled on their menu. Try Hibiscus Mango Soy Shake, Just Egg Benedict, Oat Milk Protein Pancakes, Brussels Sprouts & Hummus Bowl, Meatless Tacos, Veggie Chili, Beyond Meat Miso Burger, Beyond Meatballs Mac n Cheese, Pineapple-Basil Vegan Stir-Fry, and more!

For locations and more information, see: https://www.silverdiner.com/