Planet Vegan: Lentils are superfoods

Vegans for World Peace

Our food system is inefficient, cruel and we are wasting our resources. We will run out of clean water, deplete the soil of nutrients and collapse the ecosystem. We are destroying the tropical rainforest, the lungs of the planet, and home to millions (if not trillions) of species of life forms that took millions of years of evolution to create. We are growing food on this land to feed the animals we eat (for the most part.) We are creating mass extinction and we are not immune to extinction ourselves as we are dealing in a land of finite resources. Humans are starving right now because we choose to feed their food to the animals we eat. Approx. 50,000 litres of drinking water goes into producing 1 kilo of beef or a gallon of milk. It takes approximately 10 times more grain to feed a "food" animal to eat it than it does to just feed the grain directly to the human being. We can feed 7 billion humans much more efficiently than 100 billion or more land animals. And we are ignoring our moral obligation to protect innocent animals and people who cannot protect themselves. Yes animals in the wild eat flesh but they do not breed in captivity and confine their prey to spaces indoors without space enough to turn around or be comfortable at all during the entire life. These animals are living a life of torture. No wild animal is so cruel to abuse, torture, confine, neglect, overcrowd, beat, cram in cages so small they never move, allow them no exercise, no sunshine, EVER, no movement even! Cut up into pieces while conscious, skin them alive, boil alive, etc etc etc This is common the world over. 100 billion a year we slaughter!!!!! and we kill another 1-3 trillion in the oceans. Non human animals are not capable of cultivating plant crops, however we are. We do not need animal products to survive. Some animals do need other animals to survive we are not one of them - many have proven this. Our intestines are long like herbivores and we have a back up emergency system we are abusing. Animal protein and fat creates disease in our body where plant food does not. We can derive all we need from plants and bacteria, rather than have the animals process this for us. If we focus on feeding the people directly we stop the torture and slaughter. If you eat meat dairy or eggs and you watch how the pigs, cows, chickens, farmed fish etc live you, will see they suffer immensely. When we take from the oceans we risk the lives of the sharks and whales who are essential to the ocean ecosystem. We need to keep it in balance. And the taste for flesh is not worth mass suffering beyond comprehension. We can learn to eat the plants. If you don't have the stomach to watch these videos on how the "food" animals live - it is because you already know it is creating suffering for them. Please stop supporting animal cruelty immediately! We can eat if we grow food for us rather than the animals we breed into existence to consume. We threaten the wildlife when we farm the land to grow the animal food. There is enough food for everyone but not enough to feed and care properly for so many animals! Every social issue is solved by going to a plant based diet and provides a tangible way of knowing who is cruel and who believes all life is sacred. The torture can stop but it takes each and every one of us to make it happen. Violence is a choice. Please stop contributing to lifetimes of starvation, torture, confinement, abuse, and slaughter. Please stop! Let us instead worship all life, not just our own. Let's love and worship instead of destroy, torture, and exploit ok?! Please! We can do this! And we will be better for it!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Lentils are superfoods

Lentils are to India as meatloaf is to America: the quintessential comfort food. Ranging from yellow and red to deep black, these tiny disc-shaped members of the legume family are eaten in some form at least twice a day in “any self-respecting Indian household,” says Kavita Mehta, founder of the Web-based Indian Foods Co. In fact, India is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of lentils. Known as dal, lentils typically are served at every meal with steamed rice or bread.

This superfood gives you protein and cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, as well as about twice as much iron as other legumes. And lentils are higher in most B vitamins and folate, which is especially important for women of childbearing age because folate reduces the risk of birth defects. Plus, U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers discovered that the pigment in Beluga black lentils acts like an antioxidant and helps protect against heart disease, cancer, and the aging process in general. Not too shabby for something the size of a pencil eraser.

What is in lentils that make it super food? Just imagine that lentils lack only 2 essential amino acids in order to complete the 20 amino acids that we need in our body. Lentils are low in fat, high in fiber, and low in calories (230 calories for cup of cooked lentils) which are best option for dieters. The lentil seeds can aid digestion process and stabilize the blood sugar for its potential to lower the glycemic index and prevents blood sugar to rise rapidly after eating.

In addition, lentils are also rich in thiamin or vitamin B1, high in folate content or vitamin B6, loaded with minerals such as magnesium, calcium, manganese, phosphorus and iron.

Take note that magnesium, the natural calcium channel blocker, has an essential role to keep our heart healthy. Enough supply of magnesium can relax the arteries, lessen resistance, and tremendously improves the oxygen, blood flow and nutrients. Likewise, lentils are energy booster and can replenish iron stores. Some people regarded lentils as best alternative for iron meat because of its low calories and fat content.

Lastly, the high amount of tryptophan, a kind of amino acid can help to produce protein when combine to other amino acids. This tryptophan is known for anti-depression and can induce good sleep because it serves as a precursor for melatonin and serotonin of the brain. Another significant compound found in lentils is called molyddenum which function is to catalyze important chemical reactions in metabolism.

Lentils can be stored a long time, they are easy to make, and they are one of the cheapest protein sources going, at just $2.00 per pound. And unlike other legumes, you don’t have to soak them before cooking. Just rinse them in cold water and simmer in water or vegetable broth. Enjoy them plain or spiced with herbs, onions, or garlic. I simmer them with quinoa and buckwheat as the take the same time to prepare, 15 minutes.

I add a half a cup of lentils with a half a cup of either quinoa and buckwheat. You put the cup of lentils/quinoa in a pot and add two cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for fifteen minutes. I let stand for another ten or fifteen minutes and then place in a bowl and add chopped organic tomatoes, parsley and a little fresh organic chopped onions. Top off with fresh squeezed organic lemon and a half of an avocado. This is a perfect meal of protein, calcium, antioxidants, enzymes, fat and tons of vitamins.....

For buckwheat, add three cups of water to the one cup of buckwheat and lentils....

— with Isis Melinda Israel Brock, Kai Bravo and Michael Harrison.