Snap, Crackle and Not! A Small Serving of Justice…

The purpose of this entry is two-fold: 1) To expose the how and why of the inexcusable misinformation that’s become so prevalent in the world of health and wellness.  2) To show how standing up to these injustices can pay off from time to time.

A Serious Injustice

Our story begins with a recent marketing sham from our pals at Kellogg’s.  Direct from the “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me” department, newer boxes of their Rice Krispies product line have the word “Immunity” emblazoned across the cover in a font size that rivals the actual product name.  It’s part of a tagline that says, “Now Helps Support Your Child’s Immunity.”  This is, of course, criminal in its implication, as these products are light years away from being able to offer any form of quantifiable immunity from anything.

So what’s their angle?  That by jacking up the amount of vitamins A, B, C and E from 10% to 25% of the recommended daily allowance, this cereal will bolster one’s immune system.  Which brings us back to MY tagline for the day:  “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Friends…through all my years of study and research in health and nutrition, I’ve seen an awful lot of stretching, bending and distorting of facts when it comes to the marketing of many foods and supplements.  So much, in fact, that you would think I would be “immune” to the insanity by now.  I’m not.  In fact, when I see this stuff, I still get very frustrated sometimes.  And when I think about some well-meaning parent buying this shit for their kids because of what they read on the box, I get pissed.

So, as this Kellogg’s deal is sort of a classic case in point, allow me to illustrate exactly why and how this is such nonsense, in three easy strikes:

Strike One: With vitamin C being among the most promising of their “immunity builders” here, let’s do the quick math on the actual amount you would be getting.  Okay, the USRDA for vitamin C (which happens to be an embarrassingly low standard, by the way) is 60 mgs.  25% of that would only be 15 mgs.  Compare that to the 1000 mgs. minimum you should be getting everyday.  (I usually take in over 2000 mgs. per day, and that’s in consideration of all the other antioxidants I ingest.)  And if you feel a cold coming on and/or find yourself under a lot of physical or mental stress, you can head on up toward 3000 mgs. in many cases (spread out over the course of the day), so long as you’re not taking a bunch of other stuff.  So, if we’re talking about getting any reasonable amount of vitamin C to quantifiably affect your immune system, 15 mgs. isn’t shit.  (Such is also the case with the miniscule amounts that this cereal has of the other vitamins listed.)

Strike Two: These kinds of cereals are so heavily processed and devoid of anything substantive (including even a minimal amount of fiber), that all of these vitamins and minerals have to be “fortified” back into the product via a process where the cereal is sprayed with nutrients.  This means that the nutrients can actually “wash off” the cereal when wet.  So if you don’t drink the (hopefully soy or rice) milk, you won’t even get many of these nutrients, anyway.

Strike Three: For all that is NOT present in this cereal, let’s take a quick look at what actually is:

Cocoa Krispies ingredients: Rice, Sugar, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Semisweet Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate, Anhydrous Dextrose), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (one or more of Coconut, Soybean and/or Cottonseed), Salt, Malt Flavoring, Calcium Carbonate, High Fructose Corn Syrup Artificial Flavor, Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Iron, Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, BHT (preservative), Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, less Than 0.5g Trans Fat Per Serving

This ingredient list pretty much speaks for itself.  Just know that one serving (which they consider a paltry 1 oz., or 3/4 of a cup), contains about three teaspoons of sugar.  More realistically, triple that for a typical bowl of cereal and you’re looking at nine teaspoons of sugar, a gram of artery-clogging trans fat and a measly amount of synthetic nutrients…some percentage of which you might not even assimilate.  So even if you were to pound down a larger serving of this cereal in an effort to get more nutrients, you are getting commensurately more bad stuff in the process.  Meanwhile, I see nothing about this product on any level that shows promise of boosting immunity.

Which brings us to…

A Little Bit of Justice

While there have been a fair number of rumblings around the web (and elsewhere) about this lunacy, someone was able to successfully press Kellogg’s for some accountability.  San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera recently notified A.D. David Mackay, the president and CEO of Kellogg, that he had 30 days to offer specific evidence that Cocoa Krispies really does help support a kid’s immune system.  The result?  Kellogg’s announced today that they will pull this claim from the packaging, “given the public attention on H1N1.”  Whatever their official rationale for so quickly acquiescing, I don’t care.  I’m just thrilled about the outcome, and about the spotlight that has been directed toward this kind of deceitful marketing.

Back at you in a day or two,

BR

Juicing, Juice and Jive

I get a fair amount of inquiries about juicing, and the occasional inquiry and/or solicitation about any of a number of “mega elixir super juices” making the rounds these days.  I will offer a broad perspective on both, as I attempt to tie it all back to the theme of our last entry, entitled “Too Much of a Good Thing.”  Here goes:

Juicing

In general, I’ve always considered juicing somewhat of a good/better/best transitional activity.  In other words, if you start drinking juice as an alternative to sodas, that’s good.  If you make your own juice with a juicer, that’s better.  And if you focus on juicing vegetables like carrots, beets and greens (instead of all fruit), that’s best.  Hell, back in ‘91 when I first went veggie, I use to take my bad-ass Juiceman juicer on tour with me.  (For these last number of years, of course, it’s been all about the blender instead.)  However, I personally don’t recommend bothering with juicing as part of an ongoing practice, and here’s my rationale:

While I appreciate that there are a number of vital nutrients and plenty of live enzymes in freshly extracted juice, my main problem with it is that you’re separating one element (juice) from another (fiber) in food (fruits and vegetables) that is already perfect.  I’m sure that Mother Nature has Her reasons why we are to consume these foods whole.  One obvious one is that as you drink the juice – especially in the case of fruit – all of the concentrated sugars hit your blood stream without the natural buffer that the fiber provides, and this can cause some blood sugar spikes, along the lines of refined sugar.

Another reason is that there are a number of valuable phytonutrients in fruits and veggies that are discarded with all the fiber (pulp) in the juicing process.  So, for example, while you might be getting a surplus of certain nutrients by juicing three or four oranges, your trash can or compost bin is getting quite a few nutrients, as well. Therefore, you are missing out on whatever synergistic benefits there might have been from ingesting all of the 4000-plus phytonutrients inherent to fruits or veggies had you consumed them whole.

For these reasons and more, I would strongly suggest that you eat your fruits and veggies, in addition to enjoying them – in whole form – in a number of different smoothie options where you’re using a blender.  (And I’m speaking mainly about fruit here, although small servings of veggies can work with certain smoothie recipes, as well.)

Now, having said all this, if you already own a juicer and are in somewhat of a groove of making your own juice, you could do worse, believe me.  I would rather you did that than buy the store-bought varieties.  And again, the main advantage of juicing your own is that you get the benefit of live enzymes.  Anything bought in the store will, of course, be totally devoid of these enzymes due to, among other things, the oxidation issue.  My advice would be to lean toward veggie juices, with special focus on greens.  Eventually, I would like to see you transition exclusively over to smoothie world, where you can enjoy the whole fruit and/or veggie in a blender.

Juice

The only instance where I personally recommend juice is in small amounts, as a sweetening agent for certain smoothie recipes.  That’s it.  Otherwise, it’s just a whole lotta fructose and, as discussed, an incomplete profile of nutrients, compared to its original “whole” form.  At least in the context of four to eight ounces of juice in a large smoothie, you are ingesting it in a high-fiber drink with plenty of whole fruit (and potentially other high-fiber ingredients), so this mitigates the blood sugar issue to some degree.

What about orange juice for breakfast?  Hey, if that’s a vertical move for you, do it for now.  Otherwise, I would rather see you eat a couple oranges instead.

Jive (and the era of the “Life-Altering Super Juice Elixirs”)

To my regular readers here…you know by now that I’m generally reluctant to bash fellow colleagues or related products of the health industry.  At the same time, I said early on that this blog would be the place for me to “go after” those people or products who I felt were blatantly perpetuating falsehoods.  So with that in mind…

Over these past few years, we’ve seen a disturbing trend of multi-level marketing companies hawking overpriced juice made from exotic fruits like acai, noni, goji, and mangosteen.   And while I’m reluctant to lump every company and type of “exotic” juice, across-the-board, into the exact same pool here, the general M.O. is pretty universal.

First, the claims are typically over-the-top, crediting the 2 to 4 oz. servings of these various elixirs for curing and/or radically curtailing disease, depression, autism…you name it.  These claims are usually spouted off in the context of some sales fervor relating to the “unprecedented monetary opportunities” to be had by pestering your friends and colleagues to buy this overpriced juice in expensive packaging that often looks like wine bottles.  (Ever think about who’s paying for this packaging?  At $40 a bottle, I think we know who’s payin’ for it…)

Most of these claims are, of course, largely unsubstantiated by any real, non-biased science.  Why?  Because IT’S FUCKING JUICE, PEOPLE!  Beyond that, this is where we tie into our last entry about too much a good thing.  Let’s SUPPOSE for a moment that one of these products really did have, let’s say, 10 times the amount of antioxidants found in a serving of blueberries.  Would your body really be able to assimilate that much?  I mean, blueberries have a shitload of antioxidants in them as it is.  Do we really need 10 times (or whatever) that amount, and what might be the potential consequence of getting too high a dosage of antioxidants?

It’s the typical snake oil salesman mentality that we alluded to last entry: If protein builds muscle, let’s offer a product with double the usual amount to imply double the results.  Or in this case, if antioxidants boost your immune system, let’s offer a product with double the usual amount to imply double the results.  It’s bullshit…and yes, it irritates me that so many would soil our industry with these shams, because it tends to sour folks on the whole idea of true superfoods and quality supplements, which actually do exist.

Okay…rant over.  Here are a few concluding points:

1. I’m not saying all juice is categorically without merit.  Anytime you’re dealing with concentrated amounts of plant compounds, there can be a number of benefits.  However, all things considered – including the bang-for-your-buck part of the equation – I believe these benefits can be experienced through more efficient “delivery systems,” such as a wide array of multicolored fruits and veggies, a few key, top quality supps and, of course, your daily superfoods smoothie prepared a certain way.

2. Wheatgrass juice is a whole other ballgame and should never be lumped in with these other exotic fruit juices.  As discussed around here before, it’s a legitimate, highly concentrated “delivery system” of all that is great about super green foods.  Plus, the bang-for-your-buck value is excellent…especially if you learn how to juice it yourself.

3. For more info, and another credible perspective on this whole juice thing, check out Dr. John McDougall’s take on it here:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/dec/juice.htm

Catch you in a couple,

BR

Too Much of a Good Thing?

One of the unfortunate aspects of the affluent society is that most of us have been conditioned to believe that if one of something is good, then two of it must be better.  We alluded to this syndrome in our last entry as it relates to our material/financial world.

We also, however, see an extension of this mentality in the world of nutrition, propagated by various experts and supplement manufacturers.  The implication generally goes something like this: if protein helps you build muscle, then simply jack up your daily protein intake and you will gain even more muscle.  Or, if calcium helps build and maintain strong bones, then pop a few calcium tabs everyday and your bones will be even stronger.  And while this wishful philosophy might help sell more supplements, or books that advocate high-protein diets, the body simply doesn’t work that way, and here’s why:

Your body knows the exact amount of a given nutrient it needs for optimum health.  If you consistently fall short of that amount, it can obviously be a problem because your body can become deficient in that nutrient and all kinds of other imbalances can occur.  At the same time, if you consistently exceed the particular amount of a nutrient that your body needs, that can be a problem, as well.  At the very least, the excess calories (as they apply to macronutrients like protein, carbs or fat) can be stored as fat.  Or, at worst, the excess can create overly acidic conditions in the blood, even more saturated fat and cholesterol in the bloodstream (which is the case with animal products), or any number of whacked out vitamin or mineral imbalances (if you load up on some random nutrient that exceeds what your body can comfortably assimilate).

To illustrate the futility of this “more is better” concept, consider this example.  We all know that unrefined, high-fiber carbohydrates are the body’s preferred fuel of choice.  So let’s say that you’ve fallen into an effective eating regimen where you are experiencing even-keeled levels of energy throughout the day.  You’ve stumbled upon that magic range of total carbs where your body seems to function best and you feel good and have plenty of energy.  Now, let’s say that you start going out of your way to increase your carb count by 100 grams per day.  Will you have more energy?  No.  Will you feel better?  No.  Instead, you will likely start storing those extra carbs as fat (because your body simply has no use for them), and you will probably have less energy as your body exerts more effort trying to digest this overage.  And again, this will apply to virtually any nutrient where we’re getting an overabundance.

One of the main reasons for this entry is to set up a follow-up blog that I’ll be doing in a day or two about juices, juicing and the complex world of antioxidants.  But in the meantime, ask yourself if you might be getting too much of a good thing in your daily regimen these days.  Are you pounding multiple  protein shakes every day, in addition to other plentiful protein sources in your food?  Are you forcing yourself to drink massive amounts of water, even when you don’t want it?  Are you taking large, isolated amounts of some miscellaneous vitamin or mineral, just because you heard that it did this or that for you?

Obviously, I’m not saying that protein shakes or isolated supps are a bad thing across the board.  I’m just pointing out that it’s possible to take in too much of certain nutrients if we’re not careful.

More in a day or so…

BR

Nutrition/Diabetes Connection

Check out this Kathy Freston/Neal Barnard interview about diabetes and its true connection to nutrition:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/a-solution-for-diabetes-a_b_312219.html

There has been a lot of misinformation about this through the years, so it’s nice to see some of these points clarified here.

BR

The New Food Groups

Whether we’re talking about the antiquated Four Food Groups or the ever-changing Food Pyramid, there has always been an embarrassing amount of inaccuracy surrounding anything our government has put forth as a sound barometer for nutrition.  (And you don’t have to be a genius to figure out why!)

So, in preparation of several entries I’ll be doing this month about how to structure your eating regimen, take a look at what I like to refer to as The New Food Groups:

Obviously, there is much to talk about regarding the types and amounts of foods to integrate from each group.  But, just as a quick-glance overview, you can begin to get an idea of how much (or how little) of these various groups you might currently be getting.

More soon…

BR

The Gas Situation

This is probably not the most popular subject to broach around here but, facts are, some people experience increased amounts of gas when transitioning into the high-fiber, plant-based diet.  This is often because these foods have a certain “Roto-Rooter”effect on much of the decaying animal fragments lodged throughout their intestinal tract.  And as these fragments are dislodged, there can be varying degrees of “detox” that happen as your body attempts to process them.  (Not very pleasant…but I would rather NOT be carrying that bullshit around in my intestines!)

Even still, beans tend to be the most synonymous with this “dilemma.” This is because beans contain certain carbohydrates that are not easily digested by everyone. So as they pass from the small to the large intestine, your intestinal flora (bacteria) often converts these carbs to gas. Of course, gas is a perfectly natural thing and doesn’t necessarily mean that anything is wrong with how you’re digesting things. Nonetheless, some folks are still wary of including many bean dishes in their regimen, even though beans are an indispensable part of Rock-Solid nutrition. If gas is an issue for you where beans are concerned, here are a few points to consider.

1. As your body acclimates to this new high-fiber regimen, you will typically experience less gas because your body will begin to produce more of the actual enzyme that processes these foods.

2. The soaking and draining process of preparing beans for cooking removes the hemicellulose, which is one of the main gas-producing components of beans.

3. Thoroughly cooking beans will also make them easier to assimilate and can often reduce the incident of gas.

4. Taking a digestive enzyme (like Florazyme by The Ultimate Life) can aid the body in digesting beans easier, which can also mean less gas.

What About Soy?

Various soy products can fall into this category for some (as they are obviously derived from the bean family).  If you are experiencing gas or ANY kind of gastrointestinal unrest from soy, consider this:

A) Reduce your total amount of soy per day, then gradually increase your number of servings as your body acclimates.

B) Try the above-mentioned digestive enzyme.

C) If it persists, make sure that you don’t have a soy allergy.

Remember, most who transition to a veggie diet go from “0 to 60″ overnight.  In other words, they go from eating beans and soy products very rarely, if ever, to suddenly eating multiple servings per day.  So, give your body a chance to adjust and then enjoy those legumes and soy items, people!

BR

A Few Important Questions…

My gang…always asking the light and easy questions!  Seriously, I really appreciate everyone’s participation in “stirring the pot” around here, and I wanted to address a few of these most recent questions out here in the open forum.  (These came from Trevor and Lisamarie in response to our last entry.)

1. What are the most common mistakes people make on the veggie diet? When someone tries to replicate their usual shitty diet with vegan versions of what they’re used to eating.  In other words, they’ll continue on with much of the same Standard American Diet-style meals and snacks, but either avoid the animal product component or swap it out with a highly-processed veggie substitute like a veggie burger, soy milk or vegan cheese. Of course, if this is what it takes for someone to transition, so be it.  They’re better off on the short term eating this way than continuing to hammer their bloodstream with all of those animal products.

But many folks presume that as long as they’re not ingesting animal products, their diet is healthy.  Such is not the case, as these veggie diets often include lots of refined white rice, bread and pasta, chips, sodas, fries, coffee, cold cereals, etc.  You still need to get those multiple servings of fruits and veggies every day. And you need those whole grains, those legumes, some nuts and seeds here and there, along with plenty of super greens and plenty of water…every day.  And while a couple servings a day of some kind of soy meat or soy milk is generally harmless, the bulk of your diet must be nutrient-dense with these other foods to be healthy.

One other common mistake is not paying attention to those few key nutrients that are sometimes harder to get on the vegan diet (due mainly to our current agricultural processes and lifestyle choices).  These include B-12, Vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids.  You can get these from food (vitamin D comes mainly from the sun unless a food has been enriched with it), but you have to know where to find it AND how often you’re getting it.  (More on this shortly.)

2. What about Esselstyn’s no oil component? From his perspective, I agree.  Remember, he’s dealing with extreme cases…with life and death situations where he’s trying to reverse heart disease primarily through diet.  In those cases, it’s smart to avoid oil all you can.  Truth is, we don’t need it.  Truth is, olive oil is NOT a healthy food choice, it’s just the lesser of the evils when compared to other types of oil.  Truth is, we can get all of the healthy “oil” (fat) we need via modest amounts of nuts, seeds and avocado each week.  About the only kind of oil I personally would recommend is a tablespoon of flax oil in your smoothie a few times a week.

Now, having said all that, modest portions of olive oil-based dressing, for those of us with total cholesterol levels comfortably under 150, sure does make all those salads more palatable!  And even if you haven’t hit that magical below-150 spot, I think this kind of dressing probably isn’t the worst thing in the world, so long as the rest of your diet is clean.  Just don’t go ape-shit with the total amounts.

3. As for the questions regarding the fate of employees in animal agriculture – as well as the animals themselves – as we contemplate the notion of a fully vegan world…

A) Regarding people, it’s all about transition.  Just like any technology or product that is replaced by a better or newer one, there is always a transition that happens.  The old (animal products) company would gradually let people go as the demand for their products decreases, while the new (vegan products/plant-based foods) company would gradually hire more folks as their demand increases. Of course, sometimes it’s messy, and there’s a disproportionate amount of firings to hirings.  But this transition will NOT happen overnight.  So I think we would see a gradual shift as described here.

B) Regarding animals, there are two main points to remember; the only reason we have the 15+ billion farm animals going through the system each year is because humans have gone to tremendous extremes to unnaturally breed these animals.  So, again, as the demand lessens, so will their extreme “quotas” of reproduction.

Also, the overwhelming majority of these billions are chickens, and if a chicken has been raised as a “broiler” for food, then their life span would typically be only one year, presuming they were spared a trip to the slaughterhouse in this transition scenario.  But truthfully, I think the transition will be gradual enough that they will cut back on the rate of breeding long before they would have all of these farm animals just hanging around somewhere.

And finally – on the longer term and in the “perfect world” – I believe that farm animals may wind up back in their “native environment” of the classic farm as companion animals.  I believe there will be strict regulations regarding spay and neuter, like there is now for dogs and cats in many places.  And the reason I make this comparison is, just like with dogs and cats, there is really no indigenous location for farm animals to go, since humans are solely responsible for their staggering propagation throughout the world.  At the same time, once we cease to commoditize them, there will be little reason to encourage their breeding.

C) To Trevor’s question: “Or will Mother Nature win out by culling the human population (due to our misuse of arable land), therein teaching us the real kick-in-the-ass lesson we need?”

As was alluded to in the Dr. Zeus entries in the Warrior Utopia excerpts, I don’t know that Mother Nature would ever seek to “punish” us or “teach us a lesson,” per se.  I just think that anytime we impose a way of being on the earth that is inherently unsustainable (as animal agriculture clearly is), there are natural cause-and-effect consequences that will happen.  And as we reach a point where the downside of a way of being outweighs the upside to the extent that our very survival will be in jeopardy – which I believe could be within the next 40 years if we don’t wake the fuck up – then it will be us humans who will atone by making different choices, and Mother Nature can go about the business of healing herself.

Meet the Esselstyns

Just wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed with the great work the Esselstyns have been doing regarding the promotion of the plant-based diet.

For years, I’ve sited Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s ground-breaking work in the field of cardiovascular health and the plant-based diet, and it’s all nicely encapsulated in his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  More recently, his son Rip – A Texas firefighter – released The Engine 2 Diet, which details the process of getting his firefighting compadres to try this nutrient-dense, plant-based diet for superior health…all with dramatic results, of course.

One of the coolest things about it is that, in addition to Rip Esselstyn being a world-class triathlete, all these guys are in a line of work that demands a high level of physical conditioning. This lends further credence to the idea that – yes – we can get all we need, through the healthiest possible delivery system of plant-based foods.

Here’s an excellent video from a recent CBS Sunday Morning episode that features the whole backstory about The Engine 2 Diet. Great to see on national TV! (Complete with a meat industry-sponsored researcher trying to offer the typical weak-ass rebuttal…)

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To understand more of the science behind it all, check out the first 6 or 7 minutes of Papa Esselstyn in action here:

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For more on Rip, here’s a link to another vid and some Q&A:

http://www.theengine2diet.com/the-diet/

And here’s Dr. Caldwell’s main site:

http://www.heartattackproof.com/

So glad these guys are out there delivering such high-quality info and insight.

BR

There’s a New Vegan Cheese in Town!

Along the lines of our last entry, be on the lookout for a new vegan cheese called “daiya.”  This is the real deal…the panacea to all of life’s problems…the answer to our collective prayers (especially those of us who love pizza!).  And, it’s NOT made from soy.

Of course, as I’ve covered extensively, there’s nothing wrong with having some soy in the diet.  But, 1) there are plenty of vegan products already made from soy, and 2) true vegan soy cheese (which does not contain casein), runs hot and cold, to be honest.  And one of the biggest problems with it – especially where pizza is concerned – is that it doesn’t melt very well.

Such is not the case with Daiya brand vegan cheese.  It’s actually made from some combination of cassava, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours.  And while I don’t believe they’ve launched it as a retail item just yet, there are a number of restaurants that are starting to offer it.

I’ve been digging it at a local LA pizzeria called Z Pizza.  Check this bad boy out!

This is the “Berkeley,” with daiya instead of their regular soy cheese (which contains casein) and minus the pesto.  Fantastic!

And for full effect, take a peek at this vid.  Here’s my friend, Andy Mars – a long-time, LA-based vegan/activist enjoying a slice right out of the oven.  Notice how this cheese sort of oozes and pulls like “real” cheese?

Kudos to Andy, by the way.  He was the one who persuaded the folks at Z Pizza to start offering daiya…AND he’s been a tireless supporter of them every since, getting a bunch of people to drop by and try it.  True activism, folks…

Check out the Daiya Foods web site for more info: www.daiyafoods.com

Bon appetit,

BR

It’s Everywhere Now…

When I first went veggie back in early ’91, it was tough to find good vegan food…especially on the road.  But now, it’s a whole different ballgame.  Check out a few random shots from some recent travels this summer.  (Yes, my camera and/or iPhone is always with me and, yes, I love to take pictures of certain meals.)

Dinner with the Feehery’s, my long-time friends in Houston:

This feast featured three different kinds of hummus, with grilled veggies and avocado, which we stuffed into a pita, like a burrito. Killer! (I know everyone always associates Texas with barbeque.  But on this occasion, the only thing the “pit” was used for was veggies…)

A sight I wasn’t expecting to see;

At a grocery store in a St. Louis suburb, there was this huge display for meat substitutes (like soy burgers, ribs, and sausage), right in the middle of their meat department.  Yes, most every grocery store around the country carries these products these days, but you usually don’t see them displayed so prominently like this.  Progress, indeed…

Grabbed a bite in Akron, Ohio at Chrissie Hynde’s restaurant, VegiTerranean:

There are a few of these “high-end” vegan restaurants in LA, so it was nice to see one in a place like Akron.  I had a glazed soy chicken dish (which I think was made with a Gardein brand soy/wheat substitute) with these “healthy fries” and greens.  Nice!

One of my fellow diners had this delicious pasta with fake sausage and meatballs, which I sampled, along with everyone else’s meals.  Excellent!  Looking forward to a return visit.

More soon, kids…

BR