Sugar? Agave? Nothing at all?

Vegan chocolate cake date I baked using agave nectar

There are many studies around about the use of sweeteners. The white sugar is always the "bad guy" and we all know that it is really bad (mainly due to its refinement process) and in some places it is still not vegan too. Because of all that, people started to look for other options, healthier, of sweeteners.

The agave nectar (or syrup) has been used for a lot of people as a more natural option. I had never used before two months ago and I thought it was really good to bake using it and that it could be better to replace the white sugar in the cakes with it (Matteo's birthday cake was made with agave). Then two days ago I received this article by email, about the myth of the agave and how bad it can be to our body. I'm not an expert in the issue and I really don't know what to do. In Brazil is not that hard to find the brown sugar, known as a more healthy and less toxic option and I can find it here in Ireland as well (including some organic options). But will be this enough? I really like sweets and I'd like to have some good options.

But what should we use as a really good option? Nothing at all? What do you think?

Meat is For Pussies - the book

I already posted here the first promo videos of John Joseph's new book, Meat is For Pussies, and the release will be on April 15th. Here's the new video:

John Joseph "Meat Is For Pussies" - dropping on April 15th, 2010 from Polygraph Productions on Vimeo.

Well, I'm a huge fan of him and I got in touch with him a couple of months ago and got an interview about the book for my paper zine, Ouspoken. I've been writing and editing this zine in Brazil since 1998 and now it will have its first edition also in English and I couldn't be more excited! I need to find some free time to finish the last details and print it, but it's almost done :)

PS. I am not an organized person, it was hard for me to admit it, but it's true. So, I missed the celebration of the 1st year anniversary of this blog (that was in fact in August of 2009). But I decided to celebrate now, 8 months later and I'm preparing my first give away!

"That's how you become a cro-mag!"

I saw two amazing videos at the blog After The Storm about the new John Joseph's new book "Meat Is For Pussies" and I need to share them with you. For those who don't know hardcore is really important to me and I love Cro-Mags.

It's really cool to see a man with 47 years old that is still on hardcore and that is still vegetarian. If these two things are important to you too, listen to what he has to say:

John Joseph New York City Urban Warfare Cro-Mag Training from Polygraph Productions on Vimeo.

John Joseph on what's really going green from Polygraph Productions on Vimeo.

PS. Franz, my friend, this post is also for you ;-)

Broccoli is the reason

Rice, beans, potato wedge and broccoli

There are some kinds of food that I just started to eat and like after becoming vegan, mainly vegetables. Broccoli is one of those. I really enjoy cook them and love all recipes that have them in.

This week we're having more time to cook and broccoli are in a lot of meals, so I decided to write a little bit about them. And I saw an interesting information about them at Brazil Nut, that I'll translate here: “The infection caused by the bacterium H. Pylori, the leading cause of stomach cancer, can be fought through increased consumption of broccoli, shows a study done in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with 48 people. After eight weeks, the levels of infection were significantly lower in a group that ingested daily 70g of broccoli sprouts, compared with the volunteers who consumed alfalfa.”

Other benefits: their nutrients include vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, calcium and fibre.

Potato, onion and broccoli soup

Try to add broccoli to some of your meals, it's delicious and healthy!

Some amazing vegan recipes with broccoli:

- Pesto Pasta Bake (Lunch Box)

- Sweet and Hot Pepper Tofu - Asian Style (Vegan Appetite)

- Broccoli Tempeh Pizza and Broccoli / Apple / Lentil Quiche (Toffu Party)

- Stir-fry noodles with broccoli (The Post Punk Kitchen)

- Chickpea Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy / Garlic Mashed Potatoes / Roasted Broccoli (What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway)

Em português, as minhas duas favoritas do Brazil Nut: Quiche vegano de brócoli com alho poró e Risoto de brócoli e cogumelos

Enjoy it ;o)

All about... colours!

It's usual to read that a healthy and balanced diet can be noticed by the colours in a plate. We always try to cook different vegetables here to make our meal full of colours. Try to consume, every day, at least one dish with these different colours: red, yellow and orange, purple and dark blue, green and brown. It's not that easy but you can get better day after day.


Here some example of food by colours:

Red: tomato, red pepper, watermelon, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, papaya, guava.

Yellow and orange: carrot, mango, orange, pumpkin, peach, corn, apricot, banana.

Purple and dark blue: grapes, plum, figs, beets, eggplant, cabbage.

Green: leafy vegetables, broccoli, green pepper, spinach, parsley, herbs, asparagus.

Brown: Nuts, oats, whole grains.

To me the hardest food colours are purple and dark blue because I really don't like some of them. I like grapes, but my husband hates them. The only one I learnt to like in the last years is eggplant. But I can't eat figs or beets. I remember that in Brazil I used to eat beets cooked with beans, but it's not good anyway...

And about you, how many colours has your plate?

My way to eat salads

Most of the people thinks that all vegan and vegetarian people love salads. And it is not like that. Some do, others don't. I grew up without eating a lot of vegetables. My family hadn't this habit. We used to eat vegetables like potatoes, carrots, broccoli, just cooked with other food, never in cold and traditional salads. So I just started to try to eat salads after becoming vegan. So when someone asks me "But does vegan people just eat lettuce?", you can imagine my face (and answer)... I think even after becoming vegan, I could count the days in my life I have eaten salad.

I am definitely not the kind of person that asks for salad in a restaurant. I just do that when I really have no other option. So, you may be asking, what do you eat? The rest of the food! I love all kind of pasta, risotto, lasagne, rice and beans, everything cooked with potatoes, salted pies... and the list goes on.

But my life is changing. In November I decided to start a diet. I won some extra weigh after turning on the 30s and it's time to say goodbye to them. So I talked with one of my best friends, Clarissa, who is vegan and is almost a nutritionist. And the first part of this diet is about change some habits to have a healthier and more balanced diet. Yes, I still can be healthier! So she asked me to start eat more vegetables, with salads, not with the food. So I did it. It's not that easy and it's not that good too. But I am eating green salad and tomatoes every single day.

These last days, I decided to add some fried red tofu to the salad. I know that everything fried is good but not healthy. But you don't need to use oil to fry the food. Just let it in the pan for some minutes (around 8) and it will taste a lot better. So this is the (best) way I figured out to eat salad! Yesterday I did the same with vegan sausages. I know I won't do it every day, but it's helping a lot to keep the new (and good) habit.


And the other great option is eating tomatoes and lettuce with the sandwiches at night! This is really amazing. Vegan cheeseburger is better like that. You know, we don't eat food at night, just have a meal with sandwiches (the opposite of Irish people that eat sandwiches at lunch time and food at night).



I can say that I am starting to enjoy the salads and I'll try more options. This is an habit that I will keep (we'll keep because my husband is eating too)! Thanks, Clarissa, for the great job. I am doing my best here!