Session B.3
jump to: Spotlight on UUs Did you know? For our next session
Hands-on learning: fast & healthy recipes
Get ready for another cooking session!
PREPARATION
1. Read this session all the way through. Scripted language in highlighting is offered as guidance; feel free to deviate as you see fit.
2. Mid-week, send reminder email with link to the assigned viewing. Here is a template for your email.
3. Check with each cooking group leader to make sure their group will have necessary ingredients and equipment.
4. To show Michael Greger's talk, you will need an internet connection and the necessary viewing equipment and audio equipment. The video is here: http://www.ideacity.ca/video/dr-michael-greger-not-die/ You'll be playing the video on a laptop. So the laptop will need to be connected to a projector or monitor, and you will need external speakers (or use a speaker with a wireless connection) to amplify the sound.
5. Do a trial run (at least a week in advance is wise) to resolve any technical difficulties in time for your session.
6. Ensure there will be nametags, and create signage to help participants find kitchen, if necessary.
7. Designate at least two people to take some pictures.
8. If needed: bring container for compost again.
9. Bring table grace on index card again.
Welcome, check-in (10 minutes)
Say, Welcome back! It's good to see you all again. Today, we're going to prepare and share some fast & healthy recipes. Before we get cooking, let's go around the circle to check in about our week. I'll start... Model a brief check-in, and let each participant take a turn doing the same.
This week, who would like to lead us in the table grace? Give index card to volunteer.
Let's get cooking!
Cooking together (allow 30 minutes)
Have fun, be safe, and don't worry about errors. Remember this motto: Let's be flexible and forgiving. Take pictures, and please compost the food scraps and waste.
Sliced Barbecue Sandwiches
Seitan is also known as "wheat meat." Recommended pronunciation: "say-tan," similar to "Ray-Ban." ("SAYT-in" sounds too much like you're invoking the devil.) These days, store-bought seitan is a time-saving alternative to homemade seitan.
This recipe makes two sandwiches. For your class meal, multiply accordingly.
Salad
A salad can be a simple affair, or it can be a meal. Think outside the ordinary lettuce/carrot/tomato box. Aim for multiple colors (see nutrition note below).
Do you have leftovers in your fridge? Try using them to augment your salad. Diced cooked potato (plain or sweet), canned beans, and cooked grains are interesting salad additions, as are nuts, seeds, and chopped fruit or berries.
Delicious dressings can add pizzazz to your salad creation. Store-bought dressings are convenient, but it's fun to make your own. We've included a few recipes for you to try. Keep in mind that dressings can add to your salad's caloric density, and a salad can be delicious without any dressing at all, especially if you've topped it with juicy pieces of fruit.
Chocolate Mousse
This recipe calls for silken tofu, not regular tofu. To learn more about silken tofu, read this page.
Serves four. For your class meal, multiply accordingly.
Ingredients:
1½ cups chocolate chips (fair-trade & dairy-free if possible)
½ cup of your favorite plant-based milk
1 12 oz package silken tofu
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
1. Melt chocolate chips and plant-based milk together in microwave.
2. Pour melted chocolate mixture into a blender or food processor. Add all other ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour mousse into small cups. Chill in freezer about 30 minutes, and serve (or keep in refrigerator, if making ahead of time).
Did you know?
For our next session...
1. Watch this 10-minute talk by Harvard biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham.
Harvard Thinks Big 2010 - Richard Wrangham - 'Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human' from HTB2 on Vimeo.
Wrangham's talk summarizes material presented in his book by the same name.
Before the advent of cooking, our pre-human ancestors had to spend a substantial part of the day just chewing. Raw meat and tough plant matter are both very hard to chew.
The innovation of food processing—including cooking—meant critical advantages in survival. More calories could be consumed in much less time.
2. Read "Is a vegan diet natural?" by dietitians Jack Norris and Ginny Messina (from Vegan for Life, pages 34-36; allow two minutes).
The authors acknowledge that humans evolved eating animal flesh as well as plant matter. But they contend that meat in our past isn't an argument for meat-eating today.
They say the question we need to answer isn't what's "natural," but this: Can we be healthy on a vegan diet?
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the answer is yes. A whole-food, plant-sourced diet fortified with Vitamin B12 is "healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases." See also this curriculum footnote for more information.
Despite evidence to the contrary, however, many people believe they need to eat animal products to be healthy. Which leads to our final reading...
3. Read "Consumer Trends: Why Eat Meat?" at Drovers, a publication for livestock producers. (Allow two minutes.) What psychological strategies do people use to justify meat-eating? In 2015, an international research team found the most common reason given was necessity. (The research was published in the journal Appetite; the abstract is found here.)
Hands-on learning: fast & healthy recipes
Get ready for another cooking session!
PREPARATION
1. Read this session all the way through. Scripted language in highlighting is offered as guidance; feel free to deviate as you see fit.
2. Mid-week, send reminder email with link to the assigned viewing. Here is a template for your email.
3. Check with each cooking group leader to make sure their group will have necessary ingredients and equipment.
4. To show Michael Greger's talk, you will need an internet connection and the necessary viewing equipment and audio equipment. The video is here: http://www.ideacity.ca/video/dr-michael-greger-not-die/ You'll be playing the video on a laptop. So the laptop will need to be connected to a projector or monitor, and you will need external speakers (or use a speaker with a wireless connection) to amplify the sound.
5. Do a trial run (at least a week in advance is wise) to resolve any technical difficulties in time for your session.
6. Ensure there will be nametags, and create signage to help participants find kitchen, if necessary.
7. Designate at least two people to take some pictures.
8. If needed: bring container for compost again.
9. Bring table grace on index card again.
Welcome, check-in (10 minutes)
Say, Welcome back! It's good to see you all again. Today, we're going to prepare and share some fast & healthy recipes. Before we get cooking, let's go around the circle to check in about our week. I'll start... Model a brief check-in, and let each participant take a turn doing the same.
This week, who would like to lead us in the table grace? Give index card to volunteer.
Let's get cooking!
Cooking together (allow 30 minutes)
Have fun, be safe, and don't worry about errors. Remember this motto: Let's be flexible and forgiving. Take pictures, and please compost the food scraps and waste.
Sliced Barbecue Sandwiches
 |
| Seitan + barbecue sauce = yum |
Seitan might be new to you, but it's been popular in Asian cuisine for centuries. Buddhist monks are credited with inventing this meat substitute. The process: mix flour with water, then knead and rinse the dough repeatedly. Kneading develops strands of the wheat protein, gluten. Rinsing removes the starch. The gluten is then cooked in seasoned liquid. The result? A dense protein product with a chewy, meaty texture.
This recipe makes two sandwiches. For your class meal, multiply accordingly.
Ingredients:
8 oz. package seitan strips or chunks
enough barbecue sauce to cover seitan in pot
2 burger buns
1. Slice seitan (if necessary—chunks may need slicing, strips might not).
2. Place in pot, cover with sauce, and bring to a simmer.
3. Lightly toast buns.
4. Assemble sandwiches.
8 oz. package seitan strips or chunks
enough barbecue sauce to cover seitan in pot
2 burger buns
1. Slice seitan (if necessary—chunks may need slicing, strips might not).
2. Place in pot, cover with sauce, and bring to a simmer.
3. Lightly toast buns.
4. Assemble sandwiches.
Salad
Do you have leftovers in your fridge? Try using them to augment your salad. Diced cooked potato (plain or sweet), canned beans, and cooked grains are interesting salad additions, as are nuts, seeds, and chopped fruit or berries.
Delicious dressings can add pizzazz to your salad creation. Store-bought dressings are convenient, but it's fun to make your own. We've included a few recipes for you to try. Keep in mind that dressings can add to your salad's caloric density, and a salad can be delicious without any dressing at all, especially if you've topped it with juicy pieces of fruit.
Ingredients:
- lettuce, spinach, and/or mixed salad greens
- possible salad additions: avocado, beans, beets, bell pepper, broccoli, celery, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, fruit, nuts, radish, red cabbage, red onion, scallions, tomato, zucchini...
1. Tear or chop lettuce (or other salad greens) into bite-size pieces. Place in large salad bowl, making a bed of greens.
2. Chop salad additions into bite-size pieces (as needed). Put on top of greens—or create a Salad Bar by offering toppings in separate bowls.
3. Add dressing, if desired.
Tahini-maple dressing — makes about ½ cup.
¼ cup tahini
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 or 3 teaspoons maple syrup
¼ cup hot water to thin
Maple-mustard vinaigrette — makes about ½ cup.
1 Tbsp mustard (Dijon, yellow, or your favorite kind)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp oil (optional)
Nutrition note: "Eat the rainbow" is a reminder to include a variety of brightly-colored plant foods in our meals. Why? Plants get their colors from a variety of chemical compounds, and scientists are discovering that these colorful natural compounds are healthy for us in different ways. The red compounds are helpful in certain ways, the green compounds are helpful in other ways, and the orange compounds offer still other benefits, and so on.
Victoria Moran, author of The Good Karma Diet, uses another analogy to encourage eating various colors. She advises: "Make your plate look like a Christmas tree: mostly green, with splashes of other bright colors."
- lettuce, spinach, and/or mixed salad greens
- possible salad additions: avocado, beans, beets, bell pepper, broccoli, celery, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, fruit, nuts, radish, red cabbage, red onion, scallions, tomato, zucchini...
1. Tear or chop lettuce (or other salad greens) into bite-size pieces. Place in large salad bowl, making a bed of greens.
2. Chop salad additions into bite-size pieces (as needed). Put on top of greens—or create a Salad Bar by offering toppings in separate bowls.
3. Add dressing, if desired.
Tahini-maple dressing — makes about ½ cup.
¼ cup tahini
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 or 3 teaspoons maple syrup
¼ cup hot water to thin
Maple-mustard vinaigrette — makes about ½ cup.
1 Tbsp mustard (Dijon, yellow, or your favorite kind)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp oil (optional)
Nutrition note: "Eat the rainbow" is a reminder to include a variety of brightly-colored plant foods in our meals. Why? Plants get their colors from a variety of chemical compounds, and scientists are discovering that these colorful natural compounds are healthy for us in different ways. The red compounds are helpful in certain ways, the green compounds are helpful in other ways, and the orange compounds offer still other benefits, and so on. 
Victoria Moran, author of The Good Karma Diet, uses another analogy to encourage eating various colors. She advises: "Make your plate look like a Christmas tree: mostly green, with splashes of other bright colors."
Chocolate Mousse
Serves four. For your class meal, multiply accordingly.
 |
| Mousse (photo credit: Crystal) |
1½ cups chocolate chips (fair-trade & dairy-free if possible)
½ cup of your favorite plant-based milk
1 12 oz package silken tofu
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
1. Melt chocolate chips and plant-based milk together in microwave.
2. Pour melted chocolate mixture into a blender or food processor. Add all other ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour mousse into small cups. Chill in freezer about 30 minutes, and serve (or keep in refrigerator, if making ahead of time).
Mealtime (15-20 minutes)
Before you eat, let your volunteer lead the group in the table grace.
While you eat, invite discussion of the assigned readings ("Protein Combining & Beyond: The True Legacy of 'Diet for a Small Planet' " and "The City That Ended Hunger").
Sample discussion questions:
1. According to the author of the first article, what was Frances Moore Lappé's fundamental message in Diet for a Small Planet? [Feeding crops to animals to satisfy people's appetite for animal foods is a large factor in global hunger.]
2. These days, do you still encounter the notion—even though it's been debunked—that we need to combine plant proteins in the same meal?
3. Where is the city "that ended hunger," and when was Lappé's article about it published? [Belo Horizonte, Brazil. 2009.]
4. "One World Everybody Eats" Community Cafés are like the People's Restaurants described in the article. These cafés are a growing movement. Do you know if one is launching in your area? More information can be found here: http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.org/
5. Did anyone watch the optional videos with interviews of "King Corn"'s filmmaker, and Lentil Underground's author? Is anyone interested in seeing that film? Or reading that book?
Next session planning & check-out (5 minutes)
Before we end our session tonight, let me remind you that our next and final meeting will be [time, date] and it will be a potluck. Each of us will prepare a plant-based dish at home and bring it to share. Does anyone know yet what they plan to bring?
If you have decided to try the LuckyPotluck.com webtool, let participants know that you will send them a URL for the potluck planning.
Let's go around the circle now, so everyone has a turn to share any positives (things you especially liked), and any deltas (things you would change) about this session—or you can simply choose a few words to describe how you're feeling right now.
Take note of feedback, and thank everyone for coming.
Further learning this week...
Spotlight on UUs
Dianne Waltner lives in Wichita, Kansas. She grew up on a farm outside the small town of Moundridge, about 50 miles from Wichita. Her father owned a hatchery, and this is her story:
As a child, I spent many hours at the hatchery, playing with the baby chickens and turkeys before they were taken away. As a teenager, I began working there, doing and seeing things I really didn’t like to do or see but felt were necessary. Things like cutting off their toes, their beaks, their wings, and their combs or snoods. I believed that humans needed to eat meat and these procedures were unfortunate but had to be done. So I tried not to think about it and also told myself that chickens and turkeys really didn’t feel pain like we do.
However, I always felt a kinship with animals, with horses having a special place in my heart. When I was a teenager, I read the book America’s Last Wild Horses by Hope Ryden and was shocked to hear that wild horses were being rounded up, sent to slaughter, and shipped to France as horsemeat. Upon expressing outrage at this, my dad asked me a question which haunted me for years—“What’s the difference between eating a horse and eating a cow?”
Several years later I met some vegetarians who encouraged me to read the book Diet for a New America. They also showed the movie The Animal’s Film which documented what happens to animals used for food, fur, research, and entertainment. I finally began to see animals (even chickens and turkeys) as thinking, feeling beings like the dogs and cats we had. Between my dad’s question, the book, and the movie, I decided that I had to become a vegetarian myself. Considering my background, it was a very difficult decision. Mom and Dad were very good people and I loved them dearly. I never wanted to hurt them, but it was just too painful for me to continue to eat animals. This was over 25 years ago and there weren’t very many vegetarian options. Mom was very understanding and always fixed food for me. She often commented that she could easily be vegetarian herself. Even Dad seemed to accept it although I’m not sure he really understood or agreed with my reasoning.
Years later, after seeing more video footage and doing more reading, I decided that I could no longer, in good conscience, eat any animal products (including my beloved cheese) and became vegan.
I joined the 1st UU Church in Wichita, largely because of the 7th principle, respect for the interdependent web. We started a monthly vegan potluck, as a result of the Ethical Eating Study and Action issue. It began as a very small group, with a handful of 4 or 5 regulars, including some from our local Vegetarian Meetup Group. After a couple of years, we were averaging 12 or so, filling up the tables in the library. But things really took off in 2013 when we began averaging around 35-40. Even in February, with temperatures of 15 degrees and snow packed roads, we had almost 35. In addition to the potlucks, we also hosted film showings, speakers (including Melanie Joy and Will Tuttle), and a Vegan 101 class.
Update: As of 2016, Waltner has found a new spiritual home at Unity Church of Wichita, where she plans to continue hosting vegan potlucks and other ethical eating education.
Before you eat, let your volunteer lead the group in the table grace.
While you eat, invite discussion of the assigned readings ("Protein Combining & Beyond: The True Legacy of 'Diet for a Small Planet' " and "The City That Ended Hunger").
Sample discussion questions:
1. According to the author of the first article, what was Frances Moore Lappé's fundamental message in Diet for a Small Planet? [Feeding crops to animals to satisfy people's appetite for animal foods is a large factor in global hunger.]
2. These days, do you still encounter the notion—even though it's been debunked—that we need to combine plant proteins in the same meal?
3. Where is the city "that ended hunger," and when was Lappé's article about it published? [Belo Horizonte, Brazil. 2009.]
4. "One World Everybody Eats" Community Cafés are like the People's Restaurants described in the article. These cafés are a growing movement. Do you know if one is launching in your area? More information can be found here: http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.org/
5. Did anyone watch the optional videos with interviews of "King Corn"'s filmmaker, and Lentil Underground's author? Is anyone interested in seeing that film? Or reading that book?
If you're running short on time, you could begin Dr. Greger's talk while the group is finishing the meal.
Video & Q/A (20-25 minutes)
Introduce the talk this way: Now we're going to watch an 18-minute version of Michael Greger’s latest talk. How many here are familiar with Dr. Greger? He is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. In this presentation he is speaking to a Canadian audience, so you’ll hear him refer to Canadian as well as U.S. statistics.
You can skip the host's introduction in the video, and start with the applause at 0:44.
The video is here: http://www.ideacity.ca/video/dr-michael-greger-not-die/
After the video, invite participant feedback. There may be nutrition questions you don't know the answers to. Take note of them so you can find out the answers later.
Clean-up (5-10 minutes)
Before we end our session tonight, let me remind you that our next and final meeting will be [time, date] and it will be a potluck. Each of us will prepare a plant-based dish at home and bring it to share. Does anyone know yet what they plan to bring?
If you have decided to try the LuckyPotluck.com webtool, let participants know that you will send them a URL for the potluck planning.
Let's go around the circle now, so everyone has a turn to share any positives (things you especially liked), and any deltas (things you would change) about this session—or you can simply choose a few words to describe how you're feeling right now.
Take note of feedback, and thank everyone for coming.
Further learning this week...
Dianne Waltner lives in Wichita, Kansas. She grew up on a farm outside the small town of Moundridge, about 50 miles from Wichita. Her father owned a hatchery, and this is her story:
As a child, I spent many hours at the hatchery, playing with the baby chickens and turkeys before they were taken away. As a teenager, I began working there, doing and seeing things I really didn’t like to do or see but felt were necessary. Things like cutting off their toes, their beaks, their wings, and their combs or snoods. I believed that humans needed to eat meat and these procedures were unfortunate but had to be done. So I tried not to think about it and also told myself that chickens and turkeys really didn’t feel pain like we do.
However, I always felt a kinship with animals, with horses having a special place in my heart. When I was a teenager, I read the book America’s Last Wild Horses by Hope Ryden and was shocked to hear that wild horses were being rounded up, sent to slaughter, and shipped to France as horsemeat. Upon expressing outrage at this, my dad asked me a question which haunted me for years—“What’s the difference between eating a horse and eating a cow?”
 |
| Dianne Waltner and friend |
Years later, after seeing more video footage and doing more reading, I decided that I could no longer, in good conscience, eat any animal products (including my beloved cheese) and became vegan.
I joined the 1st UU Church in Wichita, largely because of the 7th principle, respect for the interdependent web. We started a monthly vegan potluck, as a result of the Ethical Eating Study and Action issue. It began as a very small group, with a handful of 4 or 5 regulars, including some from our local Vegetarian Meetup Group. After a couple of years, we were averaging 12 or so, filling up the tables in the library. But things really took off in 2013 when we began averaging around 35-40. Even in February, with temperatures of 15 degrees and snow packed roads, we had almost 35. In addition to the potlucks, we also hosted film showings, speakers (including Melanie Joy and Will Tuttle), and a Vegan 101 class.
Update: As of 2016, Waltner has found a new spiritual home at Unity Church of Wichita, where she plans to continue hosting vegan potlucks and other ethical eating education.
In DOVE's Course A, we shared resources for gleaning and food rescuing. An astounding 40% of food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten (whether because it rots in the field, goes bad in the store, or is left on our plates).
"Just Eat It," a 2014 documentary about food waste, is another great resource for raising awareness and inspiring action.
Your DOVE group might want to watch it together.
You could arrange a community screening.
You could suggest it be shown to students (grades 7-12) in your local school district.
Your DOVE group might want to watch it together.
You could arrange a community screening.
You could suggest it be shown to students (grades 7-12) in your local school district.
 |
This guide for school screenings of "Just Eat It"
is available here: http://www.foodwastemovie.com/schools/
|
“What we need is to believe that wasting food is not acceptable. It comes down to citizen morals. It comes down to cultural attitudes, essentially.”
Tristram Stuart, one of the interviewees in "Just Eat It," gave this TED talk in 2012 about his quest to tackle food waste.
Please note: While we share Stuart's enthusiasm for better use of resources, we don't endorse his "pork" plan for recycling food waste.
Given that pigs are individuals whose interests must be taken into account, we favor another time-honored solution for recycling food waste: turn it into compost and add it to soil, thereby helping plants grow. Composting food waste is in keeping with DOVE's values of health, justice, compassion and sustainability.
If your congregation needs a system for composting food waste, consider tackling that as a group project!
Given that pigs are individuals whose interests must be taken into account, we favor another time-honored solution for recycling food waste: turn it into compost and add it to soil, thereby helping plants grow. Composting food waste is in keeping with DOVE's values of health, justice, compassion and sustainability.
If your congregation needs a system for composting food waste, consider tackling that as a group project!
For our next session...
1. Watch this 10-minute talk by Harvard biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham.
Harvard Thinks Big 2010 - Richard Wrangham - 'Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human' from HTB2 on Vimeo.
Wrangham's talk summarizes material presented in his book by the same name.Before the advent of cooking, our pre-human ancestors had to spend a substantial part of the day just chewing. Raw meat and tough plant matter are both very hard to chew.
The innovation of food processing—including cooking—meant critical advantages in survival. More calories could be consumed in much less time.
2. Read "Is a vegan diet natural?" by dietitians Jack Norris and Ginny Messina (from Vegan for Life, pages 34-36; allow two minutes).The authors acknowledge that humans evolved eating animal flesh as well as plant matter. But they contend that meat in our past isn't an argument for meat-eating today.
They say the question we need to answer isn't what's "natural," but this: Can we be healthy on a vegan diet?
Despite evidence to the contrary, however, many people believe they need to eat animal products to be healthy. Which leads to our final reading...
3. Read "Consumer Trends: Why Eat Meat?" at Drovers, a publication for livestock producers. (Allow two minutes.) What psychological strategies do people use to justify meat-eating? In 2015, an international research team found the most common reason given was necessity. (The research was published in the journal Appetite; the abstract is found here.)
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