EATING FOR PEACE VEG-A-THON LAUNCHES NATIONALLY

21 Days of Vegetarian Eating Yields Donations to United Nations Children’s Fund...


WHAT People who have never before been vegetarians agree not to eat meat for 21 days (the time it takes to break most habits)Sponsors pledge $5 or more – to be donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for humanitarian relief to children in war torn countries. For 21 days worth of vegetarian meal ideas go to recipes.

WHEN Veg-a-Thon starts June 1, 2004.

WHERE Nationally – vegetarian and environmental organizations are urged to join this effort across the country.

WHO Sponsored by Eating For Peace, a not-for-profit organization based in San Francisco.

THE PROBLEM Every day, 40,000 children die of malnutrition. The US meat industry consumes enough grain and soybeans to feed more than five times the US population. More than half the water used in the US goes to livestock. Livestock operations produce 130 times the waste of the entire human population. One acre of pasture produces 165 pounds of beef – OR 20,000 pounds of potatoes. Rain forests are being destroyed to provide pasture for cattle – an acre of trees disappears every eight seconds.


THE SOLUTION If Americans reduced their meat consumption by just 10%, 12 million tons of grain would be available – enough to feed the 60 million people who starve to death annually. Each new vegetarian can save an acre of trees per year.

PERSONAL HEALTH Vegetarians suffer less heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, various cancers, diverticular disease, bowel disorder, gall stones, kidney stones and osteoporosis. Cancer rates for vegetarians are 25 to 50 percent below population averages, even after adjusting for smoking, body mass index, and socio-economic status.

CALL TO ACTION To sign up for the Veg-a-Thon, contact Phillip Crawford, Executive Director of Eating for Peace, at 1135 Hyde Street, Suite 6, San Francisco 94109 (phone: 415-902-2392), or register at Eating for Peace

Eating for Peace connects diet choices with an easy way to raise funds for children living in countries ravaged by war. The organization educates people in the world’s richest countries about the benefits of a vegetarian diet for protecting the environment, ending world hunger, and promoting human health.

Vegetarian Week with The Naked Veg...Stay tuned

Monday May 24th begins "Vegetarian Week" a week long celebration of vegetarian cuisine, life style, healthy eating and community around the world. In a special week long feature The Green Cutting Board will, beginning tomorrow, publish an original gourmet vegetarian recipe along with news, updates and links to vegetarian events around the globe.

The chefs at "Cordon Vert" school in Manchester, UK, home of the Vegetarian Society, sponsors of Vegetarian Week have created seven original recipes and with permission we present them to you.

Please give a look and try each one for yourselves and send us your comments. If you are not vegetarian/vegan then we can't think of an easier or more delicious way to take a "taste drive."

If you need to get the kids from underfoot while your chefing away in the kitchen this Vegetarian Week here's a sure fire link bound to amuse and build a healthy appetite.

Meet our guest, Tina Avila owner of Casa Tina Mexican Grill, Main Street Dunedin, Florida. In yesterday's story we introduced Tina on webRadio InstantFM.com. Today we have more of that interview and give our readers a recipe or two to boot.


Casa Tina's is a mix Gourmet Mexican and vegetarian grill which Tina explains is the philosophy behind their successful restaurant. When Tina met her future husband and partner,Javier, he was one partner in "Senior Frogs" restaurant in Miami. Soon their interest in healthy and traditional cuisine merged into the concept for a family restaurant that offered traditional as well as vegetarian fare. The lucky benefactors of this partnership are the residents of Tampa Bay and downtown Dunedin.

Voted best Mexican and Vegetarian Restaurant by both the Weekly Planet and Tampa Bay Magazine Casa Tina Grill glows in the family friendly tradition of serving great meals for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Prior to the broadcast we asked our listeners to send us their hot or spicy traditional family recipes. Karen from Sarasota, Florida sent us this recipe for dirty rice, a traditional Creole dish often served with ground beef or spiced sausage, Karen veganized the recipe and we've reprinted it here.

Dirty Rice

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups cooked white rice
1/2 Cup diced onion
1/2 Cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 Cup chopped portabella mushrooms
1/4 Cup water
1 Tbls vegetable bouillon paste
1 Tbls dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Cajun spice blend Emeril's Bamm

Preparation

Prepare the rice according to instructions in advance and set aside.

Sauté the onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft, add the mushrooms and parsley. Cook uncovered until the mixture dries slightly and the flavors blend. Now add the cooked rice, water and bouillon. Cook an additional 10 minutes or until medium dry, this is "Dirty Rice" after all.

Garnish with fresh green onion.

serves 2
vegan

Our guest restauranteur Tina quickly pointed out the vegan virtues of this traditional recipe and remarked especially on the use of Portabella mushrooms which she said have a distinct smoky/dense flavor and texture when added to any dish. Vegetarian cooking is a matter of combining spice texture and taste in ways that satisfy the pallet and refresh the spirit both traditional and unexpected. Casa Tina's Grill does both very well.