Weekend Reading, 6.21.14
June 21, 2015

Weekend Reading | The Full Helping

Morning, all! I hope that everyone has had a restful weekend. I’m reaching the last push of my summer class, gearing up for my Serve Safe exam on Thursday, and scrambling to finish up meal plans for my clients today, so it’ll be a productive Sunday. No matter what, though, there’s always a little time for food blog tourism, and here are the recipes (and the reads) that caught my attention this morning.

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Let’s start with breakfast. I’m in love with the electric color of this raw buckwheat and blueberry porridge. Sweet, filling, and a feast for the eyes (translate the page for the recipe).

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Next, I love the sweet and savory notes of these grilled veggie tacos with strawberry basil salsa. Substitute some cashew cheese for the goat cheese (I’d recommend this recipe).

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If you’re on the hunt for a summer veggie burger that’s as healthy as it is hearty, I’d look no further than Florian’s chickpea burger with avocado mayo. Delicious.

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I can’t think of a dish that embodies spring or early summer more vividly than this bright green quinoa, avocado, peas and pistachio salad with coriander basil pesto. A delightful weeknight meal or recipe to serve at a lunch/brunch with friends.

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Finally, I’m totally digging Ashley’s vegetable burrito bowls with cauliflower rice: such a cool raw/cooked meal idea for these hot months!

Reads

1. This provocative article begins with the author’s declaration that, as a toddler, “I was part of a study in the form of a day care that involved monkeys. I was two, then three. I remember nothing.”

I expected the article to be a memoir of sorts, either positive or negative, about her experience. There’s some recollection involved, but it’s mostly a meditation on scientific (specifically sociological/psychological) tests involving children, and the complex ethical territory that surrounds them.

2. A great article on the benefits of vegan diets for heart health, featuring some insight from Kim Williams, MD, who is the president of the American College of Cardiology and also a committed vegan.

3. Joshua Foer reports on our ongoing efforts to break the communication barrier between dolphins and humans.

4. That scrumptious creation is D.C. chef Todd Gray’s “FLOTUS burger,” which was inspired by Spike Mendelsohn’s “Prez Obama Burger” for Gray’s vegan smackdown. I was lucky enough to experience Gray’s all-vegan brunch at Equinox in D.C. before I left, and it sounds as though he’s been doing more and more innovative projects with plant-based cuisine in the District. This Washington Post article profiles his efforts, and it’s a nice meditation on how contemporary chefs–regardless of whether or not they personally identify as vegan or vegetarian–are really embracing the challenge of cooking plant-based meals for their diners.

5. Finally, an excellent and comprehensive article from Fortune on how big food manufacturers are having to adjust and respond to changing consumer demands. It’s interesting from a business perspective, and it’s also a remarkable statement about how dramatically consumers’ food priorities have shifted, from the “low fat” and “reduced calorie” craze of the 90s, when I was growing up, to contemporary concerns about ingredient sourcing, where food comes from and how it is produced. It’s also an indication that people really are turning toward whole foods and getting back into the kitchen. All good things, but they present a unique dilemma for makers of packaged and processed foodstuffs.

Those are my picks for the week, friends. If you haven’t read it yet, please check out Kimmy’s wonderful Green Recovery narrative, which went up on Thursday. She has an ED history that many of my readers will relate to, and she shares her experiences with such humility and thoughtfulness.

xo

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    9 Comments
  1. All these healthy food look so good, but when I make my bowl of chia strawberry sorbet and fruits, they look like a melting mess. I wish I could be as good as you when it comes to blogging. Thank you for inspiring me!

  2. Amazing article you found for your last point there – on big companies and their current industry struggles.
    I’m writing up my own post now, on my takeaways from that. Interesting read, thank you for the inspiration!

  3. That’s it, that all green bright salad is sending me to the store to get the makings for this to wow my family. It looks so good. Probably stealing others. My cookbook is now overflowing with printed pages, I probably need a binder.

  4. LOVED the article on Big Food. I was at a friend’s and kept quoting it to her until she finally just told me to share it. *whoops*

    Re: heart health, my new PCP (my third since moving to NYC who doesn’t fully grasp that I’m mostly plant-based) was incredibly impressed with my recent blood work. She was so excited by how high my HDL and low my LDL levels were. It was quite heartening since some days it can feel like I’m doing it wrong. Its a good reminder that perfection isn’t necessary and that our bodies do really know what we need if we just listen!

    Lastly that green goddess bowl? Please put it in my mouth asap. Its like all the best things put into one dish!

  5. Good Luck with your exams!!! And hopefully you got to enjoy a little of the first day of summer outside. All of the recipes in this post look amazing…but I’m wandering over to that green quinoa bowl now! Thanks for sharing this awesome roundup:)

  6. what a great article? Any improvements and changes on he Big Food front are huge! Just having them to rethink they way they produce their foods will be huge step overtime. Awesome! Being from Europe I could never understand why people would eat Hershey’s. LOL, tastes like throw up to me… Apparently it’s sour cream in their chocolate? Shudder…

  7. I love the burgers. Yum
    i am loving how consumers are putting pressure on big food companies. I read somewhere Ben &Jerry’s are launching a vegan range. How cool is that!
    Thanks as always for sharing 🙂

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