Recipe of the week: shakshuka

Shakshuka is perfect for breakfast but makes a delicious lunch or dinner too!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pepper, chopped
• 2 tins of tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5-6 eggs
• 1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (for garnish)

1. Heat oil and fry onion in a deep, large saucepan/skillet. When onions are soft, add pepper and garlic.
2. Stir in tomatoes and puree. Add spices and leave to simmer on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
3. Add salt, pepper (and more spice) to taste.
4. Make a hole in the sauce with a spoon and crack one egg into this hole. Repeat with remaining eggs (one by one) leaving space between eggs.
5. Cover and leave to cook for 10-15 minutes, until sauce has reducles and eggs are cooked.
6. Garnish with parsley. Serve with warm/crusty bread

 

recipe by Victoria Fernandes

 

A meat free future? – review

The evening of the 3^rd of March in the Print Room Café was different from the others. Booked for a discussion by Medsin, it was full of people interested in the reasons for a meat-free diet. After enjoying a mixture of delicious vegetarian and vegan pizzas the event started with a warm welcome from the Manager of the Meat Free Mondays Campaign (Alexander Chung) and then continued with the talks of the guest speakers. Although one of the announced speakers, Susan Michie, professor at UCL was not able to come, but fortunately Imogen Resnick, the co-founder of the Meat Free Mondays at UCL was just around the corner and joined us for the discussion.

Elizabeth Atherton spoke first, who is the Sustainable Diets and Health Project Manager at MedAct. She talked about the key points of meat-free eating. In her speech she drew a parallel between climate change with our food system, which produces lot of carbon dioxide (even more than cars), and agriculture, which is responsible for deforestation and soil degradation. She emphasised that we are reaching our limits and it is high time to facilitate some change. She also explained nutrition transition, a shift in dietary consumption, which leads to changes in average stature and body composition. Now our diet is abundant in total fat, cholesterol, sugar, and other refined carbohydrates, while it is scarce in polyunsaturated fatty acids and fibre, and often accompanied by an increasing lack of physical activity. She argued that the food of the 21st century is more processed, affordable and effectively marketed, which leads to obesity and degenerative diseases affecting around 2 billion people. In contrast to this, 1 billion people are undernourished. It is clear, she expressed, that we produce enough food, but the distribution and consumption in western countries are not appropriate. She concluded that by changing our diet to a more plant-based one, we would have a win-win situation by solving the health problems and some of the environmental problems of the world.

Isabelle Kelly, research associate at Leeds Beckett University took up the thread from there. Her field is health psychology and she is currently researching obesity in families. She agreed with Elizabeth on that we eat more processed food and spoke about how family time and chips eating strengthens this tendency. Then she explained why are we reluctant to leave meat; meat eating is part of our cultural history and people think that it is natural, normal, necessary and nice. We eat meat in special occasions and it is also important for men to show their dominance. However, she said, we are not eating naturally, in fact, we over-eat and there are plenty of other reasons (health related, environmental and ethical) to reduce meat consumption.

Finally, Imogen Resnick held her talk about the idea and aims of Meat Free Mondays, but also the struggles of the campaign. She said that she wanted to raise awareness about the impact of excessive meat consumption on the environment and change the UCL sustainability policy. Now we are not able to buy meat-meals in the cafes and canteens of UCL on Mondays, which is a great success, however the campaign is not too popular among the students. There are, unfortunately lot of misconceptions about the aims, but she believes that over time the campaign will have more success.

After the talks we had a lively discussion between the speakers and the audience. Various topics have been touched on from the amount of protein needed by an average man to stories about personal struggles to avoid meat consumption in everyday life.

If you are interested in the whole discussion, please click here to access to the audio-record of the event.

Fish… to eat or not to eat?

For me, becoming a pescatarian was an easier transition into vegetarianism. Many claim they could give up meat more easily than fish. Others do not class fish as a type of meat. Fish are generally viewed as healthier and less harmful than meat — but to what extent is this true?

Last week’s article highlighted the effects of red/processed meat on health. Unsustainable, non-organic, intensive farming rears animals in poor conditions, often treating livestock with a range of antibiotics or hormones. An abundance of meat products in supermarkets are processed, hydrated or preserved, and it is no secret that eating such meats has negative health consequences.

Fish, on the other hand is seen in a different light. From an ethical stance, fish neurology is of a lower complexity than mammals and arguably, fish suffer less from pain. In terms of health benefits, fish are rich in omega-3 and have been shown to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease (1). (Although there are plenty of alternatives e.g. flax seeds, walnuts or soya beans.) However, current fishing practices and over-fishing poses an environmental, social and economic threat.

Since 1970, fish and marine vertebrate populations have halved. Scombridae, the most commonly consumed family of fish, including tunas, mackerels and bonitos, have fallen in population by 74% (2). Among pollution and climate change, unsustainable fishing practices hold huge responsibility in threatening ocean ecosystems. Commercial fishing methods such as bottom-trawling and long-line fishing catch a large number of ‘undesired’ fish, whilst dredging proves destructive to aquatic ecosystems.

Deforestation (particularly from cattle ranching) is known to have a huge impact on CO₂ emissions; but despite the ocean being the world’s largest carbon sink, there is less fear surrounding consequences of depleting oceanic ecosystems. However, aquaculture (i.e. fish farming), sometimes using wild fish to feed desirable fish species, can spread disease from farmed fish populations into wild populations.

Figure 1: McCandless D. Which Fish are Okay to Eat? [internet]. 2011 [cited 27/02/16]. Available from: http://www.davidmccandless.com/projects/which-fish-are-okay-to-eat/

Over-fishing is too a humanitarian issue. With 12% of the global population relying on fisheries as a livelihood, there is a strong need for a sustainable commitment to fishing practices. Fortunately, there is an increase in large industries (such as John West) switching to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fishing. Yet, a large proportion fish in the UK is not MSC certified. The number of MSC certified products also varies between supermarkets.

Whether or not you wish to continue to eat fish, or reduce your consumption, there are always considerations to be made. A nifty infographic ‘Which Fish are Okay to Eat?’ by David McCandless (owner of information is beautiful) has summarised the sustainability of fish based on Marine Conservation Society (3), Greenpeace (4) and SeaFood Watch data. If you are still unsure, you can simply type the name into here for a recommendation based on environmental impact by SeaFood Watch. However, it is important to remember that these are only guidelines; large organisations such as MSC may have loopholes or inconsistencies. Through weighing up my love of seafood and the strain it is putting on oceans, I have decided to cut out fish from my diet – as sadly, there are not plenty of fish in the sea.

Author: Victoria Fernandes

References

1. Kris-Etherton P. Fish Consumption, Fish Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation. 2002;106(21):2747-2757.

2. org.uk. Crisis in global oceans as populations of marine species halve in size since 1970 [Internet]. 2015 [cited 3 March 2016]. Available from: http://www.wwf.org.uk/about_wwf/press_centre/?unewsid=7673

3. Marine Conservation Society UK. Sustainable Seafood at a Glance [Internet]. 2011 [cited 3 March 2016]. Available from: http://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/fishweek/FishWeek_FishList_Jan2011.pdf

4. org.uk. Sustainable seafood: what fish can I eat? | Greenpeace UK [Internet]. 2012 [cited 3 March 2016]. Available from: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/oceans/what-you-can-do/better-buys-what-fish-can-I-eat

Recipe of the week: aubergine with miso and chinese cabbage

This week’s recipe is courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi. I found it difficult finding some of the ingredients, but I’ve left out a few (e.g. mirin and tamari) before but it has still been tasty!

• 2 medium aubergines
• Vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cooking saké
• 130g medium red miso
• 4 tbsp mirin
• 1 1/2 tsp smooth and hot mustard (neri karashi, if you can get it)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (or yuzu juice)
• 4 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 Chinese cabbage, core removed and leaves shredded coarsely
• 100g enoki mushrooms, base cut off
• 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 handful coriander leaves

Serves 2-4

1. Remove aubergine stalks, cut in half widthways. Slice the fattest half in two lengthways, and cut each half into three wedges; repeat with the thin half, but cut each half into two wedges. Brush aubergine with oil and place skin side down on an oven tray. Cook until soft (approx. 30 mins) under a medium grill.

2. Whilst aubergines are cooking, prepare the miso glaze. Warm sugar and sake in a saucepan at a low heat. Whisk in miso, mirin, mustard and lemon to form a smooth paste. Put aside one tablespoon of paste. Add tamari to the rest of paste.

3. Brush aubergines with a generous amount of the paste. Return to the grill until paste begins bubbling (approx. 5 mins).

4. Heat vegetable and sesame oil, then stir fry shredded cabbage at a high heat. Other vegetable work well too (mange tout/pak choi/carrot). Stir in enoki and remaining miso paste. Add sesame seeds.

5. Assemble aubergines on cabbage and garnish with fresh coriander and any remaining sesame seeds.

Meat-Free Living: A Growing Trend

Once upon a time, many decades ago, vegetarianism was considered by many throughout the West a ludicrous and radical lifestyle to adopt, with but a few exceptions. A few prominent figures were known to have voiced a preference for not eating meat, such as Albert Einstein, who suggested that “nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet”, while the esteemed playwright George Bernard Shaw stated “I do not want to make my stomach a graveyard of dead animals”. Although these strong sentiments might have been deemed controversial or flawed by some, they mark the beginnings of a slow but sure growth in the trend of meat-free living.

While the earliest justifications for not eating meat were heavily based on moral and philosophical arguments (Whorton 1994), the 21^st century has seen a shift in individuals’ motives behind becoming vegetarian or vegan towards health and environment-related concerns. The reasons for this are numerous; much more research is being carried out on the potentially negative effects of meat consumption on human health, such as those recently revealed by the World Health Organisation on the carcinogenicity of red meat. Additionally, meat production processes have been shown to have a large contribution to greenhouse gases, comprising between 15 and 24% of current emissions, which is more than that emitted by all of the transportation systems across the globe combined (Fiala 2008). With more people becoming aware of the dangers of the Anthropocene at both the individual and population level, it is understandable that more people are subsequently giving up meat.

Countries that have seen marked increases in the number of vegetarians and vegans include New Zealand, which has seen growth in the incidence of vegetarianism across all major demographics, while a survey by the Vegetarian Resource Group reported a doubling of the number of vegans in the U.S. However, there has also been an increase in the per-capita consumption of meat in various countries, such as India, where it has risen from 8.4 to 11.5 pounds since 1981 (Shapin 2007). Therefore, it seems that while the idea of following a meat-free diet is becoming more socially and culturally acceptable in some areas, it could potentially be counteracted by the increases in meat consumption in others; it remains to be seen which group will have the widest sphere of influence around the world over the next few decades.

References

• Fiala, N. 2008. Meeting the Demand: An Estimation of Potential Future Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Meat Production. Ecological Economics 67: 412 – 419.
• Shapin, S. 2007. Vegetable Love: the History of Vegetarianism. The New Yorker.
• Whorton, J. C. 1994. Historical Development of Vegetarianism. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59: 1103 – 1109.

Recipe of the week: high protein summer salad

Salad ingredients:

• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 x 400g canned chickpeas, drained (or cooked kidney beans)
• 150g cucumber, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 200g mung beans, boiled/cooked
• 200g tinned sweetcorn
• 20 walnut halves, broken into small pieces
• Seeds of 1 medium-sized pomegranate
• 100g quinoa, cooked
• 100g red grapes, halved
• Optional: Small red chilli, diced

Dressing ingredients:

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper

Method:

1. Cook the mung beans in a bowl with 2 tbsp water in the microwave for 8 minutes on high power (900W), stirring every 2 minutes.
2. Boil the quinoa for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and fluffy.
3. Break the walnut halves into small pieces, then combine with sweetcorn, chickpeas and pomegranate seeds.
4. Slice the red grapes and dice the red pepper, cucumber, red onion and red chilli (optional)
5. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and serve with the dressing when ready.

 

Mushroom and Potato Cream Soup Recipe

Mushroom and Potato Cream Soup Recipe

Recipe by Clara Lai and Alexander Chu

Serving Size: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 30g butter
• 150g closed cup white or chestnut mushrooms
• 1 medium sized potato
• ½ onion
• 1L water
• 1 cube vegetable stock
• 300ml double cream
• 1.5 tbsp flour
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Block of double gloucester cheese (optional)
• Parsley (optional)

Method (Prep time: 10min, Cook time:10min)  :

1. Skin the potatoes and dice them
2. Dice the onions
3. Cut the mushrooms into halves and cut them into thirds
4. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan
5. Add the onions first followed by potatoes and finally the mushroom
6. Cook for 5 minutes
7. Sprinkle flour over the ingredients and mix well
8. Pour in water and stir in stock cube
9. Bring to boil and cook until the potatoes are softened over low heat
10. Stir in double cream
11. Add salt and pepper to taste
12. For a thick and cheesy taste, slice about 4 – 5 small blocks of double gloucester cheese and melt them within the soup
13. Sprinkle with parsley for a fancy instagram picture
14. Enjoy!

Homemade Soup Picture!

Understanding the True Meaning and Implications Behind the World Health Organization’s Recent Report on the Carcinogenicity of Red and Processed Meat

Toward the end of last year, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) published a short monograph reporting the carcinogenicity of red and processed meat within humans. The final summary and assessment will be officially published in the Lancet Oncology journal and within volume 114 of the IARC Monographs respectively. Red meat refers to meat derived from mammalian muscles such as beef, lamb, veal, mutton, goat, horse and pork. Similarly, processed meats refer to meats that have been ‘transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation (1).’ Through the assessment of 800 diverse epidemiological studies, the IARC Working Group concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of processed meat within humans. However, there was limited evidence for the carcinogenicity of red meat within humans. When assessing the primary health concern, they highlighted the key association between the consumption of such meats and colorectal cancer. Other common cancers such as pancreatic, prostate and stomach cancers were also deemed substantial associations in their overall assessment (2).

Whilst the WHO announcement and the ensuing media coverage could have been communicated better, it received mixed responses ranging from active resistance to unnecessary concern, cluttering the monograph’s true message. So what was the true message? For the most part, the report did not call for the complete abrogation of meat consumption, a common misinterpretation amongst the general public. Rather, it encouraged a global reduction in current red and processed meat consumption, a policy in line with the WHO’s 2013 – 2020 Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD). Unfortunately, most people failed to interpret, understand and even accept this key message. As global urbanisation and population rates continue to exponentially increase, the world has already seen significant shifts toward diets rich in refined sugars, refined fats, oils and meats (3). In addition to straining current food, energy and environmental resources, this global trend has serious health implications as NCDs – namely type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer – account for 63% of total annual deaths within high, middle and low-income countries populations (4). In an effort to curb the increasing burden on national health systems, global campaigns such as ‘Meat Free Mondays’ represents viable initiatives and alternatives for everyone to consciously think about the wider impact behind going ‘meat free’ one or more times a week. Most importantly, they encourage them to actively engage and challenge themselves in fulfilling their individual diet goals and contributions toward a clean and healthy global future. Perhaps it is about time that the IARC should include similar policy recommendations in their final report or the WHO in future World Health Assembly resolutions on preventing and controlling NCDs?

Author: Alexander Chu

References:

1. IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat [press release]. Lyon, France: World Health Organization2015.
2. Bouvard V, Loomis D, Guyton KZ, Grosse Y, Ghissassi FE, Benbrahim-Tallaa L, et al. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. The Lancet Oncology. 2015;16(16):1599-600.
3. Tilman D, Clark M. Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature. 2014;515(7528):518-22.
4. World Health Organization. Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013 – 2020. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2013.

Recipe of the week: penne with tomatoes, aubergine and mozerella

this week is a simple and delicious twist on pasta with tomato sauce. enjoy!

recipe from www.realsimple.com/food 

you will need:

1. 1/2pound penne (1⁄2 box)
2. 1/4cup olive oil
3. 1medium eggplant (about 1 1⁄4 pounds), cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
4. 1/2pound cherry tomatoes, halved
5. 2cloves garlic, sliced
6. 1/4teaspoon crushed red pepper
7. kosher salt and black pepper
8. 1/2pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
9. 1/4cup torn fresh mint leaves

method:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the eggplant. Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, tossing, until the tomatoes soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the tomato mixture to the pasta, along with the mozzarella and reserved cooking water. Toss to combine. Sprinkle with the mint.

 

Recipe of the week: pancakes!

In light of it being pancake day, this weeks recipes are some alternative and delicious  veggie toppings which definitely shouldn’t be limited to shrove Tuesday!

Basic pancake recipe (makes enough to for around 10 pancakes)

• 100g plain flour
• 2 large egg
• 300ml milk
• 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil, plus a little extra for frying

(if you don’t eat dairy/eggs, you can substitute the milk for almond/soya/rice milk, a bit more oil and roughly 1 medium sized mashed banana instead of the eggs- this works best with sweet pancakes)

Toppings!

• Garlicky spinach, mushroom and cherry tomatoes
  • Sauté the garlic, mushrooms and spinach for 10 mins on a medium heat, then serve on to the pancake and sprinkle with a pinch of salt
• Butternut squash, goats cheese and rosemary with rocket
  • Chop the butternut squash (around half of a large one) into small cubes and fry for 10 mins before adding to the pancake batter with 100g vegetarian goats cheese. Fry into pancakes of whatever size, and serve with some rosemary and rocket salad
• Maple syrup and blueberry sauce
  • Add a packet of blueberries on a low heat with 2 tbsp sugar (any will do but granulated works best) 2tbsp maple syrup and 1tbsp of water. Cook for 10 mins or until it forms a thick, gloopy sauce to serve on top of pancakes.
• Peanut butter, banana and chocolate chips
  • Mix 6tbsp of peanut butter (crunchy is best but use whatever!) with 2tbsp icing sugar, 2tbsp milk and a handful of chocolate chips. Spread over pancakes.

(recipes based on/inspired by those found on http://www.bbcgoodfood.com)