April 2023 Plant-Based Recipes and Updates from Melissa
Asian Cabbage Salad with Peanut-Lime Ginger Dressing, One-Pan Pasta with Chickpeas and Asparagus, The Green Mediterranean Diet, and Plastic in Tea Bags.
I hope you all are enjoying longer days and more sunshine! I have just begun a sourdough starter and hope to have good results to share soon.
Asian Cabbage Salad with Peanut-Lime Ginger Dressing
I am happy to share my latest recipe with you for this crunchy, light salad: perfect for a spring day and hearty with nutritious edamame and peanuts for a protein boost. All pulled together with an easy creamy peanut dressing with the tang of fresh lime juice and ginger!
And the winner of the March newsletter poll was…asparagus! Here’s an easy meal that’s perfect for a busy weekday:
One Pan Pasta with Chickpeas and Asparagus
Enjoy Italian flavors in this easy vegan meal, made with whole-grain rotini and chickpeas for protein and fiber.
Books
Do you enjoy reading international cookbooks? I enjoyed hearing Hiroko Otani Kiffner, the founder of Lake Isle Press, speak at the Women Who Lead Forum at Arcadia University. Their titles reflect global diversity from Senegal to Syria to Japan, Italy, and more. Check their site for weekly recipes, too!
What I’m reading now: The Home Front by Jennifer Ryan - a cooking contest to share creative, economical recipes with wartime rations highlights the lives of five women in World War II England.
Coming Soon: Book Recommendations: this new section will begin in the May issue!
Plant-Based Diet Updates
What is the Green Mediterranean diet? Research from the DIRECT-PLUS randomized controlled trial suggests that the addition of walnuts, green tea, and polyphenols and restricting red and processed meat to enhance the Mediterranean dietary pattern resulted in improvements in vascular aging and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This study also provided a diet low in calories. As this trial was conducted with 294 people and for 18 months, I would consider it preliminary, but promising. Effect of Lifestyle Modification and Green Mediterranean Diet on Proximal Aortic Stiffness
Plastic in Tea Bags - did you know that some tea bags contain plastic? Not only are they an issue for the environment, but they also release minute particles of plastic into the tea. Consider using loose-leaf tea in a tea ball or look for brands that use cloth tea bags. This is a link to the abstract: Plastic Teabags Release Billions of Microparticles and Nanoparticles into Tea (the full article is also behind a paywall).
Please take a moment to complete this month’s poll:
Thanks for reading!