If you haven’t read this article, please go do that now then continue reading this.

I’ll try to address this post from a few different angles: my inner fat kid, my inner advertiser and my blunt side.

My Inner Fat Kid

I was never severely overweight but at times in my life I probably looked similar to this kid on the left. It sucked, being a chunky kid. My mom bought me “husky” jeans and I was never as fast or as strong as any of my other friends, so it seemed. I can remember some of the insults hurled my way by one particular redneck kid (who probably got busted for making meth later in life). He’d say things like, “Fag,” “Faggot,” “Gay,” or “Gay-wad.” Kids can be cruel. Luckily I never let this dude get to me too much but that’s not the case for other kids. The guy insulting me had no basis for those insults except I was a chunky, timid kid. I can’t imagine it’s gotten any easier for kids these days. I never really lost that weight until I started playing soccer in high school and began running a lot. It made me feel good about myself. Losing that weight improved my self image. It sucks that losing weight made my self image improve. I should’ve been okay with myself no matter what. It did make me realize that being okay with yourself doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive to be better physically, mentally, and emotionally.

All that to say, I’ve still never really gotten over feeling like a fat kid. In my head I’m still that kid, sometimes, and that isn’t easy. I know what it’s like to be the kid in these images. Looking back I know that the reason I was chunky is because my mom let me order & eat two Sonic cheeseburgers when I was 8 years old. It wasn’t my fault at that age. Once I became aware of how to control eating that much food & the affects exercise had on my body it became my responsibility to be a healthier person.

My inner fat kid really isn’t bothered by these ads. It’s hard to be reflective and view it from a child’s stance but I can only hope that it sparks a conversation between kids like myself and their parents. I can only hope that other kids who pick on the chunky kids will see that these kids don’t understand why they are the way they are anymore than the skinny kids do.

My Inner Advertiser

I’m in love with this ad. It pushes the boundaries. It challenges us. It gets conversation started, probably more than those really nice, “My pretend friend Shrek likes to go outside & play so I should do the same!” billboards because guess what, exercise isn’t the only key to being healthy. Many people go on exercise plans and completely ignore their diet. Yes, there are a number of different reasons for people’s excess in weight but I’m willing to guess that at nearly 90% of overweight children could see change in their bodies with a change in their diet.

This campaign leaves nothing to question, the point is made and done so quickly. As a graphic designer/advertiser I get it. It makes sense to me. It’s way more interesting than just about anything else they could’ve done. I also understand that positive reinforcement is generally a better idea than negativity, but I kind of see it like this: so far our positive, neat little messages aren’t working, so it’s time for someone to step the game up, start conversations, and create some change.

My Blunt Side

I’m all for having a positive body image and getting rid of the stigma towards overweight individuals, but at some point we have to stop coddling and say, “Enough is enough. You’re overweight and that’s unhealthy. If it’s absolutely something you can’t help, then I’m sorry, you’re kind of screwed in the whole thing & I hope that people don’t judge you based on that. However, if it is something you can change, it needs to change.” Being overweight isn’t healthy. Whether it’s caused by your diet, your genetics, medication side effects, disease, whatever, it’s just not healthy. At some point it’s going to take a toll on your body. Your heart is going to get pissed, your organs will stop functioning properly , your muscles will get weaker, and you’ll die. That happens to all of us but being overweight only increases the chances of those things happening at a faster rate.

And I know, we don’t all need to be skinny-minnies because that’s not healthy either. Girls, especially girls, I’m not saying you need to be tiny to be sexy or healthy, that’s just not true. I know plenty of people who aren’t skinny that are really sexy, healthy individuals and I don’t want to rip you of that or make you feel like something needs to change because it doesn’t. Guys as well, we don’t have to be cut with six packs and bulging biceps to be healthy, sexy people. It’s just not true, it’s a media stigma that we need to let go of.

So, This Guy Sounds Like a Butthole, What Does He Think Should Be Done?

Education, education, education. If nothing else let’s hope these types of ad campaigns spark good conversation, conversations about our health and what we can do to make that better. Conversations about school lunches being healthier, parents having a better understanding of nutrition, making it easier for those in different socio-economic brackets to have access to healthy food. Education my friends. That’s the name of the game for me. I think that with education we can create a shift in our society. It won’t be easy, especially since we’re so far gone, but I believe it’s not too late. Let’s reach out to our friends and family. Let’s educate each other. It’s possible to eat healthy on a budget, even if you’re only option is Walmart. It. Is. Possible.

If you feel strongly about any of this, there are ways to get involved:
http://saladbars2schools.org/
http://www.foodfamilyfarming.org/
http://www.wholekidsfoundation.org/
http://www.thelunchbox.org/community/lunch-box-blog
http://www.dunbargarden.org/ (Little Rock local)

At the farmer’s market last weekend I picked up a bag of fresh black eyed peas. I’ve been exploring with them this week and have made some delicious meals out of such a small bag. However, I’m going on a road trip starting tomorrow morning so I needed to find a good way to use up the rest of those peas. My mind immediately went to road trip snacks…hummus…black eyed pea hummus?! Heck yes. I’ve had black bean hummus and I’m generally not a fan so I was a little skeptical of making it with the peas but it turned out delicious. Here’s what you’ll need to make about 16oz of this delicious Southern inspired hummus:

• 1.5 cups cooked black eye peas (save a bit of the leftover broth in case you like a thinner hummus)
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/2″ slice onion roasted
• 1 medium cayenne roasted
• 3 large garlic cloves roasted
• 1 medium red bell pepper roasted
• 1 medium tomato roasted
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• a dash of apple cider vinegar (maybe 1/4 teaspoon)

I roasted my veggies at 250 for about 2 and a half hours. Everything but the garlic, peanuts and spices was local grown so I can’t promise yours will be as good without fresh Arkansas tomatoes and bell peppers! Throw all of that good stuff in your food processor adding more vinegar or pea broth if you like a thinner hummus. You can also use a smaller cayenne pepper if you’re not into spice as this adds a bit of a kick.

I’ve put together some marinated tofu wraps using this stuff and plan on eating it with carrots and chips. Enjoy!

July 1 was good ol Canada Day. I’ve got 2 great friends living on opposite coasts of Canada so I always try to do something in their honor. Didn’t get to crack open any Canadian beer, Moosehead and LaBatt Blue being my favorites, but I did get to chow down on this delicious relationship of fries, gravy and cheese. Typically this is made with beef gravy so even as a vegetarian I never got to try the “real” thing but I’m not too hurt. I did used to combine white gravy and processed american cheese atop fries at the country club I worked at. I gained some weight that year. Anyway, you’re more interested in how to make this, so let’s get to it!

• prep time: 5 minutes
• cook time: approx 30 minutes
• serves 2, or one really hungry Canadian

• 5-6 Gardein beef tips, diced up
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 cups veggie broth (a bit of a guesstimate)
• 1 T flour
• 1/8 cup water
• 15oz Alexia Yukon Gold Fries (or make your own or whatever kind you like)
• 1 cup Daiya Mozzarella Cheese
• Salt/Pepper to taste

1. Bake french fries according to directions. Wait until you have about 7-10 minutes left on the timer before you begin the gravy. When fries are done leave oven at temp.
2. Sauté the beef tips and garlic until beef tips are turning dark brown
3. make a “slurry” from the flower and water, stir well.
4. Add 1/2 cup veggie broth to beef tips/garlic and let most of the veggie broth cook off
5. Add the remaining cup of veggie broth
6. Add the slurry mixture to your gravy mix remembering to stir constantly as you add. Make sure you get all of the flour out.
7. Bring to a boil quickly then reduce and place on low heat.
8. Allow to simmer until desired thickness is reached. You may choose to add more broth or more slurry. I find mixing the flour into the water keeps it from clumping in the gravy.
9. Pour the gravy over the fries in a round or square baking pan, something with a little depth.
10. Add Daiya mozzarella cheese to the top, bake for 5-10 minutes until cheese is at desired consistency.

Boom, that’s it.

It seems like I’ve searched and searched for good vegan cornbread recipes. They’ve all fallen a bit short for some reason or another, never really sure to be honest. This week I’m living cheap so I’ve been soaking and cooking lots of beans. I soaked the rest of my black eyed peas and planned on making Hoppin John but decided to give a vegan cornbread one more shot. I had some Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal lying around and decided I’d try to tweak that recipe. Part way through I realized that all I had for alternative milk was vanilla soy milk…”vanilla cornbread? That doesn’t sound good. Oh well, I’ll use it anyway, maybe it won’t be overpowering.”

If it was overpowering I wouldn’t be writing this post. The vanilla coupled with a tablespoon of maple syrup added the perfect amount of sweetness to this somewhat spicy cornbread.

Vegan Spelt Cornbread

prep time:10 minutes
cook time: 20-25 minutes

• 1 cup cornmeal medium grind
• 1 cup spelt flour (you can use wheat or white)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• a few shakes/twists of black pepper
• 3-4 pickled jalapenos diced finely (the ones in the jar with vinegar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Replacer* to 2 tablespoons water
    *i’m guessing this stuff is gonna last forever at the ratio you use it. i think what failed me before in cornbread was not using this. i’ve tried apple sauce and a mixture of plain soy yogurt w/ something else to little success.
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 1 cup vanilla soymilk (any milk sub would be fine)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• earth balance to coat cast iron skillet

1. preheat oven to 425.
2. sift all the dry ingredients together.
3. add the diced jalapeños, egg replacer, earth balance, soymilk and maple syrup. you don’t need to mix this for very long.
4. coat cast iron skillet with a bit of earth balance. pour in mixture & place in 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Then you eat it like this (throw some collard greens on the side if you got em):

Even if you’re not a vegan I think you’ll enjoy this. Especially if you enjoy caramelized bananas as part of your breakfast.

Vegan French Toast
makes 3 pieces

• half a very ripe banana
• a tablespoon or 2 of coconut ice cream (you could use any milk sub as well)
• 3 slices of bread
• tablespoon or 2 of earth balance for frying

Mash the banana and ice cream together until you have an eggy type wash for your bread. Not too thin, not too thick. Almost like cold syrup.

Heat earth balance in pan.

Dip bread, one at a time, into the wash then lay in pan. Cook until golden brown or slightly crisp on each side.

It’s that easy! I sprinkled mine with cinnamon and drizzled with maple syrup but feel free to expand on that. Maybe add some pecans, walnuts, fruit, powdered sugar, etc.

I glanced over a headline recently that said something about people of faith, predominantly Protestant Evangelical Christians, being fatter or at least the youth being fatter. I found the article here at USA Today’s site. It was brought back to my attention this weekend when I saw a bunch of young kids walking around the city who were in town for a Baptist Youth Convention. What I continually noticed was a trend of unhealthy weight in the kids and adults. Then I remembered a thought I’ve had stuck in my head for awhile that really irks me. Protestant Christianity, with maybe the exception of Methodists, don’t seem to abide by any sort of dietary guidelines. I say Protestant because Catholics observe dietary restrictions during Lent and I believe Methodists do too, don’t quote me on that. Why is that? Why have these religious groups seemingly thrown any dietary guidelines out the window?

The group I meet with every week that is collectively called Eikon has been going through the Beatitudes. Tonight we talked about the verses where Jesus says he came to fulfill the law of Moses, not to abolish it (Matthew 5:17-20). Along with that we examined some of those crazy Levitical dietary laws and one thing that resonated with me was their function of aiding in sanitation/healthfulness. Without proper cooking methods, etc things like eating pork and winged, disease carrying insects could’ve meant death for some of these people. That makes sense to me.

Later on in Matthew Jesus says to love god, love your neighbor as yourself (those 2 being equal and reciprocal) and that all the laws hang on those 2 things. We reason that he means if your neighbor is beat up and sick on the side of the road on the Sabbath, it’s okay to do a little work and help them out. You’d be breaking the law if you didn’t. Whereas the hard nose people of Jesus day would say, “No no no no! You’re working on the Sabbath!” Herein we see the classical term, spirit of the law, in practice. Which brings me to my next point.

If the idea of the law for those dietary guidelines was to keep people healthy then why have we decided to completely ignore that? There’s been study after study after study proving the direct link between meat and cancer, meat and obesity, meat and diabetes, dairy and bone loss (sounds opposite right? go watch the perils of dairy on youtube. dude breaks. it. down.) yet we continue eating without any regard. I’m not about to go on a “God doesn’t want you to be fat!” rant because that’d just be dumb and untrue. Some people are just bigger than others, that’s okay.

Hopefully you understand I’m not saying we should go pick and choose Levitical laws to follow. That’d be crazy. What I am saying is that if part of the spirit of the law lies in healthfulness why do we just seem to not care anymore? Why is it that almost every other religion adheres to some sort of dietary restrictions yet Christians just go all willy nilly and scarf down that barbeque or catfish buffet on sunday after church then leave 50 cents for a minimum wage worker? And before you try to say, “Well the spirit of the law is about love not health…” let me say that health is absolutely reflective of love for yourself and others. If I’m making food for me, another person or a group of people do you think I’m gonna try to feed them the fallen grapes that have turned to mush? The bread that has mold? The meat packed with antibiotics? The milk laced with pus and antibiotics? Absolutely not. That’d be the most unloving thing I could do.

About a month ago my mom told me their pastor was in the hospital for some bypass surgery. Big surgery but rather common these days. Maybe she asked me to pray for him? I don’t know. All I could remember thinking was, “Prayer is stupid right now. This man doesn’t need prayer. He needs a better diet.” I’m all for prayer. I’m not a big praying person myself but I understand its function. However, I get really frustrated at situations like this where the pastor has the power to better himself but for whatever reason hasn’t. That’s willful ignorance and stubbornness. Surely at some point a doctor told him he needed a diet change, right? I mean a heart bypass surgery doesn’t just sneak up on you, right? I’m sorry but in this situation I don’t think prayer’s gonna do this guy much good.

It also absolutely breaks my heart when I am in a grocery store and see some of the things people buy for their families to eat. Bacon, refined bread, packaged meals, twelve packs & 2 liters of soda, ground beef, sausage, ham, turkey, cheesy chips, juice laced with sugar and the list goes on. I’m not judging these people. I would never do that. It breaks my heart because of what I believe and understand from what I’ve read, watched, talked about and learned. Unfortunately the grocery store checkout line isn’t really the place to go confronting a mother of 4 about her food choices. That’d be rude and downright disgusting.

This ultimately comes down to an issue of education and whether or not you believe those studies. If you don’t believe them then that’s cool, go on eating the food that, I believe, will probably kill you. If you do believe them, or think they might have an inkling of truth then start examining the love & spirit of the law going into your food.

While I won’t say, “God doesn’t want you to be fat!!” I will say that I’m pretty sure God, Allah, god, your parents, your family, your friends, your lovers all want you healthy and that’s a sincere form of love.

P.S. There’s a documentary making its way around called “Forks Over Knives” that examines the link between sickness and food. Check out the trailer below and read more on their site. I’m excited to see this when I get a chance.

Yesterday on the Twitters @AJShannon posted her recipe in The Betty Crocker Project for a Whole Wheat Cheesy Focaccia Bread. As part of Lent I’m striving to let go of processed foods and learn to make my own. One of the major things is bread so I jumped at the opportunity to make this focaccia. However, I didn’t really want it whole wheat or cheesy so I modified her recipe to make a more basic focaccia…and it’s incredible! I started by halving the recipe (as mostly I’m cooking for myself and maybe one other person). So here goes:

• 1 1/4 cups white unbleached bread flour (add more if necessary)
• 1/2 Tb rosemary
• 1/2 Tb agave (originally sugar)
• 1/2 Tb salt
• 1/2 packet dry yeast (1 & 1/8 tsp)
• 2 1/2 Tb olive oil
• 1/2 cup very warm water
• yields 1 10-12″ loaf of focaccia

- mix half cup flour, rosemary, salt, yeast, agave, 1.25 tb olive oil, and warm water. mix for 3 minutes
- slowly add rest of flour. (may need dashes of more water or flour). mix well, turn on lightly floured surface and knead for 6 minutes
- form dough into ball, lightly oil the surface of the dough ball. place back in bowl, cover with lid/plastic wrap etc. and let rise in warm place for half an hour (or doubled in size)
- preheat oven to 400 and flour a baking stone or lightly oil pan
- remove dough ball, flatten into disc shape about 10-12″ in diameter. cover again and let rise for 30 minutes
- remove cover. press fingers into dough to make several small indentions
- brush olive oil over surface
- bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown

My dough had some trouble in the initial rise and I just couldn’t wait but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I was able to make a small pizza out of this and pulled out a little bit to have a small focaccia piece about 3-4″ in diameter. The pizza was incredible and I wish I had pictures but I gobbled it up. I’ll tell you what i put on it though:

• - Rao’s Marinara as my base
• - roasted potatoes, garlic, shallot and reconstituted shiitake mushrooms*
  *Reconstituted in hot water, tamari, and liquid smoke
• - Daiya Mozzarella

I used the other piece, pictured above, to eat with homemade hummus and it was incredible! Thanks @AJShannon for the inspiration and overall direction.

My friend Ryan Dement always says it like that. “Valemptime’s!” It’s stuck in my head. Anyway, the lovely girlfriend, Anna, and I had a fantastic day overall. Unfortunately she’s now at work listening to the laments of the broken-hearted. Above you see the valentine card she made me. It has a nice little poem on the back that you don’t get to read. I also did some cooking today. I made these fantastically easy thumbprint cookies with dollops of strawberry jam.

For dinner on valentine’s day there’s really nothing that beats Italian. One of the lovely girlfriend’s favorite dishes is eggplant parmesan. However, I’m not a big fan of eggplant and I didn’t have any so I opted for a new creation. With the help of some breaded/fried tofu, Daiya Cheese, Rao’s Marinara Sauce and VeganYumYum’s Hurry Up Alfredo we were able to have a delicious tofu parmesan over basil linguine.

To top it all off she got me this rad new keychain:

I got her a necklace from Farm Sanctuary, a place that we both really enjoy learning more and more about. I’ll let her show you that little diddy IRL.

Right before I took the last bite...

A quick confession: I never knew what chili-mac was until college. We had to be inventive in the cafeteria to make the food taste good and my friends showed me this concoction. This recipe took me no time at all. If you’re looking for a quick meal I highly suggest it.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 6-8oz elbow pasta (I used GF rice noodles)
• 8×8 baking dish or loaf pan (because I couldn’t find my 8×8)

For ‘cheese’ sauce (Vegan Yum Yum Version)

• 1 Cup Soymilk (I use almond milk)
• 1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
• 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
• 3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
• 1 Tbs Tahini
• 1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
• 1 Pinch Nutmeg
• 2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
• Black pepper, to taste

For Chili*

• 1/2 cup dry black beans
• 1/2 cup dry pinto beans
• 1.5 cup of salsa
• 1-2 Tb cumin
• 1/2 Tb chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder!)
• 2-3 cups water
• *I made my chili this way because these were the ingredients I had on hand. You could easily substitute a can of your favorite vegan chili or use some leftover chili. The key for this meal was keeping it simple.

Preheat oven to 350. While the pasta is boiling put together your ‘cheese’ sauce. You can just throw all of the ingredients into a food processor or sweet blender until it’s smooth. That’s all you have to do for this cheese sauce. Easy huh?

For the chili I did the quick soak method on the beans. If you’re not familiar that’s just placing them in a pot of water, bringing the water to a boil, removing from heat and letting sit an hour. Then I combined the water, salsa, spices and beans and let cook until the beans were done but the chili was thick. Add water as necessary. Just make sure your chili is rather thick as there isn’t a lot of room for extra liquid.

Drain your pasta when it’s done boiling (leaving a tiny bit of the broth). Return it to stove with burner off, add chili and cheese sauce. Mix well. Transfer to baking dish and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Voila! Easy peasy.

As if vegans don’t have enough labels to read before we buy or eat anything and, on top of that, it seems that there is always new information coming out to inform us of more products that are not actually vegan. For ages, one of those ingredients well known by any educated vegan to be on the “no” list is sugar. Why does it seem that most vegans look the other way when it comes to this sweetener? Why is it that, of all things, this is an ingredient we consume which causes us to stray from our chosen diets? Why is sugar the one ingredient that seems to fall between the cracks and get into our cereal bowls or pockets of candy? Myself, being a vegan of ten years, the only answer I can come up with for this is pure laziness. I’d like to think that maybe there just isn’t enough education in cyberspace to let everyone know about this unjust ingredient but this is 2009, lack of information is certainly not the problem. The problem is that with all the ingredients we already do not eat it just seems easier to look the other way and enjoy that meat-free, dairy-free sugary drink. Some justify to themselves that sugar not being vegan is an old wives tale and today’s manufactureres have changed their ways to a more modern, just way of processing their white gold.

The fact is that not all manufacturers of sugar follow guidelines that would deem this ingredient vegan. Today, in the United States, there are two types of sugars being produced, beet and cane. Beet sugar accounts for approximately 40% of the world’s sugar with the United States being the third largest producer. The primary distinction between cane and beet sugar, other than being derived from different plants, is the processing method. Unlike beet sugar, cane sugar processing typically takes plate at two locations, the sugar mill and the refinery. during the final purification process cane sugar is filtered through activated carbon which may be of animal, vegetable or mineral origin. This step is unnecessary for beet sugar and therefore is never done.

Over half of the cane refineries in the United States use bone char (charcoal made of animal bones) as their activated carbon source. The bone char is used in this filtering process is so far removed from its animal source that cane sugar processed by this method is deemed kosher pareve, which, according to Jewsih dietary laws, means that it contains no meat or milk in any form as an ingredient. I, and a number of vegans, disagree with this perspective yet the vast majority of vegans look the other way. Why? How can you be so sure that the sugar you’re eating is beet sugar, vegetable processed cane sugar or bone char derived cane? Vegans cannot discern any difference between beet sugar and cane sugar in taste, appearance or use. Beet sugar is frequently not labeled as such, the packaging may just list “sugar.” Cane sugar is more often labeled specifically, but not always. It seems only obvious that vegans must avoid white sugar altogether rather than chance using a product that was filtered through animal bone char.

As a vegan you become educated with the small, sometimes unknown ingredients often hiding in nutritional labels. Whey, lecithin and casein are all products well known to educated vegans as ingredients to stay away from. Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained; it is a by-product of dairy, therefore immediately a big no-no on any vegan’s list. Lecithin is a group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal tissues and in egg yolks. Casein is a milk protein stemming from cheese and cow’s milk. So what do these common ingredients have in common with sugar? They are all by-products stemming from a completely non-vegan source. They have all started as one thing or another and through processing have come out to be their own product with origins that do not fall within vegan guidelines.

So what should you use instead of white sugar? For baking and cooking it is easy to find replacements for white sugar. one might use organic sugar, unbleached cane sugar or dehydrated and granulated cane juice, all of which are available in natural food stores and are becoming more readily available in conventional grocery stores. Most of these products can replace white sugar measure for measure for general use in recipes. Another option is to purchase granulated natural sweeteners such as maple sugar, granular fruit sweetener, date sugar or use natural liquid sweeteners such as pure maple, agave, malt and brown rice syrups or mixed fruit juice concentrates.

As far as buying products goes, as a vegan it should not be hard to stray away from those sugar Skittles that will never be vegan no matter how hard you try to convince yourself. It should not be difficult to put down those name brand cereals and pick up a box of completely ethical and vegan breakfast treats that are equally as satisfying. The change you make from non-vegan sugar to vegan sweets of all kinds will not only make an impact on your voice as a vegan advocate but on the earth and environment as a whole.

Here is a recipe from my own (Carly Sitner) collection that uses maple syrup instead of white sugar to sweeten this delicious and rich dessert.

Rice Pudding
- 48 oz coconut milk
- 2 cups soymilk (plain or vanilla)
- 2 cups maple syrup
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 vanilla beans, split down the middle and seeds scraped out

Combine all ingredients (including empty bean pods) in a large pot on the stove over medium/high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is tender and mixture has thickened. Transfer pudding to a bowl and enjoy hot or refrigerate and let cool for a super thick, pudding-like consistency.

—-end article—-

I have to admit, after reading this I was convinced. I’ve given up main stream sodas, candy and try my hardest to get bread products w/o the sugar (I find this one being the hardest, even your standard tortilla wrap has sugar added!) What do you all think about this? I look at it a bit like global warming, whether or not it’s real it certainly can’t hurt to help where I can. Refined sugar isn’t good for you, so why not cut it out? God knows that corn syrup trash isn’t good for you. I leave you with a song from the straight edge hardcore band Good Clean Fun, it’s called Sweet Tooth.

Good Clean Fun – Sweet Tooth