Guest guest Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi All, My name is Marguerite and I am in Perth, Western Australia. I am interested in budget priced vegetarian food and sometimes I try to incorporate some of the pre-made vegetarian food into the fresh veges. An example (if you like chilli) is to cook some potatoes and veges chopped up (steam or bake) then make up some tvp or we have Sanitarium wheat gluten mince in a can, then do the following. Put a little olive oil in a pan (have a glass of water standing by or white wine) and put a packet of Taco seasoning mix into the warmed oil to release the flavours stirring constantly on a low heat then add the liquid (glass of water or white wine) and a small tin of drained red kidney beans and simmer a while (about 5 minutes) then add the pre-pepared TVP or tinned vege-mince and stir through and make sure it doesn't burn/stick to bottom of pan by stiring regularly on a low heat for about another 3-5 minutes so flavour goes through the vege-mince. Add more liquid if need be (1/2 to one cup of water). Then put potatoes and veges on a plate, spoon chilli vege mince over the fresh cooked veges and add a dollop of sour cream. If you like it less hot, only use half of the taco seasoning and keep the rest for next time (the taco seasoning we have here is just a small packet in the Mexican food area of the supermarket). You can also use whole baked potatoes for this and have the veges on the side. Another favourite of mine is fresh steamed veges with some soy sauce and grated low fat cheese stirred through (yum). A favourite quick energy snack is low fat whole meal crackers (like Saladas), spread with baked beans in tomato sauce and topped with a thin slice of low fat cheese (sliced with cheese slicer - very thin) then microwave and watch while cheese melts (only takes about 10 seconds - don't overdo as crackers will go soggy. MacDonalds used to have vegeburgers here where I live but they weren't very nice now they have increased the price and serve a bread roll with no veggy patty and just have a mix of vege and salad in it on white bread (yuck). Hungry Jacks/Burger King here had a vege burger and they also replaced it with a club bread roll with vege strips in it (not as nice as the old vege burger). I am keen on not eating Genetic Mofified Foods and have been finding breakfast cereals here labeled GMO free. I wrote to three major food companies (Sanitarium, Uncle Toby's (UK) and Kellogs asking why they don't labell their products GMO free. I received some interesting replies. One said they source their products from GMO free sources and another said they remove the GMO's in the production process. In Australia, they don't have to label for GMO's if the GMO's are less than 1% but I am really suspicious of what manufacturers are putting in our food. So I have found breakfast cereals eg Freedom Foods, labeled GMO free. I believe there are tests available that show whether there is any GMO is our food. I also believe consumers have a right to choose what they want to eat (and I want GMO free food). I would like to know anything other people are doing to help keep our food safe from big business forcing GMO's on us. In my state of Western Australia there is a moratorium on growing GE foods. I hope it stays in place! Below is some of the latest news from organic consumers (one of the only mailing lists I to). It is well worth reading. Kind regards, Marguerite http://www.organicconsumers.org/index.htm STUDENTS CHOOSING SALAD BAR OVER PIZZA Under pressure from decreased state and federal funding, many schools are discovering that providing a salad bar option to the standard pizza/corndog/burger hotlunch is more affordable, more nutritious, and more popular among students. With a cost of roughly 40 cents less per student, salad bar meals are growing in popularity and are now available at 10% of the nation's schools. Districts are reporting that more students are choosing the salad bar over the hot lunch. Stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy and meats, the salad bar gives students the freedom of choice. " I always get salad bar because they have good stuff like oranges, pickles, yogurt, " said 7-year-old Oscar Sibrian of Frances Willard Elementary School in California. " And you can make up your own choice. " Some schools are also sourcing their salad bar produce from local and organic farms. Learn more... THANKSGIVING DINNER AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE Retailers witnessed a modest shift in the types of foods consumers purchased for last week's Thanksgiving dinner, demonstrating that the American diet is slowly but surely undergoing a transformation. For example, organic turkey sales doubled this year. For vegetarians, roughly 160,000 " Tofurkeys " were consumed (a soy-based alternative to turkey). And the Atkins diet (good or bad) spawned a slew of new food product lines, including an odd beverage from Jones Soda Company called " Turkey and Gravy Soda, " which has no calories and no carbohydrates. Learn more... U.S. WILL OFFICIALLY LEGALIZE GE CROP CONTAMINATION Two years ago, the Bush Administration proposed legalizing the contamination of food crops with experimental genetically engineered crops. Last Friday, the FDA approved that initiative and is calling on the rest of the world to do the same. The FDA said that under this new directive biotech companies can " voluntarily " have their experimental crops tested for safety, but it is not required. In contrast, Germany announced a new strict " polluter pays " liability law this week that makes GE farmers and biotech companies financially liable for economic damage caused if their crops contaminate non-GE or organic crops. Learn more... BANNING OF GE CROPS SPREADS The City Council of Arcata, California has voted unanimously to ban the growing of genetically engineered crops within the city limits, following the lead of three Northern California counties who have also recently enacted bans--Mendocino, Trinity, and Marin. On the international front, the Bush Administration's threats against the EU to overturn its ban on certain genetically modified organisms have turned up dry, as European member states voted overwhelmingly on Monday to maintain the current bans. Learn more... ALERT: EPA'S BACKROOM DEAL WITH CHEMICAL COMPANIES TRIPLES RAT POISONING RATE IN KIDS In 2001, the Bush led EPA struck a deal with chemical companies to remove two important rat poison regulations designed to protect the safety of children. Specifically, the safety measures had required rat poisons contain an ingredient that makes the candy-like pellets taste bitter to kids and a dye to make it more obvious to adults when a child has ingested the poison. As a result of no longer requiring those safety additives, the nation is now seeing a record number of children poisoned by the toxic pellets. This year more than 50,000 children were poisoned by rodenticides, which is three times as many as were affected prior to the removal of safety regulations. According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the EPA met five times behind closed doors with representatives of the chemical industry, which ultimately resulted in the removal of the safety regulations. Read more and sign petition... http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa.htm ********sponsored message********** SMILE, LAUGH & CRY WITH ODE As you read Ode you will realize it is an international news magazine unlike any other. Ode reports on inspiring people & ideas, sustainability, natural health, leading-edge science & spirituality, and much more. Ode, a successful European-based magazine since 1995, has been making lots of waves in the U.S. and elsewhere recently. Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, calls Ode " essential reading, " and Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic calls Ode a " way of life. " Now, for a limited time, you can get an introductory subscription to Ode of 6 issues for only $10! Smile, laugh and cry with Ode. Order Ode now online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 - bunny >Hi All, >My name is Marguerite and I am in Perth, Western Australia. Greetings Marguerite... I am also from Perth. If you aren't aware of it you might be interested in joining up with the Hills Vegetarian Society. They began in the hills area but have began to reach out in order to be a resource for the whole of the Metro area. They have a meeting each month, and a newsletter, and are aimed at being both a social group and an education resource in the promotion of vegetarianism. If you are interested in attending a meeting or finding out more give them an email at hillsvegwa They would be only to happy to hear from another veg*n. Namaste... Pete... http://www.primalvision.net " There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost " - Martha Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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