So the situation where you’d see this mimicker added to a menu item is if you were at a burger joint and they offered something they referred to as a “sinless garden burger.” The point is to emphasize the enjoyment of eating vegetarian, but the truth is that while no cows were slaughtered to make your hamburger, you can’t actually apply the same grace to other animals of the smaller, cuddlier variety. And this is where things are going to get uncomfortable…

Vegetables are grown in fields. Grains are also grown in fields. The majority of farms these days harvest all their crops at once with massive threshers, tractors, and other monstrously terrifying machines of such raw power that they’re a bit frightening even to a human. Now you must ask yourself about the field habitat itself. In the 40-odd aches of wheat, how many rabbits, mice, moles, rats, shrews, squirrels, snakes, skunks, voles, and gophers live within it? The answer is quite a few, and even if they don’t live in the field, they live around the field and frequently come into the field during all hours of the day and night.

Here’s the sad truth: Every time a combine goes through a field of wheat and harvests it, the small animal population of that area is decimated. Not wiped out, not even close to it, but an exorbitant amount of critters are getting chewed up by these machines whenever it’s time to harvest grain. Animals that aren’t raised for slaughter or caged or mistreated or anything of that nature. These are just wild, innocent animals.

Okay, I realize in typing that last paragraph that there’s just no gentle way to put it other than the truth. Innocent animals are murdered in the thousands for supposedly “sinless” meals. What then is the difference between someone who eats a hamburger because they enjoy the taste and someone who refuses to eat a hamburger because they don’t want a cow killed intentionally but then go right into eating a vegetarian sandwich made with whole wheat bread? At what point does there have to be a serious gut check with the question “How far will you go to limit the suffering?”

As of now, the only way to be 100% sure that your food was harvested without a single unintentional death is to grow your own crops and never dine out at a restaurant again. It is a heavy request, and I’m not sure how deep someone’s conviction level needs to be to in order to stand by that and really reduce the suffering as far as it can possibly go rather than reducing the suffering until it becomes inconvenient.

Please do not misunderstand, this is NOT meant to be an attack on anyone at all, whether that be vegetarians, farmers, meat-eaters, or anyone in between. This is a serious question that I’m trying to think through. Is there a point where it becomes too much to think about? Obviously this isn’t so much an issue when you’re a vegetarian due to health or religious reasons, but it certainly has to be asked of those of us who are vegetarian or vegan specifically on the grounds of the ethical consequences of eating an animal. Are animal deaths still wrong if we didn’t intend them? Is it okay to eat a cow that died of natural causes? Let’s say a wolf inflicts a fatal wound on a steer and it dies, is it okay to eat that one so that its death doesn’t go to waste? I want to know your thoughts on the limit.

So then, that’s where you come in on the issue. Please, weigh in with your opinion. Where is the line? What is okay and what isn’t? Should we eliminate words like “sinless” and “guiltless” from our vocabulary? Is anyone ever really sinless?

Dragonfruit Culture and History

For something as awesomely named as “dragonfruit,” you’d assume it had to have had a killer origin story, but unfortunately that’s not exactly the case. Most produce origin stories are little more than “and then it eventually started growing because of fortunate circumstances,” but just once I’d like to find out that some produce appeared because it was bitten by a radioactive pineapple or something. Either way, the dragonfruit’s exact date of first cultivation seems to be lost, or perhaps just unresearched.

But even if we don’t know specifically when they appeared, we know that they appeared in Central America first…I think. Dragonfruit are actually called “pitaya” in the majority of the world, but I don’t want to waste a name as cool as “dragonfruit” so I’m sticking with the less common term. Since its cultivation some mysterious number of years ago, dragonfruit have spread all over South America, Central America, and Mexico.

Apparently, the French were responsible for the fruit’s exodus to Europe and Asia, specifically Vietnam. The French found the fruit in Colombia and Nicaragua and decided to take it to Vietnam for some reason, which worked great for the Vietnamese as they now consider it an indigenous fruit of their country and an integral part of their economy since they export it all over Southeast Asia.

Health Benefits of Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit is one of those things that sounds ridiculously cool but when you learn more about it you discover that it’s just another fruit when you get down to it. Sure, cool name and everything, but it’s essentially what you’d expect, including being a great source of vitamin C, containing a bunch of antioxidants, and having a nice mixture of dietary fibers without a lot of calories.

Of the vitamins and minerals on tap, there are some little amounts of calcium, iron, and phosphorus, but nothing too extreme, which is actually odder than anything else about the fruit thus far. Still, it’s yet another fruit that can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, plus it can alleviate chronic respiratory tract problems. Hey that’s new!

What I do find rather interesting is how dragonfruit is used in Taiwan as a substitute for rice in diabetic meals, something I never would have thought of. Also, the fruit has the ability to increase the removal of heavy metal toxins during bathroom time, yet another unique ability found here. Sadly though, you don’t gain any special powers from eating the fruit or learn some new truth about mystic forces or any of that. Perhaps insisting on calling it “dragonfruit” over its more common “pitaya” name is a mistake on my part. …Nah, dragonfruit sounds awesome and they sure do look the part.

Eating More Dragonfruit

For me, finding a dragonfruit is turning out to be a rather tricky problem as, come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen one in real life. Seems that eating more of them is going to be harder than I thought and may require importing some specially from elsewhere in the world, which is already sort of a waste as there are so many fruits already here that do just as much and in some cases more than the dragonfruit.

Once cut open you’ll see what looks like cookies n’ cream ice cream or poppy seed muffins, but it’s actually just the flesh of the fruit. I’ve absolutely never seen anything like it and how zero idea what it’ll taste like, but from what people say it’s very similar to a watered-down kiwi both in taste and texture thanks to the little black seeds, which can be eaten but require chewing to be digestible.

If you do come across some dragonfruit at your local supermarket, some good ideas for recipes include sorbet, juice, smoothies, salads, or just by themselves. Half of the fun is enjoying the sweet taste with the little seeds, so those looking for something that’s both unique and familiar at the same time may really dig dragonfruit.

Great, now I have an extreme craving for dragonfruit. Who else is feeling this same craving? Do you love dragonfruit already and eat it frequently? And do you have a recipe to share perhaps? Leave a comment and let me know! The great dragon demands it!

When someone on a standard diet is asked to consider switching from their meat-inclusive diet to a meat-free diet, the immediate worry is that they won’t be able to find things to eat anymore, and it’s a legitimate fear in that the modern culture today has ingrained this notion that meat isn’t just good, it’s best and most natural. No, I’m not going to get into how vegetarians are prosecuted or marginalized here, what I’m trying to point out is that those who eat meat almost have to keep eating it, otherwise they’ll just feel…weird for lack of a better term. Coming up with a strong reason to make the switch such as health, ethical, or environmental reasons will circumvent the problem as you’re actively looking to make a change for a personal reason rather than just something to do with your time.

So then, if you’re playing host to a dinner party or something and you have non-vegetarian friends coming over, one of the simplest meals you can plan is one that revolves around a soup, stew, or even a chowder, possibly with some fancy bread to dip. Make a point of really making the meal thick and hearty, like you’d expect a meaty dinner to be, despite it being vegetarian. Then, after dinner, ask how the guests liked the meal. If they seemed to genuinely enjoy it, you can casually point out that it was entirely vegetarian.

What this little suggestion does is actually pretty staggering and may seem basic but has some deeper strength. On the upper-most layer it just seems like a bit of trivia about dinner concerning little more than the construction of the entrees, but go a bit deeper and it’s a sort of Inception style of doing things. For one, the guest, assuming they really did like the soup, may be surprised to realize that this meal they just ate was entirely without meat and thus could still be eaten even if meat were given up. Second, they could start thinking about other dishes that are entirely vegetarian friendly and realize how little they’d actually be losing in the dietary shift. It’s all very sneaky, but this thought could continually bounce into their head, even when they’re on their own and eating a bean casserole, only to realize that it also has no meat in it, or chewing into some pasta, realizing again that there is no meat needed to add flavor. Eventually, perhaps, they might even give the vegetarian diet a try all on their own with no need from you to push them.

The goal in most interactions with non-vegetarians is to somehow find a way to convince them to really get into the notion of a meat-free lifestyle without being pushy or turning them off of the idea. Perhaps the classic soup/stew/chowder meal could prove to be rather useful if used correctly? Why not give it a try and find out?

Artichoke Culture and History

Like so many other vegetables, the true origin of the artichoke is left in mystery. Historians of produce (the cool kids) speculate that they probably originated in North Africa due to the fact that wild artichokes still grow and bloom there without our involvement. Oddly, what people don’t know, is that artichokes are actually in the thistle family of plants, meaning that artichokes are actually weeds of sorts. Even more odd is that if we leave them alone, they will bloom into magnificent flowers. But of course there’s food to be had here, so forget flowers!

So, North Africa starts the artichoke bandwagon and Egypt hops on at some point in the past, specifically when it comes to cultivation. This lead to the Romans getting a hold of them and really becoming the first to talk about them, specifically how delicious they are and how cool they are to even look at. This is why you can still find artichoke designs in Gothic buildings as ornaments and such since they were considered a thing of beauty. People back then had a much different notion of beauty I’m sure.

What interests me the most though is the etymology of the name, seeing as how I’m an English major and a dork. Quite a few European languages take the name from the Arabic name, al-khurshuf. Sure…I see it…? Turns out the Aribic term “ardi-shoki” is a false etymology of the name we know and love, meaning that it’s not really where we get the name from, though it’s fun to know that “ardi-shoki” translates literally to “ground thorny.” More likely the name still comes from that original Arabic term, spun off in Spanish as “alcarchofa” and then later into “carciofi” in Italian, where we get the English term. Okay, etymology isn’t a perfect science and it doesn’t make sense all the time, but it’s still cool. Words!

Health Benefits of Artichokes

As weird as it may be to realize that we’re eating thistles when we’re eating artichokes, turns out we do it partly because they’ve got some nice nutritional content to back it all up. As with most vegetables, artichokes are low in calories and fat but high in fiber, meaning it doesn’t stockpile in your stomach but rather moves everyone along, like that no nonsense officer at high school football games. Yeah, he’s like dietary fiber.

Would it surprise you to learn that artichokes also have a handful of the usual nutrients such as vitamin C, copper, iron, potassium, and folic acid? Yeah, I thought not. I’m most interested by that vitamin C up there, which covers about 20% of your daily recommended dose. It’s nowhere near as much as the usual citrus fruits you’d expect, but I wouldn’t expect artichokes of all vegetables to share major vitamins in common with oranges and limes and such. Oh, and vitamin K, because artichokes aren’t surprising enough on their own.

Perhaps the biggest draw is that artichokes are one of the highest-scoring vegetables in the anti-oxidant department, meaning they’re just generally good for you all around. What’s truly baffling though is how somehow it can inhibit taste receptors thanks to a chemical called cynarin. And by inhibiting taste receptors, I mean that they mess with some of your taste buds and make food and drinks taste sweeter, even something as bland and tasteless as water. Okay, that’s pretty cool if you ask me.

Eating More Artichokes

For a lot of us, we look at an artichoke and can’t help but wonder what the heck is going on there. Every time I saw them in the store I had zero clue how to eat it or even if it really was something that could be eaten instead of just some joke that employees of the produce section play on unsuspecting simpletons like myself. But turns out, if you know what you’re doing, they can be delicious! My wife introduced them to me by steaming them and then showing how you can dip the leaves in garlic butter before stripping the meaty part of the leaves, making one artichoke a whole meal that takes a long time to eat. Perfect for speedy eaters like myself!

Then of course you get to the heart of the meal, literally the artichoke heart. These are used a ton in pastas, such as one pasta that my wife showed me how to make that involves pesto, sundried tomatoes, and parmesan. Ooh yeah, toss that up with some artichoke hearts and you have a meal that I want right now and can’t have because I’m at work. Darn it.

But everything is usually trumped when you bring out the mother of all foods: the artichoke dip. Ooh boy, mixing artichoke into a dip and consuming it in mass quantities with some pita chips, ah, swoon! Really you can mix artichokes into quite a lot of things beyond just pasta and dips. You can always go the salad route I suppose, but why waste a perfectly good opportunity to take something as natural and good for you like the artichoke and stick it in something so unhealthy like a hearty dip? I’ll just never understand the world sometimes.

Alright, my artichoke cravings are starting to subside again so I should be able to have more level thoughts for a bit. While I recover, I’ll had over the comment section to you fine folks to talk about what you love or hate about artichokes, and especially so that you can share some excellent recipes. Exceptionally especially! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a phone call to my wife about thistle-related diner plans.

To get this out of the way right now, you should know that junk food isn’t the cause of food-related problems. The cause of food-related problems is the inability of the eater to know where the line needs to be regarding a snack, a meal, and a poor choice. Eating a few potato chips at lunch is fine. Eating a whole bag of potato chips at lunch is something to avoid. Eating a whole bag of potato chips every lunch is a severely poor choice (and by bag I mean a family size of course, those personal bags are just good eatin’). The same is applied to fast food. If you just feel like getting some fries and a milkshake for fry-dipping, heck, unless your doctor says no there’s no reason why you can’t treat yourself once in a while.

The unfortunate thing is that documentaries like Super Size Me have instilled a general fear of ever eating fast food, implying that even a few helpings of french fries will put you in the hospital. Eating McDonald’s for every single meal for a month can have very negative consequences, duh (however, if you’re curious, a documentary on Netflix right now called Fat Head shows the complete opposite, oddly), but once a week or less? Meh, don’t guilt yourself.

So let’s assume that you’ve decided to go out and don’t mind the treat. You can still take some precautions to avoid an unbelievably miserable night if you remember the usual rule for eating: Don’t overdo it. Now, the distinction between eating a lot and overdoing it is entirely on you to understand as you’re the only one who can figure that out. I know that I can eat five helpings of McDonald’s fries without stopping and reap no obvious consequences, but someone else may need to take a knee after one, purely because their body doesn’t know how to handle fattier, greasier foods. Someone’s who’s been on a diet devoid of one particular part of food will be unprepared to deal with that food suddenly being reintroduced in large amounts, so go in realizing that even though you can make an exception and live a little here and there, you will not enjoy what happens after overdoing it. Just like a runner can’t take a year break and expect to have the stamina for a cross country race immediately, so can’t you expect your body to keep up with the high-octane food you’re shoveling off your plate and into your stomach.

After the night itself, there is still going to be the matter of dealing with what you just happened to do. I can’t stress enough that one night of bad eating decisions are not going to ruin you forever, but I will tell you that you can certainly do a bit to right yourself and your body quicker than if you did nothing at all. It is a good idea to perhaps add some more exercise to your routine within the next week, perhaps just go on a second walk in a day or spend an hour on the exercise bike rather than just the usual half-hour. Anything you do to compensate within reason is a healthy way to make up for the fast food, though remember not to overdo it here either. And sometimes you’ll discover that you are indeed one of those magical people who already have the perfect exercise routine and your crazy fry-filled nights don’t have any effect on you whatsoever, and I salute you for that of course, but for the rest of us when we go ahead and have some fun, we have got to compensate for it in some minor way. Cut the soda for the week. Skip dessert every other day. Run two miles instead of one. Something simple.

Fast food isn’t the end of a healthy diet. A perfectly normal, healthy lifestyle can include the occasional treat, as long as it really is the exception rather than the rule. But that’s all how I see it. How do you usually feel about eating at a fast food place? Do you try and cut back as often as possible or do you have a special “make up” routine for afterward? Leave a comment and let me know! And while you do that, I believe I require some fries and a Frosty.