A Few Ingredients and Speciality Foods

Non-dairy butters and spreads

Earth Balance makes a full line of vegan butters and nut butters, including a new organic coconut spread. (See hemp seed butter below.)

Hemp

Shelled hemp seed is 34.6% protein, and is rich in a nearly perfect ratio of Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, gamma-linolenic acid and amino acids. In other words, plant-based protein that is superior to soy.

You can buy hemp seeds in bulk at the Greenwood Market here in Seattle. PCC, Whole Foods, and health food stores sell them packaged.

Manitoba Harvest sells hemp seeds, milk, and the only hemp oil I find palatable. Their site has lots of info about Hemp Seed Nutrition. I was happy to find their hemp seed butter at the Central Co-op here in Seattle.

Trader Joe's and Super Supplements sell Hemp Protein Powder, which is good in smoothies.

Hemp seeds should be stored in a dark container. Storing all nuts and seeds in the refrigerator provides less chance for them to turn rancid. See some of my hemp recipes here.

Vegan cheese, and delicious dip

Some soy cheese actually contains casein, a dairy product. My favorite non-dairy cheese is, by far, Daiya. They make cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper jack. It melts!

We Can’t Say It’s Cheese is a wonderful cheesy dip from Wayfare Foods. I especially like the hickory smoked flavor.

Coconut

We usually think of coconut as fattening and unhealthy, but it's quite the opposite. Its medium-chain fatty acids are converted into energy, unlike Long Chain Triglycerides typically found in animal-based foods, which are stored as fat.

Breaking open a fresh young coconut to drink its fresh juice (and then eat its flesh or make a smoothie from both) makes me happy for good reasons! I just learned a good way to open it with a meat cleaver here, and here's a video of another guy who does it well. Careful of your fingers!

young coconutCoconut also contains lauric and caprylic acids, known for their anti-viral and anti-microbial properties. Lauric acid is found in (human) mothers milk!

Other benefits

* from http://www.coconut-water-products.com/2009/07/coconut-water-health-benefits/

You can find young coconuts at grocery, natural food, and Asian markets.

Coconut-based milk, frozen desserts, and sweeteners are delicious and nutritious as well. Who needs dairy or cane sugar?

Turtle Mountain makes So Delicious® Coconut Milk Beverage as well as (all non-dairy) ice creams, sorbets, cultured coconut milk (similar to kefir), and creamer.

Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss vegan ice cream is created from coconut milk and uses organic agave nectar and coconut sugar for sweeteners.

Coconut Secret makes a number of products that I've just started using:

Flaxseed

Flaxseed is one of the richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Flax also contains lignans, a rich source of antioxidants, and lots of fiber. I use them in smoothies, sprinkle them over fruit, add them to homemade energy bars (see recipe above) and make my own flaxseed crackers.

It's best to buy flax seeds and grind them up yourself, since the oils can go rancid quickly. I use a coffee grinder that's set aside for grinding things other than coffee, and grind about 1/2 cupful for each week.

Use Vegenaise instead of mayo.

Ingredients: Canola oil, filtered water, apple cider vinegar, brown rice syrup, soy protein, sea salt, lemon juice, and mustard flour. (website)

Vegan Jerkies

I've never eaten beef jerky, and don't like things that taste like meat, but I'm hooked on Primal Strips vegan jerkies!