Mother's who have vegetarian diets may cause lethargy and failure to thrive in their babies.

This post includes a summary of a paper published in Clinical Pediatrics Vol. 25, No. 4, 219-221 (1986) and a recipe for pot roast brisket.

Books:

Study title and author:

Nutritional Vitamin B12 Deficiency in a Breast-fed Infant of a Vegan-diet Mother
Ronald Sklar, MD
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and the Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon

This paper can be accessed at: http://cpj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/25/4/219

A 7-month-old male presented with lethargy and failure to thrive. The child was exclusively breast-fed from birth by a mother who was a strict vegetarian. Laboratory data revealed the child was vitamin B12 deficient and had anemia.

The study emphasized the need for the mother to have an adequact diet during pregnancy and after birth.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Pot Roast Brisket

 

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Brisket

1 x 1.3kg/3lb beef brisket
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

30ml/2tbsp butter
50g/2oz chorizo sausage, chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 red onions, peeled and chopped

1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped

200ml/7floz good, hot beef stock

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

30ml/2tbsp freshly chopped thyme leaves

Method:

1.Place the meat on a chopping board and season.

2.Heat the butter in a large non-stick frying pan and brown the joint all over with the chorizo. Transfer to a large plate.

3.In the same frying pan add the remaining ingredients and cook over a moderate heat for 3-4 minutes.

4.Spoon into the slow cooker and place the joint and chorizo on top.

5.Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 4-6 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours, or according to your manufacturers’ handbook.

6.Remove the meat from the cooker, slice and serve.

Pot Roast Brisket



Vegetarian diets can lead to imparied growth, rickets and iron-deficiency anemia

Books:

This post include a summary of a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol 59, 1176S-1181S and a recipe for chili verde.

Study title and authors:

Vegetarian diets and children
TA Sanders and S Reddy
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kings College, University of London, England.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/59/5/1176S
 
The paper found vegetarian diets can lead to imparied growth, rickets and iron-deficiency anemia.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Chili Verde

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Pork Shoulder

2.5 lb pork shoulder roast, cut into ½ inch cubes

2 lbs tomatillos
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
1 jalapeno
1 tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
Sea salt to taste

Instructions:
Cut pork roast into ½ inch cubes. Heat the coconut oil over medium high in a large soup pot and add the pork once the oil is hot enough that it sizzles when you add a piece of meat. Brown the pork pieces for 4-5 minutes and remove the pork from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions and garlic to the oil and pork drippings and sauté for 7-10 min or until the onions start to brown. Turn the heat down a bit and add the cumin, paprika and black pepper to the onions and garlic and mix well (it will be kind of pasty). Add the chicken broth to the onion mixture and mix well, making sure to scrape all the goodness off the bottom of the pan. Add the pork back to the soup pot into the liquid and bring to a boil. Turn down to low. While the meat simmers, peel and wash the tomatillos. Dry them well and in a large skillet over medium heat char them along with the jalapeno turning often, until the skins start to blacken (about 10 minutes). Place the charred tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice into a food processer or blender and blend until smooth. Add to the pork in the soup pot and simmer for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the pork is fall apart tender. The sauce will reduce down and become thicker over the course of the cooking process. Serve with sliced avocado and cilantro for garnish.

Chili Verde



Vegan children have a subnornual rate of growth

The post features a summary of a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol 3 No 5 and a method of flash freezing steaks and beef patties.

Study title and authors:
Human Dietary Deficiency of Vitamin B12*

Bgj FRANK WOKES, PH.D.,t .J. BADENOCH, M.D.,ı AND H. M. SINCLAIR, M.D.1

Books:

* Presented at the Third International Congress of Nutrition. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (September 13-17. 1954)

Ovaltine Research Laboratories. King’s Langley, England.
ı Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England.
ı Laboratory of Human Nutrition. University of Oxford, England.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/3/5/375.pdf
 
As well as a vitamin B12 deficiency the study pinpointed that vegans suffer from a lack of calcium and vitamin D. Data on British vegan children indicated a subnornual rate of growth.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Flash Freeze Method for Steaks and Beef Patties

Food Mall: Steaks

Let your cooked meat rest on a cutting board to room temperature. Cut in half to roughly 8 ounces or a little less or you can freeze them whole it won't make a difference.

Then line a cutting board that will fit in your freezer. You may use a tray, plate or whatever you have. The trick is to use wax paper. You could use parchment.

Then simply put it carefully in the freezer and let it freeze over night. Then place the frozen goodies in a zip-lock storage bag and the meat is ready for action on a moments notice.

The next day take out the frozen goodies. They look dry, but they are moist and delicious the next time you eat them with no freezer taste at all.

Place these Life Saving Goodies in a Zip-Lock bag and store them back in the freezer for future use.

Flash Frozen Steaks



Vegan diets may not be nutritionally adequate

This post includes a summary of a paper published by the American Council on Science and Health July 1997 and a recipe for spicy pork scratchings.

Study title and author:
Vegetarianism
Kathleen Meister, M.S.

This paprer can be accessed at: http://www.acsh.org/docLib/20040402_Vegetarianism1997.pdf

The author makes the following recommendations.

Books:

Diets completely devoid of animal products (vegan diets) may not be nutritionally adequate, especially for people with increased nutritional needs, such as infants, children, adolescents, pregnant or lactating women, and individuals with certain medical problems.

Parents who follow these unusual diets or lifestyles should realize that children are far more vulnerable than adults are to serious health damage from nutritional inadequacies and imbalances. Dietary restrictions that may be tolerated by adults could cause lasting harm to an infant or young child.

Young people who become vegetarians for ethical or environmental reasons may also be placing their health at risk.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Spicy Pork Scratchings

Ingredients:

Skin from pork joint

Food Mall: Pork

1.5 tbsp fennel seeds

1.5 tbsp coriander seeds
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
Sea salt
Drizzle of olive oil

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 220C.

2.Cut the skin into two pieces and score incisions in the skin with a sharp knife.

3.In a pestle and mortar. Crush the fennel, coriander and chilli with a pinch of salt. Trust me, this can take forever!

4.Place the skin on a roasting rack over a tray to catch the fat and sprinkle the spice mix over the skin making sure the skin pieces are evenly covered.

5.Sprinkle another good pinch of salt over the skins and drizzle a little olive oil over them.

6.Bake in the oven until the skins are very crispy. I found it took about 30-40 minutes to be sure it was properly hard on the top.

7.Break it up into pieces.

Pork Scratchings



Vitamin B12 deficiency in breastfed children of vegetarian mothers leads to Neurologic Impairment

This post includes a summary of a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:979-980 and a recipe for roasted vegetable salad with crispy duck.

Study title and authors:
Neurologic Impairment in Children Associated With Maternal Dietary Deficiency of Cobalamin—Georgia, 2001

Books:

R Muhammad, MD, P Fernhoff, MD, Dept of Pediatrics, Emory Univ, Atlanta, Georgia. S Rasmussen, MD, Div of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities; B Bowman, PhD, Div of Diabetes Translation; K Scanlon, PhD, L Grummer-Strawn, PhD, L Kettel Khan, PhD, Div of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; M Jefferds, PhD, EIS Officer, CDC.

The paper can be accessed at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/289/8/979

During 2001, neurologic impairment, (a neurological impairment or disability may affect an individual’s speech, motor skills, vision, memory, muscle actions and learning abilities), resulting from cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency was diagnosed in two children in Georgia. The children were breastfed by mothers who followed vegan diets.

The author advises: "Persons who follow vegetarian diets should ensure adequate cobalamin intake. The only reliable unfortified sources ( of vitamin B12) are animal products, including meat, dairy products, and eggs. Most naturally occurring plant sources of cobalamin are not bioavailable".

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Crispy Duck

Ingredients for Roasted Veg:

◦a few glugs of olive oil

Food Mall: Duck Breast

◦1 bunch asparagus, cut the stalks into 1/4′s

◦1 lb. various mushrooms, sliced
◦S&P

Ingredients for Duck
◦1 T fat of your choice
◦1 lb. duck breast
◦liberal amount of salt and pepper

Method:
Get your oven to 450°F.

Add a few glugs of olive oil on a baking sheet. Add the asparagus, mushrooms and S&P. Drizzle the veg with a bit more oil, toss it around with your hands and put in the oven. Roast until browned and crispy, about 3o minutes.

While the veg is roasting, add 1 T of fat to a saute pan and place on medium heat.

Take a sharp knife and score the skin of the duck at an angle, all the way from the top to the bottom. Turn the duck and score at the opposite angle. You’re just making little diamonds or squares. Why? Because it’s pretty and more importantly, it helps the skin cook faster and the end result is much crispier.

Liberally pat salt and pepper on the duck. Place the duck, skin side down into the saute pan. The goal here is to get the skin to render (get crispy) without overcooking the duck or burning the skin. Make sure your heat is around medium-low to medium. Saute, with the skin side down, for about 20 minutes. Flip the duck onto the other side and saute for approx. 10 minutes. The internal temperature should reach around 150°F for medium rare. Let the breast rest for about 7 minutes and slice as thinly as possible.