NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina

In recent months, this column has touched on food choices and their impact on global warming. Since the release of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, many of us are now choosing to be part of the solution. The FAO report confirmed that livestock, including dairy cattle, is a major contributor to today’s serious environmental problems and that urgent action is required to remedy the situation. (See http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html)
One step we can take is to select non-dairy sources of dietary calcium. Fortunately, Health Canada is in tune with this problem-solving approach. For the first time, it has officially included milk alternatives in its most recent food guide, Eating Well With Canada’s Food Guide, launched in February. The guide features fortified soymilk as a clear alternative to dairy and a great source of calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients. (See www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index_e.html)
Until now, the food guide has offered no alternatives to dairy products. No matter that roughly 70 percent of the world’s population has some degree of difficulty digesting milk, including Canada’s aboriginal people and large numbers of us who came to this country as immigrants. In fact, lactose intolerance is a perfectly normal condition. In humans, after about four years of age, the intestinal lactase enzyme that digests the sugar (lactose) in both cow and mother’s milk diminishes. However, without the lactase enzyme, lactose remains undigested and results in abdominal distension, bloating and discomfort.
We do not require cow’s milk; there are many alternative sources for the nutrients it contains. For more on this topic, see the books Becoming Vegetarian, Becoming Vegan and Food Allergy Survival Guide, which are available at libraries and bookstores or through www.nutrispeak.com. Also, try the recipes in ExtraVeganZa, a new book by Lauren Mattias of Victoria (www. phoenixfarm.ca/extraveganza).
Fortunately, more and more restaurants are featuring calcium-rich alternatives to dairy. Many coffee, tea and chai spots provide fortified soy milk, including the Dharma Kitchen and Chai, both on West Broadway in Vancouver, Wendel’s in Fort Langley and at Starbucks locations in between.
Green veggies like kale, broccoli, bok choy, collards, napa cabbage (sui choy) and okra are well-known for being good sources of calcium. In fact, we absorb the calcium in these greens twice as efficiently as from dairy products. Load up on broccoli at The Foundation at 2301 Main Street. It’s a fun spot for 20-somethings or if you just want to feel like you’re still in your 20’s. For an environment that nourishes the soul and food that satisfies the palate and eye, visit Radha Yoga and Eatery at 728 Main Street (www.radhavancouver.org)

Kale salad with orange ginger dressing

If you haven’t known what to do with kale, here’s a wonderful salad from Radha. This recipe supplies 166 mg of calcium per serving and the dressing is amazing. The calcium is provided by the kale (chopped matchstick thin), the other veggies, the tahini and the orange juice. You should be able to find any unfamiliar ingredients at natural food stores.

Dressing
1 cup orange juice (250 ml)
2 tbsp minced, fresh ginger (30 ml)
2 tsp sesame oil (optional) (10 ml)
2 tbsp sesame tahini (30 ml)
2 tbsp miso (30 ml)
2 tbsp cider vinegar (30 ml)
2 tbsp Bragg’s or tamari (30 ml)
4 dates, pitted, soaked
cayenne or black pepper, to taste

Salad
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed
and thinly sliced
1 cup thinly-sliced red cabbage
(250 ml)
1 to 2 carrots, grated or julienned
½ cup daikon, julienned (125 ml)
½ red pepper, thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro or parsley,
chopped (59 ml)
¼ cup mint, chopped (59 ml)
dulse flakes (optional)
sesame seeds

In large mixing bowl, combine salad ingredients and toss well. Combine dressing ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning. Add dressing to salad, to taste. Toss to combine. If possible, allow the dressed salad to sit for 20 minutes. Kale can also be marinated separately, up to one day ahead. Serves 4 to 6.

Vesanto Melina is a registered dietitian in Langley BC. She is co-author of seven classics about food and nutrition and offers consultations for health and dietary transitions.
www.nutrispeak.com
vesanto@nutrispeak.com
604-882-6782