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Find
good food when vegetarians gather
July 3, 2008
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Watermelon
for breakfast?
Throw in some scrambled tofu, home-fried potatoes, whole grain
muffins, apple-berry crisp and cooked oatmeal topped with
raisins, cinnamon and unsweetened, shredded coconut, too.
That’s how I and 600 other participants started each
day at Vegetarian Summerfest, the annual meeting of the North
American Vegetarian Society, held each year on the campus
of the University of Pittsburg, Johnstown, Penn. After a five-year
absence, I had the good fortune to attend last month as a
speaker on diet and health.
The experience made me wonder why it had taken so long to
return.
The rural setting, simple dorm room lodging and ultra-relaxed
pace gives the experience a summer camp feel. Cooking demonstrations
and educational sessions draw diverse crowds including young
families, teens and adults, some well into their 80s.
But the highlight of the 34-year-old conference hasn’t
changed in all the years I’ve attended: The food is
extraordinary, every bit of it a guilt-free, good-for-you
indulgence. The meals are served cafeteria-style in the UPJ
dining hall during the five-day event. They make up the most
powerful educational tool I have ever encountered for anyone
seeking a combination classroom and dining hall experience
while trying to learn how to eat to support health.
Most of the foods contain fewer than five ingredients and
would be simple to prepare at home. They include all-American
classics like strawberry shortcake (but served with nondairy
ice cream and tofu-whipped topping) and cornbread, as well
as international recipes from Africa, the Middle East and
the Mediterranean.
We ate steamed millet with black bean or peanut sauce, Moroccan
lentil soup, whole grain rolls, sweet potato smash, and spinach
pesto.
Meals contain no animal products, refined sugar, hydrogenated
oils, artificial flavorings or colorings. Most of the ingredients
are organic and minimally processed.
They’re a nutritionist’s dream.
Fresh fruit accompanied every meal: unlimited quantities of
sliced watermelon, black and red plums and cantaloupe. Beverages
included herbal tea, soy milk, rice milk and water.
The meals are an effective model to show how food that is
good for you can be delicious and satisfying, too. A testament
to that fact was the scene of several hundred people jockeying
for a place in line to get steamed brown rice with braised
tofu and mushroom gravy, chopped greens, pumpkin soup and
spice cake with caramel frosting.
Like many others, I left Summerfest with a head full of ideas
for new foods to make at home. But the greatest value of the
experience was underscored one evening at dinner.
My husband and I found empty seats in the packed dining hall
across from a family from a small town in Wisconsin. Summerfest
first-timers.
The husband and wife were seated next to their 13-year-old
daughter. She was in full Goth attire: hair dyed black, dark
eye liner circling her eyes and black T-shirt emblazoned with
the word “vegan.” Supportive of their daughter’s
interest in attending the conference, the couple admitted
their own diets favored brats and butter.
They smiled when I asked how they were doing with their meals.
The food was good, they said. “I’m here with an
open mind,” the dad told us as he picked at a mixed
green salad. I saw them again that week, walking to the Student
Union for meals and attending the lectures.
Spending time with others who share a value for health-supporting
foods can be a transformative experience, especially when
it’s a crowd of supportive, tolerant friends joyfully
sharing time over good, health-sustaining food. Learning by
such doing can educate in a way that reading about nutrition
alone can’t accomplish.
Closer to home, seek similar benefits by organizing healthy
potluck dinners for your friends, or set up regular outings
to ethnic or natural foods restaurants.
Look for ways to bring a little Summerfest into your life
year-round.
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