Oprah's Vegan Challenge, Not a Vegetable in Sight

Oprah had me at Michael Pollan when her Vegan Challenge episode aired earlier this week. And if I weren’t already baptized (cafeteria) Catholic, my religion would be Pollanism. Although I'm not vegan (I lean more towards flexitarian), I cook 99.9% of everything from scratch and am an advocate of food revolutions, meatless meals, healthy school lunch programs, reading food labels, and when given the chance, will preach the health benefit gospel of eating local and organic to anyone who listens.

I sat on the edge of our chocolate brown couch, shoveling organic popcorn into my mouth while unconsciously leaning toward the television, cheering for the good-food-fight philosophies being discussed on the show, when I was nearly hit in the face with a package of meatless sausage hurled at me by Kathy Freston. Kathy, Ophrah’s vegan authority guest, was helping Jill, a senior supervising producer at Harpo, find an easy path to veganism at Whole Foods.

I made a nose dive for the carpet. The pressed meat grazed my right ear as my knees scraped the woolen floor covering. Using the coffee table as a bunker, I poked my head over the laundry basket berm to discover Kathy had filled Jill's entire shopping cart with processed soy and meat substitutes, cheese substitutes, milk, butter and egg substitutes, without one fruit, vegetable, grain, nut, seed or bean represented in its natural form.

My face grew long as I realized we were about to get a lesson in cooking vegan processed foods, instead of discovering new ways to cook vegetables and grains.

Kathy blew it. She had an opportunity to teach millions of Americans how to introduce vegan lifestyle changes into their diets and to see that way of eating as something more than just carrot and celery sticks. Whether turning to a flexitarian option, or going full-on vegan, she should have been showing families how to create their own rice and almond milks (without preservatives), how to cook with beans, quinoa and whole grains, and how to combine nutritious whole foods to create hearty meals.

The meatless options Kathy presented to Jill were poor excuses for sustainability, with some of the product nutrition lists containing up to 47 processed ingredients.

I always thought veganism was based on a health and/or moral decision to avoid animal products. Eating foods pressed into shapes of animal products or made to mimic animal products, which is what Kathy was promoting, seems to negate the purpose of becoming vegan.

Oprah doesn’t get off scot-free here either. As the host of the show, she should have played the devil’s health advocate and questioned the use of all of these packaged foods, especially since Kathy had followed Michael Pollan’s advice of eating whole, unprocessed foods, with an agreeable nod and verbal confirmation minutes before she overfilled Jill's cart with meatless mayhem. The show didn’t teach Americans how to eat better, the show just presented our country with an irresponsible vegan option for store-bought fast and prepared foods, overshadowing Pollan's point-of-view without giving him the chance for rebuttal or an opportunity to sneak in the word "moderation."

You can read Kathy’s horrifying list of recommended vegan products and see for yourself. When you’ve had enough, come back to Wicked Good Dinner and try our recipe for Quinoa Burgers (below). It’s full of protein, vegetables and can easily be tailored to fit any diet – vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian.

Oprah, if you want to redeem yourself, I’ll be happy to show America how to cook anything from scratch on your show, using local and organic ingredients, including vegan recipes.



Red and Black Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Yield: 4 Servings
Method: Saute
Allergy Info: Soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free

For the veggie burgers:
2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil, plus 2 teaspoons
1 small carrot, diced 1/8” (about 1/4 cup)
1 small celery rib, diced 1/8” (about 1/4 cup)
1 small onion, minced, divided in half
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper, 1/8”
1/4 cup diced eggplant, 1/8”
1/2 cup diced crimini mushrooms, 1/8” (about 6 – 8 mushrooms)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup black quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons potato starch
1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup thick coat rolled oats, toasted
1 egg white
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Condiments (optional)

For pan frying:
Cornstarch for dusting
1 tablespoon olive or sunflower oil

Directions:
In a medium saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium. Add carrot, celery and half the onion, cook for 3 minutes. Add bell pepper, eggplant, crimini mushrooms, salt, cayenne, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until moisture in pan has evaporated and vegetables have caramelized (about 7 minutes). Add garlic and cook until aromatic (about 30 seconds). Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

In a small sauce pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil on medium. Add remainder of onion and cook until softened. Add rinsed quinoa and toast until dark and fragrant (about 3 minutes). Add water and a pinch of Kosher salt, bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until al dente and the water has been absorbed (about 7 minutes).

Place cooked quinoa in the sauté pan with the vegetables and cook over medium heat until any additional liquid has evaporated. Place mixture in a bowl and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle potato starch over mixture and gently stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in parsley and oats. Beat egg white until slightly foamy and fold into the vegetable mixture.

Mixture will be moist and sticky. Mold into 4 large patties by hand, or with a ring mold (such as a round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter) and set on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes or in the fridge for 1 hour to set.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly dust both sides of patties with cornstarch. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick, oven-safe skillet, over medium heat. Add the patties and brown on first side. Gently flip patties and place the skillet in the oven for 12 minutes.

Serve warm with or without buns, and if desired, with cheese and your favorite organic condiments. In the pictures above, we served the burgers with provolone cheese and an olive oil mayonnaise.

Baked option:
You can skip the cornstarch and skillet, and place the patties directly in the oven to bake at 325 for 25 minutes.

Make it totally vegan:
Omit the egg white and add 2 additional tablespoons of potato starch to make this recipe completely vegan.

Add your favorite veggies:
Any vegetable can be substituted for the eggplant, peppers and mushrooms, in the same quantities – about 1/4 cup each.

For gluten-free, check labels to be sure you're using all gluten-free products, including oats and corn starch.