 Amy Xue, Gratitude Gourmet's Intern, shared her Vegan Chocolate Cake and Raspberry Chocolate Frosting recipe. Thanks, Amy! VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 ½ cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable/canola oil
1 cup cold water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cider vinegar
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Oil an 8" square or round baking tin.
In one bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, sugar. In another bowl combine oil, water & vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until well-blended and smooth.
Add vinegar and stir briefly. The baking soda will begin to react with the vinegar right away, leaving pale swirls in the batter. Without wasting any time, pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE FROSTING/ GLAZE
You will need a pot and a plastic bowl which fits inside it.
In the pot, boil some water.
In the bowl combine ½ cup raspberry jam with about 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces of chocolate (if you're really making it vegan, check that there is no milk in the chocolate). Adding a little bit of vegan butter equivalent makes the chocolate melt better and taste slightly different.
Put the bowl inside the pot (on top of the water) and stir until the ingredients melt.
Spread on top of the chocolate cake and enjoy!
 Sunset Celebration Weekend, one of the best San Francisco garden and food events, is happening June 5-6 with garden gurus and wine seminars. It's a must see event!
 A June 2010 Prevention article noted a University of California, Davis study analyzing 100 commercial brews, light colored ales, such as India Pale Ale (IPA) containing the most silicon, a compound that increases bone mineral density in women with osteoporosis. The researchers believe it's due to the silicon-rich hops and malted barley, and when enjoyed in moderation, you could boost your bone mineral density by up to 16%! Cheers to that!
 Photo Credit: Self Magazine The June 2010 Self Magazine lists Superfoods for Flat Abs. They include: - Avocado - a Diabetes Care Journal study finds that dieters who consumed monounsaturated fats lost more stomach bulge than those eating the same amount of calories but less of the fats. Blood sugar peaks can signal your body to store fat around your midsection, but monounsaturated fats stop the spikes, thwarting fat accumulation - Green Tea - a Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise study shows drinking 3 cups of green tea daily may raise your metabolism and burn 30 calories daily - Blueberries - antioxidants help improve blood flow which delivers more oxygen to your muscles - Bulgar - Dieters who dined on whole grains lost more tummy fat than those who ate refined grains
 I've been a fan of Nature's Path Organic products for several years. Nature's Path started as an Organic Berry Farm in 1949. One of the children, Arran, started the first vegetarian restaurant on Canada's west coast, opened the region's first natural supermarket, then founded Nature's Path. Nature's Path has just announced new cereals including Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise (Gluten Free) with quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth and Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch with Raspberries and Strawberries. If you're on the run, or don't have time for a real meal, check out their energy bars: Mmmaple Pecan, Peanut Buddy, Peanut Choco, Berry Strawberry, and Chocolate Crispy Rice. Are you hungry yet? Gratitude Gourmet and Nature's Path are giving away Nature's Path Products. For a chance to win 1 of 5 prizes, share your favorite cereal and/or energy bar with us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GratitudeGourmet
 "The true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated," says the President's Cancer Panel in a strongly reported report that urges action to reduce people's widespread exposure to carcinogens. The panel advised President Obama "to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's productivity, and devastate American lives."
The 240-page report by the President's Cancer Panel is the first to focus on environmental causes of cancer. The panel, created by an act of Congress in 1971, is charged with monitoring the multi-billion-dollar National Cancer Program and reports directly to the President every year. The report recommends raising consumer awareness of the risks posed by chemicals in food, air, water and consumer products, bolstering research of the health effects and tightening regulation of chemicals that might cause cancer or other diseases.They also urged doctors to use caution in prescribing CT scans and other medical imaging tests that expose patients to large amounts of radiation. In 2007, 69 million CT scans were performed, compared with 18 million in 1993. Patients who have a chest CT scan receive a dose of radiation in the same range as survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bomb attacks who were less than half a mile from ground zero, the report says. See more information about the Report here.
 Guest Blog Post by Amy Xue, Gratitude Gourmet Business Development Intern
Oatmeal with honey, cinnamon and soy milk
Oatmeal is my wonder food. It's delicious, nutritious, filling, cheap, and sustainable. On the low carbon calculator (http://www.eatlowcarbon.org/Carbon-Calculator.html), steel cut oats earn 144 CO2 emission points, which is by far the most one of the most environmentally friendly breakfast options. By comparison, cereal and milk earn a whopping 1224 points, yogurt with seasonal fruit and granola 340, a single hard boiled egg 333, an omelet with vegetables 783, and pancakes with syrup and butter 1277.
Oatmeal is also rich in soluble fiber that is more nutritious than the wheat fiber added to "high-fiber" breakfast cereals. It's even more nutritious and delicious when topped with cinnamon and honey. Cinnamon is the highest-fiber food besides lemons with peels. Using locally produced honey is both more sustainable and supposedly helps with allergies. The cinnamon and honey combination has a long history of being used as a home remedy that is claimed to help cure everything from heart disease to colds to upset stomachs. Add some soy milk to the oatmeal topped with cinnamon and honey for a creamier texture and taste as well as an important dose of protein, and the wonder breakfast is complete!
 I'm pleased to introduce you to Amy Xue, Gratitude Gourmet's new Business Development Intern. Amy is a senior at Stanford University pursuing a B.A. in International Relations and M.A. in Sociology. She discovered Gratitude Gourmet when looking for a start-up to do an internship with for her Entrepreneurship class. Gratitude Gourmet immediately sparked her interest because she loves good food, and loves it even more when it's also healthy and sustainable!
 Though her best friend in high school was vegetarian (simply because she didn't like the taste of meat), Amy did not start learning about the environmental impact of food until taking Introduction to Earth Systems and being exposed to the many talks and film screenings at Stanford on food and sustainability. She has since been trying to cut her consumption of meat, particularly beef, and taking other steps to "green" her life. This has been relatively easy at the Stanford dining halls, which do a fairly good job of providing organic, locally grown, vegetarian and vegan offerings. Amy is currently taking a Nutrition class and learning even more about the importance and rewards of being intentional with eating. Besides sustainability, Amy is interested in many interrelated global issues, including education, health, poverty and inequality. She also loves travel, learning about different cultures and regions of the world, and trying new foods! Here is Amy's LinkedIn profile. Welcome Amy! Interested in Sponsoring Gratitude Gourmet, Contact Us.
 If you're interested in reading a thought-provoking book on food choices, The World Peace Diet - Eating for Spiritual Health, and Social Harmony is a must read. Will Tuttle has a master's degree in the humanities from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D in the philosophy of education from the University of California, Berkeley. Some of the Chapter Titles include: Food's Power, Our Culture's Roots, The Nature of Intelligence, Inheriting our Food Choices, Evolve or Dissolve, and Journey of Transformation. Quotes from several well-known people frequent the book, i.e. - Mahatma Ghandi: "The most violent weapon on earth is the table fork." - Alice Walker: "Animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than blacks are made for whites or women for men." - George Bernard Shaw: "The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That is the essence of inhumanity." I recommend this book.
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