“Drinking coffee responsibly?” some might ask…but not Eat Drink Better readers! You know that after oil, coffee is the most highly traded commodity on the planet. The ravaging demand for the other “black gold” is the main reason for massive deforestation projects to create agricultural land for coffee plantations in South America and Asia. As if that weren’t enough, a team of researchers concluded that it takes up 200 liters of water to produce just a single cup of latte when you consider cultivating, harvesting, transporting, and producing the final cup of coffee. Then there’s the heaps of paper and plastic products used with coffee (cups, filters, napkins, plastic tops, stirrers, etc.) that are discarded by the millions every single day. And don’t forget the “coffee crisis” which refers to dramatically low coffee prices causing labor problems where coffee farmers can barely provide for their families.

If you’re an egg-eater, you could swear off eggs until federal investigators determine the cause of the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened thousands of people and led to the recall of a half billion eggs.

Or you could use common sense and avoid industrial eggs all together.

Salmonella outbreaks occur in chickens when they live in unsanitary and inhumane conditions. Infected hens transmit the bacteria to their eggs.

Chickens that are confined in cages or crowded sheds are more likely to be contaminated, while chickens raised on pasture are less at risk for disease.

Shrimp season may have just opened in the Gulf, but as people show concern over the safety of Gulf seafood, individuals and businesses may begin to look elsewhere, most likely to imports.

Over 80 percent of shrimp consumed in the US is already imported, so it’s nothing new and nothing to really be afraid of; however, with Gulf shrimp possibly in short supply, some overseas companies may try to cut corners to meet the demand quickly.

Learn how you can choose your shrimp wisely.

Nothing says delicious like a fresh slice of pie. It turns out that eating a vegan diet doesn’t have to mean giving up this delightful dessert. In fact, there are countless ways to whip up tasty, vegan pies! Here are 12 recipes to get you started:

1.I’m drooling over this cherry pie from Almost Vegan.
2.Isa Chandra of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World shares a vegan pumpkin pie recipe.
3.This chocolate cream pie from Yahoo Green looks decadent!
4.If you’re after something tangy, try this vegan lemon pie from FatFree Vegan Kitchen.
5.At Natural Papa, Derek Markham shares a vegan cookie pie recipe.
6.Looking for something savory? Check out Earth Vegan’s vegan pot pie!
7.For another savory pie, you might try out a vegan shepherd’s pie.

What’s the best fruit in the world, in your opinion?
It is summertime in Poland and that means a ton of delicious fresh fruit,.. for a short time. I am so excited about fruit lately that I thought it would be interesting to find out from our readers (and authors) what you all think are the best fruits. So, I came up with a little idea.

We have this cool comment system — Intense Debate — that lets you vote comments up or down. My idea is: you put in your favorite fruit in a comment box (only one, sorry.. have to choose in order to make this work) and you also vote up other people’s favorites that you love. One week after publishing this post, I will check the comments and votes and we will see how you all ranked the fruits of the world.

 Want to improve your mental health? A new study finds that going vegetarian is one way to do so.
A new study out by researchers from Arizona State University finds that vegetarians have significantly less “negative emotion” than omnivores, according to two different scoring procedures. The study is titled “Vegetarian diets are associated with healthy mood states: a cross-sectional study in Seventh Day Adventist adults” and was published in Nutritional Journal in June.

Because there is a lack of research on the “mental health status” of vegetarians, in general, but some studies have shown that omnivores with a low intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docoahexaenoic acid (DHA) — regulators of brain cell structure and function that are primarily found in fish — suffer from “impaired moods”, the researchers decided to conduct this study.

Strawberries have just come into season here in Poland. The first batch or two we got weren’t great, but they are getting very good again now. (Last year’s may have been the best I’ve ever had.)

I love to eat them plain but there are a few other ways we’ve been eating them as well and thought I’d share them here.

Strawberry Smoothies (Cocktails)

One simple way is blending them up with a banana (frozen or not) and maybe some soymilk as well. That makes a nice little smoothie (or cocktail as they call it here).

Although you might normally think of root vegetables as fall crops, many varieties are  also available in the late spring. Beets and carrots, for instance, grow well in the cooler temperatures of spring.

These cool-weather crops are typically planted in the early spring for a late spring/early summer harvest and again in the late summer for a fall harvest. They do poorly in mid-summer heat. So, unless you want to wait until fall, now is the time to look for beets and carrots at your local farmers market!

Beets are nutritional powerhouses, with high levels of folate, manganese, and potassium. Carrots are chock-full of carotenoids, a group of compounds that are essential for the body’s maintenance of skin, teeth, and the immune system. Put the two together in a raw salad and you’ll have one nutritious (and delicious) meal.

Here’s a zippy ginger-molasses version for those of you who like a bit of spice in the morning.

◦6 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
◦1 cup of walnut halves and pieces
◦1 cup of slivered almonds
◦1 cup of shredded coconut
◦1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
◦Dash of salt
◦1/2 cup of honey (or maple syrup)
◦1/2 cup of molasses
◦2-3 tablespoons of fresh ginger juice or store-bought ginger juice (such as Ginger People)
◦1/2 cup of chopped crystallized ginger

Here are 3 condiments I couldn’t imagine life without.

I was going to include the condiments below in my list of favorite foods the other day, but then more and more foods came to my mind and I decided that these might fit better in a list of their own.

To combine with many of my favorite foods (although, probably not the fruits), here are three essential vegan condiments, in my humble opinion.

Many people are a bit scared of frisée. They worry that it will be too frizzy, too bitter, and too overwhelming to use as a salad green.

This fear might arise from bad experiences with store-bought frisée, which can be woody and extremely bitter. But there’s no reason to fear this chicory when you’re getting it from a farmers market or CSA. It’s in season from spring through early summer.

Frisée adds a wonderful spiciness and a gorgeous feathery appearance to salad mixes. It’s also tasty enough to be the star of a filling dinner salad.

I just got back from canoe camping in the Ozarks with my mom and boyfriend. Since you don’t have to carry your food when you go canoe camping, you can plan more elaborate meals. They always taste extra delicious after a day of paddling!

Here’s our favorite from the trip, a late spring panzanella with patty-pan squash and sugar snap peas. It’s perfect for a picnic!

For the croutons: