Grapevine: Being One With Nature: A Diet For All The Right Reasons
I’ve been trying to be more conscious about a healthy diet. I’ve cut back on meat protein, highly processed foods and bleached-flour-based breads. I’m evolving toward a vegetarian diet, although I still have a chicken recipe on my plate weekly and I can’t resist a Friday night sausage pizza.
Animal fat and processed flour seems to be in my DNA–or at least in my sensory memory from childhood. But I’m finding it easier to satisfy these cravings by tricking my senses of smell and taste.
Recently, I had a dining experience that convinced me that sustaining a healthy diet–and enjoying it–can be readily achieved. With the insights and guidance of a chef or cookbook that seeks out and experiments with unique combinations of ingredients, not only are palate-pleasing dishes possible for an omnivore, but they may even reach the ultimate level of healthy diets–vegetarian. And dare I mention the other “v” word diet– vegan? In the hands of the right chef, provocative can be evocative and nutritious can be delicious.
At Haven Restaurant in Pleasantville, Executive Chef Dan Petrillo and Sous Chef Dave Cardone have reached new heights of dining pleasure for those contemplating the culinary plunge to V-ism. And they’ve done it with such finesse as to make the transition seamless. Spaghetti and meatballs? Empanadas with a side of Fries? With no meat, dairy or even gluten?
First, a bit of backdrop. The 7.3 million vegetarians in the United States have sworn off meat, fowl and fish, but not eggs or dairy products. The one million vegans have taken vegetarianism several steps further. Theirs is not only a dietary difference but a lifestyle choice. They have sworn off all animal products as well as animal byproducts. For them slaughtering animals is interrupting our symbiotic relationship and peaceful coexistence with all of nature. You will not see a vegan consuming eggs or wearing leather, drinking milk or eating honey.
A balanced vegan diet is made up of four food groups: legumes, nuts and seeds; grains; and vegetables and fruits. Sound familiar? Check the FDA’s dietary guidelines, which are increasingly focused on these foods. Simply because it centers on plant-based products, a vegan diet helps reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.
How do vegans feel about a glass of wine? The same as any environmentally conscientious omnivore might feel about organic wine. An organic wine is a sustainable product, one produced in a manner to perpetuate the environment, not deplete or corrupt it. Organic vineyards exist in harmony with nature: no chemical additives in the soil, vines or wines–and no scientific meddling with genetics.
However, vegans must be diligent in their quest for vegan wines. A number of organic vineyards fertilize with animal products (bone meal and dried blood) and organic wines may be processed with animal byproducts (egg whites and dried blood) to filter or “fine” any sediment that may be suspended in a wine barrel during the aging process. Check the Internet for clarification on specific wines.
Vegans are vegetarians, but not vice versa. Vegan wines are organic wines but not vice versa. Confused? Just leave your decisions in the hands of committed chefs and sommeliers.
At Haven, Dan and Dave are spot-on with their vegan dishes and wine pairings. That spaghetti and meatballs dish? Great Northern white bean meatballs with soba noodles, fried spinach and pomodoro reduction (all organic). The empanada? Wild ramps and mushrooms with onion soubise; all pureed with white wine and cured lemon–and all organic ingredients–with a side of chickpea fries accompanied by pickled black cherry cream (soy milk and tofu). To die for.
My diet continues to evolve. It’s better for me and the environment. And it’s fun. I raise my glass of organic wine to the good life.
Nick Antonaccio is a 35-year Pleasantville resident. For over 15 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. He is co-host of “Glass Up, Glass Down,” a local cable television series on wine and food; he also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
