Author: donovan.251

Exploring Vegan Ice Cream 

A bowl of ice cream is a staple dessert during the summertime. Although ice cream is usually made from traditional dairy products, it is not the most sustainable way to eat ice cream. Many popular ice cream brands provide their own option of vegan ice cream. These ice cream flavors use nondairy options in their ingredients such as almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, pea milk, macadamia milk, soy milk, etc. To make your dessert more sustainable and environmentally friendly this summer, try one of these delicious options for vegan ice cream! 

One ice cream brand that remains many people’s favorite is Ben & Jerry’s. The company sells two non-dairy options, one using sunflower butter and the other using almond milk. The sunflower butter pints have three flavors which include Milk and Cookies and Crème Brûlée Cookie. The almond milk ice cream comes in 12 different flavors, some of the most notable ones being Peanut Butter & Cookies, Coffee Carmel Fudge, and Cinnamon Buns. 

Other popular ice cream brands that have a vegan option are Haagen Das, Halo Top, Archer Farms, Breyer’s, Jeni’s, and Talenti. Breyer’s carries two flavors of almond milk ice cream: Vanilla Peanut Butter and Cookies & Cream. Jeni’s, a Columbus-based ice cream company has nondairy flavors of Cold Brew with Coconut Cream and Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Truffle. Talenti, a gelato brand, offers non-dairy flavors in Alphonso Mango, Roman Raspberry, and Peanut Butter Fudge. These brands are sold at common grocery stores and should not be too difficult to find. 

In terms of ice cream brands that are solely vegan, check out brands like NadaMoo!, Arctic Zero, Cado (made from avocados!), Swedish Glace, Van Leeuwen, and So Delicious. These might be trickier to find in places like Kroger and Giant Eagle, but by going on the brand’s website you’ll be able to use the store locator feature to find them at a store near you. 

By making these switches in your everyday diet, you’re making a positive contribution to the environment. You might also find a new favorite flavor of ice cream!  

Some of Ben & Jerry’s sunflower butter options!

Katie’s Spinach Dip

Katie’s Spinach Dip Recipe One of my favorite dishes that is brought to gatherings with my family is my mother’s spinach dip recipe. We bring this to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthdays, and summer cookouts. Whether its tortilla chips, bread, or pita chips, this veggie dip is the perfect addition to any potluck! Serve it right out of the oven for the cheese to be extra gooey. Although this recipe is already meatless, you make the dish even more environmentally friendly by substituting with vegan cheeses! 

 

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

1 cup of frozen spinach 

1 cup of sour cream 

1 and ½ cups of parmesan cheese 

1 can artichokes 

½ teaspoon of black pepper 

½ teaspoon of garlic salt/garlic powder 

2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese 

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and slice blocks of cream cheese in little squares, it will be easier to mix if it is room temperature. 
  2. Cook 1 cup of frozen spinach in microwave with a little water in the bowl for 3-4 minutes (drain water when finished). 
  3. Mix cream cheese cubes with spinach in a bowl. 
  4. Add 1 cup of sour cream to the mixture. 
  5. Add 1 cup of parmesan cheese to the mixture. 
  6. Cut up can of artichokes into little pieces add to bowl. 
  7. Add ½ teaspoon of black pepper and ½ teaspoons of garlic powder or garlic salt. 
  8. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray and spread the dip into it. Top the mixture with ½ a cup of parmesan cheese. 
  9. Bake the dip in the over for 45 to 60 minutes, it will be done when the top is bubbly!

Meatless Monday

Happy Energy Conservation Week! This week the Sustainability Campaign will be promoting five different areas in which you can live more sustainably. Head over to our office’s Instagram account, @offcampus_osu, and engage with the content we’re posting to be entered to win various prizes! To start off the week, we’ll be talking about the impact that going meatless has on the environment. Check out some of our vegan or vegetarian recipes on our blog this Monday and join us in going meatless. 

There are many different types of vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not eat meat or poultry, yet they do eat dairy and eggs. Ovo-vegetarians do not consume meat, poultry, or dairy, but they do consume eggs, while Lacto-vegetarians are the same but only eat dairy. Finally, when someone’s diet avoids anything derived from animal products, they eat a plant-based vegan diet. 

There are various benefits linked to eating a vegetarian or vegan diet. Not only does it positively impact the environment and lessen your carbon footprint but according to eatright.org, decreasing the amount of meat in your diet can also lessen your chance of developing heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Including more vegetables in your diet will also increase the amount of vitamins and minerals that you consume. 

Although plant-based diets are proven to provide various health benefits, not every diet is beneficial to everyone. The Sustainability Campaign encourages you to experiment with different diets to find what makes your body feel the best while considering your personal health, the environment around you, and what different ethical standards you stand by!

To find out more about some of the health benefits that are associated with meatless diets here, check out this link! https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian