Dr. Kracker And George Eckrich

My decision to go vegan in September has been interesting, with all the nuances that "interesting" implies. When I committed to it, I didn't consider what a profound life change this was going to be, how it affects everything and how open-ended it is.

By "open-ended," I mean that this choice is for the rest of my life, and not a goal that can be achieved in six weeks. And the choice is profound in the ways it affects the other three people in my family: my spouse and teenage daughter and son. Being vegan changes what I buy at the supermarket, where we go when we have a family night out, what I prepare when friends come to the house and what I tell friends and family when we are visiting them in chez-them. For most people, meat and protein are something special and a way to celebrate both the guests and the occasion-there's no Thanksgiving without the turkey or Easter without the spiral-cut ham. For five years, when I was in my twenties, I was a lacto vegetarian. One of the reasons I left the diet was because I got tired of telling hosts that I needed special food; I started feeling as though my refusal of their food was impolite in the extreme. But here we are again, vegans in a very meat-oriented society.



Every year at Thanksgiving we host a large potluck in Austin. In a fast-growing city like ours, most everyone comes from somewhere else, and we've always hosted the potluck for those who didn't have the time or the desire to endure holiday travel to eat at the family table. This year's party included nearly 80 people, and I'd estimate that almost half of them were vegetarian (or vegan, depending on definitions). Along with the traditional meat dishes, there were a couple of egg dishes, lots of salads and a number of potato, sweet potato and baked veggie dishes-and no cheese that I can remember. In other words, plenty of great food, and plenty of proof that you don't need meat to celebrate.



How strictly has our household adhered to our vegan diet? My daughter and I have both stuck pretty closely to the "no animal product" diet, though I did make a lemon meringue pie the other night, which of course used eggs and some butter. (I was feeling inspired and I wanted to reformulate the lemon filling by adding pureed mango and rhubarb. The lemon, mango and rhubarb made a luscious mix of flavors, maybe only missing some strawberry.) Next time, I'll omit the meringue, leave out the egg yolks from the filling and go to olive oil or palm shortening for the fat in the filling. I'll find out then how crucial egg yolks and butter are to mango citrus curd.


My spouse Liliana went to a wine bar with friends the other night and reported that aside from the small salads, there wasn't much she could order from the menu. I don't understand why it's so challenging for restaurants to accommodate vegans--the food is not complicated, and there are so many delicious dishes-especially Mediterranean dishes-that omnivores of every stripe enjoy. The fact that they're free of animal products doesn't mean they're only for vegans. In fact, what it means is that these dishes are lower in fat and calories, and higher in fiber and nutritional value than those that contain meat and dairy. And they don't have to suffer in terms of flavor and texture, either think rich, creamy, hummus, spicy eggplant caponata, and the wonderful custardy comfort of grilled polenta.



Dr. Kracker is an active participant in the Whole Grains Council, which has been pushing for more restaurants to integrate whole grains into their menu. There have been some successes (read about it here). The key to change is customer demand. I told Liliana the same thing: tell the server or manager they missed a sale by not offering an easy and inexpensive vegan alternative on their menu (with Dr. Kracker on the side, of course).

What are we doing at Dr. Kracker? We have always worked to create as many vegan flavors as we can. For example, the original Seedlander recipe called for honey. We switched to agave nectar to keep this vegan. We also changed the flour from wheat to spelt in order to bake the Seedlander for as broad of a customer group as possible (check out my spelt blog). When we use cheese for our two (soon to be three) cheddar flavors, the cheese we use is made with the plant-based hannilase enzyme rather than the traditional rennet, which is cow-based. So these crackers are vegetarian.

Will we quit using cheese altogether at Dr. Kracker because I'm a vegan now? In a word, no. Our recipes at Dr. Kracker are based on delicious flavor, maximum nutritional value, and authentic and wholesome ingredients-not on personal political or moral positions. I have a responsibility to my other partners, and to all of our customers. Of course, if people stop buying our cheddar flavors, we'll stop baking them. In the meantime, we'll continue to make the wide variety of vegetarian and vegan whole grain and whole seed crackers our customers love to demand.

Roasted Veggies!

There is always a first time, and this is my first entry in blog land that is not connected to Dr. Kracker. But it is about food and eating vegetarian!

There is no shortage of recipes for roasted root vegetables. Once you have put one together, it is easy to add sweet potatoes, yams, purple potatoes, basically whatever you like. I have a small variation that adds more color, variety and flavor. Start the recipe as you normally would: potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, garlic cloves, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. At this stage, I add some molasses and balsamic as well. The Balsamic for flavor and the molasses for flavor and for the browning of the veggies.

Now for the variation. I slice some zucchini, some yellow squash, julienne one half of a red pepper, one-half of a yellow pepper, half or quarter some Brussels sprouts, add some pitted green olives and finally add one cup or so of frozen edamame. Actually, I do these in the morning and marinate them in olive oil, balsamic and a touch of molasses, again for flavor and browning. Because the root vegetables take longer to cook, I hold back the above, marinating in a zip-lock bag. I let the root veggies roast at 400 or so for one hour, then I add these fresh veggies on top and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the B-Sprouts are roasted. The result is more colorful, more vitamin rich, more complex in flavor and overall more delicious.

Our total dinner included the above, a fresh salad and a spelt and wheat focaccia topped with tomato sauce and marinated onions. And the leftovers became part of a lentil soup the next day.

Twinkie Bites! Give me a break!

Recession or not, health and wellness will continue to be important themes in 2009. Weight loss and weight control are enduring themes. The last several years have seen many companies, including Dr. Kracker, create smaller sized packages that promote portion control and hopefully, weight control. The consumer can buy a package, eat 100 calories---in our case 120-and hopefully feel full and satisfied. However, there is nothing to keep the individual from eating 2 or 3 packages in the moment. Discipline is important and discipline has not been packaged or put into an herbal formula yet!
This brings me to my point about product downsizing. Dr. Kracker bakes two basic sizes: a not quite one-ounce flatbread and the Snacker Crackers that come in an 8-oz tub. Since my days as a high-school, 103-lb weight-class wrestler, I've watched what I eat. I love the flatbread: take one out of the package, put the package away, eat the flatbread with peanut butter and jelly or one of our spreads and go on with the morning. Ditto with a midday snack. The danger with the tub of Snacker Crackers is that when you open the container, it is very easy to keep eating more than we intend. Something in us always wants to maximize the "trips to the mouth." Having a large container of food is great for parties and social gatherings, but when we as individuals sit next to a tub of food, it requires tremendous discipline not to overindulge. And just having smaller pieces of food doesn't mean that we won't overeat. On the contrary, "trips to the mouth" works against us.
Two tips for the new year: Find a portion sizes that will help with discipline and practice discipline. Secondly, only buy good food and avoid the Twinkie Bites and their ilk! Remain health careful for 2009!

This update is taken from the New York Times, (Personal Health: More Isn't Always Better in Coronary Care - January 6, 2009). In a blog last year, I mentioned the C-reactive protein. The CRP is getting more and more press. It always fascinates me how as our understanding of the complexity of the body and its functions deepens, the perception of cause and effect changes. So now, it's not fat and cholesterol that are the bugaboos; it's the level of inflammation in the body:

"That factor is C-reactive protein, or CRP, a blood-borne marker of inflammation that, along with coagulation factors, is now increasingly recognized as the driving force behind clots that block blood flow to the heart. Yet patients are rarely tested for CRP, even if they already have heart problems."

Once the problem is identified, our understanding of the solution, changes as well, and in many cases, the solution was right there in front of us but being ignored:

"The new dietary advice is actually based on a rather old finding that predates the mantra to eat a low-fat diet. In the Seven Countries Study started in 1958 and first published in 1970, Dr. Ancel Keys of the University of Minnesota and co-authors found that heart disease was rare in the Mediterranean and Asian regions where vegetables, grains, fruits, beans and fish were the dietary mainstays. But in countries like Finland and the United States where plates were typically filled with red meat, cheese and other foods rich in saturated fats, heart disease and cardiac deaths were epidemic. What was missed at the time and has now become increasingly apparent is that the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is not really low in fat, but its main sources of fat - olive oil and oily fish as well as nuts, seeds and certain vegetables - help to prevent heart disease by improving cholesterol ratios and reducing inflammation."

The list of heart friendly and inflammation reducing foods is not complete in the above paragraph. Whole foods, whole grains and whole seeds are key dietary elements in addition to the fish oils, as I have chronicled in my switch to a vegan diet. The complexity of the reaction between foods and our own biochemistry is just beginning to be understood. And rather than chasing selected and over-hyped super foods, I would recommend that we all keep it simple. Eat a diverse group of vegetables and fruits that combine as many colors as possible and eat plenty of whole grains and whole seeds. Enjoy your food, but make it real food!