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Katherine Baker

Vegan Cosmic Brownies

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A couple of weeks ago, I was simultaneously feeling nostalgic and craving chocolate. And, more than anything, I desperately wanted to step away from my laptop after another long day of zooming, typing, working and studying. Thus, I stepped into the kitchen, and embarked on a journey to make some vegan cosmic brownies.

In case you’re unfamiliar with these otherworldly treats, ‘Cosmic brownies’ are a Little Debbies brownie product, that is essentially a moist, dense brink of brownie goodness, covered with a slick icing and some crunchy mutli-colored candy bits.

These squishy, creamy, gooey and crunchy bricks are oddly delightful, and elicit fond memories of trips to the vending machine as a young girl with a couple of quarters, and a sense of empowerment at the prospect of picking out whatever vending machine goodie I wanted.

Now, as an empowered adult, I am more interested in plant-based baked goods. Including these vegan cosmic brownies, which hit the right nostalgia notes to ring true to original cosmic brownies.

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What are zoonotic diseases? How does human interaction with the environment impact zoonotic disease transmission?

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Hi friends! Today I thought I’d chat about zoonotic diseases. Lately, zoonotic diseases are frequently mentioned in the media, likely because COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease. But what are zoonotic diseases? And how do human interactions with the environment impact zoonotic disease transmission?

We will chat about what they are, and how things like animal agriculture and climate change influence disease transmission rates. Because yes, human interactions with the environment impact zoonotic disease risk and transmission rates in a major way.

I hope you are doing well! Please leave comments, questions, or post suggestions down below in the comments, and/or reach out to me on Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

First of all, what are zoonotic diseases?

Zoonotic diseases are diseases spread between animals, insects, ticks, and people.

There are many zoonotic diseases. Examples we hear about often include things like rabies, Lyme disease, SARS, Ebola, Avian (‘bird’) flu, salmonella, and of course, COVID-19.

Zoonotic disease transmission has been increasing over time. In fact, zoonotic diseases make up about 60% of all diseases total, and about 75% of emerging infectious diseases. 

What causes zoonotic diseases to spill over from animals to humans?

Scientists have identified three major types of changes that increase the likelihood that a pathogen will move from animals to humans: they include changes to the environment, host (the person or animal carrying the disease), or pathogen itself (meaning the pathogen may alter or mutate or develop resistance, etc). 

But what factors increase the risk of these changes, and thus, increase the risk of transmission of zoonotic disease to humans? 

What increases the risks of zoonotic disease transmission to humans?

Turns out, a lot of human activities are influencing the spread of these diseases, many of which have to do with how we interact with our environment.

Ecosystem Destruction:

In 2016, the UN Environment Program published a report detailing “Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern.” Zoonotic diseases were among the noted concerns.  

The report noted that there has been a dramatic reduction in natural ecosystems and biodiversity, and that humans now keep more animals than ever before, which presents more opportunities for pathogens of animal diseases to spill over into humans.  

The integrity of natural ecosystems is essential to maintaining a buffer zone that normally prevents spill over of certain pathogens from animals to people.

Unfortunately, human activities, including deforestation, mining, building, and use of land agriculture, have fragmented a lot of these buffering ecosystems, increasing the risk of pathogen spill over.

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Food Safety: Should I wash my produce with soap?

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A video that featured a doctor washing and vigorously scrubbing his produce recently went viral (goes…maybe we should retire that phrase for now…anyways…). Now, it seems as if many people have been left with the impression that lathering your soup up is a good idea. But is it? Should you wash produce with soap?

We will explore in this short blog post. If you want to learn more about COVID-19 and food safety, check out this post. 

So, should I wash my produce with soap?

Well, the answer is no, you should not.

Both the FDA and the USDA have explicit statements discouraging consumers from washing produce with soaps or detergent. Soaps and detergents are not FDA or USDA approved for this use. 

Because many surfaces of produce are porous, the piece of produce may absorb some of the soap or detergent. While consuming a small amount of soap likely won’t hurt you, consuming a lot of it over time can cause nausea, diarrhea, or other GI upset. 

I’ve also heard a rumor that it’s advisable to soak produce in diluted bleach. This is not safe, and should absolutely be avoided. Bleach, even if diluted, may be toxic.  

And while there’s no harm in wiping the outside of boxes, containers or bags with Clorox wipes, never wipe the fruits and vegetables themselves with the Clorox wipes, as they, too, contain bleach. 

There is no way to remove all microorganisms from your produce. However, studies have shown that running fresh fruits and vegetables under cold water can effectively remove a significant amount of them.

Most commercial fruit and vegetable washes have not undergone rigorous scientific testing to gauge their safety and efficacy, so I can’t speak on them either way.

Some people also use vinegar to clean their produce; however, if avoiding COVID-19 is your primary concern, note that vinegar has not been established as an effective anti-Sars-Cov-2 agent. 

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Air Quality and Coronavirus: What do we know so far?

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Welcome to another coronavirus post. Now, I know I said I wouldn’t dwell on the topic and go back to business-as-usual science based posts, but to be honest, covering other topics interests me less than it would otherwise, considering COVID-19 is impacting our daily lives in significant ways. And of course, my public health brain can’t help but find fascination in reading the emerging science about it as it comes out. Today, I thought I’d focus on coronavirus and air quality. Like with my post on coronavirus and food safety, I’m going to focus on synthesizing what we know so far; considering COVID-19 is a novel disease, we are still learning about it and trying to understand it fully. 

This post will cover two topics: first, we’ll discuss what we know so far about coronavirus and air quality, and how and why the disease may be impacting air quality. Second, given that many of us are spending most of our time indoors, we’ll chat about indoor air quality in general, and what you can do to improve the air quality in your living space.

If you’d like to learn more about COVID-19, please visit the WHO website, or feel free to visit any of my posts about it thus far below:

I plan to revisit this post once a bit more pollutant raw data is available, and am considering even running a mini analysis on my own. I am also working on a post about what increases risk of and transmission of zoonotic diseases. Stay tuned!

Are lockdowns and quarantines due to COVID-19 decreasing levels of air pollution?

News reports from around the world seem to indicate that yes, the slowdown in manufacturing and drastic decrease in transportation are decreasing levels of some pollutants.

Considering combustion emissions from vehicles are a major source of many pollutants including PM2.5 (read more about what PM 2.5 is here) and CO2, it is feasible that emission of some pollutants has decreased, given that travel has decreased and far fewer people are commuting to work or social events. 

Additionally, when you consider the abrupt halt in many industrial manufacturing processes that has also occurred over the past few months, a decrease in levels of some pollutants seems feasible, as well.

However, while many media outlets have reported these decreases in air pollution across parts of Europe and in some cities in the US based on satellite data, peer-reviewed literature on the topic has been sparse. 

Now, this does not mean these reports are untrue; in fact, it’s likely that they are. I just wish there was a bit more peer-reviewed literature published on the topic so I could feel more confident in synthesizing an interpretation on the matter. 

I was able to find one assessment of pollution levels in China pre and post-lockdown, which found that carbon emissions dropped 25% as a result of the swift halt in industrialized activities. And a NASA report found NO2 (another pollutant) dropped 30% between January 1 – February 24, 2020.

But the NASA scientists note that this drop in pollution doesn’t necessarily mean the air quality is ‘good’ or healthy across China. Air pollution is still a major issue, even if we see what is inevitably a temporary decrease in emission levels.

A scientist at Columbia has also stated that pollution levels at her monitoring station in the city have dropped in recent weeks compared to pre-shelter-in-place levels.

Like the media reports mentioned above, these results aren’t peer-reviewed or published in any journal. In fact, I couldn’t find any peer-reviewed journal articles about air pollution levels in Europe or the United States pre and post COVID-19. 

Upon some reflection, this is likely because it is a bit early to take a measurement that would span a long enough time period to be meaningful to show us what, if any, potential decreases in emissions are occuring, and if they are lasting.

Most air pollution and climate experts warn, however, that even if there is a decrease in emissions now, it is likely temporary, and not necessarily worthy of celebrations. Even if we did decrease carbon emissions by, say, 30%, the emissions levels would still be higher than they were a decade ago. 

Additionally, the Trump administration issued a memorandum on March 26, 2020 that informed companies that the EPA would not be subject to fines or other legal enforcements for failing to monitor and report their levels of air, water, and soil pollution, citing the COVID-19 outbreak as the reason for the relaxation of pollution regulation enforcement.  

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Black Bean Potato Instant Pot Soup

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Hello my internet friends! It’s time for some soup. Today I’m sharing a recipe for a hearty, plant-based, Black Bean Potato Instant Pot Soup I made a couple of weeks ago.

The soup started as an experiment in creativity. I was attempting to make a meal out of what was left in the pantry. To my delight, the soup turned out quite good. So good, in fact, that I ate it three nights in a row and would happily make it again.

Thus, I decided to share the recipe here. Because Black Bean Instant Pot Soup is not only delicious, budget-friendly and filling, it is something you can make with a couple of things you may already have around your pantry.

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Recent Vegan Eats: Quarantine Edition

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Hey friends! It’s time for another iteration of ‘Recent Vegan Eats.’ This time, it’s a Recent Vegan Eats: Quarantine Edition. If you’re new around here, I use the ‘Recent Vegan Eats’ mini-series to share some meals and snacks I’ve eaten in recent weeks. I also use these posts as an opportunity to reviews of any new vegan products I’ve tried.

As with all posts in this series, this post is not meant to depict an ideal or healthful diet. In fact, it’s worth noting that this isn’t everything I’ve eaten lately; it’s simply what I’ve happened to photograph with my phone. I simply do these posts to provide entertainment and perhaps some new meal and snack inspirations for fellow vegans and/or my part-time or veg-curious friends.

Okay! Onward to the eats: like much of the world, I’ve been self-isolating in my home for the past 3 weeks, leaving only for walks and a single trip to the grocery store. Usually, I grocery shop at least once per week (as I’m admittedly a produce fanatic), so this has changed how and what I eat. But seeing as being quarantined is currently the norm for many, I feel these meals and snacks are still worth sharing.

Homemade vegan ‘Cosmic’ brownies

I was feeling nostalgic, in the mood for chocolate, and apparently inspired by Little Debbie, so I made some vegan walnut brownies with vegan chocolate frosting and put a bunch of vegan sprinkles on top.

Delicious. I love the crunch sprinkles add.

Banana muffin + fruit snack plate

Behold my snack plate: a warmed homemade banana muffin (recipe here) with a smudge of sunflower seed butter, a small sliced apple, and a small sliced orange.

For a couple days in a row, I enjoyed this combo as a mid-morning snack. I’m out of muffins now, but this was a delightful morning perk while they lasted.

Peanut butter toast with quick jam

After weeks and weeks of being on an oatmeal-for-breakfast kick, I’ve circled back to my beloved toast-for-breakfast routine. I typically do 2 pieces of toast with peanut or other nut butter, and sliced bananas. But upon running low on bananas, I shifted directions and started making quick jam (using chia seeds and frozen fruit, you can find directions here) to put on top of my toast.

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Are Frozen and Canned Fruits and Vegetables Nutritious?

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Hi friends! How are you all doing? I finally got groceries yesterday after over two weeks of making do with what I had on hand. I was so excited to dive into my fresh salad last night, as I’d been eating frozen and canned produce the few days prior (which I recognize, all of this is still a large privilege).

As I’ve been relying more on frozen and canned produce lately, I thought I’d dive into the nutrition science of shelf-stable fruits and veg in a blog post. So, are frozen and canned fruits and vegetables nutritious? Let’s dive into what the science says so far!

Is frozen food nutritious?

Well, it depends. Most of us probably know that a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a package of no-salt-added frozen green beans represent two vastly different nutrient profiles. 

For the purpose of this post, we’ll focus primarily on frozen produce (perhaps I could do a different post about frozen entrees).

Okay, so are frozen fruits and vegetables nutritious?

Practically speaking, having frozen fruits and vegetables on hand can be an affordable and nutritious way to add produce to your diet. And it seems as if opening your dietary repertoire to frozen produce may increase your intake.

A 2018 study found that, on average, people who consume frozen fruits and vegetables eat significantly more total servings of fruits and vegetables compared to people who don’t consume frozen fruits and vegetables.

The study also found that frozen fruit and vegetable consumers got more fiber, calcium, and vitamin D compared to non-frozen fruit and vegetable consumers, and consumed less energy (calories) overall.

The authors of the study concluded that frozen fruits and vegetables can fill the fruit and vegetable gap to help Americans meet their recommended produce intake in a way that other forms, like dried, canned, and fresh fruits and vegetables do not.

Now, does this mean that buying frozen fruits and vegetables will make you healthier? Not necessarily, as there may be many other factors associated with the kinds of people who buy frozen vegetables and fruits (perhaps more health conscious) compared to those who don’t that could partially explain these results. 

That said, it does suggest that embracing frozen produce might encourage you to eat more of it. And given that frozen fruits and vegetables are often more affordable and last longer than fresh, it can be a wise addition to a balanced diet. 

Anecdotally, I used to kind of be opposed to frozen vegetables. In my mind, they were gross (I think I was remembering mushy unseasoned ones of the 90s in cafeterias). But once I discovered how much they’ve improved in recent years (I find Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Whole Foods, Green Giant, and Cascadian Farms brands to have darn decent frozen produce compared to some of the others), I became a big fan and now eat a lot of frozen veggies. 

Now, let’s talk nutrition in terms of the fruits and vegetables themselves. What impact, if any, does freezing have on the nutritional integrity of the produce?

For the most part, freezing foods does not change their protein, carbohydrate, fat, or fiber content.

And, generally speaking, freezing fruits and vegetables results in pretty good retention of vitamins and minerals, meaning for the most part, they are just as nutritious as fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Food Safety and Coronavirus: What do we know so far?

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Hi everyone! I know I said I’d stop constantly posting about COVID-19 on the blog, but honestly, it seems to be what most people are curious about right now, myself included. We are in a weird spot in the US – the worst is ahead of us, and understandably, many people want to prepare. After looking into what data exists out of personal interest on the topic, I thought I would do a post about food safety and coronavirus. 

I am not an infectious disease expert, but I am FDA FSMA Food Safety and Quality Assurance Certified Individual, and I have my MPH. Most often on this blog, I write my posts based on extensive review of scientific literature and expert authority. In this post, I tried my best to synthesize the existing evidence on this emerging topic, and sprinkle in some basic principles from my background in food safety and public health, so please, if I make an “I” statement about what I think is best, feel free to ignore it, and focus on the cited facts, as those sentiments are just my guesses based on my background.  I try my best to stay in my lane and stick to sound science, and feel like I may be swerving a little here, particularly because there is so little data on COVID-19 out there right now, but please note that this is an evolving situation, so what we know this week compared to next may change the accuracy of parts of this post. Which brings me to my disclaimer…

Disclaimer: This article was written on March 26, 2020. This information may no longer be present after this date. COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation. Please check linked sources for further up-to-date information. Also, because there is so little known about the virus, scientists have made inferences and extrapolations from similar virus. As we continue to understand COVID-19, information may very well change. See https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus for more information.

First, can coronavirus be transmitted through food? How is COVID-19 transmitted?

Before narrowing in on food, let’s talk about what we know about viral infections in general, and what we know about transmission of coronavirus thus far. 

As alluded to in the disclaimer above, COVID-19 is a relatively new and novel disease, and we are still learning about it. The science is rapidly emerging and evolving, so the best we can do for now is synthesize the evidence we have, and extrapolate from information we know from studying other viruses.

When it comes to COVID-19, we know the ways in which the virus can be transmitted, however we don’t know precisely how the virus is actually transmitted, and how much each route of transmission is contributing to the spread of the illness.

But generally, there are three major routes of transmission possible for respiratory viruses: the first is via respiratory droplets, which are essentially droplets that are produced when an infected person sneezes or coughs. When these infected droplets land in the mouth or nose of another person, or if they are close enough to the droplets to inhale them, they risk possible exposure to the disease. The CDC has stated this is the primary route of transmission (although again, we quite know the level of each transmission route for sure). 

Additionally, COVID-19 can be transmitted by physical contact with virus-infected inanimate objects, meaning it is possible that the virus gets onto a surface, stays on the surface for a period of time, and then could spread to a human if the human picked up the object, and then touched their eyes, nose, or mouth. 

COVID-19 can also be transmitted through the air. A recent study published in New England Journal of Medicine found SARS-Cov-2 (the virus that causes the disease COVID-19) could last in aerosols for up to three hours. So, if the conditions are right, and the virus becomes airborne, it could stay in the air, and infect people who inhale it. 

A study in China has also shown that COVID-19 was found in feces of infected individuals, and in recovered people, even after their nasal swabs came back as negative for COVID-19, up to 13 days after being discharged from the hospital.  

The risk of transmission of COVID-19 from fecal matter is unknown. It’s not presently clear how much of the virus is shed in stool, and whether the virus found in stool is infectious. The CDC has stated that there have been ‘no reports of fecal-oral transmission to date,’ but (and this is my own personal skeptic scientist chiming in, so feel free to ignore this) I am not sure anyone has really been formally tracking transmission mechanisms of sick people.

The WHO has stated that the risk of catching COVID-19 from feces is low, and that ‘while initial investigations suggest the virus may be present in feces in some cases, spread through this route is not a main feature of the outbreak,’ and are continuing to monitor the situation. 

I am interested to see more data (as it emerges) on the viral potential of COVID-19 in poop. Because, well, poop is everywhere. Either way, even though fecal-oral transmission does not seem to be a major concern (at least based on what we know right now), the possibility of fecal-oral spread of COVID-19 presents another great argument for vigilant hygiene practices. Wash your hands, friends. 

That’s a lot of ways to get sick. So what does that mean for food? Can COVID-19 spread through food? 

The answer is, once again, we can’t say things for certain, but most experts think food consumption is not a major route of transmission. According to the CDC, there is ‘no evidence’ of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19. 

The CDC further explains that the virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person via respiratory droplets, which are essentially droplets that are produced when an infected person sneezes or coughs. 

When these infected droplets land in the mouth or nose of another person, or if they are close enough to the droplets to inhale them, they risk possible exposure to the disease, etc etc.

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Easy Vegan Banana Oat Muffins

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Hi everyone! I thought I’d share some non-pandemic-related content on the blog today. I took some time to myself this weekend; I walked the dog, and I baked (these Easy Vegan Banana Oat Muffins), and I made a delicious black bean potato soup in the Instant Pot. A decent time was had, considering the rapidly-evolving public health crisis we face, as we all grapple with adjusting to our new normals.

There I go again. Even when I try not to talk about it, I somehow circle the conversation back to what’s happening. It’s just hard not to, since it impacts all of us with such gratitude.

But now back to muffins. Specifically, Easy Vegan Banana Oat Muffins that I whipped up with a couple pantry ingredients in a matter of minutes.

It felt really good to bake, and to eat a wholesome, homemade baked good. There is something irreplaceable about home-baked muffins, breads, an desserts, and I hadn’t delighted myself to a wholesome homemade baked good in some time. In fact, the last wholesome thing I made was these Vegan Breakfast Bars back in January.

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Some Public Health Definitions to Help You Understand COVID-19 News

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Hi friends. Wow. How are you? I took over a week off of blogging to, much like most of the rest of the world, adjust to my new normal due to the novel coronavirus. If you’re anything like me, you might be finding it hard to focus on tasks like work and schoolwork, as the news is all-engrossing, ever-changing, and at times, very overwhelming. I plan to go back to posting content about non-coronavirus things soon, but before I do, I thought I would make a handy reference list of some common public health definitions to help you understand COVID-19 news.

These phrases are all over that the news these days, so I hope this post helps you understand what they mean, so that you can perhaps better comprehend what’s going on in the world right now.

I’m not an infectious disease epidemiologist or doctor, but I was introduced to many of these phrases during my MPH. Yay for public health.

Read on for some public health definitions for COVID-19 (and public health in general) that are being used by public health experts and journalists to discuss updates of the novel coronavirus.

Also, I didn’t really add photos to this piece. Usually, I add a lot of photos. But I didn’t have any original photos that I felt really made sense here, so I stuck to infographics I made, instead. Feel free to scroll through them!

Epidemiology:

Epidemiology is a data-driven, systematic scientific discipline. It is the study of distribution (frequency, patterns) and determinants (causes, and risk factors) in specific populations (communities, or individuals viewed collectively) and the application of this study to control health problems. It deals with collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data on health and disease. It is sometimes described as the ‘basic science’ of public health.

Epidemic:

An epidemic refers to a condition that affects a large proportion of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time. An example would be the Zika virus.

Pandemic:

A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease that impacts an exceptionally high proportion of the population. 

Endemic:

The phrase ‘endemic’ refers to the baseline level of a disease in a population. It is not necessarily the desired level of the disease in a population (which may be zero), but rather, the baseline or actual amount.

A disease is considered to be endemic when it is maintained at a baseline level in in geographic area. Influenza is considered endemic, as it is predictable to reoccur every year. Some have expressed concern that COVID-19 may become endemic, meaning it comes back repeatedly over time.

Hyperendemic:

A hyperendemic is persistent, high levels of disease.

Influenza pandemic:

An influenza pandemic occurs when a new virus emerges and spreads around the world. Most people do not have immunity to pandemics, which is part of why they are able to spread so much. 

Immunity:

Immunity refers to the development of a state of resistance against an infectious agent. Right now, because COVID-19 has never before been transferred to humans, no one had immunity to the disease, which is part of why it is spreading so quickly.

Typically, people develop immunity to a disease via a vaccine or by contracting the disease and developing antibodies (or your body’s defense system) against it. Currently, there is no vaccine for COVID-19. Post-infection immunity to COVID-19 is not completely defined; however, it seems as though most similar viruses lead to post-infection immunity. 

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