Passing Judgement...

I often find myself in situations where I have to remind myself that we only know what we know and I have to try and stop myself from passing judgement on people for what they willingly shove into their mouths.  Well, I'm sorry.....if you know what is in a regular hot dog and you allow your children to eat it, you are a terrible person!  There are few things in life grosser than a hot dog.  Sure, they may taste like a piece of lard directly from heaven, but feeding them to your kids is like handing them a giant box of turds with a card that reads: Congratulations on Embarking on Your Life of Heart Disease and Ongoing Health Problems!

I will say this over and over again: HEALTH is NOT about fat and calories.  It is about replacing bad ingredients with good ones.  Let the crash dieters who spend their lives on and off of the scale worry about fat and calories.  If you eat a diet laden with animal protein (aka: lard), you may want to skip that handful of walnuts for a snack or that guacamole for its fat content...because your diet is already filled with crap and  every other bite you take is one step closer to another pound, a heart attack, a cancer growth or a hip replacement. 

If you commit to a lifestyle of only healthier choices and stop looking at is as a diet and start living a healthy life, the fat in that guacamole and the walnuts does not matter....you can indulge!  Freedom to actually pig out and not have to worry about the scale or counting calories!

So....back to hot dogs.  They are disgusting.  Truly and utterly disgusting and try as I might, I cannot help but judge any parent that allows their little spawns to shove these nasty sorry ass excuses for food into their pieholes!

So in an attempt to make a kid-favorite today, I used my vegan Tofu Dogs to make Beans N Weinies.  I also happen to have a package of Great Dogs in my fridge from probably 2 years ago.....(go ahead, now its your turn to pass judgement on me for not cleaning out my fridge!)...and I am able to compare nutrition facts.  (BTW: I use the term Nutrition lightly here....hot dogs have no nutritional value.)  These Great Dogs by the way, are chicken and proudly display 40% LESS FAT than their other beef dogs! 

	Tofu Dogs	Great Dogs!
Calories	60	120
Fat	2.5g	9g
Cholesterol	0mg	50mg
Sodium	300mg	760mg
Carbs	2g	5g
Protein	8g	5g

Let's not forget that those Great Dogs are still only 40% of a real hot dog!  For you math whiz's, thats DOUBLE calories, almost QUADRUPLE fat, over DOUBLE cholesterol, MORE than DOUBLE carbs and almost HALF of the protein!  Who's kid has the protein deficiency now?!?!  AND the protein found in the tofu dogs has NOT been proven to be a significant contributor to cancer, as its rival over there in Great Dog Land has!

So....without further adieu, a far better version of Beans N Weinies for your kids to eat.....

Beans N Vegan Weinies1 tbsp oil (I used safflower for high heat cooking)
1 small onion, diced
5 Vegan hot dogs, cut into 8-10 chunks each
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
2 cans baked beans (organic and veg!)
1/3 c catsup
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c Vegan bac-un bits
1/4 maple syrup

In a saucepan, saute the onions in oil until they begin to brown, add hot dogs and smoke.  Stir until the hot dogs have begun to brown.  Add the beans, catsup, sugar, molasses, mustard and garlic powder.  Heat through.  You can either serve then as a quick lunch and top with bac-un bits and syrup, or you can put into a small casserole dish, top with bac-un bits and syrup and bake in a preheated 350º oven for about 40 minutes to blend the flavors more and thicken it up.