Tag Archives: health

Veganosity

It’s been almost 7 months since I started Turning Veganese, both in terms of starting the blog and starting a vegan diet. I won’t pretend that I’m vegan 100% of the time, but I have come a long way since this post. I’m still amazed that I’ve stuck with it and that I have no desire to eat meat. I walk into the cafeteria or a restaurant, and I remember how bacon and burgers and fried chicken taste… but I don’t miss it. I also know that they won’t taste the same anymore and that it will probably mess up my digestion.

I’ve said this before, but the best thing about switching to a vegan diet is the discovery and rediscovery of foods. Christie posted just a few days ago about rambutan, and I was thrilled when I walked into my parents’ house and saw rambutan and lychee on the counter.

Alright, I’m gonna say it because it’s never not funny and it’s best to get it out of the way: it looks like I’m cupping hairy balls. Now that I’m done being immature, let me just say that they were yummy! I’m still hoping to eat some fresher fruits next month when I’m in Florida, but these were great for having been bought in Chicago. Go to Argyle for these if you’re in Chicagoland.

Another great thing that’s been a recent development is that people have started to treat me like a serious and respectable vegan. People who used to say, “Come on, it’s just an egg, no big deal, just eat it!” will now say, “Um, excuse me, did you just say you’re craving BACON?! DON’T DO IT!!!” Others who said, “I don’t get why or how you’re vegan” now say, “I understand why you decided to go vegan but I don’t know if I can do it… can you help me?” In general, people have gone from labeling me as “weird” to saying they’re proud of me and actually asking me for advice.

I’ve learned so much about nutrition and health and cooking. I’ll probably say that every time I do a health and emotional check-in. Before going vegan, eating was to satisfy hunger or a craving. Now, it’s about making sure I’m getting all the nutrients I need, knowing what goes into my food, and learning, learning, learning. It’s made me into a smarter and happier person. Yes, really.

Thank YOU for reading the blog, whether you’ve been a reader since the beginning or just stumbled upon us recently. My only regret is that I haven’t been as interactive with all of you as I wish I could be. That said, I’m thrilled to be a part of this community. I can’t thank Christie and Brent enough for all the hard work they put in to the blog. I LOVE YOU GUYS. (Yes, these sappy posts will recur on a regular basis. I hope that’s OK.)

Now, please excuse me while I do some research for my next vegan recipe… stay tuned!!! –Melissa

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The Vegan Survival Guide – Chapter 2 : Substitution

On your way to becoming a vegan master, you will undoubtedly run into several obstacles when it comes to making your favorite dishes. The good news is you don’t have to say goodbye to baking, making cream sauces, or any other edible or drinkable that requires dairy. This post will assist in your survival in your perilous vegan journey of DOOM!

… only not really. The doom part. Whatever.

Milk

Milk is easily substituted in consumption and in cooking. Our go-to is almond milk. It is mostly allergen friendly, has some protein, twice the calcium of moo milk, and tastes effing delicious. For cooking, non-sweetened plain almond milk is suggested. It won’t add any mysterious extra flavors, and can seamlessly be integrated into your dish for similar results. Other alternatives include coconut milk and soy milk. Coconut milk is distinctively thick and coconutty. I recommend it for smoothies and as a density agent for things like sauces. Soy milk comes last; it’s pretty well known and established in most stores. It has a buttload of protein (thank you, soybean), and can be a solid substitute for cooking. Speaking of soybeans, to make a cream sauce you can start with a block of silken tofu as a base. Alternately, use cashews that have been soaking overnight. Boomsaucylaucy!

PROTIP : Almond milk is portable and storable. It can be purchased in little boxes that store well in most conditions. Christie, for instance, has a box of chocolate almond milk at her work desk. She can keep it there until she needs it. No refrigeration necessary. Booya!

Eggs

Substituting eggs is a deceptively simple task. At first glace as a vegan, you’ll say ‘But Brent, you magnificent beast, there’s no substitute for the sexiness of chicken embryo!’ Nay, I say to you. Forsooth! Hark! Gadzooks! Flax seeds! No, really, that last one was what you were supposed to read. Flax seeds when ground down with your mighty fists can be a nice substitute for eggs.

How to make an egg :
1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seeds
3 Tablespoons Water
Heat in microwave for ~20 seconds, stir. Repeat until mixture is thick, consistency agrees with you.

If making your own does not appeal to you, you can use applesauce when baking fluffy things. Note that it may affect the flavor of your creation. Finally, commercially available egg substitutes are available. EnerG makes a boxed egg substitute. But since you will have to mix it with water, you may as well just stick with the flax seeds.

When baking isn’t your game, but breakfasting is, tofu scramble is a go-to for us. It’s simple to make, and with the right texture of tofu, it will resemble eggs with virtually no magic. Virtually.

PROTIP : More like ‘good for you for choosing an egg alternative’; By not consuming eggs, you are avoiding salmonella, cholesterol, and cruelty in one fell swoop. Feed your kids cookie dough batter with no consequence! Throw them at cars! Make a Rocky shake! Whatevs!

ADRIAAARRRRRRRGABLLGH!

Cheese

This one was really hard to give up when it came to going vegan. The good news is there are plenty of alternatives. Commercially available cheeses are freaking everywhere, and they are gaining strength in the market. What’s more is that they are tasty, healthier, and some even melt like moo cheese. I could wax about vegan cheese alternatives, but Christie and I already have!

PROTIP : Daiya for melty goodness. Also check out our three cheese posts to date! 1.1 2.0 3.0

Sexy Conclusion
After reading this, I’m sure you’re thinking ‘Wow, Brent, you are a smelly hairy weirdo!’ And you’d be 100% correct! But what you may not have known before this post is that substitution is integral to your success as a venturing veganator and AND it doesn’t have to be rocket science. By getting this far in the post, I can assume that you care enough to seek alternatives to your cooking needs, and that’s freaking awesome. Take the next step and try some of these alternatives out!

Peace out, my vegans.

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The Cheese Post 3.0

We’re back reviewing more vegan cheeses because even when the ‘cheese’ is gross… at least it’s entertaining. I love cheese and it’s something I really miss as a vegan. Fortunately, some clever folks have acknowledged and filled this niche market. If you’re looking for reviews of  cream cheese or other traditional cheese substitutes we’ve got those covered. Bacon is NOT an Herb also has a comprehensive review of some vegan cheeses. Now on to the new reviews.

Daiya Daiya started making “wedges” as an alternative to their indispensable shreds. We tried the cheddar, jack and havarti with jalapeño and garlic. We tried the jack first. It blew both of our minds the minute we put it in our mouths. It’s cheese! It tastes just like mid-priced jack cheese. It melts into a molten cheesy liquid that would be better as a dip, not so great for grilled cheese (try Follow Your Heart mozzarella instead for sandwiches: it’s usually cheaper and lower calorie) but their shredded Daiya is an excellent stand in for cheese that needs to be stretchier instead of melty.

We put the havarti with jalapeño and garlic into the microwave and used it as a dip for corn chips. It was creamy, cheesy, spicy and gone in just a few minutes. Side note: the packaging doesn’t say “not microwave safe” or “do not microwave this container” but we can assure you, it should. The cheddar rose to the Daiya standard and was distinctly cheddar and delicious. We ended up mixing it with salsa and microwaving it for queso dip. It’s dairy-, gluten-, soy-, and nut- free, except for coconut. The ingredients were processed and it has about the same nutritional profile as regular dairy cheese in terms of fat but without the cholesterol. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly good for you but it’s an excellent comfort food and doesn’t give me pimples like dairy does. They were $6 for just over 7 ounces, possibly less at your local market. I think it’s a good value.

Nacho Mom’s Vegan Queso This brand comes in 3 flavors, one of which contains gluten. We tried their spicy gluten-free flavor, “Voodoo”. It wasn’t particularly spicy and wasn’t so much queso as bean dip. Based on the ingredients, nutrients, low calorie count, price and that it was delicious enough to convince two omnivores, we’d definitely buy it again and recommend it again. Their line is soy- egg- nut- and dairy-free and all but one flavor are gluten-free.  It costs $5.50 for 15 ounces.

Punk Rawk Labs We tried their cashew line because the macadamia nut and cashew/mac lines were more expensive and we needed some convincing. We were VERY convinced by the cashew varieties. The smoked cashew was lightly smoked and very creamy and cheesy. The “plain” is anything but plain. The herb was lightly coated with herbs and delicious. Any of these would make an excellent substitute for goat cheese. They didn’t include any nutrition information on the packaging which made me sad but the ingredients themselves were all minimally processed and inoffensive. It reminds me of Dr. Cow for the great raw ingredients and excellent presentation. Being convinced we went ahead and bought the macadamia nut cheese and the blend of cashew and macadamia nut cheese.

We agreed that we really wanted to like the macadamia nut versions but it wasn’t quite our thing. It had a distinct smell that was cheesy and the texture was lovely and te flavor was subtle and mellow. I think having both at your cocktail party would offer a good variety for all sorts of people, but are favorites are definitely the cashew line.  That being said, the cashew nut varieties are a better value than Dr. Cow. Sadly, some cannot enjoy these cheeses because they’re made of nuts. It was $10 for 6 ounces. I don’t think anyone who didn’t know more jiu jitsu than me could keep me from buying this again. I WILL EAT YOUR [cashew nut] CHEESE, PUNK RAWK LABS!!! *ahem* Moving right along…

VegCuisine I tried the Mediterranean Herb Feta and Blue Cheese alternatives and wasn’t impressed. The herb feta was definitely herb but not feta. The blue was also bland. The flavor reminded me more of halloumi than their namesakes. The texture was crumbly bordering on a rubbery feel in my mouth, also reminiscent of halloumi. They were decent additions to salad in terms of adding some texture, nutrition and a vehicle for the salad dressing. I did like most of the ingredients and calorie contents (about half that of traditional cheeses). It cost $4.50 for 6 ounces. I might buy it again for the value, mild flavor and the low calorie count.

We Can’t Say It’s Cheese Wayfare foods makes cheese spreads in 4 flavors. We tried cheddar, Mexi-cheddar and hickory-smoked cheddar. Their hickory-smoked cheddar was distinctly hickory-smoked with a mellow cheesy flavor. The Mexi-cheddar and cheddar were also mild and cheesy but didn’t taste particularly different from one another. We did some damage control and came out with something that was both cheesy and spicy. They don’t need hot sauce to be tasty but we’re all about melt-your-face-off spicy food. It’s 50 calories per 2 tablespoons and the ingredients are fairly processed but they’re soy-, gluten- and nut-free. It cost us $5 for 8 ounces. I would buy it again: it’s low calorie, the flavors are good, it’s a good value for what you get and it’s got some reasonable nutrition to offer like [among other things] calcium and iron. I might even use it instead of cream cheese on toast or in nori rolls!

So this is where the Cheese Post 3.0 has led me: Diaya makes indispensable shredded cheeses and delicious wedges that aren’t particularly good for you but will fill that void for comfort food that dairy cheese used to fill when snacking. I would buy Daiya wedges for occasional snacking and their shreds for pizzas, quesadillas and burritos. Punk Rawk Labs and Dr. Cow make delicious cheeses that are good for you. I would buy it as an appetizer for a nice dinner with guests. Follow Your Heart and Teese make mozzarellas that are fabulous for baking and grilled cheese, are cheaper and lower calorie than some of the competition. Wayfare Foods and Nacho Mom’s make great low calorie dips and spreads. Tofutti cream cheese wins for health and value in the cream cheese department. Eat in the Raw makes a great parmesan style topping for pastas, pizzas, vegetables or whatever you’d normally sprinkle a little parmesan on except that this is a healthful alternative to dairy parmesan.

This concludes this installment of the Cheese Posts. We hope you find the good stuff!

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Curried Raw Pate with Mango

Raw night strikes again!

Mango is in season so I wanted to make something especially mangoriffic. OMG they’re beautiful!!! Mango are available in Florida starting May well into October and a range of varieties are common in the supermarkets and farmer’s roadside stands. This particular variety is called “Philippine” and have a soft honeyed flavor with a light acid content. Mango are a great source of vitamin C, antioxidant polyphenols, vitamin A and carotein. They’re also rich in prebiotic fiber: that means they can help keep your digestive tract healthy. Mango is the national fruit of India so it’s no mystery that curry is a great flavor element to complement this nutritional powerhouse.

In my blender I combined the following:

1 cup of pumpkin seed pits

1 tbsp of curry powder

t tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp raw tahini

1 tsp chili paste (or to taste)

water as needed

tamari (or salt) and pepper to taste

I blended it until we had a fragrant spread. We added it to a cabbage leaf (yes, I’m still wrapping just about everything up in cabbage leaves in order to facilitate eating it) with some spinach, cilantro and fresh sliced mango. I’m a big fan of how the herbal flavors in cilantro bring out the complex flowery, honey tastes in the mango and how the acid in the mango accentuates the cilantro’s minty and peppery overtones. The myriad of spices in the curry marries everything together for an awesome meal.

It was a perfect storm of flavor in our mouths.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Kohlrabi: refreshing and mellow

Kohlrabi is one of the coolest vegetables you’ve never heard of (probably). It’s a relative of cabbage and the waxy appearance gives it away. These are purple and green cultivars.

I would describe the flavor and texture is being like an apple without the tart and sweet flavors. Brent describes it as being a radish without the spice. Either way, my favorite way to prepare it is skinned, sliced and dusted with salt.

This is the purple one.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Where do you get your protein?

I come from a family that loves meat and dairy. Sound familiar?

My dad doesn't really look like this.

My dad is an avid bow hunter. My mother is down with Paula Dean. My brother and I were certainly a product of them. That is, I freaking loved meat and cheese. Upon challenging myself to be vegan, I had to re-educate myself about what food was good for me. Being disgustingly close to a scientist/vegan makes for delicious amounts of good information.

Ultimately the question from my family is always — always — “How do you get your protein?” Without going into an anthropological diatribe reminding you and them how our LCA likely survived best on nuts and plants gathered rather than from the often rotten scavenged meats the males would kill themselves to get, I will throw down a quick list of vegan goodies that are high in protein.

Peas

Peas are the overlooked powerhouse of the western diet. Not only are they jam packed with vitamins and minerals your body craves, but they offer a generous dose of protein to keep you strong like young bull (5.9g/100g).  Protip : Stay away from canned peas… or canned anything for that matter.

Beans

They don’t just make you toot; they make you strong. A cup of cooked beans can yield 12g of protein. That’s pretty gangster if you ask me. I prefer black beans when I get the choice (read : when cooking). I like the flavor more than green beans, and I stay away from refried beans. While that seems limiting, the nutritional benefit is nothing to scoff at and there are loads of ways to prepare them.

Soy Beans

I had to put these separately as they provide such an insane amount of protein. 68g per cup, is what I’m reading. Unreal. I also had to put this separately as I know some folks who are allergic to soy. That really really really sucks.

Lentils

I love lentils. Lentil soup is amazing. Lentils with rice and quinoa is killer. What’s more is how they provide such an unreal amount of nutritional substance. 18g protein per cup? Yes please. Protip : If you sprout lentils before consumption (soak for more than 8 hours) you get all of the essential amino acids. By themselves.

Seeds

Here’s a fun one. Pumpkin seeds can provide 74g protein per cup. Eat them like sunflower seeds and crack the shell. Or eat them whole when cooking them in something. Better still, grind/blend up the seeds and make the pasty substance into something delicious!

Nuts

Nuts are awesome for protein, but the consequence for all that delicious flavor is a lot of extra fat and whatnot (20g protein per cup, but 48.11g fat too). That’s not to say that one should avoid nuts, but if looking for a lean way to get protein, nuts should be used sparingly. Almonds are a solid go-to and are now made into all sorts of goodies.

Asparagus

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have asparagus. Not a lot of fat, but not a whopping amount of protein either (2.95g protein per cup, .16g fat per cup /underwhelmed). But consider that the human body isn’t meant to get 200g protein a day, folks. Rather, the average should be somewhere around 50-60g for men, 40-50g for the ladies. Then again, I’m not a nutritionist, and these numbers vary on height and weight. This should give you a nice jumping off point, though.

Final Thoughts

By being vegan, you don’t have to sacrifice protein. In fact, you shouldn’t. Your body effing needs it. I hope this post helps point you to the threshold of the myriad of options you have as a vegan to get your protein. Protein doesn’t just come from milk, cheese, eggs, meat. Some of the best protein comes from anything but meat and dairy. That said, this is not a comprehensive list by any means. There are loads of other protein sources out there. What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments below.

Peas out, my vegans.

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Easy Veggie Paella

To an omnivore, this is vegetable rice. To a vegan, this is paella. I’m using olives in this recipe as my interpretation of mussels: they’re black (who really cares about mussels… I love the color contrast) and have to be pitted before you can eat them just like you have to shell a mussel… kind of. The Brussels sprouts are just there for fun and tofu makes a nice addition if you’re feeling like it. I would marinade it in lemon juice and cumin with a touch of syrup but we decided on skipping the tofu tonight. We started with the following.
6-10 Brussels sprouts (quartered)
1 cup of dry white wine
3 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 cup black olives
1/4 white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 lbs of peas
Sweet paprika
1 1/2 cups of long grain
1/4 teaspoon of saffron
1 1/2 liters of vegetable stock (from bouillon cubes is fine)
2 tablespoons of minced parsley
I would start by mixing the saffron into the broth and bring it to a boil. In our kitchen, cooking rice and pasta is Brent’s job. He’s much more patient than I am and makes lovely rice and pasta. I stir it too much and end up with a mooshy sticky mess. Add the rice and stir once. Lower the heat and let it boil without stirring. While this was happening, there’s plenty of time for chopping up the veggies and cooking them. Now that the rice is cooking, on to the veggies!
Warm the wine and olive oil with the parsley, paprika, onion and garlic at low heat. Let them simmer until the onion starts to become translucent and then add the peas, olives and bell pepper. When that’s simmered for about 5-8 minutes and the bell peppers are starting to get soft, add the sprouts and toss lightly until they’re just past the bright green stage.
When the top of the rice starts to dry, plop the veggies onto the rice (except for a handful of Brussels sprouts if you want something really pretty). Let them cook for other 10 minutes. Stir the veggies under the rice, using a spatula. Arrange the sprouts on top.
Note on ingredients: the “peas” we added weren’t peas at all. I bought them at my farmer’s market and asked when I paid for them what they were. The guy told me “peas” but they are definitely broad beans. They’re a fine substitute for peas but next time I’ll use the real thing.
EAT IT! This is a fast delicious healthy meal that is sure to please. It’s also got a stunning mix of colors that’s sure to impress whether you fuss over it and arrange the veggies or not.
This is Christie and Brent, signing off.
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Cooking Challenge: Aftermath

This particular marvel is the transportation of a Melissa-style cooking challenge into breakfast: omnivores team made corned beef and cabbage and the vegan team made corn, beans and cabbage.There wasn’t enough corn, beans and cabbage to reheat and just make leftovers so we decided to make it into a tofu scramble instead. Image

I’m a sucker for runny eggs… or silken tofu in my tofu scramble. We included all of the typical seasonings in our tofu scramble: nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, nutmeg and turmeric powder. The beans and corn were already seasoned with coriander and a few others and it ended up making the breakfast awesome.

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We also browned some potatoes, squash and mushrooms that were leftover too. There’s a real reason why I’m posting this particular brunch. There was something easy about meat: you could put it into just about anything. You could put it on sandwiches, into a soup, with eggs, whatever… I don’t want anyone to think that vegan food doesn’t have that same kind of versatility – it definitely does.

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You don’t even have to be that creative. We used to call eggs with whatever you had for dinner the night before thrown in “trash can eggs” because that was the only other logical place for the leftovers. Personally I opt for stomach in this particular case.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Smoked Pumpkin Seed Spread

Thursday nights are raw nights at the Alldestroyers’ household (Alldestroyers is an anagram of both our last names, I’m a nerd. Don’t judge me). Today I  decided to finally try making my own spicy spread, trying to replicate smoked salmon but without the fishiness.

We started our sprouts in advance and started soaking the pumpkin seeds the morning of this dinner.

Otherwise, I started with the following:
1/3 cup of shelled pumpkin seeds, soaked 6 hours in distilled water
1 tbsp of tahini
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
juice from 1 lemon as needed
pinch of nutmeg
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
salt and pepper to taste (I ended up using chipotle to add spice since it’s also smoked)

We put it in the food processor and monitored it while Brent got the rest of the materials we needed to make salad rolls.

Overall they were a hit. Not fishy at all and definitely smokey and satifsying. I think we ate 4 rolls between us. Considering that this was after a grueling double session of Brazilian jiu jitsu, this is really saying something.
We put asparagus, home grown sprouts, carrot, cucumber, spinach into these wraps along with our awesome smoked pumpkin spread. We dipped them in raspberry salad dressing and the combo was faboo! Check out my customer appreciation photo: it was so good it actually blew Brent’s shirt off.

There’s a good chance I’ll use this recipe again to serve on crackers with “cheese”, as a dip for veggies, or as a regular sandwich spread.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off.

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Squash “ribs”, green beans, and cilantro lime quinoa!

People often cite being vegan as being too difficult as a reason for continuing to eat meat, dairy and eggs. I was ruminating on this idea, this afternoon as I was thinking of what I would prepare for dinner this evening. I picked a handful of ingredients: green beans, butternut squash and cilantro. These were left over from other things I’d prepared this past week.

I sliced up the squash, leaving the skin on, sprayed it lightly with olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt. I put it into the oven on a tinfoil lined baking dish and set the timer for 30 minutes at 350F/175C. I also put the seeds from my squash onto another piece of tinfoil with a light sprinkling of garlic salt and checked every few minutes or so until they were crispy and delicious. You can do this with pumpkin seeds or the seeds from spaghetti squash as well. I snacked on these while I was tending the rest of the meal.

While that was happening I washed my green beans and snapped the ends off each one. I put them in a covered steamer and waited until they were BRIGHT green. This takes 8-12 minutes, because I like mine crispy and green. As soon as they got really bright green, I took the lid off the beans and took them off the heat.

While I was waiting for that to happen I put collected the following:

1/2 cup red quinoa (any sort of quinoa will do)

1 cup of water

1 cube of bouillon

1/2 onion, chopped

3-4 sun dried tomatoes, sliced into strips (optional)

1/4 cup of cilantro leaves

juice from 1/2 lime

I put the quinoa and water into a microwave safe bowl and microwaved it for a minute. I stirred it and added the bouillon cube and microwaved for another minute. I stirred it and added the sun dried tomato and microwaved for a minute. I stirred it and added the onion and microwaved it for a minute. I microwaved for another minute and then all of the liquid was absorbed and I stirred in the cilantro. I squeezed some lime over it before serving.

I placed the green beans on the plate and sprinkled some almond slivers over them (omit these if you’ve got a nut allergy and use the baked squash seeds instead). I ended up drizzling some balsamic vinegar on them too but that’s not in the picture. I was starting to check that the squash was tender with a fork at this point and as soon as it was ready, I put the squash on the plate with everything else and because I didn’t take off the skin, I ate them like they were ribs… except there was no hunks of fat or gristle to get in the way of my eating pleasure. As I ate, I thought about how I made something really healthful, beautiful, fragrant and tasty in 40 minutes. As far as I’m concerned, the best food nourishes your mind and your body.

This is Christie, signing off.

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