Author: Karen (Vegan Coach)

White Flour. Eat It If You Don’t Like Going To The Toilet.

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One of the biggest initial challenges when embarking on a healthful plant-based lifestyle is losing the white flour.

It’s not that whole grains don’t taste good; it’s just the sheer ubiquity of white flour in everything.

The bloody stuff is everywhere!

It is even – get this – in WHOLEMEAL bread! It’s like the manufacturers are scared to let the bread be 100% wholemeal. There is a particular wholemeal bread in a UK supermarket, which is sold as 100% wholemeal, but the ingredients say it has white flour sprinkled on top! FTW? Why would they DO this?

White flour is essentially wholemeal flour with the germ and the bran (i.e. THE GOODNESS) removed. If you’re really unlucky, your white flour will also be bleached. What the heck else would you eat bleached??

Why was white flour invented in the first place?

Was it because the millers cared about the health of the people?

Nuh-uh.

Was it because it made the flour cheaper for the people?

No (when it was first invented it was much more expensive than wholemeal flour)

Was there any other lovely, altruistic reason to white up the flour?

Ha!

This is why it was done.

To give it a longer shelf life, i.e. less waste. i.e.more profit.

Some old miller way back when (there is conflicting information as to when this was) found out you could take out the bran and the germ, and the flour lasted longer – but it still had the wheat germ oil in it from when the wheat had been crushed, and this still meant the flour had limited life.

So, they found a way to strip the germ clean away from the grain, oil and all, and voila – white flour.

Another popular theory, not for the invention of white flour but for its popularity, is the age-old thing of people liking white flour better because it made the bread look purer and cleaner, and made them feel that by eating it they were somehow of higher status than those that ate brown bread.

Yes, people were stupid and vain then, too.

In the years that followed the invention of white flour, there were higher than ever recorded cases of Pellagra – a gross skin disease of malnourishment caused by deficiency of B vitamins. All the vitamins that had been stripped from wholemeal flour, funnily enough.

And THIS is the most crazypants thing I’ve ever heard – instead of stopping dicking around with perfectly good, healthy whole wheat; white flour is now ‘enriched’ with B vitamins and iron – the very nutrients it has been stripped of in the refining process! Isn’t this more energy consuming?

And this still doesn’t make up for the fibre that is lost by removing the bran.

It’s amazing that white flour is still a thing. It does nothing but constipate and spike your blood (as it converts very quickly to sugar in the body).

I completely understand however, that we’ve all been brainwashed into thinking white flour is necessary to make cakes and baked goods, and it can be a challenge at first to find alternatives. I’ve also seen all the ads for white bread, or the ridiculous ‘Best of Both’ (what, really? 100% wholemeal bread would kill you?), where it’s portrayed time after time as what ‘normal’ ‘healthy’ salt-of-the-earth families eat.

White pasta and white snack crackers are the ‘norm’, but there are amazing and readily accessible alternatives to EVERYTHING that would normally contain the nutrient stripped scourge that is white flour! 🙂

 

Bread

Find a good wholemeal bread, like this one (available in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose) in the UK, or this one (available in Whole Foods) in the US. I can’t recommend for anywhere else because I haven’t tried wholemeal bread anywhere else, but basically what you’re looking for is a bread with 100% whole wheat, no sugar, and minimal ingredients. This can be difficult. I know in the US I’ve been surprised to see many breads that look great and are marketed as healthy, but have an ingredient list as long as your arm (with lots of chemicals included), and packed full of sugar. If all else fails, wholemeal pita bread is great. It’s rare that it has more than a few ingredients, and seldom will contain sugar.

It doesn’t take very long at all to get accustomed to the taste of wholemeal bread, and very soon you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with the tasteless white stuff.

 

Homemade cakes and other baked goods

You do not need white flour to get a light cake sponge.

The best flour for lightness of cake-age, is this one – Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour – and it’s gluten-free too, for any celiacs out there.

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It’s made of garbanzo bean (chick pea) flour, tapioca flour, fava bean (broad bean), and sorghum flour. Don’t worry; it doesn’t taste of any of those things! It’s white-ish in colour too. No-one will know your goodies are not made with white flour, and it’s healthy as heck!

And it’s available everywhere, and online – hoorah!

As it’s quite expensive, if I’m making a cake I’ll use half Bob’s Red Mill, and half organic whole spelt flour.

IMG_4975Spelt is an ancient form of wheat (it’s what the Romans used!), and has more nutrients than regular wholemeal flour.

Otherwise, it acts pretty much the same as wholemeal flour, and gives the same kind of texture.

I personally don’t mind the denser texture of these whole wheat flours, but if you want more lightness use whole spelt or wholemeal flour for half the recipes recommended amount, and IMG_4976Bob’s Red Mill for the other half – or just use all Bob’s Red Mill and get a super light consistency.

If you are making your own bread, either the whole spelt, or wholemeal flour will give you a rustic, dense, delicious loaf.

There are other flours – buckwheat, brown rice etc – which are gluten-free and you may want to look into these if you’re celiac so you have other options than the Bob’s Red Mill – but they are not as easy to bake with, so if you’re not gluten intolerant, I’d stick with the three already mentioned.

And gram (chick pea/garbanzo) flour or coconut flour etc, are great whole flours to use if a specific recipe calls for it, but again, whole spelt, wholemeal and Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose should cover your main flour needs.

 

Pasta

Wholemeal pasta is cheap and available everywhere. You’ll get used to it so quickly. You got used to the taste of white pasta when you first started eating that, and you’ll get used to whole grain pasta in exactly the same way.

If you struggle at the beginning, keep reminding yourself of the vitamins and minerals and fibre that your body is getting. IT wants the whole stuff even if you don’t!

Crackers

Rice crackers are a great alternative to white flour crackers, and there are lots of speciality crackers out there now that have whole ingredients and do not use white flour.  Try these, or make your own!

 

Like It Or Not, You’re An Animal Too

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We’re not vegetables.

We’re not minerals.

That just leaves animals.

Yes. We’re animals. Just like lions, cows, leopards, pigs, penguins, chickens and zebras.

Sounds BLINDINGLY obvious and you may think I’m being patronising. But people who eat animals do their absolute best to disassociate themselves from other animals, and make themselves seem something apart. They have to – in order to continue eating them.

The word for us – ‘human,’ is just a word (like lion) that differentiates us from other animals like penguins and sheep.

This differentiating word doesn’t mean ‘has dominance,’ or more intelligence, more conscience, or more anything. If we think it does, we think that because WE are human.

It’s exactly like someone saying ‘blond hair is best,’ when THEY have blond hair.

Questions

Why have we been taught to distance ourselves so much from other animals?

Why do we say ‘we love animals’ like they are separate to humans?

Why do we call someone an animal to insult them, again, as if animals were separate to humans?

Why do we say humans AND animals? Sorry to be Pete the pedant here but unless we are, in fact, vegetable or mineral, this is inaccurate. If you must differentiate, the most you can say is ‘human and non-human animals,’  though even this is very human-normative, i.e. arrogantly assuming that humans make up the majority and are ‘the norm’ when, in fact, considering there are around 7.7 million animal SPECIES in the world, and ants alone (according to a BBC documentary) number a hundred trillion; this indicates, quite fantastically, otherwise.

Answers

So that we can continue to kill and use other animals for our agenda (which is NOT even one of need), we have to desensitise ourselves by making them seem as different to us as possible.

And my, how we’ve done this!

Can’t we see that this is what we’ve done to any living beings we’ve wanted to colonise/enslave/subjugate/kill/rape?

Where other animals are concerned, we tell ourselves:

  • Other animals are here for us to eat, God said so (what we mean by this is – a book written by some flawed old men says this)
  • We are at the top of the food chain. Therefore we can eat animals that are lower down than us
  • Other animals don’t have consciousness
  • Other animals don’t have a soul
  • Other animals don’t know they will die; therefore they’re not as conscious as us

Unsurprisingly, it has not been highly publicised that prominent scientists now realise that animals are as conscious as we are. As for the rest, WE created the books. WE created the food-chain, and IF animals don’t know they die (which is completely not knowable) do they need to? Why is it better to know this?

Funnily enough, there is ONE time it serves us to liken ourselves to other animals, and that’s THIS argument humans use to justify eating them:

  • Lions eat antelope, therefore we can eat cows. It’s the same thing.

(FYI, it’s not the same thing. Lions are obligate carnivores; they HAVE to eat other animals to survive. We are not; we thrive and are so much healthier NOT doing so).

Now we can’t have it both ways. Are we like other animals or not??

If we were to make ourselves see the commonalities and not the (insignificant) differences between us and other animals, we wouldn’t be able to kill and eat them.

In the US during slavery, slave owners focussed on and played up the colour of skin and the different shaped skulls Africans had to whites, so they’d be able to see them as not quite as ‘human’ as THEY were, and therefore not feel bad enslaving them.

Some men have traditionally focussed on the purely mechanical physical differences that women have (to them) in order to see women as other than human and therefore justify controlling and using them.

As for other animals, not only do we see all the physical differences between us, but we also see them as uncivilised, base and less intelligent.

Why are we judging them by our standards when our standards leave so much to be desired?

It’s not animals that are destroying the planet. It’s not animals that have razed forests to the ground, caused air and water pollution (apart from when WE intensively farm them for ‘food’), depleted topsoil and fossil fuels, or caused droughts and ‘plastic islands’ in the oceans.

THEY only take what they need, and actually CONTRIBUTE to the planets ecosystem. We look at the ecosystem as if it revolves around humans. But did you know that if all humans died tomorrow, the earth would eventually replenish itself with all the plant-life it had lost, its atmosphere would slowly purify, and it would utterly thrive without us? By contrast, if even the tiniest creatures, like bees, or ants were to die tomorrow, the entire ecosystem would collapse.

Look at how humans kill each other on silly pretexts, then read about how ants cooperate with each other and work in unison for the best interests and health of the colony.

We’ve all seen the Youtube vids of animals who are best friends with an animal from another species (often the most unlikely ones); the cat that adopted the squirrel; the male dogs that adopt kittens (this also blasts right out of the water another two tired old stereotypes that all females – and only females – are nurturing!). By contrast, we can’t even get on with our own species. We fight and kill other humans because they believe something a bit different.

It’s not animals that get obese, lollop around malls aimlessly, and get diabetes. Look how lithe and sinewy squirrels, horses, lions and monkeys are; their bodies are perfect for the needs of their habitats.

It’s not animals that create constructs to control, reduce and diminish each other.

And look at how Zen they are; how they are always in the moment, but at the same time have insanely sharp reflexes. If you have a cat on your lap and stand up suddenly, it will always land on its feet. If you had a human on your lap and stood up suddenly, they would flop to the floor like a dead weight.

We need to dehumanise in order to oppress humans. And in the case of other animals, we have to see them as different and as inferior to humans as possible to desensitise ourselves to their suffering – so we can eat them.

The truth is they are far more similar to us than different. Exactly as people with dark skin are more similar than different to people with white skin and as women are more similar than different to men.

All oppressions are the same and need an ‘other.’ We’ve ‘otherised’ animals that are not human to such an extent we don’t even know we’re doing it.

Time to stop.

 

Vegan Before 6? Hahahahaha – I’m Celibate Before 6!

Sit down. Strap in. Caffeinate (if you’re into that).

I gotta get something off my chest.

Anyone reading my posts for a while will know that I’m not one to shy away from speaking out about bull***t.

I know it’s great to always be positive and if you haven’t got anything nice to say then don’t say anything and blah blah blah…

I like to think I’m raising awareness of the BS so you can dodge it, which IS positive! 🙂

The particular piece of BS I’m referring to this time is a book called ‘VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6.00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health For Good,’ by a populist ‘author’ called Mark Bittman. It actually came out in 2013. I initially ignored it and just spewed fire inwardly whenever I heard about it, but it’s actually still being talked about and just, well…enough is enough already.

As the title indicates, Bittman reckons that being vegan before six pm, and eating as you please after this time is the way to go to lose weight, gain better health and promote environmental sustainability.

The summary is:

 If you’re one of the millions who have thought of trying a vegan diet but fear it’s too monotonous or unfamiliar, or simply don’t want to give up the foods you love to eat, VB6 will introduce a new, flexible, and quite simply better way of eating you can really live with . . . for life.

I know Bittman has some prominent vegans who support this, but I just can’t get behind it.

YES I DO see that this means that some people will eat fewer animal products and I get the argument that any move in this direction is good, I really do, and it IS, but, well…let me explain.

These are my issues with it:

  • I feel it will ultimately stop a lot more movement than there could be in this direction. Bittman is a respected, high-profile food writer, and him saying that vegan before 6 is a good idea will totally give lots of his fans the excuse to not go fully vegan. Some of them may not have ever gone vegan anyway, admittedly, but with the force of compelling information consistently trickling in their direction, some may have gone vegan that now won’t. I believe Bittman has stolen some future vegans from the universe!
  • It reinforces the myth that veganism is too hard, and says that being partially vegan is so much more manageable. How does Bittman know this if he has never tried to go vegan?
  • It reinforces another myth, as seen in headlines like this ‘Mark Bittman’s New Vegan Mantra Leaves Room For Play,’ that there is no ‘play’ or joy in being 100% vegan, that a vegan diet cannot satisfy our need for decadent indulgent food. As a twenty-five year vegan, I find this headline offensive and excruciatingly misinformed.
  •  I imagine that Mark Bittman KNEW that interest in veganism was growing exponentially year on year. I imagine he also knew that the zillions of meat-loving types who are maybe aware of the arguments for going fully vegan but clinging to old traditions and habits out of ignorance of the delicious reality of a plant-based diet, would be looking for any way they could to avoid making this change. Rather than helping to inform the world of the fact that a plant-based diet is not remotely ‘monotonous and unfamiliar,’ which would have earned him less cash and kudos, certainly, but would have been the truthful thing to do – it really feels like Bittman chose to exploit the meat-addicted market and cashed in. Ugh!
  • More evidence that this could have been just about the dosh for Bittman? One of the main motivations that he lists on the front of the book is losing weight. OBVIOUSLY if you tell people they can lose weight but still eat what they want every single day (just after 6) you’ve got yourself a New York Times best seller debuting at number one! In the words of Dr John Mcdougall, people love to be told good news about their bad habits! Sure, I write about losing weight with a plant-based diet and of course I hope to draw people in with this message, because:

A) it’s TRUE! The scientifically-proven, OPTIMAL way to lose weight is with a whole-food, plant-based diet. Flexitarians, (which is really the only word to describe adherents to VB6) according to research studied by Dr Michael Greger are, on average, STILL generally overweight!

B) If it’s what first attracts people’s interest to eating plant-based – that’s fine, it was one of my first motivations. But I couldn’t NOT write about all the benefits of vegan diet – they are all interconnected. For example; if you lose weight, get healthy, feel better about yourself, you’re gonna treat other people better, and your compassion is freed up to become extended to other living beings, like non-human animals.

  • Bittman says in an interview in Shape Magazine:

Shape: If someone is extremely active, working out for more than an hour a day, should they be concerned about the amount of protein in their diet when following VB6?

MB: Concentrate on eating protein at every meal. Nuts, legumes, and tofu are vegan foods that have plenty of protein. If you need more concentrated sources of protein, have a steak at night.

Ugh, this totally sends the ERRONEOUS message that only specific plant-foods have protein, and that some people just NEEEEED steak to complete their protein needs. Bittman clearly isn’t aware that nobody NEEEEDS steak, or any type of meat for protein. It’s irresponsible of him as someone with a relatively big profile, to have written this book and be giving advice without being adequately informed.

  • Bittman has seemingly co-opted the word ‘vegan’ because it’s zeitgeisty and benefits his agenda. Vegan actually means someone who eschews all animal products, at anytime, ever. NOT JUST BEFORE 6. I know that going vegan is a process, and we can all understandably slip up sometimes. But Bittman isn’t even espousing attempting this process in any meaningful way, just in a way that you can feel a bit better about yourself but carry on screwing up the environment and having animals killed for you AFTER 6.  I wish someone owned the word vegan and could sue his (what appears to be) mercenary arse off for this.
  • And isn’t vegan before 6 like saying sober, or pregnant before 6? And what does this mean in terms of quantities of meat, dairy and eggs after 6? The whole thing seems to be so ambiguous and vague, check this from Bittman’s website:

Q. There are a lot of common diet mistakes people make. Why is this easier to commit to?

A. Well, I think the cheating is built in. One of the first questions people ask me is “Can I put milk in my coffee? I can’t live without putting milk in my coffee.” And the fact is, I put milk in my coffee and I break the rules all the time. But it’s a common-sense thing. There’s a big difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of milk or cream in your coffee and two cheeseburgers or a large fry….. but if you follow it [VB6] 60 percent, you’re probably still eating twice as well than if you’re eating a sort of standard American diet. So there’s a lot of wiggle room in here and I think people need to look at the strategy and say, “How do I make this work in my life and how strict do I want to be?” Obviously if you break every rule five times a day, then you’re not doing it. So there’s got to be some adherence to the principles of the strategy, but it doesn’t seem right to say, “Do this or it doesn’t work.”

So you can put milk in your coffee in the morning if you want, and as long as you don’t break EVERY rule FIVE times a day it’s cool.

If the cheating is ‘built in’ and not something that just happens occasionally, what will you really achieve?

‘It doesn’t seem right to say ‘Do this or it doesn’t work’

– Um, but it DOESN’T work if you don’t do this!

‘There’s a lot of wiggle room in here..People [can] say, “how do I make this work in my life and how strict do I want to be?”

– So you really don’t have to be anywhere close to being vegan at ANY time at all then?

And ‘I break the rules all the time,’

– So what is the cotton-pickin’ point then?

This ain’t really being vegan before any hour, let alone 6pm.

It really sounds like Mark Bittman doesn’t want to lose a single sale.

  • And saying ‘it’s a common-sense thing?’ – It’s common sense to know that if you eat crap, you get ill and fat. If common sense was an inherent characteristic in us all, there wouldn’t BE so many obese people or people that do dumb things. And what’s common sense to one, ISN’T to someone else. Sense really isn’t that common, it turns out.

We (ME INCLUDED – lest you think I’m being a judgeypants) NEED guidelines and some kind of a structure to thrive. Living plant-based isn’t draconian, it’s just eat anything that grows in the ground (do you even know how many things this includes??) and no being that had life, or their secretions or periods (ha!). That’s it!

Ok, I think I’m all ranted out now! As you were 🙂

 

How To Stick To Your New Years Plant-Based Resolutions

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So, in case you’ve made resolutions of the new year kind, and in case they are to do with going more plant-based (or if you are already vegan and want to go in a more healthful direction, i.e. eliminating sugar), then here are 5 pointers to aid your resolutin’ :

1. Only you know you.

You probably have a pretty good idea by now whether you’re a ‘cold turkey’ or a ‘step by step’ kind of person. Don’t try and be a hero and change your lifestyle overnight if this has not traditionally been your way of doing things. If you make a change in the way that really suits your character, it is way more sustainable.

If you are going from meat-eater to plant-based overnight, this is great, only please be sure you have enough information on nutrition and all the incredible foods available to you. Take a week or so beforehand to plan and learn. If you need my help on this, here’s how to get it (there’s lots of other amazing vegan resources online, and in bookshops too). If you make the change quickly and end up only eating the same few things over and over, you will get very bored and possibly ill. You can learn ‘on the job’ as it were, but you’ll need some good varied meal ideas for at least the first few days.

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See what I did there?

If you’re a ‘step by stepper,’ don’t be afraid to go as slow as you feel you need to. Intention and consistency are key, so if you feel that going meat, dairy or sugar free for one meal, one day a week is as fast as you’d like to go for now, that’s great, as long as you are consistent with that. Set a future date when you’d like to increase that to two meals, then another for three, and so on. Maybe you could be meat/sugar free every other day, or on weekdays – of course there are endless permutations, just find one to suit.

 

2. Frame it helpfully, in your mind.

Whether you make a big change overnight, or you are making small changes over a longer period, DON’T think of words like ‘eliminating’ and ‘forever.’ You are not so much eliminating as adding an abundance of new tasty food to your life, and crowding the old stuff out with delicious alternatives.

If you are changing your lifestyle in a way you know will be a personal challenge; thinking in terms of ‘forever’ will be intimidating and off-putting. Rather think ‘this is what I am doing today, I’m seeing how it goes, and will reassess tomorrow.’ Yes, I know this is an AA strategy, but if it works – why the heck not apply it? And, as we know, sugar and casein (in cheese) are addictive, so it seems pretty appropriate to me. For those making big changes rapidly, take it hour by hour if you need to.

 

3. Slip up? Fall off the wagon? A chocolate bar/chicken nugget fall into your mouth?

So what? Yes, you heard. So the hell what?

Listen, if you beat yourself up about it, or feel guilty, you are never gonna live up to your standards, and you’ll risk falling into the mind set of ‘weeell, I’m never gonna be able to do it, I’m not good enough, so why bother…?’ You CAN do it, and you may well slip up, but a slip-up does NOT a failure make. The important thing is to just quietly acknowledge and accept what happened and move on. As in the previous point, you can take it hour by hour, and what you did in the last hour is not relevant to what you are going to do in the next hour. Try and find out why you were tempted, and ensure you are not in that situation again, i.e. making sure you have plentiful snacks on you at times when you may be tempted, or not walking the aisle in the supermarket with the tempting thing that’s calling your name.

Confession: In my first year of being vegan, I lived in Paris, and one day I was walking past a deli that had chickens on a rotisserie outside on the wall. This particular day the smell of them was too tempting, and I caved and bought one. I ate too much of it, was grossed out, and was never tempted by meat again. I think that as slip-ups go, that was a pretty hefty one for a vegan!

 

4. Remind yourself why.

At times when you feel despondent, or feel it’s too much effort, or that you don’t have the strength to do it, go back and remind yourself why you made this resolution in the first place. If you went vegan – read up on all the health, environmental and ethical reasons. If you are cutting down or eliminating sugar, take half an hour to read of the multitude of health benefits, and diseases that you are at less risk of contracting.

 

5. Reward yourself!

No matter whether you’re 4, 34, 94, we all need to be rewarded for effort. Give yourself a time period, and a treat to enjoy at the end of it. For example, if you are going plant-based from an average diet, have a dark chocolate bar/vegan cupcake/small pack of beetroot crisps every day or every other day.

If you are already vegan and trying to dodge the sugar, make sure you have a maple syrup, agave or brown rice syrup based treat to enjoy at certain times along the way.

So You’re The Only Vegan At The Holiday Table This Year? Don’t Sweat It!

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Is this year the first time you’re going to be the only plant-based type at family or friends festive* gatherings?

Don’t worry about a single goshdarned thing, I’ve got your back.

Follow this vegan protocol (I mean, it’s not official, I just made it up, but it is based on my experience and those of the gazillion vegan podcasters I’ve listened to over the years!) and you won’t go wrong. Or hungry.

Pick out whatever you think is appropriate from these ideas.

 

  • What can you do before the event?

Prevention is better than cure – in ANY context. So plan ahead.

Now you may be lucky and be going to eat with family and friends who have you covered and will be making vegan food options for you. If so; great. And what great people to have in your life.

If there is a chance you may not be catered for, then you need to sort this. It’s your Christmas too, and you don’t want to be hungry while others are filling their bellies with alacrity. And turkey.

It’s a great idea to call the host a few days before the meal, to give them time to organise something. Tell them you weren’t sure if they were aware that you’re vegan, and that you don’t want anyone to go to any particular trouble, and that you will happily bring a dish or two to share.

One of two things will happen then:

  1. Your host may well insist that you don’t need to do this and assure you that they will furnish you with enough food and will enjoy rising to the challenge of creating some plant-based dishes. This is obviously the preferred outcome! And happily, it’s most likely the one you’ll get. Lots of people, while not vegan, are interested in health issues and have some kind of sensibility towards cooking with plant-based ingredients, and will have the will and ingenuity to create something tasty for you. I’d even bet this covers most people. I’m thinking of the times I’ve been to dinner with even my least vegan friends; they’ve ALWAYS stepped up and made a delicious meal for me. I’ve never gone hungry. I would say the chances are 90% that your host will respond thus. If they do, I know you’ll be gracious, and don’t forget to remind them that lots of Christmas sides (sprouts, roast potatoes and parsnips) are vegan anyway if they are not made with butter.
  2. Your host may be confused as to what vegan means and ask lots of questions and not seem confident on the subject. Explain as sweetly as you can what vegan entails. Again, remind them that lots of side dishes are vegan or easily veganised, and say you’ll bring a couple of dishes to share so they needn’t worry. Yes, I agree, it can be a pain having to make the dishes – and why the hell should you when nobody else has to? They can just go along and snarf whatever is put in front of them. It’s not fair, is it? However, being vegan, you are the lucky one. You are the one who possesses the ability to be a discerning, independent thinker. You are the one that was enlightened on the health and environmental benefits of this lifestyle, and it’s you that gets to live in alignment with your core values of compassion every day – it’s your duty to spread the light! So, suck it up, get online, find a couple of dishes, and get cracking. I know you can do it! If you’re not too confident a cook, just keep it simple. Don’t try and be showy if it’s not your thing just because it’s Christmas. Good, simple food is often the best.  I know that even in pre-vegan days, I actually never liked the rich and heavy nature of Christmas food; I’d have loved a bean salad or a tabbouleh. I’m sure lots of people are the same way. Here are a ton of ideas to inspire you.

You may well find that your dishes go down a storm and there’s not much left for you. Here comes another important tip:

Whether your host has said they’ll totally cater to your vegan needs, or if you’re bringing food yourself – ALWAYS have a couple of nut bars (or other pocket-size snacks) to hand.

Because..

Some folks seem to initially understand what vegan means, but don’t really, so you may get to your gathering and the host who seemed to get what you were talking about previously has, in fact, laced everything with butter, thinking you were just vegetarian.

And sometimes, the dishes you bring might be so popular you might not get much of a look in. This is great, you want to show that vegan food is just food – that everyone can enjoy it, but some omni’s (thankfully very few, most people are considerate) don’t get that these are the only dishes you’ll eat, while they are helping themselves to a whole heap of animal foods too.

So, keep something in your pocket or bag for emergencies. It’s really VERY unlikely you’ll need it, truly, but just in case.

 

  • What do you do if someone starts asking you questions at the table about why you’re vegan?

You will have to gauge this yourself by the dynamic at the table. It’s always great if there’s an opportunity to advocate and share the reasons why a person would want to choose compassion and health, and the Christmas table is no exception. Cruelty doesn’t doesn’t stop for Christmas, in fact it’s ramped up to overdrive with all the turkey, pigs and game that are killed specifically for the festivities. But you don’t want to talk about cruelty to turkeys while people are eating turkey. The idea is never to make people feel like instant total crap. You want to just plant a seed and get them to think for themselves.

Answer genuine questions truthfully but briefly. For example: you can just say that you’re vegan for all the ethical, health and environmental reasons and leave it at that. If a particular person is pressing you for more info, tell them you’d be more than willing to chat to them about it after dinner. Make sure you follow up on it. If they were genuinely interested at dinner, they’ll still be interested later. You never know what might come of this. You may inspire this person to consider the impact of their food choices, and next year there could be two vegans at the table!

 

  • What do you do when old uncle F***wit says ‘...but if God didn’t mean us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat? Hahahahaha ‘ and everyone else laughs at how funny old uncle F***wit is?

Yes, this is annoying. But you know, if old uncle F***wit wasn’t having a dig at you, he’d be having a dig at someone else. It’s you this time because you’re the one at the table that’s different. And his name is old uncle F***wit for goodness sake, don’t even worry about him. And people laugh just to be polite when other people are trying to be funny.

So what do you do? Eyeroll by all means. You can even do an Oscar-worthy eyeroll. But do it with a smile and then move on. Console yourself with this fact – he’ll be the one with the rip-roaring indigestion later, not you 🙂

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Enjoy your holidays, whatever you’re doing, and always show how much you are enjoying the food (whether your hosts creations or your own). You never know whose curious mind might be working overtime and be interested in following your compassionate, healthy, planet-loving, plant-based lead!

 

* I realised I was a little late for Hanukkah so I wrote this post with Christmas in mind, but the advice is universal and absolutely applies to any holiday feast.

 

I Want To Go Vegan, But Doesn’t Soy Cause Man-Boobs & Breast Cancer?

JOH_0280 from Flickr via Wylio
© 2012 star5112, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

First things first.

You do not need to eat soy AT ALL if you go vegan, repeat: NOT AT ALL.

Soy is a great source of protein (among other things) and it used to be thought that to replace all the animal protein you were going to be missing if you went vegan, you’d need to eat a s**t ton of soy products.

Not true.

Protein is in pretty much EVERY plant food. How do you think herbivorous animals get their protein? You don’t see cows, sheep, pigs, elephants, horses or gorillas chowing down on edamame or slurping miso!

If you’re eating a whole food, plant-based diet you’ll be getting plenty of protein. Don’t even worry about it. Even if you’re a junk food vegan (not recommending this at all but just to make the point) you’ll be getting enough protein.

Dr Neal Barnard, from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:

…soy products are strictly optional. A healthy vegan diet could be based on a Mediterranean tradition, emphasizing vegetables, fruits, chickpeas, and pasta. It could be based on Latin American tastes, with plenty of beans, tortillas, and fresh fruit. Soy products come from the traditions of Asian countries where people are generally thinner and healthier and live longer than Americans. But soy is still entirely optional.

Protein just isn’t a problem, even in a diet devoid of soy.

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That said, as long as you’re not allergic to it, soy is a great addition to your diet.

Personally I adore agedashi tofu, and soy milk is my cow’s milk replacement of preference.

But it takes such a long time to bust old myths.

And the myth that soy does all sorts of weird things to your body is a very deeply entrenched one.

Hopefully in time (by force of myself and fellow plant-based professionals writing posts that reference the independent studies that have all found that soy is not only safe, but beneficial), this old chestnut will be destroyed once and for all.

We know soy has been eaten frequently for centuries in several Asian countries, countries that are certainly not known for having a man-boob or breast cancer problem.

In fact, breast cancer in Japan and China was exceedingly rare, until they started adopting the more ‘western’ habits of consuming dairy and larger amounts of meat, then the rates increased to reflect that.

‘But soy contains estrogen, and estrogen causes breast cancer’ you may be thinking.

This sentence is not wrong. Soy DOES contain estrogen, and excess estrogen IS a factor in lots of breast cancers.

However, there’s animal estrogen and plant estrogen. Soy does not contain animal estrogen, it contains ‘phyto’ (plant) estrogen.  Isoflavones, the  ‘contentious’ phytoestrogens found in soy, have a completely different effect on the body to animal estrogen.

Lets be clear on who the real villain is here!

Animal estrogen from meat and dairy is similar to human estrogen; it functions in the same way as it does in human female bodies – after all, we are animals too. It can therefore accumulate excessively in someone that eats animal products regularly and have any number of negative effects – two of which are breast cancer and man boobs – the exact two main concerns that people have about soy!

Phytoestrogens operate in a totally different way. When we consume them in the form of soy isoflavones they have been shown to be beneficial – even to breast cancer patients and survivors.

Why?

Because they have the effect of regulating your body’s estrogen levels. There is a complex scientific explanation on how they do this, but simply put; if your estrogen levels are low, they can bring them up to a level suitable for your body’s specific needs; if they are too high, they help you excrete the excess.

Magic huh? I don’t mean to get all woo-woo on yo’ ass, but if soy isoflavones (and other beneficial phytoestrogenic plants) are not a gift from the universe then I don’t know what is!

This activity of soy in the body has been studied, and we now know that soy categorically does NOT promote breast cancer. It actually acts as a protective and preventative agent, and can boost longevity in breast cancer survivors.

And no, soy doesn’t make men grow breasts either. Man boobage is due to obesity and the estrogens men are ingesting when they eat animal products.

We also now know that it doesn’t screw with your thyroid either (another once-believed harmful effect of consuming soy).

The ONLY time you need to be careful with regards to soy is if you are on thyroid medication. As is the case with MANY other foods, soy can interfere with thyroid medication efficacy.

But the great news is, you can avoid having thyroid troubles in the first place by following a whole foods, plant-based diet! Sorry if that sounds smug, but if something is true, I’m gonna sing it from the treetops!

As well as being an excellent protein, soy is also a great source of calcium, vitamin C, thiamin and folate. So if you like it, and aren’t soy sensitive, go ahead and get creative with the tofu, miso, tempeh et al.

Don’t forget. The dairy industry is very powerful and must currently be feeling very threatened as more and more people choose dairy milk alternatives. There are big concerns in whose interest it is to propogate myths discrediting soy. If you need reassuring, great; check everything out for yourself, we can never be too informed, but CHECK your sources. Always go for independent, peer-reviewed studies where possible.

Review of Amico Bio, Italian Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant In London

So what do you do for the twenty-first anniversary of the day you and your partner got together?

Go for a hearty plant-based meal, that’s what.

Er… WITH your partner, in case that wasn’t clear!

We nearly didn’t go anywhere, what with it being a miserable, drizzly and cold London night, but the promise of good food (as always) motivated us to shake a leg, so off we went to try Amico Bio, a family-owned Italian vegetarian/vegan restaurant in London.

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A veggie Italian restaurant is a very rare thing. In fact I don’t know any other. Italian food, like French, often includes meat, cheese and cream, so is harder than other world cuisines to replicate in a veggie version – so we were really curious to see what it’d be like.

There are two branches of Amico Bio. I believe the ‘original’ is in Smithfields, and the ‘spinoff’ is the Bloomsbury side of Holborn. We went to the Holborn branch – just because it was closer.

I’m not a huge fan of Italian food. My favourite foods tend to come from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America and contain a multitude of spices, so Italian food to me by contrast is a little, well, dull.

I KNOW, I KNOW, Italian food can be incredible, and I particularly like the emphasis on fresh, luscious veg and fruit that you find in Mediterranean cuisine, it just wouldn’t be my first choice, is all. I think also, the prevalence of white wheat pasta and white bread puts me off a little.

My partner loves Italian food, but hasn’t had much of it of late (or since I encouraged him to try food from a little further afield!), so it was nice for him to be reacquainted with it.

The restaurant is in a very pleasant space, very cosy and ‘Italian rustic,’ but still elegant, with a huge print sketch of Leonardo Da Vinci (who was vegan, as we know from here) on a back wall. It’s authentically appointed with huge dark wood (what I took to be very old-timey Italian) dressers and a vast mirror, which contrast with the more modern prints on the walls and arty paper table mats that tell you about the restaurants philosophy:

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Sorry for the crappy interior photo – you really need to see the back of the restaurant to get the whole effect, but I was worried I was starting to look weird to the other diners.

Apparently all the veg for the restaurant is grown on the family farm in Italy, so it promised to be full-flavoured and divine.

The online menu of Amico Bio offered a whole grain option – a risotto made with brown rice, and I was disappointed it wasn’t on the menu the night we went. It DOES say online that menus change according to the produce available, but you’d think brown rice would be available all year? They also have a store in the restaurant that sells wholemeal spelt, and buckwheat flour, so you’d think they’d want to have some whole grain pastas available on the menu, but it doesn’t seem to have been considered.

I don’t get this. If you’re open-minded enough to drop the meat from your traditional cuisine, and you tout the health benefits of your food, why not also make dishes with whole grains, to really optimise the health and wellness benefits?

There seemed to be more dishes containing dairy cheese than I remembered from online too, but there were lots of vegan or ‘can be made vegan’ options.

We shared a bruschetta starter which was the most incredible tasting olive oil drizzled over fresh cherry tomatoes and basil. I’ve never had bruschetta before so I have nothing to compare it to – and it’s a shame the bread was white (why use heavily processed wheat in your bread when the emphasis is on whole, fresh foods??) but the tomato, oil and basil mix was gorgeous – to the point of me craving it again today. UK supermarket tomatoes just don’t compare to Italian tomatoes grown on a farm.

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For a main course I chose ‘Carciofi e culvofiori brasati con parsinache arrosto e cavolo rosso‘ – braised cauliflower and artichokes, roasted parsnips and braised red cabbage.

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The cabbage, artichoke and whatever the shaved, fried veg was (that you can see on top – but was not mentioned in the dish description) were delicious. The cauliflower just really tasted boiled, and the roast parsnip wasn’t as roasted as I’d have liked. All in all, not bad, but a dish really needs a grain or legume to plump it out and satiate. It really wasn’t that filling. I like to feel that I’ve eaten, when I’ve eaten.

Luckily, my partner had ordered ‘Frittelle di farro e insalatina, con fagioli all’occhio nero e cime de rapa,’ or spelt and salad fritters, black-eyed peas and turnip tops, and we ordered a side of roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary.

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Now to me, black-eyed peas and turnip greens are Southern US soul food (another cuisine I adore). I didn’t know they were particularly Italian. This isn’t a complaint, I’m always up for black-eyed peas, it was just strange seeing them in this context. The fritters were fantastic; light, not too greasy, and the spelt made the batter taste richer. My lovely partner let me have most of his peas and turnip greens. This, exactly this, is why we’ve lasted twenty-one years.

We shared the roasties which were bursting with earthy flavour and subtly complimented by the rosemary.

And then, AND THEN, came time for dessert.

I knew the restaurant had a selection of homemade gelato, and I’d seen online that they had pistachio flavour (MY FAVOURITE!!! Or one of them, I seem to have a lot of favourites!) I was almost too scared to ask if they had it this night, what with the menu being as fluid as it was.

But they had it! They also had several other delicious sounding flavours – the only one I can remember is elderflower, but they all sounded so delicious I nearly got thrown from my focus. I stuck to pistachio though, and was not sorry.

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The pistachio came through loud and clear, and the sweetness was at the perfect level: sweet enough so you know you’re eating dessert, but not the slightest bit sickly or cloying. I could have eaten a LOT of this!

My partner had a quintessential Italian liqueur, Amaro Alle Herbe, which just means herbal liqueur. It contained herbs like mint, sage, gentian, rosemary, centaury; and spices like cloves and cinnamon.

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I didn’t try this. I don’t drink alcohol. It smelled a little like a dental rinse, though I kind of got why it might be nice. If you like that sort of thing. My partner loved it, and said it was very warming.

 

Conclusion

I’m kind of blinded by the delicious pistachio gelato and my old favourite black-eyed peas, which make me want to say I’d definitely go there again – and I would, that’s not wrong.

And the prices are reasonable; and service, while in no way exceptional, was acceptable. And it also should be said that the restaurant is in a nice area and has a great look and atmosphere.

BUT, in my opinion, a bit more thought needs to be taken with menu items. While the veg are certainly flavourful and fresh, and the gluten-free crowd have plenty of options (too many really, when you consider that very few people actually need gluten-free food); there is not enough emphasis on WHOLE foods where the grains and pastas are concerned. This means that those wishing to avoid refined and processed grains do not have much choice. As I said, whole grains ARE offered on the online menu. I have no idea why they are not offered in the restaurant.

You should absolutely try this restaurant. Whether you live in London or visit here from elsewhere, it’s a great lunch/dinner venue, and just down the road from the British museum.

 

Appropriate Responses To ‘Did you Know Hitler Was A Vegetarian?’

Adolf Hitler saliendo de la sede del partido Nazi (Munich, 1931) from Flickr via Wylio
© 2012 Recuerdos de Pandora, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

Ah yes, Hitler.

The person everybody LEAST wants to be compared to.

There are specific reasons why some meat-eaters resort to asking us if we (as vegans or vegetarians) are aware that Hitler was a vegetarian. These are explored very eloquently in this podcast by Colleen Patrick Goudreau.

I am merely going to present you with appropriate responses for when this insane myth gets regurgitated in your presence.

Some responses are ridiculously long – I wanted to get all the points in! But take from them what you think will have the most impact on the offender!

So here we go:

Moron Mcgee: Did you know Hitler was a vegetarian?

You: [choose one or several of the following] -:

 

1. Your offensive question has two subtexts that you are seemingly eager for me to understand:

a) Hitler was vegetarian – therefore I, as a vegetarian/vegan, am like Hitler

b) Hitler was vegetarian – and also a genocidal maniac. Therefore vegetarianism/veganism promotes genocide

With regard to lovely subtext a):

Mao (responsible for 78,000,000 deaths), Stalin (responsible for 23,000,000 deaths), Leopold II of Belgium (responsible for 15,000,000 deaths), Vlad III (famous for roasting children and feeding them to their mothers) Idi Amin,  Pol Pot, Kim Jong Un, Ho Chi Min (AND MANY, MANY OTHER MURDEROUS, TYRANNICAL DICTATORS) were all meat-eaters.

By your logic – this means you, as a meat-eater, must be like them.

With regard to lovely subtext b):

As we can see above, most genocidal despots tend to be meat-eaters. Your logic would therefore assume that it is meat-eating that promotes dictatorial urges and genocide.

 

2. No, Mr Mcgee, Hitler was categorically not a vegetarian by any accepted definition.

We know he most definitely was not vegan.

The definition of ‘vegetarian’ according to the Oxford Dictionary is:

A person who does not eat meat or fish, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons.

According to reputable Hitler biographers Robert Payne and Albert Speer, Hitler had a penchant for ham, Bavarian sausages, liver and game. In his book ‘The Life And Death Of Adolf Hitler‘ (1995) Payne states that Hitler’s ‘vegetarianism’ was propaganda spread by Goebbels to make Hitler seem more ascetic and in control of his basest desires:

Hitler’s asceticism played an important part in the image he projected over Germany. According to the widely believed legend, he neither smoked nor drank, nor did he eat meat or have anything to do with women. Only the first was true. He drank beer and diluted wine frequently, had a special fondness for Bavarian sausages…His asceticism was fiction invented by Goebbels to emphasize his total dedication, his self-control, the distance that separated him from other men. By this outward show of asceticism, he could claim that he was dedicated to the service of his people.

In fact, he was remarkably self-indulgent and possessed none of the instincts of the ascetic…Although Hitler had no fondness for meat except in the form of sausages, and never ate fish, he enjoyed caviar. He was a connoisseur of sweets, crystallized fruit and cream cakes, which he consumed in astonishing quantities. He drank tea and coffee drowned in cream and sugar. No dictator ever had a sweeter tooth.

Chef Dione Lucas was not only an eyewitness to Hitler’s meat-eating, but in her book Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook (1964) recounts often being asked, when she was a hotel chef in Hamburg, to make Hitler’s favourite dish – stuffed squab (pigeon).

Not even by the loosest definition of the word are pigeon, sausages and caviar vegetarian.

Another fact that helps promulgate this myth is that on at least one occasion, Hitler was put on a temporary vegetarian fast by his doctor to help combat his problem of excessive flatulence and sweating – caused by excessive consumption of processed meats!

From the book Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment Of Animals And The Holocaust (2002) by Charles Patterson phD:

Hitler discovered that when he reduced his meat intake, he did not sweat as much, and there were fewer stains in his underwear. He also became convinced that eating vegetables improved the odors of his flatulence, a condition that distressed him terribly and caused him much embarrassment. Hitler, who had a great fear of contracting cancer, which killed his mother, believed that meat eating and pollution caused cancer.

Nonetheless, Hitler never gave up his favourite meat dishes, especially Bavarian sausages, liver dumplings, and stuffed and roasted game.

Patterson writes of when Hitler got into power in 1933:

…he banned all the vegetarian societies in Germany, arrested their leaders, and shut down the main vegetarian magazine published in Frankfurt…during the war Nazi Germany banned all vegetarian organizations in the territories it occupied, even though vegetarian diets would have helped alleviate wartime food shortages.

Why would Hitler have done this if he was vegetarian?

Some have talked about Hitler’s love of animals, particularly of his dogs.

Firstly, he may well have loved his dogs. It is not unheard of to love those beings that surround YOU, but be unable to empathise with those you don’t know. Secondly, it is reported that he loved his dogs because they were subordinate to him and he could control them. Again, Charles Patterson:

Hitler was fond of dogs, especially German shepherds (he considered boxers ‘degenerate’), whom he liked to control and dominate. At the front during World War I, he befriended a white terrier Fuchsl (Foxl), who had strayed across enemy lines. Later, when his unit had to move on and Fuchsl could not be found, Hitler became distraught.  ‘I liked him so much,’ he recalled. ‘He obeyed only me.’

Hitler often carried a dog-whip and sometimes used it to beat his dog the same way he had seen his father beat his own dog.

In Hitler 1936-45: Nemesis (2000), another esteemed Hitler biographer, Ian Kershaw, writes:

…but with his dogs, as with every human being he came into contact with, any relationship was based upon subordination to his mastery.

 

3. You might want to think about why you deemed it appropriate to compare my life choices to those of the most reviled human being of the twentieth century.

I’m just trying to live in alignment with my values of compassion for all life, respect for my health and that of the planet, and taking the best action possible to help combat world hunger – and you want me to know that you think I’m comparable to a dictator that had approximately eleven million Jews, Poles, gays, gypsies and disabled people exterminated.

Do you care to explain more?

 

4. I’ve already referenced The Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment Of Animals And The Holocaust by Charles Patterson. This influential book (that has been translated into fourteen languages) very eloquently and eruditely compares intensive animal farming with concentration camps. This is an unarguable and valid comparison. Both deal in commodified beings that are made to work until such time as the person in power decides they are to be slaughtered.

As you condone this practise by buying its end product (meat, milk and eggs), I think you’ll find it’s you that has more in common with Hitler and the Nazi’s beliefs.

 

5. When selecting a famous vegetarian (even though Hitler wasn’t – so you didn’t even fact check), why, I wonder, didn’t you think of Ghandi or Buddha? Not that I’m comparing ordinary vegetarians like myself to them, but you wanted to bring up a vegetarian person that’s had a huge impact on the world, why didn’t you choose one of these guys? And most would agree that they were both bigger and more influential than Hitler. Why do YOU think it didn’t serve you to reference THEM?

 

6. [if you are vegan] I am vegan. This is different to being vegetarian. While vegetarianism is better than meat-eating to a point, it is still not avoiding cruelty and barbarism toward animals. Vegetarians still eat dairy and eggs. Milk comes from abused cows whose male babies are often killed, and dairy cows themselves are killed when they are spent. The egg industry is similarly cruel with millions of baby male chicks being gassed, suffocated or put into a meat grinder alive because they are superfluous to requirements.

There has NEVER been a vegan mass-murderer. I urge you to attempt to find one and prove me wrong.

 

7. F**k off.

 

8. Only joking about number 7. Sort of.

 

Superfood & Green Smoothies Are Not Superman, It Is Not Them Alone That Will Save Your Life

Chia gel dark 341 from Flickr via Wylio
© 2010 Larry Jacobsen, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

I’ve noticed a trend of late.

There are a gazillion gorgeous pics of kale maca blueberry hemp chia cacao smoothies, or acai berry spirulina matcha wheatgrass blah blah blah all over the internet.

On health and wellness websites, there is recipe after recipe for industrial strength raw/green superfood smoothies.

Please know – I have nothing against superfoods, or even their being in a smoothie. A smoothie can be a delicious treat.

And it’s not the raw crowd I’m getting at here (though my feelings on raw vegan are explored in this post).

My problem with all of this is as follows:

Some ‘holistic health coaches’ post these amazing pics of their latest superfood smoothie creations, but at the same time they’ll post recipes containing eggs, fish, yoghurt – or even meat (though of course this will be ‘grass-fed’, which we know is no better health or environment-wise than intensively farmed meat).

It seems strange to me to embrace superfoods so enthusiastically on the one hand, but on the other, keep scientifically proven harmful foods in your diet (and not only that, but to recommend them to others) as if the cocktail of superfoods cancels out the bad stuff.

It doesn’t seem a balanced way to live on a day-to-day basis.

Also – why drink your nutrients? Why not obtain them from chewing your food as nature intended? Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, former heart surgeon, author of ‘Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease,’ and all-round plant-based health expert has this to say:

Avoid smoothies. The fiber is so finely pureed and rapidly swallowed without the benefits of mixing with helpful bacteria in the mouth. The sugar is separated from the fiber of the fruit, bypasses salivary digestion and results in a surge of glucose. The fructose enhances inflammation, hypertension and endothelial injury. Chew your food.

And take a kale pineapple maca smoothie. Really? Is this from the maca plantation down the road? Maca comes all the way from the Peruvian Andes. Another popular smoothie ingredient, chia seeds, come from Mexico and Guatemala. How natural is it to take these superfoods that come from these far-flung corners of the globe and blitz them in a machine, and drink it with a straw?

Yes, I’m aware there are no rice paddies in London or New York, but in order to have varied grains in our diet, we NEED to eat whole grain rice. If you don’t live somewhere where the climate is conducive to producing a comprehensive array of nutrients in plant-food, then you have to buy what is available, and rice is a reliable staple.

I’m just saying, why go out of your way to buy an exotic (not to mention expensive!) superfood, when you don’t need it if you just eat well consistently?

Though kale is a common smoothie ingredient and in its own way is a superfood, I’m not lumping it in with the chia/maca collective. Kale is fabulous, I eat it almost daily. We all need frequent servings of dark leafy greens, and kale grows most everywhere. If I lived in China, I’d no doubt eat more pak choi. If I lived in the southern US states I’d surely be eating a lot more collard greens. Whatever your local dark leafy green, to get the most benefit from it, better that the majority of the time it is chewed rather than supped.

And of course I’m not saying never eat maca, chia or other South American super foods, they ARE super after all and have their own specific benefits – I’m just saying they shouldn’t be relied upon as a daily ingredient to nourish you – unless maybe you live in Central or South America.

Any move away from our meat and dairy heavy habits is good. And if someone gets into eating more veg and fruit initially because of smoothies – well, great. A green/superfood smoothie is scads better for you then a cheese roll, so I’m aware battles have to be carefully picked here. It’s way better to be crowding out the bacon sandwiches with supergreen concoctions than eating meat three times a day.

I think my takeaway points here are thus:

There is no point eating animal products and hoping raw green super-duper-food smoothies will cancel them out. And it’s not a good idea to rely on them for your daily nutrients.

I’m not as strict as Dr Esselstyn (but I am NOT an eminent experienced doctor either!) and don’t totally diss the smoothie as an entity ‘per se’, but you have to make up your own mind on this. I believe the odd high power smoothie is fine if you find yourself in a fantastic vegan smoothie bar, or you’re in a cool plant-based restaurant and fancy trying something from the lush-looking smoothie menu. But as a frequent player in your daily diet?

No.

It’s better to mainly chew your food from a whole state, gleaning your nutrients from a varied whole food, plant-based diet, full of everyday veg, fruit, beans, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds.

Beans, potatoes and rice may not be glam or exotic; and oats, onions and apples don’t sound as sexy as chia or spirulina, but they’ll get you the consistent and solid health foundation that I know you (and we all) desire.

 

7 Random Unsung Benefits Of Being Vegan

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So we’ve all heard about the weight loss, great skin, higher levels of energy and disease-prevention that comes with a whole food, plant-based diet.

What are some of the less sexy benefits, those we don’t talk about too often but you’ll be darn glad of once you experience them?

Here’s a few to ponder on:

 

1. No more constipation

Let’s just get this one out the way first. I’ve heard of people who don’t have a ‘proper’ visit to the bathroom for up to a week. I can’t even imagine how awful they would feel after a couple of days, never mind seven!!! Once we’ve ingested food, it needs to travel through our body in an expedient amount of time – long enough for us to absorb the nutrients we need, but quick enough that it doesn’t stagnate and fester in our intestines. For this we need to be eating plenty of fibre. A whole food plant-based diet is pretty much ALL fibre. Animal products contain NO fibre. You do the math.

And guess what? After going vegan, your ‘proper’ visit to the bathroom will be much quicker. No need for books, phones, or indeed any in-toilet entertainment at all. You’ll be in and out in a jiffy.

Added Bonus: As the whole ‘process’ is easier and more efficient as a vegan, you are also at much less risk of hemorrhoids.

Phew! I’m glad I got through this without once saying ‘poop.’

Dammit.

 

2. The, um… ‘aftermath’ of the ‘proper’ bathroom visit is not as bad if you’re vegan

You want proof?

Ok!

What smells worse, a dog’s business or a horses?  Which is the herbivore (vegan), which the carnivore?

A corpse of any animal smells bad, even fresh, the smell is weird (does anyone actually like the smell in butchers shops?) and when it exits your body – having been cooped up in this hot, sticky environment for two to three days (a meat dinner can typically take this long to digest) it makes sense that it’s gonna reek pretty horrendously. You have no in-body refrigeration to keep it cool.

By contrast, if you eat vegetables and fruits, they’re out of your system in less than 12 hours.

I’m categorically NOT saying that vegans always smell like a rose garden, far from it, but like it or not – they stink less. Fact.

 

3. No more heartburn/acid reflux

Here’s my short, sweet story. I remember having terrible heartburn as a kid. Since becoming vegan 25 years ago, I’ve not had it once – even at the beginning, when my vegan diet wasn’t particularly healthy. I’ve not actually had ANY digestion issues at all – unless I’ve been a total dolt and eaten something stodgy just before bed – but that’s MY fault, and of course I know not to do this now. I do remember how uncomfortable heartburn was, and am so grateful it’s a thing of the past.

The umbrella term for heartburn, acid reflux, and acidic burning in the throat down to the upper stomach, is Gastro Esophagul Reflux Disease (GERD). If left untreated, it can cause even nastier problems such as esophagul cancer. Meat and dairy are acidic foods, lots of people report being cured of GERD when they remove animal products from their diet. Indeed, the eminent Dr John Mcdougall advises this as a first step to ridding yourself of this problem.

 

4. Periods get easier

Look, sorry, but someone has to write about this. Just scroll down if you’re a dude.

If you’re not eating meat and dairy, you are not taking on the hormone load from animal food, so you only have to deal with your own estrogen levels. This makes for less upheaval in your body at the time of menstruation.

If, also, you are eating a whole food diet (where refined starches and sugars are minimised or eliminated) this will ease discomfort even more, as sugars, too, can mess with hormones. I can attest to the fact that it’s possible to have a pain-free, mood-swing free, easy time of the month, with energy levels kept consistent throughout.

 

5. Your mind gets clearer

Yay, this one’s not icky!

It’s hard to put into words though.

‘…but I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit.’ 

-William Shakespeare (via Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Twelfth Night)

Unlike Shakespeare, I don’t mean plant-based peeps are cleverer per se, though by virtue of their choice to eat plant-based in a meat-loving world they are definitely free, independent thinkers, which does denote a certain level of cleverclogsyness. Hee.

What I really mean is, after a while of ingesting no animal products (and this happens quicker if you are particularly conscious of the ethical reasons for doing it) all other injustices become clearer to you and seem to appear before you in full technicolour. You begin to understand how all oppressions work, and see vividly the constructs that support them.

If you think this is a not a benefit and that it’s too overwhelming to think about all the hate in the world, you have a point.

BUT, there is most definitely a flip-side to this.

While you do empathise more with the terrible oppressions and brutality other beings suffer, equally,  you also feel deeply connected at soul level to all the natural beauty in the world, and you realise in a very primal way that you are of it. There is nothing like being in nature and forgetting who you are; just sensing and being part of the wonder.

 

6. Fewer to no episodes of food poisoning

Back to the ick.

You know that feeling. I remember it well. You’ve had a meat or fish based meal, and a few hours later you start to feel a bit off. This feeling escalates into nausea, and carries on until you are begging sweet Jesus for your body to puke already. You puke. If you’re really unlucky you may even have elimination action going on at both ends. For a short while you feel good again…until the slow waves of nausea hit you once more. Rinse, repeat for at least forty-eight hours.

The bacterias that cause food poisoning all come from pathogens in animal’s intestines.  Why then, have we heard of tomatoes and spinach that have been recalled because of e coli and salmonella scares? Not because veg produce these bacteria, but because we have a big problem with intensive farming, and animal manure (which contains the pathogens) ends up contaminating fruit and vegetables. If you are careful to wash your fruit and veg you should be fine.

I’ve not had a single episode of food poisoning since being vegan – my partner neither.

 

7. Vegans smell sweeter in general*

OK, another silly (yet true) one.

We know that high meat protein diets such as Paleo and Atkins are based on achieving a state of ketosis in the body, where the body burns fat instead of carbohydrates, and the fat releases ketones into the body. Aside from ketosis being an unnatural and unhealthy state, one of the side effects of this is halitosis. More specifically, breath that smells of acetone. Yeah, good luck with that one!

This study, (Dr Michael Greger talks about it here) shows that men who ate red meat smelled less attractive than male vegans. Do you think Julien Blanc (you know, the guy that no-one wants in their country who ‘coaches’ sad sacks how to get girls) knows this? 🙂

Eggs contain concentrated amounts of choline. This compound can cause you to smell of rotting fish. Nice.

Lots of whole, unrefined carbohydrates, nuts, beans, legumes, seeds and plenty of fruit and veg will keep you sweet and fragrant!

 

*unless they’ve just eaten a ton of garlic/onions/marmite!