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Is It REALLY Difficult To Get Kids To Eat Healthy, Plant-Based Food?

Apple from Flickr via Wylio
© 2012 Tea, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

OK, so I have to start by saying I don’t have kids.

But I know a tonne of kids; was an au pair for four years, and regularly look after kids now (this obviously includes feeding them!).

AND, for the longest time I’ve been an avid reader of vegan/plant-based family blogs where the children have either been brought up vegan from birth, or where the parents went plant-based after their kids were born, and subsequently endeavoured to improve their kids diets,

One thing I’ve observed and learned is this – parents have a lot more power than they think in this respect.

I KNOW there are a shedload of bad influences out there, all vying to push dairy products, chicken nuggets, sugar and processed junk on children, not to mention the added nightmare of peer pressure. But every kid faces the same societal forces, yet not every kid cares about them.

I’ve SEEN kids choose kale; I’ve SEEN kids choose the healthy option; and the common denominator behind all these kids were parents that were informed on nutrition and prioritised it for their kids, and shared this information with them (as much as they could, simplifying when necessary).

If you are a parent who is new to whole, plant foods; this is AWESOME – your kids can learn with you!

You can share the experience of learning, cooking and trying new foods as a family. If kids are as involved in this process as the parents, it may even be more effective this way.

Some kids are naturally adventurous and will go along with anything and try any food put in front of them. If you have one of these, congratulations – you win life!

If you don’t have one of these amazing creatures (and I’m very well aware you can have one of these AND a picky kid in the same family!), and you’re concerned your child won’t take to a healthier diet and will starve themselves rather than eat anything green; don’t give up hope. By nature of them being young, kids are malleable and flexible. They change their minds often, and now is the time to influence them positively around their food habits.

What CAN parents who are new to a plant-based diet do to get their kids to eat healthy?

In my opinion, these 7 things:

 

1. Greens are an absolutely VITAL part of a healthy diet, they are the sun in food form, and we need all the vitamins and minerals they provide.

Any science-loving kid will engage with the explanation of HOW the sun makes the leaves green and fills them with nutrients for us. If they understand WHY we need them, they may be more enthusiastic about eating them. Here is the science if you need to gen up (I did!).

One thing I’ve often heard that drives me crazy is a parent saying to another parent or friend ‘oh, (insert kids name here) doesn’t do greens’ IN FRONT OF THE KID!! Please NEVER say this! They’ll internalise it, it will become part of their identity around food, and it gives them a get-out to NEVER eat greens again!

Always talk in a positive, encouraging way when talking about greens and other veg. Talk about how great they are and how good they make you feel. Eat all veg joyfully in front of them!

I absolutely realise that sometimes this may take a while to have effect. If kids leave veg on the plate or say negative things about it, just ignore this and do the same thing the next day.

Changing any habit is a process, but if kids feel YOU have nothing but good energy around greens and healthy food, this cannot help but influence them eventually.

2. If kids have helped make a meal, they are more invested in eating it.

This may be more time consuming, but is a great way of getting them on board with eating healthier, and once they’ve made and eaten a certain food item, you don’t necessarily have to get them to help make it again – they’ll remember the fun they had helping make it the first time and will vibe off of that and want to eat it again.

Little ones can help breaking off the broccoli or cauliflower florets and popping them in the steamer for example, or they can create their own oats/dried fruit/berry concoction for breakfasts. Slightly older kids can weigh ingredients or help with cup measurements. I have a set of cups and spoons that are brightly coloured and kids naturally gravitate towards them ‘cos they look like fun.

harvest: enormous cucumber from Flickr via Wylio
© 2009 woodleywonderworks, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

3. Go shopping with the kids and give THEM the shopping list, and let them go seek everything out in the supermarket.

The more investment they have in the whole process, from procuring the food to preparing it, the more likely they are to eat it.

4. Kids, especially young ones, tend to GET that it’s not cool to have animals killed for us to eat. I wrote about that here.

When easing meat and dairy out of a kids diet, explain (again, in an age appropriate way), about your reasons for this, whether it’s for health, the animals, the planet, or all three. Just as for adults, understanding something can be the key to kids wanting to change.

5. If you have kids that have been used to burgers and sausages, I’ve found that if you give them tasty plant-based versions, they are not really any the wiser if you don’t tell them.

And if you DO tell them, and they understand that these burgers/sausages are great because no animal was killed for them, AND the burger is delicious – they will eat and enjoy it JUST THE SAME as if it was meat. It’s probably the ketchup they care more about anyway (which is full of sugar, but sometimes you have to pick your battles!)

Yes, these foods are not always optimally healthy, but you only need to use them while transitioning and getting kids used to not eating animals (It can really help kids at first if the new food they are eating RESEMBLES the food they were previously eating). And don’t forget – veggie burgers and sausages are STILL healthier than their animal flesh counterparts, as they contain zero cholesterol, oodles less saturated fat, zero antibiotics and zero hormones.

6. It’s all about taste, texture and fun.

Seek out recipes for healthy food that is attractive to kids. Here’s some (Dreena Burton is fab!). Here’s more.

7. Patience, patience and more patience are required

(I’m a fine one to talk about patience – I have zero. It’s probably a good thing I have zero kids!).

It will take more time to prep meals with kids helping. It will take time communicating the value of certain foods and why you no longer eat others. Depending on your previous eating habits, you may need more time in the kitchen than before. And yes, your kid may well tell you to stuff that broccoli up your bottom, and you may end up throwing away uneaten food at first.

Your efforts will pay off though, I promise. Excitement and energy around delicious, healthy food is contagious – your kids will catch it eventually!

 

As I mentioned right at the beginning, I am writing this based on my experience of being with, talking to and looking after lots of kids, and reading about the experiences of a whole bunch of vegan families.

However, it can always be thrown back in my face that I’m not a parent.

I guess I get this.

So, if you are a parent facing the challenge of getting your kids to eat healthier, I would LOVE to hear your experiences, and if you have any other (or better!) ideas, feel free share them with us in the comments.

 

Should We Respect The Choice To Eat Meat?

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When people say ‘I respect your choice to be vegan, you should respect my choice to eat meat’; should we?

No.

We do not have to do this.

And there are two big fat reasons why:

 

1. Eating meat has several highly negative ramifications that impact others, NOT just the one eating meat.

Would you purposely take an action if you KNEW it would harm others?

If choosing to eat meat was as unimpactful on others as choosing to wear a blue T-shirt on a Tuesday, then fine.

However, meat-eating not only affects the animal that has lived and died horribly; but the farming of animals is the prime factor in ALL forms of environmental degradation, and diverts to animals grain that could otherwise feed the world’s hungry.

Thus, someone eating meat is negatively affecting MY/OUR environment (and, let’s not forget, the environment of their own families!). How can this be respected? How can we respect an act that serves ONLY the self and doesn’t pause to think about the inevitable consequences to other beings? Especially when there is no NEED to eat animal products when:

A) We live longer and healthier without them

B) A plant-based diet can be as delicious, tasty and varied (oftentimes more so) than a standard diet

2. Unless you were veggie from birth and then decided to eat meat later, NOBODY has really, with their own agency, CHOSEN to eat meat.

Let me explain:

Eating meat is the mainstream diet, so meat-eaters have made ZERO choices. Society chose FOR them. They’ve basically just carried on eating what their parents/guardians fed them from infancy and never questioned it!

Unless someone is obviously not in a position to have been informed, or to understand the consequences of eating meat i.e. if they clearly have learning difficulties etc, then I unashamedly DO NOT respect the consumption of animal products.

How do we communicate this if someone asks us to respect their choice?

All we can do is point out the reasons I’ve discussed above as to why this is impossible.

We can also do this as compassionately as possible, remembering that there was a time when WE ate animals and hadn’t taken these issues on board.

If the person you’re talking with is not ready to hear what you’re saying and comes out with defensive ignorant crap – just walk away (though ideally you’ll know enough about this person initially to assess whether it’s worth speaking out).

I might be being a little optimistic, but when I think about it, I haven’t had anyone ask me to ‘respect their choice to eat meat’ for a long while. Perhaps this is a signifier that society IS waking up to all the facts concerning all the negative impacts of meat-eating, and even if we are not, collectively, ready to change, maybe perceptions have nevertheless shifted and we are now aware that meat-eating is not respectable? I hope this is the case.

You’d Never Know It From Social Media, But Dogs And Dolphins Aren’t The Only Abused Animals

Good grief!

All I see in my twitter feed is pictures of mangled up dogs and dolphins!

Don’t worry; I’ll not post any here. As you can imagine they ain’t pleasant.

Now of course I care about the fate of dogs and dolphins, but here’s why all the attention on these two animals annoys me:

It’s like they are the easiest animals to feel compassion towards.

Everyone loves dogs because they are our pets. They are furry and sweet and respond when we call their name. They are often subservient to humans.

We love and value dolphins because we are told they are intelligent. We know they are friendly towards us and have often saved human lives. We are fascinated by their mysticism and otherworldliness, and the fact that we still don’t know much about the way they communicate. People like to ‘swim’ with captive dolphins in theme parks.

It seems that because we ‘know’ dogs, and we ‘exoticise’ dolphins – we care about them more than other non-human animals.

It also seems like some people pick a well-loved animal to campaign for, perhaps in an attempt to prove (though to whom I don’t know!) that they are good people and love animals – and to distract themselves from the fact that they are not vegetarian or vegan, and so don’t have as massive an effect as they could on reducing animal cruelty.

This is commonly known as ‘selective compassion.’

Picking one animal to fight on behalf of implies that that animal is more worthy than others.  DSCN8490

I get that some animal species are endangered and this is why their survival may seem to need to take precedence, but the truth is that an individual animal in any oppressed group is endangered, and the only reason there are a tonne of chickens and cows in existence at any one time is because we over breed them unnaturally for commercial gain. They are bred TO BE brutalised. *

I can’t see that one situation is worse than another.

How can we care more about the fate of dogs and dolphins when:

– The cruelty meted out to cows (in the meat, dairy and leather industries) daily is beyond comprehension and on a far greater scale than to dogs and dolphins

– Don’t even get me started on the sheer scale of cruelty to chickens (in the poultry and egg industries).

– Pigs? Lambs? Foie gras geese? Minks and other animals skinned for fur?

– The capacity of any animal to suffer and their desire to live a life free of pain is exactly the same as ours!

Isn’t this like caring more about racism when it’s directed at one race rather than another? Shouldn’t we be fighting racism wherever we find it existing against ANY oppressed group?

Doesn’t ANY being that is mistreated for being ‘other’ deserve our compassion?

Any Farm Sanctuary worker will tell you that cows, pigs, sheep and chickens all have distinctive personalities, and are friendly towards human animals and love being petted JUST as much as dogs – it’s just that we are never exposed to these animals enough to experience this for ourselves.

Turkeys ADORE human company, being petted and sitting on laps.

Have a watch…

In my opinion, we all need to work to stop the unnecessary brutalising of any living being, not just those that are perceived as cuter or more intelligent.

It’s the ‘feeling entitled to brutalise’ that is the stem of the problem, not the choice of animal.

*You should know there is graphic content contained in most of the videos I’ve posted links to here. If you can – and especially if you are unaware of the way these animals are treated –  please watch one or two; it’s reality!

Also, no matter if the video is from the US, Canada, the UK or Australia, these practises are common everywhere.

 

Do Vegan Parents Really ‘Impose’ A Vegan Diet On Their Children?

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I want to address something I’ve read quite often in comments sections following articles about vegan parents bringing up vegan kids.

It’s this worn out old chestnut:

I think it’s disgusting and selfish that you impose YOUR diet on your children. Kids should be able to choose how they eat, and they are missing out because of YOU!

I understand where that position comes from, but it’s ultimately an entitled and ignorant thing to say.

It comes from a very skewed perspective and needs to be called out.

Here’s why:

Does any child CHOOSE to eat a meat and dairy-centric diet from the time they start eating solid food? Isn’t THAT diet imposed on them? Just because it’s the mainstream diet, it doesn’t make it any less an imposition of an agenda on a kid.

When you look at all the health hazards we set our kids up for by feeding them animal products (ear, nose and throat infections, sinus issues, migraines, food poisoning, appendicitis, diabetes, the list is too long to complete here) does the status quo REALLY mean that much? Is it better to fit in with the herd than have a healthy kid?

When the kid is sick – aren’t they missing out on playing, learning and fun? I know I had copious ear infections as a kid, and chronic asthma and eczema. What with this and my fair share of colds, flu, and sickness – I must have (as most of us must have) missed weeks of my childhood.

Then there’s this:

In my experience, kids are NOT happy when they find out that animals are killed for meat. Some actually don’t join the dots until they are much older (and we can’t blame them for this – HOW the meat got to the plate is kept WELL-hidden from them by a myriad of societal and commercial forces), but I’ve seen myself that when very young kids – say, four, five, six years old – learn that an animal had to be killed, they are not on board with this.

As vegans, we are in a position to see this first hand. Friends kids often ask me why I’m vegan, and when I tell them about the ethical reasons (I don’t get graphic about this, I just keep it simple, I’m not into scaring kids!) they are sometimes in a state of disbelief. They’ve said things like ’I know about cows but chickens aren’t killed when we eat them are they?’ Now this seems a silly thing to say, but I read it as the child in question not wanting to believe that THAT MANY chickens are killed ALL THE TIME.

Check out this video of a tot realising that the octopus on his plate had to be killed first:

 

 

I even know a kid who is very nervous around animals, so unlike most, he doesn’t particularly see them as friends – but even HE was not ok to learn that animals die for our food. He has an innate understanding of the animals right to live, run around and be happy just like him.

And it doesn’t make sense that we read our kids stories like Peppa Pig, and introduce them to a ton of friendly fictional and film animal characters that in real life we treat horrendously! Does your kid know that bacon comes from poor Peppa’s back?

Kids are often interested in environmental issues too – it’s in their interest, they will inherit the planet! But I also think they really get on board with things like recycling because they understand it. It’s also not difficult for them to understand that animal farming is more energy intensive than plant farming. They can easily comprehend that plants are grown directly to sell, while animals have to be fed with plants, then the animals are fed to us.

Because meat and dairy farming is the biggest contributor to all forms of environmental degradation, world governments are already encouraging us to eat less animal products for environmental reasons; and in the not too distant future – well within the lifetime of your child if they have an average lifespan – independent experts predict we’ll be entreated to eat NONE at all.

How will these children, as grown-ups, feel about the fact that meat was unquestioningly imposed on them as infants?

And I’ve never even explained to a child the impact that livestock agriculture has on world hunger, I think it would break their heart to know that we grow crops to feed animals to feed us  (WHEN WE DON’T EVEN NEED TO EAT ANIMAL PRODUCTS TO THRIVE – in fact, eating them is harmful to us!), and that other kids in poor countries die of starvation as a result, when the crops could have been grown to feed THEM.

As interest in veganism grows exponentially year on year, all this information will become mainstream, in fact, it’s already happening. Children today will come across all these facts sooner than we think. What will they make of the selective blindness, selective compassion, and lack of thought for the future that we passed on to them?

I’ve written here about how easy it is for children to eat plant-based. There are abundant plant-based treats and fun food, just far less of the health issues associated with a diet containing animal products.

I don’t have kids, but having experienced the health problems my childhood was riddled with, and knowing that kids have a natural affinity for the environment, and for other kids across the world less fortunate than them,  and for non-human animals, I absolutely couldn’t impose animal products on them.

7 Things Stopping You From Going Vegan

1. The word ‘vegan.’ thinking

So you don’t like the word ‘vegan’ because you feel it has lots of negative connotations?

Fine. If it helps, don’t call yourself vegan.

You can call yourself ‘plant-based’ or ‘plant-strong’ if you prefer.

Yes, I know there is a difference, ethically, between ‘vegan’ and ‘plant-based’ and that some vegans get het up about these terms being used interchangeably. I honestly DO get why, but I find this excluding and not helpful in encouraging people to eat this way.

You should say ‘plant-based’ if it feels better to you.

Or you don’t need to call yourself anything! You’re just someone that loves good and nourishing food, end of story!

2. It’ll be too difficult.

No, it won’t.

It could be more of a change for you if you are a self-confessed picky, junk food, unadventurous eater, sure, but it is still so do-able, there really is an entry point to suit EVERYONE!

If I have just described you, why not start slowly by switching your favourite junk food to vegan versions (just google ‘vegan burgers’ or whatever your poison – you’ll be surprised at the amount of entries there are with alternatives – we are nothing if not a creative lot!). Or try getting rid of a couple of animal products at a time (say, for a few weeks, till you feel comfortable enough to eliminate a couple more), and introduce two new plant foods (sweet potato and avocado for example) to your weekly diet.

It doesn’t matter what your starting point is, there is a way to do it slowly and easily, so it sticks!

And rather than framing it in your mind as something that’s going to be ‘difficult’ what about seeing it as an opportunity to expand your repertoire and discover delicious new foods!

3. My friends/relations will think I’m batshit cray.

I doubt it. Not in my experience, and I was vegan long before Beyonce made it kool.

There may be some that think it’s a bit ‘out there’, but it’s highly unlikely it will get in the way of your relationship. You don’t talk about food all the time do you? Just focus on what you always had in common. If the thing you always had in common was your love of burgers – well then introduce them to the delight that is a portobello burger!

4. It’s expensive.

No, it really doesn’t have to be.

You SHOULD prioritise and spend what you can on good food. Food is medicine, both preventative and even sometimes curative, and you KNOW you wouldn’t skimp on medicine!

I love saying ‘health is wealth,’ I really believe that if you spend what you can on nourishing food, you’ll be happy and healthy and everything else in your life can grow from there.

But that said, if you’re truly cash-strapped, it’s still easy to eat a tasty, healthy vegan diet. I’ve got you completely covered – just check out this previous post for some tips on how to stretch that vegan $ or £, or rouble or yuan!

5. I’ll have to spend aaaaages in the kitchen and I’m not a ‘kitchen’y’ person.

Guess what? It’s the same as if you’re a meat-eater. Granted, it’s advisable to spend time playing with recipes while first transitioning to vegan, especially if you don’t consider yourself very food savvy. You can get to know a wide range of tastes and textures so you always have great and satisfying ideas for what to eat for your next meal.

But even if you refuse to do ‘kitchen;’ and even if you’re the ‘ready meal’ king or queen, there are plenty of vegan ready meal options these days, most of them very healthy!

In the UK, try Innocent Pots (available in Sainsbury’s), or any of Dee’s Wholefood pots.

Ready meal types in the US try any of these products. I’ve had the black bean and lime soup from this range and it was surprisingly tasty. You just add water – what could be easier? And there are always several vegan options available at the hot and cold bars in Whole Foods, and some vegan choices are already pre-made and packaged in the refrigerated aisles, if you’re really short on time.

Please do try and spend some time at least one day a week in the kitchen though – if you make a big pot of soup or stew, it’ll last you for the next few days and THAT will mean you don’t have to cook for a while!

 

6. I knew a vegan once and they were obnoxious.

Sweet Lord! Have you never known an obnoxious meat-eater? Did they influence your opinion of all meat-eaters? Yes? Then you have issues too big for me to help with.

Look, an a-hole is an a-hole, vegan or no.

And some vegans ARE going to be obnoxious. To an extent this is understandable. I’m not remotely excusing this, but this can happen to new vegans especially.

They’ve just had their mind-blown by life changing information, and everything around them is geared towards meat-eaters. New vegans are acutely aware of the cruelty carried out on non-human animals every second, and are often well-informed about animal products being the number one environment destroyer. It’s difficult to watch people act blindly and unthinkingly, and to watch destructive behaviours legitimised and reinforced by greedy corporate interests, and I definitely feel angry about that myself sometimes – we’re HUMAN!

BUT, as a vegan lifestyle is defined by compassion, in general we try and extend that to everyone. I appreciate there will always be the bad apple, but I can honestly say, the vegans I know are kind, funny, friendly – JUST LIKE LOTS OF NON-VEGANS.

7. But baaaaaaaaycun…

Really?

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You really want the flesh off this little guys back?

If you ate bacon so much previously that you genuinely miss it, there’s always vegan bacon while you’re transitioning (in UK here, in US here). True, it ain’t exactly healthy – but neither’s bacon!

Unsalted and unprocessed back flesh from a pig would kinda taste like nothing. It’s actually the salty, smoky, fatty flavour and texture that you crave, so you can recreate this taste and the whole ‘mouth feel’ of bacon yourself, very simply, like this.

 

Review Of 222 Vegan Restaurant in London

222 vegan restaurant on North End Road in West Kensington is nothing if not a London vegan institution.

I’ve been there lots of times over the years for lunch and dinner, and it rarely disappoints.

It was my partner’s birthday last week, and we were both so busy, we couldn’t be bothered thinking of somewhere new to go to celebrate, so we figured we might as well go back to 222 – it’s not too far from us, and we knew it’d be good.

Like a ninny I forgot to take a photo of the exterior (so in a hurry was I to get to the food!), but you can get an idea of the feel of the restaurant from their instagram page – as well as perving over some top food porn!

Also, apologies in advance for the poor pics. The lighting wasn’t great, and the seating with better light that would have favoured the food pics wouldn’t have favoured ME, so I had to make a choice. You understand.

The space is small, but not cramped, and if you bag one of the window seats you’ve got the sweetest spot, in my opinion.

The decor has recently been revamped, and though it is still a simple and warm rustic style overall, they’ve installed mirrors down one of the walls, which personally I’m not a fan of. It’s obviously the old trick to make the space look bigger, but I find mirrors in your face while you’re at dinner distracting and off-putting – and we’re not stupid – we can SEE the room is small, but it doesn’t matter at all as long as you don’t feel cramped or squashed up in it, and the tables are set in such a way here as to avoid this, so the mirrors really aren’t needed.

The owner, Ben, has nearly always been on site when I’ve been there, supervising and checking everything is running smoothly. He is such a humble presence however, that I didn’t realise he was the owner till someone told me.

They’ve had the same menu for a while now, and it works. There’s enough variety of tastes and textures to please everyone, and we’ve been there so much we know what is good and what ain’t so great (there’s only a couple of dishes in this latter category, most everything else is highly recommended). Usually I can never quite choose between at least three of the main dishes, so it’s still exciting.

The absolute, hands down, best starter here is Hearts Desire  ‘specially selected artichoke heart sauteed with fresh aromatic herbs served on a bed of rocket leaves with a roasted pepper sauce.’

The artichoke positively melts in your mouth and the sauce compliments it so perfectly it’s hard to keep from making the ‘oooohhmmmmmm’ noise with every bite.

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We shared this and some wholemeal pitas with homemade hummous, guacamole and pimento dip.

The only choice of starter that, in my opinion, isn’t up to scratch here is the bean and tofu pancake. It’s not bad, per se, just not as tasty as the other options.

I was actually craving Indian food (I’m a true south Londoner!), and knew the chick pea curry here was fantastic and authentic tasting, so I opted for that.

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My partner went for the Seitan Stroganoff:

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This is apparently a customer favourite. I have to say it was a (cashew) creamy delight, and the seitan strips would have fooled any meat-eater. With caramelised onions, red peppers and herbs, it had a sweet and delicate flavour.

Both mains came with organic brown rice (so refreshing; it’s REALLY hard to find brown rice in London restaurants), and all veg and herbs are always as fresh as can be.

The portion sizes, while generous, are not so much that you feel stuffed, and guilty when you have to leave some.

We also had a side of yummy garlic wholemeal (yay!) bread.

We ALWAYS have the same dessert, the Spice Island Pie. Behold:

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The menu describes it thus:  ‘A delicious raw dessert of cashew and almond cream flavoured with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg on a crunchy nut and coconut base. Sweetened with agave nectar’

 

 

 

It is divine. If I didn’t know what it was called, I’d think it was chai cheesecake.

 

 

They serve a small, but solid selection of vegan wines and beers, and for any cola or soda loving kids (or big kids!) you’ll find a cola and lemonade, both made with natural ingredients and sweetened with fruit juice.

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I’ll be going back again and again for as long as this restaurant is around and performs to this same high standard.

It is very reasonably priced – if you’re on a budget the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet HAS to be one of the best deals in town. I forget how much it is (and it doesn’t say on the website), but I remember it to have been extremely good value for the amount of delicious food I ate.

Personally, I love the fact that the food is health-focussed, with whole foods and sugar alternatives being used where possible.

Service is friendly, and wait-staff are knowledgeable. Though there has been a problem in the past with servers not speaking English to a high enough standard to understand customers, this time that was not the case.

Don’t fear bringing non-vegans here, the meat-eaters I’ve brought here in the past have all left happy, and review sites speak to the amount of omnivores surprised at how much they’d enjoyed a vegan restaurant.

If you are a vegan visitor to our city, and staying centrally, is it worth you travelling for twenty minutes to West Kensington to eat here? Absolutely! GET on that tube!

 

‘Simple Healing’ Podcast

Check out this podcast I did with Dr Mitchel Schwindt, a longtime A&E physician in Minnesota. Though he’s conventionally trained, he practises and is passionate about functional medicine,  which takes a holistic view of a patient and finds and treats the root cause of their problem by looking at things like diet and lifestyle, rather than just treating the outward symptoms.

He reached out through LinkedIn and I am thrilled to be included in his series of podcasts based on optimising health.

He was easy to chat to and made one of my first podcast experiences relaxed and delightful.

I emphasise – I haven’t done many of these (so don’t judge too harshly!) but I think I’ve just about found my ‘podcasting feet’ and hope to do lots more in the future.

My Favourite ‘Why Vegan?’ Books

The other day I was asked which books in particular have engaged and inspired me on my plant-based path.

It wasn’t a book that influenced me to GO vegan – because there weren’t really any books on the subject twenty-five years ago, just maybe a couple of sad recipe books showing how to make a very bland nut roast and other cliched vegan meals – that FYI – vegans almost NEVER eat. I can’t remember the last time I had nut roast; I’m not knocking it, there’s just NO reason it should ever have been the poster meal for vegans.

How things have changed, hoo boy!

How lucky we are now to have so many vibrant, creative and fun recipe books, and amazing voices speaking about this subject.

The recipe books I’ll post about another time. In this post I’ll cover my favourite ‘why vegan’ books.

The great thing is, today’s plant-based voices are from such a diverse crowd. It doesn’t matter who you are, there is a book/author that will appeal to you.

I can’t possibly write about all the books on the subject that have impressed, thrilled and re-inspired me, there are far too many.

But these are the ones that frickin’ BLEW MY MIND, and that I still refer back to even today:

 

1. ‘The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Change the World‘ by John Robbins

This was, I think, the first book I read that laid out ALL the reasons for ditching animal products. Until I read this, I just thought people went vegan for the animals and for some health issues.

Every impact that an animal product-based diet has, is explained here in a very accessible way.

It is full of powerful quotes and stats, and Robbins is also very knowledgeable about the food revolutioncorporate forces that have an interest in keeping us unaware of the damage meat, dairy, fish and egg farming do to us and the environment; and about the cruelty involved.

How do we know John Robbins is the real deal? As if this well-researched book crammed full of science and evidence isn’t enough for you to take his words on board, you’ll be interested to know that John Robbins was heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream company, but turned his back on it when he realised that the dairy ice-cream industry is not only part of the health problem, but also environmentally unsustainable and cruel.

Random excerpt:

…there is one question the meat, dairy, and chemical companies do not want people to ask, It is a question however that I find important. How much less cancer and suffering would there be if people were spreading information about true prevention with the same passion and zeal with which they are telling women to get mammograms and raising money for chemotherapy research?

 

2. ‘The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony‘ by Dr Will Tuttle.

THIS book is probably the one that had the most impact on me. We know the three reasons WHY vegan, but this book actually talks about even more wide-reaching and mind blowing impacts.

A main theme of the book is this:

The beliefs that make us think it’s ok to abuse and kill animals for meat follow the exact same thought patterns that legitimise sexism, racism, homophobia etc in the minds of the sexist, racist and homophobic. Every form of hate is the same. The object of hate – be they an animal, a world peacewoman or a Jew – is ‘other’ised by the hater.

We see all the differences between us and animals, and think it’s these differences that give us the right to use them. This is exactly what whites did to blacks during days of slavery, and what some men unfortunately still do to women.

Tuttle is saying that as long as we are maltreating ANY being in our society, we will never have world peace. This isn’t a new idea, Tuttle himself uses the quote by Isaac Bashevis Singer ‘As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together’, but he explores this in such depth and with such academic rigour (though it’s still very comprehensible, I promise!), that we are left in no doubt that this is a universal truth.

He talks about our ‘herding culture’ that led us to where we are today in terms of our beliefs and rituals around animal foods; and the meat-medical complex which actively pushes our continuation of these meat and dairy eating habits to support their interests.

So much more is covered, way too much to elaborate on here, but you end up seeing how the livestock industry and our animal ‘other’ising culture are actually connected to most of the worlds ills. Tuttle makes you see just how this fact is very intricately hidden partly with deliberate masking by various commercial powers, but also by general social conditioning which blinds us to it.

Random excerpt:

Refusing to see animals as commodities, we are able to see through countless other pretenses. And, as transformative as this is for an individual, it would be infinitely more transformative for our culture to do so, and to evolve beyond the absolute orientation that sees animals as mere food commodities.

 

3. ‘Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World‘ by Kathy Freston

I love Kathy. She must have influenced sooo many people into going plant-based with her accessible, compassionate, easy-going approach. If you want to help someone go plant-based but don’t want them to feel overwhelmed, intimidated, blinded with science or academics, this book is ideal.

It is set out in a simple, enjoyable way, with eight ‘promises’ – eight benefits you will see by veganistgoing plant-based.

Kathy is all about what she calls the ‘lean’ – leaning into a plant-based diet; doing it in an incremental, manageable way, so it is more likely to stick.

Like the other authors mentioned here, Kathy also talks about ALL the reasons for going vegan.

However, she is savvy enough to know that weight and health is a concern for lots of people, and that they may come to veganism for these reasons. She consults with experienced, very eminent plant-based doctors and lays out her interviews with them, but also uses stories by ordinary people whose formerly bad health has been transformed by a plant-based diet.

She offers very practical and implementable advice for optimising the weight maintenance and health benefits.

Random excerpt:

SO why have these high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets (think Atkins, the Zone, and Eat Right for your Blood Type) stayed around for so long? Probably because most of us have developed a great love for the taste of rich, fatty food and gratefully follow the advice of anyone who says it’s okay to keep eating it. Simple as that, really; we want to be told it’s okay (and good!) to keep doing what we’re doing.

 4. ‘The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet‘ by Alicia Silverstone

This book is great. Alicia is funny, entertaining, and just says it like it is. You COULD say this kinddietbook is for a younger crowd – that’s probably what the book publishers thought, but I think her style would appeal to any open-minded person with a sense of humour.

Again, she’s used her connections to the best plant-based doctors to help answer all the main questions people have and to dispel all the common myths.

Also like Kathy, she is compassionate about the different paths people are on and suggests three approaches according to what you think you can do:

Flirt – Try plant-based meals a few times a week, and switch out some animal products for plant-based products. When and if that feels ok, take another step

Vegan – Concentrate on going vegan first for as long as is necessary, before adding a whole foods health-based approach

Superhero – A whole foods, plant-based diet

There are also lots of recipes at the back of the book for every level of plant-eater!

Random excerpt:

…Maybe we should ask ourselves if we really even want to be meat-eaters. The carnivores of the natural world have quick, precise energy, but then they’re tuckered out and sleep for days. They are aggressive hunters with very little endurance. The herbivores, like horses or giraffes, not only have long-lasting energy and strength, but are generally a peaceful lot. Hmmm…

 

Other highly recommended books:

The China Study by Dr T Colin Campbell – This book talks, among other things, about how during research Dr Campbell undertook in China, it was discovered that upon injecting plant protein into a mouse with a tumour that the tumour decreased in size; but by injecting it with animal protein the tumour grew.

Dr Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs by Dr Neal Barnard – Does what it says on the tin; a MUST-READ if you or a loved one has diabetes.

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure by Dr Caldwell Esselstyn – Does what it says on the tin: a MUST-READ if you or a loved one has heart disease.

The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn – A ‘How to’ book. Will appeal to anyone, but particularly those men that think veganism is just for women 🙂

Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin – Very colloquial and humorous book about going vegan – not just to maintain a good weight, but for all the other reasons too (these are cleverly hidden behind the books pretext!).

 

When you’ve read all about ‘WHY’ vegan, you’ll  need to know the ‘HOW.’

You betta know I’m here to coach you, hold your hand and help you transition healthily to this joyful, mindful and compassionate lifestyle! I’ll show you just how easy it can be!

 

3 Solid, Everyday, SUPER QUICK Vegan Breakfast Choices

 

bed

 

We all know we should eat breakfast.

You don’t need ME to bang on about why you should eat this first meal of the day.

But I totally get that when you work early, or if you have to get kids to school, it’s easy to get into bad habits like just grabbing a coffee, then snacking on something less than healthy later.

The ideal breakfast solution therefore is something that is super-duper quick to make, hearty enough to fuel us until lunch, and tasty – to give us the incentive to eat breakfast every day.

Luckily, healthy quick vegan brekkies are a no brainer.

Here are three solid, ‘can’t go wrong’ breakfast choices that guarantee a healthful, energy-boosting start to the day. You can either have the same thing every day and just switch it up if you get bored, or have all three on rotation. Either way, any of these breakfasts will see you right.

 

1. Oats and raisins

IMG_5039

Your raw materials for this are oats (that’s porridge oats or steel-cut oats, NOT jumbo oats, they’re harder to digest), and raisins.

This is enough. This is perfect. If you only have enough time to throw this together, don’t worry, it’s already a superhero breakfast. Add either water (it works, trust me!), soy milk, almond milk or any other dairy alternative.

If you have time, and if you have them on hand, add any or some of the following:

  • 2 tbspns ground flax seeds
  • blueberries
  • raspberries
  • chopped strawberries
  • chopped banana
  • chopped apple
  • goji berries
  • chopped dates
  • chopped almond, brazil, walnuts
  • sunflower/pumpkin/sesame seeds
  • cinnamon

Yes, you could heat up the oats and water and make porridge, but it’s great as it is, and I’m trying to keep it as quick as possible. If it’s easy and quick it’s more likely to stick and become a habit even if you’re an ULTRA busy bee.

You can also sub brown rice for the oats. If you’re having an evening meal that involves brown rice, make some extra, let it cool, cover, and put it in the fridge for breakfast the next day. Top in exactly the same way.

 

2. Toast with peanut butter and banana

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Make sure the toast is wholemeal. Start with a lick of non-dairy spread if you need to, then add peanut butter and top with sliced banana. Add cinnamon if you like.

Yes, of course you could put anything on the toast, but I’m going for maximum nutrient input here, and for the topping that will give you the most energy. Among a whole host of other benefits, bananas will sort out your potassium needs (vital for heart health and maintaining healthy blood pressure levels); and the peanut butter, as well as having a nice array of vitamins and minerals, is also a great protein source. This breakfast is full of fibre, and thus great for keeping the digestive system sweet.

 

3. ‘Customised’ yoghurt

IMG_5080

Put a serving of any plain non-dairy yoghurt in a bowl. I use Sojade plain soy yoghurt as it’s sugar free. It’s always better to add your own sweetener so you can use a healthier option than sugar, and so you can judge just exactly how much you need. US peeps, this coconut yoghurt by So Delicious looks great.

Yoghurt will give you an excellent dose of ‘good bacteria’ (probiotics) to start your day. Your gut will thank you.

If you need to sweeten it up a tad, add maple syrup/agave/or brown rice syrup to taste.

Top with any or some of the following:

  • 2 tbspns ground flax seeds
  • blueberries
  • raspberries
  • chopped strawberries
  • chopped banana
  • chopped apple
  • chopped grapes
  • goji berries

 

There are plenty of fancier vegan breakfast recipes on the web – tofu scramble, breakfast muffins, homemade waffles etc. By all means seek these out for the weekends or any day you have time. But these three breakfasts ANYONE can fit into their schedule; they’re hyper kid friendly and they’ll power you through till lunch – or at least until mid-morning snack-time!

No excuses – Break that fast EVERY morning!

 

Is Eating Meat Manly? Not So Much It Turns Out

J. Lemm (LOC) from Flickr via Wylio
© 1910 The Library of Congress, Flickr | PD | via Wylio

In my social media feeds in the last few days, a male acquaintance of mine visiting New York has been posting pics of all the huge t-bone, rib-eye, left haunch, right flank, whateverthehelltheyrecalled pieces of dead cow he’s been chowing down on in the New York dead cow restaurants.

Aside from remarking that the portion sizes in these places are RIDICK, and not being able to believe that someone would just keep visiting steak houses in New York when it is a HUGE COSMOPOLITAN METROPOLIS for corns sake, and there are a wealth of restaurants from myriad ethnicities and what a shame to not try any of these; there was something else that struck me.

What struck me was the vibe of the comments these pics received from his male friends.

‘Is that all?’ (a photo of the hugest steak you’ve ever seen)

‘Get rid of the salad, you lightweight’ (said steak had approximately two leaves of arugula on top)

‘I hope that’s your starter?’

‘I’d polish that off in five minutes!’

You get the gist.

It would seem that it’s still perceived in some quarters as being ‘manly’ and ‘tough’ to eat meat. Especially steak. It’s funny how images of chicken or fish don’t get the same reaction. Are they perceived as being girls’ meats?

Firstly, let’s all just try and live up to being good humans rather than striving to be whatever the hell the constructs of ‘manly’ or ‘womanly’ are meant to mean.

This tired old trope of ‘manly’ meaning a strong, buff and ripped, unemotional, steak-chomping, highly sexual, princess-rescuing, world-saving male human needs to be blasted into obsolescence.

And is it really red meat that will help men fight dragons and slay demons with their pinkies, before finishing the day by giving a harem of swooning damsels a good seeing-to?

PLEASE NOTE – I’m absolutely NOT mocking men here, just the dumb gender constructs that some of society clearly still wants them to live by. These are just as harmful to men as those pertaining to women are to women.

But what does meat really do for men? From his book ‘The World Peace Diet,’ I’ll let Dr Will Tuttle explain:

Castrating millions of young male animals has another consequence for human males as well, for by eating the flesh and secretions of these castrated animals, men often gradually lose their sexual ability. Saturated animal fat and cholesterol residues inexorably clog the veins and arteries of their sexual organ and eventually not enough blood can get through to maintain an erection. On top of this humiliating and poetic consequence of macho brutality, eating animal foods has been positively linked with prostate cancer and with lowered sperm counts. Eating cruelty and death may fit a man into the culturally accepted model of tough masculinity, but this absurdity is revealed in his limp, impotent organ.

Er, yep – he went there!

And the embarrassing problem Dr Tuttle refers to here is actually an indicator for a much bigger problem – the killer that is heart disease. The science on that is here.

If that wasn’t enough, animal proteins are nothing but harmful to male fertility.

It turns out that steak really isn’t so dude-ly after all.

How do healthy vegan men compare to meat-eating men in this regard?

Vegan men have significantly higher testosterone levels than meat eaters, as this study shows as reported in the British Journal of Cancer (2000).

And of course, just as animal proteins with their saturated fats are not conducive to fertility, we can reasonably expect it to be the case that a vegan male eating a varied whole food plant-based diet would be more fertile.

It kind of follows that those invested in the concept of meat as ‘manly’ also seem to think meat makes men strong and gives them optimal stamina and endurance. They might want to check out these guys:

The world’s strongest man, Patrick Baboumian, is vegan

The world’s fastest ultra-distance runner, Scott Jurek, is vegan

Plenty of other male athletes, sportsmen and male bodybuilders are all achieving their best performances on a plant-based diet. Check out Brendan Brazier, Rich Roll, and Frank Medrano to name a few!

Susan Levin M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D., a board certified specialist in sports dietetics and director of nutrition education at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says:

A vegan diet is the perfect combination [for athletes]…It brings you healthy complex carbohydrate, healthy protein, and the vitamins and minerals you need, but avoids the saturated fat and cholesterol that interfere with health and athletic performance.

Conclusion

Let’s just stop projecting silly constructs like ‘manly’ onto any food, or indeed anything or anyone.

BUT, we can quite safely conclude that it’s actually a diet devoid of steak and indeed all animal foods, and one FULL of whole, plant-based foods that helps keep a man healthy, sexual, fertile, strong and at his optimal fitness level.