Archive for the ‘Vegan Lifestyle’ Category
Healthy Eating Or Green Living – Tips To Buying Foods
Thursday, September 17th, 2009Welcome back!
Whether You Call It Healthy Eating Or Green Living Here Are Some Tips To Buying Foods
Locally grown food is a great place to start when you are trying to follow healthy eating or green living lifestyles. Both lifestyles will benefit from eating organically grown foods from a local farmers market. You benefit in many ways including buying locally so that the local economy prospers from the fruits of the local farmer’s labor. Green living advocates will love the fact that organically grown food is done in a way that is environmentally friendly using only biodegradable pesticides and no toxins.
There is nothing quite like being able to talk to the person who grew your food to be sure that it was grown without harmful pesticides! It is also nice to be able to say thank you to the local grower who has provided you with fresh fruits and vegetables.
The number of farmers markets increased 2.5 fold between the years of 1994 and 2006. According to the USDA farmers markets account for approximately $1 million in local food sales. A significant part of local food sales is organic or natural foods. Looking at total foods sold, organic or locally grown foods probably only account for 5% or 6% of the total retail food market. This share will continue to grow as more individuals become aware of the benefits of buying from local food markets, including farmers markets. Typically producers of local foods are from smaller farms.
One reason people are choosing to buy locally grown foods is because they can purchase fresh, local foods that taste better than that found in grocery stores. Who hasn’t purchased a rotten, or wilted piece of produce from the store? The food you buy at a store is considered to be ‘industrial food’ because it follows a system designed to be economically efficient by producing foods that can be harvested mechanically, then packed and shipped long distances while still retaining a long shelf-life in the grocery stores. To achieve this long shelf life quality clearly equates to appearance of the food and not necessarily the quality of the nutrients and condition of the food.
Food safety is another reason why consumers are choosing to buy locally grown foods over commercially produced and distributed foods. This concern is what has driven the popularity of natural or organic foods higher as more people are learning about pesticides and hormone and antibiotic use in commercial foods. Individuals who buy food locally expect the produce to be free of the potentially harmful chemicals and biological residues found in industrial foods.
The American public are being educated through books and Websites about how commercially produced food is deficient in everything except calories and toxins. Commercially prepared foods have also been accused of false advertising, of using too many artificial ingredients and us using potentially harmful agrichemicals and food additives in order to prolong shelf life and keep profits high.
Scientific studies seem to confirm these consumer fears regarding industrialized food safety. The fears have as much to do with what has been taken out of foods as what has been added to them. Recent research has revealed that industrial foods are indeed lacking in nutrient density, meaning lacking in essential vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients that are a necessary part of a healthy diet. Such deficiencies in nutrients are linked to diet related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. When researchers compared nutrient density between industrial foods, organic foods, and foods prepared pre-industrial foods (1950s) they found that there is a link to the foods density and the changes in farming practices after the 1950s. These changes in farming practices have to do with standardization, consolidation, and industrialization of American agriculture.
These studies add credibility to the push to buy locally grown produce for those who desire healthier eating or green living lifestyles.
Seven Super Foods
Thursday, January 15th, 2009These fruits, nuts, and veggies are among an elite group of foods with special powers. In study after study, they stand out as true “superfoods,” able to improve our health and extend our lives. How? By destroying cancer cells, whisking away bad cholesterol, preventing infection, sharpening memory, and more. For recipes containing these foods, visit www.compassionatecooks.com
Main target: Age-related vision loss
Other benefits: Helps prevent birth defects (high folate content). May improve heart health.
Power Source: Lutein. – filters out the sun’s blue light and reduces ultraviolet radiation; both harm the eyes.
The latest: Though there’s no cure for macular degeneration–a leading cause of blindness after age 60–eating spinach may help. To see if upping lutein, the sight-saver in spinach, could improve vision, Illinois doctors added lutein to the daily diets of seniors with macular degeneration. A year later, not only had their sight loss stopped, it had actually improved, reported a major study in Optometry, April 2004.
Suggested daily dose: Six milligrams of lutein–the amount in a half a cup of cooked spinach. Just that much may cut the risk of macular degeneration by nearly half.
Tips: Cooking spinach releases its full store of lutein. Eating it with a little olive oil or another healthful fat helps the body absorb lutein.
2. Blueberries
Main target: Memory
Other benefits: Helps prevent urinary tract infections.
Power source: Anthocyanins. These potent antioxidants increase communication between aging brain cells, and fend off free radicals. Blueberries have the highest antioxidant power of the 20 most common fruits and berries, according to the USDA.
The latest: A compound in blueberries may also reduce cholesterol, the USDA announced in August 2004. The compound, called pterostilbene, works a lot like the anticholesterol drug Ciprofibrate–without its side effects. Pterostilbene also protects the heart much like Resveratrol, the antioxidant in grapes and red wines.
Suggested Daily Dose: On the strength of his memory studies, Tufts’ lead researcher James Joseph, PhD, downs one cup of blueberries daily.
3. Tea
Main Target: Cancers and heart disease
Other benefits: May reduce incidence of skin cancer. Improves oral health.
Power Source: Flavonoids. Tea is loaded with these antioxidants. One in particular–epigallocatech
in gallate–protects normal cells from cancer, keeps cancerous cells from multiplying and constricts blood vessels that feed tumors. In people with heart disease, EGCG lowers LDL and makes clots less likely to form.
The latest: Drinking three cups of black tea daily slashed heart attach rates by half in a 2002 Dutch study. Japanese researchers also found a 42 percent drop in heart attach among a cup-a-day green tea drinkers. Even after a heart attack, people who sip two-plus cups of black tea a day are less likely to die within four years than non-tea drinkers.
Suggested Daily Dose: As little as one cup, but for overall benefits, think four cups.
4. Broccoli
Main target: Cancers
Other benefits: Helps prevent birth defects (high folate content). Lowers the risk of heart disease.
Power Source: Sulforaphane. Broccoli is loaded with this phytochemical, which helps zap certain carcinogens. Also high in indoles, plant chemicals thought to inhibit breast cancer.
The Latest: Eaten regularly, the stalky green helps shrink the risk of many cancers, especially bladder. A nearly 50 percent drop in bladder cancer is linked to eating broccoli more that twice a week, versus less than once, reports a 1999 Harvard study.
Suggested Daily Dose: One cup
Tips: Steaming broccoli preserves some 90 percent of its phytochemicals versus 19 percent for boiling and 3 percent for microwaving, found 2003 research in Spain.
5. Tomatoes
Main Target: Prostate cancer
Other benefits: Reduces the risk of heart disease
Power Source: Lycopene. The colorful pigment–it makes tomatoes red–is loaded with antioxidants that are thought to be particularly good at thwarting cancer cells.
The latest: In 2003, the same Harvard researchers tracked prostate cancer in men over 65 years old with no family history of the disease. Those with the highest levels of lycopene had about half the prostate cancer risk of men with lower levels. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic are now giving lycopene (via tomato sauce) to men with advanced prostate cancer to see if it reverses the disease. Results are expected in 2006.
Suggested Dose: Twice a week
Tips: Because heat releases lycopene, tomatoes’ anticancer benefits come largely from the cooked fruit–canned, in sauces or juice. Lycopene enters the bloodstream more completely when it’s accompanied by a little fat, so saute tomatoes in olive oil.
6. Soy
Main target: Heart disease and cancer
Power Source: Isoflavones, which are plant estrogens. They seem to keep the body’s estrogen from stimulating tumors, and seem to cut cholesterol, but how isn’t clear.
The latest: Soy may also lower the risk of prostate cancer, and possibly slow or reverse the disease, suggests a 2003 Wayne State University study. When fed isoflavones (the main cancer killer in soy) for up to six months, 83 percent of men–all untreated–saw their prostate cancer indicators stabilize, a sign that the disease had halted.
Suggested daily dose: 15-25 grams of soy protein, about the amount in 2-3 cups of soymilk.
Tips: Soy’s benefits come in many forms–from soup (made from soymilk) to (soy) nuts.
7. Oats
Main target: Heart Disease
Other benefits: May lower blood pressure. Helps prevent hard arteries.
Power source: Bea-glucan. This spongy soluble fiber, which is what makes oatmeal sticky, is thought to sop up artery-clogging cholesterol and carry out of the body. There’s some evidence that it also may actually inhibit cholesterol production.
The latest: Oats help people who need it the most. When overweight German men with high cholesterol were put on a low-fat, high-oat bran diet in 2003, their LDL levels dropped 50 points, reports the University of Freiburg. Oats help those with normal cholesterol too. After eight weeks of oat bran boosting, Mexican men with normal cholesterol averaged a 37-point drop in LDL, found a 1998 University of Sonora study.
Suggested daily dose: About 3 grams of beta-glucan, the amount in 11/2 cups of cooked oatmeal.
*Excerpted from Vegetarian Times Magazine
How to Order a Delicious Vegan or Raw Meal at Any Restaurant
Saturday, December 27th, 2008
Have you recently resolved to eat a primarily vegan or raw-vegan food-based diet and are now wondering how you are going to dine out at regular food restaurants? This can definitely be a challenge following this sort of diet and lifestyle, especially if you want to maintain and hopefully grow your social life! Dining out at restaurants and in other peoples homes is definitely going to happen to. In fact-dining out is the most popular social activity of our culture.
Rest assured, it is definitely possible to eat a healthy, raw, satiating meal while out to eat with friends or family. The key here to maintaining your new healthy diet, as it is while traveling, is planning ahead and packing some food with you!
Most likely you’re going to be ordering a salad at the restaurant. Perhaps it will be a chicken salad without the chicken, a shrimp salad without the shrimp, or an order or two of the simple house garden salad. If the restaurant offers an organic or local salad–even better for you!
Options for customized salads are almost limitless. It’s easy to create your very own salad simply by scanning the restaurant menu for the salad ingredients and entree side vegetables. Now that you know what you have to work with, don’t be afraid to ask your server for a salad to be put together for you. Start with the greens of your choice and then for a variety of vegetables. If you usually have avocado on your salad, scan the menu for guacamole or extra avocado as a side. Even if you have to pay the extra money, if avocado on your salad is going to make your meal more pleasant, go for it.
It’s always a good idea to be as kind as you can when asking your server for special requests. They will most likely be more than happy to make sure you’re happy with the food. When your salad comes out, you might have your company turning their heads in your directions complimenting you on your choice and wondering where your dish was on the menu. For your salad dressing, healthy vegan options are olive oil and vinegar, the house vinaigrette, or some plain extra slices of lemon squeezed all over it.
Now, you may not get enough protein, fat, carbohydrates, or calories from this salad and this is where a bit of planning comes in handy. In your purse or pocket, you might want to bring along a handful or two of nuts or seeds, dried fruit (can be your dessert!), a raw food bar, or a whole grain bar, in a small plastic baggie. You’ll be glad that you did.
One of the worst things when eating out with friends and family is to still be hungry and thinking about eating while there is great conversation being made all around you. You want to feel comfortable and happy enough with your meal that you can be in the present moment and not give a second thought to what you just ate. This is probably the most important social aspects of succeeding with a special diet–to do whatever it takes to be happy and satiated with our meals out!
You could also supplement your salad with super-nutritious foods such as hemp seeds and sea veggies but be prepared, as this could definitely turn some heads. It depends on how comfortable you are around the party you’re with. There is a well-known raw foodist in Chicago who does this to her salads at cooked-food restaurants and swears by it. She knows it raises the vibration of the food before it reaches her mouth.
Some additional tips for vegans and raw foodists eating out at a regular restaurant:
Candied nuts and seeds often are added to salads and are coated with sugar so beware if you’re avoiding sugar or excess oil. Watch for cheese or dairy-based salad dressings that come automatically on the salad if you don’t ask for them to be held. A date or some dried fruit and a small piece of chocolate is a great idea to bring with you for your own personal after meal dessert, especially if everyone in your party will be ordering dessert after the meal. Plain steamed vegetables make a great side or entree to your salad if you’re not on a 100% raw food diet.
If you’re confident, comfortable, and relaxed about your meal options, your friends or family may not even notice what you’re doing. But if you’re feeling uncomfortable and ashamed about your diet then they’re going to be a lot more interested in you. Most likely, if you’re nonchalant, you will get some comments on how amazing your food looks at the very most!
If and when people ask about your diet, have a simple definition planned and memorized that you can give them. If you don’t want the entire dinner conversation to focus on your new diet, just say its how you prefer to eat right now or you’re trying something new out for a while. In a nutshell, choose your line and deliver it in a positive and confident way.
If going out with a larger group of people, you can always eat beforehand as well. Telling others that you just ate due to a late lunch usually fares well. If you’re going to be out and about for a while after the meal, you may want to bring some sort of snack or trail mix with you though just in case end up getting hungry later.
With all these tips under your belt, you will be able to eat out at any type of restaurant with your friends, family, co-workers, etc. Your diet should never hold you back from your social life. It’s just not sustainable or fun! Perhaps you could invite your friends to dinner at one of your favorite restaurants for the next gathering. It could be a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to a healthier way of eating and to show them how delicious and beautiful the food can be!
From a Vegan Point of View
Thursday, November 20th, 2008By Holly Strohl
This article was submitted by Holly Strohl. Holly is 34 years old, owns her own vending business and has been vegetarian/vegan since 1987. She states, “I wrote the article basically for myself and to give those around me a clearer understanding of why I have chosen this lifestyle and how much it means to me. It was through the convincing of friends and family that I decided to share it with others. Hopefully you will feel the same.”
What do you mean gelatin is made from animal bones? Soap is made from animal fat? Waiter is this vegetable soup made with a beef broth? A far cry from those younger omnivore years of “Hey, she got the steak bone last week! Give it up! ” My parents have still not come to grips with my 11 year old dietary change. Aside from the common questions such as, “Are you eating enough? What did you eat today? What are you eating later? Eat something, but what could you eat?”, they felt it had to be a fad because it is too crazy to go without the meat centered diet we have grown so accustomed to for centuries. They have come to accept (but not understand) my food preferences over the past few years, except for the occasional meat offering from my father who claims to conveniently forget every so often.
It all began when a friend had asked me to join her at Concordia University in Montreal to watch a film entitled “Hidden Crimes”. It is an honest and frightful documentary displaying the horrific methods used by the factory farms of raising and killing animals. Everything from the debeaking of baby chicks to carcasses hanging by their hind legs, still alive squirming from the pain of being slaughtered. I could not stop visualizing these animals in my mind. Thinking of their suffering and fear that we inflict on them so that we can have that palate pleasing meal, and then not give it another thought except what to cut up and serve for the next day. Without a moments hesitation, I went home and emptied out my freezer and vowed to never ingest another food that ever had a face again. I continued to stand by my new dietary change and felt better emotionally and physically.
I began doing extensive reading on vegetarian health, recipes, associations, etc.. I became a member of several organizations and decided to learn as much about this new responsibility I had undertaken as I could. I began to learn what had originally started out as an ethical obligation to animal kind was in fact twofold. It was an obligation to myself as well. To eat healthier and take better care of my body which is what results when you follow a well balanced vegetarian diet. I experimented with new recipes and new foods. I familiarized myself with common vegetarian staples and made sure I knew of all the best health food stores. It makes me laugh when people ask, “How many ways can one person eat carrots?” It is this ignorance that will continue to exist as long as people are kept in the dark of what really goes on in the factory farms. It is true that some, whether this realization is brought forward or not, may not have the compassion to make such a change and sacrifice. Although, even if it touches just one more person, then hey – that is a lot less squirming cows to think about.
There came a point however where I had to reflect upon my own thoughtlessness and inconsistencies. The same animals I would not put in my mouth, I would not think twice to put on my body. So out went the leather shoes, purses, belts, jackets, etc… only to find that they do make fashionable items in synthetic fibres which are just as nice, not to mention, a little cheaper. It also made me think of the treatment of laboratory animals and animals in captivity (zoos and circuses). We do not have the right to dictate what kind of existence these species are to endure. Due to the fact they cannot speak or communicate in ways in which we feel are comparable to our own, does not mean they do not feel fear. I believe we owe the same to these special species we share our world with.
Aside from the animal rights aspect of the movement, there is also an agricultural issue to contend with. How many people could be fed if we were to reduce our meat consumption by just 10 percent for just one year you ask? 60 million. Which translates into 12 million tons of grain. The arguments and facts are endless. Animal rights organizations have reported to have tremendous membership increases over the past few years which is indicative of what increasing public knowledge can do to help.
So for the peace of mind of my parents, I have never felt healthier or stronger. Gone are the days where my idea of getting my serving of protein, vegetables and fruit was a Big Mac, French Fries and an Apple Pie. (I can hear some of you saying “Sounds O.K. to me” ).
As far as raising my children is concerned, they will be raised as vegans. Although, if they ever choose to discover what meat, fish, poultry or any other animal product tastes like, they will not be refused. They will however, be reminded of what it is they are eating, and the choice will be theirs. As far as my husband to be is concerned, the chances of finding him at this point are slim pickin’s, so to think that he will be vegan to boot… I don’t think so. But I’m sure with a few concessions and several good meals, it will work itself out.
So I shall continue to irritate my dinner hosts and send waiters/waitresses into an early retirement by not closing my eyes to the callous inhumane treatment we put these innocent creatures through and hopefully, in time, others will realize the same and turn to all the wonderful food alternatives there are out there waiting to be experienced and enjoyed. So for all of you wondering how many ways there are to cook carrots, have a seat you’ve got so much to learn!
This article was published at VegWeb.com on July 01, 2006
