Do you take a B12 supplement now? Any others or just that? Do you need a higher does with a higher rate of activity?
I do take B12, but most soymilks like Silk have it. I happen to drink the stuff from Trader Joe's, which doesn't. (Soymilk is also usually loaded with sugar, so you have to get the unsweetened kind. After you've been on it for awhile the sweetened stuff will taste bad.)
A very unfortunate result of mass food production is the nutrition per calorie is much lower than farm-fresh, locally-grown food. And even that is lower than it once was because taste, color, productivity and disease resistance are the factors that drive plant breeding now, not nutrition.
In the beginning, we all thought it would mean missing out on yummy foods and having to chew on stuff like celery... But 3.5 of my kids, their 4 spouses, and two dozen of our friends are loving it -- and the results are amazing.
It's only fair that the 0.5 kid come on here and give his opinion. Until I left college, I had been very active in sports all my life (soccer and long-distance running mostly). When I moved out to California and joined the SmugMug team, I couldn't find many soccer games and lost my interest in running.
Until that point, I had been underweight. I was always the really skinny kid that couldn't put on any muscle. But I had also been a junk-food addict my entire life. So when I stopped playing sports, I finally started putting on weight and not the good kind.
I was the last one to adopt the vegan thing and I'm still only partially into it. My family got me a powerful blender for Christmas and I started to ease myself into it. I hate cooked vegetables with a passion, so I already lose out on a huge selection of vegan foods.
I started by simply not purchasing milk or meat from the grocery store. I still occasionally have meat when I eat out, but I replaced it in my home with soy milk. I drink two or three smoothies a day, mostly frozen fruit, carrots and soy milk. I also started eating a lot of bread and pasta.
Now I generally have a huge fruit smoothie for breakfast, drink a few Odwalla's during the day and have a light lunch (occasionally with some meat or junk food), and a smoothie with a mostly vegan dinner. I still can't give up cheese entirely though.
Knowing how much I hated cooked vegetables and loved junk food, I never thought I would make it this far. About 80% of my diet every day is vegan.
Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.
An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity.
Okay, so last night I'm lying in bed readingThe China Study. My wife is watching TV in the neighboring room. And my reading is interrupted by a commercial. Wendy's Sandwich o' the Month . . . . The Baconator!!
Baconator
Six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two 1/4 lb.* patties of fresh, never frozen, beef. Complete with two slices of American cheese, mayo and ketchup for a mountain of mouth-watering taste. Go on, obsess a little.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
I laughed out loud at the contrast. Can a commercial clog my arteries??
Tonight I was eating a salad for dinner, while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flaw. They were battling for the best Mac and Cheese. One dish was 2000 calories a serving.
I also did some more grocery shopping today and in many ways shopping Vegan can be a lot quicker, there are so many items that are on the no list and you can skip entire aisles. I think my bill was a little less than usual too.
I do take B12, but most soymilks like Silk have it. I happen to drink the stuff from Trader Joe's, which doesn't. ..
I just looked on the side panel of my T.J.'s soymilk, and B12 is in there. I drink the Vanilla soy milk which I'm pretty sure has been sweetened quite a bit and probably enough to be killing me slowly.
My Smugmug
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Ah, sorry - it's my umbrella term for lumping together vegetarian and vegan folks where applicable ... I'm supremely lazy :.
We're planning on letting him self-wean. He'll be supplementing his diet with breast milk as long as mommy can stand to pump and as long as he can stand to have milk from a cup. We're weaning from the bottle starting just today.
For selfweaning ~ that's so great to hear!
to your selfless, amazingly dedicated wife! Pumping is hard work and it takes a special type of person to keep at it, especially beyond a year. I pumped and dumped while at work just to relieve pressure ... major props to your wife and other moms who exclusively pump or mainly pump to give their babies bestmilk.
And for a quick and effortless transition from beloved bottle to cup.
Good to know there is someone out there that has gone through this. Sometimes the best you can is good enough, that's good to remember. So thanks for that.
I loved living overseas, but it was certainly a challenge. Y'all are going to do great, no matter how much or how little .. how quickly or how slowly .. you incorporate the changes.
I've yet to read the China Study, but I'm curious to. I looked for it at my library today, no luck I'll wait for your review of the book and some highlights . A book that really got my husband to limit his meat intake was Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman. Someone left it on a flight I took, it was a total fluke that I found it ... a quick, great read. A cattle rancher turned vegan, food for thought!
How & what to do you substitute sugar or other items with?
There are a few different options, and it usually depends on what I'm making/baking but here are some possible substitutions:
Pureed Fruit ~ I usually use this in something like pancakes or crepes or anything with batter that is cooked (not baked). I have friends who feed their babies jarred food, so I always ask for their glass jars and fill them with my own seasonal fruits. I always have some on hand in my freezer. I actually also keep a few new/unopened jars of baby fruit purees in the pantry just in case the freezer ones have burn. Jarred food kind of grosses me out, but there are some pretty decent brands available now that don't have all of the filler.
Raw Sugar ~ I buy Sucanat. It says you can use it 1:1 as you would table sugar, but it is supersweet so I always quarter or halve the measurement. I use this for cereal or salad dressings or sauces. Sometimes baking if I don't want to fiddle around with reducing liquids, etc (which is necessary when substituting a liquid for the sugar).
Brown Rice Syrup ~ this is what I use most for baking. It's not nearly as sweet as sugar, and that appeals to me. I also use it for some veggies in place of honey (I personally USE honey but not all of my friends do - this is what I use when cooking for strict vegans).
Black Strap Molasses ~ I use this in hot cereal, and it is DIVINE. I also use it in stir fry sauces because it is nice and thick.
I've heard many people refer to Stevia, but I've never used it and honestly I'm not really sure what it is ... other than it is potent and you only need to use a little bit . I'm curious to try it, just haven't.
How & what to do you substitute sugar or other items with?
By far the best sugar substitute is Stevia...it has no glycemic index, no calories and is approx 75 to 400 times more sweet than sugar and yes you can cook and bke with it......the white powder has no medicinal properties band it cannot be sold as a sweetner but has to be sold as a dietary supplement....however Wally world places it on the shelf next to the sweetners.......I do not like the liquid as it did not seem to sweeten my drink at all and I used over 4 times what was recommended....I perfer the "NOW" brand to the more expensive "Sweet Leaf" brand.....and for most of my sweetening I use the dried leaves placed directly into my tea reciepes (whether black, green or Mushroom (ganoderma lucidium) teas)........
I know when I was in the Czech Republic that I mostly ate vergatarian but also ate a lot of cheeze and harder breads and lost weight and had no ill effects from the cheese like I would have had heree eating 1/4 pound of cheese for breakfast with a roll......and the fruits and veggies oever there had real honest to god to die for flavor......I did not realize how bad our food is in this country and my realization became intensified after talking to a Czech farmer...our fruits and veggies {and this includes our so called organics} are absolutely loaded with chemicals (yes even the organics can have a certain percentage of steroid and other chemicals in them and if your meat comes from any store it is loaded also......the only meat that comes close to being healthy in this country is the wild- you gotta hunt it- clean it- and grill it- yourself kind of meat................
I do use some meat substittutes - beef flavored TVP granuales for chili and beef flavored TVP Chunks for stews.............
I've heard many people refer to Stevia, but I've never used it and honestly I'm not really sure what it is ... other than it is potent and you only need to use a little bit . I'm curious to try it, just haven't.
HTH
I would send you a taste but I think the posta service frowns on sending white powder thru the mail :D:D
A lot of garden centers (where you buy plants and trees) are selling potted Stevia plants as they can ge grown as a house plant.
A book that really got my husband to limit his meat intake was Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman. A passenger left it on one of my flights, it was a total fluke that I found it ... a quick, great read. A cattle rancher turned vegan, food for thought!
The book is good but nothing like actually meeting Howard and hearing his stories in person....btw...he has the habit of leaving those lying around on airplanes as he flew to different engagments worldwide...got mine autographed :ivar
It's been a week since I started this thread and changed my eating habits. Lots of fruit, salads, Kashi bars, nuts, sesame sticks, etc. Water and white tea to drink, some fruit juices. Fish once in a while, no meat so far.
I haven't been hungry or tired, and other than a few *ahem* digestive adjustments I feel fine.
I have lost 5 pounds and this morning I fit into 35" jeans that hadn't fit me in almost a year.
Wonder what would happen if I actually got some exercise, too?
By far the best sugar substitute is Stevia...it has no glycemic index, no calories and is approx 75 to 400 times more sweet than sugar and yes you can cook and bke with it......the white powder has no medicinal properties band it cannot be sold as a sweetner but has to be sold as a dietary supplement....
I'd never heard of Stevia so did a quick google and came up with this on the UK Government's "Food Standards Agency" website. If you're looking for a healthy option I'd look again
How & what to do you substitute sugar or other items with?
So, I'll tell you what we do: If it's a decadent dessert, we bake with the real stuff: sugar, cream, butter, and white flour. How often does that happen? Twice a year for my cinnamon rolls, maybe 4 times a year for my husband to indulge in strawberry shortcake or pecan pie or chocolate souffle.
Basically, we face the fact that cheesecake is not going to be healthy, no matter what we change. And, changing stuff makes it taste not-as-good so a small slice is not nearly as satisfying.
If it's baking something with health potential, like waffles, muffins, banana bread, etc, we look for recipes that use canola oil rather than butter or shortening, fruit as a sweetener (like triple berry waffles, or banana oatmeal waffles), and we usually substitute at least half the flour for whole wheat flour.
I bake homemade whole wheat bread every week and it's got a little honey and oil in it, otherwise it's vegan and 100% whole grain.
I've also made whole wheat flat bread, which turned out to be really good. No compromises there, either.
Basically, we face the fact that cheesecake is not going to be healthy, no matter what we change. And, changing stuff makes it taste not-as-good so a small slice is not nearly as satisfying.
Yeah, like that Fat Free Philly Cream Cheese! :puke
Tastes like plastic. Some foods I just do without. I'm not sure the substitutes are really any better anyway.
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to. Oh well."
-Fleetwood Mac
0
BaldyRegistered Users, Super ModeratorsPosts: 2,853moderator
An eye-popping thing to do is follow the money. Coca Cola has an annual marketing budget of $5 Billion. And they have so much power with retailers they can get lots of shelf space for, say, artifically colored, salted, corn-syrup water (Gatorade) -- and they've done a good job with most consumers to get them to believe it's kinda healthy, helping Michael win championships.
The numbers for fast-food marketing (MacDonald's), junk food marketing (Doritos), unclog your arteries marketing (Lipitor), meat and dairy are just staggering. It's where the profit is.
Even orange growers have some budget because of the profits in orange juice, so they convinced us oranges are the best source for vitamin C. Actually, their C content is a third of broccoli, for example, but there's not much profit in broccoli so the word didn't get out.
I never thought I was the victim of advertising like all the "suckers" out there. After reading Eat For Life...oh how wrong I am! Broccoli alone gives meat and most fruits a beat down in the protein and vitamin content. I never knew that and was amazed at that and all the other great info in the book.
I'm being honest with myself and really assessing my willingness to commit to a mostly vegetarian diet. Years of meat and sweets has seriouslly damaged my mental view of food. So far...I'm not sure I have the willpower. I know one day is not enough data, but I tried following Dr. Furhman's three meal a day eating plan for one day and found myself extremely "hungry feeling" between meals. I put that last bit in quotes since I understand most of us (me definitely) don't know what true hunger feels like and mistake it for detox. That's typically where I break down and feel the need to snack.
For those that have committed to this change, about how long does the discomfort last?
Also, Dr. Fuhrman is pretty hardcore against vitamin A and *-carotene derivatives in multi-vitamins. Besides his own brand has anyone found a vitamin A free multi?
For those that have committed to this change, about how long does the discomfort last?
I never had any hunger discomfort. I just eat all the time! But it takes your digestive system a couple 2-3 weeks to settle in to a new comfort zone ....
I never had any hunger discomfort. I just eat all the time! But it takes your digestive system a couple 2-3 weeks to settle in to a new comfort zone ....
Please. No one switch to this diet right before the Glacier Shootout.
I never had any hunger discomfort. I just eat all the time! But it takes your digestive system a couple 2-3 weeks to settle in to a new comfort zone ....
I'm being honest with myself and really assessing my willingness to commit to a mostly vegetarian diet. Years of meat and sweets has seriouslly damaged my mental view of food. So far...I'm not sure I have the willpower. I know one day is not enough data, but I tried following Dr. Furhman's three meal a day eating plan for one day and found myself extremely "hungry feeling" between meals.
I can't be hungry and last. That's one thing about Fuhrman, he's a better man than I am if he can eat low calorie meals 3 times a day and that's it. I snack between meals all day long, it seems. And sometimes I'm not satisfied with a snack of veggies or fruit -- I want whole grain bread and hummus or some kind of nut butter.
Dr. Fuhrman is only 155 pounds.
Also, I planned to moderate on things like cheese like Anne does, the idea being it isn't what you eat occasionally that counts, it's what comprises 90% of calories.
But as it turns out, I never moderate because after awhile you lose the temptation. And for me, moderating seems to re-kindle old fires, like I imagine smoking 3 cigarettes a day would do.
An eye-popping thing to do is follow the money. Coca Cola has an annual marketing budget of $5 Billion. And they have so much power with retailers they can get lots of shelf space for, say, artifically colored, salted, corn-syrup water (Gatorade) -- and they've done a good job with most consumers to get them to believe it's kinda healthy, helping Michael win championships.
Not to split hairs, but Gatorade is owned by Pepsico
The numbers for fast-food marketing (MacDonald's), junk food marketing (Doritos), unclog your arteries marketing (Lipitor), meat and dairy are just staggering. It's where the profit is.
Comments
A very unfortunate result of mass food production is the nutrition per calorie is much lower than farm-fresh, locally-grown food. And even that is lower than it once was because taste, color, productivity and disease resistance are the factors that drive plant breeding now, not nutrition.
Here are Dr. Fuhrman's opinions on vitamins. My personal opinion is except for B12, it's pretty inconclusive.
That's an awesome post and probably where I'll get to (minus the preggers part) when I've lost another 20lbs or so
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
But, as with everything around here, it's gotta be community-driven
I've started a gallery, and we'll see how it goes. I can add some more, as I get time.
http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/3166906
Folks can contribute a photo and a recipe right here, and David or I will get it into the gallery on Dgrin.
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Thanks for getting that started, Andy!
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
It's only fair that the 0.5 kid come on here and give his opinion. Until I left college, I had been very active in sports all my life (soccer and long-distance running mostly). When I moved out to California and joined the SmugMug team, I couldn't find many soccer games and lost my interest in running.
Until that point, I had been underweight. I was always the really skinny kid that couldn't put on any muscle. But I had also been a junk-food addict my entire life. So when I stopped playing sports, I finally started putting on weight and not the good kind.
I was the last one to adopt the vegan thing and I'm still only partially into it. My family got me a powerful blender for Christmas and I started to ease myself into it. I hate cooked vegetables with a passion, so I already lose out on a huge selection of vegan foods.
I started by simply not purchasing milk or meat from the grocery store. I still occasionally have meat when I eat out, but I replaced it in my home with soy milk. I drink two or three smoothies a day, mostly frozen fruit, carrots and soy milk. I also started eating a lot of bread and pasta.
Now I generally have a huge fruit smoothie for breakfast, drink a few Odwalla's during the day and have a light lunch (occasionally with some meat or junk food), and a smoothie with a mostly vegan dinner. I still can't give up cheese entirely though.
Knowing how much I hated cooked vegetables and loved junk food, I never thought I would make it this far. About 80% of my diet every day is vegan.
How & what to do you substitute sugar or other items with?
- Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.
- An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity.
Okay, so last night I'm lying in bed reading The China Study. My wife is watching TV in the neighboring room. And my reading is interrupted by a commercial. Wendy's Sandwich o' the Month . . . . The Baconator!!Six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two 1/4 lb.* patties of fresh, never frozen, beef. Complete with two slices of American cheese, mayo and ketchup for a mountain of mouth-watering taste. Go on, obsess a little.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdF9liwZfuI
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
Tonight I was eating a salad for dinner, while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flaw. They were battling for the best Mac and Cheese. One dish was 2000 calories a serving.
I also did some more grocery shopping today and in many ways shopping Vegan can be a lot quicker, there are so many items that are on the no list and you can skip entire aisles. I think my bill was a little less than usual too.
I just looked on the side panel of my T.J.'s soymilk, and B12 is in there. I drink the Vanilla soy milk which I'm pretty sure has been sweetened quite a bit and probably enough to be killing me slowly.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Ah, sorry - it's my umbrella term for lumping together vegetarian and vegan folks where applicable ... I'm supremely lazy
And
I loved living overseas, but it was certainly a challenge. Y'all are going to do great, no matter how much or how little .. how quickly or how slowly .. you incorporate the changes.
I've yet to read the China Study, but I'm curious to. I looked for it at my library today, no luck
There are a few different options, and it usually depends on what I'm making/baking but here are some possible substitutions:
Pureed Fruit ~ I usually use this in something like pancakes or crepes or anything with batter that is cooked (not baked). I have friends who feed their babies jarred food, so I always ask for their glass jars and fill them with my own seasonal fruits. I always have some on hand in my freezer. I actually also keep a few new/unopened jars of baby fruit purees in the pantry just in case the freezer ones have burn. Jarred food kind of grosses me out, but there are some pretty decent brands available now that don't have all of the filler.
Raw Sugar ~ I buy Sucanat. It says you can use it 1:1 as you would table sugar, but it is supersweet so I always quarter or halve the measurement. I use this for cereal or salad dressings or sauces. Sometimes baking if I don't want to fiddle around with reducing liquids, etc (which is necessary when substituting a liquid for the sugar).
Brown Rice Syrup ~ this is what I use most for baking. It's not nearly as sweet as sugar, and that appeals to me. I also use it for some veggies in place of honey (I personally USE honey but not all of my friends do - this is what I use when cooking for strict vegans).
Black Strap Molasses ~ I use this in hot cereal, and it is DIVINE. I also use it in stir fry sauces because it is nice and thick.
I've heard many people refer to Stevia, but I've never used it and honestly I'm not really sure what it is ... other than it is potent and you only need to use a little bit
HTH
Wow Andy, I'm impressed and inspired! Congratulations!!
gubbs.smugmug.com
By far the best sugar substitute is Stevia...it has no glycemic index, no calories and is approx 75 to 400 times more sweet than sugar and yes you can cook and bke with it......the white powder has no medicinal properties band it cannot be sold as a sweetner but has to be sold as a dietary supplement....however Wally world places it on the shelf next to the sweetners.......I do not like the liquid as it did not seem to sweeten my drink at all and I used over 4 times what was recommended....I perfer the "NOW" brand to the more expensive "Sweet Leaf" brand.....and for most of my sweetening I use the dried leaves placed directly into my tea reciepes (whether black, green or Mushroom (ganoderma lucidium) teas)........
I know when I was in the Czech Republic that I mostly ate vergatarian but also ate a lot of cheeze and harder breads and lost weight and had no ill effects from the cheese like I would have had heree eating 1/4 pound of cheese for breakfast with a roll......and the fruits and veggies oever there had real honest to god to die for flavor......I did not realize how bad our food is in this country and my realization became intensified after talking to a Czech farmer...our fruits and veggies {and this includes our so called organics} are absolutely loaded with chemicals (yes even the organics can have a certain percentage of steroid and other chemicals in them and if your meat comes from any store it is loaded also......the only meat that comes close to being healthy in this country is the wild- you gotta hunt it- clean it- and grill it- yourself kind of meat................
I do use some meat substittutes - beef flavored TVP granuales for chili and beef flavored TVP Chunks for stews.............
I would send you a taste but I think the posta service frowns on sending white powder thru the mail
A lot of garden centers (where you buy plants and trees) are selling potted Stevia plants as they can ge grown as a house plant.
The book is good but nothing like actually meeting Howard and hearing his stories in person....btw...he has the habit of leaving those lying around on airplanes as he flew to different engagments worldwide...got mine autographed :ivar
I haven't been hungry or tired, and other than a few *ahem* digestive adjustments I feel fine.
I have lost 5 pounds and this morning I fit into 35" jeans that hadn't fit me in almost a year.
Wonder what would happen if I actually got some exercise, too?
www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
I'd never heard of Stevia so did a quick google and came up with this on the UK Government's "Food Standards Agency" website. If you're looking for a healthy option I'd look again
gubbs.smugmug.com
So, I'll tell you what we do: If it's a decadent dessert, we bake with the real stuff: sugar, cream, butter, and white flour. How often does that happen? Twice a year for my cinnamon rolls, maybe 4 times a year for my husband to indulge in strawberry shortcake or pecan pie or chocolate souffle.
Basically, we face the fact that cheesecake is not going to be healthy, no matter what we change. And, changing stuff makes it taste not-as-good so a small slice is not nearly as satisfying.
If it's baking something with health potential, like waffles, muffins, banana bread, etc, we look for recipes that use canola oil rather than butter or shortening, fruit as a sweetener (like triple berry waffles, or banana oatmeal waffles), and we usually substitute at least half the flour for whole wheat flour.
I bake homemade whole wheat bread every week and it's got a little honey and oil in it, otherwise it's vegan and 100% whole grain.
I've also made whole wheat flat bread, which turned out to be really good. No compromises there, either.
Yeah, like that Fat Free Philly Cream Cheese! :puke
Tastes like plastic. Some foods I just do without. I'm not sure the substitutes are really any better anyway.
-Fleetwood Mac
An eye-popping thing to do is follow the money. Coca Cola has an annual marketing budget of $5 Billion.
The numbers for fast-food marketing (MacDonald's), junk food marketing (Doritos), unclog your arteries marketing (Lipitor), meat and dairy are just staggering. It's where the profit is.
Even orange growers have some budget because of the profits in orange juice, so they convinced us oranges are the best source for vitamin C. Actually, their C content is a third of broccoli, for example, but there's not much profit in broccoli so the word didn't get out.
I'm being honest with myself and really assessing my willingness to commit to a mostly vegetarian diet. Years of meat and sweets has seriouslly damaged my mental view of food. So far...I'm not sure I have the willpower. I know one day is not enough data, but I tried following Dr. Furhman's three meal a day eating plan for one day and found myself extremely "hungry feeling" between meals. I put that last bit in quotes since I understand most of us (me definitely) don't know what true hunger feels like and mistake it for detox. That's typically where I break down and feel the need to snack.
For those that have committed to this change, about how long does the discomfort last?
Also, Dr. Fuhrman is pretty hardcore against vitamin A and *-carotene derivatives in multi-vitamins. Besides his own brand has anyone found a vitamin A free multi?
My photos
"The future is an illusion, but a damned handy one." - David Allen
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
But at least I haven't been hungry in the first week. So far so good!
Please. No one switch to this diet right before the Glacier Shootout.
initialphotography.smugmug.com
"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera" - Dorothea Lange
This is a really funny post.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Dr. Fuhrman is only 155 pounds.
Also, I planned to moderate on things like cheese like Anne does, the idea being it isn't what you eat occasionally that counts, it's what comprises 90% of calories.
But as it turns out, I never moderate because after awhile you lose the temptation. And for me, moderating seems to re-kindle old fires, like I imagine smoking 3 cigarettes a day would do.
Not to split hairs, but Gatorade is owned by Pepsico
Doritos = Frito Lay = Pepsico. But those Black Pepper & Jack Cheese ones were good!
-Fleetwood Mac