Everything you need to know if you are thinking of going veg or already are vegan!!!

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For those newly vegetarian or vegan, here is some advice and useful websites.Vegans don't eat animal flesh, dairy, eggs or honey. But, we eat everything else. Beans, tofu, seitan, nuts, fruits, vegetables, bread, potatoes, rice, fruit and anything else plant based. We substitute rice or almond or soy milk for cows milk and ener-g egg replacer for eggs. The vegan diet is much more varied and nutritious than the standard diet based on animal flesh. In the beginning, don't worry about the small stuff. Just concentrate on eliminating animal products from your diet. Don't worry about whether a food has preservatives in it or not. Get used to being vegan first and worry about such details later. Your are just in a transition phase and in time, you will

wonder why you ever thought it difficult to eat vegan. Check out the PCRM veggie starter kit (www.pcrm.org) that tells you step by step on how to become vegan. Almost everyone, vegan, vegetarian or carnivore, eats the same 7 or 8 recipes that they have developed and like. You can find many vegan recipes on-line for free. But, if you want to buy a vegan cookbook, buy a simple one and read how to put recipes together. I like The Complete Vegan Cookbook, available from Walmart.com for $13.03. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1199558 Almost any recipe can be converted to vegan. For instance, if you want a simple and fast chili recipe that you can make in under 10 minutes, here is one. Pan fry over medium heat 1/2 onion in a little olive oil, stir in Veggie Crumbles and brown lightly. Add canned vegetarian beans (drained), canned chopped tomatoes, and any store bought chili mix. Or, just follow the directions on the chili mix packet you can buy in any grocery. Substitute the veggie crumbles for cow flesh, of course. Also, check out the Lightlife's easy recipes. click on: http://www.lightlife.com/recipes.jspThe most nutritious and least expensive foods are whole foods that come out of the ground, such as vegetables, legumes, potatoes, rice, fruits, nuts, and grains. Some refined foods such as tofu, whole grain vegan bread and whole wheat, spinach or artichoke pasta are also good buys. Remember to scan even vegetarian processed food labels for non-vegan ingredients, such as egg, milk, casien, rennet, honey. And, try not to eat preservatives and ingredients you can not pronounce. Here are a few convenience products that "dress things up." Use such products in moderation as these may increase caloric, salt, and sugar intake more than one would wish if such items came to comprise the bulk of one's diet.My personal favorites are:-- Garden Burger, Amy's and Lightlife frozen foods and faux meats -- Rella vegan cheese -- Ener-g egg

replacer -- "So" Soy vanilla ice cream (with hot fudge & banana or in a root beer float) -- Tofutti Sour Creme -- Silk Soy Milk (unsweetened)-- Imagine Vegan Soups-- Pre-made hummus (on peta bread with lots of veggies is a great sandwich)-- Nayonaise (mayonaise substitute)-- Turbinado sugar and Agave (as alternatives to white processed sugar)-- White Wave Baked Tofu, Italian (expensive, but ready made). Best to get your own tofu and bake it. then refrigerate for use throughout the week.-- Any really good marinara sauceDon't forget good old peanut butter and unsweetened fruit preserves or jam on whole wheat bread. For those with a little extra cash, almond

butter is much better than peanut butter. Whole Foods, Central Market and Kroger Super Stores and most full service, high end groceries have all or most of these items. I have rarely set foot in Wal-Mart, but I have seen many vegetarian convenience items there, as well. There is a really good health food store on the highway in Colleyville, that is family owned and locally operated, but I can't recall the name. It is an excellent store, too. If someone knows the name of that store, please email me. It's driving me crazy to not remember the name.

*************************************************************************************It's hard for animal advocates to continue eating meat, once they realize how horribly animals are abused in factory farms. And, we have long ago seen past the canard that free range animals being treated any better. If this is your situation, you're in luck! It's easy to be vegetarian and the compassionate vegetarian diet is so much more nutritious and delicious than the standard American diet, which is a killer any way you look at it. All that stands between you and a healthier, more compassionate lifestyle is the will to change for your and the animal's sake. So, for those, who made it their New Year's resolution to eat less meat or to go vegetarian, here's a good resource. Download the PCRM Vegetarian Starter Kit, which shows you how easy and fun it is to be vegetarian. Go to: http://www.pcrm. org/health/ veginfo/vsk/ index.htmlAdditionally, the PCRM website contains reliable nutritional information for children, pregnant women, diabetics, and those who wish to avoid obesity, cancer, heart disease, and a host of other affictions. Here's a tasty and simple vegetarian snack recipe you may wish to try to get you started. Easy Delicious Bruschetta, a delicious vegan appetizer or snackIngredients:2 cups tomatoes, diced1/2 cup red onion, diced1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced 1 Tbs. olive oil salt and pepper (to taste)1 baguette or loaf of french bread, sliced and toasted Directions:Combine tomatoes and next six ingredients in glass pan; add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least one hour or until

ready to serve. To serve, spoon onto thin slices of toasted baguette. Makes about 12 pieces. For this and other great recipes, visit www.ChooseVeg. com! ********************************************************************************Cookbooks: Vegan with a VengeanceHow It All VeganThe Garden of VeganLa Dolce VeganThese three books are wonderful. Not only do they contain recipes but also information on dairy and egg replacers, a glossary of animal ingredients, and much more. You should be able to find them at any large-scale bookstore like Borders or Barnes and

Noble, but you could also check your local library.My most recent favorite vegan cookbook is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but I love to bake, so I am biased. Also, PETA's Ingrid Newkirk wrote a book called The Compassionate Cook, which is full of simple recipes. I have a really thin book that lists and defines animal ingredients and is much easier to carry around than a 15-page stapled list. I purchased it at Borders for $8. I think the best online source for recipes is www.vegweb.com. Non-vegans have offered to pay me to make snickerdoodles from a recipe I found on that site. For hard-to-find items, such as marshmallows and white chocolate chips, check out www.veganstore.com (the store itself is located a block off of the

Twinbrook metro on the red line). Also, check out www.vegdc.com for a list of vegan-friendly restaurants in the Metro area.I recommend that you purchase The Vegan Sourcebook, which is probably the best resource ever for new vegans. I also have The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living (it sounds so corny, but it is full of great information).No need to worry too much about not knowing if certain ingredients are vegan as long as you have a decent list. I have been a label-reader (aka vegan) for quite some time now, and after a while, you just know which ingredients are animal-derived. Also, for non-food products, the leaping bunny logo indicates that something is vegan, but maybe you are just starting out w/ a vegan diet only, so this would not apply just yet.If you live near a Whole Foods or Trader Joes, go there right away. Both chains have lots of "convenience" vegan foods. Amy's Kitchen is a great microwave brand. Not all of their products are vegan, but the ones that are note so in parentheses at the beginning of the ingredients list (I particularly like the No Cheese Pizza).**********************************************************************************http://www.goveg.com/organic.asphttp://www.satyamag.com/sept06/goodreau.htmlhttp://www.satyamag.com/nov06/sikora.htmlhttp://students.washington.edu/careuw/freerangemyth.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UegLXD4ryQsome good

recipe links: http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/fddrnk.htm http://www.vegcooking.com/ http://www.cok.net/lit/recipes/http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/ http://veganyumyum.com/favorites/http://www.hsus.org/farm/humaneeating/recipes/recipes.htmlhttp://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/recipe.php?RecipeID=90http://www.meatout.org/MeatoutMondays/08-03-31.htm ***************************************************************************************Below is a list of the most common foods vegans use to obtain essential nutrients:* Protein: Wholegrains (e.g. wholewheat flour, bread and pasta, brown rice, oats, rye), nuts (e.g. hazels, cashews, brazils, almonds), seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin), pulses (peas, beans, lentils), soya products

(flour, soya milk, tofu, tempeh)* Carbohydrates: Wholegrains, pulses, potatoes, fresh fruit, dried fruit* Fats: Nuts and seeds (and their oils), vegan margarine, avocados* Vitamins:o A - Carrots, spinach, pumpkins, tomatoes, dark greens, vegan margarines<http://www.msplinks .com/MDFodHRwOi8 vcGhvdG9idWNrZXQ uY29t>o B - Nuts, wholegrains, oats, muesli, pulses (peas, beans, lentils), yeast extracts, green leafy vegetables, potatoes, mushrooms and dried fruito B12 - Fortified yeast extracts (e.g. Marmite), soya milks (e.g. Plamil), TVP products, packeted veggie burger mixes, some cereals (e.g. Kellogg's Fruit

& Fibre, Frosties or Common Sense Oat Bran Flakes). Seaweed and fermented products may contain some B12 but are not reliable sources.o C - Citrus fruits (e.g. oranges, lemons, grapefruit), red and blackcurrants, berries, green vegetables, potatoeso D - Action of sunlight on the skin, vegan margarines, some soya milks (e.g. Plamil)o E - Nuts, seeds, wholegrains, vegetable oils* Minerals:o Calcium - Nuts, seeds, pulses, molasses, parsley, figs, sea vegetables, grains, fortified soya milks, hard tap watero Iron - Nuts, seeds, pulses, grains, dried fruit, sea vegetables, parsley, green leafy vegetable<http://www.msplinks .com/MDFodHRwOi8 vcGhvdG9idWNrZXQ uY29t>CalciumCalcium is a major mineral essential for healthy

bones and teeth. In 1994 the US recommendations for children aged 1-10 was increased from 800mg to 1,200mg daily and for young adults aged 11-24 years it was increased from 1,200 to 1,500mg. During pregnancy and breast feeding women in the USA are now advised to have 1,400mg calcium daily and American men and women over the age of 50 years are advised to increased their calcium intake towards 1,500mg because the intestinal absorption of calcium declines with age. Below is a recommended calcium intake for each age group:* Infants & children depending on age (350-550mg/day)* Teenage girls (800mg/day)* Teenage boys (1000mg/day)* Adult men & women (700mg/day)* Breast-feeding women (extra 550mg/day) Good plant sources of calcium include tofu (if prepared using calcium sulphate contains more than four times the calcium of whole cow's milk), green leafy vegetables, seeds and nuts. The calcium in green vegetables which are

not high in oxalate e.g. kale, is absorbed as well or better than the calcium from cow's milk. Some soya milks e.g. Provamel, Plamil, Granovita are fortified with calcium. Drinking hard water can provide 200mg of calcium daily but soft water contains almost none. Other calcium rich foods include black molasses, edible seaweeds, watercress, parsley and dried figs. Below is a list of common foods containing calcium:* Almonds (42g)* Brazils Nuts (59g)* Soya flour (44g)* Oatmeal (192g)* Wholemeal bread (185g)* Black molasses (20g)* Dried figs (40g)* Parsley (50g)* Kale (67g) The calcium intake of vegans tends to be slightly below the recommended optimal amounts but the body does adapt to lower intakes and there have been no reports of calcium deficiency in vegans. The fact that vegans have a slightly lower protein intake and exclude meat from their diet encourages their bodies to retain calcium so their dietary need may be lower

than the typical omnivore. In fact, the excessive protein in cow's milk depletes the human skeleton of calcium and actually weakens bones. Cow's milk is the perfect food for calves, but it's not ideal for humans. Studies of the bones of vegans suggest that the likelihood of osteoporosis is no greater than for omnivores.IronIron is a trace element which is needed by the body for the formation of blood. The human body normally contains 3-4g of iron, more than half of which is in the form of hemoglobin, the red pigment in blood. Hemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Iron is a constituent of a number of enzymes. The muscle protein myoglobin contains iron, as does the liver - an important source during the first six months of life. The body's iron balance varies mainly according to dietary intake, as losses from the body are generally small - although women lose iron during menstruation.Vegans have a high dietary iron intake and

although iron from plant sources is less well absorbed than that from meat, high levels of vitamin C in the diet enhances iron absorption. Studies show that the iron status of vegans is usually normal, and iron deficiency is no more common than in the general population.Vitamin B-12The term B12 encompasses a group of related substances known as cobalamins. It is commonly but inaccurately believed that animal foods are the only source. In fact, active B12 is thought to be unique among vitamins in being made only by bacteria. The B12 found in meat (especially offal), eggs and dairy milk derives from the activity of bacteria living within the animals. Prolonged cooking, including boiling of cow's milk, destroys B12.Deficiency is rare but may lead to abnormally enlarged red blood cells which characterize megaloblastic anemia. Vitamin B12 is also crucial for a healthy nervous system, and a chronic lack can eventually cause neurological

symptoms.Most cases of B12 deficiency occur in the general population and are due to a lack of intrinsic factor (a protein which is produced in the stomach and which ferries the B12 into the bloodstream) , without which little of the vitamin can be absorbed. This type of deficiency leads to pernicious anemia; causes include small bowel disorders, the effects of some drugs, smoking and alcohol, gastric atrophy due to aging, and some parasitic infections. Pernicious anemia occurs in nearly 1% of the general population over the age of 60 years.Despite the notoriety of this vitamin, dietary B12 deficiency in adult vegans is rare: some 15 cases have been recorded in the medical press worldwide since the 1980s. Not all cases will be published but it is significant that B12 deficiency is so uncommon that single case reports are still thought worthy of publication in medical journals.Vitamin D<http://www.msplinks .com/MDFodHRwOi8 vcGhvdG9idWNrZXQ uY29t>Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which acts like a hormone, regulating the formation of bone and the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine. It helps to control the movement of calcium between bone and blood, and vice versa.In infancy and childhood, deficiency of vitamin D causes the deformed bones characteristic of rickets, while in adults a lack of the vitamin causes a softening of the bones known as osteomalacia. Deficiency is seen more often in northern countries, or where tradition dictates that the body is well covered by clothes, such as in parts of the Islamic world. An excess of the vitamin can cause loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, headache, depression and deposits of calcium in the kidneys.Adult vegans

obtain adequate vitamin D if they regularly spend time outdoors in spring, summer and autumn. A dietary intake of the vitamin can be ensured by taking fortified products. In northern latitudes vegan women who are breast feeding should ensure their intake during winter by using fortified foods or taking supplements. Parents are advised to include vitamin D fortified foods or supplements if they wean their infants during the winter months, especially if they are dark skinned.ProteinProteins are large molecules made from smaller units called amino acids. There are twenty amino acids commonly found in both plant and animal proteins. There are generally considered to be eight amino acids that the body cannot make itself which need to be obtained from the food we eat. These are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Infants additionally need food sources of histidine and possibly taurine. Proteins are necessary

for maintaining tissues and for sustaining growth. They are also used to make hormones and other physiologically active substances.Nutritionists once believed that plant proteins were of a poorer quality than animal proteins. Even now, plant proteins are sometimes called 'second class' proteins while animal proteins are elevated to the 'first class' department. This belief centered on early research on the poor laboratory rat which showed that giving extra amino acids of weanling rats reared on a plant-protein diet improved their growth. The same was assumed to be true for humans. However, the parameters of the experiments were set in such a way that differences in the quality of plant and animal proteins were exaggerated. Also, rats and humans have different nutritional requirements, since weanling rats grow at a much faster rate, relatively, than human infants and therefore need more protein. A comparison of rat and human milk makes the difference quite clear:

protein comprises only 7% of the calorie content of human milk, while rat milk contains 20% protein. If weanling rats were fed only human milk, they would not thrive. These tests over-estimated the value of some animal proteins while under-estimating the value of some vegetable proteins and The World Health Organization has now abandoned this inadequate method of assessing the value of proteins to the human body.********************************************************************************** Veggie Starter Guides: > Farm Animal Rights Movement's (FARM USA) "Vegetarian Starter Guide" > Compassion Over Killing's (COK) "Vegetarian Starter Guide" > Mercy for Animals' (MFA) "Vegan Starter Guide" > Farm Sanctuary's VEG FOR LIFE "Guide to Veg Living" > In Defense of Animals' (IDA USA) "Vegan Starter Guide" > People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) "Vegetarian Starter Guide" > Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's (PCRM) "Vegetarian Starter Kit" > Vegan Outreach's "Guide to Cruelty-free

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