Vegan Recipes, Ideas, and Living » Nutrition

Vegan Book Review: The Food Revolution

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:09:20 +0000

It’s been a while since I actually read the Food Revolution, so this review will be a bit abbreviated because of the fog of time, but I wanted to say a few things about the book in any case.

Written by John Robbins, son of the Robbins of ice cream fame, The Food Revolution is a hard look at the way we eat in the United States. My first impression of the book was that the writing style was a little annoying, to be frank. Robbins tends to ramble on about personal anecdotes or go on tangents that can be, frankly, a little boring and quite a bit distracting.

However, if you can get past that (or if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you), it is a quite informative book. Robbins focuses on established studies from major institutions, while at the same time working to debunk some of the crap the comes out of the press rooms of the meat and dairy industry.

Rather than being a whiny sort of “vegans are good because animals have souls too” sort of book, The Food Revolution doesn’t focus on the buzzword of veganism. The focus, instead, is on personal health, factory farming, and the use of genetically modified organisms. On this point, it is a very powerful, and, I think, convincing piece of reading.

Unlike many books that tackle the topic of food and veganism, this is one I would show to a non-vegan interested in these issues. Check out the book on Amazon if you want to pick up a copy.

The Importance of B-12

Benjamin Jones — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:31:08 +0000

Today we have a guest post on CollegeVegan about important nutritional stuff we should all be paying attention to. Hope you enjoy!

Becoming a vegetarian or giving up a substantial amount of meat in your diet can have vast repercussions on your body as a whole. Leaving out any integral vitamins can result in a deficiency for a number of resources which your body counts on in order to function on a daily basis. B-12 assists the brain and nervous system, especially with DNA synthesis. Lacking this specific vitamin can be detrimental to your health and an unwise decision to make when switching your diet.

B12 is typically found in meat, milk, and eggs. This is not a problem if you still plan to consume dairy products, but many types of vegetarians refuse to consume anything that has an egg or dairy foundation, which rules out milk and eggs. Therefore, these specific vegans need to be even more careful about monitoring their B-12 daily intake. Alternatives to the afore mentioned non-vegan foods can be soy products, energy bars, or certain breakfast cereals. There has also been a multitude of recent supplements that have emerged in supermarkets; these vitamin pills can help ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients. Cyanocobalamin is a vitamer of the B12 vitamin family and can be ingested through a number of other alternatives, including in certain energy drinks and Diet Coke Plus. However, this specific vitamer only represents a fraction of the amount of B12 which is needed per day and therefore needs to be taken in great excess which is not the healthiest option in regards to energy drinks.

Avoiding or not taking the required dosage of B12 can have vast effects in relation to the deficiency including severe nerve and brain damage. Early symptoms of deficiency may seem to be related to anemia, but can lead up to subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord. Early symptoms are pretty common symptoms that can be traced to a plethora of other illnesses, including fatigue, decreased mental work capacity, decreased memory, irritability, and depression. Sleep disturbances are also a common sign of deficiency because B 12 is involved with the sleep wake cycle through melatonin. Left untreated, this deficiency can lead to bouts of mania and can also cause various tingling effects of the nerves and shocks throughout the body. More and more Americans and many other Westerners have a higher prevalence of B12 deficiency than was originally thought, which is an unnerving thought; many developing nations around the world have common B12 deficiencies but are brought about as an effect of the malnutrition which is so often found in these countries which we are all working to combat. B12 deficiency has become common among many vegetarians who are not taking B12 supplements to counteract the lack of vitamins that they are getting by their change from a meat lifestyle. Vegans are especially at risk for this deficiency because many natural food sources do not contain B12, and they instead have to take vitamin pills.

Therefore, it becomes an integral part of vegetarianism (and veganism) to keep up-to-date with your vitamin intake, including daily recordings of how much B12 you are getting, as well as other nutrients which have just as much importance on your body’s well-being. Without this type of enhanced diet, you can find yourself lacking extremely vital nutrients that can severely damage the many organs and systems of the body without you knowing.

This post was contributed by Kathleen Baker, who writes about an online health care administration degree. She welcomes your feedback at KathleenBaker3212 at gmail.com

Japan Vegan: Trials and Tribulations

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:08:40 +0000

Before coming to Japan this time around I knew I would have to make compromises. Compromises about what I would eat in order to keep myself healthy and be able to ride my bike around and enjoy the place.

I didn’t think too much about it before coming because I knew it would be practically impossible to predict what I would have to do before I actually got here.

I knew there was a special style of Japanese cooking practiced mainly by Buddhist monks and things, but I didn’t know if it would be accessible. I knew they were lots of naturally vegan things in Japan, but I also knew there would be less options away from the big cities.

Well, it turns out the monks that don’t eat meat and such are part of an older sect that really only hangs out around Kyoto, quite far from here. Furthermore, I was right about having less choice.

I am also burdened by knowing more about things.

For example, the last time I was in Japan I didn’t know that pretty much every soup base for everything had a fish base or used dashi, which is a little bit fish.

I also didn’t know that eggs were in the batter for tenpura or that even the most vegetable-type curries would have something like chicken or pork consume.

I also knew that if I ate nothing but rice I would quickly suffer from it and not be able to do much. So, I had to make compromises. Compromises like:
- Vegetable udon may have some tiny amount of fish in it, but oh well,
- This pasta may have a small amount of parmesan on it, but oh well,
- XYZ might not be exactly like I would want it, but I would rather not starve.

Most of these compromises are things that you can’t do much about. If you ask for a recommendation for what udon doesn’t have fish in it, you will end up with udon with a fish base and a chunk of naruto (which is fish) anyway. If you ask for something without cheese, you’ll get parmesan. If you ask for vegetable curry they’ll think you mean just with more vegetables and not with just vegetables.

This is probably because cooks don’t really get it, and you can’t expect them to. Especially in Japan, where cheese and milk is sort of a foreign idea, “cheese” isn’t really the same thing as we might normally think of it. Cheese might just be swiss cheese or something, and if you ask them about the parmesan you’ll get a “O RLY, you meant that, too?” sort of answer.

So, while I tend to play safe on veganism in the U.S., while I am here I am playing safe on keeping my body functioning healthily so I can do my research and ride my bike. Veganism is considerably easier when cooking for myself, and I’ll have more on that in the next few days, .

POM Pomegranate Juice: Powerful Alone, Good in Tea

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:47:42 +0000

Recently, I’ve been trying to work my way through a small batch of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. I don’t have that much of it, but it’s lasted longer than any juice that’s every been in my fridge. Why?

POM is really strong stuff. It doesn’t look very intimidating sitting on the shelf in a little 8 ounce bottle, but it’ll give you a kick if you accidentally take too big of a sip. If you’re careful not to go at it too hard it’s good, but basically like any other juice, nothing special.

However, if you water it down at about 3 parts water to 1 part pomegranate it’s a bit easier to take. Better yet, a few tablespoons in your iced tea gives a great flavour without a bitterness that will turn your mouth inside out.

Why POM?

I always wondered what the big deal about POM was. Why did anybody care about pomegranate juice? It’s expensive and half the fun of pomegranates is painstakingly removing the seeds.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on health, but currently pomegranates are at the center of a debate on heart health, prostate health, and erectile function. It may be all hype, but POM has gone so far as to do their own clinical trials involving the health benefits of drinking POM Wonderful daily.

Believe it or not, it may be good for you. If you don’t believe it, at least you can admit that it tastes good. I plan to keep some in fridge just so I can spike my tea whenever I need a little bit more zing. As far as juices go, I still pick blackberry juice any day for the taste, but for the health-conscious, pomegranate juice may be a better choice.

What do you think about POM? Are their health claims any good or are they just more trumped up “sugar coated frosted wheaties increase attentiveness” type claims?

7 Tips for a Good Vegan Road Trip

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:52:43 +0000

Because I am a cyclist with my college’s team, every year I end up travelling all about the country on the weekends, staying in hotels, and trying to get enough food to live properly. Based on what I learned last year and the obstacles I anticipate in the coming year, I decided to write a little guide on the necessities of travel.

1. Case the location online

Before I go anywhere I like to give a quick look over the place on google maps, searching not only for vegan restaurants, but restaurants in general. If the places look like they’ll be full of chains, I might check out the vegan options of each of them in advance. From this you can learn a whole lot, and do anything from plan where you’ll eat to where you might want to stay. If you’ll be in a larger city, a site like Yelp might also help.

2. Cook in advance

There’s nothing worse when you’re on the road than eating food that makes you feel like you’re on the road. For that reason I like to cook something that keeps in a container and that I can heat up quickly. Most times it will be something like rice and beans, chili, or even curry. It also helps if you can find something that you like both hot and cold.

3. Bring more than enough food

I can’t stress enough how important it is that you bring more food than you expect to need. Travel is tiring, so oftentimes you find yourself needing more nourishment than you thought. Also, you never know when you might be delayed by something like a rainstorm or whatnot, which might mean you’ll need more than you thought beforehand. The key to good planning is going overboard, and you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of Kansas with nothing but an Arby’s.

4. High calorie, salty drinks

Gatorade isn’t the favourite drink of many people, but calories and electrolytes are important for keeping your energy up. If you’re like me and you can drive from Missouri to New Jersey in 22 hours with three stops for gas, you don’t want to get tired from too much water and no calories.

5. Know what you’ll be eating along the way

On my most recent road trip, I was decently sure of what I could eat coming back. I’d done the 15 hour drive before, and I knew that I could either pick up stuff along the way or get a pizza at Papa John’s on the way out. However, since I would’ve had to wait for Papa John’s to open at 11am before I could leave, I decided it would be best to just get some food along the way. Well, the next day I didn’t feel so good. When you have a sure thing, take it instead of trying to roll the dice.

6. Dried fruits and nuts

Not only are they good for you, but they’re easy to lay your hands on and easy to eat while you’re in the car. This is one great way to stay healthy when you’re on the road, I wish I did it more often. Thanks to @muhajaba for the tip!

7. Homemade trail mix

Like the previous tip, but with a bit more granola and the possibility of creating some sort of bar-shaped food. Thanks again to @TheHumaneLeague for the tip!

Have any other ideas for taking the pain out of road trips? Share them in the comments.

The Best Thing About Vegan Burgers…

Benjamin Jones — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:41:55 +0000

I’ve been hassled a bit about posting so I figured it was time to get one of my recent thoughts off my chest about the subtle benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Last year, I talked a bit about my love affair with the George Foreman grill, and while I was using it today to cook up some more of those tasty Gardenburgers, I had a revelation: there’s no dripping fat!

This is probably a revelation I and many other vegans have had before, but I think it’s worth stepping back for at least a short moment to think about. The grill in question has always been advertised as the “lean, mean, fat-reducing grilling machine” or something like that, with the comercials highlighting how the fat would just pour off of your steaks as you grilled them to a juicy perfection.

No, I went vegetarian more than four years ago so I never had the experience of cooking meat on a Foreman grill but if anybody has pan fried a piece of steak you’ll know how much fat drips out of these things. That’s exactly why the Foreman grills home with those gross little grease catching trays for the fat to slide into.

Veggie burgers? No grease at all. Just flip one on the surface and nothing drips off. There may be a bit of steam but nothing that smells funny or isn’t soluble in water. Sure, it may be a small thing, but today I was riding my bicycle (indoors) and thinking “I’m so glad I’m not still putting that crap in my body.”

Happy eating!

I’m in Love (with Apple Pie Larabars)

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:23:36 +0000

I hate to say it, but that interesting raw girl I met the other day over curry has started to enter my stomach like a tapeworm. I never used to like Larabars, but at her prodding, I went and got an Apple Pie Larabar after my bike ride today hoping they would be a little less sugary and a little more natural-tasting than the Luna Bars (nutrition for women!) that I usually eat.

Much to my chagrin, I rather liked it. It’s not perfect, still a little too sweet for my tastes, but it’s definitely better than the candy-like stuff that I usually end up eat as a recovery snack, so I think I may have to make the switch. Besides, they’re only 10 cents more and have lots of good stuff in them, so I guess it’s not so bad.

Anyway, for anyone who hasn’t tried them, don’t let the first horribly flavoured Larabar you eat turn you off from the rest of the flavours, some of them can be pretty good.

Vegan Bike Racing with OrganicAthlete

Benjamin Jones — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:47:05 +0000

Yesterday I went to a bike race in Medford, NJ, which is fairly close to my home when I’m not at college. I was excited to race, but when I looked through all the riders that had pre-registered, I was double-excited to see someone from a so-called “TeamVegan.”

“What is this?” I wondered. So, during the pre-race warm ups I spun around the course, keeping my eyes peeled until I bumped into a nice fellow named Ed. Ed is a vegan and a member of the team, and told me a bit about OrganicAthlete. It seems like a really neat organization, and a good way to promote veganism as a healthy diet.

Now, I don’t think I’ll be joining this season because I’ve not been on top of my cycling training, but I’ll definitely think about it next year…However, I’d never heard of this and I thought some of the other athletes out there might be interested!

In the end, I had a horrible race. I just haven’t been riding enough and when I got boxed in during a quick part I couldn’t get out and bridge the gap to the main pack alone and ended up dropping out. Ed, on the other hand, who is obviously a smarter and stronger racer than me looked like he had a pretty good ride!

Falling out of a Dietary Black Hole

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:02:25 +0000

Just the other day I posted about how, since I’ve been home from college, I’ve lost interest in what I’m eating. I really should post more often, but I first wanted to thank you for all of your comments, and then note that I am at least a little bit back on track.

I was a little distracted in my quest, at first, by a trip I made back to Dartmouth in order to sock in some good cycling with my new bike over the weekend. If there is one thing I can say that both cycling and veganism have taught me, it’s that you have to love what you’re doing to really be able to do it. I won’t bore you with pictures of my bike or stories of afternoons spent cycling, but it’s really interesting how quickly you can get bored of it when you shoes suck and make your feet hurt. Veganism, I feel, is the same way. If I were eating gruel I would probably not last very long as a vegan.

Anyway, at Dartmouth I didn’t have my usual fare, and rediscovered both eating out and eating dinners of chips and salsa. Coming home I felt a little refreshed, and decided to mix it up at little bit, at least with some burritos and at least not eating the same thing two meals in a row.

The thing I love about burritos is that they can be as simple or as complicated as you like. I usually keep it simple, with just rice and refried beans, though sometimes I will toss in some potatoes, carrots, peas, vegan cheese, or whatever else that’s sitting around and looks like it can cook itself easily enough. Does anyone else have solutions like that?

Well, nothing much exciting, but at least an update that I’m not dead. Hopefully I’ll have a good recipe for you in a day or two!

Falling into a Dietary Black Hole

Benjamin Jones — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:22:50 +0000

Having not spent a term home from school since I started (last summer I was in Japan), I never really got used to being vegan and always having to cook for myself. Sure, cooking for myself is easy, but at the frequency of two meals a day it can get a little troublesome trying to find new things. My solution during break was always the same thing: cook pasta for lunch and pasta for dinner. Usually the same kind and always in the same way.

Well, since I’m home for good (3 months) this time, that’s just not going to work out. Especially now that I’m cycling, it’s become rather boring and nutritionally unsatisfactory to eat nothing but pasta day in and day out. Every so often I’ll mix it up with things like gnocchi, but at the base of it, I’m not really escaping the problem. In fact, the oven right now is full of baking tater tots, which, along with unsweetened ice tea, will suffice for my 2pm lunch.

Now that I’m “becoming” an “adult,” I’m faced with those terribly important problems of shopping for groceries and cooking with variety. I certainly can’t cook my favorite recipes every day because there will be repitition, but on the other hand, I’ll have to know what I want to cook so I’m not going to the store to buy ingredients every day. What is a boy to do?

Anyway, starting today I’m going to work on getting my nutrition back on track, and I hope to share that with you folks. Mehbe it’ll work out fine and I’ll no longer be bored to death with what I’m eating, and mehbe it won’t, but that remains to be seen! Does anyone have advice for a fledgling adult like myself?

Travelling Makes for Sad Times (How I Came to Eat Sugar on the Road)

Benjamin Jones — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:57:14 +0000

It all started last weekend in Pittsburgh, on the way back from spring break in Asheville (where there were definitely some good eats). On Saturday night we decided to go out on the town in search of good eats, and when it came time to decide whether to eat at the Greek place or the Mexican place, I figured I’d go Mexican since I usually have pretty good luck finding vegan foods at Mexican places.

When ordering I found a vegetarian section, so I thought, “great, this shouldn’t be too bad.” Here’s how ordering went:

Me: Could I get the vegetarian burrito whatever (I forget exactly what) with no dairy?

Waitress: Sure, are you vegan?

Me: Yep.

Waitress: No problem.

Me: Thanks!

Sounds great so far, right? Well, when the brought out my non-dairy, vegan food I was pretty excited until I noticed it was covered in cheese…Instantly my spirits plummeted. What should I do? From an ethical standpoint, it wouldn’t make sense to send it back and just waste it all, but then again making a point of it might make life better for future vegans? Besides that, would I even be able to take the taste of cheese anymore? Long story short, I ended up thinking “screw it” and deciding to eat it, because I didn’t want to make a fuss. I got sick, had my night ruined, and felt bad in general.

But really, what could I have done? At least there’s no chance of me falling off the vegan wagon, though, ^_^.

Anyway, in Pittsburgh before the races, I realized there was no way I could eat on the road and stick to my no sugar rule. I’m not going to go wild and eat all the things I never could because of sugar, but I’ve allowed myself to eat bagels (and bagels only!). They are easy to get for breakfast, have lots of carbs, and are cheap. There’s really not other substitute, and as long as I’m doing all this I might as well do my best to eat proper and not bonk out in the races.

As far as I’m concerned I’m still a vegan athlete, just on the road I need to make an allowance for practicality. Hate me if you will, but being vegan has to work for life as much as you need to make your life work with veganism (at least sometimes), I feel.

Vegan energy bars

Benjamin Jones — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:53:29 +0000

We all know that one of the most difficult things for vegans into fitness or on the go is something quick, tasty, and energy packed that we can eat on the run.

In my case, I’m a runner and a cyclist. I’ve always lived by the theory of eating something small and quick after a good work out to help the body begin the recovery process early. However, it can be hard to find something pre-packaged that can do this for a vegan. Rather than have you make it for yourself (I know I don’t have the time), I’ll do a quick review of the available products on the market.

Clif Bars: I love Clif Bars, not only are they vegan, but they’re mainstream. This means they can be picked up almost anywhere and bought in bulk to save money. There’s a bit sugary, but most of the time I just don’t really mind. I recommend them to anyone who hasn’t had them to see if they fit your taste.

Luna: Those among you in the know will know that Luna bars are made by Clif, and specifically for women. I’m not a woman, but I still like to eat them. They’re a bit lighter and less sugary than their Clif counterparts, and serve as a tasty post-work out pick-me-up. I would recommend these to anyone, regardless of gender, *wink*.

LaraBar: To be honest, I don’t really like LaraBars. Don’t ask me why, because it’s hard to put my finger on, but it just always seemed like I was eating them because I felt like I had to be rather than because I wanted to. Nevertheless, I know many vegans and non-vegans who like them, so don’t discount just because of me.

Betty Lou’s Organic Vegan: Again, hate to be a downer, but I had one of these in the airport once before flying back from school and while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t delicious either. Given no other options, I’d eat it, but that said, I’d pick a banana over one any day.

That pretty much sums up my experience. I’m sure there are more bars than this out there, but they’re not easily available enough for me to have tried or try in the near future.

If you’ve got anything to add, please leave a comment! Thanks!

How NOT to be a healthy vegan at college

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:11:56 +0000

Three words: Eat like me.

Now now, I know it sounds awful (and even worse, it’s true), but I have awful eating habits at school. That’s not to say I don’t know how to eat well, perhaps that knowledge just makes me more aware of my unhealthy habits than others would be.

In any case, I eat badly. This is bad on two levels: it doesn’t help me feel well and it’s not helping my training for the cycling season. However, like various addicts I hope that spilling my guts will help me deal with my problem and help others avoid it themselves.

More on my awful diet after the break (and even some solutions!).

Here’s a breakdown of my day:
Breakfast: My day, as always, began badly by skipping breakfast. I rolled out of bed at 9, crammed in some homework I hadn’t done the night before, and headed off to my first class at 10 without any food.
Lunch: After classes were over at 1, I went to the slightly vegan-friendly (read “vegan food exists”) café and got some pasta with pretty decent tofu meatballs and some apple cider. Fine, not awful, but definitely a little flat.
Afternoon: After I zapped myself with a 23 mile bike ride, I picked up some Gatorade and two Luna bars for a post-ride snack. I won’t apologize for this, because I know how important it is to eat right after a good workout. (But perhaps some less-processed snacks would’ve been better).
Dinner: This is where it really gets bad. I had a bit of an early dinner of two burritos (again, not too bad, but also not good), which was fine. However, I was feeling pretty zapped so I went out with my roommate for a late dinner and ended up getting a soda and onion rings. Geez! Talk about junk…

Now, what I could’ve done better (without stepping outside of the bounds of normal college living, which is important in these extremely busy days I have right now):

Breakfast: To keep it simple, I should buy a box of Clif Bars, or some other brand of tasty bar, just so I have something to munch on every day to start things off.

Lunch: Soup, salad, and bread. These are usually available in vegan varieties everyday on campus. Perhaps not the most interesting lunch, but it has a good mix of food types and it hearty. Be sure to include some beans or tofu in your salad to get that much needed protein.

Afternoon: I wouldn’t do much different here. If you’re not exercising, skip the snacking. But, if you must, I suggest snacking on a banana, carrots, or something else you would have to eat a shocking amount of to gain weight.

Dinner: Dinner ought to look a bit like lunch, but I would likely include some pasta or a sandwich or something else a little denser to get me through ‘til 3AM if I really needed it (I often do). Just be careful not to eat anything you won’t want to sleep or will leave you wanting a junk snack around midnight.

Now, all this being said. I’m no nutritionist, but I am a vegan, cyclist, and former marathoner who has looked into nutrition quite a bit. My advice is that you do the same. As they say, knowledge is power, and a balanced diet is a good one!