Turning into a Veg-monster. Tips, anyone?

MerleBlakeney

So, I've decided to go raw vegan again. I was vegan for two-weeks before I went into being a vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian for about 6 months now.

I take my vitamins and all that.
I'm aiming for raw foods, also cutting my gluten intake as well.

So, I'm just curious if anyone has any tips for sticking to vegan-ism, and any veggies that I should stock up on?

privatetime

I've been vegan for about 20 years or so.

I guess I'd start off with emphasizing whole foods, and knowing which foods provide which essential nutrents (or some of the best foods in each category).

There's protein in everything, but complete vegan proteins are things like soy, hemp, quinoa, salba, and spirulina. You can make complete proteins by combining foods, such as rice & peas. Beans, nuts, certain oatmeals, and lentils all contain ample protein. (Most people in developed countries eat too much protein, anyway.)

Supplements are mostly made for meat eaters, as few are vegan (containing no animal products). But a good vegan multi-vitamin may give peace of mind. If you don't grow and eat a few of your own veggetables, you may want to make sure you supplement your B12 intake with fortified foods, or with a B12 pill/sublingual spray.

Similarly, most people are vitamin D deficient. Since the cancer risk makes getting all your vitamin D needs from the sun maybe not so advisable, you may want to supplement. There is (currently) no form of D3 supplement that is vegan but, never fear. Taking regular D2 supplements, over time, keeps vitamin D levels adequate.

Calcium is important for muscle and brain function. If blood calcium gets too low, vitamin D regulates the process that takes calcium from bones, as the body maintains blood calcium over skeletal calcium. Many foods are good sources of calcium, incl. very digestible forms in collard greens, dandelion greens, kale, bok choy, and almonds. Many milk alternatives are fortified with more calcium than dairy milk.

Many plants have more iron per ounce than meat. Good sources of iron include soy, blackstrap molasses, whole grains, spinach, and lentils. For a snack, have some edamame (iron & protein), or a piece of wholegrain bread with blackstrap molasses. Remember to eat this non-heme (i.e. plant-based) iron with a citrus, to get the most iron out of it. (I like grapefruit juice, as I also eat relatively low GI.)

There are, of course, countless vegan junk food options. Coke and Doritos 'Sweet Chili Heat' tortilla chips are vegan, afterall. Most dark chocolate s vegan. Plain chips are often vegan, as is popcorn. Go to veganessentials.com and look around.

Pretty much the entire prduce section of the grocery store is vegan. Get creative. To get more seeds into my husband and myself, I make "seed shots" out of a shot glass layered with different seeds. Usually, that's a layer a dry roasted sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. (Pumpkin seeds are a good, natural source of zinc, which is great for the immune system and libido.) A snack might also be 5-10 nuts (deending on the type), with a small glass of tomato juice. A quick snack/meal might be vegatable stock with green onion and some fennel, with a few nuts on the side. It takes maybe 5 minutes, as does edamame. Spicy hummus is a nice alternative. Eat it with a wholegrain pita. Freshly-made falafels are vegan. Have the spicy tonato-based dipping sauce with it, and just 2-4 are more than enough.

There is so much more I could suggest, but that'll hopefully give you some ideas. :-)

Good luck!