The Veggie Gal

Once a vegetarian for more than 25 years I thought, like most, that I needed dairy to get my much needed calcium and protein and oh boy cheese and ice cream tasted good!  Well I was soooo wrong and so is everyone else who thinks the same thing.  There is scientific proof that consuming animal protein from any source is not only fattening but it causes tons horrible diseases.

I would not be vegan if it were not for the likes of several doctors who preach a plant based (vegan) diet and share that knowledge with the world.   These doctors have helped change so many people’s lives for the better, opened many eyes to the health benefits of eating a vegan diet and should get more recognition than they do.  I would love to see a whole panel of these doctors on the Oprah, Ellen, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, The Today Show and any other show that wants to show American’s how to improve their lives and stop disease.  The message they are spreading IS the answer to the health care crisis in the country!

I think that all vegans should know all three sides of being a vegan and knowing about the way it can change your health for the better is a very important aspect. Many vegans eat a very high fat, high sugar diet (I understand why for sure it is good!) but need to know the benefits of eating a low fat high nutrient rich diet and try to strike a balance to be even better role models for why eating vegan is the right thing to do for your body, the planet and the animals.

Here is a brief description of some (there are so many more out there) of the doctors who have made a difference in my life and have amazing books and websites to back up their claims.  These summaries are all in my own words and not direct quotes or facts directly from these doctors, I hope to represent them well in my descriptions as I respect each one of them immensely.  Please take some time and learn about each doctor and you never know you might want to change how you eat to improve your health too.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell.  Dr. Campbell wrote the first book I read about how eating a plant based diet can change your health and it is a life changer for anyone who reads it called The China Study.  Dr. Campbell was raised on a farm and ate the typical American diet and never thought twice about doing so until he was part of a group of doctors trying to help hungry and sick children in other countries.  He discovered that the children who ate the most animal protein had higher incidence of disease thus starting him on a path of discovery.  He was part of a more than 20 year study that was eventually called The China Study and in that 20 years they discovered that animal protein of all sources (including low fat) is the cause (or trigger) of most disease even genetic ones.  This book is not a diet book or a recipe book but a book based on scientific facts that prove time and time again that animal protein can cause disease and plant protein can halt, reverse or prevent it.  I think ever single person alive should read this book and that it should be the main book studied in all health classes.

Dr.Neal Barnard.  I find Dr. Barnard to be an amazing writer, speaker and human being.  He is so well spoken that even the heavy meat eater might be swayed to at least try some vegan food with his encouragement.  He is honest, gentle, direct and knows what the hell he is talking about without ever flinching in his devotion.  Neal Barnard is the founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) which is an amazing group of doctors dedicated to health through a kind, plant based diet.  PCRM is responsible for the 21 day Vegan Kickstart that so many people have been joining to get healthy and so many celebrities are part of promoting.  Dr. Barnard is also president of The Cancer Project, a nonprofit organization advancing cancer prevention and survival through nutrition education and research.  I actually went to almost a whole year of classes at the cancer center in Arizona.  They always have a dietitian speak about the topic of the night, the benefits of eating a plant based diet to prevent disease, cancer in particular being at the cancer center, you watch a short 5-10 minute video featuring Dr. Barnard, then a wonderful chef makes 2-3 meals right before your eyes and at the end of it all you get to eat the food and it is all FREEEEE!  Click the Cancer Project link to see if you have a class near you so you can benefit from them too.  These are a few of Dr. Barnards books that I have read and highly recommend.   Breaking the Food Seduction, Food for Life, and Turn off the Fat Genes

Dr. John McDougall.  I discovered Dr. McDougall while reading The China Study and immediately bought 3 of his books, Program for Maximum Weight Loss, 12 Days to Dynamic-Health, Program for Women and then headed over to the library to rent any other ones they had to read while waiting for my shipment.  I also went to his website and read everything I could on health and nutrition.  If you don’t know my story as to why I was looking so deeply into health please read it here.   Although I do not 100% follow his program (I’m around 90% depending on the day or month-HOLIDAYS UGH) I believe that if anyone does they will be the better for it.  He, like Dr. Campbell, promotes a plant based diet that is extremely low in fat without any added oils and is starch based. The plan is strict in that you can not have any animal products, added oils and must keep refined foods and sugar to a minimum if at all.   I aspire to be a 100% follower but with a family of 6 to feed and 2 of them being meat eaters (not to mention my sweet tooth) it something I must balance to keep everyone happy.  If you follow my blog at all you will see that I do follow his teaching most of the time but I also have some recipes that I just can’t or won’t McDougallize and those are my cheats if you will.  I think if everyone on the planet were to adopt even a 70% McDougall diet while still being 100% vegan we would see diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more drop to a record low.  Please take some time to educate yourself on your most important asset you have, your health.  Dr. McDougall has a live in clinic where you can be a patient and learn everything directly from him and his staff but if you can’t afford it or would not want to make that big of a commitment he also has a FREE program on his site that will more than educate you on how to change your diet for the better.  He also has a FREE forum that you can join and learn from as well as hundreds of free recipes.  There is a doctor and dietitian section on the forum where those professionals answer questions.  I have also personally emailed Dr. Mcdougall directly and he has always replied with wonderful information.  He is just amazing!

Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  Dr. Fuhrman like Dr. McDougall is very strict about his dietary guidelines and although he promotes a vegan, plant based diet that is low fat he suggests keeping cooked starches and whole grains to a minimum and maximizing nutrient density through salads, particularly greens.  He suggests eating 1 lbs of raw vegetables a day and 1 lb of cooked vegetables a day.  He also has a consulting practice like Dr. McDougall but you can actually get in to see him without being part of a whole group of people going to a 10 day, 5 day or 3 day program if you would rather approach it that way.  He also offers phone consults but neither is cheap by any means but if your health is in dire straights he can probably help you.  I do not like that you have to pay to be part of his forum (Dr. McDougall’s is free) because I feel that limits his ability to spread the word.  I have read and would highly recommend these books by Dr. Fuhrman  Disease Proof Your Child, Fasting and Eating for Health, Eat to Live.

There are many more plant promoting doctors around and I could go on and on but these should get you started if you have not yet heard of them.  Again, I highly suggest everyone read at least one book from each of these guys and at a minimum read The China Study.  As a vegan you will have even more reasons to stick to your devotion to eating plant based as even more ammo to combat the angry meat eaters who ask questions like “where do you get your protein?”, “where do you get your calcium?” and “you need meat and milk to be healthy”.  Happy Reading

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. McDougall, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Neal Barnard, The China Study, Vegan, vegan doctors, vegan mofo 2010

I’ve been on a breakfast kick lately but who does not love breakfast even for dinner, I know my family and I do!  This recipe is really the Oatmeal Waffles recipe that  came from the book From Food for Life by Neal Barnard, M.D.  I just made pancakes with the batter instead of making the waffles.  I have experimented with a few ways of making them and after reading this you may spark some of your own ideas, please share if you do.  I love trying new things!  These pancakes are not light and fluffy like regular pancakes or my Coconut Pancakes are but are more hearty, dense, very filling and satisfying.  If I know I have a busy day ahead of me these or the Oatmeal Waffles will keep me full and energized for hours unlike cereal or regular pancakes would.

I made these 3 ways, the original recipe, a vanilla lemon, and blueberry.  I will put the original recipe below and then what I added to the batter for the other two below that.  The vanilla lemon is my favorite, it is just so fresh and elegant tasting.  The above picture is of the regular batter, the one with the lemon next to it is the vanilla lemon and the blueberry is obvious.

Oatmeal Pancakes
Serves: appox 10 medium pancakes

2 cup rolled oats
2 cup water
1 medium banana
1 tbsp raw sugar, or other sweetener (I use agave)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Let stand a few minutes; if batter becomes too thick, add enough additional water to make batter easily pourable. Pour onto a medium heated skillet and cook until bubbly and brown on the bottom, flip and cook until golden brown.  These will be more dense than regular pancakes as I explained above and may require a longer cooking time than regular pancakes do.  I pour my pure maple syrup on the side and dip the pancake into it so they don’t get soggy.

Vanilla Lemon:

add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract to the vanilla already in the recipe
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest or dried zest
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Blueberry:

1/4 cup blueberries

That’s it, like I said experiment with what you like and let me know.  I think bananas and pecans, thinly sliced apple chunks, or sliced strawberries would mix in and cook well too.  ENJOY!

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart, Breakfast, Dr. Neal Barnard, Easy Vegan, Healthy Breakfast, Neal Barnard, Vegan, vegan pancakes, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

It has been 3 weeks  since my husband got off the 21 day vegan kickstart.  I have been anxiously (more like impatiently!!) waiting for his lab results to come in and I finally got them.

I am happy and proud to say his cholesterol went down 15 points!!! It was at 165 before the diet and it went down to 150. That is a 9% drop in only 3 weeks, that is huge!  Doctors have a hard time getting cholesterol to drop that quickly with medication.  That drop is big because his cholesterol was not even considered high (by regular doctors standards-Dr. McDougall likes to see all patients at or below 150).  He did have a drop in his LDL as well.  His HDL did not change much but that is because he does not exercise and it is not at a desirable level.

We also had his blood pressure done and it went from 130/70 down to 118/64 which is really great.  The previous blood pressure is not bad, at high normal.  He previously had issues with it being higher but slowly has reduced his meat and dairy intake over the past couple of years and it took years to get it go down just 10 points.  This shows it took only 3 weeks of vegan eating for it to go down 12 points.

He will never be vegan but I think as time passes he will eat more healthy,he is making healthier choices now and that is all I can ask for.  He said if was easier at lunch time he would just eat this way but he does not ever want to have to think about it or have to eat at the same two places.  He is exceptionally picky and that makes it even harder for him.  If he had a more open minded pallet it would be even easier.  I’m proud of him for doing such a great job and I know that the numbers on the scale, measurements, blood pressure and labs all show that it is a beneficial way to eat and he knows it.   I hope anyone thinking about trying vegan for a few weeks will take the plunge and see that it can make a world of difference in your life and it tastes good!

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart, Vegan

He MADE IT! 21 days of vegan eating, no meat, no cheese, and no eggs. I wondered if he would really do it and sometimes I wondered if I could make it through him doing it but here we are 21 days later and still intact. It was not a horrible ride for either of us but it was not easy either. He definitely had his cranky days and while he was losing weight I was gaining it. I was feeding him what he asked for in the way of sugary treats to keep him happy and in-turn eating them myself. I KNOW he would have lost even more had he not eaten those foods but I knew he probably would not have made it otherwise and I chose my battles.

He has never been one who is in touch with his body or his feelings so when I asked him if he feels better he easily and without thinking about it said no. I know he looks better, has a smaller belly and has lost inches all over his body. I can also say he had less back acne, better breath from less indigestion and definitely had more bowel movements (I know tmi). He joked when I said his belly looked smaller by saying “its because I am birthing 7 and 9 inch babies” (I know REALLY TMI-sorry). I had him go and get his labs drawn and I’m hopeful they will show a good change too.

So now where do we go from here? Does he keep eating a vegan diet or does he just go right back to where he was before? At this point he is anxious to go get some of the “good” stuff which is pizza and subs with lots of meat, cheese and mayo. He will have to decide on his own over the next few weeks what changes he is going to make as he sees the differences from going back to his old ways. Will he gain the weight back quickly? When he stops having easy bowel movements, gets more back acne, and get indigestion again will that make him think about a more permanent change? I honestly don’t think so. He is going to stay a meat eater but maybe a more conscientious one I hope.

Through this 21 day journey I don’t think my husband could say what he learned from it other than he knows he loves what he calls “the good stuff” and he poops more than he used to (sorry have to be honest here). Was I thinking he would become a vegan for life? No. Was I thinking he would become a vegetarian? No, but I was hoping he would notice a difference and make a more positive turn toward healthier foods and learn to appreciate them more. To learn to eat meat, cheese and eggs even more sparingly than he had been and broaden his tastes. Did that happen? I don’t know time will tell.

I can say that one thing I learned from this is that to really see a noticeable difference even for him would have been to be more drastic. For him to really notice a major difference in how he feels and how he looks he should have followed it to the letter which would have included no caffeine, no sugar, no alcohol, no white flours and you could even go further and do no gluten as well. To really cleanse your body of the toxins it has accumulated and tastes you have acquired you need to strip all the processed or “fake” foods out of your life and go clean, whole and pure.  Even though I don’t practice this I know it is true because I have done it before through a cleanse that I do occasionally.  Again though, I knew I had to chose my battles and that would not have worked with him so I did what worked and am happy we did it.  What is going to happen from here on out I don’t know.  I am going to continue to lead by example and clean up my diet even more, probably through a cleanse and a fresh start.  I will continue to cook my meals as healthy as I can and to try and limit the sweet stuff even more and he can make his lunch choices on his own.  I’m proud of him for doing this and I know he did it for me more than he did for himself and I love him even more for it.

Final weight in and measurements:

Day 1 weight: 199.2                         Day 21 weight: 193.6 =  5.6 lbs lost

Day 1 neck: 16                                    Day 21 neck: 15 1/2 = 1/2  inch lost

Day 1 waist: 38 1/4                          Day 21 waist: 37  =  1 1/4 inches lost

Day 1 chest: 42                                  Day 21 chest: 41 1/2 = 1/2 inch lost

Day 1 arms: 12 1/2                           Day 21 arms: 11 3/4 =  3/4 inch lost

Day 1 stomach: 40                          Day 21 stomach: 39  = 1 inch lost

Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart

Today was such a junk food day it is horrible. I went to the store and my husband went with m3 which is a very bad idea. We came home with all kinds of horrible fatty and sugar filled foods to stuff ourselves with. I am pretty good about not doing that on my own but when he comes all bets are off.

We were in a hurry in the morning to go run our errands so he ate 2 Strawberry muffins with his coffee for breakfast. I’m sure that was the worst idea because he went to the store hungry and on a sugar crash and so did I.
For lunch I made him a yummy garden burger that he was happy with but of course the sugar foods and chips called to him. He pulled out a bag of chips (he read the label and it is vegan) and ate a bunch and then the rest of us joined in UGH. Then he ate his cookies that he bought (they were too loaded with bad stuff for me so I stayed away from those but again they were vegan too).

For dinner he ate the Enchiladas and thought they were ok but the problem is he tainted his taste buds all day with crap food so the real, good food did not taste as good. That is the last point he is not getting really (although I think he knows it but the urge is too strong).

After dinner he ate a couple of the cookie bars I made. Not a great healthy food day. I’m sure his weight won’t be great on Monday for the last weigh in. Hopefully the cholesterol will be though since none of these foods have that.

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart, Vegan Muffin

Today was his last work day on the vegan diet.  He had his usual breakfast of coffee and oatmeal.  He did not have leftovers today again so he actually stopped at Taco Bell (he calls it Taco Hell).  For some reason he does not like to eat there at all and thinks their food tastes fake and nasty.  The rest of us LOVE Taco Bell.  He got the bean burrito with no cheese and it was his first time to get it and he said it was actually pretty good.  Their beans are vegan and are very tasty in my opinion.  I used to get the bean burritos with onions and extra sauce but am not sure about the tortillas so I just get them in a cup.  If anyone knows the facts about those tortillas I would love to know!!

Later in the day he had some almonds for a snack to get him by until he came home.  We had Mac and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli and Strawberry Muffins.  I used different noodles and he was not fond of those but liked the broccoli and muffins.  during dinner he talked with my son about eating pizza on Monday night since it has been 3 weeks since either of them have had it and it is usually a weekly thing.  He has even planned on driving the extra miles to the place in the valley he thinks has the best pizza to get it.   He will drive to get his labs first thing Monday and then I’m guessing he will have a meat sandwich for lunch and the pizza for dinner.  I’m very curious as to how it is going to go as I have said before.

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart

Today my husband had to do a lot of driving to do for his business so he did not end up eating lunch.  He had his oatmeal and coffee for breakfast but only had a box of cracker jax as a snack.  He had actually stopped at a quick mart to see what he could find to snack on and was really frustrated because he felt he could not find anything quick that did not have dairy, meat or eggs in it.  He saw the cracker jax and figured there was no way he could eat those and was surprised to find they are vegan.  He has really gotten good at reading labels and choosing a bit wiser.  Of course an apple or banana would have been better but I don’t know if I would have done much better with low blood sugar.

When he came home he was starving and fairly cranky  from not eating much all day and being so busy.  He was happy to see Garlic Mashed Potatoes but leery of the vegan meatloaf because I have not found a recipe that we all like.  The meatloaf was pretty nasty and he did not eat but one bite.  He said the potatoes were very good but thought the gravy was bland and not worth adding.  He of course was hungry after so he ended up eating the rest of the strawberry sherbet from the freezer.  He is excited to have this end and have some pizza.  I’m anxious to see his lab numbers and also to see how that pizza tastes.  Will it be too salty and fatty for him because he has not had it for a while or will it be even more delicious than before because he has not had it?  I’m hoping for the first of course but we will see.

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart, Vegan

Today he had his typical oatmeal and coffee for breakfast.  For lunch I had made him the stuff for the NOT Tuna Salad Sandwich but he forgot it.  I took it to him with a Fruity Smoothie and that kept him full enough to get him through the day.  He did have a handful of pretzels but did not need much else.

For dinner I was having a lazy day and did not feel like being creative so he suggested i make Blueberry Pancakes and hash browns.  I was at the store to get the ingredients for those items and he txt me and asked for Skittles.  I was shocked to find out that they no longer use gelatin in those (although the do have a horrible list of unthinkable ingredients like corn syrup, red dye #40 and more but still vegan I guess).  I had not had a Skittle since I was 15 years old and thought even though they still have a bunch of crap in them I might try one with him.  I came in 10 minutes after giving them to him and they were gone.  He and my 15 year old daughter had devoured them, oh well I’m better off for avoiding them right!

The great thing about the Skittles story is that he is reading labels and knows what to look for now.  I can send him to the store for a general food and not worry that he is going to come home with something that has eggs, dairy, or any other animal product in it.  He knows all the alternative names for them all too.  He pays a lot of attention to what I am doing and although sometimes I think he gets sick of hearing me talk about health and food he does let most of it sink in.  Although I do not think he will stick with a 100% vegan diet after these 21 days I think he will think a little more about what he eats and make a little better choices and maybe at least add in some good stuff.  I’m anxious to see what his labs will be after all of this work.

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart, Vegan

Today we are showing how boring he is keeping his breakfast but for now it is working and until we know if he will be sticking to this we will just go with what works and see the results at the end.  So he had his typical oatmeal and coffee for his breakfast and he had the same Fruity Smoothie for his mid morning snack.  For lunch he had Super Sourdough Sandwich for which I prepared all the ingredients the night before and put into zip locks.  All he had to do was throw it together.  Again for his afternoon snack he had pretzels.

He is not coming home starving anymore but I’m not sure if that is because he is adjusting to the food or just not saying anything until the 21 days are over.  For dinner he had the Alphabet Soup and Easy Garlic Bread he has never been a real big fan of soup so one bowl was enough for him.  He was not in the mood for sweets after dinner so maybe the soup leveled his blood sugar like it did mine because I did not eat sweets either and did not feel like it.  YAHOO.

I’m hoping for a change in weight at the next weigh in because he is not eating out but instead making what I send.  I guess we will see.  I did schedule labs to be drawn his last day to compare to his labs drawn 3 months ago.  I’m hoping for a noticeable change although I know that 3 weeks is barely long enough to see much but any change will be a good change.  He had been at the high end of normal for cholesterol but his triglycerides were way too high for my comfort and his blood pressure jumps around and again is too high for my comfort but not high enough for the doctors to want to give drugs.  Five days to go.

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart

Today my husband had the typical oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. Last night I prepared a Fruity Smoothie and then froze it. In the morning he gets it out of the freezer and then puts it in out to defrost and has it for his snack mid morning snack. It seems to work well and defrost right so that is something we will be doing for a few days to help him get his fruit in and keep the calories down.

For lunch I send him to work with a Garden Burger to warm up in his toaster oven with all the veggies cut for him to just throw on. He is able to do that when he gets back to the office for lunch pretty quickly. He had a few pretzels for an afternoon snack to get by until he gets home for dinner.

For dinner he had the Quick Spaghetti because I was feeling a bit lazy and uninspired. For desert he had some strawberry sorbet in a waffle cone (all vegan of course). He did feel a bit hungry after all of it because there were more carbs without a lot of fiber or protein.

We weighed and measured him tonight and I knew it would not be great with all the sugary foods he had been using as a replacement. He actually gained a few ounces but still lost a little around his chest and at least did not gain anything. Here is the breakdown.

Day 1 weight: 199.2 Day 7 weight:195.4 = 0.8 lbs GAINED! (sugar sugar sugar!!)

Day 1 neck: 16 Day 7 neck: 15 1/2 = the same as last week

Day 1 waist: 38 1/4 Day 7 waist: 37 1/2 = the same as last week

Day 1 chest: 42 Day 7 chest: 41 1/2 = 1/2 inches lost

Day 1 arms: 12 1/2 Day 7 arms: 12 = the same as last week

Day 1 stomach: 40 Day 7 stomach: 39 1/2 = the same as last week

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Tags: 21 day vegan kickstart