Sneaky animal parts in foods

Just as I try to encourage you to sneak vegetables into every meal, there are others out there that are doing the exact opposite and ruining all our hard work. There are animal parts in the most unsuspecting foods. “Natural flavor” can be just about anything.  Sometimes it comes from the anal gland of a beaver. Starbucks used to make a “natural” strawberry shake that was dyed red with crushed up beetles. Gelatin is made of animal products. There are plenty of vitamins available that are vegetarian though. Some brands of maple syrup contain beef derivatives. From what I understand these are mainly the cheaper brands. Even sugar and Vitamin D supplements can also contain bone chard. I purchase ‘Vegan Sugar’ from whole foods (365 brand).

Vegetarian Thanksgiving

I can’t wait for Tofurkey this Thanksgiving

When I was a young vegetarian, I burned a lot of bridges around Thanksgiving time. I scoffed at the tradition and grumpily lamented about the turkey “corpse” on the table. I struggled with accepting the custom. After all those years of stewing, my rage didn’t build up: It disappeared altogether when I realized how useless and senseless it was to be angry.

I think vegetarians should embrace the tradition and enjoy the time spent with family. That is I believe, above all, the meaning of life. With this happier attitude, I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving to come.

World Vegetarian Day

October 1st is World Vegetarian Day! Happy Vegetarianism to all my vegetarian readers.

World vegetarian day 

Related articles

• World Vegetarian Day- October 1 Kicks off Vegetarian Awareness Month (sacbee.com)
• Happy World Vegetarian Day! (huffingtonpost.com)

Vegetarian Protein

Sautéed tempeh with green beans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the most common arguments I come across is that vegetarians can’t get enough protein through their diet. My response to this is that I feel it’s a common misconception. From my research I’ve learned that including meat in two or three meals a day will far exceed your recommended daily limit, and it’s especially a problem because the portions we are used to eating overwhelm our kidneys ability to process it all, which is extremely harmful to the organs. (Not to mention meat is linked to cancer.)

Vegetarians can obtain their proven from many different sources. I do not recommend veggie meat; such as veggie patties, veggie hotdogs, or veggie anything as a protein source because those types of foods are overly processed and should be consumed as a last resort. Your healthier options are as follows:

B-12 and Iron Supplements

The perfect supplement for vegetarians

There are many misconceptions about the vegetarian diet and many people, however well-intentioned, wrongly believe that the vegetarian diet is unsustainable and harmful. One of the challenges of being vegetarian is dealing with worried friends and family members who believe that humans are evolved to eat meat and that we can not survive without it.

To address this important issue simply, I would like to say that it is true that you can’t get all of your necessary vitamins from a meat-free diet. You must supplement Vitamin B12 and Iron (Ferrous Sulfate). Vitamin B12 is needed for energy and iron is needed to allow your blood cells to absorb oxygen. Without it, anemia develops and you will feel weak and faint. 

There’s more….