vegansaurus!

Did you know: PCRM has a vegan-food-only office!  »

PCRM! Sometimes amazing, sometimes embarrassing, but always working toward a vegan world, which we can certainly appreciate. And in service of that goal, the organization has a vegan-food-only office policy, which the Washington Post reported on this week for … reasons.

PCRM has also piloted vegan eating programs at other workplaces in the Washington area. In one instance, they worked with a group of employees at Geico’s Chevy Chase headquarters. The nonprofit asked the insurance group to adopt a vegan diet and offered them weekly instruction on how to make healthy, tasty and cost-effective vegan choices. After 22 weeks, they compared employees in that group to Geico employees who hadn’t received the training. The vegan group lost more weight, reported improved physical health and said they saw a decrease in food costs.

Of course people are always yapping about how veganism will MAKE YOU THIN at which point YOU WILL WIN LIFE, which is a dumb lie. But are we going to criticize a cruelty-free office kitchen? Of course not. Health vegans, we love you too. Everyone’s welcome on team vegan.

[Photo by Justina Davies via Flickr]

(Source: Washington Post)

German company Sante introduces vegan toothpaste with B12!  »

Sante is a company based in Hannover, Germany, which creates and manufactures “natural cosmetics.” This line now includes toothpaste with vitamin B12! Specifically for people whose diets make them susceptible to B12 deficiencies, like vegans!

Even better than it existing is that it works. Sante and Vegetarierbund Deutschland (VEBU/German Vegetarian Society) conducted a study with some pretty great results. Namely, participants saw a “60 percent increase in vitamin B12 after 4 weeks of … two applications daily of a B12-toothpaste.” That is great!

VEBU details the study here, including some pretty clear charts. Yes, they’re entirely in German, but you can understand this, right?

Hint: “Vorher” means “before” and “Nachher” means “after.”

As for buying this wonderful toothpaste, it appears you can purchase it through VEBU, but only from certain countries, most of which are European, obviously. A quick Google turns up a few sites—but none of them ships to North America, either. Boo! I want this toothpaste! Actually, I’m pretty well-vitamined, but I love the idea of an organic, vegan dentifrice that cleans your teeth and protects you from future health issues.

Thanks for the hard work, VEBU and Sante. Now please sell us your product.

[images via VEBU]

(Source: gizmag.com)

Product Review: Nutty Bean Chick Pz!  »

Clockwise from the left: Vanilla Chai, Sesame Crunch, and Sweet and Spicy Chipotle.

Hello, friends! Here I am with another product review! This time we have some healthy snack food: Nutty Bean Chick Pz. These are flavored roasted chickpeas. All flavors but the Honey Roasted are vegan. I tried the Chai Vanilla, Sesame Crunch, Sea Salt, and the Sweet and Spicy Chipotle (for those following along at home, that’s all but the Honey Roasted and BBQ). Nutty Bean sent me these flavors to try for free and now I will tell you all about them.

I’ve actually seen roasted chickpeas before; I used to go to the Italian festival in New Jersey every year (which I highly recommend—except for the cannoli eating contest; whatever you do, don’t watch the cannoli eating contest! You will vom!) and they had them in big burlap sacks. Haven’t seen them since then. I always thought it was a good idea though, seems like a healthy snack idea.

So, in brief: they are a bit weird…AND I love them. The weird part is the texture. They are crunchy at first—kind of like wasabi peas or something—but then when you bite into them, they have a kind of dusty texture? I think dusty is the best description. But I think you get used to it and then you can enjoy them with reckless abandon!

The really cool thing is that these are super healthy. If they were bad for you and had the unfamiliar texture, I might not be into them. But I think the health factor makes it a good gamble. There are two servings per package (a good size!) and each serving has 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein and only 1.5 grams of fat. It also has 10% of your daily iron, so that’s nice. And a little shot of calcium to boot.

My favorite-favorite flavor is the Sweet and Spicy Chipotle. Yummy! It rules. I’m kind of a nancy about spice so these are a little too hot for me. My solution was to eat like four, then eat a handful of sea salt ones to relieve the spice. Funny Megan! But it worked great. 

I didn’t like the Sesame Crunch that much; I think you would definitely like that flavor if you like those little sesame sticks they always sell in bulk candy sections. You know the ones? My mom used to buy those for us when we were hippies. I was never that into them.  But if you were, this is your flavor.

As for the Vanilla Chai, I thought I wouldn’t like them because sometimes chai is über-sweet. But to my surprise, this was my second favorite flavor! Not too sweet but nice and cinnamon-clovey. Definitely yum and a nice sweet treat that’s not too sweet.

That’s the other good thing besides the health: these hit the spot. If you want a little touch of sweetness, you got it; if you want something salty, boom. And you can feel like you are doing something good for your body because of the iron, fiber, and protein! So it’s really a great snack option. I officially recommend!

Guest Post: Proud to be vegan, happy, and chubby  »

Before I became vegan I knew that the world hated fat people, but I didn’t know that vegans hated us as well. I find that as a chubby vegan who has no desire to be skinny I am an outcast within the vegan community. I am forced to read about how a blogger lost 40 pounds on a vegan diet—yeah, that’s nice, but I don’t really care. Just give me recipe ideas, and keep your skinny preaching to yourself.

I went vegan for the animals, and one reason I will always stay vegan is because it is better for your health. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that equates being slender with being healthy, and I don’t think that is true at all. Sure, I might have a few extra pounds, but I eat a whole-foods-based vegan diet and you are telling me I am less healthy on the inside than a skinny person who eats McDonald’s every day? I beg to differ. According to my doctor, I am in great health with near-perfect blood pressure and cholesterol levels—two major issues in American health. I might be fat on the outside, but my insides are well cared for.

However, it isn’t just about health. Even if those who worship at the altar of skinny were to agree that fat people can be healthy, we are still ugly, or at the very least less attractive than skinny people. Here you can read about how PETA is trying find the sexiest non-celebrity vegetarian. This is what they have to say about sexiness: “On average, vegans and vegetarians are fitter, trimmer, and healthier than their meat- and dairy-eating counterparts, and that makes them sexier too.” Apparently you have to a skinny vegan to be a sexy vegan. Well, I call bullshit on that. Sexiness is not tied to any number—your dress size, or the number of inches on your waist, or your age! Here is how Merriam-Webster describes sexy:

1. sexually suggestive or stimulating

2. generally attractive or interesting

Hmm, I don’t see the words “fit or trim” in there—but they do say “generally attractive or interesting.” I would rather be interesting any day.

Sexiness is a feeling from within; the confidence to parade around your house naked because it just feels good. It is wearing lacy panties to work every day because it makes you feel a little sassy. Sexiness is loving yourself just as you are and thus attracting another sexy person who loves your body as well. And finally, perhaps most importantly, sexiness is exploring and enjoying your sexuality with someone you love (or maybe someone you just met). The point is, none of these things require you to be skinny. Here is a quote from my husband (a skinny man) who married my chubby self: “I can see a woman who might weigh 400 pounds and find her sexy as hell. It is all in how you carry yourself.” If you are confident, vivacious, and happy, that is sexy.

You have until March 26 to enter PETA’s contest. I for one will be sending in a picture of my not-skinny but still sexy as hell vegan self. I hope you will join me—whether you are fat or skinny, we are all sexy. This society needs to learn that skinny does not equal healthy, happy, or sexy. I am all of those things, and haven’t been skinny a day in my life.

Ashley Hermann is a happy, chubby vegan who resides in Milwaukee, Wis., with her husband and three cats. Any free time she can find is dedicated to volunteering with cats, reading classic literature, and scouring the internet for recipe inspiration.   

eBook Review: The New Green Smoothie Diet: Going Green Never Tasted So Good  »

These days, it seems like everyone in the health world has a different perspective on what we should and shouldn’t put in smoothies. Some say all-fruit is the way to go, while others advocate using only low-glycemic fruits like berries and grapefruit (including the medical doctor who runs the raw vegan retreat center where I worked for two years). Well-known raw foodist David “Avocado” Wolfe advises tossing in durian, mangoes, bananas, goji berries, and every “superfood” on the market. Others say not to use any fruit at all. Even regular self-help people want to weigh in! Martha Beck, a personal favorite motivational life coach of mine (with several Harvard degrees, to boot!) says in her latest book Finding Your Way in A Wild New World that we should blend following a 1:1 fruit to veggie ratio. Kris Carr’s new smoothie e-book is out, and though I haven’t read it yet (I want to!) I strongly suspect she’s got her own spin on the smoothie ingredient debate.

The New Green Smoothie Diet: Going Green Never Tasted So Good by Hilary Greenleaf predictably stakes a claim about which ingredients belong in smoothies. Greenleaf says we should drink smoothies that are 60% fruit and avoid putting powders, nut and soy milk in our smoothies, and only use water for liquid. I guess that’s good for some people who may get all confused by labels and accidentally toss in something crazy like, say, whey powder or maybe arsenic along with their produce. But what about super nutrient-dense add-ins like raw, vegan supplements Vega, Green Grasses, hemp protein, maca, cacao powder, and HealthForce Vitamineral Green, spirulina, chlorella, etc.? I just had a smoothie this morning that included many of the aforementioned discouraged smoothie ingredients, so I’m a bit biased, but I wonder why would she suggest these added raw vegan organic ingredients are a bad idea, without much explanation? Greenleaf includes lots of studies and research in her 50-page ebook, but I wish she would’ve rounded up some optimal smoothie ingredient studies, because somebody needs to get the final word on the smoothie debate once and for all!

Once I got past my initial distaste for yet another dogmatic yet scientifically unsubstantiated approach to smoothies, I found plenty to like in this e-book. I appreciate that it cites lots of articles and studies on obesity, health and nutrition, and mentions the importance of choosing organic when possible. Other claims made by author Greenleaf, like how green smoothies can combat “liver sluggishness,” I wasn’t so sure about, but I am intrigued by all of the recipes here that include guava! According to Greenleaf, a small guava added to smoothies can lead to strong hair and clear skin. Sounds yummy and healthful! I’m willing to pick up some guava and give it a whirl. Other highlights include weird recipes like The “Salty Smoothie,” which Greenleaf says also works as a cold summer soup. As the title suggests, all recipes include some greens to give you caffeine-free energy.

There aren’t tons of recipes in this book—it focuses mainly on the nutrition benefits of smoothies and the recipes feel like kind of a side note. Still, there are some gems that are worth trying! This morning I made the Energy Smoothie, “a great salty smoothie to help increase your energy levels and ‘warm’ you up.” 

Here’s the recipe (with permission from author!):

Energy Smoothie
(Note: author does not indicate how many servings this makes; I’d say based on my experience it makes 1-2 servings)

Ingredients
One head of lettuce (author recommends red, which I used)
1 cup Swiss chard
1 medium cucumber, peeled
1 cup turnip or collard greens (I used collards)
1 lemon, peeled and seeded
1 tsp seaweed (I tossed in a little bit of kelp)

I’m not sure about the whole “warm” thing, but I did enjoy my thick, chewy puddle of green nutrition! Normally, I’d be very tempted to separate out the pulp using a nut mylk bag after blending just greens and citrus, but I abstained from straining this time and actually enjoyed the chew factor. If you like your green smoothies strong like I do, this recipe is pretty rad!

If you’re open to looking past Greenleaf’s strict smoothie rules and advice about how many calories you should aim to eat at every meal (this totally assumes we all have the same physical activity levels, body types, weights, and AH THIS FRUSTRATES ME SO MUCH SO I’M JUST GOING TO STOP), then The New Green Smoothie Diet isn’t a bad place to start if you’re just getting into the blending game. Overall, this recipe ebook is a winner. Happy blending!

This is Vegansaurus raw correspondent Sarah E. Brown’s latest post! Read more by Sarah on Vegansaurus, and visit her personal blog, Queer Vegan Food.

To be a healthy vegan, focus on…wait for it…health!  »

Laura has already registered her disappointment (OK, rage) at the new ad campaign from PCRM, which employs fat-shaming as a means to scare people off cheese. This campaign ignores all the good reasons why we should skip cheese—its production involves animal cruelty, eating it is not particularly good for us—and instead goes for a cheap shot at chubby thighs.

The awesome Ginny Messina already addressed why going vegan only to get skinny is likely to lead to disappointment, but she’s followed up with an article that I think is also worth mentioning here. Messina’s post for One Green Planet, The 7 Habits of Healthy Vegans, does a great job of focusing on vegan health regardless of size. Her suggestions apply to everyone—we could all be a bit healthier by eating legumes more often, choosing whole grains, and loading up on veggies. 

I actually did lose weight when I became vegetarian, and I also lost weight when I had to give up gluten. I didn’t lose any extra when I went vegan, but I had already changed my diet pretty drastically by then. Everyone is different. And I have no problem acknowledging that fitting into smaller pants felt great, but I could have gotten there a variety of ways; knowing that I was living my life according to my values and ethics has always felt better than skinny jeans. If you initially go vegan to lose weight and end up loving the lifestyle and learning more about how awesome it is, fabulous. But if your end goal is just a number on a scale, and you’re ignoring everything else that helps to keep us healthy and happy—mental health is part of that, too—then you’re not going to do well, no matter what your diet looks like.

Terri Coles lives in Toronto, where she enjoys barbecuing, feeding feral cats, going to local music shows and getting really mad about hockey games. She blogs about her adventures in plant-based eating at The Vegina Monologues. We edit out all her extra vowels.

[photo by slightlypale via Flickr]

Hello, friends! It’s WTF Wednesday!  »

Yesterday I was informed that I have high blood pressure. The doctor was so concerned about my blood pressure, in fact, that she would not let me leave her office without signing up for tests, agreeing to check my pressure daily for a week, and swallowing some kind of medicine. I was not pleased yesterday and I am not pleased today. The doctor’s advice was to work less and enjoy life more. My thought about that: yes, but who is going to show up for work for me? And who will do all of my paperwork?

I do not think it is a coincidence that this happened the week after Allen and I welcome my former friend and roommate Ms. Cleo into our home. You see, Ms. Cleo (who is a giant black female rabbit) and I do not like each other very much. We spent two years together, and while we were fairly happy—I would supply her with food and toys, she would supply me with bites and scratches—we parted ways after I moved in with Allen. This happened for two reasons: first, I am never at home. At the time of the move I was shoulder-deep in grad school and was out of the house so much that I was not able to give Ms. Cleo the proper attention she deserved. Second, Allen was scared of her. I asked him to hold her once when we first started dating and I was attractively cleaning her cage before we went to dinner. She scratched Allen so hard that he dropped her (on the bed. She was on his lap. It was like less than an inch). The she turned and stared at him until he got up and walked out of the room. Then she peed all over my comforter to teach me a lesson. Allen was not happy about staying over that night.

Anyway, I moved and Ms. Cleo moved in with the roommate I was leaving, with the understanding that I would invite her back if circumstances deemed it necessary. And I hoped circumstances never would. Then my roommate had to move, and now we are living with Ms. Cleo indefinitely. I am probably allergic to her. Allen, on the other hand, could not be happier.

That’s right; Allen is in love with his former enemy. I know this because he gives her his organic vegetables every day (and knows which ones she likes), because he texts to remind me to play with her, because he willingly took me to a pet store and made me buy the most expensive stuff and because he talks to her. In Spanish. Regularly.

“Allen,” I said to him when I first walked in on him calling her Bonita and saying that she was très bien, “I do not think she understands that. She comes from an English-speaking household.”
“She gets it,” he said. “She speaks Spanish fluently.”
“How do you know?” I asked, wondering if Allen was some kind of modern-day Dr. Doolittle.
“Because I gave her a banana and said ‘eat the banana’ in Spanish.”
“Yes, and?”
“And she ate it!”
“Maybe she just likes bananas,” I said.
“Maybe you should go see your doctor for an attitude adjustment,” Allen said, and went back to forcing pieces of bok choy through the bars of Ms. Cleo’s cage.

Perhaps I do. I do a lot of doom and gloom here on WTF Wednesday because doom and gloom brings me a lot of joy, but Allen has inspired me to do a “what’s good” week. Thank god the internet is happy to oblige.

First, there’s a dog who pisses while doing a motherfucking handstand. What is that? How awesome is it? Do you have any words, because I sure don’t. This dog just gets up on his front legs and says, “Watch this. This entire world is mine!” I think he is actually hitting a big area. I wish I could do this, but I can barely use the bathroom and can certainly not perform a handstand. Maybe I will have one of my yoga friends teach me. Then I can blame it on the rabbit and Allen will love her less and me more!

Here’s another thing that I like but I’m wondering if it is OK to. It’s a pack of puppies cuddling a kitten. Well, they are basically attacking the kitten, and then cuddling her. And she’s more like a full-grown cat. But they’re wagging their tails! And the cat ends up OK! And it is just so goddamn cute! Look at their little tails wag. What do you guys think? Is it all right for me to find this adorable? If it’s not, please take a look at this cat, who is more fashionable than either you or me.

Ok, fine, here is something unobjectionable: hedgehogs bathing! They are swimming! This is almost as cute as when I would bathe my guinea pig. She didn’t love it at first, but then she would get in the warm water and chill and squeak, just like these hedgehogs. I wish I could play this on loop. I wish I could give these hedgehogs a hug. I wish Allen loved me more than the rabbit. Wait…

That’s it for this week. Please send me links for next week and have an adorable Wednesday!

[photo of Luna from Facebook via Buzz Feed]

Guest post: How vegans can rock out on zinc!  »

I’m sure you’ve heard it all, vegans. “Where do you get your protein?” “But what about iron intake?” “Are you sure you’re getting enough calcium?” These questions often come up because of people’s misconceptions and incomplete information about vegan diets, and they can be annoying when you know that many omnivores aren’t getting all the nutrients they need.

But when you’re vegan, you will have to pay special attention to some nutrients—probably not protein, though—because they are harder to get from plant-based diets. That doesn’t mean they’re impossible to get, though, so read on so you can school the next person who tells you you can’t be healthy while being a herbivore.

Zinc is one such nutrient—a mineral, in this case—that you should keep an eye on. It’s an important one for your body; it’s involved in dozens of enzymatic reactions, needed for cell growth and protein synthesis, and important for your immune system—some studies have suggested that zinc supplements can help prevent and recover from colds. Helpful at this time of year!

This is why zinc can be tricky for vegans: Absorbing it from plant foods is more difficult than absorbing it from animal foods. The RDAs for zinc are 8 mg for women and 11 mg for men, which isn’t so high, but the authors of Vegan For Life suggest getting 12 mg for women and 16.5 mg for men to make up for lower absorption.

Fortunately, a lot of vegan-friendly foods do have some zinc content: A cup of Bran Flakes has 2 mg; a half-cup of cooked quinoa has 1 mg; two tablespoons of wheat germ has 2.7 mg; a half-cup of cooked adzuki beans has 2 mg; and two tablespoons of almond butter has 1 mg.

You can also use a few tricks to maximize your zinc absorption. Have some vitamin C with each meal, even just a squeeze of lemon. Coffee and tea can affect zinc absorption, so have yours between meals. Toast nuts before you use them, and sprout beans and grains. And go for whole grains instead of refined. (Bonus: these tips also help boost iron absorption!)

I think that one of the best things we can do as vegans is work to have a healthy diet, so we can show other people that this is a satisfying, ethical, and nourishing way to eat. And pass these tips for zinc along—it’s apparently cold now (still in denial) and we could all use the immune boost.

Terri Coles lives in Toronto, Ont., where she enjoys barbecuing, feeding feral cats, going to local music shows and getting really mad about hockey games. She blogs about her adventures in plant-based eating at The Vegina Monologues.

[Photo of adzuki bean and sun-dried tomato burgers from joanamendes via Flickr!]