How many vegans on board?

bobhawke

grahamc2003 wrote: »

So you agree that a half of your fat intake should be saturated (eg animal fat)?

Looks like you must eat a lot of avocados to be both vegan and agree with Berardi's advice. Or are there many sources of saturated fats in fruit and veg (sufficient to get 1/2 of your daily fat intake from)?

Just to clarify, I agree with his advice. I have been interested in fitness and health for 15 years or so, I have done a lot of reading and a lot of working out etc I like his advice because he has spent 10 years at university, he follows his own advice and is very fit and he manages the diets of a lot of world class athletes.

I copied and pasted those rules directly from his site as it is good advice for everyone, not just vegetarians / vegans.

I eat at least a few avocados a week, i eat a lot of nuts and I eat a lot of olive oil. I have just bought a bread making machine so I will probably eat even more olive oilI sprinkle flax seeds on a lot of food and I have vegan omega supplements every day. It is difficult for vegans to get good fat in their diet. I eat about 3500-4000 calories each day in the winter and 5000-6000 in the summer.

I have no idea what my breakdown each day is % wise for protein, fat and carbohydrates I just estimate.

IamJen

brokeinwales wrote: »

Ah - I have the free pamphlet version of this book, hoping to get the full version at some point.

Has anyone tried those VEG1 supplements that the vegan society sell?

I was thinking myself that it was odd to show up a B12 deficiency after only being vegan a few months, so wonder if there could be something else at play here. I'm due to talk to my doctor about results of second blood test later today!

Thanks for the advice/suggestions/ reading material by the way. It's funny but I feel because I know so many people are skeptical about the healthiness of vegan diets I almost feel a certain determination to convince the world that I can be super-healthy without eating animal produce, so I find it a bit depressing that I've started to have problems. Hopefully i can get myself sorted...:)

Sorry, didn't see your post there, amidst the silliness. My other half takes the Veg1 supplement and it works great for him. I showed a B12 deficiency at one point, and it was suggested that I just couldn't digest it properly (from animals sources either). I take a sublingual tablet now and everything's fine. I'm actually going to ask for a test again in a few days as I'm pregnant, just to make sure, but it's been nearly 5 years now with no trouble.

Have you ruled out any other cause of B12 deficiency? "Girly" troubles, ulcers, internal injuries, etc.? It could also be that your stomach doesn't have enough intrinsic factor or something else that I can't remember (hydrochloric acid or something) and so you're just not absorbing it well. This is really common with older people, but not uncommon with younger people either, regardless of diet.

grahamc2003

bobhawke wrote: »

Just to clarify, I agree with his advice. I have been interested in fitness and health for 15 years or so, I have done a lot of reading and a lot of working out etc I like his advice because he has spent 10 years at university, he follows his own advice and is very fit and he manages the diets of a lot of world class athletes.

I copied and pasted those rules directly from his site as it is good advice for everyone, not just vegetarians / vegans.

I eat at least a few avocados a week, i eat a lot of nuts and I eat a lot of olive oil. I have just bought a bread making machine so I will probably eat even more olive oilI sprinkle flax seeds on a lot of food and I have vegan omega supplements every day. It is difficult for vegans to get good fat in their diet. I eat about 3500-4000 calories each day in the winter and 5000-6000 in the summer.

I have no idea what my breakdown each day is % wise for protein, fat and carbohydrates I just estimate.

Hi again Bob, thanks for the reply, but I think you missed the point of my question. (I have no axe to grind btw, it's not a trick question and adults can eat what they like, meat, veg, nuts tofu - it really does't bother me at all).

The question was simply how do you get 5 or 600 kcalories of saturated fat each day from a vegan diet without a lot of hassle? You said that you agreed with the reseach and views of Berardi regarding a healthy diet, and he explicitlty states you need that amount of satuated fats.

The reason I ask is that I was under the impression that satuaretd fats are rare in a vegan diet, of necessity (I'm no expert on this btw), and I'd just like to see what measures you take to ensure you get the balance of nutrition Berardi states as necessary for health (and with whom you agree).

bobhawke

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Hi again Bob, thanks for the reply, but I think you missed the point of my question. (I have no axe to grind btw, it's not a trick question and adults can eat what they like, meat, veg, nuts tofu - it really does't bother me at all).

The question was simply how do you get 5 or 600 kcalories of saturated fat each day from a vegan diet without a lot of hassle? You said that you agreed with the reseach and views of Berardi regarding a healthy diet, and he explicitlty states you need that amount of satuated fats.

The reason I ask is that I was under the impression that satuaretd fats are rare in a vegan diet, of necessity (I'm no expert on this btw), and I'd just like to see what measures you take to ensure you get the balance of nutrition Berardi states as necessary for health (and with whom you agree).

No problem, I should have made my response a little clearer. The advise on his site is aimed more at athletes and body builders but most of it is still relevant to everybody.
Here is a quote from a discussion he has about fat:

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/fatroundtable.htm

Yeah, yeah, I know. Now, I don't suggest very high quantities of saturated fats, so relax. When dieting, I think that only 10 to 15% of your total fat intake should come from saturates. But when trying to increase mass, you need to take the saturates up to about 30 to 35% of total fats. I say this because there's data to suggest that saturated fat intake can increase Testosterone production. With all of the fears of saturated fats out there, I can understand why some would be cautious. But the bottom line is that if you train, you can get away with higher levels of saturated fats from a health perspective and you'll probably grow, too.

I'm not a professional athlete, if I was I would count every calorie and micromanage my nutrient intake because you need every edge you can get, no matter how small. I don't have the time or patience for doing that so I do a lot of estimating and educated guessing. The bulk of the saturated fat in my diet comes from nuts, seeds, avocado and soya.

For me it isn't really a hassle. I eat a lot of food, some of it tastes absolutely awful and I eat it purely for nutritional reasons (pea protein isolate mixed with soya milk tastes absolutely horrendous), I have eaten a block of soft tofu raw before with no flavouring just for the protein etc
I normally prepare big batches of food on the weekend. I then seperate it into plastic containers and freeze it. That does me for all my meals for just over a week.

bobhawke

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

anyway - BOBHAWKE - I wonder if you have a moment to answer something for me? I'm new to a Pollo-pescatarian diet (mainly for health reasons - find im sluggish if i eat red meat) and my dear OH (who does all my cooking lol) keeps giving me the same meal and it getting very bland. I've got some Tofu in the fridge but have no idea what to do with it! It's the Cauldron original tofu (?!) My main meals at the moment have been salads. Can you suggest anything to do with it? (or any one else suggest something if reading this)

Many Thanks x

I have never tried to really cook with cauldron tofu, i have just stuck it in a spaghetti sauce, stir fry or soup for the sake of getting some protein. I have recently started experimenting with tofu though as I found a good chinese supermarket nearby and I maybe getting some chinese cooking lessons from a chinese girl which sound promising. I will report back and let you know how I get on but in the meantime Here is a quote from 1 of my cook books that I'm going to try out:

Think of tofu as a blank canvas on which you can creatively arrange colors to make a
beautiful work of art. And the best way to infuse lots of flavor into tofu is to marinate
it in a vegetable stock or a thin marinade by simmering it on the stovetop or
baking it in the oven. Once tofu is marinated, you can take it a step further by baking,
broiling, or grilling it to deepen its flavor. And if you want to add a chewy texture
to tofu, I suggest freezing it for at least 24 hours (in its package) and then
thawing it out in the refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours.
Before doing anything with extra-firm tofu (as opposed to silken), I suggest pressing
it. This procedure extracts excess water, makes the block more uniformly firm,
and allows it to absorb marinades more easily. To press a block of extra-firm tofu,
wrap it in several paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, place it in a large bowl or a
clean kitchen sink, and place a heavy weight on top of it for 1 hour, turning the block
after 30 minutes, until most of the liquid is pressed out and absorbed by the towel

I'm sure some of the better chefs in this thread will give you more help than I can though.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

bobhawke wrote: »

I'm sure some of the better chefs in this thread will give you more help than I can though.

Sorry -- i didnt mean to single you out but it's my second day visiting this board and not many post - other than those arguing and i dont really see the point in asking them and i only know one other vegetarian and he doesnt eat it lol

Do let me know how you get on with the chinese cooking! That would be fab!

Doom_and_Gloom

Considering the threads title is "How many vegans on board" it suggests that this thread is mainly for vegans to say they are as such. This would then logically follow with help for recipes or situations like going out to eat, where to get XX vegan product etc.
Logically it was never supposed to be a thread where people came on to debate about veganism. The OP states this

sleepymy wrote: »

Wasn't sure where to put this, thought here was best because it is an environmental topic too.

*is nosy*

Btw I haven't put this thread here to debate about veganism, if you don't agree with it put yer own d@mn thread up

I would say it is fine to have a thread about veganism on a money saving website - it certainy saves me money - and being on the green & ethical board makes the most sense due to these being main issues.

---

By the way the person with the tofu - personally I like it in chinese foods such as sweet and sour vegetables and tofu or mexican dishes such as vegetable fajitas with tofu.

You do need to 'drain' the tofu like another poster has stated. You can do this by placing the tofu on a clean plate with a clean bowl on it to do this - simply remove the 'juice' every so often and turn it when you do.
You can then use spices etc if you wish or just shallow/deep fry/grill it as it is. I'd say to make sure the tofu is basically cooked how you like it before adding it to the rest of the meal if you are mixing it in to something. Alternativly you could just it is as a tofu stake - my omni partner actually really likes tofu stakes suprisingly!

sleepymy

All you tofu virgins need to visit Vegan dad dribblelicious!

IamJen

Ah..some of the tofu posts got zapped in the purge. I picked up a tofu cookbook (not all veg) at our local discount book shop. It was this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-Bean-Curd-Betty-Saw/dp/9812321993/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302532855&sr=1-1. Loads of good ideas in there. I can't remember the name of the shop, but it's a chain...blue sign with red and yellow books on it. Anyway, for £2, it was a steal.

Thanks for posting about vegandad, I'd forgotten about that site. There are some other nice recipes there!

IamJen

Don't know if any vegans here are interested in plant cheeses, but DH and I just tried some of the Vegusto brand that's apparently all the rage on the continent. We got a mild, medium and "melty". The melty was gnarly, I thought, but the man liked it on his pizza last night. The other two were pretty good (and I've only liked one vegan cheese before). The mild was very smooth, but was a bit bland for my taste. The medium had better taste, but not quite a smooth. I ate a couple pieces just plain too, which I've never been able to do with Cheezly and the like.

We got ours at Vx in London. I think that may be the only place carrying it now.