VEG-ISM PART SIX: Everything Is Illuminated

... Or is it?
Is there anything else you want to know?

As I've said, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about anything at all to do with veg-ism (as I've so creatively put it). I've changed the settings so that anyone can comment without having to "follow" me, so feel free to ask there :)

This is my second to last post for this subject. Of course, I'll be happy to come back to it again at some point in the future, particularly if You want me to. There is so much information out there on this subject, I couldn't possibly have said it all in seven posts! So I do welcome your questions and comments, and I hope there is adequate interest for me to return to this sometime soon.

But we aren't quite done yet!

Today I want to give you a few more pointers.

What if you're craving something hearty, say, in the Winter? Like a cottage pie?
My favourite brand of mock meat is Bean Supreme. You can find it in the refrigerated area of your supermarket, near the dairy products. Most of the items contain no animal by-products (some of them have cheese in the flavouring), and are high in protein, so a great alternative to meat. And there's an excellent variety of products. My favourite, because it's the most versatile, are the vege sausages. You can take them to a BBQ so you don't have to miss out, you can mush them up and make "mince" out of them (add mixed veggies and a can of tomatoes, some curry powder, and top with mash for a pretty convincing "cottage pie", or use it to make a "bolognaise")or you can chop them into chunks, fry them up, and put them into pasta or rice with some vegies and sauce. Mmmmmmmm.... AND, you can choose different flavours too. They're about $8 a pack, and you get 6 big sausies in one, you'd probably use a maximum of 2 per meal. Maybe 1 and a half. Or ten. Just kidding. They're seriously yummo though. But do try other brands, careful to read the labels if you're worried about dairy, because you might have a different preference to me, and most of them will be as versatile as Bean Supreme.

Another pointer: tofu is probably the most flavourless thing you'll ever put in your mouth. For goodness sake don't try to eat it raw. But, it is one of the best things for you, in moderation; most mock meats will have tofu as their main ingredient. Silken tofu is good for making desserts, soups, etc. You would use firm tofu though to fry, grill, bake, whatever, in the place of meat. Because it's not exactly the strawberries and cream of the vegan diet, it's important to make it taste good, otherwise you're really just punnishing yourself unnecessarily. Tofu absorbs the flavours of whatever you cook it with, so it's great in stir-frys when you have some flavoursome juicy veggies like capsicum or beetroot. But the best way to guarantee an enjoyable relationship with your tofu is to marinade it. You can make a marinade out of whatever you like, chop the tofu into 2cm cubes, and put them together in a shallow dish for an hour or so. One of my favourites is soy sauce and crushed almonds and pumpkin or sesame seeds. The almonds give it a delicious nutty flavour, and are amazing in stir-frys.

Basically, what I'm saying here is that if there's a particular dish that you love, you can still make a vegetarian or vegan version of it.

The other thing I wanted to discuss in this post is the cravings you will inevitably get, for chicken, steak, fish, cheese, and numerous other things.
The first thing I noticed when I went from meat-eater to full on vegan was that I was craving food that until then I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Broccolli, mushrooms, and cabbage to name a few. These are foods that would make me dry-wretch if I had tried to eat them before, and suddenly they were all I wanted. For three months I had grilled field mushrooms with olive oil and garlic for dinner, because that was what I wanted. You'll be amazed at your body's capacity to tell you exactly what you're lacking in, especially when you are eating healthily. Generally when you get a craving for something, it is not the food itself but the nutritional benefits the food has in it. My advice is, if you have a craving for meat or dairy, go to www.nutritiondata.com and find out what vitamin or mineral that particular thing is highest in. From there you can find out what you can have instead to curb the craving.

One more thing. I personally do not take any supplements, because I believe that I can get everything I need out of the food I eat. Sometimes though, you just can't. Different people are prone to different deficiencies, so it's important to pay attention to your body. I have had periods where I've taken supplements, simply because it would be silly not to. You CAN get everything you need out of a vegan diet, but it can take a while to figure out exactly how. So, if you feel like you're lacking in something, or you develop anything unusual on your skin (I once got dry itchy eyelids), then skip the pharmacy at first and go straight to your local health store. The rash on my eyelids turned out to be a deficiency in Riboflavin, vitamin B6. I had it for weeks, tried various creams etc, and it only got worse. When I went to Health 2000 and explained that I was vegan, the assistant looked the symptom up in her book, identified the problem, and gave me some supplements. Two days later it was gone, and I had found that marmite was very high in B6 and made sure that I ate plenty of that from then on.

Hopefully this is helpful and informative for you, let me know what you think and ask about anything you're unsure of :) And good luck!

Love,
M Tehrase
xx