Today, October 1, 2013, is National Vegetarianism Day. Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat – red meat, poultry, seafood and the flesh of any other animal; it may also include abstention from by-products of animal slaughter. Are you or do you know someone who is a vegetarian? I’m not and don’t know anyone who is.
My daughter and son in law are into something called Paleo friendly. They eat what the cavemen eat and we did the same up in Oregon on our trip to see them. I just do not love going outside to rip leaves off of the bushes lol. Interesting that many of the restaurants up there are Paleo friendly now.
Many variations of Paleo but most of it is strongly meat based. Much of the cavemen diet claims are not anthropologically supported. They are based on current hunter-gathers. But animal-derived calories in current groups range from 25% to 99%, depending on geographical location. Some believe Paleos were mostly fruit eaters, because of the ape diet. No one really knows what Paleolithic people ate.
Thought I'd resurrect this old thread, just to see how things stand now. I’ve been vegetarian/vegan since the mid ‘70s. Currently (since 2011) I follow a whole-foods, plant-based diet (WFPB) which is vegan (no meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, honey) with some further restrictions (no added oils of any kind, no coconut, no avocado, no nuts or seeds, no sugar, no food additives or preservatives, no processed foods). If you're familiar with Esselstyn, McDougall, or the Protective Diet, you'll know what I mean. One of the things I'm looking forward to in moving to SC is finding some like-minded folks as well as being able to shop at places like Sprouts and Whole Foods and farmer’s markets. You'd think there'd be an abundance of WFPB people in Hawai'i but the prevailing diet here is pork, Spam, deep-fat fried, swimming in mayonnaise, rather than veg. When I asked for turnips at the local supermarket in Hilo, no one even knew what they looked like! No mystery why the local population suffers from so much obesity, diabetes, kidney failure. Anyway, I digress, my main objective here was just to see if there are any other WFPB people in SC and/or perhaps locally active group(s). In my 11 years in Hawai'i, I've never met another vegan. There's a group on O'ahu, but nothing active here on the east side of The Big Island. There are abundant farmer’s markets here but there is also something called rat lungworm disease which causes debilitating and often fatal neurological impairment, is carried in the slime of slugs and snails, and is very nearly impossible to clean off leafy greens. Here in the midst of all this greenery, I only eat greens that come from the mainland sealed in plastic. Again, probably TMI, I tend to run off at the keyboard at times, I know. Any kindred spirits out there in SC? Aloha! P.S. - The only supplement I take is B12 a couple times a week.
Geeze. I'm wondering what you do eat. I eat everything that you don't and I am very healthy for a senior citizen. Yesterday at Elephant Bar I had one of the biggest hamburgers ever - about 5 inches tall. It even had a big fried onion ring on it. Came with lots of fries.
Glad to hear it Lin. I switched to vegetarian at 18 years of age (in the meat-based Midwest) and went vegan 6 years ago. I do have a very occasional sushi but just rolls with minimal fish inside, its mainly for the sushi rice. I don't have the McDougal no oil discipline down but I try to keep it at a minimum. I rarely eat sugar. I also hoped I could meet some vegans to share some meals with in sun city. I think we will need to start a club. In the past it didn't bother me too much but now I don't even like to see animal products on the table when I eat. I do it for my health for sure, but just as much I refuse to give my money to the horrible factory treatment of farm animals... I hate seeing chicken and eggs in stores. I was happy to learn my SC home is 2 miles from a Sprouts. I do love bean burgers of all types which isn't whole food i know but i eat them. You sound perfectly disciplined to whole foods. Im not so perfectly non-processed but i do strive for it. Is that all the planting you plan to do....veggies?
BTW, peg. there is a lot of food to eat within a beans, grains, fruit and vegetable diet. The only downside is you need to prepare most of your meals, especially if you adopt the unprocessed food plan.
The thing is, Peg, we eat the same things you do, just made a little differently. I have burgers, onion rings, French "fries", slathered in mayo, ketchup, pickle relish - the diff is it's all homemade, vegan and fat-free, including the burger buns, but still very delicious. Yeah, it takes a little planning and a some work to prepare, and no, it isn't as easy to pop into a restaurant for a meal, but it's all doable and the result is well worth the time and effort, at least to me it is. Cynthia, glad to know there's at least one person out there that "gets it." Perhaps we can 'do lunch' once I'm in and settled. Peg, you're welcome to join in, you might be pleasantly surprised! I have a friend who recommends The Loving Hut, maybe we could try that, or I could have y'all over for a PD (Protective Diet) meal. We'll see what happens. Back to Cynthia, yes, most planting will be food and herbs though I think the cats might appreciate a little grass and catnip and I do love a few bright flowers. Actually was wondering if there were any restrictions preventing a couple painted pots with flowers by the front door, think it needs a little oomph!
Many, many homes have flower pots. I must have about a dozen in my courtyard. All with artificial flowers. My 3 "real" plants withered in the recent hot weather. I am replacing them with artificial.
Below is link to Loving Hut Menu not too far from Sun City. What is soy protein? http://lovinghut.us/phoenix/menu.html
Food made from soy beans. That restaurant looks good. Thanks, I was wondering if I would find a vegan place not too far away.
Opinions about soy could fill a book. Whole soy products (milk, tofu etc) are better and fermented soy products like tempeh are considered best. Soy isolates are not very good and is the stuff added into many packaged food of many types...so even if you don't eat tofu you might eat soy isolates. I eat more other type of beans but I do enjoy tofu a few times a week and 8 oz of soy milk every day in coffee. Other plant based milk isn't creamy enough for coffee, IMO. Most consider a few servings of whole soy daily is fine.
In what isle of the grocery store (Frys) would I find soy products? Things like burgers and onion rings. Getting together in Sun City sounds like fun.
I don't know Fry's but they aren't usually in one isle. Usually soy milk is with milk, tofu is in a refrigerated case, frozen foods with those foods. Spread out in difference areas.
I think Trader Joe's on Grand Avenue in Surprise has a pretty good selection of vegan foods. Might be worth a trip?
I shop at Trade Joe's here in L.A. every week. They do have many vegan items and other good stuff too. I haven't been to Sprout's yet but it sounds very similar to Trader's Joe's.
I agree pretty much with Cynthia re soy - use only whole and/or cultured soy products, never soy protein or soy protein isolate, and additionally, never GMOs! Always read labels, not just nutritional info but ingredients as well. I don't use any processed foods, vegan or otherwise - vegan junk food is still junk food, and it's so easy to make everything at home sans additives, preservatives, hidden addictives - tastes better and cheaper too. I can’t wait (becoming my mantra) to actually have choices for shopping, I’ll probably go every day for the first month, or two, or more. :biggrin-new:
