Becoming Vegetarian
Things I wish someone had told me about being vegetarian before I became one.
I became a vegetarian again two years ago after having fallen off the wagon and eating meat for a couple of years prior. Becoming vegetarian again after eating fish, chicken and red meat for a while made me appreciate how difficult it can be to feed yourself in a meat-eaters' world. I don't eat eggs, meat, or fish, but still eat organic, non-RBST dairy products. This page is devoted to those of you out there eating a non-harm diet. Or just striving to... I'm not a nutritionist and only you know what's best for you, but here's some of the things I wish I had known before I became a vegetarian.
That's Not Food... That's What Food Eats
I had a really hard time when I first set out to become vegetarian once again. Surfing almost every day made my body crave protein more than ever before. I didn't know what to feed myself after eating meat for two years; I had become spoiled and was living in Hawaii where everyone eats fish and pork on a daily basis. I was starving but determined to be veggie again.
After many weeks of frustration with my diet and my body's escalating, ravenous needs, I sat down with a newspaper outside the grocery store and flipped to the astrology section. To my amazement, my horoscope confronted the situation head-on and recommended that I "look to the food of my ancestors for nourishment". I am of hispanic origin, so I interpreted this as a sign that I needed to incorporate more beans, corn, and rice into my diet. I also began to look into white-rice alternatives that could satisfy my never-ending pit of hunger without filling me up with tons of starch.
Recapturing the Magic:
Getting That "Full" Feeling From Whole Grains
There are alot of other wonderful grains to choose from out there besides the omnipresent and ever-nutritious
(but let's face it - boring) brown rice, that are also packed full of protein, B-vitamins, vitamin E,
carbs, fatty acids, phytonutrients, iron, zinc, copper and magnesium. Whole grains consist of 3 main parts, each
of which have been found to be important in fighting diseases and are often missing from refined grains
commonly found in the typical American diet:
1) Bran (the outer shell of the grain which contains fiber, B-vitamins, and trace minerals)
2) the "Germ" (which serves as the nourishment for the grain itself and also contains B-vitamins,
vitamin E, and trace minerals)
3) the "Endosperm" (provides energy and contains carbs and protein)
Quinoa is a wonderful South American grain that is delicious and goes with just about everything. Its texture and size is similar to couscous, only its packed with protein instead of just carbs (not that I think all carbs are useless!). It is a whole grain whose outer shell has a tasty crunch to it. You cook it just like rice and know it's done when the germ separates a little and looks like an itty bitty tail (see-- you can still eat things with tails!). A tip on cooking quinoa from Cecie: before you throw the water in, warm up the quinoa by itself in the pot before cooking for a warm, toasty flavor.
Millet is another lesser-known grain worth testing out. Similar in size to quinoa, it takes a little more water to cook than rice or quinoa; 1 cup of millet to 3 cups of water should do it. Some preparers of couscous have been known to use millet, although couscous is generally made of the hard part of wheat that resisted millstone grinding.
Corn is also another yummy whole grain, and is super-high in fiber and has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the heart-disease kind of cholesterol). It is important that you prepare your corn with lime, as in South American countries, because most of the niacin available in corn cannot be made avaiable to your body without being released by a chemical reaction with the lime. The lime also contributes calcium to your diet. Whole grain corn flour and meal (masa harina) can be used to make tortillas, corn breads and muffins.
Oats and oatmeal are also delicious whole grains that are real rib-stickers.
Wheat is another whole grain but is a little tricky to digest for me and many other people who are mildly allergic to wheat and wheat products like wheat gluten a.k.a. seitan. The allergy can be very subtle and may manifest as a feeling of being super-full, having itchy eyes, and generally feeling like you are in a fog. It took me a while to realize that what I was experiencing was an allergy; wheat gluten/seitan are the main ingredients in many "fake" meats, so watch out.
Getting Your Protein, Iron, and B-Complex Vitamins
Protein is a central issue in making the transition. I realize that if you really need this section it is likely that you are hungry and may not appreciate squandering your fading reserves of power on unnecessary verbiage so I'll keep it simple: Beans. Rice. Corn tortillas. Sprouted lentils & hummous. Kale, swiss chard, leafy greens, beets. Seaweed.
I'm a very active person and sometimes need a little extra spring in my step, so I also supplement my diet with a NON-soy protein shake. I use one that combines rice, bran, oat bran, beet root, apple fiber and guar-gum.
The problem with soy
It bloats the hell out of me.
Well, I guess there are two problems with soy then. Because the other is that it typically grows in patties like rice, and is super-absorbent of everything in the soil, good and bad. Chemical engineers will often use soy in soil-remediation projects where they are trying to clean up contaminated areas because it literally sucks everything up. So unless you are buying high-quality organic soy, you might not be doing yourself any favors, especially because soy is often rotated with other crops that require more pesticides to grow.
Help! My Skin!
I see alot of vegetarians, especially raw-foodies, running around with that dewy, glowy, beautiful skin. But when I first became vegetarian again, I had a lot of problems with my skin and couldn't figure out why. The first time I went veggie it wasn't an issue as much; I think because I was still eating eggs (nothing like macking on placenta to clear that skin up!). The secret that I didnt understand at the time was that when you cut fish, meat, and eggs from your diet you are also cutting out the good fats, the ones that your body secretes to protect your skin from the environment (Thanks for the clue, CC!)
Luckily, you can get these fats (omega 3's, 6's, and 9's) from nuts and seeds. I found that using a nut oil supplement helped me get that extra that I need. I started taking a teaspoon of flax oil daily and bam! Clear skin almost immediately, and much better than it had been when I was still eating meat, fish, and eggs. Now I use Barlean's "Omega Twin" Flax and Borage oil supplement. Completely organic and pesticide free, the borage oil adds some omega groups to the mix that are missing from just the plain flax supplement and gives you that extra rosy glow. Lack of omegas in the diet manifests as bad skin for the lucky ones among us and is easy to fix, but lacking omegas can cause other longer-term health problems, so whether you are having skin issues or not, be sure you are getting those omegas!
Healing the Blind
Many strict vegetarians out there are probably going to want to gouge *my* eyes out for saying this, but if me writing this helps one person out there, I think its worth it. I've noticed that alot of older vegetarians have problems with their eyesight as they get older. I've heard some speculate that it is from using contaminated, non-organic soy as a primary source of protein. But the most compelling argument I've heard came from a nutritionist by way of a friend of mine who studies holistic medicine. He says that the body has been evolved to eat meat, and when you become vegetarian your body may begin to shut down systems that evolved at the same time as the meat-eating and hunting began; the nutritionist recommended for people who are older and experiencing this loss of eyesight that they take a teaspoon full of cod-liver oil every day. I asked if there were ways to simulate whatever helpful nutrition is in the cod liver oil in a vegetarian way and I was told that yes, there is, but the most effective supplement is cod-liver oil once you are at the point where you are losing your vision.
It is my guess that it is the rich concentration of omega fatty acids in the cod liver oil that heals the eyes. So for myself, I make sure I hit that Flax and Borage oil supplement every day (see the "Help My Skin!" section) to make sure I am getting the omegas on a daily basis so that I hopefully never have to face a vision problem due to nutrition.
Helpful Foods
Almond and Sesame Milk
This is the stuff. In trying to cut out unnecessary sugars from my diet, I have found that it is really hard to find beverages that aren't packed with sugar. I like rice milk and almond milks, but find that all of the store-bought brands contain lots of sugar, more than is necessary for me to enjoy these beverages. The answer: roll your own! Almond milk is really easy to make and delicious and healthy to drink. Just put 1 cup of almonds into 2 cups of water and leave it in the fridge to soak for a day or two. When you're ready, take it out and throw the water and almonds into a blender, blend it up for a while and strain thru a cheesecloth or strainer to get the big bits of almond out. I like to then put the almond milk back in the blender and throw some dates and sometimes if I've really got a sweet tooth, some honey and blend it up again for a while till all the chunks have been mixed in thoroughly. Even if you dump alot of dates and honey in there you are still only getting the sweet from fructose, not nasty refined sugars. Serve chilled and that is one tasty treat.
Almonds can be a little pricey, and if you are looking to drink an everyday kind of seed milk, you can do the same thing with sesame seeds for alot cheaper. Sesame milk with honey is delicious as well.
Sprouted Lentils
Good on salads or on top of any food you want a little crunch in. Take your lentils and sprout them like so. Something about the germination process makes this a perfect food high in vitamins, iron, and proteins which are perfectly pre-digested by the germination enzymes and make them really easy to digest. Tip: You can make a mean hummous out of sprouted lentils.
"Seed Cheese"
I am working with my mad scientist friend on the marketing, so no snickers from the peanut gallery, alright? For now its called seed cheese and its a great, protein packed snack dip. Throw some sunflower seeds, water, lemon juice, onions or shallots, garlic and salt in a food processor and spin it around till its creamy for a traditional dip-kind flavor. I have started expirementing with variations that involve the same ingredients as above, plus balsamic vinegar and green chili.
Flax Seeds
...and watch your skin glow!
Mushrooms
Terrence McKenna called them intergalactic time travelers. Low in calories and packed with B-vitamins, especially riboflavin and niacin. High in potassium, even more than bananas in some cases. Both shiitake and maitake mushrooms are used as alternative or supplemental cancer treatments. All that in a crazy little container that tastes like heaven. My favorites at the moment are oyster mushrooms. I like to lightly steam some up with chopped kale and throw some sesame oil and soy sauce on it and dig in.
Pesto
Lots of pine nuts. Tons of flavor. Pine nuts have the highest concentration of protein of any seed out there.
More Hands In The Pot
That's all I got for now. Want to contribute or comment? Email lauren |DOT| garcia |AT| gmail |DOT| com.
