Considering a vegetarian diet but don’t know where to start? Dietitian April Hamilton gives you the valuable transition tips she shares with her friends and clients.
Category: Diet & cooking
10 Things I’ve Learned as a Vegetarian
Here are just a few things I’ve learned as a vegetarian: 1. Tofu has gotten an unfair bad rap. So have leafy greens. Actually, a lot of healthy foods are much better than the cynics would lead you to believe. Never tried kumquats or quinoa? Well, what are you waiting for?
How to Get the Protein You Need
It’s one of the most commonly asked questions of vegetarians: “But how do you get your protein?” Winston J. Craig answers—
and debunks some myths about protein while he’s at it.
Vegetarian Nutrition
What’s the safest way to shed excess pounds, avoid high cholesterol and heart disease, and even cut your risk for certain types of cancer? “With a vegetarian diet,” says author Neal Barnard, M.D. “It’s the most powerful prescription for health I can suggest.”
Although the average vegetarian is slimmer and healthier than the average meat-eater, says Dr. Barnard, there is still a good deal of skepticism that an entirely vegetarian diet can provide complete nutrition. After all, in 1928 presidential candidate Herbert Hoover rallied supporters by promising “a chicken in every pot.” The dream realized, Americans are more out of shape than ever, with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other diet-driven illnesses claiming many thousands of lives each year. So what if we traded those chickens for spaghetti marinara, veggie burgers, lentil soup, or even a bean burrito? Would we turn the tide on many chronic illnesses? Physicians and dietitians say yes.
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Six Simple Steps to Avoid Food-borne Illness
If you are a vegetarian, the thought of having a food-borne illness probably never crosses your mind. After all, everyone knows that E. coli makes its home in raw beef, and Salmonella breeds rapidly in undercooked chicken or pork.
Well, it’s time to rethink your past beliefs about food-borne illness, as fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, lentils, and dairy products can also play host to a variety of deleterious bacteria, including E. coli and Salmonella. In fact, some of the most common carriers of food-borne germs include basil, cantaloupe, lettuce, potatoes, raspberries, scallions, strawberries, and tomatoes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), food-borne diseases cause an estimated 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,200 deaths in the United States each year. Not only are the symptoms uncomfortable; food-borne illnesses can lead to secondary long-term illnesses. For example, there are some strains of E. coli that can cause kidney failure in young children, while Salmonella can lead to reactive arthritis and serious infections. For pregnant women, the Listeria bacteria (commonly found in soft cheeses such as brie and feta) can cause meningitis and stillbirths.
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5 Easy Ways to Sneak Soy Into Your Diet
The first written record of the soybean was found in Chinese books dating back to 2838 B.C. It has been the primary protein source for people in Asia for centuries. Americans have used it for little more than oil and livestock feed. But things have changed.
The humble soybean has captured the attention of health-conscious consumers everywhere–with good reason. Research has shown that incorporating soy protein into the diet provides numerous health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and reducing the levels of LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” in the bloodstream. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a recommendation for consumers to integrate 25 grams of soy protein per day into their diets.
Soy Connection
Although soybeans have been a staple crop in China for thousands of years, they have come to Western kitchens only in recent years. In 1904 George Washington Carver noted that the soybean is a rich source of protein and oil. By the early 1930s these beans were grown commercially in the United States. Since then they have been widely used to feed livestock and are currently one of the biggest cash crops in America.
Today soy is known as an inexpensive source of protein. Both the Food Guide Pyramid and Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fifth ed., list soy foods as a way to meet dietary guidelines. A one-cup (8 oz.) serving of tofu, for example, is listed as a serving suggestion in the meat and beans Group.
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There's WHAT in My Food?
Before you wrinkle up your nose and let loose a big “Ick!” consider this fact: Just because you don’t find such items on the menu of your favorite restaurant doesn’t mean they’re not in the food.
Down to the Sea
Take ice cream, pudding, cottage cheese, salad dressing, or chocolate milk. Check the label, and you’ll find the word “carrageen” nestled in with the other ingredients. Fine folk who live and work along the coasts of New England and Canada pull tons of the stuff out of the ocean each year. It’s red, leafy, and totally seaweed.
After being raked into boats, carrageen is taken to processing plants where it’s turned into a tasteless, off-white powder that quickly dissolves in water and becomes jellylike whenever it comes in contact with the proteins found in milk.
Simple Summer Salads
Called the Salad Lady by some in my churches, I love to bring fresh raw foods to our luncheons and potlucks. I learned to love these gourmet salad greens, sometimes called mesclun mix. My sister had married an Italian from Sicily. He loved a big green salad with exotic lettuce, and thus we all learned to love them.
Since I love to garden, I was soon growing my own fresh greens: romaine, arugula, and red lettuce. Later I added radicchio, escarole, and endive to my repertoire. At first I painstakingly gathered the young leaves one by one. That being too time-consuming, I soon learned that I could easily use a sharp knife, trim a whole section off, and they would soon grow new leaves.
Now in my small backyard I have my lettuce garden, along with my other vegetables, interspersed with my flowers. They are so easy to grow, and I love to give them away to friends who appreciate their subtle and not-so-subtle flavors.
Refined Robbers: Choose Whole Grains
Statistics tell us that the average American eats only one half of a serving of whole grains daily, although the current recommendation is to eat at least three servings per day. Some people consume predominant whole grains, so this means that many people are only rarely or not ever eating whole grains.
Unfortunately, when many people think of whole grains they think only of whole wheat. That one is great, but there are many more choices available. Several may even have more nutrients than whole wheat. Examples of other grains include oats, barley, millet, rye, brown rice, corn (maize), buckwheat, and amaranth.
So what exactly is a “whole” grain, anyway? Whole grains can be defined as having all three parts of the kernel included. Refined grains, such as white flour, are made up of the endosperm, which is mainly starch. The kernel also contains a germ and the bran. These two layers are loaded with nutrients, including vitamin E, several B vitamins, and some important minerals, including zinc, magnesium, manganese, chro-mium, selenium, and molybdenum. During the refining process these nutrient-rich layers are lost. Fiber is also lost.