Saturday 30 June 2007

Eating Out

Unfortunately in my home town there are no vegetarian cafes or restaurants. We have tried several omnivorous caterers here and have found the following problems:

Cheese! Most veggie options offered in your non-veggie eatery seem to entail cheese smothered vegetables in the guise of a vegetarian lasagne, crumble or pasta. All well and good until you come to ask if the cheese is suitable for vegetarians, whereby we are usually met with a blank stare, maybe an “I expect so” or a non-committal shrug. There seems to be a general lack of knowledge regarding rennet and its origin (calves stomachs).

Contamination. Three times now, and in three different establishments I have found meat on, or in, my vegetarian dinner. The first time it was something ham looking stuck to the bottom of my toasted panini – obviously the toasting device wasn’t cleaned between dishes. The second time something chicken-like had found its way into my panini – I don’t know how and neither did the cook! The third time my vegetarian lasagne was a meat one cooked in error. Obvious after one taste, whereupon I sent it back and felt utterly sick for the rest of the day, a not so lovely birthday treat!

Lack of vegan options. If you don’t want the salad you’re rather hard done by as a vegan. Even soya milk is hard to come by. Thank you to the Boston Tea Party, the only eatery in town with soya milk. How I love the soya coffees they do there!

Knowing that your veggie food is being cooked right there with the meaty stuff! When you’ve been a vegetarian for a while this really does become repulsive. It might be splashed with meat juices (I have seen this happen at the serving-up point., so who knows what happens in the kitchens! When we had what could have been a tasty veggie option from a carvery, slices of meat dripping with gravy and goodness knows what were being carelessly served across the vegetables. We actually had to collect our veggie option from the man carving meat, he passed it to us with his meaty hands – it just kind of puts you off!).

My advice every time – if you’ve got the choice go to a dedicated vegetarian café/restaurant. I will always remember the first time I went to one, the joy of being able to pick anything on the menu, the wide choice of dishes available, the not having to ask the waitress questions about the ingredients and then trust that what she told me was true. The knowledge that your meal is prepared in a completely meat-free kitchen, where no contamination is possible. Heaven! And no dishes to wash either!

Sunday 24 June 2007

Animal Rights

I don’t want to dwell on this one as it just makes me too sad. Try the following link if you would like to find out more about where meat comes from:
http://www.factoryfarming.org.uk/

Friday 22 June 2007

Good Nutrition for Veggies!

This information is supplied by viva (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals)

Protein :
http://www.ivu.org/faq/protein.html
As long as you are eating a variety of plant foods in sufficient quantity to maintain your weight, your body gets plenty of protein.

Protein is needed for growth, repair of tissue and protection against infection. Protein is made up of small ‘building blocks’ called amino acids. Vegetable-based foods contain all the amino acids the body needs. By eating a range of whole, plant-based foods you will get all the different amino acids you need – and in the right proportions. Especially good sources of high quality protein include soya products (eg tofu, soya milk, veggie mince), cereals (eg rice, pasta, wholemeal bread), pulses (eg baked beans, chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans), nuts and seeds.
Meat contains all the amino acids that comprise protein, but that doesn't mean it is better for us than plant protein. Animal protein is linked to cancers, heart disease and many other diseases. Also, eating large amounts of animal products, even lean-looking meats, means eating saturated animal fats and cholesterol. It is these artery-clogging substances which are a main cause of heart disease, kidney failure and stroke as well as many cancers. Meat also contains little carbohydrate, no fibre or calcium, and few vitamins – but frequently contains dangerous microbes such as Salmonella and E. coli. The problem of food-borne infections – including the lethal mad cow disease (in humans known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) – is a growing one. In view of all this, it is a comfort to know that a well-balanced vegan diet supplies all the protein you need, whether you are a growing child or a mature adult.
How much protein do we need?
Not as much as we think – recommended amounts have more than halved in the past 20 years as several chronic diseases have been linked to eating too much animal (not plant) protein. The average adult needs to consume between 45 and 55.5 grams of protein per day.

To give you a comparison between some meat and vegetarian products, a standard 50g beef burger contains 10.2g of protein and three (90g) fish sticks 12.l g; half a can of 225g baked beans contains 11.5g of protein; an average serving of pasta (190g cooked) contains 8.5g, an average serving of kidney beans (160g cooked) 12.4g, and a small packet (25g) of peanuts contains 6.1g.

Soya is a good example and is nutritionally equivalent to meat as it contains all eight essential amino acids. It comes in the form of soya milk, tofu (bean curd), burgers, sausages, mince and other meat substitutes. Going vegan is one of the healthiest moves you can make.

Calcium:
http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/factsheets/calciumfactsheet.html
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/calcium.html
There are many plant-based sources of calcium. Good sources include dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, kale, spring greens, cabbage, bok choy, parsley and watercress. Also rich in calcium are dried fruits, such as figs, dates, nuts, particularly almonds and brazil nuts, and seeds including sesame seeds and tahini (sesame seed paste) which contains a massive 680 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams.Pulses including soya beans, kidney beans, chick peas, baked beans, broad beans, lentils, peas and calcium-set tofu (soya bean curd) provide a good source of calcium. Other fruit and vegetable sources include parsnips, swede, turnips, lemons, oranges, olives and molasses. A good additional source is calcium-enriched soya milk. The calcium in dairy products is not as well absorbed as that in many dark green leafy vegetables. For example, calcium absorbability from kale is considerably higher than that from cow’s milk . While spinach contains a relatively high amount of calcium, it is bound to a substance called oxalate which hinders calcium absorption so it is important to obtain calcium from low-oxalate green vegetables. Caffeine and smoking have been shown to reduce calcium absorption.

B12 :
http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/factsheets/b12factsheet.html
B12 can be obtained from many everyday food items that are fortified such as veggie burger and sausage mixes, yeast extracts, vegetables stocks, margarines, breakfast cereals and soya milks.

Iron :
http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/factsheets/iron.html
Rich plant sources of iron include legumes (peas, beans and lentils), soya bean curd (tofu), nuts, seeds, wholegrains and dried fruits. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with iron.

Omega 3 Oils :
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/omega3.html
Plants can provide all the healthy types of polyunsaturated fat that we need. Rich sources of essential fatty acids – also known as omega-3 and omega-6 fats – include seeds, nuts, legumes – including the oils made from them – and green, leafy vegetables. Omega-6 fats are widely distributed in plant and manufactured foods and most people get more than enough. Omega-3 fats aren’t so common but there are ample plant sources that are exceptionally rich in them. These include linseeds (flax), rapeseed oil and walnuts.

Vegetarian Nutrition:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html
http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/nutritioninanutshell.htm
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/vegan-nutrition.html

Vegetarian Starter Kit:
http://www.peta.org.uk/feat/UKvegkit/
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/

Famous Vegetarians

http://www.ivu.org/people/
Leonardo Da Vinci http://www.ivu.org/history/davinci/hurwitz.html
Mahatma Ghandi http://www.ivu.org/history/gandhi/
Martin Shaw http://www.viva.org.uk/celebs/martin.html
Paul McCartney http://www.viva.org.uk/celebs/paul.html
Hayley Mills http://www.viva.org.uk/celebs/hayley.html