I dropped this blog in July 2021 without even a by-your-leave. No explanation. No nothing. Truth be told - life got in the way. I got a crash course in thyroid hormones! And a disease called Hashimoto's Syndrome.
There I was, merrily picking up the threads of my life after my Dad passed away in early 2019. Got a book published in May 2019. Travelled to England that same month and generally had a good time. Although... I did notice that I was feeling quite tired and... blah... for lack of a better word. Chalked it all up to grief after Dad's passing. Until it wasn't.
Crash Course in Thyroid Hormones
The short answer is my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) had been going steadily up since early 2018. But it was always "within range" so my family doctor just waved it away. Despite me pointing out that my Mom and two maternal cousins both had thyroid diseases. And then, in March 2021, my TSH crept over the "within range" marker and... boom... now there was concern.
I went to get some routine lab work done in March and my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) levels were a bit high but my T3 and T4 levels were still good. Some follow-up tests revealed that my Thyroperoxidase Ab levels are elevated. All of that basically means that I am likely heading for hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) due to an auto-immune disorder called Hashimoto's Disease.
Bugger.
This is not all that surprising. My mother has Grave's Disease (an auto immune disorder that leads to hyperthyroidism - an overactive thyroid). I have two first cousins who have Hashimoto's Disease (both on my maternal side). My grandmother and one of her sisters also had thyroid issues. So, I've been getting my TSH levels checked regularly for several years and they've always been good. But no more.
Hypothyroidism symptoms can include: loss of appetite, lack of concentration, difficulty sleeping, reduced motivation, mood swings, a short temper, depression and excessive stress. And yes, I'm ticking a bunch of those boxes already. I was putting it down to the pandemic but... perhaps there is more going on than just the pandemic blues and blahs.
My doctor wanted to put me on synthetic thyroid meds but I wanted to hold off and see a naturopath first. She's already got me eating two Brazil nuts a day (Selenium), making sure I get enough iodine (iodized table salt or seaweed nibbles), Omega 3 oils (algae oil) and a few other things. I'm sure that there's more that the naturopath is going to recommend, now that we've got the Thyroperoxidase Ab results...
In the meantime, I'm going to be picking the brains of my cousins as to what I can do to slow the progression. And... doing a tonne of research on the internet.
As it turns out, diet plays a huge role in controlling Hashimoto flare-ups. Things like gluten, sugar, dairy and processed/refined foods should be eliminated. That includes chocolate.
***crickets chirping***
Noooo... not chocolate! Yup, chocolate... sigh. I know that my cousins are on a pretty strict diet - no gluten and no dairy. But I missed the memo on sugar. And processed/refined foods.
Luckily, our mostly whole food, plant based diet aligns quite nicely with what dietitians recommend for Hashimoto sufferers... Still... some people go for a gluten free diet (no wheat, rye, barley). Others go for a grain free diet (no oats or buckwheat or amaranth or millet). Some go dairy free. Some go sugar free. Some go Paleo.
Others opt instead to focus on eating as healthy and nutrient dense of a diet as possible:
leafy greens, such as kale and spinach
fatty fish, including salmon
a variety of coloured vegetables, such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, beets, and red, yellow, and orange peppers
fruits, including berries, apples, and bananas
healthful fats, including avocado and walnuts
lean proteins, including tofu, eggs, nuts, beans, and fish
We're holding to that pretty closely, except for the fish and eggs. We also eat a variety of whole grains sooo.. .time will tell if I get to keep those in my diet or not. Right now, I'm more concerned about the sugar. We've been on a bit of a junk food kick lately (chocolate and chips and cookies) which (a) has not done much for my waistline reduction project and (b) does not adhere to our "whole foods" plan. But maybe this thyroid stuff is just the sort of thing that will encourage me to kick refined sugars and processed foods to the curb for good.
What a difference a year makes... a year of dietary changes, mind you! I had my cholesterol tested at the end of September 2019. I was a happy carnivore and we had been using ghee (clarified butter) and coconut oil in our cooking (at my partner's request). Cause coconut oil and ghee are "good for you". Uh-huh. Not so much.
Here's my numbers from September 2019...
Cholesterol 7.10 - should be between 2.00-5.19 mmol/l - eek!!!
LDL 4.98 - should be between 1.50-3.40 mmol/l - nooooo!!!
HDL 1.48 - should be greater than 1.19 mmol/l - check!
So... while my HDL (good cholesterol) was good... the rest of the numbers were bad. Very bad. LDL cholesterol is the bad cholesterol and it was clearly in trouble. And let's not even talk about the total cholesterol number.
For Americans, who use a mg/dl system (still metric but different than Canada and the UK)...
Cholesterol 274 mg/dl - less than 200 is good, more than 240 is high
LDL 192 mg/dl - less than 100 is good, more than 160 is high, more than 190 is very high
HDL 57 - more than 60 is ideal, but 40 or more for men and 50 or more for women is acceptable
Sheesh... no wonder my doctor was freaking out and muttering things about statins and what not. Last year, after we got my results, I told him that I wanted to see what I could do with dietary changes and he agreed. He gave me three months...
But... from September - December, we also went on a modified Keto/Paleo eating plan because a chiropractor (I know, I know!! Face-palm...) told us that it would be good for reducing my partner's inflammation and chronic pain. No carbs or sugars but eat as much meat and fats as you want. I don't even want to think what my numbers would have been in December.
Let's just say... the Keto/Paleo thing did nothing for inflammation and sent my gut into a tailspin. I even went and saw a dietitian at the hospital because my doctor thought I might be having a flare-up of IBS. The dietitian almost squeaked when she learned what we were eating and showed me all sorts of charts about the dangers of coconut oil and ghee. Not to mention the carnivorous diet we were on. Luckily... we were near the end of the grand Keto/Paleo experiment and... went back to normal eating in mid-December.
At the same time, we started reading a book by Dr. Michael Greger - How Not to Diet. We aren't normally diet people but... in trying to get the inflammation and chronic pain under control, we were experimenting with different eating plans. At the end of January 2020, we decided make a lifestyle change and embrace whole-food plant-based eating. No meat, no eggs, no dairy, no fish. No animal products of any sort.
We've been on that now for 10 months or so and I am 16 pounds lighter... and, had my cholesterol tested again in mid-November...
Cholesterol 4.76 - should be between 2.00-5.19 mmol/l - check!
LDL 3.01 - should be between 1.50-3.40 mmol/l - check!
HDL 1.11 - should be greater than 1.19 mmol/l - hmmm...
And... in the American scale...
Cholesterol 184 mg/dl - less than 200 is good, more than 240 is high
LDL 116 mg/dl - less than 100 is good, more than 160 is high, more than 190 is very high
HDL 43 - more than 60 is ideal, but 40 or more for men and 50 or more for women is acceptable
My cholesterol metrics from 2014-2020
Right then... doing not too bad for LDL (bad cholesterol) and total cholesterol. The HDL (good cholesterol) is a bit low. I could start eating more good fats - olive oil, ground flax, avocado and... coconut oil.
I can already hear the people saying... "eat coconut oil - it will raise your HDL"! But... take a look at my HDL history... I was eating a tonne of coconut oil from 2018-2019 and... my HDL wasn't much better than in the previous years with no coconut oil. So... I'm not sure that's the solution.
The best way to raise my HDL is apparently high-intensity exercise three times a week. Or I could lose weight. Or I could quite smoking... except I don't smoke... I'm thinking that my HDL number is a reflection of an uptick in a sedentary lifestyle thanks to rainy autumn weather, no gardening activity and generally sitting around in front of the computer.
So, them's my options at this point. In the middle of a pandemic no less... Sigh. I think I see some interval training on beast hill coming up... maybe it's not enough to trudge up the hill once a day (8 minutes)... maybe it's better to go up 2 minutes, down 1 minute... up 2 minutes, down 1 minute... etc. And stutter my way up the hill... It certainly qualifies as high intensity... gasp... wheeze...
If you're going to go whole-food, plant-based... you are likely going to come across three "meat alternatives": tofu, tempeh and seitan. And... just so you don't freak out... it's pronounced say-tan NOT say-ten or say-tun or sayt-in. Seitan is NOT evil personified. A very small but important phonetic difference!
Tofu
Going into this whole-food, plant-based eating thing... we kind of knew that we would eventually need to incorporate tofu into our diet. But... we had had a bad experience with a recipe that called for frying up a slab of tofu (basically half of a tofu block). It was a gross textural experience. Never to be repeated... or so we thought.
But... if you dice up tofu into 1 cm (or so) cubes, dust them with some corn starch and then fry them up... they are quite palatable... especially if you bury them in a curry or stir fry. You could almost think they were just a chunk of well-cooked, tender chicken. Almost...
We kind of actually like tofu now... but there are a few caveats... get the Extra-Firm Tofu... unless you are planning to make a dessert. Some people say you need to get a tofu press and squeeze out all of the extra moisture but... we just pat ours dry with a paper towel and run with it. Adding the dusting of corn starch also tends to help reduce the moisture. And... you can now buy pre-pressed tofu - the ones I've seen look like four smaller squares of tofu shrink-wrapped in plastic with no liquid bath. Drying out the tofu basically ensures that it will crisp up nicely in the frying pan instead of just turn into a sad, soft disaster.
We eat tofu at least once a week... sometimes twice if we have leftovers.
Tempeh
We discovered tempeh thanks to a FreshPrep (a meal service) recipe - General Tso Style Tempeh. I was a bit skeptical about this recipe once I opened the package of tempeh. What were the black flecks in there? Apparently just a normal part of the aging process of this fermented soy bean cake. Basically... good mold.
Ick.
But... I soldiered on with the recipe and didn't show my partner the uncooked tempeh... or the black flecks. Sometimes too much information can be a bad thing!
The final product was... absolutely amazing. We ate it gingerly at first... with our lips pulled back... nibbling tentatively at the chunks of tempeh. But... oh my god... it was super yummy!! The texture was more substantial than tofu and made for a more interesting eating experience. We gave that recipe 10+ out of 10!
I have since made the recipe again, on my own... FreshPrep helpfully includes all the measurements of the various ingredients in their recipes. The stumbling block was finding the tempeh. I had seen some nestled next to the tofu in our local grocery store's produce section. But when I wanted to buy it... there was none. What was there was flavoured tempeh in various processed forms... bacon tempeh, etc. Not what I was looking for. Another grocery chain also had none... nor did Superstore. But... I struck pay dirt when I visited the local health food store. They had four different varieties of tempeh cakes! Some in the cooler and some in the freezer. Yay!
I made the General Tso Style Tempeh recipe and... it was as scrumptious as the original. I delved into the internet and dug up several other tempeh recipes for us to try. I can see this being another one of our weekly staples... now that I know where to buy it... and that it can be frozen!
Seitan
We now come to the great unknown... seitan. What the heck is this stuff? It is made from vital wheat gluten... so if you suffer from celiac disease or are gluten intolerant... this is not for you. But... for those of us who can eat wheat gluten, it could be a serious game changer. Vital wheat gluten is 75-80% protein... so you can see why seitan would make a great meat-alternative.
Buying seitan in the store (if you can find it... and I haven't found it yet...) means you are paying a premium price. It is, apparently, not cheap. You'll also find things like Tofurky sausages which have vital wheat gluten as one of their primary ingredients... also not what I am looking for. We don't want to trade one type of processed food for another... if we can help it.
While seitan might be ridiculously expensive to buy... it turns out that it is quite easy to make... or so the internet says (here's one recipe). You just buy some powdered vital wheat gluten... mix it up with some water.... knead the resulting dough... simmer it in some sort of broth (for flavour)... and.. voila... seitan fit for a queen.
Seitan is the thing that is apparently most meat-like in texture and flavour (depending on your seasoning) and mouth-feel. I seriously want to try this stuff and just need to hunt down some vital wheat gluten. We could make beef style seitan... or chicken style seitan... mmm... shish-kabobs!
The thing I like about home-made seitan is... you know exactly what goes into the flavouring... be it soy sauce or miso or mushrooms or whatever. And, if you make too much... the remainder can be frozen. What's not to like?
Sooo... on my next foray to the health food store... I am going to have a look and see if pre-made seitan exists and... if I can find some vital wheat gluten... Down the baking aisle I think...
Stay tuned for our experiment with seitan! (Ya just really gotta watch how you pronounce that...)
One of the biggest questions/worries/comments I get as a non-consumer of animal protein is... "Where do you get your protein? Do you get enough protein?" It's an old argument and one that isn't entirely accurate. You see... most North Americans get more than enough protein... but there is no need to hit 100 grams of protein/day. Actually... 50 grams of protein/day is enough for the average woman and 60 grams of protein/day for the average man. If you're an ultra-marathoner, you might need more... but that's not me...
So... where do I get my protein? Let's look at an average meal plan:
Breakfast (standard)
oatmeal (rolled oats) (1/2 cup dry) - 6 grams of protein
walnuts (1 oz) - 6 grams of protein
berries ( 1 cup) - 1 gram of protein
cinnamon (1 tsp) - 0.1 grams of protein
hemp hearts (1 Tbsp) - 4 grams of protein
ground flax seed (1 Tbsp) - 1.3 grams of protein
soy milk (1 cup) - 7 grams of protein
baked beans (1/2 cup) - 6 grams of protein
nutritional yeast (2 Tbsp) - 11 grams of protein
Let's see... 6+6+1+0.1+4+1.3+7+6+11= 42.4 grams of protein... just for breakfast.
Just to compare... scrambled eggs (3 eggs) and bacon (6 slices) have 13
grams of protein (and 0 grams fibre). Add two pancakes for another 5
grams of protein (and 0 grams of fibre). And a glass of 2% milk for 8
grams of protein (and 0 grams of fibre). We're even! Yay! But then...
we'd have to talk sugars and saturated fats and... well... I don't think
we want to go there today. You get the picture I think... Gram for
gram... I can meet the protein requirements. And no... we don't supplement with protein powders... we don't need them. If ever we become marathoners... we'll supplement with protein powders...
Oh... and in case you're wondering... you've likely heard that animal proteins are considered "complete" proteins which means they have all the amino acids that we need. A one stop shop, so to speak. The terms "complete" and "incomplete "are a bit misleading though. Plant-based foods also contain all of the amino acids we require, just in slightly different proportions. All that means is that we need to eat a mixture of plant-based foods (not just rice and beans)... a varied diet... some legumes, some whole grains, some soy products, some nuts.
And no... soy products do not mess with your estrogen... that's another fallacy. Eating three servings of soy products/day (every day) is perfectly fine.
Another interesting tidbit... our bodies can only absorb 25 to 40 grams of protein at one sitting... so it's important to spread out our protein consumption. If we eat too much protein (like half a chicken - 80 grams of protein)... it gets stored as fat... and the excess amino acids get excreted...
Anyhow... back to my average daily meal plan...
Lunch (an example - the salad is standard... the "main" dish varies)
salad
dark leafy greens (2 cups) - 6 grams of protein
tomatoes (100 grams) - 1 gram of protein
cucumber (50 grams) - 0.4 grams of protein
radishes (2 medium) - 0.2 grams of protein
grapes (1/2 cup) - 0.2 grams of protein
kohlrabi (1/4 cup) - 1 gram of protein
red lentil curry on top of farro
red lentils (1/2 cup cooked) - 9 grams of protein (protein powerhouse!)
onions & tomatoes in curry - 0.5 grams (guesstimate)
farro (1/2 cup cooked) - 4 grams of protein (better than rice - same as quinoa)
Let's tally up lunch - 6+1+0.4+0.2+0.2+1+9+0.5+4= 22.3 grams of protein
So... let's see... that's... 64.7 grams of protein for breakfast and lunch. Boom... mic drop.
Protein for an herbivore ain't a problem if... IF... you eat a whole food, plant based diet. Toss in a bunch of white bread and pizza dough and potatoes instead of the oatmeal, soy milk, beans, nutritional yeast, dark leafy greens, lentils and farro and... the protein falls through the floor.
Fabulous Fibre
The bigger issue is Fibre... Our daily fibre requirement is in the neighbourhood of 30 grams/day... from food... not from supplements. The average North American gets 15 grams of fibre per day... and over 97% of Americans do NOT get enough fibre.
Let's bee clear... meat/fish/dairy/eggs have a great big whopping 0 for fibre. We're not talking about muscle fibres... those are not dietary fibre.
Fibre comes from plants... it's what allows plants to defy gravity and hold their shape. And our gut biomes love fibre, both the soluble and the insoluble types, and if you want anything... you want to keep your little gut biome happy...
Sooo... how does my breakfast and lunch stack up in the fibre department?
Breakfast (standard)
oatmeal (rolled oats) (1/2 cup dry) - 4 grams of fibre
walnuts (1 oz) - 2 grams of fibre
berries ( 1 cup) - 3.6 grams of fibre
cinnamon (1 tsp) - 1.4 grams of fibre
hemp seed (1 Tbsp) - 0.4 grams of fibre
ground flax seed (1 Tbsp) - 1.9 grams of fibre
soy milk (1 cup) 1.5 grams of fibre
baked beans (1/2 cup) - 7 grams of fibre
nutritional yeast (2 Tbsp) - 2.5 grams of fibre
Let's see... 4+2+3.6+1.4+0.4+1.9+1.5+7+2.5= 24.3 grams of fibre... just for breakfast.
Lunch (an example - the salad is standard... the "main" dish varies)
salad
dark leafy greens (2 cups) - 6 grams of fibre
tomatoes (100 grams) - 1.5 grams of fibre
cucumber (50 grams) - 0.2 grams of fibre
radishes (2 medium) - 0.1 grams of fibre
grapes (1/2 cup) - 0.2 grams of fibre
kohlrabi (1/4 cup) - 2 grams of fibre
red lentil curry on top of farro
red lentils (1/2 cup) - 8 grams of fibre
onions & tomatoes in curry - 0.5 grams of fibre (guesstimate)
farro (1/2 cup) - 2.5 grams of fibre
Let's tally up lunch - 6+1.5+0.2+0.1+0.2+2+8+0.5+2.5=21 grams of fibre
So... that's 44.3 grams of fibre for breakfast and lunch.
And yes... we do eat our main meal at lunchtime. It dovetails better with the body's circadian rhythm. There's nothing worse than eating in the evening... particularly within four hours of bedtime.
So... what do we have for our evening meal? That varies. Some evenings, I'm just not hungry so I don't eat anything. Some evenings I'll have a few tablespoons of hummus with some veggie sticks (peppers, carrots, cukes, kohlrabi). Some evenings I'll have some peanut butter and mashed berries on top of a slice of pumpernickel style bread. All of which boosts my protein and fibre intake even more.
Sooo... a whole food, plant based diet more than ticks the boxes for protein and fibre. Still not convinced... look at a cow or a bison or a horse or a rhino or an elephant and ask yourself... these strong, muscular herbivores... where do they get their protein from?
No, seriously, I hate tofu. I hate the texture of it. I hate the idea of it... soft, tasteless, dissolve in your mouth ickiness.
I am not a big fan of tofu.
I know I've eaten it because I've had lots of Thai food that has snuck tofu in under the radar. "Wait... was that a piece of chicken... that didn't feel like chicken... ick!". I never got to the point of doing a seek pick-out mission in my Pad Thai... not like I would do with mushrooms. I just tried to pretend it wasn't there...
And, going whole-food, plant-based... well... you know tofu and I were due to have a show-down. I know it's a great source of protein but I had also heard all sorts of horror stories about it mucks with your hormones and causes breast cancer. So... I kept a wide berth around tofu. We could just eat legumes... yes... lots and lots of legumes.
Last fall, we tried a meal delivery service and... one of their meals was sesame-crusted tofu. We thought... let's give it a try... it can't be that bad.
Just take a hunk of tofu, cut it in half horizontally... coat it with sesame seeds and fry it up. Easy... and it looked tasty on the picture (at left). Right?? Looks good, doesn't it! But... photos can lie...
As we tried our first bite of pillowy tofu... both of us looked at each other. "Umm... not the greatest... let's try another few bites." After two bites, my partner couldn't take it anymore. I think I made it halfway through my slab of tofu but... eventually even I had to admit defeat. We looked at the poor, sad tofu... then at each other and both agreed... "Let's go get take-out burgers". That was our one and only fail with that particular meal delivery service.
Fast forward nine months and we are trying another meal delivery service... one that offers animal-protein-free options (i.e. vegan). And... as part of that... they use a lot of tofu. We were a bit skeptical but... a friend of ours who eats plant-based had said that the trick with tofu is to cut it into cubes and then stir-fry it... make it nice and golden and crispy. This new meal delivery service seemed to use that method. So... we sucked up our courage and tried again.
The first meal we had from this new meal delivery service was a teriyaki stir fry with tofu... and... cue the music... it was amazing. We both licked our plates. What the heck?? It was easy to cook... and... it was yummy and, since it used extra-firm tofu, we could almost convince ourselves that it was a piece of well-cooked chicken. (see pic below) Yum!
We dove into tofu recipes with both feet and have tried different options... some from the meal delivery service and some from home.
Last week we made a Yellow Thai Coconut Curry with potatoes, carrots and tofu. It is one of our favourite meals from Thai restaurants and we thought... we'll try it at home, except, instead of chicken, we'll make it with tofu. It was seriously scrumptious.
Now... I know what you're thinking. Our massage therapist expressed the same concerns... tofu is bad. It mucks with your hormones and causes breast cancer.
No.
You would need to eat boat loads of tofu and drink tanker trunks full of soy milk to get those sorts of problems. In moderation (like all things), one or two servings of soy products (soy milk, tofu, edamame beans, etc) per day is beneficial. And, like most things, try and get soy in the least processed form... the more processed it is... the worse it can be (like all foods).
When I met with a dietician last fall, she recommended soy products for menopausal hot flashes. I asked her about the "dangers" of soy products and she told me what I just told you. For those interested, Runner's World has a nice overview of the whole soy debate. There are other articles out there but I liked this one because it was fairly comprehensive and accurate.
Now... the one thing with stir-frying tofu is... it has to be fried in oil... which isn't great so... we are going to pull back the reins of this method of consuming soy and restrict ourselves to once or twice a week. We still have our excellent stable to legume recipes and are going to treat stir-fried tofu recipes (like Yellow Thai Coconut Curry and Pad Thai) as treats... Sigh...
Why go plant-based and animal protein free? So many reasons... some of which you may know... and some of which you may not. The film Vegan 2019 (on YouTube) offers a 51 minute summary of why...
The first bit looks at meat-substitute products like Beyond Meat and Impossible Meat which are going after the > 1 trillion dollar meat industry. There is quite a bit about how meat-free options are exploding into the market - from fast-food to corner stores to grocery stores to restaurants. The thing that kept coming to me is this... processed food... be it vegan or not... is not good for you. And... watch long enough and the film brings that forward as well. While processed vegan might be less harmful than processed non-vegan... it still can be harmful.
And then the film touches on the shift in dietary and nutritional recommendations, specifically mentioning Canada's new food guide which eliminated dairy and focused on plant-based foods. Despite the move toward veganism, there is push-back from carnivores (calling vegans fascists). But, even that push-back has made us aware of where our meat comes from, and the price that is paid, not just be animals, but by the earth, to feed our meat addiction.
The film even has several clips about Great Thunberg and her fight against the climate crisis. She is passionate about this... and the point that is brought forward is that the time for talking and discussing is done. It's time for action.
The 2019 film, The Game Changers, opened the floodgates for all sorts of athletes, body builders, actors, musicians and other celebrities coming out as vegans. And, not surprisingly, there was push-back from livestock producers, trying to promote their meat as healthy (grass-fed beef). And yet... grass-feed beef has an even bigger environmental impact than factory farming. Producers also tried to challenge some of the language used... arguing that the veg industry should not be able to use the words like "burger" and "milk". In Australia, the meat industry even tried to make a case for not using the word "slaughter" with regards to animals. Instead, they wanted to just used the word "process"... that animals are processed into food products. Riiiighhhhttt... And all of that just made the meat industry look desperate.
And let's be really clear here... getting enough protein is NOT the issue. Herbivores get lots of protein from the plants that they eat. And so can we. Ever seen the muscles on a rhino? They didn't get those by eating meat... but by eating plants. The bigger issue for the average North American is getting enough fibre. And fibre ONLY comes from plants... none from meat. And no... muscle fibre is NOT the fibre we are talking about.
The USDA dietary guidelines committee met to discuss the US food guidelines for 2020 and... the meat industry fought back... and all that does is lead to confusion. And then... in Europe... NFI developed a personalized diet which helped patients integrate plant-based nutrition and reversed Type 2 diabetes.
The film then looks at Fair Oak Farms which was like the Disneyland of agricultural farming. The film saw millions of people tour the farm and then... in 2019... abuse at the farm was exposed by an undercover animal rights group. Livestock farming is not a happy Disneyland experience... they are horrific, abusive places where sentient beings are tortured and slaughtered.
The year 2019 was also a huge year for fires, not only in Australia, but also in Brazil. Deforestation is a major problem and all of it to create farms to raise cows for people to eat. Many of the fires in the Amazon are set deliberately by cattle farmers... The thing to recall is... we are all in a burning building.
Can we change fast enough though?
I found this film to be pretty good, even if there were short ads every 10 minutes. The world is changing and this gave me hope that we can make a difference, each one of us. The future is plant-based whole-foods... and, having been a rabid carnivore, I am continually surprised at how easy the transition was... if I can do it... anyone can do it...
What the heck is Traffic Light Eating? I asked the same question a few months ago when I came across the concept. It's really quite simple... Green Light foods can be eaten with wild abandon, Amber/Yellow Light foods should be minimized and Red Light foods... well, they should be avoided.
I kind of liked the little comment in the diagram at right: "Just like running red lights in the real world, you may be able to get away with it once in a while, but you wouldn't want to make a habit out of it." So true!
If we break it down a bit more...
Green Light Foods
These are unprocessed plant foods, as close to how nature made them as possible. Whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies, herbs and spices. Some green light diagrams also include eggs and lean meats in here, which is a bit confusing. Given how damaging animal protein can be to our bodies, I can see why they should be included in the yellow category.
Amber/Yellow Light Foods
These include a lot of processed foods, things like refined grains, burgers, fries, pancakes, hot dogs, pizza, sugary cereals, etc as well as unprocessed meats. This would also include dairy, eggs and meat and fish.
Red Light Foods
Here, we are into a lot of the oh-so-yummy things - soda, chocolate, chips, cookies, etc. and ultra-processed foods.
The thing that I noticed, as I reviewed different images of Traffic Light Foods is... things move around. As noted above... some plans have lean meat as a Green Light food while in others its an Amber Light food. Or burgers can be Amber or Red... Dairy moves around... Oil moves around... which really makes me wonder what Big Industry lobbies are behind these different schemes.
I found an article on The Washington Post that explains why Traffic Light Eating is not so black and white... or red and green. Which just makes me wonder if its a useful concept at all?
The image I've used above is from NutritionFacts.org, operated by Dr. Michael Greger (author of How not to Die and How not to Diet). He advocates eating whole food plant-based as much of the time as possible and dipping into the amber and red foods on occasion, but only if it helps to encourage eating the green light foods.
If sprinkling bacon bits on a salad helps you to eat the salad... then sprinkle away.
On the other hand... we made a choco-zucchini loaf the other day since we are starting to get buried under our super-productive zucchini plants. Flour, sugar, oil, cocoa powder and more than a cup of chocolate chips helped us to eat one cup of shredded zucchini. In this case... I'm not sure that eating all that red light stuff is helpful in promoting the consumption of one cup of zucchini... Greger has also published a short (7 minute) video about how he sees traffic light eating, which makes a lot of sense...
Traffic Light Food Labels
But there is another form of traffic light food... looking at the actual sugar, fat, salt, calorie content of the food. I've seen this more in the UK... not so much in Canada yet... although it is coming! The idea is that current nutrition labels on food are confusing to the general public. Who really has time to figure out what is healthy and not so healthy on a nutrition label... but... add in colours and put a summary on the front of the package and... it becomes much easier to figure out what is healthy and what is not.
So in the label at right... half a package of the product has really high saturated fat, low sugar and is moderate for salt, fat and calories. I would say... not a great food.
But then... who determines what is low, medium or high? I came across this chart from the UK which outlines how much fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt qualifies as low, medium or high.
But... me thinks that this is really only going to be applicable to processed foods... which, in general... are either Amber or Red Light foods to begin with. Sooo... is this helpful or not?
I mean... if I want a Kit-Kat... is a label like the one below really going to stop me? I guess.... maybe... If I have one once a week... That little two-finger Kit-Kat has that much saturated fat? What does a regular Kit-Kat have!!?
And then... we have something like this oh-so-yummy Starbucks Double Chocolate Chunk Brownie - pure decadent deliciousness... Starbucks has nutrition information on their site... but just a bunch of numbers... I know that 9 grams of saturated fat is probably in the red category (judging by the Kit-Kat numbers above)... But what about the rest? How does it fall in the grand traffic-light food labeling scheme? Sigh... As I feared... red light for Fat, Saturated Fat, Sugar and... yellow light for Salt (200mg Sodium = 0.55 grams of Salt). Luckily, I only have one of these a week but still... If I had to barrel past all those red lights every time I ordered one... I might reconsider it.
I decided to play around in Publisher and...created my own Traffic Light food label for a Starbucks brownie... if I saw this every time I ordered one... would I still order one every week?
It's a good question... In the UK, they seem to believe that front of label packaging helps people make healthier food choices... and... this might be the case here too... I'm going to guess that all whole food, plant-based items will get green lights across the board... the question will be... what will meat, dairy, egg and processed food packaging look like? Can't wait to see!
We signed up for a meal delivery service a few weeks ago. This one is called FreshPrep, is based in Vancouver, and offers meals with no animal protein (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy). It's a bit of an experiment and we only get two meals a week but... we are trying to wrap our heads around tofu and... so far, things are going well.
Our first meal was Sweet & Spicy Tofu Stir Fry with Snow Peas, Mushrooms and Sriracha Teriyaki Sauce. We were a bit skittish about this meal since it had (a) tofu with which we have had bad experiences and (b) mushrooms which we both hate with a passion. But... we soldiered on and gave it a try. I cut up the tofu into centimetre chunks and while the recipe called for sliced mushrooms... I seriously diced them into near invisibility. What you can't see or chew won't hurt you! And.... as we gingerly chewed our way around the tofu... the verdict was... YUM!! We actually both loved it. The mushrooms were practically invisible and the tofu texture was palatable. Kind of like well-cooked chicken.
Our second meal with FreshPrep was a Spring Vegetable, Lentil & Quinoa Salad with Sweet & Spicy Cashews. Score two for two! It was seriously yummy as well and introduced us, in a nice way, to fennel. We had tried a fennel lemon salad (a la Jamie Oliver) a few years ago and found it... inedible. But... this version through FreshPrep was very good and we would definitely do it again.
See, that's the thing... you order these meals from the delivery service, figure out if it's yummy or not and then... you recreate it from scratch whenever you want... easy peasy way to try out new recipes and, for us, new ingredients.
We aren't 100% reliant on the meal delivery service... obviously. I've been trolling through the internet looking for good recipes and we had some plant-based recipe books from the library during the Covid-19 lock-down... so we have a good dozen recipes that are our go-to meals at this point...
Last week, when we gave away our stash of frozen meat, our friends asked us... but how do you plan a meal without meat? I get it... without meat at the heart of a meal... how do you figure out what to cook??? Well... we kind of go by what legumes we're in the mood for... or what flavours we are looking for. Do we want to go Mexican today? Or have a curry? Or maybe some sushi. A lot of it depends on how much time we have as well, since we eat our main meal at lunchtime. I don't want to spend most of my weekday mornings cooking... so we do a lot of cooking and freezing on the weekends.
Some of our favourites are:
Pita Tostadas with Butternut Squash, Black Beans and Avocado.
This recipe is super easy and super yummy... the biggest time factor is baking the butternut squash but... you only need about half a squash so we just bake it, mash it all up and then save the remainder for next-time tostadas. If you have mashed frozen butternut then whipping this together is a breeze.
We particularly like the freshness of the lime juice in the beans and the yogurt drizzle. And yes... we found that almond yogurt, while not really edible on its own, makes a good substitute for the drizzle.
A couple of tips... this is insanely messy to eat so we have learned to wrap the rolled-up tostadas in aluminum foil like they do with donairs... way less messy.
Coconut Curry Lentil Stew with Spinach & Currant Salad
We got this recipe from GoodFood last year. It is super yummy and one of our staples. We make it in a double batch and freeze the leftovers. It's relatively easy but one does need a few key ingredients like curry paste - which we buy in a jar (we use Patak's mild curry paste). We also go easy on the coconut milk as it is fairly rich in the bad saturated fats. We sometimes just put a tiny can in instead of the 400 ml can the recipe calls for... and we don't save any for the end. Red lentils are easy to cook with and don't require any soaking beforehand. Plus... we try to get a variety of legumes in our diet so... this ticks the red lentil checkbox! The recipe calls it a stew and serves it as a stand alone but we usually have it with rice or farro or some other grain.
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado-Cilantro Cream Sauce
This receipe came out of the Oh She Glows cookbook and is one of our standbys. [I couldn't find the real recipe online but there is a version of it here...]
It's a bit trickier to make because you have to make the enchilada sauce from scratch which takes extra time. We usually get at least two and a half meals out of this recipe so it's good value for time!
We love the avocado-cilantro cream sauce... which is just avocado, cilantro, lime juice whizzed up in the food processor with some salt and garlic powder. Again... the lime juice just adds a bit of vibrancy to everything.
Coconut Chickpea Curry
I found this recipe online and it has become one of our favourite staples. It uses Garam Masala as the main spice blend which you can buy in any store.
Again, we tend to go easy on the coconut milk and the recipe still works. It's super easy and quick as most of these curry recipes are. Just be sure to have a few cans of chickpeas and diced tomatoes.
We like to add chopped up cilantro and peanuts onto the tops of our curries. The cilantro adds a nice little burst of flavour and the peanuts add some nice texture.
Ultimate Lentil Walnut Loaf
Another recipe I pulled offline, also from Oh She Glows. while we didn't eat a lot of meat loaf back in the day... this lentil walnut loaf has become a serious staple in our lives. It freezes really well and defrosts quickly, so it's great for those days when you go "oh shit, forgot to take something out of the freezer". Mind you... it is seriously labour intensive - there is a lot of chopping and measuring involved in this. But... given that one loaf makes four meals (eight slices of loaf)... the time investment is worth it. The recipe says 40 minutes of prep time but that is not accurate... more likely an hour. It goes quicker if you have two sous chefs working away at prepping the ingredients.
We gave away all of the meat in our freezer yesterday. We had been holding onto it during the height of Covid-19, just in case, you know, the entire society collapsed and we ran out of beans and needed to trade meat for canned tomatoes, or something. But... the meat is getting a bit old in there now (+6 months) soooo... it's time to let it go.
I never thought it would come to this. We have been holding to a whole food plant based eating plan (not a diet) for the last 6 months and... it's been going remarkably well. Far better than I had expected. As a dyed in the wool carnivore... I didn't expect it to be this easy but... it has been. Oh sure, we have our slip-ups... like milk chocolate. Trying to avoid all animal protein products can be a bit of a challenge - and yes, that includes, eggs, dairy and fish. For example, we are currently using up the last mayonnaise jar in our fridge. It seemed a waste to just toss it... and so we use it up. But we won't buy any more egg-based mayonnaise once this jar is done. But we haven't slipped up elsewhere - no meat, no fish, no cheese, no milk, no yogurt. We're still alive and it seems unlikely we are going to return to the carnivore/omnivore camp soo... it was time to let go of the meat.
We asked a senior couple if they would like to have our meat and they leapt at the opportunity. So yesterday, they cam over with a small cooler... not quite big enough for what we had in the little freezer. Luckily, they were headed straight home after their shopping bonanza so a rubbermaid tote with blankets served as a substitute cooler. What did they leave with?
1 whole chicken
1 double rack of baby back ribs
1 salmon
2 fillet of sole
10 zip-loc bags with two chicken breasts in each bag
6 packages of sausages
2 packages of bacon
4 burger patties
1/2 bag of prawns
2 shoulder blade roasts
4 pork tenderloin
And, voila, our little freezer was almost empty! Which is a good thing because... it's raspberry season.... and blackberry season isn't far behind. In a good year, we can have quite a haul of frozen berries in our freezer... Not to mention the fall harvest of apples cooked into apple sauce. Oh sure, we could can the apple sauce but sometimes... it's just easier to freeze it.
Soo... win-win situation - our meat went to a good home and we now have freezer space for food items more suited to our plant based palate.
First, let me say this - we grow a garden every year. Our back yard looks like a little urban farm. When we bought this house 7 years ago, the back lawn was a blank canvas. We started with one raised bed, then two, then four, then six. And now we have a greenhouse as well. None of it is necessarily pretty or worthy of Home & Gardens magazine. But... it works.
And now... we seem to be ahead of a growing trend. I went to Country Grocer on Sunday to get a few odds and ends, as well as some tomato and cucumber seeds. They usually have a great selection of West Coast Seeds but... it looked like the locusts had been through the seed rack.
Now... it is seed planting time here on the West Coast (sorry Rest of Canada). And a lot of people do garden here but this... this seems to be more than the normal run on seeds.
We are still waiting for the first arrivals of veggie seedlings (tomatoes and cukes in particular) but... so far nothing. There are cruciferous seedlings (kale, cabbages, brussel sprouts, etc) and herb babies but... none of the other stuff.
Sooo... we have dug out our seedling starter kits and are going to start some tomatoes and cukes. Oh yes, I did find some seeds on Sunday, but not your typical ones. Cukes were limited to lemon cukes, which are seriously yummy but look like little prickly lemons and I imagine your average novice gardener has no idea what they are like. We also got some little orange cherry tomatoes, again, not your typical tomato variant and left behind by the locusts.
I had actually stocked up on seeds over the last two weeks so we are well set for the spring growing season. Let's take a look at what we grow/have grown/will grow/won't grow!
Veggies
Here's what's already growing in our garden:
Kale - your best leafy green ever - we have some old kale from last year which is just starting to leaf out nicely again. We also put in some new kale seeds.
Swiss Chard - also a nice leafy green and we have about a dozen plants that over-wintered and starting to bush out again. Haven't planted any new ones yet.
Garlic - planted last Oct/Nov and ready for harvest in July. Pretty easy to grow as long as you don't over-water in June. We grow hard-necked garlic and it makes pretty big bulbs with massive cloves - only 4 cloves/bulb.
Leek - I've been nursing my leek population from one year to the next and we now have some two dozen leek teenagers. I had bought leek seedlings about four years ago and they overwinter well and divide underground. It takes some patience to wait for the babies/teens to mature but this year might be the year.
Onion - we have four stray onion plants that avoided previous pickings. Will see what they develop into. We haven't had great luck with onions though.
Asparagus - we have about 4 asparagus plants and I have yet to eat one spear of asparagus. This year might be the year though...
Radish - have a couple of rows of radishes planted last fall. They are starting to fluff up and hoping they will produce some good radishes for eating. Also started a few rows in the greenhouse this spring.
Broad Beans - planted some last fall and a few to fill in this spring. We've had moderate luck with broad beans (aka fava beans) and have some in the freezer.
Corn Salad - has nothing to do with corn. It's known as Rapunzel in Europe and we have it everywhere. We bought a packet a few years ago and then some of the plants went to seed and... well... we don't need to seed again. It is a tiny plant though and takes a lot of effort to pick and wash and...
Mesclun - baby greens mixes - you can get different variations. We planted some in the greenhouse several weeks ago and have started a short row outside. The trick is to plant in stages otherwise you'll be swamped in a sea of green. Easy to grow, quick to harvest. Just use scissors to cut the baby greens and they'll leaf out again at least another two times.
Peas - we have some trellises along some of the raised beds where we have planted climbing peas in years past but... this year I found bush peas! Game changer!! Cause they can be planted in any of the raised beds and really help with crop rotation. So we have about 100 bush pea plants seeded.
And here's what's coming onto the horizon soon...
Parsnip - going into the ground soon. Haven't ever tried them but going to give it a go this year. We roast them in the oven and they are yummy...
Kohlrabi - going into the ground soon. One of the cruciferous veggies - it looks super weird but we tried it a few years ago. The raw flesh is kind of juicy like an apple but tastes a bit like broccoli stalk - very mild cabbagey flavour. I was surprised at how yummy it was having been fed cooked kohlrabi as a kid and hating it with a passion. Makes a good slaw too. Easy to grow too.
Scallions/Green Onions - going into ground soon - we have better luck with these than with regular onions sooo... going to try them again this year.
Beets - going into the ground in mid April - we've planted them every year and they always do well.
Bush beans - not planted until July but they don't take up a tonne of room and they produce a lot!
Tomatoes - as noted, starting them in the seed trays - will then move to greenhouse and maybe some outside pots
Cukes - also going to start in seed trays inside and then move to greenhouse
Squash - got some butternut squash seeds this year. Likely need
to start indoors and transplant in May. We've had mixed results with
squash but haven't really been on top of feeding them well. They are
heavy feeders so going to give it a better try this year.
Potatoes - if we can find the space! We've grown them the last few years and they generally do well although are not huge producers in raised beds.
Nasturtiums - technically a flower but the leaves and flowers are edible in salads! And very yummy with a bit of a peppery nip to it.
What we aren't growing this year:
Carrots - we've not done well with carrots. They will look fat and juicy at ground surface, a good inch in diameter but when you pick them... they are all of an inch long as well. It's a watering thing. We'd need to really perfect our slow and low watering with an irrigation system or a little sprinkler or something. But... our summers always have watering restrictions on sprinklers sooo... we are passing on carrots this year.
Cabbages - we've grown some from Country Grocer seedlings - green, red and savoy. They did OK but we aren't big cabbage eaters.
Broccoli - it actually did amazingly well the one year we got Country Grocer seedlings... but we kind of got overwhelmed by broccoli that year.
Peppers - we've tried them in the greenhouse in previous years... meh. The hot chili peppers did OK but the bell peppers were a wash.
Eggplant - we tried that once in the greenhouse and got one eggplant from one plant. Not worth the effort or the square footage!
Spinach - ours always bolts... although we may try it again... there is some disagreement about whether to waste square footage on this again...
Herbs
Herbs we have in our garden
Chives - lots and lots of chives... chives everywhere...
Oregano - taking over the world
Thyme - regular and variegated
Rosemary - after several false starts with baby rosemary's dying due to... something... we finally have a good, strong plant!
Sage - also several false starts but now have a good, strong plant.
Tarragon - a bit concerned since it seemed to die over the winter but... is sprouting from the bottom again - yay!
Parsley - we have it everywhere... and it keeps coming back so that's good!
Dill - unlike the other herbs, dill isn't a perennial but seeds itself very robustly. We planted dill seeds one year and... like the corn salad, don't need to seed again! It will just start coming up everywhere...
Cilantro - we haven't perfected cilantro yet... not sure what the secret is... but we do have some seeds from last year's plants so will try again.
Mint - would take over the world if it could - several different types
Lavender - not an herb for eating per se... although I guess some people do use it that way.
Herbs we are planting this year:
Summery Savory - tried it a few years ago and it worked in a pot - doing that again this year... it goes nicely with all the bush beans! It's an annual though... but doesn't self-seed as well as the dill.
Basil - maybe. We still have reams of basil pesto from previous crops. It usually does well for us except last year when it was a failure on all fronts.
Fruits
And... we have some fruit too!
Pear - tree was here when we bought the house. They are stewing pears and not really eating pears but... they make a darn good pear sauce!
Plum - the nice black ones... but the tree is on its last legs and didn't produce anything last year. The black plum tree is grafted onto a wild plum root stock which means we have little wild plum trees trying to pop up all through the year. One that has been allowed to grow produced some tart little oval yellow plums one year. Hasn't done it again though...
Prune Plum - is technically the neighbour's tree but hangs over the fence... super yummy but the tree needs to be watered consistently... so need to stay on top of that this year.
Raspberries - hands down the best value for square footage. Given how expensive raspberries are... this is a winning crop. We aren't always on top of the picking though because the crop is a bit much sometimes but... we start our winter with bags and bags of flash frozen raspberries.
Blueberries - not really a big grower at the moment. We got a
bush off of Kijiji a few years ago and split off two rooted babies. So
we technically have 3 plants but only the mother plant produces berries.
Need to keep the birds away... We only got a small handful of berries
last year but have high hopes for this year.
Strawberries - started with 10 plants purchased for
$0.10/plant... now have a LOT of strawberry plants. But we need to weed
out the old plants and let the satellite plants have free rein. Old
plants don't produce as well... And we just got some ever-bearing
strawberries last year...
Grapes -came with the garden and the neighbour's garden. But then we scavenged a few from an old vacant lot and... we have green grapes in the fall.
Fig - little baby fig given to us by a colleague a few years ago. Still waiting for the first fig...
Rhubarb - almost forgot... It's a very forgiving plant. It's been dug up and moved several times and... it's still a happy plant.
Blackberries - of course... doesn't everyone on the West Coast have some invasive Himalayan Blackberry in their yard? We give the blackberry free rein in our Back 40 corner of the yard. We also go foraging out in the world and usually start our winters with bags and bags of flash frozen blackberries. As well as blackberry liqueur... mmm....
Apple - we don't have an apple tree but friends of ours do and they always have too many.... so we make apple sauce in the fall and then can/freeze it for the winter. Just core, peel and simmer with a tiny bit of water and cinnamon. No added sugar required. Same with the pear sauce.
Quince - we don't have a quince tree but the apple tree friends do and one year we made quince jelly... it was a darn tricky process though and didn't turn out great - more like quince rubber... might try again and hope we estimate the "set point" better.
I think that's it. I've probably forgotten something... and lest you think our yard is "huge". It's not. Our whole lot is maybe 8200 square feet and that includes the house footprint and front yard and driveway.
For our veggies we have the following beds:
raised bed - 8' x 3' - 24 sq ft
raised bed - 2' x 3' - 6 sq ft
raised bed - 8' x 3' - 24 sq ft
raised bed - 2' x 3' - 6 sq ft
raised bed - 8' x 1.5' - 12 sq ft
raised bed - 12' x 2' - 24 sq ft
raised bed - 12' x 2' - 24 sq ft
Greenhouse - 9' x 2' - 18 sq ft
Greenhouse - 9' x 2' - 18 sq ft
That's only 156 sq ft of growing space. Mind you, the herbs are generally planted out and about in the flower beds. Raspberries, strawberries and blueberries also planted in the ground in various locations around the yard.
Now... could we live off of what we grow? Definitely not... but it is a nice supplement to what we buy in the stores. It's also a fair bit of work... and we have to watch out for the pests: slugs (grrrr), birds (hmmmm), rats (ick) and your usual aphids, etc. Still... the veggies always taste better than store bought... and it does a body good to work in the soil and then eat the fruits of their labours.
Oh... and aside from the blackberries out in the world... there are other edibles out there. After much hunting, I found a nice patch of stinging nettles which, when harvested as young plants in the spring, and then blanched, make a great spinach substitute. More on that in another blog post...
Whether your garden is big or small... whether all you have is pots on a balcony or a whole yard... growing your own food is a hugely satisfying process. As someone once said, Gardening is a Revolutionary Act.
I've been watching a bunch of different documentaries about health and wellness - mostly focused on whole food, plant-based diets. I thought I'd share some of them here because they are eye-opening. Eating animal protein is most definitely NOT good for the planet, for the animals, nor for our own health. I could give you the stats about the links between animal protein and obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer but... that would defeat the whole purpose of watching the movies.
There are seven movies I've watched so far and they all have a different... tolerance level... shall we say. Over the next few weeks, I'll offer a review of each. Most of these can be watched via YouTube, and I've provided the link for that.
Vegucated - 2011 - comic/documentary - this one is a nice overall introduction to the costs of an animal protein diet versus the benefits of a plant-based diet. It covers a bit of the human health aspects, a bit of the environmental aspects and a bit of the ethical aspects. It does it with a fairly light tone as it follows three individuals during their 6 week immersion into a vegan diet. It's a great intro movie.
Forks over Knives - 2011 - documentary - despite the name, this movie doesn't really touch on the ethical aspects of an animal protein diet. It focuses more on the human health aspects. This is the movie you want to watch if you want to learn about the staggering effects of the typical western diet on human health. The movie presents the stark links between eating animal protein and obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. If you have any questions about the human health aspects, this is the movie to watch.
The Game Changers- 2018 - documentary - this one is the one you want your men to watch - your boyfriend, your husband. It totally debunks the myth that you need to eat animal protein in order to be muscular and/or manly. There are some serious athletes and muscle people in this movie. They also touch on some of the health benefits and environmental costs. I have to say, after watching this movie, I went straight to our freezer and ditched all of the processed meat products (sausages, bacon, etc).
What the Health - 2017 - investigative documentary - Kip Anderson delves into the world of Big Business (Big Food) and government. It's eye-opening if you want to learn how the US government is putting the interests of Big Business ahead of everyday people. No surprise there really, but this movie lays it all out for you.
Food Inc. (Trailer only on YouTube - film is on Netflix) - 2008 - documentary - This movie takes a look at how Big Industry has taken over the production of food. Gone are the small family farms where farmer knew the names of each dairy cow. The name of the game now is producing as much meat as fast as possible in factory farms. Profit trumps all. If you think that Big Business cares about the welfare of animals... think again. And if you think they care about the health of consumers... think again.
Cowspiracy - 2014 - investigate documentary - Another one by Kip Anderson, in fact it came out a few years before What the Health. This is the movie to watch if you want to learn about the devastating environmental aspects of the animal protein industry on the earth. Soil degradation, erosion, fertilizer overuse, groundwater pollution, greenhouse gases, etc. etc.
Earthlings (10th Anniversary Edition) - 2015 - horror/documentary - I wasn't quite sure how a movie could be a horror and a documentary but... after watching this movie, I am clear on that. This is the movie to watch if you want to learn about the ethical aspects of how humans use animals. It expands beyond using animals for food to encompass Pets, Clothing, Entertainment and Laborartory Testing. This movie is for everyone who wants to know how "humane" humans are... or are not. Even if you don't watch it... know that the choices you make each and everyday fuel the Demand that supports the Supply of these industries. It's not called Supply/Demand for nothing. We demand more... and they supply more. And it ain't pretty.
This was the fifth movie I watched, right after Earthlings. Sooo... in light of that, it was a relief to have a bit of comedic relief. This move follows three individuals as they take on a 6 week challenge to eat vegan. Along the way, the three people are introduced to the facts around the health, environmental and ethical costs of eating animal protein. It's a wake-up call for all of them and they make various statements throughout the 6 weeks that they will never eat animal products again. But how well does that hold up after the 6 weeks? Because as shocking as it is to be woken up to what the animal industry is really like... it's also very easy to fall asleep again and slip back into old habits. And eating animal protein is a habit, for our senses, for our culture, for our economy. At the end of the movie, the producers give a status update on all three and they are either vegan or vegetarian. Which is good.
This movie gives a few snippets of information about the health, environmental and ethical aspects of the animal protein industry. There are a few stomach churning scenes, but nothing too shocking. At least not compared to Earthlings.
If I had to over one caveat it is this: processed food, be it vegan or not, is not healthy. This movie encourages the participants to try all sorts of process vegan foods - vegan cheese, vegan hot dogs, vegan margarine, etc etc. None of these are really going have health benefits. Processed food is bad. Period. So, in that respect, this movie needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Just because something is vegan, does not mean it is healthy. We have moved in the direction of a whole food, plant based diet... and are limiting processed food as much as possible.
Am I the only one who second guesses my decisions or choices? I can’t be the only one… but I think most of us tend to hide it well. I might project an aura of self-confidence and accomplishment but inside… really… I’m wracked by self-doubt and critical self-talk. You can’t always judge a book by its cover!
Self doubt
Here’s a good example… I’ve been doing a bunch of research over the last few months about health and well-being. Based on the scientific studies, I’ve gotten pretty clear that animal protein is bad for me… and that a whole-foods, plant-based diet is the best option. In mid-January, I committed to cutting the animal protein (meat, dairy, eggs) and embracing my inner herbivore. Decision made... but almost as soon as it is made... the termites of self-doubt start setting up shop.
Yesterday, there was a news article on CBC about a group of co-workers at a medical imaging lab in Vancouver who decided to embrace veganism for January. They have a fancy machine in their office that measures body fat (not just weight). At the end of the month, while most of the group had lost some weight, most of it was muscle… not fat. The question was: “Is veganism healthy?” Cue the self-doubt termite monster!
Now… there are all sorts of problems with the CBC article. First up, we have no idea what these vegan-guinea pigs actually ate during January. It could have been chips and pop for all we know. Most first-time vegan-wanna-be's end up crashing and burning. We tried being vegetarian for a year and it didn't go well. Making such a huge shift in nutrition requires a lot of preparation and planning. The UK's Daily Mail posted an article that included the grocery store purchases of several vegans. Surprise... they weren't the healthiest of purchases! Eating vegan does not mean eating healthy.
One vegan's grocery store purchases (several processed foods)
(From DailyMail)
But still... my self-doubt gnawed at me and I googled “veganism unhealthy”. Not a good idea. I was inundated with a bunch of anecdotal accounts and YouTube videos of how veganism was the worst thing ever! Ack!!
I began to question my own decision, a decision that was less than a month old. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m avoiding calling our eating plan “veganism” and prefer the term whole-food, plant-based. At this point, I’m not going to burst a gasket if there’s a bit of milk solids in my whole-grain naan bread rounds. I’m not expecting perfection. But still… our eating plan is pretty close to veganism… soooo… maybe this is not the thing for us? Maybe we should ease up and allow dairy and eggs? If I was a pacer, I’d be wearing a hole in our laminate floor with all my mulling over of options. It’s exhausting.
And then it spirals, and I think… “Well, shucks, that was kind of silly to start this blog and put myself out there and now I need to backtrack because everything I wrote was horse-puckies.”
See how quickly I can spiral down the toilet? I’m sucked into a maelstrom of indecision, self-doubt and second-guessing. I just want to toss everything out the window – baby bathwater and basin – and go back to the status quo.
I do remember a few things though… any eating plan can be unhealthy – whether you’re a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore. I’ve been wandering around the grocery store and the number of vegan-friendly processed meat/dairy/egg alternatives out there is extensive, and growing by leaps and bounds. Even Superstore is getting on the bandwagon. The thing is… these are still “processed foods” and if I’ve learned anything… it’s that processed foods are not exactly the healthiest foods in the cupboard. In fact, they can be just as bad as regular processed foods… or even worse.
There’s a vegan "cheese", for example, that is made out of coconut oil. We experimented with coconut oil for a year and... it did not end well. Our bad cholesterol levels went through the roof, which was no surprise given that coconut oil is 90% saturated fat. And despite what the coconut oil marketers will tell you... it ain’t good fat. Just go ask your nutritionist. Mine got seriously freaked out when she heard we were using coconut oil. There are better choices. But that's another blog post.
Anyhow… we are pretty clear that we are not jumping on the meat/dairy/eggs alternatives band-wagon. We are choosing a healthy, whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle. Whole-foods means foods that are minimally processed.
It also means ensuring that we are getting a variety of foods: whole grains, legumes, leafy green vegetables, cruciferous veggies, other veg, berries & other fruit, seeds & nuts.
It’s definitely a challenge, particularly when life is throwing a bunch of other stuff at you. The thing that’s saving our bacon right now is weekly meal-planning… lifesaver, but that too is another blog post.
I’ve come across a quote in the past which ran something like this: Even a wrong decision is better than no decision. At least with a wrong decision, we know what doesn't work and can then readjust and try something else. I’m proud of the decision we made to go whole-foods, plant-based. At least we made a decision for our health. If, in the future, it appears that this is not a good plan for our health... well... we can adjust course.
Time (and lab results) will tell if it was the healthiest decision. Stay-tuned.
