V-Guide: Vegan, Vibrance, Vitality!

V-Guide: Vegan, Vibrance, Vitality!

From VICTORIA MORAN, HHC, AADP, VLCE, Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator, Author of MAIN STREET VEGAN,

& Director of Main Street Vegan? Academy ... victoria@ ... 212-289-1808

Your spirit is ageless and timeless: reflect that. Then follow the three recommendations of Dr. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute:

"First, choose to think positively. Then, act in a way that is consistent with those affirmative thoughts. Finally, fuel yourself and create newly broadened horizons with the bountiful banquet of vegetarian offerings so full of life [they] give you strength, vigor, and unlimited physical and mental vigor."

The Ageless Acronym: M-E-N-D MEDITATE EXERCISE NOURISH YOUR BODY & YOUR SOUL DETOX YOUR BODY & YOUR LIFE

*Note the acronym within the acronym, ME...Think "ME in the morning." Who am I going to take care of first thing every day? ME! ? with meditation and exercise.

Your Vegan Kitchen

If going vegan on dinner dates, at company functions, and your mom's house is just too much to contemplate right now, then go vegan in your own home where you can stock up what you want to and experiment with yummy dishes.

Give your pantry a good going-over. Toss anything that came from an animal; anything with white sugar or high-fructose corn syrup; all the white flour, white rice, processed corn meal products; the packaged, preserved, refined stuff: most chips, candies, pastries, etc. A healthy vegan kitchen may well have the following on hand, but every kitchen will reflect the preferences of the people who cook and dine there:

Vegetables, fresh and frozen ? especially those super-nutritious leafy greens and other brightly colored veggies Fruit, fresh and frozen ? berries are the cat's meow! Beans, dried or canned (if you buy canned, look for the organic brands if you can; they're often lower in sodium; Eden's cans are BPA-free) Whole grains ? brown rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa, real whole grain bread (Ezekiel bread, or Essene or Manna bread, in the freezer at the health food store), whole-wheat, spelt, or gluten-free pasta Raw nuts and seeds ? Brazils give you selenium (remember: 22 of them a month provide all the selenium you need), and pumpkin seeds are high in zinc. Also enjoy almonds, filberts, pecans, walnuts (high in omega 3 fatty acids), macadamias, etc. These are concentrated foods, so don't go crazy with room ? ditto the avocado Dried fruits ? nature's candy: Medjool dates, dried apricots, organic raisins. Dates blend up as a wonderful sweetener; you can also buy at the health food store or order online "date sugar" ? it's just dried dates ground up. A little real maple syrup is fine, too. If you want a calorie-free sweetener, go with stevia or monkfruit. High quality extra virgin olive oil if you use oil. Keep an eye on extracted oils so you don't overdo ? some plant-based experts such as Caldwell Essestyn, MD, and John McDougall, MD, advise against using any extracted oils. Wonderful spices and seasonings. Some ? cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, garlic ? have strong anti-cancer and other disease-preventive properties. If you use salt, choose Himalayan salt or Celtic sea salt ? these are minimally refined and contain valuable minerals. For beverages, you're making fresh juices ? these are superb. Pure water ? there's huge controversy about what kind is best; use your intuition. I get Mountain Valley spring water from Arkansas in glass bottles, but even a Britta filter is a great start.) Enjoy sparkling water from glass bottles (mix with fruit juice or squeeze in lemon or lime). Make herbal teas ? licorice, ginger, there array is endless ? and, if you're not ready to fully part ways with caffeine, black tea and green tea are both rich in antioxidants; so is coffee, for that matter, if you choose to indulge. Instead of cow's milk, try various brands of soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, and hemp milk, or a soy or coconut creamer.

Kitchen Helpers

Good knives ? A chef's knife and a paring knife, kept sharp, are essential for salads, crudit?s, etc.

A decent blender ? I got by fine with years with a Cuisinart blender from Bed, Bath & Beyond, but connoisseurs of blending swear by the high-powered VitaMix or Blendtec. Legend has it that these can almost blend rocks.

A food processor ? You'll use it for dips, spreads, desserts, and for chopping veggies. You can even peel and chop ripe bananas, cut them in 1-inch chunks, and buzz them in your processor with a teeny bit of water or nondairy milk. Scrape down the sides a couple of times and voila(!) ? Magic Banana Ice Cream!

A great juicer ? I like the Breville Juice Fountain. It's basic, easy to clean, and juices greens as well as any mid-priced juicer out there. (I don't work for any of the companies or brands I recommend ? I just like them.)

A Pantry and Cupboard Clean-out

Start to detox your body by detoxing your home. Get rid of the chemicalized, animal-tested cosmetics and replace them with products from clean, cruelty-free lines, such as:

Dr. Hauschka Arbonne Aubrey Organics Beauty Without Cruelty The Body Shop Mychelle Dermaceuticals e.l.f. (eyes, lips, face) NYX Yes to Carrots (also Yes to Cucumbers and some other veggies ? it's at the drugstore And many more. Get complete and updated list to cruelty-free cosmetics at .

Also, clear out the cleaning products under the kitchen sink and replace them with brands friendly to the environment and your body -- Ecover, Seventh Generation, Meyers Clean Day, BonAmi ? or with simple, effective (and cheap!) cleaners like baking soda, club soda, and white vinegar. See Clean `n' Green, by Amie Berthold-Bond, for fun recipes for cleaning anything with these products you already have.

Some Helps for Going Veg & Loving It!

First off, read up:

Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, by Melanie Joy, Ph.D The China Study, by Colin Campbell, Ph.D Eat to Live, by Joel Fuhrman, MD The 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, Neal Barnard, MD The World Peace Diet, by Will Tuttle, Ph.D The Love-Powered Diet, by Victoria Moran Main Street Vegan, by Victoria Moran

Then, get some fun and fabulous recipes:

Unprocessed, by Chef AJ The Vegan Kitchen, by Freya Dinshah Great Chefs Cook Vegan, Linda Long The 4-Ingredient Vegan, by Maribeth Adams How to Eat Like a Vegetarian Even if You Never Want to Be One, by Patti Breitman and Carol J. Adams Vegan Chocolate, by Fran Costigan (`cos every life needs a little chocolate)

Call in the reinforcements!

These are a few of the many substitutes available for some of the foods you're familiar with. True, these are not "whole foods" in that you can pick them in a garden or orchard, but many are only "once removed" from that garden or orchard. Anytime you eat anything from a package, read the label and use your good sense. I can tell you for sure: today I eat almost entirely whole, unprocessed foods, but if it hadn't been for some of these transitional items, I'd have never made this this far.

Bacon ? Fakin' Bacon and other brands; the ones based on tempeh are the least processed Burgers ? Boca Burgers (get the "original vegan" ones) Butter ? Nut butters and all-fruit jams are the great bread spreads, or you can dip crusty bread in good olive oil like the Greeks and Italians do. There are also now vegan margarines such as Earth Balance that contain no trans fats. Coconut butter works well in baked goods since it's a saturated fat like butter (for this reason, use sparingly ? and if you have high cholesterol or a family history of heart disease, leave it out entirely.) Cheese ? My favorite ? and I believe the healthiest ? of the vegan cheeses is Treeline (). It's not distributed universally yet, but it's pure as the driven snow, made 100% from whole plant foods, and tastes like fine French cheese. Daiya Cheese (it comes in blocks and shredded ? cheddar, mozzarella, pepper Jack) is less laudable from the health point of view, but it makes pizza and grilled cheese; if you have kids ? or a husband ? this can be a real help. There are also vegan "cream cheeses" at the health food store ? read labels to avoid trans fats. You can also make a lot of cheeses and cheesy sauces easily in your own kitchen. Great resources Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese and John Schlimm's The Cheesy Vegan Chicken ? The health food store has many brands of chicken-less nuggets, breaded and ready to bake or fry. Seitan (wheat gluten) can be used to substitute chicken and other meats in stir-fries and other recipes. Cow's Milk ? Soy milk (Silk is delicious), almond milk (Silk, Blue Diamond), Rice Milk (Rice Dream), also hemp, coconut, oat, sunflower, and flax milks ? almost all of them fortified to contain as much calcium as dairy milk, or even 50% more Eggs ? There's a health food store product in a box, "Tofu Scrambler" from Fantastic Foods that helps you make a yummy stand-in for scrambled eggs. For baking, there's a powder called Egg Replacer (Jolly G is one brand), and a new powdered product called The Vegg for killer French toast. Fois gras ? Faux gras ? Hot dogs ? Tofu pups and other meatless hot dogs ? read label to check fat and sodium content and be sure there's no egg white Ice cream ? Soy Dream, Coconut Bliss, Rice Dream, and my favorite, DF Mavens; also, any sorbet Lunch meat ? Yves makes sliced turkey, baloney, etc.; there are other brands, too; many are low-fat or fat-free Turkey for the holidays ? Tofurky ? , or Field Roast ? Yogurt ? Soy, rice, or almond yogurt, at the health food store, or coconut kefir

But remember: ultimately this is not about substitutions. It's about a new way of life in which the bounty of the plant kingdom isn't "standing in" for anything, but is the star of the table in its own right.

Going Greener, Cleaner, with More Fresh, Raw Food

Eating at least 70% of your food in the diet of uncooked plant food can work wonders in your life. If it seems like too much for now, put it on a back burner, but if you're intrigued ...

A few basic books ? My faves are:

Becoming Raw, by Brenda Davis, RD, and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD, is a new and definitive, scientifically based book about going raw or high-raw. A lot that's out there in the raw food world is anecdotal; this is solid.

Crazy Sexy Diet, by Kris Carr. Kris is a vivacious cancer survivor, proponent of juicing, and a high-raw vegan. She writes in a young, enticing style. This book is packed with information, and it's also a major motivator.

Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, by Jennifer Cornbleet (my tip-top #1 cookless book). These recipes are yummy, foolproof, & super-simple; no weird ingredients or unusal appliances needed. You can also get the DVD on her site, . If you like gourmet desserts, Cornbleet has another book, Raw for Dessert, which is very nice but not as easy)

The Raw Revolution Diet, by Cherie Soria, Brenda Davis, RD, and Vesanto Melina, RD -- great recipes and scientifically grounded information on the how-to and benefits of a high-raw diet; Cherie is founder/director of Living Light Culinary Institute in Ft. Bragg, CA; her site is

SOME RECIPES:

Lavishly Lemony Green Juice So good!

1 head romaine or celery 4 stalks kale (another dark leafy green can substitute, but kale is mildest) 1-2 apples 1 peeled lemon

Juice. Drink daily or almost daily.

Magnificently Marinated Kale Salad

Kale (or mix of kale and collard greens) Red bell pepper, chopped Black olives, chopped Avocado Mineral-rich salt (Celtic sea salt or Himalayan earth salt) Lemon juice and/or apple cider vinegar

Strip kale (and collard if using it) leaves from the stems. Roll them like a cigar and chop finely. (You can also chop in a food processor. The point is to get finely chopped greens.) Then "smoosh" the avocado and lemon juice/vinegar and salt to taste. (If you avoid salt, use Mrs. Dash.) Mix into the greens and massage the dressing into the greens for a few minutes, really squeezing the greens. This will tenderize them so they'll be yummy to eat. Add the chopped bell pepper and black olives. If you can, let the salad sit for at least two hours so it can fully marinate. Keeps in fridge up to two days.

Wishing you well on your plant-based adventure! Victoria Moran,

Check out our videos on YouTube: VictoriaMoranNYC

And listen to the MAIN STREET VEGAN podcast

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