Where to Get Nutritional Advice for Young Vegans and Newbies

Just a quick post to pass on this link fom The Vegan Society which gives nutritional advice for young children, 11-18 year olds and those new to vegan eating. It includes the importance of breakfast, calcium, omega 3, Vitamin D, iodine, B12 etc. with suggestions for meals and sources of these nutrients.

It is by no means comprehensive and it is important to do your own research regarding the issue of using supplements or not.

My view is that it is always better to get your nutrients from real food where possible, supplements come in such a variety of forms, strengths and quality, often have fillers and they are expensive and not always absorbed sufficiently by the body.

Isolating particular nutrients doesn’t always work since when they occur within real food, they are accompanied by lots of micro-nutrients which aid their metabolism and absorption, which isn’t always the case with supplements.

This is why it is important to consume foods containing Vitamin C with foods containing iron, for instance. That’s also the reason not to peel where appropriate as these micronutrients are found just under the skin.

However, there are cases where supplementing might be appropriate, but it is wise to seek advice from a qualified practitioner.

This article is a good start, along with Teen Vegan, a safe not-for-profit social network for 12-19s with lots of advice, opportunities to volunteer making care packages for local homeless people and summer camp activities.

Another great resource is Vegan Fitness TV (recently renamed Family Fizz TV) on YouTube. They are a family of four, the parents are very into fitness, training etc but are very down-to-earth, using convenience foods as well as fresh foods and regularly test out new products. The two young girls in the family also have their own channel.

Vegan Kids (What an 11 year old eats in a day)

Vegan Kids (What a 5 Year Old eats in a day)

The two sisters do their own videos, they are delightful, so confident, lively and have a lot of fun.

Don’t forget, all the recipes on this blog are Vegan and Gluten-free and and you can find additional advice on Becoming Vegan in the blog Menu.

Where Do I Get Iron on a Vegan Diet?

Here:

Plus Figs, Dried Peaches, Mangoes, Goji Berries, Golden Berries, Spirulina, Watercress, Moringa Powder, but best of all for chocolate lovers is that Dark Chocolate (over 75%) and Cacao contain lots more iron than beef!

Other sources of iron include wholegrains: Quinoa, Barley, Bulgar Wheat, Oats, Rice. Other Nuts: Macadamias, Walnuts, Pecans and Pistachios. Homemade Nut Milks (see the Menu for recipes). Other Seeds: Pumpkin, Squash, Chia, Hemp.

Plant sources of iron are not as easily absorbed as animal sources but it is simple to obtain enough through eating a rainbow of foods every day.

In fact, vegans with a varied diet consume more bioavailable iron than meat-eaters and vegetarians.

Dairy milk interferes with the absorption of iron.

There are many more plant-based sources of iron, even in small amounts, so eating a wide variety of foods will do the job.

Vitamin C aids the absorption of plantbased Iron, and if you’re on a healthy vegan diet full of fruits and vegetables, this will not be a problem at all.

Sprouting enhances the bioavailability of iron as well as other essential nutrients, including Vitamin C to aid absorption. It is easy to sprout all kinds of beans and seeds – we sprout mung beans, alfalfa, broccoli, lentils, chickpeas.

My post Sprouting for Health, Energy and the Environment! will show you how, and provide more information on the benefits of sprouting.

Please Note: It can be dangerous to take iron supplements unless under the supervision of your doctor.

Vegetarian Times have a great article on How Much Iron is Enough and how to get the required amounts.

One Green Planet have a good article on Ten Plant-based Foods Packed With Iron.

Where Do I Get My Calcium On A Vegan Diet?

Here:

And here:

here too:

I would also inlcude Watercress, Parsley, Swede, Rocket, Tiger Nuts, Plant Milks, and Hard Water.

It is a longheld myth that humans need cow’s milk in order to build strong bones.

In fact, cow’s milk is made for the calves they produce which need to grow large bones and grow into large animals, they have the required digestive system to break it down and absorb the calcium content.

Calves grow to approximately eight times their birthweight by the time they are weaned and never drink milk again.

Humans make less and less of the enzyme needed to break down dairy milk as they get older – only young children have enough of the enzyme – which can lead to lactose intolerance and several health issues.

The type of calcium in dairy milk is barely absorbed by humans and is different from the type of calcium in plant foods.

Plant-based calcium is more bioavailable to humans.

Many people, including babies and children, are allergic to dairy milk, they develop normally on non-dairy sources of calcium.
Many populations around the world don’t drink dairy milk, yet display no overall deficiency in calcium.
American women are among the biggest consumers of dairy milk, yet they have one of the highest percentages of osteoporosis.
Chinese people don’t eat or drink dairy milk and consume half the amount of calcium of most Americans, yet there is hardly any osteoporosis.
Dairy milk washes the calcium we already have from our bones and this can lead to osteoporosis.
Dairy milk is allowed by law to contain a certain amount of chemicals, growth hormones, antibiotics and pus (yes, pus!)
Most dairy herds are fed on GMO feed, so even if you avoid these in weekly shopping and home cooking, if you drink milk or eat meat, you are almost certainly consuming GMOs.
Many large mammals have plantbased diets: Elephants, Rhinos, Zebras, Moose, most Gorillas, Hippos, Yak, Bison – no-one asks where they get their protein/calcium from (they wouldn’t dare!).
Consuming large amounts of dairy milk can cause iron deficient anaemia in young children because they drink so much milk they have no room for other better sources of iron.
One family member has a condition which requires him to have a very low-protein diet. He has never had dairy products or meat. He is a strapping, healthy, active young man who is an outdoor activities leader specialising in canoeing, climbing and snowboarding, and a keen cyclist.
Exercise, especially the weight-bearing kind, is a good way to increase your bone density.

Who would think even fruits are good sources of calcium?

My youngest toddler grandson is very strongwilled when it comes to food and unless it is fruit or pasta, forget it! Yet he is tall and strong and has so much energy he literally has to be fed on the go as he whizzes past on his next mission to create chaos and mayhem! His parents are very sneaky, though: he loves his dad’s freshly-made fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies which are full of all sorts of plants, nuts and seeds that he would vociferously object to if put on his plate!

Surprisingly, too, many herbs are high in calcium.

Mind Body Green have a great infographic explaining why calcium is essential, how much you need at various ages and according to gender, plus a list of plant-based sources.

Many Americans are deficient in calcium, especially teenage girls and women over 50, but it is easy to include enough of this mineral with a little self-education and thought. Some foods may be unfamiliar, but these days are easily accessible via online stores and there are many sites and books showing you how to use them. Three years ago, I had never heard used chia seeds, goji berries, lucuma fruit powder, goldenberries and so on, but now they are staples along with nut butters and tahini (sesame paste).

You can find recipes for homemade Nut, Seed and Tiger Nut Recipes in the Menu – Tiger Nuts are actually tubers and so are suitable for those with a nut allergy. They make lovely naturally sweet and creamy milk, full of vitamins, minerals and probiotics. It is very popular in Spain where it is known as Horchata.

It is important to note that Spinach contains oxalate which prevents the absorption of its calcium content.

Salt and Caffeine also inhibit calcium uptake.

It is also important to note that calcium supplementation can be dangerous: it can cause an imbalance in essential minerals in the body, overwork the kidneys, cause kidney stones to develop, create cardiovascular problems from calcium deposits and lead to many other health issues.

Sources: The Vegan Society and Vegan Community on Instagram

The Guardian

The Global Healing Centre

as well as courses and articles, too many to mention, and my own experience.

Hope this helps!

Where Do I Get My Protein on a Vegan Diet?

Here:

And here:

(I would add Nutritional Yeast, Kale, Sunflower seeds, Romaine Lettuce, Sprouted Seeds & Beans, Mushrooms and Corn to that last)

The truth is, it is extremely difficult in Western society to be deficient in protein.

You don’t even need thick steaks if you’re a bodybuilder or any other kind of meat or dairy product if you’re a top-notch athlete: there are many top bodybuilders, ironmen, ultra-marathon runners and other sports people who are vegans.

Several members of the US Rio Olympic team are on a plantbased diet. Champion tennis players Serena and Venus Williams are on plantbased diets and Novak Djokovic recently opened his own vegan restaurant. Arnold Schwarzanegger is advocating transitioning to a plantbased diet! Former President Bill Clinton changed to a vegan diet when he had bypass surgery. Carl Lewis, champion athlete, also competed on a vegan diet.

Almost all wholefoods contain some protein to varying amounts, so all you need to do is eat a wide variety of *real* foods, as opposed to processed, chemical-laden sugary ‘foods’ that call themselves vegan and you will get all the quality protein and nutrients you need.

Excessive protein intake can overload the kidneys, make them work harder and cause dehydration.

Research from Australia and the US shows that a varied vegan diet is healthy for both children and adults. Even the the latest US eating guidelines advise more plantbased foods.

I had a meat-eating pregnancy and a vegetarian pregnancy, guess which was healthiest and easiest? The vegetarian one by far. My children were brought up vegetarian, one has always been a keen sports enthusiast and an on-again-off-again vegan, athlete, orienteer, climber and cyclist, while the other has done gymnastics, horse-riding, running, become a lifeguard and gym enthusiast, but nowadays mostly enjoys yoga, swimming and cycling.

One family member has to have a low protein diet for medical reasons and has been plantbased all his life, he’s an outdoor activities leader and specialises in canoeing and climbing.

The babies and toddlers in our family are initially brought up vegan, until they want to choose foods for themselves. Even the ones who choose to occasionally include meat still have a mostly vegetable and fruit content to their diet and all are active, with the older ones being keen cyclists, swimmers, basketball players and Kung fu exponents!

Vegan food is not all brown and boring!* (see below for links to recipes).

It’s mostly about educating yourself and cooking from scratch as much as possible, but you can still find quality vegan convenience food and snacks. And you don’t have to spend hours creating special meals. That certainly wouldn’t work in our household! There are recipes in the blog menu for both savoury, sweet and raw vegan meals as well as some healthy snacks. Instagram is also a great place to find vegan accounts and websites for advice and recipes.

Resources: Vegan Family TV a YouTube channel run by a couple with two young children, it’s fun and informative about their everday lives as vegans. They regulalry try out new products and the girls do their own broadcasts.

The Vegan Society has an article which includes protein requirements and protein sources.

PS Here is a link to a short, informative article about the current trend for protein shakes, protein-added products, the possible overdosing on protein and its feared health repercussions in 10-15 years’ time, especially on teenage boys and men:

Are You Overdosing On Protein?

*See 3 Vegan Meals with Chilli, Quinoa, Tacos & Steamed Veg (but no Quorn!)

Rocket (Arugula) Salad with Sweetcorn, Walnut Slaw, Crisp Red Apple & Lemon Tahini Dressing

Berry Chia Breakfast Jar

Warm Apricot & Ginger Rice Salad with Tamari-Splashed Garlic Mushrooms

Veganuary

January has been designated Veganuary and even has its own website!

It was such a success last year that I think it is probably here to stay.

40,000 people have signed up to try being vegan for a month and the website is there to provide support, advice, product websites and tasty recipes for people wanting to increase the plant-based element of their diet and reduce meat and dairy.

Everyone has their own food journey, we are all at differing stages and are there for different reasons, whether it be health, ethics or environmental impact.

I am not about to go through all the whys and wherefores, others have done a much better job than I can, but I have decided to provide a Vegan category to house the information about being vegan if people wish to look it up.

(Photo from The Vegan Community)

Recently, I published Hanna’s post Plant Powered New Year which was her response to a specific question about whether a diet containing meat would have an effect on psoriasis. Hanna suffered with appalling psoriasis and is now mostly vegan after ridding herself of the misery of itchy, inflamed skin through juicing and a plant-based diet. Hanna was quite forthright in her language, which may not appeal to some, but she has had a rough journey to where she stands now as a beautifully healthy, energetic young woman and has just had her first book published called ‘Radiant’. It includes her story along with beautiful photography and tasty recipes to help achieve the same results.

Today, I have decided to provide links not only to her post but also 3 others which take a more softly-softly approach and give a guiding hand to those just beginning to look into the subject of ‘going vegan’.

The first is Rachel at Healthy and Psyched: 5 Tips For Transitioning To Veganism where she is at pains to reduce the guilt element so often present in such articles. Rachel says basically that you are not a bad person because you unwittingly – or even wittingly – eat something that has dairy in it at a family party for instance, and my favourite is not to throw away all your make-up, which is expensive to replace and such a waste, and which is exactly what I did!

The second post is from Feminine Boutique Blog: How To Go Vegan in 4 Steps This post gives links to sites, YouTubers and books where you can find the information you crave and the support. It is short and there is nothing to scare the horses (pun intended!) It too is written in an easy-going style and isn’t at all ‘preachy’.

Another interesting post is from Our Green Nation: 2016’s Top 10 Vegan Moments which lists interesting topics such as the American government, scientists and doctors giving vegetarian and vegan diets the thumbs up as being healthy and suitable for any stage in life, while the latest American Nutritional Guidelines are the most vegetarian-friendly ever; they feature the Sainsbury’s ‘Gary’ vegan cheese furore and the members of the USA Olympic team who have plantbased diets including a weightlifter.

Finally, there is even a website for teenage vegetarians and vegans: http://www.teenvgn.com It is a great site, describing iteslf as a social network for teen vegetarians and vegans, providing a safe place for 12-19 year olds to obtain information, recipes and exchange ideas. They even run a summer camp every year full of activities for 11 a 17 year olds. They encourage volunteering and put together care boxes for homeless people in local areas. They are sponsored by several reputable companies and supported by The Raw Chocolate Company.

Going vegan doesn’t mean going boring! There are many websites and Instagram accounts with colourful, balanced vegan recipes. You can also check out the vegan recipes in my menu.

The Vegan Society will provide answers to most of your questions.

‘What Do You Eat If You Can’t Have Anything Naughty?’ – What Vegans Eat

My husband does bike repairs and refurbishes second-hand bikes* which he sells on if in good condition or gives them away if they are past their sell-by date in terms of age and design.

This means that there is a lot of foot traffic through our back garden as people bring their injured steeds for some TLC or to ask about a bike we might have for sale. Some like to chat and put the world to rights, especially those who are retired.

Yesterday was one such day. A regular customer came to collect his bike. The sun was making a rare appearance and I was -unusually for me – sitting outside under the umbrella. We had met some time ago, when I answered the door to him, but had never really had a conversation. He is retired and likes to amble around on his bike enjoying the fresh air and countryside. He does t’ai chi and chi qong, but had injured his knee recently and inevitably the conversation turned to health, nutirition, exercise and ailments.

Having worked selling potatoes for many years, he is quite knowledgeable about how food is produced and marketed, eats little meat except for organic chicken and pork occasionally, some oily fish, and takes flax seed oil supplements for his joints. He knew that my husband is vegetarian but raised an eyebrow when I mentioned I am vegan.

He had just been regaling us with advice about washing fruit and veg because it is sprayed to within an inch of its life and how he had witnessed such cruelty in modern farming methods, yet he was puzzled by my dietary choices.

It seemed to come down to puddings!

His face twisted and he asked ‘So, what do you eat if you can’t have anything naughty?!’

I grinned and said, ‘We’ve just had a 13 year old boy visiting for a week and we’ve had puddings every day!’ ‘Really?’ he replied, surprised and sceptical. ‘What do you do then?’

I explained that we still made ice-cream, for instance (see below for recipe links); he asked how and was impressed, he didn’t realise you didn’t need cow’s milk and refined sugar, chemicals, artificial flavourings and preservatives. I added that if we want something sweet we use fresh or dried fruit or occasionally maple syrup in the recipes (he had assumed we used honey).

I added, all you need is a blender and a food processor. ‘Well,’he responded, ‘We’ve got those.’

Now, he knows I have a long-term back injury and as I started to expand on my dietary habits, he interrupted, looked me up and down, sitting there in my shorts and t-shirt and pronounced that I looked well despite being vegan – ‘You must have been a child bride!’ (cringe) – I was slim so there was no need for me to ‘diet.’

My husband spluttered and I smiled indulgently and shook my head. Here we go, I thought.

Before I could reply, he proceded to describe how he was reasonably fit and healthy, wasn’t fat and did alright without medications before adding that he had some pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories for a previous condition that he was now taking for his knee: ‘But they don’t do any good!’

Eventually, I corrected him.

‘I look well, slim and healthy because I am vegan and because I juice, not despite my food regimen. I don’t take any medications and before I changed my lifestyle I suffered with unbearably painful sinusitis, twice-yearly chest infections that would last 6-8 weeks and often resulted in a cracked rib or strained muscles from coughing, I had painful IBS and asthma.

Since I began juicing and more recently became vegan, I no longer suffer the symptoms of these conditions.

He was sceptical. My husband laughed and backed me up. ‘It’s true, and you won’t win the argument, she’s heard it all before!’

He persisted: ‘No pain medications?’

No. They make me ill, bring me out in a rash and don’t work. They damaged my stomach lining and gave me gastritis. (I juice ginger and turmeric daily for inflammation and use Devil’s Claw herbal drops when it flares up in times of stress).

But to get back to our cycling friend. Once he was reassured there could still be puddings and I didn’t need medication, he was smiling again and kept saying how well I looked.

But he was very disappointed that he couldn’t bring me some trout or salmon from his fishing expeditions!

Later, our neighbour shouted over the hedge for my husband to come and help himself to some plums from his tree. We made a plum crumble last night for our visitors today, with no animal products or refined sugar. (Recipe link below).

Nana Rhys Cream with Mango, Cacao & Peanut Butter

Açaí, Blackberry & Coconut Gelato

Vegan, Gluten-Free Plum Crumble – Nice, But Not Too Naughty!

*http://briansbikes.co.uk

Vegan Gluten-Free Almond & Apricot Scones – oh yes!

I haven’t had home-baked scones – or any scones for that matter – for soooo long! Many moons ago, before I became vegan, gluten-free, juicer and raw foodie, they were my favourite comfort food. They were so quick and easy to make.

I haven’t had anything resembling baked goods in years. I haven’t missed them at all. I love my raw treats. But you know how sometimes, you’re sitting or lying, minding your own business and suddenly, wham! it hits you: you just have to have that little something (as Winnie the Pooh called it). That very specific something. Nothing else will do. For me, in the early hours of this morning when I couldn’t sleep, it was scones! So I spent the next hours musing over how I could devise a recipe that ticked all my boxes.

So here it is, my first baking recipe! Don’t get too comfy, I’m not morphing into Delia! It’s a one-off.*

This was our first attempt, and I have to say, given all the guesswork involved, I am really pleased with them. I tried to make them as healthy as possible, so they have protein, B vitamins, Vitamin A, Iron and so on. Enjoy as an occasional treat.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds soaked in 3 Tbsps Water for 10-15 mins. Stir vigorously every so often (known as a chia egg).

80z Organic Cornflour (it’s yellow, you know!)

1 oz freshly ground Almonds

1 Tsp Gluten-free Baking Powder

2 oz Solid Raw Virgin Coconut Oil

1 oz Coconut Palm Sugar

4 Sulphur-free Organic Dried Apricots (pre-soaked if very dry)

Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

1/2 Cup Almond Milk – preferably home-made, click this link for how to make your own

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and coconut palm sugar into a large bowl.

Add the salt and coconut oil.

Using fingertips, blend into flour mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add chia egg and using a round bladed knife mix it into the flour mix.

Stir in dried apricots and add almond milk.

Using fingers, gather it together and knead. It should be quite soft and moist and combine into a ball.

Gently roll it to out to just over an inch in depth. They won’t rise much so bear that in mind.

Using whatever shaped cutter you like, cut out about 7 or 8 scones. We used a medium size.

Place on baking parchment on a baking try – we didn’t have any and the scones got a little overdone on the underneath. Brush the tops with a little milk.

Place in the oven at 190C for a fan oven.

Cook for about 10 mins. but keep your eye on them. Ours were in a little too long, but they still tasted lovely.

Cool on a rack.

Split and add whatever takes your fancy, mine had strawberry fruit spread and peanut butter (didn’t have any almond). I would have much preferred my Nannie’s home-made Almond and Apricot jam, which would have been perfect. She used to make huge batches of it, as well as damson and apple, and distribute it amongst her family, it would last us all year!

*Ok, I lied! Vegan, Gluten-Free Plum Crumble – Nice, But Not Too Naughty!

The Organic Chia Seeds and Organic Coconut Palm Sugar are from The Raw Chocolate Company

The Organic Cornflour and Organic Almonds are from Buy Wholefoods Online UK

The Raw Virgin Coconut Oil is from Lucy Bee Coconut

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