Going Vegan 2

My commitment to veganism was fuelled by reading various books – The China Study by T Colin Campbell, 80-10-10 by Doug Graham and Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrmann.  

  

The China Study finally got me off the B12 fence and convinced me that veganism with occasional B12 supplements is still a healthier choice than consuming animal fats.  80-10-10 was an interesting read and even though I don’t subscribe to the hypothesis that humans are “frugivores”, I was convinced that I need to increase my fruit and greens intake (not anywhere close to 80% though) and to decrease fat intake but not to as low as 10%.   

I spoke to many raw vegans and was impressed by how healthy most of the long termers look.  In search of the holy grail to optimal health, I also read David Wolfe’s Sunfood Diet Success System and explored raw veganism as a lifestyle choice.  Again, I came away with the opinion that going 100% raw is great for cleansing and healing but for a lifestyle choice, increasing raw foods to comprise 40-60% of my diet is a more realistic goal for me. I am really looking forward to diving into vegan cooking.  It will mean giving up or greatly reducing my two favorite food groups – cheese and wine.  

I enjoyed Joel Fuhrmann’s eat to Live, it made the most sense to me, and seemed to be based in sound nutrition and to continue where The China Study left off.  I suppose it is radical compared to the USDA pyramid but it sounds perfectly balanced and complete to me. 

Fuhrmann advocates unlimited amounts of dark, leafy greens, soft raw vegetables, steamed vegetables, a decent amount of fruits, some beans legumes and pulses (cooked), a modest serving of starchy vegetables and unrefined, whole grains (cooked) and a small serving of seeds and nuts.

I have a preference for real, whole foods.  I don’t want to spend my time in health food stores buying exotic, expensive, obscure ingredients. I don’t mind taking the time to check out a green grocer, outside market and buying real, wholesome farm fresh stuff.  So any vegan cookbooks with too many recipes containing things like egg substitute etc got thrown out.  Also, I’m not big into soya, tofu and overly processed foods.  So, one of my challenges is to make great tastes with real food and not pour miso or soy sauce into everything. It doesn't have to taste or look like faux meat to taste great.

 Good ingredients, good tastes, great health.