Iron and Calcium and Sources For Vegans

Calcium-helps build strong bones and teeth; muscle and nerve function; blood clotting. If you have muscle spasms this could be a sign that you need more calcium. We only need 1000 mg a day.

Foods high in calcium:

Blackberries, black currents, dates, grapefruit, orange, pomegranate, prickly pears, amaranth leaves, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, celery, Chinese broccoli, French beans, kale, okra, spirulina, Swiss chard, almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, oats, pistachios, sesame seeds, wheat, soy beans

Iron-Carries oxygen in blood; energy metabolism. ( why do vegs need more, we don’t) Women 15 mg and men 10 mg.

Foods high in iron:

Avocado, blackberries, boysenberries, dates, cherries, figs, grapes, kiwi, lemon, passion fruit, raspberries, raisins, strawberries, watermelon, bok choy, butternut squash, French beans, soy beans, soy milk, lima beams, peas, kale, leeks, potatoes, pumpkin, spirulina, buckwheat, cashews, coconut, oats, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, rye, wheat.

Be a Food Smart Vegan

My name is Tracy Conner; I am a vegan nutrition coach and a long time vegan. Not too long ago while walking through my local natural market I looked at all the wonderful vegan food on the market today. However looking at the nutrition fact’s I was shocked by how high the calories, fat and sodium are in some of  the foods. The sodium in particular since too much sodium intake can cause high blood pressure, even in vegans. And it may take years before symptoms occur but high blood pressure can cause damage to the arteries, an aneurysm, heart attack, coronary artery disease, brain damage, kidney failure, fluid buildup under the retina, bone loss and more. I then started to wonder what are the healthy vegan choices? After much research I came up with this.

Veggie dogs

There are so many choices out there right now for veggie dogs, but what are the healthiest choices? The top two are Yves tofu dog  and light life smart dog.

The unhealthiest veggie dogs on the market today are soy boy not dogs which is equal to two and a half cups of kale in both calories and protein. You can put that in a yummy smoothie! The second is the Yves veggie brats which are equal to four plums in calories and six and a half cantaloupes when it comes to sodium. Yikes!

Veggie burgers

Who doesn’t love a veggie burger every now and then? But what are the healthiest choices? The top four are; Boca original vegan, garden vegan burger, Amys California veggie- low sodium and garden burger veggie medley
And which are the unhealthiest? Amy’s quarter pounder veggie burger in sodium it is equal to three hundred apples. Plus if you were to have tofu instead you would lose four pound at the end of the year. The Light life mushroom burger is equal to two hundred and fourty apples in sodium. And the Light life veggie is equal to one hundred and eighty five apples in sodium alone.

Another great option are the raw food nut burgers. They may not be lower in fat but the ingredients are living, pure and natural so it is 100 percent healthy.

Now if your one who eats a lot of veggie burgers you should limit yourself to two a week and have the fruit and tofu instead.


Cookies

We all have our cookie monster moments, but did you know that the Alternative Baking Company is the unhealthiest. One of their cookies is equal to 12 peaches in calories alone the amount of fat in the one cookie is more than what is in a medium avocado; and the sodium in this cookie is equal to 3.8 cantaloupes.

Eat Pasty cookie dough is the best. If you were to have one cookie a week and had the eat pastry at the end of the month you will have saved 1,440 calories, 52 grams of fat (which is more than one day's intake need), 232 grams of carbohydrates and 1,400 mg of sodium (which is equal to 3 days of your sodium intake needs and the amount of sodium in 1400 bananas). Plus at the end of the year that's five pounds lost just by simply switching.

Another great alternative are raw food cookies or chocolates. My personal favorite is Sacred Chocolates mint heart.

Cheese

Cheese is big right now. But which is the healthiest? Simple the Galaxy rice cheese and Follow your heart cheeses are the best on the market. Now I know everyone loves Daiya but it is high in calories and for one ounce it is very high in fat and sodium. Toffuti is the unhealthiest of all though.

Nut cheese is a wonderful choice as well if you are making a sandwich or something uncooked.



Food Bars
Food bars are a fast and easy choice if you’re on the run, but another great choice is edemames and even tofu. Not only are they whole foods but it’s amazing how much weight you could lose just by simple switching. The Organic food bar is equal to eight cups of kale, plus you would get six grams more of protein. If you were to have one cup of edemames instead of a Vega whole food bar you would lose fourteen pounds at the end of the year. If you choose three ounces of tofu over a Luna bar at the end of the year that’s eleven pounds lost. And if you had six ounces of tofu instead of a Cliff Builder bar that’s twenty pounds lost at the end of the year. OMG!

Not to mention the fact that a recent investigation on popular non-vegan protein powders had high levels of cadmium, arsenic, lead and mercury. Now granted these were not vegan protein powders but many vegan ones have fillers that could be the same fillers as listed above. And these protein powders are in some of the vegan food bars. This is a great reason to choose either a raw protein powder like Sunwarrior or a whole food such as edemames or tofu.

So to be a food smart vegan you really need to look at the calories, fat and sodium within the foods you eat. Make the wise and healthy choice!

Mango Mint Smoothie

1 Mango
1 Banana
Handful of Spinach
Mint

Blend to perfection

Vegan Burgers

Who doesn’t love a veggie burger every now and then? But what are the healthiest choices? The top four are; Boca original vegan, garden vegan burger, Amys California veggie- low sodium and garden burger veggie medley
And which are the unhealthiest? Amy’s quarter pounder veggie burger in sodium it is equal to three hundred apples. Plus if you were to have tofu instead you would lose four pound at the end of the year. The Light life mushroom burger is equal to two hundred and fourty apples in sodium. And the Light life veggie is equal to one hundred and eighty five apples in sodium alone.

Another great option are the raw food nut burgers. They may not be lower in fat but the ingredients are living, pure and natural so it is 100 percent healthy.

Now if your one who eats a lot of veggie burgers you should limit yourself to two a week and have the fruit and tofu instead.

Cacao Swirl Vegan Cookies

I just baked some yummy cookies. Here's the recipe.

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup vegan brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup apple sauce
2 tbs cacao

Bake at 350 till done.

Stop Revlon from testing on animals

David L. Kennedy
President and Chief Executive Officer
Revlon, Inc.
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

To Whom It May Concern:

I enjoy your products and hope to continue to purchase them in the future. However, as a concerned consumer, I would like to know your policy on the use of animals in product testing. Do you currently conduct or commission any animal testing for your personal and/or household products? Do you have a written agreement with your suppliers regarding ingredient testing on animals? 

I encourage you to join the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program.  By certifying your products with this program and licensing the Leaping Bunny Logo, you can assure myself and other concerned consumers that your products are truly free of animal testing. To find out more about the Leaping Bunny Program, go to http://www.leapingbunny.org/ or contact the CCIC at (888)546-CCIC.

Thanks in advance for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

[Your signature, printed name, and address here]

leapingbunny.org

Put an end to animal testing by Clinique

Now I know its not email, but lets write Lynne Green and save the animals from testing. Below is a sample letter you can use.

Lynne Green
President
Clinique Laboratories, LLC.
767 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10153

To Whom It May Concern:

I enjoy your products and hope to continue to purchase them in the future. However, as a concerned consumer, I would like to know your policy on the use of animals in product testing. Do you currently conduct or commission any animal testing for your personal and/or household products? Do you have a written agreement with your suppliers regarding ingredient testing on animals? 

I encourage you to join the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program.  By certifying your products with this program and licensing the Leaping Bunny Logo, you can assure myself and other concerned consumers that your products are truly free of animal testing. To find out more about the Leaping Bunny Program, go to http://www.leapingbunny.org/ or contact the CCIC at (888)546-CCIC.

Thanks in advance for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

[Your signature, printed name, and address here]

leapingbunny.org

Mylk

So what's the best mylk for vegans?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1bGAQRZsM4

My story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyAtVa_F-L8

Best vegan hot dogs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErHUD63WhGE

Why Vegans Don't Drink Wine

Check out the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhd6gpJVFVw

The Best Vegan Protein

Protein Powders

With so many proteins on the market today such as brown rice, brown rice isolate, hemp and soy how do you really know which is the best? Well let’s take a look.

Now before we talk about the best protein powders I shall first tell you I excluded powders such as Jarrow, Now Protein, Nutribiotic and soy and rice isolate proteins. The reason being is because some of those proteins include fillers, resins such as myrrh and phytoestrogens- which means foreign substances functioning as the primary female sex hormone not generated within the body and may increase the risk of cancer.

So today we are going to look at Hemp hearts, Nutivia, Raw Power, Vega and Sun Warrior.  So which is the best? Well Sunwarrior of course and here’s why.

If you were to have one scoop of Sunwarrior a day instead of 4 scoops of hemp hearts not only do you get more protein in but at the end of the year that’s 17 lbs lost. How great is that!

Sunwarrior compared to 4 scoops of Nutivia hemp. Again not only do you get more protein, consume less calories and fat but at the end of the year you lose 5 lbs. And save money.

One scoop of Sunwarrior compared to 4 scoops of Raw Power. Again not only do you save money and get more protein but at the end of the year you lose 4 lbs.

Now last but not least, two scoops of Sunwarrior compared to one scoop of Vega, well that’s 10 pounds lost. Wow!  I would also like to add not only does Vega contains algae, which some do not consider vegan, but it also contains a lot of unneeded fillers such as maca and algae. The reason I say unnecessary is because if you eat enough fruits and vegetables, which vegans do, we already get the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that we need.

Now back to Sunwarrior, not only is it the better choice simple because it is lower in calories and fat as well as higher in protein; but it is 100% Raw Vegan, has a complete Amino Acid Profile, hypoallergenic and it’s also non-GMO and gluten free. It is one of the highest (non soy) raw whole grain sprouted vegan protein on the market today. Sunwarrior also created the first complete hypoallergenic protein made up of all 9 essential amino acids and other non-essential amino acids, gotta love that. It’s easy to digest and taste great! Plus Sunwarrior is also high in antioxidants tocopherols and tocoterienols and other essential nutrients such as thiamin, riboflavin, iron, potassium and more. But the best part is that a current clinical trial shows promise that Sunwarrior protein aids in the absorption of vitamins in Aids patients, finger’s crossed.

So next time you reach for a protein powder reach for Sunwarrior!

One Cookie is equal to how many cantalopes?

Let's take a look at the vegan cookies on the market today. There are so many to choose from, such as:

Alternative Baking Company
Annies
Fabes
Nana Vegan Cookies
Michelle’s Vegan Cookies
The No Cookie Cookie
Eat Pastry (which is cookie dough)
And More.

I took a look at all of the chocolate chip cookies from all the companies and from looking at the calories, fat, carbohydrates, sodium and ingredients I came up with two clear winners. One winner is the unhealthiest cookie and the other is the healthiest. So who wins what?

The Alternative Baking Company's Colossal Chocolate Chip cookie is the unhealthiest on the market. Just one of their cookies is equal to 12 peaches in calories alone! Now ask yourself what's more filling the cookie or 12 peaches? The amount of fat in the one cookie is more than what is in a medium avocado; and the sodium in this cookie is equal to 3.8 cantaloupes. WOW! I know if you have one in your hand you just put it down right.

Now if you want to treat yourself to a cookie, which we all like to do, the winner for the healthiest cookie goes to Eat Pastry cookie dough. Its ingredients are cleaner, you can make two small cookies or one large, it has a refrigerator life of six months and you can reuse the container (Love that!).

So now some may be saying "Well if I'm eating a cookie I'm not thinking about the healthier choice." Well let me put it to you another way. If you had one cookie a week and choose Eat Pastry over Alternative Baking Company at the end of the month you will have saved 1,440 calories, 52 grams of fat (which is more than one daily intake needs), 232 grams of carbohydrates and 1,400 mg of sodium (which is equal to 3 days of your sodium intake needs and the amount of sodium in 1400 bananas). Plus at the end of the year that's 5 pounds lost just by simply switching.

So the next time you are in your local natural market and your reaching for a cookie go to the refrigerated section and reach for a container of Eat Pastry cookie dough instead. You'll be treating yourself not only to the healthiest cookie on the market but also the best tasting.

What is Food Smart Vegan

The Food Smart Vegan is based upon a lecture I give, and hoping a book soon, that take an indepth look at the vegan food on the market today. The blog show's you the better choices in foods such as mylk, cookies, yogurt, tofurkey and more.

It is a fun and educational blog that I hope you all enjoy.