Vegan & Vegetarian News

Here at Vertese^®, we get to work with some great people. In today’s blog post, Katy from littlemissmeatfree shares her experience of embarking on a vegan diet. Her top 10 tips for becoming and staying vegan are below.

As a vegan food writer and cookery tutor, I’m often asked for ideas how to become (and stay) vegan. I’ve put together a list of ten helpful tips, exclusively for Vertese^®:

1. Try some varieties of non-dairy milk and find a few that you really enjoy. They range from almond to rice, soya to coconut, so there is something for every taste. Try non-dairy yoghurts and cheeses too, which are readily available in large supermarkets.
2. If you feel the challenge of becoming fully vegan over night is too much, then try one meal at a time. Switch your usual lunch for an avocado, sesame and lime wrap and order a soya latte at the coffee shop.
3. The internet is a great place to find vegan recipes. There is a strong vegan community on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where you can share recipe ideas, photos and chat all things vegan.
4. Plan your supermarket shop to include lots of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Buy colourful ingredients that you are attracted to for delicious home-cooking and get creative in the kitchen!
5. Become familiar with the names of animal-ingredients that may be in processed foods like biscuits and sweets, for example lactose and shellac. Some animal-ingredients are labelled as E-numbers too, like E120. If in doubt, Google it.
6. Many restaurant chains have specific vegan menus, for example Carluccio’s and Pizza Express. Eating out as a vegan isn’t difficult; you can always call the restaurant in advance and ask them to prepare something that is vegan friendly.
7. Get used to people asking you where you get protein from. It’s useful to be prepared for this by listing nuts, seeds, lentils, beans and soya products. Protein deficiency is a rare condition in the western world and a well planned vegan diet can easily contain the recommended amounts.
8. There is no longer a ‘type’ of person who is a vegan. People become vegan for many reasons including animal welfare and ethics, environmental issues, to reduce food costs, for a healthier lifestyle and to enjoy a greater variety of food.
9. Bake a vegan cake. You’ll be hooked.
10. Ensure you are getting all the essential nutrients by taking a Vertese^® Supplement. My favourite is Vertese^® Beetroot, B12 and Iron Complex, which is perfect for busy people on the go!

Katy Beskow

www.littlemissmeatfree.co.uk

So, welcome to my week one update on my newly adopted vegan diet! I can’t believe I am actually doing it – I am so proud of myself!

EVERYONE seems to be shocked when I tell them I’m now vegan. Their reactions tend to be similar to The Scream painting, followed by mutterings of ‘is she really going to do the whole month?!’. Actually, I’m really finding it an absolute breeze so far.

First of all, let’s talk food. Everyone thinks vegans eat lettuce and only lettuce and are going to starve themselves. NOT TRUE. I may only be in week one, but I’ve got plenty of food to eat! As I eat fairly healthily anyway, my actual meals haven’t been much different to my norm – I’m just having slightly larger portion sizes to make up for the lack of a grilled chicken breast in my salad. Instead of reaching for the (more than) occasional chocolate bar, I’m reaching for an apple or some melon instead.

Here’s some meal suggestions that I’ve tried, tested and loved so far this week. Let me know if you would like me to post any full recipes, as these are all so quick and easy to make!

Breakfast

• Porridge with soya milk
• Fruit salad

Lunch

• Bagel with homemade guacamole
• Bagel with jam and banana
• Tomato and vegetable pasta

Dinner

• Rice noodle stir fry with broccoli, sweet corn, carrot, cucumber and spring onion with sweet chilli sauce
• Quinoa salad with beetroot, sweetcorn, spinach and mixed beans

The lovely Samantha over at Vertese has also been giving me some super helpful tips. Did you know that cinnamon helps you stay fuller for longer?! I’m not a massive fan of cinnamon but I’ve been sprinkling it on my porridge as and when I can remember and it does seem to be doing the trick – I’m not hungry until about 4 hours after eating! Result! I’m going to experiment more with cinnamon over the next few weeks, I’ll keep you guys in the loop!

There is a massive preconception that being vegan or eating healthily is expensive. Let’s just get to the truth here – IT’S NOT! My normal weekly shop comes to around £35 for two people, plus a few lunches. My weekly shop this week cost £40… that is only £5 difference! AND we’re actually making more packed lunches, so in the long run it is probably cheaper! Eating healthily for cheap can be done. We had our shop delivered from ASDA, but I might try out some other supermarkets to see how they differ.

So, now I’ve actually gone vegan, has it been worth it so far? I’ve been keeping a little food and mood diary to track my eating habits and see how this affects my body and wellbeing. So far, I’ve not really had anything negative to put! One massive change is that I don’t feel bloated and stuffed anymore. I had a really bad habit before of over eating, whereas now, even if I eat a slightly larger meal for dinner, it isn’t sitting on my stomach for hours after. My stomach looks a little flatter for this too, result! I’m not really noticing any changes in my energy levels yet, or any other physical changes, but I’m sure this is something that will probably take a little longer to kick in.

If you’re thinking of adopting a vegan lifestyle too, here are some tips that I hope will help you:

• Just take the plunge and do it! For me, taking the leap to say ‘I’m going to commit to being vegan’ was actually the toughest part!
• Don’t starve yourself of ‘cheat days’ – by this, I mean that there are plenty of foods to indulge in that are vegan friendly. It’s okay to enjoy a packet of crisps as part of a healthy, balanced diet – treat yourself with a weekend off! (Walkers Ready Salted & Salt and Vinegar are vegan friendly!)
• Soya milk – ok not really a tip, but try it. I think it makes my porridge taste nicer!
• Have some support – my boyfriend has been a star and has gone vegan too, to support me. It’s really helped and has completely removed any temptation. If you don’t have anyone willing to commit with you, maybe suggest to your parents or partner that you have a family vegan meal once a week? If not, even just moral support can be helpful. Tell your colleagues, get their backing (after all, you don’t want them accidentally putting cow’s milk in your coffee!)

Remember you can follow my journey with me across Twitter and Instagram by using the hashtag #VeganJodetopia – come and say hi! I’m sharing photos of my meals and all my highs and lows from this new lifestyle!

I’m so excited for what the rest of the month holds!

Jodie x

We all know we should be aware of how much sugar we eat, but if you are someone who has a sweet tooth you’ll know that cutting down on sugar isn’t always simple. Here are some simple pointers to help you on your way to following a sugar free diet, or at least reducing how much sugar you eat.

Check labels

If you have a bigger theme for your eating plan, such as following a vegetarian or vegan diet, or perhaps you are gluten free, then that will obviously be your main focus. It’s easy to overlook other elements in favour of maintaining the bigger picture so start to check labels and look for sugar in the list of ingredients. You may see it listed as glucose, sucrose, cane sugar, molasses, fructose – anything with an ‘ose’ at the end is a sugar.

The higher up the list an ingredient appears the more of it there is, so if there are any sugars listed amongst the ingredients, then they really should be towards the very end.

Origins don’t matter

Organic, fair trade, natural, farm fresh – all nice to have but if its sugar you want to avoid then where it comes from doesn’t make a difference in this situation. If the sugar in the recipe is organic or fair trade then it will still behave exactly the same way in the body as the cheapest refined white sugar.

What else is in it?

You might read that some sources of sweetness are great sources of this or that, which sounds alluring and makes them far more appealing. For example, both black strap molasses and palmyra jaggery (palm sugar) are often touted as being rich in minerals. Whilst this is true one doesn’t need or use very much of either to get sweetness and so mineral content is irrelevant. There are far more minerals in vegetables and nuts, so don’t be fooled into thinking you are helping your nutrient status by having something sugary.

What about honey?

There is a lot of talk about honey being natural, but when you think about it so are many sugars – they come from a field after all! People often say that honey is antibacterial and antiviral but in truth that is applicable if the honey is applied to burns and its contribution to gut bacteria is minimal because we don’t consume it in meaningful quantities. If you are looking to reduce or cut out sugar then be mindful of how much honey you have, it still counts, and has as much fructose (fruit sugar) in it as high-fructose corn syrup, the type that is commonly used to sweeten fizzy drinks in the US.

Is there anything I can eat to help cut sugar cravings?

We tend to crave carbohydrates such as sugar when levels of glucose in our blood are low. Glucose is created from the food groups, but it’s carbohydrates that are broken down to release their glucose most rapidly. Protein is slow to break down, as is fat, so eating small meals combining a little protein, fat and complex fibrous carbohydrates every time creates an even feed of glucose – a drip drip if you like. The result is reduced appetite and fewer sugar cravings.

Are there any supplements that can help sugar cravings?

Chromium, a trace mineral, is found in a few foods including broccoli, lettuce and oats and can help encourage the cells to absorb glucose more readily meaning that it helps us manage the glucose levels in the blood. In turn this might reduce sugar cravings, but eating small meals at regular intervals each with fibre, protein and a little fat helps too. Chromium is also found in the Vertese Multivitamin and Mineral, especially formulated for vegan and vegetarian diets.

Did you know that whilst 1% of the population has gluten intolerance, or coeliac disease, some 19% of the population believe that they have a problem with gluten and follow, to some extent or another, a gluten free diet?

Rather than pass comment on whether someone is or isn’t really gluten intolerant, let’s look more closely at what gluten is and how it can affect us.

What is gluten?

Gluten is made from gliadin and glutenin, both proteins which, when combined, create a gooey bond that gives baked goods flexibility, volume and texture. Gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye and whilst it used to be thought that oats were also a potential source, they contain a protein, which is, if you like, a second cousin once removed of gluten and so tolerated by many people who are gluten-intolerant.

What does it do?

For people living with coeliac disease, gluten causes the villi in the intestines to atrophy, or flatten, which vastly reduces the surface area available for nutrient absorption. Thus a coeliac eating gluten can experience nutrient deficiency which can present in a great number of ways ranging from failure to thrive in children to urgent diarrhea, dry skin, depression and severe discomfort in both adults and children alike.

Can gluten intolerance be tested for?

Yes but ideally you’d have to be eating gluten for a test to be effective. Genetics plays a role in coeliac disease and any predisposition can be tested for as specific genes are found in over 97% of adults with coeliac disease but only 40% of the general population. Additionally blood tests can identify the presence of two types of antibodies produced when the ceoliac is eating gluten.

By the way, the tests one sees advertised online or in health food shops are not usually the same type and look for different antibodies. If these are raised then the assumption is made that the individual is gluten intolerant, a controversial conclusion that is not accepted in the mainstream.

Does it matter if a coeliac has gluten?

Yes, it does matter. They can have unpleasant and immediate physical reactions, but even if they don’t, which is possible, the villi in the intestines will be flattened with continued exposure which will reduce nutrient absorption leading to deficiency problems in the longer term which can be cumulative and more subtle.

For a non-coeliac who has gluten it is hard to say if it matters, as their reasons for avoiding gluten might be non-specific.

Are gluten free foods always healthier than the regular versions?

No, although it could be said that marking a food as ‘gluten-free’ has started to become synonymous with ‘good for you’. Yet taking the gluten out of a familiar food means replacing it with other elements to replicate the familiar texture and feel. Higher levels of fats and sugars are not uncommon which may be a fair price to pay for a ceoliac but isn’t what the other consumers had in mind when they thought they were making a healthier choice.

I feel better when I cut gluten out of my diet, does that mean I am gluten intolerant?

It doesn’t, no, simply because you might be making better food choices as you’ve imposed boundaries on your usual diet. For example, you might not be having biscuits or sandwiches during the day, instead taking lunch from home. Bear in mind that for the GP to successfully test you for gluten intolerance you’d have to be eating gluten, which is a conundrum.

Of course the decision to avoid a food is yours but if you choose to follow a gluten free diet be sure to do your research first, so you can understand the full impact to your health.