Oh, Nuts! and seeds, and legumes!

Since becoming vegetarian, nuts have become my new best friend. Like I have mentioned before, I keep some on my desk and eat a few handfuls a day. Besides being a great protein substitute for meat, they have many great nutritional benefits. Hey, they're even in the meat group on many food pyramids.


They do have some fat, which is sometimes called "good fat." What does that mean?
Almonds and walnuts, my two personal favorites, have recently been show to lower your bad cholesterol (a benefit of monounsaturated and polyunsatured fats). Thus, they may reduce the risk of heart disease and related problems as well as colon and lung cancer (American Heart Association.) The fat in nuts gives you needed energy and calories and can help you curb cravings for more unhealthy snacks. Looking at my jar, I also see that they have Zero mg. of cholesterol.


What nutrients do they contain? Fiber, iron, vitamin E, potassium, niacin, zinc, phosphorous, biotin, riboflavin, and selenium to name a few. My current jar of vanilla bean almonds have 20% of your daily magnesium (helps you absorb calcium, prevents abnormal blood clotting, helps maintain blood pressure); which leads to something else great about them - they don't get boring. You can get different flavors, textures, healthy and semi-sinful - but chocolate has many benefits, too - so I say go for it. They go great in salads, side dishes, main dishes - there are lots of ways to cook with them, have them in "butters," or just plain.


There are so many different kinds, too - in case you're not a fan of some.
Almonds, Cashews, Hazel Nuts, Macadamia Nuts, Peanuts (a legume), Pecans, Pistachios, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, that's all that come to mind right now but I'm sure there are many more.


Eat an ounce or two a day for health!

Thanksgiving

Well it's that time of year. I can't wait to go to my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian and hear everyone talk about me like I'm a freak of nature. Even though me not eating turkey isn't going to spare any of them, as they'll be cooked regardless, I can't even think about having any. There are so many delicious things to enjoy at Thanksgiving anyways. If you absolutely love the taste, there are many substitutes, but I can do without those, too.

Here is the newly released video of the practices at a Butterball slaughterhouse from a PETA undercover investigation. Absolutely awful! The workers have to be messed up in the head BIG time! They're enjoying torturing them. PETA has filed charges for them to be charged with cruelty, but I think we're still a long way away from "humane" slaughtering - as the factory farm animals are treated just as poorly.


Not to be a total downer - Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
I can't wait for the homemade bread, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, candied carrots, mmmm :) . Rather than just being thanksful for your nourishment though, be sure to give thanks for the special time with your loved ones!

There are tons and tons of vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes that I will be making next year, my first year in my own place!

My Progress

Going vegetarian can be confusing. Several people have asked me to post more examples of what I eat in a day. This is what I have kind of gravitated to:

Breakfast: a bowl of cereal or two, two Eggos, or two packages of oatmeal. I have fortified orange juice or chocolate soy milk to go with it. I take a supplement with all of the B vitamins with breakfast.

Morning Snack: Then to stick with my several small meals a day, I have an apple w/ peanut butter, banana, orange, or whatever type of fruit I have at the time . I try to drink a glass of water in between breakfast and lunch.

Lunch: I try to eat a lot of my carbohydrates and calories here, as they will likely be burned off before the end of the day. This means pasta, rice with veggies, veggie sandwiches, vegetarian soup or chili with crackers, etc.

Afternoon snack: I usually cut up different veggies like carrots, cucumbers, green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms and eat them with some type of veggie dip or salad dressing. Again I try to drink a full glass of water in between lunch and dinner, too.

I keep a jar of sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, cashews, and walnuts at my desk. I usually eat a handful or two a day for some added protein and energy.

Dinner: I will usually have a meat substitute at dinner and go a little easier on the carbs since I tend to eat later than most people.

Boca makes great crumbled 'hamburger' that comes in individual packages - great for tacos or other beef dishes.

Another great one is Morning Star corn dogs. They taste like the real thing without the ground up rejected animal parts and rat droppings.

I will usually accompany it with a big salad or steamed vegetables. Steamed vegetables are made so easy now. You throw the whole bag in the microwave for two minutes and that's it!

I take a multi-vitamin with a small snack before before bed and try to drink another glass of water. Drinking a lot of water is kind of pain for me. Do we really need eight glasses? How much of the 64 ounce recommendation do we probably get from food? I will have to look that up when I get a chance.

I hope this was some help to you newbie or aspiring vegetarians. For those of you experienced veg*ns, is there anything I could change or do better?

Daylight Come and Me Wanna Go Home - Foot Cramps :(

I was about to eat dinner last night and on my way to my chair I started screaming. Both of my feet cramped up at the same time for about five minutes. It's happened a few times lately, but never so extreme or in both feet simultaneously. So, I had to look up why that would happen. The only answer I found - lack of potassium. It plays a big role in muscle contraction and nerve stimulation. It also helps you keep a normal water balance and keeps your brain functioning, but that is besides my current dilemma.

I checked my vitamins with 80+ ingredients and potassium wasn't one. Something as basic as that is not in there but random, never heard-of things are.

How do you get potassium besides the obvious, bananas?

Cantaloupe, Grapefruit, Oranges, Tomatoes, Tangerines, Prune Juice, Potatoes, Honeydew Melons, Lentils, Dry Beans, and Raisins to name a few.

I've eaten several of those items in the last week, so I'm a little confused as to whether potassium is really the culprit or not. I still felt it was important to cover potassium, as it is a vital mineral but not sure if I can attribute my foot cramps to it. With it being in so many fruits and vegetables, it seems I should be getting my RDA easily, even without vitamins. As my research seems to be failing me, does anyone else have any ideas why I'd be having frequent foot cramps?

Live from New York!

Oh how I miss Kevin Nealon on Saturday Night Live! He is another surprising vegetarian. Rather than just adding him to the list of celebrity vegetarians, I wanted to do a separate post. I had to include his quote. I found it on a few sites but I guess I should credit goveg.com because they had the most complete information. I'm sure the main story is on PETA but I didn't read it on their site.

He said:
"I can't wait for meal time when I can chow down on the decomposing corpse of a tortured animal," he says. "I like knowing that eating meat makes me four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke."

I have been wondering... Many people say they are veg bc something serious happened to them - heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc. Why wait? Doctors obviously know how bad meat is for you so why not prevent those things now instead of risking your future health?

More interesting, he became veg 18 years ago for the same reason that I did.

"I became a vegetarian after I became aware of factory farming and slaughterhouses and the torture and inhumane handling of all these animals."

Those are awful! So many people think the cows just roam around in a peaceful pasture living a great life. If you see how these precious little piggies, cows, etc. are treated, you won't have much trouble keeping meat off of your plate! It has been going on for over two decades?! I thought factory farming was probably a much newer thing from companies pushing for progress; I guess it isn't that new though.

Watch the video of Kevin Nealon here and let me know what you think!