World Vegan day : Why do you think you can't do it?

So you kind of, sort of, maybe get the idea that being vegan is not a dumb thing to do.... but you're sure YOU can't do it, you have excuses and conditions and NEEDS that plainly mean you HAVE to eat meat/fish/dairy.

OK.

So shall we debunk some?

I NEED to eat meat for protein.

You NEED meat? Are you an obligate carnivore?
Some of the biggest, strongest animals in the world live on a vegan diet. Did you ever see a weedy gorilla?  Presuming you are a a healthy weight, you should try to eat around one gram of protein per one kilogram of body weight, or around 0.4 grams per pound. Roughly, if you weigh 120 pounds, you should eat about 50 grams of protein. 
Tofu packs around 10g of protein in 100g, Chickpeas 7.2g and a tin of baked beans has 4.2g.
Steak can come in at a whopping 40+ g BUT with steak you also get the fat, and overloading on animal proteins can cause the body to fight back against the rise in acidity buy "borrowing" the alkaline calcium from your body... in essence if you eat too much meat you will piss more and you will be pissing your bones away, which is why people on the Aitkins diet are always peeing!
By including a protein rich food in your meals EVERY meal you will find you have more than enough plant based protein to keep you healthy.

But I'm into sports/ body building, I can't be vegan, I'm going to use LOTS of protein.

 





I have a medical condition, I need to eat meat/dairy.
I have searched HARD on this one, been through medical sites and forums and have yet to find a REAL condition that means a person HAS to eat meat or dairy rather than the alternatives. Mostly this is said by people who have maybe been anemic (lack of iron, readily available in green veg, lentils, beans, seeds, dried apricots and many other foods), or suffered from fatigue (often anemia or lack of B12, found in nearly all fortified foods, in nutritional yeast flakes and marmite). In these cases a Dr might have said "eat a little more meat" but not because it was the ONLY way to do it! My Dr and the practice nurse have never had a problem with mine or my kids vegan diets, no dire warnings, no lectures. However if YOU are a Dr and know of such a condition PLEASE comment and let me know!

OK, its fine for an adult to do this but what about kids!! Surely they need these foods!
This is always the BIG one.
The subtle suggestion that raising kids vegan is cruel, dangerous and just wrong.
Dear Omnivore, we have spent a lifetime watching TV commercials telling us how good milk and meat is for our children, now its in plentiful supply though we also have significantly higher rates of childhood obesity, Asthma, Eczema, Allergies and Diabetes.
In the past it was difficult to meet a child's needs with a vegan diet, but now we have the wonders of calcium and vitamin fortified none dairy milks. My kids have often had their minimum calcium requirement by 9am and not a cow in sight.
True you can't just grab and go, meals need a little thought, occasional planning, making from scratch in most cases, but ANY parent should be doing this. If life is easy we become lazy, how easy it would be for me to go to t shops and grab a pizza off the shelf rather than making my own, to throw a pack of cheap sausages into the basket instead of ordering vegan ones.
Most of our choices are lean in fat but high in nutrients.
Still think its a faddy diet?
When I worked as a childminder I met children with incredibly limited diets, one would only eat chicken and jam and bread and crisps. Not very balanced at all!



But what about calcium! I'm worried about Osteoporosis!
Osteoporosis (brittle bones) is a scary complaint, and almost unheard of in parts of the world that don't traditionally use dairy.
How can this bee when we are told that milk is THE ultimate source of calcium!?
Bone density scans on Asian women found that although their scans pre-menopause were slightly lower (although so slight as to not make any difference) it found that post menapausal women in the western world had huge drops in bone density, unlike Asian women whose bone density stayed roughlythe same as pre-menapause.
Calcium is found naturally in Almonds, broccoli, green leafy vegetables and swede, as well as fortified milks and foods.
Remember : too much animal protein means depleted calcium.

But all you eat is whole food and lentils! Life's too short and I enjoy my food!
Couldn't agree more!!
That's why I'll be sharing some recipes, links and websites packed with sinful, yummy, elasticated -waist-time food!
Hope you come back!

If you have a genuine question about vegan please comment below and I'll do my best to answer!

World Vegan day.

Date for your diary dear greenies, World Vegan Day is on November the 1st 2010, so how about giving it a go?
I'll hold your hand I PROMISE and it'll be fun and its only ONE day, although who knows?

One of the things that stops many people making the step to go vegan is fear.
All vegan jokes talk about the pale, sickly, sandle wearing, hippy skited, pious and preaching vegan and no one wants to be labeled a "lentil muncher".

People are not stupid.
They know that thoughtless meat consumption is not healthy for anyone, not their body, their environment (local AND global) and their own mental well being.

People are not stupid.
They know that Animals die to make meat and milk, they know factory farms are the worst invention of the cruelest nature, that modern slaughter houses employ the dregs of humanity and that few of these workers care about sending an animal off with dignity.

People are not stupid.
They understand that animals pumped with drugs to keep them alive in filthy conditions compromises their OWN health and are possibly a factor in the modern resistance to anti-biotics.

People are not stupid.
They wouldn't keep their dog in a cage he couldn't turn round in in a dark room for his whole life. They wouldn;t think that a kind end for him would be a slapdash stunning and having his throat cut still half (or fully) conscious.

People are not stupid.
They know that huge concentrations of farm animals mean huge amounts of waste, waste that spills into the surrounding areas and pollutes rivers, killing fish and plant life.

People are not stupid.
They understand the madness behind using prime agricultural land to grow food to feed farm animals to them eat. They know it makes sense to cut out the "middle man". 

People are not stupid.
They can see beyond the scare studies against dairy alternatives (funded by milk boards), they know that too much dairy steals away more calcium from their bones than not eating anything calcium giving. Osteoporosis is a western affliction and almost unheard of in countries where dairy is not consumed.

I KNOW people are not stupid.... but sometimes they need a little kick up the arse ;)

So how about it?
If anyone here is willing to give it a go for ONE day I can help, maybe make up a meal planner for the day, give you a shopping list.
Give me some suggestions but don't go quiet on me!!!

Who will try this for me?
More importantly, who will try this for THEMSELVES?  

Don't take my word for it, be smart and look it up for yourselves.

Do yourself a favour and please watch.

Watch more videos at PETA.org

Do yourself a favour and please watch.

The Vegan Society

Peta UK

Compassion In World Farming

Green baby?

Seems like summer was a relaxed time for some of you!! Yes, it seems like everyone I know is having a BABY!!!!!
So what better way to sat CONGRATS!! than by writing a blog post!

Here I am to share some tips and other info on how you can prepare for your new baby as cheaply and healthily as possible.

• Lucky you!! Freecycle, car boots and free ads are STUFFED with hardly or even never used quality baby stuff. From buggies and cots, clothes and toys, slings and playpens its a buyers market. So many people buy all this from new and then a few months down the line have no more need for it, Dive in there and grab a bargain!
• Breast is best but what if you can't? Go for organic formula milk, don't be afraid of soya formula (It DIDN'T cause growth problems, long term studies showed adults fed on soya formula in the 70,s and 80's grew up healthy and are now having kids of their own). Use glass or those without nasty chemicals BPA's especially. 
• Do you really have to buy a brand new car seat? Safety advice says yes. Impact damage during a crash will not show up on the outside of the car seat but will mean it won't protect in the event of another accident. However, use your own judgment. If a friend or relative has a car seat you know hasn't been in an accident don't turn it down. Use your head.
• Buy a cot. Seriously there is no need to buy a crib or moses basket, you will use it a few weeks tops and then have the bother of transition from crib to cot as well. You can buy dividers to make a cot smaller if you want, this way your baby won't look "lost" as a newborn and the divider can simply be moved a little every few weeks as your baby grows.
• Cot beds are a waste of money. Too big for little babies, out grown as a bed within a month or two. A regular cot can easily be adapted into a "day bed" style toddler bed by a competent DIY-er until such a time as a real bed is needed.
• Slings. How I wish they had been as affordable when I had mine (6 years is a long time in the baby market!) From front carrying and backpack styles to the "throw in a bag" ethnic slings, these are a MUST and means you can take your baby everywhere with you without having to lug a heavy buggy around.
• Think long and hard about what buggy you need. Think about where you live. If you live in the country or like to go for long walks then pneumatic tyres are a must, don't even bother if they don't have them. A buggy with a seat that can become a carrycot is very useful as it not only grows with baby but is also a useful place to let him/her sleep in the day in the early weeks.
• Baby food. Nasty nasty stuff. Avoid any tiny tins, the white coating on the inside is highly coated in chemicals to prevent rusting. If you need food on the hoof and a mashed banana won't do it go for a jar of organic baby food. Also check the BBD, if it is more than a month away don't use it, food that takes more than a month to go bad is no good for anyone !
• Make your own baby food. So easy!! Invest in a good hand blender and some little jars. Pretty much any vegetable and fruit can be heated and pureed for first foods. When they are just starting out  a good tip is to make a batch of puree and then freeze them in ice cube trays. That way you can make a lot on one go and then you can give them a good variety. ie carrot and broccolie and potato all on one plate!! Small babies on the move are well catered for with a banana and a fork :)
• Nappies. Its a toughie. If you live in an area that has an abundance of water and plenty of good line drying winds then cloth nappies are the best for baby and the environment. However if you live in an area with water shortages or constant nasty wet days when you have to use a tumble drier then disposable nappies are also an option. Go for a good bio-degradable brand. Remember there is nothing wrong with mixing and matching as well!  
• Check out  Gro Bags baby sleeping bags! An easy and safe way to make sure your baby is always the correct temp and doesn't either kick off his covers of get them over his face. Also means a sleeping baby is highly portable! 

I think that's all I have for the moment! I dare say I'll remember more later!
A good blog for organic baby musings is Annies Organic Baby Blog full of real life baby stuff :D
Mums! Please comment and add your own tips for those that are just starting out!

Congratulations ladies :)    

LIve to work or work to live?

Read a nice little feature in the Sunday Times "Style" magazine this week about weighing up life and work.

Traditionally  this has been about parents (mostly mothers) fighting to get flexible time at work to spend more time with their families.
Now though it seems some businesses are embracing this but on a different level.
Encouraging parents to work from home, understanding that sometimes great work is produced at 9pm after the kids are in bed, letting people learn to enjoy their jobs again.

Because lets face it, once you have a family your 9 to 5 job can seem like  an 8 hr a day prison, stopping you from getting on with things like LIFE, and really, when you have kids, a lot of stuff happens between the hours of 9 and 5.
Parents evening, sports days, assemblies, Dr and dentist appointments, not to mention all the after school stuff as well.

Anyway, I was thinking that this was all very well but didn;t apply to me, until today.

Now the kids are all finishing at 3.15 instead of 2.30 me and Kim have time to ride out in the afternoon when he comes home.
So we're riding home about quarter to three and pass a guy working on one of the new houses and smile and wave hello.
We receive a surly grunt and slight sneer.
Its obvious what he is thinking.
"Bloody horse riders, very nice for them to be able to play on ponies in the middle of the day while I'm WORKING."

Well yes.. we where enjoying the early afternoon sunshine (and why not? we get precious little of it!) but at 6 pm when he is slumped in front of the TV for the night we are still working.
We had the two youngsters to lunge and school (and Ollie had to have his lesson) then all the yard work to do. Right now its 9.30 pm and we are just about to go out and feed up the stabled horses.
While that guy is wandering round town on a Saturday morning we will still be working, and on Sunday when he gets his lie in we will be up at 6 am like we are every morning.
No we don't work 9 to 5 but when you add up the hours spent working with other peoples horses, barefoot trimming, breaking and schooling the babies and all the yard and field work that goes with that we do as much of not more than the guy on the building site.

The hours suit us.
Its all about compromise.
We get to pay in the afternoon but we might have to work on a Sunday.
We get to attend school functions and pick the kids up from school, rather than having them bused to after school club, but we have to sometimes work late at night.
The point is the flexibility suits us.
Its a job we love.

Mr 9 to 5 might not want to give up his Sunday lie in, and that's fine, but maybe he should remember that not everyone works to a prescribed formula.

And not everyone wants to.