VegMoms

Tuesday’s Natural Health: Watching Grass Grow is a lot more interesting than you think. This video by Liferegenerator (a.k.a. Dan the Man With the Master Plan) is a great primer in wheatgrass growing and juicing. I posted a few weeks back about my slow gravitation toward adding wheatgrass to my diet. Upon recommendation of my fantastic new accupuncturist (a.k.a. Dan at The Sanctuary), I started adding more greens into my diet last week, including wheatgrass. Now, I’m hooked. Nearly two pounds of veggie nutritional value in one ounce of the stuff. Two pounds! And it really tastes quite nice, in a lawn-ish sort of way, and leaves me feeling truly healthier for the rest of the day. Have you ever wheatgrassed, and if so, what do you think: Green Gold or Garish Grass?

Wow. These vegan dips look incredible. Definitely going to prepare at least two (including the roasted red pepper) to take to the Superbowl party on Sunday. Thanks!

veganexperiment:

lunchboxbunch:

It’s easy and fun to make healthy homemade dips. Five delicious and colorful flavors: Pure Olive, Roasted Red Pepper Salsa, Green Dream Dip, Maple Sweet Potato and Savory Sunny…

Thursday’s Natural Health features Chairman of Dole Foods David Murdock (who is in his 80s but says he feels like 45). Murdock is on a quest to increase human health and longevity through a meat-free diet and exercise. Listen to his recent interview with the BBC World News Service and be inspired. It’s rare to hear a man in his age group and income bracket discuss the ills of meat, and even more rare for a businessman of that generation to put a lot of his money into scientific research about fruits and veggies, diet and longevity. Says Murdock: “I haven’t touched the flesh of an animal in many, many years and I certainly won’t do it again.” You go, Mr. Murdock.

Vegan Eating for Kids… My eight-year-old daughter drew this picture of happy veggies and fruits because she honestly LOVES them all. Not eating meat or eggs (and rarely eating dairy) doesn’t seem like deprivation to her at all because she really gets why fruits, veggies, grains, nuts and other plant-based foods are healthier, taste better and are kinder to her body, to animals and to the environment. 

Whenever she does eat the occasional ice cream cone or piece of cheese pizza, her dairy allergies kick in and very soon thereafter she’s doubled over with stomach pain. Not so much fun. So she sticks with eating — and drawing — the real happy food.

If your child is as happy about being veg as mine is, or if he or she needs some extra support, check out the Vegetarian Resource Group’s fantastic resource page for families, kids and teens. VRG and the parents in its online vegetarian parents e-mail list were extraordinarily helpful in the research for our book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids, and their resources will be a great help to any family looking to live the veg life.

Some questions people have asked me about VillaVegan.com that you may want to ask, too.

What is VillaVegan.com? For now, it’s my blog where I post recipes, health info and animal rights, food, health and environmental news that I find interesting and that I think other people, especially moms like me, who eat vegan all or most of the time will find interesting, too.

What do you mean, “for now?” Eventually, I’d like to include more elements on the site, like forums where we can all share info. And I plan to do some original reporting on the issues (like natural health, our food supply, the environment and animal rights) that matter to people who believe in the vegan lifestyle, esp to vegan moms who want to know how we can help make this world a better place for our little veggie sprouts.

Who are you? Read my bio. Two new things that are not in my bio: I’m the co-author of the newly released The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids, and I work part-time at a fantastic natural foods market (with a fab vegan deli case).

Why did you write a Complete Idiot’s Guide? I don’t consider myself a “complete idiot” on the topic of vegan eating for kids, nor do I consider anyone who reads the book one either, so we certainly didn’t write it that way. This book is the very first time that a major U.S. publishing house (Alpha/Penguin) was willing to take a risk on a book about the health benefits of vegan eating for kids, and for that I’m grateful (and willing to be called a complete idiot!). Every step forward helps…

What is your vegan philosophy? At VillaVegan, there’s no such a thing as the “perfect vegan,” esp when it comes to raising veg kids. It’s about supporting each other where we’re at. To further the vegan movement, which at its heart is a healthier happier plant for all beings, I see the need for voices from all points on the spectrum. I’d like you to voice where you’re at and I’d like you to hear where I’m at, too. That support of incremental, individual change in people can add up to massive transformation in a culture.

But can vegan children be healthy? Yes! A well-planned vegan diet (with vitamin B-12 supplementation) can be much healthier for children than the Standard American Diet (SAD). Other than reading my book (see link above), I encourage you to check out the Vegetarian Resource Group’s Teen Families and Kids section, as well as the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine’s Vegetarian Guide for Children.

 Keep working for change…