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This World-Class Soccer Player Credits His Comeback To a Vegan Diet Men's Health Last Sunday, 34-year-old Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe scored in England's 2-0 win over Lithuania in a 2018 World Cup qualifier, adding yet another gem to his abundant highlight reel this year. Despite his advancing age, Defoe has maintained his ... Euro heartache and vegan lifestyle fuel Defoe | Borneo Bulletin OnlineBorneo Bulletin Online all 84 news articles »

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This World-Class Soccer Player Credits His Comeback To a Vegan Diet - Men's Health

The Paleolithic diet, in recent years, has basically clubbed America upside the head and dragged many of us around by our hair. Swept us off of our feet, as it were. The idea of consuming a diet based on what early humans might have eaten has captured the imaginations and bellies of many, including the scavengers.

The Paleo industry is closing in on $300 million in sales annually, according to a trade group known as the Paleo Foundation. Paleo products include personal training and specialized gear like "finger" shoes, but most of the sales are in goods of an edible persuasion. They include a dizzying array of certified Paleo foods like granola, mushroom coffee, cold-brew wellness tea, Filipino pili nuts with Himalayan sea salt, skillet taco sauce I think you get the pictograph.

The Paleo Foundation website says there is even a growing Paleo/vegan crossover market. At first this sounds like a joke. Are we talking free-range tofurkey bone broth?

I guess that Ive taken it as a given that our ancestors were feasting on wild game 24/7. But in many primitive societies, past and present, anthropologists have noted that the village gatherers regularly outperform the hunters.

A collection of DNA, carefully scraped from the teeth of Neanderthals, tells a story of diet diversity that varied by location. Some of the teeth did indeed indeed display the microbial fingerprints of a meaty diet woolly rhinos and wild sheep, specifically. But bits of dental plaque from other individuals showed no evidence of meat whatsoever. Instead, they suggested a diverse diet of things like mushrooms, tree bark, pine nuts and moss.

It suggests fiber, in its many forms, might be an unsung player in a real Paleo diet, perhaps even swept under the rug by the certified Paleo steak and buttered lobster contingent. But it isnt hard to imagine that more plants than animals were eaten, day in and day out. Maybe the Paleo vegans were a thing after all.

The low-carb part of the Paleo diet is less up for debate. Prior to the invention of agriculture, processed carbs of any kind simply didnt exist. No Twinkies and pasta and sugary drinks, obviously, and even the fruit and berries they ate were less sweet than todays fruit. The Paleo diet is hardly the only one built on a low-carb foundation, but only Paleo can lay claim so perfectly to that theoretical underpinning.

Most Americans eat more sugar and processed carbohydrate than they need, which is why so many of them respond to a low-carb diet.

Some human clinical studies suggest that following a diet low in processed carbohydrates produces better outcomes than a more typical high-carb diet. Diabetics, for example, have seen markers like insulin levels, insulin resistance and blood sugar improve.

A recent meta-study found that a Paleo-esque diet improves risk factors for metabolic syndrome, a constellation of chronic conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, belly fat and diabetes.

Movement and exercise is something that our Paleo ancestors had plenty of, but modern man tends to be more of a slacker. Some people climb trees or go to CrossFit class for their Paleo workout, but you cant get much more primal than foraging. It gets you moving in the fresh air, and engages your primal senses.

You approach the landscape differently when you forage then when hiking. More like a predator, and less tourist on a trail. More time crashing through the brush to where the landscape says you should go. More time staring at the ground, which is good because the plants you seek are probably under your nose. Keep a lookout for Paleo vegans. They are friendly but startle easily.

Springtime is an especially good time to forage, because the landscape is rich in edible shoots. Winter has historically been a tricky time to get your vitamins and minerals, and the young, often-bitter sprouts that push up through the mud have long been a source of a spring tonic.

Nettles are among the first edible plants to emerge. They evoke caution, thanks to their being covered with silica hypodermic needles full of formic acid, aka ant bite venom. Cooking them will take care of that problem, and what is left is a nutrient-dense plant full of forest umami and spring tonic. And fiber.

They hang out in spots that are moist but not wet, in areas that are open but not super-sunny. Deer tend to keep a wide birth, leaving the plants around nettle patches a bit overgrown.

When you find some, snip off the top few inches just above a joint, like topping a basil plant the tender part. Use gloves or scissors, or your bare hands, to put the nettle tip into a bag. The tingling isnt that bad, and vanishes quickly. Some people even think a few nettle stings can cure various ailments, like natures acupuncture.

A good way to start eating nettles is to first blanch them in boiling salted water, where after 90 seconds the formic acid injectors irreversibly wilt. Immediately transfer the blanched nettles to a pot of ice water to keep them bright green.

From there, any number of options await. Drizzle them with olive oil and soy sauce, or grind them into pesto.

Or make this nettle soup. It doesnt prove that Paleo-vegans exist, but it does prove that if they do exist, they eat well.

1 clove of garlic, grated or pressed

Chicken stock (or mushroom, to keep it vegan)

Slice the onions and sautein butter or olive oil (or both). When they are translucent, add carrots, celery and a quart or so of stock, and simmer with about a teaspoon each of cumin and garlic powder. Meanwhile, blanch and shock the nettles.

When the carrots are soft, add the fresh garlic, stir it around and kill the heat. When cool enough to blend, puree the whole thing. Puree the nettles separately and stir them in. Adjust seasonings and serve.

The addition of those nettles at the end transforms a relatively bland, pedestrian bowl of seasonal vegetable soup into something spectacular, primal and deep green. A little wild goes a long way.

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Flash in the Pan: Paleo-vegan nettle soup - The Missoulian

How is it that spinach has such a bad rep for being an unpleasant thing to eat when it tastes so good? In fact, its so good that it has its own holiday, National Spinach Day, which is today! Not only is spinach available all year round, it is super good for you! Spinach is one of the best sources of iron and is also filled with nutrients such as folate, lutein, calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A, C, E, and K.

For spinach cooking tips, check out10 Creative Ideas to Stir-Fry and Saut Spinach and see what we did last year for National Spinach Day,20 Recipes So Good No One Will Have to Tell You to Eat Your Spinach.

Dairy-free spinach dip is fantastic, but how do you make it even better? You stuff it in a crescent roll, season it with garlic and onion powder, and roll it in crunchy bread crumbs. These Spinach Dip Rolls are easy to make and even easier to eat, so you might want to double up on the batch if youre making it for a party. If you really love spinach dip, you can even dip your spinach dip rolls in any extra filling. Now thats what were talking about.

This simple (but very delicious) Creamy 3-Cheese Spinach and Mushroom Lasagnainvolves nothing more complex than a pan, a dish, an oven, and a blender. Spinach is sauted, combined with mushrooms and cream cheese, and then laid down on a dish for the base. From there, the lasagna alternates between tender layers of pasta and velvety cheese sauce, and eventually is topped with sliced tomatoes and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

A simple marinade made with garlic, balsamic, and Dijon lend a delicious flavor to these Portobello caps. They are then stuffed with a nutty and vibrant spinach kale pesto and topped with pine nuts. These Grilled Mushrooms With Spinach Kale Pestoare great as a light dinner with a big salad or served on some of my celeriac mash, cauliflower, or broccoli rice as a starter.

Think light, fluffy and tender crpes lovingly wrapped around the most amazing creamy mushroom mix, flavored with punchy hints of garlic, shallot, and thyme. These Spinach Crpes are so easy to make, 15 minutes in total (after soaking the chickpeas the day before), and miraculously dont fall apart or stick to the pan despite the absence of eggs and oil. You will fall in deep mad love with this creamy, crpey mushroomy creation. Definitely one to put on your to-do list this week!

This warm and fragrant Palak Tofu can be ready and on your table in just 30 minutes! Spinach is sauted in aromatics like onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, and chilis, and is then studded with tofu paneer, a twist on the traditional cubes of Indian cheese. Creamy, rich, and delicious!

Topped with goodness, this Artichoke and Spinach Pesto Pizza is sure to be your new favorite. It can be made with any kind of crust, whether you like thin, crispy crusts, grain-free, soft and doughy its all about the toppings and this pizza has them right. Its all topped off with vegan Parmesan and melty vegan mozzarella which is entirely optional, but so good.

If you enjoy recipes like these and want more, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App. For those that dont have it, its a brilliant recipe app available for both Android and iPhone. Its a great resource for anyone looking to cut out or reduce allergens like meat, dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, grains, and more find awesome recipes, cooking tips, articles, product recommendations and how-tos. The app shows you how having diet/health/food preferences can be full of delicious abundance rather than restrictions.

The Food Monster app has over 8000+ recipes and 500 are free. To access the rest, you haveto pay a subscription fee but its totally worth it because not only do you get instant access to 8000+recipes, you get 10 NEW recipes every day! You can also make meal plans, add bookmarks, read feature stories, and browse recipes across hundreds of categories like diet, cuisine, meal type, occasion, ingredient, popular, seasonal, and so much more!

These Avocado Spinach Rotitake flatbread to the next level. Avocados make these roti very very soft and they stay that way for a very long time, which makes them perfect for packing for lunch. The spinach adds color, flavor, and nutrients. You can serve these roti with vegan raita, pickles, or use them as a wrap for your lunches.

These Fat-Free Spinach and Broccoli Patties are a healthier, easy to make tikkis, Indian croquettes, made from spinach broccoli, and chickpea flour. These patties are crispy on the outside with soft and chewy texture inside. Ready in less than 20 minutes, theyre perfect as an appetizer or snack served with chutney or any creamy dip.

Ive youve never tried it, Spanakopita is a Greek savory filo dough pie filled with spinach and cheese. Here, vegan mozzarella cheese and lemony Spinach come together to form this delicious, flaky, and buttery pie. Super delicious!

Flan might be better known as a sweet, pudding-like dessert, but it can also be made savory, like this gorgeous Spinach Flan.Made from spinach and silken tofu, its soft texture and subtle flavor served with creamy rosemary potato pure make this a delicacy worthy of any dinner party.

Its no wonder falafel are popular. These little chickpea balls are plant-based by default and home to many different countries in the Middle East. Unlike traditional falafel, these Healthy Spinach Falafel are baked, not fried, and packed with greens for extra nutrition!

Think you cant make a quiche without eggs? Think again! These Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Crustless Quichesuse tofu and almond milk in place of eggs, is packed with cheesy, savory flavor thanks to spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and nutritional yeast, and skips the crust for a lighter and simpler tart. Serve these with a side of micro greens for a light and healthy lunch.

This beautifully simple Cashew Spinach Cannellini Bean Stewworks great if you are trying to make lunch for a week. You start with a basic tomato base and then add some whole vegetables for nutrition and some spices to make the dish pop. You should get creative with the spice proportions so you can have a dish that is just to you liking.

This Spinach and Basil White Pizzacombines creamy almond-based bchamel sauce, tofu ricotta, and a sprinkling of vegan mozzarella. Fresh spinach and basil leaves add a little green to this easy Italian dish. With three different types of cheeses, whats not to love?!

These savory little Broccoli and Spinach Pt Tartsare easy to whip up for any event. A crumbly crust is filled with a creamy pt made from avocado pured with spinach and broccoli. Serve these tarts with a sprinkle of a red berries to really make the green filling pop or use any garnish of your choice.

Need more green in your life? Hop on over to our vegan spinach recipes page.

Lead image source:Artichoke and Spinach Pesto Pizza

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The Common Ingredient in These 15 Vegan Recipes is a Nutritional Powerhouse - One Green Planet

Vegan blogger Ashley Hankins-Marchetti delivers authentic taco taste without the carne asada in her version of this food-cart favorite, made with textured soy protein and spicy habanero pesto.

FRESNO, Calif. It took just one documentary about animal agriculture to convince Ashley Hankins-Marchetti to become vegan. The documentary, "Cowspiracy," raises the argument that livestock are harmful to the environment. Although there is still a lot of debate over the issue, Hankins-Marchettis mind was made up. No more meat for her.

That was nearly a year and a half ago, and Hankins-Marchetti remains a diehard vegan with a new passion: blogging about her vegan lifestyle.

An avid home cook, she created eatfigsnotpigs.com, where she shares her recipes with thousands of followers. Describing her cooking style as vegan comfort food, shes garnered the attention of websites such as foodgawker.com, a curated photo gallery showcasing photos and recipes from food bloggers around the world. Several of her recipes have been published on the site. Her work also appears on thefeedfeed.com.

Marchetti, a culinary school graduate, said the fun part of adopting a new cooking style is discovering new uses for everyday ingredients such as cashews. When soaked and put in a blender, the nuts take on a creamy texture that is perfect as the base for sauces, including their Caesar dressing.

Hankins-Marchettis street-style tacos will satisfy even the most devoted taco fanatic. She replaces carne asada with textured soy protein, or TSP. The soy-based product comes dry and is soaked, well seasoned and then fried into crispy chunks. She packs the TSP into a warm corn tortilla and tops it with cilantro, lettuce, onion, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of the spicy habanero pesto. Each flavorful bite leaves you wanting more.

VEGAN STREET-STYLE TACOS WITH HABANERO PESTO

Habanero pesto:

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil

cup pine nuts

4 cloves garlic

cup loosely packed cilantro

cup vegan Parmesan shreds (Follow Your Heart vegan shreds)

2-3 habanero peppers, deveined and all seeds removed

6-8 tablespoons olive oil

teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

teaspoon ground cumin

Tacos:

2 cups TSP or Soy Curls (textured soy protein, which we purchase at our local grocery store in the Mexican food aisle or at Whole Foods)

1 cups boiling water

2 "Not Chikn" bouillon cubes (or vegetarian or vegetable stock can be used in place of water and bouillon cubes)

2 teaspoons ground oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce, optional

teaspoon liquid smoke, optional

cup vegetable oil, for frying

Corn or flour tortillas (I purchased the extra-small "street-style" tortillas)

Shredded cabbage or lettuce

Lemon wedges

To make habanero pesto, mix all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high for about a minute. Store, covered in the refrigerator until ready to be used.

For the tacos, you must first rehydrate the TSP. In a large bowl, add dry TSP. In a small saucepan on high heat, add water and bouillon cubes OR vegetable stock. Once boiling, add to TSP mixture and set it aside to rehydrate for about 10-15 minutes. Add seasonings (oregano, cumin, vegan Worcestershire and liquid smoke) and stir to combine.

In a frying pan on medium high heat, add oil. Once oil is hot, fry rehydrated TSP, stirring constantly until browned and crispy, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer cooked soy curls to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with warm tortillas and garnish with lettuce, habanero pesto cilantro, and lemon.

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Meatless Monday: Vegan Street-Style Tacos - The Providence Journal

Metro

Thinking about going vegan? Here's what you need to know Metro Short answer the convenience of not being vegan was addictive. I couldn't be bothered with all the planning, making sure I was getting enough protein and having to let people know ahead of time about my dietary requirements. I had gone completely in ...

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Thinking about going vegan? Here's what you need to know - Metro

If you dont eat animal products and you dont go, what are you even doing with your life?

March 24, 2017 Maddie Crichton Dining, Food

Veggie loversor anyone who just loves delicious foodunite this Sunday, March 26 at the third annual Vegan Street Fair in North Hollywood. Local vegan restaurants, food vendors, and shops will line up on Chandler between Tujunga and Vineland from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Over 150 vendors will be dishing out snacks and samples, as well as other goodies. Admission to the event is free, and the portions go for$4 a pop.

You can get ahead of the game and use this map to plan your day of non-stop eating before you get to the fair.

RELATED: Your Indispensable Guide to Vegan and Vegetarian Taco Bell Hacks

Tags: Burgers, fair, Food, sliders, vegan

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Cancel All Your Plans. The Vegan Street Fair Is This Sunday in NoHo - LA Magazine (blog)

A group of 19 nurses decided to test a plant-based diet, heres what happened.

One day at Virginias George Mason University, Joanne Evans, M.Ed., R.N., P.M.H.C.N.S.-B.C., gave a presentation to her nurse colleagues about the health benefits of a plant-based vegan diet. Nineteen of the nurses decided to see the science for themselves by test driving a vegan diet for 21 days.

A recent review about plant-based diets published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that a vegan diet has all kinds of health benefits, including reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes by 62 percent, reducing the risk of death or a hospitalization from a heart attack by 32 percent, and reducing the risk of developing all forms of cancer by 18 percent. But what more-immediate results would the nurses see?

The findings for this self-reported plant-based dietary review appear in the March 2017 issue of the American Journal of Nursing. They include the following.

After 21 days:

Ten of the nurses lost weight, with an average weight loss of 4.4 pounds; from a range of 1.5 to 9 pounds.

Six of the nurses reported gains in energy.

Seventy-four percent of the nurses (14 out of 19) lowered their cholesterol, with a mean average of 18 mg/dL.

But six of those 14 lowered their cholesterol by a notable 45 to 60 mg/dL!

Eight of them reported feeling highly satisfied with their health, while only one nurse reported this before the test began.

After the program concluded, the nurses reported eating more fruit and vegetables on a regular basis.

After the program concluded, the nurses reported eating less meat and dairy.

The nurses in the program achieved metabolic benefits without counting calories, measuring portion sizes, or adhering to strict rules, explains a statement for the review. They received support through weekly webinars with Evans, who answered questions about day-to-day challenges, provided advice about nutrient intake and cooking procedures, and offered feedback about how to integrate options for family and friends into every meal.

The nurses also used a free program, the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, created by the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The meal-planning program launches the first day of each month and works as a support tool that offers dietitian-created meal plans, grocery shopping lists, inspirational tips, videos of cooking demos and grocery store tours, interactive tools, et cetera.

Large bodies of research show a plant-based vegan diet boosts weight loss, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol, and stabilizes blood sugar, says Neal Barnard, M.D., F.A.C.C., creator of the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, president of the Physicians Committee, and an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. We now have preliminary evidence that this way of eating boosts energy, too. The secret is to stick with the prescription since the health benefits last as long as youre putting the dietary principles into practice. A plant-based vegan diet is not a fad diet, but a new approach to eating, a new approach to health, and a new approach to life.

If you eat meat, would you consider changing to a plant-based diet for 21 days? Even the short-term results are pretty impressive.

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7 things that happened to these nurses after going vegan for 21 days - Treehugger

I used to be judgmental of vegetarians and vegans.

I had a friend back in middle school who was vegetarian and all I saw her eatwas pasta and protein bars. How could she give up on all the meaty goodness? I couldnt understand it.

Plus, mostof my vegan friends over the years were animal lovers. So, I thought in order to be vegetarian or vegan, I had to want to save all animals all over the world.

But one day, I came across an Eastern nutrition concept called Food Energetics, and I was hooked. The basic concept is that all foods are made up of energies, and the best way to rebalance your body is to combine foods for energy balance with the least amount of stress.

(That might sound pretty woo-woo, but I lost 40 pounds and havent had weight issues, since. So, dont knock it til youve tried it. )

Anyway, when I was learning about Food Energetics, I decided to try a meatless diet because animal products can take a much longer time for the body to digest compared to plant-based options.

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If you have any kind of digestive issues like constipation (which means your system is backed up), then the last thing you want to do is to eat foods that take a long time to process.

And I was surprised to discover that going vegan wasnt so hard, at all. Here are some of the thoughts and discoveries I had over my two years of being vegan, plus why I eventually quit.

If youre the kind of person who has eggs for breakfast, a sandwich with cold-cuts for lunch and meat for dinner, then cutting out animal products can feel like youre cutting out every possible food you know.

I remember thinking nothaving turkey in my turkey and lettuce sandwich would mean that Id just have, well, a lettuce sandwich. And the last thing I wanted to feel was that something was missing.

But there are a lot of foods I hadnt explored before being vegan, and I grew to love them. Here are some examples:

Another fear I had about being vegan was that Id never be full enough. All I could think about was how unfulfilling boring salads were, and how theyd leave me hungry afterward. I didnt know what I could possibly eat in a vegan diet that would keep me full.

But as mentioned above, once I started adding in whole grains, beans, mylksand root vegetables, my meals started to really bulk up in fiber and volume.

And the best part was that I could eat a hearty meal and not feel gross afterward, like how I used to when Id have a big steak. I felt really full, but then would feel hungry again another four hours or so later. There was never this feeling of overeating.

My body went through a dramatic change when I was doing veganism (in a way thats based on Food Energetics). I lost 40 pounds, felt a bounty of energy and felt lighter in spirit.

I was excited every day about exploring new foods, whereas I used to be scared of trying anything new back when I wanted to lose weight but was not vegan.

But after a couple years, I started to crave animal products again. And for several months, I was scared to death to touch animal products, mainly because I had spent so much time reading about the benefits of veganism that I was convinced animal products were horrible for our bodies.

But the thing is, all diets can be argued positively or negatively. And our bodies are constantly going through changes, which means what serves you now might not serve you in years to come, and thats OK.

We have to learn how to respond well to what our bodies need, and a big part of that is to stop thinking and start feeling.

So, little by little, I started to eat animal products again, and I felt really good about it.

Now, I eat a variety of everything. Im so glad food energetics and veganism opened up my world to the possibilities of so many other foods and cuisines. I follow what my body needs, and sometimes thats a juicy steak, but other times its a vegan day.

I like to think of a whole foods vegan dietas a great way to reset our bodies. Its a chance to get our digestive systems flowing properly, gain nutrients from easy to digest plants, lower inflammation and feel refreshed.

But if youre main motivation to be vegan has nothing to do with saving animals, then I dont think you have to do it all the time if your body is telling you otherwise. Use it as a tool to find what works best for your body, and adjust accordingly.

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Katheryn Gronauer, the Lifestyle Nutritionist, shows driven gals who are frustrated with their diets how to reconnect with the way they're meant to eat. She is the creator of FOODBOSS, the super unconventional online program to put you in ...

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I had a friend back in middle school who was vegetarian and all I saw her eat was pasta and protein bars. How could ... - Elite Daily

In 2016, Gavin Fernback went vegan. Like many people making the switch to a plant-based diet, the decision yielded profound resultsnot just for his health, but his worldview, too. Gavins decision, though, didnt just impact his own life. Hes the owner of The Fields Beneath, a coffee shop located in a residential neighborhood in London, serving 200-300 people every day.

The Fields Beneath had been open for nearly four years when Gavin stopped eating animals; it had a following and a mostly non-vegan menu.

[I]t was only a matter of time before I could no longer slap slices of ham and cheese down on slices of bread, he says. So, in October that year I committed myself to making the cafe vegan. If it didnt work, Id sell up/close down and find something else.

But it worked.

The caf began to serve vegan croissants, breakfast pots (porridge, granola, muesli, chia seeds etc), we make amazing hot dishes, Gavin says of the tagines, curries, even burgers. After several years, theonly thing not vegan on the menu was milka staple for many coffee drinkers. Thats all changing in a few days, when the caf will officially replace all cows milk with plant-based milks like oat, almond, and soy.

[Half of] our sales are from coffee, Gavin says, so the milk thing was always going to be the last to go for us, and the one that brought a little concern. But with signage that went viral on Instagram and earnest conversations with his customers, Gavin thinks the transition will be smooth even for his non-vegan customers.

Were talking to them as much as possible, Gavin says. Very few have challenged it, although one has gone as far as to buy his own espresso machine so he can make milky coffees himself from Sunday.

As sales of plant-based foods continue to rise and dairy and beef sales continue on a steep decline, the industry is rapidly changing. Restaurants are offering more plant-based options than ever before; Starbucks also just announced the addition ofvegan items to its menu. Supermarkets are no longer segregating out plant-based food, but finding homes for them next to meat and dairy products.

Last year, El Segundo, Calif. based Beyond Meat gave Whole Foods Market a deal it couldnt pass up: an exclusive launch on Beyond Meats pea-protein-based Beyond Burger, but only if it would merchandise it next to the meat counter. The nearly indistinguishable from beef product was a huge hit with vegans and omnivores alike. The brand got the attention of Tyson Foods, the largest producer of beef, chicken, and pork products in the world, which invested into Beyond Meat for a five percent stake in the business.

Plant-based proteins are definitely a critical part of the food system moving forward, Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown told Organic Authority in a recent interview. We think theyre the future of protein.

Elmhurst Dairy, a 90-year-old dairy producer out of Queens, New York, has reinvented itselfnot necessarily out of a vegan ethos, but out of sheer necessity. The brand, now going by simply Elmhurst, debuted a line of vegan nut milks earlier this month at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, Calif. It stopped producing dairy milk last year.

In the 1980s, Elmhurst, like other dairy producers in New York, took a hit after a federal court deregulated milk sales, which led to price wars throughout the region.

That was the beginning of the end, CEO Henry Schwartz, who ran the family dairy business, told the New York Times last August. Elmhurst Dairy scored a deal with Starbucks in 2003, but that ended in 2011, and from there it seemed its days were numbered as the company kept taking losses from rising production costs and declining dairy salesbut as the last dairy in New York City, it held on as long as it could. Last October, Elmhurst Dairy found new homes for its cows and prepared to shut its doors for good.

And then, a revelation. If you cant beat em, then Elmhurst was ready and raring to join emstepping into the $1.4 billion plant-based milk industry with four delicious varieties: almond, cashew, hazelnut, and the surprisingly outstanding walnut milk.

The brands sleek cartons bear its historysimple cursive lettering hardly seen on todays sans-serif-obsessed styling, and a stamp that reads Est. 1925, which is when it began selling cows milk throughout the city.

With the help of award-winning culinary innovator Cheryl Mitchell, Ph.D., Schwartz now applies his knowledge about the process of dairy-making to create creamy plant-based milks that use four times more nuts per serving in their formulation than competing brands, reports VegNews.

While the shift from cow to walnut is certainly significant from a production standpoint, the rest is second naturefor Elmhurst. Milk is milk, after all, even if the dairy industry is contesting that issue;and today many customers love to experiment with different milkseven enjoying regularly switching between cow and nondairy milks.

Theres no telling what the future holds for Elmhurt 2.0, but the brand is off to a strong start with placement in more than 1,100 Publix supermarkets across the Southeast next month, and a warm reception at the Natural Products Expo where the nondairy milk category was among the shows top trends.

For The Fields Beneath, the caf has become more than just a coffee shopits taking the opportunity to embrace veganism and talk about the state of our food industry, our health, the planet, and the plight of factory farmed animals.

I think you cant deny the logic of veganism, Gavin says, but theres a lot in between that logic and any of us making the choice to become vegan. And for the sake of a glass of milk ora steak, he says, we dont need to kill cows.

Find Jill on Twitter and Instagram

Related on Organic Authority

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Jill Ettinger is a Los Angeles-based journalist and editor focused on the global food system and how it intersects with our cultural traditions, diet preferences, health, and politics. She is the senior editor for sister websites OrganicAuthority.com and EcoSalon.com, and works as a research associate and editor with the Cornucopia Institute, the organic industry watchdog group. Jill has been featured in The Huffington Post, MTV, Reality Sandwich, and Eat Drink Better. http://www.jillettinger.com.

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This is What Happens When Businesses Go Vegan - Organic Authority

In general, I consider myself to be a health-conscious person, but last year, I realized my diet needed a total overhaul.

I noticed my once refined diet had begun to slip away from me. I was content with eating meat for nearly every meal, snacking relentlessly while I worked and (worst of all) turning to fast food when I was too lazy to cook meals for myself.

But then, I had an epiphany. I decided it was time for me to make a major change.

Right around this time last year, I madethe switch toa plant-powered, all vegan diet.

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I wish I could say my attempt at a vegan diet was totally successful, but there were several speed bumps along the way.

Like me, maybe you know you want to be vegan, but there are some questions you need to ask yourself in order to prepare for new vegan life.

From my experience, one thing is certain: I wish I would have made a more gradual, deliberate switch to veganism.

These questions are ones I should have asked myself beforehand.

Fortunately, you can all learn by my novice dietary mistakes:

Asking yourself this pivotal question is a somewhat vague, but its an important starting point. The most typical answer the answer is yes, a vegan diet will be healthy.

But, how you choose to navigate your vegan quest is up to you.

First off, if you have any health conditions, keep them at the forefront of your mind. For a lot of people, a vegan diet will help combat illnesses.

For example,cutting out dairy and animal products, as well as gluten and processed foods, is beneficial to many people living with celiac disease.

So, a vegan diet can offer additional health benefits to some people, beyond simply being a health-conscious diet choice.

But that being said, its important to remember you should always consult your doctor before making a diet switch, especially if you are on the fence about it.

It never hurts to double-check with a physician, nutritionist and/or dietitian.

In order to make a healthy switch to a plant-powered diet, youll want to make sure you make a gradual transition.

Most people dont find success when rapid diet change happens overnight. Instead, plan to cut out animal products systematically.

Its smart to start by cutting out just red meat or pork, then gradually stop eating poultry and finally eliminating fish from your diet.

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This can also be done with dairy items by cutting them out one category at a time.

When I started a vegan diet, I took the cold turkey approach. This ultimately didnt go over well.

I had intense food cravings all the time after cutting everything out at once. If I would have been more deliberate in my approach, I likely would have had a better experience changing my diet.

While theres no hard and fast rule for this, consider taking up to a few months to transition to veganism.

Change at your own speed!

There are risks with any diet change.

An article titled The Hidden Risks of Your Restricted Dietexplained,

In avoiding these foods, people on or considering vegan diets can miss out on important nutrients such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and zinc. Its not uncommon for vegans or vegetarians to take supplements in order to round out their diets.

Supplementing for dietary change is a fantastic idea and will eliminate some corollary risks.

Youll want to take a multivitamin if you arent already.

Take precautions to make sure you are getting enough calorie intake, as well as enough protein, and other vitamins and minerals that are mostly found in meat.

Do you meal plan? Do you ever prep out your meals? If you dont, now you certainly need to.

One of the biggest challenges for new a new vegan is knowing what to eat and just how much of it to eat.

Its normal to feel like you dont have many culinary options.

But, try not to allow yourself to feel limited. The biggest limitation to a vegan diet is your own lack of creativity!

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A key to a successful vegan agenda involves constantly self-educating, experimenting and trying new foods.

When I started out, some of my all time favorite cruelty-free recipes were as follows:

Sweet and Sour Thai Noodle Salad

Glazed Lentil Walnut Loaf

BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich

Vegan Street Tacos

Vegan Kimchi

Italian Seitan Sausage

Chana Dal with Cauliflower

Teff Brownies

While vegan diets are more healthy in theory, there are plenty of people doing it wrong. Strive for a variety of fresh and raw foods, and stay away from the processed stuff as much as possible.

When I switched to a vegan diet, I was careful to heavily research foods that may contain hidden animal products.

Honestly, I was fairly paranoid I was going to mistakenly eat something with gelatin or dairy or fish oil.

After much research, I came up with a list of everyday foods that people dont realize contain animal products.

Be careful with sauces and salad dressings, as many have small amounts of animal products.

Worcestershire sauce and many other sauces have anchovy extract in them. Caesar dressing commonly contains eggs, and a lot of other salad dressing have at least some dairy in them.

Many foods unexpectedly contain gelatin. Of course, JELL-O has it, but so do most marshmallows, gummy bears and some chewing gum.

Strangely enough, packaged nuts may also contain gelatin. So, always check the ingredients list!

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Other foods with lurking animal ingredients are chips, cake mixes, refried beans, margarine, foods with red dye, soy and nut cheeses and certain types of sugar.

Finally, be on the lookout for drinks with small amounts of animal products.

Some brands of orange juice are boosted with omega-3s that are derived from fish.

Certain beer contains fish oil, and some wineries and breweries use a membrane called isinglass to filter their drinks. This comes from the bladders of tropical fish.

Youll want to make sure you cover all of your dietary bases. You dont want animal products to accidentally slip back into your food.

Check out PETAs Animal-Derived Ingredients List resource and the posts addition, as well as a post on TreeHugger titled 9 everyday products you didnt know had animal ingredients for more information on this.

While understanding that this may be a concern for some people, its important to remember theres no shame in a basic human function, like passing gas.

Beyond that, its also a misconception that all vegans fart more often than other people. Since vegetables and other vegan stable foods tend to be fibrous, a lot of people equate a vegan diet to farts.

Asafoetida, also known as hing, is frequently added to food as a digestive aid to help with gas and bloating.

This dried herb and its gummy secretion are used in Indian and Middle Eastern food as a flavor enhancer.

Its also a gassy vegans best friend.

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Robert Parmer is a freelance web writer, student of Boise State University and chef. Outside of writing and reading adamantly he enjoys creating and recording music, caring for his pet cat, and commuting by bicycle whenever possible.

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6 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before Switching To A Vegan Diet - Elite Daily