Posts by omnicrom

On any kind of special diet you need to read the labels very carefully.  Many non-dairy creamers will state on the label that it contains a milk derivative.  I avoid things like high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils as well.  Ingredients that are often included in non-dairy creamers.  Brands like Amy's, Silk and others that you can find at co-ops will state on the label if it's vegan or gluten-free and allergin statements like it contains soy, milk, wheat or nuts.  Not every brand is nice enough to do this, so read every label.  

I think it mostly depends on your point of view.  Some hardcore vegans won't eat it because is it a refined product.  There are some vegan's out there who won't even consider another person a vegan if they don't follow the whole lifestyle - just eating that way isn't enough.  Not me.  I'm just saying. 

Back to the sugar being a vegetarian issue.  I haven't read the article in a long time so I don't remember exactly what the problem was.  It seems to me there was some filtering issue or some process that sugar went through that involved using animal products.  I'm sure there are people who are much more knowledgeable on this subject than I am.  Things could have changed since I read that article.    

I'm sure it is something that can be cleared up by doing some searching on the internet. 

Why do some people around here spell vegan - veg*n?

Are you home all day?  Are you at work?  Maybe you need more to keep you busy and keep your mind off of food.  Something you can get lost in for a while if you don't want to take a walk.  Learn an instrument or take up knitting.  Something that takes some concentration.  Crossword puzzles? 

We all have days where we just want to suck food down so don't worry about it.  If it's only one day you'll be fine.  Just get back on the horse and don't look back. 

I like "Friendly Foods" by Brother Ron Pickarski.  I actually want to eat the food after I've cooked it.  I'm not overly fond of Marilyn Diamond's American Vegetarian cookbook, mostly because she found a way to mess up split pea soup.  Also her "chicken" patties - the ones made out of green cabbage - do not have any resemblance to a chicken flavor.  

I think "Friendly Foods" recipes serve quite a few people but I'm sure you can divide them in half.   

Lyndsey Wagner has a cookbook called "The High Road To Health".  The recipes are pretty simple and I liked the food.

I was waiting around at a Caribou coffe shop one night while I was waiting for someone.  They have these new candy bar coolers.  One is Snickers the others is Ande's Candy.  I didn't have much to eat that day and I estimated roughly 600 calories.  The Turtle Mocha is kind of the same thing I thought, plus you know, the coolers start out as a large cup of ice.  So I was ok with it that one time.  I looked it up later - they are almost 900 calories.  I went over my daily allowance by a couple hundred calories.  You just have to move on.  Add some extra time to your walks or whatever you do for exercise.  You'll be fine. 

We usually go on road trips during the summer.  Ocassionally we find ourselves out late and wanting to get home fast.  We may stop for fast food.  I visited the sites of some of the more common fast food places that we go to and printed out the nutritional information.   Then I highlighted the lower calorie foods.  It took a little time, but it was worth it.  I know what to get before I go inside the restaurant.  Internet is not always readily available when you're on the road. 

We took a driving vacation a few years ago.  My kids are not vegetarians and we usually eat at regular restaurants.  I was so sick of salads by the end of that trip.  I couldn't even get a baked potato at most places.  If it was an Italian restaurant sometimes I could order a baked potato with a side of Marinara.  But that was pretty rare. 

I eat very little wheat and glutens as well.  Amy's brand of food has several wheat-free, gluten-free products.  Amy's brand can be found in regular supermarkets as well.

Most of the products I buy come from whole food stores.  The products are usually clearly labeled and state the allergens contained in the food.  Read the labels carefully.  There are getting to be more and more products being marketed do to the demand.  There are several gluten-free bread products and frozen waffles on the market.  Van's and Lifestream are two that I can think of right now. 

If you start out by going to your local whole foods co-op, you will see the wide variety of wheat-free, gluten-free products that are now offered.