The Lazy Vegan

The Lazy Vegan

Current Issue

Vol. 4, No. 2

Date: April 15, 2007

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NEW: The Lazy Vegan has a blog! Stop on by at http://thelazyveganblog.blogspot.com.

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CONTENTS:

Quote
Main article
Today's Tip
Recipe
Kim's bio
Sponsors
Unsubscribe Information

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"Think highly of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate."

-- Source unknown

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The New Blog and Some Musings on “Food Combining”

Hi, Everyone:

Well, again, it's been awhile since I've written, but I hope to make that a thing of the past and get back to writing regularly very soon. Just briefly, I've also started a new blog at http://thelazyveganblog.blogspot.com. Stop on by if you have a comment or question; if there's anything you think I should be discussing in regard to vegetarianism or veganism, too, please feel free to stop by there. If you're shy and don't wish to leave a public comment, of course, you can always still e-mail me at kimemailnow@earthlink.net. I hope to use the blog to both make writing a daily thing, to get my creative juices flowing, and to hear from you. I haven't had the opportunity before to get some back-and-forth "discussion" going, so I hope comments on the blog can do that.

Now, onto the main focus of this article. I read all the time about how you have to "food combine" if you want to be a vegetarian or vegan, in order to make sure that you get enough "complete" protein. I find this distressing, because this approach makes being a vegetarian or vegan sound incredibly difficult and time-consuming. In fact, it's not difficult to be a vegetarian or vegan at all. It also makes vegetarianism or veganism sound potentially unhealthy, which is not true at all. I would think that this approach would put people who would otherwise want to try to be a vegetarian or vegan off from doing so.

In fact, folks who are proponents of this method in fact are most often not even vegetarians or vegans themselves, and unfortunately, they make it sound very, very hard to get "complete" protein. They make it sound as though a lot of thought and stress has go along with being a vegan or vegetarian; if you don't give enough attention to "food combining," will you waste away or have other health problems because you have not gotten enough "complete" protein?

Well, after 23 years of being a vegan, I can tell you that in all that time, I have never, ever given a thought to "food combining." Yet at 44, I'm in better health than most people my age, have not given a thought to weight management or "overeating" for many years, and at no time have I ever even come close to "wasting away," from lack of protein or anything else. In short, not only is the "food combining" theory bunk, at least in its practical sense, but I have found a vegan diet to be the most easy to follow and "unconsciously" healthy diet I've ever encountered. On paper, yes, some proteins are "complete" and some proteins are "incomplete," but as to how they actually function on a daily basis in your body and in your diet, all you have to worry about as a vegan or vegetarian is that you get both enough calories and enough variety of foods to sustain you every day; of course, though, this is true of any nutritious diet. And as a "lazy vegan," this has become as much second nature to me as any other kind of cooking eventually becomes.

In fact, arguably, vegans and vegetarians as a group probably have a less difficult time getting a balanced and nutritious diet than your average meat eater. Assuming that one concentrates on eating mostly whole foods and limits the use of things like white flour and sugar, in fact, you'll be easily hitting targets most experts want you to for good health, such as ingesting little to no saturated fat. And forget about having to take fiber supplements or working to squeeze in your five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. They'll already be included as a matter of course in your diet, so no need to try to. You'll also be getting more (sometimes much more) than the recommended 25 grams per day of fiber without even trying.

This is not to say that you must become a full-time vegetarian or vegan to be in good health. I am of the opinion that not everyone should or even can become a full-time vegetarian or vegan. I do believe that some people need a measured amount of meat or other animal products in their diet, although most Americans could certainly shift the basis of their diets from meat-based to semi-vegetarianism or semi-veganism, with meat as a regular or occasional supplement rather than the central focus.

So if you want to give being a vegetarian or vegan even part-time a try, go ahead! Don't give a second thought to "food combining." You'll likely find that you'll both feel and look better by incorporating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and beans into your diet, even if you don't take the plunge and join those of us who are vegans and vegetarians full-time.

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Today's Tip

I don't have a tip today, sorry. Is there something you'd like to hear about that might make "lazy vegan" cooking or some other related chore easier in "lazy" fashion? Feel free to e-mail me at kimemailnow@earthlink.net or visit The Lazy Vegan Blog and leave a comment.

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Recipe

I'm sorry to say that I haven't developed another recipe since the last time I posted. I guess that's lazy vegan cooking for you. However, if you have a favorite recipe that you would like me to try to tweak lazy vegan style, I can try to. Feel free to post requests to The Lazy Vegan Blog or e-mail me at kimemailnow@earthlink.net. Thanks!

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Kim's bio

Kim Olson is a freelance writer and editor. Though a vegetarian and then vegan for 23 years, her three (very spoiled) cats are still insisting on being meat eaters, so chicken and eggs are a staple at the Olson home as ingredients for their homemade diets, along with commercial kitty food. They've no plans to start cooking for themselves anytime soon, unfortunately.

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