This is the first in a series of self published articles on vegankitchenappliances.com where I will write my honest thoughts on veganism, nutrition, and lifestyle. These posts may reference the appliances I review, or they may deal with issues completely unrelated. The intent is to build unique content on the website and provide an opportunity for me to muse on issues within the world I write in.
For anyone looking to build his or her health, the only answer I can offer is veganism. The scope of veganism is incredibly diverse and driven by the choice of the individual. A series of camps seems to emerge that separate vegans into strata's based on lifestyle choices. You can be a junk food vegan and consume crap like cheesy kale chips, cocoa nibs, and almonds all day and still be a member of the vegan movement. You can eat only raw fruits and vegetables and be a member of the vegan movement. You can eat gourmet faux-meat vegan dishes and be a member of the vegan movement. You can be a starchivore and eat rice and potatoes all day and be a member of the vegan movement.
My transition from SAD to veganism has shown me a world of even greater diversity by limiting the foods I choose to eat. By not eating meat, dairy, or eggs at every meal, I am forced to find what best suits myself in the world of veganism. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, the amount of information and varying lifestyles within veganism was overwhelming for me at first.
I have spent time as a junk food vegan. I spent more time as a raw vegan than a junk food vegan. Now I am a starchivore. Of all camps within veganism, the word and path set forth by Dr. McDougall most appeals to me. People differ from camp to camp, but I know that starch is the ideal solution for me.
Junk Food Vegans
If anyone out there actually considers himself or herself to be a junk food vegan, please consider changing. I use this phrase in a negative denotation, but I do not seek to offend. Saving the lives of animals is a task all of humanity must embrace, but the degradation of one's health for no good reason is a tragedy.
I would personally recommend any junk food vegans to look at the other schools of thought within veganism. I know people go down this path because they are effectively lazy and choose to not learn new content about health and do not like to cook most of their own meals. For them, I would recommend they pick up the Aroma Rice Cooker and Food Steamer. It makes cooking food incredibly easy and takes up very little counter space. Plus, the unit is low cost so it makes sense to transition to another branch of veganism relatively fast with little possible financial risk.
Gourmet Vegans
These are the vegans with some money. Speaking as a college student with no money, I look upon the decadence and extravagance that goes into some dishes and just shake my head. Some people simply like to cook and feel nostalgia be spending time in the kitchen recreating the recipes of their childhood, except this time the food is vegan.
Making vegan chocolate cupcakes is cool. Any non-vegan is amazed by the skill and resemblance of the vegan version to the familiar dairy rich chocolate cupcakes of SAD. The problem here is that processed foods almost always are used in relatively large abundances in order to create believable fabrications. I am referring to even basic things like seitan, tofu, and TVP. Substituting these processed products in the place of simple grains and pulses surprises me. For anyone that does enjoy making these gourmet dishes and spending all this time in the kitchen, I recommend Soyajoy G4 Soy Milk Maker and Soup Maker. This will add a whole new dimension to your kitchen when you can make your own homemade soy milk.
Raw Vegans
Ahh, my former past. I will be quite honest, I am a failed raw vegan. As a raw vegan I began losing weight (I lost 5-10 lbs. in five months), but this was not a good thing. I am already quite thin and this was worrisome to my mother. Now, part of this weight loss was due to stress caused by school and experimentation with fasting. Still, I am somewhat hesitant in recommending the diet plan to any newbie vegans out there.
Looking back upon my own experience as a raw vegan, I somewhat regret my choice to focus so much on smoothies. Instead, I wish I had consumed my greens whole instead of drinking them down. I believe the fiber would had been better absorbed, along with other nutrients that would not process correctly due to the lack of adequate fiber consumption. I still do think green smoothies can be useful, but I would recommend consumption of Vitamineral Green and water for a far quicker and nutrient dense drink.
The big problem I ran into as a raw vegan was where I was sourcing my calories from. Either I could eat fruit or I could eat fats. I actually have a nut allergy, so fruit it was. Once again, I regret the choice I made here. Fruit tasted so good, but my energy levels were pretty bad and I needed to take a nap or lie down for an hour every day. Along with this, my grocery bill was quite high compared to my current bill centered around starch purchases.
My ultimate advice comes down to this. If you are considering raw veganism, only embrace it to 51%. Attempting to go all out and be fully raw is setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. Portion your mornings or lunch off to raw veganism, but go on to eat a meal of starch for dinner. You will be much better off for this as you will receive the building blocks of starch and the nutrient density of raw plants, especially leafy greens. I already realize smoothies are a staple for basically all raw vegans. For these people wanting to do it, I really would recommend the Nutribullet 900 S. It is small and easy. You will really be limited to the size of the smoothies you can make. This will allow for you to get them in daily if you so choose, but will force you to eat fresh fruit and fresh salads primarily.
Starchivores
My new people. Not everyone in the starchivore camp is quick to embrace the label of vegan due to distaste of the junk food vegans in the community. Dr. McDougall raises that criticism loud and clear on frequent occasions. None the less, starchivores are to be considered our vegan brothers and sisters.
A diet built on starch must be built on routine. As surprising as it may seem, the cornerstone of civilization can be incredibly hard to get in pure form outside your own home. Eating out as a starchivore is so frustrating as an entire restaurant will be too restricted/incompetent to serve you a basic baked potato or a bowl of rice without having to smother it in fat and chicken parts.
We starchivores are made for the long haul. That is where we take our inspiration from, the noble grain and bean. They store for the long term and feed people in the months where no fresh fruits or vegetables are present.
Perhaps the greatest ironic difficulty of starches is the inability of many people to embrace them fully. Learning to cook and incorporate starches is a problem for many people. If I were to go out and tell my colleagues that I eat rice and beans for dinner 365 days of the year, they would laugh and give me a strange look. If I were to then tell them that I eat the same breakfast 365 days a year, they would run away from me in fright.
In order to produce continued success, a starchivore needs dependable and efficient equipment. That is why I endorse the Instant Pot as the greatest appliance in the vegan's kitchen. Pressure cooking is cheap and fast. Making beans is a snap now and allows for a wealth of food to be easily made. No excuse can possibly be given for deferring action when the option of whipping up a dish of steamed potatoes or oatmeal could occur in literally less than 20 minutes with the Instant Pot.
That wraps it up. My first non-review article. For any readers out there, look forward to more pieces like this being released in the future. There is a far greater showing of personality in these write ups, and I think they will boost the overall health of the site.
For anyone looking to build his or her health, the only answer I can offer is veganism. The scope of veganism is incredibly diverse and driven by the choice of the individual. A series of camps seems to emerge that separate vegans into strata's based on lifestyle choices. You can be a junk food vegan and consume crap like cheesy kale chips, cocoa nibs, and almonds all day and still be a member of the vegan movement. You can eat only raw fruits and vegetables and be a member of the vegan movement. You can eat gourmet faux-meat vegan dishes and be a member of the vegan movement. You can be a starchivore and eat rice and potatoes all day and be a member of the vegan movement.
My transition from SAD to veganism has shown me a world of even greater diversity by limiting the foods I choose to eat. By not eating meat, dairy, or eggs at every meal, I am forced to find what best suits myself in the world of veganism. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, the amount of information and varying lifestyles within veganism was overwhelming for me at first.
I have spent time as a junk food vegan. I spent more time as a raw vegan than a junk food vegan. Now I am a starchivore. Of all camps within veganism, the word and path set forth by Dr. McDougall most appeals to me. People differ from camp to camp, but I know that starch is the ideal solution for me.
Junk Food Vegans
If anyone out there actually considers himself or herself to be a junk food vegan, please consider changing. I use this phrase in a negative denotation, but I do not seek to offend. Saving the lives of animals is a task all of humanity must embrace, but the degradation of one's health for no good reason is a tragedy.
I would personally recommend any junk food vegans to look at the other schools of thought within veganism. I know people go down this path because they are effectively lazy and choose to not learn new content about health and do not like to cook most of their own meals. For them, I would recommend they pick up the Aroma Rice Cooker and Food Steamer. It makes cooking food incredibly easy and takes up very little counter space. Plus, the unit is low cost so it makes sense to transition to another branch of veganism relatively fast with little possible financial risk.
Gourmet Vegans
These are the vegans with some money. Speaking as a college student with no money, I look upon the decadence and extravagance that goes into some dishes and just shake my head. Some people simply like to cook and feel nostalgia be spending time in the kitchen recreating the recipes of their childhood, except this time the food is vegan.
Making vegan chocolate cupcakes is cool. Any non-vegan is amazed by the skill and resemblance of the vegan version to the familiar dairy rich chocolate cupcakes of SAD. The problem here is that processed foods almost always are used in relatively large abundances in order to create believable fabrications. I am referring to even basic things like seitan, tofu, and TVP. Substituting these processed products in the place of simple grains and pulses surprises me. For anyone that does enjoy making these gourmet dishes and spending all this time in the kitchen, I recommend Soyajoy G4 Soy Milk Maker and Soup Maker. This will add a whole new dimension to your kitchen when you can make your own homemade soy milk.
Raw Vegans
Ahh, my former past. I will be quite honest, I am a failed raw vegan. As a raw vegan I began losing weight (I lost 5-10 lbs. in five months), but this was not a good thing. I am already quite thin and this was worrisome to my mother. Now, part of this weight loss was due to stress caused by school and experimentation with fasting. Still, I am somewhat hesitant in recommending the diet plan to any newbie vegans out there.
Looking back upon my own experience as a raw vegan, I somewhat regret my choice to focus so much on smoothies. Instead, I wish I had consumed my greens whole instead of drinking them down. I believe the fiber would had been better absorbed, along with other nutrients that would not process correctly due to the lack of adequate fiber consumption. I still do think green smoothies can be useful, but I would recommend consumption of Vitamineral Green and water for a far quicker and nutrient dense drink.
The big problem I ran into as a raw vegan was where I was sourcing my calories from. Either I could eat fruit or I could eat fats. I actually have a nut allergy, so fruit it was. Once again, I regret the choice I made here. Fruit tasted so good, but my energy levels were pretty bad and I needed to take a nap or lie down for an hour every day. Along with this, my grocery bill was quite high compared to my current bill centered around starch purchases.
My ultimate advice comes down to this. If you are considering raw veganism, only embrace it to 51%. Attempting to go all out and be fully raw is setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. Portion your mornings or lunch off to raw veganism, but go on to eat a meal of starch for dinner. You will be much better off for this as you will receive the building blocks of starch and the nutrient density of raw plants, especially leafy greens. I already realize smoothies are a staple for basically all raw vegans. For these people wanting to do it, I really would recommend the Nutribullet 900 S. It is small and easy. You will really be limited to the size of the smoothies you can make. This will allow for you to get them in daily if you so choose, but will force you to eat fresh fruit and fresh salads primarily.
Starchivores
My new people. Not everyone in the starchivore camp is quick to embrace the label of vegan due to distaste of the junk food vegans in the community. Dr. McDougall raises that criticism loud and clear on frequent occasions. None the less, starchivores are to be considered our vegan brothers and sisters.
A diet built on starch must be built on routine. As surprising as it may seem, the cornerstone of civilization can be incredibly hard to get in pure form outside your own home. Eating out as a starchivore is so frustrating as an entire restaurant will be too restricted/incompetent to serve you a basic baked potato or a bowl of rice without having to smother it in fat and chicken parts.
We starchivores are made for the long haul. That is where we take our inspiration from, the noble grain and bean. They store for the long term and feed people in the months where no fresh fruits or vegetables are present.
Perhaps the greatest ironic difficulty of starches is the inability of many people to embrace them fully. Learning to cook and incorporate starches is a problem for many people. If I were to go out and tell my colleagues that I eat rice and beans for dinner 365 days of the year, they would laugh and give me a strange look. If I were to then tell them that I eat the same breakfast 365 days a year, they would run away from me in fright.
In order to produce continued success, a starchivore needs dependable and efficient equipment. That is why I endorse the Instant Pot as the greatest appliance in the vegan's kitchen. Pressure cooking is cheap and fast. Making beans is a snap now and allows for a wealth of food to be easily made. No excuse can possibly be given for deferring action when the option of whipping up a dish of steamed potatoes or oatmeal could occur in literally less than 20 minutes with the Instant Pot.
That wraps it up. My first non-review article. For any readers out there, look forward to more pieces like this being released in the future. There is a far greater showing of personality in these write ups, and I think they will boost the overall health of the site.
By Mat McNeile
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