Healthy Living

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The New Eating Trend: Part-Time Vegans

Photo by Sakurai Midori via commons.wikimedia.org

Photo by Sakurai Midori via commons.wikimedia.org

We've talked about veganism and raw food here on Vitamin G, and I've admitted to dabbling my toe in the water a bit. I could never be a full-fledged vegan, for many reasons, but a part-timer? I think, yes. Turns out, there's a new eating trend that more people are embracing. It's called before-dinner veganism...

The Times Online recently reported on a new trend, which was hatched, in part, New York Times columnist and bestselling author Mark Bittman (who I happen to think is pretty much genius) in Food Matters.

Here's what he says about his vegan-before-dinner plan: "You don't eat any, or much, in the way of animal products or processed food during the day. At night you eat what you want," he explains. "In some ways it's stricter than veganism in that there's no junk allowed. In others it's easier--in coffee is acceptable, and breaking the rules occasionally is okay. The basic line is this: no matter how you do it, you [and the planet] will benefit if you eat a higher proportion of plants and a lower proportion of everything else."

Get started! Here are 17 delicious things to do with carrots.

It's an interesting concept, isn't it?

According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a low-fat vegan diet can lead to weight loss of about 1 pound per week, and that's without exercise. But let's face it, very few people can manage to go full-fledged vegan (and, many health experts have concerns about purely vegan diets--see what Body by Glamour nutritionist Rachel Beller had to say on this topic), so that's why I like Bitman's plan. It's a doable and non-rigid way to eat more whole foods during the day.

What do you think of part-time veganism?

More thinking on raw and vegan:

by Sarah Jio

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Comments 1-10 of 21
  • Ahleah G's Avatar
    Posted by Ahleah G Mon Aug 3, 2009 10:52am PDT

    I don't see a reason that everything has to have a label, and some of them are getting silly. And why isn't coffee vegan?

    Overall I think it is a good idea to eat less meat and more fruits and vegetables and whole grains. I personally don't think I could stick to a vegan diet myself as I am not a fan of the soy versions of yogurt and cheese and without these I would feel I'm missing out. We only drink soy milk though and I can do without meat every day.

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  • Miss  B's Avatar
    Posted by Miss B Mon Aug 3, 2009 11:15am PDT

    Yeah I joined the band wagon. No steak, pork, and I don't like fish anyways. I stuck with chicken, cause I can't go straight vegan. Still do dairy though, just low fat milk and try to stay away from too much cheese.

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  • Libby's Avatar
    Posted by Libby Mon Aug 3, 2009 11:28am PDT

    I totally agree Ahleah! Why do we feel the need to label it? I guess I have been a "part time" vegetarian or vegan for a while! Long before they gave it a trendy name!

    I was a vegetarian for about 4 years, and the reintroduced some meat back into my diet. The main reason was I just wasn't getting enough protein and my energy levels were lagging. Once I started eating meat again, it was mainly just grilled chicked breast, or sliced turkey breast for sandwiches, and occassionally fish. I might eat red meat 4 time a year, and thats even be a stretch! The soy cheeses aren't good, but I never tried the soy yogurt, and I also either drink soy milk or rice milk.

    Bottom line....less animal products in your diet equals less fats and cholesteral. Never a bad way to go!

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  • xo's Avatar
    Posted by xo Mon Aug 3, 2009 5:02pm PDT

    Vegan=trendy? Nah, no thanks. I enjoy my lean meats and protein. Sure, I love veggies and fruits but my diet incorporates meat too. Besides, there are certain proteins and amino acids that you can only get in animal-based protein, not soy-based protein. Sorry, no amount of pills can give you those vital amino acids.

    Bring on the meat!

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  • opiniononly's Avatar
    Posted by opiniononly Mon Aug 3, 2009 5:07pm PDT

    Isn't this the same as following the dietary guidelines for healthy portions of healthy foods and limiting the consumption of unhealthy foods, regardless of their category? Why the need for a new trendy label?

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  • __A_YAHOO_USER__'s Avatar
    Posted by __A_YAHOO_USER__ Mon Aug 3, 2009 5:39pm PDT

    Not a bad idea! Genius, in fact. And this is the place to go for living and raw food recipes! I just became her friend on Facebook!

    http://www.alissacohen.com/

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  • Chad's Avatar
    Posted by Chad Mon Aug 3, 2009 10:00pm PDT

    i know this i wake up eat 5 or 6 eggs(2yolks), some brown sugar ham, couple slices of double fiber wheat bread, some cherries, some bluberries, some strawberries, a banana, all organic, may have some almond milk, acai juice, water, or tea, then i take some vitamins, for a snack i'll have a piece of hersheys with almonds and some more almonds, lunch i'll have a piece of wild salmon, a couple raw carrots, some watermelon, and a powerbar, snack i'll have some different fruits, then for dinner i may have some of my perfect red beans and rice or baked chicken, and sweet potatoes, some cabbage, or greens, some rice, and maybe another thing or two...my point is this..thats not vegan, thats not anything except damn good food, and i know every ingredient basically that i intake. i also work out 6 days a week, well now you know exactly what to eat if you wanna be a fine specimen...call me

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  • Dannielle's Avatar
    Posted by Dannielle Mon Aug 3, 2009 11:42pm PDT

    spam is grosse but boiled soy beans and egg salads are amazing:)

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  • mattythemongoose's Avatar
    Posted by mattythemongoose Tue Aug 4, 2009 9:29am PDT

    You know some people are vegetarians or vegans because they don't like the idea of HURTING ANIMALS! Just a thought...

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  • Smiley79's Avatar
    Posted by Smiley79 Tue Aug 4, 2009 11:12am PDT

    Chad. Any suggeations to eating healthy in 300 a month food budget for 3 people? I love fresh fruits and veggies. I have a hard time affording fresh fish and some fresh veggies and fruits. Carrotts, bannanas, Lemons, Almonds, Broccoli and lean turrkey meat are apart of my staples, but i admit I eat quite a bit of processed food beacuse it is cheaper.

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Comments 1-10 of 21

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