Carnivore to Herbivore: Making the transition to veganism

A vegan lifestyle is filled with variety and countless choices of delicious food. It only excludes the use of animal products. In terms of diet this means no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey or other animal derived ingredients. This challenge is not about being environmentally vegan, as our ancestors wore clothing made from the skins of animals, as evidenced when YHUH gave the first man and his ashah clothing made from animal skin. (Brashyt 3:21).  However, it is healthier for your body not to use cosmetics, personal care, or household products that contain animal ingredients, as these things are readily absorbed into the body, via the skin. So you can keep your leather purses, belts and shoes.

The many benefits of becoming vegan, other saving the lives of many animals and being much more environmentally friendly, is that it truly is the lifestyle choice to make.  A well balanced plant based diet is the healthiest of all, is suitable for all ages and can significantly lower health risks, such as heart disease, strokes, cancer, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.

 "... vegan diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases, and are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and athletes."  The American Dietetic Association, July 2009

So, for those of you who are not vegan, and are starting to make this self deserving change in your life, here are a few easy steps to taking your diet from being a carnivore to being an herbivore .

 Dispelling the myth that veganism is difficult

Vegan meal are easy to make, and can be as familiar and as simple as a pot of spaghetti or as exotic as falafel and hummus.

What I find odd, is that most people, whether vegans or meat-eaters, typically use a limited variety of recipes; the average family eats only eight or nine different dinners repeatedly.  So, the idea of switching from a meat based, to a non-meat based diet can be as simple as switching your meat for another protein source, or thinking outside the box and exploring with new, fun ideas and recipes!

The First step, would be to think of a few simple vegan meals that you already enjoy, such as stir fry or vegetable soup.

Next, think of a few recipes that you prepare regularly that can easily be adapted to a vegan menu. For example, a favorite stew can be made by eliminating the meat and adding great northern beans. Most any soup, stew, or casseroles can be made into a vegan dish with just a few changes.

If you are still at a loss as to what to cook, check out some vegan cookbooks from the library or purchase a few from the bargain section at your local book store, and experiment with the recipes until you find a few recipes that are delicious and easy to make.

After that, coming up with vegan options for breakfast, lunch and dinner is easy.

 

Making the switch to a vegan diet doesn't mean buying a lot of special vegan products, as the staples of your vegan pantry should be whole, unprocessed plant foods that are readily obtainable at your local supermarket or wholefood store. 

ELIMINATE JUNK FOOD!

This will be hard for many people.  Because for so many, eating junk food, eating on the go, making quick, non-nutritious meals is all they know.  Their taste buds crave the salt, sugar, and the fat. 

Vegans and omnivores alike often eat lots of junk food, white flour, and too much sugar and salt. My family made this mistake early on in our change to veganism.  But, through a ton of research, and with a depth of commitment to being healthier, most of us have changed.  After all, we only get one body and this lifetime to make it right, and get healthy. Consuming whole, natural plant foods and avoiding processed foods are the answers to achieving a long, healthy life.

For Your Health

 

Vegans have a lower risk of colon and bowel cancers, and some studies suggest a link between plant-based diets and reduced instances of Alzheimer’s disease. Going vegan also offers significant improvements to quality of life. “In our research studies, we see changes almost instantly,” says Neal D. Barnard, MD. “Within the first day or two, digestion improves. After a few weeks, blood pressure and cholesterol are noticeably improved, and if a person has diabetes, it is usually dramatically better too.”

Meal Ideas

 Breakfast:  Cereal or spelt granola with nut milk and fresh fruit | Fresh fruit salad and almond milk yoghurt | Fruit smoothie | Vegan pancakes with maple syrup

 Lunch and Dinner:  Bean soup with matsah | Vegetable Frittata | bean burger | Hearty salads using lentils or beans, quinoa, or pasta | veggie sandwich or wrap or a variety of salads, hummus, roasted vegetables, falafel|

Snack:  Fresh fruit | raw vegetable sticks dipped in hummus, or guacamole | raw almonds or other nuts | pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or other seeds | dates, other dried fruit | Green smoothie

Breads and sweets:  Gluten free, or ancient grain Blueberry muffins | Pumpkin and Walnut muffins | Raspberry & White Chocolate muffins |  | vegan chocolate or caramel

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT CARROTS?

Before I relay the following information, let me start off by saying that I DO NOT EAT CARROTS!  The modern carrot is too far removed from its original wild ancestor for me to consider it a viable nutrient source.

The wild ancestors of the carrot are likely to have come from Iran and Afghanistan, which remain the centre of diversity of Daucus carota, the wild carrot.

Selective breeding over the centuries of a naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot, Daucus carota subsp. sativus, to reduce bitterness, increase sweetness and minimise the woody core, has produced the familiar garden vegetable.

The modern carrot originated in Afghanistan about 1100 years ago. Carrots were originally purple with a thin root, then a mutant occurred which removed the purple pigmentation resulting on a new race of yellow carrots.

The stabilised and domesticated orange carrot does date from the sixteenth century Netherlands.
Throughout the Classical Period and the Middle Ages writers constantly confused carrots and parsnips. This may seem odd given that the average carrot is about six inches long and bright orange while a parsnip is off white and can grow 3 feet, but this distinction was much less obvious before early modern plant breeders got to work.

The orange carrot is a product of the 16th and 17th centuries probably in the Low Countries. Its original colour varied between dirty white and pinkish purple.

Most carrot cultivars are about 88% water, 7% sugar, 1% protein, 1% fibre, 1% ash, and 0.2% fat. Free sugars in carrot include sucrose, glucose, xylose and fructose.

The variety of carrot found in north India is rare everywhere except in Central Asia and other contiguous regions, and is now growing in popularity in larger cosmopolitan cities in South India. The north Indian carrot is pink-red comparable to plum or raspberry or deep red apple in colour (without a touch of yellow or blue) while most other carrot varieties in the world vary from orange to yellow in colour.

Eastern carrots were domesticated in Central Asia, probably in modern-day Iran and Afghanistan in the 10th century, or possibly earlier. Specimens of the eastern carrot that survive to the present day are commonly purple or yellow, and often have branched roots. The purple colour common in these carrots comes from anthocyanin pigments.

The western carrot emerged in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

Certain cultivars of carrots have been bred to be used at the "baby" stage. One such cultivar is 'Amsterdam Forcing'. This process was developed at Beechnut Farms, bought by Zellwin Farms.
However these are not baby cut carrots, which are regular carrots cut down to size.

2006, nearly three-quarters of the fresh baby-cut carrots produced in the United States came from Bakersfield, California. Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms are the world's two largest growers, processors, and shippers of baby-cut carrots.The Green Giant company, which resells carrots from Bolthouse Farms, markets their product as "baby-cut carrots".  Bolthouse Farms is owned by Campbell soup company.

To reduce microbial contamination, cocktail carrots may be treated with chlorine.Those that are will be subsequently rinsed with potable water to remove the excess chlorine before being packaged.

UNVEILING OUR NEW PRODUCT LINE

Integrity, Substance, Honesty & Modesty,

Are the essence of timeless beauty.

 

UNVEILING OUR NEW PRODUCT LINE

 

Introducing the Hadasah Product Line at Beautifully Natural.  Based off our study in Woman of Substance, we are introducing a line of products that take us back to the ancient paths of bathing and skin care.  We sincerely hope that you will come to enjoy your journey back to the days when our foremothers cared for their skin and bodies in a special and unique way.  Their desire for purification often over ruled their desire for beauty and sometimes vice versa.  The Hadasah product line offered through Beautifully Natural allows you to have the best of both worlds.  Drawing on bathing and purification practices from far away Yasharal (Israel), we have purchased ingredients from as far away as the Dead Sea in Yardan (Jordan) and blended them for your benefit. 

 

Remember, 10% of all annual sales of these products will go toward a special grant/donation to help the daughters of YHUH start or grow their own home-based business. 

Hadasah's Oil of Mar blends Mar (Myrrh) with Extra Virgin Olive Oil to help the body maintain healthy skin, prevent skin aging, and sooth chapped or cracked skin

Hadasah's Oil of Shaman (Sweet fragrances) from ancient times is blended with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and is suitable for both young and mature skin. This Oil can be used as part of a healthy skin care regimen to help improve skin structure and texture as they encourage the growth of new skin cells for healthier skin.

Purchase the The Oil of Mar and Oil of Shaman together for a combination of amazing skin regeneration properties. Used together (the Oil of Mar for six months, followed by the Oil of Shaman for six months, these oils help to improve skin tone, condition, and health. The Combination of these oils, spices, and resins also bring balance to skin & reduce excess dryness or oiliness.

Hadasah’s Coconut Milk Bath is loaded with beneficial fats, nutrients and minerals. Coconut milk has a natural ability to calm and hydrate irritated skin and aids in replacing moisture to dehydrated skin. Combined with Tapioca Starch, Baking Soda . This milk bath calms, soothes, and softens tired, dry skin.

Hadasah’s Dead Sea Mud Mask is 100% pure, has been naturally purified and contains a high level of natural antibiotics that help detoxify, exfoliate, and rejuvenate skin. Use of Dead Sea mud increases the natural balance of ‎minerals and moisture that is vital to healthy skin, and is often used to relieve symptoms of psoriasis and eczema anywhere on the body.   Our Dead Sea Mud Mask can be used on the face as well as the body for facial masques, body wraps, and hydration body masques.  

Our Dead Sea Mud Mask has high concentrations of Magnesium, ‎Potassium, Calcium, Bromide, and Sulfates. It also includes ‎elements of Lithium, Strontium, Iodine, Selenium, Chromium, and Zinc. These penetrating minerals combine in a very unique combination, to deep cleanse, purify, and restore your skin from the outside in. 

Our Dead Sea Mud Mask helps skin to repair itself from the everyday effects of the sun, pollutants in the air, ‎while it works to rejuvenate and increase blood circulation.

We have added pineapple extract to our pure Dead Sea Mud, which is effective in exfoliating dead cells on the surface of the skin, providing invigorating cleansing properties as well as hydrolyze proteins, acts as a lytic agent, and conditions the skin.

http://youtu.be/pHA_wb9fChg

WHAT'S IN YOUR SUGAR???

Did you know that the highest  GM food crops are Corn, Soybeans, Canola, Cottonseed, Sugar Beets, Hawaiian Papaya (most) and a small amount of Zucchini and Yellow Squash?  And that many others are hybrid crops (in this case hybridized by man and not nature)?  Did you know that the majority of the sugar in your foods, as well as your “sugars” are either GMO or hybrid or produced in non-vegan methods?  Did you know that if a non-organic product made in North American lists “sugar” as an ingredient (and NOT pure cane sugar), then it is almost certainly a combination of sugar from both sugar cane and GM sugar beets?  Did you k now that the bone char used to process most sugar is from cows injected with GM bovine growth hormone? And that this sugar will not contain labels stating No rBGH, rBST, or artificial hormones?  Did you know that date sugar  is a type of sugar made from dried dates?  But that again, in the US, we have to be super careful, because many dates available in the US are man-made hybrids, especially medjools?

SUGAR was first cultivated in India 2500 years ago and called karkara in Sanskrit.  Sugar derives from Arabic form of word sakkara and appeared in the 13th century in England. The recorded history of cane sugar began when a member of Alexander's army mentioned in 325 BC. Sugar remained expensive until Haiti, in the west indies in 1493. Despite setbacks, its cultivation spread throughout the islands and cane sugar became and still is a main source of sweetness.

Half of the white table sugar manufactured in the United States is cane sugar and the other half is beet sugar. Beet sugar accounts for about 40% of the world's sugar, and the United States is the third largest producer. Sugar beets, which naturally contain 16 to 18 percent sucrose, flourish in temperate climates where the soil is rich and the growing season is about five months long. Thirteen U.S. states currently grow sugar beets. Sugarcane, which contains 12 to 14 percent sucrose, is a tropical grass and is grown in four U.S. states: Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas. Both cane sugar and beet sugar are considered to be among the "purest" foods available because they are 99.9 percent sucrose.

The primary distinction between cane sugar and beet sugar, other than being derived from different plants, is the processing method. Unlike beet sugar, cane sugar processing typically takes place at two locations, the sugar mill and the refinery. During the final purification process, cane sugar is filtered through activated carbon (charcoal) which may be of animal (cow or pig), vegetable, or mineral origin. This step is unnecessary for beet sugar and therefore is never done.

In the United States, genetically modified sugar beets, engineered for resistance to glyphosate, a herbicide marketed as Roundup, was developed by Monsanto as a genetically modified crop. Glyphosate-resistant sugar beets contain a biosynthetic gene that protects it from the effects of glyphosate when it is applied to the crop as a means to control weeds. In 2005, the US Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) deregulated glyphosate-resistant sugar beets after it conducted an environmental assessment and determined glyphosate-resistant sugar beets were highly unlikely to become a plant pest. Sugar from glyphosate-resistant sugar beets has been approved for human and animal consumption in multiple countries, but commercial production of biotech beets has been approved only in the United States and Canada. Studies have concluded the sugar from glyphosate-resistant sugar beets has the same nutritional value as sugar from conventional sugar beets (not genetically modified or non-GMO).

Glyphosate-resistant sugar beets play an important role in the United States' sugar industry. The United States imports 30% of its sugar from other countries, while the remaining 70% is extracted from domestically grown sugar beets and sugarcane. Of the domestically grown sugar crops, over half of the extracted sugar is derived from sugar beets, and the rest from sugarcane. After deregulation in 2005, glyphosate-resistant sugar beets were extensively adopted in the United States. About 95% of sugar beet acres in the US were planted with glyphosate-resistant seed in 2011

Over half of the cane refineries in the United States use bone char (charcoal made from animal bones) as their activated carbon source. The bone char used in this filtering process is so far removed from its animal source that cane sugar processed in this method is deemed kosher pareve, which, according to Jewish dietary laws, means that it contains no meat or milk in any form as an ingredient. A number of vegans disagree with this perspective.

Consumers cannot discern any differences between beet sugar and cane sugar in taste, appearance, and use. Beet sugar is frequently not labeled as such -- the packaging may just list "sugar." Cane sugar is more often labeled specifically, but not always. For consumers wishing to differentiate, the issue has become convoluted. Many vegans prefer to avoid white table sugar altogether rather than chance using a product that was filtered through bone char.

Brown sugar consists of sugar crystals (cane sugar or beet sugar) combined with molasses for taste and color. Confectioner's sugar (also known as "powdered sugar") is white table sugar that has been pulverized into a very fine powder and sifted.

Some vegans replace white table sugar with unbleached cane sugar or dehydrated and granulated cane juice, both of which are available in natural food stores. Most of these products can replace white sugar measure for measure for general use (such as on cereal or in beverages) and in recipes. These products are typically darker in color than white table sugar -- ranging from light amber to rich brown -- due to their naturally higher molasses content. This can sometimes alter the flavor of recipes and may also affect the color of the finished product.

Unbleached cane sugar is considered by some to be more healthful than white table sugar. Although it may contain minimal trace nutrients, one would have to eat massive quantities of this sugar in order to obtain any reasonable nutritive value. And, of course, there are numerous drawbacks associated with the overconsumption of sugar including tooth decay and obesity.

 Beyond the bone char concerns and health-related issues, there are many factors to consider when purchasing sugar and products that contain it. The vast majority of sugarcane is not organically grown, and most sugar plantations employ environmentally unsound agricultural methods, such as heavy insecticide and pesticide use and crop burning, which negatively impact soil, air, water, and the health of the workers. Sugarcane production is labor and energy intensive and utilizes large amounts of fossil fuels in processing, filtration, packaging, and transport. Plantation owners typically pay meager wages and provide no benefits while workers are forced to endure brutal, substandard conditions.

There are many reasons why vegans avoid white table sugar, why some purchase only organically-grown unbleached sugar, and why still others eschew sugar products altogether. A prudent approach may be to reduce our use of all types of sugar, including sugary processed foods, and to train our taste buds to more fully appreciate the natural sweetness of fresh and dried fruits, grain sweeteners, and other whole foods.

Some vegans opt to forego sugar all together and purchase optional sweeteners, such as maple sugar, granular fruit sweetener, and date sugar, or to use natural liquid sweeteners such as pure maple syrup, agave syrup, malt syrup, brown rice syrup, and mixed fruit juice concentrates.

But, there may be more than meets the eye about these products.

Brown rice syrup is expected to have a glycemic index higher than table sugar, as it is composed of glucose, maltose and maltotriose.  Glucose has a glycemic index of 100. It quickly passes through the stomach into the small intestine where it is absorbed into the bloodstream.  Maltose, which has a higher glycemic index of 105, is digested and absorbed as blood glucose even faster.  The more complex trisaccharide, maltotrios , has a glycemic index in the high-60s about the same as whole, cooked brown rice.  The exact glycemic index for brown rice syrup appears to be unknown. 

Brown rice is a hybrid rice product. http://www.livingfoodsinstitute.com/resources_articles_3.php Hybrid rice is any genealogy of rice produced by crossbreeding different kinds of rice. As with other types of hybrids, hybrid rice typically displays heterosis (or hybrid vigor) such that when it is grown under the same conditions as comparable high-yielding inbred rice varieties it can produce up to 30% more rice. High-yield crops, like hybrid rice, are one of the most important tools for combating world food crises.  The earliest high-yield rice was cultivated by Henry 'Hank' Beachell in 1966, but it was not until the 1974 that the first hybrid rice varieties were released in China.

In crop breeding, although the use of heterosis in first-generation seeds (or F1) is well known, its application in rice was limited because of the self-pollination character of that crop. In 1974, Chinese scientists successfully transferred the male sterility gene from wild rice to create the cytoplasmic genetic male-sterile (CMS) line and hybrid combination. The first generation of hybrid rice varieties were three-line hybrids and produced yields that were about 15 to 20 percent greater than those of improved or high-yielding varieties of the same growth duration.

In addition, brown rice, as well as white rice, has high levels of arsenic.  Though the FDA has stated that the levels won’t kill you “today”..  one should still be cautious of consuming too many rice products.

http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2013/09/fdas-reassurance-on-arsenic-in-rice-not-so-reassuring

http://www.minnpost.com/earth-journal/2013/09/arsenic-rice-new-fda-test-results-are-confirmation-not-rebuttal

Many Maple syrup brands are artificial, so make sure you are purchasing true maple syrup.

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/12/maple-grade-b-syrup-a-b-cs-of-it.html

Agave nectar is not natural.. My personal opinion is that it should be avoided.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/

Watch out for fake stevia as well as truvia

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/246006-stevia-banned-but-fake-truvia-is-a-ok

My suggestion would be to try vegan cane sugar that is grown and processed ethically.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/vegan-cane-sugar

Coconut sugar may also be a better choice.  I don’t really like the flavor…  However, to produce coconut sugar from the sap of the tree, means that the coconuts themselves aren’t able to be produced from that same tree.  This results in a shortage of coconuts for the meat, the milk and the oil.  This being the case, coconut sugar is not really a sustainable sweetener.

 

Natural Home Fragrance

ancient olive oil lamp

I’ve been beating my head against the wall for months trying to find a solution to scented candles and such to create fragrance in my home.. I think I’ve come up with some very viable solutions.

 

I've tried them all, and by far, the one I am most intrigued with is the olive oil lamp.....  Makes me feel as if I am back in the ancient lands bringing light to my tents with Sharah, Rabaqah, and Marym.

Solution #1- Simmer Pots

Instructions: Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the ingredients from your favorite recipe, continue to boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to simmer. Add water as needed, usually every 30 minutes or so.  This helps to humidify the air.  Great for the winter.

If you have a radiator or even a gas fireplace, you can put pans of water and spices on top of the radiators.  You can also try adding a table spoon or two of white vinegar to the pot, along with essential oils like tea tree, lavender, lemongrass, rosemary, or eucalyptus to sanitize the air.  Or just use essential oils if you don’t want to use fruits and spices.

To simmer essential oils, add a few drops to a pot of boiling water. They are very concentrated so a little goes a long way. Use one essential oil by itself or blend them to create a unique scent!

 Solution #2 – Homemade Aroma Melts

Instead of using artificial aroma melts that contain harmful chemicals and fake fragrances, mix a few drops of Essential Oils or Extracts with two tablespoons of coconut oil or melted candelilla wax onto your aroma melts burner.  You can use water, but it evaporates quicker.  Use an unscented natural wax tea light candle made from soy or candelilla wax.

 Solution #3 -  Homemade Reed Diffuser

 Using safflower or sweet almond oil as your base, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil blends to a small necked jar.  Pour the mixture into your receptacle and place one end of the reeds or skewers into the solution, allowing it to saturate the reeds. Then take them out, and place the opposite ends into the bottle, rotating the ends in the scent solution about once a week.  Using rubbing alcohol and water also works, but evaporates quicker.   Make sure you are using bamboo or flax reeds as they absorb the oil and fragrance better than most other reeds.

 

For oil, use 30% essential oil to 70% base oil. You can experiment with the percentages to see what works best for you.

 For alcohol and water you will want to add approximately 12 drops of essential oils with 1/4 cup of water then add a tablespoon of alcohol to help bind the oils to the water.

 Solution #4 – Scented Homemade Olive Oil Candles. 

Our ancestors used olive oil for lighting for centuries.  We’ve grown out of the use of them for lighting with the advent of electricity.  However, these homemade olive oil candles are relatively simple to make, and adding essential oils to the oil, or even steeping fresh herbs in the oil make for a very pleasant aroma to your home.  Just as they did our ancestor’s many years ago. 

 Here’s the how to link: http://www.littlehouseliving.com/olive-oil-candles.html

 

The best place for purchasing essential oils that are crafted with integrity is Mountain Rose Herbs:  http://www.mountainroseherbs.com

 

A few recipes for simmer pots:

Vanilla Citrus

A few drops vanilla extract

Key lime or mandarin peels

 Flowers and Spice

1 cup dried lavender or rose petals or calendula which is my favorite

1 tsp anise
1 Tablespoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon whole cloves
1 Cinnamon stick

 Spice Cake

1 cinnamon stick

1 TBS nutmeg
Few Drops vanilla extract
1 Tsp star anise