(2018-08-18, 09:42 AM)Brian Wrote: [ -> ]Here are some of the side effects I have had:
- Much more energy
- Sleep a lot better
- After only a month, I had to put new holes in my belt. I can see muscles I didn't know I had
- My eyes look brighter
- I am more relaxed
- My skin looks clearer and healthier
- A very noticable reduction in my tourettes tics, possibly due to being more relaxed
- I am more creative with food and more willing to try new things
Hey Brian - I love the fact that you are more creative and open with food since going vegan - since I teach gardening to kids as well, I have noticed that they are much more interested in fruits and veggies they've never seen before - they will ALL try a purple haze carrot when offered to them!! I'm assuming your consumption of fruits and veggies have gone way up since going vegan, so do you get a chance to buy locally grown fruits and veggies in Sweden (maybe Farmers markets??)? It's unbelievable how much diversity there is out there if one grows their own food or buys direct from small scale farmers that usually will grow fruits and veggies based on other factors than artificial ripening/shipping/storage potential. What most people here in America are exposed to at the grocery store is like maybe 5% of the varieties of fruits and veggies that exist out there!
(2018-08-24, 09:44 AM)Brian Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, I eat a lot more fruit and veg now. I went to the Aquarelle museum recently and we went to the restaurant afterwards. There was only one vegan meal available so I ordered it. It was potatoes cooked in mustard with black beans, leeks, green beans, spinach and leek puree. I was new to most of this and I wasn't sure if I would like it but it was absolutely delicious! I want to eventually eat mainly locally grown, in season organic produce but at the moment our finances are quite desperate so we just buy cheaply. The other thing I want to do is switch from modern wholewheat to spelt and dinkel which are higher in nutrition value and lower in gluten - and of course more natural.
There is another possible surprise effect to my vegan diet but I'm not sure yet so I won't tell until I have more evidence. It might just be wishful thinking.
Glad you are reaping the benefits of a diet high in fruits and veg and that you are seeking to eventually eat local, seasonal, organic produce. In my experience, farmers markets are wonderful places to get fruit and veggies that are affordable because you are buying direct from the farmer in most cases -no middle man mark up (and especially on certified organic produce the mark up is huge). Also, if you are willing, buying bulk from small farmers is something to investigate as many of them will give you a killer price per unit if you buy bulk (tomatoes being a prime example). Another suggestion is to ask farmers about culled fruit and veg they don't bring to market as there are a ton of fruit/veggies that don't "look" good enough for market but are perfectly fine and edible. Much of this gets composted, fed to farm animals or given to food closets. And, many local farms around here have "gleaning days" where they open up their farms to folks to pick the leftovers of a crop when they are done marketing/selling it. Right now, as our local farmers are planting their fall/winter crops, there are a ton of end of summer crops that they are getting ready to pull out so you can get tomatoes, peppers, and other warm season crops for free if you're willing to harvest them yourself. Of course I don't know how all this applies to Sweden!!!
Re: grains - we are big fans of amaranth for many reasons (very easy to grow being one!) but check it out for a gluten free, nutrient packed flour option.
(2018-08-24, 05:17 PM)Grorganic Wrote: [ -> ]Glad you are reaping the benefits of a diet high in fruits and veg and that you are seeking to eventually eat local, seasonal, organic produce. In my experience, farmers markets are wonderful places to get fruit and veggies that are affordable because you are buying direct from the farmer in most cases -no middle man mark up (and especially on certified organic produce the mark up is huge). Also, if you are willing, buying bulk from small farmers is something to investigate as many of them will give you a killer price per unit if you buy bulk (tomatoes being a prime example). Another suggestion is to ask farmers about culled fruit and veg they don't bring to market as there are a ton of fruit/veggies that don't "look" good enough for market but are perfectly fine and edible. Much of this gets composted, fed to farm animals or given to food closets. And, many local farms around here have "gleaning days" where they open up their farms to folks to pick the leftovers of a crop when they are done marketing/selling it. Right now, as our local farmers are planting their fall/winter crops, there are a ton of end of summer crops that they are getting ready to pull out so you can get tomatoes, peppers, and other warm season crops for free if you're willing to harvest them yourself. Of course I don't know how all this applies to Sweden!!!
Re: grains - we are big fans of amaranth for many reasons (very easy to grow being one!) but check it out for a gluten free, nutrient packed flour option.
Amaranth grows as a weed in my yard/field... I've experimented plucking and eating a few leaves and seeds off of it and it is not bad. I like knowing which weeds I can eat in case things get bad! ...and Amaranth would definitely keep us going for a while.
I'm glad that local farms and farmers' markets are gaining popularity here in the states.
(2018-08-27, 02:15 PM)Hurmanetar Wrote: [ -> ]Amaranth grows as a weed in my yard/field... I've experimented plucking and eating a few leaves and seeds off of it and it is not bad. I like knowing which weeds I can eat in case things get bad! ...and Amaranth would definitely keep us going for a while.
I'm glad that local farms and farmers' markets are gaining popularity here in the states.
Does purslane grow where you live?
(2018-08-27, 04:06 PM)Steve001 Wrote: [ -> ]Dose purslane grow where you live?
Yep, and dollarweed, chickweed, dandelion, pokeweed (which is poisonous unless youngest leaves are used and boiled with two water changes), and others... these all grow in the yard/flower beds readily. Here's a good resource for Texas:
http://www.foragingtexas.com/
(2018-08-27, 04:16 PM)Hurmanetar Wrote: [ -> ]Yep, and dollarweed, chickweed, dandelion, pokeweed (which is poisonous unless youngest leaves are used and boiled with two water changes), and others... these all grow in the yard/flower beds readily. Here's a good resource for Texas:
http://www.foragingtexas.com/
Who wee!, you must live in a rich place. Where I live we just have pennyweed.
We got those except dollarweed. Something to try is stinging nettle. We also have pawpaw fruit-tasty. Some say it tastes like a banana and mango. It has a creamy texture. Other fruits are blackberry, wineberry, blackraspberry, blackcherry, persimmon.
(2018-08-27, 04:46 PM)Steve001 Wrote: [ -> ]Who wee!, you must live in a rich place. Where I live we just have pennyweed.
We got those except dollarweed. Something to try is stinging nettle. We also have pawpaw fruit-tasty. Some say it tastes like a banana and mango. It has a creamy texture. Other fruits are blackberry, wineberry, blackraspberry, blackcherry, persimmon.
Hah... I wasn't sure if pennyweed was a real thing so I googled it and it only came up with penny marijuana stocks.
And I just now learned where the expression "way down yonder in the pawpaw patch" comes from...
We've got a few wild berries around here and also some berry farms. I spent 2 hours on July 4th at a local blueberry farm and picked 12 lbs of blueberries for about $30.