Should We Blindly Accept New Health Claims?

When we see an article or video touting the benefit of being vegan we can often blindly accept it without doing any critical thinking. To summarize what I’m about to say, the devil is in details. Be a skeptic!

Dr. Greger recently did a video on how couch-potato vegans have better arteries than marathon runners. So then Jeff Nelson points out that in the study the vegans were ‘raw’, low saturated fat and low protein while the long distance runners ate the unhealthy SAD. Many vegans don’t eat this healthy but luckily we do if we follow McDougall, Esselstyn and others.

So I click on the study Jeff referenced and discover that Jeff fails to mention that the vegans were eating a high fat diet at 42.8% (+/-) thanks to the nuts, seeds and even olive oil! The study was referring to cancer risk. Jeff mentioned to me on Twitter that the low saturated fat may account for some of the benefits even though the diet had a higher fat content. So this would mean that people could eat much higher mono/polyunsaturated fat than Dr. McDougall and Dr. Esselstyn are advising (amongst others). I find these fats from nuts to be too addictive which would probably lead to weight gain for me.

These are doctors and registered dieticians leaving out vital information, so be sure to question everything and dig a little deeper.

How Many Calories Should I Eat?

I get this question a lot since it’s so ingrained in our psyche. While overall calories are important, the key item to focus on is the calorie density of the food you are eating. Stick to lower caloric density foods and eat until you are full and you will lose weight. So if you stuck below 500 cal/lb you could probably eat 4-5 pounds of food a day, depending on your activity level.

Here are the average calories per pound for various foods:

Fresh Veggies are around 100 cal/lb
Fresh Fruits around 250-300 cal/lb
Starchy Veggies/Intact Whole Grains around 450-500 cal/lb
Legumes around 550-600 cal/lb
Processed Grains (even if their Whole grain) around 1200-1500 cal/lb
Nuts/Seeds around 2800 cal/lb
Oils around 4000 cal/lb

Avoid oil no matter what but if you’re trying to lose weight, also avoid/limit nuts/seeds and processed grains at least until you reach your desired body fat level. I haven’t stuck to this 100% but I try hard to mostly eat starches, fresh veggies and fruit. So more oats, potatoes, spinach, bananas and other fruits/veggies – less on the breads, pastas, and minimize nuts/seeds and avoid oils. If you are active and/or don’t need to lose more fat than adjust as necessary with more of the higher density foods. If you’re not a long distance runner/cyclist then don’t eat like one! 🙂

Get a body fat monitor or use calipers to measure progress, not just the scale. Here’s an article on how the body uses fat.  Fat has a low oxidative value (for energy), and is easily stored. Our body will store the fat we eat over using it for energy. These are all clues that we should eat less fat so that we don’t store it.

You can calculate your rough calorie needs using an online calorie calculator. This is based on your basal metabolic rate and activity level. This site also shows you how much to adjust your calories to lose weight. Or you can enter your desired weight into the calculator and use the calories per day for that body weight. I’ve never tracked calories and don’t advise that people do it, but some insist they need to closely track it in order to be successful.

Jeff talks about caloric density here:

Do NOT Feel Guilty About Eating Cooked Starches

A lot of people are moving from a raw food diet, fruitarian, 80/10/10 diet to a ‘raw till 4’ diet, cooked or starch-based diet, for various reasons. Maybe they can’t get enough fruit, it’s too expensive, the quality of fruit is bad, they had bad experiences (hunger, bloating, weight gain, etc). I think fruit is awesome but the idea that it is the best and starches should play second fiddle (or that cooked food is poison) is simply wrong. I don’t want anyone to feel ashamed of eating starches!

I don’t want fruitarians and starchivores to get into a war (we have bigger ‘fish to fry’) but starch-eaters need to stand up for themselves and be proud of what they eat and those who ate starch before us!

Humans developed more amylase in their mouths which is believed to have allowed them to eat starches and caused us to develop larger brains. Here’s another reference. People like to imagine us walking around in nature similar to apes and how we should eat all fruit like them since that is ‘natural’ and easiest to digest.

Kenyans who win all sorts of Olympic long distance running events eat a food call Ugali, a paste made from cornmeal served with vegetables.

“The Incas of South America centered their diet on potatoes. The Incan warriors switched to quinoa for strength prior to battle.” This is from Dr. McDougall’s The Starch Solution, my favourite book.

“The story is the same the world over. Whether rice in Asia, potatoes in South America, corn in Central America, wheat in Europe, or beans, millet, sweet potatoes, and barley around the globe, starch has been at the center of food and nutrition throughout human history.” ~The Starch Solution

Okinawans are among the longest living people in the world. Their diet is plant-based and their staple was the sweet potatoes.

“The Mayans and Aztecs of Central America were known as “the people of the corn.” The Egyptians’ starch of choice was wheat. Throughout civilization and around the world, six foods have provided our primary fuel: barley, maize (corn), millet, potatoes, rice, and wheat.” ~The Starch Solution

The roman soldier diet consisted of grains.

“Processing vegetables and starches, and possibly grinding them into flour, was a widespread practice in Europe as far back as 30,000 years ago, or even earlier.”

So the point is not to bash fruit but to be proud of eating starches, it has an amazing and ‘Potato Strong’ history!

Tofu Scramble

Bonnie’s recipe. I love this recipe! It tastes so much like scrambled eggs it’s incredible.

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion diced
1/2 green bell pepper diced
1/2 red bell pepper diced
1 cup of spinach (optional)
1 block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tomato diced
Ketchup (as desired)

Instructions

Slice tofu into cubes then squeeze out water with towel, break up with fork/hands to crumble it. Sauté onion and peppers for 3-5 minutes (no oil, we use a little water to fry onion/pepper). When the peppers are almost cooked add in the spinach if using and cook for a minute or 2 (it will shrink). Add tofu and remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium to cook 5-7 minutes. Eat with chopped tomatoes and/or ketchup. Put in warmed tortilla wrap if desired as well. This is the no oil/cheese version. Eat with some toast, chunky potatoes or hashbrowns.

Lose Weight Fast With These Starch-Based Recipes

Forget what you learned about ‘carbs make you fat’, or that ‘previous low fat diets didn’t work’ (people didn’t really eat low fat during that craze even with all the low fat products). You can get healthy, lean and off all medications by adopting a starch-based diet. Luckily I’ve provided a lot of insanely tasty plant-based recipes, and low in fat. It’s the easiest way to get in shape there is. I go through my various starch-based (and fruit) recipes in this video.

Cajun Sweet Potato Fries

Bonnie’s recipe.

OMG these are so amazing, I am hooked and will be eating them quite often now!

1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large sweet potatoes (for 2 people)

Directions

Bake at 450 degrees F on a 11″x17″ non-stick silpat sheet on top of a baking sheet for half an hour and then optionally broil on high for a few minutes watching carefully until brown. Your oven may take longer but do a test to make sure they’re cooked through before starting to broil. Add a little thyme and rosemary if you wish. Make these with other potatoes as well, we often make them with red potatoes.

Banana Milk

You can easily get off the dairy milk and even cut back on the fat and sugar in many nut milks but making your own quick banana milk. Super tasty.

Blend one ripe banana with 1 cup of cold water and optional drop of vanilla. That’s it!

No Fat Vegan Chili

Bonnie’s recipe.

This is soooo good especially on cold days. A little hot and spicy with the chili mix.

Ingredients
1 540 mL (18 oz) can of tomato sauce
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of tomato paste
1 package chili mix
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 large yellow onion
1 drained/rinsed can of red lentils (can use soy ground round if transitioning from Standard American diet)

1. Dice up your onion peppers
2. Add chopped peppers to large sauce pan (a wok works great) with ¼ cup water instead of oil Let the peppers heat medium high until they are soft add in you onions until they are soft. Add more water if needed. (I use water instead of oil to make if low fat.)
3. Add in your beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste and chili package and stir well.
4. Add the lentils.
5. Serve with some toasted whole grain bread (no margarine).
6. Heat until it bubbles (you must stir often)
7. Use a medium heat to low once all ingredients are added.
Serves 4-6

Crispy No Fat Potato Fries

This is an easy one. Wash 4-5 medium potatoes and cut into wedges or thinner fry shapes, enough to cover a long baking tray. Bake at 450 degrees on a non-stick baking tray no oil or spray for half an hour and then broil on high for a few minutes watching carefully until brown. You can put down a layer of parchment paper as well. Cut the potatoes thinner for more crisp fries. It’s possible to get crispier fries by boiling the potatoes a bit first, but who has the time? 🙂

Eat with ketchup and/or no fat brown gravy. Veggie burger not included or necessary 🙂

Easy Low Fat Vegan Tacos With Crunchy Corn Taco Shells

How I make my quick low fat tacos including baked taco shells. I order the non-GMO corn tortillas from here http://www.latortilleria.ca/products/tortillas-1kg They ship worldwide and make them fresh, in case you can find any locally.

Ingredients:

* 1 19 oz can of diced tomatoes, drain most liquid into another container
* Burrito spice package or 2 tbsp chili powder and 1 tbsp cumin (or less if preferred)
* 1 onion, diced
* 1 can of pinto beans (or black beans, etc)
* 2 cups frozen corn (I use sweet peaches and cream corn)
* 2 cups cooked rice
* 5 baked taco shells, or as many as desired
* 2 tbsp salsa or more as topping for each taco

Instructions:

Put frozen corn and onions in skillet with a little bit of the drained tomato liquid on medium heat. When onions are soft add the diced tomatoes, black beans and cooked rice with the spices. Make sure tomatoes are drained well and add any liquid as needed. Cook for about 15 minutes until everything is hot then add to the baked taco shells. Alternatively steam a couple corn tortillas and make burritos/wraps!

Calories

Mixture (enough for 2 days x 2 people)
19 oz can of diced tomatoes – 150 cals
1 can of black beans – 400 cals
2 cups corn – 200 cals (could use less corn and rice eg 1 cup)
2 cups rice – 400 cals
total = 1150 cals / 2 people / 2 days = 288 cals

5 taco shells – 5 x 50 cals = 250 cals
2 tbsp salsa x 5 tacos x 10 cals = 100 cals (conservative)

Grand total for one person eating 5 tacos = 350 + 288 = 638 cals