The Vegetarian Resource Group will be having a booth at the Richmond VegFest in Virginia on Saturday, July 9th between noon and 6 PM. Stop by and say hello!

For information on the event, visit:
https://www.veggiefest.org/

By Christiana Rutkowski

As an athlete, it is imperative to fuel your body correctly. Athletes have often been compared to cars. For a car to run efficiently, it needs adequate fuel. And the better the fuel, the better the car runs. The same applies to athletes, especially to runners—running requires energy, focus, and consistency. If runners are not supplying themselves with adequate energy, nutrition, and fuel, they will not be able to perform to the best of their abilities. Not getting enough calories and a lack of nutritious food can result in fatigue, inability to perform, injury, sickness, and other detrimental consequences.

As a runner myself, I know that when I have not eaten enough prior to a run, I definitely feel it. I often feel lethargic, unmotivated, very sore, or experience intense fatigue when I have not consumed enough calories. There is so much to say about nutrition for athletes and runners, but to keep it simple, I will touch on a few snacks that are great not just before a run, but after as well, and throughout the day to keep you satisfied, energized, and content.

Some snack ideas that provide nutrients, calories, and keep you satiated include:
• Toast with any of the following: nut butters, avocado, fruit, jam, jelly, or hummus
• Bagels with nut butters, vegan butter, or vegan cream cheese
• Fruit smoothies with additional items like ground flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, dates, non-dairy yogurt, or vegan protein powder
• Oatmeal with fruit (fresh or frozen), maple syrup or agave, seeds, cinnamon, and nuts
• Trail mix
• Banana with peanut butter
• Whole grain cereal with almond milk (or other non-dairy milks)
• Nutritional bars such as Clif bars, Lara bars, D’s Naturals No Cow bars, and other vegan options (or homemade—check out websites like Oh She Glows and No Meat Athlete for recipes)
• Dried fruit
• Fruit (fresh or frozen) by itself
• Vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, celery, grape tomatoes, and broccoli with hummus
• A pita wrap with vegetables like bean sprouts, tomatoes, bell peppers, shredded carrot, broccoli slaw, spinach, mixed greens, cucumber, shredded lettuce and hummus, as well as avocado
• Juice such as orange juice, apple juice, and grape juice
• Non-dairy vegan yogurt with granola and fruit
• Dates with peanut butter
• Peanut butter and jelly/peanut butter and banana sandwich

Above are just some of many vegan snack options that can be included in an athlete’s/runner’s diet. Not only are they all incredibly tasty, but they are also very easy to pack and carry around in a bag on-the-go as well. Some snacks may require an insulated lunch bag or an ice pack to keep them cool.

Some of my personal favorite snacks to eat before running (and that make me feel best, especially if it is very early in the morning) are either ½-1 Clif bar, dates (preferably Medjool) with peanut or almond butter, fruit (usually bananas or apples), cereal with sprinkled ground flaxseed and almond milk, and/or bagels/toast with peanut butter and banana slices.
If you’re anything like me, I like to eat every 2-3 hours and I snack a lot. To make it convenient, I always bring a snack with me wherever I go. It isn’t hard to pack some trail mix, a banana, an energy bar, other fruit, dried fruit, or things like pretzels and rice cakes. Simply keep some non-perishable items in places like your backpack, your purse, your car, or anywhere else you can easily get access to some food.

The good thing about all of these snack ideas is that they take very little prep and require no fuss. They also are all, for the most part, inexpensive and very easy items to find in your grocery store. I personally am the biggest fan of Clif bars, Clif Builder bars, and D’s Naturals No Cow bars. They’re dense, tasty, and easy to take around.
Make sure to include foods in your everyday diet that provide a variety of micronutrients and macronutrients to help you feel your best and train your best.

For more information, see:
http://www.vrg.org/teen/#athletes
http://www.vrg.org/athlete/

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

VegDining.com is pleased to donate 10% of all VegDining Card purchases by VRG subscribers and supporters during July and August 2016. The VegDining Card is an international vegetarian discount card with over a hundred vegetarian restaurants and other businesses offering discounts to cardholders on their goods and services. Visit VegDining.com to order your card (be sure to mention “VRG” to ensure a donation will be made on your purchase). VegDining is a guide to vegetarian dining, promoting vegetarianism around the world since 1999.

“Do I need to throw away my non-vegan makeup, clothes, and other products once I go vegan, even if I purchased them before going Vegan?”
By Sasha Keenan

As lifestyle choices are personal, every vegan has a unique set of reasons for avoiding animal products. In many cases, this rationale is some combination of ethical, environmental, and health concerns. While some individuals are simply looking to eat plant-based foods, others completely eliminate non-vegan makeup, clothes, and products.

My initial transition to veganism was solely for health reasons and could be classified as a diet change. Previously, I made frequent trips to the McDonald’s drive-thru and snacked on fatty, oily snacks – I felt sluggish and unhappy. After getting very sick, I decided that I needed to alter my diet drastically by going vegan. Because my decision to eliminate animal products from my diet was for my own wellbeing, I did not get rid of my non-vegan makeup, clothes, and products.

About six months into my vegan journey, I began researching non-health related benefits of veganism and watching documentaries such as Cowspiracy and Forks over Knives. After I became aware of the perpetual neglect and abuse animals suffer and how environmentally damaging livestock production is, my passion for veganism grew – I was no longer vegan for me, but for the planet and every being on it. While consuming a vegan diet is the best thing I could do for my body, following a vegan lifestyle was the best thing I could do for the world. Although I already wasn’t eating meat, fish, dairy, or eggs, I no longer wanted to own leather, fur, or products tested on animals because I didn’t want to support the production of these products. I promptly donated every non-vegan product I owned. In other words, I believe that if you’re simply interested in eating a vegan diet, you may not necessarily dispose of your non-vegan products, but if you’re seeking a vegan lifestyle, you should.

Morgan Hubbard, an incoming freshman at the University of Illinois, transitioned to veganism after she discovered her passion for animal sciences and animal rights. Since her decision to go vegan was driven by a moral issue, she said she found herself following a vegan lifestyle and getting rid of her non-vegan products. “I didn’t really use my non-vegan products after going vegan, so I gave them away,” Hubbard said.

When getting rid of non-vegan products, I think it’s important to note that throwing away makeup, clothes, and products that have already been purchased is wasteful. Though she didn’t have many non-vegan products when transitioning to veganism about a year ago, Vegetarian Resource Group Intern Sierra Young said she decided to use up her non-vegan products instead of throwing them away. “I did not get rid of what [non-vegan products] I had because of the waste factor,” Young said.

Christiana Rutkowski, another Vegetarian Resource Group Intern, said she thinks it’s more environmentally and ethically conscious to use up a non-vegan product than to throw it away. “It’s wasteful throwing something out and if you bought it beforehand, just use it until it can no longer be used or give it to a friend.” If you don’t want to make use of your non-vegan products, I think a good solution is to donate these products to Goodwill or, as Rutkowski suggested, give them away to a friend.

Casey Brown, a VRG Intern, said she thinks giving away non-vegan products to non-vegan friends often allows vegans to “discuss issues with their friends and tell them why they no longer support the products.” In addition to creating a platform on which to educate others, giving someone else an already purchased product will prevent the purchase of a new non-vegan product. For example, if a recently-transitioned vegan has a pair of leather boots they want to get rid of and their friend is looking to buy a new pair of leather boots, the vegan can give their friend the boots and prevent their friend from buying a new pair of boots made with leather from another animal. “Giving something non-vegan to a friend or donating it somewhere prevents people from buying a brand new product and further supporting the industry,” Brown said.

What’s your opinion?

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Below are some recent additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at:
www.vrg.org/donate

Arata
108 Main St.
Belfast, ME 04915
Arata opened in a historic building, The Gothic. They serve fresh bowls, buns, and summer dishes along with cocktails and organic wines. Some of their dishes include Heiwa Tofu served with mustard miso, pickled chile, and napa cabbage and Garbanzo Ramen, which is served with kale, chickpeas, and sundried tomatoes. Stop in for healthy, flavorful food in a unique atmosphere.

Nanashake
4750 Yonge St. Unit 134
Toronto, ON M2N 0J6
Nanashake treats are gluten and dairy free and are offered as soft serve or popsicles. Their proprietary ingredients include Fair-trade bananas and nuts. The most popular shake is the Abbogoto, which includes a shot of espresso. Chocolate and strawberry flavors are also popular.

Screamer’s Pizza
620 Manhattan Ave
Greenpoint, NY 11222
Enjoy vegan pizza and calzones! Cheese is made from tapioca and coconut oil and the sausage from seitan and spices. Pizza varieties include Margherita, Hawaiian, and Supreme with DIY slice toppings like almond ricotta, caramelized onion, broccoli rabe, seitan sausage, avocado and kale pesto, with options to go Calzone or Sicilian Style. The house-named, “Screamer,” features garlic oil, cheese, cremini and oyster mushrooms, and homemade almond parmesan. This pizzeria is a partner of Philadelphia’s Blackbird Pizza.

Screaming Carrots
826 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
Screaming Carrots opens mid-morning and serves breakfast where the Tofu Scramble is a popular item. Lunch and dinner service includes the popular Glass Noodles; the noodles themselves are made from green beans, southeast Asian-style, with seasonal vegetables and shredded tofu. Another popular dish is stir-fried vegetables, also southeast Asian-style. Gluten-free options are available. A raw nut shake made from walnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans, coconut, dates, and almond milk is available. You may also choose to start your meal with the mushroom in coconut milk soup.

Seed To Sprout
560A River Rd.
Fair Haven, NJ 07704
Seed to Sprout specializes in vegan food with plenty of raw options as well. Along with their entrees, Seed to Sprout also offers a juice and smoothie bar and baked goods right at their counter. Everything they offer is incredibly tasty, ranging from live, raw Margherita pizza, to their “bacon cheddar” melt, or their many different lattes and smoothies.

Veg Box Café
75 E. Pennington St.
Tucson, AZ 85701
Veg Box Café is not only vegan, but is also entirely soy-free, GMO-free, and gluten-free. Affordable, delicious, and extremely welcoming, Veg Box Café offers tasty food (with raw options!), juices, smoothies, and baked goods. Enjoy a meal of Squash Fettuccine Pomodoro, Sweet Chile Fries, a Mushroom Burger, their “Starburst” Chia Fruit smoothie, or a black bean brownie.

Veganic Thai Café
1417 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Vegan Thai Cafe offers an extensive menu including appetizers, soups, curries (including pumpkin!), noodles & rice, and stir fry. Drunken noodles with mock duck or beef are customer favorites. The curries are also quite popular. Mock seafood, including squid, shrimp, and abalone are also available.

Yard House advertises this burger:
VEGAN BURGER Vegetarian

red quinoa, kale, shiitakes, Daiya mozzarella, avocado, tomato, arugula, onion, miso, onion bun, mixed greens

For more information, see: http://www.yardhouse.com/menu-listing/eat

Jasmine Westerdahl has been involved in promoting vegetarian nutrition and cooking classes in various communities most of her life in both Hawaii and California, including assisting in doing vegan cooking on a television show in Hawaii called Tasty and Meatless. Jasmine is the youth representative and coordinator for her church health committee. She volunteers and coordinates other youth in assisting with community vegetarian cooking classes and lectures.

Patricia Bragg from the Bragg Live Foods Company said, “For the past seven years, Jasmine has been an enthusiastic volunteer for both the Bragg Live Food Products Company and our nonprofit Bragg Health Foundation. For our health product company, Jasmine has represented Bragg at national health food industry trade shows and conferences. She has professionally educated consumers and health food retailers about our line of vegan food products. She also helped test recipes for our vegetarian cookbook and assisted in evaluating new vegan/vegetarian food and beverage product formulations for our company, so that they could be kid tested. Volunteering for our nonprofit foundation, Jasmine represented us at community health education events, lectures and seminars, fairs, and our exhibit booths.” (Also, Jasmine assisted The Vegetarian Resource Group at our booth during the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Meeting and we witnessed firsthand her knowledgeable and professional demeanor.)

Jasmine attended a Seventh-day Adventist school. She said that more than half of her school’s student body are not vegetarian, but she has had the opportunity to educate her classmates about vegetarian diets. A faculty member stated, “Jasmine always is volunteering and helping with community outreach through helping educate about nutrition throughout the community. She is always first to help and last to stay. A leader to me is not always the loudest person but the person who works hard for no credit but to do the right thing. This is in essence Jasmine.”

As a lifelong vegan, Jasmine said, “I have a passion to continue my education through college and university in nutrition with a strong desire to one day be a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who specializes in vegetarian nutrition to my patients and clients. I believe in vegetarian nutrition for both health reasons as well as for the compassion for animals.”

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship for graduating high school seniors is February 20, 2017. For details, go to http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support Vegetarian Resource Group internships and scholarships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

By Christiana Rutkowski

The book Vegetarian Sports Nutrition by D. Enette Larson-Meyer is a comprehensive, well-explained, easy to follow book about eating a vegetarian or entirely vegandiet while participating in athletics, ranging from an elite athlete to a recreational jogger.

This book, 230 pages in length, breaks down common misconceptions and misunderstandings about not consuming meat, dairy, eggs, and other products made from or coming from animals. The book includes many concrete scientific facts, evidence, and easy to understand knowledge to explain to readers just how easy it is to thrive and compete while eating a diet free from many or all animal products.

The best part about this book for me was its inclusion of many different ways to calculate an individual’s caloric needs as well as each individual macronutrient amount appropriate for their own lifestyle. I think something that often happens with athletes is that they underestimate how many calories they need, which can result in issues like low iron, other vitamin deficiencies, inadequate energy, and overall performing or training less than their best.

Not only does this book give basic concepts for consuming a diet rich in plant-based foods, but it also breaks down each contributing factor, providing many pages for each macronutrient (fat, protein, and carbohydrates), bone health, individual vitamins and minerals, physical ailments like muscle cramps and inflammation (and how to combat both), supplements (and whether one should or should not take them), and how to come up with and customize a meal plan based on unique one’s own unique lifestyle and physical activity.

Another difficult area for many that decide to embark on a more plant-based or entirely vegan diet is figuring out what to eat (and how much). Larson-Meyer provides the reader with an endless amount of dietary choices that give a wide variety of foods to make it possible to consume plenty of each macro and micronutrient, while keeping the choices exciting, tasty, and also very easy to attain and/or prepare.

Lastly, what makes this book very interesting is its appeal to not just individuals looking to eat plant-based, but its specific focus for athletes looking to train and compete while refraining from eating animal products. Personally, I feel one of the most important things about transitioning to a more (or completely) vegan diet is educating oneself on the knowledge and science behind it. Especially as an athlete, it is critical to get enough calories coming from a variety of plant-based sources, and this book provides a ton of information and useful knowledge to the reader.

To order Vegetarian Sports Nutrition, go to:
http://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=79

In addition to not eating animal products, vegans do not wear animal products including leather. The Vegetarian Resource Group has an extensive guide to businesses that sell shoes, wallets, handbags, belts, jackets, and more that are made with alternatives to leather. The guide includes companies in the USA and other countries.

Are you looking for vegan work boots, ballet shoes, guitar or camera straps, biking gloves, cowboy boots, motorcycle gear, musical instrument cases, tool belts, iPhone cases, lap top and iPad carrying bags, dance shoes, watchbands, snowboarding boots, rock climbing shoes, and other items? If so, the entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/leather.php

To support the research for this guide, please donate here: http://www.vrg.org/donate

Riley Howard became vegetarian after her sister started ordering vegan literature from PETA. In sixth grade she began bringing pamphlets to school to distribute to students during lunch times. Riley became vegan in eighth grade. She started an animal rights club in high school, which organized campus screenings, bake sales, and vegan potlucks during school. Riley stated, “I’ve found a lot of success modifying my advocacy…I used to show cruelty investigations, but I saw how much more harm that does than good. Instead of having members walk out in the middle of meetings, people stay the whole time, engage in conversation, and perform social media outreach.”

In January of her junior year, she went to Chicago for a month to intern with Mercy for Animals, jumping between office work and outdoor leafleting. She did another internship with them in Los Angeles.

In 2015 at school she organized a screening of Cowspiracy for 200 members from the local community. “I talked to athletic coaches and got them to agree to cancel practice for the screening. Students brought their friends and family.”

She currently had her school agree to add more vegan items to the menu. “They bought a rice cooker, through which they provide self-service rice, quinoa, and other whole grains. They have started offering nutritional yeast and vegan dressings in the salad bar. They’ve agreed to provide a daily vegan cooked meal. Now they sell veggie burgers, portabella sandwiches, vegan grilled cheese, and various vegetables and rice dishes. They also sell vegan sorbet, which has been a huge hit.”

Riley was an apprentice crew leader for the Student Conservation Association in Texas. “I made quite a few vegetable rice/quinoa dishes that were a big hit among all the crew members…I made sure to make food for the group that was not only vegan but tasted good to nonvegans.”

Riley is also a gifted artist. Her work can be found at http://rileyhowardart.tumblr.com/

One reference stated, “Riley does not simply think outside the box; she affirms that there – is in fact – no box. After thirty years as an educator, I have learned that I have not seen it all, because I have never before experienced Riley Howard. Quite simply, Riley gets it. She gets life’s complexities and its redemption. She gets the purpose of compassion. Riley is helping the environment, animals, humans… all those in need.”

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship for graduating high school seniors is February 20, 2017. For details, go to http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support Vegetarian Resource Group internships and scholarships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate