Sunday, March 13, 2011

just a note

I just received a nice little note from Jessica (thanks Jessica!) who just returned from her first vegan Walt Disney World trip. She wanted to let me know that it looks like the new Angus Burger brand multi-grain buns are now the "standard" on veggie burgers. They may put butter on them, so you'll still want to make sure you clarify with someone what you're getting, but in my opinion, this is a step in the right direction. I am hoping that we can get back to the point where ordering a veggie burger for a vegan doesn't require jumping through so many hoops. These are not gluten-free, so if that's an issue, you'll still need to request the gluten-free roll.

On a totally "non-Disney" topic, I thought I'd share a bit of vegan advice. While I certainly hope that no one is using my blog as the "end all, be all" guide-map for going vegan, I know that there are some relatively new vegans that do find their way here. Going vegan is a big move - it can have a lot of effects on your body, both good and bad, especially if you're not careful. There are some very important vitamins that *everyone* needs, but that vegans in particular must be careful about, because a vegan diet can be less "well-rounded" and miss out of some of these essentials, such as vitamin B, and Omega-3 fatty acids. It's critical that you do your homework before making this change.

But what I wanted to share is the amazing properties of flax seed oil. This nice little product isn't cheap (my "regular" grocery store carries it, but they want $9.99 a bottle!), which is why I found an alternate source for my Omega-3's for a while. I wish I hadn't. I have since gone back to putting about a tablespoon of flax seed oil on my dinner every night. You do have to be careful with this stuff - it can go rancid quickly, so you have to keep it refrigerated, and you can't cook with it. I just drizzle it over my veggies or pasta, after the food is prepared. It has a light, nutty flavor, and usually I don't even notice it. But I have to tell you that I can actually *see* a difference with this stuff.

While this hasn't been "verified by the FDA", or whatever it is they say, I have heard that it's good for your hair and nails... and now I'm absolutely convinced of it. My hair and nails used to be great, but had both gotten really bad recently. My hair was dried out, frizzy... just didn't look healthy. And my nails were breaking left and right, so soft I couldn't do anything with them. Finally one day it hit me... that the down-hill slide seemed to have happened after I stopped taking flax seed oil. So, I grabbed some at my earliest convenience, and I'm once again making it a part of my daily ritual. And slowly but surely, both my hair and nails are improving.

There may be other "wonder products" out there, but if you're a vegan who's struggling with bad hair and/or nails, it might be worth a try. (Look for the stuff that says "with lignans".)

Next post, Germany.

2 comments:

Dreslaine said...

Hi Kitty -

Just found your blog; I don't know how I missed it. I've only gone back to November 2010, but really enjoyed reading it, though we're not vegans. I've bookmarked it.

Dreslaine

Rob (rrego@nova.edu) said...

The best Vegan Omega-3 that I have found is Vegan Omega Shake from Nutra Origin. One of the things lacking in Flax and other Vegan Omegas is the DHA component which is only founds in Fish or Sea Veggies... It is also one of the most important. This uses Algae oil for the DHA, and is the only liquid form I have found of DHA (There are also Vegan DHA pills that you can get as well.. but it is only DHA--This shake has every omega needed plus DHA). It says it is Pomegranate/blueberry and "delicious", but it does not taste very good, but you only need 1 tablespoon a day.. so my girlfriend and I take our tablespoon and have a glass of juice nearby to quickly chase it down with. You can mix it into smoothies and things as well. I have it sent directly from the Nutra Origin website.. I'm sure it's available at Whole Foods as well.. but it is not very expensive online and free shipping. The website is nutraorigin.com I believe.