My take on health and eating is more about weight management and a healthy body. I don't buy all this 'gluten is bad for you', 'cow's milk is bad for you' stuff. Humans have survived for centuries by including both in their diets, and I'm not planning to quit now. I do, however, see wisdom in 'clean' eating - avoiding overly processed stuff in favour of 'whole' foods. Which brings me to Gwyneth's book.
It's a fun read. The recipes make sense. While the men in my house put their noses up over the Kale and Almond Smoothie (pg 207), it's taste was ok, even if the grainy texture took some getting used to. Many of the ingredients in the book are not things I already have in my cupboards. Yesterday, E & I journeyed to Whole Foods to hunt for obscure ingredients (like Miso paste which I still haven't found). Today, I discovered that we could have saved ourselves the trip because No Frills carries at least half of them at lower prices. Regardless, we will be celebrating Canada Day with Cauliflower and Chick Peas with Mustard and Parsley (pg 173). Tuesday will be Vegan Shepherd's Pie (pg 240). Not all the recipes in the book are vegan. They're just all about unprocessed tasty food, and my plan for July is to cook my way through as many of them as I can.
So where is my stream-of-consciousness going? Back to the idea of healthy eating. Going Vegan doesn't appear (to me anyway) to be at all related to weight loss. In fact, I think it could be quite the opposite. Tonight, we ate dinner at a super place in Toronto called the Hogtown Vegan. We'd seen it profiled on "You Gotta Eat Here" and I thought it would be a treat for our vegetarian. The flavours were good, the portions were good, the prices were good. I would go back. But if a vegan is trading high-in-iron-low-in-fat beef for wheat-meat seitan (a bread-like product which mimics the flavour and texture of beef), he's gaining calories, but not necessarily an equal complement of vitamins and minerals. I think I'll stick with beef.
So here's to my summer project: avoiding overly processed stuff (just say no to iced caps and choc chip frapps) and choosing instead fruit and veg and lean protein. I'll experiment with the no gluten thing and see if my body notices a positive difference. It already knows it doesn't like McDs or hotdogs or chips anymore. And if anyone knows where I can find miso paste, please point me in the right direction - I'd be grateful.
