Lifestyle

The Way Life Should Be

November 20, 2012 by Raul Colon

Qué Linda Está La Mañana. That’s the start of an old song from Mexico. I say that today. Almost out loud. Before the sunrise. Before the storm picks up again. Before my power outage is restored. Before the cars slosh through the wet streets.

I love the mañanas. They are so peaceful. The Way Life Should Be.

You can hear the birds chirping. The crickets creaking. And, even the train’s whistle miles away. The Way Life Should Be.

In the morning, I am closer to nature. Closer to the peace that eludes far too many of us during the day. Or evening. The Way Life Should Be.

In the mornings, I can soak in prana. Breathe the fresh air. Feel the cool breeze on my bare arms. Wiggle my toes in the sand — without burning them. Or ground my feet in the grass, and feel the dew tickle the souls of my feet. The Way Life Should Be.

Being at one with nature seems so inherent. Yet, nature is almost invisible, today, in my culture. We shut out the nature that is all around us. We destroy our forests and jungles and enclose ourselves inside concrete blocks with windows that are sealed shut. Curtains and blinds further insulate us from our natural surroundings.

People prefer to spend hours and hours in the mall, or surfing for sales electronically. Our fields are tended by mega-monopolies. Not mom and dad.

As we evolve into supra-material beings, we set aside our personal lives. And our interpersonal lives. Relationships are fleeting. Or flittering. Or twittering. We no longer stay with our flocks. Our herds are herd-less.

Our youth seek the packs to stay connected. So they join gangs. Or armies. Or navies. Or seals. They carry weapons. Our kids must pass through metal detectors to go to the classrooms.

In my state, you can vote with a gun license, but not a student ID. War and murders are headlines and story lines in the media, but you have to do a google search to learn about philosophy, love, or how to plant a garden.

In some neighborhoods, you can buy beer around the corner, but no fresh vegetables. It’s easier to join the military than get a full time job. In many big name big box stores, you can buy ammunition, but not an organic apple.

I never understood why Adam and Eve couldn’t eat the apple. Nor why Cain killed Abel. Or was it vice versa? Or am I off a generation? I never understood the bible. But I understood that it sounded like paradise. Adam and Eve … naked … surrounded by nature. In the beginning. The Way Life Should Be. Qué linda está la mañana.

Decisions in Vegan Nutrition

October 17, 2012 by Raul Colon

Many of us have the bad habits of trying to eat things that might not be as healthy as we think they are. In the perfect world everything edible, with moderation, would bring nutritional value. Reality is everything, edible by humans does not necessarily mean nutritious.

I have been vegetarian for 6+ years and at almost one year of being vegan, I can say that I can still find many ways to improve what I eat.

My enemy Sugar

Every once in a while my archenemy, Sugar, starts to battle with me and more times than I want to admit, she wins.

I have found many healthier options when it comes to cookies, but I can still eliminate those options completely.

Vegan Beer and Spirits

Every once in a while I will have a drink or two making sure it is a spirit or beer that is made in a vegan friendly way. I use the Vegan is Easy app to help me decide which ones are vegans and which ones are not. But I would be better off not having any drinks.

To learn more about Vegan friendly spirits and beer, feel free to go to Barnivore Vegan Alcohol Directory and download their iPhone app.

Organic Farmer’s Market is Very Important

For quite some time we have been visiting the local Organic Farmer’s Market and making sure we get as much fresh, organic foods while supporting our local farmers.

My biggest commitment to nutrition is tied to giving a good example for my daughter to follow. In her case at 21 months old she is still breastfed and vegetarian.

As individuals we are prone to take the less healthy route when eating. But when we think about our role as parents, our minds shift and make sure we make the best choice; not only for our daughter but for ourselves as we are the primary caregivers.

Our biggest Challenge is the Family our Dog

I also see the importance in keeping our dogs healthy and the great options of dog food that are available for them. I started thinking on how to improve the quality of lifestyle of my Labrador Juanga. What I find curious is how people would sometimes feed their dog a more strict and healthier diet than what they feed their kids and themselves. In our house it is the opposite and we might need to fix that.

Nutritious and Healthy Drinks

At our local farmer’s market, we purchase juices from Martin and Itege, our Rastafarian Vegan Friends, who are encyclopedias of nutrition. Martin and Itege have a unique way of offering vegan and even medicinal drinks that have great taste and are nutritious.

Leading by Example

As parents we need to lead by example. Seeking options for kids that are fun to eat, with a high nutritional value, and with great taste is a challenge everyone should sign up for.

I try to give my daughter the best and there is a lot more to learn. I think we have done a great job, but we still have many more years of learning and exchanging information with those who care about nutrition.

In what ways do you identify and find great tasting food options that are healthy for your family?

Join @peace_n_loaf for a Slice of Hope

October 9, 2012 by Lucymfel

The ladies at @Peace_n_loaf are teaming up with an industry magazine called, Pizza Today, in a charity event called Slice of Hope. Slice of Hope is dedicated to raising money for breast cancer awareness and is counting with the donations made at participating pizzerias in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Look for participating stores near you.

I spoke to Stephanie and Vanessa at the Organic Markert, (Isa was home sick with a cold) regarding the Slice of Hope charity event for this coming Friday, October 12. They will be open from 3-9 p.m. (their usual hours) and will be donating 15% of their sales to the Karen Mullen Breast Cancer Foundation.

You will be able to purchase your regular sized pies and if you don’t want an entire pie, you can purchase a nice sized piece of pizza with a drink for $5.00. I have eaten at @Peace_n_loaf on several occassions and their slices are not small at all.

Besides who wants to cook on Friday after a long day of work?

If you need further details, you can contact Stephanie or Isa regarding this event on Facebook , via Twitter, or Website.

Plant, Grow, and Eat!

April 2, 2012 by Lucymfel

This is a guest blog post by our friend Dwight Santana. @Slayerkun on Twitter.

Lately I have discovered a passion for plants. Throughout the process I realized that I can plant, grow, and depending what seeds I purchase, eat. Mostly I have been planting flowers and other type of decorative plants, until I tried to grow some plants with actual purposefulness. I mean not to underestimate the miracle that are flowers, but they are mostly decorative, and I wanted something more with a purpose.

Plant and Grow

So on my “gardener” journey, I started experimenting with cultivating some plants that are either edible or they grow some type of produce. I planted herbs, a tomato plant , lettuce, peppers (Regular and sweet), culantro (coriander), mint, “Yerba Buena” (that stuff that looks like mint and it is use to make mojitos but its not mint), “Anis” and Albahaca blanca” (white basil.)

Sweet Peppers Bail Me Out

At first I thought it would just be cool to plant them and grow them and make it a hobby. Until one day I was cooking a potato salad and I realized I had not bought some peppers. In my frustration that I’d have to change to mashed potatoes, I remembered that my sweet pepper plant had flourished!

It had green, red, and some yellowish ones. This was perfect I thought, so I picked them, really cleaned them with some water and soap, an proceeded to use them. Let me just say they were delicious and fresh. But a different kind of fresh; a fresh you can only get from just picked produce.

The fruits of my labor

Then I realized that this hobby had turned into something else, something with an actual purpose. This plant completed my meal and it saved me from running out to the store to buy peppers. This part about not going out saved me gas, supermarket parking fee, time (important) and having to actually buy the peppers that would have costed me around $3 dollars. I thought I could be onto something. The thought that I had was not just in the monetary savings; I knew that they had grown naturally without any help of fertilizers or everything else they are used at the farms. It was easy, fun, and the space I used for them is minimal.

Where I live there’s not that much space for planting but I used pots and they are doing really well.

I also thought this might be a good resource for saving some money and if you are vegetarian it helps a lot since organic food at places like “Freshmart” are more expensive.

Here is an opportunity to actually see what you are growing and what you’re going to eat.

Some plants that can grow fast are: beans, pumpkin, corn and a variety of vegetables. And here on the island many of them have a perfect weather to grow.

I may not be vegetarian, but fruit and vegetable are a great part of my meals, so slowly I might change and start a project, where I can eat just what I plant. I’m betting I’ll be saving a lot when that happens, and the best part, I really don’t need a farm, just some time, pots, and good weather.

All Photo Credits thanks to Dwight Santana!

A year as a Vegetarian

February 20, 2012 by Lucymfel

When I decided to go vegetarian last year around this time, we had just started the Veglatino site, we were about a month in a half into parenthood, and I did not know if I would last the year or break down and pass some kidney stones. Along the way I had encouragement from my partner and our Facebook group friends.

Ask your community about what to eat

I went from cooking with faux proteins and to researching what other natural sources of protein we could by instead of the processed health foods. I read information from sites such as Real Food Tastes Good and learned about cooking without those faux proteins. I also learned that I was missing out on leafy greens and other vegetables not found in our local supermarkets. If you visit Diane’s site, you will learn alot because she is a Holistic Nutrionist with awesome recipes.

I started searching for more information about local organic farmer’s and thanks to our friends at @IsasBread. She inspired us to head out to the local organic farmer’s market and buy greens. The bread she makes is also sold at this market and her vegetarian pizza parlor called Peace n’ Loaf . When we buy bread from Stephanie every first or third Sunday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we make sure we savor every bite.

The number one motivator

When my daughter started to eat solids last year, I researched about whole foods and baby lead weaning. I was able to move her from purees to pieces of food thanks to information on sites like WholeSome Baby Food. The site provided me with charts to print out in order to track what she ate and made me want to seek other grains, vegetables, and greens for her try as she developed last year. With the help from parent mentors such as Gabriel, Sandra, and Chenille, I was able to incorporate new foods at the appropriate times for Daniela.

Earlier this year, I came upon a movement called, WhiteOut by Dr. Allen Greene. This movement re-inforced the action we took of stopping rice cereal after it constipated Daniela when she was six months old during her first week of solids. We had given her sweet potato and rice cereal with breastmilk.

Our poor girl was crying after two days of being constipated. We researched the issue and stopped the rice cereal. We did do barley cereal and then I stopped doing that after about a month. The information that Dr. Greene provides gives new parents modern information about what you should be feeding your child as a first food and staying away from those cereals. You could say it is going back to beginning of time when the first humans had no blenders or baby cubes to put pureed food in.

Eager to learn more about food

The question you are dying to know is, Lucy did you pass any kidney stones since you stopped eating meat?

Yes, I did because I went on a grilled cheese fest for like a week. So I have cut back on cheese consumption but have not gone vegan. I don’t eat as much cheese as I did last year, but I will eat ice cream or cheese every once in a while.

I did not pay much attention to what I was eating or where my food was coming from until I had my daughter. She was one of the motivating factors to change the way I saw, bought, and prepared food. Now that she is almost fourteen months old, everything I put in my mouth she wants to try. I don’t just cook latino inspired recipes for us; we have extended our cooking recipes to span other cultures such as Thai, Indian, Italian, and Japanese.

Since Raul has been moving towards veganism, I have learned how to cook with out butter and creams. I have learned how to substitute eggs for flaxseed and chia seeds. I have to tell you that I made a Vegan Banana Birthday cake and Vegan Lemon Cupcakes for Daniela’s birthday. Our family members enjoyed the cakes with out worrying about all the sugar in a store bought or bakery made cake. I have also made a Vegan Carrot Cake that is to die for Raul’s Uncle’s birthday.

I hope to continue eating as I have been for the last year and taking it one day at a time as I explore a new outlook on food.

Happy Vegetarian Birthday to Me!

Photo by marystonecypher

Reasons Vegetarians & Vegans won’t eat at Many Restaurants

January 22, 2012 by Raul Colon

Lately as we have done our best from consuming processed vegetarian foods and continue to learn more of the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle we have ended up eliminating many of the places where we ate at.

When I first started as a vegetarian I made lots of mistakes. This site has helped as a platform to obligate me into doing more research into becoming vegetarian. Every time I do a bit more of research I find that I have even less places where I can eat outside of the house. Like I explained on a previous post we try to plan ahead when we leave the house especially now as a dad. We need to make sure the little one in our family has meal options available for her.

Over the years we have also eliminated places we ate at, because we validated that the options which where supposedly vegetarian had some type of animal protein or by-product.

Reasons Why Vegans & Vegetarians don’t eat at many restaurants.

1. No Menu Option

The first thing I hear from many restaurant owners is for their patrons to ask the chef or staff if they have a vegetarian and vegan option. In Puerto Rico mentioning you are vegetarian or vegan once you don’t see it on the menu can in many occasions get you nowhere. In some others restaurants like the overpriced, with bad service, poorly themed restaurant and named El Platanar (in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico) where the name of the place means Plaintain Grove. They don’t offer one vegan or vegetarian plate. Making me think should switch the name of the place aligned with steaks and seafood place, so what they offer goes aligns with their name.

Solution: As a restaurant owner offer at least one vegetarian/vegan option on the menu in each course. On many occasions in places like Puerto Rico that will make a vegetarian/vegan choose your restaurant over your competitors who don’t have vegan/vegetarian option.

2. Not Friendly or polite once you mention your diet restrictions.

When I visited “El Platanar” with my family I asked the waiter if they had vegetarian options. I could not believe he got annoyed at the fact that I was asking for vegetarian options on the menu El looking at the Trip Advisor review their waiters seem to have a problem with treating customers with respect. It looked more like I had kicked him in the wrong place or said something nasty about his mom. I quickly got annoyed and decided not to even order a drink at the place. While my uncle and grandma ate , I just sat in my seat waiting for the time to go by where I could leave the overpriced place where the staff was not polite enough to look for options.

Solution: Train your staff to be aware that many people have diet restrictions. I get impressed when I visit a place and one of the first questions from the waiter is asking if any of us have any dietary restrictions. It is a way for your staff to connect with clients and stay away from the risk of serving something that might even put your patrons at risk.

3. Restaurant Staff Not understanding of a vegan / vegetarian diet.

In some cases the staff at a restaurant might be polite but they don’t know what being vegetarian or vegan is about. I had a great experience at a place where they where friendly enough to offer me many options but sadly none of them where vegetarian or vegan. Different to el Platanar when I went to La Casita Blanca (Santurce, Puerto Rico) the staff had such great attitudes that even though I did not eat I invite my non-vegetarian and meat-eating friends to visit the place. It is a unique experience.

Solution: Make sure your staff understands what the term vegetarian and vegan means. This way you make sure your staff is taking care of everyone dietary needs. Even when you have no options for them you can at least have the vegetarians and vegans recommend your place for being polite.

4. Food Preparation is Not Adequate.

In many places the vegetarian meal options and vegetables are cooked in the same place where meat, seafood, and poultry are cooked. If your meal is cooked in the same place and using the same utensils as non-vegetarian meals. Your meal is no longer considered vegetarian and much less vegan. If you are a consumer keep an eye out to where they prepare your food. Pay special attention to fried foods and if you feel uncomfortable ask the management to show you where they will prepare your meal.

Solution: As a restaurant owner separate an area and use different utensils that your vegetarian meals will be prepared without being contaminated by any non-vegan/vegetarian ingredients. The volume of the meals you will prepare is usually small so a small area might do. It will pay off long term with loyal vegan/vegetarian customers which you will gain your trust from.

5. Offering Non-Vegetarian Options as Vegetarian/ Vegan Option.

In many places there is a lot of confusion as to vegetarians eating or consuming seafood. So when I visit them one of the things they offer me is a seafood option. Once I see this it raises a red flag since seafood is nowhere near a vegetarian or vegan option. This is a clear indication that the food that is being prepared might have non-vegetarian or vegan components.

Solution: As a restaurant owner make sure that you review the process and the ingredients you use in creating your meals. Validate that what people are offering as a vegan vegetarian meal option really is one.

6. Not Understanding what components or ingredients are in the plate prepared.

In some occasions there are ingredients that are not vegan or vegetarian friendly. For example if you offer a vegetarian/vegan sandwich and the bread was made with animal shortening or as I call it “Lard” then it is clearly not a vegetarian option. Look out for Gelatin in your meals and items such as marshmallows because those are not vegan or vegetarian either.

Solution: Validate that every ingredient in your vegetarian and vegan plate is vegetarian/vegan. A good example is the duck protein they put in bagels. The name is so complex you would never know the bagel is not vegetarian/vegan.

7. Smell of Meat or Fish is overpowering

The worst for me is to have an overpowering smell of meat and fish. In my hometown of Ponce there is a restaurant that my Grandma and Uncle love to visit. My problem is that they don’t have any meal options but just sitting there and smelling all the fish and meat really makes it an uncomfortable situation for myself.

Solution: If you have options on your menu that are vegetarian/vegan friendly make sure the environment at your place is pleasing enough where those smells that are not appealing to vegans and vegetarians are neutralized.

Overall I invite any restaurant owner to add vegetarian/vegan options on the menu. In most cases it will help move some of the vegetable produce a bit quicker and bring the most loyal clientele you where wishing for.

As a vegetarian/vegan any other factors that make you stay away from a restaurant or food place?