How many fruits should you eat a day?

0

A quick search in the internet results in a good amount of theories that in average go from 2 to 4 fruits a day, with some really fantastic exceptions of 6 fruits! But they all came with a warning… if you want to lose some weight don’t go beyond 3, that means that more than 3 fruits a day is like having a dessert, you can do it, but only if you don’t have weight issues, really? Fruit?

In my life the nutritionists I pass through always advice-me something similar, 2 to 3 portions of fruit a day, with explanation tables about what really is a portion of fruit… because 1 banana is in fact 2 portions, hey I cannot live without bananas, so in the day I would only eat 1 banana and some other piece of fruit!!! OMG, but is fruit! Why?

I have never heard someone say - poor guy, he dead of heart attack because he eats to much fruit :O or, she’s fat because she eats to much fruit! In fact I think that everyone agrees that will be strange to hear something like that!

To you think the mother monkey teaches his baby not to overload in fruit?! :D
Using one of my days as example I ate 4 bananas (8 portions of fruit!), 2 slices of casaba melon (2 portions) and 3 kiwis (3 portions)… OMG in my entire day I ate about 13 portions of fruit – about 630 calories!!! I must be really fat! X)


That’s terrible, 4 bananas? That’s too much!


But eating all alone a medium pizza or even family size … that’s not so strange right? However even a small pizza (the ones we give to our children) has in average more calories than all the fruit I eat – cronometer data. Do you want to compare the nutrition in both options? Is anyone that thinks that 630 calories of fruit are the same of 630 calories of pizza?


Some days I will eat less fruit and other I eat more… I just eat what I feel like and that is damn good!



Be kind, be vegan! (and eat your fruit!)

Ler Mais

Chinese cabbage juice!

0

Usually I make my juice at the night before, ideally you should do it right before consuming, but I followed the premise, that a 10 hour juice is better than no juice at all! (I use a slow juicer!)

This juice has a really fresh flavor and gets eveb better with a lot of Chinese cabbage; this is a really complete vegetable, in only 100 gr (16 calories) contains 13% DRA calcium and 48% DRA K vitamin!

Unfortunately I didn’t remind of taking a picture of the juice itself, but… it's green! :O

For two portions the ingredients are:

1 chinese cabbage

2 cucumber

8 celery stalks

4 apple

In my juices I usually go with apples or pears, which gave me a lot of juice and are real inexpensive. I save the “good fruit” to eat solo!

Be kind, be vegan! (this weak I dare you to start at least on day with a great juice :p)

Ler Mais

Being vegan is hard?

0

There are some questions and comments that all vegan eventually hear sooner or later, beyond that just usual questions about protein! :D

Being vegan is really hard? Is not hard not to eat meat/cheese/milk? It’s not complicated going to parties? And family dinners? Must be really annoying! You cannot eat anything! It’s really complicated! And the comments about how hard and sad being vegan are many… Seems that’s almost impossible!

Yes, it’s true, be vegan its extremely difficult, in fact more than most people think!

No, is not difficult not to eat, meat, cheese, milk, and all that derivatives!

No, is not hard to eat only side dishes in restaurants!

No, is not hard to eat bean cans in family dinners!

But, what is really difficult and painful is the knowledge! Is knowing what animals pass through, is the understanding that every time I breed there’s an animal dying, an animal living in outrageous conditions, an animal that is in suffer, in pain and afraid, there’s a baby being taken from his mother, there’s an animal being pushed, beaten, mistreated… and I continued breeding, doing my live, smiling… and they continue to suffer and die, without even get the chance to live!

What is really revolting is see people around you going against the universal commandment “should not kill”, is seeing people with their mind so blurred by what society says its correct, that for them appears normal sent animals to torture houses, that appears natural kill just to satisfy their taste buds, when their body don’t even need it!

love one and eat the other

What really confuses my little head is seeing people protecting some animals and eating others… do you ever imagine a dog living in the same conditions as pigs do? Being beaten? Living without even be capable of moving? Being killed? Do you ever imagine a dog hanging by their paws with blood running? His skin being pulled? Is this less revolting if we were talking about a pig? Pigs are in fact more intelligent than dogs, so… how do you establish the difference? It’s because at your own eyes one is prettier than other?

Even more confusing? People that finds pigs and cows videos so sweet and then they eat them anyway!

It’s really hard being vegan, like was really hard for the ones that fight against slavery or women’s rights… it’s always hard when you see injustice and you don’t have the power to end it up and no one else seems to care, but even harder is being the victim.

Being vegan is really hard, but for the animals its much worse!

Be kind, be vegan!

Ler Mais

Fast food? So good!

0

Sometimes all you need is a fast food dinner! Really? Yeah!

And it’s all!

Be kind, be vegan!


Just kidding! :D

The man of the house had an brillant idea…let’s go eat an hamburger!

Ok… and how do you want to do this?

The final answer:

Tofu burger with a big mushroom in the place of the bread, with baked sweet potato! All this accompanied with homemade ketchup (no sugar! Just dates) and a carrot and orange juice! Just wonderful!

Almost forget… also some orange just for an extra flavor and C vitamin!

Now let’s deconstructed the “recipe”:

Mushrooms – just go to the oven

Tofu – braise an onion (without oil, just a tbsp. of water) and then cook the tofu (already catted in slices) with your favored spices (we used soy sauce, cumin, pepper, garlic and ginger)

Potatos – cut in sticks, involve in mash dates (just take da dates to the food processor and ad some water if necessary!), some breadcrumbs with herbs and some more herbs :p (oregano, basil…). Put the sticks in the oven tray, all separated (not all mixed together) and just take to the oven about 20 minutes (you can turn them at half time for even better results!). 

Carrot and orange juice – 3 oranges and 8 carrots

Homemade ketchup – choose a receipt you like and for a healthier option just switch the sugar by mash dates!

That’s all you need to give yourself a big burger with chips and ketchup!

I can guarantee that in the day after this meal I wake-up feeling well and light… nothing about that burning feeling and bloated belly that you have when you're eating trash food!

Be kind, be vegan!

Ler Mais

Zucchini and parsley smoothie

0

1 zucchini
80 gr red cabbage
40gr parsley
5gr mint
2 bananas
1 orange

Put everything in the food processor, and add water until it reachs the texture you want.

For me, the final product was about 2 liters, then I divided in two snacks (morning and afternoon)! If your food processor, like mine, doesn’t take that much quantity, just fill to the maximum, and then add some water directly to the bottle that you use to drink.


I know that doesn’t look great, but is really sweat and fresh! Even better, this smoothie have about 10 gr of protein, 30% DRA iron and 37% DRA calcium (data from chronometer).

It’s also full of other vitamins and nutrients, but I already know that calcium and iron are the big vegan concerns. So with only this smoothie you will get about 1/3 of your recommended daily amount for calcium and iron!


There is about 372 calories in this smoothie; I’m against counting calories, and even less in fruit and vegetables, but if you really want to decrease that value (but why? Don’t do it!) Without losing the entire nutrient just leave 1 banana outside, but I warn you, that will lose part of the sweetness and satiating power! ;)

Just don’t take the parsley, because the nutrition is there, believe it or no!t :D

Be kind, be vegan!

Ler Mais

VEGGIE BOWL – POTATO AND KETCHUP SALAD

0

I take lunch to work almost every day for three main reasons:

1) In the restaurants around my work place the vegan options are limited to side dishes

2) I like to have control over what I put in my mouth (and subsequently in my body), the fact that a dish is vegan doesn’t mean that is healthy, and eat restaurant food every single day doesn’t seem healthy to me (more salt , more oil and less vegetables!)

3) Well… it’s cheaper :D

I like to eat in big quantities, I need that feeling of “i’m so full” in the end of a meal, in other case I will pass all the time binging. 

But like so many people, when I eat a lot a weigh a lot also! ups!

How to work it out? 

Wow, that’s a big salad, is that a bucket? 

Yes is almost a bucket, but is much more than a salad! 

Inside this bucket you will find:

1 tomato

Roasted potato with skin (no fat added)

½ avocado

1 leek

½ bell pepper

Parsley (15 gr) – parsley is really reach in iron, so I weigh it just to be sure that I use a lot!

Carrot, beet and red cabbage shredded (until is full) 

Everything mixed with 2 to 3 tablespoons of homemade Ketchup! Just because is a salad that doesn’t mean is not tasty! :p

This lunch has about 440 calories and makes me feel totally full. Also has about 37% DRA of IRON. 

I always heard that a salad is not a meal, and that makes all sense if you think about the tinny lettuce salads I normal see people eating, but if you think in a huge and complete salad full of nutrients… than a salad can be a perfect meal! But make it big!

To be truth since I start eating real food I always use bigger containers for my portions! 

When I think about lunch time I get excited right away, because I know I will have a big and satisfying meal. This kind of bowl also takes some time to be eaten, which is grate, and you are capable to fill your stomach and your brain with good food. 

Try to eat the same 400 calories of process food, in five minutes you will have eaten all, and your stomach will not be even close of full… so you will still be hungry!

And above all, who doesn’t like potatoes with ketchup? :O

Note: for the ketchup just find a receipt that you like and then substitute the sugar for mash dates, and you will get a healthy version!

Be kind, be vegan!

Ler Mais