Veggie Recipe

Most people who don’t know anything about the vegetarian lifestyle think that is must be pure drudgery being a vegetarian and giving up meat. That is a misconception because even though meat is not a part of a vegetarian diet, it isn’t about what you are going without, it is what is in your diet and in your life that makes a vegetarian lifestyle work so well. If you actually interviewed a vegetarian, the last thing they would say is that they are all about not eating meat. Instead they are about living in healthy way in a way that is at peace with the environment and with their own bodies.

The body of knowledge about vegetarians that most people don’t know is pretty astounding. Most people do understand the basic three reasons someone becomes a vegetarian which are health, animal rights and spiritual or moral reasons. But there are a number of side benefits and little secrets only vegetarians know that if they became popularized, the flood of converts to vegetarianism would be overwhelming. Some of those little secrets includes :

1.Vegetarians are not depressed as much as others because they know some secrets to overcoming depression naturally.

2.Vegetarians do not struggle with weight issues as much as others.

3.Vegetarians are better informed about nutrition and know how to make the most of what they eat.

4.Vegetarians sleep better, are more energetic and need less sleep than meat eaters.

5.Vegetarians have a much reduced incidence of cancer, heart disease and digestive disorders.

6.Vegetarians live longer than meat eaters.

One secret vegetarians know that gets almost no press is the power of walnuts. There is a little known chemical in walnuts called serotonin that is a powerful antidepressant. Now you can get your doctor to prescribe an artificial anti depressant which can cost you a lot of money and put you at risk for chemical dependency. Or you can make a nice hot cup of tea with walnut as part of the mix. About half a walnut shell mixed in with your regular tea brew fills the drink with serotonin. Taken regularly, you will feel the effects of a chemical pick me up that can combat depression very effectively.

Another little secret of vegetarians runs against the normal rules of dieting to get the full value of nutrients you might expect from eating a salad. Diet theory would have you use no salad dressing or at very least a zero fat or low fat salad dressing. Vegetarians who are more in touch with the effects of foods in their bodies know that the real value of eating salad are the natural nutrients in leafy vegetables called carotenoids. But science has shown us that the best way to pull cerotenoids from green vegetables is to use a higher fat salad dressing. So enjoy that fatty dressing because your vegetarian lifestyle will deliver plenty of weight loss value to you even with this small indulgence that can do you so much good.

Speaking of tea, green tea is often a staple of a vegetarians diet because of the little health secrets buried in this amazing drink. Green tea has powers to help your digestive system, help combat depression and to accelerate weight loss that ancient cultures like the Chinese and India have known for centuries. Vegetarians have caught up on this secret of health knowledge ahead of us so its time well learned from their wisdom.

These are just a few of the wisdom of the ancients that have been rediscovered by the modern vegetarian “craze”. But it really isn’t a craze because once you start living a healthy life cashing in on these many benefits a vegetarian lifestyle will give you, you will never want to go back.





By: Paul Hata

Usually, when you think of vegetarians, you think of people who avoid eating any type of animal flesh including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, etc. There are several types and variations to vegetarianism. While many of the vegetarians are lacto ovo vegetarians who will everything but any kind of meat, some others will avoid eating eggs and dairy products and others will say no to beef, pork and poultry but will include fish and other seafood in their diet.

1) Lacto Ovo Vegetarians:

The most common type of vegetarians is the lacto ovo vegetarians. Lacto is the Latin word for milk and ovo means eggs in Latin. The lacto ovo vegetarian do not eat any kind of meat including beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, etc. However, they will eat dairy products and eggs.

The lacto ovo vegetarian category is divided into two categories:

a) A Lacto Vegetarian does not eat meat and eggs but does eat dairy foods.

b) An Ovo Vegetarian does not eat meat and dairy products but does eat eggs.

2) Pescatarias:

The pescatarian or pescetarian are vegetarians who avoid eating meat but will continue eating fish and shellfish. The rationales behind the pescatarian diet are varied. Many choose this lifestyle for health concerns rather than ethical reasons. While others would claim that the fish industry is less cruel than the meat industry. Others will simply justify their decision by arguing that fish are less intelligent than farm animals.

Dedicated vegetarians would put the pescatarian under the category of semi vegetarians. In the same category you can find the pollo vegetarians who will include poultry in their diet, the flexitarianism who will avoid eating meat that derived from an animal that was brought up and died in cruel conditions. The flexitarianism are similar to the freeganism that would not mind eating any type of meat unless any part of its process involved environmental damage or human or animals exploitation.

3) Vegans:

They do not consume any product that was derived from animals including, of course, any kind of meat, fish, dairy products, eggs as well as honey and foods that contain gelatin. Some vegans would not touch cane sugar, beer and wine since animal products involve in the finishing process: cane sugar is filtered with bone char and some beer and wines are clarified with egg white. As part of the vegan ideology, vegans would not consume products made of leather, furs, pearls, etc.

4) Raw Vegans:

Also called raw foodists limit themselves to unprocessed food that has not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 degrees Celsius. Therefore, their diet mainly consists of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. However, some of the raw foodists do consist raw food that was derived from animals in their diet including raw eggs, unheated dairy products and sushi.

5) Macrobiotics:

The macrobiotic diet is part of the macrobiotic methodology that was originated in Japan. The macrobiotics practitioners follow strict diet rules based on the principle of balance between yin and yang. The macrobiotic diet is based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and soy products. They are allowed to include seaweed and certain types of fish in their diet.





By: Patty Stevens

Vegetarian bodybuilding has been in existence for a long time. Many bodybuilding greats have done it while being vegetarians. But not many are aware of the fact that vegetarians can be bodybuilders too.

Common people always associate bodybuilding with meat, meat products and meat proteins. Those big muscles need beef, lamb, chicken, pork and fish is what people generally think. So, the concept of vegetarian bodybuilding seems very remote to them.

Vegetarianism has been around for a long time. But it has taken off in a big way in the West only in the recent times. Only now, people are becoming aware of the fact that vegetarianism can be a way of life.

About 10 years ago I was in the UK. A doctor friend of mine from Portugal was amazed that I could live with out meat in my diet. He was sure that my family, all vegetarians were some kind of freaks. He just could not get around the fact meat and meat products were not essential for living.

So, imagine the amount of skepticism that would greet the concept of vegetarian bodybuilding. But contrary to mainstream belief vegetarian bodybuilders have long been there and have been very successful too. There are many myths to vegetarian bodybuilding. The first and foremost myth is that you simply can’t replace the proteins available in meat.

The truth is plant proteins are just as effective. You can safely get all the protein you need through eggs, dairy products and legumes. Protein supplements like whey proteins concentrates will round off all you need for vegetarian bodybuilding.

Another myth is that certain nutrients like iron, zinc and vitamin B12 is available only in meat. That’s right but nutritional supplements with this nutrients added can effectively supply you what you require for vegetarian bodybuilding. Vegetarians can not grow muscles is another myth that’s not true at all.

Protein supplements like whey and glutamine are great muscle food. Drinking a protein supplement shake immediately after an intense workout helps develop beautiful muscles even for vegetarians. Muscles are not dependant on meat products. It is the proteins they require. Plant and dairy proteins are as effective as meat proteins.

The other myths include vegetarians cannot be healthy. The truth is vegetarians are usually healthier than people who eat meat and meat products, which contain a lot of harmful fats that clog the arteries. Studies and medical research has proved this time and again. So, vegetarian bodybuilding is actually much more healthy way to grow muscles.

Vegetarian bodybuilding is healthy, effective and natural way to grow muscles





By: Mike Parker