Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [39]
Figure 6-1: A guide to healthy, vegan eating.
Seasonal veggies
In the last 100 years, modern technology has created a seasonless supermarket. Global transportation systems and long growing seasons in places like California and Florida have created a situation where you can get pretty much any kind of food you want at any time. But is this style of eating healthy?
By choosing to eat local and seasonal fruits and vegetables for most of your needs instead of produce that was grown in another hemisphere and shipped halfway around the world to your table, you accomplish several goals at once. Not only are you supporting local economies and farmers, you’re actually getting better nutrition. As soon as most fruits or vegetables are harvested, they start losing nutrients. The fresher the better — and an apple grown in New Zealand takes at least a few days to get to the United States!
Eating seasonally also keeps your body in tune with the natural variations in temperature that occur throughout the year. Eating raw fruits and vegetables in the summer makes sense as it keeps your body cool and allows you to take advantage of local produce. Choose heartier fall and winter produce during the colder months. The foods growing near you in these darker days are recommended in the Ayurvedic and Macrobiotic culinary and medical traditions to keep your body healthy through the cold and flu seasons.
Eating some frozen blueberries or canned tomatoes in the winter won’t immediately cause you to catch a cold. Still, focusing on local, seasonal produce will fortify you with nutrients and energy needed at certain times of year. Let the seasons help guide your choices:
In spring, focus on leafy vegetables that really embody the new energy of the season, including green chard, spinach, lettuces, and herbs like basil and parsley.
Summer is abundant with natural cooling foods from Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, such as berries, summer squash, zucchini, watermelon, corn, pears, cilantro, and peppermint.
The harvest of fall and winter vegetables, such as carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squashes, and warming spices (cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and curry powder), brings more warming energy to the human body.
Sea vegetables
When I think nutrient-dense food, I think sea vegetables. These gems of the ocean are incredibly valuable for vegans and anyone who wants to be truly healthy and vibrant. While the American palate may not be used to the taste of sea vegetables, or seaweed, cultures like Japan, Iceland, Ireland, China, and many others have been using native sea vegetables for centuries.
Sea vegetables provide the widest variety of minerals available of any food group, including all the minerals that are found in human blood and, not coincidentally, the ocean. A great source of iron, calcium, vitamin K, iodine, and B vitamins, several sea veggies also are good sources of magnesium and cancer-fighting lignans. Lignans are phytoestrogens that have antioxidant activity and have been shown to protect the body from certain cancers, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease. Used for inflammatory conditions, cancer treatment and prevention, and to boost the immune systems, sea vegetables also are a source of plant protein.
Hundreds of types of sea vegetables are edible, and because of their recent uptick in popularity, they’re becoming easier to find in grocery stores, health food stores, and ethnic markets. Just a small amount, about 2 to 3 tablespoons, every day of the following is beneficial:
Nori: Popular because of its role in making sushi rolls. You can buy this dark, green-black paper in page-sized sheets. It’s easy to carry around for snacks and lunch — just snip a sheet with kitchen scissors to add to your meal. No other preparation is needed.
Arame: These little black wires are mild tasting compared to other sea veggies. Wash arame