Summer…what a great time to be–or go–vegan. You can enjoy the traditions of cookouts and long days in the sun just as much as your carnivore counterparts. Here are some things to make your summer great. Summer’s all about tasty food, of course. Vegan food writer Bryanna Clark Grogan has thoughtfully compiled some vegan treats perfect for sunny days, including refreshing vegan popsicles and sweet lemon cake. If you’re still hungry, here’s 600 more recipes made just for summer! Trust me, the cucumber salad is fantastic. I haven’t felt energetic enough yet to whip up some avocado ‘mayonnaise,’ but go for it! The free-to-download Summer 2006 issue of Vegan Views can be found, here. And how about... [Read more]

The positive effects of a vegan diet have made the news big time lately, but here is an interesting article that goes further, and specifically researches the amazing effects of vegetables on diabetes. The results are promising, and enough to convince anyone, especially diabetics, to eat more than just the recommended ‘5 servings a day.’ Even better news: vegetables are also powerful warriors against cancer, but it’s important not to smoke, or these benefits may be erased. Chomping on a few vegetables may help ward off diabetes. That is according to a new study at the Minnesota School of Public Health. Inside these and other orange, red, and green foods like carrots, tomatoes, kale, and spinach are caroteniods. Those carotenoids... [Read more]

Now here’s a study finding I can support: that a vegan diet is a powerful weapon in the fight against diabetes. Well, of course it is. I firmly believe that no diet on earth is healthier. With a vegan diet, there’s no need to count calories or fat grams: everything is already perfectly balanced. People with type 2 diabetes who ate a low-fat vegan diet lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than those on a standard diet for people with diabetes, according to a new study.Those on the vegan diet lowered their cholesterol more and had better kidney function, according to the researchers at universities in the US and Canada.The Diabetes Association diet is a calorie-restricted one, with the vegan diet focusing on high fibre... [Read more]

Well, you may be thinking (especially if you know me) that’s a matter of opinion! But seriously, a lot of people resist becoming vegetarian, fearing that they will be viewed as weird or extreme. And some people, especially parents of vegetarian wannabes, fear that their children won’t get enough nutrients. Never fear: vegetarians aren’t kooky! But for some parents, vegetarianism smacks of kookiness. They conjure images of half-starved 1960s-era hippies in bell bottoms munching bean sprouts. For the American Dietetic Association (ADA), there’s nothing kooky about being vegetarian. A vegetarian diet provides the nutrients people need to be healthy, the association contends. In fact, a vegetarian diet can be healthier than... [Read more]

Often, the advice you find about switching to a vegetarian diet is to ‘ease into it’ gently. (I always thought that sounded dirty, don’t you?) But anyhow, it’s certainly worked for thousands of people. Others, like myself, have to jump right in with the ‘cold turkey’ approach, or we’d never get around to it. Here’s a good article with some helpful tips on making the transition. Check it out, and I’d love to hear about your experiences: How did you make the transition, slowly or all at once? Are you in the middle of the conversion now? Do you have any– or need any– advice? The American Dietetic Association has some suggestions for people who would like to make the change to a vegetarian... [Read more]