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Get *SAUCED* With Sass!

Dear Sassy,
I follow a gluten, dairy, egg, soy and nut free diet. Is it possible to be vegan?
-- Lisa, Dayton, New Jersey

Hi Lisa,

Many people these days are elimating gluten from their diets, usually because of allergies or food sensitivities. Vegans, as you probably know, avoid animal products including meat, dairy and eggs. And there's a growing number of Vegans who are choosing to eliminate soy from their diets as well.

Your situation is interesting in that you'd like to eliminate all of the above, plus nuts.

I'm not sure if your reasons for avoiding these foods stem from allergies, but there are likely more than a few others who have read your words and feel the same as they themselves suffer from gluten or soy food allergies and would like to maintain a vegan diet.

However, allergy-free vegan diets are not my specialty by any stretch of the imagination. So I'd like to take a step back and shine the spotlight on those with special knowledge in the area of living with a gluten-free and/or soy-free vegan diet.

One such person is Laura Bruno, who suffered from, and overcame, many allergies. You can find an article she's written by following this link:

Vegan Food Allergies

Be sure to read the entire article and follow all the links within. Among them, you'll find information about a book entitled The Food Allergy Survival Guide by Vesanto Melina, MS, RD, Jo Stepaniak, MS Ed and Dina Aronson, MS, RD (who have all becoming my heroes due to their collective well-researched books).

This article will be a wonderful place for you to begin your search.

Wishing you all the best, Lisa.

Dear Sassy,
About the Omega 3 EFA's [Essential Fatty Acids], there are vast amounts of research being conducted which ignore vegetable sources and instead look at fish oil, and often information implies that fish oil is the only way to get sufficient amounts of Omega 3's.

While I have known for some time about the vegetable sources, I have wondered if there is a question of bioavailability when in seeds.

Also I have seen in the past claims that the proportion of Omega 3's in flax and hemp is almost twice that of oily fish. Can you confirm or do you know where this is referred in scientific literature?
-- Grey, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Hi Grey,

Bravo to you for giving so much thought to the topic of Essential Fatty Acids in the diet. This is a topic that seems to be growing in importance every year as more and more people are wanting to learn all they can about these very important healthy fats, the Omegas.

Take a peek at this link and you'll notice that 2 Tablespoons of flax seeds provides us with over 140% of the amount of Omega 3 we need for the day.:

World's Healthiest Foods - Flax Seeds

Compare that to 4 ounces of cooked salmon...

World's Healthiest Foods - Salmon

...which provides us with 83% of the amount of Omega 3 we need for the day.

So, it seems that your research is correct. Flax seeds can, indeed, provide us with almost double the amount of the Omega 3s as fish.

Most people eat fish because they like the taste -- they're not usually aware of the health benefits of Omega 3s or how important these fats are to proper brain function.

But most people who are eating these fish are also not aware of some of the drawbacks -- fish is high in animal protein which can set up unnecessary calcium withdrawal from our bones in order to level out the acid pH in our blood which animal proteins cause.

So, in my opinion, because flax seeds can provide the Omegas we need, without ingesting these calcium-sucking animal proteins, then that seems to me to be the best option.

[That's always been the main focus of my studies -- researching the best way to get the vital nutrients we need without resorting to animal products.]

There are many differing opinions out there about whether or not one's diet should include oils. Personally, I try to avoid oils whenever possible, except for a small amount of extra-virgin olive oil and coconut oil which my research has shown is actually healthy for us.

Might I suggest, instead, turning to ground seeds? The grinding process helps the seeds to digest more easily allowing our bodies to utilize the nutrients more readily. Daily, I recommend a mixture of seeds (1 part sunflower, 1 part pumpkin, 1 part sesame and 2 parts flax) because this mixture provides the amounts of Omega 3 AND Omega 6 that we need in the proportions we need them. Grind 1 Tablespoon of the seed mixture and add to your morning breakfast grains, and then grind 1 more Tablespoon of the mixture and add to soup, salad, or rice/grains later in the day.

Hope this helps, Grey.

For more information about Essential Fatty Acids, please visit a 3-part article entitled Vegan Fats of Life.

Dear Sassy,
I am limited on the vegetables I eat. I stick mostly to green beans, salad greens, tomatoes, eggplant,and raw peppers, celery, carrot etc. Mostly I eat a variety in soup. I don't eat meat and am trying my hardest to give up dairy. Is it ok to eat the veggies I eat with whole grains such as whole wheat pasta, quinoa and whole wheat couscous? During the day its hummus, or peanut butter sandwiches or soup. Am I too limited to be healthy?
-- Kim, Montville, New Jersey

Hi Kim,

It looks like you're doing a fantastic job of getting lots of variety in your diet in the form of raw and cooked veggies and whole grains. The hummus and peanut butter is providing you with some fabulous proteins too (as long as that's natural peanut butter and not the commercial and junk-foody versions such as JIF or Skippy).

But there are a couple "nutritional gaps" that I see that should be very easy (and inexpensive) for you to fill.

First of all, I recommend you add beans to your diet. Having beans ready to go makes it easy to just toss them into some whole grains or soups, or simply flavor them and eat them on their own. Beans are an excellent source of vegetarian fiber and protein. They're a very important food.

Next, I'd like to recommend adding in some fruit. It's always recommended to eat the fruit on its own, but if that's hard to imagine then adding some bananas to cereal, or blueberries to pancakes, or simply whipping up some fruit into a delectable smoothie will do the trick.

Finally, as discussed in the letter above, sprinkling ground seeds over your breakfast grains, pasta dishes or quinoa will give your body the Essential Fatty Acids it needs to thrive.

Please be sure to check out my Top 10 Nutrition Tips which you might find very helpful -- and it may surprise you to learn that you've got most of the tips covered already!

Keep up the good work, Kim. :O)

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

This recipe is definitely a winner and a client favorite. Very flavorful, warming and delicious.

Traditional Japanese Miso Soup
Serves 4-8