Not All Vitamins Are Vegan

This is post I have been wanting to do for a while. I am always learning something new about being a vegan. Throughout my journey one of the things I learned was that the vitamins I was taking were not Vegan. I was not happy about that when I found out. I started doing some research on the internet to find out what is in vitamins that make them not vegan. I won’t get too technical instead just give you the jist of it. Vitamins are made from plant and animal sources, or synthetically in a lab. Examples of non vegan ingredients are lactose, gelatin, insects, and the actual vitamin component. In reading about gelatin there are vegetable gelatin alternatives available. Although I am not sure how their consistency is compared to the animal derived. But, the point is if you see gelatin as an ingredient know it can be from an animal. So what is one to do in this situation? Well, luckily there are companies who make vegan vitamins. The first thing you can do is to call the number on the back of the vitamin bottle/s you currently take and ask them if the product has any animal ingredients in it. I have never had trouble having that question answered. It is from these calls I learned that remnants of insects can be in vitamins and that sometimes the actual vitamin type itself may be derived from the animal. I do not remember the vitamin derivative I was told I had that came from an animal but for reference I am talking about the letter for example Vitamin D or C. Once I found out I needed to change the ones I had I looked at the type I was taking, the mcg/mg/g amount on the back of the bottles and then went looking on line. I typed in vegan vitamins in the search bar and also browsed through vegan stores. There are choices so it is just a matter of choosing what is best for you. When you find vitamins of interest see if you can view the details of the content so as to compare it to what you are taking and then order. To name a few Deva, VegLife, and calcium soft chews by Nutrition Now are brands I currently use. I will re-post here web links to online vegan stores so you could browse through. And when in doubt for the requirements that you may need refer to a nutritionist or your primary care provider. I hope this information is helpful.

Sources of Information
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Vitamin.html

http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faqingredients.htm

http://www.archure.net/salus/hidden.html

Online Vegan Shopping
http://www.veganstore.com/

http://www.vegangoods.com/

http://www.veganessentials.com/

http://www.cosmosveganshoppe.com/

Thank you for coming to my blog. Please come back again soon.

GnewVegan

Banana, Strawberry, Pineapple Cantaloupe Smoothie

This is a quick fruit smoothie I made today with fruit I had on hand. You can make smoothies with what ever fruit you have or like. Have fun with it, get your fruit and cool down at the same time.

Banana, Strawberry, Pineapple Cantaloupe Smoothie

Makes 2 ½ cups

1 banana, cut into chunks
½ cup cantaloupe, cut into chunks
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple from a can with their juice (no added sugar)
2 strawberries, remove stem and any white part at the top, cut into a few pieces
½ teaspoon agave
¼ to ½ cup ice
2 tablespoons water

1- Blend all ingredients together in a blender or smoothie maker. Use up to ½ cup ice to make desired consistency.


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Gnewvegan

Israel Couscous and Lentil Salad

This is a post I did last year when I made this salad with ingredients on hand. I made it yesterday and thought I would re-post it. You can use whatever salad dressing that you like. Or you can make your own. I used rasberry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and various seasonings like basil, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste . These are all dry spices and typical spices you would find in Italian dressing. You just use what you like the same way you would when making a salad.


Israel Couscous and Lentil Salad

Serves two

1/2 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed
1/2 cup Israel Couscous
3 cups water
1/2 of a 3 oz small onion, sliced (I like to leave in small rings)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced and halved if pieces are too big
salad dressing of choice or make your own

-Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a 2 quart pot.
- Add the lentils and simmer uncovered, stirring occasional for ten minutes.
- Then add the couscous and the other 1 cup water. Cover leaving a slight opening for steam to escape. Bring to a boil, uncover and simmer for another ten minutes stirring occasional.
- Taste the mixture and see if it is soft and tender.
- Drain into a collander and run cold water over it until it is cooled down.
- Put in a bowl and mix the rest of the ingredients.

Thank you for coming to my blog. Please come back again soon.

Gnewvegan