I’m back with more! I got up at 4:30 this morning to catch up on work and life (and you) before heading back into the city for another exciting day at the Main Street Vegan Academy!
Before I share one thing that I learned in the Academy yesterday, I did want to follow-up on yesterday’s post in which I share the idea that 90% vegan is better than not being vegan at all. Not one of the instructors suggested that we sit down with clients with some type of 50, 80 or 90% vegan “plan”. Rather, they encouraged us to be gentle and kind to people who are on the journey. When a client says “ugh, it turns out that veggie burger at the restaurant had egg in it, I guess I’m not vegan now” Our response is “Sure you are. These things happen!” Or, when a client says “I can’t be vegan because I want Mom’s turkey at Thanksgiving” we suggest that it’s not a reason to avoid trying a vegan diet and lifestyle and that if they have that turkey, on that one day, it doesn’t erase all the good they have done – and maybe next year they will bring a Tofurky to the family dinner! This is a journey and we want to encourage them wherever they are on it. If you have more thoughts on this, please share!
Yesterday we spent all morning with Victoria Moran and it was wonderful. We talked about approaching our clients holistically and providing them the best information when it comes to eating and living a healthy vegan lifestyle. She provided us the tools to respond to the age-old question “What do vegans eat?” by sharing Dr. Tel-Oren‘s response to the query with which so many of us are familiar. Loosely paraphrased:
- Eat a great big salad everyday, with a vinaigrette or nut-based dressing.
- In addition, have a serving of dark leafy greens – raw or cooked.
- Add a cabbage-family vegetable (kale, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, brussells sprouts) to a meal.
- Have a nice fruit salad, using whatever is in season. Perhaps you add a cashew cream.
- Eat a piece of fruit later, too.
- Enjoy a cooked ancient grain such as amaranth, farro, quino, kamut. Or eat a sprouted grain bread or brown rice.
- Include a serving of a legume (peas, lentils, beans)
- Have a small portion of nuts or seeds
- Then, after you’ve made sure to eat everything above, have whatever you want!
Proof that a vegan diet is diverse, delicious, nutritious and so varied that you don’t need anything else!
In the afternoon we learned about raw diets. To get ourselves in the mood, we had a raw lunch at Quintessence. Victoria and Chef Dan addressed our group
about raw food basics.
Then we ate.
Mexican Platter: A tostada- golden flax and corn tortilla- filled with “refried beans”, “cheese”, tomato and lettuce with a dollop of “sour crème”, guacamole and Guajillo chili sauce.
After lunch we checked out two raw stores on the lower East side (Live Live & Organic and High Vibe) , a sustainable “general” store that donates proceeds to an animal shelter, an Indian spice market (heaven!), and then attended a workshop on raw food meal plans and got a brief introduction to the concept of detoxing. We did pop into Lula’s Sweet Apothecary for a sweet treat somewhere in between.
Rosewater and Pistachio Ice Cream Cone.
It was another educational and delicious day at the Main Street Vegan Academy!
Check out my previous posts on this fabulous training experience:
- Recovering from the weekend and gearing up for a vegan academy
- Main Street Vegan Academy begins!
- Day 1: Main Street Vegan Academy
- Day 2: Main Street Vegan Academy (Nutrition, Shopping + Vegan Junk Food)
Pingback: Day 4: Main Street Vegan Academy (Vegans love a sweet treat)