Many people feel that they are destined to be fat because it is in their genes. The good news is that it isn't primarily in the genes. The thing we inherit from our parents that affects our weight the most is how we cook. No one cooks like Mom. We grew up eating what she cooked and we learned to cook the same things. That is the inherited part of being fat. If we break away from the inherited cooking habits we can lose weight and keep it off.

SOY--The first is soy flour or any oxidized soy product. While soy does have many health benifits there are forms of soy that prevent fat from being removed from the body like it should and will actually produce fat in the body. The best form of soy that we know of that does not create a problem is the whole soybean in the pod. These are often called Anamomes and we recommend these for the health benifits that soy can give. They can be found in the frozen section of many health food stores or in some health minded food store chains like Trader Joe's or Whole Food Market. For weight loss the research department at Weimar Institute has found that things that contain soy flour (that includes nearly all tofu) create a kind of fat that is harmful to the body. Anemomies are full of Omega 3 and all the other health benifits of soy without the fat. They take only five minutes to cook--a real fast food.

FLOUR---The next problem food is flour. White flour and "whole wheat" flour prevent weight loss for a vegan. These products lack some very imporant ingrediants---the bran and the germ. The bran is an important part of the grain for cleaning out the body. Bran is invaluable for weight loss but it is best when it is in its most natural form---in the whole grain. It tastes best when kept in its natural state in a whole grain food. While some of the bran is in "whole wheat flour" not all of the bran is put back, only part of it. What the term "whole wheat" means is not that it has the whole wheat in it but that it is all wheat, that there isn't a grain in it that isn't wheat. It isn't whole grain. The other important part removed from "whole wheat" flour is the germ. The germ is one of the most nutritious parts of the grain. It has important things like vitamin E in it that is so important for healthy skin. It is best eaten in its natural state---in the whole grain. When looking for flour look for whole grain flour. It will need to be kept refrigerated or in the freezer to keep it fresh but it is a valuable tool against fat. Some places like Whole Food Market have a flour mill in the store and you can have it ground as you need it.

Rather than eat these componants seperate in an unnatural form ---like eating raw germ out of a jar and the bran seperate we recommend eating these in a natural state--- in the whole grain form. The flavor  is better and the nutriants are the way they were meant to be and in the right proportions. One thing we have found helpful is to buy a good coffee mill and buy the grain and grind just what you need as you need it. The flavor is wonderfully nutty and delicious. We will be putting recipes on this website as it is developed but please feel free to write us and ask for recipe ideas. Our kitchen is always open to you.

PASTA---Often when on the subject of flour we miss the fact that pasta is made from white flour. Even those from other grains are subject to being refined. An example of that is pasta made from rice flour. Rice flour is made from white rice rather than brown rice. White rice is lacking the bran which is important for weight loss. So it would be best to leave pasta off the list if you want to lose weight. We recommend serving whole grain rice instead.

VEGGIE MEATS AND GLUTTEN--Also on the subject of flour we would like to address the subject of veggie meats. While they are many of them vegan they are so good at imitating real meat that they are also excellent at producing fat on the human body. One of the main ingrediants of veggie meats is glutten---a very refined product that has no fiber if any. It clogs the digestion and slows it down. We prefer the free use of legumes in the place of veggie meats. legumes are packed with heart healthy fiber and nutrition. Their price is far cheaper too. Pound for pound they are the best meat substitute.

RICE--When choosing a rice choose brown rice. It may take a little getting used to if you have been using white rice but after a while of eating it your taste will adjust to it.There are many rice varieties available and they all have their own distinct flavor. There are several kinds of aromatic rice that will appeal the the nose as well as the taste buds. Rice doesn't have to be dull either. You can add it to a salad or soup to add interest to the recipe.

OIL AND MARGERINE---Another ingrediant in a tipical vegan diet that hinders weight loss is oil. This applies to all oils and grease even the extra virgin olive oil. When any oil is refined and  seperated from its natural source it causes fat in the body and clogs the system. It also keeps the nutrition of the foot it is used in to be unusable. So all the vitamins and  minerals in the food that is with the oil is lost. This includes all margerine and imatation products. With those, if you check the label carefully you will see an oil or grease of some kind. These all become unwanted pounds. To learn how to cook without oil and grease feel free to write to us here at Vegan Today We have been doing it for several years and can help.

SUGAR AND HONEY--Sugar is another fat producer that is overlooked in the vegan diet. Many people that chose a vegan lifestyle are aware of the fact that white sugar isn't truely vegan since the bones of animals are used in the refining process and most true vegans reject the use of honey because of the involvement of beekeeping but there are many other sweeteners that though they are vegan they do not help with weight loss. When the body is given sugars (ie. sucrose, lactose, fructose, fruit juices, dehydrated cane juice) it actually converts it to fat for use later.

We strongly simpathize with those that are reading this who love sugar and find it unthinkable to live without it. We here at Vegan Today also have a sweet tooth. The good news is that there are things that you can eat that are sweet and safe to eat. The two that we strongly recommend are dates and Stevia.

Now before you reject the idea of eating dates we want you to know that there are many varieties of dates and some are better than others. The dates you usually find in the grocery store are just one of many varieties. Some of our favorites are the Madjool, Golden Princess, Honey and Honeyball. These can be purchased at Hadleys Fruit Orchards. Dates are loaded with vitamins, minerals and amino acids. They can be used in baking and in hot cereal and many other recipes.

Stevia is an herb and can be found in most health food stores. It is safe for diabetics as well as those wanting to lose weight. It can be useful to sweeten herb tea and other beverages. The kind we would recommend would be the kind that is a green powder with no other ingrediants.

NUTS AND NUTBUTTER--Roasted nuts or nut butters made with roasted nuts also are high in fat. If you can find nut butter made from raw nuts it would be best to buy that or grind your own from fresh nuts. The best nut to use is the almond. We do not recommend peanut butter, it is not as easily digested and many people are allergic to it.  If you want to grind your own nut butter one of the best tools is a champion juicer for grinding the nuts. It is a very durable machine and does a good job. You may find that when making raw nut butter that it is very thick and hard to spread. The best suggestion we have is to add a little water to the butter to thin it down. It will change the color just a bit but that is okay. Eaten this way it is safe and much lower in fat than you may think. It isn't the nut that is the problem but how it is prepared. Raw nuts are not fattening and are very nutritous. They should make up about 1/5 of the diet.

AVOCADOES AND OLIVES---Some readers  may be asking about things like avocadoes and olives. They are generally considered a high fat food. We can tell you that for quick weight loss you may want to avoid avocadoes until the weight is lost. But they are safe in their natural state. In fact we consider them to be the ideal butter. Mashed avocado on sliced whole grain bread is so tasty and can be safely used by someone trying to lose weight as an occasional treat. They are much safer than margerine, oil or butter.

With Olives there is an ingrediant to watch out for--- Ferrous Gluconate When added to olives will make the fat in them harmful rather than helpful. If you can get olives that have only olives, salt and water that is ideal and these can be eaten at every meal. We don't recommend olives made with vinegar because of  the harmful effects of vinegar. We will discuss vinegar in another article soon. Olives are easy to digest and make a delicious addition to a salad.

One the lifestyle plan we are presenting to you the question isn't whether you will lose weight but how fast will you lose it.

(as this website is further developed we will be including tips on how to follow these suggestions)

  More weight loss tips

No one cooks like Mom

Animomes--All the nutrition of soy without the fat

REAL WHOLE GRAIN not "whole wheat" for abundant health and no fat

A better burger is a baked pattie with no oil served on WHOLE GRAIN bread

Even french fires can be made without oil or fat of any kind

We will be teaching how to do it on   this website---stay in touch or write us.