Comments on: Cleanse Diet Week 1

By: jen

jen — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:23:54 +0000

That Soy Sensation cheese isn’t vegan, it has Casein in it, which is the stomach lining of a cow, I believe. It’s a milk protein, so if you’re tryingn to stay away from dairy, you’ve got to stay away from casein too. Also, in some gluten-free diets, people also exclude casein since it has a similar structure to gluten.

There are a few vegan cheeses out on the market. Dr. Cow, Daiya, Teese, Scheese, Galaxy, there’s nutritional yeast or you can make your own cheese, very easily, with almonds or cashews. The Daiya cheese is soy free as well. You can make mayo spread and sour cream with nuts too and you don’t have to have the bulk of you diet being soy, which isn’t that great for you anyhow and MOST people can’t digest soy unless it’s been fermented, like tempeh. Only a very small percentage of humans can actually process unfermented soy properly. Not to mention, you have to watch out where your soy is coming from. Some people know about how the meat industry in South America is devistating the rain forests, but what those people don’t know is that soy is also grown there and has a connection to deforestation. Check the packaging, if you’re going with soy, try to source from the US. & try for as much of your food, as possible, to be organically grown. (See http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Uncheese-Cookbook-Delicious-Dairy-Free/dp/1570671516 for gluten-free vegan soy recipes)

I used to drink Edensoy’s soy/rice blend milk in their aseptic container. It’s easier on your stomach. Currently, I LOVE Living Harvest’s Tempt Hemp Milk. They used to only have brown rice syrup as a sweetener, but now they have a bit of cane sugar in there. The Edensoy soy/rice blend is sweetened with brown rice syrup.

And, all those processed soy patties aren’t that great for you. You’re better off making your own patties, like http://www.happycow.net/recipes.php?id=73 or bean or nut patties made from scratch.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

By: formerchef

formerchef — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:01:54 +0000

The only “burgers” I liked were the veggie burgers, ie the ones made from vegetables and beans rather than the ones pretending to be fake meat. I’m still eating the veggie ones just because I like the way they taste!

By: Joy

Joy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:43:40 +0000

Thank you for posting this, and with such detail! Wow, you really went to such lengths to take on this cleanse. Kudos to you!

After seeing your first week, I remember now why my attempt at anything like this stopped at the grocery — buying boxed, squared, or weird-named food just doesn’t sit well with me. The sausages and burgers I’ve tried left a lot to be desired! I’d rather eat the real thing in moderation.

By: formerchef

formerchef — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:23:14 +0000

I agree. Many of the faux meat items made with tofu seemed overly processed to me as well. I think people choose them because a vegan diet with just “natural” foods is not only boring, but hard to get sufficient protein if you don’t eat tofu. Ok, I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flack for saying that.
I talk for about the book in my week 3 wrap up post if you are interested.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:35:58 +0000

I have to say, I’m impressed you can do this. I went vegan for a while…5 days, to be exact. It was all I could do.

I’ve always wondered though, about these diets because it would seem to me that “tofutti,” vegan burgers and vegan spreads are every bit as processed as a regular loaf of homemade whole wheat bread…or much more. Granted, lacking in the gluten and sugar, but I always wonder why it’s not better to just eat a natural diet? I was wondering if you had any insights from the books. Admittedly I should go read them for myself and probably will, but your post just made me think about it.