Author: Sarah Miller, RD

Nutrition and Food, Recipes

Easy Tofu Veggie Scramble

Sarah Miller, RD

Ingredients

  • 1/2 sweet potato or any other potato you have, diced
  • 1 yellow squash, cut into bit size pieces
  • 1 zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
  • 14 oz block firm tofu, drained
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 tsp garlic (or more to taste; can sub garlic powder but use less since it’s stronger than fresh)
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1.5 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Drain tofu well. I use my tofu press for about 20 minutes. Don’t worry about making the block have fissures or breaks- you’re going to be mashing this up once it’s drained anyway.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and garlic over medium heat in a deep pan or a medium size pot.  Add diced potato.
  3. Once potato pieces are slightly browned (about 5-7 min), add in the yellow and zucchini squash.
  4. Once the potatoes look a bit darker and your squash has some browning, crumble in your drained tofu. Mix together with turmeric, onion powder, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, cumin and black pepper.  Add more or less of each seasoning to taste- I like to have enough turmeric to make the tofu appear yellow but not so much that it’s a dominant flavor. 
  5. Stir together tofu, seasonings and vegetables to distribute flavors well (about 2-4min). Serve warm.

Tips

  1. Don’t be afraid of adding or omitting spices. You can make this taste like whatever you want- that’s the beauty of tofu!
  2. Try adding in fresh diced onion instead of onion powder, or other vegetables you might have in your fridge. 
  3. Want a little more comfort? Melt some vegan (or dairy if you prefer) cheese on top to make it a melted scramble.
  4. I like to make this in my soup pot because I sometimes stir a little vigorously ???? So if you’re like me (accident and kitchen mess prone) consider using your soup pot instead of a skillet. Know yourself. ????
  5. Serve with your favorite toast (I suggest avocado toast or toasted vegan croissant toast), coffee, and orange juice for a lazy Sunday brunch. Cheers!
Product Reviews

Halo Mask Cyber Monday

Sarah Miller, RD

By now I’m sure you all have a mask that you like. But do you love it? This post today is simply to share my favorite mask on the market, the Halo Mask. This mask is adjustable, conforms well to your face and just below your chin, and has a replaceable filter you change every 200 hours of wear. This mask also hasn’t given me the dreaded maskne (mask-acne) which I’ve definitely had happen with other brands.

My husband and I both have these masks in the darker and lighter colors. The Halo Mask quickly replaced our other cloth masks and is easily our only go-to whenever leaving our house. They’re having an amazing special for Cyber Monday, where you can buy one and get one free! These masks can be a bit pricey so today would be a great day to place an order and try it out for half the price!

See for yourself- Check out their products.

latte in cup beside strawberries and raspberries
Product Reviews

Kindle Paperwhite Review

Sarah Miller, RD

I love books. I love the way it feels to hold a book, to smell inside a new book, to spend hours perusing the bookstore. Everything about reading and books brings me a special sense of peace that washes over me. I love to get lost in a good story, and I love to see how far I’ve come with how many more pages there are ahead of me. I even did a 52 books in 52 weeks challenge this year and completely annihilated it (I’m currently at 65 books for the year).

Part of my reading experience included flipping the pages and looking ahead to see how many pages are left in the chapter – maybe I can squeeze it in before I fall asleep or go back to some other annoying responsibility. The only part of the reading experience with books that I dislike is the amount of space that the printed book takes up after I’ve finished it. I have been a huge fan of the library simply to keep my book collection at a reasonable level and not make myself a target of the show Hoarders. 

Enter the Kindle Paperwhite

My husband had been trying for years to get me to convert to some sort of e-reader. For a while I even used my iPad and the iBooks store to test the water with e-reading and I was not impressed. The experience of reading on my iPad was nothing compared to the amazement I felt when reading a physical book.

One Christmas everything changed. My husband gifted me the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and I haven’t looked back since. 

Kindle Paperwhite for only $84.99! (Normally $129.99)

Features I love

Not only is it super light weight and easy to take with me everywhere, but my love for borrowing from the library was able to continue. An app called Libby changed my life. You sign up for Libby using your local library credentials and link your Kindle. This allows you to borrow e-books from your library and load them directly onto your kindle! Not only can you instantly borrow any available e-book, but you can even place holds on e-books and manage your waitlist, too! Finished reading a book? Simply return the e-book through the Libby app or directly from your kindle device.

I’ve had my Kindle Paperwhite for 2 years and it is just as amazing now as it was when I first opened it. I love that I can read it in any light, including direct sunlight (I used my kindle daily on the beach in Grand Cayman), and it has a dark mode now that you can turn on (I love dark mode for reading before bed). Don’t like to read before bed because you fall asleep and lose your place? That will never happen with your kindle. If you leave it idle for too long and it falls asleep, when you wake it the next time it’ll still be on the page you left off at. 

It is so easy look up the definition of a word. You simply highlight the word and the dictionary definition will pop up, including examples of how to use the word in a sentence. I love this feature since it isn’t super distracting and helps me increase my vocabulary.

Can we talk about the battery life? This thing has an amazing battery life. I use mine daily and I don’t charge more than once weekly. The only reason my battery wears down a bit is because I like it bright when I’m reading inside. When using it with no light, like when reading outside, my battery life is so long that I forget which cable to use to re-charge it. 

Another feature I love is that you can adjust not only the font but also the size of the font. When I don’t really feel like wearing my glasses, like when I’m reading before bed, I simply make the font bigger so that I can see the text more clearly. This is a feature I’ve definitely wished some books came with- you know the ones. With the teeny tiny text crammed onto the pages. Kindle solves that for anyone who has eyes that need a little help.

The argument for ad-supported

Normally I’m completely against advertisements. They can be so annoying and intrusive. However, with the ad-supported kindle (which is the one I have) the advertisements are books! Since Amazon loves to learn your habits, Amazon also does a pretty decent job recommending other books for you to check out. The ads are also pretty easy to ignore since they only ever show when your kindle is locked and don’t pop-up while you’re reading. In my opinion it’s the only time I’ve ever felt having ads was a net positive for an experience.

Kindle Unlimited

I had the 3 month free trial of Kindle Unlimited and was a huge fan! There were so many books available on demand that I had trouble pacing myself. The only reason I didn’t convert to a paid subscription after my trial was because Libby has been a great resource for me. However Libby’s options will only be as good as your local library system. I live in a big city with tons of library branches so my ability to borrow an e-book is pretty easy. If I lived somewhere smaller with a smaller library circuit, I’d probably consider doing Kindle Unlimited.

Final Thoughts

My kindle is probably one of my favorite electronic devices. If you’ve been thinking about getting one but are unsure about using an e-reader, fear not! This device is amazing and will only increase your love for amazing books and rainy day snuggles. Stay tuned for a follow-up post about some of my favorite kindle cases. 

Make sure to check out these awesome Amazon Black Friday specials on kindle and kindle books! If you love to read or have a goal to read more, this device will change your life. 

skeleton full of candy
Nutrition and Food

Study finds Vegan diets more than double the risk of a broken hip- Here’s what you need to know

Sarah Miller, RD

By now I’m sure many of you have seen the headline making news this week about a study following more than 50,000 British people over two decades finding that vegans were 43% more likely to suffer a fracture compared to people who ate meat and fish. You can read an article summarizing the study here.

Without analyzing the data and doing a complete deep dive on everything the study found, including any potential flaws, the methods and limitations, it’s important to take a moment to recognize that yes, following a vegan diet will require some planning to ensure that you’re meeting your micronutrient needs. Honestly, most any diet in today’s modern food system that meets all of your nutritional needs is going to require some level of planning, so don’t let that discourage you from making the change to eating more plant-based.

Ways to meet your needs

Lucky for today’s vegans and other dairy-free individuals, many products on the market are fortified with important vitamins and minerals that can be lacking in a vegan diet. A few commonly fortified nutrients that can be lacking in a vegan diet include vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calcium.

Vitamin B12

The only source of vegan vitamin B12 comes from fortified foods, supplements, and nutritional yeast. Vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal products including meat and dairy products. I recommend requesting to have your Physician monitor your vitamin B12 levels when you first begin a vegan diet to establish if your levels are optimal and then monitor annually after that to ensure that you’re continually meeting your needs. The general recommendation is for anyone following a vegan diet to take a vitamin B12 supplement. I personally have had a low vitamin B12 level which is embarrassing to admit because I’m a nutrition professional. But we’re all human and it can happen to anyone. Having your vitamin B12 levels out of range can cause permanent damage if not rectified, but luckily your levels increase pretty quickly with supplementation or the use of B12 shots, if indicated. Your Physician or Registered Dietitian can provide you with more information regarding vitamin B12 specific to your needs and lifestyle.

Calcium

Calcium is another nutrient that can be lacking when following a vegan diet and doesn’t always get as much attention as vitamin B12. Calcium is tightly regulated in your body and is required for a ton of processes including vascular contraction and dilation (think blood vessels constricting or expanding), hormone secretion, and muscle function. The level of calcium in your blood does not fluctuate with dietary intake changes which makes it sometimes challenging to find a calcium deficiency because there aren’t any obvious symptoms in the short term. Most low calcium levels result from other medical conditions such as renal failure or use of certain medications. Instead of not having enough calcium to function, your body will steal calcium from its massive reservoir: your bones and teeth. This can be problematic for your bone mineral health if your body keeps leaching calcium out of them. According to the FDA, “adequate calcium and vitamin D as part of a healthful diet, along with physical activity, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life.” 

The nuances involved with bone health and remodeling are much too involved to include in this post. The short story is that calcium and vitamin D in conjunction with phosphorus work to keep your bones healthy. If any of these end up out of their recommended range it can have a detrimental effect on your body. A sedentary lifestyle lacking weight-bearing exercises and resistance training can also negatively impact your bone mineral density (BMD). Your body individual ability to maintain calcium balance is based on a lot of factors that you have no control over including calcium excretion in your urine and feces and calcium absorption in your intestines as well as your dietary intake of calcium.

There are many vegan foods fortified with calcium, such as vegan milks, but most people limiting or avoiding animal product consumption will need to have an awareness of what plant foods can also help them meet their daily needs. If you continue to eat dairy products these foods can provide you with calcium and vitamin D. Plant-based sources of calcium include fortified orange juices, chia seeds, tofu, fortified cereals, raw broccoli, cooked kale, bok choy and supplements. Here you can find more vegan sources of various nutrients.

The RDA (recommended daily intake) is the average daily level of intake that is sufficient to meet the needs of nearly all healthy individuals. For a healthy individual between the ages of 19-50 years old, the RDA for calcium is 1,000mg daily. This number changes for women due to hormonal changes that affect their bodies but stays pretty consistent for men until they’re 71+years old. Vegetarians and vegans should also keep in mind that their absorption levels of calcium may be slightly lower due to increased intake of oxalic and phytic acids from plants. Don’t start stressing about having another thing to keep track of. This just means you need an awareness of your intake since oxalic and phytic acids block your bodys ability to fully absorb calcium. That being said, it’s also important to note that more isn’t always better. You can consume too much of a good thing.

Hypercalcemia (elevated calcium)

Excessively high levels of calcium can cause problems including soft tissue calcification, renal insufficiency and even kidney stones and constipation. Make sure to discuss your personal calcium needs with a Registered Dietitian if you have any questions or concerns related to your calcium needs. 

Further Reading

Interested in reading more? Here are some links to credible sources you can trust:

NIH on calcium

NIH on vitamin B12

NIH on vitamin D

Meeting Calcium Recommendations on a Vegan Diet from The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

red paper bags
Nutrition and Food

Instant Pot Deals- Black Friday 2020

Sarah Miller, RD

Can you believe it’s already that time of year again? While I’m all for shopping small and supporting local businesses, sometimes there are gadgets and deals that only Amazon can provide. Here are some of the best Amazon Black Friday Instant Pot deals I found today and wanted to share.

The must-have kitchen gadget for plant-based diets

Oh how I love my Instant Pot! I only just decided to buy one last year during the 2019 Amazon Black Friday Deals and I’m so glad I did. I was on the fence since I’ve been a huge fan of my classic CrockPot for years and wondered, “Why do I need both?” What a game changer the Instant Pot became. Being able to cook dried beans quickly, my favorite grains, soups, or even steam vegetables has made my Instant Pot the MVP of my kitchen (tied for first with my Blendtec of course). There are tons of models on special right now, I encourage you to click through and find the one that would work best for you or a friend/loved one this year as a gift.

Instant Pot Duo 7 in 1 $79.00

Instant Pot Smart Wifi $89.99

Instant Pot Crisp Pressure $129.99

Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus $69.99

appetizer bowl bread breakfast
Nutrition and Food, Recipes

Soup Season

Sarah Miller, RD

It’s my favorite time of the year for so many reasons, one of them being soup! There is nothing more cozy than a fresh homemade soup at the end of the day. But making a big pot of soup can be overwhelming when your household is smaller. I know for us making a soup sometimes means we’re eating soup for the next 3-4 days in our house. In an effort to mix it up and not get bored with your favorite soup, here’s a tip: freeze that leftover soup. But don’t just stick it in any tupperware and freeze, continue reading for my favorite way to store leftover soups, stews, and chilis.

Freezing Soup

One of my favorite kitchen finds is the Souper Cube on Amazon.

This gadget is perfect if you’re a small household. Simply fill the cubes and place in the freezer. Whenever you’re in the mood for some soup, simply heat up the pre-portioned servings.

Favorites

Here are some of my favorite soup recipes:

https://www.savorytooth.com/instant-pot-tomato-soup/ This one was shared with me by a friend and she was right- it’s delicious and super easy to make! I made it constantly last season. I recommend pairing a bowl of this with a vegan (you can use dairy if you’re into that) grilled cheese sandwich ????

Thug Kitchen Cookbook Coconut Curry Soup *Language Warning. Thug Kitchen has some rather colorful ways of expressing themselves, but their recipes are amazing. Don’t let the foul language fool you.

One Pot Everyday Lentil Soup One pot?! Yes, please. Lentils are such a great source of protein; this soup makes a hearty meal on its own.

The Best Vegan Tortilla Soup I love a good tortilla soup! The Thug Kitchen Cookbook also has an amazing recipe, but this one is a little easier to make.

As per usual if you’re making a soup that recommends blending, I highly recommend the Blendtec.

Have a favorite soup recipe you want to share? I’d love to hear from you! Comment below.

flat lay photography of three tray of foods
Nutrition and Food

Meal Prepping Tips & Ideas

Sarah Miller, RD

Weeknight dinner planning can be a challenge. With long hours and long commutes, it’s sometimes impossible to find enough time available for preparing a healthy, delicious meal. 

Luckily fall is finally here and so are some amazing in-season vegetables!

One of my favorite meal prep techniques is spending Sunday morning roasting every vegetable I can get my hands on. Brussels sprouts, various squash including acorn and butternut, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, I could go on forever. The beauty of roasting vegetables is that they retain their flavor in the days to come after being cooked. They also tend to hold their texture where sometimes frozen vegetables end up soggy. I don’t know about you, but frozen broccoli is probably one of my least favorite quick foods. I’m much happier when I’ve roasted a head of broccoli in advance for the week instead of settling for heating up frozen broccoli.

Another tip for meal prep is to have canned beans in your cupboard. I have an instant pot and prefer to cook dried beans whenever possible, but sometimes life gets the best of me and I need food now. Whenever this happens I’m always glad that my pantry is stocked with backup canned beans. Simply drain, rinse, heat and portion out your serving to add plant protein to your meal.

Not really into beans? Try roasting a block of tofu, pre-make a batch of lentils instead of beans, or even heat and cut-up your favorite veggie burger patty to add! 

Speaking of my instant pot, other great food items you can prep in advance for weeknight dinners are quinoa, sorghum, rice, or bulgur. I personally love to cook these in my instant pot simply because I don’t like to stand over a hot stove, especially for 30min or more. Cooking extra servings of my grains to have throughout the week makes this food hack a no brainer.

You could also pre-make a pot of high protein pasta to store for portioning out during the week. Just make sure to mix with some olive oil if you plan to refrigerate it sans sauce. This will help to minimize the pasta sticking together.

Putting it all together

Using my roasted vegetables, beans, and grain of choice I find an easy weekday dinner or lunch is to portion that out into a bowl and top with my favorite fixings. Depending on the variety, I might add some fresh avocado, sprinkle on some hemp hearts, or even add a sauce or peanut dressing. Another way to add flavor is to add fresh herbs and some lemon juice to keep it low sodium friendly. Experiment with different combinations to find what you and your family prefer.

Stay tuned for more meal prep ideas and tips!

Nutrition and Food, Recipes

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Hemp Seed Bread

Sarah Miller, RD

Ingredients

  • 1 and 2/3 c whole wheat flour
  • 1 c sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
  • 1-2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 c canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 c olive oil
  • 1/2 c water
  • 1/2 c hemp seeds
  • 1/2 c dried cranberries
  • 1/2 c dairy free dark chocolate chips
  • nonstick spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 ℉.
  2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin spice.
  3. In another bowl combine mashed banana, pumpkin, water, and olive oil.
  4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until moistened.
  5. Fold in hemp seeds, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips.
  6. Spray a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan with nonstick spray. Pour batter into greased pan.
  7. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and top of the bread is slightly browned and crunchy.
  8. Let cool and enjoy!

Tips

  1. Banana quantity can be decided according to how moist you like your breads. To make it more moist like a cake use 2 whole mashed bananas. For slightly less cake-like density use 1- 1.5 whole mashed bananas.
  2. Try having a piece warmed with your favorite cup of coffee!
close up photo of sugar cubes in glass jar
Nutrition and Food

Bittersweet Truth

Sarah Miller, RD

There are numerous negative health effects of a diet high in sugar including increase of dental caries and increase in body weight, potentially leading to multiple chronic diseases including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The information in this article applies to individuals who have no blood sugar management issues such as type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or gestational diabetes. If you have been diagnosed with a type of diabetes, including pre-diabetes, I strongly recommend that you request a referral from your Doctor to receive a consultation for diet education from a Registered Dietitian to teach you proper carbohydrate counting and other methods for managing your diet and blood sugars. Your future self will thank you for following the appropriate diet recommendations and managing your blood sugars.

No matter what sweetener you are using, whether it’s brown sugar, maple or date syrup, or even organic cane sugar, it is still a source of extra calories. Unless of course the sweetener you’re using is a non-nutritive sugar substitute like splenda, erythritol or stevia. 

The problem with sugar is the quantity of sugar we consume daily. There are times in life when we want to have a treat, and that’s ok! Moderation really is important for so many things nutrition-related, especially sugar. I’m not here to tell everyone to stop eating sugar; we honestly couldn’t even if we tried. And why should we? Sugar can be a delicious part of a well rounded diet. 

Added Sugar vs Naturally Occurring Sugar

Added sugars and naturally occurring sugars are not the same. The sugar in fruit is not the same as the sugar added to processed foods and baked goods. Fruits do contain sugar, but fruits are also loaded with fiber to help your digestive tract and vitamins/minerals to support your metabolism and other bodily functions. The fiber in fruit slows down how quickly the sugar in that fruit reaches your blood stream as it slows the transit time through your gastrointestinal tract. Slower transit time means you feel satisfied for longer so you will likely not need to eat again for a little while. When you eat foods with added sugars, like a candy bar, there is generally no fiber to slow down digestion and generally no vitamins/minerals for your body to take in and use.

Let’s compare the nutrition of 1 tbsp white cane sugar and 1 medium banana. According to the USDA 1 medium banana (118g) provides 105 calories, 422mg potassium, 1mg sodium, 3.1g fiber, 14g sugar (about 3.5 tsp), and 1.3g protein. One tablespoon of cane sugar provides 48 calories, 0mg potassium, 0mg sodium, 12.6g sugar (about 3.15 tbsp), and 0g protein. When comparing the two, you’ll notice that the banana and the plain tablespoon of sugar are almost identical in the grams of sugar provided and both are a low/no sodium food. The important difference is that the banana also provides potassium, fiber, and protein. This means that you’ll feel more satisfied eating 1 medium banana than 1 tbsp of sugar and your body’s metabolic processes will thank you for the potassium.

Sugar in some common foods:

  1. Many low-fat flavored yogurts can have 45g of sugar or more per serving. That’s approximately 11.25 teaspoons of added sugar.
  2. One frosted blueberry Pop-tart contains 18g of sugar. That’s 4.5 tsp in only 1 pop tart. Who eats only 1 pop-tart? They come 2 per pack and we all know 1 isn’t enough for satiety.
  3. One can of Red Bull has 5.35 teaspoons of sugar. Mixing that with alcohol? Don’t forget the sugar in your liquor of choice.
  4. Snickers bars contain 57g sugar per servings. That’s 5.83 tablespoons!

Sugar Intake Recommendations

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting your daily added sugar to no more than 10% of your discretionary calories. Discretionary calories means the “extra” calories you have after your body has met all of its macro and micronutrient needs. For example, if you require 2000 calories/day but meet all of your body’s minimum needs of macro and micronutrients with only 1900 calories, this leaves you 100 discretionary calories. The AHA also notes that the amount of added sugar daily for women should be limited to approximately 6 tsp daily and 9 tsp daily for men. That means if you ate 1 low-fat flavored yogurt today, you’re already over the recommended amount of added daily added sugar consumption.

Remember that all foods can fit into a well balanced diet, including sugary ones. Eating isn’t only about survival and fueling our bodies, it should be fun, too. Check out some of my favorite sweet recipes including banana nice cream and frozen pumpkin spice bites! 

bottles in refrigerator
Nutrition and Food

Dairy Dilemma

Sarah Miller, RD

If you are converting to a plant-based diet, you might find it difficult to decide which animal products to continue consuming, if any. Dairy products, which are among my husband’s favorites (????????????) can be among the hardest to navigate, in part because of the valuable nutrition they provide, but also the way that dairy cows are treated in modern agriculture. Let’s take a closer look.

Nutrition

Dairy can be a part of a balanced diet. Nutritionally dairy products can be a good source of protein, vitamins/minerals, and carbohydrates. Choosing low or non-fat dairy provides all of the benefits of dairy products while minimizing the saturated fat you’re consuming. You can read more about the nutrient and health benefits of dairy products here. Within the dairy category there is organic and conventional. Nutritionally they provide almost exactly the same- for reference, 1c of low fat (2%) milk contains about 100calories, 8g protein, 107mg sodium, 13g sugar (naturally occurring as lactose), 366mg potassium, calcium and vitamin D.

The spectrum of dairy substitutes such as vegan cheeses or plant-based milks makes it difficult to lump them all into one category. Within the dairy substitutions category there are numerous differences in their nutrition profiles. For our purposes we’ll compare using the non-dairy option Ripple Milk (amazon link). Ripple milk is a pea protein based milk substitute. The unsweetened original flavor provides 8g of protein, 0g sugar, calcium, vitamin D, DHA omega-3s all while being lactose-, nut-, and gluten-free. Ripple as a brand is also concerned about sustainability and how their business practices affect the world.

Looking only at the nutrition content of dairy and comparing it to non-dairy substitutions, you can see there are now more options on the market with food makers creating alternatives that rival their dairy counterparts. Therefore, deciding based on nutrition alone you can see that dairy isn’t inherently “bad” for you but can provide a lot of essential nutrients in your diet. The non-dairy options on the market are not all nutritionally equal, but there are products available that provide a comparable nutritional profile to dairy.

Organic vs Conventional Dairy

The organic label on milk/dairy tells you about the practices and how the cows are cared for- nothing about nutritional content. But even with the organic farm requirements, according to a study conducted at Oregon State University, “many organic and conventional dairies in the study did not meet standards set by three commonly used cattle welfare programs.” Additionally they found that the overall health outcomes for the cows were similar in both organic and conventional dairy farms even though the standards for how the cows were treated are different.

Vegan Lifestyle

Veganism is a lifestyle. Vegans avoid all animal foods, dairy, eggs, honey and any animal derived materials. Following veganism beliefs also means that any products tested on animals or products made from animals are not acceptable. The Vegan Society has a great history and thorough explanation on veganism available to review.

Many people choose to avoid dairy because they’re vegan- they both eat vegan and follow vegan ethical beliefs. Vegans believe that exploitation of animals for any purpose is unacceptable. In addition to the mistreatment of cows, dairy farming is considered a form of animal exploitation. Choosing to avoid dairy products tends to be more about beliefs and ethics rather than the nutrition provided by dairy products.

As with anything in life there will be caveats. Being vegan isn’t black and white, but has a lot of gray. For example, many medications use gel capsules which contain gelatin. Gelatin is not a vegan-friendly ingredient. Assuming there is no other substitution and an individual is prescribed a potentially life-saving medication that contains gelatin, I think we can all agree that the individual should take the medication. Individuals following veganism would likely ask their Pharmacist or their Doctor if there’s an alternative or another form of the medication that does not contain animal products, but sometimes there is no substitute available. In that case, The Vegan Society and Vegans around the world would agree that this is an exception to the rule. This is one of many examples of the shades of gray within the vegan belief system.

The decision of whether or not to consume dairy has multiple factors. There are also environmental impacts to consider, but we’ll discuss those another time. As you can see there is no clear right or wrong answer, but there are tradeoffs. It really depends on what your personal belief system is about the consumption of dairy products and whether or not you are okay with those decisions. This is not a place for judgement, but instead a place for you to find credible information to help you make the most informed decision possible. I hope that this was helpful in your decision making process! ????