Tag: veganfood

Nutrition and Food, Product Reviews

Is Creatine Worth Supplementing?

Sarah Miller, RD

I’ve always been very choosy with my supplements both for safety and quality reasons but also for financial. There are many supplements on the market that can be overkill when someone is eating a balanced diet that result in creating expensive urine.

Why would I spend extra money on something that I’m already getting plenty of in my dietary habits? Additionally being picky has meant that many supplements just didn’t appeal to me since they didn’t have the third- party certifications I look for.

Except that I’m probably not getting plenty of creatine because of my choice of diet. I follow a vegan diet, and as I’ll explain later this means I would likely benefit from supplementation of creatine. It’s also worth noting here that creatine monohydrate is vegan-friendly. If you follow a vegetarian diet of any type you’ll also want to keep reading.

If you’re new to supplements or don’t really know the quality/safety specifics I recommend checking out my previous post Let’s Chat: Supplements to learn more.

Some Science

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance. Your body makes creatine in the liver, kidneys and pancreas and converts it into creatine phosphate (or phosphocreatine) and stored in your muscles where it can be used for energy. When you engage in short duration, high intensity bursts of activity (think HIIT, sprinting, weight lifting) phosphocreatine is used in your body.

Despite there being numerous studies looking at creatine’s ability to improve athletic performance, not all bodies are the same and therefore not everyone’s body responds to creatine the same way. Dietary intake of creatine can also influence your body’s response to supplementation. Some individuals may have more naturally occurring creatine in their body from their diet and therefore not see the same benefit from supplementation as someone who has a lower storage amount.

Vegans and vegetarians are a population who tend to have lower overall creatine stores; likely because of the omission of meat and fish from their diets. It has been demonstrated that increasing creatine through supplementation may be more beneficial for vegetarians (all types who avoid meat and fish) when compared to non-vegetarians.

Some studies have demonstrated that creatine supplementation can be helpful for people with muscle weakness due to illness. However, the majority of people interested in taking creatine are here because they want to improve their athletic performance.

It’s important to reiterate that creatine has been demonstrated to improve exercise associated with high bursts of energy in short durations and not necessarily in endurance based exercise. Study results looking into its ability to improve endurance based activity performance has been mixed.

My Experience

My first time trying creatine was honestly because Vitalura Labs released one. I immediately bought theirs to try, one because I practice what I preach and I want to support this amazing company, but two because I knew it would be top quality. Every product in their product line has been top notch with NSF certification so I knew their creatine would be no different.

Scoop size next to a coffee cup for reference.

I started taking it about 7 weeks ago. Honestly, at first I didn’t notice much. It was easy to mix into just about anything since it’s a small amount of powder.

But like any change it takes time to notice anything, good or bad. I kept with it and have now been taking it regularly for a little over a month. By about week 5 of taking 5g creatine daily I noticed a significant development that kept me going on the creatine train.

What I Found

While doing my usual lower body routine one day I decided to try increasing the weight stack, just to see if I could complete a rep or 2 at the higher weight. To my surprise, not only was I able to complete 2 reps, I was able to do my entire planned set at that higher weight. The weight isn’t a lot when compared to body builders and hardcore weight lifters, but it was a weight level that I have never successfully been able to lift for more than 1 set of 3 reps. Let me tell you, I was so excited that I immediately checked the weight stack again just to be sure that I wasn’t hallucinating.

Of course there’s a bit to unpack here. Obviously I’ve been very consistently working out and working toward a specific goal. I’m not belittling the effect that consistent strength work can have on your ability to lift more weight. What I think is important to share here is that I didn’t experience the expected and usual fatigue that would set in so quickly whenever I had previously tried to lift the same amount of weight. That ability to push more is where I give the creatine credit.

Another side effect that I did notice was a slight increase in my body weight, very likely due to water retention. This is a known creatine side effect and not one to fear. Water weight gain isn’t real mass and will leave when you stop using it. My own experience of stopping creatine to see if the water retention disappeared worked and I was at my “normal” weight within a week.

It’s important to note that the amount of water retention someone experiences is also relative and different for everyone. The water retention level that someone experiences will depend on their muscle mass and the type of muscle. The majority of creatine is found in your type II (aka fast twitch) muscle. Logically this makes sense as creatine has been found to improve athletic performance for shorter bursts of power. So if you’re someone who is powerful for shorter bursts of time you may find that you also retain a little more water.

As always I want to disclose that I’m an affiliate with Vitalura Labs. I was super excited to find that they sent me my own bag of creatine to try about a week after I bought mine. Thank you to everyone who shops through my links; if you missed it this post might help you understand how important you are.

Are you ready to try creatine with me? You can shop all things Vitalura Labs and even set up subscriptions of their products so you never run out. Use code “SARAHMILLER” for free shipping.

Nutrition and Food

Vegan on a Budget

Sarah Miller, RD

Food budgeting is a common household need, regardless of what type of diet you follow. There is a common misconception that eating vegan or plant-based is inherently more expensive. This post is here to help you navigate your local grocery store and show you that eating more plant-based doesn’t have to mean eating more expensive.

Beans

Beans are one of the most inexpensive sources of protein you will find at your local grocery store. I recommend purchasing dried beans in bulk to prepare as needed, or canned with no added sodium. Dried beans also have a long shelf life so you’re likely to reduce your total food waste.

Nutritional Yeast

A common way to impart umami flavoring for savory dishes, nutritional yeast is a vegan source of protein that is also a great source of vitamin B12. You can find this at most grocery stores and even online.

Not sure what nutritional yeast is or how to use it? Read more about this awesome product and why you should consume it while following a vegan diet.

Lentils

Tired of beans? Lentils are an excellent source of plant-based protein that can be used in a myriad of ways. If you have a Trader Joe’s (TJ’s) near you, they also sell ready-to-use lentils to save you time. You can find them in the refrigerated section near the produce at most TJ’s locations.

Seitan

This meatless alternative is super versatile and has a similar texture to meat. It is made from wheat gluten so if you have celiac this is NOT a product for you. For individuals who don’t have a wheat allergy this is an excellent and inexpensive source of protein. You can even find many different recipes to make your own seitan using a few items you may already have in your pantry.

Tofu

Tofu is probably one of my favorite foods. Tofu is made using soy beans which have all 9 essential amino acids, so it is classified as a complete protein. Depending on the type of tofu you buy the protein content may vary. Many Asian markets sell tofu for much less than a traditional grocery store, too, so I recommend seeing what shops are in your area and comparing prices.

Many people who don’t care for tofu have honestly not had it prepared correctly or in a way that they like yet. The texture and ways to best prepare tofu are determined by the type that you choose to purchase. For “beginner” tofu eaters I generally recommend eating the firmer varieties as the squish of softer, silken tofu may put some people off to its mouth-feel.

Note: tofu is similar to chicken, meaning that it has practically no taste on its own. Eating plain tofu is another behavior I would consider more “advanced” and not recommended for newbies. Most people who enjoy tofu will tell you that marinating and sauces go a long way with this versatile protein source.

Fruits/Vegetables

There’s a common misconception that fresh fruits/vegetables are always the most superior form, when compared to frozen or canned. However, frozen fruits and vegetables are harvested and processed at their peak meaning that many times they are better tasting and at peak nutritional value when compared to fresh produce.

Like any food product there are some options that are more healthful than others. I generally recommend avoiding frozen produce that has large amounts of added sodium and/or added sauces. This way you still have control over the spices and additives in your fruits/vegetables.

If canned is your preferred or only available option, try to choose varieties of fruits/vegetables that have no or minimal added sodium as well as avoiding fruits in added syrups. This will help limit your intake of added salt and sugars. I also recommend rinsing canned vegetables and beans to help remove some of the sodium that may have been added.

Shop the Sales

Another great way to stay within your weekly grocery budget is to try and make meals based on the items on sale that week at your local grocer. This strategy can sometimes be a bit difficult for fresh items, but definitely one you want to use when shopping for pantry staples and shelf stable food items.

Happy Shopping

Hope you found this information helpful! Check out this previous blog post for tips on transitioning to a plant-based diet.

Nutrition and Food, Product Reviews

Meal kit face-off Hello Fresh vs. Purple Carrot

Sarah Miller, RD

Meal delivery services and kits are one of the greatest ideas to have evolved in the last decade; especially for people who have a super busy schedule. Not only do these services take care of the grocery shopping but the mental fatigue involved with deciding, “what should we have for dinner” is also happily handed off.

I’ve always been curious about meal kit services but never tried one. Since I follow a pretty specific diet I wasn’t able to find a service that would meet my dietary requirements when they first came out. Luckily most delivery kits have some sort of plant-based option(s) available making cooking for me in my multi picky eater household a little easier. There are many out there to choose from but I decided to give Hello Fresh and Purple Carrot a chance.

Hello Fresh

I decided to try Hello Fresh when a friend of mine passed along a discounted trial coupon.

Pros of Hello Fresh

  1. No grocery shopping- huge time saver
  2. App was easy to use to modify and make changes to my delivery
  3. Meals designed to be crowd pleasers 
  4. Priced well
     

Cons of Hello Fresh

  1. Not enough vegan options 
  2. Menu was a bit boring and repetitive

Ultimately the deal breaker for me was the lack of vegan options. This meant I had to micromanage our delivery every week to make sure I was either choosing things I could later veganize, were already vegan, or needed to skip. Their menu options of plant-based items usually involved dairy, which is great for some people but a no for me. Price point was pretty good and I did feel that Hello Fresh is one of the best priced options available. If you follow a lacto-ovo or lactovegetarian diet then Hello Fresh might work better for you than it did for me. 

Purple Carrot

I can’t even remember anymore where I first heard of Purple Carrot. The decision to try came from a random day of me looking up new recipes to cook at home. One of the recipes was from the Purple Carrot website and next thing I knew I was signing up for a trial box.

Pros of Purple Carrot

  1. Entirely plant-based vegan menu- no need to micromanage delivery
  2. Exciting recipes and variable flavor profiles
  3. High quality ingredients
  4. Also offers a pre-made meal option and “plantry”

Cons of Purple Carrot

  1. A bit more expensive than Hello Fresh

The only con I’ve experienced is that Purple Carrot is a tad more expensive than Hello Fresh. However, the price point is on par with what you would pay at the grocery store for the week’s worth of groceries. And you didn’t have to go to the store, plan the menu, or micromanage the meals arriving in the box. Purple Carrot even offers pre-made meals and a “plantry” so you can include extras you would’ve picked up at the store.

Winner: Purple Carrot

If you’re vegan or vegan curious, or follow a mostly plant-based diet  I highly recommend Purple Carrot. The menu selection is huge- and it’s all vegan. All of it. There’s no need to micromanage or worry that you’re accidentally forgetting to swap an ingredient. The recipes range from easy to more advanced both in flavor profile and cooking skill. They even started including some produce items pre-chopped making it even quicker for you to make dinner on a busy night. Purple Carrot is great for people who like to taste new flavors- every meal I’ve made has been delicious. The recipe developers are amazing. 

 

Nutrition and Food, Product Reviews

Vitalura Labs plant-based protein powder review

Sarah Miller, RD

I love to workout, but I have always struggled with consuming enough food post-workout to optimize my recovery. I’m a dietitian, I know how important it is, and yet more often than not I’m either skipping my post workout fuel or struggling to make sure I’ve consumed enough to give my body the fuel it needs to rebuild.

Part of the problem for me has always been the taste of protein supplements. Most of them are gross. Especially vegan protein supplements. They’re usually chalky, taste like dirt, or have way too much stevia to try and trick you into thinking you’re eating something that tastes like a dessert.

Enter Vitalura Labs

Anna Victoria, CEO of Fit Body Love Group and NASM certified personal trainer, released a plant-based vegan protein powder this week and being an FBG girl and dietitian, I had to try it. The thoughts below are my own, I paid for my own product.

I did my hamstrings and glutes workout today and for the first time ever I was looking forward to my post workout protein. Not just thinking about what I’d eat to refuel, I was legit looking forward to it. Let me tell you why.

Product breakdown

  1. Taste- it honestly tastes like the name. I ordered the vanilla gelato flavor and I have never tasted a protein supplement, plant-based or whey, that tastes as good as this flavor tastes. I blended mine with some frozen banana and unsweetened soy milk and topped with rainbow sprinkles. It’s like drinking a vanilla shake post workout. I have a huge sweet tooth and am still shocked that this product has somehow hit that craving for me AND provided nutrition. There are currently two flavors available: vanilla gelato and chocolate gelato.
  2. Quality- this protein powder is the “cleanest” I’ve seen on the market to date. The ingredients list is short and they’re NSF certified so you know that their product doesn’t have hidden ingredients or missing ingredients. They use organic pea protein and include rice and pumpkin seed protein to make sure you’re getting an optimal amino acid profile. I was nervous when I saw that it has stevia leaf extract, simply because I generally detest the aftertaste of stevia, but this protein powder doesn’t have that weird after taste I’ve come to expect with stevia sweetened products. 
  3. Nutrition- they nailed it. In 1 scoop of powder, you get 100 calories, 0g saturated fat, only 20mg sodium (this is amazing!), 0g added sugar and a whopping 25g protein. Read that sentence again and let it sink in for a moment. That is truly a magical recipe that they’ve created. The majority of protein powders don’t hold a candle to the nutrition punch the new Vitalura Labs protein powder gives you. It’s also plant-based making it acceptable to a wide audience, and when compared to many whey protein products on the market it still reigns supreme in its nutrition profile.
  4. Cost- some may think that $60 is a lot for a protein supplement. And yes, if it was one of the other brands currently on the market I’d agree with you. But this protein powder is of a superior quality, flavor, texture, and NSF certified. It is 100% worth that $60 price tag. Especially if you consider that there’s 30 servings in every container. That’s $2/serving. I can’t even get a gallon of gas for that cheap. 

Final thoughts

If you’re interested in trying Vitalura Labs new plant-based protein powder for yourself, here’s a link to purchase, use code SARAHMILLER for free shipping!

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a good post workout protein supplement or anyone who has higher protein needs than they’re able to meet through their diet. 

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!
Nutrition and Food, Recipes

Easy Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Sarah Miller, RD

Ingredients

  • 1, 15.5 oz can garbanzo beans, drained
  • 2 tbsp vegan mayo
  • 1-2 celery stalks, cut into bite size chunks
  • 1/4-1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into bite size chunks
  • 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Mash drained chickpeas in a medium bowl using a potato masher or fork. Mash until beans make a sort of paste with themselves- ok to have some larger chunks.
  2. Stir in vegan mayo, celery, and orange bell pepper.
  3. Mix in smoked paprika and pepper. Add more smoked paprika and pepper if needed. ????
  4. Serve on whole wheat bread or bread of choice with a side salad and your favorite vegetable chips ????

Tips

  1. Toasting your bread gives a whole new dimension to your sandwiches; I highly recommend it.
  2. Don’t be afraid to add more smoked paprika or pepper. Seasonings should be adjusted to what you like! ????
  3. Try this between 2 pieces of bread and your favorite melted vegan cheese. ????
  4. Try leftovers on crackers for a snack the next day.
Nutrition and Food, Recipes

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake ???? Day?!

Sarah Miller, RD

OMG, apparently today is Pumpkin Cheesecake Day! I didn’t even know this is a thing, but the timing is perfect! Here is an amazing vegan no-bake pumpkin cheesecake recipe I followed last week that I highly recommend. It was so good that my husband and I devoured it quicker than I’d like to admit. ????

You won’t be sorry. This recipe definitely requires a good blender though and you all know I love my blendtec. It made preparation really easy. My particular model is full price but Amazon has this model on special for only $259.99 today! That’s almost 50% off!!

I didn’t know how much I missed a good cheesecake until I made this recipe. Not particularly interested in pumpkin spice stuff? Simply follow the recipe as is, omit the pumpkin spice and pumpkin, and use your favorite fruit for the top layer instead! ????