I have expanded my services to include Healthy Lifestyle Consulting!
My goal is
to help you achieve optimal health and wellness by sharing my
experiences, resources, and expertise with you. I’ve combined my
professional experience as a consultant with my personal experiences and
education in health and wellness to bring you individualized,
affordable consulting that helps you achieve your healthy lifestyle
goals!
My personal services include, but are not limited to:
~dietary consulting to help you find dietary choices that are right for you
~health practitioner referrals for your specific conditions and ailments
~chronic and invisible illnesses coping strategies
~complete pantry overhaul designed with your lifestyle and health needs in mind ~household chemical and product evaluations
~healthy pet recommendations and referrals
~services customized just for you - have something in mind, just ask!
I also offer
consulting services to restaurants and other establishments that wish
to accommodate those with special diets, such as gluten-free or vegan,
or just to provide healthier options. If you know any restaurants that
need assistance, please send them my way!
Check out my consulting page on my website for more details!
Also, my next 6-Week Green Smoothie Challenge starts tomorrow in Wyandotte - don't miss it!
If you want to check out other January events, you can access my newsletter here. You will also find a link at the top to subscribe to the mailing list to stay informed of upcoming events.
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Ordering Special Meals at Restaurants
As some of you know, my diet has become more and more specialized over the years. First I was vegetarian, then vegan, then gluten-free vegan, then grain-free vegan, then grain-free/legume-free vegan, and now my food sensitivities are to the point where I can only eat about 20 foods. That being said, I still go out to eat with my family and friends! So just how do I do that when some people struggle to even get a vegan meal at a restaurant?
For basic tips on dining out, check out my blog posting from awhile ago. But the basic strategy for dining out comes down to two things: research and education.
First, I always check out a restaurant's menu online to see what they have to offer. I don't even look at the actual items anymore because 90% of the time there won't be a dish I can eat. What I look at is the ingredients. For me, at this point, I usually eat salads or sauteed vegetables, but this could work for any dish. So if I think I'll be eating a salad, I scan all of the ingredients to see what fresh veggies they have at the restaurant. For instance, maybe they don't offer avocado on a salad but they have guacamole or they have it in a sandwich, so I know I can ask for avocado in my salad. Or if I want sauteed vegetables, maybe I see they have cauliflower on one dish, broccoli on other, and mushrooms on yet another. I always check to make sure they use olive oil and then I can just ask them to combine all of those together and saute them with a little bit of garlic or just steam them. If you're at an Italian restaurant and they don't have a veggie marinara sauce, you can always ask them for olive oil and garlic (olio and aglio) and load it up with veggies. Or if you're at a Mexican restaurant, you can have them make you up a veggie burrito by either taking away or adding ingredients. You get the picture. The trick is you want to find a quick and easy meal they can readily prepare by combining ingredients they already have, not ask them to reinvent the wheel and create new dishes.
So once you have an idea of what you could get, the next step is very important - Call the restaurant! You need to call the restaurant to explain that you have specific dietary requirements and see if they are able to accommodate you. If at all possible, see if you can speak to the chef so nothing gets lost in translation. Sometimes, chefs actually have special meals in mind already that are just not on the menu - they often have a few vegan or gluten-free dishes up their sleeves that they can readily make for customers. If a restaurant will not accommodate you, then you will need to cross it off your list. But I have found very few restaurants that were not willing or able to accommodate me, even on my limited diet.
The third step is to let the server know when you arrive at the restaurant that you had called ahead and have special dietary requirements. It's best to do this when they are seating you and handing out menus so they can talk to the chef or manager if necessary. If you've already pre-arranged a meal with the chef, they will know you have arrived and will often come out to the table to talk with you.
When you order your meal, it's very important to reiterate again, but in a nice way, what you cannot have as well as what you can have. I always tell them that I can't have any additional ingredients, even spices, because of my allergies. However, when I was just a vegan, I would remind them no butter, eggs, animal products, etc. And when the server brings out my meal, I always double check again to make sure no mistakes were made.
I have encountered a few situations where I couldn't speak to the chef, whether they didn't speak English, didn't have time to talk, or just didn't want to, and my order was lost in translation. Although the server was very specific, the chef wanted to add embellishments because that's what chef's do! I never hesitate to send my meal back once if it's not correct. But if it comes out wrong a second time, I usually just ask them to take it off the bill and then eat later. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Depending on the type of establishment, I might send it back a second time, but if they can't get it right then, I won't bother again after that.
Although you may not get exactly what you would like or it might not be as good of a meal as at a veggie-friendly restaurant, you can still eat out with family and friends. And sometimes, chefs actually come up with creative dishes that really surprise you! And if you're going to restaurants your family and friends choose, it's only fair they occasionally go to one of your veggie restaurants, too!
On a side note, if you find a place that really is clueless about vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free meals and they truly want to learn and be able to offer options to their customers, as part of my new Healthy Lifestyles Consulting business (more on that in a few days), I will be offering consulting to restaurants as well, so please send them my way!
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com
For basic tips on dining out, check out my blog posting from awhile ago. But the basic strategy for dining out comes down to two things: research and education.
First, I always check out a restaurant's menu online to see what they have to offer. I don't even look at the actual items anymore because 90% of the time there won't be a dish I can eat. What I look at is the ingredients. For me, at this point, I usually eat salads or sauteed vegetables, but this could work for any dish. So if I think I'll be eating a salad, I scan all of the ingredients to see what fresh veggies they have at the restaurant. For instance, maybe they don't offer avocado on a salad but they have guacamole or they have it in a sandwich, so I know I can ask for avocado in my salad. Or if I want sauteed vegetables, maybe I see they have cauliflower on one dish, broccoli on other, and mushrooms on yet another. I always check to make sure they use olive oil and then I can just ask them to combine all of those together and saute them with a little bit of garlic or just steam them. If you're at an Italian restaurant and they don't have a veggie marinara sauce, you can always ask them for olive oil and garlic (olio and aglio) and load it up with veggies. Or if you're at a Mexican restaurant, you can have them make you up a veggie burrito by either taking away or adding ingredients. You get the picture. The trick is you want to find a quick and easy meal they can readily prepare by combining ingredients they already have, not ask them to reinvent the wheel and create new dishes.
So once you have an idea of what you could get, the next step is very important - Call the restaurant! You need to call the restaurant to explain that you have specific dietary requirements and see if they are able to accommodate you. If at all possible, see if you can speak to the chef so nothing gets lost in translation. Sometimes, chefs actually have special meals in mind already that are just not on the menu - they often have a few vegan or gluten-free dishes up their sleeves that they can readily make for customers. If a restaurant will not accommodate you, then you will need to cross it off your list. But I have found very few restaurants that were not willing or able to accommodate me, even on my limited diet.
The third step is to let the server know when you arrive at the restaurant that you had called ahead and have special dietary requirements. It's best to do this when they are seating you and handing out menus so they can talk to the chef or manager if necessary. If you've already pre-arranged a meal with the chef, they will know you have arrived and will often come out to the table to talk with you.
When you order your meal, it's very important to reiterate again, but in a nice way, what you cannot have as well as what you can have. I always tell them that I can't have any additional ingredients, even spices, because of my allergies. However, when I was just a vegan, I would remind them no butter, eggs, animal products, etc. And when the server brings out my meal, I always double check again to make sure no mistakes were made.
I have encountered a few situations where I couldn't speak to the chef, whether they didn't speak English, didn't have time to talk, or just didn't want to, and my order was lost in translation. Although the server was very specific, the chef wanted to add embellishments because that's what chef's do! I never hesitate to send my meal back once if it's not correct. But if it comes out wrong a second time, I usually just ask them to take it off the bill and then eat later. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Depending on the type of establishment, I might send it back a second time, but if they can't get it right then, I won't bother again after that.
Although you may not get exactly what you would like or it might not be as good of a meal as at a veggie-friendly restaurant, you can still eat out with family and friends. And sometimes, chefs actually come up with creative dishes that really surprise you! And if you're going to restaurants your family and friends choose, it's only fair they occasionally go to one of your veggie restaurants, too!
On a side note, if you find a place that really is clueless about vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free meals and they truly want to learn and be able to offer options to their customers, as part of my new Healthy Lifestyles Consulting business (more on that in a few days), I will be offering consulting to restaurants as well, so please send them my way!
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com
Monday, December 10, 2012
Why It's Important to Wash Your Food
I've been meaning to write a blog post about this topic for quite some time, but I always get tied up with something else. I think I'm a pretty educated consumer when it comes to understanding our food chain - I only buy organic and I choose local when it's available. Now, some people will argue that it's better for the environment to buy local over organic and others will argue the exact opposite, so I say you need to decide what's right for you.
Now, if you want to know about the entire food industry, you should watch films like Food, Inc. or King Corn. What I'm talking about is more basic, and from a plant-based perspective. I want to follow where our food comes from so you can see why it's important to wash your food, because I know many of you out there don't. (And I guess it's one of my pet peeves.)
So let's think about where our food comes from. First, someone grows the crops and tends to them. Second, someone picks the crops. Third, someone preps (depending on where and what maybe washed, maybe not) the food and packages it. Fourth, the food is transported to a warehouse/clearinghouse or if you're lucky goes directly to the seller. Fifth, the food makes it to the store. Sixth, the store stocks the produce for the consumer to select. And not to mention all of the other customers picking up the food, inspecting it, and then putting it back.
Now think about all of the humans that have touched your food during this process. Think about all the room for human error and how each place has different processes and procedures. To most of these people, it's just a job. They aren't going to take extra great care with the food, not like they would if it was going directly to their families. And even if stores have policies, it doesn't mean that each employee is going to follow that policy.
Let me give you an example. At one store that I go to, if some of the produce falls on the floor, they throw it away. Yet at another store, I watched as some of the kale dropped to the floor, sat there for a while, and then an employee came over, picked it back up, and just put it back on the shelf! He didn't bother to wash it off or anything. And yet previously, at that same second store, I had watched a different employee throw away a bunch of perfectly good beets. I had asked him why he was throwing them away and he said the tops were broken off and no one would buy them because they didn't look nice. (And here I'm thinking, give them to a food pantry then!)
Each person has their own idea about food and cleanliness. We don't want to be wasteful, but we don't want to be careless either. If lettuce or some other type of produce falls on the floor, you don't have to throw it away, but for goodness sake, wash it off first before putting it back on the shelf.
Even if you just washed your produce with water, it's better than nothing. Some people choose to use a fruit and veggie wash. Others choose to use the food-grade hydrogen peroxide. Here's a little homemade formula I found out about during my juice fast - Wash your produce in water with some lemon juice and salt (1/2 a lemon and a tsp of sea salt from http://drbenkim.com/articles-pesticides.html). It forms a mildly acidic solution that removes pesticides, residues, grime, etc. Just soak for 5 minutes, rinse, and dry thoroughly before storing.
And if you're still not convinced that you should wash or inspect your food before you eat it, here's something I found on my kale after getting it home and AFTER washing it:
Just trying to promote a little conscious eating...
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com
Now, if you want to know about the entire food industry, you should watch films like Food, Inc. or King Corn. What I'm talking about is more basic, and from a plant-based perspective. I want to follow where our food comes from so you can see why it's important to wash your food, because I know many of you out there don't. (And I guess it's one of my pet peeves.)
So let's think about where our food comes from. First, someone grows the crops and tends to them. Second, someone picks the crops. Third, someone preps (depending on where and what maybe washed, maybe not) the food and packages it. Fourth, the food is transported to a warehouse/clearinghouse or if you're lucky goes directly to the seller. Fifth, the food makes it to the store. Sixth, the store stocks the produce for the consumer to select. And not to mention all of the other customers picking up the food, inspecting it, and then putting it back.
Now think about all of the humans that have touched your food during this process. Think about all the room for human error and how each place has different processes and procedures. To most of these people, it's just a job. They aren't going to take extra great care with the food, not like they would if it was going directly to their families. And even if stores have policies, it doesn't mean that each employee is going to follow that policy.
Let me give you an example. At one store that I go to, if some of the produce falls on the floor, they throw it away. Yet at another store, I watched as some of the kale dropped to the floor, sat there for a while, and then an employee came over, picked it back up, and just put it back on the shelf! He didn't bother to wash it off or anything. And yet previously, at that same second store, I had watched a different employee throw away a bunch of perfectly good beets. I had asked him why he was throwing them away and he said the tops were broken off and no one would buy them because they didn't look nice. (And here I'm thinking, give them to a food pantry then!)
Each person has their own idea about food and cleanliness. We don't want to be wasteful, but we don't want to be careless either. If lettuce or some other type of produce falls on the floor, you don't have to throw it away, but for goodness sake, wash it off first before putting it back on the shelf.
Even if you just washed your produce with water, it's better than nothing. Some people choose to use a fruit and veggie wash. Others choose to use the food-grade hydrogen peroxide. Here's a little homemade formula I found out about during my juice fast - Wash your produce in water with some lemon juice and salt (1/2 a lemon and a tsp of sea salt from http://drbenkim.com/articles-pesticides.html). It forms a mildly acidic solution that removes pesticides, residues, grime, etc. Just soak for 5 minutes, rinse, and dry thoroughly before storing.
And if you're still not convinced that you should wash or inspect your food before you eat it, here's something I found on my kale after getting it home and AFTER washing it:
Just trying to promote a little conscious eating...
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Your are invited to a Very Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck
Join my group, Adventures in Veganland, for a pre-Thanksgiving potluck featuring, vegan, vegan
gluten-free, and raw food! All are welcome! Please bring a dish from one or more of the categories below that serves at least 8 and adheres to the
guidelines. Also, please bring a copy of your recipe so people can
recreate your dish at home on Thanksgiving!
The potluck is this Sunday, November 18 from 1-3 pm. Please RSVP to let us know you're coming.
The potluck is this Sunday, November 18 from 1-3 pm. Please RSVP to let us know you're coming.
- Vegan: No meat, fish, seafood, dairy, eggs, or honey please.
- Vegan Gluten-free: Please follow all vegan guidelines plus no wheat, oats, or other gluten-containing products.
- Raw: Please follow guidelines above, plus all food should be raw, i.e., not cooked over 105 degrees.
If you are not sure what to bring, just ask! To be eco-friendly, please
consider bringing your own non-disposal plates and utensils.
This year I've reached out to a few vegan-friendly and raw restaurants to see if they'd like to come and bring a dish. I'll keep you posted as restaurants sign up!
Vegan-Friendly Restaurants/Caterers attending:
-Chartreuse
-Detroit Vegan Soul
-Seva Detroit
-Om Cafe
-Sushi Bar & Japanese Cuisine
-Cacao Tree Cafe
-Vegan Wine Sampling courtesy of David Reno of Winedotte Wines
This year I've reached out to a few vegan-friendly and raw restaurants to see if they'd like to come and bring a dish. I'll keep you posted as restaurants sign up!
Vegan-Friendly Restaurants/Caterers attending:
-Chartreuse
-Detroit Vegan Soul
-Seva Detroit
-Om Cafe
-Sushi Bar & Japanese Cuisine
-Cacao Tree Cafe
-Vegan Wine Sampling courtesy of David Reno of Winedotte Wines
Hope to see you there!
VeggiePatti
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Veggie Singles Mingles in Metro Detroit
Let's face it - looking for love can be difficult. It's even more difficult when you are trying to find a like-minded person in a small subset of the population! To help
connect other single veggies with each other, Adventures in Veganland is
starting a series of Veggie Singles Mingles in Metro Detroit.
The format is simple. Singles mingles will be planned at various veg-friendly restaurants around the tri-county area. They will typically run from 6 to 8 pm with the first hour being the mingle hour with happy hour-type restaurant specials and the second hour being a casual dinner.
The first singles mingle will be tomorrow night - Thursday, October 4 at Seva Detroit. The second singles mingle will be Tuesday, October 16 at Roger Monk’s in Ann Arbor. An RSVP is required. For more details and to RSVP, please join Adventures in Veganland on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook, you may email your RSVP.
I will see how the events go. If there is a good response, I will plan more events! Please help spread the word to any of your friends who might be interested!
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
The format is simple. Singles mingles will be planned at various veg-friendly restaurants around the tri-county area. They will typically run from 6 to 8 pm with the first hour being the mingle hour with happy hour-type restaurant specials and the second hour being a casual dinner.
The first singles mingle will be tomorrow night - Thursday, October 4 at Seva Detroit. The second singles mingle will be Tuesday, October 16 at Roger Monk’s in Ann Arbor. An RSVP is required. For more details and to RSVP, please join Adventures in Veganland on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook, you may email your RSVP.
I will see how the events go. If there is a good response, I will plan more events! Please help spread the word to any of your friends who might be interested!
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Intolerance will not be tolerated!
Today I met someone who was not only anti-vegan, but downright vegan intolerant! To make matters worse, he owns a health food store!
I don't normally call for boycotts, but I am asking all vegans in the area to boycott Nutrition Unlimited in Southgate. They are anti-vegan and quite evangelical about it!
Instead, please support other local establishments, such as Total Health Foods in Wyandotte. They are vegan-friendly and tolerant of all people, regardless of their eating habits.
Let me go back and explain how I came upon this information.
As you know, I published a vegan, gluten-free cookbook last January. I have been trying to get local stores to carry the book. (Currently, it's being sold at Total Health Foods and Nutri-Foods in Royal Oak.) I happened to be going by Nutrition Unlimited so I thought I would stop in and re-introduce myself and see if they would be interested in checking out my book. (I say re-introduce because years ago when they first opened I actually used to be a somewhat frequent customer. I introduced the owner to several new products that he continues to carry to this day. Needless to say, he wasn't anti-vegan, or at least didn't preach it, at that time.)
So I went in and introduced myself and as soon as I said the word vegan he said, "Vegan?! We don't promote veganism! That's what we teach people in our clinic - not to be vegan. You can only get Vitamin A from animal sources so where do you get your Vitamin A?" I was a bit startled and replied, "Well I'm not Vitamin A deficient and no vegans I know are Vitamin A deficient so we must be getting it from somewhere." To which he retorted, "Well that's surprising."
I think I mumbled something like "Ok, thanks for your time" (because I was still trying to be polite) and I started to walk away. He followed me. And then he said, "Don't you know the cause of all autism? Autism is caused by Vitamin A deficiency!" What I really wanted to say was, "Are you implying that autism only affects vegan children and all vegan children become autistic?" but I really didn't feel like arguing with someone so clueless. I replied, "Actually, there's a lot of research on autism linked to nutrition but it's not focused on Vitamin A. I could refer you to some doctors that are doing cutting edge research on the causes of autism. But I see it's not a good fit here for my book, thanks anyway."
Again, I preceded to leave. And again he chased me down! And this time, he says very loudly, in front of a lot of customers, "Do you know where mother's get protein from to feed their babies?" I said, "I'm not interested in discussing nutrition of mothers and children." And he replied, "But do you know where it comes from? The protein comes from milk!" And I replied, "Yes, but not from the milk of other species."
And with that, I walked out the door.
So, not only is the owner anti-vegan, he clearly wants to push his misguided beliefs on anyone who is. So for all of you vegans and vegan supporters out there, please do not patronize his store! There are plenty of other places where you will be treated like a human being!
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
I don't normally call for boycotts, but I am asking all vegans in the area to boycott Nutrition Unlimited in Southgate. They are anti-vegan and quite evangelical about it!
Instead, please support other local establishments, such as Total Health Foods in Wyandotte. They are vegan-friendly and tolerant of all people, regardless of their eating habits.
Let me go back and explain how I came upon this information.
As you know, I published a vegan, gluten-free cookbook last January. I have been trying to get local stores to carry the book. (Currently, it's being sold at Total Health Foods and Nutri-Foods in Royal Oak.) I happened to be going by Nutrition Unlimited so I thought I would stop in and re-introduce myself and see if they would be interested in checking out my book. (I say re-introduce because years ago when they first opened I actually used to be a somewhat frequent customer. I introduced the owner to several new products that he continues to carry to this day. Needless to say, he wasn't anti-vegan, or at least didn't preach it, at that time.)
So I went in and introduced myself and as soon as I said the word vegan he said, "Vegan?! We don't promote veganism! That's what we teach people in our clinic - not to be vegan. You can only get Vitamin A from animal sources so where do you get your Vitamin A?" I was a bit startled and replied, "Well I'm not Vitamin A deficient and no vegans I know are Vitamin A deficient so we must be getting it from somewhere." To which he retorted, "Well that's surprising."
I think I mumbled something like "Ok, thanks for your time" (because I was still trying to be polite) and I started to walk away. He followed me. And then he said, "Don't you know the cause of all autism? Autism is caused by Vitamin A deficiency!" What I really wanted to say was, "Are you implying that autism only affects vegan children and all vegan children become autistic?" but I really didn't feel like arguing with someone so clueless. I replied, "Actually, there's a lot of research on autism linked to nutrition but it's not focused on Vitamin A. I could refer you to some doctors that are doing cutting edge research on the causes of autism. But I see it's not a good fit here for my book, thanks anyway."
Again, I preceded to leave. And again he chased me down! And this time, he says very loudly, in front of a lot of customers, "Do you know where mother's get protein from to feed their babies?" I said, "I'm not interested in discussing nutrition of mothers and children." And he replied, "But do you know where it comes from? The protein comes from milk!" And I replied, "Yes, but not from the milk of other species."
And with that, I walked out the door.
So, not only is the owner anti-vegan, he clearly wants to push his misguided beliefs on anyone who is. So for all of you vegans and vegan supporters out there, please do not patronize his store! There are plenty of other places where you will be treated like a human being!
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Juice Fast is Moving
It's becoming apparent that the juice fast is going to go on for quite some time, so I've decided to move the juice fast posts to their own blog. If you want to follow my juice fast, check it out at http://veggiepatti-juicefast.blogspot.com/
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
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