Vegan cookery ( From the berkshire eagle?!)

March 9, 2006

Vegan cookery By Kate Sullivan, Berkshire Eagle Staff Un-cheese Cake with Raspberry Sauce and Florentine Lasagne, below, are two dishes adapted from conventional recipes to suit vegan tastes. Photos by Kate Sullivan / Berkshire Eagle Staff Wednesday, March 08Thomas Barstow, the natural foods manager of Guido's Fresh Market in Lenox, will have been vegetarian for 10 years on March 19. He originally planned to try eating vegetarian for only a month, since he was concerned about missing his favorite foods, but found his tastes changed quickly. After he'd completely cut animal products from his diet, he found himself "really enjoying food — your taste buds change with your stomach." Barstow, of Becket, made the change after becoming concerned about animal rights and the ethics of the animal industry. Those concerns led him to macrobiotic eating, which tries to balance food and lifestyle through eating simply and naturally, and veganism, a subcategory of vegetarianism that avoids all animal products. That means no dairy, no honey, no gelatin and, for some, no refined sugar. Vegans

also avoid non-edible animal goods, like leather shoes. While he has since moved away from strict macrobiotic cooking, Barstow still keeps a vegan home, with no animal-derived products in the kitchen. Outside the house, though, he says, "it's too difficult to check every label." Brendan Hart, of Stockbridge, agrees. "You don't find too many vegans who'll tell you they've been that strict for that many years. It takes a lot of work to make sure of everything you eat," he said. Checking labels is critical to keeping a strict vegan diet. While the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of

1990 requires companies to list ingredients and nutrition facts in a clear, easy-to-find format, manufacturers did not have to list ingredients by their common names until a new bill went into effect in January 2006. Under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, all ingredients must be listed in terms the average consumer can understand. Although the act was created to prevent customers with allergies from accidentally eating an allergen-laden product, it has become an invaluable tool for vegans as well. Before the new bill went into effect, many animal-derived products were hidden behind hard-to-understand terms like casein and albumen. Now, though, a vegan shopper can quickly check to see if there is milk or egg in that package. Unfortunately, the act only applies to products made and labeled after January 2006, so consumers still have to read over the labels of older products. It's important to change to a vegan diet carefully.

Whenever you change your diet dramatically, you should consult a doctor or nutritionist. A vegan diet can have significant health benefits, according to a 1996 position paper issued by the American Dietetic Association. In that paper, the group reported that vegan and vegetarian diets can significantly reduce the risk of contracting heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, some cancers and a number of other debilitating conditions. Vegan diets take work to maintain. In addition to reading labels in the grocery store, vegans need to make sure to eat a balanced diet in order to consume enough of the right nutrients. This is another instance in which talking to your doctor or a nutritionist can be invaluable. Plenty of vegetarians and vegans are used to being pestered by well-meaning family and friends about the health of their chosen diet. The most common concerns are over the amount of calcium, iron and protein someone who doesn't eat meat or dairy

consumes. Barstow, the Guido's manager, had a blood test done a few months after he became vegan in order to appease his family. His calcium, iron and protein levels were fine, since he ate a lot of healthy foods like broccoli and beans, but he was deficient in vitamin B12. "Lots of vegans are low on B12," he says, "and I realized that companies like Imagine Foods were supplementing their (products) with calcium and vitamin D, but not B12." Barstow contacted Imagine Foods and suggested a B12 supplement for vegans. A few months later, B12-fortified rice milk ap-peared on the market. "I don't think my call made that happen," Barstow said, "but it was definitely a need that had to be filled." While fortified foods and a careful, balanced diet help, new vegans should consider having tests for nutrient deficiencies and take vitamin supplements to compensate for any imbalances. A doctor or nutritional consultant can help you make those decisions. Veganism isn't for everyone. Hart has tried to go vegan for months at a time, but says it has a harsh impact on him. "My body does not cooperate," he said. "I'd really like to be vegan, but I get thin and fragile ... I get tense — my hormones and endocrine system feel out of balance — and my energy is low." Although he can't become a strict vegan, Hart still sees his ethical and environmental concerns having an impact on his diet. He tries to eat mostly local, organically grown foods and says "it definitely feels good to be supporting local, sustainable industry." In the Berkshires, it's especially easy to shop for vegetarian and vegan products. Most major grocery chains in the area have a natural foods section, and local stores like Guido's and the Berkshire Co-op in Great Barrington and Wild Oats Food Co-op in Willi-amstown specialize in natural, organic and environmentally sustainable products. With the recent changes in labeling laws and the newly

widespread availability of products like tofu, egg substitutes and soy and rice milk, it's easier than ever to cut down on animal products or even eliminate them entirely. It's simple, healthy and delicious to cook vegan, even if you don't want to give up animal products entirely. Barstow and Hart agree that, no matter what kinds of food you eat, it's better to cook from scratch, using foods that have had little to no processing, like rice or beans. "You feel healthier," says Bar-stow. "Sustainability is the name of the game."Peter H

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