Back when I was vegetarian, like many vegetarians, I thought I was healthy, just because I wasn't eating meat. I had no idea some of the contaminates that were in eggs and various other dairy choices I implemented into my diet. Not to mention the GMO's (more on GMO's to come). I would intake on a daily basis. Now that I am vegan with a 70% raw vegan diet, I am more aware of the ingredients that's in certain foods. It's funny when you turn vegan, you don't just skim the ingredient label, you literally dissect it and research the ingredients that are listed. Aside from many ingredients being GMO's, there are many ingredients listed on the labels of the foods that we are eating and we are totally clueless about.
Anyway...as I was reminiscing with Soy (we're on first name basis), something told me to look on the back of the label and read the ingredients...
This completely stopped me in my tracks. I immediately thought back to the euphoria of love I once had for this cheese alternative when I was living in a blind world wearing what was apparently the darkest shade of rose colored glasses...then i immediately felt immensely disappointed, sad, bamboozled and hoodwinked! (too much?) This company markets to vegans! Can you believe it? Why would they do that, knowing they put this poison in their food? Then I thought about all the people in the world who, like me once upon a time, unknowingly ate this (out of convenience) thinking it was truly, (1) a non-dairy alternative to cheese and (2) healthy and safe for them to do so.
This caused me to look into a few other things, since I was already in the frozen food section. I thought to check out the ingredients on the back of the veggie burgers. Now its so convenient for vegetarians and vegans alike to go to the frozen food section of the grocery store and pick up a box of something, rather than to make it home made. So why not, right? Well here's why..there are almost ALWAYS some form of eggs and/or dairy in them. If your vegetarian, this may be fine for you since, vegetarians typically eat eggs and various other dairy and animal by-products, but if you're vegan, this is a no-no. I mean it is clearly in dis-alignment with the reason for becoming vegan. Discovering this really put me in a total state of shock. I'm so glad I make my own veggie burgers. (veggie burger recipe here)
So now we have to worry not only worry about GMO's, opiates, gas and all sorts of other things in our food...but the hidden ingredients that's in foods...Yes, I know, its a bit much to take in...take a deep breath...there's more....
We have to be so aware of what we put into our bodies. Because what we refuel our body with really is the key substance that governs our over all health. Learning these things caused me to really sit and think about a lot of things. I remember the last time I felt this perplexed was when I discovered (when I first turned vegan) that the multivitamin I was taking had D3, a meat derivative, in it. That's right, "they" can even put meat in your pills and supplements. Funny how "they" never tell us that you can get all of your Vitamin D's directly from the sun? Did you also know that Vitamin D2, does the exact same thing as D3, except its not an animal steroid vitamin and is totally vegan?
Further research lead me to learn more about "natural flavors". We see this so often on organic products and those non-organic processed foods that advertise their "healthiness"...the first thing they'll say is "We're all natural". Well you better check out the ingredient panel, because if they have a blanket statement of saying "other natural flavors", that, my dear, can be just about anything. Interesting how food industrial companies may not expose that it has animal or animal by-products directly in them, but it will say "natural flavors". This legal catch phrase helps them in case they get into a law suit, I can here them now..."well the box informed them that there was (insert whatever you want here) in it." Title 21, Section 101, part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows:
In other words, natural flavors can be pretty much anything approved for use in food. It's basically impossible to tell what is in natural flavors unless the company has literally specified it on the label. Those of you who tend to buy more products because the label says "certified organic" and it says "natural flavors"...please be aware of what that means and look deeper into the actual ingredients on the labels. If a company or distributor is known to hold and carry RAW organic foods, more than likely it really is natural flavors.The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.
Funny how the more I journey down this path, the more conscience I become. This just confirmed for me that my life is as it should be and that I'm going down the right food path. Maybe this recent, bumping into Soy, was for a reason...maybe that reason was so that I could get motivated to kick up my eating habits a notch. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. As of this moment, I'm going up a bit to 90% raw vegan foods cooking only 10% foods. The good thing for you is that, I'll be getting more RAWsomely creative with recipes and sharing them with you, so that you can try them too.
By the way, after I got home from my non-grocery shopping trip...I spent 5 minutes in my kitchen making my own cheese (cheese recipes here) and basked in the glory of making my own food. Please embrace preparing your own food, if not for any other reason than knowing what it is you're actually putting into your body. Eat to prevent illness and disease, not to cure it (one to think on).
PLEASE NOTE! This site (including but not limited to:
all food, hair and skin care recipes; tips; tutorials; writings; and, downloads) are absolutely free to the public!
Because it's free, I ask one simple favor in return, as your token of
appreciation for my humanitarian effort...I realize you may want to share
and maybe even use Veg Vivaciously's content in your business (including but not limited to: blog(s), e-zine(s), website(s), free publication(s),
etc). You can, as long as you (1) do not charge a fee; (2) cite the direct link of the Veg Vivaciously content used; and, (3) include
the verbiage below with the Veg Vivaciously content used:
-------COPY BLURB BELOW-------
This content was originally from Veg Vivaciously, a website that teaches healthier alternatives one veggie at a time. You can get your FREE (food, hair and skin care) recipes, tutorials and other writings and tips directly at www.vegvivaciously.org. PLUS you can stay connected and join the Veg Vivaciously community on Facebook, Twitter and/or even download the Veg Vivaciously Toolbar and/or Phone App to stay in the know!
-------COPY BLURB ABOVE-------
Copyright © 2011 Veg Vivaciously All Rights Reserved. 
