94 Part III: Sticking to Your Guns: Staying Vegan divided between grocery brokers and manufacturers Farmer’s markets also give you a better understanding of what’s growing seasonally in your area Eating seasonal, local produce offers better nutrition and leads to less pollution because the food had a shorter distance to travel ✓ Grocery stores: The average grocery stores today offer more and more vegan-friendly products as well as organic produce sections and bulk and ethnic aisles My trips to see family in West Virginia have become easier to pack for over the years because the local grocery chain has expanded its health food section to include organic nut butters and frozen vegan burgers Don’t be afraid to talk to your local grocery store manager to request that they start carrying certain items If you bring a list of products and brands that you will buy, they may just start carrying them! You’ll have even more success if you encourage your vegan friends to the same! ✓ Health food or natural food stores: These stores offer a safe haven for vegans You’ll get to know staff members there who are familiar with the foods that are truly vegan, you’ll find loads of soy-based proteins, and you can even purchase organic, vegan versions of your favorite treats Even health food stores that seem to carry 90 percent supplements and vitamins and 10 percent whole foods can offer good products when you’re in a pinch Stores that have a lot of high-quality, fresh produce and high product turnover are best, especially when buying bulk Many of these stores offer deli counters with premade vegan options as well as fresh juice and smoothie bars These stores also are good places to connect with other vegan-minded locals, find a book on alternative health, buy cruelty-free health and beauty products, and even sit down for a cup of organic tea if the stores have cafes ✓ Warehouse and membership stores: These stores can offer great deals on certain bulk purchases, such as grains, beans, herbs, spices, soy foods, and even organic produce If you don’t already belong to one of these stores, find out whether any of them offer special sneak-previews for nonmembers These sneakpreviews allow you to explore the aisles to look for items that you would buy, which in turn helps you to decide whether the membership is worth the price Decoding food label lingo Discovering how to read the ingredients on a food label is as important as learning to balance your checkbook or drive a car — it’s a basic skill in this modern age So, if you’re in the dark, here’s what you need to know: The first Chapter 7: Cooking and Shopping Like a Vegan ingredient on the label is the largest ingredient in the package, by volume, followed by the next largest, down to the smallest If a bottle of pasta sauce lists tomatoes first, for instance, that bottle contains mostly tomatoes If the second ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup, however, put the bottle back! Even though this sweetener is vegan, it’s difficult for your body to process and shouldn’t be considered part of a healthy diet You can determine the quality of a product by its ingredient list In general, a healthier product has fewer ingredients on the label Lean toward products that contain whole-grain flours or whole grains, recognizable ingredients, and natural sweeteners (see Chapter for more on natural sweeteners) Don’t buy products that contain artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, because they can be neurotoxic, lead to mood swings, and interfere with good health Labels can be difficult to read, especially when it comes to trans fats — the unhealthy, harmful-to-your-heart fats that can be included in many packaged, frozen, and fried foods If you see hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils anywhere on the ingredient list, that means there are trans fats in the food Manufacturers can state “0 grams trans fats” on the labels if the product contains less than 50 grams of trans fats Only labels that read “trans fat free” are truly devoid of this cholesterol-raising fat Even though you can eat vegan sources of trans fats, I recommend staying away from these foods completely Don’t be shy about asking health food store employees if they know about a certain product If you’re unsure of the source of a product’s ingredients and don’t get the answers you need from store employees, contact the manufacturer by calling the 800 number listed on the food Or go to the brand Web site to find out more Companies are happy to give you this information, especially if it leads to more sales because their products are appealing to other segments of the population Foods with the USDA Organic label on the front (see Figure 7-2) are made from at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and products with the Vegan label are 100 percent certified vegan (see Chapter 11 to find out what this label looks like and for more about it) These labels are important for you as a vegan to recognize because one of the reasons you probably chose to become vegan was to live healthier and lighter on the earth Even though you don’t have to eat organic foods to be vegan, eating organic foods is healthier and better for the planet and your body 95 96 Part III: Sticking to Your Guns: Staying Vegan Figure 7-2: Look for this label to make sure the food you’re buying is certified organic Surprisingly vegan supermarket sneaks Though I don’t encourage people to eat these foods often, it’s surprising and fun to discover that an old “bad” treat is actually vegan! These foods were compiled from PETA’s Web site as well as information from the manufacturers: ✓ Charms Blow Pops and Lollipops ✓ Cracker Jack ✓ Dot candies ✓ Dum Dum Pops ✓ Famous Amos Sandwich Cookies (Vanilla) ✓ Fritos Original corn chips ✓ Hot Tamales ✓ Hubba Bubba bubble gum ✓ Jolly Rancher hard candies ✓ Jujubes ✓ Lemonhead candies ✓ Mike and Ike candies ✓ Now and Later candy ✓ PEZ Candy ✓ Sour Patch Kids candy ✓ Starburst candy ✓ Swedish Fish ✓ Sweet Tarts candy ✓ Twizzlers ✓ Wheat Thins (Original, Multigrain, and Reduced Fat) Chapter 7: Cooking and Shopping Like a Vegan Eco-vegan shopping tips Keeping your vegan head on straight may seem like a big enough challenge without worrying about the health of the planet — but isn’t that one of the reasons veganism sounded like a good idea in the first place? There are countless ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle your way to vegan heaven (like keeping those broccoli rubber bands for organizing long extension cords!) Here are some ideas to get you started: ✓ Buy food in bulk Buying in bulk can mean one of two things: Either you buy the large packages and quantities of food at once or you buy unpackaged foods from large bulk bins that don’t require individual packaging and labeling Each option is less expensive than buying one package at a time Buying unpackaged bulk foods like loose beans, grains, flours, teas, coffees, herbs and spices, nut butters, and oils requires less packaging, and, therefore, less plastic and cardboard is used to deliver the goods This method is ideal because it offers big discounts on those foods, and you can even reuse your old plastic bags and containers to refill with food again and again If you choose to use clean glass jars to refill at the store, be sure to weigh them first so you can subtract the weight of the container from the total cost at check-out ✓ Use cloth bags to carry your groceries home They’re nicer looking, and they make eco-sense! You also can consider reusing the plastic shopping bags that you already have stuffed in the closet ✓ Lather up with bar soaps (instead of liquid) when washing your hands and dishes and even when cleaning around the house Bar soaps are cheaper, lighter, and require less fuel to transport Many liquid soaps contain animal-derived ingredients, and all are packaged in unsustainable plastic bottles To use bar soap when cleaning the dishes, your hands, or your house, simply shave or grate some soap into a spray bottle and fill with water, shake, spray, and clean! ✓ Buy your food in easier-to-recycle containers like cardboard or paper instead of plastic bags or tubs Some vegan margarines come in cardboard boxes wrapped in paper and others come in plastic tubs Try the paper one first You also can buy great healthy pastas in boxes instead of plastic bags ✓ Grow your own herbs, fruit, and veggies Growing your own food is inexpensive, good for the environment, and better for you because you have access to fresh food that isn’t treated with herbicides and pesticides Setting up a little container garden of herbs in your window is easy and inexpensive, and it looks great with any décor 97 98 Part III: Sticking to Your Guns: Staying Vegan ... products with the Vegan label are 100 percent certified vegan (see Chapter 11 to find out what this label looks like and for more about it) These labels are important for you as a vegan to recognize... a Vegan Eco -vegan shopping tips Keeping your vegan head on straight may seem like a big enough challenge without worrying about the health of the planet — but isn’t that one of the reasons veganism... Part III: Sticking to Your Guns: Staying Vegan Figure 7-2: Look for this label to make sure the food you’re buying is certified organic Surprisingly vegan supermarket sneaks Though I don’t encourage