My Position On Soy

I have heard a lot of criticism of soy. Namely that it's so dangerous because of the phyto-estrogen. Phyto=plant. Mothers seem to be overly concerned about their little boys growing vaginas.
Here's my thinking:
People have been eating soy and tofu/tempeh for centuries with no problems.
What about the plenitude of hormones in animals? There's well over double the amount of estrogen found in milk and flesh than in any plant, more like 6 times the amount, actually. And that's certainly not plant-estrogen. I won't even get into the amount of extra hormones the industry adds to the feed of livestock to ensure quick growth.
People that have a problem with tofu and tempeh because they're curdled and fermented-how is cheese or yogurt made?
The other thing I see is that veganism and tofu, hell vegetarianism and tofu, are often slapped together. It's assumed if you're vegan, you must consume vast amounts of soy. I eat soy(including tofu and tempeh) probably 2-3 times a week. That's way less than meat at every meal that I see most people consuming. If you are vegan, you don't have to eat soy, there are plenty of other plants to choose from. I don't typically drink soy milk either. Almond or rice milk for me. I haven't even tried hemp, oat, hazelnut, or cashew milk yet.
Troy and I also buy only organic soy. To avoid GMO's. 90% of the soy grown is to feed livestock, and it's mostly GMO, unless you're buying organic meat. So the cows are eating GMO soy, and we're eating the cows. Hmm...?
I'm more concerned with the amount of isolated soy protein I see on an astounding amount of package ingredients. This is not only with 'vegan food', but food most people buy. I've noticed this especially once I started paying attention to ingredient lists. I no longer consume near the amount of processed, packaged food. Again, only 2-3 times a week if I'm feeling lazy, because I can make anything I want using just plants(whole foods), and if I'm not sure, I google it. Easy.
Soy(pun definitely intended!), let's not forget to use our brains when we get information.

Vegfest 2011 Bruce Friedrich

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87sMzQ31xWc&feature=player_embedded#at=96

Great video!

The Protein Myth

http://hw.libsyn.com/p/5/6/f/56f89ebe1bf45a7e/protein.mp3?sid=ebc7003579a3ec99a4e40c66909ce6c4&l_sid=22037&l_eid=&l_mid=2034181

Troy Is Amazing

Troy has been amazing through all this! By 'this', I mean, the brain injury and my veganism. I'm told(cause I can't recall!) Troy spoon-fed me, and reminded me everyday of why I was even in the hospital. Once awake from the coma, I wanted to communicate, but I couldn't because of the trach. Luckily, I went to an elementary school with a hearing impaired program, and I picked up some American Sign Language. I guess I automatically started using it to communicate(it's been about 10-12 years since I've used it...ahh the brain), Troy even learned a few words in ASL(ie."toilet", "no") so he could understand me, and so much more! He's so patient. It can take me longer to understand instructions, and he really makes sure I get it. He's very patient because my explanations of things is poor now. I have my education degree so I used to be pretty okay with explanations. Now I listen to the Vegetarian Food For Thought podcasts over and over! Simply because I'm working on my memory, and compassionate responses to common questions/responses to veganism.

Joyful Girl by Ani Difranco

I do it for the joy it brings
because I'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
I do it because it's the least I can do
I do it because I learned it from you
I do it just because I want to
because I want to

everything I do is judged
and they mostly get it wrong
but oh well
'cuz the bathroom mirror has not budged
and the woman who lives there can tell
the truth from the stuff that they say
and she looks me in the eye
and says would you prefer the easy way?
no, well o.k. then
don't cry

and I wonder if everything I do
I do instead
of something I want to do more
the question fills my head
I know that there's no grand plan here
this is just the way it goes
and when everything else seems unclear
I guess at least I know

I do it for the joy it brings...

Brain Injury Life Lessons

A few things I learned about how to handle life(and vegan stuff) from my severe brain injury:
1) Attitude: if you don't think you can, you can't. Simple as that.
2)Patience: not everything happens when you think it should. 3)Forgiveness: forgive yourself and others for mistakes, both past and present ones.
The beautiful thing about life is you can keep adjusting. I love that once we learn, we can always make a change. You're allowed to change your mind as information becomes available.

DHA and EPA

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/foodandhealth/omega-3-fats-in-vegan-diets/

Vegans who want to include DHA and EPA in their diets can get it the same way fish do, which is from algae. In fact, from an environmental perspective, it makes sense for omnivores to choose algae-derived supplements over fish oil, too. http://bit.ly/r4XXcY

My Brain Injury and Being Vegan

Troy and I were in a vehicle collision December 5, 2009. We were t-boned by a speeding stolen vehicle. The people in the other vehicle fled the scene. We were taken out of the car with the jaws of life. Hospital by ambulance. I was in a coma for 8 days. Had to relearn everything we take for granted, like walking, talking, printing, and simple math. I have a severe brain injury, damage to my right frontal lobe and occipital lobe. I was seeing double till April 2010 sometime. Because of my brain injury, I slept about 12 hours at night, plus a 2-3 hour nap during the day. Now I sleep 9-10 hours at night and an hour nap during the day.

Takes me longer to do anything, I have a hard time focusing on something. My memory is also terrible, but always getting better. It wasn't that long ago that I couldn't remember what I did minutes prior. I have many notes and lists. I lost a bunch of weight in the coma, then was tube fed through my nose for a couple weeks. Lost more weight. Once I was able to eat solid foods again, I ate whatever was offered to me. I gained a bunch of weight. Plus fast food was simpler to get than healthy home-made meals. As I got better(and once I stopped seeing double, so I could read) I did a lot of reading about diet, I started with Skinny Bitch. I had no idea it was about being vegan! This is how I became vegan. Not saying that all vegans have had head trauma!

Food is one of the areas I can alter to speed up my recovery. My occupational therapist says diet can change a lot as your brain recovers. I'm also not able to work quite yet(not sure when that will be), I have more time now to practice making different recipes, learning to cook and research nutrition. Plus cooking and working on this stuff is great cognitive therapy.

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

http://vimeo.com/25559560

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is my hero. I have all of her books, The Joy of Vegan Baking(my first vegan cookbook!), The Vegan Table, Color Me Vegan, Vegan's Daily Companion and I've pre-ordered The 30 Day Vegan Challenge. I  listen to her podcast, Vegetarian Food For Thought nearly everyday. I have a bit of a 'girl crush' on her, but not to worry, my sweet husband, Troy, knows. :) Actually, I think he knew before I did.

Her podcast is very inspiring, and I feel supported every time I listen. Her cookbooks are so good! She tries to stick to commonly found ingredients, so not a lot of specialty vegan fare required. Which is awesome since Regina does not offer a lot of options for vegans. The Joy of Vegan Baking was my first vegan cookbook, and her instructions are very simple to follow. This is important to me, because my brain injury was pretty fresh(6 months old), and I had a hard time following directions. The trick is to have my nap and don't play music. ;) Plus I used to hate cooking and baking.  Well not anymore baby!

Message to friends regarding my veganism

I'm really happy in this vegan lifestyle. I feel peaceful. I'm glad my actions follow my ethics of non-violence and compassion. I live with integrity. I'm healthier than I've ever been.
I'm really not trying to convert anyone. I'm sharing information so my friends and family can make informed food choices rather than being ignorant. So they can make their own decisions with all of the information rather than follow what they've been led to believe by corporations that have everything to gain($$$). I find it interesting that I'm seen as 'pushing' my veganism onto people, but corporations with ads in every form(television, billboards, radio, etc) aren't viewed as 'pushing' animal products onto people. Here's the deal: I'll stop talking about my veganism once all of the ads for animal parts and secretions stop.

There's a lot of myths out there about vegans and veganism that are unfounded that I need people to know are not the truth.
Being vegan is not expensive at all. When you're buying prepared, packaged food, yes, it gets pricey. But we don't usually eat that stuff, plus the government(both USA and Canada) heavily subsidizes meat, dairy and eggs. So we're not seeing the true cost dollar wise, not to mention other costs such as human and non-human animals rights violations, and environmental and health costs.

'Meat' does not equal animal flesh

"The word “meat” originally meant “that which was eaten (solid food) to distinguish it from that which was drunk (beverages),” and we still say “nut meat” or “coconut meat.” I absolutely abhor such words as “fake," “faux,” “alternative,” & “substitute” to talk about plant foods. I don’t eat “fake meat,” and I do eat “grain-based meat" and “wheat-based meat" and "nut-based meat." I just don’t eat “animal-based meat."-Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Meat Consumption and Global Warming

If everyone in America went vegetarian for 7 days a week, that would be the same as taking all cars off US roads. Vegetarian for 6 days=the total electricity use of all households in the US. Vegetarian for 5 days=planting 13 billion trees and letting them grow for 10 years. Veg for 4 days=halving the domestic use of all electricity, gas, oil, petrol, and kerosene in the US. Veg for 3 day=300 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. Veg for 2 days=replacing all household appliances with energy efficient ones. Veg for 1 day a week would be like saving 90 million plane tickets from New York to LA.

Chicken Periods(aka eggs)

Yes, I realize it's not quite the same as eating menstrual fluid. But it's damn close. The real difference is that our babies grow inside of us. The potential chick gets all of its nutrients from inside of the egg, while humans first get all of their nutrients from the menstrual lining in their mother's uterus. Now, the same thing happens to female chickens as female humans: if the egg is not fertilized, it gets discarded. It leaves the body. Ta Dah! Eggs and periods. Well to be completely accurate, for birds, the egg leaves the body either way. So, yes, eggs are nutritious.
Nutritious for chicken fetuses! They do have a hell of a lot of cholesterol(more than 200mg per egg)! Yes, I realize that we aren't really eating the "unborn fetuses of chickens", they are unfertilized. Still, that's fucking gross.
Chicken periods.