Some people become vegetarians because they love animals. Some, as comedian A. Whitney Brown put it, because they hate plants.

But vegans are committed. Not only do they not eat food that harms or kills animals, some dont even want food that inconveniences animals.

Like honey. Hardcore vegans will not eat honey because, as Noah Lewis of vegetus.org puts it, the simple fact is that the bees are enslaved. Similarly, some vegans will not eat sugar because, while it comes entirely from a plant, some sugar is whitened by using bone char, which comes from animals.

Although the vegan diet lacks in meat, dairy and egg productsor because of itthe diet can be better for you than that which the standard American eats. In 2009, the American Dietetic Association took the position that vegetarian and vegan diets reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and lead to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

It can be healthy, but there are some things to watch out for when on a vegan diet: You have to make sure to get enough protein and vitamin B-12and calcium, iodine, vitamin D, iron, zinc and n-3 fatty acids.

Fortunately, a well-balanced vegan diet provides all of these essential nutrients, though you may want to take vitamin B-12 supplements, just in case.

Still, cooking a well-balanced vegan diet can be difficult, at least if you want to stick to what most Americans think of as normal ingredients. Many vegan recipes attempt to re-create meatless versions of familiar meat-based dishes, and to do so they rely on such potentially off-putting ingredients as vegan chicken, egg replacers and nondairy cheese.

Other recipes use soy products such as tofu and tempeh for their protein, and it is one of these that I tried first in cooking a vegan diet for a day.

Mee Goreng, which is a type of stir-fried noodles, is popular street fare in the Philippines. When I have had it before, it always had meat in it, usually chicken or shrimp or both. But then I came upon a vegan recipe for it using tofu, and tofu fans are sure to be instantly hooked.

If they like spicy food, that is. As with a lot of street food, Mee Goreng usually packs a kick. If you want it milder, simply trim down or eliminate the amount you use of sambal oelek, the all-purpose Indonesian and Malaysian ground chili paste.

Also as is the case with much street food, Mee Goreng tends to be a little oily. The recipe calls for 5 tablespoons of oil for four to six servings; I got by with four tablespoons, but that is still a quarter cup of oil.

Do you need it? Yes. The oil brings the dish together, from the spicy sambal to the faintly bitter bok choy to the sweet sauce made from equal parts of soy sauce, brown sugar and molasses.

The tofu, which has the amazing ability to soak up all the flavors in which it is cooked, serves as a protein-rich punctuation to the meal.

For my next dish, I dispensed with the tofu and received my protein in the form of garbanzo beans, which are also known as chickpeas.

Indian-Style Vegetable Curry With Potatoes and Cauliflower (that name seems a little over-descriptive to me) is another spicy dish. I like spices; sue me. If less fiery food is more your style, you can use a mild curry powder (but I wouldnt use much less) and leave out the serrano chile.

This dish benefits greatly from the mutually complementary flavors of potato, cauliflower, garbanzo beans and curry. A bit of tomato paste and a cup of coconut milk make it deeply satisfying, yet it is so healthful that youll practically pat yourself on the back for eating it.

It is the kind of dish that calls out for basmati rice; if you have it, use it.

Finally, I made a vegan version of one of the least vegan dishes I could think of, pancakes.

Pancakes pretty much need eggs, milk and butter. If you try to make them from just flour, water, sugar, salt, baking powder and a little oil, youll wind up with paste.

Or so I thought. But then a colleague passed me a recipe for Vegan Pancakes that she swore was excellent. And she was right.

I dont know how this works. I dont understand how they hold together without becoming slightly sweetened hardtack. Im guessing the oil has something to do with it, but we are only talking about a single tablespoon for 10 smallish pancakes.

These vegan pancakes are fine the way they are, but I incorporated a couple of additions suggested by my colleague: I added two tablespoons of soy milk (almond milk would also do) and a teaspoon of vanilla, just to make the pancakes even better.

They are a perfect foil for maple syrup. And maple syrup doesnt inconvenience any animal.

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The vegan diet meatless masterpieces - Fredericksburg.com

Monday is the deadline for the Justice Department to give the House Intelligence Committee any evidence it has that backs up President Donald Trumps claim that his campaign was the subject of a wiretap authorized by the previous administration. The deadline for the information falls a little more than a week after Trump accused former President Barack Obama in a series of tweets of wiretapping the phones at Trump Tower in Manhattan. Those tweets came at the same time questions were being raised about possible ties between some of Trumps close associates and a series of Russian officials. It was those ties that the FBI announced last week it would be investigating, along with an odd computer link to a server in Trump Towers. The House and Senate intelligence committees have announced similar investigations, with the House Intelligence Committee announcing it will hold an open hearing on March 20 to investigate allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Which of the presidents associates and advisers are being looked at? Here are some of the key players in the Trump-Russia story. Paul Manafort Manafort was the chairman of Donald Trumps campaign, but resigned in August 2016 after revelations surfaced about his work on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych was a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to The Associated Press, Manafort helped a pro-Russian governing party in Ukraine secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying firms in 2012, and did so in a way that effectively obscured the foreign political party's efforts to influence U.S. policy. A U.S. lobbyists must declare publicly if they represent any foreign leaders or political parties. The New York Times reported that Manafort spoke to Russian intelligence officials last year via telephone calls that were monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies. Manafort has denied that he spoke with the Russians. Manafort has also been linked to handwritten ledgers that list cash payments of $12.7 million by Manaforts name. Michael Cohen Cohen is Donald Trumps personal attorney. According to a New York Times report, Cohen was involved with a peace plan for the Ukraine and Russia that involved the U.S. removing sanctions on Russia in return for Russia ending its support of pro-Russia separatists fighting the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine. In addition to having sanctions removed, the deal would allow Russia to cement its control over Crimea. Russian annexed Crimea in 2014. The Times story claims that Cohen delivered the peace plan to Michael Flynn, the national security adviser who was forced to resign last month. Cohen told The Washington Post that he did not deliver a plan to Flynn, but that he had met with businessman Felix Sater and Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Artemenko in New York in January and talked about a peace plan for the Ukraine for about 15 minutes. Artemenko said that the plan was, indeed, delivered to the White House. Michael Flynn Flynn was Trumps national security adviser for three weeks. He was forced to resign when it became known that he misled Vice President Mike Pence on conversations Flynn had with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. U.S. intelligence sources said that Flynn talked with Kislyak about sanctions placed on Russia by former president Barack Obama in late December. Flynn also worked for Russia Today, a state-owned TV show. He was paid for a visit he made to Russia to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Russia Today, and could be in trouble for that visit if it was not approved by the Defense Department and the State Department. Flynn was registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent prior to Election Day. He was registered for $530,000 worth of lobbying work that may have aided the Turkish government. The AP reported that the Trump transition team was told that Flynn likely needed to register as a foreign agent before taking top national security role. Sergey Kislyak Kislyak is the Russian ambassador to the United States. He spoke with Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, in December about sanctions that had been brought against Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election that, eventually, led to Flynn's resignation. Kislyak also met with then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (now attorney general) on at least two occasions. Sessions says he barely remembers what was said and that the meetings were brief. He did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearing in response to a question about what he would do if someone in Trumps campaign had had contacts with Russian officials. Sessions recused himself from any potential investigation into Russian meddling with the election and ties with Trumps campaign. CNN reports that Kislyak, in an October speech to the Detroit Economic Club, denied meeting with Donald Trump or campaign officials during the course of 2016 presidential election, but acknowledged that he met with members of Congress and others who approached him at events. Carter Page Page was a foreign policy adviser to Trump in the early days of his campaign. Page is the head of an investment company known as Global Energy Capital. He was publicly accused by then-Senate Minority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) of being a link between Trump and the Russian government. Page has also been accused of being a go-between for the Trump campaign and high-level Russian officials. Page was in Moscow for three days in mid-July, and according to reporter Michael Isikoff, and intelligence sources claim he met with Igor Sechin, the head of the Russian state oil company. Sechin is said to have been working on a plan to have Western sanctions against the company lifted. Page has denied ;he met with any government officials while in Russia last July. He has criticized US sanctions on Russia as 'sanctimonious expressions of moral superiority. Andrii V. Artemenko Artemenko is a Ukrainian politician who opposes Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and claims to have evidence of Poroshenkos corruption. He has crafted a plan for peace in Ukraine with himself as president, and Politico has reported that Artemenko met with Trump attorney Michael Cohen and businessman Felix Sater, a business partner of Trumps, to discuss that plan. Felix Sater According to The New York Times, Sater, a real estate developer and adviser to the Trump Organization, met with Ukrainian politician Andrii Artemenko and Michael D. Cohen in New York in January to discuss sanctions against Russia. The story said that Sater was given the letter, which proposed the deal to lift sanctions by withdrawing Russian forces from eastern Ukraine, to Trump attorney Michael Cohen to be delivered to Michael Flynn, the then-national security adviser to the president. Igor Sechin Sechin is the head of Russias state oil company, Rosneft. According to reporting by Yahoos Michael Isikoff, a U.S. intelligence source said that Sechin was desperate to have Western sanctions against him and Rosneft lifted, so he arranged to meet with Carter Page, head of Global Energy Capital. Isikoff reported that Sechin offered Page the brokerage of a 19 percent stake in Rosneft in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on Russia. Page has denied this report. Jeff Sessions Attorney General Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, was the first sitting senator to endorse Trump. He appeared with Trump at some campaign stops and was rumored to be under consideration for vice president. During 2016, Sessions met with Russias ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, at least twice. Sessions said that the meetings were in line with his duties as a senator, and that nothing about Russias potential involvement with the 2016 presidential election was discussed. Sessions did not disclose those meetings during his confirmation hearings in response ;to an indirect question about Russias involvement in the election. Sessions recused himself from any potential investigation into Russian meddling with the election and ties with Trumps campaign. Roger Stone Stone is a longtime friend of Trumps and was an informal adviser to his campaign. According to several media reports, Stone is being investigated by the FBI about whether he had inappropriate contact with Russian officials. Stone told CBS News that he suspects he is being investigated, and said, Sure, theyll get my grocery lists, they may get the emails between my wife and I, but heres what they wont get -- any contact with the Russians. Despite saying in a speech that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, he claims did not know Wikileaks was going to publish emails stolen from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. This week, The Smoking Gun reported that Stone was in contact with the Russian hacking group that U.S. intelligence officials have accused of illegally breaching the Democratic National Committees computer system and Podestas email account.

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8 Tips for Deciphering Diet Claims - KRMG

Lunch

Spinach salad topped with pecans, goat cheese, dried cranberries, light vinaigrette, 2-3 slices of avocado

Misty's Ballerina Body breaks down her nutrition philosophy into "Act 1" food (main ingredients and primary supplier of fats like animal protein and plant fats) and "Act 2" food (vegetables, fruits, starches, grains) you can mix and match. Her plan suggests always picking one of each for both lunch and dinner, making sure each plate has protein and carbs.

She calls this method "Meal Choreography" and explains, "Like ballet and our workout routine, which take a medley of steps and build from there in combination and complexity, you'll be able to mix and match a variety of foods to make sure you enjoy wheat you're eating and your taste buds don't get bored."

Grilled salmon, roasted onions, carrots, butternut squash seasoned with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. A glass of prosecco OR a peanut butter cookie.

For dinner, you should include one of each "Act 1" food and "Act 2" food, then add in a starch like brown rice or winter squashes. "Act 1" food, she writes, should be grilled, baked, poached, or broiled rather than fried. Because she's pescatarian, dinner usually revolves around fish. On giving up meat, Misty wrote, "I dove in headfirst, becoming a pescatarian overnight. I wouldn't necessarily recommend going cold turkey like I did. I had dreams of bacon and giant hamburgers for months! But I felt amazing. My energy level skyrocketed."

Misty loves Red Lobster. But, she stays mindful of what she's consuming, even when at a restaurant. "I like to go with options that don't have a ton of empty calories added to them. For instance, I'll order the crab legs and a garden salad. Go for cleana piece of fish that isn't breaded or fried, a salad or vegetable, and quinoa, lentils, or couscous instead of rice," she explains.

Another major "do" of hers is to "eat mindfully," that is, eat slower to aid digestion. It "Allows you to really relish the flavors you're tasting, and can help you realize when you're truly full."

"I like to take along packaged food that I can rely on to give my body what it needs, especially if I'm heading overseas. I usually carry packets of plain oatmeal, packaged tuna, whole wheat crackers, and nuts."

Lastly, sugar, processed food, junk food, fast food, white flour, artificial sweeteners, and soda are among the things Misty steers clear from. She also suggests easing off salt and reaching for garlic, onions, and herbs, instead. Another big tip: don't eat to the point of being overstuffed. "It's okay to leave food on the plate," Misty assures.

Get Ballerina Body here.

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Exactly What Misty Copeland Eats in a Day - ELLE.com

Out with the old, in with the nutritious. With winter weather behind us, now is the perfect time to do a bit of spring cleaning in your pantry. By purging junk food from your pantry, you take away much of the temptation to eat it. If its within reach, its easy to indulge and even small nibbles throughout the day can really add up.

Food to get rid of:

Salty, high calorie snack foods, which are all around bad for your waistline: theyre high in empty caloriesandbloat causing salt. (i.e. a 150 calorie serving of tortilla chips is only 9 chips!)

Swap salty chips for:

Foods high inaddedsugars. Regardless of the type, added sugars really dont do anything for your body: theyre just empty calories, and they can send your body for a ride on the blood sugar roller coaster.

Swap soda for:

Swap candy for

Foods withtransfat.Trans fats are the lab-created fats that are particularly bad for health. Theyre abundant in packaged foods like cookies, cakes, cracker and chips sometimes theyre even lurking in unexpected places, like tortillas.

Subtraction by addition

Think of nourishing foods toaddin, rather than just cutting things out. By adding in good stuff, you have less room in your pantry for less nutritious foods.

Suggestions:

Get inspired by healthy blogs, recipes, and social media influencers. Check out healthy recipes onharmonsgrocery.com

This story includes sponsored content.

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How to Spring Clean Your Diet - Good4Utah

a walk in the woods for mushrooms Photo Credit: Chipmunk131/Shutterstock

The Paleolithic diet has taken the world by storm in recent years, and modern man has eagerly cashed in on the growing desire to eat primitively. The paleo industry is expected to rake in $300 million a year by the end of 2018. According to a trade group known as the Paleo Foundation, one big growth segment of the industry is paleo/vegan crossover products. It conjures an image of a flock of free range tofurkys, which surely must have been a favorite of our vegan ancestors who wanted to pretend to be eating meat. The range of Certified Paleo Products include paleo granola, paleo mushroom coffee and cold-brew wellness teas, paleo gluten-free pizza crust, paleo Filipino pili nuts with Himalayan sea salt...you get the pictograph.

In other words, this dietary fad, which sprang from provocative roots and may indeed have real-world health benefits, has also spun out of control into a certified paleo shitshow. And while its entirely appropriate to scoff at this absurdity, this profiteering alone isnt reason to dismiss the idea that our diet should, ideally, align with what humans ate when their bodies evolved into their current form. After all, if you had a car designed for diesel fuel, why would you put unleaded gasoline in the tank?

Since our ancestors were presumably spear-throwing hunters, it follows that the paleo diet should be heavy on meat, and devoid of modern day processed carbohydrates and dairy products.

The theory is tempting for numerous reasons. It doesnt hurt that us modern humanoids do enjoy our meat and fatat least many of us doand confirmation bias is human nature. In other words, we gravitate toward any theoretical support to justify how we want it to be. And, those who try a low-carb diet in hopes of losing weight tend to be pleased with the immediate results. They line up with the uptick, in recent years, in the available data suggesting that concerns about dietary fatto which we are also quite partialare overblown, if not completely backwards. There is a growing body of clinical evidence that cutting processed carbs and adding animal fats and protein is just fine, an idea that flies in the face of the dominant dietary paradigm of the the last few decades.

One recent study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, sought to verify the popular claim that a paleo-esque low-carb diet can help control diabetes. Two groups of diabetics were fed different diets: one was a paleo-esque low-carb diet, and the other a standard modern dietthe kind upon which many so-called diseases of civilization like obesity and diabetes are blamed. The results were significant after only 14 days, with the paleo group faring noticeably better in terms of diabetic markers like blood sugar and insulin resistance.

These results, while based on a relatively small sample size, nonetheless validate the paleo-digm. And they joined a growing list of studies that suggest physiological benefits when modern humans avoid modern foods. A subsequent meta-study that involved many more data points found evidence that a paleo-type diet improves risk factors for the constellation of chronic conditions known as metabolic syndrome, including heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and belly fat, as well as diabetes.

But even as the clinical evidence mounts in favor of diets that are low in processed carbohydrates and high in fat and protein, different lines of inquiry call into question the basic assumptions upon which the whole thing was originally built. Namely, that our ancient forefathers were all bloodthirsty fat-chewers.

A team of scientists that took on the glorious task of analyzing the microbial DNA found in the plaque recovered from the teeth of unearthed Neanderthals found something curious that, when you think about it, shouldnt be a surprise at all: Our ancestor were omninvores. Sure, they hunted, when possible. But more often they gathered. They were opportunivores who ate what they could, because they didnt have the freedom to hold out for only Certified Paleo skillet taco sauce.

Some of the teeth did indeed display the microbial fingerprints of a meaty dietwooly rhinos and wild sheep, specificallybut others showed no evidence of meat whatsoever. Instead, they showed a diverse diet of the likes of mushrooms, tree bark, pine nuts and moss. At least there were Twinkies to be found; the absence of processed carbs, in addition to being one of the most clinically sound elements of the diet, is also among the most likely things to be true about it.

We need to revamp the view of Neanderthals as these meat-eating, club-toting cavemen, Laura Weyrich, a member of the team told The Atlantic. They had a very good understanding of what foods were available to them. This understanding may have included knowledge of medicinal plants. Traces of poplar bark, for example, which contains aspirin, were found on the teeth of one individual who had a dental abscess.

Of course, these are Neanderthals we are talking about, not modern humans, so caveats apply. But the same basic conditions of scarcity, and geographic differences in available available foods, would have surely applied to ancient humans as well.

What is remarkable about human beings is the extraordinary variety of what we eat. We have been able to thrive in almost every ecosystem on the Earth, consuming diets ranging from almost all animal foods among populations of the Arctic to primarily tubers and cereal grains among populations in the high Andes, William Leonardof Northwestern University wrote in Scientific American in 2002.

Aside from what they ate, the more serious practitioners of one of the myriad paleo doctrines tend to understand that ancestral health, or alternatively, the primitive lifestyle, is also about things like movement and fresh air. A good club duel, providing you prevail, can do the body a lot of good, even before you sit down and eat your vanquished opponent's eyeballs.

One primal activity, foraging, would be much less frowned upon than mortal combat in todays more litigious than indigenous culture. As it involves food, air, exercise, and earthy smarts, and a healthy amount of discomfort, it ticks a lot of boxes that both certified nutritionists and paleo coaches would endorse. Foraging represents a full half of the hunter-gatherer clich that has been so endlessly romanticized. And this is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can extract from the original paleo lifestyle and apply to our own modern-day schedules.

The reasons to forage go beyond exercise to nutrition. It also helps you connect with your landscape, and get in harmony with the local natural cycles. It offers stress, like damp feet and scratched arms, which stimulates the immune system. And, especially this time of year, it offers the possibility of nutrients that your body might badly need.

With the winter snows finally receding across most of the country, the green shoots of springtime will soon emerge. The dandelions come first, at least in my neck of the woods. Then come the nettles, if you know where to find them (near running water). This kind of mission is a great excuse to pick up a local field guide to native, edible plants and bond with your home ground.

Throughout most of human history, including modern history, winter has been an especially difficult time to get your vitamins. And the young, often bitter sprouts that push up through the mud are often just what you need. So instead of buying a new diet book, buy a local plant book instead. Instead of trying to guess what your ancestors ate, lace up your shoes, take a walk, and find something to eat. And you might want to brush your teeth afterwards, if for no other reason than to confuse the dietary researchers of tomorrow.

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The Paleo Diet Fad Has Spun Totally Out of Controland It's Giving Neanderthals a Bad Rap - AlterNet