Jessifly

Yeah! Those Cliff Nectar bars are soooooo good! I also love Organic Food Bars and Think Organic Bars and this is my new favorite:Nature's Path Optimum Orange Chocolate Bar I don't find any animal product in the ingredient list but it says it's "vegetarian".. why not vegan..maybe it's in the chocolate? I should write the company to ask I also recently tried one with lots of "greens" in it and it was really good.. I wish I could remember the name of it..

The information I got was from a conversation with a pharmacist I work with, she was warning me about taking multivitamins and getting too much vitamin A (she didn't say toxicity but just that it is dangerous for the heart and hard on the bones to get too much).. That's interesting about the 50% beta-carotene. I never really looked into the source of the vitamin, but with that I would think that a vegan vitamin would have to be 100% beta-carotene? It appears that the preformed is all animal sources?

I agree with Trev. Getting your nutrients from food is highly superior to pill supplementation. More Harm than Good? Also if you take a once daily multivitamin, it may claim to have a sufficient or high percentage of each nutrient, but some are fat soluable (excess is stored in the liver) and some are water soluable (not stored, excess is dissolved and eliminated). If you take the vitamin in the morning, the water soluable nutrients are eliminated early in the day and without a proper diet or more supplementation throughout the day your body is left without those nutrients for most of the day. As an example of a fat soluable vitamin, vitamin A can be very harmful if you store too much, and you can get too much easily from excess vitamin supplements, but you really can't get too much vitamin a from food because when it comes from food like vegetables it starts as beta-carotene that is converted to vitamin A by your body, the unneeded amount is discarded by the body not stored like Vitamin A from pills is. Although this means breaking a little free of the "lazy vegan" thing, it would be worth it to focus more on a healthy diet rather than supplementing the deficiencies (imo)

Being Vegan by Joanne Stepaniak The format of this book is great, it is written with questions and answers or like a FAQ. Any question anyone might ask about being vegan is in there.

When I stopped eating meat and started eating meat alternatives about 5 years ago or so I used to have tons of negative effects from eating soy, mostly digestive issues/stomach pains but the worst was getting shaky and jittery with problems breathing after consuming soy products. I talked to a doctor about it and obviously I has an intolerance/allergy to it. He advised me to slowly work soy into my diet. I tried doing that and now I can eat soy with almost no problems (except in really large quantities). Funny thing is after all that work to be able to eat it I'm now trying to work soy products out of my diet because I just don't feel my best after a soy meal plus I don't even care for meat alternatives anymore. I guess I should have listened to what my body was saying from the beginning!

Yay! We have a contract on the house! We accepted the offer yesterday, signed the contract and we close March 28th! FINALLY on our way to Oregon!

That would be great! Since I didn't do very well with my attempt at doing the MC on my own I think a support group to do it with is just what I need!

Start with orange juice (the more acidic citrus prepares the digestive system for food again), then add raw fruit, then raw salad... this over the course of a day or two and you should be ready to eat food again.

I've done quite a bit of research on the MC over the past 5 months (but I have yet to complete one!). I am looking at the MC book right now, here is what I find.. any artificial, synthetic or refined sugars substituted can adversely affect the normal function of the liver, pancreas, and spleen resulting in hypo/hyperglycemia. But the balanced sugar in genuine maple syrup causes no dangerous side affects. There is no mention of whether agave is an ok substitute but I think it would be fine because it is natural. Mentioned natural (balanced) sugar substitutes that are ok to use include sugar cane juice and pure sorghum but they do not have the benefits of maple syrup on the cleanse. The reason maple syrup is so beneficial is because the grade b has a large variety of minerals and vitamins (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, vitamin a, b1, b2, b6, c, and b5).

Lol! No... this was another trip, although I got very little sleep that night also because you thought the bears were gonna eat you... but actually you always think the bears are gonna eat you..

first thing in the morning after camping.. and at home... bleh..

The Keys to Your Heart http://images.blogthings.com/keystoyourheartquiz/heart.jpg You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic. Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily. What Are The Keys To Your Heart? http://www.blogthings.com/keystoyourheartquiz/

The sweet basil salad I had at Omar's was by far the very best salad I've ever tried!

You Are 65% Indie http://images.blogthings.com/howindieareyouquiz/indie-4.jpg You're a very indie person, and admit it, you look down a little on people who strive to be normal. You'll indulge in a little mainstream pop culture every now and then. But for you, anything not indie is a guilty pleasure! How Indie Are You? http://www.blogthings.com/howindieareyouquiz/

Arty Kid http://images.blogthings.com/whowereyouinhighschoolquiz/arty.jpg Whether you were a drama freak or an emo poet, you definitely were expressive and unique. You're probably a little less weird these days - but even more talented! Who Were You In High School? http://www.blogthings.com/whowereyouinhighschoolquiz/

Your Inner European is French! http://images.blogthings.com/whosyourinnereuropeanquiz/french.jpg Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so. Who's Your Inner European? http://www.blogthings.com/whosyourinnereuropeanquiz/

You Are a Coy Flirt http://images.blogthings.com/whatkindofflirtareyouquiz/coy-flirt.jpg You may not seem like you're flirting, but you know exactly what you're doing. You draw people in, very calculatingly, without them even knowing. Subtle and understated, you know how to best leverage your sex appeal. A sexy enigma, you easily become an object of obsession. What Kind of Flirt Are You? http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofflirtareyouquiz/

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Ironic by Alanis Morisette http://images.blogthings.com/whatsyour1996themesongquiz/ironic.jpg It's like rain on your wedding day It's a free ride when you've already paid It's the good advice that you just didn't take Who would've thought ... it figures What's Your 1996 Theme Song? http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyour1996themesongquiz/

You Are a Mermaid http://images.blogthings.com/whatmythologicalcreatureareyouquiz/mermaid.jpg You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else. What Mythological Creature Are You? http://www.blogthings.com/whatmythologicalcreatureareyouquiz/

(ok, so they're not all pics from when I was a teenager!) The JNCO jeans days of high school! Senior photo

Thanks for your "welcomes" everyone! Thanks, I try and get to posting soon Yeah! I think we should put together a camping trip! I'm really looking forward to meeting you all! Hey, I know you too! Great assortment of pics you chose for the photo forum

Hey everyone! I actually joined almost 2 weeks ago but am just now getting around to posting an intro (mostly cause this is my first forum-type membership and I'm kinda learing how this works) Let's see.. I've been vegetarian off and on my whole life for it being a healthy choice, but I've been learning more about animal cruelty and therefore have become very strict on myself more recently... I've eaten no meat in months now and I decided to transition to a completely vegan diet. I thought the transition would be hard and take a while but so far it has been very easy. For one my diet is already more vegan than I realized and also a huge help has been that my friend James (SpeakLow on here) is also going vegan and we cook up some really REALLY delicious meals together! And also I am a hugely compassionate person so the more I learn about animal cruelty the easier it is to mqke vegan choices. My interests are mainly outdoors (backpacking, camping, snowboarding, snowshoeing, I am just getting into rock climbing, too). I am also very interested in nutrition and exercise. I also am planning on moving to Portland, Oregon (when the house sells) to be near family and friends, I am so excited but it is taking longer than I expected. When I get there I plan to start school but I'm not completely positive what I want to do career-wise yet. My goals in joining this forum are mainly to learn how to incorporate a vegan diet into an active lifestyle. I have lots of questions and am looking forward to posting! Jessi