EATING VEGAN ON CAMPUS.You may want to share the following article with your favorite college student or college food service personnel. Many college students follow a vegetarian diet out of concern for animal welfare, the environment, and/or their health. Some students go a step further and choose to be vegan--they use no animal products at all. Following a vegan diet vegan diet (vē´g  n),n the strictest form of vegetarian diet, which prohibits the consumption of all animal products, including can have a positive impact on the planet, and on your health. However, eating vegan vegan /veg·an/ (ve´gan) (vej´an) a vegetarian whose diet excludes all food of animal origin. ve·gan n. while at college may present you with some unique challenges. While you may find many like-minded vegetarian or vegan students on campus to share meals with, this may be the first time you've had to fend for Verb 1. fend for - argue or speak in defense of; "She supported the motion to strike" defend, support argue, reason - present reasons and arguments yourself at meal times, and the dining halls and restaurants around campus may or may not be vegetarian- or vegan-friendly. Figuring out what foods to choose from the dining hall, local grocery stores or markets, restaurants, and the homes of friends and family members is essential to a healthy vegan diet. DORM FOOD While most college dorms now offer a variety of vegetarian meal options, finding vegan foods Vegan foods are generally all types of food that are free of animal products, like meat, milk or eggs. Food groups Main article: Food groups
BREAKFAST: Cold cereal (check labels for milk products) fortified soymilk (you may need to request that your dining hall provide fortified soymilk) Bagel with jam or peanut butter Oatmeal with raisins and fortified soymilk Fresh or canned fruit Fruit juice LUNCH OR DINNER: Peanut butter and jam or Peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread (check bread ingredients for milk products) Vegetable, bean, or lentil soups going (make sure the soup doesn't contain cream, chicken or beef stock, or meat) Pasta with marinara sauce or olive oil, steamed vegetables, and pepper or other seasonings Baked potato with steamed vegetables and salsa Tossed salad with beans or tofu chunks, lots of veggies, and sunflower seeds, with Italian, French, or vinaigrette dressing (dressings may not be vegan or oil and vinegar Rice and beans with salsa (make sure the beans don't contain lard or pork) Tortilla with rice, beans, veggies, and salsa Steamed or stir-fried vegetables with rice or pasta and soy sauce Fresh or canned fruit for dessert QUICK MEAL IDEAS Learning how to stock your kitchen with healthy vegan foods and how to prepare meals is probably the most important step to ensuring you will be able to follow a vegan diet long-term. Even students living in dorm rooms can stock up on nutritious snacks such as cereal, granola bars, baked tortilla chips, and pretzels. They may have a mini-fridge available to stock with ready-to-eat foods such as apples, oranges, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, soy yogurt Soy yogurt is yogurt prepared using soy milk, yogurt bacteria, mainly Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus and sometimes additional sweetener, like fructose, glucose, honey or raw sugar [1]. or pudding, hummus hum·mus also hum·us or hom·mos n. A smooth thick mixture of mashed chickpeas, tahini, oil, lemon juice, and garlic, used especially as a dip for pita. , bean dip Noun 1. bean dip - a dip made of cooked beans dip - tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped , salsa, soy deli slices, peanut butter and jam for sandwiches, soymilk soy·milk n. A milk substitute made from soybeans, often supplemented with vitamins. Noun 1. soymilk - a milk substitute containing soybean flour and water; used in some infant formulas and in making tofu or rice milk, and fruit juices. You may find the widest variety of vegan foods at health foods stores (shopping in the bulk section may help to cut costs a little), but mainstream grocery stores are beginning to stock many vegetarian and vegan food items, which you may find in a special "health food" section or mixed in with the standard products. Local food cooperatives and markets are also a good choice for finding fresh produce and vegan foods. Check the labels of all the processed foods you buy for hidden animal ingredients. You don't have to be a gourmet chef to prepare nutritious and tasty vegan meals for yourself. Some examples of simple meals you can make at home include pasta with marinara ma·ri·na·ra adj. Being or served with a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices: spaghetti marinara. n. Marinara sauce. sauce, bean burritos or tacos, stir-fries with tofu tofu Soft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. or tempeh tem·peh n. A high-protein food of Indonesian origin made from partially cooked, fermented soybeans. [Indonesian tempe, from Javanese, soybean cakes.] and lots of veggies Veggies of Nottingham, also known as Veggies Catering Campaign, is a campaigning group based in Nottingham, England, promoting ethicalbum alternatives to mainstream fast food. , beans or lentils with rice, vegetarian soup with pasta or whole grain bread, nut butter Noun 1. nut butter - ground nuts blended with a little butter paste, spread - a tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers or used in preparing other dishes sandwiches with bananas or jam, scrambled tofu and veggies, eggless French toast or pancakes with fruit on top, baked white or sweet potatoes with tofu sour cream and salsa, veggie Reuben sandwiches with rye bread, vegan cheese and sauerkraut, soy lunch "meat" sandwiches with lettuce and tomato, pasta or potato salad, and tossed salad with tofu chunks and sesame seeds on top. FOOD SERVICE REFERENCES Encourage your food service to offer More vegan options. Registered Dietitian registered dietitian, n See dietitian, registered. Dina Aronson suggests, "Ask for a meeting and be prepared to give examples, keeping in mind that cost is the number one concern of most food service managers." A good time to start is World Vegetarian Day World Vegetarian Day is observed annually on October 1. It is a day of celebration established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 "to promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism" External links
If your food service wants to serve more vegetarian food, the following may be helpful: Vegan in Volume by Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD. This 272-page book contains over 125 great tasting and unique vegan quantity recipes for use by food services food services Hospital services A 24/7 department in a hospital that provides for the nutritional needs of inpatients–eg, those needing special diets, preparing meals and transporting them to the floor and, through the cafeteria, the hospital staff and . Also helpful to chefs and food service personnel are chapters on vegan nutrition
Vegan nutrition encompasses the nutrients vegans require for a balanced diet. It is an important part of a vegan's life, as it is the foundation for determining which foods should be consumed based on their , soy, useful equipment, and food safety. In addition, there are sections on vegan ingredients, breakfast buffets, cooking for kids and college students, and more. $15 Quantity Vegetarian Recipes from The Vegetarian Resource Group. Includes quantity recipes on cards, plus lists of suppliers. $20 Visit <www.vrg.org> and dick on Quantity Cooking. Subscribe to the quarterly Vegetarian Journal's Foodservice Update newsletter, which includes quantity recipes, reviews of new vegetarian products available for food service, as well as useful tips for various institutional settings. $10 To purchase any of these publications, send a check or money order to The Vegetarian Resource Group at PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203 or call (410) 366-8343. SAMPLE MENUS the following sample menus illustrate the types of foods to choose when you have a wide variety of choices (Menu 1) or when you have very limited choices (Menu 2). Menu 1: BREAKFAST Oatmeal Fortified soymilk Raisins Orange LUNCH Whole wheat tortilla with vegetarian refried beans, mashed avocado, tomatoes, shredded romaine lettuce, and salsa DINNER Brown Rice Stir-fried tofu, broccoli, carrots, and green peppers in canola oil, reduced-sodium soy sauce, ginger, and/or garlic SNACKS Carrot sticks Whole wheat toast Hummus Almond butter Menu 2: BREAKFAST Dry cheerios Toast or a bagel Orange juice LUNCH Veggie sub with whole wheat roll, iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickles, olives, green and hot peppers, onions, mustard, and oil and vinegar Fruit DINNER Salad with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrots, garbanzo beans, Italian dressing Pasta w/ marinara sauce Roll or bread Fruit SNACKS Bagel with peanut butter or hummus Granola bar Baby carrots Apple Sara Post is a registered dietian living in Virginia. |
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