There are tons of vegan blogs and cookbooks out there to keep it interesting
Photo courtesy of To Live and Eat in L.A.
Vegan From the Inside is a 2011 survey by author Janice Stanger which aims to shatter common myths that may prevent more people from enjoying the benefits of a plant-based diet. Over 2000 vegans from around the world shared the rewards and challenges of their lifestyle. We will be sharing some of these findings with you over the next couple weeks, and we’ll open up the comments to hear your thoughts on these topics. For our previous coverage, click through to read about Myth #1 and Myth #2.
MYTH #3: A vegan diet is boring.
FACTS FROM THE SURVEY:
96.7% of respondents enjoy the food they eat on a vegan diet.
94.4% intend to stay on a 100% plant-based diet for the rest of their life.
People seldom voluntarily remain with a choice they find boring. A Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) survey reinforces these findings. VRG surveyed people in 2009 who had been vegetarian or vegan in 2006. Over those three years, every single one of the male vegans remained vegan, while 83% of the female vegans still chose a 100% plant-based diet.
IN RESPONDENTS’ OWN WORDS:
“Going vegan has been a wonderful experience. I've learned about all sorts of amazing foods and my palette has expanded greatly.”
“You learn about tons of new foods and ways to cook!”
“Every myth I've heard about a vegan diet has been debunked over time, especially the myth that it is not an interesting, sustaining, or varied diet. I have never eaten so well or enjoyed eating so much in my life as I do now.”
We'll be covering more of these busted myths later in the week! The survey’s author, Janice Stanger, is a Ph.D and Certified Plant-Based Nutritionist who has published the book The Perfect Formula Diet, a guide book for getting healthy and losing weight on a whole foods, plant-based diet. For information on this survey or Janice Stanger, visit her at: www.perfectformuladiet.com
How about you? Do you think a vegan diet is boring? Share your thoughts for us in the comments and we'll pick one of you to win today's Everyday Giveaway for free Earth Balance®!
- Categories: Veg Issues
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- lisa hochstetler
- Feb 21, 2012
- 12
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- MizzB
- Feb 21, 2012
- 13
My vegan diet, and those of most vegans I know, are anything but boring. I find that I eat a wider variety of foods than most non-vegans, who it seems tend to eat a lot of the same foods over and over. I do have my favorites that I prepare regularly, yet even these have more variety than most.
The variety includes different vegetables, some traditional like tomatoes, squash, romaine, beets, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and not so traditional, like kale, kohlrabi (green and purple), eggplant, purple bell peppers and tomatoes, dandelion greens, okra and so on. Fruit varieties - same thing. True deprivation for the so-called well fed has to be to never have tasted tomatoes eaten right off the vine, or a blood orange plucked from one's own tree!
Variety also includes ethnic cuisines. Amazed that there are people who say they have traveled outside of US, yet had not had Indian food, or to whom I will have to explain the falafel with the kalamata olive spread I plan to make later this week from the recipe posted on this website.
Thank you for letting me vent!
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- Amy Davidson
- Feb 21, 2012
- 14
A vegan diet is more interesting than the standard american diet, to me anyways. It's not about what you can't eat, it's really about what you can eat.
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- Connie
- Feb 21, 2012
- 15
My diet definitely became more interesting when I went vegan. I tried many foods I had never even heard of! (Nutritional yeast, seitan, tempeh, kimchi, quinoa...)
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- Blair Greenwood
- Feb 21, 2012
- 16
A vegan diet is not boring! The other day I told a coworker about my diet, originally I had taken to the diet because I'm lactose intolerant and can't process meat. I hated food. It was painful to eat, I didn't eat much. I was ready for a change, and veganism turned my life around. Not only do I eat better than I had away from home, but I felt better about myself. I got more creative in the kitchen, and really learned how to cook. Looking back on my prior diet, I really didn't know how to cook, and my meals were definitely boring. Veganism has taught me to how to cook with different ingredients and create flavorful dishes with an array of spices!
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- Donna Bardocz
- Feb 21, 2012
- 17
Not at all, there are so many ways to make a tasty and nutritious meal without using dairy products or meats these days. Plant-based diets are very tasty and it is fun to try to come up with new and exciting meals.
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- Amanda Rediger
- Feb 22, 2012
- 18
Boring? Never! its a whole wide world of creating and a adventure into culinary ideas that are ever so tasty!Possibilities are endless!
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- Paul Aubert
- Feb 28, 2012
- 19
Pas de tout! It is simply a matter of snatching up some good greens and getting into one's creative element in the kitchen. Furthermore, ther is such a thing as coconut and it essentially one ups any meal and boosts the fatty goodness of any diet, plus the mcfa's are highly charging. And nowadays there is a vast array of protein-rich alternatives, which greatly expand one's options. IT's all good.
