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Tofu is a very popular food item for vegans - and rightly so. It’s packed with amino acids and minerals including iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and vitamin B1. Its base ingredient – soy beans – is very high in protein and overall nutritional value. Don’t believe all the negative claims about soy especially if the statements lack any peer-reviewed research basis, as this ingredient actually has a lot of health benefits. We've clarified like we’ve clarified in a previous post, "So(y) Misunderstood". Though tofu’s positive effects are relatively straightforward, the same can’t be said when it’s time to work with it in the kitchen. Ironically, there are some complexities involved when preparing and cooking this simple food, all of which should be remembered in order for you to enjoy each tofu dish that you want to make. Types of tofu First off, you need to be familiar with the many types of tofu. Urban Vegan lists each kind, namely: silken, soft, medium-firm, firm and extra-firm. You need to choose the right type depending on the recipe to be prepared. More on this later. It’s worth noting as well that many recipes require draining excess water from the tofu to allow it to absorb more flavour, except if it’ll be consumed raw on a salad or as part of a soup/sauce. To do this, wrap a fresh tofu block in paper towels and place a pan on top for 15-30 minutes. Afterwards, you can marinate the blocks and let them soak up the juices. If you bought pre-marinated tofu though, you can skip the pressing process altogether. Different cooking methods This is where selecting the right kind of tofu matters. Organic Authority showed the different ways of cooking tofu. Steaming is one of the most basic, and you can do this by placing tofu blocks over a steamer for around 7 minutes. Both soft and firm types may be used. Next is stir-fry. Firm types of tofu is your best choice here. Stir-fried tofu and vegetables is actually a very popular dish as it’s tasty and easy to prepare. You may also deep fry tofu blocks which can then be eaten as is or as an ingredient in other dishes. Firm types also work well with this method. Another option is baking and you can either use soft or firm tofu. This is a good alternative to frying as it requires less oil. Tofu is usually baked for 30 minutes over a temperature range of 375-400 degrees F. Grilled tofu is often seen in recipes like kebabs and tofu steaks. Place the tofu blocks on the grill for about 5 minutes per side or until grill marks appear. These are the common cooking methods for tofu and the majority of recipes utilize these techniques. Other less common methods include braising on a pan and blending as an addition for smoothies. Why include tofu in your diet? Aside from the nutrients that tofu provides, it’s a great addition to your daily meals if you plan on building muscle. Tofu is rich in protein which is a vital nutrient for muscle-building. Athletes, including body builders, all know the importance of protein and many of them regularly consume tofu to meet their protein requirements. One very famous tofu lover was Bruce Lee, who is widely considered the greatest martial artist in history. A Foodie World wrote that tofu was a favourite of the Jeet Kune Do master. Even games like the virtual slot title ‘Bruce Lee’ featured his distinct physicality through using his signature poses as reel symbols. Bruce Lee was – and still is – a respected fitness practitioner and martial artist who was fully aware of the benefits of including tofu in his personal diet. Bruce Lee was a respected body builder and martial artist who was fully aware of the benefits of including tofu in one's diet. Now that you know more about tofu, its varieties, and its preparation and cooking methods, the next step is to explore all sorts of recipes that use this ingredient. To help you get started, Good Housekeeping lists a myriad of sumptuous vegetarian tofu recipes. Guest blog post provided by Alice Smith. Want to level-up your vegan nutrition? Need a friendly kick in the butt? Check out my vegan fitness and nutrition coaching programs! Download Karina's 350-item vegan grocery list! Need inspiration for healthy plant-based eating? Need to spice up your daily meal routine? Download your free vegan grocery list! With more than 350 healthy items (some of which might be new to you), you'll be a vegan nutrition superhero in no time. #tofu #vegancooking

One of my kick-ass online clients sent me some inspired questions about productivity recently. He wrote: “I get the sense that you have a very busy, full life. It sounds like you have almost limitless energy. I imagine you’re very well organized as well. You just seem very productive. Have you always been this way, or was there some shift to that way of being? Did you learn how to be more productive over time, or does it just seem natural? I’m curious because I’m both envious and kind of in awe at your ability to do all the things you do. I’ve realized for a while now that to make some of the things happen that I want to in my life, I have to learn how to do more with less time.” I’m flattered he was able to deduce this about someone he’s never met in person before, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to give this some thought. First, the facts... Important fact #1: While I feel that I must’ve inherited at least some of my mom’s absolutely mind-blowing amount of energy, I feel that 90% of my productivity has been learned. Important fact #2: My productivity has most definitely not “always been this way”. What’s “always been this way” is what seems like a natural drive to want to do so many different things and cram my life full and work my ass off. Couldn’t tell ya where that comes from. It just exists. Important fact #3: I have absolutely no innate talent for any of the things I love doing - athletically, musically, or otherwise. If only! Instead, it’s a stubbornness to stick to a regular practice schedule, and practicing with intent in the (usually small) amount of time I have available. What does Karina's day-to-day look like? My client is correct in that I do live a very busy, full life. For those who don’t know, here’s a little breakdown of the basics: » Client work: Monday to Friday, coaching my awesome online clients (coaching calls, workout program design, text/voice messaging communication, filming form videos in my gym). Client work also includes the admin side of things: follow-up items after sessions, check-ins, filing information, regular progress pics/measurements, etc. » Writing: There's always some writing project or another going on! I often contribute to alive Magazine, for example. I've used my writing time to publish 3 books (with a 4th coming out in 2021!). I also maintain a blog and publish regular email content. » Podcast: I host the No-Bullsh!t Vegan podcast, with new episodes coming out every 2 weeks. I’m involved in all stages: writing, interviewing/recording, and editing, although I do have an assistant who helps with booking guests and creating show notes. » Training: I work out between 8 and 10 times per week. A typical week is 6-7 strength training workouts, 2-3 swim workouts, and 1 jump rope session. » Music: This has always been an extremely important part of my life. I used to play oboe in 2 semi-professional orchestras. Now I focus on accordion (aiming for 4 days per week of practice), Australian didgeridoo (regular weekly jam sessions with friends), and piano (currently a few times per week just to maintain repertoire; not learning anything new right now since my focus is accordion). » Social life: I spend quality time with my husband every night at (and after) dinner. We take turns making dinner, and about once a week we make dinner together. Then we watch a few Netflix shows (by this point, my brain is so fried from a long day’s work that it’s not up for much else). We also have a weekly date night, usually on Saturdays. The majority of my interaction with friends is centred around workouts. (There’s honestly not much time left over after factoring in all the above!) One of my 2 weekly swims is with a good friend, so we catch up in the hot tub after our respective workouts. The other swim is sometimes with a group of 3 friends, otherwise on my own. One of my upper body workouts each week is with my best friend (besties since the age of 6!), who also runs her own business so we’re both extremely pressed for time. My weekly track workout and one of my lower body workouts is most often done with another friend (who’s also a client). Otherwise I see my core group of friends (who all run their own businesses) about once a month. So, inspired by my client’s questions to think about my fundamental productivity and doing-as-much-awesome-shit-as-possible principles, I present to you: Karina’s Top 10 Getting Shit Done (GSD) Principles GSD Principle #1: Set priorities. Know which shit needs to get done. Being productive isn’t about getting the most things as possible done. It’s about getting done what’s the most important. I use an old-school paper planner (weekly + quarterly) to set daily non-negotiable items. Each day has a maximum of three, but I always choose one as the most important. Everything else is a distraction until I get that one thing done. GSD Principle #2: Delete distractions. My seemingly natural drive to want to do a whole bunch of awesome shit means my brain is always on, and I get distracted very easily. Multitasking as a productivity “hack” is a myth. We need to focus on one thing at a time, with all our attention. Research shows that just having your phone in the same room as you decreases your concentration and your work performance, for crying out loud! I use the SelfControl app to block access to distracting websites (social media, blogs, news sites, etc.) when I need access to the internet to do my work, but don’t want to get sucked into a time-wasting vortex of Facebook scrolling. I use the Freedom app when I’m writing or reading and want to block out all access to the internet. I check e-mail only a few times a day. Otherwise my e-mail application is closed. GSD Principle #3: A cluttered environment leads to a cluttered brain. Our environments have a big effect on our states of mind. I can’t stand clutter, so I make a point of “de-cluttering” my living and work space on a regular basis. I like starting the day with a clean desk (and a clean kitchen, for that matter). I also can’t stand noise “clutter”. I have a strict no radio ads policy in the car (I turn the volume down to zero), and I often wear earplugs even when working at home. A less cluttered environment means a less cluttered brain. And a less cluttered brain is a more effective – and happier – one. GSD Principle #4: Use overarching themes to organize your life. The more you can “theme” your days (or weeks, or months, or even years), the more you can make use of “batching” similar types of work. As you can tell from the summary of what I have going on in my life, there’s a lot of different stuff. Switching back and forth between different types of work takes a lot of mental effort that could otherwise be put toward getting shit done. For example, let’s imagine you’re a writer working on an article deadline. You have your phone on your desk to receive intermittent texts from friends. Every time you get a text (or even check your phone), you’re pulling your mind away from “writing mode” and into “social mode”. This may not seem like much, but these small distractions add up over the workday. It would be much more effective to have a scheduled time set aside for socializing/texting/Facebooking, and a separate chunk of time scheduled for writing (and only writing). I’ve themed each day of my week, and I try to batch together tasks under those themes as best I can. This means each day has an overarching focus, and I’m not constantly wasting mental energy jumping from mode to mode. » Monday: Responding to client check-ins and touching base with every client. » Tuesday: Client coaching calls and speaking with prospects. » Wednesday: Working on long-term projects. » Thursday: Client coaching calls and speaking with prospects. » Friday: Learning day. I read, research, and learn new skills. » Saturday: Fun day! I work on whatever I feel like working on, or I don’t work at all. Date night with the hubby. » Sunday: Planning day. Groceries and food prep for the week, planning out my week in Google Calendar, and planning out my priorities, daily non-negotiables, and other weekly to do’s in my weekly planner. I also theme my weeks, months, quarters, and years. For example, this year is all about building my online business. Everything else is a distraction. This quarter is all about putting together a new e-book (which fits into the year's goal of building my online business). GSD Principle #5: Get serious about scheduling. I use Google Calendar to schedule everything. I have separate calendars for each of the following: » Clients: coaching sessions online or on the phone. » Business: meetings, events, or other non-client business stuff. » Personal: hangouts with friends and family, appointments, etc. » Workouts: self-explanatory. My workouts are always planned at least a week in advance. » Meals: I schedule what we’re eating and when. I also have a “Business reminders” calendar and “Personal reminders” calendar. These keep track of client/friend birthdays, anniversaries, and more. As one of my business coaches always used to say, "You need to treat yourself as your own best client". Schedule your work, and then show up for that work (as you would if you were meeting with your best client). GSD Principle #6: Make self-care non-negotiable. I need to present my best self at work and in the rest of my life, and I’m not at my best unless I’ve properly rested, fuelled, and trained. That means sleeping 8 hours every night (no exceptions), making eating and prepping nutritious and whole foods a daily priority, and ensuring I get in my weekly workouts. We need to stop glorifying ‘busyness’. We need to stop equating lack of sleep with dedication to work or productivity. Find out what you need to do to function at your best, and do it! GSD Principle #7: Be accountable to yourself, and call bullshit on yourself. Getting shit done is going to take at least some level of self-discipline. That means doing what you know needs to get done, even when you don’t feel like doing it. It also means forgoing what you want in the present moment (e.g. a bag of chips) in pursuit of what you want in the future (e.g. losing 10 pounds). To help me be accountable to myself, I use the Streaks app to track 6 metrics important to me this year: meditation, accordion practice, strength workouts, corrective/physio exercises, core training, and one arm chin-up practice. I’ve set intended frequencies for all these, and I can see when I’ve completed each and whether I’m on track. I also use RescueTime, which tracks everything I do on my laptop and shows me how I’ve used my time. Here are some recent screenshots: One drawback of RescueTime is that it can't differentiate between business-oriented productive social media time, and time-wasting Facebook scrolling. This particular week was very successful for my business in the social media department, but it shows up as "distracting" time. You don’t need apps to be accountable to yourself, though. Just remember to regularly check in with yourself (weekly, daily, hourly) to ask yourself whether you’re working on what really needs to get done. GSD Principle #8: Be OK with some level of chaos. In order to focus on what’s really important, you need to be OK with other areas in your life existing in a state of chaos. Jay Papasan (co-author of The One Thing) was interviewed in an e-book I found extremely inspiring, which was part of the Peak Work Performance Summit. He says: “You just cannot mess around with the small stuff if you want to build an amazing business or amazing career. You've got to be OK with a little bit of chaos. And it's going to happen. If you see any truly successful person, there's always a little bit of chaos in their wake and they're OK with it if they're doing their one thing.” I always have a background list of approximately 64731037 To Do’s that don’t get done. My kitchen is always a mess. I don’t have time to clean my house between professional cleanings every 2 weeks. But I’m working with my amazing clients, kicking ass at the gym, and making time for music – things that are much higher on the priority list, and thus much more important to get done. If practicing accordion on a certain day means not having a clean kitchen, so be it. I can’t realistically do both. If adding online clients to my roster means not having time to go for a manicure, so be it. I can’t realistically do both. If it’s a choice between getting in my daily workout or answering 10 e-mails that just came in, the e-mails will need to wait. You get the picture. GSD Principle #9: Get help. An outside perspective is a valuable way to get new insight into your work and your life. It’s an opportunity to discover ways of making your work more effective (and your life more awesome) that you may not have thought of yourself. Seek out friends, colleagues, and mentors who can help you. Hang out with people who already have what you want or are already doing what you want to do. I strongly believe that all coaches should have their own coaches. I worked with an incredible business coach for many years, who helped me to develop many of my most strongly held lifestyle and work habits. I also work with an amazing strength coach when I can make it to her side of the city, and follow strength programs she puts together for me. She has me doing things I’d never think of doing on my own, making my time in the gym much more effective. Having another coach take care of my programming also means I don’t have to do it myself, and I can put that mental energy toward helping my clients instead. GSD Principle #10: I’d rather be good at many things instead of exceptional at one thing. This is merely personal preference, and you may feel differently. I have so many varying interests, and the drive to pursue them all, that I need to be OK with the fact that I’ll never be world-class at any of them. If you’re multi-passionate like I am, you need to find the best approach that gives each of your interests focused attention. I try to find a balance between interests like music, athletics, and writing, with the understanding that I’ll never be a concert accordionist, will never break any chin-up or jump rope world records, and (more than likely) won’t pen any New York Times best-selling books. That’s not being negative or cynical, that’s being realistic. And I’m OK with it. If you want to be absolutely exceptional at a certain thing, you need to make that thing your “One Thing” and have an entirely different approach.

One of the things health- and fitness-minded vegans struggle with the most is food prep. That’s fitness nut language for preparing food for the days – or even the week – to come, so you’re not making all your food last-minute. Vegan food prep is way easier and faster than non-vegan food prep; you don't even need to cook your protein sources! So if you think your food prep needs to take hours and hours, think again. With the right approach, you can get an entire week's worth of meals in just an hour. Enter the vegan bowl. They’re versatile, mind-blowingly delicious, extremely nutritious, and simple to make. They’re basically a bunch of awesome ingredients piled into a bowl on top of a bed of your choice of grain (e.g. quinoa, brown rice), drizzled with a ridiculously amazing dressing and topped with all sorts of flavourful toppings. You’d get these at restaurants in Vancouver for anywhere from $11-$18. You'll be making your own for a fraction of that cost, with the exact ingredients you want. A finished vegan bowl. It took me 55 minutes to prepare ingredients for a whole week's worth of 'em, and 5 minutes to assemble this one for dinner. A dedicated hour of food prep gets you a whole week of mind-blowingly delicious dinners (or lunches). Here’s the full how-to. Download a printable PDF version of this how-to guide (including grocery list) here. Your overall action plan You’re going to prepare several different ingredients and store them in separate containers. Your food will have a longer shelf life this way, instead of storing fully assembled vegan bowls. When you’re ready to eat, it’ll take about 5 minutes to assemble your bowl. You can then eat it as is, or heat in a microwave for 3 minutes. Plan ahead so you can have an hour available to focus only on food prep for the coming week. Start with a clean kitchen, have all your equipment ready to go and your ingredients purchased, and be sure to read through these instructions beforehand. You can make this as simple or as elaborate as you like. I went pretty hardcore and used a total of 16 ingredients (you can certainly use fewer), but it still took me only 55 minutes to prepare. Also keep in mind that the more often you make bowls, the faster you’ll get at preparing them (full disclosure: I make them a lot so I’ve got lots of practice!) Before we get crackin’, here are 4 important notes for you Important note #1: My 60-minute timeframe assumes that you’ll be using a food processor. If you don’t have one and need to chop your veggies by hand, it’ll take a bit longer. My food processor slices 2 whole carrots in 4 seconds. Try doing that by hand! Not gonna happen (unless you're some kind of vegan veggie-slicing ninja...) Important note #2: All amounts are for one person. If you’re preparing meals for two, double all amounts. Important note #3: Consider this guide as just that – a guide. It’s not an exact recipe to follow, and you can use any plant-based protein source and any veggies you fancy. I’m showing you what I do and the ingredients I use merely as a starting point. Important note #4: With only an hour of food prep for the whole week, we’re making the assumption that you’re OK with eating the same thing for dinner for a week. However, unlike other pre-made meals, you have lots of opportunity to switch things up throughout the week if you use slightly different toppings each day. For example, alternate between tofu and tempeh for your main protein, use cashews + almonds as a topping one day and hemp hearts + crispy onion the next, etc. Or you can enjoy the exact same vegan bowl 7 times in a row if you’re a serious creature of routine. Up to you! Kitchen equipment you’ll need » Large pot with well-fitting lid » Blender [You’ll need this to make smooth dressing.] » Large smoothie cup or screw-top jar » 5-8 large airtight storage containers » 1 small airtight storage container » 1 medium bowl » Food processor [You don’t have to have a food processor to make this meal, but it greatly cuts down the time involved. I use a simple Cuisinart 8-cup food processor.] » Cutting board and chef’s knife Your grocery list » 3 cups uncooked quinoa or brown rice » 2 large cans beans of your choice » 1 jar salsa » 1 bunch green onion » 1 package cherry tomatoes » 1 large cucumber, or 5 mini cucumbers » Smoked tofu, tofu puffs, and/or tempeh (7 servings total) » 6 carrots » 4 beets » 1/2 small Napa cabbage » 1/2 head cauliflower » 1 package pre-washed greens (e.g. arugula, baby kale, spinach) Staples to have on hand (add to grocery list if you don’t) » Nutritional yeast » Tamari or soy sauce » Apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar » Garlic (3 cloves) » Olive oil » Tahini » Black pepper Your easy food prep steps 1. In a large pot, cook 3 cups (dry) quinoa or brown rice as per package directions. This will give you just under a cup of grain per meal for the week. If you need larger serving sizes, use 4 cups of dry grain instead. 2. While quinoa or brown rice is cooking, prepare vegan bowl dressing. Just throw all these ingredients into a blender, and blend! I make mine in a smoothie container with a handheld immersion blender. The smoothie container is an easy way to store this dressing for the week; it’s the perfect size and pours easily. [Adapted from Whitewater Cooks] 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes 2/3 cup water 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup tahini Freshly ground black pepper to taste 3. Rinse canned beans. Place in large storage container and mix with salsa. 4. Chop green onion and store in small storage container. 5. Rinse cherry tomatoes and store in a bowl (they don’t need to be refrigerated). You may want them handy to snack on, anyway! 6. Slice cucumbers into rounds and store in large storage container. Note: cucumbers don't last as long as other veggies, so you may need to slice up a second batch halfway through the week. 7. If you’re using smoked tofu, dice it into cubes. Tempeh strips and tofu puffs can be stored in their original packaging, placed into a plastic bag or large Ziploc. 8. Now you’ll prepare your main veggie ingredients. Use your food processor to grate or slice carrots, beets, Napa cabbage, cauliflower, or any other veggies you’d like to use. I don’t bother to peel my carrots or beets, and first cut them into medium-sized chunks so they fit into the food processor’s chute. Store veggies separately in large airtight storage containers. YOUR PREP IS DONE! Here are the 16 ingredients I used last time I made bowls. I never make the same bowls 2 weeks in a row! With countless options for grain bases, veggies, protein sources, and toppings, you’ll never get bored of this meal. 5-minute vegan bowl assembly for meals 1. Place brown rice or quinoa in bottom of bowl. 2. Top with prepared carrots, beets, cauliflower, black beans with salsa, and tofu/tempeh of choice. 3. If you want a warm meal, add dressing and heat in microwave, then top with green onion, your greens of choice, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber slices. Otherwise pile everything into your bowl and your feast is ready. If you’re packing vegan bowls for lunches at work, take 5 minutes in the morning to assemble one in a portable container. I pack my dressing separately in a small screw-top container and add right before eating. Topping ideas » Sauerkraut » Crispy onions » Green radish or daikon radish » Hemp hearts » Slivered almonds » Shredded nori seaweed » Pumpkin seeds » Sunflower seeds » Cashews » Peanuts » Walnuts » Kimchi » Avocado Other protein sources to try » Pan fried seitan » Veggie meatballs (e.g. Yves brand) » Veggie ground round » Gardein brand faux meat (e.g. “Mandarin Chick’n”) » Edamame beans » Chickpeas » Brown, green, or red lentils Other bases (instead of quinoa or brown rice) to try » Farro » Spelt » Amaranth Other veggies to try » Mushrooms » Purple cabbage » Daikon radish » Red/green/yellow peppers » Snow peas » Asparagus » Fennel » Broccoli » Zucchini Pics of my own vegan bowl food prep Using an immersion blender + smoothie container makes dressing preparation super easy. Only one blender component to clean, and the smoothie cup is great for dressing storage + pouring. I recently tried green radish for the first time. What a weird-lookin' (but delicious!) vegetable. Once shredded, it doesn't last a full week in the fridge though. My preferred brands of smoked tofu and smoked tempeh. All vegan bowl ingredients ready and hanging out in my fridge for the week. Download a printable PDF version of this how-to guide here! (No e-mail address required.) Ready for dessert? Check out this post! Are you vegan (or wannabe vegan) and want to level-up your nutrition? Want to show the world what plant-based athleticism is all about? Check out my fitness coaching programs! Calories and macros on a vegan diet: A free e-book for you! ​​ Download Karina’s free 32-page ebook that shows you how to track your food, calculate calories, and set macro goals on a vegan diet. You’ll even get step-by-step instructions – complete with a printable grocery list – for how to prep a week’s worth of delicious vegan bowls in 60 minutes or less.

Original article by PartSelect's blog Written by Nicola Brown Google "jackfruit" – go on, give it a try – and you will see something that looks like a science experiment gone wrong. This giant, bulbous mass is, believe it or not, a real fruit. It even grows on trees. Don’t ask me how. There’s been a lot of buzz about jackfruit recently so here is your complete guide to this tropical fruit, why it’s so popular, and how you can eat it and cook it at home. Jackfruit 101: What is it, where is it from, and where can I buy it? Jackfruit is the biggest fruit in the world. The world’s heaviest jackfruit according to Guinness came from India, clocking in at 42.72 kilograms (94.18 pounds; yes you read that right), was 57.15 centimeters long and had a circumference of 132.08 centimeters. But believe it or not the jackfruit tree is actually from the same family as a fig tree. I’m not making this up, I swear. Jackfruit is a common fruit in India, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. It’s also grown in central and eastern Africa, and is popular in Surinam and Brazil. It turns from light green to yellow as it ripens and aside from its giant size is quite distinctive with its nubby blunt spiked texture. You can buy jackfruit in cans at many specialty grocery stores and supermarkets, or whole at Asian food markets. I’d recommend opting for the canned versions which are easier to handle when preparing recipes. You can find jackfruit canned in water (great for savory recipes) and syrup (for desserts). Ripe vs unripe jackfruit Ripe jackfruit is very different from unripe jackfruit. It’s actually the unripe jackfruit that is used in most recipes, and that’s what you’ll find on store shelves. The young, green, unripe jackfruit is chewy and mild, making it perfect for soaking up the flavor of the savory dishes you’re cooking. You can use a riper version for sweet dishes like desserts. In its ripe version, it’s typically too sweet to use in savory dishes. Why has jackfruit become such a hot topic? Jackfruit is the fruit of the moment in the vegan community. It’s sort of like the best answer to meat you can get. The texture is substantial, very similar to pulled pork and the flesh of the fruit is very good at soaking up whatever flavors you marinate it with. Many vegans choose it over meat substitutes like tofu or soy- or bean-based products, and things like Portobello burgers. It’s a versatile ingredient that works in many different recipes. It’s just really good in the texture department, and until we figure out how to grow meat (stay tuned – that’s happening) this fruit tops the vegan-friendly list. Researchers even claim that jackfruit could be an answer to the world’s food security problems. Because it’s packed full of nutrients (potassium, calcium, iron) and calories, grows well in warmer climates, and is robust against pests, disease, and drought, it could serve as an answer to dwindling yields of the crops we rely on most today like wheat and corn. Irresistible jackfruit recipes BBQ Jackfruit sandwiches with avocado slaw (by Minimalist Baker) Jackfruit "crab" cakes with tartar sauce (by Veganosity) Download Karina's 350-item vegan grocery list! Need inspiration for healthy plant-based eating? Need to spice up your daily meal routine? Download your free vegan grocery list! With more than 350 healthy items (some of which might be new to you), you'll be a vegan nutrition superhero in no time. Want your own vegan personal trainer? Need to level-up your health and fitness? Check out my fitness and nutrition coaching programs.

I get a lot of questions from readers of my books and people I engage with on social media about what, exactly, I eat in a day. Those who know me in person know that I spend a huge amount of my time eating. After all, my appetite is so large that it has a persona of its own (years ago I named him Percival. It’s his fault when leftovers my husband had been saving in our fridge mysteriously disappear). Those who don’t know me are often very surprised when they find out how much I eat. Out of those people, it’s mostly females. Though I see the cultural approach (very slowly) changing for the better, we’re still assailed with bullshit media messages about food restriction, cleanses and detoxes, cutting entire food groups out of our diets, and generally eating less to achieve the results we’re after. While portion control may be an important piece of your particular puzzle, it’s extremely rare that I see a new vegan female client who severely overeats. Instead, a large proportion of my new clients don’t eat enough to get the results they’re after, and even if they do, they’re often not eating the right types of foods (a focus on nutrient-dense whole foods, with macronutrient ratios appropriate to their fitness and physique goals). If you want to look and perform like an athlete, you need to eat like one. I can assure you that top-level athletes view their food as fuel. It’s an essential part of their training plan, which also includes sleep and recovery. If you’re not taking in enough fuel, or the right kind of fuel, you’re not going to be performing at your best. I suggest you use food logging to practice becoming more mindful of what you’re eating, and how it might be fueling (or detracting from) your fitness and physique goals. If you haven’t yet read the previous 3 parts of this article series, check them out here: Part 1: Why you should log your food, especially if you’re vegan Part 2: How to determine your calorie and macronutrient goals on a vegan diet Part 3: The pro’s and con’s of MyFitnessPal Now, I’m no pro athlete, of course. But I still view food as fuel for my lifestyle, chosen sports, and fitness and physique goals (and so should you!) Lifestyle: I train clients on the gym floor 3 days a week, I work out up to 8 times a week, and I spend the rest of my time in my home office writing and working with online clients. My main hobby – music – is sedentary: playing accordion, piano, and didgeridoo. [Note: this article was written when I still trained clients in person. I now coach exclusively online. My workouts have increased to 10 sessions per week, but my calories have decreased to about 2500 to account for more time spent sitting.] Chosen sports: Weight lifting, swimming, jump rope (and playing a 25-pound accordion - does that count?!). Fitness and physique goals: Over my years of training I’ve focused mostly on performance and strength goals and managing my scoliosis-related back pain. I’m naturally quite lean and need to work extremely hard to gain muscle. I'm not trying to gain or lose any weight. As you can see, I happen to have a pretty active job, a lot of regular workouts during the week, and a turbocharged metabolism (thanks, genetics!) I’m no Olympic athlete, but based on my activities and my genetics, my body burns a ton of fuel. By sharing my food logs I’m in no way prescribing these foods for anyone else. There’s no “one size fits all” approach to health and fitness, so make sure you work with a qualified coach to ensure your nutrition (and training, for that matter) supports your goals. Karina's nutrition-related stats Calorie goal: 3000 - 3500 calories per day Macronutrient ratio goal: 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein Macronutrient gram goal: 375-437 grams of carbs, 100-116 grams of fats, and 150-175 grams of protein per day How is my diet different from that of most people of my gender and size? OK, so I’m willing to bet most people don’t eat two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners, plus snacks in between – unless they’re 7-foot-tall strongmen competitors or professional sumo wrestlers. Most women my age and size don’t eat upwards of 3300 calories per day. That’s because most people aren’t on their feet all day at an active job, work out 8 times a week, and have a stunningly ridiculous metabolism. So, I eat much more than most females my size – especially those with sedentary jobs. However, in the high-level fitness realm (a.k.a. fitness coaches whose second home is the gym and who take their own training seriously), this type of eating is much more common. Remember, food is fuel. If your body burns a lot of it, you’re gonna need to eat a lot of it. Being a high-calorie vegan means stuffing my face basically 24/7 Whole, plant-based food is nutrient-dense, not calorie-dense, so this means I’m eating very often. Based on the sheer amount of food I eat, I’m not at all worried about meeting any of my nutrient requirements. I eat 1.2 to 1.4 times the amount of protein a bodybuilder of my size would need, for example, and I usually get upwards of 140% of the iron I need. However, I still use food logging very occasionally out of sheer curiosity, and to make sure that I’m on track with my macros. Sample food logs Here’s a 2-day sample of my food intake, logged using MyFitnessPal. Totals from this day: Calories: 3833 Macro ratio: 47% carbs, 35% fat, 18% protein (rounded to nearest whole number) Macro grams: 449 g carbs, 148 g fats, 177 g protein Note that I'm not concerned if my macro's or calories aren't exactly on target based on my goal numbers. I eat an extremely varied diet so every day will be slightly different. Also, note that even though I got only 18% of my calories from protein, it's still 177 grams, which is much more than even a 125-pound bodybuilder would need. Totals from this day: Calories: 3156 Macro ratio: 48% carbs, 38% fat, 16% protein (rounded to nearest whole number) Macro grams: 380 g carbs, 133 g fats, 126 g protein Food logging will never be 100% accurate. It’s meant to give you ballpark figures to see if you’re on the right track. Example #1 of inaccuracy: The sodium content shown in my June 6th food log is much higher than what it is in reality. I didn’t want to take the time to create a new recipe entry in the app for the soup my husband made, so I chose a user-generated “homemade vegan garbanzo veggie minestrone” instead. It still gives me ballpark figures for macros and calories, but is far higher in sodium than our version. Example #2 of inaccuracy: The cholesterol content of a broiled grapefruit (see "Dinner 1" on April 16) should be zero. No vegan foods contain cholesterol! Perhaps the food database entry for this item contained butter. Either way, you'll often see inaccuracies like this. What did I learn from my food logs? Since I've logged my food regularly (a few days every few months) for a number of years, there wasn't much to be surprised by. I did notice my protein intake was a bit lower than normal, based just on percentage of calories. If I didn't eat such a high amount of food (e.g. 2000 calories instead of well over 3000), then I'd be more concerned about getting a slightly higher percentage of my calories from protein. My totals were still 177 grams and 126 grams from my 2 days of food logging, which is well above what a 125-pound strength athlete needs. Get not one--but two--vegan fitness and nutrition coaches! ​ Only a few spots available! If you're ready to level-up your fitness and vegan nutrition, our award-winning coaching programs are for you. Coach K and Coach Zoe will build a customized workout routine around your busy life so you don’t have to reorganize your entire schedule. We’ll create a nutrition action plan that lets you eat your favourite foods, while supporting both your fitness and your physique goals. Most importantly, we'll provide an in-depth support and coaching system to keep you accountable and moving toward your goals. Learn more here.

The MyFitnessPal app provides all the nutritional information our clients need to ensure their diets are supporting (instead of detracting from) their health, fitness, and physique goals. However, the app ain’t perfect. This article is part of a series about food logging. Check out Part 1 (why we should log our food) and Part 2 (how to calculate calories and macros). MyFitnessPal is simple to use, includes a web version as well as a mobile version, and allows me and my coaching team to easily access our clients’ food logs without them having to send us anything. My review below focuses on its “higher level” functionality as it relates to accurately logging food, rather than addressing the user interface or the technical side of things. MyFitnessPal: The pros It’s pretty user-friendly This app is robust and user-friendly enough that we use it with all our vegan online coaching clients. It has its downsides (as you’ll soon see, and as any app does), but it’s a great tool to figure out where you’re at nutritionally. It has a big-ass database of foods It’s got a huge database of almost 14 million food items – including the weird vegan ones most non-vegans have never heard of! You can even scan the barcodes of most food packages and it’ll automatically load those foods into the app. (Note: this is also a "con", as the barcode scanner was recently put behind a paywall!) You can create precise recipes and save them for later use, so you don’t have to input each ingredient separately whenever you eat that food. You can also copy and paste entire meals to previous or future days. You can use various types of measurements You don’t need to walk around with a kitchen scale, weighing every ingredient you eat. For my own food logs I use easy measurements like cups, tablespoons, and litres when inputting my foods, which are much easier to eyeball than grams. You have options when it comes to the types of measurements to use, including fluid ounces, weight, tablespoons/cups, and specific serving sizes of foods (e.g. three squares of Lindt dark chocolate, or half a Nugo protein bar). MyFitnessPal: the cons Baseline calories are often underestimated Most often, MyFitnessPal grossly underestimates its users’ calorie requirements. It doesn’t take nearly enough variables into account. For example, it tells me I should be eating 2000 calories per day to maintain my weight, when in fact that number is upwards of 3000. The calorie goal you get from the app doesn’t include exercise, but there’s absolutely no way I’m burning 1000 calories per day working out (see #3 below about accounting for exercise). Highly inaccurate weight loss or gain predictions Check out this screenshot. Even though I’ve manually adjusted my daily calorie goal to my actual maintenance level (3000+), not what MyFitnessPal thinks it is (2000), it still uses its original extremely low calorie number to spout BS like this. I’ve weighed 125 pounds for at least 10 years. There’s absolutely no way I’m gonna gain 17.5 pounds in 5 weeks by eating the way I normally do! I understand that this type of notification could be useful for people trying to shed fat, but if you can’t tell the app to use your much more accurate calorie goal for this calculation, it’ll always be wildly inaccurate. We tell our clients to ignore this screen whenever they see it. You can’t tell the app to ignore exercise…unless you upgrade Keep in mind that the calorie goal you get from the app does not account for exercise. The idea is that if you exercise, those are “extra” calories you can consume on top of your baseline. Using my baseline (suggested by the app) of 2000 calories, if I were to expend 300 calories doing some strength training, my total “available” calories for that day would increase to 2300. Unfortunately, estimating calorie expenditure from exercise is likely even more of a guessing game than estimating daily calorie needs. There are countless important variables (e.g. body composition, genetics, current fitness level) that the app doesn’t take into account. So, we tell our clients to manually enter their daily calorie goal from this calculator, which includes exercise, and then not input their exercise into MyFitnessPal (we use a different app to track workouts and fitness progress). User-generated food database items The database of foods within the MyFitnessPal app is largely user-generated. The app puts a green checkmark symbol next to the foods it thinks have complete and accurate nutrition information, but these could still involve inaccuracies. This serves as another reminder that food logging isn’t meant to be 100% exact. In Part 4 of this series, you can take a look at some of my own food logging and see what an active vegan who kicks other people’s asses for a living eats in a day. Free versus paid version of the app Starting in 2022, MyFitnessPal put the barcode scanner -- one of the most useful features of the app -- behind a paywall. In our coaching programs we use a different nutrition tracking app (the same app we use to deliver workouts to our clients and communicate with them), but that's not much use if you're not a client of ours. (Wanna join our client team? Apply here!) Download my free 32-page ebook that shows you how to track your food, calculate calories, and set macro goals on a vegan diet. You’ll even get step-by-step instructions – complete with a printable grocery list – for how to prep a week’s worth of super healthy vegan dinners in 60 minutes or less.

One very effective way of finding out whether our nutrition is adequately supporting our fitness, physique, and health goals is, of course, to log our food. In Part 1 of this series we covered the many reasons why food logging can be useful, what we can learn from it, and why I think all vegans should track their food at least occasionally. If you haven’t yet read that part, please do so before delving into this one! Remember, there’s no such thing as “good” food or “bad” food; there’s just food that supports your goals, and food that might not. The occasional and guilt-free treat should be part of any nutrition plan that supports your goals, but most of us know that moderation is important. Most of us also know the basics when it comes to the types of foods that would best support our goals. Oatmeal with hemp hearts for breakfast instead of Froot Loops, for example. An entrée salad with smoked tempeh for lunch instead of deep fried onion rings. Roasted chickpeas or veggies and hummus as snacks instead of Skittles and Oreos (yup, they’re vegan). A homemade tofu and vegetable curry for dinner instead of a bag of chips. Remember: just because your diet is vegan, doesn’t mean it’s nutritious or supporting your fitness and physique goals. You don’t need food logging to figure out what types of food might be more nutritious choices than others. I’d say that’s pretty intuitive, right? Where food logging comes in is when you’ve nailed the basics of good food choices, and you want to get more detailed. First up: calorie counting After you feel like you’ve (mostly) got the hang of choosing the types of foods that support your particular goal, the next step is to find out whether the total volume of food you eat is supporting or detracting from your goals. This is where calories come in. The best and easiest way of getting a reasonably accurate idea of your calorie consumption is to log your food in an app like MyFitnessPal. What, exactly, is a calorie? A calorie is not a physical entity. It’s a measure of energy – specifically, heat. The word comes from the Latin word “calor”, which means “heat”. So, we’re measuring the amount of energy foods will provide in the human body. One calorie is the amount of energy it takes to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Now, just to confuse you with numbers for a sec, when we talk about calories in relation to food, what we’re actually talking about is kilocalories (1000 calories). Except people will often use the terms “calorie” and “kilocalorie” interchangeably in the context of food. So, if you’re a scientist, a calorie is the amount of energy it takes to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius. If you’re a non-scientist talking about what you’re eating, a food calorie is the amount of energy it takes to heat one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. If you log your food and your calorie total comes out to 2500, that’s actually 2500 kilocalories, or 2,500,000 “true” calories. For more details on all this confusing math, read this article. How do I figure out how many calories I should consume per day? Well, this depends on your goals! If you want to stay at the same weight, you’ll need to consume your maintenance calories. If you want to gain weight (99% of the time the goal would be muscle!), you’ll need to eat more than your maintenance calories. And if you want to lose weight, you’ll need to eat less than your maintenance calorie number. So, not surprisingly, the first step is calculating your maintenance calories. Step 1: Calculate your maintenance calories This is the calorie calculator I use with all my clients – and for myself! It takes into account many different variables, and is much more accurate than the MyFitnessPal app. Remember that any calorie calculator isn’t going to be exact. Instead, it’s giving you a ballpark figure to work with. No calculator is perfect. So, use this calorie calculator to get an estimate of how many calories you expend in a day. This is an estimate of your maintenance calories, meaning your body weight wouldn’t change if you were to consistently consume this number of calories per day. If you’re looking to change your body composition and/or body weight, you need to tailor this number to your specific goal. IMPORTANT NOTE: The calorie calculator I recommend using includes your average daily physical activity (unlike the default MyFitnessPal calorie estimate, which doesn’t). This way, you’ll be tailoring your nutrition to the physical activity you’re doing, instead of adding in physical activity later (which is how MyFitnessPal is set up by default. More on this in Part 3). Step 2: Adjust your maintenance calorie number to suit your fitness and physique goals My goal is fat loss If your goal is primarily fat loss, you’ll need to eat less than your maintenance calories. Your mission is to find a number that lets you lose fat without making you feel hungry all the time, or lethargic – both of which sabotage your training (and limit the results you get from it). There are two main ways of figuring out what this calorie goal should be: 1. Most people take their estimated maintenance calories and subtract 300-500 from that. In a very simplified way, it takes a deficit of about 3500 calories to lose one pound of fat. So if you’re in a deficit of 500 calories per day, that’s 3500 in a week (or 1 pound of fat loss per week). There’s nothing wrong with this approach, but it might not be the best option for you. If your starting maintenance calories is around 3300 (like mine), reducing your daily calorie intake by 500 calories means a 15% reduction of calories. If, however, your maintenance calorie intake is 2000 and you subtract 500 from that, you’re cutting your calorie intake by 25%. That’s a drastic difference you may not be able to sustain for very long. 2. What makes more sense to me is using a percentage instead of a number range. People with higher energy requirements will lose fat but will still be able to eat proportionally more, and people with lower energy needs will have a deficit that’s more suited to their overall lower calorie intake. Here are 3 calorie deficit ranges and their pro’s and con’s: Large calorie deficit: Around 25% of your maintenance calories. Watch out for serious hunger, decreased athletic performance (and just finding it really hard to train in general), and a severely restricted diet. Yes, you’ll likely lose weight at a faster rate than other less drastic deficits, but most people are so miserable on deficits like these that they don’t maintain them long enough to see any appreciable results. Medium calorie deficit: 15-20% of maintenance calories. This is much more sustainable but can still lead to losing 1 or 2 pounds of fat per week. Your training won’t be adequately fueled if you’re serious about working out, so you may find that you don’t make any progress at the gym – but you probably won’t regress. Small calorie deficit: 10-15% of maintenance calories. This is a good longer-term option for those who experience unbearable hunger or lethargy when cutting larger percentages of calories. It’ll take longer to lose weight, but you’ll be saner doing it. My goal is massive muscle gainz When your primary goal is to pack on muscle, you’ll need to be in a calorie surplus for a period of time. As in, you need to eat more than your maintenance calories. If this calorie surplus is massive, you’ll gain muscle as well as fat. If the surplus is smaller, you’ll gain mostly muscle with relatively little fat (which is what the gym bro’s call “lean bulking”). Again, this will take some experimentation. You need to find your own happy medium between packing on more fat than you’d like (too much of a surplus), and not gaining enough muscle (not enough surplus). Similar to those who are calculating a calorie deficit, there are two main approaches to being in a surplus: 1. Increase your maintenance calories by a certain percentage, and aim for that amount on a daily basis. For example, if your maintenance calorie number is 2000, you could start by increasing this by 10%. Your new goal, then, is 2200 calories per day. 2. Eat a larger calorie surplus only on training days. So you’d consume your maintenance calories on non-training days, and 500-600 calories extra (as a starting point) on training days. So, with our example of the 2000-calorie maintenance level, you’d eat 2000 calories on rest days, and 2500-2600 on training days. In working with my clients, we lean toward a small to moderate calorie surplus (e.g. 10%) on a regular basis. This percentage will change depending on someone’s body type, current fitness level and physique, goals, and more. It’s easier to maintain consistent nutritional habits this way. Instead of having to eat quite a bit more food on training days and quite a bit less on rest days, you’re eating about the same amount of food every day. A 10% calorie surplus isn’t very large, so there’s less chance of gaining a whole bunch of fat along with the muscle you’re building like you would if you were doing a faster “bulk”. That would involve stuffing your face to gain a lot of weight, then going through a period of “cutting” where you try to shed the fat you’ve gained but keep the muscle. It may take a bit longer to get the muscle mass you’re after compared to the “fast bulk” method, but you don’t have to worry about feeling “fluffy” or having to severely cut calories down the road. For more info on calculating calorie surpluses for muscle gain, check out this article. My goal is to stay at the same weight Well then, carry on with your maintenance calories! Calories and veganism The concept of calories has nothing to do with veganism. You need a certain amount of energy to fuel your body whether you get it from vegan sources or not. However, you’ll find that many whole food vegan items are not as high in calories as animal-based foods. Whole, plant-based foods tend to be nutrient-dense, rather than calorie-dense. What this means if you’re trying to cut calories is the overall amount of food you eat might end up being more than your omnivorous friend, even though her total calorie goal is the same as yours. And if you’re trying to maintain or increase a high level of calories (like my 3000 calories per day) for a very active lifestyle, muscle gain, and/or a high metabolism, you’ll find that you’re stuffing your face very often throughout the day to hit your calorie target. Everyone knows me as the gal who never stops eating; I basically consider it my second full time job. Wrapping things up on calories Now that you have an estimate of your daily calorie goal, plug that into the MyFitnessPal app. Don’t use the goal the app gives you; it’s much less accurate! Then log your food for a few days and see where you’re at, calorie-wise. Are you at maintenance? Do you eat more in a day than you burn (could lead to weight gain if this is maintained long-term)? Do you eat less in a day than you burn (could lead to weight loss over time)? Focus on just the calorie numbers for now, before delving into even more detail with macro’s (up next). Moving on to macros… Before you start focusing on macronutrient ratios (the percentage of your diet that comes from carbs, fat, and protein), know that tracking macros is something for the fairly advanced fitness nut. Make sure you get really good at the foundational nutrition habits first, before you start focusing on macros. Tracking (and tweaking) macros makes no sense if you’re still working on getting out of your decades-old habit of drinking 2 cans of pop every day and only ever eating take-out for dinner. You can start tracking macros if you’ve mastered the basics of healthy eating You get about 80% of your calories from whole, nutrient-dense foods You feel like you have an overall healthy relationship with food You know your approximate daily calorie intake (logging your food for a few days will tell you this) You know your approximate daily calorie maintenance level and your daily calorie goal (if it’s different from your maintenance level) 90% of the food you eat comes from the grocery store You regularly plan ahead for at least some of your meals and snacks What the heck are macros, anyway? When you hear fitness fanatics, gym bro’s, athletes, and your friendly neighbourhood vegan fitness coach talk about “macro’s”, what we mean is “macronutrients”. Macro’s are the largest type of nutrient, and are required in large amounts in the human diet. They provide our bodies with energy, and each plays a different role within our bodies. (Micronutrients, on the other hand, we need in small amounts: vitamins and minerals.) The foods you eat will contain different ratios of macronutrients. An apple, for example, is 100% carbohydrate. Coconut oil is 100% fat. Tempeh is about 40% protein, with 30% each of carbohydrate and fat. Steamed edamame beans are 34% protein, 28% fat, and 38% carbohydrate. What macro ratio is best for me? As with most things in health and fitness, the answer is, “It depends”. Most of my vegan nutrition coaching clients aim to get half their calories from carbohydrates (whole, nutrient-dense sources whenever possible), 25-30% from healthy fats, and 20-25% from protein. This 50/30/20 breakdown is a good starting point, and can be tweaked as necessary. People who find they gain weight very easily may want to cut carbs down to 40%, while endurance athletes putting in many hours of cardiovascular training each week may perform better with higher carbohydrate percentages. When it comes down to it, use 50/30/20 as a baseline, and experiment from there. All sources of plant-based protein – other than pure protein powder – automatically come with carbohydrates and/or fats. Think beans, tempeh, and hemp hearts; they’re great sources of plant-based protein, but also contain carbohydrates and fats. If you’re vegan, focus most of your mental energy on getting in a good protein source with every meal, and the other macros typically take care of themselves. IMPORTANT NOTE: Stay far, far away from extreme macro ratios like the 80/10/10 diet (that’s 80% carbs, and only 10% fat and 10% protein), which is unfortunately popular in the vegan world, or keto (which includes only 5-10% of calories from carbs, and the majority of calories from fat). There’s no clinical evidence that these extreme diets work – and, in fact, there’s evidence that they can be harmful. Example: eating anything less than 15% of your total calories from fat (like the 10% in the 80/10/10 diet) can seriously mess with your hormones. In Part 3 of this series, I’ll go over what I think are the pro’s and con’s of the MyFitnessPal app. It’s great and I use it with all my clients, but, like anything (except maybe dark chocolate), it has its downsides. Knowing these will help you to make sense of your food logging results. Download my free 32-page ebook that shows you how to track your food, calculate calories, and set macro goals on a vegan diet. You’ll even get step-by-step instructions – complete with a printable grocery list – for how to prep a week’s worth of super healthy vegan dinners in 60 minutes or less.

Want to make sure you’re fuelling your workouts with proper nutrition? Want to tweak your diet to gain muscle or lose fat? If your nutrition is something you’d like to work on, the best way to improve it is to log your food. This will give you baseline information to see where you’re currently at, and then you’ll be able to measure whether you’re making your intended improvements. When we log our food, we can get useful information about our total calorie intake and whether it suits our fitness, health, and physique goals. We can also get information about the relative proportion of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat) we’re consuming, and whether we’re taking in enough vitamins and minerals. I get all my clients to use the MyFitnessPal app because it’s robust and easy to use. Keep in mind that I don’t think food logging should be a long-term strategy (unless you really, really enjoy it) – I usually use it with new clients to get a sense of their current nutrition, and then we use it intermittently throughout our coaching to work toward specific goals. In this article series on everything you ever wanted to know about (plant-based) food logging, we’ll cover a lot of ground: Part 1: Why you should log your food, especially if you’re vegan Part 2: How to determine your calorie and macronutrient goals on a vegan diet Part 3: The pro’s and con’s of MyFitnessPal Part 4: My 3000+ calorie per day diet and what, exactly, I eat In this first installment, you’ll learn why it’s a good idea to log your food (especially if you’re vegan), what sorts of things you can learn about your diet by doing so, and when it might not be a good idea to log your food. Vegan or not, why should I log my food? One reason I get all my clients to log their food, at least for a few days before we do any nutrition coaching, is because we humans are very good at rationalizing and not very good at remembering details. It can be an eye-opening experience to track your food for a few days. Sometimes, you’ll see trends you didn’t know existed! I have one client who logged her food for the first time and was surprised by the amount of mixed nuts she ended up eating, one small handful at a time, over a 5-day period. There’s nothing inherently wrong with nuts, but they’re little calorie powerhouses, and if that doesn’t fit with your particular goal and you’re eating tons and tons of them every day, you could be stalling your progress. Tracking our food intake can be a great way to increase overall awareness of what we’re putting into our mouths each day. That alone often leads to making better food choices. Clinical research supports this; studies have found that people who use apps like MyFitnessPal to track their food lose significantly more weight than those who don’t (source #1; source #2). Food logging can also be an excellent educational tool to use while you implement specific changes (e.g. increasing protein intake, lowering overall calories). Once you feel like you have the hang of your new habit without relying on the app, you can wean yourself off food logging and go with intuition instead. Sometimes I get my clients to log their food to make sure they’re eating enough, especially if their goal is to gain muscle. It might sound counterintuitive, but people often don’t see the results they want because they’re not eating enough (especially women, who are constantly bombarded by bullshit messages to diet, eat less, restrict, and be physically smaller). Food logging also tells us where you’re at with your macros – the proportion of your food that is comprised of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. I work with my clients to make sure their nutrition is supporting their particular fitness and physique goals. A long-distance cyclist who wants to maintain her weight, for instance, will have a different macro ratio compared to a strength athlete currently in a bulking phase. One of my clients recently wondered why she was having trouble adding muscle and losing fat (she was very fit already). She tracked her food for the first time and we found she was getting only 10% of her total calories from protein. That’s not gonna kill her by any means, but it’s not anywhere near enough to sustain 4 days per week of strength training, let alone muscle gain. As a long-term fitness and health nut (and vegan) since 2003, I’m pretty much on autopilot when it comes to nutrition. I know what and when to eat, I know what works for me and what doesn’t, and I know approximately how many calories I eat in a day and where my macros are at, without really thinking about it. However, I still log my food for a few days every few months to make sure that I’m getting everything I need – enough total calories, enough protein, enough iron, etc. I’m vegan. Should I log my food? I suggest you do. We all know that “vegan” does not automatically mean “healthy”. Hey, French fries, Oreos, potato chips, and Skittles are all vegan! (Thank goodness.) We vegans need to pay special attention to our nutrition, especially if we’re active. A well-planned vegan diet is exceptionally healthy and has many benefits over omnivorous diets – some professional athletes are even adopting plant-based diets to increase their athletic performance – but the key term here is well-planned. We need to make sure we’re eating an adequate variety of foods, and consuming enough of the nutrients that tend to require a bit more conscious effort to get on a 100% plant-based diet: vitamin B12, calcium, and iron. If you’re just starting out as a newbie vegan, you definitely want to make sure you’re doing things right. If 80% of your calories are coming from carbs, that ain’t balanced. (You’ll learn more about macros and how to determine yours in Part 2 of this article.) If you're already a long-term vegan with a clean bill of health and a diet that contains all the nutrients you need, food logging can take you to the next level of results in your fitness. Whether your goal is muscle gain, fat loss, or maintenance, tailoring your nutrition to your lifestyle and chosen physical activities means you'll be functioning at your best. Other vegans are in situations where their diets can be challenging to maintain due to culture, geographic location, lack of access to vegan foods, frequent travel, or living situation and family dynamics. If this describes you, logging your food for a while can help to expose potential gaps in your overall nutrition; whether it’s macronutrient ratios, total calories per day, or vitamin and mineral content. In addition to logging food regularly, I recommend all vegans get a blood test every year or two to make sure their nutrient levels are on target. When should I perhaps not log my food? For some people prone to negative psychological relationships with food, or those who have eating disorders, food logging – and thus by default calorie counting – is sometimes detrimental to mental health. It can add unnecessary self-imposed restriction and can put negative, instead of positive, mental focus on food. On the other hand, I’ve read several accounts of people with eating disorders who have been helped, in part, by food logging. Only you can know whether it’s best to include food logging in your recovery plan (making sure that you’re working with a qualified professional, of course). Food logging can be an extremely useful tool, but if used excessively, it can become a crutch that takes us away from what our bodies are telling us. I use food logging perhaps 2 days out of every 100. The other 98% of the time I rely on intuition, habit and routine, and listening to my body. My clients use food logging for very specific purposes, like muscle gain, fat loss, or finding out what their macros are. It’s also very useful for clients currently trying to make a particular change to their diet so we can track whether or not it’s working (e.g. adding more protein: we can see daily totals and make sure they’re increasing). Once you have a good idea of where you’re at with your overall calories and macros, you don’t need to keep logging your food indefinitely. In Part 2 of this series you’ll learn how to determine your calorie and macronutrient goals on a vegan diet. Download my free 32-page ebook that shows you how to track your food, calculate calories, and set macro goals on a vegan diet. You’ll even get step-by-step instructions – complete with a printable grocery list – for how to prep a week’s worth of super healthy vegan dinners in 60 minutes or less.

I’m often asked by clients how long it’ll take to get certain result – whether it’s fat loss, improved cardiovascular conditioning, or strength and muscle gains. My answer is always the same: “I have no idea.” Results will vary. Greatly. Even between people following the exact same program. That’s just how body types, genetics, and individual differences work. To illustrate this point, I’m going to use myself as an example. It took me 11 years to get the results I wanted (represented in the above pics). Will it take you that long? Half that time? Longer? I have no idea. That’s why my story isn’t meant to be a prescription, or representative of anyone’s journey but mine. I’d like to remind you of 3 things; all of which I learned over the last 11 years: A “transformation” might take longer than you think. In an industry rife with ads for jaw-dropping, clickbait-worthy physique “transformations” that supposedly take only a few weeks to accomplish, keep in mind that most real, lasting results (that don’t involve unmaintainable, drastic, and/or unhealthy dieting or training plans) generally take a long time to achieve. Longer than you might think when you first start out. That’s not a bad thing; it’s extra incentive to make healthy, active living a lifelong habit. Consistency, consistency, consistency. It ain’t sexy and it doesn’t sell, but it’s the only thing that works. Slow ‘n’ steady really is the way to win the [proverbial] race. Focus on making your lifestyle enjoyable, sustainable, and life-enhancing – all in the name of consistency. People who succeed in achieving their goals aren’t the ones who stay on the health and fitness bandwagon 100% of the time. (That’s not realistic.) They’re the ones who keep getting back on after falling off. 1. A “transformation” might take longer than you think In general, a reasonable time frame for getting really noticeable results (both performance-wise and physique-wise) is years, not weeks or months. As someone who happens to have a naturally slim frame that doesn’t hold on to muscle very easily, I’ve worked for 11 years to add the type of muscle I was after. The faster you get results, the easier it is to lose them. It usually means you’ve done something drastic and unmaintainable that has an end date. Your results, too, then automatically have an end date. Telling you that it can take a damn long time to get results isn’t meant to discourage you. It’s meant as a reality check, and as encouragement to keep going. Get this: someone on Instagram who saw my ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos (with 11 years between them) commented, “This is why I don’t work out – but I am impressed by your commitment!” As if the only reason to work out is looks! Aesthetics is actually pretty far down the list for me. I train for function, as stress management, to be strong as fuck, to improve my mental focus, to do awesome things, to stave off horrible and debilitating diseases later in life, to live a long time and be around to go on adventures with my husband ’till we’re super old, to manage scoliosis-related pain, to improve lung capacity because I have asthma, to maximize bone density, to feel awesome…and to look awesome. Would I have “transformed” my physique more quickly had I made aesthetics my #1 priority? Maybe. Or maybe not. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that everyone develops their fitness and their physiques differently, at a different rate – and there are approximately 4738520274 reasons other than looks that could fuel your training. (I told the Instagram commenter as much, in case you’re wondering. I also told him that time will pass whether he trains or not, and 10 years from now he might regret not having started.) These pics are 8 years apart (2007 vs. 2015). Could I have seen these results faster? Most likely. But slow 'n' steady meant being sure they were permanent. 2. Consistency, consistency, consistency Over the past 11 years I focused on building maintainable habits that I could be consistent with. Slow ’n’ steady. I didn’t do anything drastic, and I didn’t do anything I couldn’t maintain long-term. No quick fixes, no major fluctuations in fitness or physique, just steadily creating a new normal. I’ve added up small habits, all of which I intend to keep for life (which includes being vegan, of course!) Because I built my health and fitness habits slowly and sustainably so I could keep them ‘til I croak, my fitness and physique don’t change throughout the year – other than the slow and cumulative improvements from training, of course. There’s nothing wrong with having different training seasons (e.g. a summer cardio sport or competition season, and a winter ‘bulking’ season), but since my preferred activity is strength training, I train – and look – the same year-round. I don’t have to worry about “losing” the strength and muscle gains I’ve made, because my habits aren’t going to change. And that was the whole point of starting this lifestyle over 11 years ago. Things I’ve worked on doing consistently over the past 11 years: Strength training 4-5 times per week Swimming twice a week An additional activity like jump rope or yoga once a week Getting in 3000 calories per day Getting 80%(ish) of my calories from nutrient-dense whole food sources (and 100% of my calories from vegan sources, of course) Staying active and maintaining my fitness while travelling It’s clearly not rocket science, but consistency is the only way you’re going to get lasting results. Your training and your nutrition need to be a part of your life, not something you do in order to have the life you want later. Here’s a case in point: A few years ago, I was swimming laps as per usual, and came across one of the regular swimmers I usually say a quick hello to (the owner of a local physiotherapy clinic, an extremely fit athlete in his fifties). Like any seasoned triathlete, he was following a workout plan, timing his laps with his swim watch, performing stroke and kick drills, and generally doing the badass things advanced swimmers do. Naturally I assumed he was training for something. So I asked, “What’re you training for?” He answered, “Life!” 3. People who succeed in achieving their long-term goals don’t stay on the health and fitness bandwagon 100% of the time. Everyone falls off once in a while. What separates those who get results from those who don’t is the people who keep getting back on. In my work with clients, I’ll often come across the “all or nothing” mindset. We all know what this is: It’s a pattern of behaviour in which someone feels they’ve made a small lapse in their healthy eating or regular physical activity habits, and assume that their whole practice is now shot. The entire practice gets abandoned, and exactly zero results are created. We need to find ways of outsmarting our own brains and moving away from this pattern. At some point, every single person is going to fall off the health and fitness bandwagon for one reason or another – either for self-imposed or not-within-our-control reasons. We get sick, we need to care full time for an ill family member, we go on vacation, we get injured (hopefully rarely, if ever!), we have babies, we go through a stressful move to the other side of the country…you get the idea. All that matters is getting back on the bandwagon as soon as we can. Since my own goals are centred around strength training, I’d consider stretches of time with no strength training to be “falling off the bandwagon” (remember, this is normal and happens to everyone). The point, of course, is to get back on as soon as possible. Here are some things that had me fall off my strength training bandwagon over the last 11 years – some by choice, some by accident: 4 trips to Hawaii 2 trips to Australia Ongoing low back and piriformis pain that greatly limits my ability to train my lower body. I have scoliosis but am on a [years-long] journey to find out what else is going on. I fractured my right ring finger and couldn’t lift, grip, or carry anything (let alone do pull-ups) for a number of months. This required regular visits to a specialized hand injury clinic, and wearing a custom-made finger brace that forced my finger into a painfully straightened position. Not exactly conducive to weight lifting. The usual cold/flu that goes around every year (I sit in a clinic full of sick people at least every month to get my allergy shots, and work in close contact with people all day, so I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often). For quite a while I worked 3 jobs while in grad school full time, while also planning and catering my wedding. I still managed to train consistently but didn’t have nearly the mental or physical capacity available as I do now. I wasn’t making any progress, but at least I was maintaining my habit. Debilitating seasonal allergies that sometimes involve vertigo so bad I can’t work/function/do anything other than stay in bed. Seasonal asthma for 6 months of the year that feels like a 400-pound weight crushing my chest. Try doing cardio under those conditions (or breathing normally, for that matter). For 8 years I’ve been getting regular allergy shots, with frequencies ranging from twice a week to once a month. Due to anaphylaxis risk, I can’t train for the rest of the day after getting each one. ​I deal with a life-threatening allergic condition that prohibits me from exercising after having eaten within 8 hours, in case a food triggers a serious allergic reaction when coupled with exercise. Called food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (isn’t that a mouthful?!), I’ve had a few serious reactions that certainly threw me off the strength training bandwagon. These days, now that I have a diagnosis, it’s just an ongoing issue to manage, rather than something that makes me fall off the strength training bandwagon regularly. (At least I hope not! That’s why I carry an Epipen wherever I go.) This is just how life works! It’s always gonna be throwing unexpected things at you that could – and sometimes will – make you fall off your health and fitness bandwagon. Commit to a lifelong active, healthy living lifestyle, keep getting back on the bandwagon, and your small, consistent actions will lead to massive results over time. Want your own vegan personal trainer? Need a friendly kick in the ass? Check out my fitness and nutrition coaching programs. Download Karina's 350-item vegan grocery list! Need inspiration for healthy plant-based eating? Need to spice up your daily meal routine? Download your free vegan grocery list! With more than 350 healthy items (some of which might be new to you), you'll be a vegan nutrition superhero in no time. #transformation #results #consistency #fitnessgoals

It’s 7:30am on a Tuesday morning. You’re at the gym: ear buds in, music pumped, and treadmill cranked. You’re trying to focus on reading the closed captioning on the TV screen in front of you, so you don’t have to think about how much longer you need to spend running. Next, to help you get through your weight training circuit, you keep in mind that delicious chai tea you get to have when you’re done your workout. Anything to distract you from the hard work and muscle pain, right? Unfortunately, you might be selling yourself short by counting on these distractions. (And by doing cardio before weight lifting! But that's another story for another time.) If you’re not getting the results you want - or if you want to amplify the results you’re already getting - mindfulness is key. Mindfulness is one of the most effective – but also one of the most overlooked – strategies for increasing your results at the gym. When it comes to weight lifting, the mind-body connection can be your springboard to faster and more pronounced results. Mindfulness is being consciously aware of what’s happening and what you’re doing at a certain moment. You’re not thinking about the past or the future, but instead focusing on the present. Concentrate on how your muscles feel while you’re doing your warm-up. Then, with each strength training set, focus on the specific muscle being worked. Let’s say you’re starting with a shoulder press; focus on your exhalation as you push the weight overhead. Focus on how your contracted shoulder muscles feel at the top of the rep (are they burning yet?), and how it feels to return your arms to the starting position. Feel the difference between relaxed and contracted muscles. Try not to worry about which exercise you’ll do next, or what you’ll be making for dinner tonight. Also keep tabs on how your body feels as a whole. When do you start to feel tired? Or do you feel energized instead? Here are four ways your mindfulness practice translates into better results: 1. Correct form: When you actively concentrate on what you’re doing, you’re more likely to use correct form for each exercise. Correct form is crucial to getting the results you want. The other bonus? You’re less likely to injure yourself when you’re using correct form. 2. Increased muscle contraction: When you focus on your muscle working, you actually increase the degree to which it contracts, and a larger part of your brain responsible for that muscle is activated. What’s in it for you? Better results! Numerous clinical studies have found that intentionally focusing attention on the muscles we’re working leads to increased muscle contraction, and thus better results compared to workouts riddled with distractions. 3. The importance of breathing: Breathing is an important part of weight lifting. Most trainees should exhale when the muscle contracts the hardest (e.g. the “up” motion in a biceps curl) and inhale when the muscle lengthens back to the start position (e.g. the “down” part of a biceps curl)*. This breathing pattern prevents you from holding your breath, which leads to a spike in blood pressure if you’re lifting weights. It also prevents excess muscle tension in areas like your neck and upper back, which are often culprits when it comes to tension headaches. Paying attention to your breath takes mindfulness. *More advanced athletes and competitive weight lifters/powerlifters will have breath-holding as part of their reps. 4. It’s all about attitude: Paying attention to your mind and body while training can revitalize your strength routine and improve your attitude toward your workouts. The more you enjoy your workouts, the easier it is to stick to them! Mindfulness can help you to view weight training as an enjoyable, empowering activity, rather than something to merely “get over with” so you can move on to the rest of your day. Next time you’re at the gym, skip the ear buds and opt instead to focus on precisely what your mind and body are experiencing. Concentrate on the present, and watch your results skyrocket! Want awesome plant-based, active living inspiration and tips? Follow me on Instagram and join me on Facebook! Calories and macros on a vegan diet: A free e-book for you! ​​ Download Karina’s free 32-page ebook that shows you how to track your food, calculate calories, and set macro goals on a vegan diet. You’ll even get step-by-step instructions – complete with a printable grocery list – for how to prep a week’s worth of delicious Buddha bowls in 60 minutes or less. #vegannutrition #guiltypleasure #sanity #vegantreats

One of the trends in nutrition (and perhaps vegan nutrition in particular) is the “alkaline diet”, or the idea that we should be eating a balance of “acidifying” and “alkalizing” foods, with an emphasis on those that are “alkalizing”. This practice is supposed to ward off disease, improve longevity, and increase health. We’re told that the more alkaline foods we eat, the more alkaline our entire bodies will become. What these pseudoscientists don’t seem to know is that any dramatic change toward alkalinity (or acidity) would kill you. Proponents of the alkaline diet will tell you that an alkaline environment in the body will kill cancer cells. That’s technically correct. But what these never-took-highschool-biology pseudoscientists fail to mention is that all your other cells would die too. And so would you. Our stomach acid (a.k.a. hydrochloric acid) is completely unchanged by the pH level of the foods we eat. And the pH of the digesting food in your intestines has no effect on the pH of the rest of your body. That’s just not how our bodies work. Different tissues have different pH levels. Any variations thereof and you’re in deep trouble. Many supporters of the alkaline diet will swear by testing our bodies’ pH levels using saliva or urine. Sounds science-y, right? Well, urine pH tests fail to recognize the obvious fact that your urine is contained within your bladder, and has no bearing whatsoever on the pH level of your blood. The pH level of your mouth, similarly, does not reflect the pH levels of the rest of your body. Most plant-based foods are lumped into the “alkaline” category, and animal products like meat and dairy are categorized as “acidic”. Although animal products may be unhealthy for other reasons (not to mention that they’re immoral to consume and unsustainable to produce), acidity isn’t one of those reasons. An alkaline diet may be good for you because it includes lots of plant-based foods, and an acidic diet might be unhealthy because it contains lots of animal products. This has to do with the nutrient content of these foods, not their pH levels. There are no human research studies that show benefits of the alkaline diet for the prevention of cancer (one of the diet's main claims), and a distinct lack of studies showing the alkaline diet does much of anything - other than provide health benefits from an increase in foods like vegetables and a decrease in foods like deep-fried stuff. (Duh.) Bottom line: There's not nearly enough research support out there for you to legitimately start obsessing over "alkaline" or "acidic" foods. It seems that any health benefits seen in people who adopt such a diet come from the nutrient content of foods, not their pH. As usual, this is just another B.S. diet fad. In this article we're addressing the specific argument we sometimes hear that meat is unhealthy because it “acidifies” our bodies. Is that B.S. too? Here to give us a rundown of the research that been conducted on this topic is the vegan powerhouse, brain-and-brawn that is Christine Crumbley, PhD. Christine Crumbley has a PhD in molecular biology. Her research interests include nuclear receptors, regulatory mechanisms of transcription, metabolism, and circadian rhythms. As a scientist and an ethical vegan, she is uniquely positioned to discuss health-related topics. She helps moderate an evidence-based vegan nutrition and fitness group on Facebook, and enjoys researching members' questions to produce new content for the site. Her hobbies include powerlifting, Olympic lifting, baking, volunteering with the local vegan organization, and talking to cats. Here’s Christine: The alkaline dietary theory suggests that “acidifying” and “alkalizing” foods should be consumed in “a balance” with an emphasis on consuming alkalizing foods. The acidifying foods include meats, dairy products, corn, wheat, and refined sugars. The alkalizing foods include fruits and vegetables. The alkaline dietary theory proposes that a diet of fruit and vegetables lowers the body’s acid load and reduces stress on the kidneys. The alkaline dietary theory recommends that approved foods are consumed in specific ways, called “food combining,” to reduce acidosis. There is no evidence for food combining principles to regulate acidosis in humans in the literature, although one study showed that food combining principles did not produce any additional weight loss when calories were reduced equally in a traditional diet and a food combining diet. [1] The hypothesis that meat causes cancer because meat is acidic is flawed. The alkaline diet was originally studied in the context of bone health, because an acidic load in the body would, in theory, leech calcium from the bones and reduce bone health. The data showed that acid load from meat did not harm bones, and similar results were obtained with milk. Authors of a 2009 meta-analysis concluded that their study “did not find evidence that phosphate intake contributes to demineralization of bone or to bone calcium excretion in the urine. Dietary advice that dairy products, meats, and grains are detrimental to bone health due to ‘acidic’ phosphate content needs reassessment. There is no evidence that higher phosphate intakes are detrimental to bone health.” [2] [3-10] Fruits and veggies are generally associated with reduced cancer risk, but there is no evidence they have to be consumed in any special pattern as proposed by the alkaline dietary theory. I have not seen any papers claiming food combining or other alkaline dietary principles are required for the health benefits of fruits and veggies. If an alkaline diet protects against cancer, then fruits and vegetables should both consistently show protective effects in studies examining cancer risk. Meat and dairy should be associated with increased cancer risk if the alkaline dietary theory is correct about a food’s acid load and its ability to promote undesirable health effects. For example, colon cancer is commonly associated with meat consumption, but dairy products and calcium appear protective. Both meat and dairy are considered acidic by the alkaline diet theory, but their influences on CRC risk are different. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, liver cancer), it has been suggested that only vegetables have protective effects, but not fruits. In breast cancer, it has been suggested that fruits or the combination of fruits and vegetables are weakly protective, but not vegetables alone. Inconclusive data exists for the effects of fruits and vegetables on bladder cancer risk. Together, these reviews and meta-analyses question the validity of the alkaline diet theory when its two main food groups have different influences on the risk of various cancers. [11-20] A popular extension of the alkaline dietary theory is that it can be used as a treatment when someone is diagnosed with cancer. There is insufficient evidence for this claim, and more research is needed before the alkaline diet can be suggested as a component of treatment. [21-22] To address the last part of this claim, omnivores eating plenty of fruits and veggies with small portions of lean meats are likely to have positive health outcomes. This does not seem controversial, especially because the standard American diet does not include much fruit and veggie consumption. This would be where a whole foods vegan diet could have advantages, because vegans would be consuming fruits and veggies closer to the recommended amounts. “[D]uring 2007–2010, half of the total U.S. population consumed <1 cup of fruit and <1.5 cups of vegetables daily; 76% did not meet fruit intake recommendations, and 87% did not meet vegetable intake recommendations. Median frequency of reported fruit intake across all respondents was once per day, ranging from 0.9 in Arkansas to 1.3 times per day in California. Median frequency of reported vegetable intake was 1.7 times per day, ranging from 1.4 in Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Dakota to 1.9 times per day in California and Oregon. Based on prediction equations, 13.1% of respondents met fruit recommendations, and 8.9% met vegetable recommendations. The percentage of state populations meeting recommendations for fruits ranged from 7.5% in Tennessee to 17.7% in California, and for vegetables, from 5.5% in Mississippi to 13.0% in California.” [23] Check out Vegan Bodybuilding and Nutrition, the evidence-based vegan fitness and nutrition Facebook group Christine moderates. REFERENCES 1. Golay, A., et al. (2000). Similar weight loss with low-energy food combining or balanced diets. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 24(4): 492-6. 2. Fenton, T. R., Lyon, A. W., Eliasziw, M., Tough, S. C., & Hanley, D. A. (2009). Phosphate decreases urine calcium and increases calcium balance: a meta-analysis of the osteoporosis acid-ash diet hypothesis. Nutr J. 8(41). 3. Cao, J. J., Johnson, L. K., & Hunt, J. R. (2011). A diet high in meat protein and potential renal acid load increases fractional calcium absorption and urinary calcium excretion without affecting markers of bone resorption or formation in postmenopausal women. J Nutr, 141(3), 391-7. 4. Calvez, J., Poupin, N., Chesneau, C., Lassale, C., & Tomé, D. (2012). Protein intake, calcium balance and health consequences. Eur J Clin Nutr., 66(3), 281-95. 5. Kerstetter, J. E., O'Brien, K. O., Caseria, D. M., Wall, D. E., & Insogna, K. L. (2005). The impact of dietary protein on calcium absorption and kinetic measures of bone turnover in women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 90(1), 26-31. 6. Fenton, T. R., Lyon, A. W., Eliasziw, M., Tough, S. C., & Hanley, D. A. (2009). Meta-analysis of the effect of the acid-ash hypothesis of osteoporosis on calcium balance. J Bone Miner Res, 24(11), 1835-. 7. Fenton, T. R., Eliasziw, M., Lyon, A. W., Tough, S. C., & Hanley, D. A. (2008). Meta-analysis of the quantity of calcium excretion associated with the net acid excretion of the modern diet under the acid-ash diet hypothesis. Am J Clin Nutr., 88(4), 1159-66. 8. Fenton, T. R,, Eliasziw, M., Tough, S. C., Lyon, A. W., Brown, J. P., & Hanley, D. A. (2010). Low urine pH and acid excretion do not predict bone fractures or the loss of bone mineral density: a prospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 11, 88. 9. Hanley, D. A. & Whiting, S. J. (2013). Does a high dietary acid content cause bone loss, and can bone loss be prevented with an alkaline diet? J Clin Densitom, 16(4), 420-5. 10. Fenton, T. R. & Lyon, A. W. (2011). Milk and acid-base balance: proposed hypothesis versus scientific evidence. J Am Coll Nutr. 30(5 Suppl 1), 471S-5S. 11. Carr, P. R., Walter, V., Brenner, H, & Hoffmeister, M. (2016). Meat subtypes and their association with colorectal cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Cancer, 138(2), 293-302. 12. Tárraga López, P. J., Albero, J. S., & Rodríguez-Montes, J. A. (2014). Primary and secondary prevention of colorectal cancer. Clin Med Insights Gastroenterol, 7, 33-46. 13. Yang, Y., et al. (2014). Increased intake of vegetables, but not fruit, reduces risk for hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis. Gastroenterology, 147(5), 1031-42. 14. Aune, D., et al. (2012). Fruits, vegetables and breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 134(2), 479-93. 15. Vieira, A. R., et al. (2015).Fruits, vegetables, and bladder cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer Med, 4(1),136-46. 16. Turati, F., Rossi, M.,, Pelucchi, C., Levi, F., & La Vecchia, C. (2015). Fruit and vegetables and cancer risk: a review of southern European studies. Br J Nutr, 113(Suppl 2), S102-10. 17. Schwingshackl, L. & Hoffmann, G. (2015). Diet quality as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index, the Alternate Healthy Eating Index, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score, and health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. J Acad Nutr Diet, 115(5), 780-800. 18. Casari, I. & Falasca, M. Diet and Pancreatic Cancer Prevention. Cancers (Basel), 7(4), 2309-17 19. Fang, X., et al. (2015). Landscape of dietary factors associated with risk of gastric cancer: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Eur J Cancer, 51(18), 2820-32. 20. Vierira, A. R., et al. (2016). Fruits, vegetables and lung cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Oncol, 27(1), 81-96. 21. Huebner, J., et al. (2014). Counseling patients on cancer diets: a review of the literature and recommendations for clinical practice. Anticancer Res, 34(1), 39-48. 22. Schwalfenberg G. K. (2012). The alkaline diet: is there evidence that an alkaline pH diet benefits health? J Environ Public Health, 2012(2012), article ID 727630. 23. Moore, L. V. & Thompson, F. E. (2015). Adults Meeting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations — United States, 2013. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 64(26), 709-713. Want more info on B.S. fads common in the vegan world, and what to do instead? Follow Karina (a.k.a. #TheNoBullshitVegan) on Instagram and join her on Facebook Download Karina's 350-item vegan grocery list! Need inspiration for healthy plant-based eating? Need to spice up your daily meal routine? Download your free vegan grocery list! With more than 350 healthy items (some of which might be new to you), you'll be a vegan nutrition superhero in no time.

I’m not in the business of telling people how they should feel – about food, their own bodies, or anything else for that matter – but I am in the business of making suggestions. Oh, and writing rants about topics I feel need attention. I was recently having a conversation with a new client about plant-based nutrition, and we came to everyone’s favourite topic: vegan desserts. He asked me, “So, what’re your guilty pleasures?” I answered, “None whatsoever! I assume you’re asking what vegan sweets I like, in which case I’d say dark chocolate, homemade cinnamon rolls, Jujubes, Skittles, chewy ginger candies, and chocolate cake layered with strawberry sauce and vanilla coconut mousse.” I enjoy these things on a regular basis, and I ain’t guilty about it. Guilt implies that you’ve done something wrong. Since when is enjoying life (and delicious food) doing something wrong? The term “guilty pleasure” gets used a lot (e.g. in reference to pop culture TV shows or music), and there’s usually nothing wrong with it – except perhaps when it comes to food. We’re already bombarded by enough B.S. messages about how we should eat; the last thing we need is to be told how to feel about food too. When it relates to pop culture, a “guilty pleasure” is something we enjoy that others don’t deem worthy of praise; something sub-par. When it relates to food, a “guilty pleasure” is something that’s normally supposed to be “off-limits”; something we’re supposed to feel shame about enjoying. Why should anyone feel guilty about things that bring them enjoyment – especially food? You’re making the assumption that I feel guilt every time I have a “treat” food item. How f*cked up is that? Setting particular foods as “off-limits” in the first place is a recipe for disaster. It’s not an approach I use with my clients, because it doesn’t work. Things we set as “off-limits” usually become so enticing and all-consuming that not only do we go overboard when we finally allow ourselves to indulge in them, but we also feel guilty about it afterward. There’s no such thing as “bad” or “good” foods, by the way. There’s also no such thing as “cheat” foods (again, a word that instills guilt). Food is just a collection of molecules, not something about which to make arbitrary moral judgements. Guilt is a negative emotional response that can cause stress in the body, which leads many people to seek out stress reduction techniques (effective or otherwise) - which often includes more food! Talk about a negative spiral. The words we use can affect our beliefs about and relationship with food. Let’s strike terms like “guilty pleasure” and “cheat” foods out of our vocabulary! Moderation isn’t sexy, and it doesn’t sell. But it’s the only thing that works! Wanna learn more about a plant-based, sane, and effective approach to nutrition that doesn’t involve restrictive meal plans or “off-limit” foods? Check out my nutrition coaching options. Photos in this post are by John Watson of Imagemaker Photographic Studio, and are featured in my cookbook and active living guide, Vegan Vitality. Calories and macros on a vegan diet: A free e-book for you! ​​ Download Karina’s free 32-page ebook that shows you how to track your food, calculate calories, and set macro goals on a vegan diet. You’ll even get step-by-step instructions – complete with a printable grocery list – for how to prep a week’s worth of delicious Buddha bowls in 60 minutes or less.