Vegan Nutrition with Martey Davey

Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the chemicals in American meat made them unsellable to Europeans. She and her husband have raised their son as a vegan. She teaches nutrition and has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning to a plant-based regime step by step. Her website is martydavey.com

I'm newly vegan. Now I need a food plan, one that will assist with weight loss and help keep insulin resistance in check. Any advice or suggestions on books that might help? Thanks!

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Dear Danielle,

For books, Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD. They cover all the basics and the book is small. I don't want to read a textbook to figure out lunch. Also, Defeating Diabetes, by Brenda Davis, RD would help with the insulin resistance. Again, not a long read, but good in working with diabetes issues.

I will be working with clients one on one online. As soon as that is set up, I'll get you the web address.

Since there is no way of knowing your previous daily regime, I'm not sure what your weight issue stems from—lack of exercise, binging, unhealthy fat overload, partial thyroid, etc. The one thing I will say is to increase your fruit and veg intake. If you get nine servings a day, (which is recommended by the USDA) you won't have a lot of time for refined carbohydrates and other foods.

After working in weight management for a number of years, I will give you my list of

Proven Ways to Gain Weight!

Don't eat breakfast. Who needs B vitamins in cereal to start your day when you can do a slam dunk on your adrenaline with coffee? Besides, isn't there great stuff in a latté?
Having a smoothie and a bread cracker with nut butter and fruit spread is a 300 kcalorie breakfast that will balance your glucose and keep you going until a mid-morning snack. Those coffee drinks can be more than 500 calories on their own, no donut attached.

Have a salad dripping in dressing, it's salad isn't it?
Use a tablespoon at most and toss or shake it into your salad. I add one tablespoon of olive oil to 10 cups of greens and it covers it completely.

You are losing weight, just don't eat.
Not eating leads to binge eating. You are telling your system to hang on to every calorie and turn it straight to fat. Also, you become so hungry that anything in any vending machine looks great.

If you don't eat out of that vending machine won't someone lose their job?
No. Perhaps they will put stuff in there that is healthy if they have a drop in sales. Until that time, make sure you take healthy snacks (dry fruit, plain nuts, fresh fruit, fruit leathers) and eat them. Eat if you are hungry.

Just eat fruit all day.
Lots of fruit is great! However, if you are using this as a new eating regime, I wouldn't want to be in the next cubicle on day three. In addition to that intestinal happiness you will inflict on your surrounding area, you will be hungry. Nuts and seeds are jam packed with nutrition and help you feel full longer. Adding a handful of with your afternoon snack of apple slices will give you a boost of protein, healthy fats and keep off the hunger pangs until dinner.

Wear clothes that have elastic waistbands and stretch, stretch, stretch.
Leggings and clothes with elastic waistbands are great for working out, but don't let you notice if you've put on a few pounds. If that happens, you can think about the last two weeks, and probably find where you dropped the physical activity or added the calories. Adjusting your life at this point is easier than losing 25 pounds further down the road.

Here's a Quick Vegan Pantry List to get you started:

Canned Beans: black, kidney, chick pea, cannelini
Quick Cooking Grains (except rice, 45 minutes): Whole wheat cous cous, bulgar wheat, brown rice, quinoa (Keen-wah)
Liquid Aminos or tamari sauce
Seaweed: Dulse (adds flavor and iodine), Kombu (contains a natural, non-toxic form of MSG) for flavor enhancement in soups and sauces
Canola (sautéing and cooking) and olive oil (salad and cold dishes for flavor)
Silken tofu (dips, smoothies, pudding) in boxes
Oats
Nuts: English walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews
Seeds: Sesame (high in calcium), sunflower, pumpkin
Vegetarian boullion cubes or powdered stock
Whole wheat pasta
Crushed tomatoes or pasta sauce
Soba noodles or whole wheat ramen noodles
Canned soups or dry soup flakes (can be reconstituted with water [split pea, lentil]
Enriched non-dairy milk (B12, Calcium, Vitamins A and D) in quarts or single serve
Cold cereal
Dry fruit (apricots, cranberries, raisins, dates)

In the fridge:

Firm tofu
Tempeh (can be an acquired taste)
Juice for smoothies
Maple syrup
Flax seed, ground (you can grind them or buy them)
Onions
Mushrooms
Greens (not lettuce)
Lettuce
White Miso (flavors everything and increases protein content)
Tortillas
Nut butter (you can make your own if you have a food processor)
Fruit, fresh
Other veggies you like

I could definitely make a week's worth of food with the above varying my protein and menu choices. But, for those of you really curious:

In my fridge, I always have hot sauce, hot peppers, capers, vegan cheese for pizza/movie night, ground sesame seeds, garlic, potatoes and vegan buttery spread.

On my shelves I always have vinegars, sesame oil and lots of spices.

For the beginner, I would also suggest the cookbooks, Vegan Vittles, by Jo Stepaniak and Vegan Planet, by Robin Robertson. There are a number of marvelous cookbooks out there (see VegFamily's comprehensive list of cookbooks and read the reviews here), but I find a lot of easy, beginner recipes in these two.� If you are more adventuresome in your cooking, you can go to veganculinaryexperience.com. Also, The Millenium Cookbook, by Tucker and Westerdahl, and Professional Vegetarian Cooking, by Ken Burgeron have wonderful sauces and entrees. Some of the recipes are a bit more complicated for the gourmand.

Vegetarian Resource Group has a great website www.vgr.org.

Now that you've joined the club, join a local vegetarian group. Having some support will help you sustain your new healthier life.

Get your own personal nutrition consultation with Marty here.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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