Tony Quintana

It’s back to school time and that means parents, teachers, coaches, and so many other adults are scrambling to get all the needed supplies together and watching as their calendars fill-up with activities and errands. Since many school cafeterias don’t offer adequate vegan options for students, this also means vegan caretakers will need to do lots of meal-planning and backpack packing.

Chances are you find it difficult to stay creative and keep variety when packing kid’s vegan lunches. As a parent, I tend to fall back on PB&J and Tofurky Deli Slices more often than I care to admit. Below are three fun ideas you can add to your repertoire right now. These ideas are simple (who has time to make cute little star shaped sandwiches or veggie creations that look like animals?) and use common pantry ingredients (the last thing I want to do right now is research ingredients I’ve never heard of before).

DIY Lunchables

Lunchables have been a favorite among kids and parents alike for decades. They’re effortless, yummy, and it is surprisingly easy to make vegan versions at home. Since most crackers are vegan, all you need to do is find a vegan deli “meat” that your kids like, add sliced vegan cheese (optional), throw in fresh fruit and/or veggies, maybe a dip like hummus or vegan ranch, and you’re good to go! Delicious vegan meats that I recommend trying in your Lunchables include Tofurky Deli Slices, Yves Veggie Pepperoni, and Field Roast Deli Slices. You can also try tofu or tempeh—some stores sell tofu that’s already baked and flavored. When looking for ideas and inspiration for your homemade Lunchables don’t feel like you must look at only vegan lists and recipes— look at any lists and recipes and then make unfussy vegan subs and swaps to create your own vegan version.

Mini Bagels

I can put virtually anything on a mini bagel and my kids just love it. Who am I kidding? I love mini bagels too! One fun idea is mini pizzas that your kids assemble themselves (sort of like the pizza Lunchables): add marinara sauce to the mini bagel and top it with vegan cheese (such as Go Veggie Shreds). You can also make mini sandwiches with hummus and cucumber (our kids love these). It’s easy to be creative with what kind of mini sandwiches or fun things you can do with mini bagels. For the most part, any bagels you find in the store will be vegan by default (just do a quick check of the ingredients to be sure).

Homemade “Hot Pockets”

When I was a kid, I loved taking Hot Pockets for lunch. There are a few plant-based products available that are similar to Hot Pockets, but you can very easily make your own at home and make any flavor combination your heart desires. You’re probably thinking it can’t be that easy but let me assure you—it really can! You can make a quick and easy dough from scratch that only takes 10 minutes, then make the dough into squares, add the filling in the middle, fold the dough over and pinch the sides closed, bake, and you’re done! To make it even more quick and easy, you can skip making the dough and use crescent sheets or crescent rolls—they’re accidentally vegan.

More Resources

Hopefully this list gets your creative juices going so you can come up with new ideas. For even more ideas, recipes, and inspiration check out our Back-to-School episode of our Teach Me How To Vegan podcast where we share dozens of ideas for lunches and snacks. For even more recipe ideas check out our recipes page on our website.

Are you vegan but still experience gut problems, aches and pains, weight gain, lethargy and mood fluctuations? You’re definitely not alone!

Science research points to the amazing health benefits of the vegan diet; however, there is a disconnect between the findings and mainstream reality, which seems to fuel a lot of the anti-vegan sentiment.

I truly believe that vegan health issues are ubiquitous because vegans that start out on their plant-based journey simply substitute animal-based products with processed plant-based alternatives and do not completely change their relationship with food and nutrition.

Photo by Ella Olsson from Pexels

And even if you are a vegan that eats a clean diet made up of mainly fruits and vegetables, perhaps you still don't feel as healthy as you'd like. So, what gives?

Having helped vegans with their health issues over the years, I’ve seen that lowering inflammation and supplementing with hydration heals all types of health issues. In that respect, here are some of the 3 most important factors that most vegans overlook that impact their overall health.

Eating Foods that Cause Inflammation

Body inflammation has been linked to a number of serious health conditions and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, kidney damage, chronic skin issues, arthritis, and the list goes on.

Since the onslaught of many new “alternative” products on the market to satisfy the vegan palate, the availability of all types of plant-derived foods has been embraced as “healthy”, yet most are highly processed or are by nature inflammatory.

For example, gluten is just one of the many lectins found in foods, but gluten substitutes such as corn, lentils, and chickpeas also contain unique lectins of their own that are as harmful to our digestive systems (this is why sprouting is so important, as it removes many of the gut- aggravating proteins).

By learning which foods impacts one’s body adversely the most. we can be empowered to dig beyond all the marketing and understand food and its impact from a chemical perspective.

Not Eating Enough Raw Foods

Studies show that raw foods contain twice the amount of antioxidants as cooked foods. By eating foods raw, you will hydrate your body and give it more nutrients and energy to self-heal.

Unfortunately, many vegans tend to consume a high quantity of cooked foods and complex meals that are hard to digest. In fact, did you know that it takes the body 70% of its energetic resources to conduct the 4-part digestive process? The rest of the energy is dedicated to brain function and metabolic processes, which then leads to very little energy left for self-healing and repair.

The body then stores and protects itself from inflammation and toxins as much as possible with the least energetic input until it has the energetic resources to heal. This is exactly why small, simple meals are ideal for the body and ensure that more energy can be utilized where it’s needed. Remember, it is not only what we eat, but how much and in what manner!

In addition, many of our meals are prepared through high temperature cooking, which denatures enzymes and chemistry that are essential for cellular function and health.

Eating organic, raw foods is to enjoy the highest degree of chemistry and energy that the food has to offer. Ideally, you want more energy to enter your body than is lost through the digestive process, whereas the standard global diet is predicated on just the opposite.

By consuming in your diet at least 50% raw and eating fewer simple meals during the day, you will not only lower chronic inflammation, but you will experience an increase in energy and vitality. And don’t worry - you don’t have to be perfect with these suggestions! Simply adjusting to a few of these changes will make a tremendous difference.

Photo by SHVETS Production from Pexels

Not Getting Enough Sunlight or Exercise

It is common knowledge that adequate sunlight exposure is vital for our health and emotional well-being.

Vegans should spend 20-30 minutes in the sun daily without sunblock, ideally while taking walks, exercising or gardening. The sun's UVB rays convert cholesterol into vitamin D, which plays a vital role in regulating the endocrine system, hormone production and immunity.

Additionally, gentle daily exercise helps move the body's lymphatic system - its sewage system - and removes toxins from the body quickly before they cause cellular or tissue damage. The circulation also helps blood oxygenate and move its nutrients to all the cells and tissues. Sweating and deep breathing likewise assist the body to detoxify unwanted chemistry quickly.

Conclusion

Many diseases develop as a result of chronic inflammation, and even minor health issues are simply your body’s signal that it needs a bit of help. Since inflammation is hot and acidic, consuming hydrating chemistry is the true antidote for reclaiming your health and healing the body from the inside out.

Eliminating inflammatory foods (and chemical products), eating at least 50% raw, buying local and organic produce, getting sunshine, and moving the body daily is what every true healer since antiquity prescribed to promote the return to balance and homeostasis of the body in accordance with natural law.

Anesa Kratovac is the founder of Red Grape Wisdom Detox Programs, a natural health business that uses its own Ancient Wisdom Bioenergetics diagnostic & healing method to help individuals reclaim their health through detoxification courses, customized health reports, and personal coaching. After years of suffering from chronic eczema and acute health issues, she became her own healer and treated her conditions successfully!

She believes that educating individuals about the forgotten truths of the cosmic laws that govern our reality - including the workings of the divine vessel housing their spirit (the body) - will be the catalyst for global transformation of collective consciousness.

Introducing Sprouting Compassion, a 501C3 Non-Profit organization, dedicated to raising awareness about the connection of veganism and its link to social justice issues.

Sprouting Compassion offers the following programs: cooking demos (Eat Without Violence); vegan mentorship; school humane education for kids (EducateDuCare); Vegan Swap Meet; Red and Green VegFest Albuquerque; weekly mini podcast, Vegan Pulse. Of course, we also do live and virtual presentations, tabling, and so forth.

Please visit our website to find out more or to schedule an event, www.sproutingcompassion.org. TOGETHER LET’S MAKE A BRIGHTER FUTURE.

Sprouting Compassion is very appreciative of one of our own board members, Tammy Fiebelkorn, for her fundraising campaign, Sweets for your Sweet! Which was a wonderful success. We are so happy to have her in this organization. We also want to thank the community which made this campaign, Sold Out!

This was our initial fundraiser for Sprouting Compassion, which funds the Red & Green VegFest Albuquerque and other programs to help with our goal to greatly expand education on veganism as a social justice movement.

Thank You Tammy for all the work you do for the animals and your wonderful support!

More Recipes here: www.plantyou.com

More recipes at www.plantyou

Animals can feel empathy just like humans do. Empathy for each other, for us, and even for other species.

Orangutans

1. Orangutans are large, but in general they are quite gentle. 2. They are uniquely arboreal – living their lives quietly up in the trees away from predators… and only descending to the forest floor when they must. 3. Orangutans and chimpanzees consistently outperformed monkeys and lemurs on a variety of intelligence tests, conclusively proving that apes are more intelligent than monkeys and prosimians. 4. Orangutans have an arm span of over 7 feet from fingertip to fingertip. 5. Orangutans are incredibly dexterous and use both hands and feet while gathering food and travelling through the trees. 6. Young orangutans stay with their mother until they reach around 7 years old. They spend this time learning everything from her – including what’s good to eat. 7. Some adult male orangutans develop flaps of fatty tissue on both sides of their face - known as flanges which develop when they're fully mature, at around 35 years old. 8. Orangutans like to be comfortable. They make a sleeping platform, or nest, every night. 9. An orangutan makes its nest in around 10 minutes, by pulling several large branches together, using smaller branches for a mattress and binding the structure together by weaving in more supple branches. In wet weather, they sometimes add a roof. 10. Some Sumatran orangutans use tools - like sticks to get termites, ants or bees out of tree holes. 11. Orangutans are clever creatures that have been observed making a 'glove' out of leaves when handling prickly fruits or thorny branches. 12. Fruit makes up around 60% of an orangutan's diet, but when it’s scarcer they also eat some weird sounding things, like soil and tree bark. 13. Orangutans are under grave threat. It's estimated that over 100,000 Bornean orangutans were lost between 1999 and 2015. The main threat is the loss or fragmentation of their forest habitat, caused by logging for timber materials, forest fires and making way for oil palm plantations. 14. The orangutan is one of humankind’s closest relatives – in fact, we share nearly 97% of the same DNA! 15. Orangutans are noisy creatures when they want to be, making loud howls and bellows that can be heard for miles around! It’s usually the males that make these calls so that they can stay out of each other’s territory.