There is one section of every supermarket and corner shop that is unrecognisable from ten years ago: plant-based milks. Or ‘mylks’, ‘m*lks’, or sometimes, confusingly, just ‘drinks’. I’m going with ‘milks’, partly for simplicity and partly because it amuses me that this offends some people. Terminology aside, one thing not in question is their unstoppable rise in popularity. Ethical and environmental concerns, dairy allergies and intolerances, and health considerations are all contributing factors here. Anecdotally, I’ve also noticed that friends and family find plant-based milks an appealing option even if they have no intention of going vegan or vegetarian. The […]
Veganuary 2021
Veganuary is back, and more popular than ever, with over 500,000 people signing up in 2021. Inevitably this also means more backlash than ever from the closed-minded meat-chompers who feel threatened by plant-based diets, but I find it’s best not to rise to the red-faced haters! If this pandemic has taught us one thing, it is hopefully that we should never take our environment, wildlife, or health for granted. OK, so those are three things really, but nevertheless, they are also the three main reasons that people choose to go plant-based. And unlike Dry January, which, although important, only serves […]
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Nuggets of running wisdom (part three)
Following on from blogs one and two, I’ll now bring this mini series of blogs to a close with four final nuggets of wisdom that have helped to inform and improve my running performance. Given my role as a dietitian, I’ve decided to finish up with some ideas on nutrition. I’m not claiming to be an expert on sports nutrition (yet!), but I’m starting to move in that direction at least, so I hope you enjoy my thoughts below. 7. Running on ‘empty’ can be a good thing When we train for a marathon, one of the key things we […]
A meat free year (and the growing evidence base)
I blogged last year about my steady drift towards a fully plant-based diet, and discussed some of of the key considerations and questions of doing so. I’m happy to report that this drift has continued, and I managed to avoid eating meat for the whole of 2018. Well OK, that is not entirely true, as I had one mishap on the flight back from my own stag do in Porto, when I ate a bread roll with chicken puree which I thought was hummous. Hard to believe that my abstinence was broken, not for a juicy burger or Sunday roast, […]
Veganism and the plant based revolution (part II)
A week later than planned (as ever), here is the second part to my blog on plant based diets, this time looking at the final four FAQs that come my way as a Registered Dietitian. Some of it is a bit lengthy (and I promise future posts won’t always be), but it’s a huge topic and one that could probably have been split across about five blogs rather than two. I could easily have expanded on all of these answers, but it’s a start at least! Q2. What about protein? Protein remains all the rage, and people often worry that a plant […]
Veganism and the plant based revolution (part I)
Q: How do you know if someone’s a vegan? A: Don’t worry – they’ll tell you There’s something about vegans that really gets under other people’s skin. They find themselves the butt of jokes for being smug / puny / dull / joyless / awkward / sanctimonious etc etc…and to be perfectly honest, I’ve had times when I’ve thought the same. I used to be more than a little sceptical of veganism (and vegans), thinking it an unnecessarily restrictive lifestyle, and the preserve of preachy individuals who wear shoes made from hemp. No-one likes being told what to eat (or […]