New to group

[mrinfo]

Greetings to everyone,

My name is Ron Landskroner and have just joined Baveg as well as this forum. Though a vegetarian for about a dozoen years now it has mostly been a matter of winging it/seat of the pants approach. Knowing that there is a better way to obtain optimal nutrition, maintain my weight and feel healthier (not to mention broaden my horizons and enjoy eating more), I am seeking assistance from more experienced vegetarians/vegans. I'm particularly interested in learning more about food selection, shopping (what and where), cooking, ingredients, recipes, and such. My workplace is in downtown Oakland (near Jack London Square) and residence in the Piedmont Avenue district of north Oakland. Look forward to hearing from persons who can offer guidance in any or all of these areas. Thanks for the time. Look forward to hearing from and meeting you.

[Warren]

HI Ron,

All I can suggest is to eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes everyday. Eating foods as close to their natural state is optimal. By that, I simply mean the less processed the better. For example, although I do eat tofu, I try to eat soybeans (edamame) instead of tofu when I can. Eating whole grains is very important too. Avoid white flour, white rice etc.
There are many great cookbooks out there. May I suggest Vive Le Vegan by Dreena Burton. Look for others in your local bookstore. they always have vegetarian cookbook sections in bookstores or you can find them on line.
Take care and I hope this was helpful.

Warren

[mrinfo]

Hi Martin,

Thank you for the suggestions and information. Yes, this does help.

Best regards,

Ron

[tammy]

Hi there

Here's a list of books / reference type material you may want to check out in this thread

http://www.bayareaveg.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=498

From a health perspective, I'd recommend a few websites

PCRM
Vegan Outreach
Dr. McDougall

You can find links to these on our resources page at

http://www.bayareaveg.org/resources

For getting together with folks, this group does have a monthly dinner in Oakland. It's on the 3rd Sunday of every month. The dinner in August is the two year Anniversary of the dinner series, our longest running dinner event (hey, not bad considering this group is celebrating it's 4th Anniversary in October!). It's hosted by Bob.

AND -- we are having a vegan food party in Oakland in September at Lake Temescal. A VFP is our name for a potluck, where everyone brings a yummy vegan dish to share and we just basically enjoy a few hours eating and chatting with like-minded folks. It's a good way to connect with others and also meet others in your area.

Pam & Roy (who host the event) live in Oakland, too.

As I've emailed with you, I know you're subscribed to the mailing list so you'll see info as the date approaches. But for others, our most current list of events & activities can be found on our website calendar at

http://www.bayareaveg.org/events

[mrinfo]

Thanks again Tammy