Hi everyone!

I picked up Alicia's book two weeks ago, and I've been 100% plant based eating for two weeks come Tuesday. And I'm absolutely loving it! I feel amazing, I have my energy back, and I do not feel deprived at all. My skin is glowing and my workouts are more powerful and energized than they used to be. I've always loved cooking, and this is a new cooking adventure! I'm loving getting to know all the different beans and legumes. I made the barley casserole the other night, and my husband went wild over it. So far, we are having a blast with this new lifestyle. We had been meat and dairy eaters before, so the change is kind of drastic, but so far so good!

I do feel a little overwhelmed about making sure I'm getting enough nutrients. I'm so confused about how much of this and how much of that I need to consume. I have steel cut oats for breakfast with some raisins mixed in and pure maple syrup. For lunch I'll have brown rice with mushrooms and cherry tomatos. For a snack, an apple with peanut butter. And for dinner, usually something with a bean/lentil. I'll also sprinkle sesame seeds on my breakfast or lunch (or both.)

So I guess one quesiton I have is....how do you make sure you get enough calcium? I thought chickpeas were full of calcium, but my Sabra hummus says 0% calcium??? So I'm feeling a little confused about this. So I sprinkle sesame seeds on a lot of stuff, but they are just out of a canister at the store. Do they need to be "hulled" or something? Or are "typical" sesame seeds fine? And I know that Alicia lists some exotic ocean veggies for calcium, but the stores around me in Queens don't really sell that, and also I need to keep my grocery bill low.

Thanks so much in advance for your help! I'm so excited about this new path, and all the amazing benefits it will have on my health and the world. I only wish I had known all this sooner.

P.S. Are there vegan calcium supplements you like? Is that recommended or is that bad to take? Also, I eat a handful of almonds for a snack too, so I think that covers the vitamin D. And part of my stress about this comes from reading that you need to be eating Vitamin C while consuming plant based calcium. So whatever tricks/habbits/routines you have for calcium, I'd love to know!

Some resources about veg calcium:
http://pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/calcium.html

http://veganhealth.org/articles/bones

http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm

What great resources!!! Thank you so much Hazel! I wonder why my Sabra tahini hummus has 0% calcium listed? It has chickpeas and tahini...hmm....

Thanks, Hazel! Really appreciate the links!

(Just had sweat potato lentil stew from Alicia's cookbook with mixed baby romaine leaves on the side, whole grain baguette, and organic red wine. Oh yeah! Yummy yummy!!!!)

It may have to do with how they are calculating a serving size. But there are plenty of veggies high in calcium, just eat a variety of stuff - some greens with good calcium content are collards and broccoli are especially good.

green veggies! one of the things to consider about calcium is that when u rid yaself of all the things that pull calcium from the body, you dont need as much in, cause ur body will make better use of it. remember exercise is very important, as well as several other factors in preventing osteoporosis and such, i had a huge discussion about all this a year or so ago, i'll try find it for ya

http://www.thekindlife.com/forum/thread/calcium

Thank you! I will check that out! I do lots of weight training, cardio, yoga and pilates, so I definitely have the workout thing covered!!! Good to know that that helps with the osteoporosis prevention.

And I will be sure to add more brocoli to my diet. I gotta try collard greens...never had them.

Thanks so much for the help!