Fewer people understand what a vegan diet has to do with
avoiding processed foods–such as white rice, white pasta, white
bread, and sugar–or even vegetable oils. These measures are the
guidelines of a whole-foods plant-based vegan diet, such as that
endorsed by Rip Esselstyn’s Engine 2 Diet, and displayed in Del
Sroufe’s Forks Over Knives cookbook, containing healthy vegan
recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Julieanna Hever, and others.
Bottom line is, while many processed foods may be technically
vegan or “accidentally vegan” as PETA refers to products with no
animal-based ingredients, they are unlikely to be “accidentally
healthy”. And while you may relax your standards on a rare
occasion–when dining out or visiting friends–you’ll surely feel
better long-term by keeping tempting vegan junk foods out of
your grocery cart, and out of your house. When analyzing
packaged foods, I often refer to nutritionist/dietitian Jeff
Novick’s rules and guidelines for telling the difference between
a health food vs what’s rea