You may also be deficient in B vitamins, mainly B6, B12.  I have taken shots in the past with success, but I just got tired of sticking myself  .  You may benefit from supplementation, just keep in mind..  you health is paramount.

this is an amazing list for ingredients to avoid: http://www.veganwolf.com/animal_ingredients.htm

Very interesting Thanks

Chickpeas are my very favorite bean! Not only do they make the basis for hummus, they are so yummy when paired with cooked beets, red onions, and rocket leaves for a salad. I often eat just chickpeas and cold beets as a quick breakfast. Delish!

By combining this list with my list of fresh fruits / veg, I can give my omni husband an easy shopping list. Thanks!

I always think of the quote in "Becoming Vegan" about how a meat-eater only thinks of themselves as an "eater" until someone who doesn't eat meat comes into the room.

Like another who said, they live with an omni, mine is the same – he'll eat whatever I make, because it's tasty. I've always told him that he can make whatever meat dish he wants if what I make isn't enough. He's never done it. As long as I cook, he's happy

I remember having my first panic attack in 1989. I was at college at Indiana University living with my roommate.  Our walls were thin enough that you could hear conversations from the adjacent dorm room, only in kind of a muffled tone. The two people living next to us must have thought I was crazy. It was pretty embarrassing. Just 19 1/2 short years later I finally learned how to stop panic attacks by interrupting the thought loop that culminates in the attack. The thing is, panic attacks are not a mental illness and a lot of people don't realize that. It's a behavioral problem and as such is treatable by a behavioral approach.

If you feel like sitting through an hour lecture, I recommend watching this (but open it up in a bigger window):

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBnniua6-oM

One thing that I think is overlooked a lot is the psychology of eating.  This is something I am working on in my own life.

Experts say:  reduce your caloric intake to lose weight.  Eat until you're not hungry, don't go for full.

So why is this so damn hard for so many people?

We have built a society where there are far more external cues for hunger than internal cues.  In other words, we put a great amount of emphasis on judging hunger from the time on a clock, seeing food (think advertising, food network), and smelling food.  Food is everywhere.  Food is culture.  Food is the topic of conversation in many domains.  Food is intimate.  All of these external cues drown out what our bodies are telling us about our nutritional needs.

Another person mentioned this too – most of us are dehydrated and confuse our need for water with hunger.  Perhaps if we got better at listening to our bodies, this wouldn't happen so much.  Still, those external cues take over, and all of a sudden, we are tricked into thinking we need a fat veggie burger when all we need is a glass of the wet stuff.

I've been recommended meditation as a way of becoming more aware of what my body truly needs.  Still, life doesn't always offer time for anything but snap decisions.  The only way…

Yes, AND be aware if you are on birth control: many forms of birth control leech iron from your body!

Vitamin C AND iron cookware increase iron absorption (especially important for those of us only acquiring non-heme iron)

And note that these numbers are a guideline set to keep a clear majority of our population safe. Many people will get by just fine with much less. If you have never had problems – or symptoms – of iron deficiency (weakness, lethargy..) you should not have anything to worry about.