I couldn't be more grateful for each one of you who has told someone else about this newsletter. Every single month I've sent it since 2008, more people have signed up to read, and I have you to thank. Use this link if you'd like to share it with a friend. If you were sent this email by a friend, you can sign up for free with the same link.

We have a huge, amazing, diverse group of passionate vegans on facebook, so please come like us at facebook and share with your friends. You can see fun pictures of my travel adventures, favorite recipes, and links that I don't share on the website.

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The Joy of Eating the Summer Rainbow

Nutritional Spotlight: The Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables

As summer comes in the Northern Hemisphere, it brings an influx of stunning colors in nature; the bright red of raspberries, deep red of cherries, orange peaches, yellow summer squash and corn, green in zucchini, peas, and cucumbers, purples in blueberries and kohlrabi. It's by far my favorite season of the year, and the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the top reasons.

Almost every nutritionist will encourage you to "eat from the rainbow" and try to get as many of the different colors from real food every day. Sometimes it can be hard to visualize what that means, so I put together a page to show what's on that rainbow of produce.

This list of fruits and vegetables is one of the most popular pages on Vegan Nutritionista. Check out my charts on the different colors, which show the nutrients in each color and examples of different types of fruits and vegetables.

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Vegan Travel: Nashville Has Evolved into a Vegan Stronghold

I moved to Nashville in 2004 and became a vegan a few years later. Those were the early days of social media, before everyone knew how to find like-minded groups, and I sometimes felt like there couldn't have been more than a handful of vegans in the entire city. There certainly weren't many places for vegans to eat, let alone completely vegan restaurants like there are now.

Eleven years later I'm really proud of where the meat-free scene is in the city. I remember someone emailing me for advice on where to eat near downtown in 2008 and I kindly told the guy he was screwed, but now I'd actually encourage vegans just to taste some of our food. It's good... seriously!

I first wrote this page in 2008 and have updated it gradually over time, but I just gave it a serious uphaul in 2015. Check out all the options for vegans in Nashville.

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"I'm considering going vegan..." and need encouragement

I went vegetarian years ago because of how animals were treated, then slowly slipped back into animal consumption and continued to blindly consume animal products for another eight years or so. After reaching an enormous 223 pounds, I tried a raw vegan diet without much success and quickly gave that up.

The vegetarian and vegan lifestyle has always appealed to me, but seemed like a world so out of my reach. I did eventually lose about thirty pounds or so through calorie restriction and juice fasts, but you can imagine where that got me.

After the birth of my 2nd child I have now lost nine pounds past the initial baby fat loss and I've been stuck in this calorie restriction/ binge cycle. My weight is not doing a thing, I don't feel well, and as you can imagine my self-esteem is low.

I recently came across the Eat to Live book while searching for yet another starvation diet. I ordered the book immediately and am devouring it! I can't get enough of this information. It makes so much sense and totally makes the American diet look extreme and not the vegan.

I started the vegan diet before even receiving the book, mostly to start the healing and weight loss process. Before reading the book I was considering adding back some animal products after eight weeks of a strict vegan diet.

But after what I've read and all the years of my unhealthy eating, I'm considering never eating animal products again! Right now I feel very new and vulnerable and alone. I know there are many vegans in my area and I am going to try to seek them out for support. I know what I'm doing is the right thing and look forward to a life of health!

Please offer support and encouragement to this woman who is considering going vegan, but could use a little cheering from our side.

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If you have any vegan questions and you want some guidance, feel free to send them in by following this link.

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Every month we feature a reader question. Feel free to submit your own questions through this link.

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Vegan Nutritionista Downloadable Books

Vegan Christmas Cookies: 20 Best Vegan Cookie Recipes

I know, this issue is about staying healthy this month, but it's cookie baking season, and I have a bunch of great recipes for the holidays. I've been baking my entire life, and I've been veganizing family recipes and making my own for years. In this ebook you'll find all your old favorites, like Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Thumbprints, Linzers, Peanut Butter with Chocolate Bombs, Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls, Gingerbread, and of course, Vegan Sugar Cookies.

Read more about the book on the Vegan Christmas Cookies page, or if you already know you have to have it, get your copy now for only $7.95. Buy now and you get a free guide to Natural Homemade Food Coloring and a Vegan Grocery List.

• You can also get it specifically for Kindleon Amazon
• Also on iTunes for iPad or iPhone
• On Nook from Barnes & Noble
• And, from Kobo

Vegan Meal Plans for Winter

Vegan Meal Plans is a complete meal plan for one month vegan weekday dinners. It includes 64 recipes, pictures, nutritional information, grocery lists, and tips and techniques. Everyone from those beginning a vegan diet to those veterans who want fresh menu ideas love this ebook. It focuses on fresh, local, and seasonal vegetables and uses all normal ingredients-- no fussy or gourmet skills needed. Download a copy for only $9.75 here.

If you have an e-reader, you can get Vegan Meal Plans for Winter designed specifically for that device for $9.99:

• From Amazon for Kindle
• From Apple for iTunes
• From Barnes and Noble for Nook
• From Kobo

Entire Collection of Ebooks Deal:

Get Vegan Cooking for Beginners, Cut the Cheese, The Vegan Bread Box, A Fresh New Vegan You, both Vegan Meal Plans and Vegan Meal Plans for Spring, Vegan Christmas Cookies AND a free copy of the massive Vegan Grocery List for only $63.99. Save BIG on this package! Download this package here. *Note: this does not include a separate file for Soak, Rinse, Boil! because you get it within A Fresh New Vegan You.

**If you're interested in a different combination of Vegan Nutritionista ebooks, check out your other options here: ebooks.**

Recipe of the Month: Raw Vegan Ice Cream

This recipe for chocolate banana ice cream is one that I whip up often, and one that I love, but one that I can hardly call a recipe. It's more of a method than necessarily a recipe.

But, people are always asking me for exact recipes, and since this tastes so good, I'd be remiss not to include it and highlight it. It's a perfect recipe for the Vitamix because the horse power allows the crystals to break down into smooth, creamy, goodness, but if you have a strong blender you should be able to get a smooth texture.

Once you've made one version of this raw ice cream, you can deck it out with your favorite flavors, mix-ins, and toppings.

Check out my quick and simple raw ice cream "recipe."

Product Props: Why the Vitamix is So Great

I absolutely adore my Vitamix. It was something on my wish list for several years, and my husband got it for me as a gift. I know, I know, men aren't supposed to buy women appliances for romantic presents. The Vitamix is an exception to that rule.

I use it on average once a day. Some days I don't pull it out, but other days I make a smoothie for breakfast, clean it out, blend pesto for lunch, clean it out, make a quick hummus, clean it, blend a vegan parmesan from almonds and nutritional yeast, clean it, and then make a sorbet for dessert.

It's one of those things where if you have been using it for awhile and then go back to a regular (expensive, not cheap) blender, you're baffled at why it doesn't crush, pulverize, blend, whip, or create the smooth texture like your machine.

And yes, it's expensive, but you get what you pay for. Check out my full Vitamix review here.

Pick Your Favorite Ways to Follow Us

Vegan Nutritionista is constantly growing and changing, and if you signed up for this newsletter a long time ago, you might not have read our new information. Our blog page keeps you up-to-date with new articles on the site.

We also now have a vegan forum where you can find topics submitted by users for discussion, answers, and places to add your own input. There is no member name required to participate, so you can jump right in and

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Vegan Essentials is one of my very favorite places to shop for vegan supplies. They have everything from clothes and shoes to vegan cheese, and their prices are the best around.

Amazon has really grown on me over the past decade or so. It no longer is just a resource for finding books, but now sells almost everything. Over the past few years, I've found more and more vegan-friendly supplies on amazon, including books, shoes, clothes, soymilk makers, soybeans, and so much more.

VitaMix is hands down the best blender on the market. I recommend it to anyone and everyone, and it's absolutely amazing... no exaggeration. In fact, the other day, I found myself taking a complete stranger to a section of a cooking store to show her the VitaMix and explain its benefits, just for pure fun!

You can make soups, ice cream, smoothies, whole fruit/vegetable juices, grind grains, make nut butters, grind ice, and so much more. I can remember life before the VitaMix and how frustrating it was to never get the exact consistency I wanted in my smoothies because the ice just wouldn't break up, and now I never give it a second thought. Highly recommended!

If you're a vegan nutritionista yourself and have always thought about running a blog with your vegan recipes, you should think about an SBI website. I would never have known how to start a website, let alone get Vegan Nutritionista to the successful place it is right now without Site Build It, and I can't recommend it enough. If you are passionate about anything, any hobby, lifestyle, food, drink, or culture, you can start a website about it. All you have to do is love it, research it, and learn to "talk" about it and SBI will guide you to making it financially successful.

I am an affiliate for these newsletter sponsors, so anytime someone buys something from these stores after using a link from our site, I make a small commission on it. But, I do promise that I would never recommend something that I don't use and love myself. So if you see a link on our site for something you like, you can support their company and the running of Vegan Nutritionista as well, or you can always choose to go directly to the company.

And don't forget, a percentage of all Vegan Nutritionista profits go to a rotating group of charities that benefit animals.