Where's the Beef?

When I here that phrase, I think of the little old lady in the Wendy's commercial from the 80's.

"Where's the beef?"

Truth be told, beef (or beef derivatives/byproducts) can sneak in where you least expect it.

Here's a prime example:

If you are taking any supplements with a gel-cap coating, which include soft gels, guess what?  There's the beef! Take a look at the list of inactive ingredients, & you will see gelatin.  That's right, gelatin is derived from beef!  Did you know that?  Gelatin typically comes from the bones of cattle, boiled down.  Gross, right?

So that means Jell-O is off limits too.  Darn!  Not that I am a huge Jell-O fan, anyway.

I realized this supplement issue when I went to take my flax oil supplement (for omega-3 fatty acids), & when reading the inactive ingredients, the first ingredient listed was in fact gelatin.  So, being the anal person I am with following my vegan challenge, I cannot take them!  This is unfortunate, because they are very allergy & celiac-friendly in every other way, except for that darn gelatin.  And, there are those that are allergic to beef, so this is an important fact for them to realize also.  I already gave up my fish oil supplements to my husband because they are (duh) derived from fish.

So now the hunt is on for a vegan omega-3 fatty acid supplement.