Vegan Food - Healthy & Delicious
Vegan food is a rapidly growing market. People that once thought a meal without meat andpotatoes was a snack; now rapidly pass the meat case as they head for the lentils. They chose a vegan diet for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they select the diet, and ultimately lifestyle, to lose weight or lower cholesterol. Other times, discovering the
hormones and antibiotics fed to livestock push them in that direction. Vegans many also give up animal products as a moral statement. Additionally, people adopt the vegan diet not just to avoid meat, but to increase the
nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. If you’ve recently become a vegan, you need to plan the menu carefully, or you may lack important nutrients in your diet.
Just like the traditional diet, there’s a food pyramid for vegans. The base of the pyramid includes whole grains.
Whole grains provide the complex carbohydrates to keep energy at its peak. It also is a source of fiber, protein, zinc and B vitamins. The group contains foods such as pasta, cereals, barley, bulgur, buckwheat, bread and rice. Many vegans check the labels on bread to eliminate
high fructose corn syrup and processed white flour. The recommended amount of whole grains for a day is 6 to 11 servings.
The middle of the pyramid is the food group that we normally think of as vegan fare. It contains both fruits and vegetables. While the recommendation is for three servings of fruits and three of vegetables, one easy method is to simply have six servings per day from the group but vary the color of the fruits or vegetables. A rainbow diet is not just for the eye appeal that it presents at the table. The varied colors of fruits and vegetables aid in assuring that a trace minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients found in that food group are in the diet.
Carrots contain alpha-carotene while
blueberries contain ellagic acid. Both phytonutrients are important in the diet and both the blueberry and carrots provide other nutrients as well.
At the top of the food pyramid is the protein source for vegans, legumes. This group includes lentils, beans,
peas, tempeh, substitutes for meat or dairy products and tofu. At one time, all you had to do was taste the meat substitute and the texture and flavor let you know it wasn’t real meat but a poor attempt to create the effect. Often the meat substitutes were similar to eating a sponge soaked in soy sauce.
Today, with more interest in the vegan diet and lifestyle, advances in flavor and texture continue to grow. Often it’s difficult to taste the difference between “fake meat” and the real deal. Two or more servings from this group each day is necessary for a balanced diet. This group provides plenty of iron, calcium, B vitamins as well as zinc for your diet in addition to the protein.
It all sounds pretty simple until you stop to consider vitamin B12 and Omega 3 fatty acids. There is little B12 in the vegan diet. B-12 normally comes from meats, eggs, milk or cheese. Hyperglycemia, exhaustion, a sore smooth tongue, irreversible neurological damage, anemia and other conditions come from too little in the diet. In many cases, the easiest way to include B-12 is either through
B-12 supplements or foods that contain a B12 supplement.
If you’re new to the vegan diet or simply don’t have time to insure that you have all the nutrients, there are now packaged meals, such as the on the market to save you time and insure that you have a balanced meal.
Like to due the cooking yourself then I recomend you check out this site for some
easy veggie meal plans that will be sure to please you and your family. Compared to 20 years ago, today vegan foods are difficult to distinguish from the animal based foods commonly served at the table.
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