How to Have a Balanced Vegan Diet

A vegan diet is the strictest form of vegetarianism. While a vegetarian might pour milk on cereal or eat cookies made with eggs and butter, a vegan avoids all animal products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, even honey.

The motivation to adopt such a hard-core diet varies. Some do it for ethical reasons, not wanting to harm animals for human consumption.

Others like the fact a vegan diet is better for the environment than one based on meat. Large-scale meat production is thought to contribute as much as 22 per cent of greenhouse gases in the world each year.

The health benefits are a draw as well. A vegan diet has been shown to improve blood sugar in people with diabetes, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure, and promote weight loss. It may even help prevent colon cancer and heart disease.

The key to a healthy vegan diet is variety. If you’re considering becoming a vegan, the following tips will help you adopt a meal plan that includes adequate protein, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and minerals. You might also think about consulting with a dietitian to ensure your diet is balanced and complete.

Protein

Vegans get protein from lentils, beans (e.g. chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, soy beans), tofu, tempeh, seitan (a protein made from wheat), soy beverages, nuts and seeds. Whole grains and vegetables also supply some protein. Rice, almond and oat beverages are low in protein.

Vegans can easily meet daily protein requirements providing their calorie intake is adequate. If calorie needs aren’t met, some protein from the diet will be used for energy rather than muscle repair and making body proteins such enzymes and immune compounds.

With the exception of soy beans, vegetarian proteins are missing, or low in, one or more essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Essential amino acids must come from food because the body can’t make them on its own.

It was once thought vegans needed to pair certain protein foods together at meals to form a complete protein. It’s now understood that as long as a variety of protein foods are eaten over the course of the day, protein combining is not necessary. Include at least one protein-rich food at each meal.

Vitamin B12

Naturally-occurring only in animal products, vegans need to include three servings of B12-fortified foods in their daily diet. One serving equals: fortified plant beverages (1/2 cup), nutritional yeast (1 tablespoon), fortified breakfast cereal (30 grams), or fortified soy products (42 g).

To ensure B12 needs are met, take a B12 supplement or multivitamin with 5 to 10 micrograms of B12.

Vitamin D

Children and adults require 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D daily; at age 70 requirements increase to 800 IU. Some people may require more vitamin Dto maintain a sufficient blood level.

Food sources in the vegan diet include fortified plant beverages and orange juice (1 cup provides 100 IU).

To meet vitamin D needs, a supplement is required. Most multivitamins contain 400 IU vitamin D. Separate vitamin D supplements may be needed. Choose vitamin D3 over D2 as it’s the more active form. The safe daily upper limit is 4,000 IU.

Calcium

Good food sources include fortified plant beverages and juice, tofu made with calcium sulphate, beans, cooked green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, Swiss chard, spinach), cooked broccoli, almonds, tahini, and blackstrap molasses.

To meet daily calcium requirements, a supplement may be required.

Iron

Vegetarians require almost twice as much iron than meat-eaters each day since the body absorbs iron from plant foods less efficiently. Good sources include beans, lentils, nuts, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, breakfast cereals (non-sugary)and dried fruit.

Iron absorption can be increased by eating plant foods with vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruit, strawberries, red pepper and tomato juice.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Women need 1,100 milligrams of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) per day and men require 1600 milligrams.

The best food sources of this omega-3 fat include ground flaxseed (2 tablespoons has2400 mg), flax oil (1 teaspoon has2,400 mg), walnuts (7 halves have 1,280 mg), and soybeans (1/2 cup has 514mg). Soy beverages fortified with ALA provide about 300 mg per 1 cup serving.

Want to be a Vegan on the Cheap?

By : Imogen Reed

Becoming a vegan is a personal choice that isn’t always supported by food producers out there. Finding alternatives to foods that contain animal products can be difficult at times, and often specialist alternatives can be rather expensive. Staying true to veganism while keeping in mind the money you spend on food is a problem that most vegans have experienced. Perhaps this fact has put some people off becoming a vegan, or knocked them off the wagon. Most people around the world are feeling the pinch of hard economic times, so any money that can be saving on the weekly groceries is a help, whether you’re a vegan or not.

Victoria Moran and Main Street Vegan

Inspired by the innovative ways she came up with to stay on her vegan diet, author Victoria Moran wrote a book title ‘Main Street Vegan: Everything You Need to Know to Eat Healthy and Live Compassionately in the Real World’. She hopes that it will inspire people to switch to veganism, and help all the vegans out there to keep eating a vegan diet on even the smallest budget. It is full of tips, encouragement, insight, and guidance to help people make the switch to veganism, and to keep tested vegans on track.

Victoria has some early memories of why she became a vegan. She remembers her grandmother telling her there were people who did not eat meat, and that she would buy her a hamburger made out of peanuts to prove it. Not long after, she hooked a fish at an outdoor show, and witnesses the attendant beating the fish around the head until it died. When she was at high school she was faced with having to dissect animals, and when asking to change class, being asked, “Well, you eat meat don’t you?”

In her teens she became a vegetarian, and during this stage managed to survive on nothing but cottage cheese and fruit salad for four months. Later she became a vegan, not eating meat, fish, dairy products, or eggs, and she hasn’t looked back since.

Top Tips for a Budget Vegan Diet

You may hear that a vegan diet is an expensive diet, but this really couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s all down to picking the right foods and finding the best deals whether you eat meat or not. To help you keep the costs of being a vegan down, we’ve come up with some helpful tips to make your money stretch.

Avoid Meat Alternatives

Don’t buy into the false promises of all the meat substitute products out there. Sure, they might taste similar to the real thing, and have the same texture, but the amount of crap that food producers use to make food seem like something they are not id probably worse than eating the real thing. What’s more, they are overpriced for what they are, and will definitely make you weekly grocery bill larger than it should be.

Buy Fresh and Natural Produce

Buying fresh vegetables and fruit is the easiest and cheapest way to fufil your vegan diet. Ok, so if you buy all your food from scratch, you have to be more inventive when you get to the kitchen, but this will pay off in the long run. By learning some good recipes and experimenting with all the different food out there, you will create some delicious dishes that won’t put a dent in you bank balance. There are plenty fresh produce delivery companies out there that will bring fresh fruit and veg straight to your door if your local supermarket doesn’t have a great selection.

Invest in Some Handy Cooking Equipment

There are some great kitchen appliances that can make your life as a vegan much easier. The top three have to be a rice cooker, a slow cooker, and a food blender. Rice is full of nutrition and a great accompaniment to a variety of meals, so make life easy on yourself when it comes to cooking the stuff. Try to get one with a steamer basket if you can. A slow cooker is the perfect way to have dinner waiting for you when you get home from work. Just chuck all ingredients in the pot, switch it on before you leave in the morning, and a delicious meal is waiting for you when you get home. The release of nutrient and mineral from food works very well when it is slow cooked, and it sure beats frying. With a food blender you’ll save loads of time when it comes to chopping and grinding up all those fresh and natural ingredients you have to put in the slow cooker.

Plan your Diet

It really isn’t that hard to be a vegan on the cheap, all it takes is a bit of planning. There are plenty of books out there, and doing some research into what foods you need to eat to get the nutrients your body needs is important. Even though it will take a bit of work at the beginning, it will all be worth it in the end if you a passionate about being a vegan.

Key to a Healthy Vegan Diet II

The key to a healthy vegan diet is variety. If you’re considering becoming a vegan, the following tips will help you adopt a meal plan that includes adequate protein, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and minerals. You might also think about consulting with a dietitian to ensure your diet is balanced and complete.

Calcium

Good food sources include fortified plant beverages and juice, tofu made with calcium sulphate, beans, cooked green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, Swiss chard, spinach), cooked broccoli, almonds, tahini, and blackstrap molasses.

To meet daily calcium requirements, a supplement may be required.

Iron

Vegetarians require almost twice as much iron than meat-eaters each day since the body absorbs iron from plant foods less efficiently. Good sources include beans, lentils, nuts, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, breakfast cereals (non-sugary)and dried fruit.

Iron absorption can be increased by eating plant foods with vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruit, strawberries, red pepper and tomato juice.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Women need 1,100 milligrams of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) per day and men require 1600 milligrams.

The best food sources of this omega-3 fat include ground flaxseed (2 tablespoons has2400 mg), flax oil (1 teaspoon has2,400 mg), walnuts (7 halves have 1,280 mg), and soybeans (1/2 cup has 514mg). Soy beverages fortified with ALA provide about 300 mg per 1 cup serving.

Read More :  Key to a Healthy Vegan Diet I

Key to a Healthy Vegan Diet

The key to a healthy vegan diet is variety. If you’re considering becoming a vegan, the following tips will help you adopt a meal plan that includes adequate protein, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and minerals. You might also think about consulting with a dietitian to ensure your diet is balanced and complete.

Protein

Vegans get protein from lentils, beans (e.g. chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, soy beans), tofu, tempeh, seitan (a protein made from wheat), soy beverages, nuts and seeds. Whole grains and vegetables also supply some protein. Rice, almond and oat beverages are low in protein.

Vegans can easily meet daily protein requirements providing their calorie intake is adequate. If calorie needs aren’t met, some protein from the diet will be used for energy rather than muscle repair and making body proteins such enzymes and immune compounds.

With the exception of soy beans, vegetarian proteins are missing, or low in, one or more essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Essential amino acids must come from food because the body can’t make them on its own.

It was once thought vegans needed to pair certain protein foods together at meals to form a complete protein. It’s now understood that as long as a variety of protein foods are eaten over the course of the day, protein combining is not necessary. Include at least one protein-rich food at each meal.

Vitamin B12

Naturally-occurring only in animal products, vegans need to include three servings of B12-fortified foods in their daily diet. One serving equals: fortified plant beverages (1/2 cup), nutritional yeast (1 tablespoon), fortified breakfast cereal (30 grams), or fortified soy products (42 g).

To ensure B12 needs are met, take a B12 supplement or multivitamin with 5 to 10 micrograms of B12.

Vitamin D

Children and adults require 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D daily; at age 70 requirements increase to 800 IU. Some people may require more vitamin Dto maintain a sufficient blood level.

Food sources in the vegan diet include fortified plant beverages and orange juice (1 cup provides 100 IU).

To meet vitamin D needs, a supplement is required. Most multivitamins contain 400 IU vitamin D. Separate vitamin D supplements may be needed. Choose vitamin D3 over D2 as it’s the more active form. The safe daily upper limit is 4,000 IU.

Read More : Key to a Healthy Vegan Diet II

The wonders of Pineapple! 7 Benefits of Pineapple

The next time you cut up a pineapple, rub the leftover juice onto your clean skin with a cotton wool ball, leave for 5 minutes up to a maximum of 15 minutes, then gently wash it off and apply extra virgin coconut oil.( This only works with fresh pineapple. The enzyme papain that dissolves dead protein is not present in canned pineapple as heating destroys it.)

7 Benefits of Pineapple

1. It lessens risk of hypertension. Hypertension occurs when too much force is exerted on the artery walls while the blood circulates. One of the best ways to combat this is to infuse a high amount of potassium plus a small amount of sodium in your diet to lower blood pressure. Pineapples are the perfect for hypertension because a cup of pineapple contains about 1 mg of sodium and 195 mg of potassium.

2. It helps you lose weight! Eating pineapple can highly cut down your sweet cravings because of its natural sweetness, saving you from a lot of sugar-induced calories. Incorporating a lot of pineapple in your meals will also help a lot in weight loss because pineapples can make you feel full without giving you an ounce of fat.

3. It maintains good eye health. Time and again, studies have found that pineapples protect against age-related eye problems because it is rich in antioxidants.

4. It fights a lot of diseases, being rich in Vitamin C. Pineapples are known to be a very good source of vitamin C, which protects our bodies from free radicals that attack our healthy cells. Lots of free radicals in the body can lead to major diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers. Vitamin C is considered the most important water-soluble anti-oxidant that fights against disease-inducing substances within the body. It is also an excellent fighter against flu and a great enhancer of the immune system.

5. It prevents plaque and keeps teeth healthy. Another benefit of the high amount of vitamin C in pineapples is that it prevents formation of plaque and gum diseases.

6. It cures constipation and irregular bowel movement. Pineapple is rich in fiber, making it effective in curing constipation and irregular bowel movement.

7. It keeps your skin beautiful! Pineapple contains enzymes that make skin elastic, improve skin hydration, and remove damaged and dead cells. Thus, it helps us achieve a clear and glowing complexion. The enzymes in pineapples also fight free-radical damage and can reduce age spots and fine lines.