This is the easiest way to submerge yourself in the vegan lifestyle (or to refresh vegan recipes ideas for seasoned vegans). This cookbook includes:
- What’s the vegan diet, health benefits, how to make the transition, avoid common mistakes, vegan facts.
- Weekly vegan meal plan.
- Easy guidelines.
- +150 Quick vegan recipes of smoothies, breakfasts, dressings, sauces, salads, appetizers, soups, main dishes, desserts and snacks. Basically, everything you could ever need.
- Simple shopping list.
- Kindle or paperback format.
It sums up the basics for a vegan lifestyle. Do you want to show your carnivore family that veganism is delicious and healthy? Do it with a black bean vegetable enchilada for dinner. Blueberry muffins for breakfast? Of course. Make homemade hummus or cilantro quinoa burgers for a vegan party. You can add vegan food to enhance any situation with this cookbook.
Talking about food, you might have heard that the vegan diet lacks some nutrients. Let’s make a brief parenthesis to demystify this issue:
- B12 vitamin. The most suitable plant-based source for this vitamin is nori, as shown in this Japanese study of 2014. You can take supplements as well. You need that vitamin for red blood cell formation, neurological function and DNA synthesis. Start adding sushi to your meals!
- Vitamin A. Your body can produce its own vitamin A with vegetables (like sweet potato, winter squash, and kale) and fruits (like mango, cantaloupe and red grapefruit).
- Vitamin D. Mushrooms are the only plant-based source of vitamin D, besides the sun. It’s added in fortified soy milk and other vegan foods as well.
- Calcium and iron. This is a myth. If you don’t eat leafy greens and fruits (besides beans and whole wheat) you won’t have enough nutrients, no matter if you’re vegan, carnivore, or whatever-vore.
- Protein. This is the biggest and oldest myth. A protein molecule is made of little bricks called “amino acids” which our body needs in order to function properly. Plants have certain “bricks”, grains and beans have others… You must combine them to make a complete protein molecule. It sounds harder than it is. Lentils, chickpeas and quinoa are great sources of protein.
The other issue with protein is the daily intake needed. Some people consider that a vegan diet doesn’t offer enough protein, but how much is enough? An average person needs 0.8-1.3 grams per kg (0.36-0.6 grams per pound. Check this information here, here, and here). So:
A 70kg person would need a daily protein intake of 56 grams.
This can be accomplished easily in a vegan diet. One serving of tofu contains 11 to 25 grams of protein, ½ cup of lentils contains 10 grams, edamame has 22 grams per cup, broccoli has 3 grams per cup… And we’re talking about high-quality protein here, bombs of minerals and vitamins. Shake off that protein excuse.
Even though the daily-intake-needed-of- protein studies are far from over, a vegan diet can offer the amount you need and huge health benefits.
