Healthy Eating Tips
Contributed by Nick Charlesworth of Happy Juicer. Juicing for improving health is one of the prime reasons that people get their first juicer and start juicing. It is well know that a well balanced diet should include daily intake of fruits and vegetables. In fact 5 portions of fruit and vegetables is recommended. Juicing can help us achieve a desired fruit and vegetable intake. Juicing enables us to benefit from the goodness of a lot of fruit and vegetable servings in one easy to consume drink. Read More→
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A healthy day starts with breakfast. It is important to eat something sustaining in the morning. Following are some of our favorite vegan breakfast choices. But first, here are some pointers you can use regardless of whether you eat your morning meal at home or out. Keep in mind that while there are some dishes that are thought of as typical breakfast fare, in fact most foods that are good for you are good for you at any time of day. Read More→
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Finding satisfying breakfast choices can be a challenge for gluten-free vegans, as so many standard breakfast foods are based not only on animal products, but also on gluten-containing grains (pancakes, bagels, toast, baked goods in general, hot and cold cereals, and such). Here are some suitable homemade options. Read More→
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If you’d like to browse some of the best vegetarian and vegan books out there, VegKitchen presents this selection of vegan and vegetarian cookbook reviews. Let us know what some of your favorites are if you don’t see them on this list, and we’ll try to get a review posted. This is listed in alphabetic order by author. Read More→
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Vegan dessert recipes — cookies, cakes, brownies, pies, and ice cream — sure have grown up over the last few years! Here is VegKitchen’s wide array of all kinds of sweet treats. If you’re looking specifically for gluten-free vegan desserts, we’ve got plenty of those too. You’ll find them listed at the end of the long listing of recipes on the Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes page. Read More→
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It can be challenging to be either vegan or gluten-free, but when you’re both, it’s doubly tricky to find suitable recipes. VegKitchen offers lots of vegan, gluten-free recipes for every meal. Use this list as a great resource for easy, everyday recipes to suit both dietary needs.
For all recipes that contain products that have both GF and non-GF versions, (like soy or teriyaki sauces, broth, and tortilla products), read labels carefully to be sure you’re using GF versions. Please contact us (form is above right) if we’ve gotten anything wrong here as far as GF and we will make the correction post haste! Read More→
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What is a vegan diet, and how is it different from a vegetarian diet? Sometimes called a plant-based diet, vegans avoid all animal products in the diet, including eggs, dairy product, and even honey. Vegetarians avoid meat, fowl, and seafood; For most vegans, ethical factors weigh in equally, if not more so, as health and environmental issues. Concerns for animal welfare and the embracing of a more compassionate lifestyle means that many vegans won’t wear leather or wool. In general, any products that are animal-derived or that contain animal byproducts are avoided.
Before going vegan, I worried that family meals might be impossibly restrictive, but making the transition for home cooking was surprisingly easy. With the variety of nondairy cheeses and milks so readily available, we can still enjoy favorite recipes. The bottom line, though, is that eating vegan is not just about substituting one kind of cheese for another so that you can still have pizza. The optimal vegan diet, like any ideal diet, is abundant with fresh organic fruits and vegetables, including plenty of leafy greens, whole grains, beans and other legumes, nuts, and seeds. Even if you have no intention of going vegan yourself, anyone can benefit from enjoying a completely plant-based meal from time to time. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how hearty and satisfying it can be.
RESOURCES, BOOKS, AND TIPS FOR EXPLORING A VEGAN DIET
VegKitchen offers other articles with helpful information:
- Vegan Substitutions Guide
- Great Reasons to Go Vegan
- Planning Healthy Vegan Diets
- Vegetarian / Vegan Nutrition for Teenagers
- Protein for Plant-Based Diets
According to Brenda Davis, R.D., and Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D., authors of Becoming Vegan, “The vast majority of studies assessing the dietary intakes and nutritional status of vegans reassure us that well-planned vegan diets can supply adequate nutrition…It is important to recognize, however, that as with nonvegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diets, vegan diets can be both adequate and inadequate.” The most important first step in going vegan is to seek reliable information, read, and learn.
More resources for exploring a vegan diet:
- Good books to start with for learning how to go vegan healthfully are the aforementioned Becoming Vegan as well as Vegan for Life, Living Vegan For Dummies, The Ultimate Vegan Guide, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Living.
- Explore vegan cookbooks for ideas on creating delicious meals. My books are known for their easy recipes using readily available ingredients. Also, explore VegKitchen’s vegan cookbook reviews.
- The Vegetarian Resource Group is one of the web’s premier destination for all things vegan, including articles on nutritional needs from infancy to adulthood. Request their brochure, Vegan Diets in a Nutshell, which encapsulates ways to obtain protein, calcium, zinc, iron, and vitamins D and B12. Becoming a member of VRG entitles you to Vegetarian Journal, a quarterly publication of vegan nutrition, ethics, and recipes.
- Explore large natural foods stores and well-stocked supermarket to learn about products suited to the vegan diet. Nondairy alternatives are often side-by-side with conventional dairy products and there you’ll find nondairy milks, cheeses, yogurts and even coffee creamer. Butter is easily replaced with non hydrogenated margarine, or better yet, Earth Balance. Or, just use olive oil more often. Try making your favorite recipes using some of these vegan substitutes.
- The best way to go vegan is gradually. If that’s your goal, segue gently from a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Many people give up eggs first, then milk. Cheese is often last to go. Eat only plant-based foods once a week at first to see how you—and your palate—react. If it suits you, add another plant-based day per week for a while, then make the complete switch when you feel ready.For lots more features on healthy lifestyle, please explore VegKitchen’s Healthy Vegan Kitchen page.
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VegKitchen offers an array of easy, healthy vegan snacks, appletizers, and dips for the grazing pleasure of adults and kids alike! Here is our listing of tasty and nutritious treats, from everyday to celebratory, many of which are based on vegetables, grains, and other whole foods. Photo by April Jones depicting The Best Vegan Nachos (see recipe listed below). Read More→
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