Veganuary – New Year, New You….

“No meat, are you mad?”

It’s always a shock to hear the immediate reaction from people when talking or suggesting a plant-based diet. Maybe it’s the immediate resistance to change, the worry and anxiety of no longer eating a steak or another lifelong dietary staple. Of course, our meat intake drastically effects our dietary protein availability and to support muscle growth and development, a reduction in protein could spell problems in hitting your targets and goals. Animal-based products are often packed with protein and for some meats they are pretty much all protein, take chicken as an example. But do not disappear, removing animal products from your diet doesn’t have to mean a reduction in dietary protein. In truth, it may actually help you to spread you protein intake more evenly across the day, rather than a typical meat fuelled diet, that often includes a protein punch at lunch and dinner, and not much elsewhere. 

Protein packed vegan foods 
1. Beans, pulses, nuts and seeds.
2. Meat alternatives, such as Quorn, Tofu, Seitan and Tempeh.
3. Dairy replacements, such as Almond, Coconut, Oat and Soy Milks.
4. Chickpeas and Houmous.
5. Nut butters

But what do I eat? I hear this a lot when talking about going vegan or vegetarian. The reality is that you are already on the wrong track if animal-based products dominate your diet. A better way to look at things is to think about the food that you can add to your diet. Have you ever cooked with quinoa, amaranth, quorn, tofu etc. Perhaps try adding in a vegetable or food into your diet that you have not eaten before. Be adventurous; explore all the amazing foods that we have available. Try to go fresh food where you can, but of course, process food, ready meals and take-aways are often more convenient. Preparation is the key! Spending 30 minutes on your diet is as powerful and important as exercising for 30 minutes a day.

Top 5 tips to going vegan
1. Swap meat sources for lots of vegetables, added beans, nuts and seeds. Go fresh food first, but for some meals, meat alternatives are a great substitute.
2. Swap couscous and rice for quinoa and amaranth. Always try to find some protein carb sources, rather than just heavy carb sources.
3. Vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus and spinach, pack a relatively good protein punch. Try to hit at least 5 portions of fresh, non-starchy vegetables per day.
4. Mushrooms are a great meat substitute from a texture perspective. Of course, they won’t replace the protein, but there is lots of varieties which make an excellent addition. Don’t forget mushrooms contain the added antioxidant, selenium! 
5. Avoid thinking about the foods that you can’t have and embrace all the ingredients and foods that you don’t already know or cook with.

Even the fast food giants, KFC, Macdonalds, Burger King, Greggs, to name a few, recognise that there is a growing need to stock and supply meat free versions of their well-known foods. So going vegan, even if just for January, couldn’t be any easy. Food technology and availability has come on a long way and provide lots of options to support a vegan lifestyle.