Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [168]
Animal foods offer complete protein — they have each of the 22 amino acids present that the body needs to use protein. Luckily, however, tofu and other soy foods also contain the necessary amino acids. Other vegan foods like beans, grains, vegetables, nuts, and seeds will provide, over the course of a day or so, all the essential amino acids that the body needs.
What Can You Eat?
You can eat so much good food as a vegan! Believe me, you won’t go hungry. Consider this list, which breaks down just a few of your options by meal:
Breakfast may be a fruit and nut smoothie with hemp or soymilk, corn muffins, tofu scramble, blueberry pancakes made with rice milk (and don’t forget the maple syrup), toast and jam, soy yogurt with fruit, granola, or hash browns with tempeh sausages.
Lunch can include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies made with applesauce and flaxseeds instead of eggs, veggie burgers, french fries, falafel with hummus and pita bread, or a fake meat and cheese sandwich on whole-wheat bread.
Dinner menus offer vegetable and tofu lasagna; pasta with broccoli, tomatoes, and white beans; lentil soup with crusty bread and sautéed kale; bean casseroles; chili with chips, salsa, and guacamole; or curried vegetables with rice and chickpeas.
Flip to Chapter 9 for more on planning your meals to stay faithful to your new vegan diet.
Isn’t That a Difficult Lifestyle to Get Used to?
When you’re passionate about your health, treating animals kindly, and protecting the environment, it isn’t difficult to make a few dietary and lifestyle changes. The first few weeks can be an adjustment, but once you start looking, you see vegan options everywhere! Health food stores are popping up all over the country, providing many vegan products to Americans coast to coast. In fact, there are more than 250 Whole Foods Markets in North America alone! If you don’t have a good health food store near you, keep in mind that the Internet is an incredible resource.
If you think you can’t get by without some of your favorite nonvegan foods and household items, think again! You can find alternatives for almost everything you may need to buy. Vegan milks, cheeses, meats, shoes, wallets, belts, vitamins, makeup, deodorants, shampoos, candles, pet foods, and baby items abound!
Do You Eat Fish or Dairy Products?
Fish are animals, so vegans don’t eat them. Vegans also don’t eat dairy products that come from animals, including cow’s milk, cow’s cheese, goat’s milk or cheese, and butter.
Other animal products that vegans avoid eating are honey, eggs, meat, chicken, veal, pork, or turkey (even on Thanksgiving).
Where Can You Go Out to Eat?
Going out to eat isn’t difficult — just ask for what you want and kindly request that your server omit dairy and meat from your dishes. I’ve never had a problem “veganizing” a menu item, especially if you ask sweetly and smile.
You really can eat anywhere as a vegan — even a steak house! Try ordering hummus with vegetables, falafel and pita bread, vegetable pizza minus the cheese, pasta with beans and vegetables without cheese or butter, vegetarian refried beans with guacamole and chips, or coconut curry bowls with rice. You also can make a meal out of side dishes that don’t include animal products. Most restaurants offer some bean, green, and grain dish on the side that you can combine to make a complete meal. Just be sure to specifically ask that no dairy, butter, meat, or chicken stock be used in any of the preparation.
Not only are regular restaurants accommodating, but vegan and vegetarian restaurants can be found all over the world. Visit www.happycow.net or www.vegdining.com to find a vegan-friendly dining spot near you.
Can You Be Healthy on a Vegan Diet?
If you want to know whether you or a loved one can be healthy on a vegan diet, the answer is “Heck yeah!” Vegans are often at least 20 pounds