Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of non-human animal products. A Vegan diet excludes intake of any animal product including eggs, dairy, and meats.
If you have recently embraced a Vegan diet or been a Vegan for years it's really important to have a well balanced diet including fibre, proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins. But that doesn't mean you have to eating boring tofu and couscous! Here are our diet tips for all you Vegan Vixens who follow a healthy eco-friendly eating plan.
- PROTEIN - add protein into your daily diet with lots of seeds, tofu, nuts, lentils and beans.
- FAT - restrict your intake of saturated fats & cholesterol and embrace "friendly fats" like omega-3 which can be found in flax seeds, walnuts, kidney beans, olive oil & avocado oil.
- CALCIUM - Get more calcium by including green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, celery and broccoli into your diet. Soy milk, almond milk, sesame seeds, almonds, flax seeds, brazil nuts, oranges and papaya are also high in calcium.
- VITAMIN D - get some sun! Exposure to sunlight for 15 to 20 minutes a day helps a vegan get the required vitamin D which helps you absorb calcium.
- IRON - getting lots of iron helps red blood cells carry oxygen to your body's tissues so add more iron rich foods into your diet. Eat lots of spinach (think Popeye) dried apricots, beans, tofu, pumpkin & sesame seeds, broccoli, green peppers, red kidney beams, chickpeas & peaches.
- WATER - drink at least 2 litres of water each day to maintain a healthy body and boost blood circulation and flush out toxins. Watermelons, oranges & apples contain lots of water and make great healthy morning or afternoon snacks.
- FIBRE - An apple a day keeps the dentist away... Choosing a fibre-rich apple for your 3pm sweet treat will keep your gums healthy and strong.
- FRUIT - For Vegans fruit is like delicious candy from mother nature. Replace processed refined sugars with natural sugar from fruits like pineapples, strawberries, apricots, peaches, oranges and cherries.
It's Good to be Green
GREEN TEA | green is good
Add a cup of organic green tea into your daily diet to boost your immune system. There are so many healthy benefits from drinking green tea because it contains antioxidants. It lowers cholesterol levels, lowers high blood levels, reduces stress, assists with weight loss and even contains anti-cancer properties.
AVOCADOS | avocados are awesome
Aren't avocados fattening? Well the truth is avocados contain monounsaturated fats, which is actually a good fat. Monounsaturated fat can increase metabolism and assist weight loss. Add an avocado to your daily diet will help maintain good brain function and overall body maintenance. Avocados are full of vitamins and minerals like vitamin K, B, A and C. Plus one avocado contains half the recommended daily dose of potassium! The Avocado is a super food which contains L-Carnitine, an amino acid which burns fat.
BROCCOLI | life is better with broccoli
B is for beautiful and for broccoli. The benefits of broccoli are truly amazing. Adding broccoli into your diet a few times a week will regulate blood pressure as it contains magnesium and calcium. One cup of broccoli contains the recommended daily dose of vitamin C which can help fight off the common cold. Broccoli has high levels of calcium & vitamin K important for bone health and potassium which helps maintain a healthy nervous system and promotes regular muscle growth. Eating broccoli strengths your immune system and also aids in digestion as its high in fibre. As if that wasn't enough Broccoli is also high in protein, B6 and folate. Broccoli is brilliant!
Living a Vegan lifestyle is not only healthy and full of good nutrition, but your diet choices help save the planet! For the animals, for the earth and for your health... it's good to be Vegan!
- For more vegan diet tips and recipes we recommend reading Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet.
