The Vegan Way: Easy Recipe Included

Plus an easy recipe: Experience Nutrition™ Avocado Salsa Recipe

Let’s take a Look at the 'Vegan Way' of Whole Foods Eating

Several different dietary theories may be considered as whole foods, including vegan, vegetarian, raw and Paleo. While each of these dietary theories is different, they are all based on eating real non-processed whole foods, which are close to their natural state. Today we will take a look at the 'Vegan Way' of Eating.

What does vegan look like?

A vegan diet consists of eating only plant-derived foods. Vegans do not consume or use any animals (land or sea) or animal products, dairy, milk, eggs, or honey. Vegans eat fresh produce, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

2.5% of the US is vegan

A 2008 national survey conducted by The Vegetarian Resource Group found that 2.5% of the US say they never eat meat, fish, seafood, poultry, dairy or eggs which means they are vegan. And, the vegan trend is growing.

Vegan is Hot

Today in our US culture, 'going vegan' is fashionable among celebrities (such as Alicia Silverstone, Bill Clinton, Carrie Underwood, Mike Tyson, Ellen DeGeneres, and Usher) thus, some people choose to 'go vegan' to emulate their favorite stars.

Vegans are political

Many who choose to go on a vegan diet do it for political reasons and incorporate the vegan philosophy into all areas of their life. Vegans do not want to harm animals in anyway, so in addition to not eating animals they do not wear any clothes or use fabrics that come from animals, such as leather, wool, silk or down. The view for many vegans is that animals are not meant to be exploited by man, and that the cruel, abusive commercial animal production methods for food are not acceptable.

Vegans can eat enough protein

There’s a concern that vegans many not eat enough protein. However, vegans can get sufficient protein from non-animal foods such as lentils, tempeh, tofu, beans, nuts, seeds, and even vegetables and whole grains. In terms of healthy fats, they can enjoy nuts and seeds, and avocados. From a nutritional standpoint, it is recommended that vegans supplement with B12 and amino acids since they do not get these from the foods they eat.

Vegans have fewer food allergies

Many times vegans are less likely to have common food allergies or intolerances, since they eliminate many of the common such as shellfish, dairy and eggs from their diet.

Junk food vegans

Unfortunately some people have become 'junk food vegans' eating manufactured, processed foods which are vegan (rather than eating whole foods). There are so many products, including faux meat products (hot dogs, sausage, chicken-like patties) veggie burgers, nondairy frozen desserts, chips, cookies that are marketed as vegan which have little or no nutritional value.

Whole Food S.O.U.L. Food Wednesday Action: Eat Vegan For 2 Days

With our Whole Food S.O.U.L. Food Blog we invite you to take action with your whole foods eating behavior. Our Challenge for you this week, is to eat vegan at least 2 days and notice how you feel. To get started, the Experience Nutrition™ Avocado Salsa recipe is a simple, delicious meal that you can enjoy a few times a week. Come on over to Facebook and share your 2-day vegan experience and post one of your meals.

Our Whole Food / S.O.U.L Food Wednesday Recipe for the Week

Enjoy.

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