A Diet Consisting Of Minimally Processed Whole Foods Can Lead To:
- Healthy weight loss + gut health: a whole food plant based diet is high in fiber, which helps the body with excess weight, and better digestion.
- Lower risk of Type II Diabetes: vegetarians are at an almost 50% decreased risk of diabetes over those on a non-vegetarian diet.
- A Lower risk for heart disease: a balanced whole food plant based diet significantly lowers the risk for heart disease.
- Lower risk for cancer: a study by the US National Library of Medicine showed a 43% reduced risk of cancer in those sticking to a vegetarian diet.
Easy Red Lentil Pasta
This is a very simple but super yummy whole grain pasta with a flavorful legume sauce. Although I love to experiment and vary my plant- based meals regularly, this pasta is one I cook again and again. Most of its ingredients are sitting in my pantry anyway.
Ive been meaning to eat more lentils, and you just inspired me. This is a perfect recipe to start with! Lisa Huff
Baigan Choka: Trinidadian Roasted Eggplant
Source: Baigan Choka
Baigan Choka, or roasted mashed eggplant, is to Trinidad and Togabo what baba ghanoush is to the Middle East. It is traditionally made by roasting eggplant over a grill until its charred and infused with smoky flavor, then scooping out the inside and mashing it with roasted peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and butter or oil. This recipe by Nita Ragoonanan is a delicious, flavorful, and creamy dish thats best served with paratha or any kind of flatbread.
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Coconut Rice And Beans
Here comes another filling clean dinner idea I really love. This rice and black beans with coconut milk combines everything I feel is important in a simplified plant-based recipe. It is easy, ready within 30 minutes, flavorful, provides a high satiation effect and still keeps you in shape.
Indian Mashed Potatoes With Curried Gravy
Source: Indian Mashed Potatoes With Curried Gravy
With potatoes, a blend of Indian spices, and peas as a garnish, Melanie Sorrentinos Indian Mashed Potatoes With Curried Gravy are kind of like a deconstructed samosa. Red potatoes are mashed with onion, cumin, mustard seeds, coriander, and turmeric. Then, theyre topped with a curry-inspired gravy made from tomatoes, coconut milk, and even more spices. Serve this as a side to steamed vegetables.
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Banana Cinnamon And Sultana Overnight Oats
Banana, cinnamon and sultana is a classic combo found in many cakes, biscuits and muffins the world over.
Personally, I love to add cinnamon to as many dishes as possible due to its amazing, healthful properties. One of which is helping to control blood sugar.
Keeping blood sugar on an even keel is one of the best ways to help keep weight under control, as its sugar fluctuations that can promote junk food cravings, thus promoting weight gain.
Preparing this tasty breakfast the night before will allow time for all that lovely spice to infuse.
INGREDIENTS:
- A small handful of raisins or sultanas
- 1 x tablespoon of pumpkin seeds
- Good pinch of cinnamon
METHOD:
The Joys Of One Pot Cooking
One-pot meals are another great option if youre busy and want to limit the amount of work to prepare a meal. My favorite advantages of one-pot meals are:
- Lots of flavors. Just because its contained to one pot doesnt mean its basic. All the recipes above have a variety of flavors and ingredients.
- Easy cleanup. Only one pot to clean at the end.
- Stove simplicity. No need to monitor multiple pots and pans on the stove at one time.
- Veggies included. One-pot recipes are generally complete meals that include veggies. Theres no need to plan a separate side dish.
- Instant pot-friendly. Many recipes can be made in an Instant Pot to simplify things even further.
I hope you find a one-pot recipe to try this week!
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Peanut Butter Sliced Apple And Cinnamon Sourdough Toast
ALL of these ingredients will fill you up! Seriously, if youre looking for a super filling and hearty brekkie, then peanut butter and wholegrain bread will always fit the bill.
I once lost a lot of weight by filling myself up at breakfast with 2 slices of toast and a heap of peanut butter. You might wonder how thats possible, but when you eat such a low GI breakfast you are literally full until mid-afternoon.
This meant I would only have a very light lunch and a healthy dinner, which made me eat LESS overall. So, peanut butter can actually be a good weight loss food when used correctly.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-2 slices of sourdough or granary bread
- 1 x tablespoon of sugar free, 100% peanut or almond butter
- 1 x sliced, sweet apple
- Cinnamon powder for dusting
METHOD:
Vegan Vs Plant Based Vs Whole Food Plant Based
Vegan means that you avoid everything derived from animals, just like plant based. But you also avoid leather and watch your beauty products for the label cruelty free. Eating vegan can include processed snacks like Oreos.
Plant based means you focus mostly on eating plants, but you may not be so focused on the vegan aspect outside of diet. Plant based also includes processed foods like plant based burgers.
The whole food plant based diet is a fully vegan or plant based diet with a focus on whole foods. This means you leave all processed foods out of your diet. Processed foods are vegan junk foods like fries, cookies, vegan burgers, oils, sugar, and so on.
So what should you choose?
If your goal is to get health issues under control, the whole food plant based diet is a great option. Whole plant foods can reduce inflammation in your body, they are good for the heart, and you are less likely to over eat.
A whole food plant based diet is lower in calories for the same volume of food compared to a standard western diet. This is extremely beneficial for weight loss.
Todays easy whole food plant based recipes dont contain any processed foods. And because I want to make your life not only healthy but also easy, all whole plant based recipes can be prepped in 30 minutes or less.
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White Sugar And White Flour
White flour and processed sugar are also highly processed, cause inflammation, and can create huge glucose spikes. White flour, unless organic, is made with wheat that is often treated with glyphosates- and can be inflammatory.
Now dont get me wrong- our bodies probably can handle small amounts of any of these we do have a beautiful built-in detox system but if your diet consists mainly of these, then giving your body a week or month of clean eating will feel life-changing!
Walnut Lentil Burger With Cauliflower Pure And Red Lentil Relish
Source: Walnut Lentil Burgers
Ida Hommingsson-Holls Walnut Lentil Burgers are delicious and hearty, real comfort food-style. The red onion relish is tangy, sweet, herby, and unbelievable good. The cauliflower broccoli purée is creamy and delicious. Serve these burgers bun-less with the purée and relish on the side and let the flavors do the talkin.
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Why Eat A Good Breakfast
Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Have you ever noticed that if you dont nail your first meal of the day with complete nutrition , then you are left hungry again all too soon?
Getting breakfast all wrong can leave you susceptible to blood sugar fluctuations throughout the day. This in turn can make you crave those high carb and sugary snacks that set you on a cycle of blood sugar dips and troughs.
Bok Choy Noodles & Mushrooms
This is such a welcome last minute dish. Its nutrient-dense, as among other healthy ingredients, you use another member of the cruciferous vegetable family: Bok choy also known as Pak choi. Also, if you or your family cant get used to whole grain pasta, then these bean thread noodles offer a healthy alternative.
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Check Out The Latest Recipes
The newest oil-free plant-based recipes added to my ever-growing collection of several hundred vegan recipes.
- Healthy Sheet Pan Veggie Fajitas
- Easy Homemade Fajita Seasoning
- Vegan BBQ Tempeh Sandwich with Creamy Kale Slaw
- Easy Vegan Kale Slaw
- The Easiest Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Zucchini Noodles with Healthy Vegan Pesto
- The Easiest And Most Delicious Vegan Pesto
- Easy Homemade Chili Powder
Easier On Your Wallet
Believe it or not, whole, plant-based foods are, for the most part, cheaper overall . You can reduce the cost of plant-based meals even further by growing and preparing foods from your own backyard garden. Gardening can even help reduce anxiety and stress from the pandemic while getting you out into the fresh air.
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Start Today For Only $1
If theres one thing that people tend to find stressful when they begin a plant based diet, its knowing what to eat thats not only going to cost a fortune, but also very importantly, easy to prepare. We live in a fast paced world and we simply dont have time to think too much about meals, yet we still want and need to stay healthy.
In this post we will share with you the 10 easy whole food plant based breakfast ideas. They are all simple to prepare , and best of all they are HIGHLY nutritious and will keep you satiated and full until lunch we promise!
Baked Sweet Potatoes With Spiced Lentil Salad & Lemon Tahini Dressing
Followers of a plant-based lifestyle keep sweet potatoes near and dearand this sweet potato recipe keeps them exciting. A warm green lentil salad, spiced with harissa and rounded out with tomatoes, gets heaped on some halved roasted sweets and is doused with an incredibly rich and creamy tahinilemon dressing. This one keeps me full for most of the day.
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Chocolate And Peanut Butter Breakfast Shake
If you love chocolate, then you will never miss an opportunity to go for the cacao options in all things.
It has everything to get you jumping out of bed in the morning, such as the words chocolate and peanut butter in the same sentence. And, they both happen to work like a dream together.
Theres also a small hit of caffeine in there to rev the engine too!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 x sliced, frozen, very ripe banana
- 1.5 tbsp of cacao powder
- 1.5 tbsp of peanut butter
- 1 x cup of sugar-free nut milk
- Pinch of xylitol if you need more sweetness
METHOD:
Red Bean Soup With Chickpeas And Spinach
One of lifes great comforts is the aroma of homemade soup warming on the hob. This bean soup enriched with chickpeas, spinach and nutritional yeast flakes gives you the confidence to create vegan bowls of delicious goodness in your own kitchen.
I have been eating a lot of soups lately with the weather turning colder and love this idea using healthy ingredients to feel fuller longer. Love the addition of spinach for flavor. This is perfect winter comfort food. Ali Randall
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Green Beauty Power Smoothie
If you like a smoothie in the morning, then youll love this one. This antioxidant rich beast will have you noticeably glowing fast. It has all those beautifying, skin friendly fats, and is completely RAW.
Raw foods usually offer the highest amounts of nutrients, antioxidants and fiber. In fact, all the ingredients to keep your body running perfectly, along with giving you much more energy than you would get from a completely cooked food diet.
So, use breakfast as your opportunity to add more raw foods into your life completely painlessly.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-2 pitted dates
- 1 x desert spoon of shelled hemp seeds
- 1/2 a medium ripe avocado
- Large handful of baby spinach
- 1 x cup of plant milk or homemade almond milk
- Have some extra water ready to make it to the consistency you desire
METHOD:
Better For Your Mental Health
And in a time when many peoples mental health is suffering under the weight of unprecedented anxiety and stress, plant foods can help your mental well-being, too. It turns out that your gut produces more neurotransmitters than your brain. And high-fiber diets feed the good bacteria in your microbiome: the ones that promote serotonin production, a neurotransmitter that fights depression. So while a plant-based diet cant make all the bad things go away, it can help you deal with them with greater resilience and optimism.
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Autumn Chili Bowl With Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Quinoa
This Autumn Chili Bowl with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Quinoa is bound to bring you all the warming spices, grounding heartiness, and fall coziness you know and lovebut with a few fun twists. With a base of savory, juicy, and meaty plant-based ground beef, the dish is kicked up a notch with hints of chili powder and a kick of peppery ginger, say our editors.
What are your favorite plant-based recipes? Let me know in the comments!
Join The Sandwich Universe co-hosts Molly Baz and Declan Bond as they dive deep into beloved, iconic sandwiches.
Santa Fe Roasted Stuffed Peppers With Spicy Cashew Mozzarella
Source: Santa Fe Roasted Stuffed Peppers
These Santa Fe Roasted Stuffed Peppers by Melissa Huggins are a must-try for all! Theyre filled with savory sautéed vegetables like mushrooms and carrots, as well as protein-rich quinoa and black-eyed peas thatll keep you full. The cashew mozzarella is optional, but its is highly recommended. You wont believe how easily you can turn cashews into gooey, melty mozzarella. Combine everything together, roast it in the oven, and enjoy a meal that youll definitely be coming back to.
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Spicy Thai Salad With Millet And Peanut Dressing
It is probably the piquant peanut dressing that is turning this simple, nutrient-dense salad into a culinary delight. On top of that, it is a gluten-free, fiber-rich due to foods like red cabbage, millet and peanut butter as a good source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.
Smashed Avocado On Sourdough With Tahini Paste
Avocado is FULL of healthy, satiating, heart and brain healthy fats. So, be sure to get at least 2-3 portions a week of this delicious fruit.
One way to get your quota is through that good old Hipster favorite known as smashed avo on sourdough. Simple, effective, and hits the spot taste and satiety wise.
Avocado is also a low GI slow burner and will stop mid-morning snacking temptations in their tracks.
INGREDIENTS:
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Stuff We Love: Gotham Steel Cookware 5 Quart Stock Pot
Each week, we feature things we love. This week, its the Gotham Steel Cookware 5 Quart Stock Pot.
Look: Im not going to tell you to buy something you dont need. Just about any stockpot will do the trick for this weeks recipes. The main thing to keep in mind is you want a large enough pot to cook with and not make a mess.
Easy One-Pot Pasta from Sweet Simple Vegan
Heres another easy pasta dish with the option to add parmesan cheese that you can make at home with four ingredients.
One-Pot Creamy Mushroom Soup from Yay! For Food
Coconut milk gives this recipe a nice creaminess that pairs well with the cremini mushrooms.
One-Pot Vegan Chana Masala from Eat With Clarity
This Indian dish is probably easier than you think to make. The canned chickpeas provide flavor, fiber and protein.
Thai Vegetable Noodle Soup from Forks Over Knives
This noodle soup uses various spices and crisp veggies for a delightfully balanced recipeno need for a side dish here.
One-Pot Cajun Rice from Everyday Easy Eats
Five minutes of prep and five steps are all it takes for this cajun rice. The kidney beans make it an option as a hearty side or an entree.
Homemade Granola With Coconut Yogurt/plant Milk Plus Fresh Berries
This granola has it all. It will give you a good hit of protein and healthy EFAS to set you and your brain up for the day ahead.
Serve with either plant milk/coconut yogurt and extra fresh fruit, and you have an amazing breakfast with about 3 portions of your 7 a day.
Check out this amazing recipe and make a big old batch up to last you for weeks to come. You can also eat this granola on its own, as a delicious snack any time of the day.
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Lentil Salad With Summer Vegetables
Lentils are one of the best plant-based proteins for the summertime. Often, youll find them in stews and soups, but tossing them onto a salad can help you find the full punch of flavour in a light, crisp setting. You can change up the veggies and dressing if youre looking to switch things up and get creative.