Vegan for Life (13 page)

If you are new to beans, keep an open mind about them. They are central to some of the world’s best cuisine and can add great interest to your diet. Chapter 8 has tips for easy preparation and gas-free enjoyment of beans. We’ve also provided alternative ways to meet protein needs. See “For Those Who Don’t Like Legumes” on page 90.

Soyfoods are a special category of legumes that includes any food made from soybeans, such as tofu, soymilk, tempeh, and veggie meats. You don’t have to eat soyfoods, but they can be valuable in vegan diets. Not only are they nutritious, but they are convenient for replacing meat and dairy products in meals. They make it super-easy to plan vegetarian diets that are healthful, varied, and delicious. There is lots of controversy about soy these days, and we clear that up in Chapter 15.

Although this group includes soymilk, it doesn’t include almond, hemp, oat, or rice milk since they are almost always low in protein.

Some vegans shy away from nuts and seeds because of their high fat content. But moderate nut consumption improves cholesterol levels and can even help with weight control (see Chapter 13 for more on this). These foods are concentrated in calories, though, so a serving is small—just two tablespoons of a nut or seed butter or whole seeds, or ¼ cup of nuts. We suggest consuming one to two servings of these foods every day. Choose nuts more often than seeds; they usually have a healthier fat profile and their health benefits are impressive. If you are allergic to nuts, add another serving from the legumes and soyfoods group to your meals.

Vegetables rule when it comes to nutrient-dense foods. They are among the best sources of vitamins C and A and contain thousands of plant chemicals that might improve health. All vegetables are good for you, but leafy greens like kale, collards, spinach, and turnip greens pack an especially powerful nutritional punch. They are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, iron, folate, sometimes calcium, and a host of plant chemicals that are linked to everything from reduced risk for heart disease to better eyesight with aging. Most people who grew up
eating greens feel they can’t live without them, and many newcomers to this food agree. If, however, you need a more gradual introduction to them, try mixing small amounts of greens into soups and stews.

If you are pressed for time, frozen vegetables are a good alternative to fresh. They are almost always comparable in nutrient content and, in fact, sometimes have even higher levels of nutrients.

Fruits are good sources of vitamins C and A as well as certain minerals, and they provide plenty of phytochemicals. While fruit juices can be a valuable source of nutrients, they should be used in moderation. Try to consume most fruits in their fresh, raw state if possible.

Added fats aren’t essential in healthy vegan menus, but small amounts of the right ones can fit in a well-balanced diet. We’ve specified around two servings for adults (note: a serving is just a teaspoon). It’s okay to have more, and people with very high calorie needs may consume quite a bit more. You may want to read over the guidelines for choosing healthy fats in Chapter 5.

Most food guides aimed at vegetarians have a “milk” group, with soymilk included as an alternative. Food guides for vegans often have a “calcium-rich foods” group. But this doesn’t make sense. Except for fats,
all
of the food groups contain calcium-rich foods, so why not take advantage of this?

That’s what we’ve done in the guide on page 88. Our food guide encourages you to choose a variety of foods to meet calcium needs. Be sure that your choices from the food groups include at least six to
eight servings of calcium-rich foods per day. (Or you can make up the difference with a calcium supplement.)

The vegan food guide is aimed at helping adults meet
minimum
requirements for nutrients. (We’ll provide guidelines for children in Chapter 10.) If you consume just what the guide specifies, it will provide you with approximately 1,600 calories. Since most adults need a higher calorie intake, you can meet your energy needs by boosting intakes from all of the food groups.

Again, make sure that you are including at least six to eight servings per day of calcium-rich foods. These are listed in the right-hand column of the food guide. For example, ½ cup of calcium-set tofu counts as a serving from the protein-rich foods group and also as one of your servings of a calcium-rich food. Or, if you include a cup of cooked kale with dinner, it counts as a serving of vegetables and also a serving of a calcium-rich food.

In a couple of cases, serving sizes need to be adjusted in order for a food to count as a calcium-rich choice. While a whole cup of soymilk is one serving from the protein-rich foods group, because it is so high in calcium, it counts as two servings of a calcium-rich food. And two navel oranges equal a single calcium-rich serving even though they cover two of your recommended fruit servings.

The food guide on page 88 includes some additional tips for making choices within each group.

It’s easy to use the food guide to pull together vegan menus that are healthy and delicious. The three menus on pages 95 to 98 will give you several ideas for planning meals to meet different calorie levels.

In addition, the following supplements or fortified foods will ensure that you get adequate vitamin B
₁₂
, iodine, vitamin D, and omega-3 fats.

It’s easier than ever to plan healthy and interesting vegan meals because of the array of convenience products like veggie meats and cheeses and boxed and frozen dinners. Although many forms of processing strip away nutrients from foods or add undesirable ingredients, processed foods have a long and nutritionally important history in many world cuisines. Tofu and soymilk are two examples of processed foods that play a significant role in Asian cuisine.

While it is a good idea to build your diet around a variety of whole plant foods, moderate amounts of foods that don’t carry the “whole foods” label can play a role, and sometimes an important one, in
healthy vegan diets. For many, including veggie burgers, fortified plant milks, pasta sauce from a jar, instant soup, and other convenience foods makes vegan meal planning more realistic. It can improve the chances that you will meet nutrient needs and thrive on a vegan diet, and it can be especially important for children. Athletes and others with high calorie needs can also benefit from more processed foods.

Too often we have seen an unwavering commitment to eliminating all processed foods from meals morph into a restrictive eating pattern that is marginal in protein and fat and falls short of providing enough calories. Sadly, the result is that many people on this kind of regimen decide that a vegan diet is ruining their health or they find it unsatisfying and difficult, and they return to eating animal foods. On the other hand, we have rarely seen these kinds of problems in vegans who are more liberal in their food choices—enjoying veggie burgers, a drizzle of olive oil on salads, a sweet treat now and then, and whatever convenience products it takes to keep their vegan diet nutrient-rich and realistic.

The point isn’t that you must eat processed foods to be healthy; it’s that there is a reasonable way to balance healthy food choices with convenience if you wish to do so. A diet based on veggie meats and protein bars is not the best way to meet nutrient needs. But if a moderate use of processed foods makes it easy to stick with a vegan diet, then enjoying them will help you reap the health benefits of plant-based eating and support your commitment to a diet that reduces animal suffering.

Food allergies are an immune response to a protein that the body perceives as “foreign.” The immune system reacts by producing antibodies, which can trigger skin rashes, nausea, or respiratory symptoms. Approximately 6 to 8 percent of children have food allergies and at least half outgrow them by adulthood. Food allergies affect only 2 to 4 percent of adults.

If you think you might be allergic to certain foods, it’s a good idea to get tested by a qualified health professional and possibly get a second
opinion from a professional who does a different type of testing. The number of people who believe they have allergies is much higher than the number who actually test positive for them. As an adult, you may no longer be allergic to foods that caused problems for you as a child.

Although any protein can cause allergies, eight foods account for more than 90 percent of food allergies. These are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and wheat. Of these, only tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and wheat are of concern to vegans. And peanut and tree nut allergies are the ones that are most likely to persist beyond childhood. Allergies to soy are relatively uncommon in both children and adults, and they are also unlikely to cause severe symptoms like respiratory problems. Wheat allergy is not the same as celiac disease, which is an intolerance to all sources of the protein gluten. People with wheat allergy need to avoid wheat but can usually consume other sources of gluten like barley. However, if you have a wheat allergy, the growing availability of gluten-free products makes it easier to plan a healthy diet.