Five Must-eat Vegan Foods for a Healthy You

You can find out a lot of reasons to say ‘NO’ to eating meat, from the wellbeing of your heart to the interests of animals. But diet-wise, it can be a little challenging, as you considerably minimize your body's supply of important nutrients including protein, iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Still we say don’t panic! Yes, this is because the five must-eat vegan foods – we’ve mentioned below – will definitely aid you in filling these gaps. Indeed, all these foods are beset with one or more of these difficult-to-find nutrients.   

1.  Beans

A small bowl of beans everyday can give you more or less one-third of iron, protein, and half of fibre you need. And the good thing is most of that is soluble fibre that assists in lessening cholesterol. With this you can also get a good quantity of potassium, zinc, numerous B vitamins, and some calcium as well. And here, expert’s advice for you is that just keep in mind to rinse packed beans well before cooking them, as they can be drenched in salt. You can try tossing beans & veggies with whole wheat pasta or make soups with it. 

2.  Tofu

The best thing about tofu is that it is a tremendous source of protein, zinc, and iron. Not merely this, but it also has some cholesterol-reducing omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin-D. As a point of fact, you can get over 100mg of calcium and that too in just a half cup of it and we already know that how important calcium is for building of our body. You can look for a hard tofu as it is considered good – it remains in shape when grilled.    

3.  Grains

More than a few enriched whole-grain food stuffs are prepared with difficult-to-have vitamin B12 and some of them are even rich in iron, calcium, and a variety of other nutrients. Remember that if you don't consume eggs or dairy products, then it is important to get a B12 supplement. And as puffed rice together with other whole-grain foods are full of B vitamins, zinc, insoluble fibre, which aids in reducing cholesterol from the body and also decreases the threat of colon cancer and digestive problems.

4.  Nuts

Did you know that nuts are an effective source of quick and absolutely delicious protein? Yes, that is so, and when it comes to walnuts, peanuts, almonds, cashews, these are a good supplement of zinc, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. Through almonds you can get an upright quantify of calcium and studies also say that as nuts also come with calories, their intake doesn’t cause weight gain. And don’t be surprised to know that nuts make you feel so full that you're less about to stuff yourself with other foods. Experts recommend eating mixed nuts, as different varieties give you different nutrients.  

5.  Lentils

Just similar to beans, Lentils are a good source of protein and soluble fibre. But lentils are better than most beans, as they come with addition amount of iron. Apart from this, they are also rich in most B vitamins and folate that is in particular vital for pregnant women as folate trims down the threat for some birth defects. Also, as legumes are likely to be less gassy, the first time vegetarians can try eating lentils. In addition, you can experiment with various varieties. If we talk about red lentils, they cook up quickly and can be turned into great purees.     

So, these vegan foods are just great for new vegetarians, as they encourage making you a healthy you!