So you are a proud vegan, huh?
You are holier than others because you don't call dead animals food. Good, it helps you earn respect. You also stand for animal rights and the world, according to you, would become a better place if everyone stops eating meat.
Most meat eaters feebly argue with you and finally give up. But some of them come up with a seemingly convincing argument, which you couldn’t refute at the drop of a hat. They argue vegans don’t get enough nutrients for not consuming meat, egg and milk.
You couldn’t reply them back because subconsciously, you agree with them that vegans don’t get enough calorie every day. The only reason you make peace with this is you don’t want animals to be unnecessarily slaughtered.
Fair enough, but you’d be surprised to hear there are plenty of vegan alternatives to meat, egg and dairy products. Consuming them translates to getting all the calorie that a healthy person needs.
Here’s a list of some great vegan alternatives to meat, egg and milk products;
Eggplant
Whether you are going vegetarian or vegan, eggplant should be on your list of most sought after food. Eggplant has a strange meaty taste. So if you are a new convert to veganism and wrestling with a meat hangover, then give this tasty vegetable a thought. To make your meal more attractive, cook parmigiana with eggplant or simply grab an eggplant burger. With more options opening up for vegans, a number of delicious ways to eat eggplant have been invented by world’s renowned chefs. Some of the restaurant style eggplant recipes are crispy eggplant fries, spiralized eggplant noodles, mozzarella stuffed eggplant meatball, etc. As for calorie, hundred grams of eggplant offer 25 calories, which means consuming 200-250 grams a day is enough.
Mushroom
Mushrooms offer a meaty taste; the taste is so pungent that if cooked properly with spices, you may think you are chewing meat, not mushrooms. Cremini and portobello mushrooms are among the most popular types and both taste quite similar to meat. In fact, filling made of mushrooms can replace meat any day.
A tasty way to fry it in vegan butter, then add thyme, balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Saute mushrooms could be served on polenta or piled up on a crispy roll or on French Dip sandwich. A tasty vegan recipe is made of mushroom as a substitute for lamb burger, which is called mushroom stroganoff. Your dinner guests will surely love this recipe. They’ll be really impressed when you’ll serve them stuffed mushrooms with pecans and portobello wellington.
Nuts
Nuts contain a lot of health benefits. Almost all families of nuts contain unsaturated fat, which makes our hearts healthy. Hazelnuts, cashew nuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, pecans and walnuts are among the popular nut types. Cashew nuts are a good source of iron and zinc and the mineral magnesium. From hazelnuts, you get folate, which helps your body's homocysteine to stay within the normal range. When you are consuming pecans, your body is getting oleic acid and Vitamin B3. Nuts taste great, so you can give treats your taste buds and get enough protein and antioxidant.
Potatoes
As a vegan, you can cook main dishes with potatoes. Roast potato, mashed potato, baked and boiled potatoes are some of the mouth-watering vegan alternatives to meat. Potatoes are high in carbohydrate, calcium, vitamin and protein. Sweet potatoes contain antioxidants, which offer natural anti inflammatory supplements. From one potato you get a significant amount of iron, vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin D, potassium and magnesium. If you have potatoes everyday, then your body's defense system against common cold and flu would become stronger and your heart and nerve would function better. With potato, you can try some tasty and innovative dishes such as spicy potato burger, chocolate potato cake, creamy potato and soup.
Beans
After potato, it's beans for your palate. Beans contain protein. One cup of beans contains 15 grams of protein. Beans are a sought after food among calorie conscious vegans as they get protein, iron, potassium, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, fiber, vitamin B6, folic acid and riboflavin. Beans reduce the odds of heart attack, prevent cancer and lower cholesterol. Health benefits apart, beans are super tasty as well. You can prepare some finger-licking bean recipes such as vegetarian black bean soup, vegetarian tacos made of bean, etc.
The five vegan meat alternatives give you all the protein, vitamins and other minerals you need, yet satiate your taste buds. So next time, you want some leverage for forgetting the taste of meat, try these.
Shared by http://www.liveinthenow.com/
