Week Three - Explore plant proteins
"How do you get enough protein?"
It is understandable that many people would worry about this, because a great deal of marketing has been directed toward convincing us that we need to buy more meat and dairy. One of the favorite catalysts for getting us to buy more meat and dairy is to make us worry that we are not getting enough protein, iron, or vitamin D, and to insinuate that the best way, or even the only way to get these nutrients is to eat meat and dairy. Study after study has shown that this is simply not true. There are many wonderful plant protein sources that provide for our protein needs even better than meat and dairy. Still worried? Check out the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. This was published 1/31/11, so it is fairly recent. Even with all the political pressure placed on the writers of this document, it still asserts that you can get all of your dietary needs without eating meat or dairy. It also encourages including beans as a good source of protein, and warns against eating more than a couple of small portions of meat each week. Imagine that.
Small Step: Try a different bean soup for lunch a couple of times each week. Read up on all the alternatives to meat that can be delicious and nutritious. Gradually broaden your food selections to include more plant proteins and less animal proteins.
Medium Step: Instead of bacon and eggs, try a whole grain cereal for breakfast. Instead of hamburger for lunch, try a boca burger. Instead of hamburger helper with hamburger for supper, try it with half hamburger and half TSP. TSP is textured soy protein. It doesn't taste exactly like meat, but it has the protein you need. You may even discover you have been eating it already without realizing it. (Guerilla vegan spyfood!) You can find some wonderful recipes on any number of online sites that specialize in vegan eating, or just feature vegan food as one of many categories.
Large step: Eliminate all red meat from your diet. Instead of meat, try a variety of beans, seitan and tofu. You could start by ordering tofu and seitan in vegan dishes when you eat out at restaurants. This will give you confidence about what they are supposed to look and taste like before you try to prepare them at home.
Giant step: Eliminate all meat, sea animals, eggs, and dairy from your diet. You will feel fantastic! If you also avoid honey, gelatin, cochineal (a red dye made from crushed insect parts), and chocolate-covered ants, you can begin to consider yourself vegan! (Of course, to be completely vegan, you will need to address more than just diet. Vegans avoid animal products altogether -- that means not wearing them, or using them in any other way. But that is a topic for another week!)
It is understandable that many people would worry about this, because a great deal of marketing has been directed toward convincing us that we need to buy more meat and dairy. One of the favorite catalysts for getting us to buy more meat and dairy is to make us worry that we are not getting enough protein, iron, or vitamin D, and to insinuate that the best way, or even the only way to get these nutrients is to eat meat and dairy. Study after study has shown that this is simply not true. There are many wonderful plant protein sources that provide for our protein needs even better than meat and dairy. Still worried? Check out the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. This was published 1/31/11, so it is fairly recent. Even with all the political pressure placed on the writers of this document, it still asserts that you can get all of your dietary needs without eating meat or dairy. It also encourages including beans as a good source of protein, and warns against eating more than a couple of small portions of meat each week. Imagine that.
Small Step: Try a different bean soup for lunch a couple of times each week. Read up on all the alternatives to meat that can be delicious and nutritious. Gradually broaden your food selections to include more plant proteins and less animal proteins.
Medium Step: Instead of bacon and eggs, try a whole grain cereal for breakfast. Instead of hamburger for lunch, try a boca burger. Instead of hamburger helper with hamburger for supper, try it with half hamburger and half TSP. TSP is textured soy protein. It doesn't taste exactly like meat, but it has the protein you need. You may even discover you have been eating it already without realizing it. (Guerilla vegan spyfood!) You can find some wonderful recipes on any number of online sites that specialize in vegan eating, or just feature vegan food as one of many categories.
Large step: Eliminate all red meat from your diet. Instead of meat, try a variety of beans, seitan and tofu. You could start by ordering tofu and seitan in vegan dishes when you eat out at restaurants. This will give you confidence about what they are supposed to look and taste like before you try to prepare them at home.
Giant step: Eliminate all meat, sea animals, eggs, and dairy from your diet. You will feel fantastic! If you also avoid honey, gelatin, cochineal (a red dye made from crushed insect parts), and chocolate-covered ants, you can begin to consider yourself vegan! (Of course, to be completely vegan, you will need to address more than just diet. Vegans avoid animal products altogether -- that means not wearing them, or using them in any other way. But that is a topic for another week!)