November is World Vegan Month & while a vegan diet has been seen a spike in popularity in recent years, as a Nutritional adviser it concerns me that not everyone knows how to eat well as a vegan & meet all their nutritional needs.
There are an estimated 3.5 million people in the UK who identify as vegan, abstaining from all animal products including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, & even gelatine sweets and puddings. These foods contain beneficial nutrients that vegans may be missing out on if they’re not sought out from alternative plant sources.
I’ve rounded up some blogs & recipes that will help you to meet your nutritional needs if you choose to go vegan completely, or cut down on the amount of animal products you consume.
Simply Tofu Stir Fry
The most common deficiency in vegan diets is protein. Soy and soy products such as tofu are one of most concentrated sources of plant protein, and this Simply Tofu Stir Fry from Karen at The Mad House of Cats and Babies is also packed with high fibre vegetables.
How to stay Strong & Toned as a Vegan
Mums come to me wanting to lose weight and tone up. ‘Toning up’ is achieved by primarily two things; doing resistance exercise and eating enough protein. In this blog I’ll explain how you can maintain muscle on a plant-based diet.
Dessert Hummus Four Ways
You’ll notice I mentioned protein powder in the above blog. Good quality protein powders can be an effective, convenient, tasty and cost effective way to hit your protein needs and there are a variety of vegan and non-vegan types available. I’ve used them in these sweet hummus recipes; who knew hummus could be pudding?!
Vegan Lunchbox Ideas for Kids
Kids need a nutritious lunch to help them learn and stay energised throughout the school day. Keep them interested as well as healthy with these brilliant vegan lunchbox ideas from Scottish Mum Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.
Homemade Smoky Baked Beans
Baked beans are a stable in most households but for a rustic family brunch try making your own! It’s not nearly as hard as you’d think and you can skip the chilli for young kids in this recipe from Just Average Jen. Serve with grains (e.g. bread or rice) or sprinkle with nuts or seeds to add missing amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
Meat-less Meatloaf
Another soy protein to try is tempeh, the main ingredient in this delicious family friendly Meat-Less Meatloaf. I recommend keeping the Marmite in, it adds a umami meaty flavour, without any meat!
Recommended Vegan Cookbooks
And finally mum and daughter team Bibi and Jayne aka the Veggie Runners tell us their favourite vegan cookbooks if you want even more ideas to eat more plant based meals. The pair are avid runners, for which good nutrition plays an important part in both performance and recovery, so have done their homework and have picked out their favourites for you.
*BritMums does not endorse or have any affiliation to products mentioned in any of the blogs linked in our Round-ups.
About Pollyanna Hale
Pollyanna Hale helps Mums lose weight, get fit, and have more energy and
body confidence with online coaching and programmes, books and a free
Facebook community group. A Mum of two young girls, Polly understands
how hard it is for us Mums to make ourselves a priority when all our
energy and willpower gets drained before we’ve even done the school run!
Everything she teaches is designed to be compatible with crazy busy
Mum-life, because you matter too, Mum.
