At the moment I am a lacto ovo vegetarian but after reading up on veganism I am very keen to give this lifestyle a go. However, there are a few problems- I hate soya products (especially tofu), I have a nut allergy and the only meat alternative I like, Quorn, contains egg. At the moment my diet is based on low fat dairy like fat free yoghurt, eggs, Quorn, fruit, veg and bread. In addition, I am anemic so need all the iron I can get at the moment and I am only eating about 20g of protein a day-I need more than double that. Can someone suggest what I should do?
Eat more beans/Lentils and dried fruit and the soymilk in my hand has 8g of protein & 8 % iron. Now yes I noticed that you wrote that u hate soya products, but if we ONLY ate things that we thought were yummy~some of us would be living on Krispy Kreme donuts, doritos, and other such junk.
A vegan can do just fine without consuming any soy, should they choose to do so. You just need to make sure you are eating other beans and legumes as well as grains throughout the day. Legumes + grains = complete proteins. They don't have to be eaten at the same time, just within the same day, more or less. Beans are a good source of iron. You can also cook with cast iron to add iron to your food.
Whaat why would you eat something if its not yummy? You make it yummy! Lots of healthy food can be yummy... and I wouldn't eat it if it wasn't! Just had to say, just had to say... haha
My roommate won't eat beans or lentils at all cuz in her opinion they are gross, and she thinks I'm wierd cuz I only buy soy milk and she will ask EVERYTIME "why do u drink that and not the real stuff". She would love to only live on yummy food everyday~~chips, candy bars, soda pop, yogurt, crackers & coffee
try tempeh, also eat a lot quinoa, drink hemp or almond mylk, eat nut butters, eat amarynth, buy high protein cereals
Good for you for doing your research and wanting to get this right! Theres high iron content in quite a few fruits and veggies. Especially very dark leafy greens, like kale, or red ones like red cabbage. Seeds like sunflower and pumpkin are good, especially sprouted. Also fortified milks and cereals, or you could take a srong suppliment for your anemia problem. Always remember to eat a piece of fruit or drink some fruit juice along with your iron-filled foods or your suppliment, as iron needs vit C to be digested properly. Your anemia may also be because of an ABSORPTION problem, in which case a lighter diet may very well be of help As for soya and legumes, i really dont consume all that much any more. I used to. Now im leaning more towards sprouted grains and seeds and i really dont feel there is any need for beans in the diet if its done right. Sprouted quinoa is good. You could also use grains. And if you like lentils, chickpeas etc, use them too. If youre unsure, id try doing it in stages, first eliminating dairy (bad for yor poor body!) but keeping eggs and seeing how you feel from there Its important for a vegan to eat very well. A vegan on junk food, mock meats which are highly processed or vegan chocolate bars without any of the vital foods, like leafy greens, is not a healthy person at all. It takes a kind of commitment, especially if youre anemic, but the good news is its all tasty and youll feel great. A vegan diet can be one of the healthiest there is Just one more thing, about quorn. There have been quite a few health concerns over it i believe with good reason. Not only because of the battery farmed eggs (or are they free range now? Still, its not good) but also because of what quorn actually is. Its like a kind of mould. Not really a fungus like a mushroom, more like mould, grown in vats and treated with chemicals. Its not something thats naturally so abundant, they have to make it grow like that, which makes me very cautious. I had severe headaches and fuzzy concentration whilst eating quorn, years ago. Just thought id let you know incase you didnt already. Many people love quorn and dont see a problem Good luck with this, its good to see youre taking care about your health. And a vegan diet does so much good
