So hey, maybe you’ve recently decided to go veg, whether that be vegetarian, vegan, or anything in between. That’s awesome! Now, there are a few essential pointers every new veg should be aware of (oh, and even the veg veterans would benefit from refreshing their memory and diets every now and again).
Animal friendly diets can have numerous health benefits if executed with some proper basic knowledge of nutrition. Just like with any other way of eating, veg diets can be either very healthy, or very unhealthy. Think: deficiencies or too much processed crap. But obviously these problems are not restricted to green diets. A veg diet neither necessarily means it’s healthier than a diet that includes animal-based products, but neither does it mean you will end up looking and feeling like a ghost because you’re getting too little protein/iron/insert any random nutrient here.
Here’s a handy compressed guide to make your honeymoon phase with the veg lifestyle last forever. I made a small list of things that you would benefit from including into your diet on a regular basis if you choose to forgo (some) animal products.
Newly Veg: A Guide To A Healthy Green Diet
Nutrient Chart |
|
| Selenium | Mushrooms, Brazil nuts, oats, wheat products, oat products |
| Lysine (amino acid) | Legumes, quinoa, split pea protein powder, tofu/tempeh/soy milk, pistachios |
| Zinc
(Men pay extra attention here!) |
Wheatgerm, cashews, pine nuts, adzuki beans, sesame seeds/tahini, hemp seeds, green peas |
| Omega-3 | Hemp seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds (& flax oil), walnuts (greens only in very large quantities) |
| B12 | Supplement if vegan, any animal-based food if vegetarian |
| Vitamin A | Greens, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato, red paprika |
| Iron (Women pay extra attention here!) |
Greens, chlorella/spirulina (powdered sea vegetable, recommended), lentils/legumes, tempeh, hemp seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds. Also (to a lesser extend) cherries, beets. |
| Calcium | Greens, quinoa, almonds, sesame seeds/tahini, chia seeds, dried spices (dill, basil, thyme, cinnamon), broccoli, soy products (tempeh/tofu, etc), oranges |
| Vitamin D | Sunlight (15mins/day), fortified margarine and soymilk. Non vegans: full fat dairy products |
A Word On Green Smoothies & Juices
Green smoothies and juices are the best thing you can add to any diet, they really pump in a ton of nutrients. I get more iron, calcium, omega-3 (and tons of other goodness) on my veg diet than most people do consuming meat/dairy/eggs, simply because I load up on greens! Fresh greens are best (kale, chard, beet greens, carrot greens, Romaine lettuce, spinach, collard, basically any green leaf and the darker the better!), and do be shy with the amounts you use. If fresh greens are too much work or too expensive try a blend of powdered greens, available at health food stores/raw resellers/online.
For more background information on what the mentioned vitamins and minerals do in our bodies, check out my vegan nutrition guides on vitamins and minerals.
With this guide it’ll be easy being green!
Love,
Sabine
Even though I’ve been a vegetarian for almost five years now, it’s good to be reminded to pay some attention to getting enough nutritients. I might be low in Omega-3 and Iron, so I’ll make an effort to increase my intake of the foods you listed in those categories.
Thanks for the reminder!
Mede dankzij jou begin ik nu elke ochtend met een green smoothie in plaats van een kop koffie
Geweldig! Maar als ik een green smoothie maak met bijvoorbeeld spinazie wordt deze heel erg dik, drink jij dat zo of maak jij deze dunner? Zo ja, waarmee?
hey hester, dicker dan met and ere bladgroente? ik heb dat zelf niet, maar gewoon wat meer water/melk/wat je ook gebruikt toevoegen tot de gewenste dikte en voilà
ohh i love this guide! perfect for my yoga practice. yay!
Hoi Sabine!
Wat is het verschil tussen kale en collard? Als ik het op google translate intyp staat er bij mij bij allebei dat het boerenkool is.
En bedoel je met beet greens en carrot greens gewoon die groen plant die er aan bieten en wortels vastzitten? Kun je die echt eten?
Groetjes Guusje
Hey Guusje, collard is geen boerenkool, kan wel zijn dat het een kool type is, van kool heb je mega veel verschillende soorten, zelfs van boerenkool!
en je die bladeren kan je absoluut eten! grappig dat we ons dat soort dingen afvragen eigenlijk, ze zijn gezonder dan de knol zelf 9als je er genoeg van eet dan he, want ze zijn wel licht gewicht. maar daar zijn smoothies, sapjes en grote salades perfect voor!)
Great Tips Sabine! I just became a vegetarian this year. All thanks to my husband! And this is really a great list! Thank you so much, I will surprise Ed on Sunday!
[...] Don’t be fooled! Though this a recipe with chocolate, this sucker is for e-book number two! (Hi, my name is Sabine and I find it impossible to work on one project at a time). A chocolate-y, velvet-y superfood smoothie! This baby contains a load of the nutritional gems mentioned in the Newly Veg guide. [...]