25+ Whole Food Plant Based Recipes for Beginners - 2sharemyjoy.com (2024)

FAQs

Can you eat pasta on a plant-based diet? ›

You can eat true 100 percent whole-grain cereals, pasta, and bread and follow a WFPB diet, but you also need to be careful and read labels closely. Foods labeled as multi-grain, made with whole grain and 100 percent wheat are not pure 100 percent whole-grain foods.

Start by experimenting with plant-based foods that taste and look familiar, rather than jumping to unfamiliar ingredients and dishes. If you like cereal for breakfast, switch to a plant-based milk. If you like chili for lunch, use your usual recipe but just stick with beans or swap in a ground beef substitute.

Rich, savory seasonings can make plant-based food delicious

But meat-free foods like miso, mushrooms, or seaweed can offer a "tsunami of umami," particularly when combined with herbs, spices, and sesame or olive oil for richness, Buettner said.

Conversely, you will eat less meat, processed meats, eggs, and dairy on a plant-based diet. Removing or reducing intake of these foods means that your intake of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium will likely decrease as these foods are more concentrated in these nutrients than plant-based foods.

In other words, plants were paired with protein sources, like eggs, to make a nutritious and well rounded meal. Eggs can and should be part of a plant-based diet, and these five suggestions showcase how easy it is to incorporate the incredible egg into your plant-forward dishes.

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, apricots, sweet potatoes, peaches, plums, melons, eggplant, lemons, lettuce, green beans, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, spinach, corn, Swiss chard, celery, beets, onions, cauliflower, cherries, bananas, mushrooms, parsnips, turnips, ...

Leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, squash, bell peppers, cucumbers…the more, the merrier! Whole grains: many whole grains are a vital source of protein and fiber.

Vegans can eat bread that does not contain animal products or byproducts. This includes breads that only use some variation on flour, water, yeast, and salt including ciabatta, baguette, focaccia, sourdough, pita, and ezekiel breads.

People who follow vegan diets abstain from consuming any animal products, including dairy, meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and honey. Vegetarians exclude all meat and poultry from their diets, but some vegetarians eat eggs, seafood, or dairy ( 3 ). The WFPB diet, on the other hand, is more flexible.

How to slowly start eating plant-based? ›

Plants are high in fiber.

Eating a plant-based diet improves the health of your gut so you are better able to absorb the nutrients from food that support your immune system and reduce inflammation. Fiber can lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar and it's great for good bowel management.

The most common challenge we see is that “new” vegans and vegetarians do not eat enough calories throughout the day. Snacking is a great way to stay full! Make sure you are incorporating snacks between meals. These snacks allow you to meet your calorie needs as well as manage your hunger between meals.

There are currently high fixed costs reflective of the extra level of upfront marketing and sales efforts required by plant-based brands challenging the established commoditized conventional meat category.

Vegetables can handle strong, assertive spices. Mix up a harissa spice mix, use some za'atarans, grab a barbecue powder, and rub it into whole heirloom carrots, cauliflower chunks, slabs of zucchini, and mushrooms. Marinate: Potentially meat like vegetables absorb flavors beautifully.

TYPES OF PLANT-BASED PASTA

Here are three of our favorites, using chickpea casarecce, red-lentil rotini, and whole-grain thin spaghetti.

Pizza is still a staple among those following a meat-free or completely plant-based diet. Here's our guide to how to enjoy pizza while changing your diet. Now if you're a vegetarian, you can still enjoy cheese on your pie.

There are a lot of great plant-based protein sources, including tofu, lentils, beans, nuts and nut butters, seeds, and quinoa. Don't forget: Dairy, eggs, beef, poultry, and fish are allowed on the plant-based diet, they just shouldn't be the center of the meal.