It Doesn't Get Easier Than These 50 Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes with 5 Ingredients or Less (2024)

FAQs

What are the problems with whole food plant-based diet? ›

Low vitamin B12 intake is a significant problem in vegan diets due to the exclusion of vitamin B12-rich foods such as meat, poultry, and eggs. A lack of vitamin B12 has been linked to neurologic and hematologic problems [19].

Real food basically means anything not highly processed (like artificial additives) and containing only five or fewer whole ingredients. It means mostly avoiding ingredients you would not cook with at home.

Healthful foods that are high in protein, fiber, or both tend to be filling. Rich sources of protein for vegans include foods such as soybeans, pulses, and some nuts and seeds. Oats, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruit are all good sources of fiber.

Plant-based diets carry some risk of inadequate protein, vitamin, and mineral intake. But these risks are readily overcome by choosing the right vegetarian foods and, when necessary, supplements. For example, soy, quinoa, and nuts are good sources of protein, and tofu, lentils, and spinach are good sources of iron.

It might seem obvious, but "one of the reasons why you might feel hungrier when you transition to a vegan or plant-based diet is because you may not be eating enough calories and nutrients," explains Julie Barrette, a senior clinical dietician with Providence Mission Hospital.

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.

Cheese and plain yogurt are also often included as whole foods. Even though the milk that they are made from will have gone through some processing to create these dairy products, the processing is seen as minimal. But this doesn't include yogurts with added sugars, flavourings and sweeteners.

Spotlight the Super Six:

When it comes to the plants you eat, you want to eat from across the six different plant groups: vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, legumes (beans and pulses), nuts and seeds, and herbs and spices.

Vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, seeds, and nuts are the stars of all plant-based diets. More and more people seem to be making the switch to plant-based diet foods.

Why are physicians not prescribing a plant-based diet to patients? ›

A plant-based diet is one that encourages eating whole foods like fruit and vegetables and one that discourages dairy¸ meat¸ eggs and refined and processed foods. Physicians are not prescribing a plant-based diet to patients because of lack of patient educational resources.

Processing Removes Plant Nutrients

Because of their processed nature, plant-based meats don't provide a plethora (or sometimes any) of the nutrients that make whole plant foods so good for you, such as significant amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals, monounsaturated fats, and polyphenols.

Lack of Specific Vitamin and Minerals

This is because, for many nutrients involved in preventing fatigue, such as vitamin B12, iron and iodine (18), a little more thought may be needed to reach your daily requirements.

However, the plant-based food sector also comes with its share of challenges, such as regulatory complexities, constraints related to taste and texture, and competition from conventional animal-based products.