Are you interested in a healthier lifestyle? An alternative to all the junk food we eat these days? If so, have a look at the Vegan Food Pyramid. What is vegan?

According to the Vegan Society, founded in 1944, a vegan is “someone seeking a lifestyle free from animal products for the benefit of people, animals and the environment.” They continue by saying “A vegan therefore eats a plant-based diet free from all animal products, including milk, eggs and honey. Most vegans do not wear leather, wool or silk.”

Dietary vegans

There is another group of people who, while they follow the diet guidelines of being vegan, (no milk, eggs, animal products), they will for example, wear leather shoes.

Why be vegan? First, a filled diet with living foods, whole grains, delicious vegetables, juicy fruits, nuts, legumes, is a wonderful way to live! Meat is not essential in living a happy and healthy life.

But what about protein? According to Reed Mangels, Ph.D, R.D., “It is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein, as long as calorie intake is adequate. Strict protein combining is not necessary; it is more important to eat a varied diet throughout the day“. He writes that we only need 0.36 grams of protein per pound of our body weight. It is extremely easy to meet the necessary protein requirements by eating a health vegetarian meal. Interested in what vegetarian foods have protein? Have a look at his full report! But what do vegans eat?

Speaking from personal experience as a lifetime vegetarian, and a vegan for a few years now, this question comes up quite often. There are two ways to answer this; the first being that vegans eat a large variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, rice, beans (legumes), nuts, seeds, and much more. Another way to answer this question is: “other than meat, what do non-vegans eat?”. We have this concept that for dinner we will eat beef, or pork, or lamb, or chicken, etc., however, is that all? Perhaps there will be a side dish of beans, with some mashed potatoes, along with a nice salad, and some bread. The real meal is found in all of these, the living foods.

As shown above, the vegan food pyramid contains well over 125 food items that can be enjoyed from day to day, meeting all of the body’s protein, and calorie needs.

The vegan food pyramid is not meant to be intimidating; don’t feel that you have to eat all of these in a single meal! The idea behind this is to eat many varieties of foods throughout your meals.

But it would be so hard to cook with… tofu! Being vegan doesn’t mean eating a stick of celery with a carrot. You can eat wonderful foods every day! Imagine a fresh baked lasagna for lunch; the sauce is still hot with drizzled cheese across the top. To the side of the lasagna is a pan of cooked green beans with some smashed garlic and olive oil mixed in it; throw in some crispy garlic bread, and you have a full meal! Sounds hard? Not at all! Have a look at our Vegan Lasagna Recipe, which will take you through, step by step (with pictures!) to making a wonderful meal for you and your family.

There is so much you can do! Another example is a vegan pizza; make a pizza with all of the delicious veggies (and maybe some pinapple) that you love, and instead of cheese, pour a vegan cheese sauce on top. This is a delicious treat for any meal. Not sure how to make a vegan cheese sauce? There’s a great one on our vegan lasagna page.

What are some other reasons I would want to be vegan? Besides being delicious, fun to make, and full of variety, a vegan lifestyle is healthy for you! You can cut out the extra cholesterol (which is derived from animals), fat, and worries. If you aren’t sure about this whole idea, consider making a vegan meal and see how it turns out!

What do I need? A first step towards a healthy lifestyle is in a good blender! A blender is used for making sauces, smoothies, drinks, and much more. Have a look at our blenders page to find out more information about which one might be good for you.