#30daysofveganism

[veganismmadeeasier]

Blueberry chocolate smoothie bowl

The first recipe of 30 Days of Veganism is, of course, a breakfast smoothie! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and you can prepare any delicious smoothie bowl in such a short period of time. This morning I added some cocoa powder to my usual fruit smoothie; it definitely satisfied my chocolate cravings!

Just a side note: I usually eat my smoothie bowls either with added oatmeal or homemade granola. Feel free to take out the rolled oats and substitute them with granola of your choice.

Ingredients:

40-50g of rolled oats

100-125ml of plant milk (depending on the desired consistency; I used soy milk - it has extra protein)

1 tbsp of vegan protein powder (optional; I used hemp protein)

1 tbsp of cocoa powder

1 tbsp of nut butter (I used almond butter)

80-100g of frozen blueberries

2 ripe bananas

1 tsp of chia seeds

fruit toppings: banana chunks, kiwi (or any other fruit you have)

other toppings: 1 tbsp of nut butter, 2 brazil nuts (for your daily dose of selenium), a handful of cashew or other nuts

Preparation:

Boil the oats with about 200ml of water.

In the meantime, pour the plant milk into a blender, add the protein powder (if you’re using it), cocoa powder, nut butter, frozen blueberries and 1  1/2 banana, and blend it all until smooth. If the consistency is still a bit too runny, add 1 tsp of chia seeds to make it a bit thicker.

Make sure to stir the cooking oats.

Prepare and cut the fruit for toppings.

Once the oatmeal reaches the desired consistency, pour it into a large bowl. Then pour the smoothie over the oatmeal. Add the fruit (including the remaining 1/2 a banana) and other toppings, and enjoy!

[veganismmadeeasier]

Hi there! Seeing as today is only the 2nd day of January, I should probably start with some cliches, such as "new year = new start" or “this year is going to be your year!”. While I don’t doubt that it will be, I think the beginning of a new year is a time as good as any to start something new and make a change in your life.

If you’ve decided to join the 30 Days of Veganism, welcome and good for you! To help you start off well, I’ve put together a list of vegan kitchen staples that my recipes are based on. It will be easier to prepare all those delicious meals if you have all the necessary ingredients at hand!

Fruit: Buy it fresh if you can, although frozen fruit also works great, especially in smoothies. Berries are a great source of antioxidants, cherries and kiwis contain lots of vitamin C, as well as mangos which also have vitamin A. I also use lots of bananas as a base for my smoothies each day; they have potassium and some protein, and they are a natural sweetener!

Veggies: I prefer to buy mine fresh but, again, frozen vegetables also work well; simply depends on what is easily available/cheaper in your country. When it comes to making stir-fry or salad bowls, just choose the veggies you like the most. What I use the most often are tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn, beetroots, and different types of potatoes. Sweet potatoes especially have a lot of vitamin A! Different recipes that I’ll be posting are not strict in terms of ingredients so feel free to substitute with whatever vegetables you have lying around.

Beans: These are a very important part of my meals. In savory dishes beans are my main source of protein (if not using tofu). There are many different kinds so choose whichever you enjoy the most. I usually buy my beans in cans so they are ready to eat right away instead of having to soak them overnight.

Grains: I base most of my meals on grains such as oats for breakfast and quinoa, couscous, buckwheat, different types of rice for lunch and dinner. I also use rice noodles for a lot of dishes as they are very quick to make. Most grains are also a great source of protein in addition to beans.

Greens: I try to include a large portion of dark leafy greens in at least one of my meals every day. They keep you hydrated, provide a nice amount of protein and are a good source of iron (spinach) and vitamin A and calcium (kale).

Healthy fats: In a plant-based diet, these come mainly from nuts and nut butters, avocado, and hummus. They are super important for proper hormone function, especially in women. Hummus and nut butters (especially peanut butter) also contain protein.

Plant milk: I love how many tasty varieties there are! My favourites include rice, oat and coconut milk. Many plant milks are fortified with calcium, vitamin D and B12 which is critical to remember about when on a plant-based diet (more below). Additionally, soy milk has a lot of protein. I use plant milk every day in smoothies or oatmeal, and also when baking.

Other protein sources and ’superfoods': Hopefully by now you can see that it’s not at all difficult to get an adequate protein intake from a plant-based diet, which is what many people fear the most. But there are more protein sources, for example ones that can be used as smoothie bowl/oatmeal toppings: chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds. In addition to being high in protein, they all also contain essential omega-3 fatty acids and minerals (more below).

As for savory dishes toppings, nutritional yeast - also known as vegan cheese - is a great source of protein. It’s often fortified with vitamin B12, too! Another topping I use are sesame seeds which also contain a lot of protein.

In addition to those natural protein sources, I use plant-based protein powders every day in my smoothies. My favorites are unflavored hemp, pea, and rice protein. Don’t worry about them tasting bad - when combined with fruit and plant milk, you can barely notice the taste.

Even though not necessary, ‘superfoods' are great to include in any diet. Because the vegan diet incorporates so many nutritious foods, you shouldn’t be worried about not getting in enough of most vitamins or nutrients - but it definitely doesn’t hurt to add some more sometime along the way. Some of the most popular and my favorite vegan ‘superfoods' are spirulina and maca powders. They are not the cheapest; however, you don’t need to use a lot of them so they last you a very long time. Spirulina in particular has tons of protein and maca contains a lot of absorbable calcium and magnesium. It also gives you an energy boost and naturally balances your hormones!

Supplements: Despite the abundance of nutrients in the vegan diet, there are some vitamins and minerals you either cannot get from vegan foods or you should pay close attention to their intake. The one vitamin you should definitely be supplementing is B12. It’s not only vegans who cannot get adequate B12 amounts from food but also vegetarians. Despite plant milks and some other products with added B12, most of us probably don’t consume enough of those products to get enough of the vitamin. Therefore, the easiest solution is to take B12 supplements in form of pills.

Other important things to consider are minerals such as iron, magnesium, and calcium. I’ve already mentioned vegan foods rich in all of those, namely chia, hemp and flax seeds. Aren’t they great? So much love for them!

Other foods which are high in iron include spinach and kale. While you may eat those things frequently, iron is not so easily absorbed from those food sources. Ways to increase iron absorption include adding foods containing vitamin C to a meal. Fortunately, kale - as an example - contains high amounts of both so it’s a perfect way to boost your iron absorption! Magnesium can be found in dark leafy greens and different types of seeds and nuts, such as pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, brazil nuts, almonds and cashews. As mentioned above, maca powder also contains easily absorbable magnesium.

As for calcium, collard greens, tofu and other forms of soy contain large amounts. However, blackstrap molasses have the highest amount of calcium but many people dislike its taste. Other sources include kale, tahini, almond butter, and maca powder.

Whoa, so that’s it! I’d like to say “in short” but it definitely was not short. I tried to give you as much information as possible without writing launching into a super long rant. Of course, definitely not everything was mentioned about different food groups, vitamins and nutrients. Hopefully you can use the above to get started though! Good luck, enjoy and come back soon for some new recipes!