Nowadays, a lot of people are changing their lifestyles and becoming vegan. A vegan diet includes eating plant-based products and refusing to buy other products with animal parts. There are a lot of debates wondering if it is really healthier to eat plant-based products than to eat meat?
Health benefits of being a vegan
Those who are following the vegan diet are really particular with the food they eat and will not allow themselves to eat any animal byproducts.
They also do not include eggs, milk, and cheese on their diet. Instead, they fuel their bodies with non-animal products such as fruits, vegetables, soy, nuts, and many others. Some of the health benefits of a plant-based diet include losing weight, making the heart-healthy, and fighting cancer. Vegans are more conscious of their food intake, compared to their meat lovers counterparts, which leads to healthier food choices.
However, meat lovers are not necessarily unhealthy. They just have less intake of whole foods (such as fruits, beans, and nuts that vegans are more prone to eat), and higher intakes of grains and sodium, which are highly processed foods.
4 Vegan Alternatives to Meat-Based Dishes
Are you a meat lover but would love to include healthy foods with your meals? It will definitely be hard for you if you just give up meat and not indulge in its taste all of a sudden.
Are you a passionate vegan yet craving and missing the taste of meat? It is understandable that just because you have given up eating meat, it does not necessarily mean that you do not crave for popular meats such as burgers, wings, and nuggets.
Good thing that there are recipes that will fulfill the dilemmas of these two sets of individuals. Also, if you have family members that are non-vegan living with you and you do not want or you do not have time to cook two separate meals, Here are 4 vegan alternative recipes to replace your favorite meat-based dishes:
- Vegan Lasagna
Lasagna is best when it is cheesy, and you may replace the cheesy layer of lasagna with a cashew basil cheese sauce. This is a great alternative to a meat-based lasagna. The professionals at KathysVeganKitchen.com say that this vegan lasagna recipe is filled with a cashew basil cheese sauce between layers of vegetables and noodles. The said recipe is a combination of raw cashews, nutritional yeast, and fresh basil. If you are allergic to cashews or nuts, you can replace it with vegan cheese. However, the cashew sauce gives additional creaminess to the vegan lasagna recipe.
- Vegan Barbeque Ribs
The main ingredient in making these vegan barbeque ribs possible is through setian. Setian is a great meat substitute not only for its flavor but also its chewy and meaty texture. It contains riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin B-6.
There are two ways to produce setian. The easier way is from wheat gluten. For you to produce the setian, the process includes removing the starch from the wheat by rinsing it with water. The result of this will leave a protein-dense food that has a texture that is similar to a chicken and has a mild taste.
The other way to make a setian, that has more labor and is more time consuming, but a cheaper alternative one is by washing white or whole wheat of flour until you are left with the gluten. You can also feel free to add the right spices, herbs, and other seasonings for your recipe of the dough until it meets your standard of a meaty flavor.
You can enjoy it with its smoky flavor, and barbeque sauce. Perfect with vegan mashed potatoes, or coleslaw.
- Vegan Nachos
Usually, a normal nachos that we crave, and a great snack for munching while watching a series or a movie, will include some ground beef, a lot of cheese, tomatoes, and whatnot. But there are a lot of amazing alternatives that you can use to sustain a vegan lifestyle.
An ultimate vegan nacho dish includes some vegetarian bean chili, black beans, tomato salsa (roasted), vegan beans (spicy and refried), tomatoes, olives, onions, jalapenos, radish, guacamoles, and some savory vegan nacho sauce.
- Vegan Hotdogs
Another recipe that you can also do with a setian is a vegan hotdog. If you are craving the taste of hotdogs or sausages and you don’t want to feel guilty satisfying your craving, then this is for you.
Making vegan hotdogs is easy and it starts with blending up a bouillon cube with hot water. This results in a very concentrated broth. The more flavorful the broth, the more flavorful the hotdogs will be. Including cashews in the recipe will keep the sausages juicy and moist without using unhealthy refined fats. If you are allergic to nuts, you can use refined coconut oil. It’s also a good idea to include apple cider vinegar as it will add to the meatiness.
This recipe will include mixing the vital wheat gluten, some shaping of the vegan hotdogs dough, and steaming the seitan sausages.
It’s delicious and juicy when it is just out of the steamer. You can also choose to grill the vegan hotdogs or sausages.
Meat alternatives are very much accessible and available nowadays. It’s a healthy way to get proteins and other nutrients without the guilt of eating meat and maintaining your vegan lifestyle. The key to a vegan, or any kind of, diet is balance. You have to ensure to get enough nutritions you need such as protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.