When starting a totally plant-based diet, many foods are completely eliminated from the usual table. That’s why we show you nine meat and dairy substitutes that we can use if we want to start following a vegan diet.
The best alternatives instead of meat
The meat, whether red or white, presents above all high quality protein for the body as well as valuable minerals among those found in the iron which is a critical nutrient among vegans.
To obtain these nutrients and prepare various dishes we can use the following meat substitutes:
Textured soy, concentrated in iron and protein
Textured soy is a derivative of soy that It is very similar in consistency to meat. and it can offer us a high proportion of protein, as well as a considerable amount of iron of vegetable origin.
we can use textured soybeans into particles of different sizes that is very similar to ground meat. Thus, we can incorporate it into various dishes such as a vegan Bolognese sauce, some stuffed peppers, a sauté and others.
Seitan, derived from wheat
seitan is a food derived from wheat gluten that can offer us a large amount of protein as well as potassium, magnesium and B vitamins.
Can be used as if it were meat to make skewers or served as part of a stew or with a tasty sauce.
Tempeh, derived from the fermentation of soybeans
This is another derivative of soy that we can incorporate into a vegan diet to obtain high quality protein in high proportions.
It can use in slices with various condiments and cook it in various ways, such as in boiling water to make it less hard as well as marinated, baked, grilled, barbecued, with sauce and others.
Lentils, just like ground beef
Lentils are one of the legumes with more protein inside as well as a source of vegetable iron for the body and can therefore be used, just as if it were ground meat.
We can create with lentils some very tasty vegan burgers as well as making a false Bolognese sauce ideal to accompany pasta.
Soy beans, perfect for creating hamburgers or meatballs
The soybeans in grains As such, it is a legume with a high concentration of proteins and unsaturated fats that can be easily incorporated into hamburgers or meatballs, just as if it were any other legume.
It concentrates proteins in high proportions with a very complete amino acid profile resulting in them of excellent quality and a good alternative to incorporate into vegan diets.
Best Plant-Based Dairy Substitutes
In a vegan diet neither meat nor dairy products have a place, so we recommend replacing the latter with options with proteins of quality as well as sources of calcium for the organism.
In this way the best plant-based dairy substitutes are:
Tofu, derived from soybeans
tofu is the perfect substitute for cheese since we can get it with different consistency or hardness and can be made with it from salads to brochettes, sautéed, desserts or smoothies.
It is a derivative of soy rich in vegetable proteins as well as calcium and various vitamins.
Nuts cream, perfect as a replacement for cream cheese or butter
The dried fruit creamsespecially the almond cream that we can easily make at home, is an option with vegetable proteins in high proportions and calcium.
For this reason, we can use to spread a toast as if it were a fresh whipped cheese or butter or, incorporate it into other dishes.
Tahini, excellent source of calcium
It is a sesame sauce that we can easily create at home and it is concentrated in calcium as well as in iron vegetable, offering at the same time beneficial unsaturated fats for the body.
With tahini We can accompany various preparations using it as cream, butter or natural yogurt or create a hummus for an appetizer, or some very healthy cookies.
Nutritional yeast, ideal to replace a grated cheese
Nutritional yeast, concentrated in various vitamins and minerals, including calcium, folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron which are of great importance in vegan diets, it is an excellent alternative to use instead of grated cheese.
Allows to enrich preparations several, being able to add this ingredient, for example, to a stir-fry, a pasta, an omelette or others.
These are nine foods that we can use as meat and dairy substitutes when starting a vegan diet, and that will help sustain this type of diet without neglecting the health of the body.
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