MEAL PLAN Week of Vegan Bowls
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WEEK OF VEGAN BOWLS A 7-DAY MEAL PLAN Week of Vegan Bowls by NUTRICIOUSLY © nutriciously.com, All rights reserved worldwide. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission. Any questions or feedback can be sent to [email protected] This book is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for professional medical advice. The authors specifically disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of any information contained in this book. Please consult a healthcare professional regarding your specific medical situation. Table of Contents Introduction Meal Plan Overview 28 About and Philosophy 5 Sunday Meal Prep 29 Why Eat This Way 7 Day 1: Bibimbap Bowl 34 What to Know First 10 Day 2: Mediterranean Bowl 37 The Basics Day 3: Green Bowl 40 Taking Inventory 15 Day 4: Pesto Noodle Bowl 43 Nutrition + Staple Foods 16 Day 5: Winter Buddha Bowl 46 Building a Vegan Meal 19 Day 6: Asian Noodle Bowl 49 Meal Planning + Prepping 20 Day 7: Powerhouse Bowl 52 Smart Food Swaps 22 Take the Next Step 55 Take Action Let's get Started 25 Shopping List 27 How to IN TR O D U C make change T I O 01 N Happen With a few basics, which we will teach you on the follow- ing pages, you will be able to create an endless amount of About and Philosophy flavorful vegan bowls adjustable to your taste preferences, H staple foods, and seasonal produce at the store. Going plant-based can seem really daunting — at least that’s how we felt almost a decade ago. If you’d like to know a few things about the people who cre- ated this guide as well as the website nutriciously.com: It took us a fair amount of time and research to figure out the basics of plant-based eating, fueling our bodies optimal- We’re Alena and Lars, a young married couple from Germany ly, and making everyday cooking a piece of cake (metaphor- who are health and nutrition nerds, advocates for animal ically speaking, of course). rights, foodies, ecologists, and passionate entrepreneurs trying to create actionable, helpful, and beautiful resources With this guide, we want to help you bring more plants for the world. to your plate and offer a way to look at vegan meals not ABOUT + PHILOSOPHY as a substitute for animal-based dishes but as a colorful, We both came to this way of eating and living after experi- well-rounded plate of delicious goodness. encing a range of different health issues, which we mostly reversed by diet and lifestyle changes… and which now drive Because healthy plant-strong eating can be really quite sim- us to help other people change their lives for the better. ple — it isn’t rocket science. 5 Every step you take towards eating a whole foods plant- based diet will be an improvement for your health, other sentient beings, and our planet as a whole. You can inspire your friends and family to make better choices and avoid chronic disease, discover totally new foods, and just be a lot more content overall. Let’s dive right into some reasons for following a plant-based diet and what you need to do to get started because by now you’re probably pretty curious! ABOUT + PHILOSOPHY K l The trend of eating more plant-based or becoming vegan has become more and more popular throughout the media. Why lEat This Way And for good reasons! Let us give you just a few. 03. Decrease animal suffering 01. Preventing common chronic diseases Every year, 56 billion land animals are killed for food Vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, alone. A vegan can save more than 100 animals per diabetes, or high blood pressure than meat-eaters, year by staying away from meat, dairy, eggs, and hon- according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. ey. Choosing organic or free range isn’t enough be- A whole foods plant-based diet has been shown to re- cause every animal is exploited and killed in the end. verse heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and offers protec- tion against some types of cancer. WHY EAT THIS WAY 04. Get + stay lean effortlessly Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes all help 02. Meeting nutritional requirements Easily you lose additional pounds without even trying. Vegans Plant-based foods, especially if they are only minimally are the only diet group with an average healthy BMI processed, have a very high nutrient density and offer and whole food plant-based diets have been shown to a ton of fiber, plant protein, minerals, and vitamins as be the most effective in controlling weight while not well as antioxidants. More on that later. limiting energy intake or mandating regular exercise. 7 05. Help Out The Environment 07. Save Some Money Plant-based foods require a lot fewer resources com- Staying away from processed foods and animal foods pared to animal products. To produce 1 kg of beef, is the cheapest way to eat. Our grocery bill was almost 15,414 liters of water are needed — not to mention the cut in half when we switched to a plant-based diet and immense land use (livestock covers 45% of the earth’s bought what was in season. total land), CO2 emissions (more than all the trans- portation sector combined), deforestation, and water pollution through animal manure. 08. Try Amazing New Dishes Have you ever had a Buddha bowl? How about a de- licious quinoa salad or black bean burger? There are 06. Stop World Hunger over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world, of 50% of grains worldwide are being eaten by animals which somewhere between 150 and 200 have been WHY EAT THIS WAY in the industries… while 82% of children living next domesticated and farmed. You probably haven’t tried to livestock are starving. The meat that's produced in even half of them yet! Looking out for delicious new these areas is then being shipped to the 1st world in recipes broadens your horizons, your taste buds, and order for us to eat — while all the grain grown in the lets you discover delicious dishes you wouldn’t have US alone to feed livestock could feed an additional thought of before beginning your plant-based journey. 800 million people. 8 09. Better Mood + Digestion 10. Perfect Exercise Fuel With all of these nutrients flowing through your body, Not only does a plant-based diet offer more than it’s hard to be bummed out and lethargic. Studies have enough protein and other essential nutrients, improving found several mood scores to be improved after just 2 your digestion can give you access to lots more energy weeks of eating a plant-based diet. Healthful carbo- — and so does eating a diet rich in complex carbs. The hydrate- and fiber-rich foods help regulate serotonin high micronutrient levels and stores in your body will levels in the brain and improve your gut flora (good speed up your recovery time and you’ll be able to build bacteria love fiber!) and bowel movements. lean muscle mass. Sources and more information here: WHY EAT THIS WAY ⟶ Why Go Vegan 9 WhatH to Know First Take it Easy It’s okay to take things one step at a time instead of going all-in. Tackle the areas that are easiest for you personally first and don’t start with the toughest ones. Buy Smart WHAT TO KNOW FIRST Stock your kitchen with foods you actually want to eat so you always have them on hand when hunger strikes. Don’t buy what you don’t really want to eat (think chocolates or chips) because you will once they are around. 10 Foods to Skip Simple Food Swaps On a plant-based diet, we avoid all meat, dairy, eggs, You can easily veganize most, if not all, of your favorite rec- fish, and honey. This also means butter, cream, ice cream, ipes by making some smart food swaps (find them below). cheese, and more. But don’t worry — all of these foods are Alternatively, just search for your recipe with the word usually available in a vegan version. “vegan” before or after it on the internet. Label Reading Protein is Easy Peas-y Develop the habit of reading product labels to identify Getting too little protein is almost impossible on a pretty sneaky animal-based ingredients. Look out for words like standard plant-based diet. Apart from adding some le- lactose, whey, casein, gelatine, or lard. For extra health gumes to your daily meals and meeting your calorie needs, points, make sure the added sugar, oil, and salt is low. there’s nothing you need to focus on — not even buying protein powder. If vegan athletes can thrive, so can you. WHAT TO KNOW FIRST Take Your B12 Eat More Food Every diet comes with some shortcomings, and even though leaving animals off the table drastically decreases your Plant-based foods generally have fewer calories per bite chance of getting a chronic disease, you do need to take a compared to animal-based foods. Make sure you get B12 supplement. In fact, every person over 50, regardless of enough energy each day by increasing your portion sizes. their diet, should follow this advice. 11 Soy Myths Ethnic Cuisines Traditional soy products aren’t harmful to you (except in Eating out at Italian, Mexican, and Asian restaurants is es- some rare medical cases) and are associated with longevity pecially easy since these cuisines already offer almost-veg- as well as lower cancer rates.