A Guide to Plant-Based Eating
Plant-based eating goes far beyond just vegetables. Discover easy and creative ways to incorporate these foods into your meal plans and learn the health benefits from this dietary approach.
Important Education Takeaways
Eat more plants for better health. Diets rich in plants are associated with reduced riskfor cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and more.
When it comes to disease prevention, plant-heavy diets come out on top as they tend to contain less saturated fat and cholesterol while possessing higher amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, polyphenols, and phytochemicals – all of which support not only a longer life, but a healthier life.
Fiber: Plays a role in gastrointestinal health, cardiovascular health, insulin balance, and satiety
Vitamins & Minerals: Support all body systems and cellular functions
Antioxidants: Play an important role in immune response
Polyphenols: Offer antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits
Phytochemicals: Possess anti-inflammatory and detoxification properties
More than just vegetables.The foundation of a plant-forward eating plan consists of whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts & seeds.
Plant-based proteins including beans, peas, lentils, nuts & seeds
Grains including oats, wheat, rice, barley, farro, quinoa, millet, corn & others
Produce including all varieties of fruits & vegetables as well as herbs & spices
Healthy fats & oils from non-tropical plant-based oils, avocados, nuts & seeds
Keep it real. Choose mostly whole and minimally processed plant-based foods, while limiting highly processed food products.
Just because it’s plant-based doesn’t make it healthy. Continue to consider the quality of your food by paying attention to the food label and the ingredient list. Highly processed food products can come with high amounts of added sodium, sugar, saturated fat, and food additives. Though convenient, these highly processed food options are often high in calories and hyper-palatable, leading to food cravings and overeating.
Plant-based diets that predominantly include whole/minimally processed foods, however, are rich in nutrients and fiber, helping to keep you feeling full and satisfied while providing your body with the balanced nutrition it needs.
Special considerations for plant-based diets. Ensure your plant-based diet is adequate and balanced in these key nutrients.
Fiber: Slowly increase your fiber intake for improved GI tolerance with eventual goal of 28-35 grams or more per day.
Protein: Aim to eat a variety of plant-based protein foods each day to obtain all 9 essential amino acids that your body needs.
B-vitamins: Supplement with vitamin B-12 if following a strictly plant-based diet.
Omega-3’s: Plant sources of short-chain ALA omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, chia seeds, hemp and flax seeds, however, you may want to consider including an omega-3 supplement (fish oil or algae-based) or incorporating fish into your eating plan for more effective long-chain EPA and DHA omega-3 benefit.
Calcium: Eat plenty of calcium-containing plant foods including dark leafy greens, soy, beans, almonds, tahini, seaweed, blackstrap molasses, or fortified foods/beverages to ensure you are getting enough.
Iron: Include beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, dark leafy greens, dried fruits, and whole grains for plant-based iron. Optimize non-heme iron absorption by pairing plant-based iron foods with vitamin C containing foods.
Plant-based know-how. Learn how to incorporate more plants into your eating routine.
Whether you are considering going vegan, vegetarian, or just want to eat a more plant-forward diet, you may need to consider some of the factors below before making the change.
Cost: It may feel more expensive to eat a plant-based diet, however, these foods tend to be lower in cost compared to most of their animal-based alternatives.
Time: Eating mostly whole foods and scratch prepared meals will take more time regardless of your eating plan. Become more efficient with meal planning, ingredient prepping, and batch cooking to lighten the load.
Knowledge: Their may be a learning curve to plant-based cooking and eating, but there are tons of helpful resources available to support you along the way! Remember to start small, and don’t be afraid to try new things as you learn.
Food Preferences: Plant-based eating can be healthy and delicious, however, not everyone in your household may agree. Strive to find a balance between your nutrition goals and your family’s food preferences.
Once you’ve considered the change, follow these five simple steps towards a more plant-based eating plan.
Start by prioritizing colorful produce throughout your day
Include at least one fruit or vegetable at each meal and snack.
Swap in plant-based proteins for animal-based proteins
Use lentils in the place of meat, tofu for eggs, chia pudding instead of yogurt, hummus instead of ranch, almond butter or avocado on toast instead of butter.
Use animal-based proteins more sparingly; treat meat more as a garnish instead of the centerpiece of the meal.
Rotate your whole grains
Mix it up by enjoying oats for breakfast, quinoa salad at lunch, black rice at dinner, multigrain crackers or popcorn for snacks.
Change it up from week to week to get the most nutrient and fiber variety.
Choose healthy plant-based fats
Opt for unsaturated non-tropical oils such as olive oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil for your cooking.
Use avocado in your sandwich, wrap, bowl, or smoothie for a healthy and creamy addition.
Eat a variety of nuts and seeds by using them for a crunchy topper, a creamy spread, a sauce add-in, or as a standalone snack.
Pump up the flavor
Play around with herbs & spices in your cooking.
Try plant-based flavor-boosters like tahini and nutritional yeast.
Use cashews or aquafaba in place of cream or eggs.
A day in the life (of plant-based eating). Adopting a more plant-based diet can be both fun and delicious.
See below for some tasty recipe ideas from our Recipe Collection.
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Snacks:
Desserts:
Recipes
Recipe of the month: Sweet and Crunchy Quinoa Salad
As always, this recipe is the showcase of our live taught, virtual cooking class. Our chef and registered dietitian bring the recipe to life as they walk you through food prep, swaps to meet dietary or taste preferences, plus tips and tools to support you being your own healthy chef at home.
Bonus recipe: Pan-Fried Zucchini with Honey, Feta, and Pistachios
From Jamie’s kitchen to yours, our monthly bonus recipes are published on our website and social media the 4th Wednesday of each month. We invite you to browse our recipe collection and come back often to find more flavorful and heart-healthy recipes.
We invite you to join us for the live taught, virtual nutrition classes each month to gather more information on our nutrition topics. This is also an opportunity to ask topic-related questions of our experts as well as connect socially with attendees for idea sharing. As a registered participant for our In the Kitchen program, you receive a few reminders ahead of each scheduled monthly classes, but here’s an easy to remember schedule: Nutrition Education (30-minutes, 2nd Wednesday, 12pm), Cooking Class (up to 60-minutes, 3rd Monday, 12pm).
Contributing authors: Jamie Libera, RD, LD, CCTD, registered dietitian, Providence.