Vegan For Healthy Living

Vegan For Healthy Living

The term vegan’ by itself explains that ills all about being purely vegetarian. People who follow a vegan diet not only avoid foods like fish, poultry and meat but also dairy products like milk, curd, paneer, cheese, eggs etc. They also avoid eating foods which are made by using animal products like animal bones, hooves, animal fat, fish oil, gelatine, honey etc.

The Contents

The vegan diet is all about consuming plenty of vegetables, fruits, seeds, beans, nuts, whole grains and pulses. Basically it includes plant based foods. Many non-vegetarians are turning towards becoming vegan due to its health benefits. A well-planned balanced vegan diet can provide all the required nutrients ¡n sufficient amounts. Since animal milk and milk products are not included in the vegan diet, it is low in saturated fats and high in MUFA, Omega 3 fats which aids in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. High libre content of this diet helps in reducing high cholesterol levels, high sugar levels, and high blood pressure which further reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

It also relieves constipation and prevents colon cancer. This diet also provides minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc. in ample amounts which helps in maintaining the electrolyte balance of the body, reducing water retention, flushing out the toxins through the kidneys and retaining bone health. These minerals also play a role in smooth muscle movements etc.

Nutrient Benefits

This diet is a good source of almost all the vitamins like C, E, D, K, A and B. Thus, the vegan diet aids in providing large amount of antioxidants, improving immunity, generating RBCs and WBCs, boosting energy level, maintaining healthy skin and hair etc. This diet also provides phytochemicals which prevents cancers like colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer etc. We can therefore safely say that a vegan diet is a complete diet although t eliminates animal food.

The concept of a vegan diet to avoid non-vegetarian foods is to avoid exploitation of animals for food as well as for any other purpose like clothing, for making leather products, use in medicines etc. Also, it is believed by some, that the human body is not designed to digest animal milk, meat and eggs and thus one should avoid consuming them.

Yummy Vegan Dim Sum

Ingredients

  • 1 piece of ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • ½ bunch of coriander
  • 450 grams mixed mushrooms (chestnut and shiitake)
  • Groundnut oil
  • 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 4 spring onions
  • 2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce
  • 1 red chilli
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 X 400 grams light coconut milk
  • 500 grams self-rising flour
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Preparation

Finely chop the garlic, ginger, mushrooms and coriander leaves and set aside.

Heat the groundnut oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Add the ginger, garlic, and coriander and fry for about three minutes, until they turn golden.

Add the mushrooms and fry for around five minutes till slightly golden brown.

Add the chili sauce, soy sauce and vinegar, then cook for about five minutes or until the gravy bubbles.

Transfer to a bowl.

Finely chop and add the white part of the onion to the bowl.

De-seed and slice the chilli and add some to the bowl.

Stir in sesame oil and keep aside.

Make a dough with two cups of flour, coconut milk and a pinch of salt.

Place the dough on a dusted surface and make a thick roll.

Cut the roll into 12 equal size pieces, flatten into rounds of about ½ cm thick.

Split the mushroom mixture into the dough circles leaving 2cm gap around the edges.

Fold the sides over the filling, pressing the edges together to seal.

Transfer them to greased muffin cases and place on a bamboo steamer basket.

Place a wok tilled with one litre of boiling water over a high flame.

Put the steamer basket on top of the wok and lower the heat to medium, leaving the buns to steam for about 12 minutes or until they puff up.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan toast the sesame seeds. When the buns are ready, decorate with the chilli, spring onions, coriander leaves and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

Conclusion

The growing population is the cause of a high increase in food demands. To meet these demands many experiments takes place in food industries not only on vegetables and fruits but also on animals at the cost of their lives and health. In this process, the nutrient content of the food product gets hampered which in the long run leads to health complications like allergies, cancer, etc.

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