Bashing Vegan Misconceptions
Vegans are often subject to a lot of criticism for their lifestyle choice. Well, today we are here to tell those haters to mind their own business as we once and for all bust the ridicule and misconceptions commonly associated with a vegan diet.
Where do you get your protein?
Meat and dairy are not the only edible protein-packed foods. Vegans have many choices when it comes to protein. Some of our favorite foods include:
- Tofu (which is much more delicious than it sounds)
- Edamame
- Lentils
- Nuts
- Chickpeas
- Quinoa
- Beans
- Potatoes (yes, we said potatoes)
- Protein-rich vegetables like dark leafy greens
You can’t have ANY desserts...
We already addressed this in our previous blog Vegans Can Have Their Cake and Eat it Too. YES, WE CAN! In fact, some of our swaptions are much healthier than those ingredients typically found in traditional desserts, so give them a try!
You only eat salad...
Just because our diet is vegetable-based, does not mean all we eat is a salad. We enjoy many other things like grains, nuts, seeds, rice, plant-based kinds of milk and yogurt, and so many more things. We can get pretty creative with our recipes too. Taco Tuesday? Yup! We can have tacos. Have you ever had veggie stir fry or sweet potato mac and cheese?
Is it hard to be vegan and travel?
This is a silly question. Just because we are away from home, it does not mean we cannot eat. True, your vacation spot may not have as many food choices as you find back home, but if you understand what foods you can and cannot have, then it is pretty easy. You can also do some research before you embark on your journey. In fact, social media is a great resource to turn to for this. Thanks to travel sites, Facebook groups with like-minded peers, and even hashtags, you can find tons of valuable resources.
How do vegans get the right nutrition (like calcium), and fuel their bodies?
We can easily answer this question. With food! Yes, certain meats and dairy items pack a ton of vitamins, protein, etc but there is no rule that says you must eat meat. Many people ask how we get our calcium. We answer with the same speech we give for almost all other questions, through food!! Vegetables have tons of calcium. Broccoli and spinach, are two front-runners packed with calcium. Did you also know that many nuts and soy milk are fortified with calcium? Fortified is not the same thing as (added chemicals). Fortified simply means nutrients are added.
We think you get the point by now. The foods we eat can keep us healthy and we do have tons of options. With proper knowledge about food and how much your body needs daily, anyone can live a healthy vegan life.
Photo credit: https://veganliftz.com/blog/