I am transitioning to a fully Raw eating life! The major consensus is NO- OIL.

Whats the healthiest way to “cook” Quinoa, Chickpeas, and lentils? Is it better to eat them raw or sprouted?

I plan on making a Quinoa Salad, with Green Leafy Vegetables (arugula, Lettuce, Dandelion Leafs), Hemp Seeds, Bell Peppers, Olives, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Avocado, Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Parsley) Everything organic as possible!

•Whats the healthiest way to “cook” Quinoa, Chickpeas, and lentils? •Is it better to eat them raw or sprouted? •Does the Quinoa have to be cooked? Cold? Hot? •Whats the healthiest “seasonings” we can use? •How can we incorporate Mushrooms? Lions mane, portobello, etc? • Do mushrooms have to be cooked or can they be eaten raw?

Im open to all ideas, criticisms, suggestions, information + add ons to the recipe! Thank you ✅

I need recipe suggestions for a pair of unwell American octogenarians. Assume a host of inflammatory diseases, Type 2 diabetes, the usual SAD effects. I’ll be cooking, so it’s okay if there’s effort involved (I can handle heavy prep, like chopping turnips or shredding cabbage by hand). Looking for some tasty foods that feel familiar, though they’ll also enjoy international flavours, spices, etc. Suppers are the main concern, but bonus points for snack foods that will allay cravings for people who regularly eat the usual addictive stuff.

Hey! Is it better to not use any oils when cooking plant based meals? Ive been recommended GrapeSeed Oil 🍇 as the healthiest oil to cook with. At the same time, Ive heard seed oils are bad!

Appreciate the help all tips and suggestions are welcomed! Thank you

Hello, Is there an oil free vegetarian omega-3 supplement? I’m currently consuming 2TBS of ground flaxseed each morning but I’m afraid that may not be enough. (Currently waiting on test results) I saw recently where Rhonda Patrick referenced a study in which maintaining an Omega-3 index of 8+ added 5 years to your life when compared to much lower values. I think she said Americans have an average value of around 4. The conversion of plant based Omega-3s is highly variable between individuals but I’m just trying to be prepared in case my numbers are still low. Thanks.

Looking into Nordic Naturals vs Deva and wondering what people recommend between these 2 and why. Or what other brand/product do you recommend? Thanks!

I'm considering making the following recipe from HealthyVeganEating.

I'm curious what's work for people here. Specifically, about whether they've been able to cut out wheat from their recipes.

So I went WFPB about three months ago and couldn’t be happier. Feel better, more energy, and all that jazz. I don’t miss my old diet and never going back to my old ways…

…except Mac and Cheese. It is my comfort food and I miss it so much. I’ve tried half a dozen WFPB/vegan recipes and while they are ok I have yet to find one that really captures that sharp, cheesy flavor of the original.

Anyone have any recipes they swear by? Thanks in advance.

My research of b12 usually takes me to the conclusion that 2,000mcg of b12 a week is sufficient. Unfortunately I don’t have a GP to ask or consult since I don’t have insurance but I’m in the process of getting insurance so I can see a GP. Anyways, I saw so many b12 options and decided to ask the pharmacist if I could take a 1,000mcg dose twice a week since they didn’t have any 2,000 mcg that melted under the tongue. Shouldn’t have done that because I’m now even more confused, they told me I needed to take a daily dose and to just take the 1,000mcg daily. Is this over kill? I might return the 1,000mcg b12 and get a 250 or 500mcg dose for one a day.

I am currently a vegetarian and planning to switch to a vegan diet. I have noticed that whenever I remove eggs from my meal plan, my daily food cost increases by 30%. I am curious to know what it is in eggs that make them difficult to replace with plant-based foods. Is it the choline content? Also, I would like to know which vegan foods have a similar micronutrient composition as eggs?

One thing people hear a lot are all the semi-myths surrounding this diet. Whether it's protein, iron, and on and on.

The issue I have seen over the past few years is that the pushback has created narratives, where people say they don't need to take b12 that often, protein powders are completely unnecessary and possibly harmful, getting enough zinc, calcium, omega 3 really isn't an issue.

The thing to remember is that tracking all of these nutrients is great, and hitting good numbers is always going to get you to a better spot in health. But it forgoes the reality of some pitfalls, and I'll name a few:

Calcium. My chronometer says I get enough calcium. Your chronometer doesn't account for true calcium binding and true bioavailability of each food. Your chronometer doesn't track the possibility that maybe you're not getting enough protein overall (good ratios of all amino acids over time), which current research shows has a beneficial effect on calcium retention. Chronometer doesn't know how your vitamin D and vitamin K levels are affecting calcium movement.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19279077/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8746734/

Whole proteins are not steadily absorbed the same way from many whole foods plant sources. It is a known fact fat and fiber slow protein absorption, especially fiber, depending on dose. And the reality is that main difference is the unluckiness that almost all natural large protein sources for vegans will contain quite a lot of fiber. Not always true, but generally true. And that does affect hourly absorption rates and optimizing absorption for muscle maintenance and growth. It's great for long reaching periods where you can't have too many meals, but there is semi-strong evidence it's much more beneficial to get easily absorbed protein sources over 3-5 meals a day.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9109608/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1310110/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5828430/#:\~:text=Based%20on%20the%20current%20evidence,1.6%20g%2Fkg%2Fday.

All of this leads to certain restrictive mentalities. I've been told numerous times protein powder is unnecessary and possibly harmful, even though it's an excellent source, especially soy and pea protein, of whole protein sources without a food matrix to get in the way of hourly absorption. I haven't found a single study showing soy and pea protein have different strength outcomes compared to meat.

Moreso, the point is, view yourself. View your longevity and physicality, and never use your past self as your guide for overall health. Use your current health as a guide toward where you could go, or if everything is looking good. One thing I've always noticed about even me, and other vegans (or plant-based, whatever people want for a tag) in real life, is that even if you do these extravagant diet ideas with tons of variety, gym, and so on...vegans tend to be smaller, they may be fitter, but they are just smaller. We are not usually filled out people who look like they are glowing with health as time goes on. Vegans tend be skinnier, not "plumper". Plant-based is an excellent diet, but it can also be a diet where rigid mentalities should never exist, because limiting ideas may stop certain people from addressing smaller issues which will become much larger issues over time. Blood tests are not the gold standard for health, they are an addition to your vitality, physicality, and mentality. Only you truly know how good you feel.

I'm sorry if there are already hundreds of posts like this or a resource page.

I've been thinking of eating a plant-based diet off and on for the last year. I'll admit, I haven't really looked into how eating plant-based is good for the environment. It has more to do with curiosity. Sometimes, I get grossed out eating meat, and I wonder if I would prefer cutting it from my diet.

The main thing holding me back is not know what cook. Breakfast is easy; I mostly eat fruit, toast, or oatmeal. I just don't know what to make for lunch or dinner. I get overwhelmed looking for recipes online. I think I need to find a few recipes I like before I completely jump in. Do you have any recipe recommendations, or recommendations for plant-based recipe blogs/cookbooks?

It turned out really tasty and kept me surprisingly full. Here are the ingredients:

Red beans Pinto beans Chickpeas Onion Corn Cucumber Jicama Orange bell pepper Tomato Avocado Cilantro Lime juice

Recently, I’ve been enjoying pretty good sleep eating a high (complex) carb, low protein dinner, like a dish centered on brown rice or something to that effect. This was at the advice of Dr. Barnard in an episode of The Exam Room Podcast (source to be added, provided I can find it). I’ve also heard similar advice from Dr. K (HealthyGamerGG). They claim that the complex carbs will digest slowly and help regulate blood sugar during sleep, which is beneficial for sleep quality.

On the other hand, and I’m hesitant to cite this man after recent news of his personal life, Andrew Huberman claims in his podcast that eating carbs too close to bedtime will inhibit growth hormone (again I’ll have to try and find a video clip for a source). This is somewhat concerning to me as I’m starting a resistance training regimen, so I’d like to discuss the veracity of the claim.

Finally, in a recent video by the YouTube channel “PLANT BASED NEWS”, Dr. Michael Klaper discusses how eating fat with low amounts of carbs at dinner is ideal for weight loss (https://youtu.be/7WRP_8P2FQo?si=vPZhhli5jF6FlegU). He has also discussed this in a video posted 2 years ago by “PLANT BASED SCIENCE LONDON” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y34NKbUY6OE.). I’m going to rewatch these to make sure that my summary is accurate.

So, might all of these claims be true at the same time? Please feel free to share your thoughts, and thank you for reading/commenting!

So today I've read this information by dietitian that I follow.

That we should eat daily legumes because they're basically the only provider of essential amino acid - lysine.

Is it true? Should I add to my diet daily portion of legumes?

I was previously not really eating beans at all...

I've now started eating a cup (give or take) at each meal. I'm so thirsty I have to drink water multiple times throughout the night. Could it be connected?

I’m 21M and I weigh 67kgs and height’s 6ft. So i’ve been on a PB diet but not completely WF for over a year now. As of now due to budget restrictions i’ve been eating 2 meals a day generally. Breakfast/brunch’s two bananas and half a block of tofu scramble(+fz veggies) with 4 slices of MG-bread toasted. And for the dinner it’s half a cup of basmati rice with an addition of a cup of select beans alternating between red kidney/black/garbanzo, plus some kind of curry and also some fruit(quarter of a musk or watermelon preferably) for the side. I have been also taking a multivitamin alongside with the brunch. Roasted Peanuts once in a while whenever i can sometime in a day.

• Activities includes some running(couple of 5k’s in a week).

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I follow a whole food plant based diet that is very nutrient dense. I know there are still things I need to supplement. My Dr states that I should be ok with just a multivitamin. Is this accurate? I am currently taking centrum silver women 50+. What is the best for omegas?

Some history.. Last Lipid panel was in 2020. December 2023 I started a WFPB diet for health. February 2024 I went to my natural path total cholesterol was 209. I was advised to eat more fiber , less carbs and watch saturated fat. I asked for a test for my CAC score. April. ( still on a plant based diet) got the CAC test… Score was 1243…. Very concerned. I made a appointment with my GP on April 19, 2024. I was prescribed 20 MG of rovustatin and asprin. And more additional tests. April 22, I went to a lab and paid for another lipid panel, I wanted a baseline before starting the statin. Did the fast, had my labs , immediately started taking statin. April 23. Got the lab results total cholesterol 198. the statin is ok a little brain fog,,some headaches and joint pain but nothing that I can’t tolerate. April 25,,, 6 AM . I was feeling off ,, more than usual,, I had the feeling of my heart sinking in my stomach and got dizzy. Couldn’t shake it off.. Went to the ER. BP was higher than normal. EKG .. no issues. X-RAY no issues. Got blood work. Then discharged.. Got the results from todays lipid panel. Total cholesterol 154??!!!
For the record,, I am in contact with my gp if I should get a lower dosage of rovustatin. And I am still,on the WFPD diet.
Can a statin lower your cholesterol this fast????

Hi everyone.

I want to some carrot dogs. My biggest issue is coming up with a low calorie bun option. I know there are some decent bread options.. but even with a wfpb bread the bun is way more calories than the dog.

Any ideas on what to do to keep this low in calories/fat?

I wonder if any of you have any advice on following a PBD with multiple food sensitivites and/ or MCAS (histamine intolerance/ over-production of histamine in the body)?

I have tried many times over the years - I many reasons for wanting to be vegan/PB but every time I thought I would help myself eat more healthily, my health actually took a hit.

I have looked for a pro-PB Nutritionist who understood these issues. I even studies to become a Nutritionist myself, but I didn't get anywhere with it.

Even if I could just increase my PB diet content, that would be helpful.

I have a little issue that I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on.

I love the philosophy behind Joel Fuhrman's approach to nutrition. My take of this is rank food via healthiest to least healthy and eat as much healthy foods as possible. A real implication of this approach is not to eat oils.

On the other hand we have Walter Willett and Harvard Health who state eat a mostly plant based diet with liberal use of oil. Alcohol is also fine in moderation which to me is a lot of alcohol. It's like 1-2 glasses per day for men.

My personal opinion is that oils are not good for you and we should minimize much we use.

When I am evaluating my opinions on topics though I think it's much better not to be an arrogant twat which I have a tendency to be and instead try and rely on science. So I expect science to prove hypotheses/opinions and if there isn't much proof to be a little bit skeptical.

Fuhrman has a history of dodgying up data and the science. He ran a study and he faked the data to try to make out his diet was the best.

Willett and Harvard Health use a scientific approach and I think criticizing them is conspiracy theory level crazy.

It's pretty hard to state don't drink alcohol and don't use oil in your diet when the science supporting that approach is fantastic.

My way to understand the whole picture is that while it's great to eat really healthy ala Fuhrmann that sticking to a healthy diet is the key to long term success and it's more about getting enough healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight and not eating too much low quality food in relation to long term health.

I'd love to hear your opinions on these approaches ?

Today marks the first anniversary of my WFPB journey. There are good and bad points.

I started it because I suddenly had very high blood pressure (180/140) and didn't want to take medications the rest of my life. I have absolutely 0 trust in modern medicine that is more often than not just creating captive customers.

I'm not technically vegan since I don't object to eating animals but it's the only diet that has ever worked for me (I rarely managed to keep the weight loss more than a few months and never more than a year).

The Good

• My blood pressure has become normal maybe one month after starting. I don't check it anymore, it's just boring (in a good way).
• I lost 25 kg (55 pounds according to the internet). It stopped at the beginning of winter since I ate much more due to the cold. The weight loss is restarting since the beginning of spring.
• My allergies (pollens) are almost gone. They're manageable without medication or high doses of vitamin C.
• My heartburn disappeared completely. I can eat in the evening and go to bed immediately without waking up an hour later with liquid fire in my throat.
• My breath isn't short anymore when I walk upward a hill or upstairs.
• I'm not miserable and have no more cravings for junk food. I can eat a lot and not gain weight.

The Bad

• I was much colder this winter and it was harder to get warm.
• I bought some clothes last year that are already too big (it's probably a good thing too ;)
• Everybody is very defensive about my diet once they understand it's vegan: they have had bad experience with some fundamentalists that berated them for eating "dead animals" that they automatically assume I became one of them. I just want to be healthy, they can eat whatever they please.

The Ugly

• I became very lonely. I live near a small French town, I'm not even aware of vegan restaurants and they would cook with oil anyway. So I can't go out anymore.

I'm going to continue this diet since it works really well for my health and it's easy. It was a real effort for the first 2 weeks but after that it was just a matter to find a few regular recipes that work well.

These past few years I made choices that have put me outside of the herd.

It started when I degoogled my phone and didn't have access to Whatsapp anymore. Some people stopped communicating with me.

Then I chose not to get vaccinated. I let you imagine how well it went for my popularity which wasn't very high to begin with.

Then the vegan thing and I'm now a complete pariah.

It's hard but I feel healthier, so there's that.

YMMV

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Hello, I had a kidney transplant about 1.5 yrs ago.

My goal is keep my ONE kidney working properly. I read somewhere online, about the fact that our kidneys work harder with animal protein vs plant protein. Don't know how much truth there is to that.

But if true, it would be in my best interest to switch to a plant based diet. I think the hardest part for me would be to give up Fish and dairy. But I am aware those are animal proteins.

Here are my questions:

• Can I eat dairy and eggs for breakfast ONLY and fish 3x a week (for dinner) to achieve same effect?
• Where do you all get your recipes (maybe is here within the subreddit, I will look)
• Do you have a link to any medical data/studies that show the effect of animal protein on kidneys? I found some but still looking for more data to digest.
• What app do you use, if any, to keep track of all your calories, carbs, protein etc etc to ensure you get all the nutrients and calories an adult needs?
• I don't know if there is anyone here who is my same situation (transplanted kidney). If yes, I would love to chat with you.

Thanks in advance

I know there are lots of YouTube videos on air fryer cooking, but I’m wondering if anyone can recommend any decent wfpb air fryer cook books. I’m based in the UK, so any UK published books would be ideal. Many thanks. Just purchased a Ninji air fryer.

It’s going to be my birthday tomorrow and I decided to make HealthyVeganEating’s Carrot Cake! It’s my first time baking a cake; made it a little bit smaller but it looks and smells really good! 😋

Greetings!

I just watched a video with Dr Rhonda Patrick who seems to advocate fish oil for Omega 3, citing plant sources like hemp seeds etc as having low conversion rates due to the body having to convert from ALA.

She kept referring to marine sources, it seems me like algae would be included in this but she kept just saying fish oil.

I currently supplement about 400mg of algae DHA. As this is DHA, I am assuming this does not need conversion and has the bioavailability? Additionally should I be choosing a supplement that provides DHA and EPA?

Although she is not plant based, I have been following Dr Rhonda Patrick for years and she seems to really approach this from a backed scientific perspective so I wanted to gather some more information on this and this sub has some amazingly clever people with this stuff.

Thanks in advance! 🌱

Hello everyone!

I am interested in getting into plant-based diet (WFPB). While Indian food is rich in loads of fresh plants, it also is rich in calories. I have been eating Indian food all my life, and looking to improve. I'm running into two problems.

1. The oil: The general guideline while cooking Indian food is to cook until the oil separates. This indicated the spices are well cooked and the flavour penetrated the ingredients. The oil usually carries the flavour from the spices and dry roasting brings out a different flavour profile compared to oil. How can I use whole food fat sources to replace oil? I know for curries with gravies, I can saute all vegetables and add nut paste giving a creamy and rich texture and for drier dishes I can use powdered nuts. The problem is, the spices are not as well cooked as they would be in oil, and taste raw. How can I cook the spices to make sure they are cooked enough and not give this raw feeling in my mouth?
2. Whole grains: As someone who grew up with white rice, shifting to brown rice feels a little off. White rice is very malleable and absorbs the flavour of whatever is mixed into it. However, brown rice is not the same. It has it's own flavour and kinda 'ruins' the thing I am mixing it with. How to make it more palatable?

The reason why I asked specifically for Indians is because they would understand my concerns a little deeper because of the cultural context. But anyone who understands Indian food can give me suggestions.

I also appreciate suggestions on how to include plant-based meals from various other cultures as well! So far, I really like Mexican food, Japanese food, and Italian food.

Thank you for the advice!