In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleMake Vegetables the StarEat a Variety of FoodsChoose Whole GrainsTry Plant-Based ProteinsDon’t Assume Vegan = HealthyFocus on Fish-Free Omega-3sRemember Vitamin DPump Up Your IronMake Sure You’re Getting B12
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Make Vegetables the Star
Eat a Variety of Foods
Choose Whole Grains
Try Plant-Based Proteins
Don’t Assume Vegan = Healthy
Focus on Fish-Free Omega-3s
Remember Vitamin D
Pump Up Your Iron
Make Sure You’re Getting B12
You’ve probably heard that eating more vegetables and less meat is healthy. Maybe you’re even feeling inspired to tryeating a vegan diet—which excludes all animal products, including dairy and eggs—to improve your health or lose a little weight.
Eating a vegan diet can be a healthy way to eat when your meals are full of vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. You need a well-planned vegan diet to make sure you don’t miss out onessential nutrientsor end up eating only processed vegan foods.
Here are nine tips for eating a vegan diet. Aren’t ready to go full vegan? Even if you’re just trying to adopt a more plant-based diet for better health, these tips are a great way to get started.
Pictured Recipe:Spicy Broccoli & Bell Pepper Stir-Fry with Peanuts
1. Make Vegetables the Stars of Your Meals
People often get hung up on what theycan’thave on a plant-based diet, instead of what theycan. But a great meal does not have to center on meat. Veggie-packed meals are an all-around winning choice. Veggies are full of vitamins—like A and K—and minerals—like potassium. They keep your calories in check and, because they are high in fiber, they can help you feel more satisfied.
Pictured Recipe:Black Bean-Quinoa Quinoa Bowl
2. Eat a Variety of Foods
To make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need on a vegan diet, it’s important to eat balanced meals that include a variety of healthy foods. For example, you’ll get protein and fiber from beans, and leafy greens are great sources of vitamins A, C and K.
Choose produce from all colors of the rainbowto get all the benefits. Red tomatoes have heart-healthy lycopene, blue blueberries have brain-boosting anthocyanins and orange sweet potatoes have lots of vitamin A to help keep eyes healthy.
Looking for meal ideas? Try a simple well-balanced grain bowl: Top brown rice, or quinoa, with beans and a mix of sautéed or roasted veggies. Enjoy a simple well-balanced plate of brown rice and beans with vegetables. Or try a hearty bowl of ourZesty Wheat Berry-Black Bean Chili, chock-full of nutrient-rich veggies and whole grains.
Pictured Recipe:Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo
3. Choose Whole Grains
Swapping outrefined grains, such as white pasta and white bread, forwhole grains, such as brown rice and quinoa, adds iron and B vitamins to a vegan diet—nutrients that are stripped out when the grains are refined. And, the extra fiber from whole grains will help keep you full, andmay even help you lose weight.
Pictured Recipe:Beefless Vegan Tacos
4. Discover New Plant-Based Proteins
One thing everyone can do for better health is eat moreplant-based proteins. Animal sources of protein, like meat and cheese, tend to be high in unhealthy saturated fat. Vegan sources of protein are plentiful and include tofu, tempeh, edamame (soybeans), lentils, chickpeas and beans. Nuts, like almonds and walnuts, and seeds, like sunflower and pumpkin seeds, also deliver protein.
While many people think it’s difficult for vegans to eat enough protein, it typically isn’t an issue for someone eating a varied diet and consciously including sources of plant-based protein. The2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americansrecommends women get 46 grams of protein daily and men 56 grams—an amount that’s pretty easy to reach.
For example, women could meet their daily quota with ½ cup of dry oatmeal (5 grams protein), 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (8 grams), 1/2 cup of chickpeas (5 grams), 1 cup of cooked quinoa (8 grams), 24 almonds (6 grams), 1 cup of cooked whole-wheat spaghetti (7 grams) and 1/2 cup of tofu (10 grams).
Men could add just ½ cup of cooked lentils (9 grams) to meet their daily protein requirement.
Pictured Recipe:No-Sugar-Added Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
5. Avoid Assuming Vegan Food Products Are Healthier
Vegan cookies aren’t necessarily healthier than regular cookies. And garlic bread made with vegan margarine isn’t necessarily any healthier for your heart than one made with butter.Processed vegan foodsoften contain saturated-fat-laden palm oil and coconut oil. Stick to whole, nutritious foods that just happen to be vegan, such as carrots and hummus, nuts and dried fruit, and whole-grain tortilla chips with guacamole. Enjoying processed vegan foods every so often is fine, but don’t assume they’re “healthy” simply because they’re vegan.
Pictured Recipe:Chai Chia Pudding
6. Focus On Fish-Free Omega-3s
Pictured Recipe:Vegan Smoothie Bowl
7. Remember Vitamin D
Most people getvitamin Dfrom canned fish like salmon and sardines, and fortified dairy products, like milk and yogurt. Vitamin D is also in some fortified nondairy milks such as soy or almond milk and orange juice.Some mushroomsthat have been exposed to UV light are also good sources. In the summer months, when the sun is stronger, our skin can synthesize vitamin D—hence, the nickname, “sunshine vitamin.”
The daily value (DV) for vitamin D is 600 IU, with some experts saying that it should be closer to 1,500 IU. Many people, vegans included,may need to take a supplementto hit those numbers.
Pictured Recipe:Vegan Lentil Soup
8. Pump Up Your Iron
Animal proteins like meat and chicken are the best sources of iron, which is another nutrient that’s important for vegans to pay attention to.Vegans can still get this mineralfrom beans, legumes and leafy greens, but iron from plant sources (non-heme iron) isn’t as easily absorbed as it is from meat sources (heme iron). To get the most out of plant-based iron, eat iron-rich foods with vitamin-C-rich foods, which help boost absorption. And avoid eating iron-rich foods at the same time as calcium-rich foods, which can inhibit iron absorption.
Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Ruth Blackburn
Pictured Recipe:Chickpea Salad Sandwich
9. Make Sure You’re Getting Enough B12
Vitamin B12—a vitamin that helps transform food into energy in our bodies and aids in brain function—is found mainly in animal foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy foods. People following a vegan diet can get some B12 from fortified cereals or energy bars but should talk with their healthcare practitioner about taking a supplement. The daily recommended amount for Vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms for most adults.
The Bottom Line
How to Meal Prep for a Week of Vegan Lunches
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