It's National Vegetarian Week

It just so happens that the foods which improve our health, digestion and energy levels are vegetarian and vegan. Though you can have a healthy non-vegetarian diet, it is one way of lowering intake of saturated fat and significantly lowering risk of heart disease. Tracy Parker who is a Heart Health Dietician has found that “Vegetarians.. eat more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and cheese than meat eaters. Eating less meat leaves room for other nutritious protein-rich food, such as fish, pulses, nuts and eggs.” Further, animal protein foods contain no fibre, whereas plant proteins do. Fibre promotes great bowel health and those who eat higher fibre foods have reduced risk of bowel cancer.

Try replacing your usual serving of red meat with a delicious quinoa salad or risotto. You can pick up a bag of this inexpensive, versatile, Peruvian grain in most supermarkets now. It is a great source of protein (between 14%-18%), contains all eight essential amino acids, is low-fat, packed with dietary fibre, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It is also gluten-free and easy to digest. You’ll feel much lighter after eating it and are less likely to experience any digestive issues, high blood pressure and cholesterol which can be brought on by a diet high in red meat.

One reason for cutting our meat in our diets to improve our health and wellbeing is that meat contains a lot of hormones and antibiotics due to modern faming methods. This is also one reason why we don’t use milk and dairy products. The other being that dairy promotes sebum production which does no favours for our skin. In place of this we follow the vegan path and replace cow’s milk with almond or rice milks which come with other benefits; both low in saturated fats, sugar free, easy to digest. Almond milk is fortified with vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that fights UV damage, and contains calcium and vitamins A and D.

Delving in to the vegetarian and vegan worlds needs to be approached with care. It’s important to balance meals correctly to make sure you get all the benefits of the diet. At the Detox Kitchen we promote eating a balanced and varied diet whether this includes meat or not. We include lean white meats and fish in our delis and delivery packages. Meat is a good source of protein and can be included in a detox as long as the quality is good, it’s free range and unprocessed. Nonetheless, do give National Vegetarian Week a try as at the very least it will get you trying out some delicious new recipes and ingredients!