Ready-to-Eat Shelf-Stable Plant-based Foods Makes it so Easy to Become Vegan!

The ready-to-eat plant-based food is growing popularity and the sales are growing year by year with a whooping growth of over 11% in the last year alone! The given COVID situation has not staggered the sales. In fact, just within the last 8 months, the ready-to-eat plant-based foods sales itself has increased by over 27% and continues to grow further with every passing day. More and more people find it easy to turn vegan and vegetarian, and the number of ready-to-eat plant-based foods options now available in the market makes it easier and even more interesting.

Working from home has made it almost necessary to stock the pantries with some ready-to-eat and shelf-stable meals. An important meeting, an unexpected phone call, a child waking up late and being whiny while you are working from your home office – so many reasons to have that ready-to-eat meal that can just be ready in minutes and also shelf-table in your pantry. Some very delicious and healthy high plant-based protein option is the Bombay Masala Rice and Lentil Bowl, Delhi Mung Bean and Rice Bowl, Madras Quinoa and Lentil Bowl, and Jaipur Millet and Lentil Bowl. There is also the option of having the frozen ready-to-eat meals, and there are many varieties available also. The only problem with them is that the frozen ready-to-eat meals take up a lot of space in the freezer and there is always a challenge to manage the freezer space!

 Let us talk about why so many people are turning vegan and why becoming vegan is so beneficial to your health. There are numerous benefits, but we will focus on the most important ones:

• The most important reason to switch to becoming vegan is that our human anatomy is not meant for consuming meat. We don’t have those long and sharp teeth to tear flesh. Our intestines are so long that it takes almost a week to flush out the meat that is consumed!
• A vegan diet is often lower in calories and therefore helps in losing weight
• It is high in nutrition and rich in fiber.
• Plant-based proteins are easier to digest and absorb the nutrients
• Plant-based diets are associated with protecting against risks of certain types of cancers
• It helps in reducing the blood-sugar levels and also improves the kidney function

 Difference between Vegan and Animal Proteins

 There is no basic difference strictly speaking between plant and animal proteins. The components in both are the same. They both contain 22 amino acids. The only difference is that animal proteins contain all the 22 amino acids in them making them a complete protein. The plant-based proteins on the other hand may lack in one or the other amino acids.

It does not mean at all that people who consume vegan and vegetarian diet will be deprived of all the 22 amino acids. The good news is that your body does not necessarily need to consume all the 22 amino acids in one meal. For example, you may have a combination of vegan foods together like mixing a cereal and a lentil. The cereal lacks in the amino acid lysine, while the lentil lacks in amino acid methionine. When mixed together they make a complete first-class protein.

Another major difference in plant and animal protein is that animal proteins like meat carry along with them high amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. This is the major cause of obesity and heart conditions. The excessive calories if not used, turn into fat deposits in the body. The cholesterol tends to get deposited in the walls of the arteries causing major heart diseases.

On the other hand, plant proteins come along with a lot of nutrients and dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps in maintaining a healthy body weight and also helps in reducing cholesterol and lowers the risk of diabetes. Dietary fiber also helps you feel full and decreases the hunger pangs felt in between meals. It also helps prevent and also relieve constipation.

As mentioned earlier, animal proteins contain very high amounts of saturated fats. People consuming a vegan or vegetarian diet need not worry about the protein. Just consuming 1 cup of lentils, would give 18 grams of proteins. The same amount of animal-based protein from beef would along with the protein also have 23 times more saturated fat than the lentils.

So I think we have enough reasons as well as varieties of delicious ready-to-eat and shelf stable healthy foods to consider switching to becoming vegan.

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy!

Warmly,

Sonal

 
Also read: Ready to Eat Meals - So Convenient