sobota, 23. februar 2013

Why tofu is not the healthiest meat alternative?

Is tofu healthier alternative to meat?

Yes, usually tofu is better option than meat. It can be used directly as a meat substitute in many meat dishes very easyly just by replacing meat with tofu (learn how to cook with tofu). It is more healthy than meat in most cases and way more eco friendly and ecological.
But is it the best alternative to meat when looking purely from health perspective?
Well... not really. There are many healthier options... one simple is tempeh which is basically fermented tofu and digests easily.
But the best alternative to meat is.... FRESH FRUITS and VEGETABLES!!
Can you replace the meat in any recipe with fruits? Not really :), maybe with some veggies, like sweet potato, some mushrooms, ... But you can do much more healthy meal than ordinary dish replacing meat with some other stuff... change entire meal :)

The healthier example for a daily diet vegan style

BREAKFAST
The best way to break your fast (try to eat your dinner as early as possible to have a long fast every night) is with fruits. Lots of them. Fruits are not calorie dense and therefore you need to eat bigger portions of them.
There are few rules to follow when eating more fruits:
- always eat them on empty stomach since they diggest very fast and can make troubles if eat them after some heavier meal. The best is to eat them BEFORE meal or eat entire meal of raw fruits and veggies
- do not combine too much fatty foods with fruits since fats can mess up proper insulin function. This goes for all carbohydrate foods and fats... try to limit fats in your food
- eat fruits that are ripe and taste good. Bananas must have little brown spots.
- try to get as best quality as possible, preferable organic
- do not mix too much different fruits at same time.
The best way are mono meals of one fruit followed by mono meal of another fruit. For instance: start with water mellon. After some time, hit 3-5 apples. After another 10-20 minutes (or when you feel like it), go for 5-7 ripe bananas. And there you have the perfect rbeakfast, easy, quick, not expensive and you will feel like flying :) If you want even more boost, start with fresh vegetable juice (3 apples, 1 beetroot, 5 carrots, celery) instead of coffee.

important notice!!!... be ware of all side effects of eating more fruits (more energy, more brain power, clarity, diseases are starting to go away, ... ;)


LUNCH
Green smoothie time!!! What, why and how? Check out  this video:


In short: it tastes fantastic (especially when you know how much greens you put inside :), it is easy to make and you can take them everywhere you go and is simple way to consume huge amounts of insanely healthy greens that otherwise don't taste good by itself.

Simple green smoothie example:
- huge bunch of greens (kale, lettuce, dandelion, stinging nettles, rocket, wild herbs,...)
- water
- 5 bananas
- some other fruits of your choice, great options are blueberries, even frozen


DINNER
Yes, there is no problem of eating some healthy meal with tofu instead of meat. You can even do it without tofu since greens in smoothie and fruits are packed with nutrients and vitamins and you already have perfect aminoacid profile.

These is just one very very healthy example of healthy eating. Tofu is quite good option but not the best one in my opinion.