BOSH! How to Live Vegan: 5 Golden Rules | EXTRACT

BOSH! How to Live Vegan will help you make a few positive changes that will have a huge impact on the world around you. Henry Firth and Ian Theasby answer all the questions and more, with easy tips and simple hacks to help you live a more sustainable life. Read on to learn about the 5 Golden Rules of veganism:

A plant-based diet is packed full of things that are incredibly good for you, and can be one of the healthiest diets you can follow. Yes, there are a few things to be conscious of: as with any way of eating, we need to ensure that we get the right nutrient balance in our body. Thinking about nutrition is a good thing though and something that everyone should do, whether they’re vegan, veggie, flexi or mindfully meaty.

1. Eat the Rainbow

When we put together a plate of food, we roughly aim for it to be made up of 50% fruits and veggies, 25% whole grains and 25% plant-based protein: the 50/25/25 rule. This is also broadly in line with the NHS Eatwell Plate, Canadian Food Plate and Vegan Power Plate. We call it the rainbow ratio, and it’s an easy way to aim for a balanced diet – no laborious weighing or measuring out of ingredients or portion sizes. It will ensure you are getting loads of fruits and veggies in your life on a daily basis, and adequate amounts of protein and grains without any faff.

2. Mix up your plate

At every meal, as well as varying the colours, think about different textures, spices, and seasonal foodstuffs to give your body a broad range of vitamins and minerals. Mixing different protein sources across the day will also mean you’ll get all the protein you need.

3. Eat your greens

Your parents always told you to eat your greens and they weren’t wrong! Get as much dark green in as you can, turbo-charging your daily diet with kale and spinach-rich green smoothies. Anything dark green is packed with micronutrients that your body loves, so gorge on them. We like to kick-start every day with a massive green smoothie – it’s such a great way to get ahead on your plant-based goodness!

4. The 80/20 Balance

Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% healthy and 20% whatever you fancy. It’s ok to eat a more unhealthy option from time to time, especially if it’s home-cooked. Just balance it out with healthy and colourful foods the rest of the time. Food is there to be enjoyed! It plays a huge part in our culture, in our family lives, and in our sense of wellbeing, so it’s really important to find a way of eating that fits within your life and makes you feel good. Maybe you will decide to eat healthily in the week and ease off at the weekend? Whatever works for you.

5. Get your vitamins in

We like to back up all our good eating with a daily multivitamin and B12 booster. That takes away any worry about hitting our nutrition goals. Take responsibility for learning some basic nutrition and, if you have concerns, think about checking with your doctor to make sure all’s as it should be.

To learn more on tips on veganism, order your copy of BOSH! How to Live Vegan today.