Building a Healthy Vegan Grocery List

The health benefits of a vegan diet are no longer under debate and it is a known fact that a vegan diet no only increases overall energy, it helps to maintain whole-body health.

Fundamentally there are three reasons that make veganism something beyond a diet; It is a philosophy of life in which respect for animals and the environment are the fundamental pillars and health also plays a vital role.

A vegan in no way wants to harm or use an animal for his own benefit. He pleads for the maximum respect towards them and for this reason, does not consume meat or any other products of animal origin.

Many studies, for example from the World Health Organization (WHO), show that a vegan diet offers many benefits. The absence of fatty meat almost always has a positive effect. The question is, what should you be eating and shopping for when you want to replenish your vegan supplies for the day ahead? Here’s our healthy vegan grocery list.

The ideal vegan grocery list

• Nuts and Seeds for omega 3

Certainly, on your grocery list should be nuts and seeds, especially those rich in omega 3. you will want to include the likes of Brazil nuts for instance that are packed with selenium. you will also want to include pumpkin seeds because they are known for their zinc content.

Selenium and zinc are excellent as mood enhancers and for decreasing anxiety and depression. These days during the lockdown and the pandemic we could all use some mood-enhancing foods.

• All fresh fruit and vegetables

You can include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables because many of these are packed with immune-boosting anticancer ingredients.

Other mood-boosting vegan foods to include on your grocery list will be grapes and other dark and colorful fruits and vegetables. The dark pigments they contain have the highest levels of antioxidants. Berries such as cranberries, blueberries and others are packed with antioxidants and phytonutrients.

• Dark green, leafy vegetables

We have all heard about those dark green, leafy vegetables as well as lentils for inclusion in those delicious hot soups or for summer salads.

Thinking of a lentil salad, you will need to include into your shopping list baby tomatoes, onions, some cloves of garlic, celery, olive oil, balsamic vinegar as well as baby spinach leaves.  The fantastic fiber content of such ingredients is important for balanced blood sugar and a strong heart as well as a good digestive system.

Also, if you want to have that awesome stress-busting smoothie that your friend recommended for you, you will need to include plain yogurt, walnuts, frozen berries, bananas, oats and rice milk for your blender.

A green smoothie can also be a great way to get in a good deal of greens and for this, you will need to include the versatile banana again, kiwi fruits, spinach, pitted dates, figs and some honey, but this depends on your taste for sweetness.

• Healthy fats

It is always a good idea to include some healthy fats onto your shopping list as some of the ingredients you love to snack on will include these fats. The foods include dark chocolate, nuts, seeds and avocado.

Wrongfully, avocado has been dismissed because of its fat content but it contains monounsaturated fats, the ones recommended to help the body deal with oxidation and free radicals, Also in fabulous avocados are potassium and chromium.

We have already suggested olive oil for your lentil salad, but other good oils are coconut oil or flax seed oil among others. you will need these oils for cooking and for making your salad dressings.

Vegan foods – protective force against cancer

Get your vegan diet on track again and stock up on vegan foods known to be a protective force against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Take your list along with you and add the foods in with the nutrients you are missing and start boosting your immune system.