VEGETARIAN DIET
If you are a vegetarian or are trying to become one, the most complicated thing is to ensure all the nutrients in your meal. However, with little bit of research you will know that there is plethora of healthy food options for vegetarians.
Vegetarian food includes grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, nuts, seeds etc. Many research suggests that eating plant based food can actually help in heart health as well as weight loss. Vegetarian food is full of fiber, minerals, antioxidants and lesser saturated fat.
Following are top 10 tips from fitness trainer Dubai on how to improve your health and fitness while sticking to vegetarian diet.
1. Eat more Greens
Include broccoli, kale, spinach, asparagus, edamame in your everyday meal. These are bundle of calcium and iron. They contain very low calories and are great for weight loss as well. You can eat these greens in various ways- boiled, tossed in olive oil, baked or even raw. Another great way of including them in your meal is to have it in your smoothie. Green smoothie is a great breakfast option.
2. Water
Keeping yourself hydrated in really essential for lots of reasons. Drinking enough water can not only reduce chances of various diseases but also can help in weight loss. Drinking water before meals can help with excess food craving. Despite importance of water being known to almost everyone, most of us still don’t drink enough water everyday. So if you want to stay healthy and fit, make sure you carry a bottle of water with you at all time.
3. Raw fruits and vegetables
Do include at least one raw fruit in your everyday meal. You must have heard of an apple a day keeps the doctors away. You can have a fruit as snack as well between your meals. Also add raw vegetables salad as sides to your lunch or dinner. We mostly eat cooked vegetable everyday but many minerals are lost in the process of cooking the vegetables. You can also experiment with few raw fruit and vegetable dishes.
4. No sugar
Refined sugar can cause obesity and heart issues. Even though it is hard to fight the sweet tooth, reducing sugar intake is essential for a healthy lifestyle. Instead of using refined sugar, use more natural sweetener. Fruits and milk also contain sugar but these are healthy sugar and you can consume them guilelessly. Try to avoid processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup. Always read the label of food products you buy, you’ll be surprised by sugar content in
many supposedly healthy foods.
5. Colorful meal
Every food contains certain nutrition’s. It is essential to have each nutrition in everyday meal. However it can get confusing and be a complicated task to ensure all nutrition’s in your food. One easy way to try and get more nutrition’s is to include food of multiple color in your meal. By eating fruits and vegetables of varying colors, you add a range of vitamins and minerals.
6. Beans
Maintaining enough protein in vegetarian meal is always a tough task. Good thing we have many kind of beans to cover for that. Legumes like lentils, white beans, kidney beans are rich fiber resources. So don’t forget to add beans in your meal because not only it is delicious, it is extremely healthy. There are so many healthy recipes to play around with various kind of beans and keep your meals exciting.[/vc_column_text]
7. Nuts and seeds
Unsalted nuts are a great snack option. Nuts can be used not only as snack but also in salads or main dishes. Seeds and nuts like almond, walnuts or pecans are always a delicious addition to your smoothie. Carry a small box of nuts with you to work and prevent junk eating between your meals.
8. Protein
General belief is that vegetarians don’t have much protein options available. However, its quite untrue as vegetarians too have multiple options for protein. Soy products like tofu and temp eh are amazing protein sources. Beans and nuts too contain adequate amount of protein.
9. Calcium
Calcium is vital for bone health. For those vegetarian who eat dairy products, it is a excellent source of calcium. If you don’t consume dairy product then plant based milk is a good alternative. Some plant based calcium sources are soy milk, almond milk, tofu, calcium-fortified breakfast cereals and few leafy vegetables.
10. Experiment with cooking
To maintain a healthy diet, it is important to cook more at home instead of eating out. Also to keep yourself hooked, experimenting with cooking style can be helpful. Try eating vegetables in different styles like boiling them or tossing in some oil or barbecue them. Keep trying new food products as well. There are plenty of good recipes available online to help you out.
For a healthy lifestyle a proper diet is vital but for a complete fitness, physical activities are equally important. Join fitness trainer Dubai’s personal training’s to get customized vegetarian diet plans along with various fitness workout programs.
DIET PLAN FOR YOU
