PICKING UP A PLANT BASED DIET - DR. KAVIRAJ KHIALANI- CELEBRITY MASTER CHEF

PICKING UP A PLANT BASED DIET

Diet: A word which appeals to some and horrifies a few, a concept which people like to adapt to their systems and well-being but also expect it to be flexible once in a while.

To many it appears to be a temporary “let’s try activity if it works” while to many who really want to see a change in themselves take it up as a part of life and live by it with a continued acceptance to a way of living!

Plant-based diet is the new in thing concept these days, it’s all about celebrating and enjoying the foods that naturally grown and that help fuel our bodies. Also one of the major health benefits is that you will be eating minimally processed. switching to a plant based diet can be a key to proper nutrition. But before we think of a new plan we must get to have an idea of its very basic concept and the due process having it as a key to a better lifestyle!

 On the whole on a broader perspective we see that it is an easy concept to adapt into us, with no portion control as such like the strict diets, no carb counting and no calorie counting with this food plan. You can eat when you’re hungry, and you can eat until
you get full. Simply make sure that you choose food from the right categories. Of course, there are going to be exceptions that you’ll need to make occasionally. You need to be sure that you aren’t eating too often from your sparingly food category to get there.

Every change in life has a challenge to accept and live by as well, similarly switching to a plant-based diet not only benefits your health, it can help protect the environment, as well on the whole. People who follow plant-based diets tend to have smaller environmental footprints.

Adopting sustainable eating habits can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land used for factory farming, which are all factors in global warming and environmental degradation. once we think of adapting to a plant-based diet, meals should centre around plant-based foods. If at all any animal foods are eaten, they should be eaten in smaller or very minimalistic quantities, avoid as far as possible and think of the greens and various other fresh colors and textures naturally available to us on our plates and palates!

 What do we pick up for a plant based diet?

Fruits and Vegetables: citrus fruits, pears, peaches, pineapple, others like bananas, veggies like tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, spinach and greens etc.

Whole grains & starch: brown rice, rolled up oats, quinoa, barley, millets etc would be a good choice to compliment while varieties of potatoes regular and the sweet ones, pumpkin, etc are good options are well to add Cooking mediums & oils: a few popular ones like Avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, unsweetened coconut, etc.

Seeds, Nuts & Legumes: Peas, chickpeas, lentils, peanuts, black beans, etc, Almonds, cashewnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, natural peanut butter, tahini- made from white sesame seeds.

Unsweetened plant-based milks: Coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk, & Spices, Herbs- Seasonings: Fresh Basil, rosemary, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, salt, Condiments like Salsa, mustard, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice can also be included in the recipes.

Tofu The Popular Plant-based protein: tofu is known to be one of the popular plant based proteins and it is produced from soy milk or powders with no added sugar or artificial ingredients which can be used in a number of ways and forms in this style of cooking foods from stir fries to salads to quick fix main courses as well.

A plant-based diet or a plant-rich diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants and with few or no animal-source foods. A plant-based diet is not necessarily vegetarian, use of the phrase "plant-based" has changed over time and examples can be found of the phrase "plant-based diet" being used to refer to vegan diets, which contain no food from animal sources, and vegetarian diets, which may include dairy or eggs but no meat, as well as diets with varying amounts of animal-based foods, such as semi-vegetarian diets.

A few added on ingredients which you may wish to include in this diet these are category of foods that aren’t really a category as such but these foods are still part of the plant-based diet. This includes such things as exotic superfoods, sea vegetables, condiments, and natural sweeteners.

Cacao: The pure form of chocolate can be used in a variety of ways.

Coconut oil: Raw, virgin unprocessed oil can also substitute butter.

Honey: The raw stuff, not the kind in bear-shaped plastic bottles

Maple syrup: Again, the real stuff — no corn syrup here, since its processed.

Nori: A delicious and nutritious sea vegetable which is healthy as well.

Tamari: A versatile fermented soy sauce which can add a dash into your stir fry concepts in this cooking style.

Here are a few of my concepts with some of the popular dishes we can have and enjoy under plant based cooking as well to name a few are the Mexican bean casserole, the Texas style chili beans, apple oatmeal muffins, a hearty veg soup, chickpea omelettes, vegan French toasts, tofu bhurji, Choco-chip banana pancakes, green rice with beans, Florentine risotto, vegan ramen salads like peanut coleslaw with lemon dressing, tomato walnut salad with ginger-turmeric dressing, grilled zucchini and mushroom salad, tofu and spinach ravioli salad with a spiked avocado dressing !

Brief About The Writer:

Dr. Kaviraj Khialani- Celebrity Master Chef, is a Mumbai based Author, Writer, Healthy Eating - Lifestyle Specialist, Food Designer, Academician & having mastered over 33 International Cuisines, is also a Food & Beverage Consultant. He has worked with esteemed properties like the Taj group of Hotels, Kuwait Airways to name a few, he has been awarded several Global and National Awards for his outstanding performance in his chosen field he loves to share his knowledge and experience of over 2 decades with the Food & Hospitality Industry.