The first day of October is celebrated worldwide as World Vegetarian Day, which was established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and supported by the International Vegetarian Union a year later. In 2018, the initiative, which met with approval around the world, turns 40 years old!
It is on this day that Vegetarian Awareness Month begins, which will last until November 1 – International Vegan Day. Mindfulness Month was created to encourage more people to reconsider their attitude towards vegetarianism and nutrition in general, activists provide a lot of information at events, meetings and festivals, of which there will be a lot this month. It’s time to start your journey to mindful eating, and we’ll show you how to do it.
Dig into history
Plant-based diets are no longer a fad, and the news is full of celebrities who have gone meat-free. Vegetarianism plays a leading role in traditional diets around the world. Great thinkers including Buddha, Confucius, Gandhi, Ovid, Socrates, Plato, and Virgil extolled the wisdom of vegetarian diets and wrote reflections on the subject.
Improve your health
According to scientific research, adopting a plant-based diet can help increase energy levels and reduce the likelihood of developing chronic diseases. In the journal Circulation, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian points to research showing that poor nutrition is a major cause of ill health.
“Evidence on food priorities includes more fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oil, yogurt, and minimally processed whole grains, and less red meat, processed meats, and foods rich in reduced grains, starches, added sugars, salt and trans fats,” the doctor writes.
Consider Your Options
There are several ways to focus on plant foods. Try one of these this month if you’re only considering the idea of going vegan. Semi-vegetarianism or flexitarianism includes dairy, eggs, and small amounts of meat, poultry, fish, and seafood. Pescatarianism includes dairy, eggs, fish and seafood, but not meat and poultry. Vegetarianism (also known as lacto-ovo vegetarianism) allows you to eat dairy products and eggs, but not fish and meat. Veganism completely excludes the use of animal products.
Find a protein
The question of protein arises in everyone who thinks about vegetarianism. But don’t be afraid! Beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, soybeans, tofu, and many vegetables contain adequate amounts of protein. There is a lot of information on the Internet that confirms this.
Go shopping
Explore the supermarket’s range of products to discover products you’ve never tasted in your life. It can be purple carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, or some special vegetarian food. Try new plant-based drinks, yogurts, sauces to see if veganism can be fun and delicious.
Buy new cookbooks
Find vegetarian nutrition books online or at a bookstore. You will be surprised to see a wide range of new names, definitions that have been created in order to diversify the vegetarian diet (although it is the most diverse among all other diets). Prepare new dishes from untested products for a month, bake vegetarian bread, make healthy desserts. Get inspired and create!
Vegetables for everything
Within a month, try to add vegetables and herbs to all meals. Ready for pasta? Fry the vegetables and add them there. Are you making hummus? Replace the bread and croutons that you wanted to dip in the appetizer with carrot sticks and cucumber slices. Make vegetables a big part of your diet and your digestive system, skin and hair will thank you.
Try new vegetarian restaurants
In every restaurant you can find dishes without meat. But why not go to a specialty restaurant for vegetarians this month? You can not only enjoy delicious and healthy food, but also discover something new that you can later use when cooking at home.
Celebrate World Vegetarian Day
Not only can you organize a party that will include exceptionally healthy vegetable dishes, but also coincide with Halloween! Check out on Pinterest how parents dress their kids in pumpkin costumes, what really cool decorations they make, and what mind-blowing dishes they cook. Use your imagination to the fullest!
Have a Veg Challenge
Try to create some kind of test for yourself. For example, for a month, exclude white sugar, coffee from the diet, or eat only freshly prepared dishes. But the best thing you can do for yourself, if your diet is not yet completely plant-based, is to try Vegetarian Month!