If you are thinking about becoming a vegetarian then you have to consider how you are going to get enough protein into your diet. Protein is always the issue when giving up meat and people generally find it difficult to understand how they are going to replace meat and to ensure that they still get all of their vitamins.
It’s certainly a serious consideration because humans need a good source of protein to survive. As a former meat eater, most of your protein would have come from a meat source but it’s good to know that you can get protein from many sources including nuts, soya products and seeds.
There is no doubt that it’s important to have a healthy diet and to know where you can get all of your vitamins, minerals and protein from quite easily. A great deal of plant proteins can be incomplete so you may need to combine your food types. Not everyone likes soya or tofu although for many vegetarians it becomes a vital part of their diet. The great news is that chia, is 100% protein and can be eaten with anything because it absorbs the taste of the food that you put it with.
Luckily for all new vegetarians everywhere, chia seeds are one of the easiest foods to incorporate into your diet and you don’t need to be a vegetarian to enjoy them either. You can sprinkle them into your drink and they are perfect with smoothies. They can be added to curries or casseroles, and really the only limitations for chia seeds is in your own mind. They will absorb the lovely fruit or vegetable flavours of a smoothie and equally, take on the spices of a vegetable curry.
It’s true to say that chia seeds are not very well known as of yet but they are starting to be labelled a super food. The secret of these nutritious seeds were nearly lost along with the ancient Aztecs which is their origin but fortunately, the chia seed secret is well and truly out because it really is a powerhouse of vitamins, omega 3 oils, and nutrition’s. Imagine adding these fantastic seeds to your new vegetarian diet. How easy will it be to live healthily?
Of course, vegetarians also have to consider their omega 3 intake because it’s an oil that is mainly derived from fish. As a vegetarian, fish is typically off the menu so in which case, you may be lacking in omega 3. Chia seeds also have plenty of calcium too, actually 6 times more calcium per weight than milk.
Chia plants are grown without any interference of pesticides so this makes it much safer for the environment and for those who eat them as pesticides are a real cause for concern if you care about green issues. The plant is self-protecting, as it makes an oil within its stems that protects and so insects etc leave it alone as the oil is so unpleasant to them. There are few plants that provide a complete protein similar to meat.
Becoming a vegetarian does take a great deal of thought and planning because it’s not easy to just suddenly cut out any meat based products and to suddenly have a diet that is drastically limited is never going to be easy. Fortunately, chia seeds have just made the whole concept of a vegetarian diet so much easier which will pave the way for others who may have been worried by the lack of protein, calcium and omega 3.
The most difficult aspect of becoming vegetarian is finding meat free recipes that suit your taste but fortunately, even this is not a problem these days because there are so many meat-free recipes out there and luckily, they have just got a whole lot more nutritious due to the addition of some chia seeds.
Many people think that vegetarian food is low fat and untasty, but in fact, some vegetarian dishes are creamy, higher in fat but tastes wonderful. By adding chia seeds, you can actually feel fuller for longer so you will naturally eat less and this is because chia seeds absorb the liquids which will immediately make you feel that you have had your full quota of food.
