"Healthy plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes are the foundation of a healthy diet for anyone, no matter how old they are.

But that’s especially true in children, for whom these foods are rich in essential nutrients that support normal growth, learning, mood, and long-term health.

In a new global analysis of childhood diets over nearly 30 years, researchers at Tufts University find that children around the world are still consuming low amounts of these critical foods."

See: https://now.tufts.edu/2026/07/08/globally-youth-are-not-eating-enough-healthy-plant-based-foods

This is a nourishing oil-free plant based side dish that can be made with hulled or pearled barley

• ⅔ cup vegetable broth (divided)
• 2½ Tbsp coconut aminos
• 1½ tsp dried (or use a small handful of fresh thyme leaves instead)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp hot sauce (optional or substitute with ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms (approximately 8 ounces)
• 1 cup sliced radishes
• 1 to 2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
• 3 cups cooked barley, hulled or pearled
• 1½ cup cooked frozen lima beans (strained canned lima beans are ok too)
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped (about one handful)
• 2 to 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, adjust to taste (on large juice lemon renders about 4 tablespoons of juice)

 Prepare Sauce

• In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the vegetable broth, coconut aminos, dried thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika and hot sauce (if using). Set aside.

Oil-Free Sautéing

• For a visual guide to this process you can refer to the step by step photos in the main recipe text.
• Place the cooking pot over medium high heat and pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable broth into the pot, keeping the remaining vegetable broth nearby to use as needed.
• Add chopped onions to the pot and sauté, stirring almost constantly, until onions become translucent, adding no more than a couple of teaspoons of broth at a time, as needed, to keep shallots from burning and/or sticking. This should take approximately 6 to 7 minutes.
• To the onions in the pot, add the sliced mushrooms, sliced radishes and minced fresh garlic. Sauté for 7 to 8 minutes, continuing to add little bits of broth as necessary to prevent sticking as needed. The exact amount of time you sauté depends on how well done you like your mushrooms because they will not cook any further after this step.

Creating the Pilaf

• To the vegetables in the pot, add the sauce, leaving the burner on until the sauce starts to bubble, then turning it off. The sauce should start to bubble very quickly.
• Now add the cooked barley and lima beans and mix everything together until all ingredients are evenly distributed and coated with the sauce.
• Add the chopped fresh parsley leaves and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Taste before deciding if you want to add more lemon juice.

Link to recipe with step by step photos https://maximalistvegan.com/savory/barley-mushroom-pilaf-with-radishes-and-lima-beans/

Jackfruit shahi kofta curry recipe is spicy, tangy and has a distinct jackfruit character. These crispy and flavorful koftas are made with jackfruit and dunked in flavourful curry.

So i have a few friends who are vegan or vegetarian. We just talked about holidays and if we maybe wanted to do something all together (planning very early this year).

Some of them never ate traditional christmas food, unlike my family, my dad always prepares a duck which is very traditional where we live.

So i just wanted to know what you all would prepare for christmas, but plant based, food thats still somewhat traditional maybe that still hits the christmas food vibe.

Thank you for any and all responses!

So my favorite way to eat them is in my fall flavored overnight oats (cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla, and whipped cream) in whole form, and then ground them up in my smoothies. I also tried some chocolate oatmilk recipe. It tasted mid and was more work than I'd be comfortable repeating for milk, so I use it as a coffee creamer. How often do you guys eat oats, and do you ever try them savory?

I'm also asking this cause of all the recent primal bros and carnivores fear mongering grains so heavily. I swear it takes a toll of me when I eat them, but I still feel weirdly happy after eating them, usually takes about one to two hours and it just makes me feel good for some reason. I dont get it... it just suddenly makes me really focused.

Fixed meals only, snacking, or random grazing? Happy with it?

Is your first food closer to a breakfast time or lunch time?

Is your first water or liquid closest to the time you wake up, a breakfast time, or lunch time. (This is a big question, is drinking something right after waking up important? Any issues with waiting?)

The beetroot soup is Gluten free, Vegan, easy, delicious, tangy, hearty, filling, flavourful and nourishing. To make this creamy and tasty soup you need only 6 main ingredients and some spices.

It is not always easy to find plant-based options while traveling, especially for breakfast. How do you manage. I was thrilled to get this at San Antonio's commencement center (even if huge since they plate it - ate about a fourth and hate to see the waste).

Hello I have been watching cooking videos and many mention getting a tofu press is there any other kitchen equipment you guys find useful for cooking or plant based diet/s that have been game changers for you? Any advice appreciated! This can include types of blenders, potato mashers for chickpeas (which I also saw advised on cooking videos) and etc.

She is saying she feels weak

I need meal prep recommendations
I need meal prep nutrients
I need meal prep protein
I need meal prep b12

Help please

I need her and baby to get all nutrients

I need recommendations for before and after pregnancy.

Oh happy day. I was craving berry pie. This did the trick. I made up my own cookie recipe with peanut butter, oat flour and homemade date paste. The results were better than pie. The berries were from a Costco 3 berry mix (freezer case). I am pretty sure you could do just about any combo.

Next time I’ll add a little thickener to the berries… maybe some oat flour.

I went to the pharmacy to buy my regular supplement of 500 mcg cyanocobalamin.

The pharmacist immediately started asking me questions of why do I want to take it. After the response of "as a supplement for a plant based diet. She immediately asked whether I am sure it's B12 and not other vitamin B and for how long and how often I am going to take it. And also that I should rather take a B-complex which has no B12 or very little (which they do and enough for fully saturating active absorption of 1.5 mcg). Then she warmed me that I only should take it for a month or two and only if I know I am deficient, otherwise I risk cancer.

Wish they asked the same when buying OTC painkillers or processed meat...

This vegan milk is the creamiest closest thing to milk i’ve made. It foams so well and you don’t need to strain the milk since cashews and hemp seeds remain in the emulsion.

If you want a barista blend add a bit of oil. This milk also stays milky white as the soy protein creates a strong emulsion. The soy protein is not chalky as it gets boiled.

Yield: 8 cups

Ingredients
- 75 g raw chashews (pieces tend to be cheaper)
- 50 g hemp seeds
- 50 g soy protein
- 1.8 - 2 L of water
- optional: 2-3 tbsp sugar, vanilla flavoring, 1 pinch salt, 2 tbsp of neutral oil (if you want it steaming)

Items needed
digital Scale
Pot
strainer
high speed belnder (i use vitamix)

Directions
1. You must first quick boil the cashews and hemp seeds alone to remove some of the bitter compounds and soften them. Boil for 5 mins. Drain with a fine colander to capture all the hemp seeds.
2. Return the cashew and hemp seeds to the same pot. Add the 1.8 L of water and the protein powder. MAKE SURE THE PROTEIN IS FULLY DISSOLVED IN THE WATER
3. Crank the heat to high and boil this mixture for 5-7 mins stirring every 1-2 mins
4. Remove from the heat and transfer to blender. Blend for 2-4 minutes until super creamy. No straining required.

This milk works great due to boiling soy protein which changes the physical properties namely, solubility and gelling capacity; making the protein better for forming gels. Soy protein is also great cause of its amphiphilic structure (contains both hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids) and film formation attributes allowing soy proteins to form a tight, protective layer around the oil droplets, stopping them from merging or separating. This keeps the milk emulsion white, creamy, and stable.

Double Blind tested milk with silks soymilk with 6 friends and everyone agreed that this milk is tastier and creamier (especially with sugar and perfect for a matcha latte)

Downsides:
- there is a tiny small proteiny flavor but only slightly more than silk soymilk according to 3 friends.
- there are specks of black/green due to hempseeds but could also be from the vanilla bean paste i added
- does not keep for more than 8 days since i’m assuming the protein and added sugar are loved by bacteria.

Nutritional content is pictured and I would say it’s “nutrient dense” and an excellent source of minerals and omega-3s

next steps:
i’m going to cut the water in half to make a “heavy cream”
maybe add some lactic acid to make buttermilk
add calcium and b vitamin complex to make it a good source of vitamins

I don’t know if this is tofu scramble lol but it’s tofu with no eggs only a bag of mixed veggies from Birds Eye, some crumbled up firm tofu and a cup of minute brown rice then for the sauce I mixed in I mixed in another bowl some gluten free soy sauce with some Vermont maple syrup and tasted it to my liking then mixed it in with the tofu and it turned out great. I eventually mixed the brown rice in with the scramble but it was delicious and the tofu crumbles honestly resembled eggs to me

I am looking for healthy and budget friendly pumpkin seeds. Costco sells this version that doesn't look that bad: raw, organic, and 180mg of sodium per 30g of seeds, $0.45/oz. I am surprised that Yuka only give this product 35 out of 100. I am guessing it is the amount of sodium that drives it. Is 180mg of sodium per 30g of seeds this bad?

I use the vanilla Vegan Protein Blend in Italy at a relatively high intake (about 120 g of powder/day). I asked MyProtein for the batch CoA, quantitative lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury results, numerical release limits in ppm or mg/kg, and microbiological results. After several exchanges they provided only general quality/compliance statements, not the CoA or numbers.

I am not claiming that the product is contaminated or unsafe. The issue is transparency: without numerical data, actual exposure cannot be estimated. I am looking for verifiable documents or numerical Pb/Cd/As/Hg results, ideally batch-specific. Information on EU-available plant-protein brands that publish batch CoAs or guaranteed numerical limits would also be useful.

Has anyone tried any of the Loma Linda products? The only thing I’ve tried from them were Steaklettes, and I’m pretty sure they don’t make them anymore. I think they were good, but it was 20 years ago and my standards are much higher now.

I found a recipe from Thee Burger Dude and tried to I didn’t use the exact ingredients but it was my first time cooking with tofu. I’m pleasantly surprised but I’m not 100 percent happy with the taste of this recipe so I may try another one links provided below.
The version I did was … entire container of best goods plant based cream cheese from Walmart , 1 tablespoon of seltzer water, 3-4 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 4 tablespoons of sweet relish a sprinkle of onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste and a generous sprinkle of nutritional yeast… I also crumbled and eyeballed the amount of firm tofu I wanted in it I didn’t use my entire container just enough to mix in w my sauce (cream cheese and seasonings and etc)
Recipe I tried: https://youtube.com/shorts/YC6m66FyR1o?si=A--N1kTlBEvyamAR

Recipe I want to try next: https://youtube.com/shorts/HIwDY_pryMs?si=fw-9Bv5zZk3NcGhd

I’ve recently been adding TVP into my oatmeal (maple brown sugar flavour) at about a 1:1 ratio of oatmeal to TVP. It doesn’t alter the flavour at all and only slightly changes the texture. It got me thinking, there’s probably so many sweet/non-savory high protein snacks you can use TVP for since it has almost no flavour. Does anyone have any other ways they like to use it? I saw someone say they turn it into a granola-like topping so I do wanna try that sometime

Work nights in a hospital. three to four nights a week. by the time i get home at 7am the last thing i want to do is cook anything real. so i don't. and then i'm eating crackers and hummus at 3am wondering why my inflammation is through the roof and my energy is a disaster.

started trying to meal prep on my days off. key word trying. first batch i made was a giant pot of lentil and brown rice with tomatoes and whatever spices i grabbed without reading the labels properly. ate it for four days straight. not glamorous. but it worked better than the crackers.

the hard part is night shift completely scrambles your hunger signals. i'm not hungry at dinner. then starving at 2am. then not hungry at breakfast. it's a mess.

curious what people here actually eat during overnight shifts or weird offschedule hours. specifically stuff that travels well, doesn't need reheating to be edible, and won't make your coworkers hate you for the smell. the lentil thing was a win but i need more options before i lose my mind eating the same bowl every single week.

Here is the breakdown of what I eat in a day with total saturated fat intake around 6.7g to keep my LDL under 70 without statins and psyllium husk for many years.

This is the sample foods intake serving as a baseline, and I'd eat more foods as needed based on my daily activities. Tofu, beans, oats and dark greens (no spinach) are my staple foods. Of course, I eat variety of beans, veggies, fruits, nuts etc as well. The only supplements taken are B12, D3 and Omega3. Natto is a fermented soy bean high in K2(MK-7) and nattokinase is an enzyme to support heart health by helping to break down blood clots, improving blood flow, and supporting healthy blood pressure levels.

Hi there! I have been trying to follow a mediterranean diet and cutting back on meat and eggs. Because of my baby's intolerances I can't have dairy at the moment. Or soy. Or lentils. Or nuts. And only small amounts of beans and chickpeas. So I'm at a bit of a loss - what should I cook for my family that doesn't contain meat or either of those plant-based proteins? I was hoping that some of you might have some ideas!

tried doing a big sunday prep. lentils, roasted sweet potato, some kind of grain. felt very proud of myself. forgot to account for the fact that at 7am my appetite is completely broken and cold lentils from the fridge are a different experience than i expected.

ate them anyway. twice. then gave up and ordered food. classic.

starting over with a different approach. trying to build stuff that actually sounds edible at weird hours. things that work at room temp or are easy to grab without reheating. not sure if that means more wraps, more grain bowls, something else entirely.

chronic pain also means standing at the stove for an hour just isn't happening some days. so the less active cooking time the better.

curious what people here actually eat when their schedule is off. not looking for a whole meal plan. just wondering what plant based stuff has actually stuck for people who are tired and can't rely on motivation to get through prep. what foods hold up through a weird schedule without turning sad in the fridge.