3 Excellent Food Choices for Vegetarians and Non-Vegetarians

We are presenting three excellent, delicious, and healthy foods for our vegetarian and non-vegetarian followers alike. They are related to the more organic types and we are sure you would find them all the more worthy of your daily dietary requirements.

Besides here’s one crucial point that we’d like to make: they are all very high on proteins and vitamins, and if you are looking for something along the view, this article would suit you well.

Here we go!

For Vegetarians: Tempeh and Tofu

Tempeh

Tempeh is an Indonesian soybean product with a dry brownish texture. It is equally good on nutritional characteristics and textural qualities and comes in different flavors too. Some of these flavors are soy, soy-flax 3 grain, and they all are rich in dietary fibers, proteins, and vitamins.

It is prepared using a simple process. Soybean is soaked till it gets tender and then the beans are dehulled, partially cooked, and pressed in a layered cake form. Tempeh is an excellent food product to support overall digestive health. It is rich in fiber and antibiotics, regulates blood sugar levels, and is ideal for individuals on low sodium diets.

Tofu

Tofu is a soybean product with a Chinese origin with a wet texture. It is made from the beans processed with any soy milk product. Tofu, in its simplest form, can also be explained as the curd of soy milk pressed in flat patty-shaped bricks.

The soybean product is full of calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin E, and is cholesterol-free, besides being low on fat and calories too. Tofu contains soy flavones, which can stimulate human estrogens and can also have either beneficial or harmful effects when consumed in sufficient quantities.

Basic Comparison

Tempeh is brown in color, dry in texture, and requires time to absorb the flavors whereas tofu white in color, extremely soft and porous and can absorb flavors quickly.

Nutritional Comparison

Both the products are high in proteins and calories, but tempeh contains more of them than tofu. Along with this, in half a cup of tempeh, there is 3.5g fiber and only 0.5g in the same quantity of tofu.

Which one to choose?

Some of the major differences between these two products are highlighted as under: -

1. Tempeh is a whole soybean product and offers a high amount of fiber, protein, and vitamin content. It is a better and healthier choice because it is less processed than tofu.

2. Tempeh is a safer choice as the process involved in producing the tofu requires the addition of coagulants.

3. Tempeh, when compared to tofu, has a higher amount of proteins and the process utilized for producing it is better and healthier than the tofu.

Thus, it is clear that both tempeh and tofu are the excellent soybean products, both are healthy and rich sources of protein, but tempeh wins the race by a small margin. It is thus considered to be a better choice for people looking for healthier choices.

For Non-Vegetarians: Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef

You are what you eat! What’s interesting is that this applies to cows as well. Most of us have been forced into believing that meat is meat, regardless of the quality. Recent research shows that grass-fed beef is far superior to grain-fed beef in terms of its nutrient content. The difference comes in how they are raised.

Grain-fed cows are force-fed grains and are kept in closely packed environments with other cows. Grass-fed cows are allowed to consume grass freely in large areas- they are happier and their meat is incredibly nutritious. Recent research also indicates that red meat, whether grass-fed or grain-fed is not a source of heart disease. Phew!

Here’s how grass-fed meat trumps the conventional grain-fed variety:

Higher in Good Fats

Grass-fed beef has up to 4 times the Omega-3 fatty acids as compared to that in the regular grain-fed beef. Additionally, the saturated fatty acid composition varies between both types of meat too. Red meat is composed of three different saturated fatty acids: Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, and Palmitic Acid.

Research shows that stearic acid does not raise blood cholesterol levels and the good news is, grass-fed has higher levels of it. This also means that the potentially cholesterol-inducing Palmitic acid and Myristic acid proportions are lower in grass-fed meat.

Higher in Vitamins and Minerals

Grass-fed meat has a higher composition of the following minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants:

Carotenoids

Carotenoids give fat its yellowish hue. You’ll notice this while cooking grass-fed meat. Carotenoids are precursors to Vitamin A found in green plants and orange and yellow vegetables.

B-Vitamins

Various forms of vitamin B are required for almost every function in the human body, including cognitive function, heart health, muscle health, and fertility.

Vitamin D

Red meat is rich in bioavailable vitamin D which has a greater impact on our blood levels compared to vitamin D in dairy and synthetic varieties.

Iron

We aren’t strangers to the fact that red meat is among the highest sources of iron. Iron is especially important for pregnant women and people with iron-deficiency anemia.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 Balance

Most of us have become buddies with these, often labeled as good fats and better known as polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, it’s important to have a balanced diet that with Omega 3s balancing out the Omega 6s to decrease the risk of many chronic illnesses.

The reason is that omega 6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory, while omega-3s are anti-inflammatory so the goal is to consume more of the latter. The good news for those who can’t afford grain-fed beef is that any type of red meat will have consistent Omega-6 fatty acid levels. However, as mentioned earlier, grass-fed has a league of its own because it is much higher in omega 3 fatty acids.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid

Conjugated linoleic acid is another type of polyunsaturated fatty acid that is found naturally in meat and milk products. Conjugated linoleic acid has powerful antioxidant properties, which makes it highly protective against chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Grass-fed beef, on average, possesses 2 to 3 times more conjugated linoleic acid than its grain-fed counterpart.

Summing It Up

Tempeh, tofu, and grass-fed beef make three excellent choices and you may take your pick among them as per your food preferences. These three superfoods are high on proteins, vitamins, and offer a much better value for money than usual food products in their respective categories.

Secondly, these are kind of new and unique products that would always offer you a new “zing” to get started with a better fitness regime any day!