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Vegan Proteins: the 5 Most Important Sources

Vegan proteins can be found in many foods. But it’s not just the protein content that counts, but also the biological value. We show you the most important vegan protein sources and how to combine them.

Basically, as a vegetarian or vegan, you don’t have to be afraid of a protein deficiency as long as you eat a balanced diet. Because there are enough vegetable protein sources that automatically cover your needs with a varied diet. According to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), the daily requirement for an adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. For a person weighing 70 kilograms, this corresponds to 56 grams of protein.

Vegan proteins: The right combination is crucial

Compared to animal proteins, vegan proteins cannot be used by the body as easily because, in contrast to the body’s own proteins, they usually do not contain all nine essential amino acids in sufficient quantities. In the case of animal protein, on the other hand, the amino acid profile is complete – this is referred to as a high biological value. It is therefore important that you combine different vegan protein sources: Different vegan proteins contain different amino acids. Together they complete the amino acid profile.

Combinations of grain products (preferably whole grain) and legumes or nuts and seeds are ideal. For example, wholemeal bread with hummus, rice as an accompaniment to chilli sin carne or nut butter in muesli provide an optimal protein combination. It is completely sufficient if you consume the various protein sources spread over the day or several days. They do not have to be present together in one meal.

In the following we will introduce you to the most important vegan protein sources and their protein content. The information comes from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and relates to the protein contained per 100 grams of the food.

Vegan proteins from legumes

Soybeans: 36.7 g (dried)
Tempeh: 20 g
Tofu: 9-18g
Kidney beans: 23.7 g (dried)
Black beans: 22.9 g (dried)
Chickpeas: 10 g (dried)
Lentils: 25 g (dried)
Peas: 5.6 g (raw)
Lupine seeds: 36.2 g (raw)

Soybeans are particularly valuable as a vegan protein source because they contain all the essential amino acids. Soy protein is comparable to animal protein in terms of its biological value.

Beans and chickpeas are high in the essential amino acids lysine and threonine. Lentil and pea proteins also contain a lot of lysine. This makes them a good addition to cereal proteins, in which this amino acid is almost completely absent. The fiber and low fat content also make legumes a comparatively low-calorie source of protein.

Lupine protein contains all the essential amino acids and can be used by the body just as easily as soy protein. It is particularly rich in lysine and tryptophan, which are rarely found in grain. Lupine flour is therefore an ideal supplement to conventional types of flour. When baking, you can simply replace a small part of the flour with lupine flour.

Vegan protein source: nuts

Peanuts: 26.7 g
Almonds: 20 g
Pistachios: 20 g
Cashew nuts: 17.9 g

Nuts are an extremely healthy source of protein because they also provide many vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. The frontrunner is the peanut, which is actually not a nut at all, but one of the legumes. However, due to their high calorie content, you shouldn’t eat more than a handful a day. This means that nuts are not suitable for covering your basic protein needs, but they are a valuable supplement.

Seeds provide valuable vegan proteins

Hemp seeds: 33.3 g
Pumpkin seeds: 24.2 g
Sunflower seeds: 20 g
Sesame: 20 g
Flaxseed: 20 g
Seeds not only contain a lot of protein, they are also rich in vitamins and nutrients. Hemp seeds score with a complete amino acid profile, making them a high-quality source of protein. However, lysine is only found in small amounts, which reduces the protein value again. The hemp flour made from the seeds contains slightly less fat and is easier to digest.

Hemp seeds are also used to make hemp protein – a vegan protein powder that contains less fiber and healthy fats than seeds.

Vegan proteins from pseudo grains

Quinoa: 14.3 g (uncooked)
Amaranth: 13.33 g (uncooked)
Buckwheat: 12 g (uncooked)

Pseudo-cereals are an excellent gluten-free protein source that also provides other valuable nutrients. Unlike grain, amaranth contains a lot of lysine. In addition to grain, it is best to use pseudo-grain again and again – this way you improve the biological value of the proteins.

Cereals: staple food and vegan source of protein

Rolled oats: 12.5 g
Wholemeal spelled flour: 13.3 g
Wholemeal Wheat Flour: 12.9 g
Seitan: about 30 g (varies from product to product)
Rice: 8 g (uncooked)

It is often underestimated how much protein there is in staple foods such as pasta or bread. Since we usually consume large amounts of them, they make a decisive contribution to the protein supply. Although rice contains relatively little protein, this can be extracted through certain processes. This is how vegan protein powder is made from rice.

By the way: There is also protein in vegetables and mushrooms – for example 3.6 grams in mushrooms and around two to three grams in spinach and broccoli. That’s not a lot, but you can eat vegetables in much larger quantities than nuts. Vegetables also contribute to the protein supply.

Do vegans need protein powder?

Protein deficiency is quite rare in the western world and the protein requirement is usually covered with a balanced diet (regardless of whether it is purely plant-based or not). In fact, excess protein is more common than deficiency. In principle, protein powder is therefore not necessary for either a mixed diet or a purely plant-based diet. However, if you cannot cover your protein requirements through your diet for a specific reason – for example due to allergies or intolerances – vegan protein powders are a good help.

By the way: Spirulina algae are not suitable for increasing protein intake. The much-advertised superfood does have a large amount of easily digestible protein (about 60 percent). However, spirulina is sold as a dietary supplement and the recommended daily dose is only a few grams.

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Vegan Jackfruit Curry: Spicy, Quick, Healthy

The jackfruit curry is a healthy and vegan alternative to Indian meat dishes. We’ll tell you which spices are best and how to cook a delicious curry with just a few ingredients.

Jackfruit curry is the vegan version of classic curry dishes that contain meat. You only need a few ingredients for this simple dish. The fresh spices are particularly important, and it is best to grind them before cooking. They develop an intense aroma that gives the jackfruit curry an Asian touch.

Jackfruit: The exotic meat substitute

As the name suggests, the jackfruit curry is based on the tropical fruit jackfruit. Jackfruit has become increasingly popular with vegans and vegetarians in recent years. The consistency is meat-like and the pulp tastes neutral. Thus, jackfruit is used in a variety of dishes and national cuisines.

However, jackfruit is a tropical fruit with a poor ecological balance: it mainly grows in India and Bangladesh. The long transport routes to Europe significantly increase CO2 emissions and contribute to a high ecological footprint.

Therefore, when shopping for the jackfruit curry, make sure that the jackfruit is organically certified. The start-up company Jacky F. offers sustainably produced jackfruit. The organic manufacturers Govinda, Taiga Naturos and Lotao also have jackfruit products in their range. You can get Jackfriut in well-stocked health food stores or in Asian shops.

If possible, buy the remaining products from organic farming and from regional cultivation. This reduces transport routes and CO2 emissions. In addition, organic-certified labels such as Bioland, Naturland or Demeter do not use environmentally harmful chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Jackfruit Curry: An easy recipe

In this recipe we use canned jackfruit. This is quick to prepare and often easier to find in stores than fresh fruit.

Ingredients:

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of grenades
20 ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1 green chili pepper
2 onions
2 pieces of tomatoes
3 tablespoons coconut oil
250 g jackfruit
100 ml water
1 tablespoon date syrup
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Directions:

Place coriander seeds, cumin, and allspice seeds in a mortar and pestle. Paint the seeds until they crumble.
Peel the ginger and garlic.
Roughly chop the ginger, garlic, turmeric powder, and green chilli. Grind them together with the spice mixture in the mortar until you get a coarse paste.
Peel the onion, wash the tomatoes. Cut the onion into fine strips and the tomatoes into small cubes.
Heat the coconut oil in a large pan.
Sauté the onion in it for five minutes.
Add the spice mixture from the mortar and simmer over high heat for a minute.
Mix the tomatoes with the ingredients in the pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, drain the canned jackfruit and cut into small, bite-sized pieces as needed. Put the jackfruit in the pan.


Mix the ingredients with the water. Let the curry continue to cook for ten minutes over medium heat.
Refine the jackfruit curry with date syrup and garam masala.
Garnish the finished jackfruit curry with fresh coriander and serve.
Tip: Serve the delicious jackfruit curry with some naan bread or chapati (an Indian flatbread). Of course, the classic rice goes well as a side dish with the jackfruit stew.

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Pizza Marinara: Easy Vegan Recipe

Pizza Marinara is one of the most original pizza recipes. With just a few ingredients, the vegan pizza variant is quick and easy to prepare. We show you how to prepare pizza marinara.

The secret of this pizza lies in its simplicity. Pizza Marinara is the way of preparing one of the simplest pizzas from Naples. This recipe is traditionally prepared in Italian cuisine without cheese and is therefore suitable for vegans.

For the preparation, the fresh pizza dough is covered with tomato sauce, olive oil, oregano and garlic. When choosing your ingredients, make sure that they come from organic and regional cultivation.

The pizza tastes even better if you grow your own ingredients. You can easily plant garlic and oregano yourself, and tomatoes are also suitable for the balcony and garden.

Pizza Marinara: How to cook it

For this simple recipe you only need a rolling pin in addition to the ingredients. If you have problems with the dough, then read our article on yeast dough with valuable tips.

Ingredients:

250 g flour
125 ml warm water
0.5 pieces of yeast cubes
1 pinch(s) of salt
1 pinch(s) of sugar
125 ml tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pinch(s) fresh oregano, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Mix the flour with the warm water, yeast, and some salt and sugar in a large bowl.
Knead the flour mixture until you get an even mass. If necessary, add a little more water or flour if the dough is too wet or too dry.
Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 60 minutes.
After the dough has risen, dust your work surface with some flour.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius top/bottom heat. Preheating the oven is necessary here so that the pizza becomes crispy.
Roll out the dough evenly. Place the dough on your baking sheet without any toppings.
Spread the rolled out yeast dough with the tomato sauce.
Drizzle the pizza with olive oil, then sprinkle the chopped garlic and fresh oregano on top.
Bake the pizza in the oven for 10 minutes.

Tip: Every oven and every yeast dough is slightly different. Therefore the baking time can vary. If necessary, leave your pizza in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. It’s done when the edges turn a crispy brown color.

Pizza Marinara: Delicious variants

You can also spice up the pizza marinara with other ingredients. A few ideas for this are

Pizza Mediterranean: with zucchini, aubergine, and basil
Pizza Pesto: with fresh herbs and vegan pesto
Pizza Vegetariana: with corn, peppers, zucchini, and other fresh vegetables
Pizza Funghi: with mushrooms and oregano

Tip: Even with vegan pizza, you don’t have to do without cheese. After baking, sprinkle your pizza with a handful of yeast flakes or some vegan cheese.

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Vegan Substitute Products: You Can Make Them Yourself with These Recipes

Vegan substitute products can expand the plant-based kitchen and facilitate the switch to a vegan diet. With these recipes you can make soy milk, tofu, vegan cheese and more yourself.

The range of vegan substitute products is getting bigger and bigger – from classics such as plant-based milk alternatives and vegan cream to schnitzels that do not contain any meat or other animal products. Some of these substitutes have become so popular that they’ve found their way into vegetarian and flexitarian kitchens.

The vegan substitute products are no longer only available in health food stores and health food stores, but also in all supermarkets. You can also make the plant-based alternatives yourself at home: in many cases you only need a few ingredients. We will introduce you to various recipes for vegan substitute products.

Vegan substitute products: it’s worth making your own

Many people find vegan cuisine to be more creative and varied than conventional cuisine with milk, cheese and meat. The reason for this is, among other things, the large variety of vegan substitute products, thanks to which you do not have to do without your usual dishes. For example, you can replace cow’s milk with one of the many plant-based alternatives, such as soy, oat or almond milk. There are also good alternatives for yoghurt, cheese and various meat products.

Above all, the plant-based substitutes make it much easier to switch to a vegan diet. So you don’t have to do without the usual dishes such as pizza, gratinated casserole or rice pudding.

Most people buy pre-packaged vegan substitutes at the store. You can often make the plant-based alternatives yourself with little effort. This has several advantages:

Costs: Doing it yourself is usually much cheaper than buying it. A liter of homemade organic oat milk only costs around 20 to 30 cents. You pay at least 90 cents for it in a shop, which is easily three to four times as much.
Ingredients: Purchased vegan substitute products sometimes contain additives such as emulsifiers, preservatives or flavorings. By making the vegan foods yourself, you have full control over the ingredients.
Health: The “Albert Schweitzer Foundation for our environment” examined 250 meat alternatives in a study. Compared to animal products, these fared significantly better in terms of health and the environment. Nevertheless, the researchers criticized the mostly excessive salt content and unfavorable fatty acid profiles of the products. You can make homemade substitute products healthier – for example with less salt and linseed oil or rapeseed oil instead of sunflower oil.
Less waste: By making vegan substitute products yourself, you create less waste. You can buy the basic ingredients such as soybeans, oatmeal or walnuts in larger quantities and don’t have to buy new packaging every time. This means that homemade substitute products are also more environmentally friendly.

Make vegan milk substitutes yourself

Milk is not only popular in coffee, but also as an ingredient for many dishes such as rice pudding, pudding or béchamel sauce. Vegan cuisine knows more than just one milk alternative and has something to offer for every taste.

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Study: This is How Much Greenhouse Gas Vegans Save

Anyone who eats vegan does something for the climate – and not a little: An ecologist from Oxford University has calculated how much greenhouse gas a single vegan person saves each year. The amount corresponds to several flights.

The meat industry is one of the most polluting sectors of all – this has been known for a long time. Livestock breeding and animal husbandry cause high greenhouse gas emissions, and an extremely large amount of agricultural land is lost for animal feed and animal farms. No wonder, then, that a diet without meat, milk, eggs and other animal products is more sustainable.

How much the vegan lifestyle actually brings, however, may surprise many. In 2019, the ecologist Joseph Poore from the British Oxford University calculated for the Spiegel magazine how many greenhouse gases a vegan in Germany is responsible for per year.

Vegans save eight flights

According to Poore, every person in Europe produces an average of eleven tons of greenhouse gases every year. Anyone who lives vegan saves two tons every year, including 670 kilograms of CO2. According to Der Spiegel, two tons of greenhouse gases correspond to about eight economy class flights between London and Berlin.

In his calculation, Poore assumed, among other things, that the production of vegan food requires significantly less agricultural land. Plants and trees that bind carbon dioxide can grow on the area, which is free thanks to Veganer:innen.

It is worth giving up animal products

The British ecologist and his colleagues published a comprehensive study on the subject last year. For the analysis, the research team evaluated data from 40,000 farms in 119 countries. According to the study, giving up meat and dairy has the biggest impact on our carbon footprint.

Even the animal products that have the least impact on the environment still cause more environmental degradation than the most unsustainable vegetables and grains. (More details from the study here).

The current calculation of the greenhouse gas savings of vegans shows once again why it is worth eating fewer or no animal products. However, for those who are used to eating a lot of meat or dairy products, the transition can be difficult.

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Potato and Vegetable Pan: A Simple and Vegan Recipe

With a vegan potato and vegetable stir-fry, there is a delicious dish on the table at any time of the year. Depending on the season, you can add other local vegetables to the potatoes. Here you will find the recipe and inspiration for every season.

This autumnal and wintery potato and vegetable pan is quick to prepare. It does not contain any animal products – instead, legumes provide a portion of vegetable protein. If you don’t have chickpeas on hand, you can also use sweet lupins, kidney beans, kidney beans or lentils.

If possible, make sure to buy the ingredients for the potato and vegetable pan in organic quality. This is particularly important for potatoes, since conventional agriculture relies heavily on toxic chemicals in potato cultivation. By opting for organic ingredients instead, you can support more sustainable agriculture that does not use synthetic chemical pesticides that can harm the environment, animals and people. Seals such as Bioland, Naturland or Demeter offer you orientation when shopping.

Recipe for the potato and vegetable pan

Ingredients:

500 g potatoes
3carrots
250 g Brussels sprouts
3onions
2 clove(s) garlic
2 sprigs of thyme
2 tablespoons frying oil
150g jarred chickpeas
2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese or almond butter
salt and pepper

Directions:

Wash the potatoes and carrots that are as small as possible and rub them thoroughly with a kitchen towel if necessary. Wash the Brussels sprouts as well, removing any dry or brown leaves.
Halve the potatoes, thinly slice the carrots and halve the Brussels sprouts.
Peel the onion and the garlic cloves. Quarter the onions and finely chop the garlic.
Wash the thyme and shake dry. Pluck the leaves from the branch and roughly chop them.
Bring salted water to a boil in a saucepan. Cook the potatoes in it for about ten minutes and then drain them.
Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the onions and garlic in it until translucent. Then add the remaining vegetables and the pre-cooked potatoes. Fry everything for about five minutes.
Now add the thyme leaves and the drained chickpeas. Sauté everything for another three minutes.
Finally stir in the vegan cream cheese or almond butter and season the potato and vegetable pan with salt and pepper.

This is how you prepare the potato and vegetable pan seasonally and regionally

You can get regional potatoes all year round. Potatoes from local cultivation are available as stock from November to May, and fresh from the field from June to October.

Together with other seasonal vegetables, you can use them to prepare a delicious vegan potato and vegetable pan that is suitable for every season:

Combine the potatoes with asparagus and kohlrabi in spring, for example.
In summer you can use peppers, tomatoes and zucchini for a Mediterranean potato and vegetable pan.
When autumn comes, mushrooms and squash go well with potatoes.
Winter is when root and tuber vegetables like beets, parsnips and parsley root are in season.

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Vegan Chop Suey: Recipe with Lots of Vegetables

Chop suey is also vegan and a delicious classic of Chinese cuisine. We’ll show you how to prepare the dish without any animal products.

The best way to prepare vegan chop suey is in a wok. Alternatively, you can replace this with a large pot. The chop suey sauce gets its spiciness and intense aroma primarily from the thickened soy sauce. Ginger, garlic and the hot paste Sambal Oelek are also used in our recipe.

Since the vegan chop suey consists almost entirely of vegetables, you need the most time for cutting during preparation. So if you don’t have the time, you can prepare the vegetables the day before. The mixing, cooking and seasoning of the ingredients is then relatively quick.

Make sure the vegetables are organic if possible. This is not only better for the environment, but also for you. No harmful chemical-synthetic pesticides are used in organic farming.

For your chop suey you also need vegetable broth. You can prepare these yourself.

Vegan Chop Suey: An easy recipe

Ingredients:

3onions
4 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
2Chicory
2peppers
2carrots
2 clove(s) garlic
200 g green beans
10 ginger
120 mlsoy sauce
400 ml vegetable broth
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek
3 tablespoons starch
400 gbean sprouts

Directions:

First cut the onions into small pieces. Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a wok and fry the onion together with the tomato paste.
Then wash the chicory, cut it into small pieces and fry it in a separate pan with 2 tablespoons of oil.
Now cut the peppers and carrots into small pieces and chop the garlic into fine pieces.
Add the garlic and chicory to the sautéed onions.
Then fry the carrots, peppers and beans in the pan with the remaining sesame oil. Put everything in the wok or large pot.
Mix the cornstarch with some water in a small bowl. Now cut the ginger into small pieces and add it to the chop suey together with the soy sauce, the vegetable stock, the sambal oelek and the cornstarch.
Let the whole thing simmer for a moment and then add the bean sprouts. Chop suey tastes particularly delicious with fried noodles or rice.

This is a particularly good way to make vegan chop suey

If you want to prepare the vegan chop suey with noodles, you can find the typical Asian fried noodles in the supermarket. However, these are often prepared with egg.

You can also vary the ingredients according to the season and regional availability.

For example, you can replace chicory with white cabbage when the cabbage is in season.
Depending on your taste, you can also use other vegetables for your chop suey. For example, broccoli or leeks go very well with it.
In the Utopia seasonal calendar you can check when is the best time for which vegetables: Seasonal calendar for vegetables and fruit: Think Global, Eat Local!
Classic chop suey usually comes with chicken, shrimp, or pork. Just as delicious, much more environmentally friendly and cruelty-free, the chop suey works with tofu, soy strips, kidney beans or mushrooms instead.

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Creamy Cauliflower Curry: An Easy, Vegan Recipe

A cauliflower curry is prepared in no time at all and warms from the inside during the cold months. Find out here how to prepare the hearty vegan dish.

Curries are hearty dishes of Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisine and consist of vegetables such as cauliflower, potatoes, eggplant and zucchini with a spicy sauce and sometimes extra ingredients such as fish, meat or dairy products.

The spices are of particular importance in a curry. By default, the following are used:

  • cardamom
  • Ginger
  • coriander
  • turmeric
  • mustard seeds
  • cumin

Below we show you the recipe for a vegan cauliflower curry. The recipe is quick and easy.

Important: If possible, buy your ingredients for the curry with an organic seal to avoid chemical-synthetic pesticides. Also read, for example: Buying organic spices: the most important brands and online shops. Depending on the season, you can also buy the vegetables unpackaged at the weekly market.

Vegan Cauliflower Curry: A quick recipe

Ingredients:

1cauliflower
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
400 ml vegetable broth
400 ml coconut milk
4 tsp paprika powder
2 tbsp curry powder
salt and pepper
200 peas, TK

Directions:

Wash the cauliflower and divide it into small florets.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic cloves. Heat some oil in a large pan and sweat both in it.
Add the cauliflower to the pan and sauté for a few minutes.
Deglaze the vegetables with the vegetable broth and coconut milk.
Let the curry simmer for about 20 minutes.
Season with paprika and curry powder and salt and pepper.
Add the peas to the curry and simmer for another ten minutes. When the sauce in the curry gets thicker and creamier, it’s done.

Cauliflower curry: tips for modification

You can vary the cauliflower curry according to your preferences. For example, if you don’t like peas, you can just leave them out. If desired, you can add a few chickpeas instead, for example. You can also combine the cauliflower curry with potatoes or sweet potatoes. You simply cut them into small, bite-sized pieces and let them simmer right from the start. And you also have a free hand with the spices: try out chilli powder, fresh coriander or oregano, for example.

Tip: Due to its richness, you can serve the curry as an independent main course. If you want, you can also eat rice or naan bread with it.

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Vegan Food Pyramid: How to Eat Healthy

The vegan food pyramid helps vegans eat a balanced diet. In this way, even with a plant-based diet, they receive all the important nutrients and can prevent deficiencies. You can find out exactly how the pyramid is built here.

What are food pyramids?

A food pyramid represents nutritional recommendations in the form of a pyramid: the broad basis is formed by foods that you should eat a lot of. The foods at the top, on the other hand, should only be eaten in small amounts. In this way, the food pyramid aims to make it easier for you to recognize how you are eating healthily. When evaluating and classifying the individual foods, a low energy density and a high nutrient density are usually in the foreground.

The classic food pyramid contains meat, eggs and dairy products. For people who eat no meat, there is also a vegetarian or vegan food pyramid.

The vegan food pyramid: what makes it special

The vegan food pyramid is intended to be an orientation for vegans who want to eat a balanced diet. Because especially people who eat plant-based food must ensure that the body is supplied with sufficient nutrients. In this way, they can prevent nutrition-related diseases or deficiency symptoms.

For example, Peta provides such a vegan food pyramid with six building blocks. It shows what a balanced, purely plant-based diet looks like that supplies the body with all the important nutrients.

The bottom three elements of the vegan and traditional pyramids are almost identical:

they consist of

1. liquid,

2. fruits and vegetables,

3. as well as grain and potatoes.

In the upper sections of the vegan food pyramid, however, all animal foods are missing. The upper sections consist of

4. protein products as well as nuts and seeds,

5. Oils, fats and salt,

6. Sweets, kibble and alcohol.

The vegan food pyramid replaces animal protein sources with legumes, nuts and seeds. Fats do not come in the form of dairy products or eggs, but in the form of natural oils or spreadable vegetable fats.

The vegan food pyramid put into practice

In everyday life, the vegan food pyramid should serve as a practical guide: It shows you which foods and in what quantities are part of a balanced plant-based diet. Peta indicates the quantities in portions. A serving is roughly the amount that fits in one hand (e.g. an apple, a slice of bread, a glass of water). For small fruits, grains, or salads, a serving is the amount that fits in both hands when formed into a bowl.

It is up to you to put together the meals according to the recommendations. So you can choose what you eat, when and how according to your personal taste, habits and individual energy needs.

Level 1 (Base): Drinks

Sufficient fluid intake is the basis (not only) of a vegan diet.
You should drink one to two liters of water a day. That’s about six servings. You can also replace some of it with other non-alcoholic, low-calorie drinks such as teas or heavily diluted juice spritzers.
You can also drink liquid as coffee or black tea. Don’t drink more than four small cups a day, though.
For bottled water, Peta recommends high-calcium varieties (containing over 400 milligrams of calcium per liter). But note: In Germany, the drinking water is of very good quality. So you don’t have to use bottled water.

Level 2: Vegetables and fruits

You should eat three servings of vegetables (about 400 grams) and two servings of fruit (about 300 grams) a day.
Vegetables and fruit form an important basis because, despite their low energy content, they fill you up well and provide the body with important vitamins, minerals, fiber and secondary plant substances.
Dried fruit can also be on the menu from time to time and can replace a portion of fresh fruit. Note, however, that dried fruit contains a lot of sugar. So don’t take too much of it.
If possible, you should buy fruit and vegetables that are seasonal, organic and regional: They are always fresh, have not been treated with chemical-synthetic pesticides and do not have to travel long distances to be transported, which would result in emissions that are harmful to the climate.

Level 3: grain and potatoes

Cereals, rice, pseudocereals such as quinoa or buckwheat and potatoes should be part of two to three meals a day. That’s about four servings.
Whole grain products are particularly recommended because they provide many minerals, vitamins, complex carbohydrates and fiber. That’s why they fill you up for a long time.
Cereals are also an important source of vegetable protein.
Breakfast cereals, granola mixes and granola bars do not belong in this category. They are often heavily sugared and contain a lot of fat. Although they are made from grain, they are considered more of a candy.
You should also not eat potato products with a high fat content such as fries every day and not in large quantities.

Level 4: Protein products, nuts and seeds

Many people worry about whether plant-based foods can provide them with enough protein. But if you stick to the recommendation of the vegan food pyramid, that shouldn’t be a problem.
The pyramid stipulates that legumes should be eaten several times a week or even daily, as they are good sources of protein. You can consume three servings of unprocessed legumes (beans, peas, lentils) or slightly processed soy products (tofu, tempeh, soy milk, plant-based yoghurt) per day.
More processed meat alternatives made from seitan, lupine protein or tofu should be on the menu no more than once or twice a week.
Nuts and seeds (and the muse made from them) are also valuable sources of protein and also provide vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. However, they also have a high energy content, i.e. many calories. Therefore, eat no more than 30 to 60 grams of it per day.

Level 5: oils, fats, salt

Level 5 contains foods that you should only eat in small amounts on a daily basis.
You should consume around two to four tablespoons of fats (e.g. spreadable fat), oils and vegetable cooking cream a day. Give priority to natural oils that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. flaxseed, canola and walnut oils).
Iodized table salt is used as the source of iodine.

Level 6: Sweets, salty munchies, alcohol

This category includes, for example, chips, chocolate, sweets or wine. You should eat these foods as seldom as possible, in small amounts and consciously. They are often high in salt, sugar and fat.
Eat a maximum of one serving per day.

Vegan food pyramid: It doesn’t show that

What Peta’s vegan food pyramid doesn’t reflect are dietary supplements. If you follow their nutritional recommendations, you should be able to prevent deficiency symptoms. Nevertheless, Peta and also Netdoktor advise adding certain supplements to the recommendations.

It is difficult to obtain some vitamins and trace elements from plant-based foods. You should therefore take these with dietary supplements if necessary. These substances include:

Vitamin D
iron
iodine
Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 cannot be obtained from a purely plant-based diet. The vitamin is only found in animal products. Therefore, you must definitely take vitamin B12 in addition to the recommendations of the vegan food pyramid.

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One Basic Dough, 3 Different Cakes: Vegan and Delicious

Simple cakes succeed with ingredients that everyone has and are quickly prepared. We will show you how you can bake three vegan cake variations from a basic recipe.

Many cake recipes contain ingredients that you have to buy first and don’t have in the kitchen cupboard. If it has to be done quickly, this is usually impractical. Here we present three vegan cakes with ingredients that everyone has at home. So you can start baking right away.

Tip: Even if you probably don’t have to go shopping for these recipes – look out for ingredients with a meaningful organic seal the next time you go shopping. For example, the Bioland or Naturland seals stand for high standards. With imported goods, you should also rely on fair trade products. In this way you support climate-friendly cultivation methods on the one hand and fair wages for smallholders in other countries on the other.

Simple cake with ingredients that everyone has

Ingredients:

300 grams of flour
100 grams of sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 packet(s) of vanilla sugar
1 pinch(s) of salt
120 ml vegetable oil
200 ml liquid

Directions:

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them together.
Then add the oil and liquid. In this step you mix in other ingredients in the individual variations if necessary. The type of liquid also varies in different cake recipes.
Mix all the ingredients to a smooth batter and pour it into a cake pan. Bake the cake at 160 degrees Celsius for about an hour. A loaf pan works best. For a Gugelhupf you would have to make 1.5 times the recipe so that the form is optimally filled.

Cake variation 1: cinnamon and cardamom

Kanelbullar is what cinnamon rolls are called in Sweden and are made from yeast dough. Cinnamon and cardamom are added to the dough and provide the typical taste. Preparing yeast dough usually takes a long time because of the resting time and can go wrong. The sponge cake alternative, on the other hand, is very simple and tastes similar.

In addition to the basic recipe, you will also need the following ingredients:

1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
You can use plant-based milk as the liquid. It doesn’t matter whether you choose oat, almond or soy milk.

You can either put the finished batter in a cake pan or in muffin cases. Muffins don’t take that long in the oven, so you can take them out after 20-30 minutes.

Cake variation 2: coffee and cocoa

You always have coffee and cocoa at home. Not only drinks can be prepared from it, but also a vegan cake.

You have to change and supplement the basic recipe as follows:

You only need 250 grams of flour instead of 300 grams
Divide the 200 milliliters into: 100 milliliters of coffee and 100 milliliters of plant-based milk.
In the second step of the basic recipe, you add two tablespoons of cocoa and one tablespoon of sugar.
When buying coffee and cocoa, pay particular attention to fair trade and organically certified products. In conventional agriculture, the ecosystem suffers and smallholders often work under poor conditions.

Cake variation 3: banana with chocolate sprinkles

You can make the ingredients for the third variation of the basic recipe yourself if you don’t have them at home. You can make grated chocolate by chopping leftover chocolate or grating it with a Parmesan grater. You can also make the banana juice yourself.

In addition to the basic recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

50 grams of grated chocolate
200 milliliters of banana juice as a liquid

Tips: How to use up cake leftovers

A whole cake can sometimes be too much. But that’s not a problem: you have many options for using the leftovers instead of throwing them away.

You can use cake leftovers in the form of rum balls or desserts, for example.
Alternatively, you can freeze the cake. It’s quick and makes it durable. With pieces of cake in the freezer, you can also defrost a piece spontaneously and don’t always have to bake a whole cake right away.
Cake pops are cakes on a stick. You can also use leftover cake for this.

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