With plant-based foods coming more and more into focus, you might be wondering why it’s so beneficial to consider incorporating more vegan food into your diet. There are a lot of benefits to doing this, from reducing risks of disease to benefiting the environment. One of the best ways to reduce your overall carbon footprint is to reduce your meat intake— help conserve water while protecting important habitats and species in one delicious bite!

There are benefits to your body and the environment when you go plant-based for even a single meal! According to the United Nations, if you eat just one plant-based meal a day for a year, you’ll save almost 200,000 gallons of water (umm, that’s the equivalent of 11,400 showers!) and the pollution equivalent to about 3,000 miles driven in your car (buckle up— that’s about LA to NYC). And, if everyone in the great US of A reduced their meat and dairy intake by just 50 percent, it would be equal to taking 26 million cars off the road.

Here are three reasons why adding vegan and vegetarian dishes in your diet is a smart choice for 2020:

 

Eating plant-based is better for your body

The main thing is, incorporating more vegetarian and vegan food into your diet has a host of benefits for your body. It keeps your heart healthy, your bones stronger, and it can serve as protection against certain kinds of chronic illnesses such as diabetes or hypertension.

While vegan and vegetarian food isn’t a silver bullet against these things, it helps reduce the chances while helping you lead a healthier lifestyle overall. There is a lot of research emerging that shows how adding more plants to your diet overall can help improve your overall health and wellbeing.

Tennis legend Venus Williams, endurance runner Scott Jurek, powerlifter Patrik Baboumian, NFL wide receiver Andre Patton, and other elite athletes have chosen a plant-based vegan diet to guarantee top performance and recovery in their chosen fields.

Eating plant-based helps you become more aware of what you’re eating

Many people note that adding more vegan and vegetarian food to their diet naturally brings about a sense of mindfulness and discipline to their daily routines. While this may not sound exciting, becoming more aware of what you’re eating and where it came from can you more connected to your food overall and want to carry that awareness to other areas of your life.

At ReThink Food & Drink, we have are creative with our vegan and vegetarian dishes to bring together the nutrients you crave with the flavors you really want. Being picky about only using the very best ingredients makes us think outside the box. Some of our dishes (such as Tofu “chick-un” or the Buffalo BLT) are all about retaining the classic flavor profiles we’ve always loved but playing with new ingredients that better serve our bodies and the environment.

 

A plant-based diet is good for the planet

A study from the journal Nature reports that as a result of population growth and the continued consumption of Western diets high in red meats and processed foods, the environmental pressures of the food system could increase by up to 90% by 2050, “exceeding key planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity beyond which Earth’s vital ecosystems could become unstable.”

For context, beef is more than 100 times as emissions-intensive as legumes. This is because a cow needs so much feed, often from grains, to grow body weight, and that feed will have required water, land and fertilizer to grow.

So while recycling is wonderful, and we love when customers bring in their reusable mugs for their afternoon lattes, choosing a plant-based meal is truly taking a big step in going green.

It’s just good!

Ultimately, adding more plant-based food to your diet can help bring a sense of variety and fun, and perhaps spark your creativity to create and enjoy vegan or vegetarian food when you go out that’s healthy, fresh, and fun.

There are a lot of benefits to incorporating more plants into your diet, but it is also important to ensure you’re getting the right nutrients and maintaining a balanced diet. It’s about eating well, so whether you’re treating yourself to one of our Simply Shiva salads, one of our gluten-free and vegan desserts, or making a simple meal at home, aim for something that tastes good and makes your body feel good!

 

 

 

“Great food, great smoothies, great staff!

They have tons of quick vegan options a a wide selection of smoothies to suit any person. I always feel so great after eating the healthy options they offer. Cody, one of the baristas, was one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve met when it comes to the health properties of the shots and add ins, and was so helpful! Cute decor too, it’s a comfortable and quiet place to study or get some work done.” — Olivia W. on Yelp ????