Does the NHS recommend a vegan diet AND can you follow a vegan diet if you're pregnant?

Pregnancy

As for being pregnant; this is a precious and often emotional period of time for mums-to-be, so I wouldn't feel comfortable telling anyone that they should be vegan whilst being pregnant. BUT this is only because I haven't done it myself! Thus how could I say it with conviction? This video has solved that for me; because there's a healthy mum-to-be who talks about how great she feels being vegan during her pregnancy, as well as, how she feels after the birth of the baby.

Vegan pregnancy

The video covers 2 main things. You'll meet someone who's worked for the NHS for over 15 years who recommends a vegan diet to those who have health issues and you'll hear from a mum who was vegan whilst she was pregnant.

Whilst watching the video, can you spot any information that helps you answer the following questions?

1. Which three conditions do vegans suffer from LESS?

2. Do vegans need to worry about Calcium or B12 intake?

3. Is Vitamin D something that only vegans need?

4. Can mums-to-be remain on a vegan diet without putting their unborn child/children at risk?

5. What about infants? Will they get what they need on a vegan diet?

6. Does being vegan help babies suffer less?

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle

• eating delicious food

• consuming healthy food

• tackling the ethics behind making this shift

• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society. Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

"I think and speak clearer since I cut the dairy out. I can breathe better and perform at a better rate, and my voice is clearer. I can explore different things with my voice that I couldn't do because of my meat and dairy ingestion." Common (hip-hop musician)

Related content

A nutritionist's guide to going vegan 
Meet the family doctor who went vegan
FAQs about going vegan
How to enjoy a healthy vegan pregnancy
Generation V: Advice on raising vegan children
Top 8 questions asked of vegan parents and how to answer them
Which vegan milk or vegan baby formula is right for my child?

Recipe: Cheese on toast with pesto within 10 minutes

Here's another quick recipe for something warm, quick, filling and tasty.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan cheese on toast with pesto

• 4 slices of brown bread - I use Hovis because I know it doesn't have any non-vegan ingredients
• About 10 strips of sliced vegan cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack style
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 fresh chillies
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vegan pesto

How to make vegan cheese on toast with pesto

1. Put some slices of bread under the grill for a few minutes
2. When they're a little cooked i.e. not anywhere near fully toasted, spread the pesto on the toast
3. After about 30 seconds, add the of cheese
4. Chop the tomatoes and add it to the toast when the cheese has begun to melt
5. Add the chopped chillies when the tomatoes have cooked a little
6. Add salt and pepper to taste

Meet a vegan fire-fighter, runner & Marathon winner

Most things, are exposed to accurate and inaccurate commonly held beliefs, misrepresentations, myths and assumptions. Following a plant-based diet it not excluded from this.

Some of the myths, assumptions and common beliefs about vegans

• Vegan food is healthy
• Vegans are healthy
• Vegans look pale and undernourished
• Vegans can't grow their nails
• Vegans don't get what they need through their diet and must take supplements
• Vegans don't have the stamina to do physical activities that others do

Vegan myths debunked

• You can get unhealthy vegan food
• Not all vegans are healthy
• There is a term called junk food vegan, so that wouldn't be healthy
• I don't know any vegan who looks pale and undernourished
• I like long nails and they grow just fine
• I know of many people who take supplements and they are not exclusive to those who follow a vegan diet
• I know people who follow a vegan diet and don't take any supplements and they are happy and healthy
• The myth about stamina is addressed in the clip below

This footage shows that there's no cap on what vegans can do! Do you know many people who can do the 5 things shown below AND more? Well...Fiona Oakes has done and continues to do all of these and more! :)

1. A fire-fighter
2. On call 24/7
3. Runner
4. Marathon winner
5. Ran 22 marathons

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle
• eating delicious food
• consuming healthy food
• tackling the ethics behind making this shift
• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

“People eat meat and think they will become as strong as an ox, forgetting that the ox eats grass." Pino Caruso

Recipe: Pizza on toast within 10 minutes

Fancy something warm, quick, filling and tasty? How about this cheese on toast with a few extra ingredients?

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan cheese on toast

• 4 slices of brown bread - I use Hovis because I know it doesn't have any non-vegan ingredients
• About 10 strips of sliced vegan cheese - I used Cheezly Pepperjack style
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 fresh chillies
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make vegan cheese on toast

1. Put the bread under the grill for a few minutes 
2. When they're a little cooked i.e. not anywhere near fully toasted, add the cheese
3. Chop the tomatoes and add when the cheese has begun to melt
4. Scatter the chopped chillies when the tomatoes have cooked a little
5. Add salt and pepper to taste

Proof that vegans can eat a WIDE range of interesting foods in MANY cuisines

I've heard people talk about the commonly held belief that vegetarians have a boring diet. I've heard them say that the mainstream view is, vegetarian meals are based on rice and chick peas. I've even read posts about it! I'm not sure why, but I haven't been part of such a conversation before, so I only know of it happening through others. Now, you can imagine the thoughts that arise about a vegan diet! When I've told people that I follow a vegan diet, I've often been asked 'What can you eat?' and I must admit; I've been pants at answering that, because I was so astonished that they thought I was so limited in what I can eat. I love food and if I had to eat the same things over and over again, I would not be very happy! This video says it better than I could, so have a watch. :) If you're up for it, keep these questions in mind as you watch the video.

1. Do vegans deny themselves pleasurable experiences when eating?

2. Can vegans only eat a few cuisines?

3. Would vegetarians or meat eaters ever find vegan food interesting?

The Head Chef of Saf briefly discusses his transformation to adopting a plant-based diet overnight. He mentions the benefits and says that he'd never go back!

More about this film...

The entire film lasts 30 minutes. It explores the benefits of being vegan. Some of these are: -

• an exciting lifestyle

• eating delicious food

• consuming healthy food

• tackling the ethics behind making this shift

• global challenges that we face now and in the future.

It was produced by The Vegan Society.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

"I've found without question that the best way to lead others to a more plant-based diet is by example - to lead with your fork, not your mouth." Bernie Wilke

Recipe: A healthy vegan snack that's ready to eat within 5 minutes

If you want a quick, filling, easy to make, healthy snack; try this.

Ingredients

• Sesame Ryvita
• Peanut butter
• 1 banana

Method

1. Get some crackers
2. Spread some Peanut Butter on the crackers - do this carefully or the crackers may break
3. Slice a banana in half and then create further slices along the length of the banana
4. Place the slices of banana on the peanut butter and you're ready to munch away

Different ways to serve this snack

Ryvita with peanut butter and thin slices of banana

DIY Ryvita with peanut butter and thin slices of banana

Recipe: Vegan sausages on a bed of salad made within 15 minutes

This is a yummy quick meal that includes a mixture of hot and 'cooler' items.

With this dish, I made it so that there was more salad than sausage.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1/2 a small lettuce
• 2 or 3 large handfuls of Wild Peppery Rocket
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 a cucumber
• About 200g of bean sprouts
• 2 vegan sausages
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Wash, drain and chop some lettuce 
2. Lay the lettuce on a plate
3. Add some rocket
4. Scatter some cherry tomatoes on top
5. Add some sliced cucumber
6. Sprinkle some bean sprouts
7. Lightly cook the vegan sausages in a pan
8. Chop them into suitable pieces and add them to the salad
9. Add salt and pepper to taste

Recipe: Quinoa served with tofu and broccoli cooked in soya sauce

This recipe makes a quick, simple and delicious dish. Whenever I make dishes with for example, quinoa, pasta, cous cous, I load it up with vegetables. I find this lighter on the tummy, healthier and feel more content afterwards.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of quinoa
• Salt
• About 150g of Tofu
• 1/2 a small broccoli
• Coconut oil
• Soy Sauce

How to make the quinoa

1. Measure the dry quinoa
2. The proportion of dry quinoa to cooked quinoa is about 1:3, so 1 cup of dried quinoa will make about 3 cups of cooked quinoa
3. Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain - it’s handy to use a fine mesh sieve for rinsing it
4. Put the rinsed quinoa into a saucepan and add cold water - the quinoa to water ratio is 1:2, so use 2 cups of water for every cup of quinoa
5. If you wish to give it a subtle flavour, add some vegetable stock to the water
6. Add a little salt
7. Cover and boil
8. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down and put the lid over the pan so that's it isn't fully covering it - this will stop it boiling over
9. Simmer for 15-20 minutes - the quinoa becomes transparent when it’s cooked, except for a little spiral sprout
10. If the quinoa is tender but there’s excess water in the bottom of the saucepan, leave the lid off completely for a few minutes until the water evaporates
11. When it's done turn off the heat, put the lid on and let sit for about 5 minutes
12. Use a fork to fluff up the quinoa and then serve it up

How to make the vegetable part of this dish

1. Chop some Tofu
2. Chop some broccoli
3. Put a bit of oil in a wok
4. Add the broccoli first
5. Add some soya sauce
6. Let it cook with the lid on using a medium/high heat
7. Add the Tofu when the broccoli  is half done
8. Mix and add to the plate of quinoa

Can you use this chart to help others understand what you eat better?

Have you ever got frustrated with others not understanding what you can/can't/will/won't eat?

I recall someone telling me she was vegetarian but she ate fish. She is actually categorised as a Pescetarian!

I remember another person saying he was vegetarian but ate chicken. He is actually a Pollo vegetarian.

Then there are those who have said they're vegan but they eat meat, fish, honey, eggs etc. The only thing they have excluded from their diet is dairy. This group of people would fall under the dairy-free category.

A friend of mine created this after being repeatedly asked if he would eat fish after he told them he followed a vegan diet.

I hope it can help you in some way.

Vegan Information Sheet by Heena R Modi

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"I became a vegan the day I watched a video of a calf being born on a factory farm. The baby was dragged away from his mother before he hit the ground. The helpless calf strained its head backwards to find his mother. The mother bolted after her son and exploded into a rage when the rancher slammed the gate on her. She wailed the saddest noise I’d ever heard an animal make, and then thrashed and ...dug into the ground, burying her face in the muddy placenta. I had no idea what was happening respecting brain chemistry, animal instinct, or whatever. I just knew that this was deeply wrong. I just knew that such suffering could never be worth the taste of milk and veal. I empathized with the cow and the calf and, in so doing, my life changed."
James McWilliams