It Doesn't Get Easier Than These 50 Whole Food Plant-Based Recipes with 5 Ingredients or Less (2024)

FAQs

What is wrong with food with more than 5 ingredients? ›

“Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients. The specific number you adopt is arbitrary, but the more ingredients in a packaged food, the more highly processed it probably is. Note 1: A long list of ingredients in a recipe is not the same thing; that's fine.

While a well-balanced plant-based diet can provide a wide range of nutrients, certain essential nutrients are more abundant in animal-derived foods. Plant-based diets can sometimes lead to nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Real food basically means anything not highly processed (like artificial additives) and containing only five or fewer whole ingredients. It means mostly avoiding ingredients you would not cook with at home.

Stick to the 5 ingredient rule: Choose foods with less than 5 ingredients and all things you recognize and know are real food, such as tomatoes, water, or salt. Or if there are more than 5, make sure they're all food or spices. Buy only packaged foods with ingredients you can pronounce or recognize.

Many studies have found that a diet high in healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as: cardiovascular disease. many types of cancer. type 2 diabetes.

Healthier alternatives

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods you can increase in your diet include: fruit and vegetables (both fresh and frozen) dried fruits and nuts with no added sugar, salt, or oil. pulses and legumes (such as chickpeas and lentils)

Whole grains: many whole grains are a vital source of protein and fiber. Oats, quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, and bulgur are hearty and satisfying options. Healthy fats: avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil etc. Legumes: including green peas, chickpeas, beans, lentils, peanuts, and natural peanut butter.

Plant-based diets carry some risk of inadequate protein, vitamin, and mineral intake. But these risks are readily overcome by choosing the right vegetarian foods and, when necessary, supplements. For example, soy, quinoa, and nuts are good sources of protein, and tofu, lentils, and spinach are good sources of iron.

As with many food items, in its simplest form, peanut butter should always be vegan. The vast majority of peanut butters you find in grocery stores will therefore be fully plant-based. Traditional peanut butter is made from peanuts and often a small amount of salt or oil.

Chemicals may be used in food, during food production and in packaging to preserve quality, add nutritional value, improve texture and appearance, extend shelf life and protect food from pathogens that can contaminate food and make people sick.

Why you think eating too many foods with additives could be unhealthy? ›

It is often the additives that are used to give a food a marketable quality, such as colour, that most commonly cause allergic reactions. Some of these hypersensitive reactions include: Digestive disorders – diarrhoea and colicky pains. Nervous disorders – hyperactivity, insomnia and irritability.

At the other end are ultra processed foods and beverages, which have the potential to be the most concerning health-wise. These ultra processed options tend to contain: Five or more ingredients. Added sugar, salt, oils, fats, stabilizers and preservatives.