Plant-based eating Te kaimanga

Plant-based eating focuses on minimally processed plant foods such as:

• vegetables
• fruit
• legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans
• wholegrains such as oats, brown rice, quinoa and barley
• nuts
• seeds
• products made from legumes, nuts or seeds, such as falafel, tofu, tempeh, nut butters, hummus and tahini.

You may choose plant-based eating for a variety of reasons. These could include:

• concerns about animal welfare
• health benefits
• environmental concerns
• personal preference.

Plant-based eating can help reduce your risk of:

• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• heart disease
• some cancers
• depression.

It may also help you manage your weight and manage conditions such as osteoarthritis.

There are many different styles of plant-based eating, including:

• semi-vegetarian (or flexitarian) — includes dairy and eggs and may include small amounts of meat, chicken, fish and seafood
• pescatarian — includes fish and seafood, dairy and eggs but avoids meat and chicken
• lacto-ovo vegetarian — includes dairy and eggs but avoids meat, chicken, fish and seafood
• ovo-vegetarian — includes eggs but avoids all other animal foods, including dairy
• lacto-vegetarian — includes dairy but avoids eggs, meat, chicken, fish and seafood
• vegan — avoids all animal products including eggs, dairy and honey.

To eat more plant-based foods, you do not have to completely switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet. The following tips will help you have more plant-based foods.

• At lunch and dinner, fill half your plate with vegetables.
• Try eating at least one meatless main meal a week and gradually increase from there.
• Add canned legumes (beans and lentils) to your soups, casseroles, salads and meat sauces to extend the meal and add extra texture and flavour.
• Replace meat with a plant-based protein in recipes you already make. For example, you could replace the meat in bolognese with extra vegetables and kidney beans. Or you could try falafel in burgers instead of beef patties.
• Switch cow's milk for a plant milk such as soy, almond or oat. Soy is a good option as it has a lot more protein than almond or other plant milks.
• Add unsalted nuts (almonds, cashews or walnuts) or seeds (sunflower, sesame or pumpkin) to salads, breakfast cereal or stir-fries.
• Have a plant-based snack such as fruit, a small handful of nuts or peanut butter or hummus on wholegrain crackers.

Plant-based eating can be very nutritious and good for you. But just like other eating patterns, it can also be unhealthy and low in nutrition. It is just as possible to have a poor quality plant-based diet as it is to have a poor quality diet that includes animal products. For example, fruit juice, potato chips and biscuits are plant-based foods. But they are highly processed and not good options to have regularly.

Whichever plant-based way of eating you choose, stick to the following principles:

• choose whole foods over highly processed foods
• eat a wide variety of plant-based foods
• eat a rainbow — choose a variety of different coloured vegetables and fruit.

If you have fewer animal foods or cut them out altogether, there are a few nutrients you need to pay attention to. These include:

• protein
• iron
• zinc
• calcium (if you exclude dairy)
• vitamin B12 (if you avoid all animal products).

If you are concerned that you or your tamaiti are not getting all the nutrients you need, talk to your healthcare provider. They can refer you to a dietitian.