One year ago Vegan for Her: The Woman’s Guide to Being Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet was released. Since then I have enjoyed doing speaking engagements, veg fest appearances, store-based demos and teaching local classes on how to incorporate a vegan diet, and lifestyle, into one’s life.
I use The Plant Plate, the instructive tool Ginny included in our book,
to demonstrate just how easy it is to incorporate vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, and nuts and seeds into a daily meal plan. The number one response I get from students and audiences?
I didn’t grow up eating beans! How do I make them?
They weren’t a staple in my home, either, and I know that it can really trip you up. One of my workshops is Five Ways to Add More Legumes to Your Diet. When people see “3+” bean servings on The Plant Plate it kind of freaks them out. Yesterday at a farmer’s market in Colorado Springs I felt a bit like a legume activist. I was passing out free copies of The Plant Plate and kept explaining how easy it is to get those three servings in:
Breakfast: Peanut butter toast (because peanuts are a legume!)
Lunch: Quinoa salad (because quinoa – high in protein and lysine, just like beans – is an honorary legume)
Dinner: Baked tofu (soybean = legume) or a Middle Eastern plate featuring hummus or red bean chili or black beans tacos…
…you get the point…Easy!
Meatless Monday Legumes
Here are a few of my recipes featuring peanuts, quinoa and beans. You will have no trouble adding more legumes to your diet!
Make this curry peanut butter thick and you can spread it on toast, English muffins or dip your favorite crackers or raw veggies in it. Thin it out and it’s fantastic drizzled over a bowl of grains and greens!
See? There are so many ways to enjoy legumes! Want a little more help? I did a short video on the topic, too.
I hope this inspires you to get out there and eat your legumes!
