Introduction
What is vegan breakfast?
Vegan breakfast is a meal that meets the criteria of veganism; therefore it does not contain foods of animal origin, but it must still be able to provide all the nutrients necessary to maintain nutritional balance.
Importance of breakfast
Breakfast, according to the Mediterranean diet, is the smallest of the three main meals. It contains about 15% of daily energy. Having the function of supplying the necessary calories to start the morning activities after fasting at night, it is considered by many to be the "most important meal of the day".
Not surprisingly, those who skip breakfast almost always manifest an unfair attitude in the other meals of the day, tending to stuff themselves at lunch or dinner. The non-consumption of breakfast is therefore not related to a lower caloric intake and weight loss, indeed it often produces adverse effects.
Veganism
What is veganism?
Veganism (or even veganism) is the name of a philosophical and behavioral current that is based on the rejection of products of animal origin and on total abstention from the use of the same.
Those who follow the vegan diet are called vegan or strict vegetarian.
The term ethical veganism corresponds to a lifestyle that also abolishes all non-food products that involve the use of animals, such as supplements, cosmetics, drugs and tissues.
Veganism is, in itself, an animalist current, however some vegans oppose the breeding technique because it is considered not eco-sustainable, harmful to the environment; this current of thought is called environmental veganism.
Some vegans called fruitarians eat only deciduous fruits that are already naturally detached from the plants.
Veganism VS vegetarianism
Vegetarians (lacto-ovo-vegetarians, or those who follow vegetarianism) mainly examine the diet and exclude only meat and fish (any tissue taken from a living organism), while they consume quietly milk and derivatives, eggs and products of the hive (honey, propolis, wax pollen, etc.). If they choose to exclude other foods, they can become lacto-vegetarian or ovo-vegetarian.
Note : a vegetarian DOES NOT eat (or should not eat) cheese produced with animal rennet.
Food
Most used vegan foods for breakfast
The most used foods for vegan breakfast can be divided into two large groups:
| Solid foods |
Cereals, flour or starch and derivatives : oats, wheat, corn, rice, spelled, spelled, rye, sorghum, millet, barley, teff etc. Among the most common derivatives we mention seitan and wheat muscle. |
Starchy leguminous plants, flours or starches and derivatives : soy (also rich in fats), borlotti beans, spagna beans, cannellini beans, beans from the eye, azuki or aduki beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, lupins, chickling peas, beans etc. Among the most common derivatives we mention tofu, tempeh and miso. |
Pseudocereals, oilseeds, flours and derivatives : flax, sesame, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, chia, psyllium, hemp, walnuts, hazelnuts, sweet almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, cashews, peanuts, pecans, brazil nuts etc. |
Sprouted seeds: alpha-alpha, wheat, lentils, chickpeas etc. |
Mushrooms: field mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, pioppini, honey mushrooms, pleurotus, Saint Anthony mushroom, shitake, maitake, reishi etc. |
Tubers, tuberous roots, flour or starch and derivatives : potatoes, American potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, tapioca etc. |
Vegetables and vegetables, root, stem, leaf or fruit : lettuce, green radicchio, red radicchio, rocket, baby goose, endive, black cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, cap, Brussels sprouts, Roman cabbage, fennel, carrots, aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers etc. |
Sweet fruits, relative jams, marmalades and dehydrated : apples, pears, oranges, mandarancins, tangerines, grapefruits, lemons, kiwis, grapes, pomegranates, persimmons, bananas, pineapples, winter melons, figs, prickly pears, jujube, peaches, apricots, plums, summer melon, watermelon, European medlar, Japanese medlar, avocado, mango, papaya, lychee, passion fruit etc. |
Liquid foods |
Vegetable milks: soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, oat milk, etc. |
Seasoning oils : extra virgin olive, flax, soy, corn, kiwi, grapeseed, hazelnut, almond, coconut etc. |
Dressing fats : peanut butter, cocoa, etc. |
Smoothie, fruit juices, centrifuged, extracted, squeezed, of single ingredients or mixed (of all the foods mentioned above) |
On the other hand, one of the biggest flaws in the vegan diet is redundancy. Being able to eat only 5 of the 7 fundamental food groups, one of which normally constitutes the side dishes, one the fruit and one the seasonings, remains a very limited choice. In fact, of the very many people who try to convert to veganism, only a few can consolidate these habits.
To improve the palatability of the diet it is therefore necessary to add creativity to the recipes, from breakfast to dinner. In the next paragraph we will propose some food combinations to be able to vary our "vegan breakfast" to the maximum.
Recipes
Innovative recipes for vegan breakfast
The recipes for a good vegan breakfast are both sweet, and therefore pertinent to an Italian breakfast, and savory, closer to the American breakfast. Below we will propose 5 examples of alternative recipes, tasty and relevant to the vegan breakfast.
Shamrock breakfast sandwich: vegan sausage, cabbage and jalapeno sauce
It is a stuffed sandwich composed as follows:
- Bread, white or wholegrain, of wheat or other cereals, also reinforced with legume flour 100 g
- 80 g vegan sausage, cooked in a pan with a little oil 1 teaspoon and flavored with dried onion powder, black pepper and QB salt
- Collard 200 g sautéed with extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon, pumpkin seeds 2 tbsp, shallot 50 g and salt QB
- Jalapegno sauce: vegan mayonnaise 1 tbsp, dried chilli ½ teaspoon, sweet green vegetable sauce (cucumber, cabbage, thistle, lemon, celery) 1 tbsp.
Buckwheat pancakes with caramelized apples with coconut sugar, apple sauce and Brazilian nuts
- Vegan pancakes: buckwheat flour 210 g, chemical yeast (backing powder) 2 tbsp, coconut sugar 2 tbsp, vanilla powder QB, cinnamon and salt QB
- Apple sauce: almond milk 300-330 ml, ground flax seeds 1 tablespoon (+ 3 tablespoons of water), coconut oil 2 tbsp, chopped apples 150 g
- Caramel apple: sliced apple 100 g, coconut oil 1 tbsp, coconut sugar 2 tablespoons, cinnamon and water QB
- Brazilian Nuts QB.
Knead the pancake. Cook it in the mold. Compose the apple sauce and in the meantime cook the caramel apples. Serve by layering pancakes, salsa and caramelized apples.
Vegan burrito stuffed with rice and vegetables
- Large vegan tortillas No. 2
- Stuffed
- Rice 150 g cooked in water 360 ml, lime 15 ml, coriander 15 g and salt QB
- Red potatoes n ° 4 cooked with onion 50 g, vegan butter 15-30 g or olive oil, salt and pepper QB
- Black beans 185 g stewed with cumin, garlic and chilli powder QB
- Sauce: ripe avocado 1/4 of fruit, lime juice 30 ml, raw purple cabbage 100 g and chilli jalapegno QB, smoothies
- Avocado in pieces.
After preparing the filling ingredients individually, heat the tortillas and fill.
Gingerbread waffles
- Waffles: spelled flour 125 g, ground flaxseed 1 teaspoon, chemical yeast (backing powder) 2 teaspoons (+ the tip of a teaspoon backing soda), QB salt, cinnamon powder QB, ginger powder QB, sugar coconut or wholemeal 4 tablespoons, vegetable milk, 180 ml, apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon, molasses 2 tablespoons, coconut oil or another 1 tsp.
After making the dough, cook in the waffle mold.
Semolina with marinade, avocado and cooked tofu strips
- Preheat the oven to 220 ° C
- Marinated and cooked tofu: slice the 200 g tofu into strips; prepare the marinade by mixing sodium hydrosus sauce 50 ml, turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon, onion powder ½, extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon; cook the tofu in strips in a pan with the marinade for at least 15 minutes (even the night before)
- Semolina: prepare the semolina by mixing semolina flour 200 g and water according to the recipe; then add the nutritional yeast QB and correct the consistency by adding 2 tablespoons of oil and any other water
- Serve the semolina in bowls with the tofu on top, 1 sliced avocado, diced tomatoes and sliced spring onion (optional) QB, salt and pepper to taste QB.
