A Whole-Foods Plant-Based Diet, Explained 

Whole food plant-based diets are often shortened to WFPB and follow the principle that a vegan raw, salt-free and oil-free diet is good for your body.

What is a whole food plant-based diet?

Eating a strictly whole-food plant-based diet is quite different from your standard vegan diet. Eat little or no processed foods and discourage the use of oils and salts. This means that vegan meat and cheese, bread, ice cream, cookies, candies, snacks, and frozen foods are not allowed.

But even without vegan frozen pizza, there are many things you can eat with a whole-food plant-based diet. And it doesn’t have to be bland. There are about 200,000 species of edible plants in the world, but humans consume only about 200 species. Now you have enough kitchen utensils to cook fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, herbs, spices and vinegar.

Is a whole-food plant-based diet healthy?

Given the shortage of boxed macaroni & cheese, french fries and candies that do not contain dairy products, it is no exaggeration to say that health is likely to be the driving force of interest in all plant-based foods. .. And there is a good reason.

Studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Whole food plant-based diets are naturally rich in anti-inflammatory foods because they do not contain salts, oils, refined sugars, or white bread that are known to cause inflammation.

Need to supplement? Studies show that plant-based diets have health benefits, but vegan diets are naturally deficient in vitamin B12. It makes DNA and helps keep blood and nerve cells healthy. WFPB advocate and founder of NutritionFacts.org, Michael Greger, MD, recommends supplementing with this important vitamin. However, as always, if you plan to make major changes to your diet, you should consult your doctor.

What can plant-based Whole Foods eat?

It sounds like a lot of restrictions right away, but there are a lot of Whole Foods plant-based ingredients that you have at your disposal. So if you really don’t want to eat, you don’t have to eat a lot of salad.

• Specific seasonings: Soy sauce, vinegar, nutritional yeast, mustard, salsa
• drink: Coffee, tea, kombucha, sugar-free sparkling drink
• Fresh or dried peppers: Poblano, Guajillo, Jalapeno, Aleppo, Bird’s Eye, Serrano, Scotch Bonnet
• Fresh or dried herbs and spices: Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, coriander, gochugal, basil, ginger … and salt-free
• Fruits and vegetables: Fresh, frozen, fermented, or dried (check for sugar and oil additions)
• Legumes: All kinds of beans and lentils
• mushroom: Baby Bella, Portobelo, Shiitake Mushroom, Maitake Mushroom, Enoki, Wood Ear, etc.
• Nuts and seeds: Sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashew nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and more.
• Nuts and seed butter: Homemade or single ingredient (note the addition of sugar and oil)
• Other plant-based proteins: Tofu, Tempeh, Whole Foods Vegan Meat (Oil Free, Protein Isolate Free)
• Starch vegetables: Potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes
• Untreated sweeteners: Date honey syrup, maple syrup, black strap molasses (moderately)
• Unsweetened plant-based milk: Look for milk made without gum or fillers, like Elmhurst 1925 or DIY it
• Vegan cheese: Look for oil-free cheese made from nuts and seeds
• Whole grains and pseudocereals: Brown rice, camut, farro, oats, quinoa, amaranth, wild rice
• Whole wheat bread and tortillas: moderately
• Whole grain pasta or noodles: Soba, brown rice noodles, sweet potato noodles, and these pasta

What are the unlicensed plant-based diets for whole foods?

In addition to the list below, keep in mind the most important rules of an all-food plant-based diet: no oils, salts, processed sugars, or processed grains.

• Dairy products: Milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, kefir, etc.
• drink: Soda and soft drinks, alcohol, processed juices
• egg: Make oil-free tofu scramble and bake with ground flaxseed
• Meat and fish: But you probably already knew it
• oil: Saute with vegetable soup instead
• Packaged food: many Ready-made meals, chips, puffs, candies and cereals are not all plant-based foods due to the addition of oil, salt and sugar.
• Processed sugar and sweeteners: White sugar, brown sugar, pancake syrup
• Vegan meat and cheese processing: There is oil and salt
• salt: No kind of salt is really encouraged
• Vegan ice cream: With a few exceptions, dairy-free ice cream contains oil and processed sugar.
• White grains, pasta, tortillas, bread: This includes rice

What are some of Whole Foods’ plant-based recipes?

Salt and oil make food taste much better. Salt brings out the natural flavor of produce, and oil promotes the Maillard reaction (also known as browning), adding flavor, aroma and color.

Don’t worry, your chef’s game can still be strong without salt and oil. The myriad other flavor makers in the culinary world, such as herbs, spices, citrus juices, chives and miso, are all fair games, as are all leeks (onions, garlic, shallot, chives, leeks, leeks). Incorporating them into your cooking will expel bland meals from your kitchen.

That said, whole-food plant-based meals can be time-consuming, so don’t feel guilty unless you can commit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. understood. Some of the mentioned foods, such as white bread and pasta, are cheaper than the whole plant-based option. Preparing a meal from scratch takes time that not everyone has. (This is especially true for ourselves and our thirst for vegan pizza.) Keeping Whole Foods plant-based recipes in rotation may be just the right balance for you.

Below are some recipes that are WFPB, but most have some changes. If you’re happy with the job, there are plenty of recipes that can save oil and salt without it tasting as long as you’re seasoning your food with plant-based ingredients in all foods I have.

Daniel keyes

1 Oil-free vegan kale pesto pasta

This pesto is dairy-free and oil-free. To make WFPB, use whole wheat, legume-based, and other types of grain-based flour. Basically, anything that isn’t the usual white pasta, usually made from durum wheat semolina, is reasonably okay. This is good because I couldn’t imagine a life without pasta.
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Dorina Burton

2 Vegan and gluten-free waffles

Most waffle recipes, whether vegan or not, require oil and sugar. However, this waffle recipe uses fresh bananas and dairy-free yogurt. Instead of fortifying the flour, it is made by blending oat flour and almond meal. It’s different from regular waffles, but it’s good at holding maple syrup. For vegan yogurt, look for options that you can use homemade or purchased from a store that does not contain added sugars or fillers such as gum that is not plant-based in all foods.
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Mary Karan

3 Vegan Italian wedding soup

Thanks to plenty of fresh herbs, lemon juice and lemon zest, it’s a soup that you can eat at any time, not just at an Italian wedding. Meatballs are made from canellini beans, ground spices and bread crumbs. Use whole wheat bread that does not contain salt or oil, or make your own using whole wheat bread that is one day old.
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Juliana Heber

Four Oil-free stir-fried sweet chili tofu

This sweet and spicy tofu recipe is oil-free, but in Thailand it requires a sweet chili sauce called “namchimukai”. The jarring type is usually made from sugar, but if you omit the sesame oil from the sauce recipe here, it will be transparent. It is packed with many vegetables such as purple cabbage, red peppers, broccoli and carrots. Serve with cauliflower rice or brown rice and top with green onions, coriander and sesame seeds.
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Sivan Gilao

Five Vegan Kajuka Trikulfi

This frozen treat of Sivan Gilao Mindful Indian Meal Cookbook is a lover of two desserts. She is Kajukatori, a fuzzy sweet from North India made from cashew nuts and sugar, and Kulfi, a frozen dessert made from full-fat milk, sugar, cardamom and saffron, also from North India. This decadent pop seems to be the best taste of both worlds. Note: The recipe is sweetened with maple syrup, so if you’re aiming for a strictly Whole Foods plant base, this is a one-time treat.
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Read below for more information on vegan diets.
How to get vegan: Beginner’s Guide
What is a raw vegan diet? Is it healthy?
5 Reasons to Forget Keto and Become Vegan

Kat Smith is a New York-based freelance writer and editor who loves to cook and discover the hidden gems of local vegans.