3 gut-healthy plant-based recipes from Iranian Vegan

From stylist.co.uk

These recipes by Mana Shamshiri (AKA the Iranian Vegan) are proof that Middle Eastern cuisine can be every bit as healthy as the typical Med Diet 

Every YouTuber and their dietitian will tell you that, for a long, healthy life, your plate should be filled with foods straight from the Mediterranean. But the side of the Med that gets less PR sits east. It may not get the extensive health focus that Italy and Greece enjoy, but the Middle East is where a diverse blend of spices, herbs, fruits and veggies are stewed, fried and boiled into tasty, gut-friendly dishes.

We know all about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet because there’s been so much funding and research into it, claims Amaeze Madukah, registered nutritionist and founder of The Diverse Nutrition Association. “But there hasn’t been as much funding for diets from places like the Middle East – even though traditional ways of eating rely heavily upon plants, vegetables and spices which are full of health benefits.

“A diverse mix of fruits and veggies should be a focus in any diet, and combining the different spices we eat together in one dish can increase the amount of antioxidants we consume,” she adds. 

One place with nutrient-packed dishes that gets more air-time for its politics than its foodie culture is Iran. With a rich and ancient history, those who know, know that – done right – Persian food never fails to serve up mouth-watering goodness.

For a vegan take on some of the country’s traditional favourites, we turned to Mana Shamshiri, AKA The Iranian Vegan. She’s come up with three plant-packed recipes that are as good for your  gut as your taste buds.

Borani bademjan: Persian aubergine, tomato and garlic  

Serves 4 (main dish or starter)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

This tasty borani bademjan recipe, popular in Iranian and Afghan cuisine, makes a quick weeknight dinner or impressive starter to show off to your pals. It’s also packed with health benefits.

“The purple skin of the aubergine has antioxidant properties, which are protective compounds protecting you from excessive free radical damage, which contributes to certain illnesses and can lead to signs of ageing,” says Madukah. “And tomatoes have a compound called lycopene, which is more accessible for our digestive systems when cooked.”  

If you’re using fresh garlic for this recipe, use just two cloves in the onion mixture so the flavour isn’t overly strong. You might use three cloves if your garlic is a little older. It all depends on your personal preference – and maybe whether or not it’s date night. Mana suggests having this one for mains or rustling it up with some fresh Barbari bread as a tasty appetiser to impress guests.

Top tip: If you grill aubergines in the oven on each side before frying, or air fry them, they’ll absorb less oil. Or you can slice them and leave them out overnight for the same effect.

Credit: The Iranian Vegan

Ingredients

2 aubergines

2 potatoes (optional)

10 cherry tomatoes

2 onions, thinly sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp tomato paste

Vegetable oil

200g vegan yoghurt (soya, coconut, oat, etc.)

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cracked black pepper

½ tsp turmeric

Cayenne pepper (to your taste)

Method

1. Fry the sliced onions in 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. When translucent, add the turmeric and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic. Fry for a minute, then add the tomato paste, the whole cherry tomatoes, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and cook on a medium-low flame with the lid on for 5 minutes longer or until the tomatoes are roasted and soft. Add more oil or a small amount of boiling water if it is dry.

2. Meanwhile, cut the aubergines into 1-inch thick slices. Cover a frying pan with a thin layer of vegetable oil and fry until browned on both sides. When removing from the pan, place them on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil. (To make the aubergines absorb less oil, grill them in the oven on both sides first; this dehydrates them slightly.)

3. If desired, peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch slices. Fry them in an air fryer for 10 minutes, or in a pan on both sides until crispy.

4. Mix 200g yoghurt with a small amount of water to make it a thinner, pourable consistency. Add in the lime juice, ½ tsp salt and one minced clove of garlic and stir well.

5. To serve: Start with a layer of yoghurt, then aubergines, tomato, garlic and onion mixture and potatoes, then repeat in a random fashion. Sprinkle cayenne pepper to your taste throughout while assembling.

6. Top with dried mint and extra virgin olive oil (optional). Enjoy with warm bread.

Kokoo sabzi: Walnut, barberry and fresh herb frittata  

Serves 4 - 6 (main dish or starter)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook times: 40 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

Often eaten with sabzi polo (herby rice) and fish on Nowruz – Persian New Year – kookoo sabzi is traditionally made with eggs and stuffed with herbs like parsley, coriander, chives and dill and makes a tasty weekend breakfast or evening meal all year round. This savoury frittata is usually vegetarian, but Mana uses milled flaxseed for a vegan twist.

It’s a nutritious, melt-in-the-mouth dish which packs sourness and a satisfying walnut crunch. “You can eat it with warm bread, pickles and fresh salad vegetables, or with sabzi polo and mahi [fish],” suggests Mana. “As a general rule, for any recipe which calls for 1 egg, use 1 tbsp flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water. Once left to set for a few minutes, the ‘flax-egg’ mixture has the same gelatinous consistency as egg.”

High in fibre and omega-3, flaxseeds make the perfect healthy addition for a vegan take on this traditional dish. Plus, Madukah says that “barberries are something you don’t often see in a lot of global cuisines, but they have lots of health benefits with a high amount of vitamin C, iron and fibre. Vitamin C and iron work well together in food because vitamin C helps your digestive system absorb the iron better.” 

Top tip: Mana advises washing the herbs before using them, adding: “My family usually makes kookoo on the stovetop by frying it. However, I have found that, when using flax-eggs, using the oven gives the best results.” 

Credit: The Iranian Vegan

Ingredients

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp turmeric

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chopped spring onions

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup chopped fresh coriander

1 cup chopped fresh dill

½ cup chopped walnuts

⅓ cup barberries

1 potato, finely grated

4 tbsp chickpea/gram flour

6 flax-eggs (1 tbsp flaxseed, mixed with 3 tbsp water = 1 flax-egg)

Vegetable oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Make your flax-eggs by mixing 6 tbsp milled flaxseed and 18 tbsp water (3 tbsp water per 1 tbsp milled flaxseed) and leave it in the fridge to set for several minutes.

3. Grate a large potato and squeeze the excess water out with a cloth or colander.

4. Finely chop the herbs, and mix together with the chopped walnuts, minced garlic, flour, barberries, grated potato, baking powder, salt, pepper and turmeric and 4 tbsp oil. Mix in the flax-eggs which have now set.

5. Pour the mixture into an oiled round cake tin or small cupcake tins and bake in the oven at 180C for 40 minutes, or until no longer soft (wet) in the middle.

6. Gently stir-fry handful of barberries with 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water for the garnish. Scatter on top of the kookoo, with walnuts, before serving.

7. Enjoy with warm bread or sabzi polo.

Khoresht Fesenjoon: Walnut, pomegranate stew with oyster mushrooms  

Serves 4 - 6 (main course)

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total time: 2 hours 

Usually cooked with duck or chicken, this vegan version of fesenjoon stew uses oyster mushroom for their large, flat, ribbed and meat-like texture. One of the oldest recipes in Iran (and the world), it’s known as the ‘Godfather’ of the curry, as fesenjoon dates back as far as 515 BCE.

“Pomegranates are another food that is often quite specific to cuisines in the Middle East, but which are great for us and packed with antioxidants,” says Madukah. “Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties. When you combine black pepper and turmeric together, the absorption of that curcumin is enhanced.”

Traditionally served with yoghurt and rice, the star of this sour and rich stew is chunky oyster mushrooms which are packed with protein and fibre, helping support the normal functioning of your gut. 

Credit: The Iranian Vegan

Ingredients

2 cups/250g walnuts

1 cup/125 ml pomegranate molasses

500g oyster mushrooms (shiitake, king oyster, or any other kind are OK too)

1 large yellow onion

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste

Pomegranate seeds (for garnish, optional)

Method

1. Grind the walnuts as finely as possible in a food processor, until the ground walnuts are starting to stick together like a dough.

2. Finely slice the onion and fry in 2tbsp oil. Once slightly golden, add the turmeric and fry for another couple of minutes.

3. Add the ground walnuts to the onions and add the pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, salt and pepper and pour over 3 cups of cold water. On a high heat, allow the mixture to come to a boil. When boiling, turn to a low flame and put the lid on.

4. Simmer the walnut mixture with the lid on for 90 minutes. Check on it and stir occasionally throughout to make sure the walnuts don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. If the water completely evaporates, add a little more in. After 1 hour and 30 minutes, the walnut sauce should have significantly thickened and darkened in colour. You will know it’s ready once the walnut oil has separated and risen to the top.

5. Next, add the oyster mushrooms to a separate pan and fry for 3-4 minutes with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

6. Now, add the oyster mushrooms into the Fesenjoon sauce. Leave to simmer on a low heat for at least 30 minutes so that the mushrooms are tender and can be bitten into. You may leave it for longer, but not too long, as the mushrooms will become too soft.

7. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking to allow some water to evaporate and for the sauce to thicken. At this point, stir in 2 tbsp sugar. Adjust the sweetness to your liking – some like it sour and some like it sweet.

8. Garnish the dish with a handful of pomegranate seeds and serve with steamed basmati rice. Enjoy.

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Recipes and images courtesy of The Iranian Vegan 

https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/nutrition/3-persian-recipes-iranian-vegan/915135

Are We Losing Our Appetites for Veganism?

From menshealth.com

With vegan restaurants shuttering and celebrity soy boys publicly renouncing their ways, the once flourishing movement is showing signs of struggle. Is this the end of the plant-based boom? 

Irvin St-Louis converted to veganism aged 21, back in 1996, long before the diet became a cultural phenomenon and everyone started eating avocados. The choreographer and personal trainer was impressed by reports of the plant-based diet’s health benefits in books such as The China Study and as part of the Rastafarian principle of Ital, which promotes a vegetarian wholefood lifestyle. If it didn’t come from a plant, it didn’t make it on to his plate. ‘I was dogmatic about veganism,’ St-Louis says.

But nearly two decades of religiously avoiding animal products took a toll, he believes. ‘I had heavy inflammation in my knees, tendinitis in my elbows and my lower back was killing me,’ the 49-year-old says. These aches and pain may have simply been consequences of ageing, or general wear and tear. But, one day, in early 2017, he got turned on to Instagram accounts promoting carnivore diets, in which all plant-based foods are eliminated in a attempt to address chronic ailments. For him, that was when the vegan bubble began to burst.

After eight months of researching the 100% animal product diet – its advocates point to Inuit communities as evidence of a historical lineage – he began steadily moving back to meat. Then, in 2022, he effectively went full carnivore. Over the course of a couple of months, after an initial fortnight of ‘keto belly’, his joint pain faded until it was ‘completely gone’ and the cutting of carbs saw him lose 4st 10lb – bringing him down to a more reasonable 17st. ‘I’ve built more muscle in the last two years than ever,’ he says. ‘When I was vegan, it was almost impossible.’

St-Louis now eats meat for every meal, but concedes that he occasionally adds lettuce, pineapple and onions to his plate as flavoursome accompaniments. ‘I do indulge here and there,’ he says. An average day sees him eat about nine eggs and a handful of sausages for breakfast, a few quarter-pounders for lunch and whatever meat he can stack up on for dinner.

While St-Louis’s story is extreme, it’s also emblematic of a broader narrative shift. Once hailed as a panacea, veganism now faces scrutiny from former adherents turned sceptics.

Not so Easy Being Green

You only have to look at the Buff Vegans’ Instagram page, 37-year-old Novak Djokovic’s tennis form, the biceps of the world’s strongest vegan Patrik Baboumian or serial ultramarathon champion Scott Jurek, to appreciate that many people do still thrive without animal products. Hit documentary The Game Changers made that point forcefully, while also inviting criticism for ‘cherry-picking’ research warning of the risks of meat-eating and trumpeting the benefits of veganism.

When the Netflix film came out in 2018, featuring a host of famous athletes and strongmen, such as Lewis Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it looked as though veganism was on an irrevocable path from fringe movement to mainstream diet choice. Everyone seemed to be turning vegan. It was a kale-fuelled frenzy of meat-eater renunciations. The Economist predicted 2019 would be, ‘The Year of the Vegan’, and that same year, 250,000 people signed up for the Veganuary campaign, embracing plant-based diets for the month of January (more people than in the four previous years combined). A few years later, chocolate-maker Cadbury issued an apology to ‘plant-based Britain’ for not producing a milk-free bar sooner, while baristas at cafes started checking if you wanted ‘normal milk’. All the while, the collective horror around factory meat production and dairy farming grew, as details about animals’ appalling conditions came out into the open.

                                                                    SUN LEE

But five years after the cultural zenith, many formerly evangelical vegans are now publicly disowning the diet, while research from the consumer insights platform GWI revealed that the number of people who identify as vegan has dropped by 15% in the past two years. Meanwhile, one of The Game Changers’ co-producers, Schwarzenegger, said last year that eggs, salmon and chicken remained ‘staples’ and, in 2020, boxer Mike Tyson ditched veganism after a decade in search of greater strength and vitality ahead of his unlikely boxing comeback.

Other celebrities have reneged on their endorsements of the diet, too – such as the poster child for plant-powered living Miley Cyrus (whose ‘brain wasn’t functioning properly’), Cyrus’s ex Liam Hemsworth (who had to get surgery to remove a calcium-oxalate kidney stone) and Zac Efron (who struggled to digest the amount of vegetables he was eating). While survivalist Bear Grylls issued a frank mea culpa last year for preaching the benefits of a vegan diet. Now, like St-Louis, he follows a largely carnivore diet consisting of meat, eggs, dairy, fruit and honey. ‘I was vegan quite a few years ago – in fact I wrote a vegan cookbook, and I feel a bit embarrassed because I really promoted that,’ Grylls said.

‘For a long time, I’d been eating so many vegetables thinking it was doing me good, but just never felt like it had given me any good nutrients compared to the nutrient density I get from basically blood or bone marrow – red meat,’ the former elite soldier added. ‘I’ve tried to listen to my body more, tried to listen to nature, and I don’t miss vegetables at all. I don’t go near them and I’ve never felt stronger, my skin’s never been better, and my gut’s never been better.’

Crunching the Numbers

Consumers don’t seem to have the stomach for vegan products either – at least, not to the extent of the industry’s over-optimistic projections. In the UK, sales of ‘chilled meat alternatives’ consisting of ingredients such as pea protein, tapioca and mycoprotein fell 17% from 2022 to 2023; vegan food company Meatless Farm was rescued from administration; and shares of meat-free Beyond Meat have plummeted from $230 in 2019 to just over $7 now. Elsewhere, vegan restaurants from LA to Macclesfield are reintroducing meat to their menus to save their businesses, while formerly devout vegans are organising ‘recovery’ retreats to help others eat animal products and replenish bodies, which some claim became malnourished.

‘I could name 20 people who went vegan and went back to meat’

Chris Geisler, a podcaster and men’s coach, spent 24 months following a vegan diet before turning back to beef. ‘I could name 20 people who went vegan and went back to meat,’ he says. ‘Most people I know who went vegan have.’ He, and many of his friends, wholeheartedly tried veganism but were left disillusioned. ‘If I’m trying to save the planet but suffering as a consequence, what am I trying to save?’ Research does suggest vegan diets exact a far lower toll on the environment than meat-rich lifestyles, and Geisler does acknowledge the huge ecological impact of meat overconsumption, but says his experience as a vegan led him to become more conscious about what he consumes. Geisler now only eats meat if it’s local and organic, including venison (according to The Guardian, the overpopulation of deer is causing its own environmental disaster in the UK) and game.

‘People often initially feel great on a vegan diet,’ says holistic nutritionist Jade Leighton, who counts plenty of former vegans among her clients. Often their previous diet was full of poor-quality meat and processed foods, she adds, and through going vegan people start to consume a greater diversity of vegetables and antioxidants. An energising feeling, the vegan glow, can arise as a result of reducing consumption of inflammatory, processed foods, Leighton says, along with lifestyle and mindset changes.

A short-term study on 11 sets of twins recently showed that vegan eaters had lower cholesterol and body weight than their meat-eating counterparts. However, Leighton warns that a ‘nutrition gap’ may begin to show itself within a few years, in the form of fatigue, poor skin health and even hair loss. Biohacking pioneer Dave Asprey, who pursued a raw vegan diet for six months, claims to have ‘started getting intense brain fog, fatigue and even broke a tooth because [he] was so mineral deficient.’

Growing Pains

But Andrea Rymer, registered dietitian at The Vegan Society, who has been vegan for almost 10 years, insists that a plant-based diet including fortified foods and supplements can give you everything you need – as Djokovic, Jurek, Hamilton and co clearly demonstrate. ‘When it comes to diet, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all, and nutritional needs vary based on age, gender, physical activity and even metabolic stress,’ she says. However, seeing as vegan diets are generally much higher in fibre than omnivorous diets, vegans need to eat more food to meet their calorie requirements and maintain their weight. ‘This could be difficult for someone with a smaller appetite or higher nutritional requirements,’ she says.

There is also evidence that veganism reduces the risk of certain cancers, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but there have been laments from within the vegan movement on how factions, and companies, cast the diet as a cure-all.

'Moving a lot more people to flexitarianism...that’s been the real success'

‘When I first went vegan, and you told people you were vegan, they thought you were completely bonkers,’ says Toni Vernelli, policy head at Veganuary, and a vegan for more than 30 years. ‘That’s all changed now.’ There are still millions of vegans across the world, and while faux-meat sales may have peaked in the UK, total sales of plant-based and wholefoods are increasing. Brits are among those eating more veg, one in every three meals sold at the sandwich chain Pret are now veggie or vegan and Vernelli credits ‘the movement’ for ‘definitely moving a lot more people to flexitarianism, now they see that plant-based food can be tasty… That’s been the real success’, she adds.

There are growing pains in any industry, and while there may be contractions, the overall trajectory does remain upwards. ‘There was just a huge proliferation of vegan products,’ she says. ‘Suddenly, we had 10 different types of vegan burgers, sausages and chicken nuggets.’ New brands popped up left, right and centre. ‘We were like, “We don’t need another vegan burger.”’

But is the average pork sausage more nutritious than a vegan sausage? ‘It depends how you define nutrition and what your nutritional goals are,’ says Eric Robinson, a behavioural scientist and professor in psychology at the University of Liverpool, who recently self-studied the effects of a vegan diet versus those of an omnivore. A meatless wiener will typically have a healthier macronutrient profile than a traditional pork sausage, he says. Broadly speaking, they tend to be lower in saturated fat, but higher in fibre and with similar levels of protein and carbs. During Professor Robinson’s study, published last year in Physiology & Behaviour, he observed how he was feeling – and how much he weighed – during periods of veganism and meat-eating. His conclusion? ‘The likely benefits for my health, the environment and reducing animal suffering outweigh the minor inconveniences,’ he wrote. Aside from his brief meat-eating experiment for the study, he has been vegan for four years and remains committed. ‘I don’t feel any different, other than being a little slimmer because of it.’

Clearly, there isn’t just one solution to individual and planetary health when it comes to what we eat. Still, veganism is here to stay, with an estimated 79 million adherents across the world. But should we all be vegan? The answer to that isn’t as obvious as it seemed just a few years ago.

https://www.menshealth.com/uk/nutrition/a62006382/are-we-losing-our-appetites-for-veganism/

NURA Unveils Sustainable Ingredient Innovations Including “Revolutionary” Vegan Yeast Alternative to Traditional Protein

From vegconomist.com

California-based ingredients innovator NURA reveals its latest of line  ingredients which the company states “aligns perfectly with modern consumer preferences for healthier, eco-friendly ingredients” to empower brands to create products in alignment with the latest trends.

NURA says it collaborates with brands through not only supplying its natural ingredients but also by offering a full range of R&D services, from concept creation to formulation support.

                                                                                                              © NURA

Highlights of the new range include:

• YESTEIN® Yeast Protein: New research shows yeast protein as a versatile solution comparable to whey protein, stats NURA. Described as a “revolutionary vegan alternative to traditional protein sources” and as offering a complete amino acid profile, YESTEIN is allergen-free, non-GMO project Verified, Vegan Certified, sustainably produced, and available in savory and neutral powder options.
• Advanced Postbiotics: NURA introduces two “groundbreaking” postbiotic products—High Concentration EF-2001 and the Vegan beLP1—specifically designed to support microbiome balance and overall wellbeing. These products are heat and pH-stable, SA-GRAS certified, and backed by clinically proven studies available in the upcoming quarter of 2024.
• MADBLEND® Stevia Extract Blend: Dedicated to delivering natural and innovative sweetening solutions, described as a premium, low-calorie alternative that enhances both taste and stability. The co-process solution leverages Fluid Bed Technology to ensure uniform, rapid drying and even distribution of high-intensity sweetness, resulting in enhanced performance.

“We’re excited to introduce our latest innovations in high-quality vegan proteins, microbiome-supporting postbiotics, and reduced-sugar alternatives, all tailored to the latest consumer trends,” said Caydie Carrizosa, Marketing Manager at NURA. “NURA is more than just an ingredient distributor; we’re a true innovation partner, providing brands with the latest formulations, network resources, and expertise needed to drive their success.”

For more information on NURA’s full range of products and services, visit nurausa.com.

https://vegconomist.com/food-and-beverage/ingredients/nura-sustainable-ingredients-vegan-yeast-alternative-protein/