We’re kicking off World Vegan Month 2021 with a bit of history. In 1944, the 1st of November officially became World Vegan Day as established by the first vegan society ever in London. Since then, veganism has grown exponentially as a fully formed movement with dietary and ethical pillars that focus on leading a cruelty-free and environmentally friendly lifestyle.
If you’re not familiar with what the vegan diet entails, it’s very straightforward. It excludes all animal products and by-products including eggs, dairy, fish and mollusc oils, animal-derived gelatines and so on. If what you’re thinking of eating contains animal products, you’ll have to give it a pass.
Benefits of the Vegan Diet
Being vegan doesn’t only mean respecting dietary restrictions, though. There are plenty of scientifically proven health benefits. They include being at a lower risk of developing high blood pressure, increasing whole foods consumption and introducing a wider variety of fruit, vegetables and legumes to our everyday meals. Just like any diet, balance is key and one of the main strengths of being vegan is knowing how to diversify and play with your ingredients to make sure you get the full spectrum of nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy.
Plus, the benefits of the vegan diet go way beyond our individual health. The health of our planet, and therefore the global collective population, also get their fair share. By consuming more plant-based meals, we can actively reduce our carbon footprint from food. A study published in Science shows we can lower it by up to 73% depending on where we live. That’s an impressive result that also impacts land and water use. Of course, changing our eating habits, or any habits for that matter, is no easy task. It takes a great deal of discipline and patience.
Now, if you’re keen to give plant-based diet a try, what better way to start than with a delicious treat for World Vegan Month? As protein is fundamental to all diets, here’s a super-easy vegan recipe for pecan energy bars. They’re ideal for a filling yet quick snack for all vegans and vegan-curious foodies out there.
Ingredients
- 15 Medjool dates
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- ½ cup Ultra Fine Oats
- 1tbsp Chia Seeds
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
- Remove the pits from the dates.
- Place the dates in a food processor and process or pulse until they’re roughly chopped.
- Add the remaining ingredients and process for a minute or until a crumbly dough forms.
- Line a baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- Put the dough at the centre of the parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle that is 6” x 10.5”.
- Cut the dough into 14 bars that are 1.5” x 3”. (No need to be extremely precise but you’ve got the option to cut uniform bars).
- Bake the bars for 30 minutes for a drier and less sticky texture.
- Cool the bars to room temperature, then store refrigerated in a sealed container between sheets of wax paper.
If you’re thinking about making changes to your diet and experimenting with going vegan, we recommend you consult your doctor or nutritionist first. No matter how appealing certain lifestyles may be, it’s crucial to make sure they can safely be part of our lifestyle. Health always comes first.
Let us know how you’ll be celebrating World Vegan Month this year by tagging @bulk and #TeamBulk. We’ve already got you covered with the snacks.
