Power to the plants

There is a significant movement happening in our supermarkets; local restaurants and even creeping into our fast-food! Yes that’s right ‘plant-based’ is the new foodie ‘buzz word’ and the high street is adapting with incredible speed.

Big chain supermarkets have introduced plant-based ranges, with Pizza Hut recently joining Pizza Express and Zizzi offering vegan pizzas and Tesco even appointing a director of plant-based innovation.

Not all is as it seems though. This meatless trend is being marketed as ‘healthy’ by the food industry with no clear food labelling system in place for these new products. For example; the same bad preservatives that we find in a normal frankfurter are right there in the plant-based version.

We all know the meatless meat trend is clearly here to stay, so we want to demystify this new movement to ensure all our Six Pack Revolutionaries, switching to a plant-based diet, stay healthy and happy!

Let’s be clear, a plant-based diet is not to be confused with a vegan diet. People who chose a plant-based diet are not necessarily on the vegan mission but are looking for a cleaner and healthier eating experience.

With a plant-based diet, you consume whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, unsalted nuts and healthy oils like olive oil for the majority of your meals.  You stay away from processed foods; refined grains; snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Meat, fish and poultry, dairy and other animal products can be consumed alongside plant-based foods or you can chose an entirely plant-based meal as long as its well balanced, with proteins, carbohydrates and good fats.

If you’ve hopped on the vegan train and have gone plant-exclusive then it might not be as healthy as you think.

Many vegans reach for processed vegan pre-flavoured meats, cheeses, pre-packaged vegan produce that are highly processed foods to make their life easier. These foods are typically not very nutrient-dense and, when consumed in excess, can lead to weight gain and chronic disease.

Vegan packaged produce continues to flood our food industry and it is becoming much easier to be misled into thinking you are on an environmentally charged and healthy mission, when, in fact, you are just lining the pockets of food Companies that have jumped on the vegan bandwagon.

Absolutely not. Fact! Consumerism and the fast food nation have now interfered with our vision of plant-based. From the ‘not-so sausage’ sausage roll to the plant-based pizza in aisle 23 – if you are not educated correctly, then you are in line for unwanted weight gain and an increased risk of higher blood pressure and heart disease.

The way we work at The Six Pack Revolution is to use the whole range of good proteins to create our healthy and balanced programme.

Our recipes are balanced using familiar high protein based foods like:

We have so much respect for our plant-based protein and like to add them to curries and other meals with our favourite spices like turmeric; coriander; cumin etc. Which, not only adds flavour but goodness too. It is all about the right balance and treating your plant-based protein as you would fresh meat or fish.

YES! Eating more plant-based foods will do your body a world of good. Past studies show that eating a diet low in animal proteins; favouring unsaturated over saturated fats and limiting refined grains; sugars and processed foods can be linked to longer life expectancy and a healthier body and mind.

Studies even show that this pattern of eating can reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes; promote a slimmer waistline and healthier body. The nutrients that this style of eating provides such as magnesium, potassium, iron, folate, and fibre can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress that promotes cell damage. So, not only do you feel better, but your skin and hair is going to look and feel better too.

On The Six Pack Revolution we keep this all in balance yet keeping it flexible for sustainability and build a machine that works at its optimum via this route.

A carefully planned balanced diet is the most important thing for children and adults alike. It is essential for living a long and healthy life.

If your vision of a plant-based diet is legumes; unrefined grains and pulses; raw and cooked vegetables; fruits; nuts and meat substitutes such as soy products and fresh herbs and spices then you are on your way to a balanced and healthy diet.

The recipes from the SPR programme can be adapted for any style of diet. Each recipe is specifically designed to fuel the body correctly. Over 100 recipes are now easily accessible in our new book.

A bit about the book…

Eat Your Way to a Six Pack is brought to you by Scott Harrison, founder of The Six Pack Revolution. The concept of the book is to bring to life the revolutionary programme and to open up the incredibly tasty and easy to make recipes used throughout the programme allowing everyone to fuel their body with the right energy and nutrients for health and happiness. This recipe book is easy to adapt to vegan diets and also includes many plant-based balance meals and snacks.

Watch this space for Scott’s next book coming soon….  Here is a sneak peak of one of the new plant-based recipes…