As per a Nielsen survey, approximately 67% of consumers in the GCC follow a particular diet to avoid non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as blood pressure, diabetes etc.

As restaurant owners or food businesses, you would want to make sure to accommodate every type of customer who comes across your online business or walks into the door - vegan, plant based, vegetarian etc.

People following a vegan diet avoid all types of animal products including meat, seafood, milk and other dairy products as well as honey.

There are various reasons why they follow this diet - 1. It could be for the animals, 2. For health reasons or 3. For the environment to reduce their carbon footprint due to adverse effects of animal agriculture.

Below we mention some ways to veganize your menu.

1. Protein Alternatives - Instead of meat and seafood - there are many ready to cook / eat plant-based meat available now, but also tofu, tempeh, seitan, mushrooms, jackfruit are great meat replacements.
2. No Dairy - There are a bunch of packaged vegan cheeses available now that taste similar to mozzarella, cheddar, even Feta that have a base of potato starch or tapioca starch. Violife, Daiya are some commonly used brands. Many restaurants and cafes create their cheese from scratch using cashews, coconut milk etc. For milk there are many options available soya, oat, coconut, almond, rice etc.
3. Use vegetable broth / stock instead of chicken broth. Use mushroom broth for the umami flavour. Use coconut milk or cream instead of regular heavy cream or milk.
4. Double up on those veggies and legumes - For salads, for appetisers - charred broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower etc, for mains - thai vegetable curry, soba noodles for everything vegan double up on vegetables to create base and to create flavour. Chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans etc - these are extremely versatile whether you are adding it to a salad, making a curry of it, making a patty or something else creative.
5. Replace Egg - There are store bought egg replacements which are available, common one being Bob’s Red Mill Vegetarian Egg Replacer. But some other hacks are to use flaxseed, banana, vegan yogurt, fruit puree etc to bake cakes & breads and chickpea flour for vegan omelettes and scrambled eggs.
6. Nutritional Yeast - This ingredient is a vegan favourite and can be sprinkled on practically any vegan savoury dish.
7. Yes dessert is possible without eggs, butter and milk - Surprisingly, there are lots that can be done with vegan ingredients for ones with a sweet tooth. Using chocolate, nut butters, coconut cream, fruits such as bananas, strawberries can take you a long way. There are recipes available for vegan cheesecake, vegan carrot cake, chocolate / peanut butter fudge or truffles, fruit sorbets, ice cream / gelato with a coconut milk base, cookies, vegan macarons ( using aquafaba).

There is always a concern with the vegan diet about protein, therefore to ease the process we suggest few vegan ingredients with high protein below-

1. Nutritional Yeast - approximately 50g of protein per 100 grams
2. Seitan - approximately 20g of protein per 100 grams
3. Tofu - approximately 8g of protein per 100 grams
4. Tempeh - approximately 18g of protein per 100 grams
5. Edamame - approximately 11g of protein per 100 grams
6. Lentils - approximately 9g of protein per 100 grams
7. Chickpeas - approximately 7g of protein per 100 grams
8. Nut Butters - approximately 7g of protein per 100 grams

Studies have shown that veganism has beneficial effects such as lowering the risk of cancer, reducing arthritis symptoms, improving kidney functions etc.

Luckily for the demographic in UAE, many Indian and Arabic dishes are “accidentally” vegan - so Dal Tadka, Falafel, Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Gobhi Aloo, Dosa, Idli could be hot favourites.

When you do veganise your menu and add these dishes make sure to put a “v” or “ve” next to the dish name and advertise the menu on your different social media channels.

To understand what are the best ingredients to use for maximum nutrition benefits and also calculate calories and macros of the recipes at your food establishment / vegan restaurant - contact NutriCal.

Email us on info@nutrical.co or call / whatsapp us on + 971 52 994 1190 for more information.