During this viral epidemic, it is very important for our immune systems to be strong and functional in order to defend our bodies as much as possible. This means eating a diet rich in the nutrients that our immune systems need in order to function, such as zinc, iron, selenium, copper, and vitamins C, A, B6, B9, B12, and D. A vegan diet can provide you with all of these nutrients (except the last two, which must be eaten in supplements or fortified foods), and today’s lunch did just this.
Some of the most widely known (and most researched) influences on the immune system include vitamin C. Its importance for the immune system along with other vitamins and minerals has been confirmed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), whose report can be read HERE.
This time, we decided to make a buckwheat-based dish with walnuts and carrots, served on sprouts to make the dish even better. We recently wrote about the cultivation and nutritional value of sprouts,end have previously written a detailed account of buckwheat.
Recipe, preparation, and price
|
Quantity (g or ml) |
Price for 4 person (EUR) |
|
|
Main dish |
||
|
Walnuts |
150 |
2,40 |
|
Olive oil |
10 |
0,06 |
|
Onion |
30 |
0,03 |
|
Carrots |
230 |
0,23 |
|
Buckwheat |
200 |
0,96 |
|
Chickpea |
100 |
0,51 |
|
Salt |
3 |
0,00 |
|
Radish sprouts |
50 |
0,45 |
|
Peas sprouts |
50 |
0,45 |
|
Together |
4,63 |
To a pan of hot olive oil we first added our chopped nuts, then onions and carrots before cooking all together. When they were sufficiently cooked, we added the buckwheat and chickpea and cooked it briefly with the vegetables like this before adding in our water. During cooking, the mix was salted to taste. When ready, we mixed it with various fresh sprouts on the plate. We used pea and radish sprouts, making our meal varied in both taste and nutritional value.
The price for this lunch for four people came out to 4.6€, which is a bit more than 1.1€ per person. The most expensive items were the walnuts, which could also be replaced with peanuts or any other sort of nut.
Nutritional value
|
With lunch consumed quantity |
% From daily needs |
||
|
Energy |
515,7 |
kcal |
25,8 |
|
Proteins |
19,3 |
g |
34,5 |
|
Total fats |
27,3 |
g |
62,0 |
|
Carbohydrates |
58,0 |
g |
|
|
Starch |
36,7 |
g |
|
|
Sugar |
4,7 |
g |
|
|
Fibers |
11,3 |
g |
45,4 |
|
Calcium (Ca) |
91,9 |
mg |
9,2 |
|
Iron (Fe) |
3,7 |
mg |
37,2 |
|
Magnesium (Mg) |
218,0 |
mg |
54,5 |
|
Phosphorus (P) |
450,9 |
mg |
64,4 |
|
Potassium (K) |
682,3 |
mg |
34,1 |
|
Sodium (Na) |
401,0 |
mg |
72,9 |
|
Zinc (Zn) |
3,2 |
mg |
32,1 |
|
Copper (Cu) |
1,0 |
mg |
106,0 |
|
Manganese (Mn) |
2,7 |
mg |
117,0 |
|
Selenium (Se) |
11,7 |
µg |
23,5 |
|
Vitamin A |
483,6 |
µg |
48,4 |
|
Vitamin E |
1,6 |
mg |
10,7 |
|
Vitamin D |
0,0 |
µg |
0,0 |
|
Vitamin C |
9,8 |
mg |
9,8 |
|
Thiamin (B1) |
0,2 |
mg |
14,0 |
|
Riboflavin (B2) |
0,2 |
mg |
15,7 |
|
Niacin (B3) |
4,2 |
mg |
29,0 |
|
Pantothenic acid (B5) |
1,7 |
mg |
28,8 |
|
Vitamin B6 |
0,7 |
mg |
45,0 |
|
Folic acid (B9) |
117,9 |
µg |
29,5 |
|
Vitamin B12 |
0,0 |
µg |
0,0 |
|
Vitamin K |
11,1 |
µg |
15,9 |
With today’s lunch, we consumed 25% of our daily caloric needs. Along with this, we managed to get 34.5% of our daily protein, 62% of our fats, and 45% of our fibre with this lunch, mostly coming from the walnuts, carrots, buckwheat, and chickpeas. This meal also brought us lots of iron (37.2%) and magnesium (54.4%) from the nuts, buckwheat, and chickpeas. We managed to get 32% of our daily requirement for zinc and just below 25% for selenium, both of which are important for our immune systems. We were a bit short on calcium, which we would need to make up for in other meals. There were also many vitamins in this lunch, but we were a bit short on vitamins C, E, B1, and B2, as well as obviously lacking vitamins D and B12. More fresh fruits and vegetables in other meals can easily make up for this.
If you have questions about today’s lunch (or ideas for future lunches) then feel free to write to us at hungry.pumpkin.blog@gmail.com and we will get back to you!
Have a great weekend!
The Hungry Pumpkin Team
