Whole Grains for a Balanced Vegan Diet | How to Eat More as a Vegan

Whole grains are a staple food group for a nutritionally balanced vegan diet. Research consistently demonstrates a health benefit to consuming whole grains and they provide important nutrients for vegan diets.

While learning about health benefits and nutrient content of whole grains is great, it’s also important to learn how to include more of them in your diet. See below for my favorite recipes that include whole grains.

This page covers:

What are Whole Grains?
Health Benefits of Whole Grains
Nutrition Content of Whole Grains
Why Whole Grains are Important to Eat as a Vegan
List of Whole Grains to Include in a Vegan Diet
How to Include more Whole Grains in your Diet
Recipes with Whole Grains from Lettuce Veg Out

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What are Whole Grains?

Whole grains are the grain portion of cereal and pseudo-cereal plants. Whole grains are made up of three distinct parts and each part of the seed contains different nutrients.

The three parts of a whole grain are: endosperm, germ and bran.

For a grain to be considered whole, it must contain all three of these parts. If a grain is rolled, cracked, crushed or cooked, the resulting product still contains these three parts and is therefore still a whole grain ¹.

What are Refined Grains?

A refined grain has had one or two of the three parts of a whole grain removed. Typically, the bran and germ are removed, leaving the endosperm. Since each part has a different nutritional profile, a refined grain doesn’t have the same nutrient content as a whole grain.

Processing a grain is not the same as refining a grain. Processing is simply any action that is taken to change the grain from its original form. Many different processing actions leave the full nutritional value of the grain (ex. rolling or crushing). As long as all three parts of the grain are present, it’s a whole grain.

Health Benefits of Whole Grains

The health benefits of whole grains are numerous. Whole grain consumption is associated with:

Decreased systemic inflammation ²^,³^,⁴
Lower body weight ⁵
Lower risk of heart disease ⁶^,⁷^,⁸^,⁹
Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes ¹⁰^,¹¹^,¹²^,¹³
Decreased risk of mortality ¹⁴^,¹⁵^,¹⁶^,¹⁷

The health benefits associated with grain consumption are almost always found with whole grain consumption and not for consumption of refined grains. Some of these studies looked at replacing refined grains in the diet with whole grains.

Remember, processing a grain is not the same as refining. Refining a grain removes one or two of the components of the whole grain, and changes its nutritional composition.

Please keep in mind this is a brief overview of the subject. Not all studies show as strong of a result compared to the ones referenced above. However, the overall summary of research seems to clearly point to the health benefit of consuming whole grains.

Additionally, the health benefits found in some of these studies were leveled off after a certain daily intake of whole grains was reached. This suggests that consuming whole grains above this level (varies based on the study) wouldn’t pose additional benefits.

Nutrition Content of Whole Grains

Each of the three parts of a whole grain contains a different array of nutrients ¹⁸.

The bran contains:

Most of the fiber
B-vitamins
Iron
Zinc
Magnesium
Antioxidants and phytochemicals

The germ contains:

Vitamin E
B vitamins
Healthy fats
Antioxidants and phytochemicals

The endosperm contains:

Most of the starchy carbohydrate
Some protein
Some vitamins

Whole grains can also be a good source of selenium, depending on the selenium content of the soil in which the grain is grown.

Nutrition Content of Refined Grains

Since the bran and germ are often removed from a whole grain when creating a refined grain, you can see that much of the nutrient content is lost.

In particular, fibre, minerals (iron, zinc, magnesium), B-vitamins, vitamin E, antioxidants and phytochemicals are lost.

In Canada, there is mandatory fortification of breakfast cereals, refined flour, pre-cooked rice and pasta ¹⁹. Generally these foods need to be fortified with B-vitamins and iron. Adding magnesium is typically voluntary ¹⁹.

While it’s great that some of the nutrition is added back into a refined grain, the vitamin E, healthy fats, antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber and often magnesium are lost.

Why Whole Grains are Important to Eat as a Vegan

Some of the nutrients found in whole grains can be challenging to get on a vegan diet. Therefore, whole grains are an important staple for ensuring nutrient adequacy as a vegan.

In particular, iron, zinc and B-vitamins are important reasons for vegans to aim to include whole grains into their diets. Absorption of iron and zinc from whole grains may be a concern. Adding vitamin C to the meal containing whole grains can boost absorption of iron. Soaking, sprouting, cooking and fermenting whole grains can help improve zinc absorption.

Some whole grains are inexpensive which can make them a great staple in any diet. Other grains, especially “ancient” grains which are gaining popularity, can be on the pricier side. However, the nutritional benefit could be worth the price (if it fits within your food budget).

List of Whole Grains to Include in a Vegan Diet

Many people only consume a few grain products. From my experience, wheat, oats and rice are by far the most popular grains consumed in the average Canadian (or American) diet. Barely and quinoa are also somewhat common. There is a much wider range of whole grain options out there to choose from!

Variety is always helpful when planning a nutritious diet. Not only does each food contain a different array of nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals, it’s also nice to keep meals exciting with different tastes and textures.

The following is a list of whole grains: ¹

Amaranth*
Barley
Buckwheat*
Corn (including popcorn!)*
Millet*

Oats*
Quinoa*
Rice (brown rice and colored rice)*
Rye
Sorghum

Teff
Triticale
Wheat (including varieties such as: spelt, emmer, farro, kamut, durum, bulgur, cracked wheat, wheatberries)
Wild rice*

All the grains listed above with an asterisk (*) are gluten-free options! While most people have no need to avoid gluten, it’s nice to know that there are many whole grain options for those who must avoid gluten for medical reasons.

Sometimes it’s challenging to find these grain options in the average grocery store. Some bulk food shops or farmers markets may carry them; or buy them online.

How to Include more Whole Grains in your Diet

Since whole grains are a staple food for a balanced vegan diet, it’s important to know how to include more into your diet. Whole grains can easily become a part of any meal. Here are my top tips for including more whole grains into your vegan diet:

Prep a Batch of Whole Grains Each Week: Select a whole grain and cook up a batch of it once per week. It’s great to have leftover grains on hand to add to any recipe.
Use Whole Grains as the Base of a Salad: To make a salad into a meal, try using a whole grain as the base (ex. quinoa salad, wild rice salad etc.). Or just toss onto any regular salad for a boost of nutrition!
Try a New Whole Grain Each Month: Haven’t tried many of the whole grains listed above? Challenge yourself to find and make a recipe for a new whole grain each month!
Get Baking: Many of the whole grains listed above can be ground into flours and used in different recipes/ baking. This can be a fun way to try new grains.
Make a Grain Bowl: Grain bowls, Buddha bowls, macro bowls, hippie bowls – whatever you want to call them, these recipes are a perfect way to eat whole grains. Add a cooked whole grain to a bowl with protein, veggies and flavor/ sauce then enjoy!
Enjoy a Sandwich or Wrap: Sandwiches and wraps sometimes get a bad rep, but if you start off with a nice whole grain bread/ wrap, you can build yourself a convenient lunch.

There are countless other ways to enjoy whole grains. It’s easy to use cooked whole grains as the base for any stir fry or curry dish. They also go great in fillings for any number of recipes (think stuffed peppers or burritos).

The possibilities are endless!

Recipes with Whole Grains from Lettuce Veg Out

Check out the latest recipes featuring whole grains from Lettuce Veg Out.

Some of my favorites include:

Summary: Whole Grains for a Nutritionally Balanced Vegan Diet

Whole grains consumption is associated with numerous health benefits. Beyond that, whole grains contain many important nutrients for a nutritious vegan diet. Since they are a staple food group for vegans, it’s important to learn how to include a variety of whole grains into your diet!

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References cited:

Please note that this is a curated list of references for the topics above and is not intended to be comprehensive.

Disclaimer: always speak with a doctor before changing your diet. Please read our full website disclaimer.

Author Profile: Nicole Stevens

Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out. She provides vegans with balanced meals and easy-to-understand nutrition science.

Having attained a Masters degree and passing a national registration exam, Nicole is a trusted source of nutrition information. She uses this knowledge to educate others about vegan diets and how to thrive as a vegan.