MY TOP 7 TIPS FOR BUDDING PLANT BASED EATERS

Hello again you beautiful souls!

There has been what I feel like is an absolute flood of people considering going vegan after watching the latest plant based documentary "What The Health?". There has been a avalanche of "de-bunkers" and "de-bunking of the de-bunkers" and information and mis-information. In light of all this new circulation of opinions and data, one can find it really difficult to know who to believe. I know I was totally confused with all the new and contrary information I was learning that totally went against everything the main stream media and fad diets had taught me. " carbs make you fat", " carbs don't make you fat", "animal flesh causes cancer" " exogenous cholesterol causes heart disease", "exogenous cholesterol is healthy for us". It can feel like absolute MADNESS. After being vegan myself for over a year and running back and forth between opinions, from my personal experience there are a few key things that I want to share with all of you. Because I AM vegan you may think my bias will cloud everything I'm about to tell you, but to the contrary, I am 1000% for everyone doing their OWN research and really finding out for themselves what the non-biased truth really is. which brings me to my first tip.

#1 DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

- What you choose to believe is ultimately your choice and you have every freedom to do so. That being said, It is so easy to take someones word for something and let other people tell us what we should believe, but when it boils down to something so important as our health, it would benefit us more to really dig deeper and learn for ourselves what the unbiased truth really is and put aside our own bias in the process. That being said is can be difficult to find trustworthy unbiased information in the vast ocean of the internet. Since this is the case the best advice I can give you is to don't take any blog for face value, look who wrote whatever article you may be looking at and if any information is being presented, look at who funded the study for that information. These are two ways that you can see if there is any bias in the information being presented.

- Side note: the rest of the tips will be for people who already have committed to being plant based and want to know where to start.

#2 SMALL STEPS WILL STILL GET YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.

- It can be easy to get overwhelmed when you think about completely changing something so personal as your daily diet. I'm here to tell you that its OK to go slow and make one change at a time if you need to! I personally didn't make the whole switch overnight myself! I actually stopped eating cows and pigs first because I didn't feel a good every time I would consume them , and then chickens for the same reason, and then I was only eating fish for a while when I watched a speech by Gary Yourofsky called " BEST SPEECH YOU WILL EVER HEAR" and I made a ethical connection to consuming the flesh of animals. That was the last day I ever ate an animal. So in reality it took me around six months to go 100% plant based, and for you it may take longer and that's okay! Just keep making small changes in time frames that make you feel comfortable and keep your ultimate goal in mind! There is no shame in walking slower than someone else in the same way as there is no shame in going plant based slower than someone else. We all have different comfort levels and I can say for myself that I respect those that even care about going plat based and are taking steps in that direction because I know that every little change makes a huge difference on a global scale. Think if everyone in the world made one small change, THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE! so don't stress and take as many steps as you need.

here is a list of ideas for small steps you can make to go plant based

- Remove one animal from your diet a week, month, 6 months, year, and replace it with a plant based alternative. ( brands like Gardein, Beyond Meat, and Field Roast all have amazingly similar tasting products to animal flesh but without the need to end any beings life! )

- Eat one plant based meal a day. ( Breakfast is a really easy meal to make plant based as many breakfast foods are already plant based)

- Eat fully plant based one day in your week. ( This is a great way to find plant based foods you really like without overwhelming yourself. This way when you find more meals you like the switch will be even easier because you already know what you like to eat! )

- Find plant based friendly options at different restaurants, many places you already go have plant based options, but knowing that you have something animal free in a pinch is a great help. Plus then you know what restaurants you can tell your family to make plans at if they ask.

- Watch YouTube and read blogs for different plant based meal ideas! ( Which I'm sure you already do) Some of my favorites are " Sweet Potato Soul" , " Avant Garde Vegan", " From My Bowl" , " Guilt Free Vegan", " Raw Alignment", "Tish Wonders", "Simmnet Nutrition", "John Venus" and " Family Fizz" to name a few! haha!

- Educate yourself on the environmental benefits of a plant based diet. This further inspire you to keep going on your journey to plant based. There are some excellent documentaries on this subject which I highly recommend. " Cowspiracy" , " Food Matters" and " Forks Over Knives".

#3 BE OPEN TO NEW FLAVORS

A lot of us can have preconceived notions when it comes to taste about a certain type of food, be it vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, fat free, raw or what have you. I personally have no problems trying new foods when it comes to taste, but I know a lot of people who won't even touch something if you tell them is vegan or gluten free. I think this can be so limiting to our experience in life! being a food lover as I'm sure all of you are, I want to have amazing taste experiences. Just think of all the possibilities there are to have new amazing opportunities with food, opportunities that you will miss if you don't just try something new! You may not like some, but you may LOVE others and by being open to new foods that you may have held negative feeling towards in the past, you will expand your positive food experiences and get to enjoy something new!

#4 MAKE USE OF TRANSITION PRODUCTS!

- When I first went vegan, one of the hardest things to get used to, as silly as it sounds perhaps, was the empty spot on my plate where a piece animal flesh would always be. It honesty was the strangest feeling to have a fully plate of rice and beans with veggie curry and not have a piece of meat on top. One thing that helped me feel more comfortable with this was "fake" meats, or meat substitues! it made a huge differnce in my peace of mind in the beginning when I first became vegan to be able to replace that piece of animal, with something that looked and tasted similar but was 100% more compassionate. I have seen a replacement for just about everything, from chicken, to turkey, to prok, to fish. Transitioning to plant based with these products can be a easy and more familiar way to change you diet lifestyle if you feel to uncomfortable with switching to bananas, beans and rice right away! haha

#5 EAT ENOUGH CALORIES!

Because of the drastic contrast in caloric density and fiber content of animal products compared to plant based foods, it can be easy to fall short of calories if you don't give it any attention. While greens, veggies, fruits, and grains are amazing for you, they also have a lot of fiber and will fill you up long before you over eat them. What I suggest is downloading a calorie counting app on your phone like " My Fitness Pal" or "Crono-meter" just for the first few weeks that your transitioning to a plant based diet. That way you can make sure you eat enough and feel fantastic all the time!

#6 ADD MORE WHOLE FOODS TO YOUR DIET

While I love sweets and salty crunchy snacks and treats just as much as anyone else, it is very obvious that those foods will not give us everything our bodies need to function at their best as far as micro nutrients go. I myself went through what I call a "vegan junk food extravaganza faze" where I found every packaged food that was vegan and tried it out just because it was vegan. While this is a great way to show someone the variety and ease of finding ready to eat vegan food, it is not really the healthiest option for our bodies. At the end of that faze of my life I noticed I had gained a little fluff and didn't feel quite as good as I would've liked to. This is where eating whole foods and making them the majority of your nutrition becomes so important! Whole foods are really the pinnacle of perfection when it comes to getting the best nutrition you can possibly get and also help you stay healthy, fit and happy for the rest of your life! Below is a list of whole foods that you can enjoy just in case your not quite sure what this term means! I love roasting all kinds of different veggies with different herbs and spices and then pairing them with some type of grain and bean for a whole rounded meal full of fiber and nutrition. Pick some of these foods for your weekly shopping list and you'll deffinitley be in good shape!

Whole Grains

- Brown or White rice

- Quinoa

- Kamut

- Barley

- Couscous

- Amaranth

- Teff

- Oats

Beans and Lentils

- Kidney Beans

- Black Beans

- Navy Beans

- Garbanzo Beans

- Black Eyed Peas

- Green and Yellow Peas

- Red Lentils

- Black Lentils

- Green Lentils

- Edamame

Roots and Tubers, Rhizomes and Squash

- Carrots

- Beets

- Parsnips

- Turmeric

- Ginger

- Sweet Potatoes

- Red Potatoes

- Yellow Potatoes

- Russet Potatoes

- Yams

- Butternut squash

- Pumpkin

- Spaghetti Squash

- Zucchini

Veggies and Greens

- Broccoli

- Cauliflower

- Brussel Sprouts

- Celery

- Kale

- Spinach

- Collard Greens

- Parsley

- Cilantro

- Romaine Lettuce

- Red Lettuce

- Arugula

- Watercress

- Snap Peas

- Red Cabbage

- Red, Green and Yellow Peppers

- Mushrooms

Fruits, Nuts and seeds

- Apples

- Berries

- Bananas

- Lemons

- Limes

- Oranges

- Pears

- Grapes

- Watermelon

- Papaya

- Grapefruit

- Avocado

- Mango

- Walnuts

- Almonds

- Brazil Nuts

- Pistachios

- Cashews

- Hazel Nuts

- Hemp seeds

- Chia Seeds

- Flax Seeds

- Pumpkin Seeds

Spices

- Garlic Powder

- Onion Powder

- Pink Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt

- Oregano

- Garam Masala

- Curry Powder

- Smoked Paprika

- Cinnamon

- Nutmeg

- Rosemary

- Sage

- Caraway seeds

- Nutritional Yeast

I just made you the longest shopping list ever! All these Foods have all the nutrients your body needs to thrive!

# 7 FIND A GOOD B12 SUPPLEMENT

Many people think that B12 is a vitamin that can only be obtained through eating animal products, but this is not the case. B12 is actually a bacteria found in soil and long ago when humans were drinking spring water or eating vegetables from a garden that weren't overly sanitized, humans got plenty of B12.

Although sanitation has absolutely been a life saver for humans, it has also come with a cost of not getting the naturally occurring bacteria in the earth and water. I personally like the "Garden of Life" B12 Spray or the "Concentrace" liquid B12.

So Those are my 7 tips for budding plant based eaters! If you read all of this I hope it assured and inspired you to learn for yourself and to be open and have fun with you plant based journey! No stress needed, just exploration and Health!

Love and Light being sent to all of you

, Allysa