Are you too busy? Too stressed out? Showing signs of being unhealthy? Let’s talk about creating wellness and balance with a holistic approach towards how you’re planning and consuming your meals. We live in a very processed world when it comes to the food choices available. In most situations, consuming processed foods is one the least healthy choices even if it feels fast, convenient, and readily available.
I’d like to help you with a better understanding of your nutritional options plus answer your questions around transitioning towards the plant-based nutrition movement plus I share my story of why choosing the plant-based lifestyle is my secret to improved health. You, too, can improve your health. I invite you to listen to my full podcast, Transitioning to a Plant-Based Lifestyle with Ease, with guest Kim Campbell, author of Plant Pure Nation and Plant Pure Kitchen cookbooks.
As your Whole Living Consultant, I care about helping you develop your best whole self. I want to share with you that plant-based foods to not only improve your health but to give you the nutrition needed on a daily basis.
What does it mean to eat plant-based foods?
According to Plant Pure Nation, eating plant-based is defined as consuming foods derived from plants, including vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruits while avoiding eggs, dairy, meats, and fish. This describes someone who observes a plant-based diet eating close to 100% plant-based or whole food plants. Unlike the vegan diet, processed foods—including oil, white flour, and refined sugar—are not part of the diet of someone observing a plant-based lifestyle. Someone living a plant-based lifestyle does this for their health—to prevent chronic illness and disease or reverse chronic illness and disease. And my own motivation for change was for my improved wellness.
How to begin transitioning to plant-based food choices
Basically, start where you are. In the beginning, you will stick with things you’re familiar with and that you know. It’s not necessary to get too strange or different with your food choices. For instance, if you enjoy eating spaghetti and meatballs than prepare spaghetti and pair it with mushrooms, satay, or vegetables. Make a meal with a baked potato or baked sweet potato. Replace whole milk with soya or almond milk. Surprisingly, you may discover transitioning to plant-based food choices is less daunting than you thought it would be.
There are many products to help make the shift easier. During this transition time you will become a good label reader. Remember the longer the ingredient list, the more processed something is.
Planning, planning, planning
In my experience, I’ve found thinking ahead and planning are key. When I’m travelling I think ahead to inquire about nearby restaurants and grocery stores catering towards plant-based meals. Many eating establishments are getting onboard to offer diners more options. An example would be selecting a Subway sandwich with whole grain bread, all the vegetables, mustards, and vinegar to stay away from the oils and sugary dressings. Chipotle makes a yummy Mexican salad full of flavor. And in times when I’m traveling to a smaller town with fewer choices, I pack a frozen plant-based food I’ve prepared myself. A packed frozen meal on a one- or two-hour flight works well and will safely thaw to serve a delicious lunch or dinner in my room.
Cooking is easy when you practice meal planning. Write down what you plan to cook for the week. Then go shopping with your list in hand. If you find you’re buying in larger quantities than you can eat in a week, freeze some of the extras. Go ahead and dice the peppers and onions to freeze to make meal prep in the coming weeks a snap or buy these items already cut and chopped.
Another tip is to make use of your crockpot or InstaPot to prepare meals in larger portions then divide the meal to smaller containers to stock your freezer. You’ll be glad for healthy choice meals on hectic days when the last thing you want to do is stop to think about what to have and then cook. On these days you can head to the freezer and get something good for you instead of dialing for a quick pizza delivery.
Eating healthy can be affordable
It’s a myth that healthy eating costs more. The secret to staying on budget is to shop for vegetables and fruits in season. You don’t have to shop only at health co-ops or Whole Foods. You have many more choices. Go ahead and shop your mainstream grocery stores for what’s in season as well as check out local farmers markets in your area. Plus, you’ll find some great recipe ideas when talking with the vendors at the farmers markets.
It’s much less expensive to buy beans and legumes dry and then cook them to soften and add to the dish you’re preparing. Buy in bulk and freeze the extra.
Much of transitioning towards a plant-based food Iifestyle is thinking ahead and learning strategies to make this quicker and cheaper. Get answers to your questions with Diane Randall as your guide in the following ways:
Sign up today for our ONLINE WORKSHOP “Getting Started with a Plant Based Diet, on Saturday January 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM (CST). Click here to learn more.
Join Our Whole Life Wellness Community a safe and convenient place for busy professionals to connect, share, explore ideas around living a healthier lifestyle. Plus, courses, forums, groups, and community to help you create the life you want…and deserve from the inside out.