In a recent post, I explained how raw/whole foods make a difference in my diet. Although I have practiced eating pretty clean for the most part, I haven’t been fully committed and sporadic slips have had me feeling like crap later. While I don’t necessarily endorse a plant-based diet, I certainly believe that it has more lifestyle benefits than most realize or want to admit. At first, these changes require sacrifice, but after some time they are second nature and our bodies become detoxified making non-whole foods distastefull.
Physical Impact of a Plant Based Diet
I think of it like this: A flower lives on water, sunlight and carbon-dioxide. If the flower’s water was diluted, its sunlight was filtered, and its carbon-dioxide was manufactured, what would happen to the flower? Now think of your body as that flower. Here is a lovely illustration…
Im not sure if it’s a symptom of trend or if Americans are actually understanding the effects of eating crap, but it’s getting increasingly easy to find farm-to-table restaurants, order vegetarian or vegan meals and/or request a GF menu. Still, I believe the biggest difference is made in our daily routines and habits. Above I shared a list of groceries I commonly buy – perhaps you’re surprised at how uncomplicated it is? Until recently, this list was mostly supplemented with eggs, turkey, chicken breast, tilapia, shrimp and some cheese.
Making a Transition
In order to experience the full effects of a plant-based diet, I am trying alternative snacks, seasonings and proteins, all of which are inexpensive and found at most grocery stores. I anticipated these things tasting like a sacrifice, but from what I have tried, they are anything but that (meatless meatballs actually taste like meatballs). I will be sharing posts about new products we are trying, as well as raw/whole food recipes for easy transitioning like: smoothies, snacks, easy meals and cooking hacks.
Environmental Impact of a Plant Based Diet
Here are a few resources I encourage you to check out: Cowspiracy, Mountain Mama, Whole Foods, Grain Brain.
This grocery list includes so many of my favourite foods! I’ll be curious to see what products you love… I’ve found some veggie substitutes that are awesome and some that are not so good…
Nellwyn | http://www.thecardinalpress.com
Why do you say you don’t necessarily support a plant based diet? If you consider a whole food plant base diet, you would exclude items such as olive oil and coconut oil, as they are processed, condensed and not whole.
Thanks for your comment Kathy! My diet continues to evolve as I learn more about a plant-based lifestyle and the benefits of eating whole foods. What I meant when I said, “I don’t necessarily endorse a plant-based diet” was that this is MY choice and I’m not trying to push an agenda on others. I simply want to share what works for me and propose it as a suggestion for others to try for themselves. While I do my best to eat only foods made from all-natural, meatless, and dairy-free ingredients, I personally don’t stick to a 100% raw diet. If you have helpful information regarding a plant-based diet, I would love to learn more!
Good list. I’m not a vegetarian, but it’s always good to focus heavily on plant based foods for overall health. My husband is a huge meat eater, but we’ve been making conscience efforts to eliminate meat from a good chunk of the week, and focus on vegetarian dishes as the main option. It’s a transition, but slowly working.
Agreed! My husband and I were actually surprised by how little meat we ate before we started learning more about this. There are so many options that it’s almost like we never made a change.
There’s some great food groups here as a vegan. Thank you Michelle 🙂
I in fact would love to have seen Seaweed added on to the list. This would have made the list extra nutritional 😉
See my top 10 foods that I recommend every vegan should eat daily –> http://thelivingleancoach.com/vegan-foods-to-eat-everyday/