Whole Food Plant-Based Diet: What I learned

As I get older I'm learning more that I enjoy foods that make me feel good and energize me. And I really don't enjoy eating foods that I know will make me feel horrible later. I'm extremely in tune with my body, so I know when something feels off. Feeling tired, achy, inflamed or bloated isn't normal. So if you feel like that, I encourage you to take action and do something about it. If you've been following me for a while you know that back in February I tested out the WHOLE30. I was a fan and saw great results from it. I loved it so much that I was sharing it with others and getting clients hooked on it who were also seeing great results. I reintroduced foods and found that my body responded well to plant base whole grains so I added those back in and ate them occassionally. Over time I followed the Whole30 lifestyle with a few modifications 90% of the time. I still didn't feel like my energy levels were 100% what they could be and I was still fighting inflammation in my knee joints on and off. I came across a book called Eating Clean by Amie Valpone. I was intrigued because she bases her lifestyle off of eliminating toxins from the body. If you're experiencing headaches, acne, bloat, hot flashes, inflammation, itchy skin, finding it hard to lose weight, gain weight easily, have a hard time sleeping at night etc. these can all be due to having too many toxins in the body. We can become toxic through mainly the foods we eat and products that we use. The Whole30 plan states dairy, sugar, gluten, alcohol, soy, legumes as high inflammatory foods. I found it interesting when I picked up Amy's book that she states that dairy, sugar, soy, gluten, alcohol, peanuts, eggs, and some animal meats as high inflammatory foods. I was eating A LOT of eggs and lean meat. This got my wheels turning and interested in testing out her 21 day detox plan. For 21 days you eliminate all animal meat, eggs, dairy, sugar, soy, gluten, alcohol and peanuts. So basically a Whole Food plant based nutrition plan. In addition to that I replaced many products I was using for safer products. I've switched out my hair and body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, mouth wash, make up, lotions, laundry detergent, dish washer detergent and hand soap! I learned a lot during this process to say the least! It's challenging, but worthwhile. I would encourage everyone to experiment with the foods that they eat, but before you do, here are some lessons I learned along the way. 1. It's HARD. Surprise, surprise! I'm basically following a vegan lifestyle, but stricter. Departing from the eating and cooking habits that I was already used to from the Whole30 was difficult. I already found the loop holes to making things easy with the Whole30, and had my go to meals for something quick. 2. On the other hand, it’s not THAT hard. Once you become used to your ways, things become easy because you’re familiar with them. When I told people I’m following a vegan diet for 21 days I generally got these responses. “Oh, awesome! How’s that going for you?!” or “Ew, I could never be vegan.” As someone who used to eat anything and everything growing up, I can honestly say, anyone who has the desire to feel and be healthy, can do it. Sure there were road blocks at times. There were times that I had to get creative with my food but that’s part of the fun and challenge. Forcing yourself to think harder about what you’re eating and where it comes from is habit-forming. And if you want to make living healthy a part of your lifestyle, then that’s a very good habit to get into. Plus, I’ve been eating some really tasty and satisfying food. 3. Don’t do it all at once.

For my 21 day detox I quit animal products cold turkey, with one slip up (when we had pizza with friends). If you want to experiment with this type of lifestyle, I wouldn’t advise going this route. I personally set myself up for success by already eliminating dairy products and added sugar for a while before starting this. The next thing that went for me were the eggs. So It was very simple for me to transition into just eliminating the animal meat. I would suggest giving yourself time to learn new recipes before starting something this extreme. Now that I’m done with the detox, I’m still allowing for the occasional piece of meat (usually fish) but it won’t be in my diet nearly as much as it used to be. I still don’t consider myself 100% a whole food plant based eater but it’s what I will follow most of the time because I’ve enjoyed the feeling and satisfaction of it. I still don’t see myself living a life where I will never bite into a real chocolate chip cookie or animal meat again. That’s not realistic for me and I would drive myself (and my husband) crazy. 4. The food is delicious. Yes, it takes a tad bit more time to prepare the meals because you can't just throw a box of Mac n cheese in a pot and call it good, but you learn some cool new cooking techniques in the kitchen. And believe it or not, Kenny and I enjoy and appreciate a killer veggie burger. All the meals have been extremely flavorful and yummy! Some evenings I would even cook a piece of meat for Kenny to have with his meal but most of the time he didn't feel the need for it and felt too full to finish it. 5. Learn to enjoy cooking. Homemade meals are always THE BEST because you know what ingredients go into them, so I cook A LOT. Hopefully you can find the joy in trying new recipes and taking the time to make them like I do, otherwise you won't survive. The couple times that I did eat out, it was difficult to find something that followed the guidelines 100%. So in these situations you just do the best you can and don't sweat it. Eating these type of meals out aren't nearly as satisfying because most of the time I would opt for a salad. And lets be honest, restaurant salads aren't always the greatest. 6. Plant based foods are more satisfying than one would think. When you approach a plan like this it's important that you don't just live off boring salads made with ice burg lettuce (ew). You really need to be open minded and creative with new recipes. And to choose recipes that have a variety of ingredients. In other words eating a bowl of oats for breakfast followed by a salad for lunch and dinner is not going to cut it. I would classify that as a crash diet. You won't be able to live off that the rest of your life, so don't even attempt to do something silly like that. What I like about this plan is that is forces me to eat a variety of foods which in return I felt extremely satisfied and energized after my meals. 7. You will eat more veggies than you ever have before. I am lot more mindful of eating more vegetables than I ever have been before, which I love! Growing up I was never good at eating enough vegetables throughout my day. With this plan I'm eating vegetable with every meal even if it's from a homemade smoothie. And everyone can benefit from eating not only MORe veggies, but more VARIETY of veggies! 8. Get creative with your protein resources. A question I got asked a lot is where are you getting your protein from? I am eating a lot of hemp powder, hemp seeds, nuts, quinoa and occasionally have a plant based protein shake. Great lessons, right? So what you're probably really wondering is, did it make a difference in how I feel? Absolutely. I feel leaner and don't get inflammation on and off after eating meals. Everyone will experience different results from eating like this depending on what type of foods you're currently eating. Plus, eating this way has proven to fight and cure many diseases, so it's always good to be more mindful about what's going into your mouth. You would hate to wake up one day and discover a disease that could have been prevented through diet, wouldn't you? If you're wondering if trying out a plan like this would benefit you I'd be happy to talk more in-depth to you about it. To get a little taste of some yummy dishes I've been making try out these EASY crockpot stuffed peppers that has about 17grams of protein!

Vegan Stuffed Peppers Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa

• 2½ cups salsa

• 1 cup corn kernels

• 1 (15 ounce) can organic BPA Free chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 4 large bell peppers (any color), remove tops, seeds and veins. Then cut in half. Instructions In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the peppers. Then fill each pepper half with the quinoa mixture. Place each filled pepper crockpot and cook on high for 3 hours. Serve the peppers as is or topped with guacamole! Yum, yum!

#Vegan #WholeFoodPlantBased #Dinner