Start where you are

Plant-based eating can feel intimidating. How do you cut animal products out of your diet completely? Won’t things taste terrible? How on earth will you stay full? Since going completely plant-based this past year after flirting with adding more plants to our diet for 3 years, we totally get it. It feels like a lot mentally, especially if you’ve bought into the Whole30, paleo, or Keto diets of late (raises hand). If you’ve been in the carnivore camp, we welcome you, too. This will be an even bigger mental shift for you, but you can do it!

Some practical tips and ideas for you as you begin your journey are below. Open your mind to the possibility that this way of living and eating could very well change your life, as it has changed ours! Don’t wait until you know everything or understand it all to start taking some practical steps to become more plant-focused.

📧 Sign up for our email newsletter so that you get our FREE digital Grocery Shopping Guide to save you time and money at Aldi and Walmart! It helps when you start to see that plant-based eating is affordable and doesn’t require a sacrifice of taste.
🔀 Switch out your milk and creamer for plant-based options. Oat, almond, cashew, coconut, or soy are all easy-to-find options; Silk even has some fortified options for kids. From Aldi to Whole Foods, you can find options that fit your budget. It’s easy to walk into the grocery store and pick up a gallon of milk off the shelf without even thinking about the fact that it comes from cows that are forced to constantly produce milk, a hormonal food created for their babies so that they can grow to be close to 1,000+ pounds in a short period of time. While raw milk is having its moment right now (in all senses of the word), consider what you’re actually drinking…and the fact that the baby cows the substance is meant for are completely deprived of their own mother’s milk. BONUS: plant-based options are nearly always cheaper (we checked)!
🌱 Replace one to two dinners a week with a completely plant-based option. If you don’t want to jump in with both feet, that’s ok! Try simply changing one or two meals a week at first, and see how you feel. Take a meal you love, like spaghetti and meatballs, and replace the meatballs with a pre-made vegan meatball option and add marinara sauce. Instead of a bolognese sauce, make a lentil bolognese. If you’re making a chicken pot pie, opt for a veggie pot pie instead! Roasted cauliflower and veggie tacos sprinkled with a dairy free cheese are simply delicious, especially with some tasty salsa and guacamole.
📺 Get inspired! Sit down and watch Forks Over Knives tonight. It’s a gateway documentary for a reason. And no, there is no scary slaughterhouse footage, either; it’s a look into the power of plants to transform health very quickly.
🧑‍🍳 Treat yourself to a new cookbook to get inspired (or get one from the library!). Might we recommend our favorites? Nisha Melvanie’s Practically Vegan, Danielle Brown’s Healthy Girl Kitchen, and Carleigh Bodrug’s PlantYou are chock full of amazing recipes! We especially love the visual layout of Carleigh’s books, which make cooking very approachable.
🍛 Eat all the (whole) carbs. You heard us right! Get some hearty whole grain rice, lentils, oats, and potatoes in your pantry and onto your plate. These carbs are complex and will keep you full for hours and will keep things, ahem, regular! Plus, they are an excellent base for meals, whether it’s beans and rice or a huge bowl of hearty oats topped with berries and nuts (and some dairy free chocolate chips, duh). Potatoes (keep the skin on) air fried and dipped in hummus or guacamole is a fabulous side, too. Don’t be scared of these nature-given foods that are nutrient dense and super filling. They keep you full and combat hunger and cravings–win-win!
🍅 Commit to adding a cup of fruit and a cup of veggies to each meal. A cup really isn’t that much, but it will help fill you up and will give you lots of added nutrients and fiber to feed your gut the good stuff. Even if you’re still eating your Friday night pizza, try adding a cup of steamed broccoli and a cup of apple slices, or maple-glazed brussel sprouts and a berry salad. So easy, but an extra pop of nutrition, not to mention forming a habit that will pay dividends over time.

We hope these 7 tips inspire you to take small steps toward a plant-based lifestyle. And sign up for our newsletter so that you stay in the know and get all the tips and ideas right in your inbox!

Peace, love, and plants,

John & Heather