Transitioning over to a plant based diet is not as difficult as you may think. All it takes is a little planning ahead and prep work and you will be set for the upcoming week. For instance, since today is Saturday, I will decide what dishes I want to make for the week, make a list of the food I will need and go grocery shopping. If everyone in your household is moving towards a plant based diet, this is easy. However, I am the only one totally on board with this in my household....my husband and youngest son are not totally on board yet, and I have my brother-in-law living with us for awhile...he's not totally on board either....so I am making two different meals for dinner. They are slowly eliminating meats and dairy....baby steps....and that's OK....as long as we're moving forward.
My point is, this can be done with a little prep work. So, once home from shopping, if you know you will need salad for the week, wash and chop up some vegetables and put them in ziplock bags. Better yet, make your whole salad in a big bowl and transfer it into ziplock bags...ready to use when you need it....talk about convenience food! By chopping vegetables and putting them into bags, you can come home from work and just grab whatever you need and starting throwing it together...the "hardest" part is done, the prepping.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, on the weekends make batches of brown rice, cook a big batch of beans, or any other whole-grain like quinoa. Again, portion out single servings, or how ever many servings you need for a weeknight dinner and store in ziplock bags. When you get home from work, there is no cooking rice or beans for 25-30 minutes, they are ready and waiting. You can throw a dinner together in the same time it would take you to make a frozen "food-like product" in the microwave.
For example, when you have some onions and garlic chopped up in small bags, you could get home, grab your bags of veggies, start sauteing the onions and garlic in a small amount of water, (NO OIL NEEDED...if you never tried this, what are you waiting for...you will NEVER miss the oil or the fat and calories), add whatever veggies you like, I add whatever I have in the fridge ready to go, I also add chop up kale, and some beans. Then, depending what I feel like, I might add some marinara sauce, or some kind of sauce I have pre-made, (tons of recipes out there for all kinds of sauces and marinades....when you make your own you know the ingredients and it's SO MUCH CHEAPER and HEALTHIER), or, I may just add some kind of spices without any sauce.....it is delicious and under 30 minutes from fridge to table!
When following a whole food plant based diet, the only rules are to eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, and beans. The more colors on your plate the better! Check out all the recipes available on-line, or get a couple cookbooks. I remember when I started this, there were not many books available, I really had to search. Now, Barnes and Noble has an entire aisle dedicated to plant based diets! It's amazing. One of my absolute favorite cookbooks is, The Everyday Happy Herbivore, by Lindsay Nixon. The recipes are quick, easy, and made with food you can buy in your local grocery store. That's just one book, I have several that have so many really good recipes.
So, let's get started on improving your health and preventing all kinds of horrible diseases....preventing something from happening is a whole lot easier than "fixing" something once it has begun. Remember, if we are talking about the subject of cancer, (no one wants to discuss this), it takes billions of cancer cells to form together BEFORE it is detected. This is not something that happens overnight. By eating a plant-based diet, you are giving your body all the powerful ammunition it needs to "fight and kill" these cancer cells before they start forming together.
The same goes for heart disease....even if you have heart issues, they CAN BE REVERSED! Cut out animal products in lieu of your chest! When given the option of having your chest opened or eating from the plant kingdom, I think the majority of the people would choose the latter.
It's never too late to start eating a healthy diet. All the research shows Health=Healthy Living: that includes first and foremost:
By eating a plant-based diet, getting at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and getting enough sleep, you will be on your way to the best health you could have ever imagined. As I write this blog, every single person in the medical practice I work in is sick with upper respiratory infections....coughing, sneezing, chest congestion, head congestion...there are 12 of us.....11 people are sick....1 is not.....
As always, if I can help you in anyway, please let me know....I would love to help you!
My point is, this can be done with a little prep work. So, once home from shopping, if you know you will need salad for the week, wash and chop up some vegetables and put them in ziplock bags. Better yet, make your whole salad in a big bowl and transfer it into ziplock bags...ready to use when you need it....talk about convenience food! By chopping vegetables and putting them into bags, you can come home from work and just grab whatever you need and starting throwing it together...the "hardest" part is done, the prepping.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, on the weekends make batches of brown rice, cook a big batch of beans, or any other whole-grain like quinoa. Again, portion out single servings, or how ever many servings you need for a weeknight dinner and store in ziplock bags. When you get home from work, there is no cooking rice or beans for 25-30 minutes, they are ready and waiting. You can throw a dinner together in the same time it would take you to make a frozen "food-like product" in the microwave.
For example, when you have some onions and garlic chopped up in small bags, you could get home, grab your bags of veggies, start sauteing the onions and garlic in a small amount of water, (NO OIL NEEDED...if you never tried this, what are you waiting for...you will NEVER miss the oil or the fat and calories), add whatever veggies you like, I add whatever I have in the fridge ready to go, I also add chop up kale, and some beans. Then, depending what I feel like, I might add some marinara sauce, or some kind of sauce I have pre-made, (tons of recipes out there for all kinds of sauces and marinades....when you make your own you know the ingredients and it's SO MUCH CHEAPER and HEALTHIER), or, I may just add some kind of spices without any sauce.....it is delicious and under 30 minutes from fridge to table!
When following a whole food plant based diet, the only rules are to eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, and beans. The more colors on your plate the better! Check out all the recipes available on-line, or get a couple cookbooks. I remember when I started this, there were not many books available, I really had to search. Now, Barnes and Noble has an entire aisle dedicated to plant based diets! It's amazing. One of my absolute favorite cookbooks is, The Everyday Happy Herbivore, by Lindsay Nixon. The recipes are quick, easy, and made with food you can buy in your local grocery store. That's just one book, I have several that have so many really good recipes.
So, let's get started on improving your health and preventing all kinds of horrible diseases....preventing something from happening is a whole lot easier than "fixing" something once it has begun. Remember, if we are talking about the subject of cancer, (no one wants to discuss this), it takes billions of cancer cells to form together BEFORE it is detected. This is not something that happens overnight. By eating a plant-based diet, you are giving your body all the powerful ammunition it needs to "fight and kill" these cancer cells before they start forming together.
The same goes for heart disease....even if you have heart issues, they CAN BE REVERSED! Cut out animal products in lieu of your chest! When given the option of having your chest opened or eating from the plant kingdom, I think the majority of the people would choose the latter.
It's never too late to start eating a healthy diet. All the research shows Health=Healthy Living: that includes first and foremost:
- Healthy Diet
- Exercise
- Sleep
By eating a plant-based diet, getting at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and getting enough sleep, you will be on your way to the best health you could have ever imagined. As I write this blog, every single person in the medical practice I work in is sick with upper respiratory infections....coughing, sneezing, chest congestion, head congestion...there are 12 of us.....11 people are sick....1 is not.....
As always, if I can help you in anyway, please let me know....I would love to help you!
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