A Day of Healthy Plant-Based Eating
How hard would it be to convert to a plant-based diet, you ask? Well, the easiest way to find out (besides giving it a try) is to check out a typical day in the life of a vegan. With it, you’ll see just how easy it is to cut out animal products and embrace a healthy lifestyle. So here goes:
Breakfast: A Healthy Smoothie
While on the weekends you might want to whip up something a bit fancier, for busy mornings there’s nothing better than a healthy, plant-based, and protein-packed smoothie. Make your own recipe with 1 cup of water (or plant-based milk), banana, frozen berries, greens, flax/chia/hemp, and a scoop of protein powder. You’ll start the day with lots of nutrients and be ready to hit the ground running. Alternatively, you can move your smoothie to the afternoon to head off the munchies and have a healthy bowl of oatmeal with fruit, instead.
Lunch: Super Soups and Salads
Full of veggies and filling, you can switch between soups and salads at lunch, or do both! Remember to include hearty fillings (not just greens) in your salad to keep your stomach full – black beans, quinoa, nuts and seeds, etc. The options for soups are endless, but you’ll find the best recipes have a good base – such as pureed sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. Alternatively, throw the same salad ingredients in a gluten-free tortilla and you have a wrap!
Snacks and Sides
What works for you as a snack depends on whether you like sweet or salty. If you try to stick to healthy options, you’ll notice more energy throughout the day. Snacks like fruits and veggies combined with seed/nut butters or hummus are a terrific option.
Dinner: The Main Event
Being part of a plant-based lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up on good food! Soups, stews, casseroles, bowls, pizzas, burgers, it’s all on the menu! A typical plant-based dinner would include a good source of protein, such as bean, legumes, or lentils, but could also use quinoa, artichokes, nuts/seeds, spinach, etc. With all that to choose from, it’s easy to throw together a quick, healthy plant-based meal of, for example, red kidney beans, quinoa, broccoli, and top it with a cashew cream sauce. Delicious!