Any beginner advice?

Gina Marie

Biggest limiter for me was my taste buds! They were ruined from all the processed foods including sugar, meat, and dairy products. In the beginning, give yourself grace and use plant based alternative foods to help you transition your taste buds but realize these are expensive and typically not healthy. Try to slowly transition away from your favorite staples and find alternatives over time but again, give yourself grace. Try to stay whole food plant based and not go back and forth, use as much transition time as you need instead of this cold turkey mentality. You will be more successful if you train/teach yourself to like the food you are eating and then stick to it. Try to keep a log or recipe book of absolute favorites so when you want to quit or go back and forth, you can remember food does taste good. Have WFPB options frozen in freezer and snacks handy for when life get busy. Try to find a buddy or someone who can get you started with some go to faves or cooking/prepping tips. Don't go crazy in the beginning with ingredients you have never used, it can be time consuming a waste of money and leave you dissatisfied and hungry. Again stick to what you like, there is always time to be more adventurous in the future. In the end, remember this is a journey and your 'why' will keep you on the path toward a healthier happier you.

Rosemore Cottage

My best advice is to find some wfpb YouTube channels and watch at least one video each week. The food isn't the challenging part, for me at least. I love eating this way (been vegetarian for 10 yrs and wfpb for 1). It's the prep and cleanup time. Watching other people I respect enjoy the process has helped more than anything else.

Bethany and Abram

I agree. I have been vegetarian for 14 years and wfpb for 1 as well. I like pick up limes, as a start, on YouTube. there is also a show called, raw vegan not gross. ha. they are helpful. YouTube has so much to offer. I like to make a few staple sauces at the beginning of the week, cashew cream, vegan pesto... and a spice blend. that makes it easy to quickly create delicious meals.

Princess Frost

Checkout SWICH. Swich helps you develop cooking skills tailored to your individual health goals, skill level, and food preferences. 100% online. 100% plant-based. 100% free. Swich was started to inspire a global health movement, and teach the world how to cook with confidence, because we know that cooking changes lives and improves health.

Bethany and Abram

https://youtube.com/c/RainbowPlantLife this is also great for help on time and flavor boosting tips

Alan

wow, thank you all for replying, this is all great advice. :) I'll check out those channels for sure, and I actually have one close friend who agreed to start with wfpb with me, so I hope that will make my life a bit easier

Robert Boyer

Gina Marie is one hundred percent right! Don’t beat yourself up and throw your hands in the air and give up if you consume an animal product during you transition. Also learning about basic food nutrition is a must. It’s easier and easier these days to be a junk food vegan. Big Agra sees dollar signs and there’s no lack of really unhealthy plant based options out there. Most all people regardless of diet are nutrient deficient today. I would consult a registered plant based nutritionist and have bloodwork done. I’ve been plant based for almost 2 years now and come at it from an athletic performance perspective. I thought I had a very healthy diet before I went plant based. When I did bloodwork I was shocked at my deficiencies and also at other things that were really detrimental to my long term health. Definitely don’t do this alone. Forks over knives is a great resource and the work of Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn will change your life. Good luck on your journey and you’re never alone if you don’t want to be.

Michael Davis

forget what you know as "normal food" stop the "i need to replace this" mindset and start with a "what new things can I discover" mindset. You will miss things like cereals etc for as long as you think that you were supposed to eat those foods in the first place

Robert Boyer

Michael I think you get into dangerous territory when you start to talk about what you’re “supposed” to eat. The truth is there’s not one optimum diet for all of humanity. Part of the journey is figuring out what works best for you to make the best you possible. You can find a study to pretty much back up what ever you want to believe about nutrition science. I would strongly recommend to anyone to seek out a medical professional before making any radical changes to your diet and have bloodwork done. What works for me might not work for everyone else or could cause more harm than good. There’s lots of factors to consider and consulting medical professionals like I have about what works best for me is always the best and safest way to go.

Princess Frost

https://thebigswich.com/how-it-works

Alan

Thanks Robert, you are completely right about vegan junk food, it looks as though people just switch from one junk food to another. P.S. I'll check out that movie as well :)

maven

Princess frost can you share the link to Switch