Is Plant-Based Eating Right For Me? How to Incorporate More Plant-Based Meals In My Diet
I've been primarily a plant-based eater for I think about 10 years. I became mostly plant-based after I read a book by Jonathan Safran Foer. I can't remember the name of the book but it was very well written and very compelling.
And basically, one of the descriptions in the book just talked a lot about animal agriculture in the United States and how animals are treated and the amount of pollution and that type of thing that it contributes to the world. And it just turned me off.
In my nutrition practice, I never tell folks that they have to be plant-based to be healthy. That's definitely not the case.
But, I do find folks often want to include plant-based meals for their families.
In this week's podcast episode I provide some tips to make it easier to transition to a plant-based diet or just to increase the number of plant-based meals your family eats.
Transcript of the Episode
Hi friends, it's Andrea Heyman here with another episode of Adventures In Feeding My Fam. I get a lot of questions about how to transition a family or an individual to a plant-based diet. And I definitely know it can be overwhelming when you're just starting out. But I am positive that you can do this, I have helped lots of people through it. And it's likely that you might struggle or stumble a little bit along the way. But what matters is that you keep trying. Today, I'm going to outline some reasons that people choose to transition to a plant-based diet. And then I'm going to share my five tips to get you started.
Did you guys see that I am having a podcast review giveaway. If you haven't already, given me a review on the podcast, I would love for you to do that. You can enter the contest between March 29 and April 1. And the idea is to get as many people as possible to review the podcast in order to promote and help others discover the podcast. That's really what we want to do so that we can get the word out there and we can help others in planning meals and keeping healthy for their families. So here are the rules to the contest. So first of all, written review in Apple podcasts before you submit the review, take a screenshot, then post it to your Instagram stories and tag me. And then after that, obviously you can submit the review, one person will win a free hour of coaching with me. So this is a great opportunity, especially if you are one of those people who's trying to transition your family to a plant-based meals that you can have an opportunity to have an hour of free coaching with me. And we can sit down and begin to develop a plan for you.
Adventures In Feeding My Fam is a weekly podcast discussing the challenges and fun around feeding your family healthy meals. I'm Andrea Heyman, and I've been a registered dietitian for over 25 years. So I know the importance of good nutrition. But I'm also a mom of three so I understand the challenges and tumor that comes along with trying to make this happen. In this podcast, I'll share my tips, tricks and menus, but also share the stories and food prep failures that come along the way to interview guests. We'll discuss family food traditions, how to strengthen bonds around the family table, as well as their favorite family recipes. There isn't one right way to feed your family. But there are countless stories, you can take bits and pieces and learn from all of them.
So I've been primarily a plant based eater for Gosh, I think about 10 years. And the reason I became a plant based eater is it happened after I read a book by Jonathan Safran Foer. And I can't remember what the name of the book was. But it was very well written and very compelling. And basically, one of the descriptions in the book just talked a lot about animal agriculture in the United States and how animals are treated and the amount of pollution and that type of thing that it contributes to the world. And it just turned me off. And that was kind of the long the final straw. So I would say I eat a plant based diet for 60% environmental reasons and animal treatment reasons and about 40% for health reasons. I do however, eat fish. This is occasionally. But I have to say it seems to stress people out and I go to their homes. And they think oh my gosh, what am I going to feed you if you come over here? And I always answer with nobody is starving. Nobody is going to starve for a meal. If I don't eat your entree, it's okay. But sometimes just telling folks that I will eat some fish tends to help them in our household. We do tend to have plant based meals during the week. And on the weekends. My family usually my son or my husband will make a chicken dish or something else. Maybe the occasional hamburger for themselves. But for the most part we have plant based meals throughout the week.
And I'm not saying that plant based is the only way to go. But there are some definite health benefits. Medically, there have been a lot of studies that show that a plant based diet can do contribute to a lot of positive health benefits, particularly by reducing blood pressure, increasing heart health in general, and help prevent type two diabetes, it helps folks lose weight for sure. And then also can help reduce your risk of certain types of cancers. That's probably most likely to because a plant based diet is going to be more rich in antioxidants and more nutrients. And those antioxidants are what are required to fight those free radicals and help fight those potential cancer causing mutations in ourselves. But as far as all of these other chronic diseases that I just mentioned, certainly These are so so common in our country, and there is a really strong link between a plant based diet and reducing the risk of these diseases. The cool thing is, is that we know that high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, all of those really, really common chronic diseases. Not only are they preventable, but they're reversible, the vast majority of those cases can be turned around. And by transitioning to a plant based diet, you can really increase the likelihood of you reducing your risk of those health conditions. Another benefit is that plant based diet ramps up your brain strength then can reduce the rate of Alzheimer's and dementia in individuals. plant based eating reduces inflammation in the body. So people who have gout or a lot of arthritis and joint pain that can help with that. And more plant based eating is higher in dietary fiber, which we know has a whole slew of benefits health benefits as well.
And my reasons are really for how animals that are kind of cultivated and grown for being eaten in our country are not treated the best way. Even those that are organic, or chickens that are so they say their free range, they're given access to very little space, and often are not living in the best conditions. So anyway, that those are my reasons for maintaining a plant based eating primarily plant based eating style.
So then the question becomes, how do we transition? So I think the biggest kind of one of the biggest keys to transitioning is to know why you're doing it, it's important to be really clear on your reason for embarking on a plant based diet. If it's a big lifestyle change for you, it's going to get tough at times. And so having a clear reason why I can help you stick to your goals. Also, understanding your mindset is really important. And that kind of goes along with understanding your reason why? Alright, so that was tip number one. Tip number two, absolutely go slow and go in stages. There are very few people out there that can totally transition to a plant based diet in, just like overnight. And in fact, one of my cousin's told me that a few years ago, she and her husband watched. I don't remember which movie it was, if it was Forks Over Knives or something like that. But immediately they were like, okay, we need to be vegan. And I think they tried for three days and realized it was way too hard. Now I will say this cousin has made a ton of changes to their family's eating habits and they have tons of vegetables and tons of plant based foods in their lives. But for them to switch over to being vegan just overnight was just really, really too difficult. And I think it is for most people as well. So if you're just getting started, I would say start with one night per week where you are meatless. After that becomes a good routine for you. Then ramp it up and do two nights per week. And remember that progress is not perfection. There's no such thing as perfect here and just continue at it and to transition in stages. Tip number three, meal planning is going to be so important here. If you're not used to plant based eating, it'll take some initial effort because you don't have a good repertoire of recipes that you're comfortable with. And you know how to make if you need to get some tips on meal planning on how to get started. Go back and listen to Episode 33. That one came out February 24. But that'll give you some tips to get you started with some initial meal planning if you're not already a meal planner. So definitely having a meal plan that's going to include some of those plant based meals will help you stick to the course if you are trying to transition to more plant based eating for you and your family. Number four, definitely find some simple plant based recipes. A lot of times, we might try to make really, really elaborate things. And that can be super overwhelming. So ask your friends who include plant based meals in their routine for their favorite recipes at my house, anything in a taco is usually pretty successful and pretty popular. Also, soups tend to be big hits in my house, and I can get my kids to pretty much eat any vegetable or being or anything if it's in a soup. You can also Google the search term simple plant based meals, and that will you with a whole bunch of options. And so I suggest finding one or two per week that you that you believe will be really good hits for your family. So those are my tips for transitioning to plant based eating. Remember, I think the biggest key here is to know your why. And to take it slow really.
I hope you found this episode helpful. If you want to be part of that podcast review contest and have a chance to win an hour of one on one coaching with me. Go ahead and rate and review the podcast and Apple podcasts. Take a screenshot before you submit the review, post it to Instagram stories and tag me then submit the review. One person will have that time to kind of hash out a plan for you and your family. Until next time,