Plant based diet
“A plant–based diet is based on foods derived from plants, including vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and fruits, with few or no animal products. … ” definition from bda.uk
Hey guys! Long time no see!
I’ve been quite busy since August, life got in the way, and I didn’t have the time to take care of my blog. But I’m back! Things have quite changed in my life, and I think I’ll share it here It might resonate to someone 🙂
So as the title suggests, I’m switching to a plant-based diet since Mai. It just came naturally as I no longer use conventional cosmetic products I said to myself why paying so much attention to beauty product and not doing the same on food that has a significant influence on my health. I believe in the ‘you are what you eat.’ In a 1923 edition of the Bridgeport Telegraph, there was an advertisement that read, “Ninety percent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat”.
We are in 2019, that statement is still accurate, and it profoundly resonates to me. That’s an exaggeration, of course, to have the right percentage one should look into studies (not the one conducted by major food industrials themselves ), but it’s easy to see that processed food is not helping anyone stay healthy.
1- No Stress!
First of all, everyone has the right to do what they want with their bodies, and so they have to acknowledge the consequences as well. That being said, I did not push myself into turning my diet overnight, and you shouldn’t.
For a change that big it has to be a personal decision and even better it has to be encapsulated in a global lifestyle change. If not bad habits, your entourage, will frustrate you and that’s obviously not the goal of this change.
2 – Global change
As I mentioned above, my transformation started with cosmetics. I’ve been blessed with acne, oily skin since puberty… My bathroom could compete without blushing with a small cosmetic lab (the amount of money I lost on this…). To summarise I looked at what was inside my cosmetic and started to ban harsh chemical and went for simple formula cosmetic or organic.
To give you an idea I no longer use products containing mineral oil, sulfates, and some other controversial conservators. The simpler, the better. (I now have 1 Moisturiser, 1 cream, and 1 face wash).
So because of the cosmetic thing I now read all my product’s label formula. Note that , ingredients are listed in order. So the first five ingredients are usually the most important. Don’t just settle for a product labeled organic, read the label and identify what’s work for you.
Nowadays , as well as cosmetics, I make my laundry detergent , I use vinegar, baking soda or soda ash to clean my house. I recently added a Bokashi composter in my kitchen and have houseplants in my living room. All this is the result of a conscious change and it’s still an ongoing process.
3 – Become a conscious consumer
There’s a lot of greenwashing marketing so read the label. What you have to keep in mind is that if you don’t know what’s best for you a company with brilliant marketing is going to persuade you that you need a 48 or 72H deodorant (you usually don’t if you take daily shower…but you free to do what you want )
With that said I started to look at my spending habit differently. Eventually, the food question popped fuel by the food scandals we had here in France.
4- Start simple
I started to cut meat rather than throwing the whole steak away. No need to go into fancy substitute it will cost a lot of money. Make a list of non-meat produce you like
- I like mushrooms, so I started to add them to my list
- I love avocado (a lot), so I’ve added them in my list too.
- I like beans (red, white, the whole family gang) so they also found their way to my list
- Lentils
- sweet potatoes (especially a purple variety that make you plate pop).
This is basically my food staple. I progressively switched to whole or semi for pasta, rice, and bread. You, of course, have the infamous vegetable gang! there are plenty of them just find the one you like no need to eat kale if you don’t like it ( because it’s in all the Instagram post )
My plate usually consists of rice or pasta or potatoes + mushroom+beans+avocado(when I have some)+ vegetables ( the ones I’ll find worthy of getting into my plate ) + a small slice of chicken breast (only at the beginning of my transition)
I didn’t mention processed vegetarian food because I don’t use them except for tofu that I recently discovered. My goal is also to reduce as much as possible processed food as they usually have too much salt/sugar/unhealthy fat.
5. Cheat days
I don’t feel guilty at all when I crave a burger or pizza. For me being plant-based should not lead me to a fanatic obsession. Those cheat days just remind me that I’m not perfect and that I’ll do better tomorrow.
6. And more
Concerning dairy product,
I don’t drink cow milk I use homemade oat milk (it’s cheaper than the fancy ones I use to buy). I use it for pancake, cake, smoothies…
I’ve reduced my cheese consumption ( when cheating day = pizza day or when I do home gratin/pie)
Concerning eggs,
I recently came across an article suggesting that eggs (apart for animal cruelty things , sorry for the vegans passing by, one step at a time, I’m not there yet) were unhealthy mostly because the yolk is high in cholesterol.
I still eat them as I don’t want to take a supplement for B12. I still have to educate myself on the B12 topic so I won’t write much about it. If you have info, let me know!
Important!
You should consult your doctor before cutting off meat, I don’t have any particular health issue, so my doctor didn’t give me any supplements. He just warned me about keeping my food intakes as diverse as I can (I’m discovering new vegetables everyday :D). At the moment, the only reliable source of B12 vitamines is through supplement and fortified food , so this point as to be taken seriously.
And of course I didn’t talk about fruits but they usually not the most difficult things to add to a diet 🙂
Note: That’ll be a whole other post , but being plant-based is also turning my home into a waste-free one :D.
I now have a mini jungle in my living room ( I told you global change)
Please do share your tips with me as I’m only starting my journey , 10 months is still new for such a shift!!
I didn’t travel much since coming back from Italy last year, I was busy evolving 🙂 but I have plans for July and August so stay tuned! I still have the travel bug and a nice boss.
I'm an IT Engineer, bloggin at night and a bookworm the remaining time .
Come with me as I travel the world !
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