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Monday, August 2, 2021

Thoughts on Plant-Based Diet

 Good morning everyone and happy Monday! A little over a month ago I had written that we were going to try switching to a fully plant-based diet for the month of July. You can read that post here. Today I am here to report back on how it went and our plan moving forward. 

First of all, I have had so many friends and family members ask "what exactly is a plant based diet? Vegetarian? Vegan? What's the difference?" Now after having done it for a month I have a much better understanding of it! I have watched documentaries, read countless articles, and plant-based magazines (Forks Over Knives is my fave!). Plant based is most similar to vegan, but they actually have quite a few differences. A plant based diet is about eating more whole foods and eliminating meat, dairy, and processed foods from your diet. A vegan diet eliminates meat and dairy, but not processed foods. Basically I could live off of Fritos and Swedish Fish and that would technically still be considered vegan. A plant based diet would recommend having carrot sticks and cucumbers as a snack instead. This infographic sums up some of the differences pretty well:


See how it said plant-based groups try to source a majority of their diet from plant-based food? Some people who are plant-based still have small amounts of animal products on occasion. A few people I've talked to still eat fish and eggs, this seems pretty common. I tell my friends and family that it's a more laid back version of vegan. If I want to eat a couple bites of cheese, that's fine, the point is just to not eat the whole block of cheese and then buy more. Make sense?


So now we've done it for a month, Dev and I sat down and talked about what we think about it and how we feel. Today I want to share our thoughts with you! 

The Worst Parts:

1. It was very inconvenient. I realized that as a busy mom, I have gotten so used to grabbing something quick/easy. We were out running errands last week and the time got away from us. I decided I would grab the kids some fast food and we could finish our errands without them having a hungry meltdown. At the drive-thru I realized the kids could eat anything on the menu, but the only thing that fit plant-based was French fries... and even that was kind of a stretch. Which leads me to my next point...

2. You HAVE to plan ahead. I have always planned our meals for the week and done the grocery shopping either on Sunday or Monday. What I hadn't anticipated was planning/prepping snacks. Part of a plant based diet is that you can eat whenever you're hungry, you just need to eat whole, healthy foods. Think vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. Some of the more delicious recipes can take longer to cook, so I had to be diligent about prepping the recipes during nap time. 

The Best Parts:

1. Since it is inconvenient, we have to be a lot more mindful of what we are eating and when. So our least favorite thing, the inconvenience, is also one of our favorite things. We used to just grab a quick snack whenever we thought we were hungry, and oddly enough our "quick snacks" were usually dairy items. Think string cheese, a Babybell, a cup of yogurt, etc. Since we couldn't have those options anymore, we had to start thinking about what we could have instead. Often that would lead to us questioning "am I really hungry or am I just bored?" "Can I wait another hour and a half until dinner or do I really need to eat now?". If we really were hungry, we would cut up some veggies to dip in hummus. If we thought "ugh, I don't really feel like going to the work of cutting something up right now" then odds are, we weren't really hungry to begin with. 

2. I have so much energy! I mean if you think about it, it's kind of common sense. When you eat cucumber slices and hummus instead of Chex Mix, your body is going to process those things differently. It is easier for your body to break down fruits and vegetables, meaning the energy your body isn't spending breaking down processed foods can be used for other things. I used to have that post-lunch energy slump every day and now I don't have that! It is my favorite thing about this "diet" by far. Fueling my body with more fruits and vegetables just makes my body run more efficiently.

3. I am learning to cook new and different foods, and therefore finding new vegetables my kids enjoy. Since we are trying to keep it interesting and not eat the same meals over and over, we have been trying new foods. Not even necessarily unique, but things I never thought to eat before. For example, I had never tried to cook okra before. I didn't know how to prepare it/what to do with it, so I just never bought it. I thought I'd give it a try this month and found out that my kids love okra! So do Devin and I! This happened over and over again with several different fruits and veggies. It was a win/win all around!

4. We saved $300 on our food bill. This one actually shocked me. That seems like a lot of money, right? I'll be the first to admit we used to go out to eat more than we should have. We learned very quickly that going out to eat on a plant-based diet just wasn't worth it. The "good" foods on the menu at restaurants were rarely the plant-based ones. So rather than go to a restaurant and wish we were eating something else, we just ate 99% of our meals at home. That cut out a lot of spending. No lunch at Chick-fil-a. No pizza for dinner on a Friday night. Not to mention that adding a can of chickpeas to our burritos is $0.50 whereas adding organic chicken breast (what I previously would've bought) would have cost $8-$10-- per meal! We used to eat salmon multiple times a week, which is also not cheap. We saved quite a bit on groceries, but we mostly saved by not going out to eat. Just thinking of what else we could spend that $300 a month on is extra motivation to keep this going. 

5. We both lost weight. Weight loss was not one of our goals when switching to plant-based, but certainly was an added bonus. Again, it makes sense when you think about it. We used to eat ice cream, cookies, or some other sweet treat at night once the kids went to bed. Now we split some popcorn, or have 2-3 dates if we want something sweet. They make dairy free ice creams, which Devin has still been eating, but I prefer to eat the dates. Again, your body processes a date much differently than it process a cookie. Calorie wise, 2-3 dates are significantly lower than 2-3 cookies too.

So what is the plan moving forward?

We are going to stick with it! We honestly both like it so much that we don't miss meat or dairy anymore. For us, all the positives outweigh the negatives by far. Not only do we notice a difference in ourselves, but we have had a few friends and family members ask us about it too because they are noticing a difference in us. My mom and mother-in-law have decided to start cooking more plant based meals and one of my sisters decided to give going fully plant-based a shot too (my other sister has been plant based for a couple years now, and she's been a big help!). 

Will we be quite as strict about it as we currently are? Probably not. I won't lie, I miss the days of "I don't feel like cooking, let's order a pizza". But maybe we do that once a month instead of every Friday. 


Thanks for reading along today! Today I am linking up with Tanya for Hello Monday. Have a great week!

13 comments :

  1. Thanks for sharing this! I am always so intrigued by plant based diets. It seems like you are thriving! I think the trickiest part for me, the family cook, would be that it seems hard to get a break like doing carryout. Do you feel like you get enough protein to feel full and fueled without any animal proteins? How do you get your protein? Thanks for any info on that. Have a great week!

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    1. I'm happy to help!! I was worried about not getting enough protein but we have been eating a lot of black beans, garbanzo beans, cannelini beans, lentils, quinoa, tofu, edamame, etc. It's pretty rare for us to not feel full.

      I forgot to mention that I've gone meat-free for Lent a few times so I already had some practice in knowing other protein sources. It helps when you kind of already know what to do!

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  2. So essentially a plant based diet is the same as being vegetarian? Here in India, a very high percentage of the population is vegetarian, so we have an abundance of food options. I remember having a tough time when holidaying in Europe and the US, though I do believe it is getting easier now with more people turning vegetarian.

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    1. Very similar! No meat, and no dairy. One of the documentaries I watched mentioned India actually as a place for many people already do a plant-based diet!

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  3. Love this review, glad it is working out for you. I totally agree that it takes a lot of prep work, but ultimately it is worth it. I need to get back into these habits.

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    1. The hardest part is getting into the habit of it! Now it is second nature, and I am used to planning ahead

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  4. Wow. Sounds like it worked out for you guys! We could never do this LOL I need those ice cream and pizza nights ;)

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    1. Pizza night was one of the things we miss most! We will definitely still do them from time to time, just maybe not every week :)

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  5. Great post! A few years ago I changed my diet. It doesn't really have a label, but I cleaned it up quite a bit. I agree. You have to remember to always have a snack (and reserve snacks) when out and about. Otherwise, you get grumpy and just want a large Chickfila fry! :|

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    1. Yes! There is temptation everywhere when you are hungry and have not planned ahead!

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  6. I am going to come live with you and you can teach me your ways. Brian can't live without meat.

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    1. Hahaha that's how my dad is! My mom is trying to ease him into it by making meals he already liked that didn't have meat or dairy. For example, she will make pasta without a meat sauce, or some of his favorite soups. He has tried impossible burgers and said "well, that's a lot better than I was expecting it to be". I think easing into it a little bit at a time helps!

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  7. In the fast-paced world we live in today, maintaining a healthy diet is crucial for overall well-being keto acv gummies

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