How to adopt a plant-based diet

I’m not unique or different to you. In fact, I am just like you. I just decided one day to make a change just like you are going to do one day. One thing I didn’t do was rush the process. I took change one step at a time in order to have long lasting habits and years later; I am thriving and flourishing on a plant-based diet.

A plant-based diet isn’t about diet torture; it’s simply about removing animal products from your diet including cheese and bacon and enjoying the benefits of fruits, vegetable, grains, legumes and plant-based fats not to mention chocolate, cheese and lattes.

Where do you start?

Focus on the short term, day by day if that makes it less torturous and stressful even meal-by-meal. Don’t worry about the birthday drinks with friends in 3 weeks’ time or your work gathering in a month’s time the key here is to not look too far ahead or you will find yourself talking yourself out of change.

Choose a day of the week in which you are going to start or better yet, start today, start now. Set yourself mini goals for example; for the first 7 days; choose not to consume any dairy products including cheese. How do you do this?

• Add avocado or nut cheese to your salad
• Make or purchase a pizza without cheese
• Drink non-dairy milk; replacing with almond or soy milk
• Consume a raw dark chocolate such as Pana Chocolate instead of Cadbury’s dairy milk
• Swap butter or margarine for a dairy free spread such as nuttalex or The Vegan Dairy butter
• Consume coconut yoghurts in place of traditional Greek style yoghurts

Brands to look out for:

• Bonsoy (soy milk)
• Pureharvest oat milk
• Pana Chocolate
• Loving Earth chocolate
• Coyo coconut yoghurt
• Tasmania’s Westhaven Coconut Yoghurt
• Biocheese
• Tofutti cream cheese and sour cream
• Green Vie parmesan cheese
• The Vegan Dairy Feta
• and the list goes on……

After 7 days you will have a good idea of the dairy replacements you like, this then sets you up nicely for your next 7-day goal in which you will challenge yourself to go 100% plant-based.

Next goal? Look at reducing your meat intake over a 7-day period; look to consume more plant-based meals such as:

Vegetable lasagne
Dhal with rice and pappadums
Baked potatoes with beans & guacamole
Burritos with tofu & black beans
Lentil bolognase sauce with spaghetti

Very quickly you will notice your pallet changing and with your rolling goals before you know it the days will have slipped by and you will recognize how easy it is to adopt more planted habits.

We like to think that after a month or 30 days of adopting a plant-based diet you will feel better. You will have more energy; your taste buds would have changed and you will be seeing your food choices differently. This is how changes are successfully made; mindfully and slowly.

Need help changing your habit? Sign up to our 30-day Plant-based diet challenge today.