How to Start Your Plant-Based Diet.

Do you want to go plant-based, but aren’t exactly sure where to start?

If you’re feeling this way, then you’re definitely not alone! There are so many people out there who see these benefits of #plant-based or #vegan diet, but just have no clue how they should take the first step. If you’re feeling this way, then you’re definitely not alone!

Do you ask yourself “…should I start with meat, milk, fish, eggs, or what? “

It can understandably initially seem overwhelming, so much so that you’ already feel like you’ve failed before you’ve even started, and although it may not seem like it, going plant-based can be a lot easier than you imagine.

Here are 5 easy steps that you can take to kick-start your plant-based food journey with a whole lot less stress.

1.Keep it simple!

When deciding to make a lifestyle change you may want to avoid adopting the natural tendency to make some problems seem much BIGGER than they actually are. Although you might face some initial inconveniences try to make it as easy as possible on yourself, this way you won’t miss old convinces and habits. Perhaps you start to feel, like there are so many things that you can’t eat, like “ How am I supposed to keep track of it all?” Well, keep it simple, I would recommend taking a step back and focus on what you want from going plant-based, rather than every adjustment you have to take to get there. It makes the process much less overwhelming!

So, how do you start this process? Well, it looks like you already did! Educating yourself and doing research on healthy ways do adjust your lifestyle puts you on the right path to for your plant-based #journey.

2. Check Out Your Kitchen

A great way to commence is by looking at how much meat, dairy, and other animal products are actually in your kitchen. Make sure to check your cabinets too, since there can be a ton of dairy hiding in products in there. You want to be considering items that contain any type of meat, poultry, fish/shellfish, dairy, eggs, casein (found in most protein powders), gelatin, and honey. This is by no means a complete list, but it covers the most common household animal product items. Once you’ve found everything in your cabinets, make a list of everything you want to replace. Just because you’re plant-based, doesn’t mean you need to eliminate every single animal product item. Some people who are plant-based still choose to eat some animal products now and then. Others completely eliminated them from my diet and eat 100% vegan. Choses something that you will be able to stick within the long term and don’t feel any pressure to label where you are in the new and exciting #journey.

3. Create A Plan

Now that you have your list of the things you would like to replace, it’s time to go out and take #action and replace them. I think its easiest by starting with something really easy that you barely really even notice. A popular pick is vegetable broth. Chances are that you’re not really going to notice a major difference between a dish cooked with vegetable broth as opposed to chicken or beef stock.

Easier said than done nevertheless it’s so important to just not have a plan but to actually follow through on it! My advice is to just be really conscious about sticking to your plan, especially for the first month. However, don’t be afraid to adapt if you feel that something isn’t working for you. Even though that sounds like contradictory advice, it’s important for you to make adjustments along the way to make sure that your plan is still helping you reach your goals in a ple who are all or nothing just switch immediately. Other people phase out items over a period of months. There really is no right answer, most importantly is creating a plan that’s going to work for you.

4. Stick To The Plan

Easier said than done nevertheless it’s so important to just not have a plan, but to actually follow through on it! My advice is to just be really conscious about sticking to your plan, especially for the first month .However, don’t be afraid to adapt if you feel that something isn’t working for you. Even thought that sounds like contradictory advice, it’s important for you to make adjustments along the way to make sure that your plan is still helping you reach your goals in a #sustainable and #healthy way.

5. Be Creative, Try New Things, and Have fun!

One of the best and scariest things about plant-based is that you need to relearn to cook in a completely new way - exclusive of meat and dairy. While it’s scary at first, it can turn into a completely fun experience. From making a veganized version of your favorite recipe to trying something completely out of the box, it can be really surprising to new plant-based and vegan explorers how delicious cooking without animal products can be - and how easy. So how do you start learning to cook vegan? There are literally millions of vegan recipes online for pretty much everything imaginable. In a follow-up blog we may even give you some account to follow and keep up with for #inspo!

Most importantly, make sure that you’re having fun during this process! While going plant-based can be super stressful, it’s so important for you to love the journey.

x GreenWave Team