What is a Plant-Based Diet? (A Diet of Joy and Abundance)

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Hey  Mama,

Do you want to experience the BEAUTY, JOY and ABUNDANCE of a plant-based diet for your family?

It may sound a little dramatic to say beauty and joy in regards to a way of eating, but TRULY, eating plant-based is BEAUTIFUL.

Fruits and vegetables are beautiful.  

And JOY.

Knowing you are giving your children the ideal foods to nourish their body, mind and soul will make you feel JOYFUL.

How many times have you given your little ones a less-than-healthy snack or meal because it was just easier?  Then you had that nagging feeling because you knew you should have given them something better.

You won't feel that way when you're feeding them plant based snacks and meals

.

Plant-Based Snacks

And get this.

The more you know about the plant-based way of eating, the more joyful it becomes. You’ll celebrate secretly because you are rocking this mom thing -- at least the part about feeding your kids.  

That’s joy.

Finally, it’s ABUNDANT because the plant-based diet is not restrictive.

It’s about eating A LOT of the good stuff.

It's different than other diets because it focuses on what to eat, instead of what not to eat.

Being plant-based means not having to worry about counting calories. Which means you can fully enjoy eating.  And, if you’re looking to lose weight, it’s quite simple to do on a plant-based diet.

First let’s define a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet.

Whole

Whole is the way the food comes in nature.

Nothing added. Nothing taken away.

Of course, we can't completely avoid processed foods.  And that’s OK sometimes.  There's a place in the diet for oats that have been rolled to make them easier to cook into oatmeal, wheat berries are ground into 100% whole wheat flour, beans and tomatoes that have been canned but still have little added and nothing taken away.

I hope you get the idea that to goal is unprocessed or minimally processed foods, not perfection. 

Food

Food means real food. Not manufactured “food” with long lists of ingredients.  

If your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize all the ingredients, it’s probably not real food.  

The more ingredients a food label has, the further it is from being a real food. In fact, Try to buy and eat foods that have no list of ingredients at all.

Plant

Eat plants!  Plants are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals, flavenoids and micronutrients that have not even been named yet.

They all work in synergy to boost our immune system, our gut microbiome and overall health.

You can’t get the same effects from taking a supplement  (although drug companies would like you to believe otherwise).

Plant-based diet

Based

Base means foundation. The foundation of the diet is whole plants.

That means when you are thinking about what to make for dinner you’ll think about whole plants as the foundation or base of your meal.  

For the best plant-based recipes on the planet, go check out Jenne' over at Sweet Potato Soul. She’ll show you how to make delicious plant-based recipes that are budget and family friendly on her You Tube channel. She’s my favorite plant-based chef!

Diet

Diet does NOT mean restriction.

According to Merriam-Webster diet means,  "food and drink regularly consumed". In other words, diet is what you usually eat.

So please don’t think 'restriction' when you hear about a plant-based diet. Think beauty, joy and abundance!

It's up to you how to transition to a plant-based diet. You can do it all at once or take baby steps. You can go 100% or only partially plant-based.

But the more plant-based your family becomes, the more health benefits they will enjoy!  

If you’re a mama of a young child, you have an incredible opportunity to shape her appetite for food.

You can teach her to love a plant-based diet which is a gift that will never stop giving. Because if she grows up eating a plant-based diet she’ll be a healthier adult with a decreased risk for obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease, dementia, and stroke.

As she ages, she’ll be able to maintain an excellent quality of life because her body will not be burdened with chronic disease.

A plant-based diet is simple, not complicated.

Here’s an easy way to remember what to eat author Michael Pollan.

Eat food.Mostly Plants.Not too much.

If you're not yet plant-based, why don't you take the first step today...

Try some yummy snacks and let me know what you think!

Smiles,

Heidi