Getting Started with a Plant-Based Diet? Don’t Worry

Nutrition and Sobriety

Healthy eating is a good goal for people in recovery. Us sober folks have beat up our bodies pretty bad. Good, balanced food gives the body energy and helps repair organ tissue and strengthens the immune system. Because of our past lifestyle, a well-balanced diet provides the nutritional building blocks we need to restore our “system”. It also helps the mood.

 

This all sounds very good, however, what kind of diet is best? Since I am not a medical expert, and since I am also sometimes close minded. I teamed up with a writer named Bo who will share her passion about vegetarianism. In the following paragraphs, she will explain the benefits of a plant-based diet. Hopefully, it will help you think differently about your food options. But, let’s face it, I am really talking about myself here.

Benefits of Plant-Based Eating

There are a lot of reasons that people choose to remove meat from their diet. It is largely acknowledged as the best diet for the environment. When people go vegetarian, they lessen the impact of pollution, climate change, and rainforest destruction. And, their diets require much less water and other precious resources to produce.

Other people find they can no longer participate in a process that kills living creatures. Pigs, for example, can be a cognitively complex as primates and dogs. That can weigh on people when they look at their plate and realize a pig had to die to make it.

Still, others find the health benefits of a plant-based diet appealing. When a vegetarian or vegan diet is nutritionally balanced, it typically involves more folic acid, fiber, magnesium, vitamins C and E, and unsaturated fat than the diet of a meat eater. For this reason, people who choose these diets to have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and a lessened risk of developing heart disease.

So, you see, there are many great reasons to choose a plant-based lifestyle. But, that doesn’t mean getting started isn’t challenging, especially when you have spent your whole life eating meat. The following tips should help you to get started.

Decide on The Approach That Works You

There are many, many ways to begin eating a plant based diet. Some people cut themselves off from meat-eating completely and move forward without looking back. But, there are others who need to slowly cut back their meat consumption over time. And, the types of plant-based diet run the gamut from a strict raw vegan approach all the way to a flexitarian one.

If starting slow seems more natural for you, consider only eating meat on certain days or at certain times. This will allow you to learn about meal planning and dietary requirements without feeling trapped in a lifestyle you weren’t fully prepared for.

Be Aware That Plant-Based Doesn’t Automatically Mean Healthy

You know what doesn’t have meat in it? Cake. You know what’s vegan? Potato chips. It’s perfectly possible to pursue a plan-based diet and find yourself gaining weight and in worse health. People with a meat void in their life often fill it with refined carbohydrates instead of fruits and vegetables. These are often comfort foods, like pretzels and bagels and pasta and sugary cereal.

You have to plan your day to include healthy snacks that are meat-free, but also delicious and low in refined carbs. Once you do a bit of research, you will find that there are a lot of great plant-based snacks that provide the nutrition that you need for wellness and taste great. You don’t have to be living on carrot sticks and plain quinoa. There are great options out there.

Re-Imagine Your Favorite Meals without the Meat

There are certain favorite dishes that won’t translate well into being meat-free. For example, a steak dinner is a bit hard to re-imagine. You might also have trouble with sashimi. But, there are plenty of other meals you are used to centering on meat that can easily be made without it. The easiest method will be substituting fake meats for the ones you are used to eating and this is a fine point of entry, but over time you should get used to using more whole foods and less processed ones.

It is fairly easy to make a mock tuna salad with chickpeas or a veggie lasagna. Mushrooms do a great job of adding a meaty texture and umami flavor. When you find ways to make your favorite foods and stick to your new lifestyle, it makes you feel like you aren’t missing out and that can help you remain motivated.

Bio: Bo Bradley is a vegetarian of two decades who made the transition from a meat-heavy diet. She and her family now follow a plant-based diet, and it has helped her reverse more than one of the health problems she was coping with before the switch. She is also an expert health blogger specializing in addictive behaviors as addiction, gambling, recovery and treatment such as Meth Abuse Treatment. You can visit her official website at Addictions.com