YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
“You are what you eat!”
that saying couldn’t be more true! I've been meaning to touch base on this topic for quite some time, many of you have asked what my diet is like and what i eat on the daily.
Let me start off by saying, It is challenging to eat healthy 24/7, even I’m not perfect and sometimes I am limited especially while i travel. but it is so important to stay committed to eating healthy, for your well being and future in living a long, happy and healthy life. just watch "What the Health" on Netflix (with an open mind) and you'll see why eating a majority plant based/vegan diet is worth it! and I know some of you will disagree, but thats life and everyone in the end makes there own decisions and no one can force you to do anything.
To be clear, I am not a health expert or a nutritionist, and If you are serious about diet change please consult a professional, for some of you a plant based/vegan diet may not be the answer and you may need meat or eggs or fish. so do your research online before you dive into anything and then consult a professional or an expert before moving forward. all I am doing is simply sharing my personal experiences.
Ideally, you want to be eating right out of a garden, we should all be growing our own fruits and vegetables and consuming it, but in reality many of us don't have time, money or space for that. I sure don't, but I do commit to buying local/organic (fruits, veggies) and eating as fresh as possible. Home cooked meals are the best for you, especially when all your ingredients are whole foods (if you don't know what whole foods are, look them up ON GOOGLE!) If you have a bad sweet tooth I've come to tell you its possible to over come that craving. Start by replacing your dessert with fruit or some organic dark chocolate, or if you enjoy baking look up recipes that are, "healthy, vegan, sugar free, gluten free," there are a ton on pinterest most of which will use HONEY AND/or MAPLE SYRUP, which are natural sugars.
Currently, it has been 3 years since I've had a piece of meat (a side from freshly caught fish) and 1 year since I gave up eggs, so I guess you can consider me a pescetarian, plant based, vegan who eats honey. I personally gave up eating meat because it never sat right in my stomach, my body naturally rejected it and I finally decided that maybe I would feel better if I stopped eating it, and so I did and I definitely felt the difference (and still do!). if your wondering where I get my protein from, well the truth is plants are protein. spinach gives you about the same amount of protein as chicken would, however when you eat a piece of chicken or meat (even if its 100% non gmo and organic) your ingesting everything that animal ate or was exposed too. This includes chemicals in the air, infections, diseases, harmful bacteria, etc even if its organic that doesn't protect you (and i know some of you are thinking, well we are exposed to a lot of things already so why bother, well thats my point exactly. why go even further as to intaking it, we already get exposed enough. instead, start eating things that your body will benefit and get stronger from. i take a b12 supplement which is a 1,000 times better for you then eating meat to obtain b12. I also haven't had dairy for 2 years now, and noticed a major improvement in my over all health and appearance. my skin (less to barely any acne), my digestion has improved, barely any mucus or conjestion and i barely get sick (maybe 3 times a year). it makes me wonder, were our bodies ever intended to ingest animal products? To this day, meat-eaters have a higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other problems. i encourage you all to try a plant based diet for at least 2 weeks, you will notice a HUGE difference in your health, energy levels, digestion, skin, face, and over all.
I recently took an intolerance test to find out what I'm sensitive too and I no longer can eat cashews, peanuts, eggs, kidney beans, soy and dairy. I have bread once in a while, just because I find it hard to digest when i have too much. I always mix it up when i buy bread, but i usually stick too organic; sprouted, ezekiel, sour dough, whole wheat, ciabatta. I stay away from heavily processed foods and packaged items, eating as fresh/raw as possible, although red hot blues will get me every now and then with some fresh salsa. I definitely notice a difference in eating majority plant based versus eating how I did when I was a 15 year old, who ate ice cream at least 2 times a day. Even now when I travel, I sometimes fall off track because food options are very limited and traveling away from home forces me to eat out a lot. most of the time there aren't that many healthy options, but I'd rather eat something then starve myself. I always make it a point to cleanse after I travel. I will strictly eat fresh fruits and vegetables for a week and cook all my meals. The best advice I can give you to start eating healthy, is eating whole foods, foods that are not processed and are in their most natural state, things without an ingredients label. If you can't shy away from meat, then just try to buy organic or local meats. You should also commit to cooking for yourself or food prepping if you know your going to be limited with time throughout your weeks.
Your probably wondering what my diets like in a typical day, well let me break it down for you. I'm not really a breakfast person, but coffee is always a must right when i wake up. I have a french press (which i love, you should try one if you haven't), I take my coffee with a dash of almond/coconut milk or this coconut milk creamer by 'so delicious', honey (if needed) and 1 scoop of collagen powder. if i feel like i may be getting sick or if its around flu season, I try to remember to have a cup of lemon/apple cider vinegar mixed with water or take a shot of noni before having my coffee. Depending on how I feel after coffee I’ll make a protein smoothie (be on the look out for my recipes soon), some gluten free oatmeal or chia pudding topped with fresh fruits Or I’ll just have a banana with almond butter. However, if i'm starving when I wake up, I'll make my go-to vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free, turmeric waffles topped with fresh fruits and maple syrup. I’m a snacker, especially if I’m home for the day. a few of my go-to healthy snacks are freshly made juice (I usually do carrot, apple, celery, parsley, greens, a little ginger, half a lemon), sliced apples with almond butter, avocado with balsamic and lemon pepper, fruit or a smoothie. For lunch, I usually do a big salad topped with non-gmo wild caught canned tuna and a home-made balsamic vinaigrette or papaya seed dressing. for Dinner, I try to get creative, one of my favorite go-to dishes is vegan gf lasagna (recipe coming soon), I also love making curries, vegan chili, quinoa salad with roasted veggies and more. And not every night, but when I feel like I deserve it, I’ll splurge and have some vegan or non dairy ice cream. If you need some help finding recipes just type it in on Pinterest, thats where I usually go and you’ll find tons of everything; healthy vegan breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes. I don’t consider my self a vegan because I eat fish and honey but I do love vegan food and always opt to cook it or order it when I'm out and about. I'm loving how accessible healthy alternatives are becoming, everyone is becoming so health conscious, now its your turn ;)
If you have any great vegan recipes I should try, leave them in the comments below :) Feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have as well!