Tamara Maria

There is a movement out there that is growing. Some days it seems to grow in leaps and bounds, other days more slowly. But the trend is undeniable, it’s a move towards a more Plant Based Existence.

There are just as many reasons that people are taking on this type of lifestyle as is the variations of it. Labels like Vegan, Vegetarian, Lacto~Vegetarian, Pescatarian are all very definate. Strict. Unforgiving. I will not use them here. My family & I use to place ourselves in these categories, sometime jumping from one to another due to the strict rules, but found just the stress of that particular label as well as having to explain it, was just way too much. Thus we adopted a simple plant based life. No limits, no restrictions, no stress. (more on this later)

So why should you consider adopting this way of life?

Moving towards a more Plant Based way of eating is equal to moving towards a more healthier way of life (for both ourselves & the planet). Eating more clean vegetables keeps us alkaline, it nourishes our bodies with nutrient rich foods instead of empty calories (the traditional SAD ~ Standard American Diet), keeps us fuller, longer & saves our soils, our water & our air quality!

People have asked me time & time again.

“How can I move towards a more Plant Based way of eating”

There are a number of simple steps that you can incorporate into your families daily meals, to make them more plant based & healthier. First of all, I find that substituting or replacing certain ingredients is a much easier way of reducing your intake of meat & dairy items, the 2 most commonly dropped food groups ~ (Meat & Dairy have the highest negative impact on our bodies & our environment.)

Replace the ground meat in tacos with beans & rice or a variation of ‘ground~round’ (fake meat), tofu or just all veggies!

Use Tofu or Tempeh in place of meat. BBQ it, pan fry it, add it to stir fries, anything you do with meat, can be done with tofu or tempeh. Tofu has such a bland flavor that you can literally make it taste like anything you want (kind of like chicken)! And why not replace your beef burger with a PORTOBELLO mushroom.

As I mentioned earlier, we don’t categorize ourselves as Vegan, Pescatarian or otherwise. We are plant based & that is that! Why & what does that mean? It simply means that we live a no~stress kind of life. We eat Clean Food, mostly plants. We don’t eat meat, but occasionally have a bit of sushi with fresh fish. We don’t usually have dairy, but may buy fresh cheese for a special meal. We keep our meals as clean, organic & close to nature as possible.

Does this mean we don’t eat junk?

Of course not.

We have treat days & cheat meals just like the rest of them! A bag of chips, wine, chocolate, cookies, croissants or pizza all get their chances with us. But we remain Plant Based. No Stress. No Rules. No Strict Restrictions. We are not an all of nothing family.

Worried about your protein? There are ways to remedy that. First thing is first. You need to stop believing that you need a huge chunk of meat on your plate to be healthy. Of course we all need protein. We also all need healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, nuts) & we need complex carbs (like brown rice, sweet potatoes).

We need all 3 in a really cool crazy balance to maintain a healthy diet. You just don’t need SO much! A cup of quinoa, brown rice & lentils, even Kale, Chard & Spinach gives your body readily available protein. Check out the list of my top ten plant based proteins here (coming soon).