Ways To Implement a More Plant-Based Diet

Have you been thinking about cutting out meat in your diet? Do you feel like digesting the food you’re eating is often uncomfortable? Is your skin constantly breaking out? Or do you simply want a new way to help the environment? Maybe implementing a plant-based diet is for you! Now, when I say that, it doesn’t mean you need to immediately abide by a strict set of rules. You don’t need to become vegan, vegetarian, or even pescatarian. All it requires is slowly swapping out little things, such as  meat burgers for Impossible Burgers on the grocery list. When trying to go plant-based, I personally believe you shouldn’t put a label on it until you’re fully passionate and understanding of it. If you decide to just go vegan because it’s trendy, or you think you should be doing it but don’t really know why, you’re ultimately going to give it up. This should wholeheartedly be a decision you make on your own.

I used to love eating meat. My go-to  when going out to eat at a nice restaurant was filet mignon. However, a few years ago, it seemed like everyone around me was cutting out meat, and I felt guilty if I was the only one in the room to be eating it. I ended up learning a lot about it ethically and slowly began cutting out red meats, cold cuts, and eventually chicken because it began grossing me out mentally and physically. So, at that point, I considered myself a pescatarian, because I still ate fish. Soon after, I began feeling pressure to go vegan from some of the people around me. I stuck to my guns in terms of eggs and fish (although there was a short struggle with fish), but for about two years I cut out dairy. Honestly, it wasn’t even fully on purpose– I’ve always been lactose intolerant, and simply adding so many plant-based cheese replacements into my diet slowly destroyed any tolerance of dairy I did have. At this point, I considered myself a “dairy-free pescatarian”. Although I did feel consciously clear, and I noticed some health benefits, being dairy-free became very inconvenient. I began questioning why I even cut out dairy in the first place because it was just making eating so much harder. I realized that although I cut out meat for myself, cutting out dairy was never truly for myself, but instead to appease the people around me. Last year, I lived in the Czech Republic, and I was afraid that still being dairy-free would be a lot harder. In the summer leading up to it, I slowly began implementing dairy back into my diet with small treats like M&M’s, made with dairy but wholly dairy-like cheese. Slowly but surely, by the time I flew to Europe, I was able to digest and tolerate dairy again. Since then, I’ve considered myself a pescatarian. 

Now, I didn’t tell you that story to say you shouldn’t go dairy-free or vegan. If that’s what you feel is right for you personally, go for it. There are so many vegan cheese options, like Daiya and Violife. I talked about it because I want to emphasize that cutting something out (in a healthy way) needs to be something that you truly want and care to do because otherwise, it’s not doing you any good when it comes to your happiness and fulfillment. If you do ultimately want to cut out dairy, there are so many options. My personal favorite that I still use is oat milk, whether it’s from Oatly, Chobani, Planet Oat, or Trader Joe's. For a butter spread, I recommend Earth Balance. Finally, for ice cream, definitely Ben & Jerry’s vegan line (my personal favorite is the cookie dough flavor). 

If you want to cut out more meat, think about which ones specifically. Do you want to remove red meat, burgers, or all? There are plenty of replacements, like Beyond Meat, Impossible Meat, Tofurkey cold cuts, Morning Star meals, and further. I personally prefer Impossible Meat more, especially their burgers and chicken nuggets, because they replicate meat more (crazy how it can both be something you avoid yet try to replicate). Whenever I’m at the grocery store I get very excited whenever I find lots of new and unique plant-based meat replacements. My favorite, which I’ve unfortunately had a hard time finding recently, is Upton Naturals’ bacon made out of seitan. If buying plant-based bacon becomes a new part of your routine, be ready for a lot of trial and error to figure out what you like (trust me, finding a good plant-based bacon is hard). If faux meats aren’t your cup of tea, you could try incorporating more recipes that by default don’t incorporate meat. Some of my go-to’s include falafel bowls, pastas, tofu dishes, and in my pescatarian case, fish. There are so many more options than someone may initially think, and becoming aware of that is essential if this is the move you want to make, because it’s a lot more possible and achievable than it may appear. 

It’s also something that can be fun and communal! For example, Vegandale is a multi-city vegan food festival. In New York, the festival has over 250 vendors on Randall’s Island for a full-day event (https://www.vegandalefest.com/newyork/). There’s been a big growth of plant-based food trucks as well. Just yesterday after leaving my class I stopped at a vegan food truck around Washington Square Park in NYC, giving out free samples of meatless bao bun sandwiches, hosted by a partnership of World Animal Protection with plant-based food brands Meati, PLNT Burger, and Promobile Kitchen. At Forest Hills Stadium, as well recently, I got a really good tofu BLT-like sandwich from one of the venue’s vendors. It can become fun interactive experiences that are becoming more readily available. 

Overall, if you want to start implementing a plant-based diet, remember it’s fully up to you how you achieve that. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation that some may try to push. You’re allowed to fluctuate and change patterns, and figure out what ultimately works best for you. Adding plant-based food into your life helps reduce greenhouse gasses like methane emitted into the atmosphere, protects animals, and can help your health, such as reductions in cholesterol. Your wellness is greatly influenced by what you digest into your body, and this is one method that can work towards it. If adding more plant-based foods to your diet is something that interests you, I hope this shines some light on some personal advice!

Thanks for reading,

Lila