Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Paleo, Vegan, the list goes on and on. For the past year or so I’ve personally been primarily vegetarian and a few bites away from being Vegan. Along with staying away from alcohol and sugar for the most part. It started with a vocal/life coach educating me on the vocal  health benefits of getting dairy out of your body and after seeing the improvements in my energy levels, decreased body fat, improved complexion, and overall “feel good-ness” I kept it going.

First and foremost:

Before my opinionated love bugs start barking out their own personal opinions I’ll be the first one to say I’m not one to judge. If you want to eat 7 cows a day, that’s your personal preference and that’s the beauty of life, we all can choose what works for us. If you want to write about eating 7 cows a day go for it.! However just know this post is all about PLANTS.

Personally growing up eating healthy was never exactly a strong point. I grew up as the only girl in the midst of five brothers whom have always been able to eat everything in the pantry and refrigerator and walk away with their six pack… and yes, I mean abs, then come back a few hours later and do it all over again. Not making that my excuse, because realistically I LOVE FOOD. Make all the fat jokes you want! Go ahead. I just love food, it’s an obsession you could even go as far as saying an addiction. When I realized the intensity of it was when I weighed my self almost two years ago and thought the scale was broken when it showed up as 180lbs and 35% body fat.!

Luckily that was two years ago and since then I’ve come to the conclusion that if foods going to be an addiction it may as well be a healthy one and that’s where I am today. This process wasn’t over night, there were no crash diets, no crazy wraps, cleanses, shakes, patches, pills, or other extremities. I had tried all of those things in years past and they weren’t for me. Once again, to each his own. What it did consist of is healthy eating, the gym, and yoga. It was a slow process but it changed my life. No yo-yo dieting with giant weight fluctuations, no starving, no self hate.

Now it’s been almost two years of being back in a healthier body fat (24%) and weight (140-150). Don’t quite have my “dream” body yet although it’s a hell of a lot closer than I was two years ago. Lucky for you I’m not writing this to sell you some magic product or getting you to sign up in another MLM. There’s already enough people doing that, and great for them, it’s better than doing nothing. However I’m here to tell you that if you’re in it to win it all I can say is do something that is sustainable for you. For me that has been eating healthy and working out. Call me basic, but i ‘basically feel the best I ever have in my life and YOU CAN TOO.! Just remember there’s billions of ways to accomplish this so do the one thats best for you… and hopefully our enviornment too if you at all care whatsoever about the future generations. That’s an entirely additonal topic. Anyone interested watch “Cowspiracy” on Netflix or their other documentaries on what agriculture is doing to the world that we live in.

One of my favorite books that has a great program with loads of delicious Plant Based recipes is “The 22 Day Revolution” by Marco Borges. I bought the book here on amazon. I’m not going to lie I didn’t do the entire program step for step. I had personally already been eating majorly vegan so to have 3 fancy meals planned everyday for a month straight wasn’t much different from what I was already doing nutritionally just took alot more prep and cooking time so I simplified. Although I gained a lot of great recipes that I use on a daily. Highly suggest it for anyone who is interested in trying to cut down on dairy and meat, it’s a great way to kick start new habbits. Below I’ve posted a few of my favorites from his book, some with my own personal twist, and some that are entirely mine. Let me know if you want any of the recipes and if you have any vegan recipes that you’re in love with please send them my way.

Always remember life is about the journey, not the destination, so if being vegetarian or vegan is something that interests you take the first step today. I don’t mean have a bowl of lettuce for lunch, I mean educate yourselves on the benefits of different plants, grains, legumes, nuts, and then get creative in the kitchen. It’s a fact that you CAN get every protein, nutrient, and health benefit from an entirely plant based diet. For most people it is a lifestyle change, so give yourself the chance to change a gradual change is better than no change at all.