First off YAY!!! Congrats on getting started! (Thats the hardest part so no worries!!) You are in for a wonderful journey of lots of great food and the perk of great health to go with it!!
FYI: You do not have to have a Facebook account to view a Facebook page on a computer or if you use a web browser on your phone. Some of the links below are to our page on facebook. They are still viewable even if you do not have a facebook account.
To be honest, I can’t tell you exactly what to do or not do as learning what works for you and your health goals is well a personal plant based journey to each person but I can share with you what is working for our family and maybe it will help you along your journey also!
❥ The first thing that got us started on this journey was watching the movie Forks Over Knives. Here is the trailer for it https://youtu.be/O7ijukNzlUg It simply changed our lives! Secondly I would recommend the movie FedUp it was the second movie we watched and it was eye opening https://youtu.be/aCUbvOwwfWM. Along with those documentaries I highly recommend you also watch Dr. Gregers lecture How Not To Die – https://youtu.be/lXXXygDRyBU for the science behind it all, oh and he’s funny too! If you have already watched them you are already ahead of the game! There are LOTS of movies and lectures out there. These were just what got us started. I have a HUGE list of links to movies, documentaries, lectures and videos all about plant based eating if you would like to watch and learn even more. You can find that list here https://www.facebook.com/notes/living-whole-food-plant-based/plant-based-specific-video-links/1566951603333092/
❥ These food lists were super helpful to my family when we went Plant Based. The Forks Over Knives food list is my personal favorite food list found here http://www.chewfo.com/diets/forks-over-knives-vegan-diet-what-to-eat-and-foods-to-avoid-food-list/ and The Starch Solution food list http://www.chewfo.com/diets/the-starch-solution-by-john-mcdougall-and-mary-mcdougall-2012-what-to-eat-and-foods-to-avoid-food-list/ I also really like this page for helping with what to eat, what to not eat so much of and what to restrict. Takes a lot of the confusion out of knowing what to buy or avoid lol https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/cpb/ Also this is an amazing lecture about Calorie Density that is super helpful in choose foods to eat for success. https://youtu.be/0CdwWliv7Hg Lastly The pleasure trap by Doug Lisle https://youtu.be/jX2btaDOBK8 has great info on why we crave the things we crave. Lastly if you are looking for an easy way to keep track Dr. Greger offers a wonderful app that is easy to use called his Daily Dozen which is free and you can find it here https://nutritionfacts.org/2015/12/31/free-app-for-android-and-iphone-and-top-10-videos-of-2015/ We have never personally found a need to use it but some people like to check boxes and its a great one to do that with when you are learning.
❥ I have a list of what I consider Pantry Staples here —> https://www.facebook.com/livingwfpb/posts/1860018384026411 But what your pantry staples end up being may or may not be the same as you learn what you like to eat and what you don’t.
❥ When you are starting out I would recommend Pinterest http://pinterest.com or even google but I LOVE Pinterest for helping you find inspiration for recipes ideas. Nothing teaches you to become a better cook then just cooking and recipes make it even easier because they basically tell you what to do and how to do it. There are unlimited recipes and meal ideas on there. Just type in what you are looking for such as dinner, lunch, casserole, add the word vegan, plant based or whole food plant based to it to help narrow down the field and then just surf till you find something that looks good. Pick a few recipes to cover your week and it comes with a built in shopping list! Double or triple the recipes and you have built in lunches or extra “don’t want to cook tonight dinners” of leftovers. Throw in your cart some oatmeal and some fruit and wa la breakfast is covered too!
❥ Each week I sit down and make a meal/menu plan for the following week. Its saved us not only time but a ton of money. If you would like to check out the previous meal plans I have come up with for my family I post them all here https://www.facebook.com/pg/livingwfpb/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1309986759029579 Be sure to check the comments on this page. There are many many websites listed with premade meal plans to check out also! I post about 90% of everything we eat to our page along with the recipe I used and any changes I had to make to it to make it WFPBNO complaint. Planning may not be fun at first but the more we keep up with it the easier it gets and the easier makes our lives. Take time to learn to meal plan its a sanity saver. Then on the weekends when I have the most time I chop, cook, and prep as much as I can ahead to make the following week just easier. Most plant based meals can easily be made in large batches and then portioned out to eat all week long. Throw some in the freezer so you can heat and eat when you just don’t have time to cook that day.
❥ Here is a list of various plant based menu plans. =0]
▪︎ https://nutritionstudies.org/whole-foods-plant-based-diet-sample-menu/ ▪︎ https://kickstart.pcrm.org/en
❥ ❥ ❥ Here is a link to a Where To Start page that has a little bit of everything about how we got started in more detail. Tips, tricks, videos, movies, books, info, links, etc.. —> https://www.facebook.com/notes/living-whole-food-plant-based/where-to-start/1267651639929758/
❥ We also have pages packed full of information on all sorts of helpful topics like WFPB Success Stories, Favorite Recipes and Recipe Websites, Why No Oil?, How to cook with no oil, No oil salad dressings and sauces, Plant based Books, Gadgets we recommend, A whole page just about the food you will be eating, lastly a page with all kinds of movies and lectures to learn more about all kinds of topics pertaining to food and health. You can find those pages and so many more by clicking here https://www.facebook.com/pg/livingwfpb/notes/ There is an index page here https://www.facebook.com/livingwfpb/posts/2279890762039169 that gives a short description of each page.
❗️Going Whole Foods Plant-Based should not cost you anything. There are no programs or special products to buy in order to make it work. Nothing to count or keep track of. No required work out plans. All you have to do is buy your food and eat… You’re buying food now, so it’s just a matter of replacing one group of foods with another. You will see lots of info that say “sign up for my coaching or buy this book or program or app or meal plan“ there is no need for that unless you WANT to. Everything you need is free and available online to live and eat a plant based lifestyle.❗️
❥ Here are just a few of the amazing websites out there with all kinds of information about whole food plant based eating and living https://nutritionfacts.org/ https://www.drmcdougall.com https://nutritionstudies.org/ https://www.pcrm.org/ http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/
❥ Be firm in why you want to do it. Make a list it helps. Health? Animals? Planet? Chemicals? Whatever your reasons are write them down and hang firm with them. They will bring you through the temptation times. The more you learn about the food you used to eat and the new foods you are going to eat the easier it will make it. Know why the old foods were doing your body wrong and why the new plant foods will do your body right.
☆☆ Biggest thing is have an open mind and don’t make this harder than it has to be. You do not have to be perfect from day one. It took you years to get here its going to take a bit of time to learn a whole new way of life. You will find your way. Just keep at it. Keep learning. Keep keeping on and it will all come together. ☆☆
Breathe. Eat. Enjoy. Live! Food Adventure!! All the best to you!! =0]
If you would like to follow along with my families journey be sure to pop over to our main page https://www.facebook.com/livingwfpb/ and click the LIKE button. We also have a facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/livingwfpbgroup/