Nature's Promise: Keeping It Real
For years, I thought I was "eating healthy." I avoided fast food most of the time, bought whole-grain bread and mainly cooked chicken and fish. But, deep down, I still felt tired, bloated and far from the vibrant lifestyle I dreamed of. That's when I stumbled upon the idea of a vegan diet - a way of eating that focuses on fresh food straight from nature.
Most of my life, I was turned off from eating meat and found myself to be a Pescatarian. I mainly ate fish, especially when going out to eat and cooked chicken a lot at home for the family. I was and always have been a salad nut and meat was the main source of food that I could live without, yet what seemed challenging to becoming a vegan was my love for dairy.
I was a vegan many years ago for an entire year - no cheating, no hiding snacks from others, but over time I fell off the wagon. It started with a little smudge here, a lick there and eventually I was back to the same old song and dance: feeling sluggish and tired.
So, here I am working towards a healthier lifestyle: this time I am embracing the 80/20 rule. Before the Vegan Police comes after me, I am not labeling myself or calling myself a vegan, but I am embracing 80% of my daily intake with Raw/Vegan Meals. I love the Meditteranean Diet: a plant-based diet that implements fish and chicken on occasion. Through my research, I found it amazing with all the "labels" out there to accommodate one's lifestyle. I recently came across Pesco-Vegan: a plant-based, vegan diet that includes fish and seafood, excludes beef and poultry and omits eggs and dairy.
Some people may wonder how are you doing this? How can you embrace Vegan and a Mediterranean diet? How can you manage it? Simple. Baby steps.
I didn't jump all in overnight. Instead, I began with small changes.
- I started with swapping my usual toast-and-coffee breakfast for a banana and blueberries drizzled with raw honey (Raw Meal).
- I work on one meal at a time until I master that meal: finding satisfying alternatives and learning fun ways to make each meal enjoyable.
- Took my favorite meals and learned how to make them vegan and dairy free. (Not hard at all believe it or not).
- Learning easy recipes like raw vegan taco wraps and trying different ways in which to make a salad.
- Not cheating and "saying" something is a raw meal when one ingredient may not be considered raw. (A raw meal is when all foods/components are completely raw).
- Using Hummus or Mustard as a sandwich spread instead of Mayonnaise. Fun Fact: Mayonnaise is not a dairy product, but it's not vegan due to the eggs (an animal by-product).
- Follow other Vegans and Health educators.
- Research a lot.
- Food Journal - I keep a daily journal where I write everything down. I try hard to keep up with calorie intake for each food and meal. I write down my work schedule that day for clarity. I will write down that I exercised and I even write down what kind of mood I am in that day. I color code my journal with colored highlights. My colorful list consists of Guilty Pleasures (purple), Carbs (yellow), Meat/Fish (pink), Dairy Pleasures (blue) and Raw Diet (olive green).
- Most of all, I make my own rules!