What's A Plant-Based Diet, You Ask?

Yay, my first post on this shiny, new blog! I still can't believe I haven't blogged since November of 2010. Well, I must say, it definitely feels good to be back. :) So, I thought I'd start out by talking about the basics of a whole foods, plant-based diet.  This way of eating consists of the following food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.  Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Isn't this just the same thing as a vegan diet?". The difference is that a whole foods, plant-based diet focuses on eating a variety of plant foods in their natural, unprocessed (or as little processed as possible) state, while a vegan diet can easily subsist of a lot of unhealthy, processed foods (i.e. soda, chips, donuts). To give you a visual of the plant-based food groups, here's a handy-dandy plant-based pyramid, by Julieanna Hever (The Plant-Based Dietician):

 

To give you an example of how these foods can translate into actual meals, here are the variety of foods that I tend to eat on a regular basis. As you can see, I don't just eat "rabbit food" or salad all day long. ;) And, because nobody's perfect and I'm still in the process of crowding out the "vegan junk food" from my diet, there are some processed/convenience, plant-based foods listed below (just fyi).

Breakfast:

* Brown rice + nutritional yeast, tamari (or soy sauce), and sesame seeds/sunflower seeds

* Shredded hash browns (Trader Joe's has a convenient, frozen kind) with or without added veggies

* Smoothies (non-dairy milk, frozen banana + frozen berries, acai, peanut butter, walnuts, and/or optional greens like spinach or kale)

* Toast slices (Dave's Sprouted Wheat and TJ's NY Style Rye are my current faves), either plain or with choice of topping (i.e. white bean spread, Earth Balance & nutritional yeast, peanut butter &/or banana, apple butter &/or cinnamon, or avocado)

* Oatmeal + walnuts, cinnamon, maple syrup (optional) and/or fruit (fresh or dried)

* Amy's frozen low-sodium, non-dairy burrito
* Garbanzo beans (1/2 to whole can, w/lemon juice & a little salt)

* Apple slices w/peanut butter

Lunch:

* Veggie sandwich (toast + hummus or mustard + as many veggies as you want (i.e. romaine lettuce, tomato, roasted red pepper, avocado) + marinated tofu (if I have any))

* Amy's frozen burrito/wrap (esp. non-dairy/low-sodium ones: Bean & Rice, Black Bean, Indian Samosa, Indian Spinach Tofu, Teriyaki, and Breakfast)

* Salad (i.e. arugula,cherry tomatoes, onions, nuts/seeds + homemade dressing)

* TJ's Japanese Style Fried Rice (about 1/2 package w/cashews & green onions added)
* Soup (Amy's low-sodium lentil) w/toast

* Leftovers from dinner (pasta, brown rice & beans, pizza, baked potato, etc.)

Dinner:

* Homemade pizza (frozen cornmeal crust or TJ's herbed dough w/white bean spread, mushrooms, onions, garlic, herbs, nutritional yeast & greens)

* Pasta w/spaghetti sauce & cannellini beans/lentils + garlic toast (toast w/a little Earth Balance + garlic/onion powder & nutritional yeast)
* Baked potato w/hummus or beans, green onions & sauteed mushrooms
* Tacos (hard corn shells w/canned refried beans, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole + sometimes black beans or chickpeas)
* "Big Salad" (medium size mixing bowl, usu. w/arugula,cherry tomatoes, onions, nuts/seeds + homemade dressing)
* Veggie soup (homemade or canned) w/toast + usu. a small salad
* Veggie burger w/veggies (on whole wheat bun)
* Homemade mashed potatoes (red or new potatoes w/skins on + non-dairy milk, garlic & green onions) w/ a veggie burger patty
* Beans/lentils + brown rice (or barley, quinoa, etc.) with mushrooms, onions and/or other veggies
* Veggie chili + cornbread

* Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza (optional: top w/cannelini beans & spinach or any other veggies)

Snacks:

* Cherry/grape tomatoes

* Cucumber, baby carrots, and/or bell pepper slices w/hummus (King Harvest is my fave brand)
* Garbanzo beans (1/2 or sometimes the whole can!) w/lemon juice & a little salt
* Tortilla chips + salsa (or guac)
* TJ's reduced fat woven wheat crackers or other crackers (sometimes w/hummus)
* Air-popped popcorn w/melted Earth Balance + nutritional yeast &/or seasoning (i.e. garlic/onion powder)
* Apple slices with/without peanut butter
* Fresh or frozen grapes (or other fresh fruit)
* TJ's 100% dried fruit bar
* Toast or bread (TJ's kalamata olive bread is awesome!) w/any of toppings listed above (see breakfast)
* Homemade kale chips
* Roasted plantain chips or chickpeas
* Smoothie (non-dairy milk, frozen banana + frozen berries, acai, peanut butter, walnuts, and/or greens sometimes)

* Tortilla chips + salsa

* Dried fruit + nuts

* Applesauce (warm or cold) + cinnamon

Dessert:

* Several pieces of TJ's The Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar (it's seriously the best dark chocolate ever!)

* Banana ice cream + various mix-ins/toppings (shredded coconut, berries, chocolate/carob chips, cocoa/carob powder, peanuts)

* Fresh fruit  

* Dried mango (TJ's unsweetened & unsulphured kind) or other fruit

* Dessert smoothie (i.e. non-dairy milk, frozen banana, cocoa powder, peanut butter)

* Homemade cookie/muffin/brownie

* TJ's non-dairy mini soy chocolate sandwich 

For additional recommended reading about eating a plant-based diet, please visit my Articles page. And, for more meal and recipe ideas, check out my soon-to-be-updated Recipes and/or Websites pages.:)