5 tips to transition into a low-stress plant based diet
Vegan… It’s a thing these days. It’s a trend that is doing some good in the world however, it can also become stressful for many. Being a person of color, (multi-cultural is a term that I prefer), vegan does not come naturally. No one is really just one race these days but for the sake of a simple explanation, I’m Puerto Rican. We were raised on pork. You would think being on an island would naturally make the culture big on fruits and vegetables but no, it’s pork. We are also known for making the tastiest pork at that and pork was the first meat I decided to give up.
I want to bring some attention to what I just said, "the first meat I decided to give up.” I started with pork because I naturally just didn’t really like it anymore. My journey began there, & the transition and journey to a plant based lifestyle can take time. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there’s people that stopped eating meat cold turkey but you see, Vegan is the clothes you wear as well. It takes time to learn how to do this and depending on your BIG WHY of going vegan, it can take hours, days, months, or even years to be vegan. Here are 5 tips to transition to a healthier lifestyle, because let’s be real, Oreos are Vegan too and eating Oreos all day isn’t any better than eating meat.
Be Kind & Compassionate: to yourself and others, not just animals. Being kind to meat eaters is just as important as being compassionate to animals. Animals are meat eaters too just like some people. I often see vegans being cruel to those that don't share their same views on a plant based diet. This lifestyle has a learning curve. Here you are sitting on your vegan high horse eating your morning star patty and oops, you just realized that the ingredients read eggs. You are no longer “Vegan”, you have just turned Vegetarian in seconds. It happens. ALL THE TIME. No one is perfect and no one diet is perfect for everyone.
I went to a Chinese restaurant and ordered some soup, and asked if it’s veggie broth.. the waiter replied yes. It was the best soup I ever had in my life. I went two years later to have this amazing veggie broth soup to find out that it was really pork. At that moment, I decided to stop eating that soup feeling crushed and tricked. Was it the waiters fault? Should I start screaming at the restaurant for answering wrong? No, this is my choice, my journey, my diet, and no body else, why get mad at someone else? I get it if it’s an allergy and you could die, but if it’s not an allergy.. take it easy, have some compassion for people… they make mistakes and they weren’t hired to be your personal vegan assistant. Just keep trying.
Make your food: the only way you have complete control over your food is if you make it yourself. You will know all the ingredients and can guarantee that its completely plant based. It’s also better for you. The goal here is not to eat a bunch of processed food, the goal is to eat whole foods. It doesn’t need to break your bank, you can make simple foods like rice, lentils, salad, nuts and voila, a full meal that cost very little. Eating foods high in fiber will keep you full longer. One of the biggest challenges people have when they first transition is feeling full longer. Foods like oatmeal will keep you full because of the amount of fiber it has. If you let yourself get hungry, you will start to lose your will power, and you may slip. If you slip, no worries, just keep trying. It takes awareness and practice, and that practice never ends, it just becomes easier when you’ve built up some momentum and have good knowledge of food choices.
Educate yourself! Knowledge is power. Don’t only watch the latest Peta video, or scare yourself by watching what they do to animals, I mean really educate yourself on food! Find what foods work best for your body. Make health your priority and learn how to feed your body to heal thyself with food. How do you feel when you eat more greens? Do you need to eat more raw or warming foods? What will make your body feel balanced? What kind of foods give you sustained energy? What foods make you bloat? Your body will tell you what it needs. Learn how to listen to it, not just what someone else tells you or scares you into eating. You will find that you will be able to transition easier when you get the big picture.
Get adventurous! Try to eat a new vegetable or fruit a week. Switch it up and make it interesting. Theres a huge variety of fruits and vegetables from all over the world. Which are your favorite? Indian food makes some of the best Vegan food I know. Vegan doesn’t always have to have the label Vegan to be vegan. Understand how different cultures make their foods. This new experience can fuel your journey by keeping things new and exciting. It can also help to develop your palate. Some processed foods can dull your palate making it harder to get used to natural flavors. It’s not that you don’t like vegetables, you probably just have to find your favorites and train your taste buds. Keep trying, it will get easier…
Get rid of labels. As a society we like to categorize, separate, and name things. It satiates the desire we all have to “belong” to something. We are attracted to these labels and marketing and advertisement companies know it. Slap on a label whether it’s gluten free on a water bottle, people will buy it because of the label. Becoming Vegan is tricky. The clothes, products, and food you eat are supposed to be completely plant based and can be confusing to figure out. How technical and literal do you personally want to go on your journey? Are you any less vegan because you decided to wear a leather belt one day?Get rid of the label & guilt and get healthy! Health should be top priority meaning if someone is allergic to most fruits and vegetables and it prevents them from having a balanced diet because they decided to go Vegan and can only eat carrots, rice, and peas… they should re-evaluate what and why they are doing it. Are you trying to follow a trend? Is this the best lifestyle for you? Does it make you feel better? Forget the label and do the best that you can even if it’s not 100% in your own eyes. Small steps all add up.
As for being multi-cultural. This plant based lifestyle is not natural to my culture. I heard it from my grandfather when he tried to feed me alcapurria, a very typical Puerto Rican fried meat containing finger food. He told me there was no meat in it because he knew how crazy I WAS about my diet. I ate it, and found what looked like meat and looked at him with my evil eye. He shrugged his shoulders and he said” I don’t know, it might be chicken, or pork”. This was my grandfather, and I’m sure many people have family members that do this to them. Well, my grandfather passed probably a few months after that incident and man how I wish I could sit there again, eating that tricky alcapurria and see him smile. You see kids, it’s not that serious. Do the best that you can. Eat as clean as you can, Take it day by day and when you can have control over your diet, great, but if it slips up, it’s ok too just start again. Just make the best of the journey, and remember to just co-exist with plant eaters and meat eaters alike. The transition is a never ending journey, and bigger than just a stupid label. Compassion toward all living things is the goal.
Check out vegan Puerto Rican recipes on Eatingveganlikearican.blogspot.com
