A plant-based diet is another way of saying that you eat almost only plants, with veganism being the ultimate plant-based diet.

While we can no longer ignore the many health benefits of a plant-based diet, veganism is for many people just one crazy step too far. If you haven’t watched the documentary “What The Health” and “Earthlings” I would highly recommend them as they may change your vision on the meat industry and your health.

Though we recently decided to go 99 percent plant-based or vegan (leaving room for an occasional cheat moment), I’m not here to tell you that everybody should do the same to protect their health. To be honest it took, especially my hubby, a few years to ease our way into this kind of lifestyle. One bite at a time!

BUT there is one message I want to stress WE ARE EATING TOO MANY ANIMALS PRODUCTS!

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And don’t start with but our ancestors were healthy and they ate meat… yes, they did but definitely not every day at every meal… Sometimes they didn't eat at all. That being said, I want to add that certain organic animal products can be part of a healthy diet. Don't get me wrong there.

But over time we have become carnivores instead of omnivores. And the meat we are served today is nothing like the quality our ancestors ate. And the way it is farmed... this alone should push you towards a plant-based diet. No animal deserves to live like that.

Therefore, always make sure to opt for grass-fed, organic, or free range products from reliable sources. I know they are more expensive but at least they will not harm your health when eaten in moderation. Same goes for your vegetables and fruits though... opt for organic and local whenever possible!

Another important thing is to stay away from deli meats or other processed animal (or non-animal) products. They are loaded with hormones, antibiotics, and other nasty chemicals you don’t want to ingest on a regular basis.

Why You Should Also Eat More Plants

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From a personal angle, easing our way into a plant-based lifestyle has made me slimmer, healthier, stronger, and increased my energy levels dramatically. It improved my inherited heart condition and reduced my cholesterol without the need for medication.

But what's even better, living the plant-based lifestyle has made it possible for my husband to come off his weekly, sick-making interferon injections to control Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He has been drug-free since 2014 without any issues or a single MS flare-up.

Why did NO doctor ever tell us food could be an effective, cheap treatment without any side-effects? We haven't felt better in our entire life!

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Furthermore, adding more plants to your life will improve

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• Health: eating more plants will help you to lose weight, improve overall health and strength while reducing the risk of heart diseases, cancer, diabetes.

• Environment: eating less or no animal products is the great way to reduce our carbon footprint. Did you know that animal farming produces 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions? That’s about 5% more than all forms of transportation (cars, planes, motorbikes, etc) combined (13%).

• Animal-cruelty: maybe one of the biggest reasons why people are turning away from eating animals is to make peace of mind and help stop animal cruelty.

So if you still eat meat or other animal products, opt for organic meat and fish and try to reduce your intake to 2 to 3 times a week. Or why not try the vegan lifestyle straight away. Up to you! Whichever you choose, your body and our planet will thank you for it!

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10 Tips & Tricks To Ease Your Way Into A Plant-Based or Vegan Lifestyle

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For some people, going vegan can be done overnight. For most people, however, that’s just too scary or too restrictive. For those people it will be easier to gradually change their diet and life one bite at a time.

We are creatures of habits and according to science, it takes 21 days to turn something into a habit…. As we are changing our diet we are looking for permanent changes. So better go slow, than to fall back into your old habits after just a few weeks.

NO pressure! Even if you only manage to go meatless for just one day a week, it will already benefit mother Earth and your body.

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1. Go Meatless On Monday’s and/or Wednesday’s

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If you want to start slowly and scan the vegan options, you can start by giving up meat for one day a week. See what works for your family. Just keep in mind that if you give up meat, don’t substitute it for the processed vegan crap like the fake meats.

With so many people turning to a vegan diet, there are tons of yummy recipes to be found made from real ingredients, not only on my blog but across the entire steemit platform and the world wide web.

FYI: did you know that 1.4 billion animals could be spared by reducing our carbon footprint, water use, and fossil dependence dramatically If all Americans would participate in Meatless Monday’s or #veganWednesday's (a great initiative hosted by the gorgeous @heart-to-heart.

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2. Try The Vegan-Before-6pm Approach

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Instead of committing to 100% meatless days, many people like to ease their way into a plant-based lifestyle by eating a vegan diet before 6 pm. Over time you can extend this to a few (or just one) 100% vegan days.

Again you decide what works for you. Nobody is judging you. It’s for the sake of your and your family’s health. And the health of our planet too.

3. Experiment With Vegan Versions Of Your Favorite Comfort Meals

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This is one of my favorites. I love veganizing my favorite comfort foods. Like the Vegan Shepperd’s pie I made the other day.

Again, DO NOT USE FAKE MEATS as they are highly processed and full of unfermented soy products. Instead use portobello mushrooms, chickpeas, lentils, beans, barley, quinoa, etc. to create a meaty texture.

4. Do Your Research When Eating Out

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With veganism growing in popularity, many restaurants have jumped on this new way of eating. Do your research. Today there are so many high-end plant-based restaurants, trendy vegan cafes, or hip whole food salad bars to choose from.

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5. Be Creative In The Kitchen

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For many people, the words boring and bland come up when they think of vegan food. If that is the case then you have been trying the wrong kind of vegan food ;)

Ever since we embarked on the plant-based lifestyle and started to incorporate vegan dishes, our diet has improved so much flavor-wise. There are so many things you can do with flavorful veggies, fruits, and of course lots of fresh or dried herbs and spices.

Do your research, be creative with new ingredients, ask vegans or vegetarians for their favorite recipes and don’t be afraid to try new flavors.

A good rule to stay creative and discover new things is to try at least one new vegan product or recipe each week.

6. Watch Out For Nutrient Deficiencies

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If you eat a well-balanced diet with the colors of the rainbow, you will most likely not run into any nutrient deficiencies.

The only culprit is vitamin B12 as this is mainly found in animal products. Again do your research and supplement with high-quality supplements if needed.

Other common vitamin and mineral deficiencies to watch out for are iron, calcium, and vitamin D.

7. Avoid Eating Refined Carbohydrates

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Many people who live on a plant-based diet are often tricked into eating more refined carbs like bagels, vegan junk food, pretzels, chips, etc. Don’t fall into the carb trap and make sure to have healthy and delicious snacks around.

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8. Make Sure To Eat Enough

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Fruits and veggies have fewer calorie per bite, so people eating a vegan diet will have to eat more to avoid binge eating. At the beginning of our plant-based adventure, I made this mistake myself.

I had a smoothie for breakfast, soup or salad for lunch and I used to come home so hungry after work I binged on nuts or other stuff before dinner.

Make sure to eat enough during the day. You shouldn’t feel hungry. Instead of having 3 main meals try to have 5 to 6 smaller meals instead.

9. Switch To Non-Dairy Milk

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This should be easy as to my humble opinion (and that of my hubby's) nut milk tastes so much better. Coconut, almond, or hazelnut milk are among my favorites. Furthermore, most plant milk, especially almond milk, are very low in calories compared to cow’s milk.

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10. Make Vegan Friends

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These days it is so easy to connect with people. Look at how steemit is connecting people from all corners of the world.

Join steemit’s vegan community to get some inspiration and motivation. Search for vegan websites and groups to learn and see how 100% vegans live their life.

It’s fun, inspiring, helpful, and so lovely to meet fellow plant-based munchers to learn from their mistakes and experiences.

“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world”

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Take Home Message

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As noted at the beginning of this post, some of us like to go cold turkey and become a vegan overnight. However, for many families this approach simply doesn’t work long term.

Start with small changes to your diet and ease your way into it. Make vegan days a habit and soon you will notice that not only your body will crave more plant-based foods, you will start to love vegan dishes too. We started with green smoothies and juices. From there we work our way up ;)

See what works for your family. Both my hubby and I come from a family of meat-eaters. So incorporating Meatless Mondays (well actually in Belgium it was Veggie Thursday's) was a big thing. Though I wasn’t eating much meat at that time for my once carnivorous husband going meatless for one day was a giant leap into the right directions to improve health and reduce animal cruelty and our carbon footprint.

Bite by bite we added more vegan meals to our week and for a very long time, we thrived on eating 2-3 meals containing organic meat or fish a week.

Recently, however, we decided we were ready to go 99 percent plant-based. Our exceptions are wild honey and eggs from the chickens that are roaming our garden or the ones from the neighbor. And though I love my cultured coconut yogurt, once in awhile I can’t resist a plain dairy yogurt. Homemade of course without the addition of sugar!

But again that is up to you and what you feel comfortable with.

Hope these tips and tricks may inspire and help you to go vegan more often! Thanks for reading and until next time.

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ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL!
PICTURE(s) TAKEN WITH FUJI MX-1 AND NIKON D5600 (unless mentioned otherwise)

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