Today I am starting something exciting – a 6 week challenge to eat a completely plant based, whole foods diet that eliminates all animal products and focuses on fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, nuts and legumes. Although I already eat healthy and clean, I have recently been doing a lot of research about the affects of animal products on our diet. If any of you have watched the acclaimed documentaries, Forks Over Knives or Vegucated you know exactly what I am getting to.
The western diet mainly consists of processed foods, animal products and only a small amount of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables give us the most nutrients with the least amount of calories making them the ULTIMATE superfood. The average American, though, eats only 1.5 cups of vegetables a day, and most of these are from tomatoes or potatoes and are drowning in salt. Less than 10% of vegetables eaten by the average American come from dark green or orange vegetables which contain the majority of the fiber we need. (Maanvi, Singh – NPR)
Forks Over Knives examines research that shows that many degenerative diseases can be reversed and prevented with a plant based, whole foods diet – and argues that animal products are a huge contributor to the provenance of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers in today’s world.
My challenge is to try a completely plant based diet for 6 weeks – cutting out all animal products and challenging myself to get more creative and find new ways to get plant based protein and eat more vegetables. I will be blogging about my experience, sharing some of the recipes I try and discovering how this change in lifestyle affects my health. Also, as I go through this challenge I will also be tracking my food in My Fitness Pal to watch daily percentages of carbs, fats and protein to make sure I am getting enough of all the macro nutrients even without animal products.
In addition to the health benefits of eating more vegetables, the documentary Vegucated explores going Vegan in a new light – looking at the environmental concerns, animal rights issues, and health benefits that come from a plant based diet. It also explores how challenging this lifestyle an be in a society where animal based products are so much of a staple in everyday life.
Week 1
Today I went through my kitchen making sure there was no meat, eggs or dairy anywhere, and then went to the grocery to buy food for the week. Below is my shopping list, divided into categories, just to give you an idea of what I bought. It was amazing how much of the grocery store I completely avoided when not buying any animal products or processed foods. Most of my shopping time was spent in the fresh produce section, the organic bulk section, and a few extra items from frozen food. I will be sharing some sample meals plans in the next few days – but I am excited to be challenging my health in new ways and exploring the world of completely plant based, whole foods diets.
Fruits:
Gala Apples
Bananas
Blueberries
Strawberries
Cherries
Grapes
Mangos
White Nectarines
Frozen Fruit for Smoothies
Vegetables:
Spring Mix Lettuce
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cucumbers
Large Tomatoes
Mini Sweet Orange Tomatoes
Fresh Corn
Asparagus
Green Beans
Avacados
Green Onions
Cilantro
Parsley
Grains:
Quinoa
Long Grain Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Pasta
Nature’s Path Heritage Flake Cereal
Steel Cut Oatmeal
Protein:
HEB Brand Almond Milk
Organic Sunshine Veggie Burgers – Soy Free, Gluten Free
Raw Almonds
Raw Walnuts
Black Beans
Garbanzo Beans
Peanut Butter
Almond Butter
Other:
Dried Cranberries
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Organic Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds
Organic Tomato Basil Sauce
Stayed tuned for my next post with meal plans and recipes! How will you challenge your health in new ways and improve your diet this month? Leave your comments and questions for SummerGirl Fitness below!
xoxo,
Your Trainer
Marielle