The Plant-Based Lifestyle: What’s in it For You?

Understandably, switching to a plant-based lifestyle is can be quite a drastic change for some. It can mean a change in your routines, how you cook and source your food, and how you might feel about things like your health. While I am no nutritionist, I think it is fair to say that modifying your diet lean on the more plant-based side isn’t impossible and can actually be quite fun and rewarding! I speak from experience when I say that while I do consume animal products, my family and I enjoy a few days of the week where we have completely or mostly plant-based meals and source the majority of our diet from plant-based foods. This might be easier for me because I come from a culture that naturally encourages the consumption of plant-based foods, but I do think that there’s a lot more to plant-based food than leaves and greens, and you can actually find a lot of plant-based alternatives to a variety common animal product-containing dishes if you do a little bit of research. (Or surf the internet, which can provide you with a wealth of information on how to eat vegetarian, vegan, or just incorporate a few plant-based meals in your week.) But besides climate justice, why else might you want to take up more plant-based eating?

All in all, it can be a little tricky, to some extent, to jump straight into a plant-based diet, but by approaching plant-based foods with patience and confidence in the nutrition it can provide, you’ll be on track to fulfillment from the food you eat! Plants also tend to be cheaper and more bountiful than meat, so while you enjoy the health, sustainable, and delicious sides of plant-based foods, you wallet will also be a lot happier!

Speaking of that, how do you transition more smoothly into eating more plant-based foods? Well, I think the right first move would be to start slow. You need time to adjust to such a shift in your diet and it might be best to start off by dedicating a day of your week to eating plant-based. Find a couple of recipes you think are delectable (like the ones we make in our program, hint hint :) ) and give it a try! If you find that this is something you’re personally comfortable with, you could then move on to reducing the portions of animal meat/products you have in your meals and substitute them for other plant-based protein alternatives, like beans, seitan, or tofu. And make sure that when you go out to eat that you’re aware of the vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian options available at restaurants! It’ll make nights out with your friends a lot easier if you can plan for that. Finally, make that your plant-based diet is making you feel happy. The tenants at Indwell have all universally agreed that the plant-based dishes that Chef Lucca cooks are very filling and quite wholesome. That’s because we try to use whole grains, plant-based protein sources, and ways to incorporate health fats, like unsaturated fat and omega-3. And there’s a tonne of ways to make satisfying comfort food with plant-based foods that rivals those made with meat, so it’s all about making sure you aren’t left hungry or doubtful that you are getting your nutrition.

But how do all of these nutrition facts lead to better health outcomes? Well, research shows that it might lead to a decreased likelihood of getting a chronic (long-term) disease. There are reports, for example, that say that plant-based diets could help reduce your risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Now, while all this research says that plant-based diets can have a positive impact on your health, there is still a lot more research that must be done before we can conclude for sure that plant-based is the way to go. But, do keep in mind that there aren’t any health risks to a plant-based diet as long as you eat enough and eat a wide variety of foods, so I think that it is still worth it to give plant-based meals a shot, even if it’s only for a few days a week!

Well a lot of the benefit for a person actually comes from in the way of health. Numerous scientific studies on plant-based diets and there is evidence that eating more plant-based foods may provide health benefits. For one, a plant-based diet contains ALL the essential nutrients required for your body to function properly! We’re talking iron, vitamin B12, calcium, omega-3, and vitamin D, which one can get from fresh fruits and vegetables and fortified plant-based milks. And plant-based meals are usually conscious of the need for good sources of protein, and the recipes Chef Lucca is whipping up for Lucca’s Plant-Based Cooking Adventure do exactly that! Proteins are the molecules that build our bodies and help us do important bodily functions. They are made of chemical building blocks called amino acids of which there are 20 that our bodies need to make our own proteins for our bodies. Humans can make 11 of these 20 amino acids on their own, but 9 of them (called essential amino acids) need to be obtained from our diet because we can’t make them ourselves. The vast majority of plant-based foods contain all 9 of the essential amino acids which means you’d be pretty much covered for protein! (Foods like soy, beans, seeds and nuts contain lots of protein and are pretty delicious too!) And of course, we can’t forget fibre. Fibre, while not essential to your nutrition, is quite important for things like digestion! But, did you know that only 4% of Americans meet their daily fibre requirements? That’s crazy to me! Plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables are a perfect way to get more fibre in your system because they naturally contain lots of it.