Last week, Queen Bey shared that her plans for getting snatched before Coachella included going vegan for the next 44 days. Issa Rae also revealed that she cut out meat during her several months of filming for HBO's Insecure. I’ve eaten a plant-based diet before, and here’s what you can expect and ways to make the lifestyle sustainable
About 5 years ago, I was the maid of honor at my cousin's wedding and I wanted a healthy way to lose a few pounds. After reading several articles about how cutting animal products from your diet could be healthy, I decided to give it a try. It worked, I lost almost 30 lbs in a little over two months. Of course weight loss isn't the only reason to skip the meat. A healthy body, glowing skin and better sleep are a few benefits you can expect from going plant-based.
Other than cutting out all meat, veganism means that animal products are also out — so of course no steak or fish, but also no mayonnaise (eggs) or butter or cheese. Even honey is out, as it comes from bees. But I wouldn't let that deter you. There are literally thousands of vegan options, and Instagram pages such as Jenne Claiborne’s Sweet Potato Soul and The Thick Vegan offer step-by-step recipes to leave you inspired.
My best piece of advice would be to plan ahead. When you go vegan, you'll stay prepared or you'll stay hungry. Carry snacks with you — fruit and peanut butter and bell pepper (don’t knock it till you try it) are easy ways to stay prepared when hunger hits. The other thing is to make this easy. Even though there are endless choices for vegan breakfasts and dinners, narrowing them down to one or two each week keeps it simple to make a large portion and divide it up during the week.
I’ll admit that this might not be something you want to do forever, but it’s worth a try, if only to commit to clean eating. Here’s a quick recipe to get you started:
Ingredients
– 1 can of black beans, drained
– 1 can of corn, drained
– 1 tomato, diced
– 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
– 1 avocado, diced
– ½ lemon, juiced
– Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Directions
Mix everything in a bowl and enjoy with corn tortillas. This is a great meal to have for any time of the day and also works as a side to almost any meal. If you’ve been thinking of trying plant-based eating let’s do it for the next 90 days together.
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