Let me start by saying that I used to be a complete carnivore. Up until September 2009 my diet consisted of meat, more meat, some kind of refined starch, some dairy, refined sugar, a bit more meat and occassionaly the odd bit of veg. Back then I thought that being a vegetarian was for hippy types only and simply could not contemplate life without a bacon roll in the morning and a regular dose of animal throughout the day.
How was my health back then? Well I think it is safe to say I was eating my way towards an early grave. I was classed as being severely or morbidly obese. I puffed on inhalers throughout the day and had various other health issues. If I was active with my kids I would be out of breath in minutes and my quality of life was deteriorating fast.
The reason I mention all this is because back then I was the least likely person I knew to ever consider a plant-based diet, but something changed. In September 2009 I saw a nutritional therapist who helped me to clean up my diet. I was still eating meat, but the changes I embraced helped me to start losing weight and, perhaps more importantly, start to feel more healthy. This experience made me want to learn more and I started to read about diet and nutrition. During this process I hit across the quickest and easiest method I know for increasing the amount of vegetables and fruit in our diets: Juicing.
Tip #1 — Start Juicing
When I discovered the idea of drinking vegetables that was a eureka moment for me.
Why is juicing so significant? In a recent interview, juicing legend Jason Vale said:
“When you give up processed foods and replace just one meal a day with a freshly made juice you have changed 1/3 of you diet in one simple step. Your friends will notice the shine in your skin, your hair your nails, your eyes, the whole you. It’s like adding super unleaded instead of diesel to an unleaded car.”
I completely agree with this and have also found since I started juicing I have craved more plants. It is juicing that lead to me the point of deciding to give up meat, fish and dairy. Fresh juices are quick and easy to prepare too and make perfect “on the go” food.
If you want to try juicing here are a few great starter recipes:
Tip #2 — Nature Already Has the Perfect Fast Food
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a fresh, healthy food option that was easy to remove from it’s packaging and where the packaging is completely bio-degradable? Well one example of such a food is a banana! If you are looking for food that requires little or no preparation and is completely plant-based you cannot go wrong with fruit.
Oh, and with University of Oxford researchers saying that an apple a day, could enable 8,500 deaths from heart attacks and strokes each year to be avoided (in the UK alone), I think it is easy to see that eating fruit has many health benefits.
Tip #3 — Plan Ahead and Be Prepared
I mentioned in my last post, that I travel a lot and this can give challenges with embracing a new way of eating. I am continuing to overcome this by planning ahead and, where appropriate or necessary, taking food with me.
We recently visited my wife’s family in Wales where a local speciality is corned beef pie. Knowing this may well be cooked for us I simply phoned ahead to the members of our family that had kindly offered to give us lunch and advised them that I am currently eating a plant-based diet, that is as close to vegan as I can practically make it. This phone call saved any embarrassment at the dining table and I sat down to a delicious salad.
Email me when Natural Juice Junkie publishes or recommends stories