By Sara
Learning to cook plant-based meals can be overwhelming. Everything from finding the ingredients to learning how to prepare the different foods that you’ve likely never tried before is challenging. However, those who stick with it can see dramatic results of their healthier choices.
Why I decided to adopt a plant-based diet:
Initially when I decided to “go vegan” I knew nothing about the path I was embarking on. I had watched a documentary that left me in tears for the ways in which humans use and mistreat animals. After that, I couldn’t “un-know” what I had learned, so from that moment on, I was vegan for the animals. Reading any book on plant-based nutrition that I could get my hands on and watching many more documentaries consumed my spare time. Eventually, I earned my Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from eCornell.
While learning more about the many health benefits that a whole food plant-based diet offers, I became excited about the potential. Working as a nurse in an outpatient cardiology clinic, I saw every day the effects which diseases of lifestyle cause. With this in mind I made the jump from a vegan diet to a whole food plant-based diet for health reasons, while still maintaining my vegan lifestyle. Not being a hypocrite, I practice the lifestyle habits that I educate my patients about.
“Food is medicine, but I don’t want my meals to taste like medicine! “
Turns out that was the single best decision I’ve ever made. My husband and Mom jumped on board immediately. My Dad made the transition several months later in an attempt to bring his blood pressure down. By learning to cook plant-based, my family came along and are experiencing the benefits with me.
The benefits of plant-based eating I experienced:
First of all, I haven’t experienced a canker sore or any heartburn since my dietary overhaul. I have more energy, sleep better, my “bad” knee is less painful after my workouts, and overall my recovery following workouts has improved. Mentally I feel more clear.
As a result, inflammatory blood markers have decreased. Cholesterol numbers have improved (my total cholesterol is down 35 points and LDL is down by 32 points). These are all “side effects” of a whole food plant-based diet, and ones that I proudly earned.
Learning a healthier way to fuel my body:
I recall purchasing a myriad of new cookbooks, and trying out recipes a few at a time that were made to last a couple of meals or more for both my husband and I. Googling what certain ingredients were, and where to find them in the grocery store became part of my meal planning process.
Though I like salad, it is definitely not my favorite thing to eat. For this new dietary pattern to be sustainable, I needed more than “rabbit food”. Food is medicine, but I don’t want my meals to taste like medicine!
I’ve learned that most of the diseases my patients are facing today have a lifestyle component to them. This is why making lifestyle changes into consistent daily habits can have such a profound effect on our overall health.
Most people have between 3 to 10 meals that they can prepare, and that they rotate through. Making a change to a plant-based diet can be overwhelming as you are learning to cook using new ingredients.
Learning how to cook plant-based vs just collecting plant-based recipes:
Enter one of the best tools I’ve found so far for those wanting to make the transition to a healthy, plant-based diet. Swich (not misspelled) is an online learning platform with the goal of meeting people where they are and helping them to switch from the standard American diet to a healthier plant-based diet.
Swich will start off by asking you a series of questions. They will find out where you are with your skill level in the kitchen as well as your food and flavor preferences. You will then build your curriculum from there.
You will learn fundamentals and techniques, things like knife skills, how to roast vegetables, steaming foods, sauteing, and stir fry. Don’t get me wrong, Swich does also have recipes on the platform, and they do not disappoint! Indeed, learning to cook plant-based meals has never been easier.
Rather than simply learning a few new recipes, however, you will learn the art of cooking. In this way, you will become a more confident cook at home and will grow your self-reliance in the kitchen. This allows you to not just cook a few recipes, but rather to understand how you can take your Grandma’s recipe to make it healthier and work for your lifestyle goals for instance.
The personalization of the program is what makes Swich different from other programs. By understanding the techniques of cooking, you will be able to adapt recipes for your preferences. And the best part? Swich is 100% FREE!! It will not cost you a thing to sign up and learn how to make cooking more fun and less of a chore.
All things considered, Swich makes learning to cook plant-based much easier than when I initially went plant-based. The recipes are tasty and the ones I’ve tried will be enjoyed again and again.
What Swich taught me about plant-based cooking:
I’ve signed up and learned how to improve my knife skills, making me safer in the kitchen. It’s been fun learning how best to roast vegetables and fine-tuned my stir-fry skills (turns out I was doing it wrong before!). If you’d like to learn more, click here to sign up. Remember, it will not cost you anything, so you have nothing to lose!
Consequently, getting insider training on techniques has really helped to up my mad meal-prep game. I am feeling like a boss in my kitchen, and I really hope to see you on the Swich platform as I continue to learn inside it.
The funny thing about changing lifestyle habits is that we are all in the same boat. No one has it all figured out. Learning more about what changes you can make that will benefit you now and over the long term is empowering.
If you are ready to take control of your lifestyle, I’d be honored to help you through your journey. Take our “How Healthy is Your Current Lifestyle?” quiz, and see where you stand!
