You might have read a lot about the way plant-based food is making a revolutionary entry into people’s minds. You might not be a torchbearer, but you might genuinely wish to consider it from a health point of view and may find it tough! Well, you are not alone! The good news is that it is pretty easy these days. Thanks to so many near-mimicking plant-based alternatives, you would not miss eating your favourite foods. I simply cannot imagine how the pioneers survived, though!
Our journey, in fact, started with a boring note. My wife was suffering from DUB and had just come out of a fruit fast that miraculously stemmed the bleeding in just a few days of fasting! Of course, the routine included several other procedures recommended by my son, Dr. Achyuthan Eswar. Now that she was well, her mind craved for other kinds of food! My son was away and could hastily just tell her she could use no processed or animal food! So she started with just boiled and mildly salted and steamed veggies and felt like a very sick person! It felt nicer eating just the fruits! So, she called my son and let out a barrage of complaints! He laughed at her and mentioned that she could eat my special dishes, but she just had to do extra work in cooking differently! And he taught her how. So here we are giving you eight tips on how you can make this transition smoothly for :
1. You must want to change over with tremendous interest. It cannot be a passing fancy.
The roadblocks you will face to begin with are that you might need food differently made; you might feel alienated by friends who continue to eat the way you do not wish to eat; or your friends might tempt you and make slight of your resolutions to change. So the first step is to get into this after understanding why you should not waver.
2. Educate yourself on the importance of plant-based whole foods for your health.
Watch videos like Forks Over Knives and The Gamechangers. Read blogs of experts like Dr. Michel Greger and Dr. Achyuthan Eswar who put up information on Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) Diet. Explore the research by Dr. Campbell and many others on the subject. Get to know more to strengthen your resolve.
Dr. Greger’s cookbook and over 200 FREE recipes on Sampoorna Ahara offer some WFPB recipes that are just Yum to taste once made! Crossing over was never so easy as this before!
4. Learn to buy/cook or put together sumptuous snacks, drinks and smoothies. Look forward to planning for it. Let it not be a chore. Create an environment for this activity. You could think of beautiful containers, a notebook for planning or a file/app on your phone for this that makes it a pleasure to plan.
5. Make friends with others eating food this way. Search them out and interact often with them. Swap dishes, give each other WFPB treats and critically help by offering feedback to each other about your respective dishes and innovate together newer ones that are whole, plant-based and healthy.
6. Join forums and volunteer to promote this cause. Donate to groups that are pioneering and championing in this space. Offer help with work and materials to the best of your ability and capacity.
7. Take tests to see for yourself gradual decrease in weight if you are overweight and increase in weight if you are underweight; blood tests to see how your haemoglobin count, vitamins and other elements rise to most necessary levels.
8. Counsel folks who are on the border of falling prey to lifestyle diseases by telling them the story of how you regained health. Show them proof. Tell them how it is not a sacrifice, but a pleasure to taste and to have a WFPB diet as a health promoter.
With these tips you will staunchly be on the path to becoming a pro, and not just a follower of whole food plant-based diet.
Be blessed!
Krish Murali Eswar.
