Subscribe to the blog (free) and receive a simple, 7-day, vegan, Plant-Based Guide with vegan recipes to help nourish and energize the body, rev up the metabolism, and shed unwanted weight. Yours free when you subscribe to the blog!
Whether you are just looking for a week of healthy plant-based eating to give your body a break – or are wanting to make the switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, here is a PLANT-BASED Recipe Guide to help you on your journey.
A little back story: For several years, I have watched my own metabolism slow down and my weight slowly creep up. Growing up, I was naturally slim and it wasn’t really until my forties that I noticed weight gain that was harder to shed.
When I was young, losing a few pounds used to be fairly easy. Not anymore! Although I’ve never considered myself to be overweight, I gained fat around my middle that made me feel sluggish and unhealthy that I couldn’t seem to lose. I tried many different diet fads. Nothing really seemed to work.
So I tried something different. I started listening and paying attention to what my body was actually telling me. In the beginning, I just started noticing what and when I was eating and why. I noticed that much of the time I ate when I was not actually hungry. I did a lot of mindless eating… eating whatever was sitting on the counter as I walked past regardless if I was hungry. Being a caterer, there was always food in front of me, which inevitably ended up in my mouth! I noticed if the “healthy” nuts were out, and I had just one, even though I wasn’t hungry, I’d enviably eat the entire bowl. The salt! The fat! I loved it!
I started paying attention to how my body felt – acknowledging the foods left me feeling energized, satiated, and deeply nourished. And this is different for each of us. We are genetically different and no one diet is right for all of us. And the interesting thing is most diets actually “work” if they align with your genetics and lifestyle. Meaning, most diets – vegan, keto, paleo, low-fat, low-carb, pescatarian, etc, can all work to help people lose weight. The question is, which one is the most sustainable? More and more I believe, our bodies adapt to whatever we are doing. Perhaps the best thing for our bodies is just simply to mix things up – eat more variety, and eat with the seasons.
I noticed how there were foods that actually caused me to feel ravenous and overeat. These were processed foods. Most of us can agree, that processed foods, even so-called “healthy” ones, create inflammation, cravings, and rev up our appetites even more, making them incredibly easy to overeat. Most processed foods, contain inflammation-causing “seed” oils (polyunsaturated fats, aka PUFA’s)- canola oil, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, corn oil, and soybean oil- which were introduced to our diet not too long ago. They seem to cause inflammation, are near impossible to burn off, and can hi-jack our fat cells and actually turn our “satiated signals” off, making us crave even more food with PUFA’s!!! When was the last time you tried to eat just one tortilla chip? It’s impossible.
Some doctors believe that if you just changed this one thing, eliminated seeds oils, your health would improve greatly. Some are even prioritizing this over eliminating sugar.
The problem is, these Polyunsaterated seed oils (or PUFAS) are in practically everything. Even “healthy” things! Store-bought hummus, nut milks, vegan cheeses, vegan mayo, store-bought dressings, sauces, even healthy “organic”, “non-GMO” products. Check the labels friends- it’s concerning!
So the week of “clean-eating” begins with cutting out these processed foods for a period of time, allowing our bodies a break, and help reset our taste buds. Eating plant-based meals, with lots of healthy fruits and veggies, whole grains, plant-based proteins, healthy fats, allows our bodies to do what it naturally does… balance and heal itself.
Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet:
- lowers cholesterol,
- helps heal diabetes
- lowers inflammation,
- lowers blood pressure,
- reduces cancer risk,
- lowers heart disease
- Is the least taxing diet on the environment. Not to mention the animals!
There is even research out there that states that eating vegan for a 3 month period can actually affect our DNA! Studies by Dean Ornish and others show how a plant-based diet affects the length of our telomeres, and ultimately slow the aging process. Don’t take my word for it, please do your own research and see for yourself.
And while we take this “break” our bodies become better able to absorb all the good clean nutrients we are putting into them. Fresh fruits and veggies are full of prebiotics! Slow-metabolizing carbs like beans and whole grains feed our healthy gut bacteria which helps support our immune system. I find that in the process, I start to actually crave these whole plant-based foods because I feel better, sleep better and have way more energy.
So this is what I try to do every few months: For 7-14 days, I’ll cut out all processed foods, meat, dairy, refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, and alcohol. I make all meals from scratch, cooking only a few very simple meals that I eat throughout the week. I keep it very simple. This is KEY. (Now, of course, you can transition into the whole food, plant-based vegan diet full time. It need not be a “cleanse”, but rather a lifestyle change if you so choose.)
On an ongoing daily basis, I try to practice intermittent fasting most days, adopting a 16/8 fasting schedule (eating just 2 meals a day within a 6- 8 hour period, with no snacking-allowing my body to rest for 16 hours). This helps moderate insulin spikes and promotes autophagy. For more information on the benefits of fasting or intermittent fasting, read this recent article from Harvard Medical School and this Wikipedia article. If you struggle with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes, I highly recommend that you research and consider this.
And yes, occasionally I splurge because I really don’t believe in depriving one’s self of all life’s pleasures. For example, I really love ice-cream… but I realized I made a habit of it, eating it every night after dinner. Did I really need to eat it every single night?! I decided I would eat it, only when I really really wanted it, which ended up being far less than I thought. I changed the habit of eating it. And I also changed the habit of constantly snacking when I wasn’t hungry- substituting this tea, or this apple cider vinegar drink called a switchel. This was huge for me.
Slowly but surely, I lost weight for the first time in years. At first, I didn’t actually notice the weight loss, it was that slow. But I felt more energy during the day and slept better at night. After several months, I weighed myself and was astounded. My cholesterol also went down (which is important to me personally, because both of my parents had heart bypass surgery). I’m not promising miracles here, but I think if you give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised- like I was.
In the free, 7 DAY Plant-Based Guide I lay out a list of things to begin your journey. Please don’t feel like you have to do ALL these things in the first week (unless you really want to jumpstart your body). I’ve found that lasting success comes from gradually and gently incorporating these changes into your lifestyle so they become a more lasting habit. This is key.
Weight will come off a little more slowly, but this is a good thing, and this way it will most likely last. So go ahead and start with just one or two things this week. Then next week add another, and then another the following week so it’s not so overwhelming or dramatic. This is not intended to be a “diet”, but rather a lifestyle change for increased energy, vibrancy and gradual weight loss, with a “jumpstart” option if you are so inclined.
For the record, I am not a dietitian and I can’t say that this vegan PLANT-BASED Guide is right for everyone. Please don’t take my word for it, do your own research, listen to your body and make sure this is a good fit for you. We are all so different, and I don’t believe in “one size fits all”. But this is what has worked for me- and I just wanted to share it! (By the way, the guide is totally FREE, just for subscribing to the blog. )
I’m not here to try to convince you to become vegan, but rather show you simple ways to include more nutritious, home-cooked meals into your life, and try to help wean you off of processed foods.
There are many paths to health, and my hope is to inspire and motivate you to find your own. Take inventory of how you feel and start taking responsibility for your health. This is not your doctor’s job- this is your job. We only get one body while we are here… and our food choices do affect our health.
Not only does the guide contain helpful tips and tricks to make the transition easier- it contains delicious Vegan Recipes that will keep you feeling vibrant, energized and satisfied! A week without processed foods does wonders for the body. Just imagine what a month would do! Now imagine a whole year!
Here are a few of my favorite resources that have inspired the PLANT-BASED Guide.
- The Longevity Diet
- The Obesity Code
- Wildatarian Diet
- Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
- The China Study
- Fat Burn Fix-great info on seed oils
- The Blue Zones
- Delay Don’t Deny
- Eat to Live
- Mastering Diabetes
Subscribe to the blog and get my free 7-DAY, PLANT-BASED RECIPE GUIDE and make some simple changes starting today! Once you sign up you’ll receive the list of things you can start implementing into your daily routine, along with some simple delicious recipes!
No strings attached, ever. 🙂
VEGAN PLANT-BASED GUIDE
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4
- Category: Vegan
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Northwest
Description
A simple, vegan, 7-DAY, PLANT-BASED Guide with Vegan Recipes! Heal your body, increase your energy, rev up your metabolism and shed weight! Free!
Ingredients
- fruits
- vegetables
- whole grains
- plant-based protein and fat
Instructions
Read the Plant-Based guide.
Clean out your fridge. Clean out your pantry. Round up all your snacks and processed foods and put them out of site (basement, garage,or give away).
Take inventory of what you have that fits in with the guide- and use these things! Grains, beans, produce, etc.
Pick out a few vegan recipes, make a shopping list and prep a few things ahead for the week.
The key is keeping things simple, using what you have on hand -and incorporating fresh produce.
Cook from scratch! It won’t be hard or complicated.
Fill your self up with fresh vibrant food and you won’t be hungry for the processed stuff.
You can do this. 🙂
Keywords: vegan diet, vegan diet plan, how to become vegan, plant based diet, plant based, vegan recipes, vegan dinners, vegan lifestyle, how to go vegan, how to be vegan, vegetable diet, clean eating diet, clean eating guide
I have only recently found your site and feel very inspired to cook more and to try to incorporate more veggies in my meals (slightly tricky when feeding a teenager).
Your writing is not at all preachy which is incredibly refreshing and you seem to understand the difficulties people face when little on time.
I have tried to sign up for your detox plan as your experience is exactly what is happening to me however however nothing comes through and I have checked my junk folder.
Many thanks,
Thanks so much- appreciate this Gillian and please check your folders for subject line “Welcome Gifts” and I also will resend. 😉
always great content
This blog is helpful and useful to the readers and to the searchers. I admire your determination .Thanks for this great resource & I really appreciate your work.
Thanks so much! Really appreciate this.
Loved your 5 Healthy bowls recipes! Looking forward to more!
Hello,I really look forward to try more gluten -free recipes. your upside down rhubarbe cake was a huge success tonight. Receiving your detox and menu plan would be wonderful Thank you so much. for your inspiration.
well Sylvia your blog is amezing
Hi Sylvia! My story is similar to yours… have always been thin and able to lose weight easily. Have put on 10lbs in the last 18 months and can’t seem to shake it. Thinking about trying the detox plan and have a couple of questions:
– Did you snack, or stick to only 3 meals a day? If you snack, what do you recommend?
– I only have a small French press. To make a quart, could I just pour over a fine strainer instead?
– Do the recipes in your weekly “nourish bowl” recipe plan work with the detox?
Thanks so much for such a beautiful and inspiring site!
Hi Holly! Yes, I snack, mainly at night, my hardest time to not eat. It’s like my mouth gets bored and just wants to chew!!! I cut up cucumber and jicama, squeeze with lime and sprinkle with chili powder – or cut up a really good apple. I try to stick to fruit and veggies- not always succeeding. For the tea- yes boil the water in the pot with the spices and roots, so it infuses well, then strain. Nourish bowl is great for the detox! Welcome to the blog.
I have the book “prevent and reverse heart disease” but a lot of the recipes all for sweet potatoes. I try and try and cannot stand them…what can I substitute?
Thanks!
Do you like winter squash? Like butternut?
No unfortunately I don’t. The only squash I like are spaghetti and zucchini.
I’d love to try this as well but did not get the email. Thank you so much.
Jennie, do you remember what page you signed up on. I seem have one missing link and can’t seem to find it. Do you know if you were on a recipe post?
Hello, I just LOVE your Blog. I signed up for the Detox menu but haven’t received it and wondered could you please send it to me? Many thanks in advance.
Sure thing, it’s the way!
Interested in receiving your detox plan – currently on chemo for breast cancer. Any other tips you might have? Totally need to detox… Obviously! ;).
I will email it to you.I’m so sorry to hear you are going through chemo, I honestly can’t begin to imagine how hard this would be. How has your appetite been? What are you craving?
I’m not an expert, but what I would tell a friend is…
Be kind to yourself and gently nourish your body with clean, fresh, plant-based foods, made from scratch. Limit anything processed in addition to white flour, sugar or overly heavy foods. Think wholesome, real food with the focus around fruits and vegetables, organic if possible.
Sending you love and healing today.
Hey I am interested in the meal plan? Please send to me. I would love to blog my results.
Wonderful website! Recipes look awesome! Want to do your detox plan, as my ‘story’ is so similar to yours. So happy to have found your site, &look forward to making so many of your delicious-looling recipes. Thank you!!
Thanks for visiting the site Sylvia….I’m happy you are here! Similar stories, and we share the same name. 😉
Hi, I just signed up and already got the menu, can’t wait to start cooking. Will decently recommend to my friends.
Thanks so much Rosely!!
Hi Sylvia, i started making the dextox tea and drinking the same, can you let me know how many glass i should drink ideally a day and for how many days.
thanks
Kiran
Hi Kiran, There are no “shoulds” here. I drink it throughout the day, just refilling it with hot water. But we are all different. Try it for week and see what you think and how you feel.
I want to thank you for the ethnic recipes you have published. My husband loves them and I am happy he does.
He even adds the ingredients needed to make your dishes to he shopping list!
Ahhh.. thanks. I hope I’m not making him too crazy with the list, as I know my list of ingredients can get a little long at times. 😉
I am happy to have found your site and can’t wait to try some of your recipes, they all look so delicious.
I signed up to receive your emails and it states up top that when you sign up you get a detox plan along with menus but I did not receive them. Are they on your site or Am I missing something?
I received the menu and detox plan this morning. There must have been a delay in receiving my email. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes.
This is wonderfully done!! I love what you wrote. I have a certificate in Plant-based Nutrition from Cornell and an a certified instructor for the McDougall Starch Solution Program. You are on the right track, keep up the good work!
Hi!, I suscribed but I haven’t received the menu plan yet….
Hello there! I tried subscribing also but it did not work. Would love to try your detox!
Sure- No problem, I will email it to you Mel!
Did you get the confirmation message? The most common reason people don’t receive it is because there is typo in the email address.
Hi Sylvia
I did not receive the meal plan either. Would be much appreciated if you could email it to me.
Many thanks
Jane
Just sent it!
Just sent it.:)
I’m having great difficulty hunting out the Haloumi salad with mint dressing recipe,so far searched in vain.Here’s hoping!
Here you go! https://www.feastingathome.com/grilled-halloumi-and-eggplant-salad-with-mint-dressing/
Hi Sylvia!
I also did not receive the meal plan, would you be able to email it to me too?
Thank you!
Emailed it …did you get it?
Hello Sylvia
I seem to have the same problem as some others. I signed up for your Detox menu and did not receive it. Would you kindly email it to me, please?
Your website is my go to for great recipes! Thank you!
Renée
There was a problem with my Mail Chimp Email settings, but I think it has been fixed…you should have received it this morning?
Let me know if you haven’t…thanks!!
Hi there! I am totally taken with your site, the beautiful recipes and photography. Thank you.
Ok its on its way. 🙂
Hello Sylvia,
I really enjoy your posts in your website. I’m following you on Pintereset as well.
I’m intersted in doing the detox!
Thank you! God bless you!
Hi Sylvia!
I love your blog, recipes, and outlook on life!
Awesome site and <i love all the recipes. I tried to sign up for the detox plan but it did not work numerous times. Could you please help? thanks!
Sorry about that…sometimes it goes strait to spam, so please check you spam folder- the email subject line is “Welcome Gifts”. If you don’t find it let me know!!!
Very interesting look forward to the variety of recipes.
At present on a journey of reducing my weight.
Thank you
Thanks Ira,
All the best to you…. and I would love to hear updates on your journey!
Sylvia