Fall Freshness and Ten Tips for New Vegans.
It is officially fall for me as I enjoy things post competition. Fall is by far my favorite season, there is always a certain buzz in the air as leaves begin to change and we head into the holiday season.
I have just settled into my new place in Seattle, WA and my travel assignment will begin very soon. I couldn’t be happier. With this new BUZZ about things, I cannot wait for my new branding/logo to be done and Living Whole will blossom as I continue with my passion and direction. Good things are to come.
There have been some slight changes to the website, I have added a search bar for ease and recipes will be posted on a whole separate navigator for scrolling ease. My biggest goal right now is to provide quality content, vegan recipes, and all things Holistic Nutrition and Wellness (captain obvious here), but more than that: quantitatively it’s a goal of one blog post, one youtube video, and one recipe a week. Grow with me!
With the talk of freshness and buzz of new beginnings, here are my Ten Tips for New Vegans:
Get Creative: Experiment with a variety to find what you like. Try to sample/buy something new at the grocery store or farmer’s market.
Get in the kitchen: Trying new ways of cooking and preparing foods can ignite your palate.
Read: There is a TON of information out there. Cookbooks, articles, and blogs that are filled with vibrant recipes and vegan life hacks.
Get out of your comfort zone and explore: see what your city has to offer! Travel more, there are a ton of local vegans options and you would be surprised to see how veg-friendly restaurants can be. Even mainstream restaurants, you can get creative with ordering and design your own vegan friendly meal.
Communicate: Talk to your grocery store clerk, ask about vegan restaurants, sharing your positive change can open conversations to new food opportunities. Food is social so you might even make some exciting new friends along the way.
Embrace it: This is both a refreshing and sometimes daunting time being a new vegan. Embrace the lifestyle change and also embrace others. Share your plant based positivity but understand that other people may not be on the same page. Shed the stereotypical vegan abrasiveness. We are all about cruelty-free, right? Even other humans.
Listen: your body has a wonderful way of telling you what foods work for you and when you need to move. Find balance in what foods your body responds to and functional fitness. Get active, get moving.
Take notes: Food journaling/note taking can be a great tool. There are plenty of options from smartphone apps to easy pen and paper.
Find your Mmm-factor: we all have our favorite “go to” recipes. Soon, you will find yours. One of the best ways to start is to veganize your non-vegan favorites, whether it’s a holiday treat or childhood favorite.
Don’t give up: remember why you started. There will be hard days, non-convenient days, but in the grande scheme of things, your nutritional choices make a huge difference for your health, for the environment, and for the voiceless animals. Whatever reasoning, you can do it!
