5 essentials to going vegan. What you need for a successful adjustment to a plant based diet.

​Vegan. When you hear the word it can be a little intimidating and seem impossible. Especially for someone like me who didn't really understand nutrition or how to even prepare vegetables a few years ago. It just wasn't a priority for me to learn how to cook a healthy meal. Now, my family and I eat primarily plant based meals and we love it. A vegan diet is an incredible source to natural energy and I think you could really benefit from it. 

Then I had kids and boy did things change. I needed energy but I was depleated and running on empty all the time. Its something that a lot of Mama's go through but is hardly discussed.

And it is so, so hard. After sharing our bodies for almost a year, then birth, then nursing for however long you choose, you are giving away all of your essential nutrients to your sweet baby. This is a good thing, and how God created us to be, but that also means that we need to get as many nutrients as possible in the easiest way for our body to digest.

That means plants Mama. And lots of them. 

Now I am not suggesting that you go 100% vegan, just try to incorporate a few more meals a week as a vegan. You will find that the recipes are delicious (and often cheaper when feeding a family). You can even try my lentil chili recipe, which has been approved by not only my own children, but many of their friends as well. Click Here to check it out!

Below are a few essentials that I have found to be very helpful when you are choosing to cook a more plant based diet. 

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​Disclosure: Us Mama's are busy and we have the gift of home delivery, so for your convenience I have included some links of my favorite things from Amazon. At no extra cost to you, I may receive some commissions for any purchases that you make through those links, making it possible for me to give you more tips to be a healthy and happy mama. Thank you for your support!
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A Good Cookbook

Mama, you need something to show you the vegan ropes. A resource for when you aren’t sure what to do with that taco craving and aren’t sure how you will survive without it. A Cookbook is the answer! Something that you can place on your bookshelf with recipes that seem doable for your lifestyle. Take your time and find one that won’t require you to go to five different stores.

When you first go vegan, you are adjusting your lifestyle and a simple cookbook is just the answer. For me, that was The Vegan 8 plus its on Amazon. Not only is this cookbook simple, the food in here is delicious. So delicious, my family would eat it and stay full. You couldn’t ask for anything more Mama.

A Quality Food Processor
When I was first diving into the world of veganism, I was shocked to learn how many recipes I would need a food processor for. I mean, you can make anything out of one of these things! Cheese? Yup. Spreads? Yup. Almond Milk? Also yes. Plus like 100 other foods that are essential to taste. The trick is finding one that will blend hard items well like nuts and is quiet enough to not wake the baby (you get it Mama) and this Cuisinart is my personal favorite and its on Amazon.


Vegan Ranch
The ranch that you grew up on has eggs in it. Sorry Mama. But lucky for you, in this day and age, Primal Kitchen has your plant based back. This one can be tricky to find in stores so here's a link for you.  


Baking Sheets

There is a lot of roasting that comes with the world of veganism. You may have heard it called a ‘tray bake’ and its great, especially with kids running around. Basically you place your food on the pan then let it roast in the oven. When its done, you serve. (I know, why aren’t we talking about this more?!) If you’re inspired to make your life easier with this concept, you will need good baking sheets. One’s that will cook evenly and clean easily, like this set on Amazon.


Food Storage for Bulk Items

When you decide on a plant based diet, you will learn quickly how much money you can save, particularly on your protein sources. When you are feeding a family of 4 (or more), this is a huge advantage to eating primarily vegan. Buying in bulk will help you save even more money for your family Mama! This is where proper storage comes in to store all of those delicious dried lentils and beans (which you can learn how to cook here). For storage, you want something simple to fill, open, and know whats inside. Which is why these OXO containers are my absolute favorite!
 

 
You can do this, Mama. Veganism isn’t a switch that you just click on one day. It’s a small choice every single day. Like I said earlier, I eat a vegan diet about 75% of the time and I am happy with that. My body responds well to it and this seems to be the best way for me to feel my best without being too obsessive over what I am consuming. With three small kids, I just do not have the time (you get it). But I was tired of always feeling so sluggish and just sloppy after a meal. I wanted food to give me the energy to live my best life, not the other way around.
I want that for you too Mama. Commit to just making one meal plant based a week for this next month and share your journey with me! Tag @healthymama.happymama on Instagram and we can celebrate your meal together.
 
Thanks Mama!
Christine

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