Hold The Milk, It Does The Body Good.

 

  Before I dive head first into all the wonderful salads that I'm sure you came here to read about... I feel it's only fair I give a little introduce as to how I came to this plant based lifestyle. Like the majority of the population, I was raised an omnivore. Meat of some kind was always a staple on my breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates. In a society where it's encouraged to drink plenty of milk if you want strong bones, the idea of completely dropping those vital food groups from my every day meals seemed absurd and impossible if I wanted to maintain a healthy diet. 

     The combination of my own ignorance to plant based lifestyles and the perspective of them shoved down my throat from society as extreme lifestyles and potentially detrimental ones prevented me from even considering it as a viable option. It wasn't until I entered my later 20's that I became open minded to the idea of trying more plant based diets. I was tired of my body feeling heavy and like dead weight. It seemed no matter how much I exercised regularly and practiced portion control, I didn't feel satisfied with my body's performance. It was then I decided to try a 2 week cleanse of meat while maintaining my normal exercise regiments. Well it seemed to work for the first week but I forgot one key thing...adjusting my portions. In the absence of meat, I did what many would do...salads and a lot of eggs.But I was not increasing my food intake. I continued on as if I were eating meat.  Although this worked, I was never satisfied and grew hungry quicker. During that time I couldn't fathom how people were able to do this whole "vegetarian thing" on a regular, let alone be vegan. I just knew I'd waste away with a carrot between my lips. I was close to throwing in the towel because by the second week I was growing weak. And that's when I saw a documentary pushing the vegan agenda, "What the Health." 

       I wasn't skeptical about what would be said but more of just how was it physically possible for me to maintain an all consuming plant based diet and not become ill or have a relapse. I watched the documentary and it hit home everything that I already knew and then some. Like the scholar I am, I followed up everything presented in the video with my own research and that's when I knew the saying "You are what you eat" really was true. How could I expect to be in the best health of my life if I allowed myself to seek nutrients from dead animal carcasses? Stepping out on a leap of faith, I threw away all the meat and dairy in the refrigerator. 
In turn I began to do research on meals I could make that were vegan friendly. And it surprised me just how many there were. But then a light bulb went off and I realized there was a way to take it a step further...I could turn non-vegan meals into vegan meals with some tweaking to the ingredients' list. And that brings us here. How to create delicious meals with fruits, veggies, and grains. Hold the milk!  

And welcome to The Wheelbarrow! 
-Niya K