Eat More Plants in 2021:
5 Ways to Make It Fun and Easy
WRITTEN BY DEB CZECH, PLANTED PLATTER
R
eady to say “Goodbye!” to 2020?! As you look toward the holidays and prepare to transition to a new year on the calendar, it’s a good time to take stock of your health. What are your health and wellness goals for 2021? Do you want to regain the energy you had years ago? Do you have health metrics you’d like to raise or lower? Are you motivated to eat greener for environmental reasons? Trying to get healthier to reduce your COVID risks? Medical research has shown that adopting a plant-based style of eating can be part of the answer for improving your health and well-being. No matter your motivation, there are a growing number of ways you can embrace a plant-based lifestyle. With the proliferation of support networks, recipe resources, education, entertainment, and food service options, it’s not as complicated a journey as it was several years ago.
There’s never been a better time than right now to get started on improving your health for 2021. Build some small habits as you head into the holiday season and you’ll be ready to start 2021 on the right foot. For more details and helpful links for all five of these suggestions, visit PlantedPlatter.com. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram @PlantedPlatter.
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Here are ways to make it easy to put more plants on your plate.
Join together with family members, a friend, or a group. Let’s face it: most challenges in life are easier with one or more buddies who can share information, celebrate successes, and push past the occasional mistakes. Whether you’re cooking for each other, following the same healthy eating program online, or just laughing over the normal stumbling blocks, it will be more fun if you do it together. Take an online class – or give the gift of one to someone else! A good instructor will help you get comfortable and gain confidence with this new style of meal planning, shopping, cooking, and eating. (It’s really not that hard!) Learn about new ingredients and how easy it is to build balance into your daily meals. Find new recipe resources to guide you along. New vegan
or plant-based cookbooks are coming out all the time and recipes proliferate online and via apps. Home delivery of plant-based meals is becoming a more common service from both national and local operations.
Draw inspiration from a good story. There are many people who
have left their debilitating health conditions behind and found good health and physical strength by eating more plants. If you don’t feel like reading or listening to a podcast, check out all the movies about plantbased eating.
Ask your favorite local restaurants about their plant-based meal options. Many establishments are building their
repertoire of vegan-friendly dishes, recognizing the growing interest in this menu category. Even if there’s nothing listed on the menu, lots of chefs will get creative on request. (Especially in this time of changing business hours and operations, it’s a good idea to call ahead to help your favorite spot be ready for your request when you arrive.)
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