Dr. Valter Longo, PhD, is one of the most respected names in longevity and nutrition research. A native of Italy, Dr. Longo is the director of the Longevity Institute at the Universiyt of Southern California in Los Angeles. His book, the Longevity Diet, details his research into the lifestyles of some of the longest lived peoples in the world and provides real-world application tips for disease avoidance.
The Longevity Diet is based on five pillars: Juventology (the study of youthfulness), Epidemiology (the study of disease), Clinical Studies (randomized, controlled experiments), Centenarian Studies (the study of the longest-lived groups of people in the world), and the Study of Complex Systems (using an engineering approach to generate models to understand the complex interaction between food, cellular damage, and aging). The book advocates for a nearly 100% whole food plant based diet (allowing low-mercuty fish twice per week); low protein consumption (0.31 grams per pound of body weight per day); eliminating saturated, hydrogenated, and trans fats in favor the othe healthy fats found in nuts and olive oil; eating a wide variety of plant foods; eating twice per day plus a snack; fasting for at least 12 hours per day (between dinner and breakfast); practicing a prolonged fasting of five days at least twice per year; and maintaining a healthy weight.
The book has specific sections dedicated to how his diet guidelines improve/prevent cancer, diabeted, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, there is a special discuss of Dr. Longo’s fasting-mimicking diet. He details how research suggested fasting for approximately five days every few months was extremely health promoting. Benefits include blood sugar regulation and autophagy. However, he discovered that by limiting protein AND carbohydrate consumption, and focusing on eating healthy fats such as nuts and olive oils, and complex carbohydrates in the form of vegetables; one could essentially trick their body into believing it was in a fasting environment. The body would behave as if it were fasting, but one could feel satiated and eat up to 1100 calories per day in order to have the energy to face family, work, and chores. He advocates that overweight individuals can follow this plan for five days per month every month to achieve consistent weight loss and reach their ideal weight.
I just completed my five day fasting-mimicking diet and I can attest that eating nuts and vegetables was not only do-able, but pleasureable! I lost weight, gained mental clarity and focus, and found myself not very hungry throughout the week! Dr. Longo asserts that this type of diet increases the production of stem cells, reduces abdominal fat, lowers risk factors for various illnesses, improve skin quality, increases mental focus, and decreases the compulsion of binge eating upon returning to a normal diet. I truly believe this is one of the most revolutionary health books I’ve ever read and can’t wait to post more about my experience! Click the link above to read more about The Longevity Diet, including who should avoid fasting-mimicking diet and how to use this plan to achieve your goal weight!
My husband and I are microfarmers, first and foremost. We’ve turned our suburban Colorado backyard and home into a massive producer of year-round vegetables! In the ten years that we’ve been farming, we’ve widdled our list of edible varieties down to only grow what we can really save money on. For example, we used to work so hard to grow corn, and by the time we finally got a nice harvest, corn was 8-for-$1 in teh grocery store! Also, I used to grow potatoes, and after hours of cleaning and scrubbing them, I got $5-10 worth even though they took up quite a few square feet in the garden! Another silly mistake we made was growing thing we didnt like to eat. Beets are fun and easy to grow, and we’d have big harvests which I’d post pictures of online. But sadly, the beets we didn’t immediately juice would rot away because neither of us liked them! Finally, we also used to grow things that we’re ideal for our climate here in Colorado and expect them to come out as big and beautiful as Texas produce- like watermelons (that turned out to be the size of grapefruits) and onions (that turned out to be itsy bitsy, too!). We’ve learned to focus on the most money saving crops, such as organically grown tomatoes, peppers, chilis, and winter squash, and abundant producers, such as green beans and zucchini! Check out this list of what we USED to grow, and what we grow NOW with our justification. Of course your tastes and favorites are different than mine! Just sharing the thought process behind what we choose to grow.
What we USED to grow
What we grow NOW
Corn (time and water intense, not abundant)
Green beans (delicious, huge harvests)
Sweet potato (not abundant, small harvest)
Zucchini (so so so abundant)
Potato (time intensive, inexpensive)
Pumpkins (save money at Halloween, seasonal treats, sentimental)
Peas (small harvest, takes lots of trellising and space)
Sauce tomatos (make dozens of quarts of canned tomato sauce)
Blueberries (difficult in our soil type)
Bell peppers (one of our favorite veggies, big harvests)
Cherries (struggle to survive Colorado winter)
Jalapenos (we love spicy, big harvests)
Broccoli/cauliflower (small harvests, lots of pests)
Raspberries (abundant, low maintenance)
Monster sized kale (it gets tough, doesn’t taste good)
Apples (very productive)
Onions (tiny compared to grocery store)
Plums (very productive)
Habenero peppers (tropical peppers don’t grow well here)
Pear (very productive, few pests)
Radishes (tough outer skin in our dry climate)
Various herbs (delicious, health promoting, seasonal cooking)
Beets (we don’t enjoy eating them)
Baby greens (delicate, easy to grow, saves tons of money)
This is not a guideline telling you what to grow, but rather a thought-provoking discussion of why we grow what we grow! Gardening is a wonderful way to be active, get sunshine, and feel a great sense of accomplishment with every harvest! Follow https://www.instagram.com/perenniallykelly/ for garden updates in Spring, Summer, and Fall!
What if I told you nachos could fit on your weight loss eating plan? This dish is perfect as comforting weekend dish (or for Super Bowl Sunday)! This recipe is designed for 3-4 people and is served on a full cookie sheet, so feel free to scale up and down based on the number of eaters!
Ingredients:
10-15 Corn tortillas
Lime juice
Sea salt
1 can of refried/pinto/black beans
Cumin
2 bell peppers (or 1 bell and 3-4 jalapenos), diced into centimeter sized pieces
1 medium sized onion, diced into centimeter sized pieces
2 zucchini/yellow squash, diced into centimeter sized pieces
Taco seasoning blend
2-4 cups of chopped salad mix or microgreens on top
salsa
low fat vegan cheese sauce (like this one from Plantiful Kiki- recipe and video!)
hot sauce and/or lite drizzle of BBQ sauce (optional)
Instructions:
-Preheat your oven to 450 degrees! If you haven’t already made the fat free cheese sauce (recipe above), now is the time to start your boiling water!
-Chop the peppers, onion, and squash into small pieces and sauté on the stovetop with a little bit of your favorite taco seasoning blend! This will take about 20-30 minutes on medium heat- simply taste test your veggies and remove from heat at desired doneness!
-Prepare the corn tortillas by cutting into quarters, laying on a baking dish lined with silicone or foil, sprinkling lime juice and sea salt. Pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes, and check every 2 minutes thereafter for doneness. The best chips have browned edges!
-Warm the beans in a pot on the stovetop or in a microwave safe container. Add 1/2 tsp of cumin for a slow cooked, savory taste or other seasonings if you so choose!
-Warm your fat free vegan cheese sauce.
-When the chips are done, place them on the large serving dish with mimimal overlapping!
-First top the chips with your beans, spreading evenly over the chips. Leave no chip untouched! 🙂
-Then, spread your veggies. They are the star of the show, after all!
-Drizzle your colorful creation with the vegan cheese sauce.
-Top it off with chopped salad mix or microgreens!
-Serve with mini plates, forks, and hot sauce. We like to do a tiny drizzle of BBQ sauce for extra boldness! Enjoy!
There are three little words that strike anxiety in the hearts of busy people everywhere. After a long day of working and organizing the chaos, the last thing you want to hear or think is, “What’s for dinner?” As you open up the kitchen cabinets and observe the odds and ends, you might end up deciding on calling to place an order for delivery pizza or hit the drive through. Or just go with those freezer chick’n nuggets and fries that aren’t really on your healthy eating plan, but hey, they are quick and easy and you are exhausted! Trust me, I’ve been there.
I was a junior high teacher for 10 years, and then I decided to start working in medical education is a large local healthcare system pre-pandemic. After my emotionally draining and challenging days, was I ready to decide on a healthful meal and spend 45 minutes chopping veggies and prepping the feast? The answer is “no”. I was burned out, and I could rarely even make a decision about what to prepare, so I’d just grad a bag of whatever and take a seat on the couch to watch the Real Housewives of wherever.
However, over time I realized that I was never going to reach my personal health goals in this way. If I was going to eat healthy, feel healthy, and lose fat, I would need to organize the way I eat in the same way that I organize the chaos of my demanding life. I’d need a plan that was simple to stick to. I needed a way to prepare meals on autopilot instead of waiting until 6pm to start ingredient analysis. And guess what? I found an amazing system that I want to share with you!
Over the past decade, vegan versions of allllll of your favorite junk food items have been crafted and released in America. It is not hard to find convincing vegan buffalo wings to enjoy before your vegan Philly cheesesteak (wit the whiz, of course) and wash it down with a vegan chocolate malt milkshake. And don’t forget to finish it off with some vegan key lime cheesecake! Yikes- there are a lot of nuts, coconut, and oil required to make that meal happen. But the point is, the only thing I’ve not seen a vegan version of (yet) is rare T-bone steak (insert barf emoji).
If you have cholesterol, blood sugar, cancer prevention, or fat loss goals, you are going to need to make strategic efforts to avoid falling into the vegan processed junk food trap, and prepare some REAL food for dinner. So how do you do that? Think INTERNATIONAL. America, we love ya. But all of those fun vegan options available in the western world are loaded with saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt, AND too many calories for someone with any sort of healthy weight goal. So when it comes to meal times, start thinking global to get back to the basics of healthy plant based eating.
I am releasing an e-book that is NOT to be confused with a recipe book. Vegan recipes are a dime a dozen and can be found online for free with ease. What this e-book and accompanying planner contain are a way to organize your weekly meals to ensure a huge variety of whole plant foods in your diet! The package is called Your Intercontinental Vegan Kitchen and contains a 10 page e-book detailing how you can incorporate quick and easy Mediterranean, Latin American, Asian, Indian, Italian, and comfort food favorites into your cooking repertoire. The book details a new way to think about meal preparation (which does NOT involve spending your weekend in the kitchen). It also comes with a one page meal planner that you can use to implement. You can spice up your kitchen and fall in love with vegan cooking again with Your International Vegan Kitchen!
Although the e-book does make mention of faux meat/cheese options and how they might fit in your meal plans, it has a section on each page dedicated to helping you reach your weight loss goals. It is heavily focused on whole food plant based eating and quick and easy meals for busy people! If you are ready to add some excitement to your meals, check out how I deconstruct global vegan cuisine in Your Intercontinental Vegan Kitchen by clicking “E-books” above or here!
Call a local nutritionist. Scroll through Instagram. Browse a health/wellness magazine. “Eating intuitively” is a buzzphrase in the weight loss space. But is this sound advice for all peoples? Absolutely not.
147 MILLION people in America are obese. Are all of these people stuffing themselves past the level of fullness everyday? No. If “listening to your body’s hunger signals” worked for all people, then 42% of America would not be obese. If “eat when you hungry and stop when you are full” worked, then why don’t we teach this to the 20% of children who are obese to solve all of their problems. This concept is commonly uttered by thin wellness enthusiasts who have never experienced obesity. And sadly, they don’t realize the harm they are doing.
How “intuitive eating” harmed my health
There was a point when my body would tell me to buy vegan junk food at the grocery store. My body would tell me “just one more Oreo” 25 times in a row. My body would have no problem finishing off an entire bag of salty snack food while watching TV. My body would not be able to stop eating even though my brain was trying to override the hand to mouth movement. My body’s hunger and satiation signals WERE completely out of whack and had been since adolescence. I used intermittent fasting and unhealthy methods of restricting my “eating window” to balance out the caloric intake of these binges.
Out of desperation and complete lack of satisfaction with my growing physical size and overwhelming feelings of being out of control, I contacted nutritionists who blamed my vegan diet for my eating behaviors. They blamed hidden nutrient deficiencies for my binges. They rolled their eyes when I told them I refused to revert back to a standard American diet due to ethical reasons, even when their overpriced blood work all came back normal, showing no deficiencies. But then, they suggested that I needed to learn to listen to my body’s hunger signals to fix this behavior. They said I had been restricting my diet for too long, and that the binges were a result of long term dieting. Finally, we agreed on something.
They told me to listen to my body, eat when hungry, and simply enjoy binge-triggering foods “in moderation”. You can probably guess where this story is going… For me, it’s the salty corn chips and snacks, crunchy cereals, and nuts/nut butters that have always been my downfall. My favorite self-deprecating joke is, “I can eat my weight in Chex Mix!” It’s true what they say, “Once you pop, you can’t stop!”
I followed my nutritionists advice and gained 25 pounds in a relatively short time. I knew that my friends and coworkers noticed although none of them said a single word about it. Moderation was not an option for me. The advice to “eat when hungry” meant that I was eating nearly full sized meals every 2-3 hours. I was listening to my body, and that’s what it was telling me to do. And I was eating what I wanted. Processed and high fat foods that were delicious and always called me back for seconds. When I knew the portions on my plate were too large, I tried to eat mini meals which left me completely unsatisfied. I was completely distracted all day by the thought of my next meal. Thousands of dollars later and 25 pounds heavier, I broke off my relationship with those nutritionists. I can honestly say that this time in my life was the darkest of all of my days.
So how did I get my health back?
I feel healthier now than ever before. And I did figured it out WITHOUT the help of a condescending, anti-vegan nutritionist. I am binge-free for the first time since my teen years! I am in a state of weight loss, despite years of plateaus. I eat three square meals a day comfotably. My hunger is no longer ravenous, but rather a mild nagging reminder that I haven’t eaten in 4-6 hours and should consider what to make for my next meal. My preoccupation with food is gone.
How did I achieve this balance and peace with binge eating and food addiction? The answer is plants- in their whole form. No oil. I began filling half of my plate or bowl with non-starchy vegetables. The other half of my meals consists of starch such as whole, unprocessed grains (such as rice, oats, barley, corn, etc.), potatoes, sweet potatoes, and legumes. This way of eating is advocated by Dr. John McDougall in his book The Starch Solution. Chef AJ, High Carb Hannah, Plantiful Kiki, Chuck Carroll, are YouTube personalities that also promote this way of eating. They attribute their own massive weight loss to this dietary change.
But how does it work? The weight loss from this way of eating is the result of decreased caloric density of your overall meal. Starches have far less calories than meat, cheese, nuts, seeds, and oils. Vegetables have less calories than any other food group. But what they do have are loads of micronutrients, fiber, and water to fill you and satiate you. But avoiding higher fat foods and loading up with starches and veggies, you can eat far more VOLUME with less calories. Dr. McDougall argues that this is the natural diet of the human and that only since the invention of processed foods have we started experiencing early onset diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Sample meals
Nonstarchy vegetables
Starches
Other ingredients/seasonings
Frozen stirfry veggies
Brown rice
Liquid aminos, sriracha, ginger powder
Frozen green beans
Baked sweet potato
Cinnamon, hot sauce
Roasted Brussels sprouts
Roasted potatoes
Favorite dry seasoning of your choice and homemade ketchup
I’ve dedicated this blog to sharing this way of eating that has freed me from the shackles of food addiction. For me, the answer was NOT counseling, “listening” to my dysfunctional body, intermittent fasting, skipping meals, diet pills, cutting carbs, or reverting back to meat eating. The answer was PLANTS. Large portions of low calorie foods to fill, satiate, and satisfy my hunger until the next meal… that was the key to breaking my binge eating and starvation cycle! I am excited each meal to fuel my body with wholesome food that nourishes and heals my mind, body, and soul!
I am happy to chat anytime with anyone about this way of eating. Find me on Instagram @weightogovegan, comment below, or email weightogovegan@outlook.com with questions! There is so much more coming soon, but if you are hungry for more information, check out the Starch Solution book that explains everything you need to know about how to eat plants to lose weight and prevent disease! I promise that if you are struggling and commit to trying this for several months, it will change your life as it did mine.
Once again, ain’t no body got time to whip up a gourmet meal for lunch. Some of us have jobs to do, humans to care for, and activities that take place outside of the kitchen! These super simple meals ideas do not require any chopping, and can be made at home or work. I was a junior high teacher for 10 years, so I know a little something about whipping up quick meals in 7 minutes! These ideas are designed to work with a Whole Food Plant Based diet, those following Dr. John McDougall’s Starch Solution Maximum Weight Loss, or HighCarbHannah and PlantifulKiki’s #eatyourvegchallenge. If you are looking to decrease your calorie intake for weight loss, then check out these easy 50% nonstarchy vegetables and 50% starch lunch ideas!
Rice and steamed vegetables: Full disclosure, I eat this most days of the week for lunch! I make an Instapot of rice (5 cups rice, 6 cups water, 5 minutes) at the start of the week, then package it up with some steamed vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, green beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, etc. I top it with a low/no fat teriyaki sauce or make my own sauce with liquid aminos/soy sauce, ginger powder, garlic powder, a stevia packet, and sriracha! So yum!
Leftover roasted vegetables: When shooting for 50/50 meals, it is so simply to roast a tray of non-starchy vegetables such as asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, peppers, and/or Brussels sprouts AND a whole other tray of starch such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, and/or winter squash. Portion these up and consider topping with maple mustard dressing (1 part maple syrup and 2 parts mustard of choice).
Salad with cold beans: I learned this one by working in a hospital system with a salad bar. Cold/room temperature garbanzos, pintos, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, etc. are excellent atop a salad with diced vegetables! You can easily achieve a 50/50 ratio with this filling meal. Select a low fat dressing (less than 3 grams of fat per serving) or go with balsamic or red wine vinegar only!
Baked potato and steamed vegetables: There is a great contraption called the Potato Express which is a fabric bag for microwaving potatoes in 8 minutes or less. Consider microwave-baking potatoes and serving with some steamed vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower! If you work outside of the home and put frozen broccoli in a Tupperware first thing in the morning, it will be defrosted and easy to repeat at lunch!
Mixed vegetable bag: Hang with me here. Those bags of mixed vegetables consisting of corn, carrot, lima beans, peas, and green beans are an excellent basis for a WFPB meal. The first four items listed are considered starch, so you can add in a few more green beans from another freezer bag to dilute the calories or serve it over salad if you are trying to stick with the 50/50 ratio. I would eat this at my work desk, since it is so easy to grab a bag on the way out of the door, let it defrost all morning, pop in the microwave, and top with liquid amions, sriracha, and salt and pepper!
Microwave steamer: I am absolutely obsessed with this steamer! It is made of silicone, which won’t leach weird chemicals into your food as it cooks. Underneath those luscious veggies, there is a riser that is designed to keep the veggies a few centimeters under the little bit of water you add before placing the lid on. The water boils and circulates to steam the veggies in 8 minutes or less! THIS is why rice and steamed veggies is my fave quick, 10 minute lunch!
Potato Express: This is my favorite contraption for cooking sweet potatoes and potatoes quickly! When I have the time, I oven roast, but at work and when time is limited, I use this fabric bag. Simply wash whole potatoes and pop in the bag. No need to stab with a fork- they will not explode in the bag! A full bag that can lay flat takes about 8 minutes to cook the potatoes! I always have one of these in my desk at work!
Instant Pot: I own two Instant Pots! I have one large one that I cook my rice in each week, and a mini one (linked to the left) specifically for cooking morning oats (1 cup of oats/groats, 3 cups of water, porridge button = makes 2 servings)! This smaller one is great for single meals, while the larger is great for meal prepping!
Silicone baking sheet: These baking sheet covers are game changers. Not only will you save on aluminum foil and cleanup, but they really great in the nonstick department. Although I still use a quick spray of Pam when roasting veggies, these are so quick and easy to clean. AND you will save money on baking sheets. I’ve had mine for years!
Large stainless steel wok: This wok is amazing. My husband cleans the dishes after I cook, and he always raves about this product! When you are eating whole food plant based, you are preparing a LOT of veggies. You will not survive with some medium sized frying pans. This wok is incredibly nonstick AND holds your biggest stir-fries! We use it often to sauté peppers and onions, which can be a messy task with no oil. Soak it with soapy water, and all that gunk comes right off. It’s also stainless steal so you don’t have to worry about any of those cancer causing nonstick coatings! Check it out!
This recipe is a game changer! If your goal is to sneak more veggies into your meals, decrease your calorie intake, or eat less dietary fat, then this simple recipe is for you!
By substituting half of the volume of potatoes with cauliflower, you are essentially cutting the calorie content in half and making this a “Maximum Weight Loss”-friendly dish! This dish is also compatible with PlantifulKiki and HighCarbHannah’s #eatyourvegchallenge!
Ingredients: equal parts organic potatoes and cauliflower and a garlic seasoning of your choice!
Start by dicing your potatoes into bite size pieces, to expedite the time it takes to boil. The peels are filled with minerals and nutrients, so as long as you selected organic, leave the peels on (no matter the color)!
Fill half of your pot with potatoes and add water up to within an inch or two from the rim.
Because the potatoes require more boiling time, throw them into a pot with water and bring to roaring boil until fork tender.
When the potatoes are fork tender, add in the cauliflower until it is fork tender. You can use riced cauliflower, cauliflower florets, or frozen cauliflower!
When the potatoes and cauliflower have softened, drain out the majority of the water leaving a cup or so in the bottom of the pot (or reserve a cup of starchy water when straining).
Using either a handheld potato masher or a handheld emulsifier/heavy duty blender, whip the potatoes and cauliflower together until smooth.
Add extra water, vegetable broth, unsweetened vegan milk, if necessary, to desired consistency when blending.
Then add diced garlic, garlic salt, garlic seasoning, mixed herbs, etc. Whatever you prefer! And mix it in. We tend to avoid adding too much salt in the cooking process and instead add a shake after serving!
And that’s it. Last time we made this, we served it with corn and salad to keep the 50% starch and 50% non-starchy vegetable ratio! This is a perfect Thanksgiving dish as well, and I promise even the pickiest of eaters will NEVER detect that there is cauliflower in this dish! The garlic provides a strong savory element which substitutes the need for butter, margarine, oil, etc. I promise you won’t even miss the dietary fat!
The “Eat your veg” challenge was designed by Instagram influencers @highcarbhannah (www.highcarbhannah.co) and @plantifulkiki (www.plantifulkiki.com). It is based on the principles of Dr. John McDougall’s book Starch Solution. A chapter of that book is dedicated to the “Maximum Weight Loss” program, which asserts that weight loss will effortlessly result when you decrease the caloric density of your food. This is done by eating “50/50 plates- filling 50% of your plate with non-starchy vegetables (think: broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, salad, green beans, cucumber, peppers, onions, mushrooms, celery, etc.) and 50% of your plate with unprocessed carbohydrates (think brown rice, potato, sweet potato, legume, corn, winter squash, etc.). McDougall asserts there is no need for calorie counting and you can eat when hungry and stop when full with this method. HighCarbHannah and Plantiful Kiki each lost significant amounts of weight with this method! Follow them on Instagram and YouTube for more information! I will be embarking on this journey starting Monday and will be posting my meals on Instagram @weightogovegan (https://www.instagram.com/weightogovegan/). Comment below or on IG if you will be joining me! Until my next progress update, eat your veggies!
Listen. I read the vegan blogs. I follow all of the same vegan IG influencers you do. And ain’t no body got time to make all of this vegan grub from scratch each and every day- especially not at breakfast! Busy, professional people with jobs are lucky to get a few bites of ANYTHING down before rushing out the door for work or school! People who have to manage the lives of other human beings (especially miniature humans) can’t take the time to make scrambled tofu and tempeh bacon every morning! This is a list of six super simple and quick meal ideas for busy vegans. Although I name drop some favorite brands, I am not sponsored by any of these companies. Comment below with your favorite quick breakfasts!
Cold Cereal + Ripple Vegan Milk + Fruit
Ripple brand vegan milk is a gamechanger. It is made of pea protein, features DHA omega 3s, and has more calcium than dairy milk! When selecting a cereal, go for something with low sugar (sugar should not be in the top 5 ingredients), high fiber (more than 5 grams per cup), and low fat (less than 4 grams per cup). My favorite cereal is Heritage Flakes from Nature’s Path Organics. Non-GMO, organic, 1.5 grams of fat, 160 calories, 7 grams of fiber, and not too sweet? Yes please! Top your cereal with fresh berries, banana, or a small amount of dried fruit and you will have the carbs, fiber, protein, and antioxidants you need to start your day correctly! In general, granola is very high in fat and calories and should be avoided if you are trying to lose weight, but Trader Joe’s makes a great low fat granola.
Peanut Butter + Rice Cake/Bread + Jam/Fruit
Toasted PBJ is a classic that is so so satisfying! PB Fit is an excellent low-fat alternative to traditional peanut butter if you are counting fat grams. And there are plenty of alternatives to peanuts in the nut butter category- even some made from seeds and legumes! If you love crunch, then you will love the rice cake option! I love a PBJ on a rice cake, but rice cakes are considered highly processed as puffed grains can be digested very quickly by our GI system. So opt for a hearty high fiber bread if you need to feel fuller for longer! Look for low sugar jam, or even fresh fruit as an alternative.
Hot Cereal + Protein Powder + Fruit
We have a dedicated small InstaPot for the sole purpose of our morning hot cereal. We make oats or oat groats most days, but make a point to try other hot cereals from leftover rice, hemp seeds, quinoa, couscous, or ancient grain blends. Oats pair perfectly with a vegan protein powder and fresh or a small amount of dried fruit. The protein powder increases the satiety factor of the whole grains! Don’t forget the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc. for added antioxidants and blood sugar regulation!
Polenta + Beans
If you have a few minutes to break out a frying pan, then this one is quick, savory, and delicious! Polenta is sold prepared in a cylinder. Most varieties are vegan, but watch out for added dairy. Open the tube, cut into centimeter slices, pan fry to crisp, flip, and then top with a mixture of beans, seasonings, salsas, hot sauces, etc. A pinch of dairy free cheddar cheese on top goes a long way in the savory flavor department, but avoid overt fats if you are working on weight loss!
Beans on Toast
If you have never tried beans on toast, you need to try it ASAP! Toast your bread well and top with warm refried beans. Feel free to add other toppings such as avocado, peppers, onion, cilantro, salsa, hot sauce, etc. Or keep it simple with sea salt! Beans on toast is popular around the world for a reason- it is filling and hits the savory breakfast spot! You’ll notice avocado toast is not on the list, even though it is quick and easy! Avocados don’t have the lovely protein that beans do, that’s why!
Protein smoothie- silken or protein powder
If you are really short on time, make a quick smoothie. My go-to ingredients are frozen berries, vegan protein powder, and greens (microgreens, spinach/kale mix, or frozen kale). Try also adding silken tofu, frozen beets, mushroom powder for an immune boost, flax seed for extra omegas, banana for an energy boost, greens powders, PB Fit, and/or non-dairy yogurt! If you have an extra minute, enjoy it as a smoothie bowl with fun textured toppings such as coconut flakes, mini chocolate chips, crunchy granola/cereal, etc. It’s also so fun to switch up your frozen fruit base. We love mango smoothies!
Plant Based Kelly 