Plant-based diet

For us, by not eating animal products and choosing plant-based, you immediately tackle four important problems at the same time.
You save the environment, you ensure a better food distribution in the world, your health benefits and of course the animals will also thank you.

The terms plant-based and vegan are often used interchangeably. Although you do not eat animal products in both cases, there is a difference. In principle, someone who eats plant-based only pays attention to his or her diet. A vegan does not eat any animal product, but also pays extra attention to animal by-products such as wool, leather or bee’s wax. A healthy, varied plant-based diet consists of: vegetables, fruits, legumes (beans, peas, lentils, etc.) and tofu/tempeh, whole grains and healthy fats such as nuts, seeds and avocado.

Since the beginning of 2019 we both eat completely plant-based. Before we started, Ella had been eating vegetarian for some time and Geert clearly ate less meat. It was Ella's daughter, Kim, who has been eating a plant-based diet for quite some time and eventually inspired us to do some research on a plant-based diet. And after watching a number of documentaries and reading articles, we wanted to give it a try.

We agreed to take four weeks to test how it would work. That meant we got some recipes from Kim and bought a few cookbooks. Plant-based food means that you do not eat and drink any animal products, so no meat, fish, (animal) dairy products and eggs. For Geert that was a big change because there was no greater lover of meat and cheese than him. But the growing realization that many animal products are really not good for your health made it easier in the early days.

Of course it takes time getting used to at first. Preparing plant-based food and meals takes more time and it also takes more time to get the right products and ingredients. Where you normally run through the supermarket and throw everything in the cart, you now have to consciously look for the right products in several places. But you get used to it quickly and because it feels good and you get satisfaction from it, it's not that difficult.

Plant-based homebaked bread

One of the things we have learnt when eating plant-based is baking plant-based bread.

There are so many good plant-based bread recipes and most plant-based homebaked bread is far more delicious then bread from any store.

This plant-based bread was baked by Dulce from the wine and vegan shop Vino de Uwe on the island of El Hierro, honour who is due.

In the Netherlands, a wide range of plant-based foods can be found in the supermarket. But when you always travel and come in so many different countries, there is a challenge every now and then. Now legumes, vegetables and fruit are available in almost every country. The challenge is therefore to continue to eat a varied diet.
I remember when we were traveling in Costa Rica. We sometimes came to villages where many pre-packaged grains and vegetables were actually available in the supermarket. The fresh fruit consisted of apples, bananas and mangoes. At such a moment it is sometimes difficult that you eat plant-based. What we have learned is that wherever we are, we always manage to make a tasty meal.

One of the many comments we often get is; ‘Do you always cook yourself?’ The answer is yes. Because travelling is our regular life. If you eat out every day, it is no longer special at a certain point. Moreover, due to our plant-based ingredients, in many countries you often have a challenge when it comes to eating out.
However, we must indicate that plant-based restaurants can be found in more and more countries. For example, in Valladolid Mexico we ate very well plant-based. Or take Asia for example. They are happy to make all the dishes they prepare plant-based for you. In addition, we both like cooking, we always do this together.

If you also want to eat plant-based after reading our story and don't know how to start, I have some tips for you below:
Being aware is already a nice first step. Then see what is feasible and don't be too hard on yourself. If you now eat meat several times a day, going ‘cold turkey’ may be a bit ambitious. An easy adjustment for many people is breakfast. Do you always have yogurt and muesli for breakfast? Then replace that cow's yogurt with a plant-based variant and see how you like it. Or start cutting back on meat. For example, from seven times a week to three times a week. Do you always drink coffee with cow's milk? Try your favorite coffee with vegetable milk in a coffee shop.

What helped us a lot are cookbooks. In the beginning we bought cookbooks with recipes that were easy to make. You could of course also make vegetarian recipes first and then slowly replace animal products with plant-based products. Moreover, there are of course recipes on the internet that are vegetarian or completely plant-based.
Like we said before…, being aware is already a nice first step.

Plant-based pancakes

It is so easy to bake plant-based pancakes without milk and eggs.

Use plant-based flour, plant-based milk, applesauce and cinnamon for a good batter. Mix it to perfection and bake golden brown.

And serve them with any type of fruit, agave syrup or any other plant-based addition to your likes.

Have you been eating plant-based for quite some time and you are ready for a challenge. Then try a plant-based baking book. Here you will find delicious plant-based cakes and desserts. Moreover, it is often also explained how you can easily replace animal products with plant-based ones.

Nutrition

Plant-based diet

Plant-based homebaked bread

Plant-based pancakes

Nutrition blog posts

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