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    Home ▸ Real Food Real Conversations Podcast

    Balanced Plant-Based Eating

    Last modified: March 12, 2022. Originally posted: June 3, 2020 By Sophia DeSantis

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    Text overlay on balancing food with a BBQ cauliflower power bowl on a checkered towel

    It doesn't have to be black and white to make a difference. Plant-based diet benefits are experienced even when you choose to not dive in all the way.

    Text about flexible food choices with a photo of bbq cauliflower in a white bowl
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    I would actually argue that when you don't have an all or nothing approach to food, you actually benefit more. Stress can cause negative effects on your overall health, so reducing stress with balance is a positive thing.

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    Our Second Round of Diet Changes

    After experiencing success with changing some things in my diet with the help of my holistic nutritionist when I was going through infertility, I knew that making a change can have amazing results.

    Fast forward a few years, we just had our second baby and my husband started seeing a new cardiologist. He had been on high blood pressure medication for most of his adult life, but it wasn't helping anymore.

    His doc suggested he handle his heart issues with a diet change. He said that plant-based diet benefits can really help issues like his.

    And so it began, our second road to better health through food. Being his wife, I wanted to support him in the best way I could, so I set out to learn this new cuisine, plant-based eating.

    Plant-Based Diet Benefits

    Based on the book, The Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston, (thank you Oprah), we started with a short term goal of 21 days eliminating:

    • Animal products
    • Sugar
    • Caffeine
    • Gluten
    • Alcohol

    So how did it go? Well, for 21 days we were pretty strict. We followed along, because we knew it was 21 days. We could do that. There was an end point.

    At the end, we both felt pretty darn great. I was postpartum, which was a very hard time for me, and I began to come out of my cloud. 

    After 3 months my husband was taken off all of his meds. To this day, he has never had to go back on them. 

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    How I made this new change a business

    After a year of learning how to eat our favorite meals in a different way, I decided to start a food blog with the not so subtle prodding from my friends and family.

    So Veggies Don't Bite was born, and the rest is history! I am proud to call this my full time business and help people all over the world.

    The Bullying of the Online Food World

    Trigger warning, you may not like what I have to say. This is not directed at one particular person, this is the overall aura and feeling I personally experienced when I first entered the social media world of food.

    We knew from the beginning of our plant-based food journey, that we couldn't place the stress of always eating a certain way on ourselves. We have anxiety and needed to keep things fluid for the sake of our mental health, which is just as important as our physical health.

    So when I became this "vegan food blogger" I felt lost. The aura in the social media niche of vegan blogger is overwhelming. There is a lot of pressure. There is a lot of finger pointing. There is a lot of what I now see as bullying.

    And I knew, I didn't quite fit there. I create plant-based recipes. Amazing delicious ones. And we eat them and love them and this is the bulk of our diet. However it isn't ALL of our diet. We choose not to stress about it all the time and it has served us very well.

    We are uber healthy, our mental health is also doing great. The plant-based diet benefits we feel are serving us well. So we know this is where we need to be. This is our happy place. But how do I fit in?

    Creating a space of balance

    In August of 2013 I met my business coach, Jenny Melrose. She helped me realize that I didn't need to fit into a box. I could be my own box. This one piece of information changed my life completely. She gave me permission to be me.

    So that's what I did. I opened up and shared that it's ok to choose to eat how you want. It's okay to eat mostly plants, but then not stress about it other times.

    And the response was amazing. I was giving others permission to not fit in a box. My brand slowly developed into the real me and the people I was meant to attract came.

    So just like Jenny gave me permission to be me, I am giving you permission to be you. Look inside yourself and find your why. Why do you want to eat a certain way? For us, it was health.

    Health is the balance of your mind and your body, and both are important. Sometimes we need to eat for our body and sometimes we need to feed our mind. There is room for both plants and whatever else you want. We fully believe in a balanced diet which includes all things you enjoy.

    You don't have to shy away from eating plants because you think it's an all or nothing thing. It isn't and never has to be. So let me help. You now have the permission to eat for you, not for the social media world.

    You can check out the guide below on how to slowly add more plants into your diet without pressure and stress!

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    If you missed last week's episode, you can listen here!

    « Easy Vegan Tiramisu Recipe
    The Best Italian Vegetable Pasta Salad »

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    1. Kristie

      August 28, 2020 at 5:47 am

      I just wanted to thank you for this post. I have found myself in a pretty self destructive cycle of eating a WFPB diet free of sugar, flour, oil and salt...to eating every piece of junk food I could get my hands on. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2017 and have lost 150lbs. It was drilled into my head that if I could handle moderation, I wouldn’t have needed weight loss surgery. I’ve always been prone to all or nothing thinking but this made it much worse. Your post has given me a lot to think about. Can I choose to eat a WFPB diet but still have pizza sometimes? Yes...but can I do it without feeling guilty and like I’ve “fallen off the wagon”, I don’t know. Anyway, thanks for your honesty.

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        August 28, 2020 at 10:13 am

        Awe thank you so much Kristie! I am happy to help in any way I can. That is amazing you have done so great. Keep working on the mental part. You will get there! The more you tell yourself you are doing well, the easier it will get. I'm here is you need anything so don't hesitate to ask!

        Reply
    2. Ellen

      August 27, 2020 at 2:08 pm

      Hi Sophia. I changed towhole food plant based in December 2019. I searched and researched many you tubers and bloggers for what felt right for me. I have to tell you your recipes and offerings are the best for me. I missed cheese, that great Italian crunchy bread (which I cant find gf.) And a couple other things but with your recipes, I eat very tasty dishes and dont miss anything , well may parm and a good ricotta in a lasagna. Thank you for doing all the hard work and not including nutritional yeast! I too, dont care for the smell of dirty socks in my food. Thank you!! Your recipes are a true gift.

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        August 27, 2020 at 10:32 pm

        Awe Ellen, you made my night! Thank you so much for your kind words! I am so so happy to have you here and I look forward to bringing you more great things in the future. If you want to try a Parmesan and ricotta that are pretty great replacements here are the links! https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/grateable-vegan-parmesan-cheese/ and https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/cashew-ricotta-you-cant-even-tell/

        Reply
    3. Kimmy

      June 11, 2020 at 5:47 pm

      Wow! Your comments about not fitting into a box really resonant with me. Thank you!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        June 11, 2020 at 6:00 pm

        I'm so happy to hear Kimmy!! Have you seen my podcast? Here is the link if you want to listen. It talks all about that topic! https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/subscribe-to-podcast/

        Reply

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    Hi, I’m Sophia and I love food. As a food photographer, plant-based recipe creator, and client-centered health coach, I focus on helping people feel empowered instead of overwhelmed when it comes to overall health and wellness. Let me help you eat more plants!

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