When I first eliminated meat, one of my biggest challenges was figuring out what the heck I could eat. This was especially true after I went plant-based. Once I removed the meat and any processed food I wasn't left with much. It was a huge challenge for me. If this is a challenge for you, read on. I'm going to share with you a new way to look at your plate.

I don't know about you, but I didn't grow up learning how to eat nutritiously. Our house was a very “meat and potatoes” sort of household. My mom did not enjoy cooking. Therefore, she didn't have a huge variety of recipes in her repertoire. We ate the same basic five dishes every week. All of them had a lot of meat, a lot of potatoes and not much nutrition. I hope I'm not the only one who grew up this way.

Learning how to eat differently after you have eaten a certain way all your life is challenging. It takes a willingness to try new things, learn and look at things from a different perspective.

This is where looking at your plate differently may help.

Before I went plant-based, I was very well versed in the standard American diet, or SAD. At least half of my plate contained some sort of meat, then there was some sort of grain, usually potato, and if there was any vegetable, it was a small serving, usually iceberg lettuce and completely an afterthought. Did anyone else grow up eating this way? The only way I ever ate salad was iceberg lettuce, maybe some olives, carrots or green onions drowning in Catalina dressing. Oh my! The amount of sugar in that makes me shudder! Today they have eliminated high fructose corn syrup, but I’m pretty sure back in the day it was a key ingredient.

After choosing to go plant-based, I was at a loss as to what to eat. I educated myself about reading labels. So many products that I used contained ingredients that were ‘weird’. I had no idea what they were. It is a little funny because frequently people think that going plant-based is ‘weird’ or extreme. But I have learned that eating so many ingredients that I have no idea what they are is even more weird!

On my journey to replace the meat and processed food on my plate, I learned a lot. I stepped very far outside my comfort zone. I forced myself to try new food. Some things I loved like wheat berries and farro; two of my favorite grains. Some were not so great like my foray into raw foods and kale - until I learned how to prepare it. I really didn't know what to put on my plate and I knew I had to learn to think about what was on my plate differently. When I eliminated all animal products and highly processed food I started to look at what else was available. Lucky for me I found so many new foods and many became my favorites. I forced myself to try the unknown, try the ‘weird’ and try new flavor combinations.

When I went plant-based I decided that I needed to learn how to fill my plate with nutrient-dense food. This picture illustrates how you can look at your plate when eating a nutrient-dense plant based diet.

I like to think of half my plate as vegetables and fruit. Half of my plate is about the same as if I make a cup with both my hands; for me, this represents my produce side of the plate. Then, I think of one quarter of my plate as nutrient dense grain, and the other quarter of my plate as some sort of protein. The quarters on my plate can be represented with what can fit in one hand cupped. Then, I add herbs and spices for flavor, water to hydrate, healthy fats for taste and some fermented food for a healthy gut.

Try to follow this guideline for each meal. Combine this with eating what is in season and your diet will be bountiful, beautiful, and nutrient dense. I hope these examples inspire you to try some new things and look at your plate differently. It can be scary to step outside of your comfort zone, but YOU have this! Give something new a try this week.

Unleash your inner veg!