Hands up if you’re scared of eating more plants.

Go on. Be honest. We all know someone who is a teeny bit frightened of eating a plant-based diet, being vegetarian, vegan or any other label. We’re not talking about eyeing off the centre piece at a wedding; we’re talking about embracing a way of eating that puts plants first and meat last.

Welp, you might like to pass this blog on to your planty-scaredy-cats because we have a BIG, HUGE and ENORMOUS secret. Ready?

You don’t have to become a vegan to eat more veggies.

There. We said it. You don’t have to become a this, that, or the other thing in order to eat more healthily or sustainably.

We’ve put together this guide to help entice plant-relunctants to embrace this world of delicious goodness that might just help their bodies and the planet.

1) Start with one day a week

According to the not-for-profit group Meatless Monday, going without meat for one day a week has a 100 year history. Choosing to have a plant-based diet for one day or even one meal a week is a great place to start.

2) Explore brilliant recipes

We, erhhmm, have a large range of tasty recipes that will appeal to the whole family. Like loads; you can get a free e-book of 57 recipes using delicious plant-based ingredients.

Of course, you might not like to take our word for it (not sure why), and that’s OK – we still love you. There are a million places to explore plant-based recipes. Here’s one:

Think plant-based recipes are dull and boring? Think again! Here are some tasty recipes chock full of fruits, veggies, beans and whole grains.

55 Plant-Based Diet Recipes You’ll Crave

3) Understand protein

There’s so much confusing information about nutrition, but one of the things people think about plant-based eating is that you’ll come up short in the protein department and be all floppy and tired. That’s not true; understanding protein and how it works is important. This article in Men’s Health explains how protein is formed really well:

“To form a protein, 20 different amino acids bond together in a chain, of which 11 are produced by your body. Food is considered a complete protein when it contains the nine amino acids your body can’t manufacture. Most complete proteins are animal based, except for soy – which means tofu, edamame, tempeh and miso are all complete plant based proteins.”

Did we happen to mention we sell soy and edamame pasta? #Justsayin’.

4) Experiment!

The world of meat alternatives is growing every day. There are a lot of varieties and fast food chains have even put vegan meat on the menu. So if the idea of eating plants that look and taste like plants is unappealing – you can always go the meatless meat route.

And look, we also need to let you know that we’ve invented a series of combination boxes that let you experiment with our products. There’s pastas, sauces and ready meals to chomp on. They’re great value, delivered to your door, yummy, healthy and Mother Nature will send you a thank you card (no she won’t because… trees).

So, go nuts on the plants. Your body and the planet will thank you.

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash