Give Up Meat? Are you Crazy? My Journey to Adopting a Plant-Based Diet.
Adopting a plant-based diet may seem overwhelming. Give up meat? The staple of the Standard American Diet. Wait, what is a "plant-based" diet, one might ask? There is some controversy surrounding an exact definition. One proposed definition for a plant-based diet is "a dietary pattern in which foods of animal origin are totally or mostly excluded."(1) As with most healthy changes you adopt, it takes small steps to gradually reduce your consumption of meat. A few years ago, while meal planning, I adopted meatless Mondays to our repertoire. This seemed an easy way to cut back on meat, while improving our health and our environment. As time went on, I might only consume meat once per week, now it may be once per month. There are many more vegetarian and vegan options in the grocery store and at restaurants. However, one of the healthiest aspects of the plant based diet is that it starts with whole foods and seeks to eliminate heavily processed foods. What
