Getting Started

Want to eat more plants but don't know where to start? You're in the right place! This page highlights:

Why you'd want to eat more plant-based meals, with resources that educate and inspire 🤓,

What to stock in your Pantry 🫙,

and How to save Money so that this lifestyle is sustainable. 💲

Follow this up by visiting my Recipes section for Fast, Easy, and Affordable plant-based recipes.

Let me help you get more rooted in plants!

I. What is plant-based eating? 🌿

Plant-based eating simply means you get most of your diet from plants. This doesn't mean you have to 100% commit to never eat meat or animal products ever again (unless you choose to), but that you're primarily eating plant foods. We know that the more plants we eat, the healthier our bodies tend to be. Plant-based eating includes fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and other legumes, nuts and seeds, and oils (although we recommend limiting oils to reap the most health benefits).

II. Why eat plant-based? 🌿

I'll start with my personal "Why" - I'm a huge proponent of preventive medicine, making diet and lifestyle choices to reduce my risk for chronic conditions, especially since heart disease, diabetes and cancer has impacted our immediate family. I know I can't eliminate all risk, but I want to take responsibility for what I can control.

I'd like to provide several fantastic resources below that provide evidence-based research detailing the benefits of eating more plants, and the detrimental effects of SAD, the Standard American Diet. I highly recommend starting with watching Forks Over Knives, then reading Body on Fire, and then subscribing to the Plant Strong podcast.

Watch:

Forks Over Knives (2011)

The Game Changers (2018)

Plant Pure Nation (2015)

You are What You Eat (2024, series)

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones (2023, series)

Read:

Body On Fire: How Inflammation Triggers Chronic Illness and the Tools We Have to Fight It (Aggarwal, Rao, 2020)

The Starch Solution (McDougall, 2012)

The China Study (Campbell, 2016) - *A standard in plant-based eating. I'm currently working my way through this sizable text. It discusses the benefits of a plant-based diet in detail. Heavy on research, this is an evidence-based jackpot for nutrition nerds like myself. There is also a smaller, spinoff book titled The China Study Solution (Campbell, 2016), which is next on my list to read!

Blood Pressure Down* (Brill, 2013) -*Not purely plant-based, but a great read on addressing/preventing hypertension after you've gotten down the basics.

The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People (Buettner, 2017)

Listen (podcasts):

the PlantStrong podcast

Favorite Cookbooks:

Plant You (Bodrug, 2022)

Deliciously Ella (Woodward, 2015). *Uplifting cookbook that first sparked my plant-based eating interests.

Oh She Glows (Liddon, 2014) - My first cookbook after going dairy-free.

**FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY! - I check out cookbooks ALL the time for inspiration!!

III. Money-Saving Tips 🌿

One of the things people say most about plant-based eating is that it is too expensive, and they don't have time.

I read an article in January 2024 that the average family in the US (without kids) spends $270 per week on groceries, more in families with kids. At the time, as a couple, that fed us for almost an ENTIRE MONTH. (As of a 1/2025 update to this post, it doesn't last quite a full month any more.)

-Covering most meals and snacks, we currently spend about $75-85/week (excluding toiletries; Jan 2025 update). And we spend another ~$50 a month to bulk-buy certain commonly used food items at Sam's.

We live in a suburban area in South Carolina and prepare most of our meals. We cook real food and limit processed items (that includes fake vegan meats and cheeses, which are expensive).

Stock your pantry with the basics, buy in bulk on your most-used items, prep a little on weekends (less than an hour). And while you may live in a more expensive area, eating plant-based is still a lot cheaper than you think...You can do it

Specific Money - Saving Tips - A 2024 Blog post on specific ways we reduced our grocery bill by about 25%.