How to Get in the Groove of Eating Plant Based
One of the questions I have been asked frequently from friends and readers is how I kept and still keep my focus to stick to making all the changes needed to my diet and life to get me to the point of succeeding?
Wanting to be as healthy as I could was the driving factor, but after this there were a few more things I did to set up for success.
When I first started out on my whole food plant based journey, I broke down what I needed to do if I wanted to succeed into what I call my “components to success”.
- LEARN: How to prepare and eat food in new ways that were not familiar to me – Hello tofu. :-)
- DO: Plan and set aside time to prepare food from scratch and in bulk that I could freeze that would make the plan easier in the long run.
- ENJOY: Find ways not to get overwhelmed and instead find ways to bring happiness and energy into my kitchen.
Here are a few of things that made a difference for me in getting into the groove of living a whole food plant-based, no oil life.
The Education Component
As I mentioned in my post about my success on my plant based journey, I started to educate myself on all things whole food plant-based (WFPB) by getting books out of my local library, watching YouTube videos, finding recipes from whole food, plant-based bloggers and buying a few recipe books to change the way I prepared and ate food.
I immersed myself in learning as if I was getting a college degree.
The Visual Component
I didn’t get caught up with buying expensive cooking implements or a kitchen full of fancy gadgets. I did however want to feel like what I was eating was being served to me as it would at a trendy and hip bistro, so I bought a few trendy new bowl style plates and a very sharp chef’s knife to make chopping easier.
At dinner, I always set the table and light or turn on one of my battery-operated flicker candles.
The Happy Component When 5:00 Rolls Around
I like my house to not only look and feel good, but when it sounds good, that is the icing on the tofu that puts me in the best mood.
If you have a Spotify account, there are literally thousands of playlists you can follow that will help energize you come 5:00 when it is time to prepare dinner or anytime you are batch prepping food that makes food prep and cooking feel like a fun event instead of a chore.
When I first started looking for music that I liked, I would browse through shared playlists on Spotify and “like” songs in the playlists. Then I would go to my “Like list” and create my own playlists and name them by the energy they have. Some are more upbeat than others, but I love every song.
I like that you can keep adding and editing any playlist to fine tune them. Once Spotify sees what you like, it will list recommendations. This is my favorite feature as you will stumble upon songs you once loved and haven’t heard in years or have forgotten.
In the Spotify search bar, I put in the terms – kitchen, bistro and dinner to find new playlists. I always am on the search for music that will make me feel like I am dining at a chic corner bistro. Having a glass of wine or ice water with a squeeze of lemon also helps get me in the groove.
Playlists That Got Me Started
Here are a few playlists made by others that I found that got me started, but I highly recommend you make your own playlists.
I can’t recommend adding a music component for when you spend time in the kitchen enough. It is the one thing that has made changing and sticking to my diet truly a fun process.
If you are not familiar with Spotify or Pandora, you can add the sites on your computer or the apps on your phone.
Creating music playlists can be such a personal thing, but when you create happy inducing tunes to fill your kitchen with good vibes it can really turn your time in the kitchen into your happy time.
One more positive thing about making kitchen music playlists is that you may start dancing to the music as you stir a pot of beans or are making a casserole, so be prepared to burn some calories while you cook. :-)
Extra bonus…. Your spouse and/or family may even come to help you… both dancing and preparing the food.
My Happy Vibes Kitchen Music Playlist
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