(This post is sponsored by Sprouts! Thank you so so much for reading and supporting the brands that I love!)
If you’ve been following me on Instagram or if you read my recent post, you know I went on a trip with Sprouts in June! The theme of the trip was “Plant Based Getaway,” and we learned a ton about Sprouts mission to make healthy eating more affordable, we were lucky enough to taste test a bunch of new products, and try a ton of plant based products they carry. (Just to name a few – it was such an incredible trip!)
Aside from the impact that incorporating more plant based meals has on our planet, I just really, truly LOVE vegetables, grains, beans, lentils, cashew based sauces, and other vegan/vegetarian things. I think you can do SO much with vegetables and plants, and honestly, I often prefer the taste.
And, eating that way makes me feel fabulous. It gives me a ton of energy, and I just feel better overall. I still eat chicken all the time, and salmon too (quite possibly my favorite food), and I definitely cook with ground turkey often. I crave a good steak and burger every once in awhile, but I feel my best when I don’t eat quite as much meat, and fill my plate with veggies!
I think a common misconception with eating plant based is that it’s boring, or not flavorful, and OMG it’s not true at all. Some of the most flavorful, incredible food I’ve ever had in my food has been at vegan restaurants. Namely, here and here.
Unbelievable.
Some of my favorite “hacks” or ways to make plant based eating super fun, is SAUCES. Sauces seriously make the world go round. Ok, that might be a tiny exaggeration, but they seriously change the game when it comes to eating exciting plant based food.
If you have an amazing sauce to drizzle on something, it will totally take it to the next level.
The above sauce is an avocado salsa verde and I made it for these steak skewers, but I’ve drizzled it over taco salads with black beans or spicy tofu many, many times. I love eating it with chips too! (Duh.)
Another one of my fave sauces is ROMESCO. Oh my goodness it’s SO gosh darn good. It’s just tomatoes, almonds, garlic, spices, and olive oil, roasted red peppers, fire roasted tomatoes, fresh parsley, smoked paprika, and balsamic vinegar. It’s seriously magical and tastes amazing on buddha bowls.
If you’ve never had a buddha bowl, glow bowl, nourish bowl, or any version of those, it’s usually a plant based bowl of goodness, with a grain or greens base, topped with raw or roasted veggies, seeds, nuts, herbs, and some kind of sauce.
They are AMAZING and definitely one of my favorite ways to enjoy a plant based meal. There’s so much texture and flavor you can pack into one bowl!
These glow bowls are one of my personal faves. They have a base of quinoa, and then I topped them with marinated chickpeas, cucumber, roasted beets, hemp seeds, and massaged kale. Since the chickpeas are marinated, they kind of make the “dressing”, but I also love squeezing them with a little lemon.
So incredibly flavorful and delish!
I’m not vegan or vegetarian, I just really freaking love vegetables and eating foods that make me feel amazing. And it’s as simple as that. I’d say I eat plant based for lunch a couple times a week, and at least once a week for dinner! Depending on the week. Sometimes I might accidentally eat vegan for a few days. It just depends!
Sprouts also taught us a lot about their environment and sustainability initiatives which I thought were pretty amazing. Food from Sprouts is donated as compost, which enriches soils with nutrients. They shared with us that more than 18 million pounds of food have been diverted from landfills since the start of the program in 2014. Pretty incredible.
Related to helping the planet, incorporating more plant based meals into my diet has made me more aware of my carbon footprint, how it conserves water, and in addition to that, things like beans and pulses have so much fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
So it’s a win, win!
Being balanced is the most important thing in my opinion, which sometimes means a nice filet mignon for me too!
Overall, my motto is, bring on the plants, and eat a little bit of meat, more as the “side,” which is the opposite of how a lot of people think. It’s just what works for me and makes me feel my best!
Thank you again SO much to Sprouts for such an incredible trip and for teaching me more about plant based living! <3
Leave a Reply