1 January 2024

Good morning, dear readers!  2024 is here and I, for one, am looking forward to great things ahead.  We know new year's resolutions have a 92% fail rate, but it's a FACT that every day can be a fresh start.  We don't have to do what we always did.

How's that working for you?

Of course, keep up those things that are [working], but if your GOAL (and I prefer that word to RESOLUTION) is to improve health, age well, eat deliciously, or just mix things up a bit, read on for some friendly tips from your favorite - I hope - practical plant-based nutritionist.

Let me tell you about Veganuary

Veganuary is an annual 31-day challenge run by a UK nonprofit organization to encourage people to learn more about and follow a vegan diet in the month of January.  It started ten years ago and boasts support from a wide range of celebrities from Billie Eilish and Alec Baldwin to NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Weird Al Yancovic!  If you want to join in the fun, you have options.

• When you sign up on the official Veganuary site, they give you tons of great resources (celebrity cookbook!), to get started and also motivation (coaching emails!) along the way. You can sign up below - this is NOT my site.
• I've set up a private free facebook group for my Green Bites Veganuary peeps so that we can support each other in a more personal way.  So if your new year's resolution is to get fewer emails and you don't want to sign up for the “official” Veganuary sequence (although I highly recommend you do), you can come to our facebook group for the best - and most tasty - tidbits.

MY FAVORITE VEGAN RESOURCES

For Getting Started with Vegan Eating

It's a book!  The Vegan Starter Kit by Dr. Neal Bernard. You can get a used copy on Amazon for less than $2.  Not to be overly dramatic, but it's 146 pages that just might change your life.  Of course, Kindle is available too, but I prefer having the paper copy as a reminder and constant resource and place to keep notes.  If you'd like to borrow my copy, let me know!

For Budget Friendly

Plant Based on a Budget was the first vegan meal plan I ever tried. Since then, Toni Okamoto has expanded her resources exponentially, but the basic meal plan promises all groceries for the week (breakfast, lunch and dinner) will cost you about $30. And I'm telling you, this is legit!  She also has tons of recipes and inspiration on her website and at least two cookbooks out.

For Easy and Fun

It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken is my go-to website for quick and delicious recipes that don't require any crazy ingredients.  Sam Turnbull admits she was bummed at first when she decided to go vegan for the animals, but she soon figured out ways to make foods she likes even better with plants only.  If you're not keen on figuring out what to eat (and shop for) each week - or don't have much time, she also offers an Easy Vegan Meal Plan that does all the planning for you.

For Instagram Inspiration

My favorite IG creator is fitgreenmind.  Maya makes the best videos, and her recipes are so unique and yummy. While they may not always be as easy to prepare as my usual 20 minute meals, her artistry is amazing to watch and her beautiful smile is enough to motivate almost anyone to choose a kinder diet.

For Couch Potatoes

It's no secret that Netflix documentaries often contain cherry-picked facts to grab our attention, but I found The Game Changers incredibly entertaining and motivational with the science to back up their claims.

Runner Up: Not strictly a vegan documentary, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones is an amazing tv series that reminds us that it's not one-size-fits-all, but a plant predominant diet is featured in the places where people have the longest healthspan (because lifespan does not take into account quality of life).

TBD: I also happen to know one of the dietitians involved in The Twin Experiment so I'm looking forward to watching that one.

If you've looked into vegan diet before, what are your favorite resources?  Even if you're not “all in” what goals do you have to include more plants - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts & seeds - in your diet for 2024???