Plant-Based Made Easy: 5 Beginner Tips to Kickstart Your Journey

diet

eieu5683 - 2025년 07월 11일

New to plant-based eating? These 5 easy tips will help you start a vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian diet—plus beginner-friendly recipe ideas to try today!

Plant-Based Made Easy: 5 Beginner Tips to Kickstart Your Vegan or Flexitarian Journey

Thinking about eating more plants but not sure where to begin? Whether you’re going fully vegan, leaning vegetarian, or just exploring a semi-vegetarian or flexitarian lifestyle, making the shift to a plant-based diet doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In this guide, I’m sharing 5 easy plant-based tips for beginners to help you eat more mindfully, deliciously, and sustainably. From simple swaps to easy vegan recipe ideas and starter plant-based meals, you’ll learn how to make realistic changes that fit your lifestyle—no strict rules required. Let’s dive into your journey toward healthier, plant-forward eating!

The plant-based eating trend continues to soar as a way to eat more healthfully and sustainably. More and more people are turning away from the traditional meat-centered plate towards a gorgeous, colorful, plant-centric plate filled with pulses (beans, lentils, peas), whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. No wonder this eating style is catching on—it’s downright delicious! From a whole grain bowl filled with chickpeas, brussel sprouts, and pistachios to a home-made veggie burger with tomato and avocado slices, there are so many easy, delicious offerings for plant-powering your eating style.

A plant-based diet doesn’t mean that you have to give up meat altogether if you don’t want to; it just means that your diet focuses mostly on plants. As I explain in my book The Plant-Powered Diet, there is a spectrum of plant-based eating, from vegan to vegetarian to pescatarian to semi-vegetarian (aka flexitarian). A plant-based eating style is linked with a boatload of health benefits, such as lower risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and obesity, as well as lowering your carbon footprint. With so many reasons to go crazy for plants, what are you waiting for? Check out my 5 beginner tips for plant-powering your eating style and dive into the world of plant-based eating.

5 Tips for Plant-Powering Your Eating Style

1. Breakfast with Plants
One easy way to move towards plants is to just start every day off by flooding your body with feel good nutrients from plants—vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, plant protein, fiber, and phytochemicals. It’s easy! Instead of classic American fare (breakfast meats, eggs, and refined grains), try nutritious, tasty starters, such as a fruit and nut porridge, breakfast tofu wrap, buckwheat waffles, or a veggie burrito. See what I mean?

2. Meal Prep for Success
Meal prep can be a wonderful way to plan easy, delicious, healthy plant-based meals for busy lunches and dinners. Instead of turning to takeout or fast food, you can pack your own nutritious combinations by prepping your meals at the beginning of the week following this easy formula.

In an individual, airtight container layer: Salad greens (kale, arugula, spinach) + whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, farro) + plant protein (beans, lentils, tofu) + veggies (bell pepper, broccoli, snow peas) + fruit (diced pears, raisins, blueberries) + sauce (tahini dressing, vinaigrette, hummus) = nutritious and delicious.

Check out this video on how to do my plant-based meal prep here, and grab the recipe here.

3. Let Plants be the Star of Your Dinner Plate
Where does your mind go when you ask the question “What’s for dinner tonight?” Instead of going straight to animal proteins (chicken, beef, pork) why not think of the plants available in your kitchen? What vegetables, fruits, grains, and pulses do you have in your refrigerator, pantry, or fruit bowl? Turn to what you have on hand to inspire an amazing colorful meal. For example, with simple ingredients, such as quinoa, avocado, and pomegranates, you can create a flavorful, hearty salad bowl. Check out how I make this beautiful salad recipe here.

4. Whiz Up a Plant Smoothie
For energy and protein fuel, turn to your blender to create a plant-powered smoothie for a healthy snack or light meal. You may already be enjoying a healthy smoothie tradition, which you can easily make 100% plant-based with a few swaps. Toss into your blender soymilk, a handful of nuts or seeds, seasonal fruit, and leafy greens to create a lean, mean smoothie. You can even pre-prep a pitcher full of smoothies to enjoy all week long. Just portion them out in single serve mason jars and store in the fridge to grab and go.

5. Snack on Plants
You don’t have to limit your plant offerings to mealtime; take advantage of snack time by munching on a variety of vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts, seeds, and grains between meals. Try dipping snow peas into tahini, bananas into almond butter, and whole grain flatbread into hummus.