Janine

Since I started my food blog one year ago I focused myself more on a plant-based diet. I got so many questions about that kind of diet that I decided to make an interview with my favorite plant-based, vegetarian or vegan food blogger. All these girls wrote down their answers to help to understand this wonderful life style. I follow them since my Instagram and Blog journey, cooked a lot of their recipes and love their work. Every single girl is really special, authentic and have her own style.

The interview includes 4 questions. I will publish one every week from today.

Questions:

1. How do you describe “plant based”?
2. Why and when have you decided to live “plant based”?
3. What is your favorite “plant based” meal?
4. What is your tip for others who like to live more “plant based”?

Interview Partners:

Maya                                      Niki                                    Marie                                  Tiina

Maya is a plant-based mum from Croatia and my first “connection” on Instagram. She is also running a plant based-food blog where you can feel the healthy spirit immediately.
www.dhmaya.com
@delicious_and_healthy_by_maya

Niki is a plant-based food lover, based in the UK. I adore her Blog and Instagram work. Her recipes are always really special.
www.rebelrecipes.com
@rebelrecipes

Marie live in San Francisco and is working as a food photographer and shares her passion of plant-based cooking on her Blog and Instagram feed.
www.8thandlake.com
@8thandlake

Tiina is a vegan mum of 2 from Finnland. She creates the most beautiful and colorful food I’ve ever seen.
www.myberryforest.com
@myberryforest

Plantbased
Interview Series – Part 4
What is your tip for others who like to live more “plant based”?

Maya:
“I think that it’s important to go slowly and incorporate plant foods switching it with animal ones, discovering your new favorites on the way. Trying to change things overnight can be too much sometimes, and lead to feeling deprived and unhappy. Plant food is so abundant, the riches is amazing? You just need to discover it slowly and you will be happy and satisfied. One more thing I advise: do not try to substitute things: seitan is not meat, nor tofu is cheese. Plant milk doesn’t taste like cow milk and you shouldn’t expect that. Except the new things (plant food) for what they are, delicious and nutritious food that you will love once you learn to prepare it. So much you can do with it. Just release your creativity and go for it! Or just visit some vegan blogs and there you go:-)))

Sweetie, have a great trip and I hope you’ll enjoy yourself and get to relax. You deserve it so much!!
Love you!! Let me know that you’ve arrived safely and I want to hear everything about it!! Maldives look like paradise on Earth:-))”

Niki:
“My top tips are;
Get some recipe inspiration. If you just omit meat and dairy from your diet you’re going to get fed up pretty quickly. If the food you eat is delicious and nutritious plant based
eating will be an easy and happy way of eating forever.
In terms of inspiration there are some amazing plantbased chefs and bloggers out there; My New Roots, Anna Jones (delicious veggie food with vegan options), Oh She Glows,
Green Kitchen Stories, The First Mess etc. The great thing is that I don’t worry about fat or carbs or calories or any of the things were told we should worry about any more – If
you’re eating natural plant based ‘real’ foods your health, energy, digestion, weight will all benefit.”

Marie:
“Here are three tips that have tremendously helped me in my pursuit of healthy eating. One is to plan for the week ahead. Choose a night (I like Sundays) to have a batch-cooking day and prepare a few meals for the week ahead. I’ll often bake a huge dish of baked oatmeal that will last about 5 days – this way breakfast is set for the week. Or I’ll make a curry stew with brown rice and save that for a few dinner or lunch meals.
Another tip is to start roasting your veggies. I hear people saying how veggies have no flavor but usually they’re just steaming veggies. Roasting brings out more depth in flavor and gives off an almost caramel note to the veggies. This is always my preferred way to eat veggies – roasted and topped with spices.
My last tip is to save the sweets for later. Baking healthy sweets can be expensive – often using dates or nut butters as the base. This is why I bake sweets maybe once a week and enjoy in small amounts. This way its light on my wallet and my stomach.”

Tiina:
“My first tip for anyone wanting to live more plant based is this: begin adding more vegetables and fruits to your diet in any way that is natural for you. I began my plant-based journey with smoothies, so I would definitely recommend starting with easy (green) smoothies to get a healthy dose of leafy greens, vegetables and fruits in your diet. As a starter plant-based meal I would recommend Buddha bowls, because they are so simple to make, and consist mostly of vegetables – only your imagination is the limit when making a nourishing bowl!

My second tip is to research (Instagram, blogs for inspiration) and start experimenting. This can mean anything from discovering alternatives to dairy (for example home made nut milks – more easy to make than it sounds!) to begin baking with plant based ingredients (using coconut oil instead of butter, chia seed eggs instead of eggs etc).

My third tip: if you feel overwhelmed by all the information and don’t know where to start, just make some NICE CREAM (blend frozen ripe bananas with some coconut milk, add anything you like: sweetener, berries, cacao powder) and remember to take it easy – there’s no need to stress about food. Take it one step at a time and enjoy the colorful (and yummy!) plant-based journey!”