The Roadmap
The Inspiration
My husband asked me to watch a movie on Netflix called "What the Health". This film exposes how the food and drug industry is colluding to "keep us sick". It was alarming to learn the food we were eating and feeding to our children was so detrimental to our health. This film and other resources that we researched, have uncovered how the "big business" brands (you probably consume every day) are deliberately misguiding the public on making healthy choices for their families. I encourage everyone to watch this film as a starting point, as it is a huge wake up call and a great motivation factor to kick start your journey to healthier eating and cooking.
The Transition
The day we began to start the healthier journey, we announced to our kids that we are eliminating meat and overly-processed foods (basically everything in our pantry was getting thrown out). This was quite a shock, and my little one even through a tantrum over "no more hotdogs??" But like all kids, they eventually began to adapt over a few weeks of what I like to call "The Transition Period". I didn't want this change to seem radical, but gradual. I basically stuck to familiar recipes that I used to serve with meat, now just simply minus the meat. Here are some examples of transitional recipes that I used to successfully transition to holistic, plant-based eating.
The Evolution
One of the best ways to get more acquainted with the bounty of plant-based family-inspired recipes, is to start with a few cookbooks. My all-time favorite is "The Vegan 8" cookbook, which differentiates itself from others as only requiring 8 ingredients per recipe (thank goodness!!). I have cooked my way through this book and I'd say about 40% of the recipes are now part of my regular meal-prepping routine. Although this book is Vegan-inspired, there are lots of ways to modify based on your preferences, so it's as great baseline to get ideas and really focus on creating great-tasting and truly healthy meals that your family will absolutely love!