What do you eat on a plant-based diet?

By Henry Howard

I have learned quite a bit about my health and nutrition as I have transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle.

The most obvious change is that I feel healthier and fitter, and my running appears to confirm that. A plant-based diet is seen by many experts as the healthiest one to follow. The definition of “plant-based” can vary by the individual. Generally, the term relates to emphasizing fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans and similar foods while minimizing the consumption of meats, dairy and eggs. This is a pretty good overview.

I would estimate that my diet is 98 percent vegan. I eat salmon roughly three times a year in social settings, consume eggs or dairy rarely when they are in a few packaged or baked goods, and have honey in my Honey Stinger products.

Diets are a personal choice. While I endorse and advocate for pushing a plant-based, vegan or vegetarian diet, it is up to the individual. I’m happy to answer questions about my transition, meal options and more. You can reach out to me via my socials on my linktree page or shoot me an email.

Among the more common questions about a plant-based diet are “What do you eat? Aren’t your options limited?”

Plenty and no.

I have actually found I am eating a wider range of foods on a plant-based diet than I did when eating a traditional Western diet.

It’s true I do gravitate toward the same breakfast most days, a bowl packed with fruit, granola, seeds and either a plant milk or plant-based yogurt. That often includes BeeFree, a gluten-free granola. (Use my 10% discount code by using this link for your purchase of BeeFree, which helps fund autism research and creates jobs for hard-working individuals with autism.)

I was curious about the number of foods I consume in an average week. So I went through a recent week’s worth of my entries on MyFitnessPal. There was no shortage of a wide variety of healthy foods. Here is what I found:

Fruits

Strawberries

Bananas

Blueberries

Goji berries

Apples

Pineapples

Grapes

Vegetables

Brown rice

Sweet potatoes

Red skinned potatoes

Tomatoes (yes, I know they are technically a fruit)

Peppers

Onions

Kale

Spinach

Arugula

Avocados

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Celery

Radishes

Legumes

black beans

Garbanzo beans

Navy beans

Pinto beans

Nuts and nut butters

Almonds

Cashews

Pistachios

Peanut butter

Almond butter

Seeds and spices

Chia seeds

Hemp seeds

Flax seeds

Sunflower seeds

Cinnamon

Tumeric

Paprika

‘Dairy’

Plant-based milk

Plant-based yogurt

Miscellaneous

Tortilla chips

Gluten free bread

Honey Stinger gluten-free waffles

Gnarly protein mix

Hummus

Salsa

Kimchi

It's quite a long list. Quite conceivably longer than those who are on a traditional Western diet. And that is yet one more benefit of a plant-based diet: the wide range of food choices that are delicious, nutritious and keep us healthy.