1. 1. GO ALL IN!: You may feel like transitioning into new foods and moderately working into veganism. But, I always encourage people to go 100% if not immediately as soon as possible. It may take a few days or even a couple of weeks for your taste buds to change. So, dive in now and start adjusting! You'll become desensitized to new spices and re-sensitized to naturally occurring sugars and minerals, so learn to experience new tastes and develop your new, sophisticated palate! I learned to love many new foods that I just didn't appreciate or think I could like before. I discovered a beautiful and unbelievable variety of plant based whole foods that I'm constantly learning new things about. And when you go all in you'll really notice your body changing for good, you'll want to keep it this way!
   2. Clean out your fridge and cabinets to make way for new and healthier products. Replace all your animal products and other processed foods with plant based whole foods. If you live with others that are not vegan this could be difficult. But, it's important that you have your safe space. And don't be afraid to stand your ground! Remember, you're doing something great! So, they can learn to appreciate and respect that. They'll be happy you did when they see how great you're doing.
   3. Make new friends and attend vegan events. You may find that your principles are changing. You may need support from people that have done it before. You may also need a break from people that don't understand your new, healthier you. Some people may be demeaning toward things they don't understand. Esp. if they fear they may be doing something wrong. Always try to speak with compassion with those who don't understand.
   4. Don't be afraid to grocery shop more often and only buy what you can eat within a few days. You want to consume the freshest foods possible. At first you may need to shop a little more and it may take a little longer until you learn what's safe and better ways to anticipate what to purchase.
   5. Learn all you can. NutritionFacts.org has thousands of short, educational videos on virtually every topic regarding nutrition. Watch documentaries like Game Changers, What the Health, Forks Over Knives, Mission Blue, Chasing Coral, and Cowspiracy.
   6. Don't be afraid to eat more. A plant based whole food vegan diet tends to be a low fat diet, meaning about 30% or less of calories from fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram whereas protein and carbs only have 4. So, you may need to eat more to get enough calories. But, this is generally a good thing because people usually consume too many calories. And this also means you probably don't have to count calories to lose unwanted weight and achieve the perfect weight. That is, as long as you're eating a diverse, low fat, plant based whole food diet.
   7. Keep servings in mind. Keep nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and coconut within their serving sizes. They are going to be the main sources of fat. A serving of walnuts for example is one ounce or quarter cup, about 7 shelled whole walnuts. Walnuts, chia seeds, and flax seed are a great source of essential fatty acids. One serving of Walnuts and you've potentially met your RDA for DHA/EPA. It still is a good idea to include flax and/or chia in your diet as they have unique properties and benefits. Sunflower seeds are a great to consume regularly because they're an excellent source of Vitamin E. And a few brazil nuts a week are a great source of selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin, niacin, etc. and may help lower cholesterol.
      These high fat foods are easy to over eat though. So be mindful of what you eat and when. Fat helps you absorb nutrients. So I like to add a little flax to oatmeal, seeds and nuts to my big salads, and sometimes some avocado to my black bean burrito or black bean burger. I make huge salads. These are easy to take to work. And if I'm going hiking or on a road trip I try to bring a serving of nuts and seeds with some dates and raisins packed separately for each day. And fruit may be easy to travel with too. Children have smaller stomachs so nuts and seeds are a healthy way to get enough calories in easy. I try to only eat raw nuts. And always make sure they're fresh. Mold creates aflotoxins on nuts and roasting them destroys some of the fat and nutrients while potentially creating the carcinogen acrylamide.
   8. Invest in the right tools for the job if you can. I love my instant pot and my ninja blender. These aren't necessary but they definitely make it easy to put together some fantastic recipes. If you're on a budget these tools can help you eat at home more and cook up some delicious, healthy and inexpensive dry beans and potatoes perfectly. If you can't afford these tools, no worries. You can easily prepare lentils and quinoa quick enough in a small pot. And there's no need to blend up your greens and fruits into a smoothie. I also suggest getting big salad bowls because a salad may become your most important meal of the day. And the more you get comfortable eating and making salads the bigger they'll get! Jars are an excellent way to store extra food you may cook up. It's easy to make a huge batch of lentils, black beans, split peas, etc... in the instant pot and store a few jars for the next couple of days. We also jar up seeds and nuts for regular access/use and keep the bulk of the rest in the refrigerator. It's best to buy whole seeds and grind them on your own to keep them fresher. So, a bean grinder for spices and seeds is a kitchen staple for sure.
   9. Try new recipes. Consider buying a couple cookbooks. Some people give their books away too so never be afraid to ask around. Cookbooks aren't necessary though, they're just convenient. You can probably find plenty of recipes on the internet. And most plant based whole foods don't require much in the area of fancy recipes. Start off getting a simple, healthy routine of plant based foods down before spending too much time with elaborate recipes. The healthiest foods are the most simple.
   10. Join groups on facebook or meetup for help and inspiration. Find vegan restaurants and learn what to do when you can't. Eat at home before you go out! Dr. Klapper says he does this and it's a great idea. This way you don't have to worry about limited options, or them getting your order wrong, or cross contamination, and you'll save money! And, when everyone but you gets food poisoning it's easier to identify and vilify the culprit, which is usually animal based foods. Attend vegan events like festivals, pot lucks, and film screenings. Make new friends that are plant based and encourage those you already know to go vegan. Anytime someone something that doesn't make sense, even if it sounds ridiculous, learn as much as you can about it before responding. This way you'll be more likely to answer intelligently and less likely to react emotionally. If you're trying to help others, start with the lowest hanging fruit. Those will be easier and help make an influence further up the tree.
   11. Find a plant based doctor if you can. They are more likely to understand your specific preferences and needs. And they are more likely to understand nutrition.
   12. It is very affordable! The more you eat at home the healthier and the less expensive it can be. Make your own sprouts, stock up on dry beans, red cabbage is very inexpensive, healthy, and last a long time. By rolled oats in bulk. Start your own garden if you can. And remember, you're going to save big time since the healthier you live (eat, sleep, love, exercise) the less likely you'll have to pay for medications, expensive procedures, and even your insurance. And the healthier you are the more self actualized, productive and successful you can be. Before going "Freegan", if you're in need of some cost saving ideas check out some of the groups on facebook like "What Broke Vegans Eat". YouTube has some great videos on this as well. And I'm sure there's books that help.

Always strive to be the healthiest you can be. It's easy to go out to eat but the more you take advantage of eating at home the more you will save. And the healthier and safer you can eat. The healthier you are the better you will perform in all areas of your life. As a result you will be a more positive influence on others, without even trying! It's important to put nutrition first. Exercise is dangerous if you're eating foods that are leading to cardiometabolic diseases.

Keep it Simple & Healthy

It's easier than ever to go vegan! Especially with all the new, processed options available. This is great for the animals and transitioning away from eating them. However, many times these transitional foods (like Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger, etc…) are mere comfort foods, and not necessarily healthy at all. So, when removing animals from your diet try replacing them with new, healthier foods!

Some people may fast (I think intermittent fasting is great), eat raw, mono meal, etc... but it’s generally best to keep it simple, just eat plant based whole foods! I am finding though that it is really best to get the bulk of eating done earlier in the day, to not eat at night; for example, not after 6 pm. Intermittent fasting would be to only eat within a 6 to 8 hour window. I haven't accomplished this consistently yet. But, the science seems to support this. 

If you're trying to lose weight you probably don't need to count calories ever again on a plant based whole food diet. Dr Greger even has a video on this called Eating More to Weigh Less worth checking out.

Memorize these Ten Categories

Again, keep it simple! Memorize these 10 categories of foods and build a daily routine from them: beans, greens, grains, fruits, veggies, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.  Before grocery shopping, I look around my kitchen and think "what beans, greens, grains, fruits, veggies, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices do I need?" I may do this at the grocery store also and/or instead while looking in my cart.

Try to include as many of these as you can in every meal. Dr. Joel Fuhrman has an acronym called GBOMBS which is greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, and seeds. Dr. Greger has the Daily Dozen app. There's all kinds of tricks to finding the easiest way in adopting a diverse plant based diet.

Keep Healthy Easy

These foods don't require hard and time consuming recipes at all. Find ways to do things quick and easy. Keep healthy convenient options available around the house. Always have fresh fruit around and keep frozen for backup. I love my organic groats but I always keep steel cut around for days when I'm in a rush. I have a routine where I add with dates, frozen blueberries, ceylon cinnamon, clove, cardamon, and ground flax to my oats on a daily basis.

As for beans, I try to make bulk supplies for easy access throughout the week. I keep canned beans available for when I don't have time or don't want to cook beans. For salads, it's easy and great to toss a cup of rinsed chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, and/or quinoa on a salad for a protein rich, nutrient dense simple topping on dark green leafy's with some ground sunflower seeds and walnuts, green onions, vinegar, artichokes, a few olives, raisins (w/o sulfur preservatives!), fennel seed, oregano, etc...

Smoothie's are simple too. One I really enjoy lately includes kale, pineapple, peanut butter (non hydrogenated of course), almond milk, and a banana (organic bananas are not preserved with shrimp and shells (s)). This is a great way to get a serving of kale and legumes in. It's all about creating a healthy routine that incorporates these plant based whole foods in the healthiest, most enjoyable, regular, and practical way possible.