Eat More Concentrated Starfire

I’ve given a lot of thought this week to new beginnings. Starting something unfamiliar can be exciting and rewarding and it can also be scary and frustrating, but life is about taking these leaps out into the unknown. I had the opportunity to reflect on this while working on an article and an ebook about how to get started on a plant-based diet.

I’m not here to tell people how they must live, just offer another perspective on how we, as a people, might be able to change ourselves and the world for the better with just a minor shift in how we act and eat.

I marvel daily at the power of plants, from the spindly weed to the tallest tree, the noble cacti to the softest desert rose. They all pull energy from the air and light around them. Think on that. We forget how magical and exotic this truly is. They turn light and air into food while releasing the life-giving oxygen we require to survive. We sow tiny seeds and feed continents with what they create for us from the residual energy of a burning star tens of millions of miles away.

We diet, losing ourselves in counting calories, and fail to remember that all that caloric energy originally came to this planet as sunlight, captured by chlorophyll and locked into simple sugars, proteins, fiber, and enzymes. Many of these nutrients are lost as they move up the food chain.

So, what am I trying to say? I hope to convince anyone listening to consider adding more plant-based nourishment to their life. It is the original food, closest to the starfire from which it came. I don’t expect everyone to go vegan instantly, but I hope a few of you decide to take a step in that direction. Here are a few tips on how.

Try eliminating meat from your meals just one day a week and see where it takes you. Salads and smoothies make for an easy transition to more plant-based foods. They are quick and relatively familiar to all of us. But, don’t feel limited. There are plenty of other options out there.

You’d be surprised at the recipes you can find for plant-based foods you already love and know how to make. There are literally thousands of them searchable online for free. You’ll be astonished at how delicious some of these alternatives are. Soups, fajitas, pizzas, even jambalaya, and many more can still be part of your meatless meals.

There are many reasons to seek out a more plant-based diet. Scientists uncover new health benefits almost daily, finding that the enzymes and nutrients in plants combat heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. They promote longer, healthier, more balanced lives. Eating them improves the environment as less methane is released into the atmosphere and less fossil fuels are spent feeding and moving livestock.

It’s scary and exciting, I know, so ease into it. Add a bit more fruits and vegetables to your diet and watch the benefits roll in. Be healthier, fitter, and help the world do the same.

Learn more about Brent Hauver