I’m a Mom Trying a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet – Here’s How It’s Going: Week 2

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You know when you try a new habit, and you’re super gung-ho to start? And then, like a week in, reality hits that this is gonna be an adjustment?

Well, that’s how this week started. 

The reality of not being able to pop ready-made vegan nuggets into the oven or grill up some Beyond Burgers, definitely made my meal planning challenging. And the absence of processed vegan candy and cookies in my cupboards admittedly made emotional eating near impossible. 

But, we persevered! 

And had some interesting results because of it. Ready to see what those were? Great!

But before we dive in, please remember this. 👇👇👇

I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nutritionist. And I’m definitely not a culinary expert. I’m a mom who wants to feed herself, her kids, and her husband healthy foods that minimally impact animals and the environment. This is not medical advice, but rather an account of our experience to be used for informational purposes only.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. Thank you!

Ok, now we can take a look at week 2 of our whole-food, plant-based diet!

Remind me, is a WFPB diet the same as a vegan diet?

Last week we touched on how a whole-food, plant-based diet and a vegan diet are similar. They both do not contain animal products, for example. 

However, they differ in that whole-food, plant-based diets avoid oils, white flour, white rice, refined sweeteners, and highly processed foods. And vegan diets can include meat and dairy substitutes, which are often highly processed. 

Additionally, vegan diets avoid animal products completely. Whereas plant-based diets may include animal products from time to time. And remember, veganism is more than a diet. It’s a philosophy.

So it may seem like eating WFPB after you’ve been vegan for three years is no biggie. But, I assure you, there’s a difference.

Why are you trying a WFPB diet anyways?

In my last post, I write about week 1 of a WFPB diet. And our reasoning behind eating more whole foods. We started eating more processed foods during the pandemic and our physical activity level dropped with being at home so much. 

So, we put on some pounds. And we’re not the only ones. I “gained the COVID-19” like so many others have also confessed to gaining. 

We’re hoping eating more whole foods and less processed foods helps us lose some weight and feel more energized.

I’m also curious if less refined sugar will lower my anxiety at all.

What WFPB meals did you eat this week?

Similar to last week, we tried to limit oils and limit the processed foods my husband and I ate (remember, our kids aren’t eating the same things for snacks and lunch that we are) to whole grain bread and tortillas. 

We did have to go out one night because we had workers in our house and I couldn’t get to the kitchen to prep dinner. But here’s a look at what we ate during week 2.

WFPB Breakfast

This week was the same as last week. We made oatmeal every morning and topped it with berries, ground flaxseed, walnuts, plant-based milk, and syrup. 

On Sunday we celebrated a birthday with brunch and ate homemade vegan pancakes, sweet potatoes, a pineapple cucumber salsa, fresh fruit, and vegan sausages (admittedly the sausages were pre-packaged).

WFPB Lunch

Our kids aren’t eating the same lunches we are, and as I said, they are eating vegan, not necessarily WFPB, at lunch. So they ate PB&Js, strawberries, carrots, apples, Z-Bars, and veggie chips. 

My husband and I ate the following for lunch:

• Green salad with carrots, black olives, tomatoes, chickpeas, quinoa, cucumbers, and homemade ranch dressing
• WFPB pesto with whole wheat or lentil pasta, black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and chickpeas
• Avocado toast
• Leftovers

WFPB Dinner

I tried some new whole-food, plant-based dinners this week that we’ll definitely keep around after this challenge ends. I also made more than double several of these so we ate the leftovers for lunches and dinners for more than one day. 

Here are our dinners this week:

• Lentil meatballs with whole what pasta and roasted broccoli. I did use a bottled marinara sauce rather than making my own because I already had it in the pantry and didn’t have all of the ingredients handy to make my own sauce from scratch.
• Cauliflower rice and black bean enchiladas with cashew cream. Again, I used a canned enchilada sauce for this, but after reading the label, and knowing all of the ingredients, I felt good about it.
• Creamy vegan broccoli chowder. This is a staple in our house now and I make it often.
• Lentil “meat” loaf with WFPB mashed potatoes. 
• Chipotle bowl: After looking through vegan options at the local eateries (mainly fast food), we settled on Chipotle being the most whole-food, plant-based. We ordered our bowls with cilantro lime rice, black beans, sofritas, roasted peppers, romaine lettuce, corn salsa, and guacamole. Can you believe I passed up the tortillas chips!?
• Leftovers

WFPB Snacks

I didn’t snack much, but when I did, it was similar to last week:

• Bananas
• Cashews
• Apples
• Celery
• Salted popcorn

WFPB Drinks

Besides water, I only drank tea and coffee. 

In the morning, I made my latte with soymilk since it has less sugar than oat milk. But honestly, it doesn’t froth the same and it certainly doesn’t taste the same. So I go back and forth between both plant-based kinds of milk.

At night before bed, I drink chamomile tea.

WFPB Dessert

I love dessert. And having to make mine from scratch every time I want a sweet treat is incredibly frustrating. But. I haven’t eaten that many sweets as a result of that!

So this weekend I did splurge and made some black bean brownies that were amazing! And lasted for two nights’ worth of desserts.

The big question: How did a WFPB diet affect you this week?

I felt great this week after finding the inspiration to continue. Here’s an at-a-glance of how week 2 went.

Pros:

• I lost weight again—1.4 pounds this week, so 3.8 pounds since I started.
• I didn’t have any of the headaches I endured in week 1. 
• I noticed changes in my taste buds. The fruit became sweeter. And even tasting my kids’ sandwiches, the peanut butter and jam was sweeter than I remember them being.
• I’m tired consistently around the same time every night.

Cons:

• Meal planning and prepping didn’t magically get easier. I’m still researching recipes. Once I build up a strong list, this will probably get easier. 
• Most recipes are for a party of one or two. There are five of us. Finding practical recipes on a practical budget means doing more legwork.
• I need to fix the lack of ready-made dessert options… (Or maybe I shouldn’t if I want to lose weight LOL!)

Conclusion: Will you continue to stick with a WFPB diet?

We’re halfway through this thing, so yes. We’ll stick it out two more weeks. 

Watching the pounds slide off seriously motivates us to continue!

And honestly, I’m adding some of these recipes to our favorites list so we cook them on a regular basis. 

But. 

Next week is spring break for us. So how will we fare during vacation? Stay tuned to find out!