I’m a Mom Trying a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet – Here’s How It’s Going: Week 1

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I’m a busy mom. On-the-go processed snacks and re-heated meals make life at this stage more manageable, right?

Sure.

Are they as healthy as fresh, whole foods though?

Um. Unfortunately, that’s usually a no. 

So how the heck are we supposed to keep up with our family’s busy schedule, while making healthy meals and snacks (when we’re not a trained chef or nutritionist), and keep our sanity?

I don’t know. 

But turning 40 in a few months is yet another reminder that I can’t put my health on hold. 

And it’s one of the many reasons my husband and I are trying a whole-food, plant-based diet. And since I struggled to find many examples of moms in this boat, I wanted to share our experience with you. 

But before I get into the details, I want you to know 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 that that’s out of the way, let’s get started! On March 14, 2022 we dedicated ourselves to a month (at least) of eating a whole-food, plant-based diet. And this is how week one went.

But first, this…👇👇👇

What is a whole-food, plant-based diet?

Let’s break that big, wordy phrase up, shall we? We can separate a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet into two parts.

1. Whole foods: These are foods that are not heavily processed. Meaning, they are whole, unrefined, or have minimally refined ingredients.
2. Plant-based: These are foods that come from plants and are free from animal ingredients such as dairy, eggs, meat, fish, or honey.

To understand what foods are included in a whole-food, plant-based diet, I’m going to let Dr. Michael Greger, the founder of NutritionFacts.org and author of the bestselling books How Not To Die and How Not To Diet explain. 

He writes that a WFPB diet is “an eating pattern that minimizes the intake of meat, eggs, dairy, and processed junk and maximizes consumption of whole plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils), whole grains, nuts and seeds, mushrooms, and herbs and spices.”

If you’re thinking, “This sounds a lot like a vegan diet…” you’re right. They are similar. But there are some important differences.

How does a WFPB diet differ from a vegan diet?

Did you know Oreos are vegan? And most french fries. And lots of candy is accidentally vegan.

Fast food locations all over the world are adding plant-based options to their menus. 

But we all know we should limit sugary, highly processed, and oil-heavy foods such as these, right?

Something may be “plant-based” and “vegan,” but it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. 

Here are some core differences between a whole-food, plant-based diet and a vegan diet:

• WFPB diets limit oils, white flour, white rice, refined sweeteners, and highly processed foods.
• Vegan diets can include highly processed imitation meat and cheeses.
• WFPB diets limit foods with animal and insect products (meat, eggs, fish, dairy, honey).
• Vegan diets avoid foods with animal and insect products. 
• Veganism isn’t limited to a diet. It’s a way of living that avoids animal products (and testing) in all areas of life.

More plant-based items are hitting grocery store shelves than ever. Making it pretty feasible to try going vegan. Unfortunately, most of these foods are highly processed. 
This is why it’s entirely possible to gain weight on a vegan diet… which is what happened to us.

Wait, you gained weight on a vegan diet?

After 3 years, we know we can eat vegan. The challenge is can we eat whole-food, plant-based?

You see, when we went vegan almost three years ago, it was for our health. And we ate mainly whole-food, plant-based foods. 

Things were going great. But almost a year after that, COVID hit. And a mixture of things happened at once:

• We couldn’t always find the ingredients for the meals we were used to cooking due to product shortages.
• We wanted to support the struggling vegan restaurants and ordered all the local vegan things.
• With the kids learning at home, I was exhausted by the end of the day and started looking for faster, which often meant more processed, foods to cook. 
• Our emotions were high. And emotional eating was one way we coped with our stress and anxiety.

So, two years after the pandemic, I’ve gained the “COVID-19” and am about 20 pounds over where I was back in 2020.

I’m curious if eating more WFPB will help me lose some of those LBs. 

And since it’s Lent, I decided this was a perfect time to try it out. (Thankfully my husband is in the same boat and agreed to come along for the ride!)

What WFPB recipes will your family eat?

Let me start by saying that we are going to do our best when it comes to avoiding oils. 

I have zero non-stick pots and pans, so if a little olive oil is needed to prevent too much sticking, we will use it. 

We also aren’t holding our kids to this because I’m not equipped yet to make all of their on-the-go snacks yet. I’m taking baby steps here. 😅 They did eat all of the WFPB meals though.

So with that being said, here’s what my husband and I ate during week 1.

WFPB Breakfast

During the week, all five of us ate oatmeal topped with frozen blueberries, ground flaxseed, unsweetened almond milk, walnuts, and maple syrup. 

On Sunday morning, we made brunch with a tofu scramble (filled with sauteed onions and garlic and spinach), black beans, and oven-roasted potatoes, topped with avocado slices, and wrapped in whole-grain tortillas.

WFPB Lunch

The kids ate PB&Js on whole grain bread, strawberries, carrots, and apples. They also had granola bars and veggie chips or popcorn packed in their lunches. 

My husband and I made the following for lunches:

• Green salad with carrots, black olives, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, quinoa, cucumbers, and homemade ranch dressing.
• Vegan tuna sandwiches made with smashed chickpeas, celery, and homemade dressing on whole grain bread.
• Leftovers

I try to make larger portions for dinners so that we have leftovers for lunch and then I don’t have to make another meal midday.

WFPB Dinner

I have my fair share of easy vegan family dinners, but I admittedly need to build up my list of go-to WFPB dinners. 

Here’s what we ate during week 1.

• Vegan (and WFPB) chicken soup with vegetable broth, onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, and tofu. I made so much of this we ate it for two dinners and two days’ worth of lunches.
• WFPB macaroni and cheese with oven-roasted broccoli.
• Tacos with beans, brown rice, avocado pico de gallo, sauteed bell peppers, and whole wheat tortillas.
• WFPB pesto with whole wheat or lentil pasta, black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans.
• Riced cauliflower bowls (made from frozen bags with peas and corn included) with baked tofu, zucchini, topped with soy or teriyaki sauce.
• Creamy vegan broccoli chowder with toasted whole wheat sourdough bread. This also lasted us for two dinners.

WFPB Snacks

I didn’t snack much, but when I did, here’s what I went to.

• Bananas
• Cashews
• Apples
• Whole grain avocado toast
• Salted popcorn

WFPB Drinks

Honestly, I drank mostly water all week. In the morning, I had my usual homemade latte. But I’m still using oat milk, which for some reason seems to be high in sugar. I’m experimenting with unsweetened, unflavored soy milk. I also drank chamomile tea before bed. 

WFPB Desserts

We didn’t eat much dessert during this first week. But to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day we made a pistachio pudding that was super tasty!

What else are you doing for weight loss (and mental health healing)?

In addition to eating (mostly) whole-food, plant-based meals, and snacks, I’m making a few other modifications for both my physical and mental health. 

In my recent post, I shared an update that my anxiety and depression have made a comeback with this pandemic. 

To help, my doctors suggested I try walking for at least 30 minutes a day. I’m also doing medical yoga before bed and drinking chamomile tea to help with sleep. 

And, I’m trying to at least 6 hours of sleep a night. I know that isn’t close to the recommended 8 hours, but for an insomniac who’s used to no more than 5, it’s a start!

My recent labs showed I’m borderline deficient in vitamin D (which I’ve never been), so I’m upping my intake of that, and I’m also taking B12, algae omega-3, vegan multivitamin, and vegan probiotics.

But now to the goods….

The big question: How has a WFPB diet affected you so far?

In the first week, I already spotted some pros (and cons, believe it or not). 

Pros: 

• I was tired around 9:30 every night and was able to sleep well (over 6 hours!) every night.
• I didn’t experience bloating like I have when I dine out or have highly processed high-sodium foods.
• I felt more alert in the afternoons when I’m usually tired. (But this may be due to taking my 30-minute walk on the treadmill during this time instead of napping.)
• I lost 2.6 pounds!

Cons:

• On day 2 I noticed a splitting headache that was similar to one I got a couple of years ago when I gave up sugar. This was another reason I kept to my oat milk in the mornings. My doctor agreed this could be due to the absence of sugar. I had a small handful of vegan chocolate chips on day 4 or 5 and that seemed to help. And the headache was gone by day 6.
• I lost the motivation for meal planning and preparing around day 4. I kept it up, but it was a struggle and was definitely more time-consuming than popping a frozen meal in the oven.
• The cravings for fast food, my favorite vegan hot spots, and dessert were tough at times. And admittedly, I wasn’t fully prepared with more WFPB dessert options.

So what’s my conclusion? Will I continue with a WFPB diet?

Is this diet right for us? 

Hard to say after following it for only one week. But I saw enough results that I’m willing to keep carrying it out for the rest of Lent as I planned.

And although Lent is 40 days, I needed a week or so to plan out meals. So I’m hoping to try a WFPB diet for at least 30 days. 

But if we like it, we’ll continue with it for longer!

I’m curious if a whole-food, plant-based diet is realistic for my busy family of five. I’m also curious if we’ll keep losing weight. 

Upon writing this, we’re almost through our second week! So stay tuned because I’ll share week 2’s results next!