Tracey Martin is a Sustainable Lifestyle Leader and author and has been a certified Transformational Life Coach as well as health, life and wellness advisor for more than 25 years. Tracey’s mission is simple, to protect our natural resources, planet, and our most precious resource: humankind. She is sharing her knowledge with us in this weekly column and this week Tracey talks about committing to a vegan lifestyle.
Creating a change in your lifestyle is the ultimate commitment you will ever make TO yourself and FOR yourself. My intention is to remove obstacles and create an invitation. In this month’s column I want to give you some new tools and ideas to make the shift happen.
Removing dairy and meat from your diet is one move in the right direction towards a more sustainable way of life for your own health and the health of the planet
One of the biggest questions you will get once you make this commitment is “where do you get your protein from?” First of all, let me say that even the animal that you are eating is getting their protein from plants. Hmmmm. There is a thought. Some of the strongest mammals in the world are herbivores.
What would a great meal plan look like? This is a snapshot of my day in food. I hope it inspires you to try different things and think outside your box.
Meal 1 – Grab a slice of sprouted bread from Alvarado St. Bakery. My favorite is the Sprouted California Style. Toast it and then take large California avocado. Slice in half and smash one of the halves. Put the other half away for later. Add in diced onions. Spread on the toasted bread and add 1 TBS of Nutiva organic hemp seeds and sprinkle with pink himalayan salt.
Calories – 243
Fat – 15
Protein – 14.3
Carbs – 19.3
Meal 2 – Large micro green salad from one of my favorite local places, Bambox. Add on to the salad: 1/4c walnuts. 1/2 grapefruit sliced. 1/2 c shredded kale.
Calories 262
Fat – 20.2
Protein – 17.34
Carbs – 22.46
Meal 3 – Moon Juice Blue Beauty adaptogen protein smoothie. I used 2 scoops of the protein powder and blend it with 8oz. of water, 1 cup frozen mango, 1 cup frozen pineapple and 2 cups raw spinach.
Calories- 314
Fat – 0
Protein – 28.8
Carbs – 52.2
Meal 4 – One of my favorite meals is to create my own “Mother Earth” bowl at home. You can really put anything you want in here but this is my favorite.
1 c boiled sweet potato, 1 c spinach (use this as the bottom layer). 1/2 c steamed broccoli, 1/2 c raw cauliflower, 1/2 c hummus (homemade), 1/4 sliced cucumber.
Calories – 239
Fat – 7
Protein – 15.9
Carbs – 43.2
Late snack – almond crackers and a slice of vegan cheese. Super easy snack. My favorite brand of cracker is the fine sea salt almond cracker from Simple Mills. Topping them with my fave vegan cheese from Follow Your Heart American cheese.
Calories – 210
Fat – 12.5
Protein – 4
Carbs – 21
On this day the protein intake was 80.34 grams. Choose better sources of nutrients. Shop local when possible. Eating and preparing your food should be a wonderful experience in your life. You are nourishing your body to be able to work, play and create the life you want.
Sustainably Yours,
Tracey xo
If you have comments or questions you would like to see addressed in this column, please send them to info@fabulousarizona.com.
For a private one on one with Tracey text 602.568.4124.