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Plant based food does not have to be boring, hard to make, OR time consuming.
Adding more plant based foods to your diet is only ever going to make your life better in the long run, that’s just a fun fact.
And a diet high in plant based nutrition is beneficial on so many levels that you would probably be blown away once you have experienced them for yourself.
Plants are the LIFE FORCE of your diet, and should make up a very large part of it if you wish for optimal health, disease reversal, and the myriad of other benefits that this diet brings, of which I shall briefly go over below.
Your Local Community Shop
In partnership with your local community shop, I have devised some simple, balanced and nutritious plant based recipes that will get you and your family eating more healthily, for less cash than ever before.
The Community Shop in Ramsgate is located at St. Georges Church Hall, and offers an array of grocery items. These items include dried and canned goods, frozen and refrigerated goods, and most importantly FRESH PRODUCE of all varieties – all at around a 60% discount to most supermarkets.
One of the major attractions of the shop is not only the friendly staff that make it a homely place to be be, but also its fantastic selection of fresh fruits and vegetables that arrive almost daily.
You never know what delights you’re going to get, and that’s the beauty of it. Most days you will find staple items such as potatoes, onions, beans, peppers, lemons, limes, oranges, apples, bananas, carrots, and other root vegetables (depending on the season).
Other days you may find more exotic/expensive fruits and vegetables, such as kiwis, pineapples and berries, but all for a very reasonable price. ALL fruits and veggies at the Community Shop are affordable and of the highest quality.
Getting Your Family Healthily With The Community Shop
Your local Community Shop is the perfect way to feed your family healthily on a budget.
Gone are the days when healthy food was expensive and pizza and chips were cheap. These days there really are no excuses to not eat fruits and vegetables with schemes such as this. You can literally buy a whole bag of different veggies for just ONE POUND!
At the Community Shop, health is on the agenda, and giving you very simple plant based recipes to make with your inexpensive shopping haul is what this website is all about.
Benefits Of Adding More Plant Based Foods Into Your Diet
Adding more plant based foods into your diet is going to boost your health and vitality on many levels. The more of it you eat, the better your results.
Here’s just a quick breakdown of some of the benefits a fully plant based diet can offer you in the long run:-
- More energy
- GLOWING skin
- Better immunity
- Quality/deeper sleep
- Weight loss
- Better digestion
- Better mood and happier outlook on life
- Lessening of anxiety and depression
- Healing/reversal of certain chronic diseases (if eating a ‘whole’ foods plant based diet)
- Higher fitness levels
- Faster recovery
- Faster healing
- Lowering of chronic inflammation and inflammatory diseases
- Less aches and pains in general
General Food & Recipe Tips
When it comes to eating healthily, PREPARATION is key. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail is definitely the case with healthy eating.
If you’re rushed, have had a busy day, are tired, or just plain do not feel like cooking, then this is where you’re going to fail with the healthy diet. This is where you are more than likely going to dial for a take-away, or grab the nearest fast food to hand.
But, if you follow the below steps, none of the above need ever be an issue.
Here’s my favourite hacks that keep me on track daily.
1. BATCH COOK
When preparing more time consuming recipes, always make enough to last you for two, or even three, meals.
You can eat the same thing for a few days, but just change up the sides a little each day to keep it interesting. For instance, a chili can be served with rice, sweet potato wedges, jacket potato, or used as a stuffed peppers mix. The plant based burgers can be served in a bun, with salad, or fries, even with baked beans. Be creative!
2. FREEZE IN PORTIONS
If you don’t fancy the same foods two days in a row, still batch cook, but freeze your leftovers in portions ready to be defrosted when needed.
Foods that freeze well are chilis, curries, soups, stews, granola bars, brownies (my healthy ones of course ;-)), burgers, and meatballs.
3. PREP, PREP, PREP!
As said before, preparation is the only way you can do this lifestyle (especially if you’re a busy person), and that goes for every aspect of it.
Not only do you want to batch cook and freeze, but you can also prepare healthy, grab-and-go breakfasts, such as granola bars, brownies, overnight oats, chia puddings, protein balls, or simply grab a couple of bananas, dates, and a handful of nuts on your way out for even more ease at breakfast time.
You may find that you will want to spend a morning (or afternoon) at the weekend just prepping most of your meals for the week ahead. This can work well for super busy people who have zero time or inclination to cook or prepare food on weekdays.
Some Easy Recipe Examples From General Community Shop Produce
ZestForever is all about simple, minimal ingredients, and minimal time recipes that fit into your busy lifestyle.
Most people do not wish to spend a ton of time preparing food, LET ALONE try to figure out how to make plant based food interesting. That’s why I have a list here of all my favourite plant based recipes for you to check out, all of which use many of the ingredients you can find at your local Community Shop.
I will be uploading more weekly, so be sure to come back and never miss out!
(Click Images Separately For Full Recipes)
