Plant Based Diet for Beginners – In-depth How to Guide 2025

So, you’ve decided to try something new and exciting? Something that will pay off a hundred fold in terms of your health and well-being?

This is fantastic news! It’s the start of a journey that will lead you to not only feeling and looking amazing, but full of energy and with higher protection against disease and sickness in general.

We’re happy for you, and aim to help make your transition to amazing plant foods as easy as possible with my plant based diet for beginners in-depth how to guide for 2025.

Plant Based Diet Benefits and Pitfalls

Do you get cheesed off with feeling pretty crappy the majority of the time? It’s the plight of many on the ‘typical’ Western diet. 

Don’t get us wrong, there are some plant based diet cons, of course. It may take some learning through trial and error exactly what your body needs in terms of protein and nutrient requirements. 

It’s important to remember that we are all different in terms of the macronutrients we require. It depends on body size, fitness, and general exercise levels. If you exercise hard daily, your requirements for plant based amino acids in particular will be higher than someone who is sedentary. 

Plant Based Diet For Athletes

If you haven’t watched the plant based diet documentary “The Game Changers” on Netflix yet, you should as it will change your perception about the plant based diet.

In the ‘Game Changers’ the makers have researched athletes of all sports who are eating plant foods. They have discovered that plant eating athletes are not only getting their best times ever with this diet, but some are also doing it at an age when previously it was thought impossible.

You’ve got one of the strongest Men in the world who looks like an ox and has the strength of an ox, an Olympic cycling athlete who won medals at the ripe old age of 39, and a person who ran over 2,000 miles in forty days ALL ON PLANTS!

Yes, perceptions are changing FAST! Plant based diet foods are being served absolutely everywhere as the world demands them more and more.

Check out this list of plant based athletes for inspiration.

How To Put Together A ‘Nutritionally Complete’ Plant Based Meal

It’s absolutely vital that before entering into this healthful lifestyle, you know the basics of food combining and be able to put together a complete meal. This means understanding the value of ‘complete’ plant based amino acids, low GI carbohydrates, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables.

For instance, you will keep yourself much more sustained and full if you make sure you have protein, complex carbohydrates, and a little healthy fats with all your meals and snacks. Eating in this way will help to keep your blood sugar levels more stable, which will result in less snacking and bad food cravings.

Remember, this is a journey…

You’ll find that you will learn as you go along. It’s a journey, and by the time you’re a year down the line you’ll be a plant pro, whipping up healthy meals at a moments notice from bits and bobs left in the cupboard. And, you’ll know exactly how to order in the restaurants that don’t specifically have plant based options.  

In the beginning you may find eating out or family dinners can be one of the hardest things about plant based eating. But, fortunately, veganism has exploded and become much more popular worldwide. This means most restaurants, and even fast food chains, are keeping up with the demand and putting out new and exciting plant based menus.

 The Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

A lot of people are asking the what the difference is between a plant based diet and a whole foods plant based diet. “Whole foods” by definition means anything that hasn’t been extracted from it’s original and natural source.

This means foods such as isolated protein powders, oils, sweeteners, and sugars (including syrups such as maple, agave and brown rice syrup) are out of bounds. This also includes many of the meat-free burgers, sausages, hams, cheeses, and myco-protein products are also not permitted on a whole foods only diet.

You will also want to start cooking without the need for extra oils. There is a difference between oils and fats, of which you can read all about here.

How To Begin A  Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

If you’re just starting out, this may become over-whelming for you. To make things easier, you may wish to take advantage of the easy and fast food products such as vegan burgers, cheese, and milks ect, whilst you are learning to find healthier versions. It’s better to do it this way, rather tan to give up quickly due to lack or knowing what else to eat.

If you do wish to go straight in with the whole foods diet, you will find recipes on our blog to help you accomplish this.

But, you may want to go somewhere in the middle, and eat mostly whole foods with a little bit of oil such as coconut or olive to make life easier in the beginning.

However, it’s definitely a must to stay away from ALL refined sugars as much as possible if you want to get super healthy, fast.

Here’s an awesome list of the TOP 22 plant based foods that you will find in almost every store to help you get started.

Starting Your Plant Based Journey

The 90/10 Rule

The key is to NOT beat yourself up if you give in at times. Just keep going at it! After all, you’re trying to change a lifetime of conditioned and habitual thinking patterns around food. Patterns that your mind isn’t going to give up without a fight, so just go easy on yourself.

If you try to be perfect straight off then you will more than likely fail. You may find sticking to a 90/10 rule works fine. That rule is 90% good stuff, and 10% leeway for those things you really enjoy and don’t want to give up, and why should you? To be clear, we’re only talking plant based food here, not animal products.

If you begin by doing things the 90/10 way, you will most definitely be able to succeed if you keep at it. Just write a food diary and keep a big eye on what’s going into your mouth to be sure you stick to this rulle

10 Plant Based Diet Benefits

Here are some of the truly amazing things you will begin to notice about your body and health when you start eating a mostly whole foods diet. 

1. MORE ENERGY

You will definitely have more energy than EVER! Very quicky you will start noticing that you are no longer having that afternoon energy lull or slump that most people are plagued with. 

You’ll literally be ready to get up and go any time you please when you start filling your body with plants. All those vibrant colours, antioxidants, fibre, and nutrients will boost your energy levels into the STRATOSPHERE!

2. CLEAR SKIN AND SPARKLING EYES

This is one of the major things you will notice very quickly. Big changes in your skin tone and texture. 

You may say that this is due to eating a lot more antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables which comes naturally with the plant based lifestyle. But, it’s not just about eating fruits and vegetables that does this as many people still eat a lot of veggies, even without being plant based. It’s also about NOT eating animal products, which are inflammatory and do your skin no favours regardless of the rest of your diet.

3. FEELING LESS BLOATED AND PUFFY/BETTER PALOUR

We mean less bloated, all over! In fact, you won’t even realise that you’re was always slightly bloated until suddenly you’re not. You will soon see the difference, and others will too!  

Again, this is down to not eating inflammatory animal products, especially DAIRY, which always seems to give people that slightly bloated look and grey palour that only a keen eye can see.

4. BETTER SLEEP

You will sleep better when you have adequate nutrients in your body. And, you will get those nutrients with ease through the eating of lots of fruits and veggies.

You’ll also find that on a healthy plant based diet, you will automatically be cutting down on sugar and refined carbohydrates. That in itself will help to keep your blood sugar stable which, studies show can have the benefit of much deeper and better quality sleep. And this one benefit alone will obviously have a huge and positive impact on your health and your whole life experience.

5. FEWER ACHES AND PAINS

As animal products can contribute to inflammation, you may very well notice that you have fewer aches and pains than before. This is  especially so with arthritic type pains which can be caused by chronic inflammation.

Though research is still being done, it is thought that chronic inflammation may well be one of the root causes of many chronic and common diseases. Another reason we should all be trying to eat more plants too!

You may notice the anti inflammatory effects of a plant based diet mostly after a hard workout when you think you may be going to be aching the next day but in fact don’t. This is one of the main reasons that plant based athletes are able to obtain better times and longer endurance, due to the fact that their bodies become less inflamed and they recover faster.

6. LESS SICKNESS

We’re talking coughs, colds and viruses mostly, due to the naturally high vitamin and mineral content of the plant based diet, along with its natural anti-inflammatory effects. 

You will also find that if you do happen to catch a bug or a cold, you will recover faster than before.

7. LESS, OR NO PMS/MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS

You may notice that you will no longer suffer period pains or menopausal symptoms like you used to when you give up animal products.

This could be for a combination of reasons, such as eating more plant estrogens, higher vitamin and mineral rich diet, and taking out animal hormones that can mess with your own hormones.

8. FEELING HAPPIER IN GENERAL

The plant based diet makes you HAPPIER in general. It completely changes your outlook on life and you will feel different within.

Again, sometimes depression can be caused by inflammation, which can also affect the brain. Therefore, it stands to reason that when you eat an anti-inflammatory diet, it will naturally help ease depression and mild mood conditions.

Depression and anxiety can also be triggered by the eating of refined sugars and junk foods. Keeping blood sugar stable is VITAL for a stable mood. The connection is so clear that you will feel it for yourself when you begin to cut out refined foods and replace them with the low glycemic index/whole foods that the plant based diet offers in abundance.

Omega 3 oils

Depression sufferers should also be sure to take specific vegan DHA supplements. Most plant based omega 3’s that come from nuts and seeds only contain omega 3 ALA, but you also may need the DHA found in sea planktons for mood problems.

If you suffer severe mood disorders you should consult your Doctor and  take high strength omega 3 oils with both the EPA and DHA that are derived from the same plankton that the fish feed from. It is vitally important that you get the supplements that contain the DHA because that is what works specifically on the brain.

9. BETTER MEMORY

Again, this can be put down to having less inflammation (and studies show the same), evened out blood sugar, and a more detoxified body in general.

You may also find that you can learn things more easily and your memory will improve.

10. LONG TERM HEALTH

You can now see how many valid reasons there are to try the plant based diet for yourself. And if you have already eaten plant based for sometime, you’ll also know how different you feel pretty fast.

If you can get so many benefits, so quickly, can you also imagine what this could mean for long-term health and fitness? The future definitely looks better when you look after your body with the plant based diet. 

Make small changes one step at a time…

Here is a list of the things you can easily start changing today.

You do not need to do everything at once, but instead incrementally make small changes every day, week, and month until they become habits. 

It is vital you consume ALL the foods on this list as much as possible. You will need all of these food groups to ensure a well balanced diet that contains enough nutrients.

SWAPS

1. Swap your regular milk for almond, hemp, oat, rice, coconut or soy. You can use these for anything you would ordinarily use cow’s milk for. This will take some trial and error before you find a milk that suits you best, and also one that you prefer the taste of. Sometimes plant milks will curdle in certain coffee brands and not others. You can buy Barista blend plant milks specifically for coffee lovers that are very close to tasting and acting like cow’s milk. However, be careful of nasty ingredients in some Barista milks, such as fillers, oils, and gums. You will want to check labels scrupulously, as a lot of these milks are sweetened with refined sugars or concentrated fruit juices. Ideally you should go for the unsweetened versions to keep your sugar intake down.
2. Swap your ordinary dairy products for the vegan versions that can easily be found in abundance in most supermarkets these days. There are also a good deal of soy and coconut based versions of cheeses, yogurts, butters, and ice creams, so you need never go without. Be aware that these foods are not ‘whole food’ plant based and are not very healthy. However, they may stand in as a good substitute while you’re finding your feet and to keep you from eating animal products.
3. To keep sugars down you should shy away from most shop bought cereals, and instead go for porridge oats, oat bran, or a wholesome homemade protein rich muesli.
4. Swap meat for tofu, tempeh, seitan, quinoa, or pulses – all of which can be added to stir-fries, plant based curries, delicious chocolate chilis, or pretty much any dish that you would ordinarily use meat for.
5. Try to buy and eat foods in their whole form as much possible rather than fake meats, mycoproteins, and all the other newfangled vegan products on the market. They are great when you’re starting out (or when you’re really busy), but ultimately you want to be heading towards a whole plant food eating plan as much as possible.

FOODS TO ADD IN

It’s always important to keep your meals balanced with proteins, low GI carbohydrates, and healthy fats, as they will fill you up for longer this way.

Below are lists of each category to help you get a picture of how to combine them together.

Just to clarify, some of the foods on this list contain fats, carbs, and protein all together in the same food, and this is the reason they may be written in more than one section.

HEALTHY FATS

• Olive, coconut, flax, sesame and avocado oil (not technically ‘whole foods’)
• Avocados
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Whole coconuts
• Quinoa

PROTEINS

• Soya, and soy beans
• Seitan
• Tempeh
• Legumes, such as baked beans, chick peas, lentils, sweetcorn, green peas, pinto, cannellini, kidney, butter, borlotti, and black beans.
• Wholegrains, such as granary bread, buckwheat, spelt, brown pasta, brown rice, millet, amaranth, and quinoa (these are both proteins and carbohydrates in one, but ideally should have another protein source from the list with them to get adequate amounts).
• Nutritional yeast
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Some vegetables are higher in proteins, such as broccoli and avocado.

CARBOHYDRATES

• Wholegrains, such as granary bread, buckwheat, spelt, sweetcorn, brown pasta, brown rice, millet, amaranth, lentils, pulses, and quinoa.
• White, red, purple, new, and, sweet potatoes
• Pumpkin and squashes
• Vegetables such as parsnips, yams, beetroots, and carrots
• High sugar fruits such as bananas, pineapple, mango, grapes, and papaya
• Fat burning dried fruits

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

• Every day eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, especially nutritionally superior leafy green veg. These should make up a big bulk of your diet, as they are full of anti aging and disease fighting phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
• Take a shot of one of these powerful green superfood powders every day because they really push your health to another level. If you can’t (or won’t) get enough greens down you, this is the perfect way to make up for it. 
• Don’t forget to add lots of herbs and spices to your food. They all contain other nutrients and detoxifying elements that you may not find elsewhere. Turmeric, coriander, parsley cinnamon, cardamon, and ginger are among the healthiest. 

Plant Based Diet Meal Plan Examples

BREAKFASTS

• For breakfast, you can make green smoothies with avocado, banana, spinach and nut milk. Or any other combination of fruits and vegetables. Just be sure to add a little healthy fat such as sugar-free peanut butter, chia seeds, or avocado for creaminess and nutrient absorption.
  You can add frozen fruits straight into your smoothie for convenience. Doing this will also give you that cold, frothy milkshake texture that is so delicious. Sliced, pre-frozen, really ripe banana works just great for this as it tastes like ice cream and has a sticky, gooey texture. Heaven!
• You can also make an amazing nice-cream bowl!
• Either smashed avocado and tahini on toast, or sugar free peanut butter on sourdough is the perfect, low GI, filling breakfast.
• Add berries, nuts, and seeds to porridge or granola with a sliced banana on top.
• Make your own oil free granola.
• Having a low carbohydrate protein powder shake or fat burning chocolate pudding in the morning will help keep you full. It will also keep your body in fat burning mode after fasting through the night. It’s a great idea to eat these first thing if you wish to burn fat and build muscle at an accelerated rate.
• Make these WFPB waffles.
• Hummus and rainbow salad sandwich. Make extra hummus so you can eat it more than once as a healthy lunch.
• If you want something raw, try this raw carrot cake. It will last up to 7 days in your fridge because of all the spices in it.

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LUNCHES AND DINNERS

• Make soups and stews from a mixture of root veg, greens, a protein such as lentils (or another legume), plus herbs and spices. You can literally make endless combinations of soups and stews using this basic recipe alone. Try this amazing, yellow split pea soup and authentic Minestrone.
• Make huge salads with lots of greens, grated carrot, chunks of avocado, sweetcorn etc. Sprinkle with some toasted nuts and seeds.
• Roasted root veg such as parsnips, beetroot, squash, onions and carrots, on a bed of highly nutritious quinoa with some steamed broccoli on the side. 
• If you miss Caribbean style chicken, then I have made the perfect plant based version for you.
• Check out our low calorie,  Jumbalaya stuffed peppers.
• If you fancy a curry, try this butterbean version ready in under 20 minutes, OR this classic English Pub curry.

Check out some of our other EASY and SIMPLE lunch ideas.

SNACKS

• Hummus and/or sliced avocado on oatcakes.
• Hummus and vegetable sticks.
• Coconut yogurt with chopped fruit and nuts.
• Dried fruit and a handful of nuts and seeds.
• Dark chocolate (make your own RAWchocolate).
• Fruit, especially bananas.
• Smoothies
• Raw deserts.
• Vegetable juices and green superfood powder shots.
• Healthy Snickers stuffed dates.
• These other low carb snack ideas.

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How much protein do I need?

Don’t panic about it, just be sure to add foods from the above protein list daily and you’ll be fine. The body does recycle amino acids, so you don’t necessarily need compete amino acid profiles at each meal.

You want to aim for about 0.8-1.5 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight. This will also depend on your specific needs, your age, and how much exercise you do, but don’t get hung up on this if you’re not in intense training or a vegan athlete.

If you are doing lots of training, and if you’re trying to lose weight or cut fat and build muscle, you may need to go for the higher end of the protein spectrum.

Some plant foods are much higher than others, so please check out this list for the different amounts of proteins in plant foods.

Weight Gain on the Plant Based Diet

Many people start the plant based diet thinking they will naturally lose all their unwanted weight and miraculously obtain the body of their dreams, but often this isn’t the case.

You will more than likely go into this lifestyle without the understanding required to put a meal together that actually fills you up. Or, maybe at first you will be eating too many refined carbohydrates and fats. You need to focus your meals around complex carbs and proteins for satiety.

Stay away from refined carbs

Eating the wrong things can easily happen when you are unused to having to think about your food. New people to this lifestyle often skip the meat and dairy and replace it with EXTRA fats and carbs in the form of potatoes, white pasta, bread, fries, and refined flours and oils. All of which will make you pile on the pounds and throw your blood sugar out of whack.

This is why adding lots of fully rounded, plant proteins to your meals will make all the difference.

There are 5 plant foods that contain a good mix of all the essential amino acids that should ideally be eaten every day (though not necessarily at every meal).

These are:-

1. SOY
2. QUINOA
3. BUCKWHEAT
4. HEMP
5. AMARANTH

But other great protein sources are:-

• Nuts
• Seeds
• Nut butters
• Wholegrains such as corn, barley, amaranth, spelt, brown breads, wholemeal sourdough.
• Pulses and other legumes.

Fats and Weight Gain

Don’t be under the illusion that you can eat ANYTHING you like now you’re vegan and lose weight.

You may also find yourself chomping down on lots of nuts, seeds, and other ‘healthy’ fats in the belief that because they are plant based they must be fine to eat in abundance. They are, to an extent, but a calorie is still a calorie, no matter where you obtain it from. It still needs to be burnt of as energy if you’re to avoid gaining weight.

Stick to single portions only in moderation. For example, a small handful is a portion in the nut and seed world, due to the fact that they contain such high amounts of fat and calories. You should always eat them as part of a proper meal or snack, and not as an added extra on top.

To get more of a feel for portion sizes and putting complete meals together please try out this one week plan. It will point you in the right direction and help you to get used to the kind of foods you should be eating to obtain all the nutrition you need.

Nutrient Supplements 

According to Patrick Holford, a long-term plant based diet will usually require some kind of nutritional supplementation. This is due to the fact that you may become deficient in certain nutrients, no matter how healthily you try to eat.

These include:-

1. VITAMIN D – To keep bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. Vitamin D derived from food comes mostly from fish, seafood, and eggs. It is harder for the body to obtain enough on a plant based diet, unless you live in a very sunny climate where you are exposed to the sun for at least half an hour a day (sometimes not practical or healthy due to cancer risk).
2. LONG CHAIN OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS – For brain health and mood. Even though many plant foods contain omega 3’s, studies show that the conversion rate of plant based ALA into essential DHA and EPA is between 0-5%. This makes a specialised vegan supplement essential, especially if you suffer from mood disorders.
3. VITAMIN B12 – Needed for anemia prevention, mood, brain health, central nervous system health, and energy. Plus your hair, skin, and nails will all benefit from this essential vitamin. Very few plant foods contain vitamin B12. The few that do are chlorella, spirulina, certain mushrooms, fortified nutritional yeast, and other specially fortified foods (even then, you probably won’t be getting enough unless  you eat them daily). This is why a B12 supplement is sometimes vital, even if you only take it every other day or a couple of times a week.

Thank you for reading this post and supporting ZestForever and the plant based and Vegan movement.

We hope you now have a greater understanding of this amazing, planet friendly way of living.

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