If you’re getting started on a plant based diet this year, in this post I share a video and my REALISTIC tips for beginners + FREE YOUTUBE COURSE!
Getting Started on a Plant Based Diet YouTube Course – FREE!
Check out my free YouTube course where I share over 100 videos about how I realistically meal plan, grocery shop, meal prep and enjoy plant based meals.
I’ve been eating a plant based diet for over 30 years and have been a professional chef teaching plant based cooking for 20 years. This is my collection of videos sharing how I realistically enjoy a plant based diet at home.
REALISTIC Advice for Starting a Plant-Based Diet in 2026
Here’s my tips after 30 years of eating a plant-based diet:
Clear out your fridge and pantry
This will help you start fresh with foods you want to eat. If you don’t want it to be part of your diet, throw it away. If you feel bad about throwing it away, give it to someone else immediately, don’t leave it in your fridge or pantry. But, if it’s really unhealthy food, do you really want someone else to eat it?
Start with the next 3 days
Don’t overwhelm yourself with thinking about what you’re going to eat for the next month. Literally, write a list of meals you will eat for the next three days. The easiest way to go is to eat the SAME THING each day. This will take the stress out of figuring out what to eat at each meal. You want to have a plan so at meal times, you just eat what’s on the menu.
- Check out my Daily Dozen YouTube Playlist for information about what a healthy, whole food plant-based diet looks like per day.
- Check out my $22 Cheap Plant-Based Meal Plan YouTube Playlist for a specific grocery plan for 1 week of healthy eating on an extreme budget.
DAILY DOZEN FOODS
Then, grocery shop
Once you’ve decided what you’re going to eat for the next 3 days, immediately go to the grocery store. You want to have the food in your possession, ready to be consumed. Make sure to get something from each of these categories:
Whole grains
Rice, pasta, whole grain bread, whole wheat flour, oats, or any other of your favorite grains. Get enough for 9 servings (3 servings per day).
Legumes
Beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, or peanut butter are a few examples of legumes. Get enough for 9 servings (3 servings per day).
Fruit
Any kind of fruit! Choose your favorites and have a plan for how you’re going to eat them. Get 9 servings (3 servings per day).
Vegetables
The cheapest and easiest vegetables to incorporate into your diet are onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Start with these, or buy your favorite. These can easily be made into soups and salads which is why I recommend them. Get 1lb bag of carrots, 1-2 onions, a head of celery and a bag of potatoes and that should be enough plus leave you with extra.
Leafy greens
You’re going to want to make sure to eat leafy greens everyday. I recommend getting a bag of salad greens and a head of broccoli or cabbage. These are the cheapest options that are easy to add to most meals.
Nuts
To get the recommended nutrition into your diet each day, make sure to get a least one type of nut. I recommend walnuts because they are cheap, easy to eat, and packed with a lot of nutrition.
Flaxseeds, Chia Seeds, and/or Hemp Seeds
These three seeds are packed with the most nutrition and are cheap additions to your diet. You can blend them into smoothies, or add them to baked goods. You’ll need just 1 tablespoon of one of these per day, but I recommend getting a small bag which will last you at least a week. Flaxseeds are the cheapest and most versatile seed packed with the most nutrients.
Seasonings
Buy any seasonings you will need to prepare the meals you want. This can be dried herbs, spices, but also sauces like hot sauce, salsa, and condiments.
I also like to add nutritional yeast because it’s naturally packed with B-vitmains and protein, and it has a great cheesy flavor which is perfect for making cheesy sauces and pastas.
- High Protein High Fiber Foods: Grocery Shopping Tips<
- Nutritional Yeast I purchase in bulk on Amazon
Don’t worry about being perfect
The goal with eating a plant-based diet is to EAT MORE PLANTS. It’s not about eating a perfect diet. The more foods you eat that are packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber, the better you will feel.
The goal is to not feel guilty or bad about your food choices. The goal is to feel good about your food choices, everyday.
HEALTHY EATING FOR BEGINNERS VIDEO PLAYLIST
Know that sometimes you will end up eating food that is not plant-based, or is but is junk food
I want you to prepare yourself for the day when you end up in a place that you have to eat food that’s not part of your diet. Or, you end up eating something that don’t think is healthy. This is OK! This is actually a sign that you WANT TO EAT HEALTHY!
It means that you are aware of your food choices and are actively choosing to feed your body what it needs each day. Not every restaurant is going to have something on the menu that is part of your diet. Not every grocery item you purchase will always be whole food, plant based.
The goal is to eat AS MUCH PLANT BASED FOODS AS YOU CAN.
Track what you eat everyday for the first week, at least
The BEST WAY to keep yourself accountable, and also knowledgeable about if you’re getting enough vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber each day, is to keep track of everything you eat throughout the day. I do this with the Cronometer App which is a free app that gives you DETAILED nutrition information about the foods you are eating so you can make sure you’re getting enough B vitamins, iron, protein, and so on. It’s also a great tool for reflecting on your food choices.
When you have to log that you ate 3 pieces of cheesecake at that party you went to, it’s not only going to bring you into the reality of your food choices, but you’re going to see it reflected in your daily intake of fat, sugar, and calories.
Get a free Cronometer account today >
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