A plant-based diet is a great way to improve your health and well-being. A whole foods plant-based diet is even better!

What are whole foods?

Whole foods are foods that are in their whole, original state. They haven’t been processed or refined (or at least, not much) and they don’t contain any added ’stuff’ like salt, sugar or emulsifiers.

Examples of whole plant-based foods:

• fruits and vegetables
• whole grains
• nuts, seeds and sprouts

Why eat whole foods?

Whole foods are better for our bodies simply because they are in their whole and natural state. There are no artificial additives or food extenders in an apple. Instead it is full of the vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need. 

Unfortunately most of us eat far too many processed and refined foods these days. This means we typically have high intakes of fat, salt and sugar as well as E numbers, artificial additives and preservatives.

Making sure you eat mostly whole foods is a great way to lower your intake of these substances. It’s also a sure fire way to increase your health and vitality.

How to eat more whole foods:

All of us could do with increasing the amounts of whole foods we eat each day. Here’s a couple of tips to get you started:

• Snack on whole, fresh fruit throughout the day
• Eat vegetables with dips instead of crisps, bread or crackers
• Cook and prepare food from scratch whenever you can
• Make sure your fridge is stocked with vegetables and your cupboards with grains, legumes, nuts and seeds
• Buy dry goods in bulk
• When shopping try to avoid packaged foods with labels (or with more than 5 ingredients on the label if this is difficult at first)
• Experiment in the kitchen and don’t be afraid to try something you’ve never cooked before

Hungry for more?

If you’d like to learn more about whole foods or have a question, you can contact me at sarahATtheveganmentorDOTcom or leave a message on the blog.