Make a difference with a more plant based diet
So after posting a first good batch of my recipes on my blog, it is now time to write my first post about Sustainable living. And how to make a difference with a plant based diet (or at least a ‘more’ plant based diet).
Regularly I will write a post about sustainable living, and tips & tricks to achieve this. This might include;
- Sustainable fashion
- Eco-friendly travel
- Zero-waste toiletries
- Or just my thoughts and ideas about how to be more polite to our planet and our next generations.
All this with the idea that it does not have to change our life-style in a negative way. It is all about being creative, open to new ideas, and being prepared to make (little) changes to your daily life.
You might just be surprised to find out that these small changes make you feel happier than ever before. Not only because you feel that you are doing something positive towards our environment. But perhaps you will find that your level of well-being and happiness improves because of being more aware of yourself and your surroundings while being less driven by the crazy consumerist world around us. On top of that some life style changes might just make you feel healthier, like following a plant based diet.
So, this week I want to talk about my main subject on this blog, which is food.
…plant based food
I have always enjoyed good food and good wine. Quality time is very important to me, and being able to enjoy good food together with loved ones, friends and family is for me in the TOP 3 most valuable things of life.
When our environmental issues became more apparent I and many others started thinking about changes we could make in our life style which would lower our carbon footprint. There are many things that we can stop doing, but would make a dramatic change in our daily life. Like how to get to work if you stop driving the car but live in an area without public transport? Most people can’t afford to lose their jobs. And most people can’t afford to buy a hybrid or electric car. Fortunately there are some infrastructures put in place to help with these issues.
But before saying it is all too difficult to solve, let’s have a look at all these really easy things that we can do, without losing our jobs;
Easy things to do to lower your carbon footprint;
- Stop eating meat, or eat less meat
- Reduce electricity (unplug devices, switch off lights use LED)
- Drive less (decide for which activities your really need the car and try car sharing, and don’t use the car for all other activities)
- Stop buying ‘fast fashion’
- Plant some greens (wherever you can, even on a small terrace)
- Eat local and seasonal produce
- Line-dry your cloths
- Buy less (think before buying)
- Fly less
- Recycle
Eating less meat is the most effective action to combat climate change.
Some say that greenhouse gas emissions from the agri-business are an even bigger problem than those of the fossil fuel industry. A recent article “Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth” discusses this in-depth.
So, food choices DO matter,… A LOT.
For me personally it was very clear where my ambition to ‘make a change’ would be. As a real foodie it would definitely be in food, and promoting good, easy to make, vegan dishes.
That is why I trained to become a vegan chef, and followed vegan nutritionist courses.
Of all the changes we can make in our life style, changing to a plant based diet, or limiting our meat intake, is the easiest, and for me, most enjoyable thing to do. Creating easy to make and tasty vegan recipes has become a pure joy. And with this website I hope to inspire others to eat less meat.
Have a look at my top 3 most popular dishes
I hope you will enjoy these recipes. Please share them if you did use the recipes, so we can all do our bit to promote eating less meat. Add @haricoco1 to your pictures on Instagram, I would love to see your creations.
Let’s finish this post with a saying of Greta Thunberg;
“If a few children can get headlines all over the world by just not going to school, then imagine what we could all do together if we really wanted to”.
resources; www.scientistswarning.org , www.theguardian.com , www.independent.co.uk
