Green Lemonade

Your days of being a fast food regular were over the day you realized all that jones was going to clog your arteries and could also make you fat. Ever since, you’ve been focused on eating less red meat and more leafy greens and vegetables. You also read that Bill Clinton is experimenting with eating more vegetables and less red meat as well. Last week President Clinton mentioned he was also going a step further and experimenting with a vegan diet where for an upcoming period he would not eat animal products other than fish (occasionally).

“I’m trying to be one of those experimenters,” said Clinton. “Since 1986, several hundred people who have tried essentially a plant-based diet, not ingesting any cholesterol from any source, has seen their bodies start to heal themselves — break up the arterial blockage, break up the calcium deposits around the heart. 82 percent of the people who have done this have had this result, so I want to see if I can be one of them.”

You can’t help but wonder what you eat when you eat a vegan diet? First, off while many of you have emailed saying just the word “vegan” makes you shake in your Uggs a little – this plant-based diet is not as intimidating or as anti-social as it might sound. Interestingly, a vegan diet actually falls along the more progressive end of the spectrum of whole body cleansing. The beauty of this broad cleansing spectrum is that you eat according to what feels right to you depending on the season and even your mood. After all not one diet is right for everyone. A vegan diet 100% of the time may not feel 100% right for everyone, and that is OK. Sometimes though (like after a Thanksgiving dinner blow-out) you might consider going meat-less and dairy-less for a few days. You might be craving a lightness and energy in your body that a plant-centric diet can so often provide. Then after a few days (or even a day if that suits you!) you can migrate back to the more moderate end of this cleansing spectrum and enjoy the benefits of a mostly plant-based diet while still enjoying quality lean meats, fish and dairy in moderation. Learn more about whole body cleansing here. Below I outlined a few meal ideas to consider if you were eating a mostly plant-centric diet for a day. These are basic, tasty and non-fussy ideas and I hope they inspire you.

Plant-centric (vegan) meal ideas

Curious as to what plant-centric fashionistas (and President Clinton) eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Want to dabble in eating like a vegan for a day? These vegan meal ideas may be useful to you.

Breakfast
Breakfast may consist of one of the following meal ideas:

• 2 pieces sprouted grain toast with almond butter
• A green juice or a green smoothie
• A bowl of homemade granola cereal with slivered almonds, a sliced banana, almond milk, raisins and sliced apple

Lunch / Dinner
Lunch or dinner may consist of one of the following meal ideas:

• Lentil and tomato soup, or a hearty vegetable soup with half of a brown rice bagel (check out your grocer’s freezer, these are terrific and contain more nutrients than most white bagels)
• A serving of roast butternut squash and a dark leafy green salad
• A bowl of (protein packed) quinoa pasta topped with sautéed summer squash and zucchini

Snacks

• A handful of raw almonds or cashews
• A piece of fruit
• A whole food meal bar, such as a Larabar or a ProBar

Note: The above image is sourced from Ecorazzi.