How to Eat Less Processed Food on a Plant-Based Diet

You know that eating a more plant-base diet is good for your heart, gives you more 
energy, and provides a nutrient dense diet that is balanced and satiating. In addition to 
reducing animal consumption, you are also going to try and reduce processed foods as 
much as possible, while switching to more whole and clean foods. If you are used to 
frozen dinners, bags of chips, and boxed ingredients, this might be a bit of a transition. 

Here are some ways to ease into eating less processed foods when you start your 
plant-based diet.


Start Reducing Processed Food Slowly

Unless you want to overwhelm yourself and give up during the second week, don’t get 
rid of all your processed food in one day. Slowly start getting rid of 1-2 processed foods 
at a time, and replacing them with cleaner alternatives. This is the reason so many other 
diets fail. Not only are they too restrictive, but people try to make too many changes at 
one time. 

If most of your diet is made up of frozen or processed foods, find one meal or snack that 
you can replace with something healthier, whole, and plant-based. Maybe this is 
switching out your morning cereal with oatmeal, or you decide to put together your own 
little hummus plate for an afternoon snack instead of the packaged snacks you typically 
eat.


Learn How to Make Dressings and Sauces

An easy way to use less processed food is to make your own salad dressings, 
condiments, and sauces. They sound intimidating if you have never done it before, but 
are actually much easier than you might think. You can start small by skipping the 
bottled dressing, and instead just drizzling oil and vinegar on your salad. Most dressings 
can be made really easily with just a few ingredients. This gets rid of unnecessary 
sodium, sugar, and the many additives the bottled stuff has to keep it fresh.


Start Cooking More from Scratch

Eating more whole and plant-based foods means to cook more from scratch. This might 
not be your favorite thing, but there are a lot of benefits to it, even aside from the fact 
that you can save money. Again, don’t feel like you have to learn how to cook 3 meals a 
day from day one. Just start slow, maybe cooking 1-2 dinners a week until you get used 
to it, or just trying 1 new recipe every week that is a completely plant-based recipe you 
have never tried before.


Consider Food Delivery Services

If you are new to cooking at home, start with a food delivery service like Hello Fresh or 
Blue Apron. This will allow you to try new recipes, practice your cooking skills, and not 
have to worry about going to the grocery store for all the ingredients.

