What Plant Based Means To Me And Why I Stopped Putting Diet Labels On myself

“Plant based” is a term that you have probably heard a lot recently. A plant based diet can be a controversial topic. Not only that, but it can also have different meanings to different people. I see the term “plant based” being used everywhere and generally only used when talking about veganism (understandably so). Below I am sharing what plant based means to me and how I re-defined it for myself.

I stopped eating meat on my 13th birthday. That was almost 16 years ago! I referred to myself as a vegetarian (because back then when diets were trendy I felt the need to label myself). When I was about 22 years old I decided to go 100% vegan (zero animal products). This diet only lasted a few years until I decided that it wasn’t sustainable anymore for my body. I didn’t really know the term “plant based” back then, but I probably would have referred to myself as plant based when I was vegan (because at some point “labels” were cool. Flash forward to now and I have rid myself of any labeling and I have taken on a new meaning of the term “plant based”.

Plant based, in my eyes, means exactly what it says: plants are the base of the meal. This means that I create my meals based around the vegetables and fruits that I cook and my plate is most always 75%-100% plants. Whether I am cooking tacos or a grain free lasagna, I always make sure to start with plants as the base and then add on either a plant protein or fish (and on occasion I will ass some goat or sheep milk cheese). Plant based, to me, does not mean vegetarian or vegan, it simply means plants are the base.

Should I eat a plant based diet?

“Plant based” seems to have taken on the meaning of a type of diet. What it really means is that your meal should be filled with lots of color (whether you add meat or quinoa on top)! I think that we all should eat in a plant based way. Plants (vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc.) have so many benefits and so important for our over all health and well being.

I stopped putting a label on myself for how I eat. When I labeled myself as something, it made it feel like I was always on a diet (which is not a sustainable way to live). Eating isn’t one size fits all. I realized that I didn’t need to be a vegan or have any sort of label on myself for how I chose to eat. I realized that I didn’t need to deprive myself of goat cheese on a salad just to hold a label. When I think back, I used to deprive myself of some of my favorite things not because of ethical reasons, but solely for the purpose of having something to call myself. Over the years, I have reframed my perception of food and what food should be for the body. It shouldn’t be something we deprive ourselves of and it shouldn’t be something that we don’t eat just to label ourselves. I do eat in a “plant based” way. I am not vegan, gluten free, pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan. I just eat with a base of plants on my plate with no label included.

I have re-defined what “plant based” truly means for me. What is amazing is that we are all so unique and we have the power to design our own unique way of living and eating (which is really cool).