10 Whole-Food Plant-Based Rules to Eat & Live By + Creamy Broccoli Soup (Instant Pot & Stove Top)

Today I’m sharing my 10 Whole-Food Plant-Based rules to eat and live by.

When you change what you eat for the better, it transcends the health benefits and it infiltrates areas of your life that you didn’t see coming. It extends beyond food and it magically intertwines itself with your life and acts as sturdy building blocks for an optimistic, happy, accepting and healthy world view.

This is about experiencing life in a whole new way. This is about allowing your potential to be naturally drawn out of you and shared with the world. This is about genuinely feeling energetic on a daily basis and smiling from the inside out. This is about being kind and compassionate to yourself first and foremost.

This isn’t about pleasure. This my love, is about joy.

Here are my 10 Whole-Food Plant-Based rules to eat and live by.

1. Don’t think about this way of eating as a diet. 

Diets suck. Diets deprive. Diets scar. Diets tell you that there’s something wrong with you that needs fixing. You do not need fixing because you’re not broken. You’re beautiful and miraculous and perfect. Every dimple. Every fold. Every roll. Every bit of skin. Every stretch mark. You’re perfectly imperfect. You’re beautifully human.

So fuel your miraculous body and eat yourself healthy. Give yourself the gift of nourishment and enjoy every bite. This isn’t about avoiding the things you love. This is about loving the things that you don’t want to avoid.

2. Don’t be a judgmental asshole. 

Eating a healthy kick ass diet does not give you a free pass to be snobby, aloof or holier than thou about your food choices. It also doesn’t give you the right to judge what other people are eating. Keep yourself in check and be kind. The world need more kindness.

3. Don’t take shit from judgmental assholes. 

If someone judges you for how you choose to eat, oh well! Know that it’s a reflection of them and it has nothing to do with you. So don’t take it personally. Send them some love and let that shit go. This is their problem, not yours.

Don’t waste your valuable time worrying about what other people think about you. Be proud, walk tall and keep doing you!

4. Don’t aim for perfection. 

Being perfect is a target that is impossible to hit because perfection has never existed nor will it ever exist. When you attempt perfection, you set yourself up for predictable failure. And whether you’re aware of it or not, perfectionism leads you in the opposite direction of your goals.

Do the best you can and happily bask in that.

5. Don’t try to convince people to eat just like you eat. 

Eating is a personal choice and your family, friends and co-workers don’t like to be told how to eat anymore than you do. So lead by example, answer questions if they come up, and give people time and space to make their own transition with food if and when they’re ready. Accept other people’s food choices just like you want your food choices accepted.

6. Drink a green smoothie every day. 

Drinking one green smoothie a day, packed with leafy greens, seeds and berries will give you a huge nutrient boost. It will keep your immune system strong and it will reduce inflammation in your body.

If you don’t make it a habit to drink green drinks every day, it’s likely that you will skip it more often than not. So make it part of your daily routine, just like brushing your teeth, and you will get the benefits on a daily basis.

7. Stock up on toilet paper and/or butt rags if you use a bidet. 

Yup – you will shit more when you eat a diet full of plants thanks to all that fiber. So buy toilet paper in bulk and get used to going often. You won’t stay on the toilet for long though because shitting is a super quick process when you eat unprocessed plant food every day.

Studies have shown that the bigger the stool size, the lower the rates of colon cancer, so rest easy on that porcelain throne and know that your colon is being taken care of.

8. Take your vitamin B12. 

B12  isn’t made from plants or animals; it’s made by bacteria. This bacteria is found in the intestines of animals, so if you don’t eat animals, you must supplement with B12. This is non-negotiable.

The recommendation for B12 is 2,500 mcg once a week or 250 mcg daily, as a chewable, sublingual, or liquid supplement taken on an empty stomach. If you only eat plants, take your B12.

9. Eat a wide range of whole plant foods. 

Whole plant foods consist of veggies, fruits, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), whole grains, nuts and seeds. Make sure you eat lots of different foods from each of these categories on a daily basis. This will ensure nutrient diversity and you will benefit from the whole spectrum of nutrients and fiber that whole plant foods have to offer.

Just like a gym membership does nothing for you if you don’t actually go to the gym and work out, the nutrients in plants do nothing for you if you don’t actually eat them. So buy the goods, munch and repeat!

10. Sign up for our whole-food plant-based meal plans.

There’s no easier, more exciting, interactive, delicious, supported and affordable way to make sure that you eat lots of different plant foods on a daily basis each and every week. Let us do the thinking and all you have to do is follow along and eat.

If any of these 10 whole-food plant-based rules above spoke to you, come over to our private Facebook group and tell us about it or leave a comment below. We want to know how this plant based way of eating and living is changing your worldview and making your life sparkle.

Today’s creamy broccoli soup recipe is perfect for cozying up with and contemplating the beautiful changes that you’re going though.

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Broccoli Florets

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Author: Molly Patrick of Clean Food Dirty Girl

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Ingredients

Instant Pot

• ▢ 1 cup red onion 105g, diced
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ ½ cup carrot 70g, diced
• ▢ 2 medium-sized heads of broccoli about 3 cups of chopped stems / 285g and about 3 cups florets, cut into small pieces / 190g
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 2 ½ cups water 590ml
• ▢ 1 can white beans 15oz. / 425g, rinsed and drained thoroughly
• ▢ 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional
• ▢ ¼ cup parsley 7g, chopped
• ▢ A few turns of black peppercorns

Stove Top

• ▢ 1 cup red onion 105g, diced
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ ½ cup carrot 70g, diced
• ▢ 2 medium-sized heads of broccoli about 3 cups of chopped stems / 285g and about 3 cups florets, cut into small pieces / 190g
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon thyme
• ▢ 3 cups water 710ml
• ▢ 1 can white beans 15oz. / 425g, rinsed and drained thoroughly
• ▢ 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional
• ▢ ¼ cup parsley 7g, chopped
• ▢ A few turns of black peppercorns

Instructions

Instant Pot Directions

• Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot (IP), allow it to heat up for 2 minutes and then add the onion, garlic, carrot, broccoli (stems and florets), salt and thyme. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
• Turn off the IP, add the water and stir. Lock the lid into place, making sure the nozzle is in the sealing position. Use the manual mode and set the timer for 4 minutes. When the timer goes off, use the quick release method.
• When the pressure is totally down, take off the lid and remove about half of the broccoli florets and place them in a bowl. You don’t have to take your time with this. Use a slotted spoon and just fish a few spoonfuls out. No biggie if you pick up other veggies with your spoon along the way.
• Now add the white beans and the nutritional yeast (if using) to the Instant Pot and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Stirring the soup will help it cool faster.
• When it’s cool, blend the soup (minus the broccoli florets that you just reserved) in batches in your blender (or all in one go with a blender stick), until all of the soup is creamy and smooth. When all of the soup is blended, add the reserved broccoli florets back into the pot, along with the parsley, black pepper and a little more salt to taste (if needed). Stir and let cool completely before you place in a container and store in the fridge.

Stove Top Directions

• Heat a large pot over medium heat for a couple minutes and then add the onion, garlic, carrot, broccoli (stems and florets), salt and thyme. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
• Add the water and stir. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat slightly and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the broccoli is soft. Turn off the heat and remove about half of the broccoli florets and place them in a bowl. You don’t have to take your time with this. Use a slotted spoon and just fish a few spoonfuls out. No biggie if you pick up other veggies with your spoon along the way.
• Now add the white beans and the nutritional yeast (if using) to the pot and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Stirring the soup will help it cool faster.
• When it’s cool, blend the soup (minus the broccoli florets that you just reserved) in batches in your blender (or all in one go with a blender stick), until all of the soup is creamy and smooth. When all of the soup is blended, add the reserved broccoli florets back into the pot, along with the parsley, black pepper and a little more salt to taste (if needed). Stir and let cool completely before you place it in a container and store in the fridge.

Notes

Instant Pot and Stove Top Directions

Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with sturdy building blocks and joy.

Xo
Molly

Resources: 
Stool size and colon cancer