My Go-To Whole-Food Plant-Based Resources: Documentaries, Books & More

This post was originally published in 2017, and we’ve updated it with the latest whole-food plant-based resources. Now, there are lots of no-brainer reasons to eat more whole plant foods and less of everything else until you’re just chillin’ like a rabbit with some salad hanging out of your mouth, a green smoothie in your hand, and a brownie made out of black beans for dessert.

As a side note, if you’ve never had brownies made out of beans, I 100% understand that it sounds fucking awful, but it’s surprisingly tasty.

Eating a diet full of plants won’t make you immortal. It won’t turn you into Gwyneth Paltrow. It won’t cure the incurable.

• But it will make you feel really damn good and give you more energy.
• It may help you to sleep better, lower your cholesterol, your blood pressure and your blood sugar.
• It can help protect against type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancers.
• It can help with constipation.
• It may even help you to reach the perfect weight for your frame.
• It will reduce inflammation in your body and it may even help heal your gut.
• It helps cut greenhouse gas emissions.
• And it spares the lives of billions of animals each year, along with the suffering most of those animals are subject to before the are slaughtered.

No other way of eating provides so many wins all in one scrumptious bite.

When people make the transition to eating plants full-time, the results and benefits start to happen quickly, within a couple of weeks.

After a month, people feel so good that they often wish they had made the switch sooner. That’s usually when they start trying to get their family and friends on board with this way of eating.

When we make changes that impact our lives in such a positive and empowering way, we want to spread the word and share the joy with our people. Trying to get people to board the plant train with you is done out of love, caring, and compassion.

However, your friends and family might not see it as such. It’s possible they see it as pushy, controlling, annoying and like it’s straight out of a PETA ad. Ouch.

At the end of the day, regardless of how good the argument is for changing how we eat, people won’t change until they’re good and ready to change.

Until then, they might not be open to your hints, nudges, requests, or convincing. And that’s okay.

If people attempt to change only because you want them to, it’s a recipe for resentment and disaster. Only when someone is truly ready for change will they make it happen.

So instead of choosing the uphill battle
of trying to convince people to eat better, let it go and focus on you instead.

If you keep making the best food and lifestyle choices for you, then your glow, your health and your radiance will eventually inspire the people around you and they will start getting curious and asking questions because they’re gonna’ want some of what you got! When people you love are ready to start making changes to their diet, they’ll know EXACTLY who to come to. And THEN a beautiful and helpful conversation can begin.

So lead by example, let go of trying to control the timeline of other people’s choices, and be open to answering questions and guiding people in the right direction when and if they come to you.

You can absolutely offer them some of your delicious plant based food in the meantime. Just know that it will taste better to them if it isn’t served with a side of guilt and a sprinkle of expectations to eat this way all of the time.

When your people are ready and they come to you for guidance, start by telling them about your experience.

After that, you can refer them to any of the following resources. These are my favorite and most trusted plant based teachers, websites, books and documentaries.

Whether someone in your life wants to slip their toes into the plant based waters or get stark-ass naked and do a cannonball directly into the deep end, these resources will help them on their journey. And if you aren’t familiar with these resources, definitely check them out.

Educating yourself about food is a sure way to stay motivated and excited to keep eating lots of plants. You little bunny, you.

Plant-based books

We’ve linked the books to Amazon and will make a pinch of commission if you purchase from the links. However, we highly encourage borrowing books from your local library or supporting bookstores if you can.

• Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
• Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
• How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger
• Proteinaholic by Dr. Garth Davis
• Reversing Diabetes by Dr. Neal Barnard
• Reversing Heart Disease by Dr. Dean Ornish
• The Cheese Trap by Dr. Neal Barnard
• The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall

Plant-based documentaries

• Blue Zones
• Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret
• Eating Animals
• Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
• Food Inc.
• Forks Over Knives
• Got the Facts on Milk? (The Milk Documentary)
• Plantpure Nation
• Seaspiracy
• The Game Changers
• What the Health
• You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment

Plant-based doctors and dieticians

• Brenda Davis – Registered dietitian, plant-based nutrition expert, author
• Dr. Doug Lisle – Psychologist, co-author of The Pleasure Trap
• Dr. Esselstyn – Cardiologist, author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
• Dr. Garth Davis – Bariatric surgeon, plant-based advocate, author of Proteinaholic
• Dr. Joel Fuhrman – Physician, nutritional researcher, author of Eat to Live
• Dr. John McDougall – Physician, author, advocate of the starch-based diet
• Dr. Michael Greger – Physician, nutrition expert, founder of NutritionFacts.org
• Dr. Neal Barnard – Physician, clinical researcher, and founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
• Dr. T. Colin Campbell – Biochemist, nutritional researcher, co-author of The China Study
• Jack Norris – Registered dietitian, co-founder of Vegan Outreach
• Jeff Novick – Registered dietitian, nutritionist, plant-based educator
• Virginia Messina – Registered dietitian, plant-based nutrition author and advocate

Websites / blogs / articles

• Clean Food Dirty Girl – (but of course!) We are an awesome plant-based community with a Meal Plan Club and Recipe Club to help people eat more plants while celebrating human imperfection.
• Plantrician Provider – A resource to locate doctors specializing in plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine.
• Food and Climate Change: Healthy diets for a healthier planet – A guide or resource on how plant-based diets can help mitigate climate change and promote sustainability.
• NutritionFacts.org – A comprehensive resource of evidence-based information on nutrition by Dr. Michael Greger, offering videos, blogs, and the latest nutritional science.
• PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) – A nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Neal Barnard that advocates for preventive medicine, plant-based diets, and ethical research practices.
• Plantrician Project – An organization focused on educating healthcare professionals about the benefits of whole-food, plant-based nutrition for disease prevention and reversal.
• The Vegan RD – A blog by Virginia Messina, a registered dietitian, providing reliable, science-based information on vegan nutrition.
• UC Davis Integrative Medicine Blog – A blog providing information and research on integrative medicine with a focus on the benefits of plant-based nutrition.

Podcasts

• Clean Food Dirty Girl
• The Exam Room Podcast
• PLANTSTRONG
• The Plant Based News Podcast

What are your go-to plant-based resources? Share them in the comments below!

Xo
Molly