Why I’m Not Dedicated to Eating a Healthy Plant Based Diet + Roasted Beet Hummus

There were many excellent moments during our trip to Australia. But cuddling a koala took the damn cake. Just look! The best part? This koala smelled like an explosion of eucalyptus. It was a blissful experience.

Another thing that got me hot during our trip was navigating my food. I loved scoping out produce sections. Packing lunches for our long ass road trip. Finding Farmer’s Markets. Ordering the most WFPB friendly items on the menu when we went out to eat. Making overnight oats, green smoothies and plant-based dishes for Luanne’s meat loving family and their friends.

And I’m not saying this to be annoying. I truly enjoyed sticking to my healthy plant-based eating during our three week trip Down Under. That’s not to say I was perfect. Because fuck perfect. There was delicious tiramisu that I would happily eat again. But for the most part, I shoveled plants in my mouth hole during our entire trip.

One of Luanne’s long time friends who we stayed with in Melbourne commented to Luanne, “Wow – Molly is really dedicated to eating healthy”. It’s funny because when I heard her comment, there was a disconnect. It didn’t sound right to me. After thinking about why her comment seemed so foreign, I realized that I have never once thought of myself as being “dedicated” to this way of eating.

There have been times when I was dedicated to doing yoga often. Or going to the gym. I was dedicated to writing my Saturday Fuckeries and coming up with new recipes each and every week when we had only 14 people on our email list and we were making zero dollars per month. I’ve been dedicated to periods of not drinking before I quit drinking for good.

I’ve always thought of dedication as soldiering on despite something being hard, uncomfortable or challenging. And for me, eating a super healthy Whole Food Plant Based diet is none of these things. (and it doesn’t have to be for you either, btw)

So no, I’m not dedicated to eating a healthy plant based diet. This is just how I live my life. It’s the natural choice for me. It isn’t a chore. It isn’t hard. I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I don’t feel deprived. It’s something that I enjoy all the way in my core. It makes me happy.

It doesn’t bring me pleasure. It brings me joy.

Here’s the thing.

There’s a huge difference between trying to eat really damn healthy because you think you should and eating really damn healthy because you honestly prefer it.

When you honestly prefer to nosh on unprocessed plant food it becomes really easy to do so, regardless of where your body happens to be in the world or what anyone around you is eating. The brain chatter disappears. The conflict ends. The self-awareness fades. The mind fuck stops fucking. It becomes easy. Light. Joyous. Dedication exits the building and in walks decisive confidence, free of apologies and excuses.

THIS is the mindset shift that makes eating a ridiculously healthy plant-based diet stick.

Because when this mindset shift occurs, you no longer try. You just do.

Clean Food Dirty Girl exists because there is no greater joy for me than helping people reach this mindset ( if and when they are ready). Following my weekly meal plans will help you on your journey in reaching this mindset because they show you step-by-step how delicious, easy, cost-effective and convenient a healthy plant-based diet can be.

Sign up for my weekly meal plans here for $20 a month and let your journey begin (you can cancel after the first month if they aren’t for you).

Have you tried dedicating yourself to something even though you don’t really enjoy it? I wanna hear all about it in the comments below.

Today’s recipe is a must try. Even people who don’t care for beets French-kissed this recipe.

Roasted Beet Hummus

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Author: Molly Patrick

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large beet roasted (directions below)
• ▢ 1 garlic clove peeled and left whole
• ▢ 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans rinsed and drained (canned or cooked yourself / 170g)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tahini
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• First, you’re going to roast the beet. Here’s how.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F (205C).
• Wash the beet, trim off and discard the root-bottom and wrap the beet in parchment paper and then in foil.
• Place in the oven on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour.
• After an hour, take the beet out of the oven, open up the parchment/foil and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before you continue with the recipe.
• When the beet is cool enough to handle, slice it in half and then cut into large pieces until you have about 1/2 cup (95g), and set aside. You can save the rest of the beet to use in a salad or some other yummy dish.
• Place the garlic clove into your food processor and pulse until it’s all minced up. Add the 1/2 cup of beet to your food processor, along with the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini and salt.
• Process until super creamy and smooth and there are no chunks of beet. If it’s too thick, add just a bit of water at a time until you reach a consistency that makes you happy.

Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with less frustration in trying and more bliss in doing.

xo
Molly