The Art of Plant-Based Living: A Journey to Wellness and Deliciousness

As I embarked on my journey to adopt a plant-based lifestyle, I discovered that it was not just about cutting out meat from my diet, but also about exploring the world of vegan alternatives. One of the most exciting aspects of this transition was discovering new ingredients and recipes that were both delicious and nutritious.

For me, one of the first steps in making the switch was to cut out dairy products from my diet. I had always been told that dairy is a common allergen, and that our bodies just can't digest it properly. While some people may disagree with this claim, I found that switching to non-dairy alternatives like almond milk and vegan cheese was a game-changer for me. My favorite way to enjoy almond milk was in the morning, mixed with vanilla extract and a splash of sweetness - it's like sipping on liquid gold!

As I delved deeper into the world of plant-based eating, I discovered the magic of spirulina. This superfood is not only packed with protein, but also boasts an impressive 65-71% complete protein conversion rate - compared to beef, which has a mere 22%. But what really won me over was the way it makes me feel: energized, clear-headed, and ready to take on the day.

But spirulina is just one of many superfoods that I've fallen in love with. Cacao, the raw material used to make dark chocolate, is another favorite of mine. Unrefined and unprocessed, cacao contains a wealth of nutrients and antioxidants that are simply unmatched by its refined counterparts. When blended into smoothies or treats, it adds a depth of flavor and richness that's hard to beat.

Of course, no discussion of plant-based living would be complete without mentioning the power of turmeric. This beautiful spice has been touted for its anti-inflammatory properties, and I can attest to its ability to warm me up from the inside out on chilly evenings. Mixing it with coconut oil and honey creates a soothing elixir that's like a hug in a cup.

As I continue on my journey, I'm excited to share more of my favorite recipes and tips for living a plant-based lifestyle. From delicious snacks to nourishing meals, there are countless ways to incorporate these superfoods into your daily routine. And with the right mindset and tools, anyone can make the switch to a healthier, more compassionate way of eating.

One of the best parts about this journey has been discovering new flavors and ingredients that I never knew existed. From sun-dried cashews to creamy almond butter, there's no shortage of tasty treats to try. And let's not forget about the little things - like spirulina-infused coffee or turmeric-coated eyelids (yes, really!) - that add a touch of whimsy and wonder to my daily life.

As I look back on my journey so far, I'm reminded that plant-based living is not just about what we eat, but also about how we live. It's about cultivating compassion, kindness, and self-love - both towards ourselves and the planet we call home. And as I sip on this delicious hot chocolate made with cacao and almond milk, I feel grateful for the incredible world of plant-based options that await us all.

Tips from Natalie

* Try spirulina in your coffee or smoothies for a boost of energy and protein.

* Experiment with different flavors of non-dairy milk to find your favorite.

* Make vegan parmesan cheese using almonds and garlic - it's a game-changer!

* Add turmeric to your meals for an anti-inflammatory kick.

* Don't be afraid to try new ingredients and recipes - the world of plant-based living is full of surprises!

Resources

* Natalie's website: nutritiouslynatalie.com

* Mr. Kate's blog: mrkate.com

* Check out Natalie's recipes on Instagram @mrkate

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enlook who I'm here with the cutest Natalie and look at our setup chamomile flowers fresh tea antioxidants okay great love it all right so guys you know that 2016 is all about refreshing right that's our theme so I have Natalie Archer here my old friend who haven't seen him forever and she has a Blog nutritiously Natalie but she's also now as of 2016 contributing to the Mr Kate blog too because she is a holistic health coach in the theme of refreshing we are going to do a video today that is all about the seven we picked seven Essentials essential items that you can bring into your lives slowly quickly whatever basically to get yourself on the path to health we met an acting class and it was immediately friend love yes every time I'd see her she'd come over to like buy jewelry or whatever I'd take pictures of her I know she's an old old school supporter Mr jewelry Mr Natalie has an amazing story since I've known you you are now a cancer survivor yes which is so crazy and you don't expect that well right especially when you're what 24 when I got diagnosed and I remember that so devastating so I had leukemia I was feeling really sick for like about a month well I passed out in a grocery store in a grocery store grocer store then you went to the hospital I went to the hospital they did my blood work I basically had like no blood in my system cuz leukemia is it's a blood cancer Kyle Natalie's husband set up this Facebook page Nat Fights Back Nat Fights Back Natalie was so open about her journey the entire time like she was posting pictures of like you after the chemo like your you shaved your head right I did yeah I actually facetimed my brother college and he shaved it the same time that I did which was so sweet I know and then my cousin did it too you got cancer but before that you weren't plant-based right no you ate meat you ate shitty food I ate everything so once I was going through treatment I had all these people reaching out to me and saying you know that I should try these different things and I started just reading all this stuff the plant-based diet made the most sense to me so I immediately wanted to give it a try and so in the middle of my treatment that's just what I did and they said I was the fastest person to ever go through emo at their hospital and I feel like totally attribute that to my diet and I think a positive attitude always and I knew that as soon as I was done I wanted to make this you know career so you are going to take everything that you've learned and teach us let's leave our tea here okay come on come on Natalie let's go food food wa I mean this just this is so bound to fall I'm excited if you didn't grow up eating like what whatever the heck this is then it's going to be kind of foreign and a little scary but that's why we wanted to do this video for you guys I actually was vegan for a couple years and now Joey and I are like pescatarian and the reason why we started eating like Dairy and fish again was because of just accessibility like we're going out to dinner so much and the reason why I'm saying this guys is because I know you out there might not want to be vegan yeah I mean I think everyone should be on a plant-based diet just meaning that they should be having these Foods even if it's in combination with with some lean protein like a a chicken or or fish my number one plant-based protein as a general it's beans and lentils but my absolute favorite is chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans you can buy them in a you know in a box in a BPA free can BPA free can that's important very important bpas are like fate flates whatever yeah I can't even say they're just bad if you guys don't don't eat do it also what I love about a garbanzo is you can blend it up and make a Hess you can get a can of you know BPA free organic uh you know chickpeas for what two bucks $1.99 yeah exactly something like this you can use in a bunch of different recipes you're able to have more Bank exactly a lot of people think that when you're vegetarian or plant-based all you're eating is beans and so then all you're doing is farting you are going to soak your beans overnight and you're going to take about a thumb siiz piece of combo uh seaweed cuz it's like an acid right something kind of soaks up that nice so it's a little spongy SI okay I love that quinoa quinoa is also a complete protein so I mean that's cool yeah quo this is it cooked by the way guys and this is it raw always have cooked quinoa in your fridge because you can always throw together like we have here chickpeas cooked quinoa veggies healthy fat with the avocado and this is just missing like a dressing exactly which you do like an olive oil number three is nuts and Seed that's a big old joke oh what do you eat like a bird nutsy seeds shut up it's good for you let's just talk about the elephant in the room otherwise known as a chia seed seed and then blacks and hemp seeds these are like my little triple threat I call them I use this combination with everything and smoothies with oatmeal I throw them on my avocado toast oh you know these are all filled with Omega-3s which is so great talking about the healthy fat for those of you that are looking to maybe cut eggs out of your diet they make fantastic eggs Replacements so you can do you know some what right use some chia seeds with some water and then same with flat let it set for a cou minutes It'll gel up and be nice and gelatinous exactly obviously nuts a great snack say you've got raw almonds here how easy you can throw them into a food processor and make homemade almond butter my favorite favorite favorite thing to do with cashews yes is to make cheese what these little pitas right like sunflower seeds that literally just have cumin and like Cayenne on them or something and sea salt I grew up with like an Italian Grandma who cooked like amazing food this food can be flavorful and amazing almond milk so yay I would like to know which would be better for you first cutting out meat or dairy from your diet I'm trying to go vegan and so far it's been pretty easy not to eat meat but cutting out milk and eggs have been harder Dairy is something that it's it's one of the highest allergen related Foods I mean we can't really digest Dairy right if you think that you can because I'm not a cow yeah exactly people have told me I'm a cow but that me people I'd much rather be a goat cuz they're cuter I know there's those of you out there that are like I am not giving up cheese so that's okay but as my mom always said growing up everything in moderation in your cereal in the morning use almond milk or in your coffee get the unsweetened vanilla so you've got like a little hint of you know flavor or something vanilla is a flavor in human breast milk no way people like the smell of vanilla it's like a very comforting smell so basically drinking vanilla almond milk is like drinking from the that's amazing if you would like milk straight from the human teeth please in mil milk I mean even at Costco you can buy like a you know I think a sixpack of you know of the so again budget saving health food you can buy in bulk keep it in your cabinet so it doesn't spoil I'm familiar with this only because when I went vegan I looked up a mac and cheese recipe it's a total superfood it's got so much protein and fiber it's got tons of B vitamins and folic acid which is so so important I feel like people are like well why should I stop eating meat if I'm getting vitamins from it meat is very inflammatory to our bodies and also you only really get B vitamins from um red meat oh there goes my T so and I also love making um vegan parmesan cheese out of this with some almonds and some garlic I think we are on turmeric now turmeric look at this beautiful color I want to just use this as an ey Shadow I actually take a turmeric vitamin every morning which is fantastic for low inflammation at night time if you want kind of like a warming drink is to make turmeric milk what oh and it's like a warm spiced milk and it actually tastes so good so if you're feeling like a little rundown if you've got a cold or you're just kind of wanting something like sweet yeah that's a pic meal for Elina excuse me what' you call me it's actually a gorgeous green if you want to do a Beauty look I would take a little bit of the turmeric coat the entire eyelid and then I would use this in the crease smells like a pond it smells horrible and that is because it is a blue green algae that is grown and harvested underwater it's harvested by mermaids totally it is also a complete protein shut up read that oh my God spirulina is 65 good to 71% complete protein in comparison beef is only 22% protein crazy spirulina has a photosynthesis conversion of okay whatever that's boring this is way better for you like even protein wise than a steak y exactly no Arby's I'm Pond diving we talked about like the idea of those easy to go snacks which we have peanut butter protein here the recipes on mrkate.com there's other healthy snack recipes ideas on your website let's sip on this hot chocolate let's do it because I love need some sweetness so this is another superfood right cacao cacao it's unrefined you know chocolate so it's got it smells so good I put the this in in my smoothie you can do that with some bait and almond butter make it like kind of like a Milky Way smoothie we're killing it and we're going to have long wonderful lives and you guys are too and thank you so much for tuning in try stuff and let us know in the comments Natalie will check the comments and reply with with any sort of questions that you guys have thumbs up subscribe because we want to have more amazing informative videos coming at you and check out Natalie's website nutritiously natalie. comom she has an amazing beautiful blog beautiful recipes photos she does everything herself you can also see her recipes once in a while on mrkate.com too so yeah Che Mr Kate so my mom showed me how to turn these things into two delicious dishes because I because why why not why notlook who I'm here with the cutest Natalie and look at our setup chamomile flowers fresh tea antioxidants okay great love it all right so guys you know that 2016 is all about refreshing right that's our theme so I have Natalie Archer here my old friend who haven't seen him forever and she has a Blog nutritiously Natalie but she's also now as of 2016 contributing to the Mr Kate blog too because she is a holistic health coach in the theme of refreshing we are going to do a video today that is all about the seven we picked seven Essentials essential items that you can bring into your lives slowly quickly whatever basically to get yourself on the path to health we met an acting class and it was immediately friend love yes every time I'd see her she'd come over to like buy jewelry or whatever I'd take pictures of her I know she's an old old school supporter Mr jewelry Mr Natalie has an amazing story since I've known you you are now a cancer survivor yes which is so crazy and you don't expect that well right especially when you're what 24 when I got diagnosed and I remember that so devastating so I had leukemia I was feeling really sick for like about a month well I passed out in a grocery store in a grocery store grocer store then you went to the hospital I went to the hospital they did my blood work I basically had like no blood in my system cuz leukemia is it's a blood cancer Kyle Natalie's husband set up this Facebook page Nat Fights Back Nat Fights Back Natalie was so open about her journey the entire time like she was posting pictures of like you after the chemo like your you shaved your head right I did yeah I actually facetimed my brother college and he shaved it the same time that I did which was so sweet I know and then my cousin did it too you got cancer but before that you weren't plant-based right no you ate meat you ate shitty food I ate everything so once I was going through treatment I had all these people reaching out to me and saying you know that I should try these different things and I started just reading all this stuff the plant-based diet made the most sense to me so I immediately wanted to give it a try and so in the middle of my treatment that's just what I did and they said I was the fastest person to ever go through emo at their hospital and I feel like totally attribute that to my diet and I think a positive attitude always and I knew that as soon as I was done I wanted to make this you know career so you are going to take everything that you've learned and teach us let's leave our tea here okay come on come on Natalie let's go food food wa I mean this just this is so bound to fall I'm excited if you didn't grow up eating like what whatever the heck this is then it's going to be kind of foreign and a little scary but that's why we wanted to do this video for you guys I actually was vegan for a couple years and now Joey and I are like pescatarian and the reason why we started eating like Dairy and fish again was because of just accessibility like we're going out to dinner so much and the reason why I'm saying this guys is because I know you out there might not want to be vegan yeah I mean I think everyone should be on a plant-based diet just meaning that they should be having these Foods even if it's in combination with with some lean protein like a a chicken or or fish my number one plant-based protein as a general it's beans and lentils but my absolute favorite is chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans you can buy them in a you know in a box in a BPA free can BPA free can that's important very important bpas are like fate flates whatever yeah I can't even say they're just bad if you guys don't don't eat do it also what I love about a garbanzo is you can blend it up and make a Hess you can get a can of you know BPA free organic uh you know chickpeas for what two bucks $1.99 yeah exactly something like this you can use in a bunch of different recipes you're able to have more Bank exactly a lot of people think that when you're vegetarian or plant-based all you're eating is beans and so then all you're doing is farting you are going to soak your beans overnight and you're going to take about a thumb siiz piece of combo uh seaweed cuz it's like an acid right something kind of soaks up that nice so it's a little spongy SI okay I love that quinoa quinoa is also a complete protein so I mean that's cool yeah quo this is it cooked by the way guys and this is it raw always have cooked quinoa in your fridge because you can always throw together like we have here chickpeas cooked quinoa veggies healthy fat with the avocado and this is just missing like a dressing exactly which you do like an olive oil number three is nuts and Seed that's a big old joke oh what do you eat like a bird nutsy seeds shut up it's good for you let's just talk about the elephant in the room otherwise known as a chia seed seed and then blacks and hemp seeds these are like my little triple threat I call them I use this combination with everything and smoothies with oatmeal I throw them on my avocado toast oh you know these are all filled with Omega-3s which is so great talking about the healthy fat for those of you that are looking to maybe cut eggs out of your diet they make fantastic eggs Replacements so you can do you know some what right use some chia seeds with some water and then same with flat let it set for a cou minutes It'll gel up and be nice and gelatinous exactly obviously nuts a great snack say you've got raw almonds here how easy you can throw them into a food processor and make homemade almond butter my favorite favorite favorite thing to do with cashews yes is to make cheese what these little pitas right like sunflower seeds that literally just have cumin and like Cayenne on them or something and sea salt I grew up with like an Italian Grandma who cooked like amazing food this food can be flavorful and amazing almond milk so yay I would like to know which would be better for you first cutting out meat or dairy from your diet I'm trying to go vegan and so far it's been pretty easy not to eat meat but cutting out milk and eggs have been harder Dairy is something that it's it's one of the highest allergen related Foods I mean we can't really digest Dairy right if you think that you can because I'm not a cow yeah exactly people have told me I'm a cow but that me people I'd much rather be a goat cuz they're cuter I know there's those of you out there that are like I am not giving up cheese so that's okay but as my mom always said growing up everything in moderation in your cereal in the morning use almond milk or in your coffee get the unsweetened vanilla so you've got like a little hint of you know flavor or something vanilla is a flavor in human breast milk no way people like the smell of vanilla it's like a very comforting smell so basically drinking vanilla almond milk is like drinking from the that's amazing if you would like milk straight from the human teeth please in mil milk I mean even at Costco you can buy like a you know I think a sixpack of you know of the so again budget saving health food you can buy in bulk keep it in your cabinet so it doesn't spoil I'm familiar with this only because when I went vegan I looked up a mac and cheese recipe it's a total superfood it's got so much protein and fiber it's got tons of B vitamins and folic acid which is so so important I feel like people are like well why should I stop eating meat if I'm getting vitamins from it meat is very inflammatory to our bodies and also you only really get B vitamins from um red meat oh there goes my T so and I also love making um vegan parmesan cheese out of this with some almonds and some garlic I think we are on turmeric now turmeric look at this beautiful color I want to just use this as an ey Shadow I actually take a turmeric vitamin every morning which is fantastic for low inflammation at night time if you want kind of like a warming drink is to make turmeric milk what oh and it's like a warm spiced milk and it actually tastes so good so if you're feeling like a little rundown if you've got a cold or you're just kind of wanting something like sweet yeah that's a pic meal for Elina excuse me what' you call me it's actually a gorgeous green if you want to do a Beauty look I would take a little bit of the turmeric coat the entire eyelid and then I would use this in the crease smells like a pond it smells horrible and that is because it is a blue green algae that is grown and harvested underwater it's harvested by mermaids totally it is also a complete protein shut up read that oh my God spirulina is 65 good to 71% complete protein in comparison beef is only 22% protein crazy spirulina has a photosynthesis conversion of okay whatever that's boring this is way better for you like even protein wise than a steak y exactly no Arby's I'm Pond diving we talked about like the idea of those easy to go snacks which we have peanut butter protein here the recipes on mrkate.com there's other healthy snack recipes ideas on your website let's sip on this hot chocolate let's do it because I love need some sweetness so this is another superfood right cacao cacao it's unrefined you know chocolate so it's got it smells so good I put the this in in my smoothie you can do that with some bait and almond butter make it like kind of like a Milky Way smoothie we're killing it and we're going to have long wonderful lives and you guys are too and thank you so much for tuning in try stuff and let us know in the comments Natalie will check the comments and reply with with any sort of questions that you guys have thumbs up subscribe because we want to have more amazing informative videos coming at you and check out Natalie's website nutritiously natalie. comom she has an amazing beautiful blog beautiful recipes photos she does everything herself you can also see her recipes once in a while on mrkate.com too so yeah Che Mr Kate so my mom showed me how to turn these things into two delicious dishes because I because why why not why not\n"