264: Why Eating Plant-Based for Health Feels Hard and the Simple Strategies to Make it Easy 🌱

Speaker 1: 0:59

Hey there, sunshine. If you want your life to look different from the majority of people, you must be willing to do some things differently from others and, I would say, even more importantly, from how you've done them in the past. But what are those specific things? That's what we're sharing with you today. Hey sister, welcome to the Power On Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're shared in an eatery cell Christ followers, healthcare professionals, parents of four and big fans of great tasting food. We, too, tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes, and we weren't finding answers the traditional route. So we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon sustainable plant based living. The truth is, you can eat more whole plant foods and it's not hard. You just need the way. That's realistic and delicious, so you never feel deprived If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy pop in those earbuds and let's get started. Hey there, sunshine. We hope you're having a fantastic week. You know, jared and I have been talking about something recently that we found very interesting, and it has to do with the fact of starting a new lifestyle, or coming back to a lifestyle you've tried before, because it just hasn't worked in the past. But you just have hope, like you got some results and you think this might be the way, but you're just not sure how to get results With whole food, plant-based. A lot of times, of course, you think it's the food. You know, I've got to figure out just the food and then I'll be set. Or I just need those great recipes and, yes, you need really good recipes absolutely it is very helpful. You need to know how to put stuff together, which we call un-recipes, without even using a recipe. That's what you get pro at when we start working with you. But I want you to know it's not just about making food quick, simple and delicious. It's not just about recipes. It's about mindset and strategies. You've got to not only bust the mess again, your mindset right. You need strategies for making things different. So what I want you to think about is if you want your life to look different from the majority of people, you must do the things consistently that many others are not willing to persist in. Now, the problem is that so often we're tempted to think that in order to get results, we've got to do things that are really hard to do. But, friend, the truth is that this is not about doing really hard things. I want you to think about this. Consider what we're saying here. We always think that if we want results, it's got to be some hard way to get around it, to get it done. Somehow we get into our minds that we've got to do things that are really difficult if we want to get results, and we start believing that lie, while most of the time, the things we know we need to do to reach our goals may seem hard in the beginning. The reality is that the thing is not actually difficult. The steps aren't actually hard to make. It really is a simple thing. But the reason it seems hard to us and a bit daunting, to be honest, is because it's different. It departs from our norm. That's why the new thing seems hard to you. Maybe you're thinking plant-based doesn't new to me. I've been, I've tried it, I've tried it before and I just didn't know what to do. But I bet you didn't learn some of the principles that we're sharing with you today. Once you start doing the new thing that's beneficial to your life, soon it becomes your new habit, when you know how and then it's just what you do. When something becomes your habit and you do it enough, then it's just your new normal, it's just what you do. I hate to use the term new normal. I absolutely hate that, but this is a great new normal. These are the habits that we want to build.

Speaker 2: 5:28

But you're doing the habits that you're doing right now already. You already know what you eat, you know where you find it, you know where you buy it, you know about how much it's going to cost, you know how to prepare the foods, the recipes, whatever the meals. So that's just what you do, that's what you just do. But now, once you go plant-based, you're doing the exact same thing, but just plant-based style. Right, it's that step over that can seem difficult or daunting, because it's different, new, but, like you're saying, it's not necessarily hard, it's just different. And once you start doing it, perfect example. I'll be honest, I haven't made a whole lot of nut milk in this family because somebody else is already making it, but I've started using it for my oats I've departed a little bit for my chocolate oats, I know.

Speaker 1: 6:12

Which I never thought I would do.

Speaker 2: 6:14

Our oldest daughter has made these fantastic oats made with strawberries and mangoes, and I love it, and she uses pecan milk to make those. So I thought, okay, I want it exactly the way that she does it. So I have to repeat the same exact steps. So I've been making nut milk and I thought, oh, this is had the same thought. It's gonna be hard Well, I shouldn't say hard, it's unknown because I haven't done it but we've got a recipe.

Speaker 1: 6:36

So that's funny, though, because we've done episodes on how easy nut milk is. Come to find out Jaird's really never made it. He's just stood by and kind of watched us drop stuff into the blender. It's funny.

Speaker 2: 6:48

I've made it but not really ever on my own. Just go get the NutriBullet, get the ingredients, do it and just do it. So now I'm just doing it. But it's easy Pinch of salt, couple cups of water, apricots, couple dates and boom done, and I can do this, get it all together less than a minute, let it blend for a minute and now it's super easy.

Speaker 1: 7:11

Yeah, I have to think about it.

Speaker 2: 7:12

But before I had to go find the recipe do it, do it a couple times and then now I feel like I'm a nut milk pro.

Speaker 1: 7:18

And I've got to throw this in there. Listen, let me tell you what happened after that. I hear him talking to a patient, because Jaird works from home seeing his patient load. And I'm hearing him talking to a patient and he's talking to them talking about you got to make nut milk. It's just so easy. I mean, you think you'd have to use a nut milk bag? No, you don't. And now he's all fired up and so I see the ripple effect happening where he's actually now done this thing. It's so funny. He's doing what we tell you all to do and now I hear him in there and the ripple effects going and that person's going to take what they've learned and they're going to try it and they're going to share it with somebody else. And this is what happens and it starts affecting lives and it's just so exciting. It's like what's happening in the membership right now.

Speaker 2: 8:00

Yes, now, before I would tell them it was easy, but now I'm telling them it's easy from the perspective of experience and I probably have a little more fire Whenever. I tell them like oh man, this is just so easy. You could do it in two minutes. Where's before, like no nut milk is easy.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Yeah, no, I got a little totally different. Yeah, exactly yeah more authoritative probably it sounded totally different. But you start affecting other people's lives and we have that happening right now inside the membership. It's so fun to see that ripple effect take place, but I want you to think about yours. Just giving you a really good example of whole food plant based. On how truly simple it is, seriously. You take your blender, you drop in some nuts, some dates, some liquid like water and Blend I mean maybe a little pinch of salt, if you're not going all no salt yet, because really milk has a little bit of saltiness to it. The truth is, eating whole food plant based isn't hard. Plant based the power on plants, wait is the easiest way to create meals there is, and that's a fact. Okay, so currently I'm 52 years old, jared's 52 years old, so, as you can imagine, we've made a lot of meals, especially we being me, made a lot of me in my defense.

Speaker 2: 9:12

I have eaten a lot of meals. Does that count?

Speaker 1: 9:16

Okay, we'll let you slide this time, since you are making that milk now.

Speaker 2: 9:19

I'm breaking out.

Speaker 1: 9:20

Yeah well, you were making your own oats and making oat milk in your bowl when you added the water too. So there's that right. So you do have things you make. You had just never made nut milk. That's just so funny. I never even.

Speaker 2: 9:35

But not ever consistently, now that I've done it a number of times. It's just, it's so easy.

Speaker 1: 9:39

It's just what you do. Is it's become second?

Speaker 2: 9:41

nature. It's just what we do.

Speaker 1: 9:42

It's such a great example. But okay, so think about that. I was talking about how we're 50 tears old now. Imagine how many meals I've made in my lifetime and I promise you it is the easiest way we've ever done this. There's just no way it could get any easier. Take the jackfruit barbecue we made the other night. Now we were on a coaching call inside pops and we were talking about our favorite simplest meals and Lainey got on and she was sharing one where she made barbecue jackfruit and I've done it before, but it's been a while. I think I've done it on a skillet or something. I'm all about getting stuff in the oven now. So she said she just put it on a line sheet. So I took my jackfruit. I took my barbecue sauce from the Power and Plains cookbook so simple I mean, it literally takes minutes. Throw it together. I don't even use a recipe. Sometimes I'm just like a squirt of this, a squirted out.

Speaker 2: 10:29

A look at the only really made the recipe so that other people would have some framework to Follow. Really never.

Speaker 1: 10:36

Whatever's gonna become barbecue, be it tofu or jackfruit or just vegetables all mixed together, whatever it is, and I'm squirting whatever's in the recipe in there and boom, it's done. And then I taste it and whatever I want to add more about it. But I mean, think about that two seconds just. You're putting all the stuff on the jackfruit that I opened up a can, drained it off and it was there, stir in the barbecue sauce and I chopped up an onion and I put it in the oven. That's the meat. Meat is done. Coleslaw I can get together in no time by buying either a coleslaw pack and and stirring in the cashew cream, the Power and Plains cashew cream, or Sometimes we'll just do a coleslaw where it's just lime or lemon juice with the actual Slaw. But you know I'm from the South so I really like my creamy stuff. You'll know how I'm about my dairy and cream. But you think about how quick that is to throw together. And then I can throw that jackfruit, that barbecue jackfruit or barbecue tofu or Whatever I've just done and baked. I'm gonna throw that on some rice or a piece of toast to make an open-faced sandwich or have a barbecue bowl Along with the coleslaw, the creamy coleslaw. That's in the members exclusive cookbook. But seriously, you could just take some coleslaw and put our cashew cream from the Power and Plains cookbook in there, stir it together and then squeeze a little lime or lemon on it. It's done. I mean, think about how simple that is. Open a can of jackfruit, drain it, put some barbecue sauce, put it in the oven with an onion chopped up. Seriously, that's the meat. Think about how long meat takes to cook, how long you have to stand over it, paint it with a brush on the grill or prep it and get it into the oven with all this stuff and get the marinades on there. I mean, it's just.

Speaker 2: 12:09

This is so much easier and there's no cleanup. Well, that's where I was going. This does not require any kind of decontamination because you're not dealing with any kind of raw meat product.

Speaker 1: 12:17

It's just so much easier. So one of our members inside Pi, which is our free podcast Insider's Experience Community, just posted this. This is what she said while I waited for my breakfast to cook, I made my lunch salad with this yummy sauce. I cannot get over how easy and so delicious this is. I am getting my groove. This is what we're talking about. So you've got to start speaking truth to yourself. I want you to stop believing and stop repeating lies to yourself and start speaking the truth around eating more whole plant foods. It does not need to be hard In fact, it shouldn't be. Start thinking and stating facts to yourself. Facts Like this is the simplest way to prepare meals and my new favorite whole-feet plant-based meals are gonna taste great. It just seems hard to me right now because it's different than the way I've done things before. And listen, this is a big point here. Sometimes it's not even that you've got to do all new things. Many times it's that you need to just keep showing up for yourself. Just keep doing those same new good habits over and over again Today, tomorrow, the next day and showing up Now. I want you to think about it. Other people might be willing to do those same good habits that you're learning now for a while. But then what happens? Most get lazy and they just stop showing up for themselves. They do not get the right mindset they need, so they continue in the same old stinking thinking. They don't get into supportive community or find their new favorite meals to replace the ones that keep sabotaging them. Sure, maybe they find their first new favorite plant-based meal, some might go so far as to find a second, but they don't find their third and then their fourth, and they aren't keeping their running list of new favorite meals. They know they should. They're just not doing it. They're not willing to start taking simple action, and so they just keep going back one time and then another time to what they know, because it's familiar, it feels comfortable, like that old, stinky pair of slippers that you just aren't willing to toss, until the new favorites you've already discovered naturally fall off your radar as a result, and then you're right back where you started. All you have to do to see a great example of this is think about gym attendance numbers during the month of January and then take a look at those numbers a few months later and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Now, this is not about going to the gym. There are a lot of other great ways you can get exercise. But please hear me, many are willing to start doing the things that will bring them their best possible life, but eventually they are only doing those things every once in a while and then those simple things that would have brought them freedom fade away off into the distance, and this breaks our hearts. But what would happen if you keep doing those same simple, new, beneficial habits you kept showing up for yourself, day after day, walking them out one simple step at a time, discovering the new whole food, play base meals that light you up because they're the quickest, simplest, most delicious meals you can imagine. Then a day comes about, a week or even a month or so down the road, when you just don't quite feel like following through, because it just seems easier, when you think about it, that specific day, to choose that old favorite comfort dish than to find your new favorite. But imagine yourself choosing to lace up your shoes and do the dance anyway, while others are slipping back into their old ways. You take one more step forward and you gain a bit more momentum, more encouragement, a little more energy and one more new favorite meal that you absolutely love. And you do that. Day after beautiful day, and those days begin to stack one by one on themselves in this amazing way and all of a sudden you realize that you are no longer hurting like you used to, you have energy and you finally feel like going out and enjoying the days again, while others are back to their same old habits and getting the same old stinking results. Day after sweet day, you keep stacking new, simple habits, one upon another, that are bringing you freedom. When you do this, friend, your life will never be the same. This is where freedom is found when it comes to your health. You get to choose what you put into your body, and those choices build upon each other, one by one. Did you know that as you live life, your body is remaking itself Literally? I don't always love the word literally, but it applies here, literally, it is true. There are trillions of cells in your body, and the cells that you have today are not all the exact same cells you had yesterday. Over time, cells age and they can become damaged, and body cells are constantly replicating, creating their own replacements. Certain cells in some organs and systems in your body are totally replaced in a matter of months, like your skin or your gut. That's what researchers believe. By looking at cells and cellular replication in those areas Some complete organs. It's thought to only take a few years, like the liver, to completely replicate itself. So if you just simply stay the course, consistently eating more and more of the five power foods and you actually are doing that by finding your new favorites one by one what do you think is going to happen over time? Now, I'm getting a little worked up here, just thinking about how amazing God is. You, my friend, are the one true God's beautiful creation, and he made your body to be able to repair itself when the things that are sabotaging your health fade into your past and you fill your life day by beautiful day with the nutrients that was made to thrive on. Listen, jared and I are here to help you build your very best life. This lights us up. Your father in heaven created you to fully live, not to be stuck on the sidelines in a sick body sadly watching life pass you by. But the choice, the beautiful choice, is yours. God is not going to force you to change your habits, but if you choose to get up every day and fill your body with the absolute best foods possible the fuels that God originally designed it to run on so you can fill your best, according to Genesis 129, you'll find yourself living quite a different life from the one you were experiencing before. You'll be happy to discover the energy you've been missing. I remember when this happened to me and it's so exciting. But what's even better, you're going to find yourself off serving those who've been praying for some encouragement they need, joyfully smiling at that total stranger who passes you on the street, and you'll be running and playing all out with your children and grandchildren, fully experiencing creation, all because you finally feel like it. This is our heart's dream for you, and we see it happen, day after precious day, for those who once thought it seemed next to impossible for them. I've been there, I get it. But you know what they did that made all the difference. They found today's simple step and they took it. And then tomorrow they took one more simple step and the next day they did the same, day after day, one simple step upon another, and when others stopped, they kept going. They got themselves into community and became active, not spending hours of their lives, but simply posting a little bit about their journey along the way and gaining ideas and inspiration in the uplifting space where they're supported and encouraged by other believers. Listen, if you're thinking, Anita, I don't have a place like that, come join podcast insider's experience right now. Seriously, it's free. This is the perfect resource for you because you're going to find the support and the ideas that are crucial for your continuing success and, when you have questions along the way, each and every podcast episode is searchable for you inside this community, every single word of every single podcast episode, which right now is about 260 of them, and it's just going to keep growing and growing. Go right now to poweronplantscom for pie and join us there. That's poweronplantscom forward slash pie. Do not wait until you have it all figured out, friend. Now is the time to start living the vibrant act of life you were created to enjoy. Friend, just like always, we have loved hanging out with you today and spending time with you, encouraging you and giving you the simple steps for making plant-based eating quick, simple, enjoyable and therefore sustainable. We look forward to meeting you inside pie and we'll see you on the next episode. You.