How to Make Healthy Food Choices the Easy Way

My food choices are informed by the way I live life in general: I make them consciously and with deliberate action.

You’ll find me at my local grocery store reading the backs of food packages, or selecting my favourite organic fruit and vegetables from the produce section. Knowing exactly what I’m putting in to my body is important to me. It’s been a while since I started making healthier food choices, choosing organic options—with no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners—whenever possible.

You know the saying, “it’s not how you start but where you finish that counts” ? Well, I like to start and end my day in the same way: with a mug of soymilk. In the morning, I like to drink it to put something in my stomach before I start making coffee and deciding what to eat for breakfast. I like knowing that I’m getting 7 grams of soy protein first thing in the morning. As a vegan, soymilk is my dairy milk alternative of choice.

When I told my mom that I was adopting a vegan lifestyle (almost 14 years ago), she wanted to know that I was taking my health in to consideration. I told her about all the health benefits of soymilk and how I’m able to get plant-powered protein in the form of a silky, smooth-tasting beverage.

In fact, she started to drink soymilk (which can always be found in my fridge) before I did, and even encouraged my aunt to do the same. She was so excited to find soymilk that tasted good (and was really good for you, too), so she told me to try it for myself. Moms can be funny that way, can’t they? My mom and I like that soy protein can lower cholesterol and is low in saturated fat. In addition to soymilk, another great was to add protein and fiber to your diet (not to mention omega fatty acids) is to add other healthy ingredients to your smoothies, like organic shelled hempseeds, which can be found from Gold Bee Nutrition.

Here is a quick recipe I make for breakfast sometimes: 1 cup of soymilk, 1 cup of soy or coconut milk yogurt, and one cup of fresh or frozen strawberries = Vegan Strawberry Soymilk Shake!

My mom likes using soymilk in her cereal in the morning and also in her soup recipes. You may have noticed me posting recipes here using soymilk in breakfast recipes. I find myself constantly researching other ways to lead a healthy lifestyle. It’s definitely a work in progress.