Optimizing Your Health Through Whole Plant-Based Foods w/ Anna Tseng -34

We feel it is important to make our podcast transcripts available for accessibility. We use quality artificial intelligence tools to make it possible for us to provide this resource to our audience. We do have human eyes reviewing this, but they will rarely be 100% accurate. We appreciate your patience with the occasional errors you will find in our transcriptions. If you find an error in our transcription, or if you would like to use a quote, or verify what was said, please feel free to reach out to us at connect@37by27.com.

Anna Tseng 0:00

Are you familiar with plant based eating? Is it the same or different from being a vegetarian or eating vegan? Perhaps it's a term you've heard from social media or news outlets. Or maybe it's something that's been suggested by a medical professional as something you look into or start to follow. Maybe it's something you need because of a health condition that you are living with and trying to thrive around. Maybe it's just something a little bit curious about. Today's guest is someone who has some of the same questions you do, who have people in her life who needed the answers. And so she started asking questions, and learning about it, too. There's a lot of value in today's conversation, where she answered some of those questions, and can shed some light on plant based eating, and what would that mean for you, and how you can consider integrating more of it into your life.

Shawna Rodrigues 0:57

Welcome to The Grit Show. Growth on purpose. I'm your host, Shawna Rodrigues. And I'm happy to be here with you as your guide for all of us growing together as seekers, and thrivers.

Shawna Rodrigues 1:12

Anna Tseng is a plant based Registered Dietitian with a master's degree in public health nutrition. She's also the founder of PlantNourished, and an award winning published recipe creator. Known as a plant based transition RD, and passionately helps busy people with health challenges move easily to plant based eating for optimal health. I have had the joy to get to know Anna through a couple of different avenues, and love all the knowledge that she has to share. So thank you so much for being here with us today, Anna. I'm excited to chat with you more about plant based eating.

Anna Tseng 1:43

Thank you, Shawna. I'm glad to be here as well.

Shawna Rodrigues 1:46

So how did you first get started on your journey towards plant based eating?

Anna Tseng 1:51

I'd love to share about that. Well, I think at the end of the day, many of us just want to be healthy, and to feel well so that we can do the things we love with the people that we love. And I think for those who have maybe chronic health issues, it could be simply to regain their health and their lifestyle with more energy and less pain and medications. While I was no different, I wanted to be healthy and to stay healthy. And it's why I switched focus midway in college to move to the field of nutrition because I saw just how practical and useful it was for not just myself, but those around me as well.

Shawna Rodrigues 2:27

Oh, that's incredible. So how long ago did you finish your degree and that work?

Anna Tseng 2:31

That's probably almost two decades ago. So about 20 years ago.

Shawna Rodrigues 2:37

So, was plant based eating something that was popular at that point in time? Or is that something you found your way to later in your work in nutrition?

Anna Tseng 2:45

Yeah, so initially, as a dietitian, I wasn't necessarily focused on plant based diets. So it was really when the health problems started mounting in my in-laws and in my father. So my mother-in-law, she has type two diabetes, and she later had lymphoma. And she needed eight rounds of chemotherapy. My father in law, he has prostate cancer, and then later developed thyroid cancer. And my own father, he has high blood pressure, and later needed an emergency stent, I think was 90% blockage in his heart. So he needed that for a while and then later developed eye problems. So all of these things started coming up and not just and that's just only the three of them. I've had other extended family members with breast cancer and other things. So really got me concerned, and I wanted to optimize the health of my family and prevent future chronic diseases.

Shawna Rodrigues 3:38

Yeah.

Anna Tseng 3:39

So that was really kind of what kick started me to research and look into plant based diets. And the more I researched, the more I was amazed to see the myriad of health benefits that high fiber whole food plant based diet can bring. So benefits such as lowering your body weight, improving your blood cholesterol levels, reducing your diabetes, risk of diabetes, improving your insulin sensitivity, as well as reversing even preventing heart disease. So all these things is what made my family I decided to move towards plant based eating a few years ago.

Shawna Rodrigues 4:14

Yes. And you,

Anna Tseng 4:15

yes,

Shawna Rodrigues 4:15

yeah, you have kids too, and moving to plant based eating, I think a lot of people's kids are like, Oh, I don't know about these eating with kids. So was it hard to make that transition for your family?

Anna Tseng 4:26

Yes, I would say I took my time. And that was good. Because initially even though I was a dietitian, I still found that first year of transition, a steep learning curve, because I had to find my way around the whole plant based world is still completely new to me, and learn how to prep and cook with all these whole plant based food ingredients. And not to mention, try out multiple recipes to find the ones that were truly healthy. You trim packed and also were easy to make and that my family enjoyed. So it was quite a steep learning curve. But it was through that experience, in the years that followed that, I actually discovered my love of recipe creation. And I learned and developed many time and energy saving hacks and strategies to prep and cook with all these whole plant based ingredients, and also created many nutrient dense and tasty and easy plant based recipes. I can't wait to share it with others set to make their transition to whole foods, plant based diet that much easier.

Shawna Rodrigues 5:24

Well, I think that's what I love about your work. Is it, is because you started doing it. And so you had the interest. And then you found what was needed because your family and what was really needed for those around you, and then you found what worked for you. And were so excited when you made it work that now you're sharing it with other people, which there's just this genuine piece about it that makes such a difference in your work, in your presentation that people feel when you talk about it, that you genuinely care about this, and you found a way and you want to share that.

Anna Tseng 5:51

Yeah. So that's why I feel my story is a big part of why I'm here and what, what I'm passionate about helping busy people with health challenges, simplify and streamline that process of moving to plant based eating, so that they can, you know, be healthy, enjoy life again, and try to keep families together for as long as possible.

Shawna Rodrigues 6:10

Yes, definitely. And for all these terms, and the different ways of looking at plant based eating because you help to explain some of the different ways people think of it. And I know that I'm always concerned that I'll just eat carbs all the time, if I tried to eat meat or whatever anymore. Like can you talk more about vegan versus plant based? What different things what that means?

Anna Tseng 6:31

Yeah, absolutely, I'll be happy to. I agree this term plant based can be quite confusing, especially if you're not in the plant based world because there's so many turns on social media or your see it in newspapers, vegan, plant based, vegetarian, whole food plant based, are they all one and the same thing? So I think maybe in the broadest sense, think of eating plant based as a way of eating that is plant centered versus meat centered. So putting plants and plant based foods at the stars of the plate, versus the meats or animal based products.

Shawna Rodrigues 7:05

I like that.

Anna Tseng 7:05

And think of the term, yeah, and think of the term plant-based as more of an umbrella term, with many different kinds of plants under diets underneath it. So you could have a vegetarian diet that has, you know, mainly has plans, but it does maybe include some dairy or eggs in it. You could have a vegan diet that excludes all animal based products or byproducts. You could have a whole foods plant based diet that focuses on minimally processed and unprocessed whole plant based foods. Ideally, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. So when I talk about plant based diet, I'm talking about the most healthful kind of plant based diet, which is the whole food plant based diet that's focused on those minimally processed or unprocessed whole plant based foods. And just a note to even though it says plant based diet, you know, the word diet makes you think of a fad diet that says, it's not really, we're talking more about a lifestyle change, a sustaining lifestyle change instead of just a short term fad diet, because that's the kind that really bring the most health benefits for you.

Shawna Rodrigues 8:09

Yeah, so plant nourish is more of a plant based lifestyle and a plant based way of thinking about how you're eating.

Anna Tseng 8:15

Yes, absolutely.

Shawna Rodrigues 8:17

Nice. And then so you have recipes. So tell us more about what you do and how you work with your community folks that are interested in doing this.

Anna Tseng 8:26

Well, definitely I support people who are wanting to make this move towards more plant center lifestyle, by private one-to-one coaching or through, I have a Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course. So that's a course that is an online course designed to help people master the basics of plant based eating in as little as six weeks.

Shawna Rodrigues 8:45

Wow.

Anna Tseng 8:45

So it's really designed to equip you with those hacks, strategies, tasty recipes, you know, practical lifestyle skills that you need to be able to confidently start and sustain a thriving plant powered lifestyle for the most health transformation for people. So that's kind of what I do. But I do want to just kind of clarify that many people when they think of plant based eating, they think of it as like an all or nothing mentality, you have to be either 100% plant based or vegan or you can't be eating plant based at all. And that's not really true. The way I see it is more like a spectrum or continuum. You could have someone on one side who is maybe making more, more than 50% of their meals plant based or plant centered. So as long as vegetarian having those dairy and egg products, so long as maybe vegan excluding all animal based products, but maybe eating, still eating quite a bit of the highly processed vegan commercial foods to those who are whole food plant based. So eating fully the minimally processed and process plant based foods. So anyone can start at any time point with a goal of ultimately moving forward more and more integrating those nourishing whole plant based foods. So when I work with people, I work with them wherever they are on that continuum now with a goal of moving them more and more towards integrating these health nourishing foods.

Shawna Rodrigues 8:45

That's so wonderful. And with the recipes you have, are they the recipes are on the far end of the spectrum? Or do they kind of work in the middle? Are they all with the, like the whole foods like you're talking about?

Anna Tseng: 10:18

Oh, so all my recipes will be pretty much whole food plant based. So I tried to use minimal refined sugar or not little, little minimal oil. You know, there's many different ways you can cook, you know, that it can still make these foods tasty. There's all about spices, combinations, you know, different cuisines that you can use, and different cooking methods too. So many people think I can only boil vegetables. No, there's many different ways you can do it. Grill, you can bake, you know, you can roast, many different things you can do stir fry.

Shawna Rodrigues: 10:49

You guys, no, roasting vegetables changed vegetables for me entirely, because I definitely grew up where boiling was the only option growing up and I discovered so many more vegetables when they were roasted and cooked in different ways.

Anna Tseng: 11:02

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues: 11:02

Such a difference. Yeah, my fiance and I talk about it because we grew up very similar and like our options for meals and how things were and how many vegetables we hated as kids. And that we love as an adult, because we definitely learned how to do that. But having them as the star of the plate, so definitely a stretch for us. Incorporating them into every meal was like a learning process for me as an adult, let alone the star of the plate is like, that's like, you know, where I'm at in this spectrum, you're there. Like, learning how to go from remembering them at each meal to then having them as a star of plate would be a shift for me. And definitely vegan, because I definitely love all of my dairy pieces too. So even like moving along that spectrum of not having those other elements. So lots of things to learn. Lots of elements that are important to integrate and figure out.

Anna Tseng: 11:44

Yes.

Shawna Rodrigues: 11:45

Yes. And so most people do come to you because of health reasons or, and working with specialized diets in that sense as well? Because I know with a lot of different health reasons, it's very specific what you can or can't have.

Anna Tseng: 11:57

So most of the people who come to me really have health challenges, type two diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, or maybe they have had a history of heart attack. So they really want to make that change towards a more plant center lifestyle, focusing on whole plant based foods, because they've seen the benefits of it. And they know that it can definitely help them. But they need the practical skills. Sometimes you know, you want to do something but,

Shawna Rodrigues: 12:24

yeah,

Anna Tseng: 12:24

how do you do it? Especially if you're used to eating meat and meat based diet and cooking with all of your life. How do you actually integrate and make it tasty in a way that won't take you hours in the kitchen to prep and cook all these things? So that's where I help them with this actual practical strategies and hacks and, and also ways to continue enjoying this lifestyle, even after they know, feel they've mastered the basics, but how to continue because life and stresses, busyness, things happen, right? So how do all those meal prep strategies and things that help them be able continue this successfully moving forward?

Shawna Rodrigues: 13:03

Do you feel like meal prep is a big part of being able to do it successfully, then?

Anna Tseng: 13:07

I think meal prep can be very simple, you know, depending on how you think about it, and it's individualized and customized to every person and their circumstances. So for example, a person who is maybe working full time,

Shawna Rodrigues: 13:20

yeah,

Anna Tseng: 13:20

you know, but may find it easier, maybe on the weekend to, to prep big pot of soup or something else that they can then break down into smaller meals to take to work. So it's all about figuring out ways or someone who's maybe in a hospital working as a nurse may be more busy, because of all the shifts that they have to do. So it's finding just meals and recipes and things that work for them that can easy for them to make and take and if there's no refrigeration or things that they can eat, you know, on the go when they're working. So it's just working with every family and every individual, some had big family, some small family so working with them to, to see what is successful and works the best for them.

Shawna Rodrigues: 14:00

But some of the tricks for kids what's, what makes it work with kids with plant based eating?

Anna Tseng: 14:05

Oh, I lost that thing. So, I think, if you think of kids, it's just like mini adults. So, as adults we love to eat with our eyes. We love color, we love variety, right? So it's just finding foods and the way you present is also important for them. But I find, children really learn from parents so there's the modeling as well. As if they see you enjoy, you know, play a colorful veggies or a colorful plate and often serving foods you know and ensure you enjoy them, the children are more likely to, to be willing to try something and to enjoy it. But there's many ways for example, even the home recipes that you currently have that you can make adjustments and tweaks to it and slowly introduce plant based food ingredients into those home recipes that they can enjoy. For example, just a simple spaghetti pasta sauce, right? A tomato based pasta sauce. If it's the minced meat and things in sight you can maybe reduce half of that meat first. And then add in some easy cook legumes. So things like red lentils or green lentils, they cook up very nicely and the texture is almost similar to a little bit that minced meat texture, and that kind of takes on the color. So when you're cooking it in there, you can just introduce some into that, you know, cook everything else the same, you don't have to make much changes to that and that makes it easy for families because it's a recipe they're familiar with already. It doesn't require learning a whole new recipe and then serve it, you know, with the children. And then as everyone's eating it over time, you can slowly reduce the amount of minced meat that you have in there, you know, you can add in a little bit more of the lentils than meat and that's just one nice way to transition over. Same thing with whole grains like quinoa, or buckwheat, you can also mix it if they're used to their usual white rice you know, they're not used to brown rice, or quinoa, you can also cook half-half first, you know, cook half-half and slowly integrate it more into the foods that they're having. Other ways, many ways for there's different forms that you can use for example, chickpeas, you can use it many different ways you can eat chickpeas as it is, right? As part of a dish or chili or a stew but you can also eat it roasted. Roasted chickpeas like a snack. My children love that.

Shawna Rodrigues: 16:19

Oh.

Anna Tseng: 16:20

You can also blend it, right? With spices and cumin and tahini into hummus, right? All my children love hummus with baked tortilla chips, you can spread it as a sandwich filler, you can do so many things, you can turn that hummus into a salad dressing or a pasta sauce. And you can even use chickpea flour to make pancakes or you can make baked goods with that or turn chickpeas into ,I just made a kind of frosted pecan squares using soy frosting. But that is like a little snack. But you know the kids love it too. So there's, it's just being innovative, but there's many, many ways you can integrate all the vegetables into smoothies, you can do many things that can help to nourish your whole family, you know, your children's, even while you're nourishing your own body towards better health.

Shawna Rodrigues: 17:08

Yes, no, those are some great ideas. And it sounds like you've had like a fun process of figuring out what works well, and what doesn't work well. So it's great to have your knowledge based on that, too.

Anna Tseng: 17:17

Thank you. Yes, I, it's something I'm passionate and enjoy. It's almost like a problem you're solving to help that family transition well and move forward.

Shawna Rodrigues: 17:25

Yeah, because it can definitely feel overwhelming. I'm sure for people that hear that they need to make that transition of that whole thinking of all the things they can't have is where your mind goes to first instead of what all the options are. So,

Anna Tseng: 17:37

yes,

Shawna Rodrigues: 17:38

yes, it makes a big difference. That's wonderful. I love it. So is there anything else that you want to share with us that we haven't gotten to cover yet?

Anna Tseng: 17:47

Well, I do think many people want to integrate these whole plant based foods into their meals because they know that it's healthy for them, right? But one gap is that lack of actual skills and knowledge how to prep with these whole plant based foods and cook with them. But another could be also just some misconceptions in terms of what people think plant based eating is about. And one of the ones already mentioned that you one common belief is just that you think it has to be an all or nothing mentality, right? And it can be only all plant based eating or not. But also there are a few other misconceptions. For example, another one I can think of is this that some people feel that all plant based or vegan foods are healthy. So they think as long as I just avoid meat or meat based products, I'm good, you know, but actually, that's not true, because studies show that the higher the quality at a plant based diet, the more the health benefits, you can experience, especially long term in terms of chronic disease prevention. So for example, if we just think about maybe diabetes, diabetes is actually affects one in two Americans and alike. We know that,

Shawna Rodrigues: 18:53

wow,

Anna Tseng: 18:54

either it's pre diabetes or diabetes. So a big size of the population has some kind of glucose, glycemic control issue. And so a study was published in 2021, in diabetes care by Zhangling Chen and all, and it was a quite a big study. It looked at over 192,000 people,

Shawna Rodrigues: 19:14

wow,

Anna Tseng: 19:14

adults in three large US cohorts. So the Nurses' Health Study, the Nurses' Health Study II and then the health professionals follow up study. And they follow them for over 26 to 30 years.

Shawna Rodrigues: 19:28

Wow.

Anna Tseng: 19:28

And they look at their changes in their plant based diet. Every four years, they did kind of like a study every four years and assess their diets and look at the risks of getting Type Two Diabetes in the subsequent four years. So they kind of see the changes and how they changed in the diet quality using plant based diet indexes. Yeah, and then they looked at the following years. And then what they found was that those who move towards a more high quality plant based diet, so eating more of the fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, they actually had associated decrease risk in the diabetes of being diagnosed with type two diabetes in a subsequent four years, but also had the greatest change towards the more unhealthy plant based foods, more of the process plant based foods, you know, refined juices and fried sugars, they actually had more than 10% change was associated with an increased risk of getting Type Two Diabetes of 12 to 23%. So they actually had way more. So what we eat, you know, on a plant based diet does matter. And that, that does make sense because when you think about it, those highly processed vegan commercial products, which we see everywhere now, in many supermarkets, you know, it's flooding our markets. While it is convenient, you know, it is tasty, right, and it is easy to use. But at the end of the day, they are stripped of many nutrients through the manufacturing process. We think about whole plant based foods, having those naturally whole plant based foods being really the most naturally nutrient rich plant based foods on the planet. The vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, yeah, antioxidants, phytochemicals, all those disease fighting compounds, when you put them through the manufacturing process, they inevitably lose a lot of the nutrients, you know, even though some of these products are enriched, which means they have some key nutrients added back, it can never still compare to the original product, which has all that disease fighting compounds, polyphenols, which may be not affected by the heat and the processing, right, that you're making with these foods. And then also these processed foods because they often have more additives added, you know, to maybe make them more shelf stable, or maybe to mimic the texture or mouthfeel of you know, meat based products. I think about vegan cheese's or you have on dairy creamers, all these food, right?

Shawna Rodrigues: 21:51

Yeah,.

Anna Tseng: 21:52

So as a result, inevitably, they often add quite a bit of oil to that. It could be coconut oil, palm oil, which are quite high in saturated fat, sugar, salt, or high fructose corn syrup or other things into it. And so as a result, you get a calorie rich foods, but that may be quite nutrient poor. So I would say if you want to eat these foods, treat them more as transitional foods on your way moving towards that more diet that's more focused on the whole plant based foods if you really want the optimal health. So I think that's one key point that's important for many to remember, in terms of why the best plant based foods for health.

Shawna Rodrigues: 22:30

Yeah, that's so interesting, because again, like every time we start plugging in convenience, it seems like we're taking something important out. And so it's good to just keep that in mind. But it is good for us to remember that getting back to the source of why we're doing it. It's unfortunate that nothing's easy. But it can be simple if you, if you know how to do it, which is why it's so important to have folks like you that can help lead the way to be doing it right and give you the tips and tricks to make it easier. So just convenient.

Anna Tseng: 23:00

Yes, absolutely. So another misconception I think many people feel is that, you know, plant based diets don't offer enough protein. So many are naturally worried that you know, if I move to a plant based diet or a plant centered diet, I won't be able to meet all my daily protein needs.

Shawna Rodrigues: 23:18

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues: 23:19

And that's understandable. You know, many people are worried about this. But if that was really the case, you really wouldn't have many plant based athletes, you know, or vegan athletes. For example, some that come to mind right now are maybe Novak Djokovic, who's a Serbian tennis player, he was the world's number one tennis player in 2021. We also have Noah Hannibal, who's an Australian heavyweight gold medalist,

Shawna Rodrigues: 23:41

oh wow,

Anna Tseng: 23:42

and people like, Patrik Baboumian, who is a retired vegan bodybuilder, but at one point he was the, the strongest man in Germany.

Shawna Rodrigues: 23:49

Wow.

Anna Tseng: 23:50

And there's more. There's more celebrities and athletes who are eating a vegan diet or plant based diet. I think the key to remember here is that all plant based foods have protein, even fruits and vegetables. It is just really the amounts, right, that they're already in in terms of different foods. And certain foods have a lot more plant based protein are really great sources like the legumes, like the beans, lentils, chickpeas, you also have nuts and seeds as well. So just as an example, you know, a regular cup of cooked beans will probably give you about 15 grams of protein, you have a cup of lentils that's cooked is about 18 grams of protein. And then we think about one of those tubs of tofu that you see at the store. If it's a raw firm tofu, that can give you up to 30 to 40 grams of protein right there in that little tub. So it's quite a bit and but other foods too, like quinoa, which is a whole grain, like a cup of quinoa is about eight grams of protein, even broccoli, cooked broccoli, you think chopped broccoli in two cups, which is really not a lot because think of how bulky broccoli is, that's already seven and a half grams of protein right there. So just being smart and knowing which foods to eat, right, throughout the course of the day, most people have no problems with getting, meeting their daily protein needs is actually very easy to do.

Shawna Rodrigues: 25:12

And how much protein do you need in a day? Or how much is in other like, meat based stuff? Do you know that? Because that's not something I'm familiar with at all.

Anna Tseng: 25:20

I would say in terms of the general standard that's thrown out there is about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram, per day for an average adult. But it really, I would say, customize and it depends on every single person. I usually tweak it a lot more, depending on person's age, depending on their exercise activity level, there's so many things that can go into their weight status, all these things. So you really need to kind of tweak it a little bit in terms of that. But I know I looked this up previously, but I think for, according to the Centers of Disease Control, I think an average woman or US woman, adult woman, I think has a protein intake somewhere between 60 to 70 grams of protein was estimated based on the average weight, I say. So if you think about what I talked about, even a cup of soybeans, cooked soybeans has over 30 grams of protein just in that one cup, that we add that to maybe a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds, just eight grams of protein, you know, to a cup of lentils, you pretty much are meeting three quarters of this person's protein needs, you know, without,

Shawna Rodrigues: 26:25

for the day,

Anna Tseng: 26:25

meeting, yeah, for the day. So I think the reality is true than most people in the United States are eating above what they need for protein on a daily basis already. So

Shawna Rodrigues: 26:37

that makes good sense. That's good to know for now. Wonderful. Do you have anything else you want to make sure we were aware of?

Anna Tseng: 26:46

I think it's probably just the last kind of misconception I can think of a big one is that the one you mentioned earlier on in the interview it's just that many people are afraid of moving towards eating more plant based foods because they think it'd be too high in carbohydrate. So especially if they have diabetes, or think they're worried that, you know, eating this way will really not be good for their blood sugar levels. And that's understandable, because I know a lot of people are also coming off of trying diets that maybe are high protein, low carbohydrate diets.

Shawna Rodrigues: 27:15

Yeah.

Anna Tseng: 27:16

So after eating for this way, for so long, it can be really a big mind shift to try to move forward and think about now adding in or eating more of these higher carbohydrate foods, like the lentils or whole grains. Well, if we remember the study I mentioned earlier with that 2021 study with the diabetes that looked at, you know, the risk of type two diabetes, it really showed that those who move more towards those whole grains, vegetables, right, the legumes and fruits, they actually had less, were associated with less risk of getting Type Two Diabetes, the more they move towards these foods. So I think the reality is this, not all carbohydrates are bad.

Shawna Rodrigues: 27:58

Yeah,

Anna Tseng: 27:58

you know, to think of it in terms of that, I really think about what kind of carbohydrates you're eating. So maybe the simplest way to think in terms of maybe simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. So actually, a whole food plant based diet, the main food categories, the lentils, whole grains, and vegetables are all good sources have complex carbohydrates. And what this means is that they're pretty much context chains of sugar units are formed into complex structures. So as you eat these foods that have these complex carbohydrates, like starch and fiber, they're broken down slower in our body, it takes longer time for our bodies to digest them. And so the glucose is released slower into our bloodstream. And that has a added bonus of us feeling fuller and more satisfied between meals when we include foods to have these complex carbohydrates like the beans or the whole grains in our meal. So compare that to simple carbohydrates are usually one or two little sugar units already broken down for you. So like the white flour and white sugar or high fructose corn syrup. So we eat these foods or products that have a lot of these ingredients as ingredients. Obviously, we eat them, that breaks down very easily in our body, right, the glucose goes into our bloodstream, and then we may get that, that's where you get that little high, right? Get that crash right very soon after, because it just gets like just nothing. So yeah, you're hungry again, soon after. So that's why eating whole plant based foods is really beneficial for your body, for your health. But also if you have diabetes, too, it's really beneficial for you.

Shawna Rodrigues: 29:37

Oh, that's so, that is a good reminder on the differences between those and to keep that in mind when we're looking at the plant base that those are good for you and so it's not a bad thing. And there's studies to support that. So that's very helpful. Thank you so much it is so valuable, and I appreciate that you, you've shared all that with us. And as we're getting closer to the close of things, I think that you might be aware that we kind of have a focus on self care on our podcasts. And I actually hung out with a friend of mine who's a mom. And imagine, rethink the name of calling it self care. Because as a new mom, I was explained to her that this was like, necessary maintenance for her to do things for myself. So I need to like rename it to like a self maintenance section of you. So what do you do to to take care of yourself? To maintain yourself? What is your self maintenance? What do you do for yourself? Take care of yourself Anna, and I think our listeners love to hear people do to take care of themselves.

Anna Tseng: 30:32

Yes, that's a great question. Well, I think on a basic level, is basically staying hydrated, eating well, focusing on whole plant based foods is important part of self care, not just for myself, but also for my family as well. But as a mother of young children, I have a three year old and a six year old, I'm also in that busy season of life, right?

Shawna Rodrigues: 30:52

Yes.

Anna Tseng: 30:52

Which I love but it's also exhausting and tiring at times, because you have to take care of the physical needs and emotional needs, with meltdowns, temper tension, breakdowns and things like that. So one of the things that is non-negotiable for them is to have, you know, afternoon, they can have nap time or quiet time, there's usually an hour or two hours. And that's non negotiable, even for the six year old who maybe will not take a nap, but she won't need to rest in bed as well. And if, I'm sure they need it, because they, you know, they need that time to recharge. But it's also even more important for me. So I need that rest time. When they are, they are down, I get that little quiet break in the middle of the day so I can do, maybe, a quick power nap if I want to, you know just recharge, have some me time, downtime, just to have a little peace and quiet in the home. It really makes a big difference for me. So that's something I stick to no matter what when they are here.

Shawna Rodrigues: 31:49

Yes.

Anna Tseng: 31:49

Another thing I think it's very important for self care is to stay connected. So I tried to stay connected with friends or neighbors at least twice a week, either on the phone or in person or, you know, on virtually because I've lived in four countries. So I have friends in different countries. So it's really nice to connect with them internationally. When I'm able to. So just yesterday I had a friend as a neighbor come over and as her children played, we were able as adults right to have that downtime and to just relax and catch up with things. I also tried to have a daily cup or two, of have like a hot cocoa or green matcha soy so that kind of made with just an organic soy, fortified calcium, vitamin D fortified soy milk, and then it is either just hot cocoa, or I do some green matcha powder with some turmeric inside. So it's just like my nice little hot steaming cup. That I kind of have once or twice a day just to enjoy what I'm doing things are, you know, on the computer. So those are just some of my self care.

Shawna Rodrigues: 32:44

No, I love that. I know, we're gonna start calling it self maintenance. So this is just for yourself maintenance.

Anna Tseng: 32:48

Okay.

Shawna Rodrigues: 32:48

Yes. And for my friend that was a mom, I told her it's actually family maintenance. And she could frame it to her husband that she has. I mean, if they want the family to maintain, she needs her time. So it's family maintenance now. So you'd be reframing these things, because it's important. It's very important. That's wonderful. And so as part of a thank you for being a guest on The Grit Show, we actually send you a copy of a coloring book. So would you like a copy of, we have the Magnificent Ocean and, Vintage Mermaid and Magnificent Ocean, and we also have You Got This which is inspirational quotes. So which one can I send you?

Anna Tseng: 33:21

I think the Magnificent Ocean will be loved because my favorite place is the ocean, is the beach. So I love that.

Shawna Rodrigues: 33:28

I love that. We will definitely send you a copy of that. Perfect. Thank you so much. And then the other thing we do is we always offer something actionable and practical. So for a lot of our listeners, this is the first time that they're contemplating plant based eating, perhaps. Hopefully folks have come here because they're like, they see the headline, like, Oh, I gotta learn more about plant based eating. But for those who listen regularly, this might be the first time that they've contemplated this or looked at this. So what is like for our grit wit for today, what is something that they can actionably do to kind of apply what we've talked about today into their life and into their world?

Anna Tseng: 34:04

Well, I think maybe my takeaway tip for your listeners would be, to be adventurous. So I think of the quote, "Variety is a spice of life" by William Cowper, the 18th century poet. So I think, don't be afraid to try maybe a new whole food plant based ingredient or food or fruit, vegetable or whole grain or legume and you can buy a small amount first you know and try if you're not sure, but who knows? You know, worst case scenarios maybe you don't like it, but your loved ones or family members may enjoy it. But in the best case scenarios you might find, you might enjoy it and so might become a new food favorite. As we talked about before, there are many different ways to try something. So different cooking methods, different spices, cuisines and even different forms which I share just now about the chickpeas. So even if it's vegetables like broccoli, we mentioned you know if someone doesn't like broccoli could be because it was always boiled and always over done with brown and you know, woshie hates this.

Shawna Rodrigues: 35:01

Yeah.

Anna Tseng: 35:02

Just, yeah, you understand what I mean? But what if it was, you know, just lightly sauteed and cook until just crunchy, Al dente, tender, with some, you know, crispy green carrots, maybe some bean sprouts and snow peas, you know, with some tofu, you know, mixed with kind of a soy, ginger sauce, you know, that might be nice. So trying it in different ways, or even leafy greens, if someone doesn't like salad, maybe trying it in smoothies, you know, or adding it into a soup or stew could be something different. So even beans, even if you think you don't like beans, and they're actually hundreds of varieties of beans cultivated around the world, so there's many different kinds and they actually have different tastes and textures as you get down to it. So soy beans and black eyed peas are slightly sweeter than some of the other beans, and some keep your texture better. So if you're someone who doesn't like mushy beans, you know, you can eat some of the other ones. But they're also different. If you don't like beans, there's a big family in the legume family, you can still try split peas, red lentils, brown lentils, green lentils, you know, tofu, tempeh, there's many different kinds of legumes, you can still enjoy and still reap the health benefits from eating them. So I really feel just be adventurous and be open to trying foods and, and trying it in a few different ways, in a few different forms before deciding you know whether you like it or not. And that will really help you bring in variety, and optimize your health and nutrition as well. And I forgot to mention this as well, I do have a free gift or resource,

Shawna Rodrigues: 36:34

wonderful,

Anna Tseng: 36:34

for your listener. So it's called a quickstart grocery guide for plant based essentials. It contains a one page grocery list, I recommend a grocery list of some essential and commonly used plant based ingredients and seasonings often seen in plant based meals. It has some money saving and time saving shopping tips, as well as some easy starter new recipes as well. So if your listeners want that, they can just go to plantnourished.com/groceryguide to get it.

Shawna Rodrigues: 37:03

Wonderful. PlantNourished.com/groceryguide. And we will also have that in the show notes. So you can just click right on it. If you're on your phone or your computer, you'll be able to see that and follow that. That is, that is going to be so helpful. So definitely you guys can take that and grab something on there to get adventurous. I know that it's so funny. I was just in my cupboard two nights ago. And we actually have a plethora of garbanzo beans because I apparently got the thing at Costco and then I haven't used them as much as I thought I would. And so I'm so excited to go home and roast them because that is such a good idea. So I haven't had them roasted before. So I'm excited to try that out. And also as a set, like we try to a local delivery from organic farm and it had bokchoy in it. And I remember loving bokchoy when I got it at a different time. And then it's been in my fridge I've been trying to think of how to prepare that. So do you have thoughts? Or is there something in that guide that will give me thoughts on what to do with my bokchoy?

Anna Tseng: 37:58

Sure, bokchoy and love the fact that it's very neutral as a vegetable and lightly sweet tasting. So most of the time I enjoy just kind of stir frying with a little bit garlic, a little bit salty. Now if you want a tiny bit of soy sauce, you can but actually you don't need it just a bit of salt and garlic, a little bit of oil would work well. But actually I've even put it into smoothies before and you just chop it up. Yes, and it tastes you know, it's delicious. You can also just cut some, it's one of those quick cooking vegetables. So even if you throw it in at the end of whatever you're cooking, whatever dish that you're making, so it could be a chili stew, pasta soup, whatever it is towards the end, you can just throw it in, you just cut it in and then as you stir fry, it cooks really fast, so then you can keep it crunchy and al dente and kind of just then versus it being overcooked. So yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues: 38:46

Perfect. Yeah, I feel like it was, I stir fried it when I had it the last time that I did something about it. I was wondering about having it in soups or not so and I haven't looked into it and I'm worried it's gonna go bad before I figure out what to do with it. That's what happens when I get adventurous. I gotta you know, time limited to take care of it. So wonderful. So you have that essentials at plantnourished.com/groceryguide that folks can utilize. It would be great. How else can people find you? It's a good way for people to find you, Anna.

Anna Tseng: 39:12

So I think the best way to connect with me will be through my website, plantnourished.com. As I said, I offer the private coaching one to one coaching or the Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course. And enrollment for this course is actually just opened up again. So, this course is, it's wonderful for those who are really looking for a step by step kind of framework to take them through building their skills and confidence and starting and sustaining this plant part thriving lifestyle, and really master the skills and the techniques and hacks and strategies that they need to really sustain it moving forward. So you can go to that website, plantnourished.com and for details about the coaching or about the course.

Shawna Rodrigues: 39:55

Perfect. That was wonderful. Thank you so much for being here today, Anna. I'm so glad that worked out and I'm excited for more people to get to learn some of your tips and tricks to learn to have you as a resource as they are someone they know and looking for moving towards a more plant based lifestyle.

Anna Tseng: 40:12

Yes. Thank you for having me, Shawna. It has been a pleasure to speak with you.

Shawna Rodrigues: 40:16

Perfect. Take care.

Anna Tseng: 40:17

Take care.

Shawna Rodrigues: 40:18

Thank you for being here as part of our audience today. If you're interested in checking out our coloring books, all you need to do is Google, The Color of Grit and they should pop up. You can definitely find them on Amazon. You can also get sample pages off of our website thegritshow.com. Don't forget you are the only one of you that this world has got and that means something. We'll be here again next Tuesday. I hope you are too.