Hello fellow plant lovers. Though I still eat wild Cambodian honey, homemade cultured yogurt and an occasional free range egg from our neighbors, I can say that we (my hubby and I) are successfully thriving on a 99% plant-based diet. Though we were flexitarians for many years, eating 2-3 meals containing meat, cheese or fish every week, recently we decided to go vegan and see what happens.

Do I miss meat or fish... no because most of our dishes were vegan anyway. And to be honest, once you get creative with plant-based ingredients a whole new world of flavor opens up for you.

In this edition of the amazing VeganWednsday initiative hosted by the beautiful, funny and loving @heart-to-heart I want to give you a major tip on how to start a vegan lifestyle and of course I'll also share one of my latest vegan creations.

Bite-by-Bite approach to a plant-based and clean lifestyle

Whether you want to add more plants to your diet and reduce your aniaml-intake or become a 100 percent plant-based muncher, all is well. I have said it before, the choice is entirely up to you. Who am I to judge or take away your food freedom.

But, that is not going to stop me to spread the plant-based word and try to convince you to eat more plants. Our diet is so important to our overall health and longevity.

Last week I already talked about how adding more and more plants to our diet enabled my husband to go off his weekly interferon shots for Multiple Sclerosis.

This wasn't an overnight metamorphosis but a bite-by-bite journey toward changing our diet and improving our health. My husband was a carnivore. He couldn't go a day without meat. Slowly I introduced more plant-based meals (that's the power you have when you are the cook at home hehehe). After a while, we started to feel the effects and our body simply craved for more.

Yes, we still had bbq parties with juicy hamburgers, but every time the day after we had very upset bellies. Our body has a beautiful way of letting us know what's best for us... and juicy hamburgers and sugary desserts washed down with a beer were no longer on its list.

The more we felt bad due to our eating habits, the more we relied on plants to give us energy, building blocks, and health. It took time.... in my hubby's case a lot of time but he loves it now and recently decided to join me on the 99% vegan diet.

It takes 21 days to turn something into a habit

Though I'm not saying that you can not become a vegan overnight... some people really have mountains of will power and dedication. However, for many people that's just too crazy and restrictive.

If you too are playing with the thought to become a vegan, the bite-by-bite approach might be for you too.

So why not start with vegan before 6 pm or VeganWednesdays and see what happens. If you wanna stay there fine, if you wanna take it a step further fine too... there is no better diet or way as long as you stay away from processed foods, buy organic produce and get your animal products from a reliable antibiotic-, hormone-, GMO-, and chemical-free sources that feed their animals a natural diet and handle them with respect.

That's it for today! Let's staring cooking!!!

Quinoa Falafel Ball Tacos With Avocado Sauce and White Cabbage

Ingredients (serves 4)

This is definitely not one of my 30-minute, one-pot, weeknight dinners, but you won't regret making this in the weekend!

For the falafel balls

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2-3 cloves of garlic
Sea salt and black pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder

For the falafel batter

1/2 cup flour of your choice
1/2 cup water
Panko as needed

For the avocado sauce

1 avocado
1/2 lime
1 clove of garlic
Sea salt and black pepper

For the tacos

8-12 taco shells (ours were big so we used 2 each)
Salad greens of your choice
Shredded white cabbage

Instructions

Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the package.
In a blender combine parsley, mint, cilantro, and the cloves. Blend until everything is nicely chopped up.
Add chickpeas to the blender and pulse a few times. Do not over process, they should still have some texture. Transfer the herb/chickpea mixture to a bowl. Then add quinoa and dried herbs to the chickpea mixture and stir until well incorporated. Take little portions of the falafel mix and roll into balls.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and water. Whisk well. Place the Panko breadcrumbs in a second bowl.
Working one falafel ball at a time, coat with the flour mixture and transfer to breadcrumbs. Cover with breadcrumbs on all sides, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining falafels.
Fry the falafel balls in one single layer (work in batches if needed) in coconut oil, swirling the skillet (cast iron or non-stick stainless steel occasionally until the falafels are golden brown.
Place avocado sauce ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Heat taco shells in the oven and assemble to your liking with salad, cabbage, falafel balls and avocado sauce.