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Lizzo has gone on a vegan diet during lockdown, which is the time to try it. If you’re going to take on any kind of major change, might as well do it when we should be staying home. (Personally I’ve just piled more work onto my normal home and virtual workload, which was dumb but it’s my new normal and I’m sticking with it.) Lizzo has been focusing on wellness, with workout videos, meditation, and now veganism. She posted videos to TikTok showing what she eats in a day and it looks good and not hard to make. She even has recipes for hangovers. You can see the video here and here’s what she said:
This is a breakfast smoothie I like to make with coconut water, whatever kale or spinach I have and frozen fruit. This is a salad that I love to make. This one has kale, red cabbage, some broccoli and a slice of avocado, some white onions and some carrots. For a snack I have this hummus from the farmer’s market and I used to eat a bunch of hot cheetos, that was not good for my acid reflux. These [Lesser Evil Paleo Puffs] are a cheeto alternative that I love that’s vegan. I dip that in hummus. These [Shroomeats packaged mushroom balls] are some mushroom balls and I made a truffle chickpea mushroom ball thing with some quinoa and the salad from earlier made a reappearance. [Batch craft soda zero calorie diet cola] I don’t like diet cola, but this was a vegan diet cola. After dinner I made a peanut butter and jelly smoothie by using peanut butter, some frozen strawberries, oats, oat milk and vanilla protein powder and love from Jesus. That was my day. I feel very good, very lit and full.
I need to install TikTok, I feel so far behind. Even my mom is on it, but I digress. I have the same problem Lizzo used to in that I eat too many chips and processed food and then my stomach hurts and I can’t sleep. Alka Seltzer helps. Last month I watched a vegan meal prep video that made me think I could try it, but it looked like a lot of work preparing all that food. The way that Lizzo does it looks a lot easier. Things like smoothies, salads, quinoa and couscous are easy to prepare. Plus you could probably buy most of that stuff premade like Lizzo. As for the limitations, I only eat white meat as I’m allergic to red meat. Going vegetarian or pescatarian wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice, but giving up eggs, cheese and ice cream seems like it would be an adjustment. There are a lot of people who are vegan and manage just fine though, and the health benefits make it seem like it would be worth it. In the mean time I’ll just eat more veggies. I love a good smoothie!
Lizzo has another video where she makes tortillas with a carne asada alternative with tofu, corn, black beans, vegan cheese and vegan queso. The next day she took the leftovers from that and made a scramble by adding Just Egg which is a vegan egg alternative, some vegan cheese and spinach and seasoned it with garlic powder and paprika. Then she cooked premade vegan bacon in maple syrup. That looked really good actually. She called it hangover food and a substitute for cheesy eggs. I guess you just need a lot of oil for that.
Here’s Lizzo’s BET acceptance speech for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist. I really like what she said about feeling like a winner because you’re winning in life.
This was February 22:
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Lizzo just GETS IT, doesn’t she? So glad you guys cover her.
She’s lovely. And yum. Everything she describes sounds really good. And good for her for making some healthy upgrades. I’ve been a vegetarian for about 20 years and within the past five years or so have crept closer to veganism, mostly because I developed an aversion to eggs. The only thing I can’t seem to give up completely is plain greek yogurt and the occasional bite of cheese.
I think even meat eaters can incorporate more of those dishes into their diets and see how good they are.
I agree – don’t have to be a vegeterian to enjoy lots of vegeterian or vegan dishes. Went vegan for a summer with my daughter b/c she wanted a partner. Giving up the plain Greek yogurt was my biggest hardship. I just never got used to the almond-milk yogurt. And I missed parmasean cheese because I use it quite a bit as the salt in various dishes. I’m soy-intolerant and also found that hard to deal with on a vegan diet.
My favorite vegan meal is Cuban black beans (easy in a crokpot), coconut brown rice, sauteed spinach, baked plaintains or baked sweet potato for a little sweetness. No one ever complains that it’s vegan.
Josephine, do you mix that all together in the crock pot? Or just the beans, cook the rest separately and then mix it? It sounds really good I want to make it!
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing.
And I agree that the yogurt substitutes just aren’t great. I feel like the began cheese is finally getting better, though. I guess I’m lucky that I do fine with soy. Although for a while I tried to cut back because of breast cancer concerns connected to soy.
I have found that one decent substitute, surprisingly, for parmesan cheese is nutritional yeast.
@Darla – Just the Cuban beans go in the crockpot. It’s really easy and there are several easy recipes you can find with a quick Google. I use poblano peppers in place of green peppers. The rice you just make as usual but sub a little coconut milk in for some of the water – I’ve done both stovetop and with a rice cooker, and sometimes just used the packaged/microwaveable brown rice packets. And the plaintains or sweet potatoes just get roasted in the oven with a little olive oil. Plaintains are way quicker if you don’t have time to prepare ahead of time but you can also just microwave the sweet potato to save time. Spinach gets a sautee. It sounds like a lot but none of those steps are time intensive. We serve bowl -style so everyone takes what they want. Hope you try it!
Thank you Josephine, I definitely wll!
omg we are very much alike esmom. that is me.
I make soy yogurt in Instant pot that tastes same as (or maybe better than?) greek yogurt! I use TJ’s plain soymilk w nothing added and NOW probiotic powder. I have used probiotic capsules (emptied into soymilk) and Cultures for Health powder also. I extend time to make it more tangy, would use the baseline time for kids or those w desire for more creamy-plain taste.
Even my dog loves it as a food topper (and got diarrhea w dairy kind, so WIN!)
@moo. I haven’t perfected a soy yogurt. Would love your recipe!
It’s so strange with diets.
Since I was little, I have a deep aversion to milk and all milk products, seriously, when somebody is eating yoghurt, I have to leave the room. I have a strong allergy to egg-whites, and I don’t care for meat in general, like, I eat chicken and a hamburger once in a while, but I never feel the need or the urge for meat. Fish I like better, but still not a big deal for me.
But I ADORE vegetables, like, seriously, lettuce is my comfort food and broccoli is my life.
When it comes to cooking:
I think vegetables are really easy to make, unlike meat, which is complicated for me.
I feel lucky to be able to choose the food I eat. But I feel strange because it’s like I’m a vegan, and I am not.
Lizzo I love. Did you know she’s a long time friend with Adriene from Yoga with Adriene?? 🙂 it explains a lot! 🙂
My son is vegetarian by choice. He loves dairy, but meat he will spit out even if there’s a little bit.
It happens sometimes. Whatever works.
Good for her.
About ten years ago my body cranked lactose intolerance into full gear and I completely lost all desire for dairy. I was lucky in that I had no cravings for it. The hard part is that it’s snuck into tons of packaged items, so my workaround was a whole foods diet. i.e. I only eat single ingredient items (which also rules out most dairy substitutes that are packed with unpronounceable ingredients). It’s not the end of fun though. Get an air fryer and potato slicer and make your own chips (fine to add salt).
That’s why I’ve always found veganism so challenging. Ive been a vegetarian for decades and it is effortless. I’ll will maintain a vegan diet for a couple weeks at a time, but I find it limiting because if I don’t stick to exclusively nuts, fruits and vegetables, I have to carefully read every label. Animal byproducts are snuck into EVERYTHING!
I also find that lots of products offered up to the vegeterian crowd has ingredients that I rather take a pass on. To me the easiest eating is to stick to real food, and I think a lot of people trying out vegeterian diets make the mistake of eating meal-substitutes as a way of easing into it. And so many of those products just seem really gross. As a family we settled on a diet that did end up including fish and some occassional turkey and eggs, both of which we get from local farms. Cutting out anything processed was our sweet-spot. It’s the “diet” that works best for us and makes us feel best. But honestly, to each their own – I like where we landed but would everyone is different and has different access to food, different tolerances, different budgets, different needd, etc
Love Lizzo and good on her for looking out for her health! I just came to say that the Lesser Evil Paleo Puffs are most certainly not vegan. They have egg whites in them. I buy them all the time for my 4 year old to snack on because they are a great chip alternative with protein. Highly recommend them but just not to a vegan lol.
Since I’m always curious about finding new snacks, I looked them up. The Lesser Evil paleo puffs that Lizzo is eating do not contain egg, although they do have honey. So they’re not quite vegan. The same brand also makes a similar product called egg white curls, which is probably what you’re thinking of.
Ah, ok awesome! Thank you for that!
Love her. She’s beautiful and has that it factor.
Good for her! Going vegan is hard, or at least for me. I’ve tried a few times, but it hasn’t stuck. I still can’t live without fish or eggs, so I’m a pescatarian (who also doesn’t eat dairy). Personally, I think everyone should cut back on the meat and dairy, but just find what works for you.
If you want some easy and delicious vegan inspiration watch Tabitha Brown’s videos!!
I already only eat fish on occasion, but it’s the half and half in my coffee and cheese that keeps me from being vegan. I never liked milk so I already use oat milk on cereal etc, but I have yet to find a half and half alternative that tastes good to me.
Hey there! Just read UR comment & want to tell U what I do. I heard in the news abt 4 mths ago or so that research indicates that women should cut out milk in their diets bcz even just a cup a week apparently increases their chances of breast cancer, like 50%. That really scared me, & I could NOT IMAGINE drinking coffee without half & half. I tried all the alternatives (almond milk, coconut milk, etc), but I discovered that using soy milk, or a product made by Silk brand that’s a mix of almond, cashew & peas, is a really good alternative. The only caveat…I have to increase the ratio of the soy or almond/cashew/pea milk to the coffee. I do almost half coffee & half either one of those milk alternatives aforementioned, & I really, really love it. I wouldn’t go back to half & half now even if someone paid me money…LOL. Anyway, just wanted to mention what I do because I used to love half & half SO MUCH & thought my life was OVER when I decided to try an alternative. I wish U luck & maybe U’ll like that alternative, too!
I am very wary of these kinds of studies as they seem to come and go depending on who is funding them. I just googled that and apparently there was observed correlation but no causation.
“The caution being espoused by the authors is not warranted given the observational nature of this study,” commented Don Dizon, MD, director of Women’s Cancers, Lifespan Cancer Institute at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island…Because of its observational design, the study cannot prove that cow’s milk causes breast cancer, Dizon emphasized. “I’d want to see if the findings are replicated [by others]. Outside of a randomized trial of [cow’s] milk vs no milk or even soy, and incident breast cancers, there will never be undisputable data,” he said.
Celebrity, please search TikTok using Google or DuckDuckGo and then do no install it. It’s basically Malware as is Zoom.
Yes! Came here to cite the Bored Panda article about it. Also a site called ZD Net says India banned 59 Chinese apps for the same reason (though the border skirmishes recently may be a big factor). As fun as TikTok is, I deleted mine this am after reading those articles.
Yikes.
This!!! Say no to TikTok!
To anyone saying veganism it’s hard : you can aim for a majority of plant-based meals and reap so many benefits as well : for your health, for the planet, for the animals. Not a fan of the vegan purity contest, even though I support veganism. If you can go vegan, great. If not, just go for plant-based with the occasional “whatever it is you can’t let go of”.
totally agree. Also, the fake vegan meats and cheeses Lizzo uses are FULL of chemicals and artificial ingredients. Better to have a small piece of lean, real protein or low-fat dairy and then plant-based for the rest.
This all sounds great except for vegan cheese. Maybe I’m just scarred from trying to eat vegan queso after growing up in Texas.
You most definitely do not need to download TikTok. The content is fun, I agree. But if you dig through the code and algorithms, it’s a pretty horrifying data collection engine at the service of the Chinese government.
All the good stuff gets reposted to YouTube anyway.
I was vegetarian for a few years and didn’t find it too difficult. Vegan was a different story and just impossible to maintain with my schedule unless I went carb heavy. Sadly, can’t really do either, anymore, thanks to a combination of traveling for work and a GI disorder. Vegetarian lifestyles go down the drain when you can’t eat the primary protein alternatives. 😂
For TikTok vegan recipes I 100% recommend Tabitha Brown. She’s wonderful and her voice and approach is so soothing!
I actually vegan-diet hostile and I follow her on Instagram because her voice is like a warm bath of brain morphine.
Tabitha is such a ray of sunshine. I love her energy. She definitely makes veganism approachable and demystifies it. The other day she had a video where she cut up a fresh jack fruit, and it was so educational!
Do not download TikTok. It is the worst, most invasive spyware and one guy I read about it said that if the tracking that Facebook installs is bad, it is a cup of water to the ocean of tracking and invasive crap that TikTok installs.
End digression.
Good for her if she feels good. A vegan diet makes me want to climb the walls, but I don’t fare well with any restrictive diet. I don’t think veganism is healthy, and I already suffer from B12 deficiency. We could all do well to improve our diets by eating more vegetables, eating fewer processed foods (i.e., most vegan meat and cheese substitutes are out), and eat a lot closer to home. So far my attempts to make that happen haven’t panned out as someone keeps eating my beautiful bean plants.
Good for her! But I do want to say many vegan substitutes are highly processed foods, like bacon and such. Most vegans I know eat a lot of prepared food with suspect ingredients, not anything like the whole food diet we should all eat. But it is hard to eat vegan and avoid them. I tried the vegan diet and I became so anemic after some time. 😥
Same, I very quickly become anemic when my eating ventures too plant based (And that’s with regular iron supplements). Worst part is I don’t care for red meat but I make sure to incorporate it here and there. Anemia is pretty awful. Blackstrap molasses helps a lot but, I find it too sweet – works wonders in chilis
I love Lizzo. She is mad talented, stunning, funny, and her message of self love is nothing short of inspiring.
I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life and am slowly going towards veganism. The thing I miss most is probably cheese. I had a selection of fancy vegan cheese today and while it’s not quite up there with real, some of it is really quite good! It’s a huge improvement on what used to be available a few years ago. It’s just an occasional treat though.
But as someone upthread said, I’m not into purity tests as far as diet is concerned. I think it would be good for people to move more towards a plant based diet and just at least try to eat more veg and less animal products. Some people I know are trying to restrict meat to once or twice a week, or even just make an effort to eat more vegetables. Changing your diet is hard, harder for some than for others. So I appreciate it when anyone tries to move towards a better diet.
I eat a lot of junk once in a while when I’m in spiral, so there can be vegan junk as well lol.
My husband and I moved to a vegan diet after watching a Netflix documentary called The Gamechangers about vegan athletes.
In the documentary, the athletes kept talking about inflammation, and I always thought, when I heard that word applied to health, that they were talking about something to do with internal organs. Then, one day, about two months after starting to eat vegan, I realized that my shoulder — which hurt me more or less constantly for years — didn’t hurt anymore. And that it hadn’t hurt for a few weeks…
I’ve never liked meat all that much, but the health benefits of giving up all meat & dairy are definitely worth it to me.
This is too awesome! Really love her music, and it’s amazing she’s became vegan ♥
Lizzo!!! Love this. I love reading about the meal plans and recipes as well! She feels lit and healthy, awesome. This was a really positive story.
The American Dietetic Association has said an entirely vegan diet can be appropriate at any stage of the life cycle. Google it. ^directed at the commenters above who just don’t think veganism is “healthy”
Hi! Nope, any diet that requires supplementation is not a healthy diet.
Nope. You should be able to get all the nutrients and vitamins you need from a plant-based diet, even B12.
Our son convinced me and my husband to go Vegan this year; he went Vegan 3 years ago after watching Forks over Knives and quickly found there was very little left for him to eat, so he started preparing food for himself and his college room mates. They loved the food so much, he started doing pop ups at local bars and a year later, opened his first Vegan restaurant, Eden Burger, which features vegan versions of all his favorite foods, hamburgers, fries and shakes. He just opened a second restaurant this past January which features more healthy options, like power bowls, wraps and salads. We are grateful to have so many more vegan options than ever before, as we were both able to lose 20 lbs and he is off the cholesterol meds he’s was on for 10 years.
Wow, I love that! Congrats!
Amazing! Props to your son and to you for welcoming his influence! I finally resumed a whole foods plant-based veganism when I realized I only got acne (the painful kind) when I ate dairy. Even a little dairy reliably gave me zits, while without dairy I have no pimples even though my whole skin care regimen is to gently scrub my face with a damp cloth 3-4x/week. I occasionally add a little moisturizer under the eyes.
What we eat has deep roots, so I find people can feel threatened or offended by vegan talk. I feel very shy about telling people I am vegan. I work with people in the animal agricultural industry and do recommend they eat loads more vegetables, meat less often or in lower quantity, and as close to zero processed foods (including processed meats) as possible. I am coming from a place of deep non-judgment, so I seem to not offend them and many aim to follow my recommendations.
In my practice I find that people who give up dairy typically have significant reductions in their pain level. It is hard at first b/c it has addictive qualities, but once people give it up they tend not to miss it. I’ve given up cheese for years 3x in the past 25 years, last time 5 years ago and counting. Each time I didn’t want it. Each time I resumed cheese for convenience, I wanted it every day and sometimes in every meal. It feels amazing to me that I have zero desire for it in the last 5 years, but even when other people eat cheese I feel zero desire to eat it.