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Check out these seven indispensable nutrition tips from Victoria Moran to help you feel your best and get the most out of your plant-based diet!

7 Tips from a Plant-Based Nutrition Coach
From Victoria Moran, CHHC, AADP, VLCE, RYT-200, Main Street Vegan Academy, MainStreetVegan.com
June 2023

Images from Canva

Originally printed in the Main Street Vegan blog, MainStreetVegan.com.

There’s so much confusion out there about nutrition. Unlike any other science in which the science itself draws fact from opinion, you can find every kind of “fact” about nutrition, backed by studies which may or may not have been without bias in terms of who funded the study. Amid the morass of misinformation, these 7 recommendations rise above the fray as the gold standard for healthy eating.

1. Eat plants: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. If that sounds boring, don’t worry: these simple foods combine to make dazzling dishes, including those that are meaty, cheesy, and otherwise reminiscent of the foods you think you’ll miss. Some experts will say “Eat mostly plants.” I recommend “Eat only plants.” A plant-exclusive diet, fortified with vitamin B₁₂, has the most evidence behind it for helping humans live disease-free. (See How Not to Die, by Michael Greger, MD.)


2. Most of the time, eat plants that haven’t been through a plant. Sometimes processed, packaged, convenience foods are a time-saving godsend. When you purchase them, read the labels to be sure they’re free from any animal products, GMO ingredients (cottonseed oil and non-organic soy or corn), high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, or palm oil. But most of the time, choose foods that don’t even have a label because you picked them from the produce section or the bulk bins.


3. Generally speaking, think in terms of whole foods, not isolated nutrients. The magic of nutrition, the way foods from the earth becomes our physical stucture, happens as a result of chemical interplays only partially understood by science. Eat a variety of colors: green, yellow, orange, purple—and when it comes to produce, even white is a color (think, cauliflower) and a variety of plant food overall. (Check out Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD.)


4. Cook gently. In yoga, it’s said that the highest quality foods have a sattvic (balancing, purifying) quality, but that these same foods—fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc.—can be rendered tamasic (dulling, depressing) by improper preparation. Avoid this by eating raw what can be eaten raw (and what you can easily digest in this state) and by lightly steaming vegetables or sauteeing in a small amount of avocado or olive oil, if you use oil, and always at medium or lower heat. (For some amazing recipes using great cooking techniques, find The Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook, by JL Fields, Victoria Moran, and Main Street Vegan Academy coaches.)


5. Supplement judiciously. The key to a great life, or great health, is not in a plethora of brown bottles. There are a few nutrients, however, which one would do well to supplement. Vitamin B₁₂ is essential if you’re a vegetarian or if you’re over the age of 50, regardless of your diet. Vitamin D₃—it’s actually a hormone, not a vitamin—is something that a great many people lack because we’re simply not out in direct sunlight enough for the action of sunlight on our skin to make it. Unless your levels are optimal (a simple blood test can tell you), supplementing 1000 IU daily makes sense. You may also want to consider supplementing the fully formed Omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, from an algae-based source. Other nutrients to consider include iodine (unless you regularly consume either iodized salt or seaweed), vitamin K₂ (unless you regular eat the Japanese soyfood, natto), and zinc (pumpkin seeds are best plant source, but you’d need to eat quite a few of them to get the RDA). I recommend Complement Essential to my clients, all Vegan and very high quality. If you’d like to check it out, go to www.lovecomplement.com, and use the discount code MAINSTREET to save 10%.


6. Cook, and eat, in a good frame of mind. Years ago, I had a friend of the Sikh faith who told me that in her tradition, food preparation is so sacred that one is asked to pause before entering the kitchen to be sure they’re in a positive mental state before working with food. The belief is that mental attitude can be passed from the cook to the food. And we know from solid science that when food is consumed in a state of fear, anger, or upset of any kind, digestion is impaired. Cultivate uplifting conversation at the table, or if you’re dining alone, do so in the company of sunny thoughts, a lovely table setting, and good music or an inspiring audiobook. (My classic Main Street Vegan is now available in audio—here’s the link to the book on Audible.)


7. Practice the other habits of healthy living. Diet isn’t everything. To live vibrantly calls for regular exercise, good sleep, excellent hydration, and some practice, meditation, for instance, to help combat the stresses of life. (Un-Do It: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases, by Dean Ornish, MD, and Anne Ornish, is an excellent guide to covering all the bases.) And it’s all connected: when you’re eating well, you tend to sleep better. When you’re exercising, you’re more drawn to health-promoting foods.

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Posted on All-Creatures: October 27, 2025
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All-Creatures.org Health Position and Disclaimer

We began this archive as a means of assisting our visitors in answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to take a proactive part in their own health. We believe the articles and information contained herein are true, but are not presenting them as advice. We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own health, and simply wish to share with others the things we have found. Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body. If you have a health problem, see your own physician.