( ENSPIRE Health & Wellness ) Healthy Food Delivered to Your Doorstep
ENSPIRE Contributor: Sophia Kang
Mama always says to eat healthy—and MamaSezz is here to make that super easy. MamaSezz is a plant-based prepared meal delivery company, which means customers don’t have to do any shopping, prepping, or cooking to enjoy a delicious—and healthy—meal. The company is committed to fresh, high-quality, and whole ingredients from local sources, and it only uses 100% recyclable packaging.
ENSPIRE spoke with Meg Donahue, co-Founder of MamaSezz, about her own story and how the company is encouraging healthier eating habits across the U.S.:
For those wondering: What is a whole-food diet, what does it look like, and how is it healthier than the traditional meat and dairy and occasional fast-food diet?
A whole food plant-based diet (WFPB) consists of natural, whole, plant foods. Like a vegan diet, a WFPB is free from meat, dairy, eggs, or other animal products. However, it also steers clear from refined and processed foods, including refined sugar, white flour, oil, and preservatives. Now, this doesn’t mean WFPB dieters sit around chewing on celery and apples all day. It’s simply a diet made up of plant-based ingredients that are minimally or not at all processed. And those whole food ingredients are often transformed into delicious healthy casseroles, stir-fries, smoothies, salads, soups, etc.
Oh, and eating this way is really good for you. A whole food plant-based diet is loaded with vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and nutrients. At its core, it’s an anti-inflammatory diet, which is a big deal because excessive inflammation is the main cause of and can contribute to the leading causes of death in the United States, like heart disease, certain cancers, hypertension, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and kidney disease.
Studies show that a whole food plant-based diet can reverse many of these diseases by boosting immunity, reducing inflammation, keeping your blood clean, and stabilizing the body at a healthy weight. On the contrary, animal products, refined grains and sugars, and oils are all highly inflammatory foods and expose your body to potential harm.
Those on a plant-based diet live longer; have less disease; have less brain, muscle, and bone degeneration; and are more active in their late lives because cells of plant-based individuals age at a slower pace. So the more plants you consume, the better your chances are of enjoying life for longer with the ones you love.
You write on your website that your mom’s congestive heart failure introduced you to a whole-food, plant-based diet. After transitioning to a healthier diet, your mom’s health improved dramatically. You also write that “if people could only experience how amazing it feels to eat more plants regularly simply, they would shift their diet.” Besides the physical benefits, what are the emotional and mental benefits of eating healthier? How has your life—and your mom’s—changed since transitioning to a healthy diet?
Beyond the physical benefits of eating a WFPB diet, the emotional and mental benefits are outstanding. There are two ways a plant-based diet can improve your mental state. The first is scientific—yes, this diet is scientifically proven to improve mental health and slow brain degeneration—and the second refers to an improved quality of life due to being physically healthy.
My mom, Millie, was in her 80s and suffering from congestive heart failure. She had to give up her license, independence, and favorite activities. She could hardly hold her grandchildren because her body had become so weak.
Fast forward to her 90s: Millie is thriving on a whole food plant-based diet. After reversing her heart disease from 10 percent heart function to normal, Millie drives, meets up with friends, plays with her grandchildren, swims, and does yoga. As a result, she has gained her independence back and reduced her doctor visits significantly.
For those who say, “I’d rather shave five years off my life and enjoy life more by eating whatever I want,” I say, “I’m sorry, but those aren’t the two options.”
Your quality of life changes based on your physical health. You could spend your later years on prescription medications with copious side effects, struggling to keep up with your grandkids, in and out of doctors’ offices, and aching each time you get off the couch. Or you could spend your time playing pickleball, riding bikes with your family, traveling, and living your independent and active life without fear of a heart attack or crippling pain each time you move. I’d rather take option #2, and who knows, you could get into a car crash tomorrow, but wouldn’t you rather give yourself the best chance to age gracefully rather than abuse your body now? The best part is, the choice is yours – by choosing foods that heal over foods that harm.
What about people who are struggling to limit their fast food or processed food intake? How does MamaSezz make the transition to a healthier diet easier?
Ease into it. For most people, I recommend taking your time. But be warned, “cheat days” and calling your fast food binge a “reward” or “treat” may not get you very far. Instead, incorporate more fruits and veggies into each meal, and choose one meal a day to be 100 percent plant-based. Fill half of your plate with vegetable and fruit dishes and salads. Use meat and dairy as a garnish. As you become more comfortable cooking whole food plant-based meals, you can introduce more plants.
Don’t let “sidestepping” ruin your progress. If you get desperate and stop at Taco Bell, start fresh at your next meal. Thank yourself for trying your best and move on.
And always have a healthy snack on hand. Don’t leave the house without a smoothie, and always have trail mix in the car. Don’t let yourself go hungry. Even if your goal is to lose weight, don’t regulate how much you eat. When hunger takes over, binge eating happens. Enjoy your plant-based foods, don’t get obsessive over it, and stay satisfied.
Jump all in. If “all or nothing” is more your speed, clear out your pantry and refrigerator of all meat, dairy, and processed foods and leap. Choose a handful of recipes you know you’ll like, and be sure to batch cook (freeze one portion from each meal to have on hand if you get hungry). If you are a “jump all-in” personality type, don’t let one hiccup derail you! Get back on that horse and keep on galloping forward. Big changes take some time and a lot of patience.
Ready to try a whole food plant-based diet? The MamaSezz 2-week Detox and Reboot has everything you need to jump right in. Experience the difference a healthier diet makes on your energy level, immunity, and weight loss journey.
For more information, check out MamaSezz’s website, and follow the company on Instagram @MamaSezz.
Read about MamaSezz in our Be Well digital and print issue, coming soon.
