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My Plant-Based Friend

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Recipes

tofu peanut noodle dish

Delicious Tofu Peanut Noodles (Nut Free, High Protein)

birthday cake mug cake

Easy Vegan High Protein Mug Cake Recipe (Birthday Cake Flavor)

Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe: High Protein with Buffalo Chick’n

The Best Creamy Vegan Chicken Rigatoni Recipe

pumpkin protein bars

Pumpkin Protein Bars Recipe

chocolate baked oats

Amazing Baked Oats Recipe: Healthy High Protein Chocolate Cake

vegan belgian waffles

Easy Vegan Belgian Waffles Recipe Four Ways

The Best Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan and Gluten Free)

vegan taco

Vegan Tacos: The Best Walnut Taco Meat Recipe

Lifestyle

healthy vegan high protein & macro friendly snacks you'll love

Healthy Vegan High Protein & Macro-Friendly Snacks You’ll Love

vegan digestion 101 blog post

Vegan Digestion: 10 Tips to Avoid Bloating + Optimize Energy

go vegan

Go Vegan: 10 Tips For a Successful, Sustainable, Meaningful Life

the best sources of vegan protein

Vegan Protein Sources: Great Taste and Nutrition

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By Melissa Donovan

I love creating tasty, balanced, and healthy vegan recipes for people of all diets. Whether you’re looking for high protein, macro friendly vegan recipes or positive encouragement in adopting a more plant-based lifestyle, you’re in the right place!

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tofu peanut noodle dish
birthday cake mug cake
healthy vegan high protein & macro friendly snacks you'll love

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myplantbasedfriend

If you’re building a brand, a business, or a life If you’re building a brand, a business, or a life you actually want to feel good in..

you can’t keep people-pleasing, living in a constant state of overwhelm, and overriding your own needs along the way.

I’ve had to learn this the hard way.

There have been seasons where I was checking all the boxes daily, but ignoring the warning signs of how exhausted, disconnected, and overwhelmed I felt. I would constantly push past my limits.

This manifested as high cortisol, sleep issues, and needing to pull back in all areas, which as a goal-oriented person you KNOW is so hard to do.

If you find yourself in this overextend-burnout cycle, it’s not your fault that your body learned these patterns a long time ago. But until they’re addressed, it can feel like you’re constantly working against yourself.

And as high-achievers, we default to thinking the answer is to push harder. But there’s only so long we can do that before our body pushes back.

The key to sustainable growth is feeling safe enough to trust yourself and what you’re building.

This is exactly what I’m teaching inside our free Vegan Business & Brand Building Summit this Saturday.

You’ll learn from our team the systems and tools (both practical and internal) that help you stay organized, consistent, and stay grounded as you grow.

If you want to build your brand in a way that feels aligned AND sustainable, comment “SUMMIT” and I’ll send you the details to RSVP for free 🤍
If you love cheese, you need this 😍 Whether you’r If you love cheese, you need this 😍

Whether you’re vegan, trying to reduce your dairy intake, or just love enjoying foods that taste good..

@panacheeza Parmesan needs to be a staple in your kitchen 🧀 

I literally use this daily. It’s made with clean ingredients and SO tasty!

Use code MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND to save on your @panacheeza orders 😋

#vegancheese #veganparmesan #panacheeza
Nothing I changed was sticking, and it wasn’t for Nothing I changed was sticking, and it wasn’t for the reason I thought.

I’d follow routines “perfectly”, go all in on my goals, and put so much pressure on myself to finally change.

But every time life got busy or difficult, I’d fall back into what felt familiar.

The patterns of self-sabotage. The thoughts that I wasn’t good enough.

That version of me wasn’t truly consistent, confident, or feeling fully safe to be seen.

Nothing really stuck because of the way I saw myself.

When my self-image started to shift on a subconscious level, everything else finally began to stick, even through the imperfect and difficult seasons.

I’m one of the speakers at the @vegansquadcoaching Health & Fitness Transformation Summit this Saturday, where we’re covering everything from building muscle on a vegan diet to mindset and identity work like this.

Comment SUMMIT and I’ll send you the link to RSVP for free 🤍
There is no humane way to end the life of someone There is no humane way to end the life of someone who doesn’t want to die.

If a serial killer took their victims on nice dates and vacations, showered them with gifts and praise, and then ended their lives as quickly and painlessly as possible, we wouldn’t justify the murders with, “at least the victims didn’t really suffer, and they lived happy lives.” We’d condemn the evil of taking another’s life.

So why is the reaction so different for animals? Other innocent, sentient beings who feel fear and pain. Who cry out when they’re ripped away from their families. Who are bred into an existence of exploitation and abuse, and ultimately, murder.

There are literally laws in place to punish animal abuse. No one would stand by silently if someone started harming their cat or dog. But paying for that same harm to be inflicted on pigs, cows, chickens, fish, and all other animals who aren’t as lucky as your pets is considered “normal” and part of “the circle of life”.

Please really think about the phrase “humane slaughter.” Please consider if there would be a humane way to slaughter your partner, friend, parent, child, or pet. If you wouldn’t want this done to someone you love, then you probably don’t align with supporting this being done to over 80 billion land animals and over 1 trillion marine animals each year.
Everything I eat to lose fat & build muscle as a v Everything I eat to lose fat & build muscle as a vegan 💪🌱 

I’m about 3 months into my cut, still getting stronger and leaner, making progress, and feeling great 🙌

I’m in a slight deficit but am honestly enjoying all of my meals, and still eating a meal off plan each week.

🌱 Meal 1: Protein Oats, 34g protein 
-@vedgenutrition cookies & creme protein (code MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND to save)
-rolled oats
-ground flax
-coconut yogurt
-pumpkin puree
-blueberries

🌱 Meal 2: Buffalo chick’n & cheezy potatoes, 26g protein
-@daringfoods original chickn with buffalo sauce OR @eatjust Buffalo chick’n
-red potatoes
-zucchini & squash
-@goodfoods cauliflower queso

🌱 Meal 3: Tofu fried rice, 30g protein 
-@nasoya super firm tofu
-white rice
-mixed veggies
-@trybachans Japanese bbq sauce

🌱 Meal 4: Edamame pasta, 31g protein
-@the_onlybean fettuccine
-spinach
-marinara sauce
-nutritional yeast
-@panacheeza cashew parmesan (code MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND)

I also use a scoop of @vedgenutrition collagen in my tea for an added 10g protein ☕️ 

Follow @myplantbasedfriend for more high protein vegan food & healthy lifestyle content 🤍✨

😍 Get discounts on all of my favorite vegan staples! Use code:
@vedgenutrition: MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND 
@saygraceprotein: MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND
@greenbitesgo: #MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND
@nugonutrition: MELISSA
@panacheeza: MYPLANTBASEDFRIEND

#veganbodybuilder #veganproteins #veganmacros 

Which meal would you pick?
10 years ago today I made the best decision of my 10 years ago today I made the best decision of my life.

I was in my college dorm room, sobbing my soul out after watching @realgaryyourofsky’s Best Speech You Will Ever Hear.

Awakened to truths I couldn’t unknow, unfeel, or unsee.

I didn’t know any other vegans. I endured a lot of judgment, skepticism, and doubt about my lifestyle, diet, and beliefs.

I felt very alone. But to me, there was no other option.

I felt insecure in conversations. I didn’t yet have the inner groundedness, confidence, or capacity to be on the receiving end of others’ cognitive dissonance, defensiveness, and emotional projections.

So for years, I shrunk myself. I fell into a really dark place. I believed it when people told me I wouldn’t make a difference.

But I kept learning to trust my intuition and lean into the inner nudges and decisions I knew were meant for me, no matter how scary they felt.

Going vegan
Leaving speech language pathology
Starting my first copywriting business
Becoming a certified holistic life coach
Opening a vegan baking business
Competing in bodybuilding
Meeting my soul family
Ending toxic relationship cycles
Co-creating @vegansquadcoaching

And I know this is just the beginning. Even though I’m celebrating my 10 year vegan anniversary, I’m also celebrating how each decision has led me to where I am now.

I’ve embraced more of my full self. I’ve never felt more empowered to advocate for myself and speak up for others.

No matter how heavy and scary the world feels, I’m so grateful to be part of a movement that brings so much hope for collective compassion and healing.

Thank you so much to everyone who paved the way before me, for everyone who’s leading and walking this path with me, and for everyone who continues to live with an open heart and mind 🤍
You keep telling yourself, “I just need to be more You keep telling yourself, “I just need to be more consistent.”

But if that was the root of the issue, it would’ve worked by now.

You force yourself to be more disciplined, and it just seems to backfire every single time. You burn out and throw in the towel.

When this happens, you chip away at your self-trust.

The biggest shift to break this cycle is building the belief that you are someone who will always have your own back.

It becomes natural to make decisions that support your wellbeing as someone who holds a positive self-image and feels worthy of feeling good.

We’re helping you overcome the internal and practical obstacles to your growth (and so much more- nutrition, training, identity, self-sabotage) at our free @vegansquadcoaching Plant-Powered Protein & Muscle Building Summit this Saturday.

I’m kicking us off with a live group hypnosis at 4pm EST to help you stay consistent & stop self sabotaging.

If you’re done starting over and want to stop letting the all-or-nothing mindset control you, come join us.

RSVP for free at the link in my bio!
New vegan protein bars from @nugonutrition are her New vegan protein bars from @nugonutrition are here! 🍫🍒 

If you’re looking for vegan protein bars that actually taste good, look no further!!

There’s not a flavor of NuGo bars that I don’t love, including the new dark chocolate cherry bars 😍

These taste so indulgent- like a candy bar that happens to have protein and clean ingredients.

Highly recommend giving these a try!

Code MELISSA gets you 50% off + free shipping on your first order of @nugonutrition variety packs 🫶🏼
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