My Plant-Based Friend | Vegan food + positivity for all

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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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myplantbasedfriend

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 🫶🏼

It’s possible to feel grounded, clear, and confide

It’s possible to feel grounded, clear, and confident in who you are even when life is changing.

You’re not meant to keep repeating the same cycles that aren’t serving you.

You can reconnect to and strengthen your trust in your ability to adjust instead of falling into all-or-nothing patterns.

You deserve to take care of yourself without feeling under pressure all the time.

This is the kind of transformation that happens when we work at the root. DM me TRUST to learn more about 1:1 coaching 🤍

There was a version of me who genuinely believed I

There was a version of me who genuinely believed I was just going to keep getting more out of shape.

Bigger, weaker, and less healthy.

I grew up skinny and was always told, “enjoy your body while you’re young… it won’t last forever.” 🙄

So when I gained 20+ lbs in college (none of it muscle), I just accepted that everything would be downhill from there.

For years, I stayed stuck comparing myself to others.

The girls my exes cheated on me with.

People on Instagram who looked strong and confident.

Athletes who were jacked and still ate a lot of food.

I kept thinking, “why not ME?” But not in an empowering way, in a defeated way, like I was broken.

Until one day, the meaning of that question shifted.

If it’s possible for them, why wouldn’t it be possible for me too? “Why NOT me!?”

That was the moment everything started to change.

It didn’t happen instantly, and the journey was not linear. But my identity shifted before anything else.

I stopped seeing myself as “unlucky” or “not built for that” and started making decisions from the version of me who knew change was possible.

I got uncomfortable.

I showed up to the gym consistently. I tracked my workouts. I learned how to eat in a way that supported my goals. I started building a loving relationship with myself instead of being my own worst critic.

And a year later, I said something that would’ve sounded impossible before:

“I think I kind of want to try competing in bodybuilding.”

That’s when it hit me.

This journey changed so much more than my body. It completely changed how I see myself and what I believe is possible.

So if you’re feeling behind, discouraged, stuck in comparison, convinced the body, health, relationship, life, you desire is just not in the cards for you..

You’re just in an early chapter of your own story. Start telling it differently, and watch how everything else follows.

If you’re ready to shift your self-image and see what you’re capable of, DM me TRANSFORM to work with me or one of our @vegansquadcoaching coaches 1:1 🦋

Most people who feel stuck believe they’re not try

Most people who feel stuck believe they’re not trying hard enough.

So they usually respond in one of two ways:

1. Push harder, work more, and stay in situations that don’t feel right a little longer, hoping it’ll all eventually work out.

2. Or, they don’t have the capacity to do anything but the bare minimum, and then beat themselves up for not being more “disciplined”.

These are patterns I see often (both in my own life and with clients) in both of these responses:
-Overthinking decisions but still feeling unsure -Pushing through exhaustion and struggling to slow down -Turning to outside advice and opinions for permission or validation

For a long time, I thought the only solutions were more effort or better discipline.

But real change happens when you start to:
-Notice the patterns running your thoughts and decisions
-Understand what your nervous system is responding to
-Build the self-trust to make aligned decisions without second-guessing yourself

That’s the work we focus on in my 1:1 coaching. 
Not endlessly trying to “fix” yourself (because you’re not broken).
 But instead, we build self-awareness, inner strength and self-trust at a pace that feels good and sustainable for you.
 Where in your life are you currently operating from fear instead of self-trust?

If you’re ready to release self-doubt, trust yourself again, and move forward with clarity and confidence, DM me FREE to apply for my 1:1 coaching 🦋

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