Interested In Going Vegan? Check Out My Q&A With The Colorful Coach!

Photo Courtesy of Fifi Fresh

Sachi and I first met in 2004 during our freshman year of college. We became fast friends over our shared love of film, television, writing, travel, and humor. After graduation, I pursued a career in the entertainment industry, and Sachi fell into the world of physical fitness. Before I knew it, she had a plethora of loyal clients, a growing business, and a kick-ass body. In recent years, Sachi’s interest in nutrition and the benefits of plant-based eating eventually led her to becoming The Colorful Coach!

Despite my passion for meat, seafood, and dairy – I wanted to ask Sachi some questions about her vegan diet and consulting business since I too am a huge advocate for incorporating plenty of fresh produce, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains into our daily meals. So whether you enjoy animal-based foods like myself or avoid them like Sachi, this Q&A is full of insightful information that focuses on the importance of nutrition and the joy of eating plant-based foods.

WHO IS THE COLORFUL COACH?

Sachi Georgieva is a vegan healthy habits coach based in Berkeley, CA. Her passion for wellness began with her own fitness transformation, going from an exercise-avoider to certified personal trainer, and expanded after she experienced the health benefits of plant-based eating.

With a family history of chronic illnesses including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, Sachi deeply understands the importance of preventive health. Using evidence-based nutrition and techniques for successful habit change, she now educates and empowers others who seek to improve the health of both their bodies and the planet with a plant-based lifestyle.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

How long have you been a vegan, and why did you decide to give up animal-based foods?

I’ve been vegan for 4.5 years and my journey to becoming vegan started when I, alongside my partner, decided to do one month without meat, mostly because I wanted to expand my cooking skills. Veganism was not even on my radar at that point and definitely not something I would have foreseen being interested in. Going without meat proved to be incredibly easy and improved my digestion, which had long been a problem for me, so after that meat-free month I didn’t see a reason to add it back into my diet.

Once I was no longer eating meat, it gave me an opportunity to look into why some people don’t eat any animal products (including dairy and eggs) and to really dive into some of the more gruesome realities of how animal agriculture works, as well as the devastating impact that factory farming is having on our environment. At that point, the choice to be vegan felt natural and very much aligned with who I am. It was just a matter of learning new ways to eat (which took some time but was really fun!) and adjusting to the social aspect of going against eating norms.

Funny enough, when I first went vegan I was concerned about not getting adequate nutrients (I was kind of a gym-bro then) but I began noticing even more positive changes in my health pretty quickly, which is how I got interested in nutrition. While health wasn’t a factor in my choice to go vegan, it’s another reason added to my list of why I remain vegan.

For those interested in removing all animal-based foods from their diet, do you suggest becoming a pescatarian first, then a vegetarian, and then finally a vegan so their bodies can adjust to the change, or can someone transition to a vegan diet cold turkey or in this case – cold tofurkey? You’re so welcome for that amazing dad joke!

I think however people want to transition is up to them. Mentally, it can be helpful to take out one thing at a time. Also in terms of digestion, it can help to transition gradually (over the course of a few months), but I know several people who went vegan overnight and adjusted without problems.

What percentage of your diet is made up of naturally occurring, whole foods verses human-made, plant-based foods?

I try to eat around 80% whole plant-based foods. Some days are better than others 😅

I know some vegans are less “strict” than others. Do you consume honey, Worcestershire, and/or other condiments containing small amounts of dairy or fish? If not, what’s your go-to sweetener and favorite Umami inducing sauces?

I don’t consume any foods that contain animal products, including honey. I have vegan Worcestershire (Annie’s), though I haven’t used it very often. Maple syrup is my most-used sweetener or regular cane sugar. I’m a bit of a fiend for sauces but some favorites include lemon tahini dressing, Thai peanut sauce, and teriyaki sauce mixed with chili garlic sauce.

All hail real maple syrup! It is my absolute favorite natural, sweetener.

On that same token, do you drink wine that has been fined and filtered with animal-based agents?? If not, what’s your go-to wine brand? (Funny story: When I went vegan for a week back in 2011 – I joked to someone that I drank wine every night to “cope” with the lack of dairy and meat. They quickly mentioned that most wine isn’t vegan. I was devastated that I had technically been failing the entire time 😦 Too bad natural wines weren’t as popular back then and that I wasn’t as knowledgable about the winemaking process as I am today.

I’m not in the habit of buying wine myself, but when I do, I use barnivore.com to check which ones are vegan. If I’m offered a glass of wine with family or friends, I don’t usually stress about it.

Cheers to that!

What is your go-to….
> Chicken substitute: Gardein or Alpha Foods
> Beef substitute: Beyond or Impossible
> Egg substitute: Just Egg for meals, flax eggs for baking
> Milk substitute: Silk soymilk, unsweetened
> Cheese substitute: Depends on what it’s for. I like Miyoko’s, Field Roast Chao, Daiya, and Good Planet slices, Kite Hill cream cheese, homemade cashew parmesan, Follow Your Heart parmesan, and Follow Your Heart or Violife feta

I, like yourself, try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Aren’t a lot of meat substitutes highly processed, full of fillers, and loaded with salt to make them taste yummy, OR is that just a misconception?

This largely depends on the brand/type. Seitan, jackfruit, and mushroom-based meat substitutes are pretty innocuous. The ones that are trying to mimic meat more closely certainly aren’t health foods and I wouldn’t recommend eating them multiple times per day every day, but they aren’t necessarily unhealthier than eating meat from animals. This is mostly due to the fact that even if they have some saturated fat, they’re cholesterol-free. If you’re going plant-based for health reasons and seeking mostly natural foods, you can get by easily without including any processed meats. For anyone (like myself) that likes convenience and clings to certain foods for nostalgia, these are lovely options you can incorporate guilt-free on occasion.

If anyone is interested, a recent crossover study was done directly comparing organic beef burgers to Beyond Burgers and showed that eating Beyond improved several cardiovascular risk factors compared to eating beef: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/112/5/1188/5890315

For all the vegans out there – how do you recommend getting enough iron, calcium, omega-3s, and B12 into one’s diet?

Eating a varied plant-based diet that includes whole grains, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, fruits, and vegetables (especially leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables) is typically enough to meet these nutrient needs, except for Vitamin B12 which I recommend everyone on a plant-based diet take a supplement for. A tablespoon of flax seeds or chia seeds, or 1 oz of walnuts daily will meet your omega-3 intake needs, or you can supplement with an algae-based EPA/DHA if it’s a concern.

I have a free Beginner’s Guide To Plant-Based Eating available for download that has more info and supplement amounts.

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

I don’t believe in guilty pleasures 🙂 I enjoy what I eat!

YES! I completely agree. Eating should always be an enjoyable experience ❤

What food(s) do you miss most from your days as an omnivore?

I’m probably spoiled by the burgeoning plant-based food industry and the fact that I live in California, but I’ve been able to have good veganized versions of most foods that I loved before, so I can’t think of anything. I even had vegan spam musubi recently that blew my mind!

I saw a photo of that Vegan Masubi on your Insta, and it looked delish!

What’s your take on organic vs. non-organic?

I don’t have a strong opinion on this. I’m mindful of the EWG’s yearly Clean 15 & Dirty Dozen and tend to buy a mix of both. When it comes to eating plant foods, I’m a proponent of accessibility above all so if the choice is between getting conventional produce because it’s what is available to you and what you can afford or not getting produce at all, 100% buy the conventional. And be better about rinsing your produce than I am 😬

I fully agree with your sentiment! One of my greatest hopes is that we will one day live in a world where food deserts are a thing of the past and organic produce becomes affordable and accessible to all.

What’s your take on gluten and its role in the everyday diet of those who don’t suffer from celiac?

For those who don’t suffer from celiac, gluten is harmless and can be included as part of a healthy diet. Many people who have sensitivities to gluten are actually sensitive to the fructans in food, which are fantastic for our gut health but ferment in the large intestine and can cause digestive distress. In that case, it can be good to figure out which foods you can better tolerate and in what amounts.

You are someone who practices physical fitness on a daily basis. Do you think that diet and exercise are equally important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, or does one slightly trump the other?

Diet and exercise are both important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Now that I know more about nutrition, I’d say nutrition has a slight edge because you can significantly improve risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol while still living a mostly sedentary lifestyle, but I always encourage both for optimal results.

I also can’t leave out that stress is one of the most overlooked factors to our physical health. You could be going through the motions of eating healthy and exercising and still be derailed by your mental health, so it’s just as important to prioritize.

Last but not least, do you work with folks who don’t want to completely give up animal-based products but would like to introduce more whole foods into their diet?

I work with anyone who is interested in eating more/mostly plants, but all my nutrition advice and meal plans are exclusively plant-based.

AND THAT’S A WRAP

I hope you enjoyed my Q&A with The Colorful Coach as much as I did! If you are someone who’s considering transitioning over to a vegan diet or just need a professional to motivate and educate you about the benefits of eating plant-based foods, The Colorful Coach is an excellent option!

You can find Sachi Georgieva on Instagram @thecolorfulcoach and learn more about her offerings at www.thecolorfulcoach.com.