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Are you curious about incorporating more plant-based meals and snacks into your diet? Eating fewer animal products doesn’t mean you must adopt a vegan lifestyle. Maybe you want to start participating in Meatless Mondays or avoid eating meat or dairy at lunch daily. There is no right or wrong way to explore plant-based eating. 

Whether you live on or off campus, you can find ways to transition your food routine to include more plant-based options.   

When changing your food habits, consider how those changes may affect your energy levels and nutrition. Start slowly with the transition and monitor how you feel.  

CU Â鶹ӰԺ has a Campus Dining Services dietitian who can provide nutritional consultations in person and online, including for vegan and vegetarian diets.   

Here are tips to help you transition to putting plants first. 

• People who eat a lot of meat may need to transition slowly by substituting meat dishes once or twice a week and adding more plant-based meals as desired. 

• Add plant-based foods high in protein, like tofu, beans, lentils, peas, nuts, soy products and seeds. 

• Eat more fruits and vegetables in various colors, especially orange, red and dark green vegetables. Colorful vegetables are packed full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. 

• Enjoy whole, plant-based healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds and olives. Healthy fats help with mood stabilization, mental health, cardiovascular health, reduced inflammation, increased immunity and feeling full.     

On-campus dining locations make it easy to put plants first. You can use the menus and the vegetarian and vegan filter functions in to plan your meals.  

C4C and Village Center dining centers offer plant-based protein stations to help you easily add extra protein to your meal.  Additionally, dining centers label food items for the top nine allergens and gluten and for various food preferences. Vegan foods have a V label, and lacto-ovo vegetarian foods have a LO label. Libby on the Run, CU on the Run and the Alley at Farrand also carry many vegan entrees, sides and snacks.  

Here are a few hacks to try at dining centers on campus:

• At the C4C, ask for a vegetarian breakfast burrito and add plant-based chorizo, tofu or beans for protein. 

• Skip the meat and cheese at the deli bar and add hummus and veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers to a sandwich. After your meal, enjoy a vegan dessert like a Â鶹ӰԺ almond cookie or acai berry sorbet. 

• At Sewell, Village Center and C4C, ask for a tofu scramble with vegetables at the breakfast scramble bar. Depending on the day, you can also enjoy a selection of vegan pastries, like coconut bread or apple strudel.  

Consuming fewer animal products offers many benefits.  

• Improving health outcomes and lowering the risk of diseases. A plant-based diet promotes many health benefits and can lead to a longer and healthier life. 

• Saving money on food costs. Meat and dairy products sometimes cost more than whole plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes.

• Reducing carbon emissions. The animal-based food industry produces one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. 

• Expanding the global food supply. If we reduced the consumption of animal products and increased plant-based food production, the global food supply could increase by up to 49% without expanding the amount of land used for production. 

• Reducing water usage. Producing animal-based food products uses more water than plant-based foods. Consuming fewer animal products could reduce water usage for food production by 50%. 

• Decreasing the amount of pollution in waterways, streams and oceans. Animal-based food production uses more packaging and produces more waste, which contaminates natural water supplies.  

• Learn more about food systems and making sustainable choices with the Global Food System journey on the  AWorld app. This app has recommended daily actions to reduce our carbon footprints and connects you to CU Â鶹ӰԺ's sustainability efforts. 

• Become a Sustainable Buff and pledge to make daily sustainable lifestyle choices. 

• Join the .

• Review the Sustainable Buffs Guide for more ideas on making sustainable choices in transportation, food, shopping and more.   

• Schedule an appointment with the campus dining dietitian if you want to learn more about the nutritional benefits of a plant-based diet or need support transitioning to a plant-based diet.