“I’d eat a big salad and then be hungry again an hour later,” she recalls. “So I’d reach for chips or crackers, and then I’d crash by mid-afternoon.”
She wasn’t trying to lose weight or follow a trend—she just wanted to feel more in control of her cravings and energy. But with so many plant-based recipes focusing on aesthetics over substance, she found herself frustrated and constantly snacking.
“I realized I wasn’t eating enough of the right things,” Tansy says. “I was feeding myself—but not fueling myself.”
So she made a shift. She didn’t change everything at once, but she started building her meals around satisfaction. That meant more protein-rich legumes, healthy fats from nuts and seeds, and slow-digesting carbs like oats, quinoa, and sweet potatoes.
Breakfast became a warm bowl of oats with almond butter and banana. Lunches were hearty bowls with lentils, roasted veggies, and tahini. And dinner? Stir-fried tofu with brown rice and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Simple, filling, satisfying.
“I learned that fullness is key,” she says. “When you’re full and nourished, you don’t crave junk the same way.”
Tansy also leaned into the emotional side of food. “Sometimes cravings aren’t physical,” she notes. “They’re about comfort, boredom, or stress.” So instead of white-knuckling her way through, she built a routine that gave her both nutrition and pleasure.
Now, she doesn’t obsess over cravings—because they rarely show up. “I eat real food, I feel full, and I move on,” she smiles. “Vegan eating doesn’t have to be about restriction. It can be simple. And it can actually work.”
