NewsOne Now with Roland Martin

On Monday, April 24, 2017, I appeared on TV One’s NewsOne Now with Roland Martin to discuss the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle on their Fit!Live!Win! segment. I showcased three dishes, a sushi “sandwich” (which is a soy-free, meat-free version of the ever-so-popular Buredo ), a vegan Greek wrap with a millet and flax tortilla and raw vegan strawberry cheesecake bites. Stay tuned for the full recipes in a future blog post.

“Roland, you have to taste the cheesecake bites for the people.”

I started off the segment introducing the strawberry cheesecake bites as a guilt-free dessert that can even be eaten for breakfast. The cheesecake filling was primarily made out of cashews and the crust was made out of walnuts and dates. I definitely think that this dish was the favorite of the three. I find that it is much easier to win over skeptics with a great dessert.

“What’s millet? Is that a fish!?”

Next I shared the Greek wrap with the dairy-free tortilla. Roland asked, “a tortilla made out of a plant? What plant can you use to make a tortilla?” Lol! I politely explained that millet is a gluten-free grain that will keep you “regular” unlike meat. 🙂 Of course he countered with, “So how do you cook it? Do you fry it?”

Me: “Have you ever been to Buredo?” Roland: “Ha! No, I haven’t.”

Lastly, I shared the sushi “sandwich”. This handheld seaweed wrapped dish was filled with quinoa, red rice, pickled ginger, pickled purple cabbage, portabello mushrooms and avocado. I also explained how I transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle and emphasized that it wasn’t easy, but it was worthwhile.

“You eat plants for breakfast, lunch, dinner AND snacks?”

Toward the close of the segment I was asked, “How long does it take for you to prepare your meals and even to go buy it, just from a pure convenience standpoint? You’d have to be pretty committed to the plant-based diet because that looks complicated to put together.” I responded with, “Preparing plant-based meals are not complicated. The great thing about practicing a plant-based diet is that most of the foods can be eaten in their whole form. As far as convenience, we just can’t be a slave to convenience anymore. Once you decide to take power over your health – you will make the time to meal prep.”

Roland made it clear that meat was staying in his diet.

Outfit details:

Watch the entire segment here:

♡ Chelsea

All photos by WillPowerPhotos for That’s Chelsea