Plant Forward

Hello Santa Barbara (+ beyond)!

Life is starting to shift over here and it’s been some time since I posted on The Vine. I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce this friendly neighborhood plant-based enthusiast. :)

My name is Beth Skidmore, MSACN. This summer I completed a Masters Degree in Applied Clinical Nutrition ( with honors! I am a little bit proud :) ). With graduation, I’m now officially launching into a career centered around nutrition as a Whole Food Plant-Based Nutritionist. I won’t be immediately launching a practice - I have some goals and projects in the works, and I am super excited to keep you up to date as my new path starts to take shape.

For those of you who I haven’t met yet personally, I spent the first fifteen years of my career as a nonprofit and fundraising professional, helping to build community around shared missions and raise over $30 million for organizations I care about. Eleven of these years (and the vast majority of those funds-raised), I spent at the Santa Barbara Bowl (my happy place) as the development director for their foundation and part of a hard-working team that raised funds for the renovation and restoration capital campaign. If you’re local, you know how magical it is. :) And if you’re familiar with the organization, you can imagine what an incredible opportunity I had to grow and learn with some of the most committed leaders in our community.

Now, after three-years of studying and more than eight years of everyday real-life learning, I’m excited to be entering a new space where I’ll be combining my developed nutrition knowledge, my nonprofit background, and my experience raising a plant-based family as I officially launch into the growing field of evidence-based, plant-based nutrition (yes, it’s a field, yes, it’s grounded in research, and yes, it’s growing!).

While I’m on a heartfelt mission to share the science and every-day application of whole food, plant-centered eating, at the core of my drive is that I know others want what I’ve been wanting and working towards for my family - the very best chance at a long, happy, healthy life. I did not used to think that what I ate was such a large driver in my health. Now I know it is. I thought when we first experimented with a plant-based diet that it was temporary. Now it’s a purposeful life-long commitment I’ve made with my family.

Change is hard. Particularly when you have littles. When you’re used to making chicken everything, fish, or meat every night for dinner, and when you’re used to adding dairy-based cheese and butter to pretty much everything, it’s hard to imagine a plant-based life or taking foods that feel like a side to the main course. I know how hard eating more (or all) plants can seem because I made the transition to a plant-based life during one of the most challenging times in my own life - we made the shift in-line with the birth of my first child, so not just was our lifestyle was new, but motherhood was new, and being a working mother was new. But we did it, and I know it’s possible because we did it and we surely were not likely candidates for eating all plants. We shaped a new life where we put our health first and prevention became paramount and it was powerful, life-changing, exciting - the benefits outweighed the discomfort and work it took.

My goal here actually isn’t to convince you to go plant-based (as obvious as that may seem;)) but to help you understand how the foods we eat impact our bodies so that we can all make more informed decisions about the foods we eat and marry those with our health goals for our families. To whatever extent you incorporate plants into your life, I’m here to help you with ideas, resources, and support.

I hope when you spend time on Plant Based Santa Barbara or my pretty active @plantbasedsantabarbara Instagram account (and currently fairly inactive Facebook account ;) - @plantbasedsantabarbara), that you come to find that eating more plants (or all plants) feels less challenging and more fun and accessible. I hope it expands your view on how food interacts with our bodies and impacts how we live. I’m excited to bring more of the science to my work in addition to sharing my experience. We all deserve to understand the basics of nutrition science so that we can make the most informed decisions for our families. I hope you find my spaces to be opportunities to add to the conversation, ask questions, challenge some long-held thoughts on nutrition, and full of tools and inspiration for eating more plants with your families. And stay tuned - I’ll keep you up to date on what’s to come! I’m just getting started.

Lifestyle work is hard. But it’s so worthwhile. If you have ideas, questions, needs, etc., please reach out! I’ve paused a bit on my site while I’ve been finishing up school, but I’ll be picking back up on building content, the calendar, and more. I love making this the community resource I wish I always had and I’d love to hear from you on how I can make it even more applicable for your life and what would be helpful for you on your plant-forward journey.

Let’s keep the conversation going. Let’s keep moving together, plant-forward.

Wishing you health + happiness for you and your families!

Beth Skidmore, MSACN
Whole Food Plant-Based Nutritionist
Nutrition Educator
Public Health Advocate
+ Your Friendly Neighborhood Plant-Based Enthusiast :)

Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants: #7 It's Incredibly Freeing

You heard me right. Eating more plants can be incredibly freeing! Most people think of it as super limiting. Let me explain.

I used to think that eating plant-based was limiting too. Restricting even. But the moment I made a commitment to eating plant-based, it became a personal philosophy, and everything changed. Here’s my main reasons for feeling it’s a freeing way of life now. 

1)   It became an opportunity, not a restriction. Developing a plant-centered philosophy is actually super handy for staying focused on my health. It helps me prioritize myself and feeling good. And not just every other week and sometimes on Friday. Every day. When my family first started test driving a plant-based diet, I thought it was seriously difficult in public situations. It felt like it took a lot of extra effort and it felt unsettling. Like I stuck out like a sore thumb. Like I was always extra work. Like I could make a more mainstream choice but wouldn’t. Not couldn’t. I felt like others saw it as being weird and difficult. I don’t know why I cared, or if they did, but I think it was a part of being hyper aware that making vegan choices were typically viewed as being, well, weird and difficult. If there were treats in the break area at work or in social situations I had to ask about all the ingredients so I often just avoided it altogether to avoid the extra effort or seeming like an imposition by grilling the gifter of said treats with my list of vegan questions. 

This was when we were experimenting with a vegan diet. I had one foot in and one foot out. We were plant-curious but it didn’t seem like a long-term decision. But, when we made the decision, when I saw what an incredible benefit it had for my husband and started to experience super exciting changes myself, it became our new PHILOSPHY. A health and lifestyle philosophy. A commitment to myself and my family. And everything changed.

Eating plant-based then became an opportunity. As my learning and experience grew, and my commitment grew, I knew it was a good decision and it kept me from making unhealthy choices that I knew I’d later feel bad about. Not feel badly in terms of feeling guilty – rather, I came to know my body wouldn’t feel good. I knew at this point that plant-foods were making me feel so much better and it became so helpful to have made a personal commitment. If there were stacks of candy and baked goods in the break area at work or at social events, I knew that there were likely ingredients that wouldn’t serve me well because, well, most baked goods and social party foods aren’t plant-based and are filled with at least eggs, dairy, oils, and other animal based foods. It became easy to say “no thank you, bummer, it’s not plant-based - but thank you so much for sharing these! So thoughtful!” and make plans before or after to treat myself with plant-foods. I’m all for progress not perfection, but I have to say, when plant based eating went from intention to commitment, for me it made a huge difference. When it’s a philosophy, sure you can make exceptions, but it’s an opportunity to focus on what you know to be best for you and not worry about missing out. 

2)   It’s a relief not to eat animals. It’s a super big relief. It’s so freeing. I never felt right about it. I just tried not to think about it. Finding out that plant foods – and eating entirely plant-based – is actually the healthiest way to eat - Mind blown. Weight lifted. Animals live. Phew.

3)   Knowledge is freeing. The more plants I ate, the more I wanted to learn about the benefits of eating more plants. I became armed with tons of knowledge and knowledge is crazy freeing. It’s freeing to know that I have a great amount of control over my health and that it’s not all genetics leading me into fates of disease and chronic conditions. Learning about plant-based eating and nutrition quickly became a leap frog of growing resources at my fingertips. My experience matched what I was learning and the more I learned the more I could enjoy and appreciate my new plant-centered life. It made me want to keep learning more. Pre-plant-based-me loved research and news clips that reinforced my bad habits. Now, I love the research that reinforces my good habits and seek it out. 

All this researching and exploring led me to develop a whole team of doctors, health specialists, authors, organizations, and bloggers who became my go-to resources, who were on team me. I became adept at learning how to research and identify those who I trust. I learned how to read the research and how to look for bias and reductionist methods (methods that just examine the effect of single nutrients rather than examining the whole diet). I started taking classes. Signed up for way too many newsletters. I learned to listen to my body. And now I’m months away from graduating with a Masters in Nutrition. Something I NEVER saw coming but I’ve gone from just doing what I’d always done and only knowing what was right in front of me (primarily in the media or hearsay) to being able to read, research, ask questions, listen to my growing base of knowledge and intuition, and make my own decisions. DAMN freeing. 

4)   It’s incredibly freeing and empowering to know that my daily food choices are also choices that benefit the health of the planet and access to healthy foods around the globe. Eating more plants is not just a good choice for me personally. #8 and #9 in my Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants series will focus on these two areas, so I won’t go into much detail here, but I love knowing that we can make daily choices that benefit our global community. We are that powerful.

Developing a plant-based philosophy isn’t a restriction, it’s a way of life now and an opportunity to give myself the best chance at a happy, healthy life. Might I still get sick with an undesirable disease or condition? Sure. But hopefully I’ve kicked the can much, much farther down the road and I am confident that I am dramatically reducing my risk.

We’re all doing the best we can with the information we have. Developing a plant-centered way of life, and all the learning that has come with it, has given me a profound new commitment to myself and it has been the most enriching and freeing decision I’ve made. You can do it too. :)

Where to start? Build your toolkit of information on plant-based living. Explore my website! I share tons of resources that have helped me. A great first step is to check out my Nutrition Toolkit and see if there’s a book that resonates with you to dive into. I’ve never relied on just one source - these are all sources that I’ve grown to value. It’s good to start somewhere and see what you think. And check out the Recipe Toolkit too to see if there’s a recipe book that catches your eye. Most of these chefs also have websites, so you can google them and test recipes before you buy. Pick one and test it out. Expand from there.

Knowledge is freeing. Eating more plants can be freeing and an opportunity. You’re in the driver’s seat. Build your philosophy. Adjust as you learn more. Discuss. Experiment. Grow.

You’ve got this.

Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants: #4 Maintaining a Healthy Weight Doesn't Have to be an Uphill Battle

There's no question that exercise is super duper important to our long-term health. I don't think I need to dig up any facts here to support that claim, it's something we all commonly know. But, I think many of us (or at least pre-plant-based-me:)) have come to think about exercise as necessary for maintaining a healthy weight. I remember as a kid looking at this beautiful picture of my grandmother and her sisters. All were so beautiful. And at this moment in time, all carried their weight in their hips. I knew someday I was destined to be a beautiful pear-shaped goddess just like them. I always thought genetics was a pretty big factor in our body-type/weight. And to a greater extent exercise. Sure, perhaps genetics play some role and of course physical fitness is important, but what I've experienced is that the biggest influence on how I feel and how much weight I carry is in the food I eat. It's (almost) all about the food. I now firmly believe that I can let exercise be for fitness, strength building, fun, meditation, flexibility - or whatever reason that most connects me to an exercise routine at a given time - by keeping the foods I eat whole food, plant-based. It doesn't have to be an uphill battle to maintain a healthy weight.

My Experience

Going vegan helped me loose some weight naturally. But, me oh my, shifting into a whole food, plant-based lifestyle (vegan minus the oil and highly processed foods) was a game changer. I have found that my weight is super dependent on what I eat. And it's not a "carb" thing. My two biggest roadblocks to maintaining my feel-best weight are 1) animal based foods (contributing to, as I call it, my "extra cheese layer") and 2) processed oils. In the past ten years, I have been soooooo many sizes, going in and out of three pregnancies and three different eating styles. Right now I am a bit of a pear coming out of my third pregnancy. And I'm loving it (for the most part;)) for the time being as it's an extension of a special journey that I've been on this past year - but also I know by sticking to my plants I can work my way back to my feel-good weight more easily. So here's been my experience.

Before and during my first pregnancy, I was a classic cheese-a-holic omnivore. I started at the highest weight of, maybe, my life. And to top that, I gained by far the most weight during that pregnancy (40+ lbs).... Oy. I shifted to veganism, literally on the day my first child was born, transitioning from vegetarian to vegan eating over the following few months, and then went from vegan to whole food, plant-based over about the next year. I reached my lowest weight since high school leading into my second pregnancy, and I felt awesome.

During my second pregnancy, oil began to make a regular appearance about half way through and I    definitely noticed a change in my weight gain later in my pregnancy as compared to the earlier days. And following that pregnancy, I shifted back to a primarily whole food plant-based diet, which brought me down to my feel good weight much, much quicker than before. Mind you, my weight gain came from using just a bit of oil on cooked vegetables at night and maybe in my salad dressing at lunch. When I shifted back to whole food plant-based, the pounds tumbled off waaaay more easily. And this was without a really crazy exercise routine. I walked. I tried to squeeze in yoga. As a mom with a new baby and working full-time, I was not super consistent. What I found is that my weight was mostly connected to what I ate. 

In my most recent pregnancy I gained just under what I gained in my second (about 30 lbs total), eating whole-plant based throughout. But just following the birth I found myself in birthday season where I indulged in some yummy (but surely oil/shortening-laden) cakes, vegan pizzas, and more processed vegan foods and I suddenly came to notice, once again, that these foods are super fun, but don't serve me in maintaining my ideal feel-good weight. I am confident as I make sure to stick to a 95-100% oil-free diet moving forward, I'll be back to my old feel-best self in no time. 

Whole foods! :)

No other eating style did for me what a whole food plant-based diet does. Taking out animal meat made a huge difference. Taking out cheese, dairy, and eggs made a huge difference. And taking out oil made a huge difference.

I don't want to confuse finding my best feel-good weight through what I eat with deprivation. I'm not limiting my portions. I eat until I'm full and high fiber foods help my body stay in better tune with my full queues. And I totally enjoy eating whole food plant-based. I especially love it because it makes me feel the best. Limiting foods like animal products and oils doesn't mean I'm depriving myself, it means I know what foods make me feel good and I focus on those foods as the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.

Experiencing a wide range of sizes, feels, and eating patterns in a relatively short amount of time made me realize how DIFFICUUUULT we make it in America to maintain a healthy weight. On the one hand, we learn that in order to be trim you have to exercise a lot, focus your diet on protein (particularly from animals...and definitely dairy, but be careful, it has to be just the right amount! Not too much. Not too little. But what the heck does that mean??). And yes, eat your veggies. But not white veggies. And don't forget to blame it on gluten. And sugar. Aaaand too much fruit and carbs in general will make us larger in life than we may like. And the family-style restaurants we gather at with our loved ones all have servings of heavy oily - animaly foods in triple the amount we really need (of any food) in one sitting. I remember pre-plant-based-me always feeling so confused about what to eat and constantly feeling guilty that I wasn't exercising hard enough to balance out my calories. So what's the deal? Why do we have to feel so guilty about our habits while the traditional guidance we're getting is so dang confusing and unclear? And doesn't serve us well? It's crazy-making. 

So What I'm Saying Is...

I don't think it has be so hard. We can make exercise about fun, health, stress relief, meditation, activity, longevity, or whatever moves you to move and by literally just focusing our plates on plant foods, as close to their natural forms as possible, we can take the guilt, stress, and mystery out of eating. 

When I was first learning about plant-based nutrition, I remember hearing that diet was 80% the driving factor in weight loss/management and 20% is fitness/exercise. I believe that. Once I shifted my plates to nutrient rich foods and away from calorie rich foods, everything changed. My main food philosophy is to eat 97-100% whole food, plant-based at home (all plant-foods, limited-to-no refined foods and oil) and when I eat out/take out, I try to maintain the same, but oftentimes some oil sneaks in. Sometimes a Crushcakes cupcake with my kids or Mesa Verde pizza with my husband is just soooo good. So I try to worry about oil a bit less when eating out, it's just the way of most restaurants at this point. But I'll almost always try for an oil-free option or at least limit oil where I can - and because oil-free options can be a bit more challenging (although not impossible!:)), I try to eat most of my meals at home so oil-rich foods don't override my diet. 

What I  eat is completely relative to how I feel - the more whole food plant-based nutrient dense foods I eat, the better I feel. The more animal foods and oils (calorically dense foods) I eat, the more weight I gain and the crummier I feel. Here's a visual from Forks Over Knives that paints a pretty good picture of filling up on calories from animal and processed sources vs plants.

Image Credit: Forks Over Knives

So where do you start if you're thinking of plant-based eating to find your feel-good weight? As you'll find on Plant Based SB, I'll share what I've experienced and a lot of what I've learned but also some resources that I've found to be super helpful and credible in their approach to nutrition because we all need trusted resources to add to our toolkits and to help build our foundation of knowledge. I share some great resources in BASICS and throughout THE VINE on plant-based eating, but to help make it super simple to start, here's what the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) says about what to eat for a healthy weight loss, to get you started (and check out the full article in the link):

• GRAINS - Eight servings a day, 80 calories = one serving.  At least six servings should be from whole grains. (i.e. brown rice, whole grain pasta, quinoa, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, etc.)
• VEGETABLES - At least four servings a day, 35-50 calories = one serving. At least one serving raw, at least one serving dark leafy greens. (i.e. leafy greens of all kinds, cruciferous veggies like broccoli, squash, root veggies like carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes)
• LEGUMES - Three servings a day, 100 calories = one serving. (i.e. beans of all varieties, lentils, soy products)
• FRUIT - Three servings a day, 80 calories = one serving. (i.e. berries, stone fruit, apples, citrus, etc. Focus on whole fruit rather than juices.)
• SWEETS - No more than one serving a day, 100 calories = one serving and limit to one gram of fat. (i.e. fruit, smoothie, sweetened cereal, baked fruit, etc.)

The Physician's Committee also recently came out with a podcast all about weight loss/management and plant-based eating. Yes! They cover everything. I super love PCRM. Find the podcast by clicking here - PCRM's Exam Room Podcast - Weight Loss on a Vegan Diet: How Going Vegan Causes the Pounds to Melt Away.

Enjoy what you eat. And eat so you feel satisfied, but make it nutrient dense foods, not calorically saturated foods. For healthy living and feel-good-weight, it's (almost) all about the food. :)

Plant-Friendly Hotspot: Savoy Cafe and Deli (Downtown)

Savoy Cafe & Deli, Figueroa Street, Downtown Santa Barbara

Savoy Café and Deli is one the plant-friendliest go-to lunch, breakfast, dinner, snack, and dessert spots downtown. I love it! It calls my name a couple of times a month and when I discovered how plant-friendly they were, it seriously felt like Christmas. And honestly, it still feels like Christmas when I go into Savoy! We’re so lucky to have a number of restaurants in town with at least a couple of delicious vegan-friendly options on their menus, but Savoy has several. And vegan desserts!

I looooove their Vegan Breakfast Burrito which has a combination of quinoa, sweet potato, kale, tofu, and avocado with a side of pico de gallo (YUM). I order it cooked in water instead of oil, and often in a bowl instead of a wrap. It’s hardy and warm. Comfort food. Their El Cap Sandwich is another favorite which I usually get with a whole grain bread and hold the added the olive oil. It's a super delightful combination of portebellos, avocados, greens, and balsamic. But these aren't all of the options! Savoy truly makes it easy peasy to eat more plants in a not-so-vegan-focused restaurant environment. You can go and get multiple options no matter the time of day. So if you’re looking to up your plant-game or searching for a vegan-friendly hotspot in town, I hope to see you there. 

Here’s what you can find:

Vegan Breakfast Burrito (hold the tortilla), my fave

Vegan Breakfast (but really anytime) Burrito

Vegan Scramble

Wheat-free Hot Cereal and Irish Steel Cut Oats (with the option for fresh berries, nuts, and more!)

One of the happiest salad bars in town which includes organic tofu, dolmas, and dozens of plant-based options (many are organic!) - a variety of greens, tons of veggies, beans, nuts, and seeds. It's fun to shop this bar with your Little Earthlings so they can self select options yummy for their tummies.

A cold deli case with a few vegan options daily including a bright and varied fruit salad.

A daily vegan soup

Savoy Cafe & Deli Salad Bar (and it goes on!)

A hot deli hosting generally one to two vegan-friendly options.

Veggie Wrap

The El Cap Sandwich with portabello mushrooms

Or build your own sandwich! They even have veganaise if it suits your fancy.

Savoy Cafe & Deli Bakery Case
(The middle four items - cookies & cupcakes - are vegan!)

A vegan-friendly BAKERY! Savoy usually has one or two flavors of muffin/loafs a day, vegan cold desserts like “raw-nies”, vegan cookies, and vegan cupcakes! Everything I’ve had has been delicious and their chocolaty cupcakes are perfect for grabbing and going to a kids birthday party. Or order a whole vegan cake or tray of cupcakes or cookies for an event or class party! Their vegan and/or gluten-free cupcakes come with an extra charge, but it's exciting that you can order both (although you pay two separate add'l charges), making these the ultimate in people pleasing desserts. Ordering larger quantities can add up quickly, but for special occasions if you need a yummy premade option, or if you are in a bind, we’re pretty lucky to have this café ready to bake up vegan-friendly treats. You can even order a vegan pumpkin pie with dairy-free coconut whipped cream! 

Also check out their coffee bar for soy milk, almond milk, and coconut-almond milk options! They have coffee (including cold press live and in action in a slow-drip), espressos, loose leaf teas, and matchas! And steamers for the kids. Ooh and herbal lemonades. Swoon.

Be sure to double check that whatever you’re ordering is vegan, as you might with any restaurant when it’s your first plant-focused visit and as you’re getting familiar with a restaurant through a more plant-friendly lens. One more heart happy note - Savoy has always been willing to cook made-to-order hot items in water instead of oil. Amazing. This can be difficult to find in town!

So check them out and let us know what you think!

Here are the details, if you’re a Savoy Café and Deli newbie –

Savoy Café and Deli
www.thesavoycafe.com
24 West Figueroa Street
Santa Barbara

Parking lot behind or across the street off of Chapala or timed street parking throughout the adjoining neighborhood.

Happy dining!