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: #6 For the Mothers

I began eating plant-based on the same day that I formally became a mom. A lot of my passion and perspective is wrapped up in how I’ve come to learn about plant-based eating as a mother. Family is an important reason why I’ve stayed plant-based all of these years. For my family and other families - including the animals’.

Admittedly, I hesitate to write this post, even though it is beyond arguably the most critical reason to eat plant-based. It’s certainly not my goal to make anyone feel badly about eating animals. I understand how deeply engrained it is in most of us and viewed as a very personal choice. I ate meat, chicken, fish, cheese, and/or eggs for most of my life. I never thought that I would become vegan. But I’ve had a learning opportunity that made me realize how deeply I must have felt about eating animals to ignore, or be conditioned to not care, that basically an animal a day died so that I could live.

I often feel how people tend to tune out or put up a bit of a protective barrier when the word vegan or plant-based comes up. They don’t want to be evangelized to or judged. It’s common for their thoughts to immediately go to a red flag warning for how extreme veganism is, how animal rights don’t apply to the food chain, or how sappy it is to care about the animals (pre-plant-based me has been there). I used to work in a career in popular music that everyone loved talking about. And now, as I have moved into a career focused on plant-centered nutrition, I can very readily feel in contrast the angst people often get when our vegan life or my career path comes up for fear my “extreme views” on animals may also come up, even though my rallying call is really about human health. Mostly, there’s just a mutual retreat from even talking about it. I don’t want to loose anyone here, because this topic is too important and I appreciate the opportunity to share it. So please, if you’re an omnivore, stay with me. Because, I get where you’re coming from. But this has been my unexpected experience.

Living in America, it’s likely you have been eating animals or their byproducts since you were one year old. And then there’s this weird food chain that we were introduced to in school that reinforces this, where we have somehow been stuck in at the top, even though we don’t have the teeth or constitutions of carnivores. I wholeheartedly believe, if each of us truly understood how dramatically better for us it can be to eat only plants - despite culture, tradition (“what we’ve always done”), any of it - most of us would stick to plants. That is why most of my site is dedicated to nutrition. Because whether you care about health, the environment, the animals, or are even just a bit plant-curious - whatever may be pulling you to learn more about plant-based eating, the only way it works is if we truly understand how much healthier it is for us.

And it is. So. Much. Healthier.

I think to some extent pre-plant-based me knew that. The information was always confusing though - I thought I HAD to eat animal protein to exist. But at the same time I also knew that there was this mysterious sweet spot where too much was also known to be bad. It’s necessary, but don’t go overboard. We’re told moderation is the key. The notion of moderation is actually super confusing because there’s no agreed upon clarity for where the line is. “Everyone’s different,” we’re told.

I don’t know about you, but I also could never bring myself to really think about how the animals got to my plate. I was on a “the less I know the better” basis with eating animals. My eyes didn’t truly open to the animal’s experience until the day my first child was born. And then the light really clicked when I experienced how awesome and healthful plant-based eating can be.

How We See Family

The day my son was born was the first day we decided to experiment with going vegan for health. We made that decision in the morning and, oddly, later that day, once he arrived, I immediately committed to go vegetarian anyway for the long-haul. Some of my first thoughts when he was born was of how primal the experience was of going through childbirth. How a part of nature I felt, even within the walls of the hospital. It was a different sense of life and the earth than I’d ever experienced. The world suddenly felt different. I had a new sense of the vulnerability of life and the power of birth and I instantly had this connection with this little soul that had mysteriously been growing and kicking inside of me - it was like nothing I can explain. I knew then there was no way I could eat meat again. There was no way the transformation and level of connection I felt was unique to being human. It’s too intense. There’s no way. You can’t grow a baby of any species for that many months - human, cow, sheep, dog, cat, lion, mouse, ape, any animal - and go through the wildness of birth and, in most circumstances, not feel totally and completely attached and head over heals in love. There are even biological processes that promote this kind of attachment.

Animals have to be just as bonded and transformed by birth. To take away their littles ones - and their little one’s life force, their milk - is absolutely gut wrenching to me now. And millions of animals are systematically loosing their young, their family, every day to the meat and dairy industries, paid to kill animals to feed millions of humans a day. Animals too have a mother.

My beloved cat of 12 years died this summer. It took the wind out of me. I still miss him. He was an important friend and part of my life and my family. It got me thinking about how we’re constantly defining family for ourselves and one another. Companion cats and dogs, family. We give birth to our family or adopt new loved ones. We ask others to help us build our families when we aren’t able to ourselves. We “adopt” friends as family as we build our tribes along the way. Blood or not, we have many wonderful, beautiful definitions of family. And then there’s the less beautiful side. The fact we try to define family for others in our society is mind-blowing to me. We are possessive of our families and what that looks like to us but we think we also have a right to tell others whether or not their family fits into our context of family. And furthermore, to feed our own daily living and growth, we’ve also decided for the billions of farmed animals that die each year that they aren’t a part of a family. They are born at our whim and exist briefly until it’s time for our plates. In America, we can choose our families. We choose animals to be a part of our families all the time. But animal families that are not commonly family pets, or are too wild, somehow don’t count.

This sense of compassion that we raise our kids with leaves out farmed animals - land or sea - except to celebrate them by nursery rhyme, in books, or on display. We wouldn’t likely expose them to how animals really live and die to get to the supermarket. None of these animals want to die. Can you imagine what their short lives must be like? I had tried not to think about it before. Because we can’t identify with their feelings or their fear or their sense of family, we’ve made a decision that their lives don’t count.

I did not go vegan for the animals. But, after becoming a mom, and once I had some space from eating them every day, this all began to rise for me. I remember reading in my studies the notion that the amount of stress an animal is under when it dies effects the quality of the meat. So the less stressed they are when they die, the better it tastes… Their stress is a problem for our taste buds. Not because they are living, feeling beings. It’s so ingrained in us, since birth, and in our health care system, that we need animals to survive. We condition each other to feel like we’re at the top of the food chain and animals deaths are just a part of the natural cycle - and anyone who isn’t eating animals is viewed as somewhat (or a lot) extreme. I no longer see it that way. And I am so incredibly grateful for that.

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Three resources that you might explore that can help you take a step to think about animal agriculture differently are Dr. Melanie Joy and her concept of Carnism, Mercy for Animals, and the Farm Sanctuary. I’ll give you light background on each here, but I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and dig into each of these sites. Growth isn’t always comfortable. Please be open, and see what you think.

Watch the Secret Reason We Eat Meat with social psychologist Dr. Melanie Joy!

• Carnism by Melanie Joy: Dr. Joy’s concept of Carnism "is the invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals.” The concept explores how we are conditioned to see eating animals not as a choice, but something we have to do. Eating plant-based, there is nothing that I eat that a classic omnivore couldn’t eat (except for allergies or food preferences). Everything on my plate could be or is technically on your plate too. But there are foods omnivores eat that I don’t eat. Eating plant-based used to seem like the choice - and the way we are set up in our society it is a big decision when we make it. But as you can see, we eat all the same foods. Perhaps choosing to eat animals is the choice, and perhaps it deserves more thought, even if you’ve been doing it for 20+, 30+, 50+ years. Check out this video that describes Dr. Joy’s theory of Carnism. You can also go to the Carnism website to access a similar presentation that Dr. Joy gives via Ted Talk, as well as find her books Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows and Beyond Beliefs.

• Mercy for Animals: Mercy for Animals exposes abuses in animal agriculture and advocates for animals, helping the world to see the value of farmed animals lives differently. Their website is loaded with information + resources. And spoiler alert: animals raised in factory farms, are not treated well. They don’t live out happy lives and then appear on our plates. If you’re open to it, I hope you’ll explore their work and perspective on the lives of animals.

• Farm Sanctuary: Farm Sanctuary is a special place. They rescue animals from short, painful lives and offer them long serene lives on their sanctuaries. One of their sanctuaries is a little over two hours from Santa Barbara, down south, in the town of Acton. We road tripped there once and it was such a sweet experience. I can’t wait to go back. The pictures throughout this post are from our trip to Farm Sanctuary. They educate their guests on the lives of farmed animals and introduce you to their friends who call Farm Sanctuary home. It’s peaceful and lovely, and hard to imagine that billions of other animals haven’t been able to have this same lovely serene life where they are loved by humans, rather than raised for consumption in often truly terrible conditions. Their website is also a wealth of resources and you can learn more about their family of animals.

It’s Ok to Not Eat Animals

It’s ok to not eat animals. Sometimes I think, that simply, it needs to be said. It’s ok to care about how the animals feel. It doesn’t make you weak and eating plants won’t make you weaker.

Plants don’t have a living, breathing, feeling, loving mom. Plants are full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, carbohydrates, (and yes) protein, and healthy, wonderful fats. They are the best foods to sustain us day to day and in terms of long-term health.

I hope you’ll take some time to learn more about plant-based eating. I’m not writing this to make anyone feel bad about eating animals. I get it, I used to too. But I’ve had some space from it and I can’t help but think others might feel the same if they took some time and space from eating animals too. I share some wonderful resources that have helped me under THE BASICS, if you’re interested to get a picture of plant-based eating at it’s best. It can be simple. It can take some getting used to. But not long. And it’s so worth it.

This has been my experience. I stopped eating animals for health and now I also focus my plate on plants for all the animal mothers who deserve to hold tight to their little ones. Plants don’t have a mom, but animals do.

Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants: #5 Our Food Choices Aren't So Personal

I know we are supposed to say that our food choices are personal.  I have very often said this myself, especially in the first few years of eating plant-based. Anytime I sensed discomfort from others or felt it building up in myself when I discussed our family's lifestyle, I'd often follow with, "But what we eat is SO personal!" just to make us all feel more at ease. So here's the thing... When I think about how deeply I must have felt, as pre-plant-based-me, to believe that thousands of animals needed to die over the course of my lifetime in order for me to live - or how deeply I now feel to leave animals off my plate while living in an omnivore's world - definitely, to an extent food choices are very personal and attached to a deeply held belief. But for this post, I want to take a moment to share why I've come to think this "food choices are personal" business is only true to an extent and how important it is that we stop seeing our food choices as entirely personal. Because that's not the whole story.

“The primary reason diseases tend to run in families may be that diets tend to run in families.”

— Dr. Michael Greger, Nutritionfacts.org

Imagine your daily life for a second and think how often food is a part of your social fabric. You're a parent, a son or daughter, a grandparent, a friend, a boss, a colleague, a business owner, a volunteer, a member of a community organization, a coworker. You have patients or clients. You prepare meals for others. You dine with others. You plan your office parties or snacks. You give thank you gifts of food. You're a host. You have people who love you, who depend on you, who you may someday depend on for your own care and who your quality of life (and how long you are on this earth) truly matters. The choices we make include others, even when they seem personal. They may influence or impact others. We are so interconnected. We have the ability to make choices that improve or weaken the quality of our own lives but I think this also includes the lives of those around us. And so I'm just not sure how we can keep saying it's personal. 

I can imagine pre-plant-based-me reading through my website, and sort of skipping through parts, numbing out how this really relates to me. I'd likely feel like, yes, all of these things matter, but I have to eat animal foods to live - it's about protein, and there's a food chain, and our families and communities have taught us this since we were born basically. It's what we've always done. 

What I wish I'd known earlier...

Here's what I wish pre-plant-based me would have known. My husband has a chronic condition that I now suspect may have been avoided had we always been eating plant-based. It's a really hard pill to swallow to think that my way of life (and serious cheese habit) could have been a factor in nudging him towards a less healthy lifestyle and a chronic condition. But I think that's likely true. And I know for a fact it was light years easier for him when I went fully plant-based too. Caring more about what I eat improves my overall health and wellness and sets a new stage for my whole family. Our eating habits are now based around longevity, not based around an unfounded notion that we may all fade into the earth if we don't eat enough animal protein. Pre-plant-based me didn't have all the information and hadn't realized how intensely my lifestyle was also impacting my husband's (or could be limiting my own) - which is one of the very deeply-felt reasons why I now live plant-based.

I can remember a few things pretty distinctly about the moment when I realized that plant-based eating was now going to be a way of life for me. 1) The shocking realization that I might not have ever explored plant-based eating without someone caring enough to plant a seed and without chronic disease leading us there, 2) One of my biggest worries was socially how eating vegan would all play out, and 3) A need to completely understand plant-based living, especially in consideration of my kids - but how would I know who to trust/where to find resources?? 

Someone had to plant the seed. I had to be ready to hear it. And I had to find resources that matched up with what I was experiencing and offered me the right kind of information to give me the confidence to know I was making the best decision for my whole family. 

Making healthy choices together...

What we eat does matter. Food matters. Our health matters - and not just to us but to our loved ones. If  you aren't familiar with the work of Blue Zones, you should check it out. Here's the Blue Zones' mission, "Inspired by the world’s longest-lived cultures, we help people live longer, better lives by improving their environment." Dan Buettner and his team talk extensively about the benefit of plant-based eating and about how they've found our environments can either nudge us into healthier, happier lifestyles, or be a road block to health and longevity. Let's do more than nudge each other. Let's make it damn easy. As Santa Barbarans, we pride ourselves on living in a healthy community. Still, I think we can do better. Yes, let's build better hospitals and better clinics and specialty centers. But let's do more about prevention so that we can try to avoid getting there in the first place. We can't do it alone. We need each other to do better together. 

“The most meaningful piece of advice is to tell patients to make friends with people who eat a plant-based diet. Healthy behaviors are contagious.”

— Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones

We need to bring more plant-foods in to our homes. We need restaurants to make delicious mushroom dishes instead of the newest take on pork belly. We need kids menus with actual healthy veggie options so our kids learn young, even when they're out, to care about what they eat (and they're way more likely to try new foods out to eat, at school, or at a friend's house - at least that's our experience). We need community events to focus on healthy options to make plant-based eating more normal and to support the common mission of enhancing our communities' lives. We need our go to resources for food and nutrition to help us learn about the risks of eating animal foods, not just the perceived benefits. Because it's likely that 15 of the top diseases and conditions that lead to death and disability in the U.S. can be prevented, arrested, or reversed by diet. That's powerful. We need to help each other feel more comfortable making healthy choices by making them together. 

Getting started...

I share a number of resources within this site to help you learn more from those that I've come to count on and trust. I've never just trusted one voice, and wouldn't expect you to. You've got to do the reading and the research and determine who you trust and look at their background and the background of the research they rely on and make sure it's unbiased. Marketing dollars are driving a lot of the information we're getting. But the unbiased research and information is out there. 

Please consider this site and this post a love letter to you and your loved ones and my community. Perhaps this is your seed planted. :) Check out the Blue Zones and the resources I share to learn more about the science and practice of plant-based nutrition to discuss with your families, friends, and health care team (in my first post Start Anywhere, throughout  THE VINE, and in the TOOLKIT to start). And start to notice how your food choices may make you feel and impact your health and those around you. Start to imagine how can you help nudge others towards healthier and healthier choices. Because they matter and you matter.

If you feel the pull of your environment making it more difficult for you to make healthier decisions, you can do something about it. Think longevity, rather than taste to taste, meal to meal. It may be uncomfortable at first. But it can be exciting too! My husband did the research and took a chance, and our whole family is healthier because of it. Be the one to start make the healthier choices. Don't assume your kids can't grow to love beans + tofu. They're easier and cheaper (or just as cheap) as chicken + hot dogs and you can season them just as you would any meat - and they are deeeelish! Choose a veggie dish eating out with friends (or at least don't razz someone else for choosing it). Stock up your office snack zone with fruits and vegetables and plant-based treats. Do you run a restaurant or snack bar with a kids menu? Add more veggie options and maybe reconsider the chicken nuggets, burgers, hot dogs, cheese quesadillas, dairy based mac n cheese, and please please rethink how the french fries are prepared. (Bake 'em or air fry them please! Phew, I've been needing to get that off my chest. Even plant-based kids need healthier options.) When you're out, make a habit of asking about ways to eat more plant-based at your favorite places. Try a plant-based cookbook or meal plan or rotate in a new fruit or veggie every week while rotating out an animal food. Read the research. Start anywhere.

It matters how we live. Chronic disease doesn't have to be inevitable. If I've learned anything from all of my years spent researching and learning about the plant-based life, I've learned that. Make healthier choices for you because you matter to yourself. And to your kids. And to your parents, and your friends. We want each other to have long healthy lives. And we all worry about being a burden to others as we get older. Let's make it damn easy to live healthier, longer lives, not shorter more challenging ones. Our food choices aren't so personal, after all.

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. :)

Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants: #3 You'll Still Enjoy What You Eat (Seriously!)

Are you an omnivore? You may think eating plant-based sounds like a drag. It can seem like it. I know from experience - both as a former omnivore and now a sometimes-sympathized-for-vegan. Finding out someone only eats plant foods can bring up this kind of case of “FOMO” (fear of missing out). Particularly a fear of missing out on favorite foods. There are so many favorite foods in the standard American diet based on animal products that the idea of eating vegan can seem so limiting and extreme to a lot of people. People like pre-plant-based me. But rest assured, it’s really truly not a drag! Going plant-based can actually be really delicious and fun! 

There are a couple of points I want to discuss here in relation to enjoying food while eating more plant-based. So many delicious foods you're likely already eating come from plants - for those meals and recipes that are animal-centered, it's easier than you may think to make plant-based versions. I had often thought (and often still hear others say), that I want to enjoy my food and live it up, so by golly I'll eat what I want. And what I want is cheese. Bacon. Burgers. Fish. Fried food. Etc. But... how much are we really in the drivers seat controlling our food cravings and preferences? There may be more to our cravings than meets the eye. And ways to keep our taste buds just as happy eating plant-based. Let's explore.

1) THE SCIENCE OF CRAVINGS

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“…EVERY INSTINCT IN YOU IS TELLING YOU TO SEEK THE MOST PLEASURE FOR THE LEAST PAIN AND THE LEAST EFFORT…YOU’RE TAKING IN CUES THAT ARE FOOLING THE SYSTEM AND PULLING YOU RIGHT INTO WHAT WE CALL THE PLEASURE TRAP.”

— Doug J. Lisle, PhD

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Have you ever thought about how your cravings and food preferences are shaped? Much of this goes back to when we’re first developing our taste buds and developing our understanding of healthy foods and culture as wee little ones with our families. You often even hear in pregnancy that the foods you eat could be developing your growing little peanut's taste buds for life (oy the pressure!). But there are some really interesting biological considerations that I’ve learned about since being plant-based that make me wonder, 1) how much we’re in control of our cravings, and 2) how easy it could actually be to chase out those cravings and develop new ones for healthier foods.

Dr. Douglas Lisle, co-author of the book “The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Underestimates Health and Happiness,” has this great TedTalk describing how our bodies come to seemingly crave and prefer calorie (not nutrient) dense foods in a similar manner to drug addiction – so cravings can come on, not because it’s what our bodies are needing or are even craving from a taste perspective, but biological triggers for perceived efficiency and pleasure can cause us to crave certain foods. Dr. Lisle offers how we can start to rethink our cravings and encourage our bodies to develop and prefer healthier, nutrient dense foods by resetting our taste buds to healthier whole foods. You can check out the talk here, and in his book "The Pleasure Trap" in the TOOLKIT.

www.tedxfremont.com - One of psychology's most innovative and curious minds, Dr. Douglas Lisle is the Director of Research for TrueNorth Health Center and coauthor of The Pleasure Trap.

2) MAKING OLD TASTES NEW

PCRM's Ingredient Substitution Chart - CLICK TO ENLARGE

There are soooooo many foods that you already love that are likely naturally vegan or just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Easy modifications can help you enjoy foods that you already love in healthful ways. One food that always comes to mind as a natural whole-food favorite is a nice creamy hummus. YUM! And almost always entirely plant-based. Most hummus products and recipes don’t bring in any animal-based additions, you actually have to make an effort to make hummus not-vegan. Gotta love hummus. Creamy. Delicious. And vegan.

For animal-centric recipes that you are having trouble imagining plant-based, here's a great resource from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) for some basic subs for cooking and baking so at the basic level when you're starting to visual shifts to plant-based options, you have a reference point to roll with. I found finding new ingredients that still kept our taste buds happy but that made our bodies feel better to be one of the most fun parts of going plant-based! Win, win! So much winning;).

The notion of veganizing good ol' American favorites can especially be a major turn off to someone who's not already focusing their plates on plants - such as the summer grillin', tailgatin' favorite, the hot dog. But have you tried Carrot Hot Dogs?? This always comes to mind as a seemingly-bummer-but-not-really-a-bummer plant-friendly food. With a little marinating (like in this recipe!) and grilling, carrots can actually taste pretty darn close to the real thing AND hot dogs have to be one of the (dare I say) scariest things I can think of to put in our bodies with all of their mystery ingredients and processing (check out this article by the Anatomy of a Hot Dog by PCRM - yikes!). Comparing the health benefits can make anyone feel better about a slight shift to these smoky-flavored veggies, even if at first it sounds a little ridiculous. But carrots, my friends, make some pretty tasty hot dogs. 

Luckily for us, there is a whole village of vegan recipe developers whose missions are to make old omnivore favorites vegan or plant-based in ways that you may even prefer the new tastes for sooooo many dishes! At this point, I am not quite whipping up my own extensive recipes in the kitchen on a regular basis, so this village has been huge for me.

A sampling of some of my favorite resources from over the years! Learn more about these resources and more in the list below and through the TOOLKIT!

So, who are these said magical vegan and plant-based creatives developing delicious recipes that can help us replicate our old tastes new? Oh my, there are so many. I’m going to list a sampling here who have blogs or sites that helped me find exciting new recipes. Also be sure to visit the RECIPE TOOLKIT for a whole range of recipe books you can check out! Locally, Chaucer's Bookstore actually has a great selection of plant-friendly recipe books too. And new sites and books are popping up all the time, so also get your Google going for "plant-based recipes" and be specific if you're looking for a specific old taste to make new. You'll be sure to have some fun recipe hunting.

I seriously bow to these individuals creating magical plant-friendly recipes. Recipe development is such an art and can be life-changing for those of us looking for plant-friendly resources that make our mouths, our bodies, and our families happy. They can help the most committed carnivore resolve an acute or chronic case of FOMO, for sure :). So now, instead of fearing that I'll miss out on my formerly favorite foods, I get butterflies excited when I finish making a new-to-me dish that checks off all my plant-based boxes and ignites my taste buds. See what you think! 

PLANT-BASED & VEGAN RECIPE RESOURCES

• Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Life (Vegan)
• Chef AJ (Plant-Based)
• Chef Chloe (Vegan)
• Dr. McDougall’s Health & Medical Centers (Plant-Based) 
• Happy Herbivore (Plant-Based)
• Happy Healthy Life (Vegan)
• Isa Chandra (Vegan)
• Engine 2 (Plant-Based)
• Forks Over Knives (Plant-Based)

• Fran Costigan (Vegan - Desserts!)
• Keepin’ It Kind (Vegan) 
• Oh She Glows (Vegan)
• Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine (Plant-Based)
• Dreena Burton (Plant-Based)
• Sweet Potato Soul (Vegan)
• The Vegan 8 (Plant-Based)
• UC Davis Integrative Medicine (Plant-Based)
• Vegan Richa (Vegan)

A couple more quick notes on cooking plant-based. Keep an eye on our community calendar POP UP for local and online cooking event opportunities! There are some really fun ones coming up, including through Farmbelly Cooking School and Women's Heritage that can help you build skills in different areas and expand your palettes and plates. Forks Over Knives also has an online cooking program in partnership with Rouxbe Online Cooking School - it's a larger time and financial investment, but if you're ready to roll, this could be a great comprehensive tool for you to dive into the world of plant-based cooking at your own pace! 

I could go on, obviously;). There are so many great resources for upping your plant-based game these days. It's an exciting time to go plant-based, and you don't have to be a trained chef or make intagram-worthy meals. Just explore, experiment, and enjoy! 

I hope this post gave you some "food for thought" and fun resources to explore. Transitioning to more plant-centered eating can seem full of barriers at first but, seriously, you can still enjoy what you eat! You don't have to choose flavors or cravings over your health. Reshape your cravings. Think flavor and delight as you normally would, but find a rainbow of ways to shift your cravings plant-based! Happy eating!  

Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants - #2 Beans are Cheaper than Meat

A pretty solid misconception about plant-based eating is that it’s super expensive. Sure, it can be if perhaps you load up on specialty products and pricier “super foods” and only shop at health food stores. But when you reflect on what your cart currently looks like at the grocery store with the cost of keeping stocked on meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs, eating plant-based can actually oftentimes pretty solidly save you money.

Eating plant-based has never seemed to be the source of an unusually high grocery bill for me. Admittedly though, it’s been several years since I included animal-based products in my shopping list and my family has grown since going plant-based. I did a bit of consumer sleuthing at a local Trader Joe’s and Vons to see how switching from animal-based to plant-based proteins really compares, particularly at more mainstream stores.

Here’s what I found, friends:

Trader Joe's at Milpas Canned Beans Display

• Animal Proteins:  $1.99 - $16.99/lb (approximately)
  Vons meats (from non-organic, value-pack chicken all the way up to grass-fed beef and seafood) in general seemed to range between $1.99/lb to around $16.99 lb. At Trader Joe’s, their animal-based variety ranged from $3.49/lb - $14.99/lb. Specialty animal proteins like organic or antibiotic free started at around $3.49/lb at both stores.

• Plant Based Proteins:  $0.82 - $11.98/lb (approximately)
  On the other hand, canned beans at Trader Joe’s ranged from $.79 to $.99 for 15.5 oz cans (depending on whether the beans were organic). If you want to compare exact pound for pound, this is approximately $.82 to $1.02 per pound. Vons’ beans varied between $.99 for a 15.5 oz can for non-organic, club special pricing, and up to $1.99 for same size but organic. And these amounts could even go down if you choose to buy dried beans and soak them yourself. Tofu ranged from $1.49 - $1.99 for just under one pound and tempeh came to $3.98 for a total of one pound (two packs). If you want to compare more “meaty” alternatives, vegan Italian sausages were both $3.98/lb whether Tofurky or the Trader Joe’s brand (although sold in slightly smaller quantities). Vons carried a Tofurky Kielbasa vegan sausage that was slightly higher at $5.14/lb (also sold in slightly smaller quantities) and the Beyond Meat “The Beyond Burger” Plant-Based Burger Patties were the priciest at $11.98/lb (sold in 8 oz packages).

Infographic by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Cost of a plant-based diet can seem like a deterrent before you go for it, but it really depends on what your habits are now and what choices you make. In general, though, switching to bean based proteins should save you money. So great! This handy-dandy chart from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine also takes a look at the difference between eating beans versus beef and goes a step further to demonstrate how nutritionally they compare.

Just to reiterate, this is purely my own consumer research, on this given day in time, but the healthiest plant-based proteins, those that I eat most regularly – beans, tofu, and tempeh - are all on the lower end of the pricing (but not quality!) scale and generally cheaper than most of the animal-based proteins. You can absolutely keep your grocery bill stable or see it lower eating more plant-based. Putting beans in your enchiladas or mushed into a homemade burger, scrambling your tofu or tossing it in your stir fry, roasting your chickpeas, grilling up some tempeh for your sandwich, or making your bacon from tempeh all bring health benefits and can also keep your pocket book happy. So load up on protein from plants!

And while the meat to bean transition is the primary focus here, it's important to keep in mind that protein is in soooo many plant foods! It's everywhere! If you're eating a calorically appropriate diet with a variety of plant-based foods, protein should not be an issue. And make your protein choices work harder for you. Rather than thinking about how your protein can get you protein, think about how your protein can also get you fiber and a host of other vitamins and nutrients. By increasing the efficiency and nutrient density of your food choices through plant-based proteins, you benefit from a range of health (and cost saving!) perks and don't have to worry about things you don't need like added cholesterol. I love this article by Plant-Based Dietician Julieanna Heaver that outlines why you need not fret about protein on a plant-based diet with ideas for thinking more broadly about protein sources, like broccoli, oats, pasta, brown rice, and more:

5 Reasons You Can Stop Pursuing Protein and Start Focusing on Food 
by Julieanna Heaver

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HEALTHY YOU FACT: 

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR BODY PRODUCES ALL THE CHOLESTEROL YOU NEED? YOU ACTUALLY DON'T NEED DIETARY CHOLESTEROL FROM ANIMAL-BASED PROTEINS IN YOUR DIET, WHICH CAN SEND YOUR CHOLESTEROL LEVELS INTO OVERDRIVE.
 
KEEP YOUR PROTEIN WHOLE FOOD, 
PLANT-BASED FOR HEALTHIER FATS WITHOUT THE DIETARY CHOLESTEROL!

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Hungry for more grocery tips? Keep an eye out for an upcoming post with a few more ideas for mindful grocery shopping to help keep your wallet happy while transitioning to more plant-centered eating!

Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants - #1 Plants Have Your Back

No one can guarantee us perfect health, and let’s face it, the nutrition news out there makes it increasingly confusing to guide our own habits towards our best intentioned health goals. But if there’s one thing we can be sure of, plants have our back.

Fiber. Antioxidants. Energy. Protein (YES PROTEIN!:)). Vital Nutrients. Healthy Fats. Plant foods tilt the balance away from chronic disease and conditions and towards optimal health. It seems like nearly every chronic and debilitating disease becomes more and more common with each passing year – including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, and autoimmune diseases. And at the same time, the American diet has become more and more centered around animal products, as both the main course and the cherry on top (cheese, right?).

The two documentaries shared in the BASICS page – Forks Over Knives and What the Health – are must sees, in my humble opinion. Both of these movies introduce how research shows plants have our backs. “Food as medicine” is still not the medical mainstream (*see the end of the post for more on this) but the evidence and energy behind focusing on dietary shifts towards plant-based foods is growing and these documentaries will start to show you why. Yes, you can go online and find all sorts of opinions to dispute the message of these movies (but it’s important to understand where these disputing arguments resources come from – just as it is important to understand the sources behind information presented in each movie - What the Health actually lists theirs out in detail on their website). So before you dig in to the internet, it’s worth taking some time to listen to these pointed messages about how complicated our health and food systems have become and they both offer a healthy dose of optimism on how to fix it.

Forks Over Knives was one of my own early resources in getting to understand plant-based eating and What the Health felt like the bookend on much of what I’ve learned and experienced these past several years. Check them out if you like and see what you think. Free on Netflix (yay!) but they can also be rented through the links below for each film.

Forks Over Knives - The Trailer

The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. http://www.forksoverknives.com/

Here's a link to the full description - Forks Over Knives - following is a great intro from the Forks Over Knives peeps on the basis of the movie:

 "Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to 'battle' these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases.

Could it be there’s a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive, but so straightforward, that it’s mind-boggling that more of us haven’t taken it seriously?

Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn...."

As you'll see, both Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn give detailed accounts of how they became convinced and passionate about plant-based nutrition by sharing each of their personal and professional journeys. Dr. Campbell's work began in the research realm, in the field and in the lab, as he saw convincing associations between animal-based proteins and increasing (and carcinogenic) activity in promoting disease, while Dr. Esselstyn's interest started in practice, which then led to research when, as a surgeon, he wanted to move past treatment and help the next person avoid unhealthy fates by focusing on prevention. Both the Esselstyns and the Campbells have many members of their families who are now advocating at all corners of the U.S. for plant-based nutrition, and it's inspiring to see how these families walk the walk and work to take concepts around plant-based eating and health more mainstream. 

What the Health - The Trailer

The health film health organizations don't want you to see. What the Health is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award-winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick. www.whatthehealthfilm.com

Here is a link that will take you to the full background page - What the Health - and following I'll once again let the film pros tell you best about the premise to the film. Here's the synopsis from the What the Health team from their website: 

"What the Health is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. With heart disease and cancer the leading causes of death in America, and diabetes at an all-time high, the film reveals possibly the largest health cover-up of our time. With the help of medical doctors, researchers, and consumer advocates, What the Health exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.

Join Kip as he tracks down the leading and most trusted American health nonprofits to find out why these groups are staying silent, despite a growing body of evidence. Audiences will be shocked to learn the insidious roles played by pharmaceutical companies, agribusiness, and processed animal food companies in the nation’s health, especially in the most vulnerable communities, and will cheer at the transformation and recovery of those who took their lives into their own hands.

What The Health is a surprising, and at times hilarious, investigative documentary that will be an eye-opener for everyone concerned about our nation’s health and how big business influences it."

It's complicated, right? What the Health explores many complex issues around nutrition and healthcare. These films have big messages that aren't always easy to digest right away. But their messages can add interesting perspectives to your own exploration and are detailed intros to concepts around plant-based nutrition. If you're hungry for more information, check out the resources on the BASICS page of this site as well as the books linked in the TOOLKIT – and of course we’ll keep exploring here on THE VINE! 

*Before we sign off on this post, one more note on something that may be on your mind as you read and explore these films. If plant-based nutrition is all that and a bag of (baked, oil-free) chips, really, why haven't you heard about the benefits of plant-based eating from your doctor? Well, that's a good question - we hope you are! And maybe you have! But if you haven't, these films discuss this topic and here are a couple of resources that explore this inquiry further, should you be interested.

• How Much Nutrition Education Do Doctors Get? by Michael Greger M.D./Nutritionfacts.org
• Why Don't More Doctors Practice Prevention? by Michael Greger M.D./Nutritionfacts.org

Just because your doctor isn't discussing plant-based nutrition with you, doesn't mean you shouldn't or couldn't discuss this with your doctor. And by no means am I sharing these to challenge trusting the nutrition guidance of your doctor - quite the opposite! They may not have experience with plant-based eating or it may not be on their radar, so if you're curious about working with your doctor to try nutritional interventions, doing your own research and bringing it with you is a great first step to see how it can compliment your current lifestyle or treatment plans. Getting more doctors talking about plant-based nutrition with their patients is super important, in my book. 

Now that you have some resources to help you learn more about how plants have you're back, ready for Reason #2? Comin' to you soon. But first we'll have a few tips and cooking resources for plant-based and vegan feasting for the holidays in my next post.

Start Anywhere

Welcome to Plant Based Santa Barbara! I’ve created this site to be a community-based resource for loving and living plant-based foods. As you will see, if you visit my ABOUT page, plant-based living has been a super personal and powerful transition for me, and one that did not happen overnight.

Since being on this new plant-based journey, there is a lot that’s surprised me. I’ve learned that plant-based nutrition is about taking your very best shot at a long-healthy life. There are no guarantees in life, but plant-based living is about controlling what you can control - what you eat - and allowing food to guide your health, rather than relying on a "safety net" that your genes have already entirely pre-determined your future and medicine will fix anything that ails you.

Eating more fruits and veggies isn't extreme. Reducing or eliminating animal-based foods isn't extreme. Chronic disease is extreme. Being at the mercy of medicine is extreme. Getting to the point of surgical interventions would be extreme. Right? Shifting (however big or small) to plant-based eating is about prevention and nourishment. Not dieting. And actually, in general on Plant Based Santa Barbara, I’m going to do my best to pull the word "diet" out of "plant-based diet," just so what we’re talking about is not confused with a fad diet. Because plant-based nutrition should not be confused with a fad diet.

The scientific and anecdotal evidence for the benefits of plant-based eating is rapidly growing as are the risks of eating high animal protein diets. If you're at all interested in exploring vegan or whole food plant-based eating, from a health perspective, there is a lot that will likely surprise you too.  I encourage you to review and reflect on the resources I’m sharing on this site as a reference point to spark your own research and discussions with your healthcare provider and family, or to add to your own personal exploration. Before making dietary changes, especially if you have a health concern or condition, it is important to consult with your doctor first. But you can bring your own research and questions when working with your health care team and you are your own best health advocate.

It’s equally important to plan your approach to get a range of nutrients. Not every plant-based food is a healthy one (think potato chips and French fries, for example – but baked, steamed, or air-fried potatoes, yes please!). Our bodies thrive best when we eat the rainbow of plant-based foods (not just a few favorites). Start anywhere! One entirely plant-based meal a day or a week, Meatless Mondays, or start by cycling out certain animal-based foods one at a time and replacing them colorful plant-foods. Take steps that work best for you. 

To help you think about where you might choose to start, I thought I’d take this opportunity to highlight some of the resources I’ve shared on THE BASICS page under THE ROOTS and tell you a bit about their authors. Scouring the endless sea of nutrition articles and resources (and product marketing) can make understanding what’s truly a healthy lifestyle a daunting and confusing endeavor…. Locally, particularly early on in my journey, I didn’t find a lot in the way of plant-based resources so my guides have been primarily been from outside of our community. The tides, however, are turning my friends! More resources are popping up locally and I can’t wait to highlight and share these with you too. But a great first step of action in getting to know plant-based nutrition theory is getting to know the basics and building your resource library from there, so here we go :)... Following are some really great quick, go-to resources now online that can give you a well-rounded introduction if you want to know the basics but aren’t quite ready to pick up a book yet.

• The Power Plate by the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) & PCRM’s Vegetarian Starter Kit

The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is like the north star of plant-based nutrition. PCRM’s community includes some of the most knowledgeable and committed promoting preventative, nutrition-based medicine and they fiercely advocate for new, better models in research that eliminate the exploitation of animals. I’ve seen PCRM President Dr. Neal Barnard speak on their mission, and he presents this powerful cyclical connection between how the animal-based foods we eat can make us sick… which makes us more dependent on medical intervention and research… increasing our “reliance” on animal-based studies to solve these pressing and complex health issues (and why these types of studies aren’t always likely the most applicable to human health)… and how the more we objectify animals for our benefit, the more this continues to feed into the mentality that eating animals is ok and necessary, which coutninues to build our likelihood for developing a host of chronic diseases. So, you get the idea, it's sort of this cyclical trap. By changing the way we eat, we could potentially save ourselves and save the animals unnecessary harm. The two articles posted above and in THE BASICS are really comprehensive ways to help you frame how to approach a whole food, plant-based diet.

• T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies' Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Guide

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD and Thomas Campbell MD was the first book I referenced for understanding chronic disease and nutrition, and once I saw how important this lifestyle change would be, I signed up for a three-part course through T. Colin Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell to make sure I understood this perspective inside and out. I think I spent the entire three months with my eyes stretched in shock. And what I learned underscored what I was experiencing. The Center for Nutrition Studies website gives the full story on T. Colin Campbell’s research on nutrition from his background growing up on a dairy farm, to his early research that spurred him to dig deeper into connections he saw between animal-based protein and the stimulation of cancer growth, and his full realm of research that demonstrates the very strong association between what we eat and many chronic diseases (click here and here for background on the study and Dr. Campbell, respectively). The China Study itself is a really important read, but these resources on the Center’s website will give you a quick-read guide to get you going on how to get started eating more plant-based.

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet & Your Daily Whole Food Plant Based Guide by Dr. Rosane Oliveira/UC Davis Integrative Medicine

UC Davis’s Integrative Medicine department is committed to promoting a whole-person approach to medicine and specifically focusing on plant-based nutrition which they “believe is the number one way to successfully prevent, halt or reverse serious health conditions such as obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” Dr. Rosane Olivera, the founder of the department, has a great public-centered blog with easy-peasy recipes to enjoy plant-based foods.

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - "Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets"

The “world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals,” the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recently published a position paper on the benefits of vegetarian, including vegan, diets. (Happy dance!!) Following is their position statement, but check out the full article in the link above for their full position.

“It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage.”

• VIDEO: Preventing & Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet by Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, NutritionFacts.org

And last, but most very certainly not least, is NutritionFacts.org under the leadership of Michael Greger MD FACLM. NutritionFacts.org has an endless supply of nutrition based videos where Dr. Greger and his team dig through the lastest in research to find WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY! His site is nothing short of awesome and his video, “Preventing & Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet” demonstrates how research shows that many of the most common chronic, deadly diseases could be prevented and treated with diet. Amazing. It’s a great intro to the science behind plant-based nutrition and Dr. Greger’s got his own style (and book! “How not to Die”) that helps you easily guide through some complicated topics. (And if you appreciated this video, here’s one of Dr. Greger's earlier videos along similar lines that you may find interesting too, Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death)

Interested in a place to start but need more of a roadmap? Try a 21-day challenge! PCRM and UC Davis both have 21-Day programs that can help get you rolling.

• PCRM's 21 Day Vegan Kickstart

• UC Davis Integrative Medicine 21-Day Challenge

I can’t thank you enough for your interest in Plant-Based Santa Barbara and for starting here, on our first VINE post! To keep it up, come back anytime or sign up for our VINE e-newsletter. If you want to dig deeper into reading, please check out TOOLKIT for a compilation of books of various perspectives on plant-based nutrition and eating. The first books I read in transitioning to a plant-based diet were The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD and Thomas Campbell MD, The Veganist by Kathy Freston, and a host of resources from the PCRM. Each of these were eye popping and heart hugging information trips on why and how eating plant-based can be an intensely important decision for the future of your health, your family’s health, and the planet. But the library of options is huge now, and TOOLKIT can help you explore these and other books that may be of interest to you.

To further kick off the blog, I’ll be starting a series of “Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants” interwoven with posts on local eats and treats, local shopping, cooking ideas, local plant-based resources, eating with your Little Earthlings, health topics, impact topics, and more. Want to know more about the documentaries shared in THE BASICS? More to come on Forks Over Knives and What the Health in my next post kicking off “Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants - #1 Because Plants Have Your Back!”

With gratitude,

Beth