In recent years we have said good bye to many friends who suffered and died way too young from diseases that might have been prevented or at least slowed down by changes in lifestyle. It prompted us to make a big shift this year to our own lifestyle. The most obvious change has been embracing a whole foods plant based (WFPB) diet that limits salt, oil and sugar (SOS). The ramifications of this change alone have been huge. Both myself and my husband have noticed less indigestion, bloating and joint pain. Our blood pressures have come down and stabilized, allowing my husband to reduce and in some cases eliminate heart medications he has been on since he had his heart surgery nine years ago. We have lost some unwanted weight and our taste preferences and appetites have been transformed. So many positive changes have happened to confirm to us both that we are on the right track and will stay the course.
But that isn’t to say it has all been easy. Learning to shop and cook differently has been a lot of work, but it is also fun and tickles my creative nature. I’ve been surprised by how uncomfortable others are with our choices to avoid all animal products. We’ve had friends say, ‘Oh I was going to invite you over but I know you can’t eat anything we fix.’ Others find creative and often preposterous excuses to not accept an invitation for fear they will be forced to ‘eat those bland vegetables’ that they assume we now live on. Since community is a big part of what we are trying to improve, this was a very unwelcomed consequences of our desire to eat clean as God intended us to do from the beginning.
And there is a myriad of voices out there, each sharing their insights filtered through their field of research, experiences and personal preferences. It can be daunting trying to decide which things to embrace and when to add something. But the bottom line is, when I feel overwhelmed, I go back to the basics and keep it really simple for a while before trying something new. I focus on keeping half my plate an assortment of vegetables and the rest a serving of a healthy starch or grain and then some plant-based protein. Fruit is dessert. Simple meals, repeated often, generously seasoned and assembled with love is both comforting, satisfying and healthy. Mindful eating where we sit down and really experience each tasty bite can make a dish of rice, beans and greens taste gourmet.
“In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil,” (James 4:17-TM)
“Eating healthier is easier than you think, it’s inexpensive, and it might just save your life.” (Michael Greger, M.D. How Not to Die)
“There is broad evidence that plant-based nutrition is the key to abolishing chronic disease.” (Caldwell B. Esselstyne, Jr., M.D. Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease)
This week’s favorite dish:
Butternut Squash Chickpea Curry, page 125 from the 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution by Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, and Ayesha Sherzai, Md, MAS
Yours for a Joyful Journey,
Joyice