Eating Mindfully_Week 1

After one week of integrating myself into Whole Foods Plant Based eating, not just in the eating part of it, but in researching the health benefits of this compared to a diet including meat and dairy, I'm pretty sure I've crossed the threshold into this type of lifestyle. There's no doubt that knowledge is power and I have to say that it has been very empowering to access information about the food we put into our bodies and what it does to us.

Research abounds on the truly miraculous benefits of a plant based diet. And these benefits not only affect our own body but the environment as well. Talking to my friend Beth Putnam, a certified plant based nutritionist, and hearing her and her husband Scott's story about switching to this diet, as well as talking to others who have made a similar lifestyle change, has made for a great support system. My aunt is another with a story to tell and offered to me several amazing cookbooks and informational books like The China Study (a must read) and Eat to Live. You've probably heard of Forks Over Knives and if you have any interest in learning why on earth I would give up something as delicious and significant as meat and all other animal based products, its a very worthwhile watch. Beth also gave me the documentary, Eating, another one that blew my mind. The evidence is out there, we just have to care enough to see it. All I can say is, I care...a lot.

With the exception of eating what is served to me when at dinner at someone's house, I'm not sure that I can, in good conscious, go back to a traditional American diet, nor do I really want to.  Not just for own health, but for my family's too.  I want them to have the choice and that can only happen if I make the food and the information available. But we'll see what happens. My aunt gave me a good piece of advice, saying she takes it one month at a time. This makes sense. Its easier to make a change like this when you have a goal - like making it to the end of the month, or in my case right now, making it for 14 days.

Meanwhile, here's what's on the menu for next week:

Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew
Black Bean Soup
Chopped Asian Salad
Avocado Rueben Sandwich