I’m still shuffling through some recipes for this weekend’s women’s retreat. I have been asked to cook for 16 women and the request was accompanied by another request: that all the recipes be plant-based. Wow! This is going to be fun. I don’t think the women coming to the retreat know that they are in for a brand new way of eating this weekend which means I’ll get a chance to share with them why I started eating only plants but it will have to be the short version… Maybe I can abbreviate it this way:
I was interviewing Dr. Aziz of The Perfect 10 diet on my radio show and something in me just snapped when he recommended that Americans should be eating a diet that is 40% fat in order to lose weight. The common sense part of my brain began to writhe. 40% fat for a population where 66% of us are overweight? It’s just didn’t make sense. I left the radio station and drove directly to the bookstore. I was on the search for a nutrition book based on science. I thought I would find a diet book but instead I actually found a nutrition book. No recipes, no diet plans just years of studies in biochemical nutrition performed in India, China, the United Kingdom and the United States. The book references 752 scientific studies and while studies can be performed to prove almost anything, I was ready to give this book a chance. I was vegan by page 72.
Okay, so technically, I am not vegan. I am mostly a plant-eater: grains and fruits and veggies. I think I will also share with these new plant-eaters the changes that I have experienced since starting the diet.
- Zero constipation
- A whole heck of a lot more energy
- Less sadness
- Fewer migraines
- Weight loss
- No calorie counting. No considering fats, proteins and carbs. Easy-breezy meal planning
- The ‘suspicious’ spot on my sun-drenched chest is shrinking. It was 7mm and now it’s down to 4mm. Hoping I can get rid of it completely.
Very excited to cook this weekend! Tonight I am making pesto served with artichoke pasta and walnuts and tomatoes and yellow peppers. Mmmmmm…..