Forks Over Knives changed my life!
I suppose you could call me a Vegan. I don't like to label myself that because my food choices are a bit more strict then a typical Vegan. My husband Cody and I do not eat any dairy, meat, added oils, added sugars and no preservatives. It may seem impossible but it's not. You just learn what you can and can't buy at the grocery store. It's all about reading the BACK ingredient labels and never trusting the gimmick labels on the front. Lots of things are plastered with WHOLE GRAIN labels, but if you read the ingredients you will find high fructose corn syrup and added sugar. All things that make us unhealthy and overweight. Examples of things to watch: I have found canned peas, tomatoes and other veggies that have sugar added to the ingredients. When we buy things like cashews or peanuts, we make sure that they are just nuts and no oils have been added.
Another thing about this "diet", it's not really a diet. We don't sit around eating carrots and celery sticks. Our meals are filling and full of flavors. As you start this new way of eating, your body starts to crave more vegetables and fruits. It's all about self control and will power. With in the first few weeks your body detoxes and basically THANKS YOU for finally giving it more of what it needs. You have to drink lots of water to help flush out all the bad stuff that has been lingering inside your body for years. Your body starts to heal itself. It's amazing. It's also very encouraging to keep going when you start to lose weight and just feel better! For me personally, my anxiety was reduced, I was in a better mood and I was sleeping better. I honestly think it's all worth it. I miss being able to eat chips, chicken nuggets and other basic junk food. Let's face it though, it's called junk food for a reason and we are what we eat.
What do you eat then? Is the biggest question I get, besides the strange looks and criticism. If you think I am nuts or you want to criticism my food choices, the way I look at it is go look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Plus, it's just MY food choices. It's food! Most of the meals that we eat are typical meals or very similar to what everyone eats daily. Friends and family who have been willing to eat some of our meals have been pleasantly surprised at how delicious and flavorful they are. Don't knock it till you try it! I have been giving out recipes to family and friends since we started this venture. It's fun to go to the grocery store now and plan new meals every week! It really has made writing a grocery list and meal planning not feel like such a hassle. Grocery stores are getting more organic friendly and selling better products to make healthy choices. Below are recipes that I have featured on my blog. I will add new meals weekly. There are two ways to view the recipe. You can view my blog post or visit my Flickr account. Enjoy!
Spaghetti Coming Soon!
Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have! You can read my first post about eating a plant based diet {HERE}. If you want lots of great information, check out these links:
Forks Over Knives
FOODMATTERS
Engine 2 Diet
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead
Farms 2 Forks
Happy Herbivore
You can look at all my blog posts that have to do with my whole food diet by clicking {HERE}
