Food is Not Just Fuel

Life it too short for “food is fuel”. I mean, yes, food is fuel, but it also flavor, culture, social engagement and personal joy.

Look, nutrition is not something that changes overnight. It is a long-ingrained habit and culture that has been instilled in you over decades. If it took decades to make your habits what they are, what makes you think you’ll change them in a week?

So cut yourself some slack. If you topple off the wagon, so to speak, then forgive yourself and climb back in. If you are going longer between trips, if you are continuing to add to your arsenal, then you are doing alright. So look at the goals below and pick one to start your journey with, focus on that one, master it. And then start the second. You’ll be a new dietary leader in a year!

Eat the Rainbow!

o I love this little phrase, it cracks me up, it's a cartoon. But it's also true! White, purple, brown, green, yellow, pink and orange, make our plate a piece of art

I was raised where meat is the center of the plate. I have spent a year shifting that mindset so that plants are center stage. Meat makes a lovely complimentary side dish!

o Do not just eat salads and do not think salads are the only options you have. There is plenty out there! Check out Tabitha Brown’s videos, go to the Love and Lemons website, watch PBS’s America’s Test Kitchen. Enjoy!

o When I first started working with more plant-based meals, I will admit that there was not much that looked appealing. Lots of it looked “weird” at best. But as you start to try different things and work with new foods, you will find a whole new world of flavors, techniques, styles and pallets. Some of those “weird combinations” start to make sense. Be open minded and have fun with it!

Limit The Meat

o Choosing to live a cruelty free life will lift your spirits every day. There is tons o protein in the plant world, so limiting your meat consumption to healthy quantities will in no way put you in any deficits.

o Ethically raised meat is much more expensive, so you won’t be able to afford it more than a couple times per week, BUT… do not be fooled by quantity versus quality. A cheap meat from the local grocery store is okay at best. Once you try something of good quality, you’ll taste the difference and you’ll never want to go back. It’s worth cutting back on the cheap stuff to get to savor the best.

o Try different cooking styes – and check out Steve Reichland on PBS. He is the master!

And a Little Less Dairy, Too

o Try making sauces with a yogurt or cashew base instead of cream, you’ll get great nutritional value and flavor

o Almond milk in coffee is lovely and slightly sweet

Olive Oil!

o A good olive oil does have flavor, it’s clean and light. Try different brands and see what you like.

o Shocker to me: plant-based, olive oil butter tastes just like butter! Times really have changed

Don’t Count the Calories, Count the Nutrition

o Ask yourself: Does this have nutritional value to my body? If I eat this, will it fill up my stomach – will it do more?

o Do I like what I have prepared? Frankly, if you hate everything you are eating for every meal, you will probably not sustain long-term changes, so be sure to learn a thing or two about cooking your preferences and make things you enjoy!

Eat Takeout...

...A little bit. Let yourself “fall off the wagon” here and there, but only to give yourself room to breathe and only if it helps you sustain your changes long-term. Frankly, my wallet was deeply, profoundly grateful for this one, and I bet yours will, too.

Water, water, water, water, water!

Soda, energy drinks, sugary juices, sweetened teas, caramel-chocolate-salted coffees (or whatever), they have to go, hard stop. Enjoy unsweet teas with lemon, enjoy limited cups of black-or-simple and unsweet-coffee, but otherwise you need to stick to water. All day. This one is a bit cruel because there is no real middle ground due to the habitual nature of the drinks and the pure necessity fo water. So you gotta stop.

Consider a handful of reasonable goals, and then focus on one at a time. Let yourself change habits slowly, purposefully, mindfully, and kindly. You will fall back to old habits. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, try again and remind yourself why you are making changes. And when you are struggling, stop and examine why you are pursuing these changes. In the words of the great Tabitha Brown, if you are being true to yourself, then you will be fine!