Living The Plant-based Diet Lifestyle

Discussion in 'Diets & Dieting' started by Yvonne Smith, Apr 12, 2018.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I am starting my second week with eating a plant-based diet, and am part of the way through Dr. Gregor’s Book about plant-based eating, called “How Not To Die”.
    I have been learning a lot about food nutrition and how that adding more fruits and vegetables can help save our health and often prevent some of the diseases that mostly affect older people.
    If anyone wants to read this book, PM me and I can send you the link for the pdf file. I can’t get it to copy/paste here.

    Now that I have been reading the book, I see that I have actually mis-named this thread, because eating a plant-based diet is not necessarily the same thing as becoming a vegan.
    By definition, a vegan would be a person who abstains from any kind of animal product..... food, clothing, or otherwise.
    Theoretically, you could live on Coke and Twinkies, and be eating a vegan diet; but that certainly would not be a healthy one.

    In contrast, a plant-based diet defines what you DO eat, and not what you do not.
    As the name suggests, I am learning to eat foods that come from fruits, vegetables, greens, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Some of it will be raw foods, and some will be cooked; but all of it should be from fresh and nutritious foods.

    I am not feeling deprived of anything, and in fact, I am enjoying the foods that I am eating. After being on the ketogenic (low-carb) diet , this is a radical change; but one that I think will suit my life.
    I have no arthritis pain, my body feels happy when I walk, I feel satisfied when I eat, and I am even losing weight ; so (for me), it is all good !


    Here is what I had for breakfast this morning, but it could also be for dinner or supper. It is golden rice with turmeric, steamed with broccoli, red cabbage and red onion, with a salad on top and sprinkled with garbanzo beans.
    Delicious !
    575900F9-B7A4-4BF0-B08E-72EFC7C58D6A.jpeg
     
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  2. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Today, I was watching a short video about clogged spinal arteries and back pain. I know that many of us here have had to deal with back pain of one sort or another, and I wanted to share the video with everyone.
    Basically, what he is suggesting is that when our spinal arteries get clogged, then we start having spinal degeneration , especially in our lower back.
    By changing our diet to one that helps unclog the arteries (in our back and everywhere else in our body), we are going to give our body a better chance of healing itself.

     
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  3. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    I got tired of salmon awhile back so quit for a few months to a year. Now I'm back eating it again. The only meat I eat is chicken...it seems as I get older I like meat less and less especially beef....really sick of beef.

    I eat lots of veggies and I mean lots, lol. I hardly eat any fruit though. Not a big fan plus it's got sugar.
     
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  4. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    I'm a Vegetarian! I always have a side order of Veggies with my Steaks, Chops, Roasts, and Burgers!

    Hal
     
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  5. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    That Is what Steve Solomon calls a "Vegetabletarian".
     
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  6. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I am still eating mostly plant-based foods, and when I do add meat or other animal products, I do it in small amounts. I think that i like eating this way, and I really do not miss being an omnivore like I thought I would.
    I know that I can have it any time that I want to; but I am mostly choosing the vegetarian option.
    Here is my veggie-burger that I had for lunch.
    471DC2F7-17AB-4C21-BEDB-3F3B1DF7D5E1.jpeg
     
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  7. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    I like veggie burgers but I just buy mine at the store.

    I haven't had any meat since I got back home from my daughter's house. Ive eaten a lot of salmon and veggie burgers and lots of veggies as sides.
     
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  8. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I used to be a big meat eater, but as I age, I tend to eat more plants and fewer animals. My wife is the opposite. As she has aged, she discovered that many plant foods cause digestive issues, so she eats mostly meat. It is an interesting switch in diets. When I was in college, we used to have what were called "steak throws", where you have steaks and just toss them directly onto the coals of a wood fire. It produced a wonderful sear, and, after you brushed off the ashes, a great-tasting steak. We soon discovered, however, that our dates (girls) often got sick eating a meal consisting solely of meat, so we started bringing bread or chips or something to break the all-protein menu. Just the addition of a few carbs allowed the girls to enjoy the crudely-cooked meat with no problem.

    Have any of you read Eat According to Your Blood Type ? If so, did you think it valid or a bunch of hooey?
     
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  9. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I have heard of the blood type thing, but I have not read about it. I will check it out. What did you think about it, @Don Alaska ?
     
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  10. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I could see some validity in some of the points made, but I think most of it was hooey. The theory is based on where the blood types originated and the principal food sources in that area. O was considered the most primitive and predominately a meat eater, while AB has a less vigorous digestive system and ate a more varied diet. A and B type were relate to grains and dairy, I think. A number of people who believe in the theory claim they feel better and lose weight when they eat according to their type.
     
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  11. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    For the last two months, I have been working on changing my diet to a mostly plant-based one. I tried being total vegan, but I missed having real milk in my morning coffee, and a little bit of cheese in my salads.
    Surprisingly, I don’t reallly miss eating meat, which is what I thought I would miss most.
    I still eat some meat, dairy, and eggs, but mostly just as an accompaniment to my meal, and not as the main part of it anymore.

    I wanted to share some of this on the forum, but it didn’t really fit into the health topics because this part is going to be about foods that any of us eat and enjoy that are plant-based and not the health part of a plant-based diet.
    Right now, I think that I am probably the only one here that is plant-based besides @Kitty Carmel ; but maybe in the future there will be more of us who want to share food ideas and even recipes.

    Here is my bean salad that I made for dinner.
    It has several kinds of beans, cucumbers, onion, and corn. It is already delicious, but should be even better once the dressing has marinated into the beans and veggies, and I will serve it over a bed of greens, and maybe some fresh chopped Roma tomatoes.

    2C868C1F-FA3D-4CFB-925E-6721E2830472.jpeg
     
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    Last edited: Jun 2, 2018
  12. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    I hardly eat meat or dairy...I do eat fish though and some cheese.

    For lunch I had gnocchi made from cauliflower with some Parmesan on top, also a side of mixed greens.

    I bought the gnocchi at Traders Joe's this morning...it's sooooo good.
     
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  13. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I wouldn't miss meat much, but cheese...that is a different story. My wife is on a mostly meat diet as that is what she can tolerate, although she consumes a lot of salads and avocados. Grains and dairy seem to really cause her trouble, and the longer she avoids grain, the more intolerant she is getting. She says she would rather have no cheese than the soy or coconut cheeses. Your bean salad looks yummy, though, Yvonne!
     
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  14. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    That meal in your OP look exactly like the dinner my husband has most evenings... sometimes he'll add flaked salmon to it... ( never meat of any kind and rarely eggs)... but just veggies mostly, with peppers, a little strong cheese cubed..and some fresh grated parmesan marinated in whatever oil takes his fancy on the day...most often a Chilli oil...
     
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  15. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    I tried to be a vegetarian just to see what all the hype was about but learned after a couple of months that I love my meat included in my meal.

    I tried eating salads and learned a lot about what my stomach can and can't tolerate - one of which I can't tolerate is iceberg lettuce. I didn't like the taste of cold beans, yuck. What I most enjoyed though was a Ceasar Salad. This was introduced to me when Johnny and I started dating. It had Romaine lettuce which didn't upset my stomach at all.

    Unfortunately most restaurants serve iceberg lettuce in their salads.
     
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