Monday Motivation: Plant-Based is so.....

weird....

hokey...

confusing...

same thing as vegan, right?

Nope.  None of those things. But, I'll admit it, when I first picked up Dr. Furhman's book, End of Diabetes, and read in the first chapter that he wants people to eat 2 pounds of vegetables EVERY DAY for the rest of their lives I made some sarcastic comment (I'm sure, I always do) and tossed it aside.  I didn't even LIKE vegetables. There was no way I was going to eat like that.  Even better, there was NO way my family would go for it.

Makes me giggle at myself when I think of that day. 

Nutritarian sounds so lofty.  We call it "hoity-toity" around here. I wish there was a word for it that didn't sound so elite or conjur up confusion.  I actually prefer to say we eat plant-based or plant-strong because my focus is to make plants, the original foods God created for my body to thrive on, the PRIMARY source of nourishment in our diet.  For me, that takes away some of the restrictive and negative connotations that accompany labels like vegan or vegetarian.  It's also stating my emphasis on choosing nutrient-dense foods versus simply avoiding animal products.  I mean, really, someone can be a vegan and binge on oreos and somehow feel they are doing their body good.  SAD story, folks. (pun intended).

So, given I'm choosing to eat plants as my primary micro and macronutrient food source and given I'm choosing plants and plant-products that are the highest in nutritional content (avoiding simple sugars like syrup, honey, molasses and oils that have lost their nutritional count) I guess Nutritarian, "one who chooses a nutrient-dense life" is a pretty good word even if it's unfamiliar and confusing.

So, let me help make it less confusing for you!  The more I do this, the more I understand how SIMPLE this really is. I mean, c'mon, when Adam and Eve walked the garden, they didn't pull out ANDI score chart and compare apples to oranges, did they?  Nope, they reached out and grabbed what was appealing to their sight and tasted to see that the Lord IS GOOD because every food surrounding them was made to be GOOD.  God said it.  I can do that too.

Take a look at the various charts I put here today. Maybe one will click for you and help you understand how this is simple, even if the transition is hard.  I agree, it IS easier to grab a bag of chips than peel and munch on carrot sticks. But the simplicity comes from seeing your body heal, strengthen, thrive, and reflect back the glory God intended for it to do.  You can do that...with a carrot!! Making simple choices for simple foods bring great glory to our Great God.

I'm including this link to an article by Dr. Scott Stoll, Fruit and Vegetable Diet. Give it a read. I'm so blessed by his writings and how he helps me see that my simple food choices are creating a stronger communion with my Lord.  Maybe you'll see something similar.  Maybe you'll be inspired to set a few goals for your week that will help you add in more of those life-giving food sources God lovingly created for us to enjoy.

While you're doing that, I'll set my own goals for this week.
1.   Bed by 10pm
2.  Wake by 6am
3.   Personal morning and evening worship
4.   Blogging
5.   Keep up with meal prep
6.   Daily exercise (experimenting with that a bit this week)
7.   Bread once weekly (replace with small quantities of rice, potatoes, alternate flour)
8.   Computer time limited to morning blogging and any spare time before bed
9.   Simplify the menu - NO new recipes
10. Stay on budget with groceries