Plant Strong eating: it's not about what you take away, it's about what you ADD!

This is the first post where I'm going to get a little more revealing about some of the reasons I'm vegan/plant-strong. You've been such good readers, it's time we get to know each other a little more closely :)

For me, it all comes down to health. And by health, I don't mean my weight. I don't mean my jean size, I don't mean if I look as good as my friends (p.s. that is a sure recipe for I'm-never-going-to-be-happy!) I'm interested in sleeping well, waking up refreshed and energized, not feeling sleepy at 4PM, not being constipated, not having skin problems, not having to feel like a victim of my genetics because I have heart disease on both sides (hi Mom and Dad!) and not depending on my family Dr. to give me medicine to make me feel good. I mean, does my family Dr. even know me? Hardly!

I also don't want to live a life where I'm counting calories, thinking about diets, beating myself up on a Monday because of poor eating choices. I've opted out! I want to live a life free from that.


I'm passionate about wellness and know I am in charge of my own health. Isn't that a wonderful thing? You really can dramatically change the way you feel (and look, which is a nice side effect) by what you eat. Rather than find that fact to be daunting, I think it's incredibly exciting and empowering, don't you?

This is not about being on a "diet" ... to hell with that. What eating plant-strong enables you to feel is happy about eating good food, the way nature intended it.

I absolutely love Whole Foods' pillars of health from their "Health Starts Here" initiative because it's so sensible and simple:

Eat Whole Foods (the real stuff: vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, whole grains)
Eat Plant Strong Foods (vegan)
Eat Nutrient Dense Foods (the most nutritional bang for your buck!)
Healthy Fats (nuts, avocados, seeds)

If someone came up to you today and said, "I can tell you a way to eat that will influence your overall well being more than anything else? More than genetics, more than exercise habits and more than any medication," what would you say? You'd be pretty intrigued at the least, right? What if they told you it's as simple (and complicated) as what you eat? I'm no expert, but I know there really is something to it.

Simple in that it's true, complicated in that we live in a world in which we are bombarded by daily advertisements (especially on food packaging) claiming health.

This is where my blog (hopefully!) comes into play. Use this site as a way to stay connected to a different way of looking at food! This is a site that focuses on the joy and passion in eating, feeling good and being whole. We're complicated people but our health shouldn't have to be so complicated.

Thank you and congratulations for your interest in your health! What a good thing you're doing for yourself.