This is a typical evening meal at our house. It consists of brown rice, black beans some sauteed onions, celery and peppers. It is topped with diced raw veggies–more onion, peppers of various colors, carrots and a corn salsa. Yummy! We’ll have baked corn chips on the side and water (cool–not icy).
It started over two and a half months ago. Sylvia’s dad bought a book on the recommendation of a friend. He read it and passed it on to Sylvia. She read it and said to me, “You might be interested in reading this.” I did and responded with, “If you want to try this, it’s okay with me.”
The book is Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B Esselstyn Jr, MD. The author shares cases of folks with heart disease who were beyond help through conventional approaches. Esselstyn puts his patients on a strictly plant-based diet with no oil. (There are more than 150 pages of recipes.) The results are astounding. Imagery shows blocked arteries that 30 months later are open again and new paths have developed.
No, I don’t have heart disease, but why wait? In 25% of cases the first symptoms of coronary disease are also the last. In other words, in one of four cases the first heart attack is fatal. Want to roll the dice?
We have removed meat, milk, cheese, ice cream, eggs and oil from our daily diet. Yes Sylvia cooks in the frying pan, but she uses vegetable stock instead of oil.
These days we eat mostly fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Soy milk has taken the place of cow’s milk. No butter, margarine or mayo. Does that sound difficult?
We’ve tried eating “vegetarian” a couple days a week. We developed some foods that we liked. We believed we could do it. For two weeks we finished off some foods we had on hand and began to introduce low-fat vegan dishes. For the last two months, we follow the plan at home.
It’s not always possible to eat that way when you eat away from home. We’ve decided not to make an issue of our preferences. One meal with animal products or vegetable oil is not going to ruin our plan.
The big question has to be, is it satisfying? Sylvia and I both grew up on meat, potatoes and a vegetable for the evening meal. After two months I can tell you that I am fully satisfied with our plant-based nutrition. I look forward to rice and beans.
I know this is working. I am not as easily winded as I was two and a half months ago. I’ve lost three inches around my (still ample) middle, and the scale shows me down 16 pounds.
I waited until now to make sure this was going to work for us. It does and I’m happy. How about some carrot sticks?
If you have questions, I’ll try to answer them in a future post.
Shutterbug, Cheese is very good . . . We've found a product called Veggy Shreds that is a vegetable-based cheese substitute. It's not cheddar, but it's okay.
Chuck, that looks delicious. Your info is important on this subject. I do not eat hardly an meat at all however it's difficult for me to stay away from cheese. Other than that, I'm doing pretty good. Great post.
Lin, You had to bring my lack of typing skills to public attention. (It's an inside joke folks.) Working toward it is a good start.
Clara, Yea Sis, it was all of that.
Rebecca, We eat more than just raw veggies. Dry beans are not expensive and we buy brown rice 25 pounds at a time. We use can and freeze veggies for year-round use.
Pricilla, Understood.
Marilyn, At some point we may ease back, but for now we are testing.
7, I recently had a bite of fried food at a family function. I did not like it.
Vanilla, Potatoes are still on the menu. So are smoothies.
I admire people who exhibit self-discipline. But I also love steak, potatoes and vanilla malts!
That's a colorful looking meal Chuck 🙂
For my personal diet, I like to eat fruits, rather choose not to eat deep fried or processed food.
That dinner sounds yummy.
I have tried to go all vegetarian twice in my life but both times turned back to meat because I find I end up feeling weak and drained without at least one or two red meat meals a week. I don't need more than that but I do need some.
That's great that your meal plan is working out so well for you.
This goat is all about goat's milk.
ahem
It's definitely more difficult when you have kids, to eat all vegetables. I have heard very good things about the raw food diet, and I know several people who have benefited from it.
It's very expensive, though. It would cost our family of 6 a fortune to eat veggies all winter long. That's what makes this diet difficult. Otherwise, I'd definitely do it.
That looks delish!
WOW! 160 pounds???! Hee! Hee! 😉
That is great, Chuck. I have wanted to go vegan for a long time and are slowly heading that way. If it wasn't for the kids, I think I'd be closer. It's hard to eat healthy like that with a crazy lifestyle, but I think we can work towards it. We do very little beef anymore, I think that is a good start. Oh, we drink soy milk too. Is soy milk okay on the plan?