Thinking of going plant based (what the health) sacred me

stephanieclayton65 wrote: »

Any one done this or have any recipes ?

Yes, yes... if u look up Kris Carr she has lots.. very good

One of my friends went "plant based" a few months ago and she seems sicker and more ran down then ever,not sure if there's a connection or not but I've seen a decline in her

I've been eating mostly plant-based lately, and what I find helpful (although I admit I've been doing tons of easy stir fries and pasta with homemade sauces, and bean soups and chili and so on, as I always did) is experimenting with other cuisines that have a lot of dishes without animal products as part of the cuisine -- I have a great Indian cookbook (660 Curries) plus a couple of others to try, an Ethiopian cookbook, a couple of Fuchsia Dunlop's books on Chinese cooking in different regions, and some easier Chinese and other Asian books. Plus a couple of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's books and a fun one called Vegan Soul Food. I also like the Oh She Glows site, and 101cookbooks (which is vegetarian but has tons of vegan options).

Other good books if someone is experimenting with more veg or new veg or just wants ideas are Greene on Greens (a classic) and Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love.

I never actually cook from recipes, but I think working with real cookbooks and other cuisines can be a great way to realize it doesn't need to feel restrictive or like you are giving up on caring about cooking or being a foodie or whatever your personal deal is.

I will say that this is not 100% in line with the Fuhrman style of eating, and it is one reason I'd differentiate between doing it for ethical reasons and the books that focus on nutritarianism (as janejellyroll said). There are reasons (taste, authenticity) for keeping in things like oils, and sometimes the recipes pushed by the people who are just about health strike me as too restrictive for a really sustainable diet (I was going to try a Engine 2 challenge one time, and it was no tofu, no tempeh, no seitan, no protein power ever, no smoothies (I like smoothies, I realize they don't work for many), no oil and even -- no nut but a little walnut and no more than .25 avocado a day -- what!?). Without serious health reasons -- which is what I think that type of diet is made for -- I don't think that's especially sustainable for most, and I think it could be hard to get adequate protein on, although I love beans and lentils. I've also found some of the recipes promoted in the "be vegan, here cook from out recipes" things are not ones that would work for me -- well, I hate following recipes -- and sometimes seem like they'd get really monotonous.

I also think if someone says she is being "scared" into becoming 100% plant-based there's a concern that she's gotten bad information and (as Virginia Messina discusses) that's not a healthy base for the change, and quite possibly likely to lead to someone being disappointed and bitter.

I realize I'm coming from a different place, as I don't believe the health claims (I do think 100% plant based can be a very healthy way to eat), but I do feel like I want to try to move in this direction for ethical reasons, at least right now, I'm still working through my views on the ethical arguments and find it's less that I think ethically-raised meat and eggs and dairy is wrong as that I don't really wish to eat those things myself, more and more (although I should make up my mind, since right now I tend to just go back to old habits when faced with situations where I'd otherwise have nothing to eat, like our every other week work lunch). I should stop that, or at least make an affirmative decision about what I want to do for now.

Anyway, enough about me, what do you think -- er, never mind! ;-) More seriously, I would say that if someone is starting out and hasn't even been vegetarian and is motivated by a movie, it's important to clarify the reasons, but also to understand how she (or he) is eating now. I found it easy to eat 100% plant based because I'd been a vegetarian at times in the past and always eat vegetarian for portions of the year, and I'd done periods of 100% plant based, so I can easily structure meals without meat/eggs/dairy that are balanced and so on. There are people who really have no clue (and may well have not been eating many vegetables at all and no beans/lentils), and for them starting slow might be better.

Long message just because I get the sense that some think it is wrong to engage with OP about her reasons and so on, but given the title of this thread I'd honestly feel it was irresponsible not to.