Following a Plant Food Path

A plant food path is not necessarily a straight line. There are many curves and branching points along the way as you become aware of new information. My wife, Donna, and I have been on a plant food path for nearly six years now. We’ve both spent considerable time and energy researching good nutrition and modifying our diets accordingly. You might think that we would settle on a comfortable routine and leave it at that. Yet, it doesn’t seem to work out that way, at least for us. Our eating habits continue to evolve, even if it’s a little tweak now and then.

There are many influences that perpetuate this constant state of change. Trying out new recipes introduces us to new foods, new preparation techniques, and new possibilities. We pay attention to our bodies reaction to various foods and modify our eating habits accordingly. We also learn what to avoid from friends and relatives who develop health issues, largely because of their poor food choices. Taking online nutrition and cooking classes has made significant changes to the way we shop and prepare our food. Then there are insights gained from ongoing nutrition research brought to light by nutritionfacts.org, online health summits, and other sources. So, the path that we follow has many twists and turns as we incorporate new information.

When I look back on our journey, I see that there were many decision points along the way. The first, of course, was giving up meat and dairy, largely influenced by the Forks Over Knives documentary. The next big decision was whether or not to include eggs in our diet. Another fundamental decision was which supplements to include (vitamin B12 is a must, of course). As we learned more about balanced nutrition, we added things like quinoa (a good source of protein), leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, sweet potatoes (inspired by the long-lived Okinawans), legumes, nuts and seeds (particularly ground flax and chia seeds), fruits (with an emphasis on colorful berries), and colorful foods of all types. We have incorporated some new foods into our process including amla (Indian Gooseberry), locally sourced amaranth, homegrown goji berries, and homemade moringa powder. At the same time, we have gradually cut down on refined oil and refined sugar. Adding kitchen appliances such as a high-speed blender, a rice cooker, and a countertop steamer has changed the way we prepare food.

I’ll discuss these decisions as well as other surprises (including aquafaba and alcohol) in future posts.

To your health!

David Kater

Author of:

Handbook to Higher Health Consciousness: How to Transition to Plant-Based Eating to Heal Yourself and the Planet

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