This article is about food, one of my favorite subjects. If you have been a regular reader of my blog, you have seen some of my favorite tasty recipes. You may have even tried some of them. But perhaps you noticed that as tasty as the recipes are, they aren’t exactly healthy. Unfortunately, those recipes perfectly reflect what has been my diet for most of the last 30 years. As a result I found out in September that I have Type II Diabetes.
As a blogger who loves and writes about food, I realized that I didn’t want to stop posting recipes, but how does one in good conscience continue to post recipes for the kind of food that made me sick? My solution: continue to provide recipes, but from here on out they will be healthy. I will post recipes for people like me, who would benefit from a plant based diet for Type II Diabetes.
A New Approach
In the past. I have been posting recipes as part of my blog because most of you, like me, are foodies. Many of you don’t have a lot of time to make complicated meals. You don’t have a lot of money to eat out with either, so I shared ideas to provide you with yummy food options that were easy and inexpensive to make. After all, you shouldn’t be penalized because you have a lot of kids or live on a budget, right?
Now, I have a new reason to continue including recipes as part of my blog. There are nearly 30 million Type II Diabetics out there, and some of you are reading this right now. So, yes, my mission has changed a bit. My recipes will still be yummy, inexpensive and easy, but now they will be healthy. To be specific my recipes will be for the most part, plant based.
What Is A Whole Food Plant Based Diet
A plant based diet is just what it sounds like, a diet that consists of whole foods, mostly plants and starches, very little if any meat, and as little processed food as possible. The basis for the whole foods diet is more about health and less about animal protection, though by it’s very nature, a whole foods diet minimizes the use of animals and when used they should be free range organic etc. Let me try to further explain:
- The vast majority of the food consumed on a plant based diet comes from the plant kingdom, but other foods are not necessarily excluded.
- A plant based diet is not a vegan diet, though the majority of nutrients, including protein, do come from plants.
- Though starch based carbohydrates, like potatoes and grains are allowed, they take a back seat to vegetables, beans, fruits, and leafy greens.
- There is very little or no meat on a plant based diet. As I transition into this healthier way of eating, I will continue to eat a very limited amount of meat, with the goal being to gradually phase it out.
- Eggs and cheese are very limited as well. Actually, cheese is a processed food and is not considered a whole food. But gosh darn it. I love cheese, so at least for the time being I will eat it with the goal being to gradually eliminate it.
- A whole foods plant based diet excludes refined sugar, but fruit is OK.
- Processed oils are not part of a whole foods plant based diet. Saturated fats and animal fats are also excluded from this diet.
- Many people think that a plant based diet is restrictive, and I suppose for some it may seem like it, but when it comes to variety, a plant based diet contains a ridiculously wide variety of options. Many world cuisines are largely plant based like Indian, Chinese and Mediterranean.
- Read this for more about the difference between a vegan diet and one that is whole food plant based.
So, When Can I start Looking For Those Recipes, Brian?
Soon. I have been playing with some recipes and some of them have turned out to be super yummy. Most of the things I have tried are also really inexpensive and very easy to make. For example I made up a batch of Indian Dosas and they turned out terrific. I had left over batter and filling for several days and just kept making them for breakfast and lunch. Last night, I made Vegetable Tamales and they were pretty tasty. Tonight, I made Salt & Pepper Tofu. Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough and the kids were literally fighting each other for more. I plan on sharing these recipes and more very soon. Start looking for them in early November.
I’m really excited to turn this diabetic lemon into a lemonade adventure. I believe that we all would like to eat healthy if the food was truly delicious. I am looking forward to sharing my recipes with you and I’m really looking forward to you sharing your recipes with me. If I try them and like them I will share them with the rest of my readers. My friend Kristen already sent me a recipe that I am planning on making for dinners tomorrow night! So send me those recipes!!!
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