Top Ten Tips
Cultivate these when converting to whole plant foods
I learned to do this as we went along, but it took time! I mean, first we “went vegan” with no idea what or how to eat. Lost 20 pounds each. Felt great. Were astounded.
Then we discovered the “plant-based foods” section at Wegmans. But the closest Weggies is an hour, so it wasn’t too bad. Then, suddenly, and to our (temporary) delight, plant-based food sections popped up in our local grocery stores too!
Oh, how we celebrated. I’m pretty sure we celebrated with all 30 plant-based Ben & Jerry’s flavors! We tried every brand-new plant-based frankenfood in the grocery freezer. Impossible this and Beyond that and Daring everything.
We gained all the weight back except about 2 pounds. I developed some health issues, too.
I was a little peeved, because I had watched Forks Over Knives and I was pretty sure I was supposed to be lean and healthy at that point in time. So I went back and watched it again to refresh my memory for my angry letter. (By the way, the Forks Over Knives documentary is 99¢ to rent on Prime at this writing.)
Well, the second time through, I realized I’d kind of let the “whole food” part of whole food plant-based go out the window.
And I want to propose that, as far as a whole food plant-based diet is concerned, we drop the word “based.” It’s a whole plant food diet. Whole food plant diet. Either works.
It’s not plant-based. It’s plants.
So once we got that part down, it went much better. But there were still lots of discoveries along the way that have become incredibly helpful to us here at Chez-Shayne-Lewis. I thought I’d share them with those who are just starting and maybe haven’t found these yet.
So here are my WFP Power-Tips!
1. Nutritional Yeast
Listen, I know you hate to try new things, but this is an essential. First of all, with a tablespoon or so a week you can bump up your B12. The omnivores (none of whom even know that they are likely B12 deficient) are always crowing about how you need meat to get this nutrient, but they aren’t getting it, either. It comes from bacteria in the soil and we’ve sterilized too much of our soil with chemicals to let it thrive like it used to. I’ve evolved my previous belief that the noochie was enough. We should all be taking a B12 supplement. But the nooch boosts it.
Noochie, as we call it in the biz, tastes like a mild version of the powder left in the bottom of the Jax bag. But it’s good for you. Made from fermented molasses, I believe.
I add at least a half cup to mashed potatoes, chili, goulash, soups, stews, all sorts of things to add a slightly cheesy, umami touch.
2. Reduced Sodium Tamari
Tamari is mild soy sauce that doesn’t use fish in its fermentation process like some soy sauces do. I always get the reduced sodium. They can’t legally call it low sodium, which should tell you to use it in moderation.
This is an essential ingredient in marinades, salad dressings, sandwich spreads, gravies, sauces; and chili, soups, and stews in which I add a tablespoon or two at most.
3. Tofu
You’re going to want to be brave and experiment with tofu. Once you’ve done so a few times you’ll fall in love.
Extra firm tofu can be cubed, seasoned, then browned in an oil-free sauté and used as a salad topper or stir fry ingredient. (Add it last, so it doesn’t get soggy.)
Silken tofu can be used to make dressings, sauces, and even frosting.
I intend to do a “working with tofu” piece in the near future.
4. Oatmeal for Breakfast
I’m never going to stop singing the praises of a big bowl full of fruit and oatmeal for breakfast. It’s the best thing I think you can do to get started.
Nobody understands how much of the good stuff it takes to repair our health, or how little of the bad stuff it takes to ruin it.
5. Green Leafies & Cruciferous Veggies
The most powerful foods you can eat are the foods in this group. It includes all the greens other than lettuce; spinach, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens Swiss chard, collard greens, etc. It also includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and bok choy.
Eat greens and cruciferous veggies as frequently as you can. They reverse the plaque build-up in your arteries, which, if you have eaten the Standard American Diet for seventeen years or more, you definitely have. Here is Dr. Esselstyn, cardiac surgeon and head of the cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic for much of his career, talking about the power of leafy greens.
These vegetables can do what no stent, bypass surgery, or statin drug can—they can remove existing arterial plaque and can reverse coronary artery disease.1
6. Ezekiel Bread
This bread is the my go-to bread for health. It’s flour free and oil-free, made from sprouted grains, and it’s fantastic. The brand also makes raisin bread, English muffins, wraps, cereal, and I don’t know what all.
The bread has 0.5 grams of fat, none of it saturated, 3 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and is rich in Selenium and Manganese.
You need to have a sandwich every once in a while. Having bread and wraps that are included under the whole food plant-based umbrella is crucial. So try these brands.
7. Yams and Sweet Potatoes
Another superfood! Called one of the healthiest foods on the planet, and might have cancer-fighting properties. (I think most veggies do.) Here’s Dr. Micheal Greger on sweet potatoes.
8. Wonderful, brain-feeding starches!
Dr. John McDougall calls a whole food plant diet a “starch-based” diet. He advocates for getting past our fear of carbs. Our brain consumes sugar. It lives on carbs. One of the hardest things for newcomers to this way of living, is getting over their fear of carbs. It’s a form of brainwashing. Trust me, just close your eyes and scrunch up your face, and take a leap.
Every meal should have a nice, filling starch such as brown rice, quinoa, whole grain pasta, a whole grain bread, a potato, a sweet potato, peas, corn, bananas, etc. The starches are vital because they fill us up. If we’re not satiated by our food, then we’re not doing it right.
Besides, healthy starches may prevent colon cancer, help with weight loss, are heart healthy, and they help our energy stay level, instead of peaking and crashing.
9. Good snacks
I rarely let us run out of Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. We try to always have bowls of grapes, apples, pears, bananas, oranges, mangoes, peaches around the kitchen. We also have canned fruit (never in syrup—just the fruit) and frozen berries as backup, because you cannot have magical berry-covered oatmeal without the berries. I mean, come on, it’s in the name.
10. Variety and satiation ensure nutrition
If you eat a wide enough variety of plants, and eat enough of them to get full, and don’t eat much else, you are getting good nutrition. Most suggest supplementing with B12 and Vitamin D, which nobody gets enough of.
You don’t have to go crazy counting your nutrients, but it’s not a bad idea to do it every once in a while. Once you know what you’re doing, maybe do an analysis twice a year to keep yourself honest. In my nutrition class I just completed a four-day analysis of every crumb I ate, and found my nutrition in line with or better than the RDAs in every category (although I was little high in sugar. So I’m adjusting. It’s just a minor tweak.)
11. Ditch oils and processed foods
I know the title is “Top Ten Tips” but I couldn’t leave this one out. If you are including oil in your diet, cooking with oil or spray, putting plant-based butter on your food and bread, or eating processed foods in which oil is an ingredient, you are sabotaging your progress and your health. The fat you eat is the fat you wear, so stop eating it. Oil is just fat. It’s pure fat. When you ingest it you are pouring fat directly into your ass.
Read my piece, The Truth About Oils for a little more on this.
You do not need oil to cook. My French toast recipe post tells you how to get things golden brown without a drop of it, or a spray of it. There’s a video demonstration in the paid subscribers area.
12. Buy whole food plant-based cookbooks
I was proofreading and I thought of one more. Don’t just buy vegan cookbooks or plant-based cookbooks. Buy whole food plant-based cookbooks, and do what you can to ensure they’re also oil-free. Very few are, but there are more all the time. Here are a few of my favorites and these are affiliate links just so you know.
There you go!
Use these tips to help the transition go a little better.
Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al. Intensive Lifestyle Changes for Reversal of Coronary Heart Disease. JAMA. 1998;280(23):2001–2007. doi:10.1001/jama.280.23.2001