This is Not a Diet

Sadly, there is still no camera to record my eating and to keep me in check.  On the up side, I have succeeded in continuing to eat a plant based diet.  I did have one exception this past week when I went to dinner with my good friend.  I ate Eggplant Parmesan.  It was the first time I had ever tried it.  It was good.  however, it had dairy and it was fried, so I won’t be eating that yummy dish very often.  I also eat some oven fried French fries on Father’s Day.  I don’t usually eat potatoes either.  This exception was a holiday of sorta.  We had Brauts (mine were vegan), watermelon and the fries.  They were tasty, but it will be a while before I have that much starch in one sitting again.

This is what we got from the Farmer’s Co-op this week.  Thankfully, they posted a picture.  I wish I had a picture of the beautiful strawberries I’ve been getting from my garden too.  They look as good as the berries in the picture!  They are so tasty.  For three days in a row all I had for lunch was those yummy berries!  I also ate lots of salads, a vegan burger, and vegan mac and cheese this past week.  The main down fall I see that I am experiencing from not having a camera to keep my on the path is that I didn’t take the time to plan my meals last week.  However, Saturday I planned for this coming week.  Pictures or not, I will stick to it the best I can.

With the couple of times I have ventured off of my plant based diet, I have come to realize the truth in the above statement.  I may not look like a vision of health, but feel SO MUCH Better!  Aches and pains are nearly gone and only return when I choose to eat some of my old “go to” foods for “old times sake.”

So many people comment that this thing I do must be hard.  Actually, not being able to record in picture every little thing I eat has helped mt to realize that I have trained my body to crave healthy foods.  I no longer crave soda, chips, cookies or chocolate.  I no longer think the smell of a hamburger on the grill smells good.  I now work into the store or the farmer’s market and savor the smell of berries and I am attracted to the deep greens of the lettuces, green onions, and kale on display.

I also get comments about this “diet” or “phase” I am in.  It’s not a diet.  It’s not a phase.  This is a permeant lifestyle change for me.   Yup, that is right.  I gave up meat.  I gave up sugar.  I gave up processed foods.  I gave up dairy.  And I regret nothing.