In 2012, while studying to become a certified holistic health coach through IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition), one of my sisters had two stents placed in her LAD (left anterior descending artery). Between what I learned at IIN about lifestyle changes and my sister’s heart issue, I began following what I considered to be a vegan diet, in part to support her but also out of curiosity. Lo and behold, I stuck with it for four years. And then in 2016, for various personal reasons, I reverted to a SAD (standard American diet). Dietary changes are challenging.

Fast forward to 2019. I stumbled upon the Forks Over Knives documentary and voraciously binged Chef AJ’s Youtube videos and learned about calorie density. I read The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall, reread The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell as well as Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD and the accompanying cookbook by Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn (yes, I read cookbooks). As I had strictly done since my Celiac diagnosis, I stuck to my gluten free diet but was also ready to upgrade my vegan diet and try a wfpb oil free lifestyle.

I’ll admit that some of my initial reason for jumping on the wfpb wagon was to lose the pesky weight (and then some) I’d held onto since giving birth to two daughters in the early 80’s. I was that person. For many years, I’d tried diet after diet. But nothing lasted. I knew it was time to forge a more sustainable path.

Over the course of a year, not only did the weight melt away, turns out there were other significant changes. I stopped weighing and measuring food, I no longer counted calories or points and never thought about restricting my food intake. I learned to listen to my hunger fullness cues. I dove into the art of creating beautiful and delicious 50/50 plates, in large measure because I had discovered the power of whole plants.

Thank you for joining me on this delicious way of life.

From my kitchen to yours,

XO, Ellen