Adopting a mostly plant based diet over 10 years ago deeply impacted my life. Before then, I was a worried wife and mother of 5. I feared for my husband’s life. He was overweight with undiagnosed diabetes and off the chart cholesterol levels, making the poorest of food choices.
He was in a bad cycle of coffee on repeat until 2pm, late lunch meetings, no appetite for supper, late night foraging through the pantry followed by a door slam and trip through the nearest drive through for multiples of whatever deep fried garbage would satisfy him at the moment.
Secret trips to the pharmacy to measure his high blood pressure finally pushed him to watch a documentary, Forks Over Knives, about reversing heart disease with a plant based diet. His bad habits and cycle of poor food choices stopped overnight.
I already had a go with plant based foods when my last baby had serious tummy troubles while I was nursing. I eliminated dairy, soy, beef, and eggs and she had a happy tummy again.
Out of my five pregnancies, the weight came off three months faster with plant based eating than all the previous ones. I was for anything that had helped me and my baby AND had the potential to keep my husband around longer!
We quickly realized that an attitude of “this is daddy’s food, that’s our food” wouldn’t work for our family, so at home we adopted a plant based diet and watched as the pounds melted off my husband and our family got healthier. Our bodies know what to do with real, whole foods!
The proof was in the pudding when we got bloodwork back just three months into eating plant based.
My husband was down fifty pounds by then and all his bloodwork came back in the excellent zone. There was no denying that oil free plant based was the way to go!
My heart got healthier too. My hips stayed the same–I’m just not meant to be a skinny girl–but all our lives were changed for the better. Better health improved our family life from the inside out.
Now, my husband is the full-time food blogger and recipe developer at ShaneandSimple.com where he develops oil-free, plant based recipes, and encourages others to change their lives for the better with food.
I was inspired to start Plant Life Today because the ripple effect of a plant based diet has impacted my health, what I bring into my home, and even how I approach life.
I’m not perfect, I’m not going to waste my time pretending I’ve got it all together. I eat plant based most of the time.
The way I eat is not my religion–I’m going to enjoy cake at a wedding! The kids and I eat plant based the majority of the time at home and Shane and I don’t burden them with rules outside the home either. We encourage them to equip themselves with knowledge about what’s in the things they put in their bodies and the beware. of consequences those things bring.
For me, life is about the people you’re with and the stories you make together. Life is an education, and that’s how Shane and I hope to lead our family- with love, courage, and knowledge.
For more details about eating plant based and some amazing-but easy- recipes, head over to ShaneandSimple.com where my husband can help you out!