Why Plant-Based & Oil-Free?
There are plenty of ways to eat, so why choose plant-based and oil-free?
The more plant foods I eat, the better I feel. The less excess fat and oil I eat, the better I feel. It's common to hear people report how they feel 10, 20, 30 years younger when they started to really prioritize plant-based, oil-free foods. I'm one of them!
I've found that it's incredibly difficult to explain what it feels like to feel the rejuvenation that comes from eating this way. When I say that I feel more limber without stretching, I admit it sounds strange. It's something I had to experience for myself to understand.
The Plant-Based Part
Plant-based is a term that means different things to different people. In the grocery store, it is typically synonymous with the term vegan. I sometimes look for "plant-based" convenience foods when scanning the frozen section for things like ravioli (frozen plant-based & oil-free ravioli exists!). And yes, convenience foods definitely play a role in my plant-based, oil-free cooking!
Plant-based:
Foods from plants + fungi: grains, leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, beans, mushrooms, herbs.
Not plant-based:
Foods from animals: meats, insects, dairy, eggs
Don't overcomplicate it.
Don't get caught up in technicalities like honey (it's from animals but many consider it okay in a plant-based diet).
Make mistakes, experiment, have fun, be okay with getting frustrated sometimes, and learn what works for you.
The Oil-Free Part
I'm not 100% oil-free in life, but I don't add oils to my foods, and I mostly cook my own meals. That’s what keeps it simple and sustainable for me.
Oil shows up in small amounts in certain foods: some breads and condiments, for example. When that's the case, I look at two things:
- How far down the nutrition label is the oil (the farther down the list, the less of it there is)
- How many grams of fat are present
By looking at both of those, it's usually telling whether it's for me or not. Why both? Take a seedy bread for example. It might have a slightly higher amount of fat due to the seeds, and maybe there's less oil than salt, which would be a pretty darn small amount of added oil.
Recap
Plants good. Oil bad.
Avocados, nuts, and seeds are all regular foods I eat. I find that fat is fine in reasonable amounts when coming from whole food sources. Heck, even broccoli has fat.
Time & Paving My Own Path
I may write more about this later, but I didn't just go all-in eating this way. Even today, I'm not perfect with eating this way, but I promised myself at the very start that perfection would never, ever be the goal. Progress and sustainability would be.
I know people that have done great going 100% all-in, and I really admire them for it. I am sharing my own path because it might help someone else feel better about the take-your-time approach without the overwhelm. The shortest version of my key to success is this: take advantage of those little opportunities when you're feeling up for adding more starches and veggies and reducing oil. Over time, those little choices will add up. That's it.
Doing it this way, there's no missing out, because you still get to eat what you love, you just kinda slowly crowd it out over months and years.
Next Steps
Find what works for you.
Find people and resources that look interesting and inspire you (Instagram was great for this).
If you've made it this far and you've got questions or want to chat, just know I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor, but I am happy to share what I've found that works and does not work for me. Reach out on my instagram or send me an email at [email protected].