Lenten Resolutions #2

Ok. It seems like I have a sub-resolution–which is to use up those things in my pantry, fridge and freezer that may or may not fall into the whole foods/plant based diet. It really REALLY bothers me to waste food but I very easily turn a blind eye to that which I am just not consuming but which is safely stowed away for later in some recess of the kitchen. So I guess I’m not really going to be plant-perfect over these forty days, but I’m going to only buy food which falls into the “allowed” foods category. I’m not sure what my overall goal is right now. Bit of a moving target, really.

The plant based/no oil diet is a variation or combination (depending on how you look at it) of the ultra low-fat, vegan diets popularized by Dr. Joel Fuhrman (Eat to Live), Dr. McDougall (The Starch Solution & many others), Dr. Neil Barnard (Reverse Diabetes & others), Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Esseltyn and all the Forks Over Knives people. I am very much behind the diet from a “the science makes sense” perspective. I struggle with some of the practice of this diet when I see it move away from a whole foods based diet to a more processed foods diet in the name of health. I should be clear that none of the doctors mentioned above advocate anything but a whole foods, plant based diet. But people who are ardent followers get excited about food fads and recreating tastes and I understand that. I just am stymied as to why it’s better to manufacture a taste or texture if you could indulge in the natural form of that food infrequently and not really upset the apple cart of the overall diet. I suppose that everyone has their cheat foods and the other stuff is more easily compromised to them.

I had thought to eliminate sugar as well, or at least refined sugars. But I’m holding off on that particular resolution until I get a better handle on what I want the overall diet to look like. And I really, really, really dislike the flavor that comes from pureed dates, which is what so many recipes use to replace refined sugars.

I may have compromised my legitimacy in pursuing a whole foods diet by listing Crystal Light as my first cheat food…