I realise that some people that land on my site might not know what Whole Foods Plant-Based (WFPB) means.  That is like with many things a slightly loaded question and different people see it in different ways. We first learned about this through Forks Over Knives though I have also read How Not to Die, The China Study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and the Starch Solution.  I have taken from all and made a plan that works for us.

First and foremost, WFPB is about plants.  No meat, no dairy, not eggs and no oil.  Now some people take the no oil thing to an extreme of no nuts, coconut milk, or avocado.  We are note at this time going that far; however, I am still trying to find less fatty options when possible.

It also means little to know processed foods.  It isn’t so much a ban on all processed foods but means if I feel I must get something I need to find the most natural option. Because of this I am becoming quite the label reader…even more than I have been in the past.  The challenge?  My eyesight is not what it used to be and the ingredients are microscopic in size.

What do you eat if you don’t eat meat, dairy, or eggs?  Are cakes and cookies a no go area?  Will all joy in life be extinguished by this way of eating?  The answers are…

What we do eat:

Fruits

Vegetables

Whole grains

Legumes

Herbs and spices

Completely unlimited!

Man Holding Wholegrain Brown Rice

Fruit and vegetables. Selection of raw fruits and vegetables.

Cakes and Cookies

That is a big fat yes though it will take lots of practice and creativity.

All joy gone?

I don’t think so at all.  I get to eat flavourful food in unlimited amounts and add in occasional traps like cakes and cookies (and any other dessert I can modify).

What do I need to limit?

I need to work on limiting added sugar and when I do use it go for more natural options.  White sugar is heavily processed and adds nothing to you nutritionally.  Brown sugar really isn’t better.  If at all possible, I need to replace these with either less sugar or preferably less sugar and something like maple syrup or agave nectar.  I haven’t used agave yet so another frontier to conquer.

I also want to limit salt.  Some of the books I have read are all over reducing salt and others seem to have a nonchalant attitude toward it.  I don’t want it to become a problem in the future.

We do limit the nuts, nut butters, and the avocado though they have not currently been eliminated.

Oil!

As you will recall, that is a no go!  No cooking with oil, no butter on my popcorn (I am struggling with that), and no oil added to products from the store.  This is one of the biggest places the label reading comes in.  Oil is added to just about everything.  Even my vegetable stock has oil added to it (working on finding one that in low salt and no oil…and of course available in the UK).  I cook with vegetable stock in place of the oil.  I bake with applesauce (and my sister, Marilyn, mentioned puree prune).  So far, I have just not had popcorn so if you have an oil free way for me to have my nutritional yeast stick to my popcorn please comment below!  I miss popcorn so much.

Completely Unlimited?

You might be feeling rather incredulous about that statement…completely unlimited.  If I had gone into this with weight loss in mind I would not have trusted that and would have counted calories anyway and restricted my whole grains. Luckily, I haven’t restricted myself at all and can report that it is true that you can eat as much as you need to be full.

I did not go into this for weight loss though it is welcome.  I know my weight before I started this (about 4 days before) and my weight after 18 days.  I have lost 3.5 pounds having eating much more than I normally would.  My meals have been huge.  Just about equalling the amount my husband eats and I have lost weight.  I have had nice cream, whole wheat crackers, roasted chickpeas, as well as experiencing with cookie recipes.

I can tell you what WFPB means to me but the only way you can ever truly understand is to try it for a couple weeks. Enjoy not being hungry.  Get creative in the kitchen.  Explore Instagram, Pinterest, and of course Fivebeansoup for ideas and recipes.  I am on Instagram as Fivebeansoup if you would like to follow me there and see my daily creations that don’t make it onto the blog. Let me know how you get on. Share this article with your friends and family.  Check out the books I mentioned above.  most of all, don’t just live…THRIVE!