Nocturne
Well-known member
So, about two weeks ago, after some deliberation, I finally decided to do it -- take the plunge and move to a plant based, Whole Foods diet! I've read so much about the benefits of such a diet here and elsewhere that I figured it was time to make the shift.
I knew it would be quite an adjustment -- I've made some major changes to diet over the last two years, but this was going to be a real challenge. Or so I thought.
It turns out that it was nowhere near as difficult as I had thought it would be. In fact, in many ways it was even EASIER that what I was doing before, and I was amazed at the variety of really great tasting food I was able to eat!
I started by cleaning out my entire pantry -- whatever didn't get eaten over a two-week period was thrown out or given away. I wanted to start fresh.
I then went to Whole Foods. I'd shopped there before, of course, but I'd never relied on the place for ALL of my food, and going plant-based added a whole new wrinkle. I first visited the produce section and picked up the usual -- romaine hearts, sugar snap peas, broccoli, asparagus -- and plenty of fruit. The oyster mushrooms were a bit expensive, but I was going for a Whole Foods diet and you have to do what you have to do. As I was reaching for an onion, I noticed the potatoes. I'd been avoiding them because of all the starch, but they were certainly plants, and they were right there in Whole Foods, so into my carriage they went!
That's when I started noticing all the amazing things you could eat on a Whole Foods diet! There were nuts, of course, but not just the plan unsalted and unroasted kind -- I grabbed a big tub of honey roasted cashews! Right nearby was an energy bar section that had some awesome flavors, none of which contained any meat, so I went ahead and selected a couple dozen.
Oh, there were also these pre-sliced beets called Love Beets that come in a package with some kind of syrup, that I would not have ordinarily picked up because they looked processed, but they were right there in Whole Foods so I went for it. And are they ever sweet!
Around the corner was an assortment of crackers and cheese. Now the cheese isn't a plant, but this is a plant BASED diet, so I did take a triple cream brie and a nice bleu along with some wheat crackers.
Then I saw the vegetarian pizza. I bought a slice and ate it then and there. Delicious! It had been so long since I had eaten real pizza, I couldn't believe that it was on the menu for a Whole Foods diet!
Walking around the store I saw a great deal of foods that I had really not expected to be available on a Whole Foods plant based diet. There was a whole section of cookies, so I took an assorted bag, as well as a piece of chocolate lava cake (milk and egg free!). There was actually this stuff called cookie butter, that really tastes like cookies! At first I couldn't believe it but there it was in Whole Foods with the rest of it, and it didn't have any meat or milk in it, so I picked up a jar. I've been having it on toast every morning!
I've been getting an assortment of cereals from Whole Foods, which haven't taken long to get used to -- in fact, they're pretty sweet. I got some oatmeal of course, as well as honey. Oatmeal with honey and cinnamon is a new favorite of mine.
You might not believe this, but Whole Foods has a whole candy section too! I could not believe that all of those chocolate bars were part of a Whole Foods diet, but there they were. I picked up a dozen or so, along with a bag of licorice.
I love hummus, which they have a great assortment of, but I especially love it with pita chips, which are for sale at Whole Foods! That's been lunch for a while now, as I prefer the taste of the chips to plain flatbread. They're so much crunchier!
Speaking of snacks, there are actually a wide variety for sale at Whole Foods, including cheese-dusted popcorn, pretzels, and nacho chips -- none of which contain any meat.
I did pick up a dish of sushi and some salmon, because again we're talking plant BASED here, not vegan. And in the meat section, there was this almond tuna salad that was literally DRENCHED in mayo, that I would not have imagined to be part of a healthy diet, but it was right there in Whole Foods so I got a bunch of it -- and it was great!
I got a few tubs of gelato for desserts -- again, I was amazed to see these as part of a Whole Foods diet, but I wasn't going to complain! Been really into the gelato lately.
Some super-sweet yogurt is also available at Whole Foods -- Oh my Yog! is the brand. It's Whole Foods, so it's on my diet!
I could not believe it, but there is soda on the Whole Foods diet as well! For the first time in a long while, I can enjoy a bottle of ginger brew or Q brand cola with dinner or after work, and know that it's good for me because it's on the Whole Foods diet that lots of people online swear by. I mean it isn't Coke, and it's much more expensive, but still -- such a feeling of freedom!
I just wanted to write all of this to encourage people who are considering switching to a Whole Foods plant based diet to stop THINKING about it and just jump in and DO it! You will be doing your body a huge favor and you probably have no idea about all of the great stuff you can eat -- it's actually a lot more like my old way of eating than the changes I made over the last two years were!
Thanks so much to everyone who has talked about the Whole Foods plant based diet! I would never had known that eating so healthy could taste so good!
I knew it would be quite an adjustment -- I've made some major changes to diet over the last two years, but this was going to be a real challenge. Or so I thought.
It turns out that it was nowhere near as difficult as I had thought it would be. In fact, in many ways it was even EASIER that what I was doing before, and I was amazed at the variety of really great tasting food I was able to eat!
I started by cleaning out my entire pantry -- whatever didn't get eaten over a two-week period was thrown out or given away. I wanted to start fresh.
I then went to Whole Foods. I'd shopped there before, of course, but I'd never relied on the place for ALL of my food, and going plant-based added a whole new wrinkle. I first visited the produce section and picked up the usual -- romaine hearts, sugar snap peas, broccoli, asparagus -- and plenty of fruit. The oyster mushrooms were a bit expensive, but I was going for a Whole Foods diet and you have to do what you have to do. As I was reaching for an onion, I noticed the potatoes. I'd been avoiding them because of all the starch, but they were certainly plants, and they were right there in Whole Foods, so into my carriage they went!
That's when I started noticing all the amazing things you could eat on a Whole Foods diet! There were nuts, of course, but not just the plan unsalted and unroasted kind -- I grabbed a big tub of honey roasted cashews! Right nearby was an energy bar section that had some awesome flavors, none of which contained any meat, so I went ahead and selected a couple dozen.
Oh, there were also these pre-sliced beets called Love Beets that come in a package with some kind of syrup, that I would not have ordinarily picked up because they looked processed, but they were right there in Whole Foods so I went for it. And are they ever sweet!
Around the corner was an assortment of crackers and cheese. Now the cheese isn't a plant, but this is a plant BASED diet, so I did take a triple cream brie and a nice bleu along with some wheat crackers.
Then I saw the vegetarian pizza. I bought a slice and ate it then and there. Delicious! It had been so long since I had eaten real pizza, I couldn't believe that it was on the menu for a Whole Foods diet!
Walking around the store I saw a great deal of foods that I had really not expected to be available on a Whole Foods plant based diet. There was a whole section of cookies, so I took an assorted bag, as well as a piece of chocolate lava cake (milk and egg free!). There was actually this stuff called cookie butter, that really tastes like cookies! At first I couldn't believe it but there it was in Whole Foods with the rest of it, and it didn't have any meat or milk in it, so I picked up a jar. I've been having it on toast every morning!
I've been getting an assortment of cereals from Whole Foods, which haven't taken long to get used to -- in fact, they're pretty sweet. I got some oatmeal of course, as well as honey. Oatmeal with honey and cinnamon is a new favorite of mine.
You might not believe this, but Whole Foods has a whole candy section too! I could not believe that all of those chocolate bars were part of a Whole Foods diet, but there they were. I picked up a dozen or so, along with a bag of licorice.
I love hummus, which they have a great assortment of, but I especially love it with pita chips, which are for sale at Whole Foods! That's been lunch for a while now, as I prefer the taste of the chips to plain flatbread. They're so much crunchier!
Speaking of snacks, there are actually a wide variety for sale at Whole Foods, including cheese-dusted popcorn, pretzels, and nacho chips -- none of which contain any meat.
I did pick up a dish of sushi and some salmon, because again we're talking plant BASED here, not vegan. And in the meat section, there was this almond tuna salad that was literally DRENCHED in mayo, that I would not have imagined to be part of a healthy diet, but it was right there in Whole Foods so I got a bunch of it -- and it was great!
I got a few tubs of gelato for desserts -- again, I was amazed to see these as part of a Whole Foods diet, but I wasn't going to complain! Been really into the gelato lately.
Some super-sweet yogurt is also available at Whole Foods -- Oh my Yog! is the brand. It's Whole Foods, so it's on my diet!
I could not believe it, but there is soda on the Whole Foods diet as well! For the first time in a long while, I can enjoy a bottle of ginger brew or Q brand cola with dinner or after work, and know that it's good for me because it's on the Whole Foods diet that lots of people online swear by. I mean it isn't Coke, and it's much more expensive, but still -- such a feeling of freedom!
I just wanted to write all of this to encourage people who are considering switching to a Whole Foods plant based diet to stop THINKING about it and just jump in and DO it! You will be doing your body a huge favor and you probably have no idea about all of the great stuff you can eat -- it's actually a lot more like my old way of eating than the changes I made over the last two years were!
Thanks so much to everyone who has talked about the Whole Foods plant based diet! I would never had known that eating so healthy could taste so good!
