So the plan is to eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet for one year, track the results, chronicle the challenges, and develop some sort of blueprint to help others channel their inner herbivore. Let’s get started, shall we?

Whole-foods, plant-based diet. Just rolls off the tongue, eh? WFPB. Even the acronym is awkward. But thankfully the benefits outweigh its phonetic shortcomings.

There is a difference between a vegan diet and a WFPB diet. Surprisingly, it’s very possible to eat a less-than-ideal vegan diet. Consider the possibilities: Frosted Flakes or a raspberry Pop-Tart for breakfast. Tofu hotdog with fries and a Coke for lunch. Oreos and a grande Starbucks soy coffee frappuccino for your afternoon pick-me-up. Frozen vegan pizza to round out your day — and, of course, a chocolate vegan cupcake for dessert. And maybe some of those moreish root crisps while you’re working your way through your PVR. Nutritional disaster!

So what’s a girl to eat? WFPB! All plants, all the time. That’s my new mantra. Vegetables (in everything from my soup to my smoothie), fruits (no-brainer snacks), legumes (think 3-Bean Chili or garlicky hummus), grains (my morning oatmeal drizzled with maple syrup and topped with a handful of walnuts is dee-lish), seeds (pumpkin and sunflower seeds in my salad always makes me feel gourmet), nuts (freshly ground peanut butter on my toast? — don’t mind if I do), and nut milks (I’m partial to Silk True Almond, although I need to learn how to make my own). You’d be surprised how many foods fit into these categories.

The idea is to aim for foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. For all of you take-out addicts, I’m afraid the WFPB path is going to require some actual cooking — and not the kind where you shuttle something from the freezer to the microwave. But that has to be a good thing, right?

So let’s get this party started! Project Squishyplum. 365 days. All plants. All the time. We’ll figure it out together as we go. Just think how bloody fabulous we’re going to look and feel!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail