We Watched Forks Over Knives

Today, my family and I watched Forks Over Knives.  The movie had been recommended to us by several friends and I finally had the chance to sit down and watch it.  I have watched many food movies at this point and read many food books.  Mostly, my perspective on food issues has been to answer the following questions: What is the impact of food production on the environment? Is the food safe for our bodies?  To date, I have been able to sustain my beliefs as a locavore but watching the Forks Over Knives documentary has changed my perspective yet again.

I would highly recommend you watch it.  The movie promotes a plant based whole foods diet.  They provide research which supports the belief that this type of diet provides for a healthy, well balanced life-style and lowers an individuals risk of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.  If you have Netflix, you can check the movie out there or your local library.

With strong evidence of the veracity of this life-style change from a close friend, we decided to try it out.  Our goal is to eat a plant-based whole foods diet for the next eight weeks and then have a physical exam to see if there are any changes.  My husband is on the verge of high cholesterol and is not at his personal ideal weight.  I had had high blood pressure at my last appointment, my bad cholesterol is high  and I often feel tired.  I hope that the changes we are about to make will help.

I still have a fridge full of food that I am not going to let go to waste so I will incorporate those items in small amounts as we make the transition.  But, tonight we had Enfrijoladas and a big green salad with avacados, tomatoes and sunflower seeds.  We decided that the only way this would work would be if the whole family were doing it so the kids ate the food, too.  Little E (3.5) devoured the two bowls of salad and almost her entire entree.  Little M (5) had three bowls of salad and half of her entree and Little  J(7) ate only half of his entree but I feel like we are off to a great start.  

I am making a meal plan for the week with breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks identified throughout the day since this will be a new way of cooking and eating.  I will have to ditch my 'go-to' recipes and foods.  I am excited though as I do enjoy trying new things.  Looking forward to how this adventure unfolds.  I'll do my best to bring you along with it!