This is a question I get asked A LOT!!!

But to answer, I need to tell you the story, because the reasons have evolved.

First of all, I have a question for you. Do you have a person in your life that you talk to about food? The person that when you cook something amazing you send them a pic. The person that when you see something that looks mouth watering on social media you tag them. The person that you plan your next fun adventure with based on something that you want to eat. The person that does all of this back to you. Well I have 2 of those people in my life and neither of them eat meat. One of them, my very dear friend, has been a vego as long as i’ve known her. The other is my sister, who over the last few years evolved from a vegetarian to a plant-based diet. These two women are my inspiration. My food muse’s. So, that’s how my curiosity and interest in eating less meat started.

I started with “Meat Free Monday” and then more and more meat free nights crept into my week. And…I just really liked it. The recipes are fun and so delicious and bright and colourful and healthy. And another thing…they are cheaper. (More money for more important things…like shoes)

Now “Meat Free Monday” has turned into “Meat Monday”. Purely as a bargaining tool with the main carnivore in my life, my husband, so I can cook whatever I want to the other 6 nights. LOL!!!! But in all fairness, he’s been pretty good at not complaining about the lack of meat in our house. I do try a little bit of what I call “plant-based trickery” and sometimes I have him convinced there is meat in some things I make. hehehehe!!!!!! Shhhh…don’t tell him!!!! Many people I come across tell me that their husbands would die if they tried to cook them something without meat. I used to think the same. And…he hasn’t died yet.

So that’s how I reduced our meat intake. But…to go “vegan” and reduce dairy too, I really thought I would struggle. But surprisingly, the dairy has been easier to get rid of than the meat. Dairy and I have never got along very well if i’m completely honest. And once I discovered nutritional yeast flakes and making my own almond milk for my coffee, I was a very happy non-dairy consumer.

So then I guess I started being curious about the nutrition side and health benefits of a plant based diet and watched some documentaries like Forks Over Knives and What The Health etc. and it just kind of made sense to me. But, I wasn’t diabetic or having heart problems or worried about cancer, so…whatever, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and having fun with what I’m cooking.

But then…you know how a doctor might ask you, “do you have any family history of cancer or heart problems”? Well, 12 months ago I would’ve very boldly said NO. But if you’ve read my last blog post about my 2020, you’ll see that is not the case anymore. I now have a family history of bowel cancer, liver cancer, peritoneal cancer, and 2 weeks after my Mum died, my Dad had a heart attack. And my husband’s parents both died of cancer and a heart attack. To be honest, that scares the absolute shit out of me. I don’t want to go through what my Mum went through and I definitely don’t want my children to be subject to these diseases either. So, if I can make some progress with positively impacting the future of my family, then I’m all for that.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
~ Hippocrates.

However, where I’m at with my "plant based adventure”, I’m still not ready to commit 100%. My motto is “progress over perfection”. I’m not going to say “i’m vegan”. Unless you have a food allergy, then why label it. I just think people should be able to eat what they want without judgement. It’s like someone not wanting to eat broccoli so they don’t. And they don’t have a label. (But who would do that because broccoli is the best) My sister calls me a “reduceatarian”. LOL! Maybe that’s what I am.

Maybe I’ll be ready to commit 100% one day, but right now I’m not. I would say I prefer to eat plant-based most of the time, where possible. And you know what, maybe i’m only not ready to label it because it’s not always possible. It can be really hard to eat out. Most places tend to have a vegetarian option, but they’re still full of cheese, cream, yoghurt and eggs. I do find it frustrating because it is actually really easy to cook some amazingly delicious plant-based dishes. I feel like people are missing out on such amazing food. But I’m not going to be that person that is “difficult” to feed. Sometimes I wish I lived in a city, but that would be purely for the amazing restaurants. Lucky I have my Thermomix and I can cook such amazing food at home.

Why I still keep my options open…

There are so many food philosophies out there and I think lots of them have evidence to support them, but one thing they all have in common, is that increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables is never a bad idea. It’s always the other food groups that are up for debate. So, I’ll go with the “eat more plants” option. Hot chips anyone??? Joking. Or am I?? hehehe.