Courtesy of Vegan Radiance[/caption]Lauren from Vegan Radiance was kind enough to agree to an email interview with me. I found her on Facebook about the time I started my plant-based journey and she's truly an inspiration.
First a little bit about her
I’m looking forward to my half century birthday next year. My goal is to be healthier at 50 than 20. Getting to this point has been….a journey, but, I’m loving it now. By day, I’m a corporate meeting/event planner, but in my past life I owned my own wedding cake business, worked for an NBA team for 13 years in community relations and marketing and worked for the world famous, Zig Ziglar motivational speaker. I have two adult children and an angel of a grandbaby to whom I can’t wait to give a green smoothie!!
1. You define yourself as a Nutritarian, how long have you been a nutritarian and how did you come to living this life?
I’ve been a Nutritarian for 1 year and 4 months. Hear me…It was NOT my goal to eat a whole foods/plant based diet. As a matter of fact, Memorial Day weekend 2011, my only goal was to grill some 1" thick steaks and relax with some beers; but, the universe had other plans. I awoke and distinctly "heard" a voice say…"You need to stop eating meat." I did not question it. That night, after a meatless day, I searched my cable guide for any kind of food documentary that might offer some guidance. I found the movie, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". Little did I know that movie would change my entire life. The movie itself and Joe’s journey healing himself on a juice fast was inspiring and brought me to tears. I watched it twice before realizing there was a doctor in the movie, Dr. Fuhrman, giving Joe powerful information on nutritionally dense foods and the health connection. I did an internet search for Dr. Fuhrman and I tell you, it was like sun rays shot out of my computer when I found my way to what he calls NUTRITARIAN eating. I soon discovered he had a book, Eat to Live, which lays out a whole foods/plant based way of eating. I ordered it immediately, read it as fast as I could, went to Whole Foods on June 4, 2011—book in one hand, shopping cart in the other and the rest is history.
- What inspires and motivates you to keep going?
At first I received immediate gratification as the weight just melted off my body. I had never experienced anything like that. I lost the first 20 lbs with no exercise. After I completed the first 6 weeks eating nutritarian, I went for a full metabolic blood panel test with my doctor so I could get a glimpse of what was going on inside my body. The results were astounding! My cholesterol levels, protein levels, everything was excellent! That really motivated me toward my main goal of getting off of not 1 but 2 high blood pressure medications. After the first 6 weeks, my doctor cut one of my meds in half…at my 11 week visit, he took me completely off of them. That was one of the greatest days in my life. I cried tears of joy!
- I've seen you mention you used to own a cake business, have you always enjoyed to cook, where do you find your kitchen inspiration?
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Courtesy of Vegan Radiance[/caption]I love good..no, make that great tasting food. I am a foodie. I love presentation. When my children were little , even if we were having a meager meal, I’d try to make it look fancy. I think it makes things taste better! It’s no different with nutritarian cooking. Discovering neat ways to assemble the food in fun, exciting ways brings me joy. Whoever said don’t play with your food? That’s silly!
I have always loved to bake more than cook. I can remember as a little girl receiving an EZ Bake Oven for Christmas….then I graduated to using a real oven. My poor dad had to endure many, many experiment desserts (Thanks dad!) And, my mother always made delicious food from scratch. My grandmother had a master’s degree in home economics, and I can remember her teaching us to make homemade candies and breads.
4. What changes (any and all, not just weight loss) have you noticed since going ETL?
I could type for days about this. Luckily I kept a journal of the changes because it’s so easy to forget I ever had any ailments after I started feeling healthy. My allergies cleared up immediately-no more stuffy nose, sneezing, watery/itchy eyes. My feet stopped hurting, and my joints (knees, back) Oh! My back was a big one. Slowly, I noticed month by month any PMS symptoms I used to have completely disappeared including cramps… I went through the cold/flu season with no sickness. I have not taken an aspirin, gastro intestinal medication, my mind cleared and I could think easier, with more clarity and focus than ever before. I slept deeply and naturally fell asleep and awoke. My energy increased, I could now jog 3 miles with no stiff/achy recover the next day. My hair and nails grew like crazy!
5. What do your workouts look like?
Again, the only reason I got up off the couch was at the urging of my doctor. I was enjoying lounging around eating raw vegan ice cream and losing weight. I began a jog/walk combo for about 3.5 miles a few times/week. I challenge myself by walking UP the down escalator. It’s like having my own personal Stairmaster. I throw in a few squats and pushups and that’s it! I also live in a walking town, so me and these legs put on a lot of miles just walking around town. Love it!
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Mini Peanut butter/banana/chocolate frozen treats, Island salad plate (Hail to the Kale Salad in cucumber), edamame, mixed greens), Green Smoothie with mandarin oranges, dessert plate (strawberry popover, strawberry blossom cupcake, Apple sturdel muffin, raw vegan brownie) -- courtesy of Vegan Radiance[/caption]6. What does a typical food day look like for you?
Morning-Green smoothie (kale, banana, mango, unsweetened almond milk and flaxseed)
Lunch – Huge (I mean I start with a salad bowl) SALAD…loaded with any combination of the good stuff like romaine, celery, onions, pears, pepitas, orange slices, pecans, snap peas, green peppers, broccoli, shredded cabbage and topped with a homemade dressing.
Dinner –In the summer, I like to sauté veggies and serve over quinoa. In the winter months, I go more for comfort foods like casseroles. I can make some really great nutritarian casseroles using marinara, veggies, nutritional yeast, onions, quinoa pasta, or wraps…mmmm Check the photo gallery on my FB page.
7. You seem to travel a bit, how long did it take you to be bold about your way of eating when out?
I started Eat to Live June 2011. The 2nd week of June I was scheduled to go on a 10 day business trip where food was actually much of the focus. I thought, “Why, oh why did I start this nutritarian thing now..I must be crazy!!” It was a turning point. Was I going to use this as an excuse (again) or change my life? I learned a lot on that trip which taught me, we can do what we decide to do. I called ahead to the hotel and upon arrival they had a refrigerator in my room and a blender!! The bellman drove me to the grocery store to stock up on produce. The restaurants were more than willing to accommodate the way I asked for food prep with no oil, salt and sugar. (They did not all succeed, but they tried!) And my coworker would bring me plates of fruit and veggies everyday out of support. All I knew at that early stage was eat fruits and veg, eat fruits and veg.
The best tips I can give for eating nutritarian on the road are:
- Pack your own snacks (Lara bar, apple, raw nuts)
- Research ahead of time the city you are visiting. Perhaps there’s a vegan restaurant nearby. Many restaurants have menus you can view online ahead of time. Call them ahead of time. Research the word “vegan+city”
- Determine ahead of time you are going to stick to your nutritarian plan. It’s worth it.
8. What do you say to anyone who says they just can't do it, that it's too extreme?
I’m very aware not everyone is ready for nutritarian eating. They love hearing about my results, but just about everyone has that moment when they look at me and say, “I could never give up ______”. I don’t expect everyone to come this way. I just try to live my life in hopes that I will be consistent enough over the next years to be an example of good health. Everyone has to do what’s right for them. But every once in awhile, there’s that one who jumps in both feet….that understands like Dr. Esselstyn says, preventable, open heart surgery…now THAT’S what I call extreme.
9. What tips do you have for anyone new to eating the ETL way?
Stay plugged in. I used to listen to Nutritional Wisdom audio programs on Dr. Fuhrman’s website every day. I would listen while doing the dishes, eating my meals, exercising. I had a lot of reprogramming to do around nutrition. It’s free.
Read the book Eat to Live. I know everyone likes a quick fix…but taking the time to read the book really made the difference for me. I understood what I was doing and why. It made sense.
Find a supportive community. 4 weeks into Eat to Live I found a Yahoo support group. They were my rock. Kept me motivated, informed and let me vent. Great family!
Although Dr. Fuhrman offers so much free info I joined his member center. Not required by any means. It’s only $ 3.99 a month (that’s less than one of my lattes) and allows you access to recipes, daily emails and a host of other support tools.
10. What do you get from having a Facebook page that inspires others?
I had a friend my age pass away from a heart attack in 2011. Just about everyone I know has some ailment and I’m learning so much of our sickness is connected to what we are eating. I’ve tried every diet out there over the years with no lasting success and certainly no health benefits. All I know is…it worked for me. And if telling my story through this FB page helps someone….then I’m happy! I really wanted to name my page Nutritarian Radiance…but no one could spell it and I just thought folks could quickly identify with the word vegan first, then find out about Nutritarian eating.
I actually get so inspired back! I don’t know who is doing the inspiring..smile. I decided (there’s that word again) to start the Vegan Radiance FB page January 17th, 2012. I had no knowledge of how to create a page, post photos….nothing. It still has some glitches, but I’ve learned in life we cannot let the glitches stop us! I decided to just give it my best and the though of helping just one person feel better, eliminate disease and live longer was enough.
If you're on Facebook, check out the Vegan Radiance page, Lauren's transformation has been amazing. She has inspired me constantly and I make certain to interact with her often enough that her posts show up in my newsfeed.
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