— Razi Lissy

So, um, let's, let's talk about the definition of whole food, plant-based eating. And, uh, it is on, um, uh, you know, ideally, okay, it's gonna focus on using a whole, well, as in real food ingredient, when I say real food, I mean coming from the earth, ideally, right? In that, uh, original state, or pretty close to that. I mean, the reality is most everything that we, um, consume has been processed to some degree or another. And excuse me, just a moment. And so the, the whole food diet is in contrast to the highly refined diet. And all this food out in our world lies on a spectrum. And really, you get to choose right where you wanna land, right? On this spectrum of food. Um, let me also interject my, my perspective on a similar term, and that is vegan or veganism, or a vegan diet. Um, I'm not a big fan of the term vegan, um, because I, I've grown up with that term for many, many decades. And, uh, it is a, it is a, it's a politicized term. It is one that is aligned with animal rights and, um, a lot of other stuff in society, the type of clothes you wear, the leather shoes you might avoid, you know, these sorts of considerations. So I like whole food plant-based, right? As a, as a term that I use as a term that I identify with. But in terms of the vegan world of eating that has emerged over the last several decades, it has unfortunately come to rely strongly on processed foods. I mean, after all, a bag of potato chips is usually vegan, you know, so is a, a pretzel. Um, but, uh, those things aren't good for you yet. Many vegans eat lots of those sorts of highly processed foods. And, you know, they talk about being plant-based, uh, in a certain sort of way, right? In parentheses. So when we look at things like, um, you know, the garden products, um, you know, um, commercially made veg burgers and, and morning Morningstar, um, meat analog products, uh, those are more highly processed than a pot of beans and sweet potatoes, um, and spices and herbs that you might use to make your own veg burger, but less processed than, uh, a bag of pretzels, let's say. So, um, you get to decide, I mean, that's, that's the beauty, right? Um, no one has a, uh, uh, a there's no such thing as a universal definition, okay? Of, of what a plant-based diet ought to look like. Um, it is highly individualized, and it could be, uh, based on so many competing factors too, maybe on the weekends when you have more time to cook, you really drill down on some of these whole food ingredients like beans and, and, uh, um, greens and grains, um, that take longer to cook, um, you know, more, more effort on your part. But during your busy week, you rely upon some of these, uh, faster cooking convenience items. I'm not here to judge. It's gonna be totally up to you to kind of find that sweet spot. Uh, in other words, the balance, right? That works for you and your family. Okay? And so I hope that, um, um, you'll also think about, excuse me again, a food, a personal food philosophy, which can be very helpful in creating a, a north star, right? Or a guiding light to help you maneuver through these, uh, these times, these decision processes. And, uh, some of us have religions, some of us have spirituality. I think part and parcel to, to all of that should be a food philosophy. And, uh, again, this is individual and something that you, uh, may or may not talk about with others. Um, but, uh, if you decide, you know, that you wanna approach your, your health and your lifestyle in a certain way, uh, and then sort of stay that course, and that means that you might make sacrifices in other areas of your life to spend more time doing the, the, the food prep. Um, just as some people sacrifice certain things on certain days of the week to go to their place of worship without fail, uh, we get to make these decisions. Um, and that's, uh, it, it makes, uh, makes for a beautiful thing because it, it really, uh, sets your roots deeper around your beliefs, uh, around what food ought to be, how farm workers are treated, how animals are cared for, um, how you, um, spend time procuring your food or producing your food, and what your ultimate, um, you know, uh, lifestyle around food is gonna look like. And, um, so that's a big, that's a big one to bite off, but, um, you know, I hope you'll give that some consideration as well.