Why Plant-Based & Oil-Free?

There are plenty of ways to eat, so why choose plant-based and oil-free?

The more plant foods I eat, the better I feel. The less excess fat and oil I eat, the better I feel. It's common to hear people report how they feel 10, 20, 30 years younger when they started to really prioritize plant-based, oil-free foods. I'm one of them!

I've found that it's incredibly difficult to explain what it feels like to feel the rejuvenation that comes from eating this way. When I say that I feel more limber without stretching, I admit it sounds strange. It's something you have to experience for yourself.

The Plant-Based Part

Plant-based is a term that means different things to different people. In the grocery store, it is typically synonymous with the term vegan. I sometimes look for "plant-based" convenience foods when scanning the frozen section for things like ravioli (frozen plant-based & oil-free ravioli exists!). And yes, it's worth mentioning that convenience foods definitely play a role in my plant-based, oil-free cooking!

Plant-based:
Foods from plants + fungi: grains, leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, beans, mushrooms, herbs.

Not plant-based:
Foods from animals: meats, insects, dairy, eggs

Don't overcomplicate it.

Don't get caught up in technicalities like honey (it's from animals but many consider it okay in a plant-based diet).

Make mistakes, experiment, have fun, and learn what works for you.

The Oil-Free Part

I'm not 100% oil-free in life, but I don't add oils to my foods, and I mostly cook my own meals. That’s what keeps it simple and sustainable for me.

Oil shows up in small amounts in certain foods: some breads and condiments, for example. When that's the case, I look at two things:

• How far down the nutrition label is it (the farther down the list, the less of it there is)
• How many grams of fat are present

By looking at both of those, it's usually telling whether it's for me or not. Why both? Take a seedy bread for example. It might have a slightly higher amount of fat due to the seeds, and maybe there's less oil than salt, which would be a pretty darn small amount of added oil.

Recap

Plants good. Oil bad.

Fat's fine in reasonably small amounts (even broccoli has fat).

Next Steps

Maximize good. Minimize bad. Find what works for you.