Tracy Mrs - Make Every Bite Count! : Elevate Your Choices, Lose Weight & Feel Great ~The SASSY~Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy Produce-Rich, Plant-Based Way To Health

Copyright 2014 Tracy A. Minton. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the copyright holder and author, except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

Your health is to a large extent in your own hands. You should carefully make choices about diet and lifestyle as these profoundly affect your health and longevity. Most physicians get very little training in nutrition, but the litigious nature of modern society makes it necessary for me to suggest that you check with an appropriate health care provider familiar with your specific case before undertaking any change in your diet or lifestyle. Nothing in this book is to be construed as a diagnosis or treatment for any disease, or as a recommendation appropriate for your specific condition.

I first transitioned to a fully plant-based diet in the fall of 2011 with my husband, Don. We had been eating a paleo diet at the time, however, prior to our wedding in May of that year, I had reached my life time heaviest weight, and was dealing with a whole slew of health issues that seemed to be getting worse, versus better. (You can read more about my story in the next chapter.)

I began a blog, The Food Way, (now called the Plant Based Solution) during our transition, to share my insights as I set about making the changes to our diet, and trying to regain my health. This book grew from that, initially with a very straight forward name, What To Eat. I would start it, put it onthe back burner, only to pull it out, and table it several times. Each time I returned, I had new developments in my own health that I would try to include in my book.

My original intention was to inspire eating a healthy, produce-rich, plant-based diet by showing how easy it can be with recipes that are very simple, affordable, satisfying and tasty. But my own ups anddowns with weight and health issues prompted me to also share ways Ive learned to tweak my diet to get the results I desired. Hence, the SASSY, MEBC dietary plan ~ A Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy approach to eating a healthy produce focused, plant-based diet that will ensure you make every bite count. The simpler and more flexible a diet is, the more likely it will be that people will stick to it over the long term, making it Sustainable as well.

Our body is designed to experience good, or rather thriving health when we take care of it. Even for those with genetically weak constitutions or limiting conditions, there is still a point of balance for each person where we can feel our best, despite the circumstances. Unfortunately, many of us wait until a crisis to pay more attention to our health.

So what is health? I like how Alicia Silverstone sums it up in The Kind Diet. She poses a challenge to stretch our understanding about what health is by outlining a new definition. She asks us, What if health means feeling strong enough to do whatever you want to do, flexible enough to roll with lifes blows, being peaceful inside, connected with your intuition, experiencing spontaneous bursts of gratitude, and feeling a very real sense of connectedness with all of life: nature, the universe, and all the living beings in it? Well, what if?

My life seemed to present to me plenty of evidence about what was not health. From childhood on, I was riddled with allergies, had bouts of extreme fatigue, was diagnosed with anemia around age 8 or 9, and eventually developed ongoing digestive issues, including constipation, bloating, abdominal pain, and hypoglycemia. And that was just a few of the physical symptoms! I was also very emotionally sensitive and moody having grown up amidst a lot of fighting, and ultimately a family divorce~all prior to being a teenager.
My dad died a hundred pounds overweight with heart disease, and adult onset diabetes, now just called Type 2 diabetes. He loved his steak, prime rib, and egg sandwiches with Canadian bacon and gooey melted cheese. Even his vegetables would be cooked in Campbells cream of condensed, highfat, high sodium soups. He was my first model of what health was not, and what I planned to avoid. I did not want to be dependent as he was upon Western pharmaceuticals. He had to take drugs to counter the allergies to the original drugs!

One of my first inspirations for what health could look and taste like was found at the Heartland Cafe which opened in our north side Chicago neighborhood in the 1976.1 I fell in love with natural foods as they were called. (Foods didnt have the long list of qualifiers yet, i.e. gluten-free, soyfree, low-fat, low-carb, Non-GMO....you get the picture.) They served up big plates of brown rice and veggie stir-fries with tofu, daily bean options, amazing gritty whole grain cornbread, and peachywhole wheat pancakes with real maple syrup. Salads were huge, and loaded with sprouts, veggies, avocado, and sunflower seeds. Best was the tahini dressing, which was pretty exotic for me at that time. This was the midwest during the 70s. Artichokes and avocados had barely crossed the borders from that distant, out there land known as California. And whoever heard of tahini?

In college, I volunteered at our local natural foods coop, called The Duck Soup Coop, which to my surprise is still open! I absolutely loved being in that environment, surrounded by natural foods. After college, I moved out to that distant land, California. Grass Valley was my home for one of those years. A friend from home who had married and been living there was giving me a tour of the area when I first showed up. She took me to the local natural foods coop in Nevada City called Earth Song, which also happened to have a little cafe attached. (Sadly, they are now closed.)

The Macro Meal on their menu consisted of a big plate of whole cooked grains, beans, greens, some fun condiments, a soup, and cornbread. I would order that with a big cup of the roasted kukicha twig tea, which I just loved. Those $5 macro meals were magical to me. I would leave withthis otherwise elusive feeling of pure balance and contentment within every cell of my being.

A local author named Kristina Turner wrote a book about macrobiotics that had all of these enticing drawings of big pots of steaming hot beans, grains, or soups cooking. It was filled with information and charts about the energetics of foods. She spoke of the various organ systems, and the foods and seasons that corresponded to helping harmonize and strengthen them. A passage would read, if youve been feeling ____ (fill in the blank, i.e. worried, sad, depressed; or frustrated and angry) and you want to feel ____ (confident, calm, peaceful, inspired, etc..) then eat more ____ (brown rice, or corn, or more of this or that grain, bean, or vegetable.

I fell in love with the thought of various foods having different energies, and that I could have greater control of how I felt by adjusting my dietary choices. Ultimately it was part of what influenced my decision to study acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

After this time period, I ended up living in Aspen, Colorado. While in Aspen, I worked at two different health food stores. It was these environments where I most came alive. I felt surrounded by pure potential energybarrels of whole grains and beans of various shapes and colors that just waited for the right variables (a pot of water over a heat source)with which to spring to life.