As you will know from my last post, I’ve been on the road for the last few days and it has been an interesting voyage of discovery for my new found lifestyle. Firstly I quickly came to realise that there is a difference between eating vegan and eating healthy. Apparently you can be a vegan and live on soft drinks, potato chips and Oreo cookies, should you choose.

When I began this project I stated that I wanted to eat a whole food plant based diet (WFPB) and for simplicity of expression that morphed into me saying I was vegan. I wasn’t comfortable with the label vegan and after this past few days I can see, though in the same neighbourhood, why vegan and WFPB can be cows of a different colour.

I felt like I was living a double life. For simplicity and to help people understand my needs, when I am out and about I am vegan. But behind closed doors I’m something so much richer; I am a whole food plant based feeder! That means I prepare my own meals from whole ingredients and restrict the amount of processed foods and reduce my intake of added sugar and oil. It means I am eating a rich, nutritious, varied, tasty and natural plant based diet.

When I was travelling, I brought healthy snacks and foods with me but as there were a number of occasions where we were dining out I was obliged to eat from the menu. Salads are a great fall back when the weather is warm, but in the Baltic weather conditions we experienced a hot meal was a must. This involved eating whatever was available which was patchy at best.

My learning from this experience has been, when life gives you pasta, make tomato sauce and try not to fret about it, make the best choices you can and dream of your return to your own kitchen and the wonders you will concoct there from a rainbow of fruits and veggies.