Flexitarian?

Wonderful time in Vegas. It was some time that was much needed. We got to catch up with each other and reconnect and had a great time with some friends as well. Also got to do yoga one morning, thank you Ellis and Yvette, and saw the Beatles "Love" show.  All you need is love!

After some discussion this weekend I have decided that I want to follow-up on my initial desire to see Dr. Keith Block at the Block Center for Integrative Cancer.  David is supportive of this plan. Dr. Block's the author of "The Life Over Cancer" book that I use as my go-to guide.  The problem is that there are things in his book, mainly the reduction of sugar, dairy and animal products, that I am supposed to be following but haven't been able to entirely. Now, some of you who know me know that I don't really eat a lot of sugar but I still eat fish, poultry (although less and less), and goat cheese. Lately, I've been even worse than that, I've been slipping. And it's a sliding scale. The thing is, once you slip a little it's like opening the damn, it's very hard to get back on track. It was very refreshing to stay at the Wynn property, Steve Wynn is a newly devout Vegan and all of his restaurants (and room service) on his properties have vegetarian, gluten-free and vegan menus. I was in heaven. In the real world though, it's more challenging to eat that way.

I am trying to eat a whole foods and plant based diet but I still have this terrible addiction to sugar and "protein" (in quotes since you don't need to get protein from animals, you can get it through plants as well!)... I finally watch "Forks Over Knives" and it strengthened my desire to be vegan. This is a really difficult thing, particularly in this family. I think the kids would be fine with it and I would be able to be inventive about macaroni and cheese with almond cheese and brown rice pasta but it's the dairy that will be super hard. Abby drinks almond milk and soy products but she loves her cheese. 

We had lunch with another couple who lives in Vegas and she is a vegetarian. She, Mary, started out like me eating no pork, no red meat and only fish and eggs; then it got easier for her to cut out the eggs, then eventually the fish and then the dairy.  She said reading the China Study changed her life.  She had her father read it and he started following some of the dietary restrictions but she called him a "flexitarian" - he can go long bouts of being a vegan then decide to be a pescatarian (fish) then an ovo-lacto-vegetarian (eggs and dairy) and so forth. Her husband doesn't follow it at all though. I think that is the big challenge.  Anyway, I loved the term. I suppose I am currently a flexitarian. 

This week will be about some experimentation to see what I can cut out.  I do the grocery shopping in this house so that mean NO more buying desserts, candy, snacks, dairy, and the like. I think Abby will be fine with it. It's the husband that may protest.  Fingers crossed.