JustBananas's Journal, 23 Apr 23

Annual physical coming up this week, and it's also officially 1 year of switching over to a Whole Foods/Plant Based (WFPB) diet. I'm only down about 5 pounds since March 2022 when I had my starting-point labs taken, so any significant changes will be due to diet rather than weight loss. I'm especially curious as to how my micronutrients** will show, as I ditched all vitamin pills/supplements in favor of using real food to meet my needs.

At the Farmer's Market yesterday, GF picked out the weekly experimental ingredient: dandelion greens. This is a bitter leaf, guys. It looks spiky-cool in a garden salad, and I tossed it with almonds, white wine vinegar and orange sections to give a sweet citrus note. Better, however, was braising it in vegetable broth and sliced garlic, draining, then topping it with white beans, red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon.

TRICKS & TIPS: For anyone looking to step into a less processed, plant-based diet, I highly recommend just adding one new fruit, veggie or grain to a favorite meal. Instead of bread with soup, use barley. Instead of white rice as your side starch, try quinoa. Swap croutons on your salad for raw sunflower seeds or pepitas. If you don't like a veggie raw, try it roasted in the oven or stirfried. I buy enough of a new vegetable to try it multiple ways.

**MACROnutrients are fats, carbohydrates, protein and water;
MICROnutrients are vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients

Happy new week, everyone!😊💚 -🍌🍌

56.1 kg Lost so far: 21.4 kg.    Still to go: 3.9 kg.    Diet followed: Reasonably Well.