There Is No Substitute

If you have ever seen Risky Business with Tom Cruise you might remember the "epic" car chase scene followed by an adolescent Cruise looking to his passengers and saying,

"Porche, there is no substitute."

To be honest, I have long felt the same way about food. Brussel sprouts, potatoes, kale, heck even chicken, if you're into that—each have their own powerful and unique flavor. There can be no substitute. One of the interesting side-effects of our consumer-driven, work-oriented society is the tendency to settle for addictive food with little taste that is easy to make. Most of what Americans live on depends on the positive feedback loop your body is hard-wired to fall for. Anytime your body senses salt, sugar, and large amounts of protein your brain will literally not tell you, "Hey your stomach is full, we're good here."

In the past, getting salts, sugars, and large amounts of protein were difficult if not impossible; a rare event to be sure. So our brains would do this interesting thing and turn off the process of feeling satisfied and instead store away as much as it could if one of those components was tasted. It's a survival mechanism geared to find and store away precious nutrients.

Today, however, salts, sugars, and protein-rich food is abundant. Most of our food production has been handed over to companies whose producers consider themselves more as engineers than farmers. They create foods filled with synthetic materials via factory-line processes, and many go as far to manipulate these synthetic nutrients with what they call "mouth feel" to make one type of food taste like another. In a recent interview, one company was even creating meat in a lab from stem cells. Unfortunately this type of engineering is far more common than farm to table processes.

And this is actually one of the greatest pitfalls of veganism. It's easy to go for the Tofurky, the soy sausage, the meatless ground beef. But this completely undermines the point of going vegan. Introducing such synthetically engineered food into your diet can be just as dangerous as the hormone laden food you were ingesting prior to your vegan switch-over. And this is why when it comes to food, not only is there no substitute, there is no need to even try!

It is here that I must confess that I am not a perfect vegan.

Please don't stop following my blog!

I actually consider myself plant-based, this is a much more apt description of my diet. You see, I have found that the earth produces every nutrient that I need in my diet. I was so surprised to realize that the same components that make up the soil, the trees, the mountains and lakes are the same ones that create me! I have been unaware of my need for the earth for most of my life, I have lost connection to it in every way. And the foothold for this lost unity was largely the synthetic and engineered food process that most major food companies utilize. So I have become obsessed with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. For almost a year now I have thrived off this basic diet. It was an easy weaning, if I'm being honest.

The main reason was I did not try to substitute. The experience was actually quite ethereal and esoteric. I only opted out of certain food when I no longer desired them. When I understood what was in my meat and how it was manufactured and produced, I honestly lost my appetite for it. When I realized what went into my non-organic veggies I was turned off to the idea. When I understood what process my processed cracker went through to get to that box on my shelf that could last until the end of the millennia, I was kind of over it.

Instead, I sought to go deep into the heart of the earth and allow it to tell me what I needed. In every season the earth is naturally producing what I need for that season in that climate. So I started listening. And unlike most of my meals in my past, I started slowing down and tasting every bite, allowing the seasonal fruit of the earth to explain itself to me fully. The smells, the tastes, the potential of each crop depending on how it is prepared. And this was more than enough. Rarely, if ever, do I seek substitutions. The earth is enough, and the earth is speaking to me.

I have to report that the first thing that happened was a loss of about 20 pounds without changing anything else to my diet (and a two week digestive track detoxing that of which I spare you the details). At the time of the transition I was a retired collegiate gymnast, who continued to work out every day. My workout schedule did nothing for my weight control or health.

Now, I am in the best shape of my life and I only do two yoga sessions a day for ten minutes a time. More than this, I have an unreasonable amount of energy more than prior to my diet change, and I can eat whatever I crave whenever I do because my body has learned to crave the seasonal produce. And in this I get all of the salts, sugars, and proteins my body needs to survive.

Furthermore, I have lost the post-meal sluggish feeling, the two o'clock dip, and the end of the day blues. My metabolism is humming and as long as I don't overdo my work schedule I can thrive through an entire day, week, and month!

I hope this encourages you in your journey to healthy eating. And I must say here at the end, before you make any sort of changes to your diet, please consult your doctor! My diet is based largely on my doctor's advice who has a specialty in diet. While his principles have largely proven universal, everyone is a little different and I would hate to lead anyone astray. The point is maximum health, and only you know your body.

So be encouraged, be smart, and trust the earth. It is more than enough.

Until next time,

The Mystical Vegan