Jumping in!

I’ve been thinking about doing this blog thing for a long time now; I’m definitely late to the game.  For awhile I was content to read what others had to say, maybe comment (maybe not) but more and more I’ve been feeling like I have something to say, hence what you’re reading now!

My name is Elyse and I’ve been vegan for over 4 years.  Being vegan wasn’t something I thought I’d ever be, wasn’t on my radar at. ALL.  Soon, I’ll write about how I came to this way of eating and living but for now I’ll stick to why I started this blog.  When I started eating vegan I initially replaced all my favorite foods with vegan versions which, while delicious and lacking cholesterol and saturated fat, could hardly have been called healthy.  Over time, I started eating a less processed diet and moved to one very low in oil, sugar and salt.  I haven’t eschewed them completely but the use of them is few and far between.  Currently, I work in a busy emergency room and while I can’t quote exact statistics, I’d say a large majority of the patients I see have problems stemming from their consuming what is known as the standard American diet (SAD).   I’ve been trying, when the opportunity presented itself, to tell people about the benefits of eating plant based, of how to get their calcium, protein, etc. without meat, dairy or eggs but I’ve felt like I can only reach a few people that way, and I haven’t felt confident enough in my ability to express myself in a persuasive way.  To that end, I took T. Colin Campbell’s eCornell plant based nutrition course and I’ve just become a Food For Life instructor through the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (hereafter to be known as PCRM; I do not type fast and the less characters I have to go through, the better!).  I’m beyond excited to start teaching people through actual classes about how easy and delicious this way of eating is.  I’ll be back regularly with posts about various nutrition topics, about how I went vegan, and about classes I’m going to teach.  I look forward to “meeting” you!