The Other Side of the Table

For some people, not everyone under the same roof jumps on board to become plant-strong. Food, for many, can be a very personal thing, and we all have our reasons following the eating regime that best fits our lifestyle. In my case, I live in a house divided, but not as divided as it may seem. As long as you eat dinner at the same table, enjoy conversation of the day’s review, things pretty much stay the same. Some of us eat plants, others try.

A long time ago I was invited to a potluck. When I arrived, a friend said to me, “We’ll put your food on the other side of the table.” It made me think that my beautiful pan of Rip’s “Raise the Roof Lasagna” was being put into quarantine, almost as though to not contaminate anything else on the table. I’ve learned along the way that not taking things personally is the easiest road to take, but a part of me was like, “Are you kidding me?”

For some, being plantstrong indicates that you are on some type of diet, and come sooner or later, you’ll be eating out of a vat of Ben and Jerry’s. For my family, and friends alike, they keep waiting for that day to come, because long before Engine 2, I was a serial dieter. I could lose a carload of fat, reach a goal, then return to horrid and processed food eating, only to regain all of the lost weight. And then, gain even more weight.

Friends of long ask me, “Doesn’t this “plant-strong thing” create a wedge in your marriage?” While my husband and I no longer like the same foods, food isn’t the focal point of our relationship, AND, as I tell others, “If you think that food is the wedge, then there is something else bigger, and really wrong with your relationship.” You can’t blame food for everything that doesn’t go right.

A few years back, I was invited to sit on a panel about the Engine 2 Diet and how it had changed my life. A young attendee in the audience asked how you would defend the E2 diet to others. My response to her was simple: Do not be a defender, be a promoter. Works for me all the time.

Here are a few pat answers that I use with friends and family to help explain why I eat the way I do. And, when I am approached by good-hearted people, this is what I say:

• Nope, it’s not a diet, but merely a way to follow a plant-based/plant-strong way to eat;

• Yes, it is like a vegan diet, but it is not made with any processed foods;

• Yes, I know that in the past I have waivered from the “old fashioned diet,” but this is more like something I feel from the heels of my soul. Can’t waiver. Please don’t wait for the other shoe to drop.

• Let me show you some of the beautiful food I have made here tonight, you will be so in love with the flavors of all of these foods.

• Lastly, kitchen clean-up is a breeze when you follow a regime where you only eat plants and avoid all oils. Less time in the kitchen. More time to spend with others. No time for wedge building.

So, while the other side of the table might not be plant-strong, the only thing really important in your life is to be “plant-strong to thine own self.”

As the holidays roll around, others may want to tempt you, but the reality is that you have created a strong foundation of good health outcomes for yourself, and that unto itself is one of the many gifts of being plant-strong.

When you roll into your next holiday party, take some sparklers with you. If you’re taking a dish with you, place it in the center of the table. When it’s time to eat, stick those sparklers in the dish, light them…this way your dish with be grandstanding, and no longer for the other side of the table.

It will shine, shine, shine. The way that plant-strong meals always do for me.

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