the blog.
The Potato Cleanse (Potatoes Gonna Potate)
All hail the great potato!
Ever heard of the 'Potato Cleanse' or the 'Potato Diet'?
I'm embarking on a 10-day challenge to eat a majority of my calories from potatoes. Because, potatoes gonna potate, am I right?
Potatoes are incredible. They have sustained populations through severe famine. They are a staple in my whole foods plant based diet. They are packed with nutrients. And they are delicious.
What could be better than ten days of mostly potatoes?
All hail the great potato!
Ever heard of the 'Potato Cleanse' or the 'Potato Diet'?
I'm embarking on a 10-day challenge to eat a majority of my calories from potatoes. Because, potatoes gonna potate, am I right?
Potatoes are incredible. They have sustained populations through severe famine. They are a staple in my whole foods plant based diet. They are packed with nutrients. And they are delicious.
What could be better than ten days of mostly potatoes?
I began the potato 'diet' yesterday. I use the term diet loosely, as this is only a relatively minor shift in my eating habits. As I said, I already eat a whole foods plant based diet with few overt fats and a lot of potatoes, but for the next week and a bit I'm going to increase the percentage of calories from potatoes in my diet and eliminate other starches, legumes, and fruit. I wouldn't eat this way for any long-term period (I love fruit, beans, and rice way too much for that and wholeheartedly believe that they're essential to good health), but it is far better than many 'cleanses' and 'diets' out there that do not provide enough nutrients or calories and contain processed 'foods' or no food at all.
So what is and isn't allowed?
Basically, the idea is that you eat potatoes and non-starchy vegetables seasoned with spices and accompanied by oil and fat-free dressings and sauces, if you so wish. The point is to get the majority of your calories from potatoes and to supplement with other vegetables such as leafy greens.
What does a typical day look like?
Whatever you like! As an example I'll show you my first day on the diet:
Breakfast
- plain yellow potato fries
Snack
- more yellow potato fries
Lunch
- even more yellow potato fries and a baked sweet potato with sriracha salt
Snack
- baby carrots and cherry tomatoes
Dinner
- two huge salads (romaine, kale, cucumber, tomato) with a little nutritional yeast and vinegar as a dressing
- yellow and sweet potato chips with sriracha salt
- 2 baked sweet potatoes with pepper
When I plug my day into cronometer I come up with these results:
As you can see, I'm getting more than enough calories and 142% of my protein requirements!
All of my vitamins are covered with the exception of vitamin D (for which I spend time outside and take a supplement) and vitamin E. I'll be sure to pick up some spinach and broccoli to get enough for the remainder of the 10 days.
Minerals are also on point, though I'm just shy on calcium. The addition of spinach and broccoli will help on this front as well!
I consumed a ratio of omega 6:omega 3 of 1:5 which is far closer to the ideal of 1:1 than the SAD average of 16:1!
Where do you get your protein? From potatoes!
Why am I doing this?
I have a few reasons for trying out the potato diet.
- I ate barely any potatoes while on the ship and I missed them dearly.
- Potatoes are cheap and I've been saving for a wedding.
- Jason is away and it makes meal prep simpler to focus on one main source of calories.
- My diet hasn't been as clean as I would like since returning home and I want to kick start my way back into my preferred way of eating.
- I've been breaking out and I want to try removing potential causes of inflammation for a period of time before reintroducing them one at a time in the hopes of finding the culprit.
Will it do what I want it to? I hope so! But if not, it will at least be delicious :)
If you have further questions don't hesitate to leave them in the comments below!
Do you eat potatoes on a regular basis? How do you like to eat them the most? Would you ever consider trying the potato diet?
Until next time,
The Vegan Food Pyramid
What do vegans actually eat? That's a question I hear more often than you'd think. And the answer is very simple.
Vegans eat plants!
Now obviously there are lots of ways to achieve that. High or low carb, raw or cooked, whole foods or junk foods, vegans eat it all.
Me? I like to eat a whole foods high carb nutrient dense plant based diet. Bit of a mouthful, right? (Pun intended.)
So what does that actually look like?
Let me show you!
What do vegans actually eat? That's a question I hear more often than you'd think. And the answer is very simple.
Vegans eat plants!
Now obviously there are lots of ways to achieve that. High or low carb, raw or cooked, whole foods or junk foods, vegans eat it all.
Me? I like to eat a whole foods high carb nutrient dense plant based diet. Bit of a mouthful, right? (Pun intended.)
So what does that actually look like?
Let me show you!
To make it super clear for you, I made this handy-dandy graphic to show you exactly what I mean!
My diet is based off of YEARS of research into nutrition, and is a culmination of all of the most compelling evidence I have seen. I've written quite a few posts here on my blog on the topic of nutrition exploring protein, iron, calcium, and more (see every post I've written on nutrition here) and have also listed many of my favourite books and other resources here!
Let me break it down for you.
My focus is on whole foods, as I believe the less processed a food the healthier it is for our bodies. Food science has come a long way in a short period of time, and I guarantee our bodies have not evolved at the same pace. Our cells don't recognize processed foods and therefore can not utilize and expel them in an efficient manner. If you want your digestion to be a well-oiled machine (and top-notch health) whole foods are the way to go!
I eat high carb because carbohydrates are the fuel our bodies need! We run on carbs. Carbs are not the enemy! They give us energy and make us feel good. Ever wonder why you love sweet things and crave sugar? Because sugar is our fuel, just like gasoline in a car! You wouldn't try to run a car on sugar water any more that you'd try to live off of gasoline. Why force your body to do extra work to get the energy it sorely needs to keep your vital functions going? Especially when carbs taste oh so good!
I aim to eat lots of foods that have a high nutrient to calorie ratio, because the more nutrients I can get the better! Which foods pack the biggest nutrient punch? Vegetables and fruit. I encourage anyone trying to improve their health to start with increasing their consumption of vegetables of all types (including starches), fruit, and especially leafy greens (the most nutrient dense of them all!)
Lastly, I eat plant based because I truly believe that animal products are deleterious to our health. Plant foods provide everything we need without the negative health effects that come with the consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy. I also eat this way because it aligns with my ethical beliefs. I have written loads of posts both subjects, which you can find in my blog post archive!
Now, I'm human (just like you, I presume!) and I don't always eat a perfect diet. That's why I included the 'other' category. This is for those times when you just REALLY want a vegan brownie chock-full of oil and sugar. And you should have it! We only live once and treats should definitely have a place in our lives. The biggest thing to remember is that a treat doesn't happen every day!
I also want to remind you to DRINK ENOUGH WATER! Yes, I am yelling. It is so important. Don't complain. Just do it. Your body will thank you a thousand times over. And then you'll thank me!
Oh, and don't forget to stay on top of your B12 and vitamin D intake. If you don't know why B12 is important, read my post on the subject here. And vitamin D is a problem we are all facing as a species, now that the majority of us spend our lives indoors or slathered in sunscreen. Get out in the sun every single day or be sure to take a (vegan!) D3 supplement!
What kind of vegan diet do you eat? I would love to hear about it in the comments! Also, let me know if you would be interested in a 'what I eat in a day' video on my YouTube channel!
Until next time,
