Sisters-in-Service
Are you a women veteran who feels unseen and unheard? Do you struggle with finding your purpose after service? Sisters-in-Service is a podcast that gives women veterans the platform to talk about those exact issues and more. Hear from other veterans, military spouses and Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) just like you that have overcome their transition from the military. Every Tuesday this podcast encourages women veterans to stand up and be counted because as a group we have a voice. From your host - Cat Corchado - The Voice Connecting Women Veterans
Sisters-in-Service
Plant-Based Revolution with Kim White - Fierce Leader of the My Sexy Business Team and Community
I wanted to let you know that I will be taking a much needed break which is crucial to anyone’s health and wellness. Resting gives everyone a chance to rest, reflect and come back stronger.
While I'm away, we'll be revisiting some of our favorite episodes. from the 2024 symposium, where I had the pleasure of speaking with some exciting individuals who are stand outs in their field.
Subjects like plant based nutrition, menopause, gut and bone health. These are episodes that have sparked insightful conversations, inspired me, and resonated deeply with our community. We believe that they deserve another moment in the spotlight and we hope you'll enjoy revisiting them as much as I do.
Mark your calendars because we'll be back with fresh, new episodes on August 5, 2025. We're excited about the ideas we have in store for you and we can't wait to share them.
Here is Day 1 of the 2024 symposium with the Fierce Leader of the My Sexy Business Team and Community - Kim Whit
What if the key to feeling younger, more energetic, and healthier was simpler than we thought? When Kim White found herself battling constant exhaustion, unexplained pain, and feeling "old" before her time, she knew something had to change. After watching the documentary "Game Changer," she decided to try plant-based eating – a decision that would transform her health and vitality in ways she never imagined possible.
Kim's journey wasn't about weight loss or following trends – it was about survival. Together with her husband (a self-proclaimed "meatitarian" who surprised her by joining completely), they discovered that within just weeks of eliminating meat, dairy, and eggs, their bodies began to transform. Morning aches vanished, afternoon energy crashes disappeared, and that uncomfortable "rock gut" feeling after meals became a distant memory. Most surprisingly, her husband effortlessly lost 100 pounds without counting calories or feeling deprived.
Throughout our conversation, Kim dispels common misconceptions about plant-based eating. Far from feeling hungry or restricted, she describes a lifestyle where they "eat all they want" while enjoying improved satiation. She shares practical strategies like batch cooking beans and rice weekly, using vegetable broth instead of oil for sautéing, creating quick "throw together" meals for busy days, and even making homemade plant-based cheeses that taste better than dairy versions.
For those curious but hesitant, Kim offers accessible starting points: begin by noticing how different foods make you feel, try one plant-based meal weekly, or simply explore recipes that sound delicious regardless of labels. Her experience proves that small changes can lead to dramatic improvements in how we feel in our bodies – without deprivation, complicated cooking methods, or breaking the bank.
Ready to explore how adding more plants to your plate might transform your own health? Listen now to get inspired by Kim's practical wisdom and infectious enthusiasm for feeling good from the inside out. Then subscribe for more conversations about revitalizing your midlife through simple, sustainable changes that truly make a difference.
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Sisters in Service. You know me. I'm your host, kat Corchado, and I wanted to let you know that I am going to be taking a much-needed break, which, as we know, is crucial to anyone's health and wellness, because resting gives everyone a chance to rest, reflect and come back stronger. But don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging While I'm away. We'll be revisiting some of my favorite episodes from the 2024 Symposium, where I had the pleasure of speaking with some exciting individuals who are standouts in their field, subjects like plant-based nutrition, menopause, gut and bone health, etc. These are episodes that have sparked insightful conversations, inspired me and resonated deeply with our community. I believe that they deserve another moment in the spotlight and we hope you'll enjoy revisiting them as much as I do. Keep in mind, the 2025 symposium is going to be starting June 16th through the 22nd, and we'll be having even more insightful conversations, so I hope you'll get a chance to tune in. In the meantime, mark your calendars, because I'll be back with fresh new episodes on August 5th and I'm excited about the ideas I have in store for you and I can't wait to share them. Thank you, good evening everyone. Welcome to day one of the Revitalize your Midlife Symposium.
Speaker 1:You know me, and if you don't, you should. I'm the freaking fabulous Kat Corchado, and I want to welcome everyone to the first day Now. You're probably wondering why I wanted to do this. Well, number one June is my birthday month and, yes, I do celebrate the whole month. I just do why not, right? So if you're listening to this, either on the replay or right now, let me know if you are one of that. You do what I do, that I celebrate the entire month, because why not? But number two I wanted to give back. I always believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their body. Number one and number two I'm a lifelong learner, so all of the speakers we have today are people that I have admired from afar and they know a lot of things about their specialty, and these are things that I want to know about too. So if you are interested in just knowing some of these things, if you walk away with one thing, just one, that could help you to be better in your health, feel better in your body, I feel like I have done my job. I feel like I have accomplished what I wanted to accomplish, so welcome again.
Speaker 1:We have had a change in schedule, and I just wanted to let you know that. Just in case, and before we go there, though, remember that there's a replay you can put your questions in the chat. So, if you have questions, put them in the chat and we'll have our speaker answer them. We'll take a break, we'll answer some questions. This is going to be fun and easy. You guys know me, I love easy, but we're going to keep it moving, which is one of my favorite sayings, and I think our next guest kind of likes this saying also. So, for, without further ado, I want to introduce the amazing Princess Kim White. She is the founder of my Sexy Business community and she does amazing things for everyone in this community, from masterminds to podcasts, to helping all of us in our business, and she is going to talk about eating plant based Right who knew? And so I want to welcome Kim, hi, kim.
Speaker 2:Hi Kat, Thank you so much for asking me to do this.
Speaker 1:I feel so honored Of course, so did you want to add anything to what I said? To introduce you.
Speaker 2:I do. I want everybody to know I'm your backup singer is what I really am. I am so excited to be here with the icon herself, kat Corchado, with the icon herself, kat Corchado, who you know. Kat, I admire you not only from afar but up close, because I feel like I do have a front row seat to your freaking fabulousness. So thank you for putting this on. I can't wait to hear, like all the speakers, You're so welcome.
Speaker 1:I'm so honored that you're here and that you said yes, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. So let's ask this question Actually, not let's me. This is my question. I want to know this answer. What was it that prompted you to go plant-based? That that prompted you to go plant-based?
Speaker 2:Great question, kat. Right out of the gate I didn't feel good. I just knew something was going on in my body that just was making me beyond tired, like from not getting maybe enough rest one night. It was exhaustion and there were things that I was like out of breath more and I just was feeling very and I have to be very careful because the president of the Age Agitators Club will like say something to me. But I was feeling very old is what I thought.
Speaker 2:But I was feeling really yucky, just really not feeling good Really yucky just really not feeling good.
Speaker 1:So there are so many things out there, from diets to miracle drinks and miracle food things, and how did you land on this one in particular?
Speaker 2:So one of the things that I did because I didn't know what the right answer is I think sometimes there's so many choices that we just do nothing, and that was where I was at is, you know, one expert would say eat all meat, one expert would say eat all plants.
Speaker 2:One expert would say exercise more. You know, they just all had different philosophies. I will call it, and I needed to find out for myself what was gonna work, and so I started paying attention to what I ate and how I felt afterwards. I started paying attention to, um, the activity I would do and how I felt afterwards like those and what would cause me not to sleep. And then I did research. I went on a deep dive into a lot of the different things and the doctors that were talking about those things, and I saw a documentary which the title is fitting. It was called Game Changer and I feel like it was a game changer for me.
Speaker 2:I watched that and I thought what, if plant-based, is the answer for me and what is the worst that could happen? It wouldn't work, so told my husband that this is what we were going to do, or no? Let me reframe that. I told him this is what I were going to do, or no? Let me reframe that I told him this is what I was going to do and that I just he. He was a self-proclaimed meatitarian and I thought he would continue on that path and I would be fixing two different kinds of meals and doing all that. And he said, nope, he was in for a penny, he's's in for a pound. And when do we start? And I was so shocked but so relieved because I didn't know how I would resist the, you know, the default things, the comfort foods that we were used to eat in our whole lives. But doing it together really did help.
Speaker 1:That's a man who loves you. I'm just going to say, especially if you're a carnivore and you get him to go plant-based yes, willingly, without even asking, without even asking Kat. Yeah, I don't think that would go very well with my husband. He would fight me tooth and nail. So, kim, did you, did you try other things before you landed on plant-based? Or were you like one and done and you just stuck with this?
Speaker 2:Well, my whole life I have spent on one diet or another. I've always been what I would call a chunky monkey. I've always been, like you know, trying to lose weight and trying to do things because I wanted to fit in my cute clothes, or I wanted that, you know but it was all about vanity. I'll just be like, really transparent. It was about what I look like, it wasn't really about what I felt like, and so this was the time that was different, because I decided, if I never lost an ounce, I wanted to feel good again, and so I think that is a big difference in this time and why the commitment was easy. I'll be honest I thought we would have a hard time and we didn't.
Speaker 1:We did not have a hard time, so it didn't feel like you were missing out on something. You just made that transition so easy. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2:We are almost four and a half years. In the end of this month will be four and a half years. So if we were going to have a problem, we would have had it by now. I feel like it took us a couple weeks to kind of adjust and really watch ourselves, not to, you know, grab something out of habit, or so we cleaned out everything to make sure nothing was at our fingertips that we might decide OK, yes, we do want that. But about probably two weeks in we were feeling both of us were feeling so much better that by the time we hit about six or seven weeks, we both felt like we had hit teenage status, Like we were back to feeling like amazing, and we both started dropping weight without trying, which was also another I'll call it a side effect that we didn't expect. But we both started having just different things happen to our bodies that, quite frankly, we just weren't prepared for.
Speaker 1:Kim, can you explain to our audience? You know you lost weight without really trying because you went to plant-based, but what other things did you notice? Were you sleeping better? Did you have more energy? Could you explain a little bit more on that please?
Speaker 2:Definitely. I think one of the major things is when we would get up in the morning. Both of us would look at each other and we had gotten to the point we would drag ourselves out of bed, we would be achy and like, have pains in places we forgot we had and like all of that. Well, a couple weeks in we started feeling less of that, but by the six or seven weeks we didn't have pains in the morning and we were both looking at each other like this can't be real. You know, excuse me, but that was probably one of the major things that we noticed. We started noticing that in the afternoons, when we would be normally really tired and looking for something to pump us up, you know grab a candy or something. That wasn't there. I'm sorry, I'm like choking. I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 1:It's okay, grab something to drink. It sounds as though you know you like a lot of people have a sweet tooth and it sounds like your sweet tooth just kind of dissipated.
Speaker 2:Wow. The awesome part is is we found ways to have sweet or salty or whatever it is we were hungry for. We had the ability to have that in a different way. So we don't feel deprived, we don't feel like we're missing out on anything, and the the I'm going to call it rock gut, cause I don't know what else to call it Like rock is in a boulder in your belly, I think. Whenever we would eat certain things, we noticed that dairy would make our, make our belly just feel like we had rocks in it. And once we stopped, we stopped having that. Then all of a sudden that stopped and it took us a little bit to start recognizing. Hey, we feel so much better we were doing. Start recognizing. Hey, we feel so much better, we were doing a lot more. We were feeling like doing a lot more. So I don't know, that's the short of it, kat. I know I could go on and on, because I get so excited about it.
Speaker 1:No, I love learning about all of this. Kim, some people tend to think that when you go plant-based that you don't get full. Can you expound on that a little bit please?
Speaker 2:Yes, ma'am. So one of the things that I loved about doing this is I have been on probably every restricted kind of plan. You could be on, like you know, every diet, every don't eat this, every all of that. And I decided, when we went plant based, we were not counting anything, we were not going to be deprived of anything, we were going to really go all in on just seeing if plants could be the answer, and so we eat all we want. We don't have that. You know, sometimes when you eat, an hour later you're hungry again.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I know that feeling well. So there's some kind of satiation. I can't explain it Like I want everybody to understand. I am not the science part of this, I am the experience part of this, because I know that there are things that you know. Doctors can tell you that I can't. I just know what we've experienced. And like eating rice with our dinner or having something, having something that maybe was restricted on other diets or other things, there's some kind of a satisfaction in there that you don't, you're not starving all the time and it's not a you eat like you eat till you're full and then if you want to eat some more, eat some more. If you want to eat sooner than what the usual time is, I mean you can graze or you can, you can not graze, I don't. It's just whatever day, you know, whatever we want that day, we we do.
Speaker 1:So here's a. Here's a question I have, kim. What is the the transition like? So you've made this decision to go plant-based. How hard is it to find these plant-based products at your supermarket? Was that something that was difficult for you? Do you have to go a few places to get your stuff, or is everything where you want it, when you need it, et cetera?
Speaker 2:it when you need it, et cetera. So I feel like this is kind of a tricky answer, Kat, because there are there's a lot of vegan junk food that I think makes you feel bad as well. So I know that there are plant-based I'm going to call them alternatives plant-based. I'm going to call them alternatives, but some of those will also make you feel bad. Some of those will also. It's ultra processed, and so when you are looking to go plant-based, I'm really talking about like whole food, plant-based. So instead of eating something that you can't even recognize anymore and I don't want to talk bad about anything, I just know from our experience it still gives you some not pleasant symptoms if you eat. You know the junk food. That's really what I think of. It is junk food. We can make our own, like black bean burgers. We can make some really tasty, but once it's seasoned, like you would have seasoned your hamburger, it doesn't taste much different and the texture is very similar. We also have alternative crumbles, which this is the junk food part the crumbles that you can get that are plant-based. They, they are junk food. You know so.
Speaker 2:So you can do either one, though, but he doesn't have to miss out. We don't have it. I think we've had it once, once every couple of years actually. So it's not even like it's's often. It's not something he craves all the time, but it was just we. He was remembering some things and thought he might like to have. He was reminiscing. He was reminiscing, reminiscing, and I thought what, why not? Why not make him happy? He's gone? You know he's going on this adventure with me and truth is he's lost a hundred pounds. Oh my gosh, not trying, not trying.
Speaker 1:So I I think I ate some vegan cookies once by accident, and they were really. They were good until you know. Someone said you know, those are vegan. I was like they were good. Until someone said you know, those are vegan. I was like, okay, they're good.
Speaker 2:So you bring up a really good point. Though, kat, with anything If you will look at it as just what it is instead of, it has to substitute for something else. It doesn't have to be a substitute. They make and I probably was pronouncing it wrong, but seitan, I don't know how to say it but they make some vegan meat that to me it tastes better than the meat ever did, but a lot of it is. You're actually seasoning things, you're doing things to make it taste good, which, I feel like, opened my world.
Speaker 2:I've cooked my whole life, and that was probably the most eye opening part was just knowing I had to. I had to learn some things. I had to learn how to, you know, saute without any oil or saute without anything in the pan, and that blew my mind. At first I'm like you can't do that because I had never done that before, but now I can't imagine going back. So there's lots of little things that you can just learn along the way. That it makes life easy. And we do a lot of batch cooking. That's another thing I just want to say out loud. We do a ton of batch batching. We usually add a pot of lentils or a pot of beans and a pot of rice or a part of pot of quinoa to every week, so that we have it in the refrigerator.
Speaker 1:I love quinoa, I really do. I think you just have to find. You know, somebody will taste. It's like tasting yogurt for the first time and you go. That's gross. But you have to keep trying to find a yogurt that you go, oh, I like this one. So I feel like sometimes people take you know, plant-based something or vegan something and just go that sucks, and they they label the entire food chain of vegan or plant, you know, plant-based as such, and I think that's unfair. I think you have to. You have to experiment a little bit. You know I really do. So, kim, what does a typical day of meals look like for you? Like, are these meals that you've already cooked up, or do you do them on the fly? You've got one or two meals already done. What does that look like for you?
Speaker 2:I think it's kind of a variety cat when I know I'm really busy on like Tuesdays for me are my crazy busy day. So Tuesday we always either have leftovers or what I would call a throw together. So a throw together might be, you know, a scoop of beans, a scoop of rice, some salsa for dressing on top of a salad, a bed of salad. That's like fairly normal and it's amusing to me that it falls on Tuesday. So it's kind of our taco salad Tuesday.
Speaker 2:But if we have more time we I mean, we've learned to make vegan cheese. We've learned to make vegan sausage. We've learned to make vegan and not the junk food kind, the kind that actually has all the good stuff in it. We've learned how to make vegan omelets that I think they taste better than what I remember, even from eating omelets. So it it's a matter of taking one thing at a time and exploring with it. We don't do multiple recipes in one week. If we're going to try something new, we're going to try one and see how many ways we can use it. But we definitely have meals prepared and we definitely have things that we can throw together.
Speaker 1:Okay. So here's a question for me. I'm just going to say I am not. How can I say this? I don't cook, Kim. Okay, Peter cooks my husband. So for someone who wants to go plant-based, but they don't really cook, is this going to be a hard transition for them?
Speaker 2:I think it's the planning more than the cooking that makes it successful. Yeah, because, like, we cook homemade beans every week, but or lentils, but you can also get them in a can that is quick and easy to throw, throw something together. I think one of the most amazing things I learned to do after going plant-based was to create bowls. So we'll chop up everything and I have a cheater version I'll tell you about, too, chopping up a lot of the vegetables. But you can put it in the refrigerator and then, okay, I feel like this, this and this and this bowl, and you add it with, you know spinach or whatever, in the bottom of the bowl. I also have learned to do a lot of cheater soups, and I don't know what else to call it except cheater soups. They're so short to make, it has to be cheating, it has to be. But you can take you know, veggies and throw in a pot with some broth, some veggie broth, and make an amazing soup. You can cream it with cannellini beans, which that just goes well with.
Speaker 1:I love those. Yeah, those are good.
Speaker 2:They're very good If you take them and blend them before you put them in the soup. It's like adding dairy to your soup cream. They taste so good. Who knew? I sure didn't, katra. I think I would have been doing this decades ago had I had any idea I could feel this good and do that simple of things.
Speaker 1:Kim, how do you ensure you're getting all the necessary nutrients on a plant-based diet, because a lot of people tend to think that you're not getting all of your vitamins. Everything that you need that you would get from a regular meal that's got meat and veggies, etc.
Speaker 2:I kind of find this humorous now. I was concerned in the beginning, but now I kind of laugh about. I've heard multiple doctors talking about there's no way to not get enough nutrients when you're eating plants, because they already come with all the list of things that everybody worries about, but they are already in the plant. So if you're eating the plants, you're getting that. B12 is the only exception, and B12, if you are plant-based, you need to have either a weekly dose of B12 or you need to make sure you're doing something that's fortified with b12 one or the other, just to make sure.
Speaker 2:But my husband and I both have, um, our blood work done and it's so funny to watch the we we can't live without these things was what our diet was before and our blood work was terrible. And now we're eating plants and our blood work is amazing, like I just laughed, because we didn't do anything. We haven't. We don't take any medicine, we don't do anything to, you know, get our numbers down or right or anything, and that didn't happen in the first two weeks. Like, let me say that. But and we've been through some things, I you know, I hate to bring it up, but I got COVID and wasn't supposed to make it based on the severity, and yet I did make it and you know, some of the nurses even told me they felt like it was because I was plant-based for a couple of years before that happened. It's probably what kept me alive and I survived it.
Speaker 2:So I feel like Look at you now, yeah, and look at me now, kat, very sassy steel cat, very.
Speaker 1:Well, kim, I'm going to take a moment to do a reset. I want to welcome everyone who has joined us. You are here with the freaking fabulous Kat Corchado, that's me and Princess Kim White, and this is the Revitalize your Midlife Symposium, and I believe we have a question. Let's see if I can find it here. It is so. It's from Yvonne. What's your favorite plant-based comfort food meal?
Speaker 2:This is a great question and I almost laughed because I am definitely an emotional eater, but I think probably my favorite comfort food is still mac and cheese kind of things, something like that, or even burgers. But our burgers, like I was saying earlier, might be what we, what we think of as meatloaf burgers or black bean burgers, which I actually liked before and just didn't know they were healthy. Mac and cheese can be made in such a way that it tastes like you are so being bad and yet everything in there is good for you. So I think those are probably my biggies.
Speaker 1:I love that. Thank you, Yvonne, for the question, and I just want to let everybody know. If you have any questions, put them in the chat. I will say that this symposium is brought to you by Small Space, Pilates and the Sisters in Service podcast and we are speaking to the freaking fabulous yes, I said it because I can Princess Kim White and we're going to continue our conversation about plant-based, and so let's talk about some challenges that you had, Kim, if any. So what was your biggest challenge you faced when transitioning to a plant-based diet?
Speaker 2:I think the biggest challenge was unlearning what I had cooked like my whole life. I, you know, kind of back to the feeling like in the beginning we were going to spend hours and days just chopping vegetables or chopping things, or you know, it was a learning curve. I'm not going to lie, it was a learning curve. But I have to tell you my food processor is one of my best friends. That has helped me. I chop very few things and I use it to chop a lot of things. That's one of the, I guess, hacks for it. Learning how to saute vegetables without oil, that's another amazing thing I learned. But just not trying to stay in the mold of what I already knew, being open and willing to learn a different way of doing things, I think that was probably the biggest adventure cat I'll call it.
Speaker 1:I hear we have another question, Kim, from Donna Bender.
Speaker 2:So you can eat pasta if there are no eggs in them question mark and do you eat wheat? So we don't do any meat, dairy or eggs. Let me say that we definitely don't eat noodles or pasta with any eggs in them. And we do eat wheat. We try to do 100% whole wheat, but we also have great choices like chickpea pasta or red lentil pasta. There are different pastas out there now that they might be a couple dollars higher, but they're so good for you and they don't have wheat in them at all. So we're very, I'll just say, adventurous. We definitely explore and see things that we like to have and we don't limit ourselves to, you know, to what we think of as normal, what we used to eat.
Speaker 1:So, kim, if someone wants to dabble in plant-based, they just want to stick their toe in to test the water. Is there a certain food to start with? What would be an easy? I would think it would be the soup, because you said that was like a cheater thing and everyone likes soup, but it's summertime so soup probably isn't appropriate. But would that be a good start for people is to start with the soup, or is there another way to get them to start? Because I think, once you start, another way to get them to start, because I think once you start and you go, oh that's good, let me try this. I think it's that entry, that entry way, that entry food, whatever that is.
Speaker 2:I think the entry way is to not make it complicated. I think that that's really the biggest thing is don't you don't have to change everything all at once, where you don't know how to cook something and you're learning like 17 different recipes. And we drew a line in the sand and December 31st of 2019. We haven't had anything meat, dairy or eggs since, so that was our biggest requirement, and so we did eat a lot of like beans and rice in the in the first couple of weeks, cause it's like okay, did you get?
Speaker 1:sick of it. You're like oh beans and rice again, oh, yay.
Speaker 2:We like it. But one of the cool things about like summer versus winter is in the summer we try to do a lot of colder things. So we have lots of salad bowls that have beans and rice in them, even, or lentils in them, fruits that are in season. We try to do a lot of in-season things. And then on the other side of that winter, we do lots of soups, we bake roasted vegetables in the oven and do lots of that. So those are kind of what we've learned to cycle through or flow through.
Speaker 1:I love that. So, kim, how do you handle mixed company, kind of dining out or going to events or maybe even traveling? How do you fit a square thing into a round hole? I mean, how do you navigate that Is that difficult. I mean, how do you navigate that Is that difficult.
Speaker 2:I'm going to say now no, but it was in the beginning to just plan. Well, we would find ourselves somewhere. And so I learned some things that everybody might giggle about. But you know, like a candy bar is a snack. In the afternoon a lot of people go to, but I'll give you a heads up. Back, in the afternoon, a lot of people go to, but I'll give you a heads up. It's just as easy to go grab a banana or an apple, or it's just as easy to go grab something, because if you're going to a store that has one, they usually have the other.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If you're traveling somewhere, take stuff with you. Very rarely ever go anywhere without having something either. You know in the truck with us and I'm so sorry it is storming so loud here. I hope you are not I can hear it, is it hailing? It is, I'm so sorry, no, it's okay.
Speaker 1:Well, if you can stop that from happening, then you know you have special powers. I don't know about my magic wand is not working for the hail. I'm sorry, no, that's okay. I remember when, way back in the day, when I was bodybuilding, if I went to a show that was out of state, I would have to carry all of my meals in like a bag to take with me, because you didn't trust that they would have what you needed. You know, up until you know the show and, of course, after the show, all bets were off. Of course, but it's, I guess that would have to be the same thing what you guys do.
Speaker 2:It is. We will take simple things that are shelf stable, so that way we're not, you know, we're not dragging too much stuff or we're not dragging things that will spoil. That's. That's another part of the travel part. You have to have things that won't spoil. So I will tell you, one of our funny go-tos is is, you know, peanut, peanut butter? Peanut butter doesn't spoil and you can have it in an oatmeal which doesn't spoil. You can have it. There's just so many things you can take with you in a bag that is not not a big deal, right? Nuts are a great snack, dates are a great snack, even cans of things they make lots of like vegan soups in a can. You can take that. And most hotels, if you're traveling, have microwaves somewhere in the building. If they're not even in your room, they have them in the lobby a lot of times. So that's one thing you can use your coffee pot to make your oatmeal.
Speaker 1:That's a hack. Who knew? I've never used that coffee pot in there. It's like now I can use it for my oatmeal. That's a great hack. We have another question. Kim and Yvonne asked why do you saute without oil? Can't you use olive oil?
Speaker 2:without oil can't you use olive oil? So we have learned from experience in blood work that the oil actually raises our numbers and does not do good things for our bodies, like my husband and I. So if we can eliminate the oil, which we did by using veggie broth, sauteing onions or sauteing mushrooms or sauteing things it actually made our numbers better. It made us healthier. So we have tried really hard not to get hung up on our numbers, but when we find something that's working, we like we have just gone towards whatever that is, and olive oil is a lot of calories. That, once we learn to use the broth I think that's part of where the weight loss came from is we were eating a lot less calorie dense food because of all the things. We were like we were just not having so much and we're not crazy about it.
Speaker 2:Like we both grew up on fried food.
Speaker 2:We're from the south yeah right, I, I can like compete with the best of them when it comes to an air fryer now, like, oh, my husband loves his air fryer there there are so many things you can do that I think what it has done for us is not only did we feel better, but we got creative, which makes it fun.
Speaker 2:It actually gives us some fun, you know, to try things, and making vegan cheese was like we can do that, like we, we can do that, and that was a fun thing to try. So there's lots of there's just lots of fun things you can try. And and, kat, just for the record, I want to say this I don't want to sit here and anyone like think that I am saying everybody needs to eat plant-based or everybody needs to do what we do. I am only telling you what we found and discovered about ourselves, and I think that's an important thing too, as I feel like you have to find what makes you feel good, what works, works for your body and I don't want anyone to think we're being judgy or you know what I mean, anything like that, because no one would ever think that.
Speaker 1:Kim, I'm serious, you know, but for if someone was joining late for our, our watchers and listeners, can you just go over what is the definition of plant-based exactly?
Speaker 2:So for us, plant-based is anything that's a whole food plant-based. From nature it's. It's not highly processed, it's you know if. If you get a can of beans, it's still beans. But when you take those beans and you make them into something that's not actually beans anymore, you know they've gone through so many processes that there's not even a resemblance of what they were. I feel like that's what we try to stay away from. So for us, whole food, plant-based no oil, low oil, like I stay away from salt. We do so many spices. That's another big thing. We stay away from sugar Most things, we stay away from sugar. So that's another part of what we added in. We didn't start there, but the more we feel good, the more we are addicted to feeling good, the more we want to feel even better. So yeah.
Speaker 1:So when you tell people that you're plant-based, what's a common misconception that people kind of go? Do they get that face? Or what's the one question you always get when, when you tell someone you're plant-based?
Speaker 2:So I'm giggling because, coming from Texas, you know where everything is about the meat. It's very difficult and I would. I got to where I would just say we're those people. We are those people Because it was always. You know, everybody else needs to meet. You're those people over there. But I think the biggest thing is is why? Why would you do that? That's what we hear the most of, and earlier, when we were talking about why I am so thankful, we took the chance to feel better, because I honestly believe I might have been headed for like a heart attack or a stroke based on how I was feeling and the things that were getting worse, and now I feel like I'm headed to the healthiest place I've ever been in my whole life. So that's a big. That's a big why.
Speaker 1:Well, between plant-based and exercising. I mean, how can you not feel good? You know what I mean. And I think there comes a time in your life when you have to make a decision. And I think there comes a time in your life when you have to make a decision. You're either going to go one way or the other way. And every year I always tell myself I'm going. You know what can I? How can I be better at my next age? So I'm going to be 67 in about I don't know 10, nine days. And so I always say, how can I be better at 67 than I was at 66? And so that's how I keep kind of on top of my health is being better, and it might just be tweaking something, it's not a major change.
Speaker 1:The other thing that my husband and I did is we cut out all ultra high processed foods from our, from our diet, and that's. That was another thing. Actually, that was my husband's idea, so I'm super proud of him. I'm just going to say, and I think that you know, if you keep making these little tweaks, I think it, you know, you just keep adding a little, doing a little bit better, and a little bit better and a little bit better, and so I have to say I'm super proud of you, kim, for actually being plant-based. So if someone is interested in looking into plant-based, where's the first place they should go? How should they look up plant-based? Is there a book that they should go to? Where do you think is the first place someone should go?
Speaker 2:I will tell you, kat, there's so much information out there that can be overwhelming. I probably would tell them to go to the documentary. That kind of started it all for me, making me question, and I think you watched it and it impacted you too. Game Changers I don't know whether, like what channel, it's streaming on right now, but it's always out there somewhere, and I feel like that was such an eye opener of how much better those people felt in the. They showed the fat in their blood or the things in their blood. Like they did lots of science things, which I am.
Speaker 2:That's not my, that's not my area. I'll just say that, um, if anybody needs a recommendation, like I am more than open to sharing those kind of things. I don't think that there's a one size fits all. I do think that if you are not feeling good and you want to see if it works for you, try it, but don't try it for one day, like I think that's the thing that we sometimes do is it gets overwhelming and so we just stop, but try it for a month.
Speaker 2:If dairy is hurting your belly, try not having dairy for a month and see if that makes a difference and if it does then start doing whatever is making you feel better. So I think that that's a thing and, kat, I want to. I just want to say the exercise part, with being plant-based and having you in my corner. I have to say, for those who don't know what I went through, you know, with being in ICU and on a ventilator through COVID, having some major issues. If I didn't have the hope that you had given me that I could get past that, I don't know that I would have continued trying and I think that that's something that all of us should be supportive and kind and not ugly, because you know, getting made fun of because you're exercising or made fun of because you're eating plant-based, or getting made fun of because you can fill in the blank, that doesn't help anyone.
Speaker 2:And it doesn't help the person saying it either, because if you're trying to make yourself feel better, that's not going to do it. So be kind about things. You changed my exercise ability I don't know if that's even a word, but my understanding of that. I could get better. I could do, and I have done things which you know in the last month that I didn't think I would ever be able to do, and I feel like that is such a testament to staying connected to someone like you, kat.
Speaker 2:You know, being in small space, pilates, the community and you telling me I can do something has made a big difference in how I believe I can now do something, and I think that's what we do for each other. If you don't think you can stick to plant-based, get connected with the buddy who's doing it so that you can try it. You know, you've got somebody else to at least talk about it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, kim. I think you have to be willing to try and I think that's where it starts, and I think that's where it started for you with your plant-based. Well, let me try this. And you know, you can't just close the door and say, you know, no, I mean you can and, but sometimes it's I want to do this, but I, you know it's a not right now thing, but it's something in the back of your head and you keep it back there. And then one day, you know there's always something that clicks in my body clock where it goes it's time to do this. And I'm like, okay, it's time to do this, let's go do it. So I think it's. You have to get to a point where you say you know it's time for something and and just go do it. And so Yvonne has a question. I don't know if we have time for it, but how do you make vegan cheese?
Speaker 2:I love this. So here's the funny part that I find humorous about it blew my mind to know how vegan cheese worked, because it's actually the same kind of I'll call it starter, or the same kind of enzymes, the same kind of things to make, you know, not vegan cheese, it's just you don't use dairy milk, you use non-dairy milk to do it, you use cashew milk, you I know. And so when I learned that, I'm like how could that be so simple and I never even thought of it before. But that's, that's exactly. You use a lot of the same process of making dairy cheese to make non-dairy and we make one that is like sliceable and it it looks like.
Speaker 2:Probably the one that you'd recognize the most is the one that looks like mozzarella. Well, it's just non-dairy mozzarella and it tastes like mozzarella and you don't. There's some really bad. Let me just say this too there's some really bad vegan cheeses out there that, like we thought we were going to have to do without cheese completely, and then we started learning there's as many different vegan cheeses as there are regular cheeses wow who knew?
Speaker 2:I certainly did not, cat Kat, but it is a very. You can make very simple like cream cheese. You can make very simple mozzarella cheese, or you can do all the way to aging, aging vegan cheese, just like you do dairy cheese. Wow.
Speaker 1:So, kim, what advice would you give to someone who's considering a plant-based diet?
Speaker 2:So I don't know that I would give advice, kat. I would just share, like my experience, my experience has been there's been nothing but good. Come from it, and if you're not feeling well or you're not feeling up to par or maybe your body's fighting something, you know that you're trying to stay healthy, especially as we age. I have found no downside, I have found nothing but good from doing this and I feel like almost it made my mind. I'm going to call it crisper. It made it more vivid, vivid. It made it more vivid, which is so funny, because who would have thunk that? You know who would. Right, but there's all kinds of things sleeping better, right, but there's all kinds of things sleeping better, feeling better.
Speaker 2:And you know, you, you can testify that I'm pretty full throttle and when we start, yeah, and when we started cat, I could have slept most of the day, like that's how tired I was all the time. So I feel like having the before and after. Like you know, if, if you do the vanity thing of you know, look at me in my swimsuit I'm, I'm, I'm all you know round and look like the Michelin man. And then the other side is is, you know, all skinny and buff? People are so attracted to that because we want to look so good. But I want to challenge everybody with how you feel, because if you are not feeling good, if you're not feeling like, you can wear a bikini, and I don't care if you really can or not. If you're not feeling like that, do something different. You know, don't settle. Don't let yourself settle for bad health or settle for feeling bad.
Speaker 1:But I agree with that, kim. I think that when you, when you're talking about when people come to me and they said, you know, I want to lose 20 pounds, I want to, and they're very focused on the number I've got to lose, or they have, or here's what they tell me all the time is, I want to get to this weight, and I'll say why is that way? It's very specific. And I'll say why is it? Well, that's what I weighed in high school or that's what I weighed in college, and so I try to let them know that.
Speaker 1:What about if we get healthy from the inside out, because that's where it starts, and you just happen to lose 20 pounds? Are you okay with that? And they go oh yeah, I'm like great, let's do that. So I think it's. We tend to look on the outside and people look a certain way on the outside. You don't know how healthy they are on the inside. They look great on the outside, but you don't know what's happening on the inside, and I'm just going to leave it there. Um, kim, if someone, how do people make the transition to plant-based easier?
Speaker 2:So I think making a plan is probably the first thing. Is, if you just make a little bit of a plan, okay, I'm going to trade. I'm going to trade the meat that I'm eating on Monday. I'm eating on Monday, I'm going to trade that for some tempeh or some tofu or black beans. Like you don't have to trade across the board equally, and I think that's the thing that helped us the most, when we realized we don't have to trade meat for fake meat. We can trade, you know, meat for something different. We can. We can trade it for something that you might find out you like better.
Speaker 2:I. I think that that's an easy way to start. Decide that you're going to have a day that you're not going to have meat, dairy or eggs, or have a day that you're going to switch it over, and don't put the crazy unnecessary pressure on yourself. We just knew if we didn't do something, what we felt like was drastic, I might not be here yeah so it's time, it was time to figure it out, and we put up with a lot in our lifetime.
Speaker 2:We put up with a lot of feeling bad, or we put up with a lot of well. That didn't just feel exactly right, but I'll just ignore it, and I think that's what we had done for a very long time is just ignored things until okay, it's pretty serious.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, we do that. I mean, we do that a lot. Your body speaks to you all the time. You just have to listen, or your gut instinct says, hey, maybe you should fill in the blank, and you go it's fine, it's no big deal. And then it becomes a big deal, and that's what you're trying to avoid. Big deal, and then it becomes a big deal, and that's what you're trying to avoid. So, kim, if you could give us between one and three quick tips about how to become vegan just about not vegan, but plant-based that people can just take with them right now, today, and to get them started if they're interested in it.
Speaker 2:Number one pull out a piece of paper and when you eat something, watch how you feel after, like that's the first thing. Then you start knowing what to eliminate, what to add more of. Number two, I would say look for a recipe that you want to try, not because it's even plant-based, because it sounds good. Be adventurous, um. And number three, I think find somebody who you and I don't even care if it's on youtube or somewhere. You don't have to know them personally. Find somebody who's already doing it and see what they have to say or what they have to suggest. I think that has helped me. A lot is just finding other people in the world that are doing similar. That always helps to make you feel like you're not the only one doing it in the world and just asking questions.
Speaker 1:You know people love to talk about you know what they're doing and and pick their brain, you know, say, hey, I'm looking at doing this. Do you have a few minutes where I could ask you questions? You know cause? Peter and I started meatless Mondays, you know, and we're, and we love that. Well, I love vegetables, he likes them a lot. I love vegetables, he likes them a lot. But, Kim, it's been amazing to have you on today and talk about plant-based, because I I think people love to have a choice. They want to do something. They're just not sure what that is and we're not saying plant-based might not be for you and that's okay, but give it a shot. Maybe you won't go full-fledged plant-based. Maybe you start with a meal, like Kim said, like we're doing, and then say, wow, I feel pretty good, you know. I do have one more question, Kim, before we go. What do you say to someone who maybe says that they don't like vegetables? What do you tell them?
Speaker 2:Then you haven't come and eaten at my house yet. There are some vegetables that my husband thought he hated, that now he asked for and I think it's all in the way that we've had them prepared or maybe not very well prepared, but veggies are such a an amazing part of the flavors that you can get out of food and not the veggie flavor, Maybe. You think you know. I think that's maybe the best, best idea I can give.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you, kim, for a great conversation. Thank you to everyone who has been here for day one. Day two we're going to be talking about, yeah, food again, nutrition. Yes, with Lorraine Cuff. That's day two, same bat time, same bat channel. I'm going to be here, so glad. Bring your questions. If you're here tonight you want to talk about tomorrow, bring your questions and let's have a chat. So until tomorrow, I'll see you guys next and thank you again, kim, for being here. Thank you, cat, love you Bye. Outro Music. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.