Hi, this is Eli. I’m participating in RJ' Scotts Autism Awareness Blog Hop for 2020. Every year, RJ does a blog hop with other romance authors to bring attention to autism.
For example, did you know that dogs are helpful for autistic individuals? Dogs have been shown to improve autistic children’s quality of life, independence, and safety. The presence of a trained dog can reduce aggressive behavior, calm the child, and serve as a link to the child’s community.
You can learn more at RJ’s website, and check out her master list of all the author’s participating in the blog hop.
http://rjscott.co.uk/autismbloghop2020
Plant-Based Eating in the age of cOVID-19
The theme of this year’s blog hop is food, so I thought I’d share something that I really value. I have been following a WFPB (whole food plant based) diet since around 2016. I haven’t always been strict about it, but when I stick to it for longer than a few weeks, I feel so much better, have so much more energy, am sharper mentally, and I honestly love the food.
Since the coronavirus has upset the apple cart (or the Hostess Ding Dong cart for me), I have been much more aware of how important it is to eat healthy, stay active, and guard my health. Every. Single. Day. If illness strikes, I want to have the best chance of recovery. Also, we know that certain foods, like sugar, feed viruses while others, like garlic, onions, lemons, and any food high in vitamin C, help boost the immune system. Fortunately, a WFPB diet is rich in the most helpful foods.
Even if you don’t want to give up meat and dairy entirely, you can bring more plant-based meals into your life—for your health and for the planet’s.
I subscribe to a meal plan that I love called Clean Food Dirty Girl. Every week they send me a meal plan with a grocery list, all the recipes, and instructions for a “batch cook”. I typically do the batch cook on the weekend. It means 3-4 hours in the kitchen, but then I have food for the entire week. Usually there’s a grain, a soup, a salad dressing, a side veg, and an entree or two. In the image below, there’s a potato salad and chili-spiced Tofu dish. You can mix and match the elements to get lunch and dinner all week.
Batch cooking is super helpful because when you have delicious, healthy food all ready to eat in the fridge, you’re less likely to grab for that bag of chips or cookies out of hunger or laziness.
Whole food plant based cooking uses no oils, processed flours, or sugars but it does use a TON of spices. Literally before I began this way of eating, I had one small drawer of spices that were often years old. Now I have two large drawers, and I have to replace spices often. Spices are not only super healthy but they give a true depth of flavor, far more than you find in prepackaged foods.
You can try a free meal plan at Clean Food Dirty Girl or simply try one of their dozes of free recipes. A few of my favorites are the African Peanut Stew and the potato salad. I promise both are super delicious, even to omnivores!
That’s my quarantine routine. However you guard your health, stay well during this surreal and challenging period. Read. Love. Appreciate life.
xxxxooo, Eli