My Vacation Break-Up with Mangoes and Pecans

My Vacation Break-Up with Mangoes and Pecans

Inviting Failure Foods into My Life

As I said in my Facebook and Instagram post, dried mangoes and pecans caused too much drama this week. I need to cut these ties for awhile.

To be fair, this drama is caused by my own design. Of course, I have a success plan. But, an important part of my success plan is that I also have a failure plan.

Part of how I succeed is that I always have failure foods at home. These are my off-ramp foods—foods good enough to go off-track with but mild enough to make getting back on-track possible.

Keeping failure foods on-hand is counter-intuitive and may go against the advice of experts. But, this journey is an individual one, and this is my journey.

I live in a house full of food triggers that I no longer eat. And, if I did eat them, I would have skyrocketing failure — a degree of failure with which I have a lifetime of experiences. This is a way of life I no longer want.

My failure foods have kept me in check so far. Without salt, oil, and sugar in my life, I live an all-or-nothing life.

Failure foods help me avoid the all-or-nothing mindset that comes with this all-or-nothing life. This is important for my success.

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The Equation of My Soup — Packing it with Plant-based Power

The Equation of My Soup — Packing it with Plant-based Power

I recently wrote a short post for Instagram / Facebook where I referenced making a large pot of soup to freeze into individual containers. And, in this post, I mentioned that I had used more than 25 different kinds of plants in it, and I was asked for the recipe.

I do not follow recipes. There are benefits and drawbacks to my approach. But, recipes cause me stress, and adapting what I have on hand suits me. Instead, I use concepts to guide my cooking. And, I have gotten better at using the concepts over time. So, what I will focus on here is detailing the concepts.

Overall, I find plant-based cooking to be a forgiving form of cooking. And, keep in mind that I am several years into this lifestyle. So, if you are just getting going, you may want to consider taking a concept and experimenting with it in small steps rather than trying to do too much at once.

A significant part of my journey has been a deep dive into understanding my hunger drive and how I feel my best. Eating a soup like this is not something I would have done early into my transition – for a variety of reasons.

But, seeing what others do has helped me find my way, and seeing what I do may help you find your way as well.

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Big Rocks and LIttle Rocks: Navigating Terrain Shifts

Big Rocks and LIttle Rocks: Navigating Terrain Shifts

Since I last wrote, a lot has changed in my life – as I anticipated it would. The changes are good, and I am grateful for that.

I have now started my new job, which has come with a lot of apprehensive excitement. A steep learning curve usurped my capacities for routine and for writing.

But, I am finding my way back, learning how to live my new life, facing myself over and over again in a whole new world.

I am starting to sleep just a little better as I am adjusting to everything. Sleep helps everything.

I am now pausing, taking stock in what it means to navigate my health and wellness through a major turning point in my life.

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