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riends Jennifer Williams, Elizabeth DeBiasi and Jill Sabourin,
East diners and devotees of a plant-based diet, have found that while
eliminating animal products from their pantries and refrigerators has
been both a commitment and a process, it has not been one without
rewards. Within the last few years, they have found that plant-based
eating is not only a delicious way to live life, but one with powerful
health benefits as well.
Williams discovered plant-based eating after she was diagnosed with Cutaneous
T-Cell Lymphoma (a class of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) in 2008, which caused
her to evaluate her eating habits, and also those of her husband, Guy, and their
three daughters, Kendall, Katie Renn and Avery. A self-described perfectionist,
Williams says the hardest thing was feeling like she could not control her own
health. However, she saw plant-based eating as a way to take her well-being back
into her own hands.
“It was something I could process my energy toward,” Williams says. “I think
back, and it is amazing how far I have come and what I have learned since 2008.”
Williams describes the period as “a definite transformation for my family.”
She has taken advantage of the vegan fine-dining
opportunities at East, as well as a range of other
resources, including a local CSA (community-
supported agriculture) through Progressive Gardens.
Even though her husband, Steve, has been a
vegetarian for many years, it was through Williams
that DeBiasi learned about vegan eating and
decided to adopt it into her lifestyle, although
like many people, it was not without a bit of
hesitation.
“Actually, I love meat,” DeBiasi says, “so it really
was for health.”
DeBiasi, who works out regularly, had recently
learned from her doctor that her cholesterol levels
were elevated. Before taking prescription medication,
she decided to try plant-based eating, and purchased
a copy of “Forks Over Knives – The Cookbook,” by
Del Sroufe, as a guide.
DeBiasi reaps the benefits of plant-based eating
without following a vegan diet 100 percent of the time. Her travels limit her vegan
diet to about 80 percent, and she has lowered her cholesterol 30 points without medi-cation
after only ten weeks of plant-based eating.
“I travel on average every other week,” she says. “What I tend to do if I can’t eat
vegan is still stick to clean eating.”
To her, this means choosing fish instead of red or white meat, and always avoiding
dairy.
Like DeBiasi, Chef Lawson agrees that any amount of plant-based eating is
beneficial when incorporated into the diet.
“You’re giving yourself the potential for a happier, healthier life when you think
about what you’re eating, rather than just consuming,” Lawson says.
For people who are unsure of where to start with plant-based eating, he encour-ages
them to seek resources and put forth the effort and time into learning new food
preparation techniques.
“After a period of time, it becomes easy,” he says.
Lawson points out that one of the key elements of accepting and succeeding with
a new diet is finding foods that provide comfort, joy and satisfaction. Eating is, after
all, about sustenance, happiness and pleasure. This is what inspired him to create his
raw, vegan dishes for the spring 2013 menu at East.
by encore magazine voted Best vegetarian Food
Lovey’s Celebrating 10 Years
specials
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
f
For people who are
unsure of where to
start with plant-based
eating, he
encourages them
to seek resources
and put forth
the effort
and time
into learn-ing
new
food preparation
techniques.
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