“Let food be thy medicine.” Hippocrates.

This was the opening quote of the 2011 documentary called Forks over Knives that I watched last night on Netflix. It is based on not only eating a plant-based diet like me but also a whole food diet. It was, to say the least, an eye-opener. What I loved about it is that it gave extremely informative facts about the health impacts of omitting animal products from your diet. It was based on real-life stories not those hard to watch scenes of animal cruelty which I just can’t handle. Note: Rumor has it that it will be removed from Netflix on January 15th so if you haven’t watched it yet, do so soon..you won’t regret it!

While it motivated me to remove even more foods from my diet at some point (most likely dairy), it left me with one question….

What is the difference between all of these plant-based diets and how does is compare to what I am doing?

There are vegetarians, flexitarians, pescatarians, vegans, plant-based, and whole-food/plant-based vegetarians and I could go on and on!

But this chart from Forks over Knifes clears things up a bit:

So basically, I’m following a Pescatarian diet which excludes all animal flesh but allows fish, dairy, and eggs. But, it is also plant-based because I’m going to limit my quantities of fish, dairy, and chicken and put my focus primarily on vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. I’m also going to limit highly processed food. No more white pastas or rice for me! The only breads I am allowing is whole grain and sourdough (the fermentation process makes this a healthy option). So, that is why I’m calling myself eating plan a Plant-based Pescatarian Diet. Whew..hope that clears things up!

So Day 3 went pretty well and incorporated lots of good veggies and legumes!

I started my day with black coffee and some more of the “Mean Greens Juice” from I Love Juice Bar.

Lunch was a half of a veggie sandwich on whole wheat that included hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, clover sprouts, and avocado and a side of my Ikarian Longevity soup (see day 1 & day 2 posts for more information).

My snacks were again pistachios, a green apple and yes, I did eat my two mini snicker snack bars!

Then came dinner which I again went to an Ikarian recipe from the Blue Zone Kitchen cookbook…Winter Potato Salad. I did make a few small changes from the original recipe such as:

• Used my Instant Pot to cook my potatoes
• Used half and half of Organic Vegetable Broth and water instead of all water to cook my potatoes
• Added thyme and parsley to my potatoes while cooking
• Omitted arugula (I didn’t have any in hand) and upped the amount of romaine and spinach to compensate
• Omitted the raw onion and radish which I really don’t care for

So here is my version of this incredibly tasty dish…

Ikarian Winter Potato Salad – 6 servings

Ingredients

4 cups water

4 cups organic vegetable broth

2 pounds baby gold potatoes, peeled and cut into halves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried parsley

½ cup chopped fresh dill

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 to 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 cups spinach, chopped

2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

Directions

• Place water, vegetable broth, potatoes, thyme, and parsley in instant pot. Set on high pressure for 10 minutes and turn pressure valve to seal. After processing is complete, turn valve to vent and natural release until pressure pin drops. Note: you can also cook your potatoes on the stovetop for about 12 minutes..I just find they turn out creamier in the instant pot.

• Drain potatoes and allow to cool.

• In a small bowl, combine dill, olive oil, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until well combined.

• In a large serving bowl, combine potatoes with dressing and toss well.

• Just before serving, add remaining ingredients through lettuce and toss to combine. Note: Since my husband was out of town, I only mixed my ingredients for one serving and kept the remaining ingredients separate to avoid them getting soggy soI could enjoy again later.

I enjoyed this by the fire with a glass of red wine. It truly hit the spot! I don’t have a huge appetite so a side of legumes or sourdough bread might be a great filling addition if you need just a little more. I ant wait to have this again tomorrow for lunch!

Bottom Line: Day 3 was quite the learning experience for me but I’m enjoying learning and being able to share with others. So far, I haven’t missed meat but I think fish will definitely be added to the menu tomorrow.