I had such a lovely conversation with a low carb Atkins/keto coworker this morning. I was excited to show him my Blueberry Jell-O! Just blend blueberries, pour in a dish or mold, and refrigerate overnight. They become gelatinous on their own! He thought it was very cool. Blueberries aren’t “low carb” but they aren’t very high in calories either.

We talked about eating giant salads for dinner (we both enjoy that!), how B12 works (it is also a meat-eater issue), the differences between “vegan” and “plant-based” (he wanted to make sure I knew that he knew the difference), and even how protein deficiency is practically non-existent in the US (starvation being the only cause).

I reiterated how silly the protein issue is especially for vegans, raw vegans, and fruitarians because our protein is already present in fruits and veggies in the form of amino acids ready to be absorbed by the body. Our bodies don’t have to work nearly as hard to get our amino acids as those who eat more complex proteins which are unusable as-is by the body. And isn’t it so funny when puffed up steroid using bodybuilders push the protein agenda when that isn’t the primary source of their inflammation?

We also talked about how so many people have to reach a breaking point of discomfort where they get ridiculously sick before they decide to make any major diet or lifestyle changes. The discomfort from the disease(s) must far outweigh the inconvenience and discomfort (and fear) of the change of diet or lifestyle. And even then, isn’t it sad that so many people don’t seem to ever have a breaking point no matter how sick and pained they become?

I described how I sometimes make a raw vegan fruitarian Cajun-like “rice” by grating zucchini and squash into “rice” and adding diced raw okra, tomatoes, and peppers. And how okra is way less slimy when raw, but most people only recognize okra in Texas in the form of fried okra. That’s taking it back to childhood and our standard greasy slimy Texas grade-school lunches.

I also described how I make various styles of zucchini, squash, and cucumber raw noodles with either a spiralizer with different blades or a potato peeler to vary the textures, and how the majority of my salads hardly contain any veggies or greens at all, mostly just non-sweet fruits that people prefer to call veggies. We also shared in our mutual love of Vitamix blenders to make the best smoothies and dressings!

See, we have a lot in common. ? And he now has a few new tricks to try at home. And if for whatever reason his diet causes him health problems later on, I bet he will know that he can trust me to kindly and gently help him figure out a new course of action to heal himself.