What do some of the healthiest whole food eaters enjoy as a cheat meal?
That’s the question these leading plant-based doctors answered in this exclusive Plant Based News video.
We spoke to top names in the whole food plant-based world, including Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Columbus Batiste, and many, many more.
‘Some yummy vegan foods’
“So I eat a whole food plant-based diet,” Dr. Angie Sadeghi told PBN, “but I’d say about five percent of the time I will sneak some yummy vegan foods in there.
“I’ll eat perhaps a Beyond Meat burger, or have some French fries and some yummy desserts…but I wanna say those are cheat meals. Between 95 and 99 percent of my diet is whole food plant-based with those occasional cheat or elite foods.”
Loaded pizza
For Dr. Michael Klaper, pizza makes a great cheat meal. He said: “My biggest cheat would have to be vegan pizza…I really like that, especially loaded up with vegetables.
“I was raised in Chicage where we had these fabulous thick crust pizzas, and I guess echoes of that still drives me to have the occasional slice of vegan pizza.”
‘Too much pressure and guilt associated with perfection’
“I don’t eat any animal products, but I do indulge in the occasional vegan processed food,” Dr. Vivian Chen revealed. “I believe that food should be enjoyed and food is a focal point for many social interactions, and I don’t want to be missing out on those social interactions at the expense of being completely perfect.
“I feel that there’s just too much pressure and guilt associated with perfection in our diet and I’m seeing more and more people who have gone the other way and developed orthorexia, which is actually an obsession with eating perfectly all the time.
“One of the aspects to health…is social interaction and connection. So if you’re missing out on parties and gatherings with your friends and family because you want to be 100 percent perfect in sticking to a whole food plant-based diet, then you could be missing out on the beneficial effects of social interaction.”