Welcome to Pure and Plant Based!
Here at Pure and Plant Based, I aim to teach others about the importance of good nutrition based on a whole foods, plant based / vegan lifestyle. Whether you are trying to lose weight, take control of your health, learn more about a plant-based lifestyle, or try new and different recipes, you have come to the right place!
About Me
Hi! I’m Alexis, a 20 year old with a passion for nutrition, health and wellness. I love to cook and create delicious, healthy new recipes as well as being active and fit. I decided to start Pure and Plant Based as a way to share my knowledge on nutrition and to help others on their health journey.
My Story
Throughout the years, my diet has been a roller coaster. Growing up we ate a pretty typical diet that consisted of little to no restrictions. We ate what we deemed healthy at the time, hardly ever having ‘junk food’ and rarely going out to eat.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that we began to really gain interest and dig deeper into what exactly we were eating. We began researching every last ingredient in the products we normally purchased. To our disbelief, many of the things we were eating consisted of harmful ingredients and were full of chemicals. We discovered that most people, including ourselves, were oblivious to what we were consuming on a daily basis. Immediately we learned what to stay away from and cut out anything that consisted of ingredients that were even remotely questionable.
As our interest in health and nutrition grew, we began watching documentaries on the subject. One night after watching one documentary in particular, What the Health, the way we viewed food and our diets completely did a 180. The following day, without warning, my family transitioned to a vegan diet.
A couple of months later, my dad was told that he had an 8 lb cancerous tumor in his stomach. My mother and I immediately began researching ways to prevent and get rid of any potential cancerous cell growth. Through this research, we learned about the healing properties of plant-based foods and the ways in which they should be used to help fuel and empower the body. It became clear to us how many illnesses and diseases could be helped with a change in the way people eat. After my dad’s surgery to remove the tumor, he healed and was back on his feet in what felt like no time at all and a few months later, it was revealed that there were no signs of cancer! We truly believe that his incredibly quick recovery was due to the ways in which he was eating.
As opposed to living to eat, we eat to live and are thriving! We eat foods that are nutrient dense and fuel our bodies, an important concept that I hope to help others learn.
My Mission
My mission with Pure and Plant-Based is to help inspire, and motive others. I want to help others improve their health and quality of life. A plant-based lifestyle is one that is new to many people and I hope to help introduce more people to it and teach them the ways in which food and nutrition can have such an impact on your life. I hope that through my blog you are able to learn about a healthy lifestyle and takeaway information in which you can implement in your everyday life.
Food Philosophy
I believe that the best lifestyle is one that is fueled by nutrient dense (and delicious!) foods. Eating healthy shouldn’t mean eating an extremely restricted diet of salads. Instead it should be seen as a way to explore what nature has to offer and the amazing ways in which it can affect you.
This is not just a diet, it is a lifestyle.
In all technicality, we eat a vegan diet, however I don’t prefer using this term when it comes to food. This being because vegan can mean a lot of things. However if you eat a vegan diet, you can be just as unhealthy as someone who doesn’t. One could consume a diet full of processed fake meats, cheeses and other imitation foods. You could still eat a diet full of processed, refined, and completely unhealthy foods. While going vegan is a huge step towards being healthier and ethically living a better lifestyle in itself, plant-based is a better description of the diet I believe in. You should be focusing on foods straight from nature itself, this way you know exactly what your putting into your body and can read every ingredient. Through this way of eating you are nourishing your body, strengthening and empowering yourself whilst preventing diseases and keeping you healthy.
I challenge you!
l am challenging you, reading this right now, to try a plant-based diet. Go two weeks without eating any animal products and see just what it does for your body. I encourage you to learn about the effects it can have and how amazing it can be. Though it may seem hard, it is so worth it! It may seem impossible but think, what harm can two weeks do? It could quite possibly be life changing!
Hi Alexis,
I came across your site while searching for making a WFPB tortillas, and was excited to see other recipes.
I was diagnosed with Stage 3 CKD at the height of the pandemic among other issues. My doctor recommended I get on a plant-based diet. This was over a year ago. I struggled with it, because I also had intestinal issues, making it hard to digest beans and nuts, plus Interstitial Cystitis, where I needed to avoid all acidic type foods. Needless to say, this diet was a challenge.
I visited the Forks Over Knives site and found a few recipes my body seemed to handle. Then I had to move, get a new doctor. After checking my GFR it went from 54 to 61. Because I struggled with the diet and lost a lot of weight, which I couldn’t afford to do, the current doctor told to me eat whatever I could. Well, that affected my GFR and brought it back down to 57.
After being diagnosed with Microscopic Colitis, it explained the issue.
Fed up, I read the testimonials on FOK site, watched the documentary, What the Health, and read through many of Dr. Michael Greger’s posts, and purchased his one book, How Not to Die.
I decided it’s time to make this switch completely, but putting new things to the test.
I will say that on my third week in, I learned about the importance of taking Vitamin B12. Somehow I missed that, and questioned it when I saw it on the counter of one patient in the documentary. The following day, an email came in from Dr. Greger with a link to a blog on taking vitamin B12. A total Godsend. After informing my doctor of my decision to go plant-based, and mentioning the supplement, she had me get blood work done to check my B12 and Folate levels.
I know this is long. But I wanted to share all this to encourage anyone struggling. I look forward to trying your recipes.
Alexis, was your dad taking cancer medication before the surgery? I’m asking because I’ve been taking cancer medication for a month. I tried doing Dr. Brooke Goldner’s Rapid Recovery protocol to cure my autoimmune disorder and although it does help, I found myself constantly hungry and craving. I’m wondering if I can heal with WFPB diet, even though I’m medicated with Methotrexate and steroid. Do you have an opinion on the matter?
Hi Irene!
No, my dad was not taking any cancer medication prior to surgery. It is best to check with your doctor as I cannot give any medical advice. However, I would highly recommend checking out http://www.chrisbeatcancer.com as well. This was a great resource for us when we were looking for more information regarding cancer and nutrition! As far as WFPB, my whole family and I have all noticed amazing benefits and my dad is now incredibly healthy!! Focusing on clean, whole ingredients and foods is the best way to provide your body with the nutrients it needs in order to function and properly heal itself. As far as always being hungry, this is something that a lot of people struggle with when they first start out WFPB. For one, you are likely consuming less calories than you were before but still eating the same amount of food and not realizing it. Add in foods like beans, legumes, oats, nuts, grains and potatoes in each meal. If you’re consuming mainly whole foods and you’re still hungry, don’t be afraid to eat more! I feel as though I eat a lot more now since switching to WFPB, however all of the foods are incredibly nutrient dense with most being naturally lower in calories. You also want to make sure you are drinking a lot of water. This will help with constantly feeling hungry. In fact, a lot of the times when you think you are hungry, you are actually just thirsty. It’s really important when being WFPB to make sure you eating a variety of foods everyday. You can also check out Dr. Greger’s daily dozen for a good idea on what you should consume daily. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am here to help in any way possible!!
-Alexis
You are so young and so admirable. I wish that you continuously find joy in sharing your discoveries and knowledge and I hope that you will inspire the whole world. I shall embark on this plant based journey with the hope of inspiring my sons too, despite the temptations of fast foods.
I couldn’t find a place to leave a comment on your plant based oil free cornbread recipe so I’m leaving it here! Yesterday was my very first time baking a whole food plant based anything (we have been working on converting to WFPB for about a week and a half now) and I was so nervous! We have always loved pinto beans and cornbread, so I decided that would be a meal we are familiar with but of course, my usual cornbread recipe uses white flour, lots of butter, milk, and an egg! In my house, you can’t make a big pot of beans without cornbread and fried taters (our diet has been pretty atrocious) so I needed a cornbread recipe that was also in accordance with our new lifestyle. Man, was I nervous making this! To my surprise, not only did I have most all the ingredients on hand (had to sub whole wheat flour for whole wheat pastry flour and ground flax for a combination of ground flax, hemp and chia to make the flax eggs), but your cornbread recipe is by far superior to any cornbread I’ve ever had!! It is such a special recipe, I’m excited to make it again! My kids loved it, and so did my husband! And they can be picky, especially my husband! The texture was so good, it was so moist I didnt even miss the butter on top and the spice from the jalapeno was fantastic!
I tried to make fried potatoes in my air fryer without any oil and they were so dry. If you have a good oil free “fried” potato recipe, I would love to test it out!
I am so inspired by you and your blog! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity and desire for healthy eating with all of us! Your cornbread recipe gave me a lot of hope that I CAN do this! And that is making delicious meals for my family that is actually beneficial for our bodies yet not lacking on flavor! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Hi Emily!
Your comment made my day!! I am so glad that you loved the cornbread recipe. It is a recipe that I make all the time and I love that I can share it with others. I hope that you are able to continue finding great recipes and are successful in your journey to healthier living. It makes me so happy that one of my recipes is a part of that. And yes- you CAN do it! If you ever have any questions or just need some motivation, feel free to reach out to me!
Thanks again for your kind words,
Alexis
Its amazing and inspiring. Its been 2 weeks on plant based diet and I can feel the difference. I am also trying out some of your recipes and I hope it will turn out as good as yours. Thanks for such a wonderful insight.
That’s so great! Enjoy the recipes!!
Hello Alexis! I just started the whole food plant based diet again. I was in massage school when I first tried it. I was loving it-but then we had to move and my diet got messed up. It took two years for me to get back to what I know is the healthiest way to live. It is hard to give up animal products and oil, but once you make the choice and start-it gets so much easier. It’s the mental hurdle you have to jump at first that is the toughest. I intend to thrive to be at least 100 years old. I knew I would not reach my goal if I kept eating the way I was eating, even though some consider what I was eating to be “healthy”. The Forks Over Knives Movie helped me so much. Thank you for recommending “What the Health”, I am about to watch it. I am happy/jealous that you are only 19 and are on this path already. Keep up the good health and thank you for being an inspiration!
P.S. The best thing is that I am not eating cute, intelligent, one of a kind animals anymore! I hated my inner guilt trip and now I’m free of it at last.
Hi Pamela!!
I completely agree with you, choosing to eat this way can be tough and takes time but it is so worth it in the end. I am so glad you were able to find your way back to it. Thank you so much for checking out my website, I love hearing from people and learning about their journeys!! I hope you are doing well!
– Alexis
Hi there. I’ve been eating healthy with some periods of cheating for over 20 years. I stopped eating meat allowing only fish and eggs. I then gave up fish and only ate eggs. I finally went completely whole food, plant based a few months ago. I don’t use or eat oils so seeing your oil free recipes got me excited!! I will be following you. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome to see someone so young to catch this plant powered fever. God bless you in this endeavor that the whole world needs to know.