A Forks Over Knives Update

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that my father finally watched the DVD of Forks Over Knives that I had sent him around the start of the year. I also wrote about my best friend and her husband watching it and feeling inspired to eat more plant-based foods. Here's a little update.

My dad no longer drinks milk and now loves vanilla almond milk. He says he "hardly ever eats meat now," and my mom says that, too, but I have no idea what that means, exactly. My dad has been drinking Glucerna for breakfast and lunch every day for about 6 weeks now, which I'm not crazy about (especially after he reads its goofy ingredients to me), but he said at his last doctor's appointment, he was told to "make some changes" or he'll be on insulin. We talked on the phone for awhile and I gave suggestions for healthier dinners and snacks. He really doesn't want to be on insulin, but I'm worried about how much nutrition he's really getting on those Glucerna shakes. (Anyone have any advice on those?) I just purchased copies of Neal Barnard's Reversing Diabetes and the Forks Over Knives book to send to my parents.

Kate and her husband has been incorporating lots of vegan meals into their diet. Kate said that Brandon has lost ten pounds so far, and he actually cooked tofu in a stir-fry recently! (This is funny to be because Brandon has always been a tofu-basher.)

A very good friend of mine, whose name is also Brandon, watched Forks Over Knives this past Monday and has been eating vegan all this week! He said he didn't eat much meat in the first place, but he's really looking into a more plant-based diet.

A couple of weeks ago, a group of us were at Pizza Fusion downtown and our server was vegan. He said he had gone back and forth between vegetarian and vegan for a long time, but after watching Forks Over Knives, he went vegan on the spot.

And then this morning, I told my hairdresser about Forks Over Knives (as veganism had come up in conversation) and he seemed VERY interested in it. He said, "Let's see, you'll be back in about 5 or 6 weeks? Yes, I will have watched in by then."

What Forks Over Knives success stories have you witnessed?

Forks Over Knives: Passing It On

About a month ago, I sent a DVD of Forks Over Knives to my father. My father has had health problems for as long as I've known him, and he's never been one to take good care of himself, especially where his diet is concerned. He blames years of trucking and eating on the road, but when he stopped trucking, he kept eating a Trucker's Diet.

I'd brought up going vegetarian to my dad many times, citing facts and statistics at random, pointing out how Dr. Oz agrees with a plant-based diet providing optimal nutrition (my parents like Dr. Oz), etc. My dad didn't buy it. My dad would claim that eating a lettuce salad alongside a giant steak and a baked potato was "balanced," and he also LOVED to tell me that "vegetables are what MY food eats."

And then I finally watched Forks Over Knives at the Tampa Bay Veg Fest last year and I thought, My dad should watch this. Because I've always known that I could send him books or starter kits every day, and he won't read them. But a movie? There's hope there.

So I sent the DVD and I waited.

Just this past week, my father told me that he watched the entire movie and it was "really interesting" and full of information and he's going to watch it again! My dad said he doesn't think he'll stop eating meat completely, but he's already cutting back.

I told this story to my best friend yesterday and she was impressed. (She knows my father!) She voiced her concerns about her husband's diet and said she was interested in watching the movie, too. I told her it's streaming on Netflix and she was excited. Later that night, she sent me a text, saying she and her husband were watching it. When they finished watching it, she sent me another text saying that they are going to go "mostly plant-based" for 12 weeks! This is HUGE considering her husband is a chef and enjoys cooking with lots of RICH ingredients.

Needless to say, I'm VERY excited and hopeful for my family and friends.

How has Forks Over Knives inspired you or someone you know to go plant-strong?

Forks Over Knives on Netflix Streaming

Looking for a movie to watch this weekend? Forks Over Knives is now available streaming on Netflix!



Have you seen Forks Over Knives? What are your thoughts on this documentary?

PS. I know it's been kind of quiet around here lately, but I've been keeping up with the HVT Facebook page much better this past week. Check out all kinds of fun stuff over there!