Dirty Girl Betty Haynes Went from Eating Meat, Dairy and Processed Food to Loving Plants (Video)
By Molly Patrick
Jan 5, 2019,
Today I’m sharing a chat that I had with Dirty Girl Betty Haynes. I kept seeing Betty’s comments and posts in our Facebook group and I knew she was someone I wanted to personally touch base with. We had an awesome time talking and I know you will find her inspiring.
We often hear from members of our community who were inspired to make dietary changes after they were put on medications and facing serious illness.
Then, there are people who are still considered healthy but for whom medical problems are on the horizon – gradual increases in cholesterol and blood pressure at yearly checkups, and gentle suggestions from their doctor that medication should be considered at their next visit.
For most people, just the suggestion of going on medication by a doctor isn’t enough to motivate what can be an intimidating lifestyle change – it’s just not jarring enough.
But maybe, going through the experience of seeing a loved one, genetically related to you, suffer and succumb to disease is the final straw. Even if your genes destine you for disease, maybe it’s worth a shot to change your lifestyle and give your body the best chance possible to avoid suffering unnecessarily. At least then, if you do get sick, you’ll know that you did your absolute best.
And here’s the thing. As scary as giving up meat, dairy, fried food and processed food sounds, once you get over the palate hump, the learning curve to batch your food, and side-eye from your family and co-workers, it’s smooth sailing. You will eat all the plants and you will end up loving it more than you ever thought possible.
Betty and I talk about all of this and more in today’s chat. Enjoy!
This video contains adult language so slap on some headphones if you’re around little ones.
Thank you Betty, for hanging out with me. I loved talking with you. Your light shines bright and I am so happy that you have found joy in eating!
Were you inspired by our chat? Talk to us in the comments below!
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with eating plants and kicking ass.
Xo
Molly
15 Comments
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What an inspirational interview! Not preachy at all! Just two girls talking but so powerful! I shared this with a friend! I am 62 years young and transitioned to WFPB way of living 16 months ago! I haven’t jumped in with the recipes yet, but I am seriously thinking about it. I am 5 ft 5 inches weigh 125 lbs. I lost 20 pounds slowly over the 16 months. I am not on any meds but do take D3 and B12 supplements. I had been on statins but had issues and stopped in August with ok from my health care provider. I have an appointment with Dr Steven Lome, a WFPB cardiologist in our area and I am hoping he supports me in my goals! I also hope he can give me encouragement that stopping med was best thing! I hope my body responds and heals itself! Dr Lome changed his life, health, and way of practicing medicine after seeing Forks over Knives! He is one of their success stories!
Thanks Molly and Betty! This should definitely be a public interview to inspire others!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing, Nora.
May you have a continued journey of health!
xo
Molly
P.S. – Keep us posted!
Thank you for sharing, Betty! I found myself nodding right along to a lot of what you said. It truly does get easier to live this plant-based lifestyle…and it’s so worth it!
Yes indeed! I love that you were feeling this one!
xo
Molly
Hi guys. Thanks for sharing that lovely chat with us. It made me feel so much less isolated. I have been eating this way for a year and my older kids (18 and 20) have really embraced it with me which is great but they are away at college so I’m left with husband and youngest son (16) who have reacted by rejecting it utterly. My husband in particular is eating considerably worse than before, which I find so perplexing. Any advice you can offer on how to bring him on board?
Dearest Tessa!
I’m so glad you commented. I totally feel you on this!
Part of why we started our private Facebook group is so that people have like-minded folks who are going through similar struggles.
Next, I wrote this piece that I think will be really helpful for you.
SO glad you found us and good for you for eating more plants and less of everything else!
xo
Molly
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! To Betty and Molly, I cried because you were talking about me. Every point was/is me! I know those potholes well. You are both so encouraging, loving and knowledgeable with your common sense advice. So, Thank you for being you and reiterating it’s okay to fall and pick yourself up again to continue on our (my) path.
I’ve had my feet in the water for a year and doing it on my own but I’m terrified of my instapot (I have no clue how to use it)! Any videos on how to use the damn thing that you did or recommend? (Sorry, if this have been asked and answered before).
I was set to make my comfort soup today (my mom’s vegetable soup) but I saw the African soup recipe and I’ll be making that instead, looks yummy!
Sincerely with a heartfelt of hugs,
Mindy
Another inspiring post – AND, I just made the stew and it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!! This one will go in the “rinse and repeat” folder for sure. Thank you!
SO incredibly inspiring, both of you! I’m a newbie here, and making my shopping list now for the [African Peanut] soup recipe (been making lots of great soups lately), and excited to dive into the CFDG community to grab some o’ dat enthusiasm and support! Not vegetarian (yet) but moving in that direction for sure, and for me it’s all about satisfying the palate without animal products. If I can do that, I’ll be a happy camper! Thanks again for sharing!
Hey Tammy,
I’m so happy you found us!
Yes, please join our most awesome Facebook group, you will have so much support and encouragement.
You got this!
xo
Molly
I’ve been looking at the WFPB way of eating for awhile now. I keep thinking how much I love my chicken and cheeses…how to get past these thoughts? I don’t have any health problems, but am 59 yrs old and want to take the best care of myself possible. Any thought on how to start?
Hi Terri, Changing your food pattern to eat more plants is an epic and worthwhile journey. Aside from reading and watching content about eating plants (and maybe join our private Facebook group to be around other people on the same journey), I would say avoid thinking about making the transition to eating more whole plant based foods as an all or nothing package where you punish yourself with compliance.
Take small steps. You might check out this blueprint to cut down on animal and processed foods from Molly.
Our meal plans provide 5 nightly plant based meals a week. Having meal plan food prepped and ready to go is going to help you have scrumptious and satisfying non-animal choices ready to eat. You still have other meals during the week to do as you choose but by including meal plan food, you’ve already shifted the balance of what you eat towards more whole plants. Over time, as your tastes develop for plant based whole foods with less salt and oil (and added sugars), you’ll probably find that you want to eat less and less of other foods. And, if you don’t, that’s ok too.
~Karen
I feel like a lot of people rather eat pills, than going plant based. Which is so sad to watch, because then they end up needing another pill that deals with the side effects from the first one. Either way, thanks for the [African Peanut Stew] recipe, it sounds really delicious. I bet this would make a great freezer meal option as well.
Thank you for this video chat! Around the 40-41 minute mark, you described me. I’m the “I’ll try it tomorrow” person. I’ve been in the FB group for more than a year now and even subscribed to the meal plan, a couple months ago, but still haven’t tried any of the recipes. I keep “should”ing all over the place. “I should do this.” “I should do that.” It’s been a stressful year (I moved, dad died, COVID-19 shut-down of the country, not working, feeling sick and tired constantly), though, and I just haven’t felt like trying to do anything new or out of my comfort zone. I’m, also, the “My blood work numbers are starting to creep out of the normal range so I better do something about it” person. Prior to recently, I’ve always been an athletic, healthy person with good numbers. So, when my doctor mentioned “pre-diabetic” recently, it freaked me out a bit. I remember my dad needing to check his blood often. I don’t want that to be me. It’s time for a change, even if it’s not 100%, right off the bat.
I’m excited to try this recipe! I’m probably going to make it a couple times, right away, because I want to try it as intended, but I’d also like to try it with some of the suggestions that others have mentioned (with garbanzo beans, with mushrooms, and/or my idea – with coconut milk). It all sounds so good! Thanks, again!
Hi Maggie! Wow, thanks so much for the love. We’re so happy you’re a part of our community.
Stress and perfection are such powerful pressures, we totally understand. Check out this blog post when you get a chance. It’s a great reminder that sometimes you just have to your best and let that be good enough. We’re here for you. Feel free to shoot us an email if you’d like some more support or have specific questions. I hope you enjoy the stew, it’s a personal favorite!
<3 Stephanie