Inspiration for Older Diabetic Men to Switch to a Plant Based Diet + Plant Powered Meatloaf Rueben (oil free)
By Molly Patrick
May 12, 2018,
Hi love,
Today I’m sharing a chat that I had with one of our Dirty guys, Chris Hansen. If you know any older diabetic men who don’t currently eat plant based, especially if they have diabetes, this is an excellent post to share with them, if they are willing to watch it.
I adore Chris and am so happy he agreed to chat with me and share his story. You’ll love Chris, too. His journey is inspirational AND he offers up great batching tips and spills the beans on “Cowboy Caviar”.
Chris was almost 300 pounds and had an A1C of 11 before he decided to do something about it. He’s been getting our meal plans for almost a year and he is now 201 pounds and his A1C is down to 5.1!
Most guys are resistant to going plant based, but if they watch this video, I’m guessing they will be less resistant. If you have an older guy in your life, whether it’s your dad, your uncle, your hubby or your brother, have him watch this talk. Even if this video gets the seed planted, that’s a start!
Enjoy our chat!
(On the left: Chris before he started eating plant based. On the right: Chris, well on his plant based journey.
“On July 5th 2017 I got my kitchen ready for transitioning to a Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle. I downloaded my first Dirty Girl Meal plan on the night of the 6th and we shopped on the 7th and batched on the 8th.
At this time I weighed 247 lbs and my blood pressure was in the 130s/85s. Today I weighed 201 lbs and my blood pressure was 116 /79. My Cardiologist said she will take me off Carvedilol when my BP is consistently in the low 100s. That might be May or June of this year. If my next A1C is as good as my last, 5.1, I can eliminate it altogether by the end of the year.
Molly, I can’t tell you how much good you and your organization are doing for me and the rest of your Dirty Girls (and men) out there. Tomorrow the World.
Thank you so much,
Chris Hansen”
Chris, thank you for taking the time to share your story. You are doing a fantastic job and I am beyond happy for you. Keep kicking ass!
Today’s recipe is dude approved.
Ingredients
- First you will need to make the Plant Based Meatloaf from the blog. The link is in the notes of this recipe.
- Next you will need to make the Thousand Island Dressing (recipe below).
- Sauerkraut
- Avocado slices
- Sprouted grain or whole wheat bread, toasted
Thousand Island Dressing
- ½ cup cashews soaked in water for at least 10 minutes (75g)
- 1 dried date, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes – pit taken out
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (20g)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup water (175ml)
- ⅓ cup chopped pickles (90g)
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion (20g)
- Few turns cracked black pepper
Instructions
Thousand Island Dressing
- Drain and discard the water from the cashews and place the cashews, date (without the soaking water), tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, salt and water in the blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Pour the dressing into a mixing bowl and add the pickles, onion and black pepper. Stir until well combined and refrigerate.
Meatloaf Reuben
- After you have your Plant Based Meatloaf and your Thousand Island Dressing made, the next step is to assemble the sandwich. Toast two pieces of bread (or don’t toast it, up to you!), then spread both pieces with a generous slather of Thousand Island Dressing.
- Add a slice of Meatloaf to one side of bread, followed by some sauerkraut. Drizzle dressing on top of the sauerkraut and then top with avocado. Top your sandwich with the other piece of bread and watch your man chow down!
Wishing you a happy weekend. May it be filled with healthy men in your life.
xo
Molly
8 Comments
Leave a Comment
New? Download your free Beginner's Guide and start the most delicious and rewarding journey of your life, fueled by plants.
Our mouthgasmic plant based meal plans are designed around batch cooking. Get your free Batching Handbook and dive in.
Get support on your plant fueled journey in our private Facebook group with non-judgy Dirties around the world. Nice, let me in!
Love the food that loves you back
Get instant access to thousands of plant based recipes and meal plans, no credit card or perfection required.
Haven’t tried this recipe but wanted to comment on the video.
This is fucking bizarre.
Chris could be my twin. In fact I have a twin named Chris.
My highest documented weight was 287.
I was diagnosed with diabetes 2 with an A1C in excess of 11.
I did a lot of dietary improvements and ot my numbers down.
I went primarily WFPB on July 5 2019. I do still use Field Roast sausage. And Upton seitan
I feel great.
Weight in each morning. today 183.4 Latest A1C 4.9 without meds. (Doc doesn’t know yet)
Haven’t signed up for the meal plans but am batching based on my go-to’s and some of the blog recipes. The freezer is full and i probably don’t need to shop for a month.
Steve! Thank you for sharing! Way to turn things around in FOUR months eating all the plants! Wow!! Your doctor is sure to be impressed and ask questions – you are in a unique position to inspire your doctor to be inspired about the power of plants. That can only help more people. So, way to go YOU! It sure sounds like you have a system down and thumbs up on batching the blog recipes. Keep doing what you are doing. If the time comes when you feel like you need more variety or you don’t want to worry about the planning part, the meal plans have got you covered. All the best in your journey to your best health! ~Karen
To be clear this was a two and a half year transition. First a dietary overhaul and then continual cleaning. Plenty of exercise as well. Going predominantly WFPB was really just the logical destination.
I’d give this recipe ten stars if I could! We had the meatloaf for dinner last night, and it was excellent. This was an amazing way to use up leftovers. I didn’t have any avocados on hand, so I left them off. It. Was. Amazing. The best sandwich I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for this recipe, I’m making another batch of meatloaf tonight so that I can eat these again tomorrow!
We’re so happy you like it! It’s a favorite around here, too. 🙂
This is pretty ironic. My name is Chris. I was back up to 300 pounds, diabetes and blood pressure out of control. I was at 11.1 A1c when I made the switch almost 2 months ago. My A1C is now 7.3 and I am down to 260.
I am definitely one of those people that thought I couldn’t go plant based, I had been a meat eater all my life and had flirted with Vegetarian and Plant based in the past. However, when I took the plunge and decided to go WFPB cold turkey was probably the best choice I ever made. I feel better and sleep better than I have since getting out of the military 20 years ago.
Wow, Chris! That’s so inspiring! Hearing stories like yours are what get us going in the morning and we why love what we do. Are you on Facebook? If so, you might want to consider joining our CFDG private Facebook group. It’s full of awesome people on the same journey and it’s a great place to stay inspired and get ideas. Keep up the good work, we’re cheering you on!
Hey Chris! I had to pop over here personally and give you a huge high five!
I am so very happy for you!
xo
Molly