“When I realized that whole food plant-based eating is completely in-line with the Word of Wisdom, there was nothing left to think about”

By: Jeannine Winkley

When we first married, a great meal was frozen spinach ravioli with Alfredo sauce. Over the years, I incrementally improved our family’s diet. I stopped buying items with certain ingredients and made other improvements.

We began our plant-based journey when a friend recommended watching Forks Over Knives soon after it came out in 2011. It was very convincing! We didn’t change our diet immediately, but it planted a seed. We continued to watch other documentaries and read about and researched this way of eating. I knew we should do it and began to call myself a “wanna-be-vegan” because I WANTED to eat that way. I just didn’t want to EAT that way.

I tried at least once to switch to meat substitutes, but that was doomed to fail because they just aren’t that tasty or good for you. I switched my breakfast to a Rip’s Big Bowl somewhere along the way. I loved it so much that if I missed it for breakfast, I’d have it for lunch or dinner.

Six years ago (2015) between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, I watched a YouTube video called “Return to Sparingly.” That was the final straw. When I realized that whole food plant-based eating is completely in-line with the Word of Wisdom, there was nothing left to think about. I made the change immediately, which was awkward with a refrigerator filled with Christmas leftovers. My husband was completely supportive and made the switch with me.

It was hard enough to figure out what I was going to eat the next day, but I was also feeding a family of nine. The seven kids ranged in age from 9 to 16. I switched pretty much overnight, but I transitioned the family a little more slowly. For a while, I bought a limited amount of sour cream and cheese, and occasionally a rotisserie chicken or such to go with the wholesome meal I was preparing. They also finished most of the non-compliant food in the house, so that provided a gentler transition for the kids. I switched the kids to cashew milk by mixing it with what we had been using. I changed the ratios until it was 100% homemade cashew milk.

At first this big change was a bit overwhelming, but soon I was excited. My meals were beautiful! I loved experimenting with new recipes. I felt like all the rules had been thrown out the window. I started combining things in all new ways. My kids laughed (and still do) about all the things I put in my salads and sandwiches.

My 12-year-old son Christopher was the pickiest eater imaginable. One time I had him list everything he would eat. There was no way to make a menu from the foods, plant-based or otherwise. He was the main reason I continued to buy cheese. I also bought him a four-pack of muffins each week “so he wouldn’t starve.” Eventually, I told him that he’d have to make his own plant-based muffins if he wanted muffins. He did, and he became quite handy in the kitchen.

Christopher has always been super skinny. He was that way before the “big change,” and he is still that way today. It hasn’t hurt his growth though. At eighteen, he is 6’3”, active, and healthy. A few years ago, I sat him down and told him that I was concerned about how limited his diet was. Well, the boy who stopped sucking his thumb cold turkey at two also changed his diet overnight. He began to eat everything I made. The entire family is still amazed at the transformation. He is now attending BYU-Idaho and preparing all his own meals. At this point, I think he eats better than I do. I’m so impressed by the changes he’s made.

I also have two daughters attending BYU-Idaho. They are fully on board with plant-based eating but include too much junk. While my son eats this way quietly, the girls are actively sharing what they know with roommates.

Despite going to Camp Plant Stock and watching The Game Changers with the director, the other four kids are not convinced enough to fully change. They eat what I serve at home but eat way too much junk and fast food that they buy themselves. I’m hoping that with maturity, they will also embrace this lifestyle.

We were blessed to have started healthy and at good weights, so we didn’t see the dramatic changes that many people do. We have all noticed changes though! I sleep better and have reduced anxiety. One of my daughters has noticed positive changes in her periods when she is more compliant. My husband has reduced joint pain. If he complains of pain in his hands, I always ask him, “What did you eat?” Inevitably, someone bought doughnuts or a treat to work that he just couldn’t resist.

During these six years, I have gone from peri-menopausal to post-menopausal. I’ve realized by hearing others’ horror stories that I have gone through it all pretty easily. Before we started this way of eating, I had been trying to lose just a few pounds, so I’d be starting at a low number when I inevitably gained weight during this phase of life. Everything I tried only worked while I did it and wasn’t sustainable. When I switched, I joked that I was trying my hardest to gain weight eating this way because the food was so good and the portions so large. Nope. I lost the few pounds that I’d been trying to lose and then a few more and have kept them off to this day! I love eating this way, so it’s definitely sustainable. I never plan to go back.

We aren’t perfect. I have absolutely no interest in eating meat or dairy, but my husband occasionally has a few bites of meat. We still eat occasional sweet treats like cake or cookies prepared traditionally. At home, we do not use any oil, but when we are out, we don’t worry about it.

Jeannine Winkley Family at Camp Plant Stock

We continue to learn. We attended the Plantrician conference as a couple and Camp Plant Stock with the entire family. I completed the eCornell Plant-Based Nutrition course and have taught several classes to the women and young women at church. My dentist even wants me to teach her staff, but that’s been delayed due to Covid. My husband is a physician and talks to many of his patients about it. As we look towards his retirement and an empty nest, we are trying to figure out how to include sharing this way of eating with others into our plans.

Jeannine Winkley is 54 years old. She lives in Pinehurst, North Carolina, with her husband Jim. They have nine children and two sons-in-law. Jeannine has a degree in electrical engineering, but she has been home for almost 23 years raising and homeschooling the children. She loves CrossFit, running, and spreading the word about the whole food plant-based way of life.