
In One Part Plant, Jessica has a friendly request: that you eat just one plant-based meal each day. There’s no crazy diet plan with an anxiety-inducing list of forbidden foods. Or pages filled with unattainable goals based on an eating philosophy that leaves you feeling hungry and deprived. Instead, Jessica offers you the tools to easily and deliciously make plants the star of your plate—no matter how much junk food occupies it now.
The beginning
Six years ago, my major food groups were: Sour Patch Kids, Diet Coke, and Whatever Lean Cuisine Had The Most Cheese. After years of unsuccessful diets and self-help books that didn’t work, I felt pretty low and not so good about myself. I didn’t think it was possible for me to have the willpower to become a truly healthy person. Maybe I also didn’t think I deserved it.
I was also really sick. My endometriosis had gotten so severe that most days I could barely make it out of bed. I tried everything I knew to get better. I had multiple surgeries, tried conventional pain-killers (and less-conventional, leafy ones), fancy yoga and not-so-fancy-yoga, and even therapy to help with the depression caused by the pain. Nothing worked. My doctors gave me one final solution – a hysterectomy.
But then I got an email from a friend that changed my life forever. She sent me a link that outlined a diet plan designed to help with endometriosis pain. No meat. No dairy. No gluten. No sugar. No packaged foods. No alcohol. No fun.
I was desperate and maybe a bit of a people pleaser, so I decided to try it. I really had nothing to lose. My inaugural meal on my new eating plan was a salsa taco. Literally, a corn tortilla topped with salsa. I didn’t cook, but I was really determined to try this new lifestyle. And after a few weeks, my eyes started to open a little wider. The pain started to fade. I wasn’t sad. And I could sleep after years of insomnia. My husband said that I had “my sparkle back.” I never had to get that hysterectomy and have never looked back.