How I Found More Feel-Good Writing Flow by Eating More Plants
In Intuitive Writing, I talk about how I eat plant-based food, which supports my creativity, focus, and clarity. I have a body, and the clearer that body is the better my writing. Most people don’t take pause for a minute to think about what they eat. I know I didn’t for the longest time. And once I looked, I couldn’t un-know what I discovered. Looking at where our food comes from is enough to make most people look away. Unless you’re visiting a micro-farm growing organic strawberries and kale, seeing where your food comes from is eye-opening and often uncomfortable.
Food is a triggery topic for many people. It used to trigger me, too, so I get it. Enter cognitive dissonance. Check out the only 1-star review that Intuitive Writing received from this reader called, “S” —
🤣🤣🤣 too bad S didn't finish the book because smoothies and throat chakra would make her a better writer.
People cringe at a dead deer on the side of the road but not at the dead pig between fluffy white bread, called “pulled pork.”
Intuitive Writing Tip
What you put into your body will affect your writing. Review what you’ve put in your body the past week and then compare that to your writing output.
What we eat affects everything we do — and that includes writing.
Now, I didn't make this connection until recent years, and you'll see in my timeline below that I’ve been vegan and back. And here to stay.
💪 When I first went plant-based, it was for health reasons.
💚 Then, it was for compassion.
🙏 Later, I saw a plant-based lifestyle as non-negotiable for mental and spiritual reasons.
Come along with me on a journey through food ⤵️
1980 - 2007 eat whatever the fuck I want.
Growing up in a house where we had birthday cake (with no birthday on the calendar for months), Diet Coke, twinkies, cookies, cake, ice cream, and chips. I lived in junk food heaven.
2007 - I smell shrimp and want to puke.
I was pregnant with my first kid, making shrimp with a coconut milk sauce for dinner one night. While standing over the steamy pot, I gagged. I stopped eating seafood until my son was born. I swapped seafood for gummy worms, and by my third trimester, I downed a bag of gummy worms a day.
2008 - focus on eating whole foods to lose gummy worm weight.
I gained 50 lbs during my first pregnancy — that’s a lot of gummy worms and nightly ice cream. And my son wasn’t 42 lbs when he arrived. Oh shit.
With Wesley, my half-marathon training buddy in Chicago.
Running helped shed the gummy worm weight.
2010 - my son, now 15 months, was a perpetual boogery mess.
He was sick all the time. He was with nannies and in-home daycares when I went back to work after a four-month maternity leave: constant runny nose, red cheeks, and mouth breathing. We visited an ENT(ear, nose, and throat specialist) to test his hearing, which was fine. The ENT wanted to remove his tonsils and adenoids and put tubes in his ears. I instantly rejected this. No fucking way my baby’s body parts are coming out. A botched tonsillectomy almost killed my husband when he was in his early 20s (before we met), and that was all I needed to know.
I asked the ENT why this happens. His answer was, ”It’s common.” That is not what I asked. But WHYYYYYY??
I decided to uncover why and found a naturopathic doctor in my town. She said inflammation causes mucous, which causes infection, which can lead to infections, and all that snot has to go somewhere. She said it’s often food-related — and at this age, probably dairy, eggs, and soy.
I had been down a similar road. I’d been getting one sinus infection a month for ages. As a kid, I had constant tonsillitis. I vaguely remember some talk as a kid about getting them out. I don't recall if a doctor recommended it or if my parents said no (my younger sister had hers out when she was young; maybe this was why?) Either way. I still have all my parts. I always had a stomach ache by the time I scraped down the sides of my daily afternoon yogurt cup. I thought this was normal.
She suggested we remove dairy for two weeks and see how we do.
2010 + 2 weeks later — an experiment
I felt indescribably better after scrapping dairy. It was easy for me — I just stopped eating it. When I wanted it, I tried a vegan alternative. Being the cook of the family, no one complained either. After this two-week experiment, I tried some ice cream after two weeks, and my stomach hurt so bad I thought I was dying.
Jacob was clearer — no boogers, red cheeks, or infections.
Done with dairy.
2010 - 2014 — All in on plants.
I watched the food documentaries, read a ton of books, and started writing about food.
I wanted to understand WHY dairy messes us up so badly. Once I learned about the science of it, it was a no-brainer. No more dairy for us. I won’t go into it here as it’s not the point of this piece.
After discovering the truth about dairy, I looked into meat. If dairy is shit for my health, is meat okay? Turns out — also shit. And not just that, but when I watched how most of the dead animals arrived on my plate, I was horrified. The fantasy of cows running freely and happily to share their breastmilk and line up for my filet — was over. It was hard to watch a lot of this, but when I did, I chose plants.
I went vegan, started a food blog, taught local cooking classes, created recipes on the side of my corporate jobs, and created plant-based meal plans for busy people, teaching them how to batch cook.
Also during this timeframe, I enjoyed a healthy vegan pregnancy (no puking this time). My craving with this one — french fries.
Having fun for a Home Chef photo shoot in Chiacgo. I wrote some vegan and gluten-free recipes for them.
2014 - Sliding backward.
After moving from the city to a Chicago suburb immediately following my third layoff, I had a hard time finding vegan options at restaurants. I gave up and let meat back onto my plate. I still said no to dairy (and now gluten) because it really messed me up.
We also began raising chickens. I could have never eaten another egg in my life and not been made about it. Amidst our chicken and egg adventure, my husband wanted to eat some chickens. A local rancher came by to help “process them” — notice the watered down term? Processing a chicken means holding them upside down by their legs and slitting their throats. Even the rancher said it was his least favorite part of his job. The kids watched. I hid in the bedroom and wanted nothing to do with it. If I couldn’t kill a chicken with my own hands, then I have no right to eat one. I didn't eat chicken anymore. One kid said they were never eating chicken nuggets again. But later “forgot.”
2021 - craving collards, cabbage, and chard in the south.
We moved a few more times, and in the spring of 2021, we landed in Florida. With the heat and humidity, the thought of eating animal flesh became utterly unappealing. I stopped eating it again. Still, no dairy. I’d occasionally have seafood — shrimp, clams, scallops, oysters. I felt it would expand my options when dining out. I didn’t feel totally congruent with this decision, but if it was occasionally, no biggie, right?
2023 — I discovered “bycatch”
Bycatch is how other sea animals are caught along with all fish and crustaceans — dolphins, sharks, and whales. The idea that these majestic sea creatures would be separated from their families or die because I couldn’t just choose steamed rice and veggies at a restaurant was a no-brainer. I stopped eating all sea creatures. Crying through the movie, The Cove, sealed the deal. That's it — I’m done with seafood.
2024 and beyond — giving a fork & keeping my vessel clear
“Most people think writing comes entirely from the mind. Intuitive writing incorporates mind, body, spirit, and soul. It’s multi-dimensional, physical, and energetic. When you pay attention to all the parts of yourself, you bring a richer experience to the page — and your life.” Jacqueline Fisch, Intuitive Writing
I boomeranged and came back to my roots. It feels natural.
Here’s how I see a plant-based lifestyle skyrocketing my writing life today.
Mental clarity.
Early in 2024, I completed a 3-month candida cleanse — which years of sugar and wine were feeding. The thing is when people say, “I eat everything, and I feel fine,” I used to say that too. I used to think it was normal to have a stomachache after my afternoon yogurt and be bloated every evening. And I didn’t know how “fine” I was until I removed animal products from my plate. Now, like a lot of new vegans, it’s easy to look at fake meat and replacement options — while instinctively, I ate these sparingly, I avoid them most of the time now. Yes, a fake meat patty is better than decaying flesh; it’s highly processed and not health-promoting. A more nourshing option is a bean burger made with other whole foods. Completing the candida cleanse also removed any desire I had to drink alcohol. The candida cleanse I recommend is from HMI Wellness.
High-vibes.
Everything is energy. And we are what we eat. Eating fear doesn’t align with how I want feel and show up in the world.
What I eat is energy, and it transmutes into energy for my body. This same energy is infused into everything I write. This means I eat as many foods as possible each day that have a high vibration. Eating “dead” foods — meat and heavily processed stuff — carries fear and low vibes. By eating high-frequency foods — bright veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes — I feel good in my body. And when I feel good in my body, I feel good the page. Brain fog is non-existant.
I eat plant-based foods, as much whole-foods and unprocessed as possible, which have a hire vibration than dead foods. Yes, I still enjoy the occasional vegan and gluten-free cupcake, chips made with avocado oil, and all the delicious chocolate covered things.
It's as if there was a block here before that I couldn’t see. I see people who love their horses but eat cows. They love their dogs but eat pigs, love their cats, and eat turkey. It made no sense to me when I stopped to think about it.
Creativity uplevel.
My work matters. Because I’m a whole, multi-faceted person, not just who I am when my fingers are on a keyboard. When I eat well and take the time to plan and prep my food for the week, it leaves more room for inspiration and more energy for making stuff.
What could I expect my creative output to look like if I were eating decaying flesh? Another idea that I hadn’t considered. Could eating from the earth boost my creativity?
So far, I feel the results and I invite you to try it for yourself.
