Fall 2025 Nutrition Upgrade: Part 02

It's 6:29 PM on Tuesday as I begin to write. I've been hard at work since last night's supper on the next step of my Fall 2025 nutrition upgrade. Even though I learned about Caldwell Esselstyn's oil-free, plant-strong prescription for heart health back around 2007, and even though I am now on atorvastatin for a cholesterol problem caused by my psychiatric medications, I have decided to put a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in my diet at supper time so that I will be more likely to eat fresh salads and sauteed greens on a regular basis. I'm betting this is an upgrade on balance from what I have been eating thus far in 2025, but I know that olive oil is a significant debate in the nutrition community. Is it better to go with Dr. Greger, who teaches that the benefits of salad greens do not outweigh the downsides of oil-based dressings, or is it better to go with Dr. Berg, who teaches that the benefits of salad greens do outweigh the downsides of oil-based dressings, provided we use the right kind of oil, because certain fat-soluble vitamins and phytonutrients in greens cannot be absorbed by the body without a healthy accompanying oil? 

My next round of blood work is scheduled for February 2026. If I lose some weight, stay more active, and get some positive lab results, I will keep up with my current approach. Either way, I will talk about it with my healthcare team and decide whether or not to invest in a Vitamix blender as a reward for my success with moderate olive oil consumption, or as an indispensable tool for going entirely oil-free. This means that I have to accept that I am not presently aiming at the whole-foods, plant-based, oil-free gold standard as defined by experts like Caldwell Esselstyn and Dr. Greger. Instead, it feels like I am exploring a "conscious eating" middle way between whole and ultra-processed vegan foods.

Early this afternoon, I took my mom to the Honest Weight Food Co-Op for an unusual mid-week grocery run. She needed some fresh salad fixings, and I was craving salad, too. After doing a bunch of research, I decided to make my own maple Dijon vinaigrette and put it on a bed of spinach and arugula with a sliced Williams Pride apple (2025 season), some toasted pecans, and some dried cranberries. It worked very well, I felt great about myself and my connection with my bioregion, and it was all and exactly what my soul wanted for supper.

Here is the recipe for future reference (with credit to Google Gemini for a lot of help):

Whisk 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard in a small mixing bowl. Slowly add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil while continuing to whisk. Add Morton Lite and black pepper to taste. Mix 2-3 tablespoons of this dressing with a big handful of spinach, a smaller handful of arugula, 1 sliced apple, 1/4 cup of chopped toasted pecans, and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries. I am guessing this was somewhere around 500 calories (maybe closer to 600 calories, with 300 calories from fat, in hindsight). Just right for a light supper. 

I hope this salad will become a supper staple for me this fall. I want to experiment with baby kale, roasted butternut squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, and quinoa, too - generally staying at or under 600 calories, but listening carefully to my body first and foremost. This means I am fine-tuning my three daily repeating meal tasks in Microsoft To Do. This is how they read now:

• Eat 600-Calorie (give or take) balanced, conscious, and grateful plant-based breakfast.
• Eat 700-Calorie (give or take) balanced, conscious, and grateful plant-based lunch.
• Eat 600-Calorie (give or take) balanced, conscious, and grateful plant-based lunch.

The other thing I have done over the last 24 hours is embark on a deep inventory and reorganization of my home food supply. I am now thinking in terms of a minimalist vegan freezer inventory, a minimalist vegan refrigerator inventory, a minimalist vegan countertop inventory, a minimalist vegan working pantry, and a minimalist vegan deep pantry. The deep pantry is very much in the early stages - it will take me a year or two of careful budgeting to build it out. It's based on a commitment to a 30-day prepper reserve of no-cook emergency foods that require little or no additional water. More on all of that in a subsequent post.

Video at top: Is Olive Oil Actually Bad for Your Health? The Great Oil Debate | Forks Over Knives.