Greetings! I'm Elizabeth Shah. I'm a writer, vegan and recovering type "A." My husband, Hemant, and I live in Madison, Wisconsin Scottsdale, Arizona with our Toy Fox Terriers, Maisy and Ivy. (I develop the recipes and write, Hemant takes the photos, and Maisy and Ivy are the resident taste-testers and kitchen supervisors.)
Healthy Midwestern Girl is a food blog dedicated to sharing whole food plant-based and healthy vegan recipes. Everything's 100% vegan and oil free. Most recipes are naturally low calorie and gluten free, too. This is where I use my 30+ years of cooking experience to create flavorful, healthy food that just about anyone can enjoy.
While Hemant and I fully embrace the ethical impact of veganism on animals and the planet, we originally adopted this lifestyle to feel healthier (read below). We truly believe food is medicine.
Most people I talk to know they should eat better, but find the idea of switching to a plant-based diet overwhelming. My hope is to share food that's not too complicated, not too "weird" (you can probably get your carnivore hold-out to at least try it) and just really damn good.
My recipes are:
- 100% vegan & whole food plant-based
- relatively simple, using basic cooking methods and easy-to-find ingredients
- oil free, refined sugar free & nutritious. Most are low in fat, low calorie, high fiber & naturally gluten-free or can be made gluten free
- tested—I won't put anything on the site I don't love
- full of flavor—for everyone out there like me who lives to eat!
So welcome and enjoy. And please, let me know how I'm doing.
Elizabeth
Note: If you’re wondering (most people do!), my husband pronounces his name “hem-ent.”
Becoming vegan
Not so long ago, this Midwestern girl wasn’t very healthy at all. I suffered from mysterious ailments my doctor couldn’t explain—fatigue, dizziness, recurring respiratory infections, and so on.
After several trips to his office and a bunch of tests, he gave me the best advice of my life: try giving up meat, dairy and eggs.
My immediate reaction was, "HELL YEAH, LET ME RUN HOME RIGHT NOW AND THROW OUT THAT LASAGNA I JUST MADE!" (Not.)
I was—and still am!—a passionate foodie who loves great restaurants, travel and cooking. In fact, just a month earlier, I’d eaten the meal of a lifetime at the famous French Laundry restaurant. How could I give that up! Besides, Hemant and I had both been vegetarian in the past, but not particularly healthy ones (too much cheese!)
Maisy, supervising
But hearing my doctor explain why the wild-caught salmon and free-range chicken we were eating wasn’t as healthy as I thought, I knew I needed to give a whole-food, plant-based diet a try.
I immediately went home, watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and ordered the book How Not to Die. (I HIGHLY recommend this read!) Hemant and I both found the science absolutely compelling.
That was in February of 2017, and we’ve never looked back. We’re healthier, happier and just feel "lighter" than ever. And the food we eat now—we think it’s delicious.