Following Clinton’s Lead: A Plant-Powered Presidency?

I’d like to think Clinton’s extolling the virtues of veggies… Photo credit: The White House from Washington, DC, (P071410PS-0349), via Wikimedia Commons

Have you heard?

Bill Clinton has adopted a plant-based diet: no meat, eggs, or dairy, and little added oil. Yes, this former fast food fan now eats fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. (Did I mention vegetables?)

Why the shift? Clinton’s wake-up call came in the form of a quadruple bypass surgery in 2004, followed by a 2010 procedure to have stents placed in a clogged bypass vein. Following his second procedure, Clinton transitioned to a plant-based diet in a bid to reverse his heart disease, as he explained in a 2010 interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer:

“Moderate changes weren’t enough to help [Clinton] reverse or prevent heart disease.” said Dr. Dean Ornish, a cardiologist who has worked with Clinton, in an ABC interview, “So he began following more of a plant-based diet. In our studies, we show that can actually reverse the progression of heart disease.”

Luckily, Clinton is not only taking control of his health, but enjoying his new way of eating.

“I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now,” Clinton told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta in a 2011 interview. As an added bonus, Clinton lost more than 20 pounds, and by all reports feels great.

A Time for Vegetable Greatness
With the election looming, I was thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if the next POTUS–regardless of who wins–followed Clinton’s lead and ate a little less meat and a few more vegetables? So, I decided to give both Obama and Romney a little help. Since we’re bipartisan here on Veggie Quest, I pulled one of each candidate’s meatiest recipes–the Obama family chili recipe and Mitt’s favorite meatloaf cakes–and remade them with whole-food, plant-based ingredients.

Now I need you to weigh in: whose election eat looks the tastiest? Click here to see the recipes and vote in the Obama chili vs. Romney “meat” loaf showdown!

Who do you think eats more veggies: Obama or Romney? Tell me all about it in the comments below!