That’s me on the right! Talking nutrition for breast cancer risk reduction on Good Morning Washington with anchor Julie Wright
Hi and welcome to Veggie Quest—I’m delighted you’re here! I’m Lee, a registered dietitian loving my real-food, plant-based diet—including loads of slimming and sassy vegetables.
I launched Veggie Quest in 2010 following a breast cancer scare (read more below). When I stick to a whole-food, plant-based plan, my breasts—and the rest of me—feel better than ever.
However, I know first-hand that eating more veggies and whole plant foods can be tough at times, especially when it seems like the world is conspiring against you! Whether from stress, social pressure, or straight-up cravings, I’ve slipped back into the quagmire of refined, junky foods more times than I care to count. Thankfully, though, I always manage to climb back out—in part because I feel better when I eat plants, but also thanks to the kindness and support of readers like you. (You’re wonderful!) As a result, my passion is helping you (and me!) love a veggie-rich, plant-based diet that slims and nourishes your body while delighting your taste buds.
I do this by sharing tips and developing easy plant-based recipes for making healthy eating delicious and fun! (Click here to learn more about what you’ll find on Veggie Quest.)
Embracing evidence-based eating
While I’m an adventurous cook and recipe developer, I’ve also studied biology and nutrition extensively. I earned my bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Virginia (Wahoowa!), completed graduate coursework in nutrition at UNC-Chapel Hill, and earned a certificate in plant-based nutrition from Cornell University. I’ve also completed a didactic program in dietetics at the University of Maryland, which is the first step towards becoming a registered dietitian. I’m passionate about learning how food can protect your health while making you look and feel fabulous, and nothing makes me happier than sharing that information with you.
So I do my best to stay current on nutrition: I read up on new research, network with professionals, and attend conferences to learn the latest.
That said, as much as I love nutrition now, my journey from fake food to veggie-centered fare was anything but a straight line—and fraught with peril along the way…
My story: from SAD and scared to happily nourished
SAD: How I used to eat
I confess: I used to hate vegetables, as you can read in my very first post. In fact, for most of my life, I ate the Standard American Diet (SAD!)—meaty, cheesy stuff like pizza and chicken and dessert almost every night, with some veggies on the side so I could still feel virtuous. When I went out on weekends, I sometimes drank more than a gal should, and followed up my night out with bacon and eggs the next morning. I knew I should eat better, and of course I wanted to lose weight, but I just wasn’t motivated. I mean, I was only in my twenties, right? What could possibly go wrong?
Breast health havoc
Then at the ripe old age of 30, I had a breast cancer scare. My biopsy results blessedly came back benign, but they showed I could have increased risk down the road. So I met with a breast surgeon and asked her what I should do. She gave me a little health advice, but basically said to watch and wait.
Now, I’m a worrier on a good day; “watching and waiting” isn’t really my thing! Instead, I researched the heck out of nutrition and breast cancer risk. I read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, checked out countless research papers, and explored vetted websites like the American Institute for Cancer Research and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Eventually, I concluded I needed to minimize alcohol, processed food, and animal products, while building my diet around whole plant foods—especially cancer-fighting vegetables!
So, with some trepidation, that’s exactly what I tried to do. However, shortly into my new health kick, I realized that a woman could only eat so many boring salads and sauteed greens before going insane. So in an attempt to branch out, I launched Veggie Quest, with the goal of trying—and liking—every vegetable in the grocery store. I posted recipes and tips, dropped 5 pounds effortlessly, and everything hummed along swimmingly.
Off the wagon and under the knife
Then I fell off the wagon. It’s a long story, but I stopped exercising and went from being nearly vegan to eating a meaty, sugary, high-fat diet without many veggies. When I went back to my breast surgeon for my quarterly checkup after 4 months on my meaty new diet, she informed me that a lump that she’d been keeping an eye on—which had been totally stable before—had doubled in size in those same 4 months.
I was terrified. A suspicious breast lump doubled in size—in only 4 months?
Within a week I was under the knife, having the lump removed and biopsied. A few sleepless nights later she delivered the news: benign! But it wasn’t all roses: The cells she took out were beginning to look more ominous.
Taking control with plant-based nutrition–especially vegetables!
Needless to say, I started working out again and got right back to a whole-food, plant-based regimen, including lots of vegetables! I ditched added oils almost completely and tried to stick to lower fat foods. In fact, for the most part, I’ve eaten that way ever since. It’s been over three years since my last surgery, and so far all reports are clear. (Fingers crossed!)
Better still, as I’ve gotten healthier, Veggie Quest has, too. Gone is the cheese, and nearly all of the oil. All the recipes on Veggie Quest are now 100% vegan (I nixed some of my early recipes/posts which included cheese, and I’m in the process of revising others). Most are also low fat, and all are packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals to keep you looking and feeling fantastic.
Beautiful benefits
Beyond being a whole lot less freaked out about the Big C, there are major benefits to eating lots of veggies on a lower-fat, plant-based plan. Once I got back on track, I lost 10 more pounds without counting calories! In fact, I’m back at my high school weight. And when I stick to the plan and keep my stress levels in check, the breast pain I’ve struggled with since my teens eases dramatically.
Better yet, the people I love are benefiting, too.
My tall Texan husband, Jeff—formerly known for his steak-chowing prowess—joined me on the plant-powered plan for moral support. (Thanks, handsome!) Well, he’s dropped 35 pounds and his borderline high blood pressure has come down to normal. Not too shabby!
Jeff (a.k.a. Hubby Veggie Quest) and Me
My parents are getting on board, too. When I made the switch, my mom also ditched animal products and started eating more veggies and less processed food. As a result, she’s lost over 100 pounds! My dad’s also eating less meat and dairy—and more veggies—these days. My family even helps out with Veggie Quest now, whether testing recipes, giving feedback, or writing the occasional post.
That said, eating a less-processed, plant-based diet isn’t always easy, and I won’t lie—I’m not perfect. But here on Veggie Quest I try to tell it like it is, while sharing recipes and tips to make looking good, feeling great, and loving your vegetables deliciously easy!
I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Hi Lee,
I collect interviews for the VN DPG’s Meet Our Members column. I see you have a blog and are a future RD, correct? Are you currently a student member?
I took a quick look at your blog and I must say – well done! It’s inspiring.
If you are interested, please email me at my home email account and remind me of your full name and blog site. My email is: aldenton14@gmail.com
Take Care,
Amanda
Hi Amanda, thanks for reaching out! I emailed you back and look forward to hearing from you. Let me know if for any reason the message didn’t reach you!
Hi
I certainly don’t want to lose weight. But switching to plant based recipes have me losing weight and my GP said I’m not getting enough calories and absorbing nutrients. I’m 5ft 4 in and weigh 106 and have no health problems but I would like to gain at least 7 lbs and am losing instead. What do you suggest Lee Crosby?
Suzanne
Lee, I was surfing and ” found” you. I became a total vegan for the same reason as you did. I did have cancer. had the lump removed, There also were other health scares that come with the poor eating habits of everyday life so I changed my style of eating 20 years ago. ( so did my hubby). I follow Dr. McDougall and Barnard as well, but I learned so much before as a dietician and RN. Meat never made much sense to me. Now I am retired from my professions and my husband and I are healthy and strong at 79 and 78 respectively. By the way, I became a RN in addition to my dietetic degree, because doctors and patients did not understand nutrition and being or becoming healthy with good whole fresh foods such as legumes, veggies, fruits and grains.
Hi Kerstin, I’m delighted you found me! I’d love to hear more about your story and maybe even pick your brain about nutrition care. I’m starting my dietetic internship in August, so I’m trying to learn as much as I can before I jump in the deep end—especially because the modern health care (sick care?) system hasn’t exactly embraced the importance of nutrition. (Much less plant based nutrition!)
Speaking of meat not making sense, I learned just last night in a talk by Dr. Michael Greger (of NutritionFacts.org fame) that the only reason the DASH diet contains meat at all is to make it more “acceptable” to typical Americans. DASH was actually based on data showing that vegetarians consistently have lower blood pressure than omnivores. Crazy, no?
Hi Lee, I just saw you for the first time on a youtube interview. Great interview! I have a request re some of your recipes. Pls email me. If I can find your email (microsoft hotmail/outlook software engineers decided to upgrade their hotmail program, which means it now confuses me and I often can’t find things–ha! ) so, if I see your email, I’ll pose my question. Thanks!
I found your site from a reference by the University of Virginia. Both of my Hoo daughters are vegetarian and my wife and I are trying to eat more veggies to control our blood sugar and blood pressure. You website is very informative. Well done, Wahoowa!
Hi Liem, so glad to hear that you and your wife are taking control of your health and that your girls are ahead of the curve! If you want to go even further with reversing pre-diabetes or even diabetes, you might check out Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes. It’s an informative and entertaining look at the root cause of diabetes (high blood sugar is just a symptom)–and how to undo it.
Of course, I’m also delighted to hear from a fellow Hoo! 🙂 Please be sure to visit again and leave a comment when you do–I’d love your feedback!
Hi Lee! Thanks for putting solid info back out into the world and sharing your story! I do wonder what your reason is for going low fat, if I may ask. As a fellow student of nutrition I find that one of the biggest problems vegans have is not getting enough fat which is imperative for brain health, absorbing fat soluble vitamins, adding omega 3’s to your diet and upping calorie intake since it can be hard (though not impossible, obviously!) to get enough calories on a vegan diet. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Laura, great points and great question.
I (try to) eat a lower-fat diet, around 15-20% of kcal from fat, because it’s proven to decrease estrogen levels and increase levels of estrogen-binding protein in the body. This helps me in 2 ways. First, I notice a dramatic reduction in breast pain when I stick to a lower fat diet (which I’m actually not super great at, whoops). Second, decreasing circulating estrogen is linked to lower breast cancer risk. Since I’ve had breast lesions in the past that put me at higher risk down the road, I’m all for whatever helps! (For data to back this up, see this article, this meta-analysis, and one of my favorite studies of all time here.)
That said, I do eat some high-fat foods. I eat at least 1 oz of nuts/seeds or avocado, and 2 Tbsp of ground flax seed, hemp seed, or chia seed for omega-3s. (Mostly flax seed.) I try to get my fat from whole-food sources instead of oil, I take my vitamin D with ground flax in the morning for absorption, my almond milk has a little fat and is high in vitamin E, and I try to include some nuts/seeds in my salads for max absorption. (Although I eat absurd amounts of vitamin A and K rich foods.)
I’ve personally never had trouble getting enough calories on a vegan diet, lol! But for those who do, you’re right: whole-food fats are definitely a good option. (Avocado woot!) And omega-3s are definitely a “nutrient of concern” for vegans, especially for vegan men who don’t convert ALA to DHA and EPA efficiently.
Hope that explains my eats a bit, and thanks for the question. I can tell you’re on top of vegan nutrition issues! 🙂 If you ever want to nerd out about this stuff with me sometime, just shoot me an email: Lee at veggie-quest dot com.
I am a registered dietitian too and love your story! I love Forks over knives movie, recipes and the movement behind it! Its a struggle and I fall off the wagon so to speak but do try to eat a plant based diet. Lately i am also learning the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics..meaning eating certain foods to promote the healthy gut bacteria. Are you familiar with this? There is an excellent book I am reading now called “The gut balance revolution” by Dr. Gerard Mulling.
Hi Lorraine, do you live in the DC area and want to grab coffee? Because I feel like we could geek out about nutrition for hours! I’m very familiar with prebiotics and probiotics, and I think both are great. (Thankfully, a plant-based diet is really rich in prebiotics, so we’re covered.) Because they’re so rich in resistant starch, I actually call beans “DIY probiotics,” which patients get a kick out of. 😄
I haven’t read The Gut Balance Revolution, but it’s going on my Amazon wish list right now! I did read his first book, though, The Inside Tract. Talk about a compelling story, though, wow, does Dr. Mullin have one. Please stay in touch, and thanks for stopping by!
Hi, Lee. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes! My 10 year old daughter has sensory motor integration challenges and is on a food adventure to try new things. To help motivate her, I’m helping her create a YouTube channel and blog to help other kids be adventurous in trying new foods.
She would like permission to use your avocado chocolate peanut butter pudding recipe for her YouTube cooking video. May we please use it and provide a link back to your site? It’s very yummy!
Thanks so much!
Oh gosh, Gera, I’m so sorry I missed your comment! I’m sure it’s too late, but you are 100% welcome to use the recipe with a link back! What’s the link to her YouTube channel? I’d love to check out her videos! 🙂
Are you sure “soy” is included in a plant based diet? Everything I’ve read about a plant based diet says you should avoid all soy products. Am I wrong?
Hi Bernie, great question! Minimally processed soy, including whole soybeans (edamame), tofu, tempeh, and soy milk are all fine on a plant-based diet. In fact, data suggests soy may have health benefits. Consuming soy is linked to a lower risk of both breast cancer and prostate cancer. For breast cancer survivors, eating soy is linked to a lower risk of recurrence. A great fact sheet with full references to scientific articles is here: http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/soy-and-your-health
Note that isolated soy supplements, however, are not advised on a plant-based diet. (Nor any diet, for that matter, unless prescribed by a healthcare provider!)
Hope that helps; there’s a lot of misinformation out there on soy! That said, you don’t need to eat soy to be healthy. If you don’t like it or it doesn’t agree with you, by all means leave it off your plate.
Hey Lee,
I have some questions for you regarding who can/should give nutrition advice? I was at the PCRM conference this past weekend and wanted to talk with you, but you are a popular girl :).
I am a cardiac sonographer and want to talk with my pts but sometimes don’t want to overstep as I am not an RD.
I have some other question for you if you would not mind emailing me about possible programs you like to start at an outpatient cardiology office and about RD degrees.
thanks,
Kalyn
Hi Kalyn, just sent you an email. (At long last!)
Hi Lee! I was just surfing around on youtube looking for plant-based doctors addressing ketogenic diets and who do I see being interviewed in Keto Diet Goes Wrong? You, my dear! You were wonderful! I am so proud of you, and thanks for being a part of that. I just shared it on my blog’s facebook page. Happy New Year!! xoxo
Aww, thanks Maria! Sorry I’ve dropped off the radar so profoundly–I haven’t read any of my favorite blogs (including yours!!) or even posted on my own blog in many months! I’d ask how this happened, but I already know: busy job + too many projects + personal craziness. If you have any hints for learning to say “no” to requests I can’t reasonably take on in a kind but firm way when it’s in my own best interest, I’m all ears. I hate to disappoint people more than most, but self-care is important! Clearly a life skill I’m still working on. 😉 Hope all is well with you!!
Oh Lee, I feel for you–it’s hard to say no! I have been practicing for years. And I have a blog post about it! https://fatfreevegan.com/slowmiracle/2015/04/12/knowing-when-to-say-no/
I hope something in it will speak to you. Much love– so good to hear from you!! xo
Hi, Lee! Big fan of yours on the PCRM podcast!
I was told today by a Gastro N.P. that I may be eating too much fiber! She asked me to keep track of soluble and insoluble fiber in my food. I’m not sure of the best source to find that out, and was hoping you had a tip for a fellow-fiber queen? Keep up the good work spreading the word about how beneficial a plant based lifestyle is to fight disease. =)
Hi Michelle, thanks for your kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply. Of course I can’t speak to your specific case, but in general, if someone is in good health, has a healthy gut, and isn’t aren’t taking fiber supplements, it’s exceedingly unlikely they’d be getting too much fiber from food. (Even on a whole-food, plant-based diet.) That said, in some conditions–for example during times of acute gastrointestinal distress–a lower-fiber diet has a place.
I don’t know of any food tracking apps that can show the breakdown of fiber into soluble and insoluble components. However, if you’re truly hard core, the USDA’s Food Composition Database will display soluble vs. insoluble fiber in most foods. (Although you’d have to keep your running tally in a separate Excel file or app). Here’s the database: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
Good luck, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Hey Lee!!
Since starting my plant based journey I have found a deep love for nutrition and nutrition research. I am almost 40 so it may be a late start but where would you recommend I start if I was considering looking into the nutritionist\dietitian path?
Thanks so much for taking the time! All of you are my super heroes. One day I’ll make it to DC and The BMC is first on my list to see after the Smithsonian 🙂
Justin N
Hi Justin, sorry, this is the slowest response of all time–Veggie Quest languished for far too long! If you’re still interested in becoming a dietitian/nutritionist, it’s not too late at all. If you’re still considering the path (and haven’t started down it yet, lol) feel free to email me at leliav2.0 at veggie-quest.com and I’ll share whatever advice/info I can! 🙂
Lee, are you still with BMC? When I go to their website, I don’t see any of the people who are usually on the Exam Room Podcast. I am still listening to older podcasts (doing them in order), but I think I’m in 2018. How do I find y’all? (you, Maggie, Susan, Dr. Neebor (sp?) )??
Hi Kathleen, thanks for reaching out! I’m no longer with BMC, but I’m going to be rebooting Veggie Quest shortly, so you’ll see me here! 🙂 I’m not currently seeing clients, but it’s definitely a possibility for the future. Hope you enjoy the podcasts–they were a blast to record!