Hey! Iām Chuck, and welcome to my little corner of the internet. Since Iām late getting todayās post out today, and I still havenāt got a clue what to write aboutā¦
I figured Iād do a little overdue maintenance - as in a welcome post.
Iām Chuck and I have been a plant-based food blogger since 2013. The majority of the recipes I created are still on that original blog and are completely free. Iāll drop that link here so you can find it easily if recipes are your thingā¦.
And that lovely lady beside me is my wife Rhonda (also plant-based). And yep - we are the ONLY 2 āvegansā in our entire family.
You can also find me on Facebook and Youtube if you search for brandnewvegan. To be honest, I donāt do tik tock? or Instagram, but I AM here on Substack which I truly love.
My Credentials
I have an Associate Degree in Electrical Engineering - because that is SO important to be plant-basedā¦. š¤£. Seriously, my career job was a maintenance tech for hi-tech companies like Texas Instruments, Qorvo, and Intel.
I was basically a glorified Maytag Repairman for over 30 years - mostly working the night shift. Anybody else remember this guy or am I just that old?
BUTā¦. I do have a certificate from T. Colin Campbellās Plant Based Nutrition Courseā¦. if that matters. ANDā¦. I have been eating this was since 2008.
So there IS that.
My Focus
In the beginning, I was all about the food (recipes), mostly I guess because I was still figuring it out for myself back then. Now? I eat pretty simply, keeping to whole foods as much as I can but not beating myself up if I donāt.
Food is importantā¦.. VERY important, but itās not my entire focus anymore.
While I will always consider Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn my gurus - lately Iāve been studying the works of another plant-based doctor - Dr. Dean Ornish.
And while he emphasizes food too - he also talks about the importance of exercise, stress management, and human connection. These are what he calls āthe 4 pillars of healthā and they are
Eat Well
Move More
Stress Less
Love More
And the older I get, that just makes the most sense to me. So here on this Substack, I talk about all 4 of these pillarsā¦. not just food.
My Substack Schedule
While I write every day,
Mondays are for MOVE MORE, so you will see me gently nagging you to move your body more on that day
For the paying subscribers,
I do recipes on Wednesdays and Fridays, complete with downloadable recipe cards and a step-by-step video showing you how.
I also do a morning livestream every Mon, Tues, Thursday, and Fri from 9am to 9:45 Pacific time. We talk about anything and everything but mostly itās for that human connection I talked about - the LOVE MORE pillar. Because sometimes itās just nice to chat and hang out with like-minded people.
I know - everybody is charging for their content nowadays. I hear you and I understand you canāt pay all of us. But at the same time - I have a mortgage to pay too and since I (and a lot of other bloggers) have mostly lost their ad income from google - we have to find ways to keep the lights turned on soā¦..
So Thanks and Welcome
Whether youāre a paying subscriber or not - I truly appreciate you being here. I try to offer a variety of content for everyone. If there is something specific you would like me to cover - please drop me a line.
Iām just a regular guy like all of you, still figuring this out as I go. I hope you find it helpful, or at the very least ā¦. a little entertaining.
Welcome to my substack.
FYI I made stir fry veggies (and your grandson's favorite tofu) with ramen, the frozen stir fry veggies came with a stir fry sauce - I had made your stir fry sauce and was going to use it for my veggies - I thought my granddaughter would prefer the included stir fry sauce with the veggies but when I asked her which she wanted she chose yours. She likes your stir fry sauce better than store bought and no wonder, it's delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I enjoy your live stream and you do so much for all of us. It is appreciated!
Recipes are always delicious.