About Gail Davis
So, Now What Do I
Eat? The Story....
At age 30, Gail Davis became acutely aware of how her
lifestyle affected her chances for a long and healthy
life. Two weeks after her father died of lung cancer
in 1986, she quit her 3 pack-a-day smoking habit...cold
turkey. Admittedly the most difficult thing she
had ever done, she hoped that this decision would prevent
her from suffering the same fate as her father.
A year later, when her pepperoni pizza-loving 31 year-old
best friend suffered a near fatal heart attack, Gail
took a closer look at her own eating habits. 35
lbs. overweight and lacking energy, she wondered why
she didn’t feel better after giving up cigarettes.
Then a colleague suggested she read John Robbins Pulitzer-Prize
nominated book, Diet for a New America. Gail learned
how the foods she ate affected not only her health,
but also the environment. She changed her diet forever
and that decision changed her life.
As she slimmed down and gained new energy, amazed friends
and even a few strangers approached her and asked her
what she was doing differently. She began explaining
the benefits of adopting a vegetarian diet, and while
all listened, most did not change their own eating habits.
Then over the next few years, she watched in horror
as one friend after another succumbed to diseases caused
in great part, by the foods they continued to eat.
A 32 year-old friend had her gallbladder removed. A
34 year-old business associate suffered a paralyzing
stroke. Three close friends, ages 27, 35, and 38 were
each diagnosed with breast cancer. At the funeral of
one friend, Gail vowed to be ever more diligent in educating
people about the hazardous effects of our Standard American
Diet.
She began lecturing to diverse audiences about the high
fat, cholesterol, and protein content of our meat and
dairy-based diets. She recommended her favorite vegetarian
cookbooks, but later learned that most of these ended
up collecting dust in kitchen cupboards. While people
were willing to make dietary changes, most felt intimidated
by the prospect of learning a whole new way to cook.
And many others feared that eating healthier meant feeling
deprived.
So Gail changed strategies and began lecturing in her
home. There she would empty out her own kitchen cupboards
turning her audience on to delicious plant-based foods
that closely resembled the taste and texture of their
animal-based counterparts, but without the fat and cholesterol.
She introduced many hard-core carnivores to vegetarian
burgers that taste and smell like real hamburgers, chicken-free
nuggets, fishless tuna, and dairy-free milk, sour cream,
cheese, and yogurt.
With rates of heart disease, stroke, obesity, osteoporosis,
and cancer on the rise, Gail realized the need to introduce
these great tasting, vegetarian foods to a wider audience.
Two years of research and taste-testing resulted in
the ground-breaking book, So, Now What Do I Eat?
The Complete Guide to Vegetarian Convenience Foods.
With this book, Gail hopes to help many more people
learn how to stock their own kitchens and enjoy heart-healthy,
delicious, and nutritious fare that requires no more
preparation than a TV dinner!
