Plant Chat: Plant-Based Supermarket Dietitian Molly Hembree, RDN

I’m so happy to have Molly Hembree on my blog today. Molly is the only plant-based supermarket RD that I know of! She is a leader in her field. Molly is a retail dietitian coordinator for The Little Clinic of Kroger. She provides in-store nutrition consultations, tours, wellness classes and other health promotions for the Columbus, OH, market. She writes expert content and acts as a nutrition subject matter expert for The Kroger Co. She obtained her BS in Dietetics from Eastern Kentucky University and is a current graduate student at the University of Cincinnati towards her MS in Nutrition. Molly is a Certified Food Safety Manager by the FSP National Registry. She holds two weight management certificates and is a member of both the Food & Culinary Professionals and Vegetarian Dietetic Practice Groups of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Her interests include Zumba, hiking, and reading. It was so fun to sit down with Molly and ask her about her inspiration and journey. Listen in on our conversation here.

Tell us a little bit about your own plant-powered journey. What interested you in nutrition, and then specifically, plant-based eating?

Interestingly enough, being a registered dietitian was what I always wanted to be when I grew up. My dad actually mentioned in his speech at my wedding that when I decide on something, I commit myself to it and don’t have a back-up plan. I think the interest first began when I was a pre-teen, playing softball and soccer, and realizing that something about my food choices had to be affecting my activities. Through high school, this blossomed as a passion for science, cooking, label reading, and a more holistic view of health. Soon enough, it came time to select a college, where I chose Eastern Kentucky University for its BS Dietetics (and marching band!) program.

My journey to a plant-based diet was unique: it was almost overnight. I went from having an omnivorous diet, consuming dairy, eggs, poultry, meat, and seafood every week (if not every day!) to a vegan one, almost instantly. My husband gets the credit here as he stumbled upon the documentary “Forks Over Knives” in December 2011 and convinced me to watch it with him one afternoon. What struck us both about the film was how we should think about putting plants at the center of our plate for a multitude of reasons including animal welfare, environment, and health.

As a dietitian, we are taught to encourage “well-balanced” diets which incorporate all food groups and are “not restrictive”; however I loved the idea of challenging this. I knew that conscious food preparation, a varied whole foods approach, and attention to nutrients that could be more likely overlooked in strict plant-based eating, would achieve an even better diet platform for health. (Spoiler alert: I was right!).

What sort of benefits have you seen from eating a plant-based diet in your own life?

The changes I’ve seen are those that I’ve felt but probably not those outside my circle of friends/family would notice. Being vegan has made me feel like a more compassionate human being. I value all living creatures even more than I did before and I feel incredible that I do not participate in their suffering for consumption or entertainment. I have not seen dramatic changes in my body weight (however I would say that with the higher number of calories I consume and the fact I’m not getting any younger, I think my weight is more stable than it would be if I ate animal products), nor lab values (yet it appears my LDL cholesterol went down about 10 points a few months after becoming vegan, and has stayed there since). I think a benefit from a plant-centered approach is it gently forces you to try new foods and flavors, which has wound up broadening my ingredient and meal choices.

What are your greatest challenges from eating this way, and how do you overcome them?

I’ve never felt I’ve really struggled in maintaining a strict plant-based (vegan) diet. The biggest hurdle sometimes is what to do when we (my husband and I) eat out. Unfortunately on occasion this means an easy tossed salad with oil and vinegar, French fries, and a light beer is the only choice! However, thankfully our friends and family know we take our lifestyle seriously and will easily opt for Mexican (veggie fajitas, beans, guacamole, salsa, etc.), Italian (pasta, marinara sauce, minestrone soup, breadsticks, etc.), Lebanese (tabbouleh, hummus, pita, etc.) or Asian (tofu, veggies, brown rice, etc.) instead for us.

What’s it like being a supermarket RD? 

I have been a supermarket dietitian since May 2011 with The Kroger Co., and truly feel I have found my niche as a dietitian. I love that retail dietitians are a small but mighty group: leading the frontier of arming the grocery store to be a wellness destination. I was recently talking to a local pharmacy student entering his fellowship who was in disbelief that supermarket dietitians are a newer concept and current statistics put retailers as one of the most unlikely sectors of the profession for dietitians to work. He was astonished by this as we agreed that the role of the RD and the grocery store setting is one of the very first steps in preventative health: the food choices we make on our weekly shopping trip.

As a supermarket RD, I have also found I have a passion for food science, regulations, labeling, agriculture, and food safety, which can all be explored in tandem as a nutrition professional in this setting for our customers.

Tell us what foods are in your fridge right now!

My fridge is decorated with color from Boston lettuce, carrots, a vine-ripened tomato, cucumber, pomegranate, orange bell pepper, and sweet white onion. I also have one extra-firm tofu and one firm tofu (as any good vegan does), 100% whole white wheat bread loaf, Simple Truth Organic Unsweetened Soy Milk (it’s amazing how much I don’t miss the added sugar or vanilla flavor!), Earth Balance Light margarine, and a local vegan bakery chocolate cupcake leftover from my husband’s birthday (don’t know how that’s still there, it will be gone by tonight!). In the freezer sits some jackfruit meat alternative packages, ground “beef” meat analogs, and frozen mango and blueberries for smoothies.

What are your favorite go-to meals?

Some fav go-to’s are: mushroom stroganoff, Sloppy Joes, vegan “ribs” with coleslaw, stuffed mushrooms, and Tofurky sandwiches. As you can tell these are often dubbed “man meals” by my husband. We find that at the end of a long workday, it’s nice to have an easy savory dish that mimics the original meat-oriented dish either by taste, consistency, or texture. The Sloppy Joes are made with a sodium–free spice mix, tomato paste, and meatless crumbles, while the “ribs” are created with vital wheat gluten, smoked paprika, and low-sodium BBQ sauce.

What tips do you have for people who want to try a plant-based diet, but don’t know how to get started?

Unlike me, I think an easy transition is best for most. When I first became vegan I felt the best way to a plant-based diet was to make a handful of radical changes each day. However, I now find that the purpose of plant-based eating is to move the dial from animal to plant. The more easy substitutions (think non-dairy yogurt in place of yogurt, soy or almond milk in place of milk, hummus in place of ranch dip, or a black bean burger in place of beef burger), the more likely someone can start to see how it fits into their own lives.

Please share your favorite plant-based recipe.

I have many favorite recipes, however a recent favorite is “Deviled Tomatoes” by Nava Atlas of “VegKitchen.com”. This picture I took myself of the dish Easter morning this year. I love the slight crunch of the Roma tomatoes, with the mixture of vegan mayo, pureed chickpeas, and nutritional yeast.