Bill Clinton dishes on vegan diet

After three years on a vegan diet, former President Bill Clinton says he doesn’t crave steak. But cutting back on bread has been tough.

"Heavily processed carbs, you really have to control that," Clinton told AARP in a recent interview about his eating habits. The former president, now 66, went on a strict diet after a health scare in 2010, and he says he's kept it up.

"I just decided that I was the high-risk person [for heart problems], and I didn't want to fool with this anymore. And I wanted to live to be a grandfather," Clinton said. "So I decided to pick the diet that I thought would maximize my chances of long-term survival."

Vegans don’t eat animal products, so fruits, vegetables and grains are okay but no meat or dairy.

"The main thing that was hard for me actually — much harder than giving up meat, turkey, chicken and fish — was giving up yogurt and hard cheese," the former president said. "I love that stuff, but it really made a big difference when I did it."

Clinton, famous for his hearty appetite in the White House, has admitted before that he cheats sometimes. But for the most part, he seems to like the new lifestyle. (It helps, of course, if someone is cooking for you.)

According to the article, Clinton usually has an almond-milk smoothie for breakfast, a green salad for lunch and often a quinoa dish or a veggie burger for dinner. He’ll snack sometimes on nuts ("Those are good fats," he explained) and gets creative when he has a craving.

If he wants something starchy, for instance, Clinton said, "You can make whipped cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes, and it's great."