This is really easier than you think!  People come to me and say they just don't know how to do this...how to change their eating habits from the foods we were raised on.  Today, however, we also have "convenience" foods, fast foods, and processed artificial foods full of chemicals.  We just need to take the first step in eating healthier....most people like to do this one step at a time....eliminating processed foods, fast foods, and foods with ingredient lists a paragraph long with ingredients we cannot pronounce let alone know what they are.  This is not REAL FOOD!

Our bodies are the most amazing operating machine on this planet.  We have more high-tec gadgets than we know what to do with, but NOTHING holds a candle to the operating mechanisms of our body.  Our body is designed to protect us from toxins that may enter through the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.  

When we give our bodies REAL FOOD, food that is not chemically processed that comes right from nature, our bodies can perform miraculous feats.  We can heal ourselves from so many different medical issues, including chronic disease, heart disease, diabetes, kidney issues, GI issues, etc.  All we have to do is EAT REAL FOOD.  It really doesn't get much simpler than that!  The following are some of  the most common "issues" people have when it comes to changing their eating habits:

1. Fearful.  People are "afraid" they won't know what to eat, or will feel hungry eating a plant based diet.  Really, it isn't hard and you eat until you are full.  When you eat real food, vegetables and fruits, you can eat as much as your heart desires!  You are not eating empty calories...there are no empty calories in fruits and vegetables!  Add in some legumes, (chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, white beans, peas),  whole-grains and small amounts of nuts and seeds, and you have nature's perfect diet!
2. Detox reactions.  Because we are so full of chemicals, processed foods and artificial preservatives, our bodies may go through a "detox phase".  It's clearing out all the garbage!  Some people may experience hives, stomach discomfort, or even flu-like symptoms, (I never experienced any of this, but some people do), but it only lasts a matter of a few days and then the transformation begins and it is amazing!  Your energy soars; people have felt "lousy" for so long, they've forgotten what it feels like to feel good!
3. Feel secluded.  People ask me all the time if I go out to eat....they automatically think that it's impossible to eat out unless you can find a "Vegan" restaurant, or if going to a party you have to bring your own food.  This is SO NOT TRUE.  I prefer to eat at home most of the time because I know what I am eating, BUT, every restaurant I've been in has vegetables.  I usually get a HUGE green salad with whatever vegetables they have....and many restaurants have all kinds of different types of salads with really excellent ingredients in them.  If I choose a salad that has something in it I don't want, ( i.e., some type of meat or cheese), I just ask for that to be excluded.  I never have a problem eating out...EVER!
4. Can't afford to eat healthy.  WHAT??  THE GREATEST WEALTH IS HEALTH!  Not being able to afford to eat healthy is just not true.  If you are eating most of your meals at home, choosing mostly vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole-grains, you are SAVING MONEY.  I've said this before, the most expensive item in a grocery store is meat....not bell peppers, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, eggplant, etc.  By eating a Whole-Food Plant-Based diet, you are flooding your body with optimal nutrition...no drug can ever do what REAL FOOD can do for you.  Ask a  person in poor health what they would spend to become healthy again.

The following is a recipe from FullyRaw.com.....I can't wait to try this!

FULLY RAW BURRITO
Ingredients:
1 LARGE collard leaf
1-3 colorful bell peppers
1/2 zucchini
1-2 shredded carrots
Juice of 3 lemons, (or less)
small bunch cilantro
green onions
Alfalfa sprouts (optional)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 avocado
red onion, spicy pepper, celery bits

AWESOMESAUCE
1/2 zucchini
small handful of sesame seeds
juice of lemons
green onions
1 red bell pepper
spicy pepper, optional

1. Take your collard leaf and trim the stem, do not cut it out, just trim it enough to take away the very thick part of the stem.
2. Lay out your leaf.
3. Blend the ingredients for the saucy spread listed above.  Spread over the back of the leaf.
4. Chop, slice, and dice all the other ingredients and layer them on top of the sauce on the leaf.
5. Top with a slice of avocado, sprouts or more sauce.
6. Fold in the sides and wrap around the ends.
7. Flip over the burrito and cut it in half with a knife.
8. Take a HUGE bite and enjoy!

This recipe sounds really easy and is made with REAL FOOD.  This doesn't require finding a "health food" store to purchase any exotic ingredients....you can find any of these foods in Hannaford, Price Chopper, or even Walmart!

Give this way of eating a try...your body will never stop thanking you!  Need help?  Please let me know....nutrition is my passion....I would love the chance to help you feel the way I do!!

Over the weekend, one of my favorite cardiologists, Dr. Dean Ornish, participated in a Food Summit Revolution with several other famous physicians.  I was able to dial-in to the teleconference and listen to the discussion.  The people that turned their lives around by following the nutritional plans advised by these physicians were amazing to say the least!

Dr. Ornish is the founder of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute, Forbes named him "One of the Seven  Most Powerful Teachers In the World", and is one of the physicians taking care of President Clinton, as well as several members of Congress.  When President Clinton had his heart attack, he decided to "radically" change his diet and Dr. Ornish is the physician that helped him make those changes.  

To completely abolish heart disease, (and this is absolutely possible to do with FOOD), you have to 'radically' change the food that goes in your mouth.  But it is NOT about deprivation and being hungry all the time....it's about eliminating the foods that caused the problems to begin with and replace them with lots of vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole-grains.  By stopping the foods that  cause inflammation in our bodies, foods that are full of saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, not to mention all the hormones and antibiotics that get pumped into animals,  you are cutting off the "source" of all the health issues we now face.  Of course, it's not only meat and dairy products, it's processed foods, artificial foods, and SUGAR.  

The annual amount of money spent on drugs in America is $300 BILLION.....this number is inconceivable to me.  And, the kicker is, drugs do not CURE anything!  Now, I'm not saying we don't EVER need drugs....What I'm saying is to PREVENT DISEASE FROM STARTING OR TO  CURE A DISEASE THAT HAS BEGUN,  diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc., follow a Whole Food Plant Based Diet.....this lifestyle change is more potent than any drug available.  

Dr. Ornish started a program in California where he completely changed the eating habits of all his patients.  These patients came to him with all kinds of medical conditions...heart issues, diabetes, kidney damage, etc.  The participants were on laundry lists full of medications when they began.  After completely changing their eating habits in a matter of weeks, these people dropped weight with EASE, started to be weaned off their medications, had more energy than they thought possible, and felt WONDERFUL.  The majority of patients are able to leave 'drug-free'.....their medical problems are CURED! There's a huge difference between CURED and taking a pill to TREAT a symptom.  

Medicare, as well as many other insurance companies, now cover patient's cost that go through Dr. Ornish's Lifestyle Program.  That is UNHEARD OF...insurance companies covering something like this.  However, they cover this program because patients are now CURED, off medications, and are not requiring physician visits constantly.....this program SAVES THE INSURANCE COMPANIES THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!  And we all know.....it's all about the almighty dollar.

After 36 years of studies, Dr. Ornish states it doesn't matter what your age is to begin this lifestyle change.  In the beginning stages, he thought younger people would get better faster and 'reap' the most benefit.  However, he says, he was wrong.  Age did not matter...what mattered was making the changes and living each day eating delicious, whole-food plant based dishes.  The longer people followed this plan, the healthier they became regardless of age.  

Remember, this is NOT A DIET....when you start a diet that means there is a start date and an end date...that doesn't work EVER!  We are inundated with diets, diet supplements, packaged foods that arrive on our doorstep, shakes and powders meant for meal replacements, pills and potions to take.....it's nothing but a HUGE MONEY MAKER for the people promoting this stuff....and, it doesn't work!  Now, when you follow most of these plans, you will lose weight; however, as soon as you 'stop the diet', all the weight comes back, and many times, even more.  And, these diets WILL NOT GIVE YOU OPTIMAL HEALTH.  In my mind, the goal is to be as healthy as you can be!

So, if you are ready to be healthy, and I mean TRULY  HEALTHY, then fill your grocery cart with all kinds of vegetables, fruits, beans and whole-grains.  There are a zillion recipes available for free on-line if you need them...the more you look the more sites pop up giving you all kinds of choices.  There are also videos everywhere showing you how to throw vegetables together to make delicious meals....most of the time time under 30 minutes!!

The next thing people say to me is they can't afford to eat healthy....the most expensive food item in the grocery store is MEAT...you will SAVE MONEY! Honestly, you will save money....But, with that being said, how much money would you be willing to spend to SAVE YOUR LIFE or a LOVED ONE'S LIFE?  There is no price tag....

If you need help making changes, let me know...email me...I would love for you to experience what I have!!

CNN did a report on what government tests found in meat that is being sold in our grocery stores all over America.  What they found is really unbelievable to me, but, what's even more unbelievable is, it's fine to sell this meat....this contamination meets safety standards.  Here's what the Food and Drug Administration found:

• All ground turkey tested, 81% was contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria.
• Pork chops tested, 69% contaminated
• Ground beef, 55%
• Ground chicken 39%, and 53% of chickens tested were tainted with E.coli that was antibiotic resistant

And this is only "ground" meat....read my previous blogs for what was found on our chicken supply...

In the meat tested, scientists found significant amounts of salmonella and Campylobacter---bacteria that causes millions of cases of food poisoning a year.  

What antibiotic resistance means is the antibiotics once used to kill these bacterias no longer work.  So many antibiotics are injected into these animals and mixed in with their feed, that the bacteria is becoming resistant to them.  In 2011, 29.9 million pounds of antibiotics were sold for meat and poultry production, compared to 7.7 million sold for human use, and that number is on the rise.  The antibiotics are not only used for treating sick animals, but antibiotics are put in animals feed and water to  help them grow "faster" and to compensate for their horrendous living conditions.  We are creating "superbugs" that antibiotics can no longer kill.  

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, stated antibiotics will no longer work to fight disease because too many bacteria have developed resistance to them.  

So, even though the scientists revealed all this contamination in meat, it is being sold in our markets today.  The meat industries state that the public has been instructed on how to handle and cook raw meat, so MOST of the bacteria SHOULD be killed during cooking....ARE YOU KIDDING ME??  This is their answer to this HUGE problem?

The next time you have vomiting and diarrhea and think it is a "stomach bug", you are probably right.  However, it most likely isn't from a virus that is going around.....you have a much better chance at getting this "stomach bug" from the meat you ate for dinner the night before.....

Instead of hamburgers, try this recipe....no antibiotics needed!!

BLACK BEAN BURGERS
6  15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2 carrots, grated
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t chili powder
2 t ground cumin 1/2 c salsa

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put beans in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.  Mash mixture well using a potato masher or your hands.
2. Form mixture into burger patties and place on a baking sheet.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes, until tops are browned.  

You can serve these burgers on whole-wheat buns with all the toppings such as tomato slices, lettuce, onions, etc.  

This probably won't come as a big surprise to you, but the United States ranks first among countries in soft drink consumption.  All this soda poses a significant risk factors for our children from not only obesity, but researchers are now finding soda causes impaired calcification stunting children's growth.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that carbonated soft drinks like Coke, are the largest source of calories in the American diet.  Coca-cola contains about 140 calories in a 12 oz. can, and 190 calories per 16 oz.  Now most of the calories in soda come from simple carbohydrates in the form of HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.  Coke does not contain any significant amounts of vitamins or minerals.  Drinking coke has nothing except empty calories that so many of us put in our bodies every single day.  And, remember, high fructose corn syrup is one of the WORST things we can put in our bodies!

When you drink a can of coke, the first thing that happens is your body absorbs all that sugar, (about 10 teaspoons OF SUGAR per can).  Within 20 minutes, the liver responds to the sugar rush turning sugars in the body into fat to be stored for later when we need energy.  As the body begins to adjust to all the sugar in Coke, the caffeine begins to take effect.  The caffeine absorption process begins within 15 minutes.  Caffeine causes blood pressure to rise....the rise of blood pressure will automatically process more sugar into the liver which turns that sugar into fat....and here comes the pounds!

Soft drink consumption is a major factor contributing to osteoporosis.  Soft drinks have also been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood.  When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones to compensate.  The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coke and Pepsi are very high and contain no calcium.  The result....osteoporosis.  Also, researchers have found by drinking 2 or more colas a day can cause kidney stones to form which leads to kidney damage.  Not to mention, Coke is one of the most acidic beverages on the market!

We really need to go back to the days when most families only drank soda for special occasions.  If there was a birthday party, or a holiday, that was the only time soda was offered.  Now, not only is soft drink consumption huge, (as well as waistlines), but the amounts being offered are massive.  We are getting nothing but empty calories from soda along with:

1. Obesity
2. Impaired growth in children
3. Osteoporosis
4. High risk of kidney stones
5. Risk of kidney damage

Not to mention, soft drinks puts the body in a very acidic state (remember, cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment). And that's not all....we all know how Coke can remove rust from metal....imagine what it does to the lining of our stomach? 


 Now, don't think you are in the clear because you drink DIET SODA....wait until I give you the facts about that...you may want to reconsider what you are spending your money on....

There is one thing we ALL have...choices.When I read this quote for the first time, I thought, WOW, Thomas Edison was so far ahead of his time!  What so many people don't know is, all we really need to do is eat a healthy diet to prevent so many diseases we have today.  Unfortunately, we have become a society of people wanting instant gratification....we want to 'have it now'...and this includes the food we eat.  We have busy lives and just want to grab something "quick".....we just don't want to be bothered making anything from scratch.  Convenience foods, fast foods, packaged "food".....this was the beginning of our health demise.

As I have stated before, doctors are trained in diagnosing a disease and prescribing a pill to "treat it".  However, there is more scientific evidence PROVING what eating a healthy diet can do to prevent disease, stop the progression of disease and many times reverse damage that has been done.  People say there is so much confusion out there regarding nutrition.  Well.....pay attention to WHERE this information is coming from.  

All of my information comes from purely reputable sources, i.e., Harvard, Berkeley, The Cleveland Clinic, and Cornell, just to name a few.  These institutions have nothing to GAIN by sharing with us their nutritional evidence.....they are not selling us anything...they are giving us unbiased information regarding nutritional excellence.  They have no reason to give us misinformation.  The nutritional information that comes out of all these scientific studies all show EXACTLY THE SAME RESULTS.....A WHOLE FOOD PLANT BASED DIET IS THE BEST DIET TO FEED YOUR BODY.  Every single study done, which includes thousands and thousands of people, gives us the same conclusions.

There are doctors out there that truly do treat their patients using this philosophy......CURE the patient with diet excellence, and these doctors have thriving, extremely healthy patients.  

What saddens me is there are so many people that really don't "believe" this way of thinking.  They feel "OK" right now, they may have some aches and pains, low energy, catch several "colds", but think this is normal.  Not until someone gets diagnosed with some sort of "scary disease", do they want to do everything in their power now to "fix" it.  I find the sickest patients are now the people that will DO ANYTHING to cure themselves.  Now they are grasping at straws and will do whatever it takes.

It doesn't have to be like this.....disease can be prevented from even starting.....all the evidence I spoke of earlier PROVES that.  Eating a whole-food plant based diet is THE BEST DIET for:  weight loss, heart disease, (which includes high blood pressure and high cholesterol), cancers, strokes, Alzheimer's disease, kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis, GI issues.....the list does not end!  Again, scientific evidence proves this over and over again.  

Why don't we have this information given to us on a daily basis?  Why are we in a health care crisis?   Why is heart disease still the #1 Killer in America?  Why is cancer now becoming accepted as a "normal disease" with so many people being diagnosed with it, today more than ever?  Why do we now have children with what used to be called Adult Onset Diabetes, but we had to change the name to Type 2 diabetes because we now are dealing with children as young as 9 with this disease?  

There are several "answers" to these questions:  all the processed and artificial "foods" we now eat, as well as the Meat and Dairy Industries.....they are extremely powerful associations with millions of dollars backing them....the "powers that be" within these organizations are so powerful that they decide what information will be given to the public regarding meat and dairy.  They know the effects that meat and dairy have on the human body, but the results aren't quite portrayed as such.  The same goes for the Food Industries making all the processed, artificial, chemical-laden food-like products....they also know what the artificial chemicals do to the human body...CEOs of companies have been quoted as saying that they don't allow their children to eat "this stuff".  Their rationalization is, this is what the people want, this is what people are buying, so this is what we will give them.....it makes them lots of money....

So, come with me....put your money where your health is....choose REAL FOOD....buy lots of fresh produce, vegetables and fruits...choose whole-grains, kidney beans, black beans, red beans, white beans....eat a rainbow of colors everyday. In recent blogs I have given ideas on how to make your own "fast food"....but the difference is this is REAL FOOD FAST!  It's easy, it's affordable, (more so than you think), any anyone can do this.

If everyone jumped on the wagon eating vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole-grains, we would be living a life pain-free, disease-free, and doctor-free for the most part. 

So, what are YOU waiting for?  Jump into my wagon and I will show you the way!!

When I saw this cartoon caption my first response was to laugh, but, it really is no laughing matter.  I pass a McDonald's twice a day, on my way into work at about 8:15 in the morning and again at 5:00.  The line of cars waiting to place their orders would astound you...it astounds me.  

The nutritional facts for McDonald's food is readily available for anyone that wants it....I don't know if we just don't want to know the facts, or, we just don't care.  

Remember, the #1 Killer in America is heart disease....can you guess which drug is in the top 3 sellers in America?  The answer is Lipitor...a cholesterol-lowering drug...it's a MULTI-million dollar block-buster drug.  

Because the fast-food industry is not going away, the "powers that be" for these companies thought maybe it would be a good idea to hand out packets of Lipitor to be sprinkled on their food....maybe this would protect their customers from the harmful effects their food had on the human body.  Their thought was, well, cigarettes have filters on them to "lower" the harmful effects to our lungs, so why not hand out cholesterol-lowering drugs with our food.  So what if that drug is loaded with toxic side effects....so is the food...so, I guess what these people are saying to us is, "Pick your poison".   I can't make this stuff up...

Is this what we really want?  Is this the choice we will make....picking drugs to take for the rest of the our lives to reduce the risk of damage to our heart muscle, not to mention all the toxic side effects the drug has on our body's?  And I am only talking about the effect fast food has on our cholesterol...fast food is also linked to several types of cancers, stroke, Alzheimer's disease.....the list just keeps getting longer.  

Eating a whole food plant based diet gives us more protection against any type of disease, than any drug on the market today.  Research scientists have done decades of scientific studies concluding that NOTHING can prevent disease, stop the progression of disease, or reverse disease like eating a plant based diet does.  NOTHING.  

I know this sounds too simplistic, but, it honestly is that easy.  By just spending a little bit of time in the kitchen preparing vegetables, whole-grains, and beans so they are ready to go during the busy work week is as easy as sitting in that line at McDonald's waiting to get cholesterol-laden, saturated fat-laden, zero nutritional value, "food".  Maybe make a big batch of soup with lots of vegetables, or a stew with vegetables, beans and greens.  The possibilities are endless.  

Over the weekend, I had my family at my house for Sunday dinner.  One of the dishes I made for myself, (and anyone else that wanted to try it....not everyone is on board in my family yet with a plant-based diet), consisted of layering zucchini in the bottom of a casserole dish, sprinkled diced tomatoes and nutritional yeast, (gives a cheese flavor, but loaded with  nutritional value including protein), then layered yellow squash, more tomato mixture, then a layer of mushrooms, tomato mixture, red peppers, tomatoes, then a layer of onions, and, I forgot to mention, spices with each layer.  I put more tomatoes and nutritional yeast on top, covered it in foil and put in the oven for about 30  minutes.  

I made the "traditional" Sunday dinner for my parents and others, (meat, potatoes, vegetables), and guess what dish was everyone's new favorite?  The thrown-together vegetable casserole that utilized the vegetables I had in the refrigerator!  The casserole dish I filled was quite large....there was one small serving left over.  Not bad for people that 'could never just eat lettuce'.  There are so many vegetables, fruits, whole-grains and beans to choose from....it's not about eating lettuce!!  

So, roll up your shirt sleeves and get into your kitchen...you can do this...it really and truly doesn't take rocket science to throw together really delicious dishes.  If you need help, check out all the recipes available on line...I tell you all the time, they are endless!

Before going through that fast food line and hearing the person say, "Do you want Lipitor with that?",  run home and grab some REAL FOOD....no drugs required!

Yesterday I came across a video on two reporters from Fox News that were assigned to begin a new segment on the news.  They were going to be called "investigative reporters"; their job was to investigate different subjects and report the facts to their viewers.  Wait until you hear what happened.....

They decided to do an investigative report on the bovine growth hormone in milk (rBST).  Monsanto is the corporation, (multi-billion dollar corporation) that manufactured this hormone.  (They are also the people that are responsible for all these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) found in our markets today....it's not "real" food).  These people are extremely powerful people..they are also responsible for making seeds that have their insect repellent chemical right inside the seed...  these seeds are designed to RUPTURE THE STOMACH of any insect feeding on it.....and, the farmers are required to purchase and grow them!  If you never heard of Monsanto before, look them up....

Back to the reporters....They realized Monsanto made this growth hormone to inject into cows to make them produce more milk faster.  Monsanto has in their panel of experts that are conducting the experiments and advising, university professors, experts in the field of nutrition, reporters and of course, the FDA.  Monsanto makes sure everyone is "well paid for their time".  

The trials using this growth hormone was a 90 day trial using 30 rats.  The report concluded that all 30 rats had serious health implications including cancer, after being fed this milk with the bovine hormone in it.  This happened in 90 days!! It was initially thought that the body would not absorb this hormone....well guess  The report stated that rBST did not comply with safety requirements...it had extremely serious health implications resulting in cancer!  The next thing you knew, Monsanto gets the federal government to slap their stamp of approval on this growth hormone that will now be injected into cows everywhere.  How could this happen??  Well, either Monsanto "misinformed" the federal government, or they just did not read the report.  Period.  

Well, when the reporters had all their facts together and put together their first TV segment, the "powers that be" stepped in.  When Monsanto got wind of this, they told Fox News if this segment aired, there would be "dire consequences" for Fox.  Of course, Monsanto is a HUGE SPONSOR for many TV stations.  This segment was suppose to air on a Monday, and this segment came to a halt on the Friday prior.  The manager of the station wanted "changes" to be made in the report--they had lawyers re-write the segment and offered the reporters an unheard of amount of money to report things the way the lawyers wanted it to be reported.  

The lawyers re-wrote the reporters story, taking out words such as "cancer" out and replacing it with health issues, and sent the reporters version after version after version to see if they would accept the changes and report this information.  The versions were changed 83 times!!!  

The reporters stated they absolutely WOULD NOT LIE about this mess they uncovered.  In good conscious they could not...their children were drinking this toxic poison in their milk!!  They realized the urgency of getting this information out in the public.  Well, Fox wasn't going to let this happen....

The station came up with a contract that stated they would "pay" the reporters not talk to anyone about the information they had against Monsanto, which meant they couldn't go to another station with this information.  So the reporters came up with another idea....they asked for the written copy of the "version" the lawyers wanted them to air and the lawyers did.  The reporters told the lawyers they would, under no circumstances, report this information because it was blatant lies.  The lawyers requested the material to be sent back to them and the reporters politely refused and took them to court.  

To make a very long story short, the initial court case awarded the reporters $425,000 in damages.  Of course, Fox appealed it.  In the end, the conclusion of the trial was, "It's NOT AGAINST the law to falsify news stories"!  Are you kidding me?  

Once again, the money wins.....so this growth hormone is being injected into livestock, our children are drinking this toxic cocktail, and Monsanto is getting richer, and richer and richer....at the expense of our health.  In Canada and Europe this bovine growth hormone is BANNED...it will never be used in their livestock so their people are protected....

I wonder what the Monsanto executives give their children to drink......

Transitioning over to a plant based diet is not as difficult as you may think. All it takes is a little planning ahead and prep work and you will be set for the upcoming week.  For instance, since today is Saturday, I will decide what dishes I want to make for the week, make a list of the food I will need and go grocery shopping.  If everyone in your household is moving towards a plant based diet, this is easy.  However, I am the only one totally on board with this in my household....my husband and youngest son are not totally on board yet, and I have my brother-in-law living with us for awhile...he's not totally on board either....so I am making two different meals for dinner.  They are slowly eliminating meats and dairy....baby steps....and that's OK....as long as we're moving forward.

My point is, this can be done with a little prep work.  So, once home from shopping, if you know you will need salad for the week, wash and chop up some vegetables and put them in ziplock bags.  Better yet, make your whole salad in a big bowl and transfer it into ziplock bags...ready to use when you need it....talk about convenience food!  By chopping vegetables and putting them into bags, you can come home from work and just grab whatever you need and starting throwing it together...the "hardest" part is done, the prepping.  

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, on the weekends make batches of brown rice, cook a big batch of beans, or any other whole-grain like quinoa.  Again, portion out single servings, or how ever many servings you need for a weeknight dinner and store in ziplock bags.  When you get home from work, there is no cooking rice or beans for 25-30 minutes, they are ready and waiting.  You can throw a dinner together in the same time it would take you to make a frozen "food-like product" in the microwave.  

For example, when you have some onions and garlic chopped up in small bags, you could get home, grab your bags of veggies, start sauteing the onions and garlic in a small amount of water, (NO OIL NEEDED...if you never tried this, what are you waiting for...you will NEVER miss the oil or the fat and calories), add whatever veggies you like, I add whatever I have in the fridge ready to go, I also add chop up kale, and some beans.  Then, depending what I feel like, I might add some marinara sauce, or some kind of sauce I have pre-made, (tons of recipes out there for all kinds of sauces and marinades....when you make your own you know the ingredients and it's SO MUCH CHEAPER and HEALTHIER), or, I may just add some kind of spices without any sauce.....it is delicious and under 30 minutes from fridge to table!  

When following a whole food plant based diet, the only rules are to eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, and beans.  The more colors on your plate the better!  Check out all the recipes available on-line, or get a couple cookbooks.  I remember when I started this, there were not many books available, I really had to search.  Now, Barnes and Noble has an entire aisle dedicated to plant based diets!  It's amazing.  One of my absolute favorite cookbooks is, The Everyday Happy Herbivore, by Lindsay Nixon.  The recipes are quick, easy, and made with food you can buy in your local grocery store.  That's just one book, I have several that have so many really good recipes.

So, let's get started on improving your health and preventing all kinds of horrible diseases....preventing something from happening is a whole lot easier than "fixing" something once it has begun.  Remember, if we are talking about the subject of cancer, (no one wants to discuss this), it takes billions of cancer cells to form together BEFORE it is detected.  This is not something that happens overnight.  By eating a plant-based diet, you are giving your body all the powerful ammunition it needs to "fight and kill" these cancer cells before they start forming together.

The same goes for heart disease....even if you have heart issues, they CAN BE REVERSED!  Cut out animal products in lieu of your chest!  When given the option of having your chest opened or eating from the plant kingdom, I think the majority of the people would choose the latter.  

It's never too late to start eating a healthy diet.  All the research shows  Health=Healthy Living:  that includes first and foremost:

1. Healthy Diet
2. Exercise
3. Sleep

By eating a plant-based diet, getting at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and getting enough sleep, you will be on your way to the best health you could have ever imagined.  As I write this blog, every single person in the medical practice I work in is sick with upper respiratory infections....coughing, sneezing, chest congestion, head congestion...there are 12 of us.....11 people are sick....1 is not.....

As always, if I can help you in anyway, please let me know....I would love to help you!

I was reading an article in Runner's World Magazine about a man, 91 years old, that ran the Knoxville Half Marathon in 3 hours and 4 minutes. His name is Mike Fremont from Cincinnati.....91 years old!!  He looks wonderful...you would think by looking at his picture running, that he was in his 70's...amazing to say the least.  

His story is one that I hear over and over again.  At 69 years old, he was diagnosed with cancer.  The more research he did on his own, the more he realized he had to take "drastic" steps in changing his diet.  He eliminated meat and dairy products...completely....and ate a strictly plant-based diet along with whatever other medical treatment his doctors prescribed.  Mike truly believes that because he got rid of the foods that probably started the whole "cancer process", (the same foods that "feed" cancer cells), he was able to shrink his tumors significantly, had them removed surgically, and  any other remaining cancer cells were "starved", resulting in their "death".  

Mike states that if he had not switched his ways of eating, he doesn't know if he would be here today.  He also attributes his running successes to feeding his body what it needs to perform optimally.  By eating a plant based diet, Mike believes his body is "running" at peak performance.  He states, "Training is important, but when you get to be my age, you're not going to train at all unless your body holds up.  I simply cannot overemphasize the importance of the plant based diet to my performance."

This is the kind of story we all should have.  It's not about living to be 110....it's about living life to the fullest no matter how old you are.  Earlier I had stated Mike had to "drastically" change his diet....changing your diet really isn't "drastic" at all....having to suffer the ravages of cancer or having your chest split in half to have bypass surgery, in my mind, is DRASTIC......eating vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole-grains doesn't sound drastic at all!!  Not to mention, any person that really takes on this way of eating and eliminates meat, dairy and processed "food", will tell you they can't believe how much better they feel.  I hear it all the time...."I wish I knew about this sooner...I wish I changed my eating habits 15 years ago"......

But the beauty of this is, it doesn't matter that you didn't know this earlier.....what matter is you are changing your diet NOW...you can reap the benefits NOW.....look at Mike....he changed his diet completely around from the way he was brought up....just like so many of us....meat, poultry, dairy, fast foods, etc.  He was 69 years old when he made the change and at 91 years old, he never felt better!

On a personal note, I started running two years ago when I signed up for the Freihofer's Run for Women.  They offered a program called 'Couch to 5K' for women that never ran...that was me.  I NEVER ran a day in my life.  I signed up and never looked back.  This is my third year participating in this program....I graduated to the intermediate running group....running with a group keeps me motivated and pushes me to do more than I "think" I can.... you would be surprised what your body can do...but you need to feed it what it needs.

When I think I can't run another step, I am going to think about Mike, 91 years old, running half marathons, (a little over 13 miles).  My goal is to be running straight through my 90's and loving every minute of it!!

Yesterday I talked about the #1 Killer in America....today I would like to give you some information about the #2 Killer---cancer.  No one ever wants to hear that word when they go to the doctor.  We need to do everything we can to protect ourselves from that diagnosis...and the good news is, our diet has everything to do with it!

Massive amounts of scientific research and billions of dollars is spent on trying to find a cure for cancer....but, unfortunately, we are no farther ahead today than we were 30, 40, or 50 years ago.  Yes, we have drugs to "fight" cancer and give us more time,  but we still do not have a cure. 

What the majority of people do not realize is, DIET has everything to do with preventing cancer, stopping cancer growth, and many times, REVERSING damage that has already been done.  (In my opinion, this should be on billboards everywhere)

Research has shown chicken can TRIPLE the rates of certain cancers.  Not many people know that...colon cancer is associated with red meat....chicken is suppose to be "good for you".  It's not.  The meat and poultry industries, when confronted on these issues, stated that if people were to adhere to recommendations restricting the intake of chicken and red meat, these two industries would SUFFER HORRIBLY....so, if the American people had to choose, who should suffer, the meat and poultry industries, or the person with cancer?

Researchers wanted evidence showing what happened if they put cancer on a Vegan Diet...so, they put cancer cells in a petri dish and added drops of blood from a purely Vegan person in one dish and drops of blood from a person eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) in another dish.  The immediate results showed the Vegan Diet stopped the cancer cells 8 times better than the SAD petri dish....8 times better....and that's the immediate results....can you imagine what can be done long-term?  

Researchers did studies on women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer.  The researchers wanted to measure cancer cell clearance in these people using diet alone.  At the beginning of the study, the participants had their blood drawn...one group was given a strictly plant based diet to follow and the other group the SAD.  In just 2 weeks, the growth of cancer cells in the plant based diet group showed SIGNIFICANTLY less cancer cells...the SAD group had SIGNIFICANTLY less fighting power.  Our bodies are designed to protect us....it's not that eating the SAD won't try and protect us, but we are, at the same time, feeding these cancer cells what they need to thrive on...animal products and sugar.  

When these researchers added just 30 minutes of exercising, such as walking or biking, to the plant based eating group, the cancer cell clearance was even better.  Then they tried adding STRENUOUS exercise to the SAD group to see if that would make a difference.....guess what....it did not...there was no added cancer cell clearance in this group.

The conclusion of this study was, nothing can "kick" cancer cells more than a Whole-Food Plant-Based diet.  When we give our body what it needs, it WILL CURE ITSELF!!  We need to continually feed ourselves with all kinds of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole-grains, nuts and seeds.  The disease fighting properties found only in the plant kingdom are what we need to feed ourselves with everyday to prevent these horrible diseases from starting.  But, even if the disease has started, you can STOP IT IN IT'S GROWTH....all with the food you put in your mouth!

Need ideas, recipes, don't know how to even begin?  There are loads of recipes available on-line everywhere...type in vegan recipes and you will be inundated with them.  As I mentioned before, straightupfood.com, VegKitchen.com, and ChefAJ'sKitchen.com are just a few of my favorites.

If I can help you transition over to a lifestyle that will give you your health back, (most people don't realize how bad they really feel until they try eating this way...they are absolutely amazed), drop me a line....I promise you, you will be glad you did!