Happy Summer!  We have waited a long time for warmer weather and now that it is here, it's time to get out our shorts and flip flops.  However, this is also the time of year when we put our summer clothes on and think to ourselves that we need to lose a few pounds!

On the flip side of that coin, there are also many people that are on the leaner side, they don't really need to lose any weight and don't worry about what kinds of food they are eating--they look good!  What people in this category don't realize is, just because you "look good on the outside" doesn't mean you look good on the inside!

Recently we have have patients in our practice that are thin people that have ended up with open heart surgery.  They basically didn't really pay attention to their diet because they never had a "weight issue", thought they were eating a "decent" diet, and did a lot of walking.  However, they had no idea what was going on inside their body.  Unfortunately, when our cholesterol levels are climbing and our arteries are becoming blocked, we have no symptoms UNTIL we are almost completely blocked and then we might have symptoms of shortness of breath or a little chest pain.  But, more times than not, patients will tell us they really have had no symptoms until something really drastic happens like a heart attack!  

Each time we put food in our mouth, we are either strengthening our immune system, fueling our body with the food it needs, OR we are suppressing our immune system, causing our arteries to become blocked and eating all kinds of damaging toxic chemicals found in processed foods and fast foods.  

There is no pill smarter than the human body--our body is designed to take care of itself.  When we eat the foods that flood us with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and FIBER, we give our body EXACTLY what it needs to give us OPTIMAL health!  The beauty of all this is, HEALTH CAN BE ACHIEVED BY THE FOOD ON THE END OF YOUR FORK!  Health is available to anyone that wants it--it's NOT just for certain people.

Need help reaching your health goals and or weight loss goals?  Contact me through this website or my email:  [email protected] can set up an appointment to have a health promoting "diet" tailored to your needs!

When you give your body what it needs, your body will heal itself......no pills or procedures necessary!

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Anyone who has taken any of my classes or has had one-on-one teaching with me, knows the importance of starting their meals with salads.  However, the problem most people have is what dressing to use--most of the dressings available in the market have ingredients in them that are chemical laden or have so much fat/oil in them that we are consuming a HUGE amount of calories--more calories than a Big Mac, large fries, and a gallon slurpe.  So, what's the solution?

Very easy--make your own salad dressings!  First of all, it is so much cheaper to make your own, and secondly, they are DELICIOUS, and we know tat each and every ingredient in these dressings are GOOD for us.  To make really delicious salad dressings, you really do need a blender.  (If you don't have one, PLEASE try and get one--you will use it often--it doesn't have to be an expensive one, even one of the Bullets will do the job!)

Greens are the MOST NUTRIENT dense food we can eat--we should all try and get as many greens as we can into our diet EVERYDAY....yes, everyday.  They STRENGTHEN our immune system like no other food can. And rememer,  So how are we going to get all these greens in?

Eat a salad before your meal.  The secret to eating all those greens is to have a really good dressing to put on them.  Switch the dressings up--don't eat the same thing day in and day out, (unless you love the dressing).  Make a few different dressings and store them in a small jar, (small mason jars work wonderful), they usually last 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  

Below are a few of my favorite dressings--give them a try and remember, EAT YOUR GREENS!

​Salads!!  Salads can make GREAT, quick, delicious meals--especially since summer is knocking on our door--all the wonderful fresh vegetables will be in abundance.

Now, when I say 'salads', I don't mean lettuce and tomatoes--there are SO MANY variations that are so good and so filling.  I always check out Pinterest for new ideas for salads, and the options are endless.  Here are a few salads I am going to make for this upcoming week and I thought maybe you would like to try a few too!

The recipe for the salad that's pictured is the Roasted Potato Salad linked below...want more inspiration for salads, go to Pinterest and type in 'Vegan Salads', (although I don't like using the term 'Vegan' because eating this way is not about 'Vegan', it's about eating really healthy whole foods)....you will be inundated with all kinds of recipes for easy, delicious "salads" to try.

PS:  Remember, if a recipe calls for oil, OMIT it--oil is the MOST calorie dense "food" on the planet and the MOST nutrient deficient.  I promise, you will NOT miss all the empty calories, not to mention the fat!

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