Good morning...Happy Monday!! Well, this is the last day of this particular challenge...CONGRATULATIONS to everyone that tried it! However, I hope with the success you have made by choosing to eat this way you are motivated for more. Even though this is the last day of menus and recipes provided by this program, I will continue to give you ideas and recipes to keep the motivation going! Although, I bet there are many people that have the "hang" of this and really don't need any help at all. Anyone who came up with some good recipes, please share them with me...I love trying new dishes.
Just to remind everyone WHY I think it is so important to eat a Whole Food Plant Based Diet, (WFPB), let me give you statistics on heart disease, the #1 Killer in America. Heart disease will kill one out of every three Americans according to the American Heart Association. Over 60 million Americans currently suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. (This statistic is from 2006, the numbers are probably higher today). The most dramatic finding is that heart disease can be prevented and even reversed by a healthy diet.
Just to remind everyone WHY I think it is so important to eat a Whole Food Plant Based Diet, (WFPB), let me give you statistics on heart disease, the #1 Killer in America. Heart disease will kill one out of every three Americans according to the American Heart Association. Over 60 million Americans currently suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. (This statistic is from 2006, the numbers are probably higher today). The most dramatic finding is that heart disease can be prevented and even reversed by a healthy diet.
If nutrition were better understood, and prevention and natural treatments were more accepted in the medical community, we would not be pouring so many toxic, potentially lethal drugs into our bodies. We have all watched those commercials on TV telling us about a drug...the first 30 seconds tells us how wonderful it will be by taking this drug, and the next 2 minutes run down the list of side effects of the drug which are worse than what the initial problem was! REALLY??
This country pays more for health care than any other country in the world. As we all know, our health care system is starting to crumble...it cannot support the health of this country. We spend more money on health care than any other country on this planet, and we still have tens of millions of people without access to basic care.
In my mind, people need to know the truth. Research has shown why we are unnecessarily sick, why too many of us die early despite the billions spent on research. The irony is that the solution is simple and inexpensive...The answer to the American health crisis is the food we choose to put in our mouths each day! It is as simple as that. Many of us think we are well informed on nutrition, but we are not. We tend to follow one fad diet after another. There is really no scientific basis to these diets...believe me, I know, I have been on everyone of them! They all "work" for weight loss, but are they healthy? Some more than others are somewhat healthy....however, they are NOT SUSTAINABLE. No one wants to "Be on a diet" forever. By eating a WFPB diet, there is no counting calories, carbs, fats...no measuring foods, etc. Eat Whole Food Plant Based, and you are set!
OK, I could go on and on with this, so I will stop here for now. Today's menu looks like this:
DAY 21
Breakfast: Spiced pumpkin oatmeal with soysage
Lunch: Leftover vegetable Lo Mein and mixed greens with dressing
Snack: Cantaloupe or another fruit
Dinner: Black bean chipotle burger with cran-apple quinoa
Dessert: Apple swirl loaf (Make enough for breakfast or another snack this week)
Personally, I would not choose the soysage, in my mind it really isn't a whole food. However, many proponents disagree with me on this....They say people that are making the transition to this way of eating "need" some of these "mock-meat choices" in their diets. I agree that it is MUCH BETTER than "real" sausage, but if you are able to get rid of all the artificial ingredients from your food, and then you eat something that isn't a WHOLE FOOD, you can actually taste the "artificial-ness of it and you don't even want to eat it. Believe me, I have personally experienced this as well as many others. Not to mention, we are trying to get rid of all the artificial ingredients from our food that make us "sicK".
So, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK YOUR WATER TODAY!! I know I'm not so good over the weekends with my water drinking....For some reason I am much more disciplined during the week. It really makes a difference when you get that water into yourself. Also, EXERCISE TODAY....do something for 30 minutes...a brisk walk, an exercise DVD, get on the treadmill or stationary bike...whatever...just do something!
Please, email with any questions or concerns....I would love to help!!
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