Healing the Whole Body - Free Training for Women

Hello my dears! Check out this exciting event on November 5th! You can read more about it, and sign up for this free event HERE! I am honored to be speaking, and below you will find out more about the other wonderful people who will be teaching us more about our health and vitality!

We are also doing an interview (Colleen and Christine) on Monday afternoon! You this link to tune in! ZOOM 

Debbi Sluys, CEO, Dare to Declare.

Deb specializes in helping people elevate and improve their physical, mental and spiritual well-being, expanding the brain’s potential, and with living intentionally in a state of gratitude and kindness. With nearly 30 years experience in early childhood development, Debbi has gathered a wealth of valuable knowledge about the power of mindset, visioning  and success. With her background in professional development and skills in public speaking, Debbi can help you use your brain’s full capacity to reveal your individual dreams, discover your “whys” and accomplish your personal destiny.

Karena Thek, CEO, Pilates Teck. Author, International Lecturer and Radio and TV Host; creator of Scolio-Pilates method. 

Karena has been leading the direction of her organization since its inception in 1999. In this time, she has authored three books: ScolioPilates, OsteoPilates and The Pilates Golf Athlete. In addition to the techniques described in detail in her three books, she is also developing NeuroPilates. NeuroPilates is based on her interest in Traumatic Brain Injury and her initial work with the Wounded Warrior Batallion at the San Diego Naval Medical Center in the Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care Unit (C5 Unit).

About Your Host:

Christine Harmon holds space for those looking to improve the quality of their lives through self-care. She is the owner and founder of Body Acumen, LLC., and brings 18 years experience in the health and wellness industry to her work. She educates people about their bodies and supports them as they discover how simple self-treatment techniques can empower them to live active and full lives.
Christine believes you:
1) Can take control of your own health
2) Can become pain-free without invasive procedures or pills
3) Deserve to look and feel great in your body every day.

Spicy Vegan Panera Creamy Tomato Soup

No-Vodka Pasta meets Panera Bread Creamy Tomato Soup! This idea sprang from the previous soup post, which mentioned No-Vodka Pasta. The vodka sauce is such a hit, so making a delicious tomato soup was easy! My son took one bite and said “Wow! Is this from Panera?!” I should be a little sad because my boy is more excited about Panera than his mom’s cooking. However, to be honest, both of my hands immediately went up in the air as I beamed with victory!

How can you tell a food is healthy? One way is by the beautiful COLORS! Blueberries, sweet potatoes, kale (bright green after one minute of cooking!), red kidney beans! FLAVOR is another way to tell a food is healthy! We can detect the most nutritious foods in the world with our eyes and taste buds!

Naturally, spices add flavor. This soup contains tasty OREGANO, abundant in antioxidants! Loading your meals with extra spices immensely boosts healthiness! Feel free to add even more to this soup with marjoram and/or basil.

Look up and compare the ORAC value (antioxidant power) of some of your favorite foods and spices at superfoodly.com While you are at it, search a few animal foods to make clear the fact you pretty much only get antioxidants from plants.

Daily Dozen Checkmarks! 1) beans (white), 2) spices (red pepper, oregano), 3) other vegetables (tomatoes), 4) fruit (dates), 5) nuts (cashews), 6) greens (fresh basil)

Note: Panera Creamy Tomato Soup is NOT vegan (contains cream and milk).

Spicy Vegan Panera Creamy Tomato Soup

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp oregano 

2 cans crushed tomatoes 

½ cup cashews

1 can white beans, drained

4 pitted dates

2 cups water

Fresh basil to garnish!

• Fill blender with cashews, beans, dates, and water. 
• Heat a large pan to medium-high to cook garlic and spices, adding a little water at a time, as needed, for around 5 min. (Optionally: cook 1/2 c chopped onions with garlic and spices to add a tiny bit of something to chew in your soup)
• Add tomatoes to pan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 min.
• Blend cashew mixture well to form plant-based cream.
• Stir in cream and when soup is heated through, garnish with basil, and enjoy!

Crushed red pepper give soup it’s spicy kick – if spice isn’t your thing, you can omit or decrease from recipe.

Recipe Highlight: Soups!

Recipe Highlight: Soups!

Did you ever notice that "soup" is a funny word if you keep looking at it and saying it? Anyway, don't you just love soup on a cozy, winter day? Fitting with all of my recipes, they are EASY and NUTRITIOUS. Looking here, it seems we like three types: stews, chilis, and creamy soups. Remember, cashews, white beans, and even cauliflower provide satisfying creaminess. Stews really fill us up and warm us up! Finally, chili always seems to be a crowd pleaser! When I ask patients "do you like beans?", and they reply NO, when I remind them about chili, they almost always say they do like the beans in chili. Anyway, here are several soup recipe links all in one place. Enjoy!

SOUPS

Easy Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Esselstyn Exilir

Madras Chili

Easy Egyptian Stew

Hearty Lentil Stew

Super-Easy Chili

Creamy and Refreshing Carrot Soup

Also, today I made an old favorite: Spicy "Vodka" Pasta. It's healthy and delicious version with no cream, oil, vodka, or salt!

All these recipes have plenty of Dr Greger's Daily Dozen Checkmarks. My daughters (14 and 12 yr old) recently came up with a challenge to themselves to get all their checkmarks for a week. To my absolute elation, they did it! Well, the younger one has a few more days, but she will get there! It was so amazing to hear them ask me for their turmeric tea, or a cup of beans, or B12! Any day that my kids come close to getting all those checkmarks is a day that I am assured that they have been fueled with wonderful nourishment. Their bodies function properly, they feel great, and thrive!

Daily Turmeric and Flax Mix

Daily Turmeric and Flax Mix

1 c flax, 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp pepper

Part of the Daily Dozen includes 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric each day.

These two foods come pretty close to a magic bullet for their awesomeness. That's kind of how the Daily Dozen works; it encourages us to regularly consume the foods that have been shown through scientific evidence to be most helpful to our health (berries, broccoli, and beans also come to mind!).

Just take a look at the 48 nutritionfacts.org videos featuring turmeric, or the 33 videos on flaxseed.

Adding a dash of pepper to your turmeric significantly increases its potency and beneficial effects.

Instead of measuring this out each day, you can make a large batch, and just take a spoonful of the mix each day.

The following recipe provides 16 days worth:

Daily Turmeric and Flax Mix
1 c ground flaxseed (16 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground turmeric (16 quarter teaspoons)
1 teaspoon pepper (16 pinches)

Try stirring your spoonful into just a few ounces of water and gulping it down, add a bit more water to your cup to make sure none of the goodness has gone to waste!

Someone who took one of my classes, then took up the habit of daily flax, and called it their daily SAWDUST! But really it is hardly different from taking some other daily pill. Only this is just food! With many POSITIVE SIDE EFFECTS.

I love the sense of accomplishment by checking off two checkmarks so quickly and easily!

My 13-year-old daughter is even trying it out as a possible remedy to her sore knees and ankles as she starts off a busy fall season with lots of practices, and legs that are getting longer by the day (lucky girl!).

Check out the following definitions of pinch, dash, and smidgen from the Accuracy Project.

Lemon Lift Morning Muffins

My son said: "Mom, these are the best banana muffins you have ever made!"

My neighbor said: "Those muffins you made for us the other day were really good!" (this from a boy who eats very little at my house) Also, I made a batch with added blueberries as a bread, and this boy also enjoyed a piece of that, and asked for seconds!

My daughter ate a bunch of pieces after her soccer and cross country practices, and that's ok because it's a bunch of nutritious ingredients! Breakfast, lunch, any time!

It is simply Smooth and Sweet Banana Bread minus 1/2 c water + 1 whole lemon.

This photo is of the wet ingredients for a DOUBLE batch!

Lemony Lift Morning Muffins

4 ripe bananas
12 pitted dates
1/4 c milled flaxseed
1/2 c water
1 lemon, quartered, seeds and stem removed
1 c (240 g) whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Combine top 5 ingredients (double batch pictured above) in strong blender such as our Blendtec blender. Measure dry ingredients, then add wet to dry. Bake at 350 for 30 min or so, let cool, and enjoy!

Daily Dozen Checkmarks: flax, grain, and 3 fruit (dates, bananas, and lemon)

Choose Chipotle! Choose Wisely!

When I am speaking with groups of students, they go wild when I mention that Chipotle is a healthy restaurant. I quickly have to explain that not everything served there is a healthy choice. We go through and decide together what options would be best.

Keep in mind, that almost all foods made outside the home contain an abundance of salt and oil, and often sugar. Hence, finding SOS-free (no salt, oil, and sugar) is challenging when eating out. You'll have to keep looking past Chipotle for that. Still, Chipotle CAN serve a pretty great meal!

Here you go!

1. Start off with plenty of salad!

2. Then choose cilantro-lime brown rice.

3. Then choose black and or pinto beans (grab double scoops of one or both!).

4. Add fajita vegetables.

5. Add fresh tomato salsa and roasted chili-corn salsa (these likely contain more fiber, though fiber content isn't provided on www.chipotle.com).

6. Finish with guacamole and more lettuce!

Enjoy!

On our last family vacation, I realized I still needed a "berries checkmark". I decided to toss raisins in my bowl! It was delicious! Ever since, I have been adding raisins to all my Mexican food!

Let's have a look at Daily Dozen Checkmarks.

2-4 servings beans

1 serving berries (when you add raisins...keep a bag in your car!)

1 serving other fruit (guacamole)

1-2 servings greens

0 servings cruciferous (hmmm, how about adding diced red cabbage?)

2-5 servings other vegetables (peppers, onions, tomatoes, corn)

0 servings flax, nuts, turmeric (...another add on from home?...just saying...you could get all your checkmarks in one meal!)

1-3 servings whole grains (3 scoops of rice would be a lot for me, but it's possible!)

1 beverage (I recommend the soda water...I love bubbles!)

I estimate about 10 checkmarks for me per Chipotle visit! Those shown below, plus a whole grain and a beverage checkmark.

1 meal = 10 Daily Dozen Checkmarks! (whole grain checkmark not shown)

~Gratitude shout out! Our family earned a lot of free Chipotle meals this summer from lots of reading, THANK YOU CHIPOTLE!
~Chipotle now has a rewards program, which I can't believe I haven't yet signed up for! Go for it!
~In case you missed my Taco Bell post, HERE YOU GO!

What?! A Movie about Sports Nutrition: The Game Changers

Save the date! SEPT 16, 2019

Click on the word "The Game Changers on the upper left of the linked page for a TRAILER

A fabulous, new healthy food documentary/movie is coming out in over 1000 theaters on September 16th! I simply can't wait! It is sure to be the new Forks Over Knives, with a sporty twist! I just love sports nutrition, one of my dearest passions!

The Game Changers (justwatch.com is a website to find out where to watch anything)

In April 2026, you can watch for 99 cents on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

"The Game Changers is a new film executive produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jackie Chan that documents the explosive rise of plant-based eating in professional sports, mixing real-time, groundbreaking science with cinematic stories of struggle and triumph. The film features some of the strongest, fastest and toughest athletes on the planet -- and it's backed by them too -- with additional EPs including Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic, and nine-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul. ...[The movie also focuses on] the health of the entire global population."--from www.gamechangersmovie.com

In 600+ theaters! Order tickets now! 
Chance to WIN: If you go to the Game Changers website and sign up to be on mailing list you'll be in a drawing for tickets to the red carpet viewing of the movie on September 16th!

I should really mention that ever since I saw the original trailer for this movie, one of maybe two years ago, I have been stalking everywhere to find any word of when the full movie would come out. So yes, I am totally stoked to see the final version on September 16th! Join me!



Vegan 2018
For something more than a trailer to watch, see what was all the news of veganism in the world for 2018. At some point in Vegan 2018, see if you can spot my tiny, little face shouting "Go vegan!"

There are movies each of the last few years:
VEGAN 2017
VEGAN 2016 
VEGAN 2015

Comments: what health movies do you enjoy most?

Snickerdoode-lish Snack Cookies

For tasty other fruit, flax, grain, and nut DR GREGER DAILY DOZEN CHECK MARKS!

TRY THE AWESOME FREE APP!

Snicherdoodle-ish Cinnamon Snack Cookies

1.5 c pitted dates
1.5 c walnuts
1/2 c ground flaxseed
1/2 c Irish oats (steel cut oats)
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor for about 2 min until a dough forms. At this point, you could be done, form into balls or bars, and eat it just like that!

To make cookies, form balls and flatten. Cookies will not change shape during baking. Bake at 350 for ~15 min. Enjoy!

Here is how I sometimes do it. Dump dough on a silicone baking sheet, flatten dough with a second baking sheet. Then use a round tablespoon to sort of cut out cookie shapes right on the baking sheet. It makes about 3.5 dozen cookies. Bake at 350 for ~15 min. Enjoy!

THIS is a post with more cookie recipes (of course all my cookie recipes can be eaten for breakfast!)!

Healthiest Fast Food!

My kids called it "the burrito shop" when they were really little and then it was "Burrito Bell"...anyway, we have been going for years, and many people think "yuck!" or "boy, that's surprising that you eat something so unhealthy". Anyway, we do eat there often!

So it was great to hear others think the same!

Carissa Stanz of Wide Open Eats just wrote an article about it: Did You Know that Taco Bell Has Become One of the Healthiest Food Chains?

Tessa Newell of the food news website called FoodBeast also wrote an article a few years ago called: Taco Bell Has Low Key Become One of America's Healthiest Fast Food Chains (Business Insider also shared Tessa's article)

Plus, Dr Neal Barnard, president of Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine, has even suggested going to Taco Bell for a bean burrito!

These are my kudos for Taco Bell.

1. It's a FAST, CHEAP way to get some nutritious food, most importantly, BEANS, when you are out and about.

2. It tastes great and fresh!

3. The refried beans do NOT contain lard (often refried beans are made with lard).

4. This one I learned from Tessa's article...Taco Bell has reduced it's sodium content by 15% in the last decade (since 2008).

5. Also from Tessa, they have great online nutrition info at TacoBell.com such as for allergens and ingredients. As of 2016, they planned to get rid of all artificial ingredients. I would say they have done well...there are lots of chemicals in pop, but as far as the food goes, the ingredients look pretty great!


Tips for ordering HEALTHY:

1. Order your items "fresco style". This means that cheese and sour cream will be substituted for pico de gallo (a tasty mix of chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro).

2. Replace meat in any item for beans. We always go with the refried beans, but they also carry black beans!

3. Tostadas and corn taco shells are your best bet for whole grains, though there is added oil, which will almost always be included in restuarant food. I already mentioned the reduction in sodium across the board. In general, Mexican food has less sugar than other types of food, so that's another good thing.

4. Add guacamole for extra flavor, nutritious fat, and satisfation to your meal! 
carla wasa at toco bell one month ago. written by carla.


This is what we order most often:

1. Spicy Tostada, fresco style, make sure jalepeno sauce is omitted, and add guacamole ($1.00 plus cost of guacamole which varies from $0.25-0.50).

2. Bean Burrito, fresco style, sometimes with guacamole (prices vary...around $1.29).

3. Pintos N Cheese, fresco style, really just pintos and pico :) ($1.39). 

This reminds me that I need to write posts for other restuarants! We love Chipotle (post about what to get), Qdoba, Aladdin's, several Indian restaurants, Bibibop, hmmm what else? I wrote about Curritos when I went to Houston, and we found a delicious restuarant in Boston called minigrow, and in Washington D.C. was the fantastic Fruitive.

12 Benefits of Being in Nature and the Outdoors

A friend recently shared with me (during a run in the woods!) that there are so many benefits to being outdoors. It's really great for our mental and physical health, and this naturally is of great benefit to the development of children as well.

Just as I set out to look into the research, I hit gold immediately, as Business Insider had a wonderful article on the topic, including the journal citations (and links to FULL studies!) for each of the various benefits!

I made this visual from Friedman and Loria's list :)

I definitely recommend you read through this awesome article written by Lauren Friedman and Kevin Loria: Eleven Scientific Reasons You Should Be Spending More Time Outside (article cites various references for each of the reasons)

Here's the list in no particular order:

1. Sharper thinking and creativity
2. Stress relief
3. Reduced inflammation
4. Restored mental energy
5. Immune system boost
6. Better vision
7. Improved mental health
8. Improved concentration
9. Improved short-term memory
10. Reduced risk of early death
11. possible anti-cancer effects

Here is a PDF of the article. 

I can't discuss benefits of being outside without giving a shout out to Vitamin D! Vitamin D is definitely a reason to spend time outside!

And for fun, a few pics out in nature!

Finally, in case you are curious what fueled me through this post...it was brownies, 100% Healthy Fudgy Brownies!

Healthy Fudgy Brownies

Leafside Home Delivered Plant Based Whole Food Meals!

Leafside Home Delivered Plant Based Whole Food Meals

How's this for a logo? www.goleafside.com

This is such a fabulous idea for people who want to eat healthy on-the-go! For $7.99 with free shipping and handling, you can have a quick, nutritious and tasty meal! These are the first meals we tried!

I loved how you could really taste the raspberries in the sweet bowl! My daughter appreciated that you could NOT taste the mushrooms in the sweet bowl! Nice to for her to get some ERGOTHIONEINE. This is an amino acid primarily present in mushrooms, practically no other food, actually there is a little bit in some foods like organ meats and beans; however, mushrooms have 40x the amount of the closest competitor!

Ergothioneine protects our DNA!

Ergothioneine: A New Vitamin? - this is an article about antioxidants and aging, and here is a link to a video about ergothioneine!

I just love the amazing ingredients provided in one quick, effortless meal! Here is two examples! 

Broccoli Cashew Alfredo Savory Bowl

(9 or more Dr Greger Daily Dozen Checkmarks)

organic cashews

organic buckwheat noodles

non-GMO soy curls

organic white onions

broccoli florets

organic subdried tomatoes

white button mushrooms

organic nutritional yeast

organic flaxseeds

garlic

organic carrots

organic porcini mushrooms

sea salt

organic celery

shallots

organic miso powder

organic mustard seed

organic turmeric

organic lemon

organic black pepper

organic herbs & spices

B12

Cacao Raspberry Sweet Bowl 

(9 or more Dr Greger Daily Dozen Checkmarks)

organic dates

bananas

organic oats

organic raspberries

organic quinoa

organic cacao powder

organic cacao nibs

organic Ceylon cinnamon

organic coconut flour, 

raw macadamia nuts

organic flaxseeds

organic spinach organic kale

organic peas, 

organic beets

organic porcini mushrooms

organic mustard seed

organic herbs and spices

B12

Some Awesome Smoothies:

Mint Chip Smoothie

Some Savory Meals:

Smoky Pea Soup

The savory meals contain salt, however you can ask for SOS-free versions. Note: the ingredients will still include salt and/or miso even though there will be none. On the front there will be a sticker saying "SOS-free".

Also, note that Leafside currently only delivers within the US. The company would love to hear FROM YOU where you are from, as they expand internationally.

I can't wait to try them all! Visit www.goLeafSide.com so you can try them too!

You can figure out which meals you enjoy the most and then have some come every few months to have some meals ready when you run out of time and don't want to eat junk!

Tribute to the Vegan Junction (AMAZING RESOURCE!)

Thank you to The Vegan Junction (TVJ) for being awesome! I would like to thank a person, but it seems that this website is formed by a community! Well, that's lovely too! People working together to do things even better! 

Check out TVJ's post:
Top 50 Oil-Free Vegan Plant Based Recipe Websites! 

Woah! I am going to go out on a limb and say this might become one of my favorite resources to share with others because besides these recipe websites, they have all these other awesome "Top 10-ish" lists:

~Reasons Going Vegan Helps Save the Planet
~Health Professionals to Follow
~Whole Food Plant Based Cookbooks
~Plant Based Health and Nutrition Books
~Oil-Free Plant Based Recipe Youtube Channels

Plus, they have a whole tab about Vegan Athletes!

Also, I noticed the words SIMPLICITY and MINIMAL, other topics dear to my heart :) Here is one: Simplicity: the Key to Healthy, Plant-Based Living for Livelong Health
You might also enjoy a post I wrote about a method of organizing your things for life: 10 Reasons to Konmarie Your Home 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Vegan Junction!

COMMENTS: what are your favorite resource pages and sites? Leave a comment below so others can visit!