VegWorld 34

CONTENTS VegWorld Magazine - May 2016

THE FUN SIDE OF VEGGIE LIVING 08 Vegan Hot Sheet 11 Events Calendar 13 VegWorldly Wanderings

Choices Café in Florida has an exciting expansion underway!

Page 9.

FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE 18 Family 21 Vegan 101 23 The Doctor Who Changed My Life Explore the colorful world of Simple Green Smoothies on page 56.

FEATURES

29 Reflections on the Innovator Behind “Veganz” The World’s First All-Vegan Supermarket

NUTRITION AND THRIVING 37 Amazing Transformations 40 Medicine 43 Well Woman Way One of many intriguing outdoor sculptures in Palm Desert’s great public art program. See the whole story on Page 13.

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CONTENTS VegWorld Magazine - May 2016

FRESH FINDS 48 True Beauty 51 Loves & Wants 54 Between The Pages 58 Movies 59 Food Reviews

JUICE GURU 62 How to Make a Lucrative Income as a Juicing Coach

Tea Forte’: Beautifully designed infusers take the art of drinking tea to a whole new level. Page 52.

RECIPES FOR FOODIES 63 Un-Pasta Fagioli 64 SOS Free Living With Chef AJ 66 Ultra Light Berry Cobbler

Cobbling together an Ultra-Lite “Berry Berry delicious snack treat for the whole family. Recipe on page 66.

REGULARS 04 Credits 05 Editor’s Note 68 Love, Lori Veganz’ products include sweet treats, savory snacks, superfoods and scrumptious vegan cheeses. Page 29.

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CREDITS VegWorld staff

Publisher Edward N. Smith III Editor-in-Chief Amanda C. Smith Graphic Design Lise-Mari Coetzee Associate Editor Lori Fryd

Contributors

Chef A.J.

Tess Challis

Linda Carney MD

Andrea Denton

Robin D. Everson

Lori Fryd

Michael Greger, MD

Steve & Julie Prussack

Sharon McRae

Karen Ranzi

Hannah Sentenac

Robin Tierney

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EDITOR´S NOTE om A message fr the Editor of zine, a g a M ld r o W g Ve h Amanda Smit

Change.

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t seems like we humans are somehow pre-programmed to resist change.

nd this is never truer than when it comes to a particular kind of change changing one’s diet.

d and I have family members who managed to successfully quit smoking years ago, but who are still facing many uphill battles due to their poor diets. When we speak to them about switching over to a whole-food, plant-based diet, their answers are always the same.

“We can’t do it. It’s too hard.”

arder than quitting smoking? I can’t imagine anything harder than that. Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence that a vegan diet is best for our health and for the planet, the mere thought of this way of eating is overwhelming to them, as it is for so many people in our society.

e know that change is more than just possible. Change is here. Change is now. Change

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is happening. It is vital for people who are paralyzed by their fears to understand this and to hear about the transformations that are taking place in countries all around the world. We want to report on these awesome trends as individuals and whole cultures learn how to switch from meat and dairy consumption to more natural, healthful plantbased diets.

Because hearing about change creates change.

s information keeps coming at us, day after day, year after year, the idea of change becomes acceptable and accessible to us all. We can slowly begin to acclimate to new ideas. We can bridge the gap between our characteristic human fear of the unknown and we can tap into that other human attribute that is so essential to our survival… the ability to change.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

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n point of fact, it is so much easier to maintain a vegan lifestyle now than it was even a mere ten years ago when I became vegan. Plant-based food is on menus all over the world. During our recent trip to Germany we saw a vegan renaissance occurring - which led us to this month’s cover story about the amazing entrepreneur, Jan Bredack, founder of Veganz. These all-vegan grocery stores stores are now mainstays in cities throughout Germany and they instilled a sense of wonder in us each time we stepped through their doors.

his is a country where a friend of mine, just a few years ago, lamented that she could barely find anything vegetarian to eat, let alone vegan.

But, things in Germany have changed and Jan Bredack, the innovative genius behind Veganz, is one of the architects at the forefront of that change. To see a nation going from fierce defense of their beloved bratwurst suddenly beginning to embrace veganism with gusto is a beacon of hope to us all.

nd here is the thing… Germany didn’t have to sacrifice in order to make this change. In fact, it has been enriched by it. Exciting eateries - from fine dining palaces to simple lunch counters that serve only plant-based fare - are now commonplace and more are springing up every day. Average Germans everywhere readily partake of these meals. It has given everyone many more choices.

More options. More fun new things to try. More joy.

hat is what we try to tell our skeptical family members. We haven’t given anything up. We

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have been enriched. Our new way of eating and living has given us so many gifts. Better health is just one. We’ve eaten things and visited places that will be fondly and forever etched in our memories. We’ve met people from all over the world with whom we share an instant camaraderie, thanks to this commonality.

ometimes taking a chance on doing something different leads you to paths you would never have imagined walking down. Germany is on that path right now and no path has ever felt so right to us personally.

opefully, someday, our family members will see this too and stop being so overwhelmed by the mere thought of change. We will continue to bring delicious plant-based foods to our family gatherings and we will always be here to provide them with the information they need to make the idea of change more palatable. Most importantly, we will keep loving them and hoping that someday they can share in our joy.

nd maybe, just maybe, a branch of Jan Bredack’s wildly popular vegan grocery, Veganz, will open up right in their own backyard.

They will get a little bit curious, a little bit interested, a little bit excited….and then we will hear…

Change.

Bring it on!

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Amanda Smith Editor-in-Chief VegWorld Magazine

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FINALLY

A magazine that does for compassion what GQ does for fashion. compassionateman.com tap here for Apple VegWorld Magazine

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Vegan Hot Sheet

Latest Vegan & Plant Based Buzz

GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE AIMS TO MAKE ANIMAL PRODUCTS OBSOLETE

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odern-day meat production is unsustainable and unhealthy — not to mention inhumane. But in a country where McDonald’s and Subway take up space in every strip mall, getting people to abandon animal products is a major challenge.

Enter the Good Food Institute (GFI), a groundbreaking new non-profit dedicated to finding better sources for familiar foods.

The group, run by renowned advocate Bruce Friedrich as executive director, is all about promoting a new paradigm for the consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs. GFI is committed to supporting cuttingedge companies that are working to create plantbased and lab grown versions of traditional animal products.

“We are on the cusp of a revolution in how Americans eat,” explains Friedrich. “We’ve seen plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy becoming more and more popular, far outpacing their animal-based counterparts, which are experiencing stagnating sales.”

http://latestvegannews.com/good-food-institute-aims-make-animal-products-obsolete/

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hen it comes to non-dairy cheese, Daiya tends to top the list. It’s the vegan cheese option most frequently found at restaurant chains, in mainstream supermarkets, and utilized in items made by other brands (Amy’s Kitchen pizza, for example).

And, according to the company, its products are now used by approximately 20,000 individual restaurant and chain franchise locations. That’s a lot of ooey gooey, non-dairy goodness.

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VEGAN CHEESE NOW AN OPTION IN

APPROXIMATELY

20,000 RESTAURANTS

AND CHAINS Issue 34 - May 2016 |

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VEGAN HOT SHEET “Food service is our heritage and we started servicing restaurants in 2009,” says Chriss Montalbano, the company’s North American Business Development Manager.

Companies that work with Daiya products include Aramark, Blaze Pizza, Disney, Citifield, Mellow Mushroom, Pieology, Sodexo, Sysco, U.C. Berkeley, and Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint, among others. The company just announced its partnership with Pie Five Pizza last week — another fast-fired pie chain. Daiya is working to expand more into traditional food service operations, as well. http://latestvegannews.com/vegan-cheese-now-option-approximately-20000-restaurants-chains/

FLORIDA-BASED VEGAN CHAIN

OPENS FIFTH LOCATION;

PLANS TO OPEN 100 NATIONWIDE

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ompassionate cuisine is making its way across the state of Florida, thanks to Choices Cafe. The organic, award-winning vegan chain just opened its fifth location in the Sunshine State — and that’s just the beginning.

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VEGAN HOT SHEET Known for mouthwatering eats that appeal to omnivores and herbivores alike, Choices now has eateries in both Dade and Broward counties, four in Miami and one in Weston.

“Our mission is to inspire compassionate choices by serving food that is made with love for people, for animals, and for the planet,”says Lori Zito, Choices president.

The spots offer fresh smoothies, colorful bowls, cold-pressed juices, hearty salads, and crowd-pleasing specials like chipotle nachos, the La Pixsa pizza, mac n’ cheese, baked goods — and pancakes, tofu scrambles, and soy-sage patties for breakfast. The Choices Cafe concept originated five years ago, founded by brothers Alex and Jorge Cuevas as a way to promote a compassionate, sustainable lifestyle.

In the long-term, the team plans to have 100 locations across the country. In the short-term, they’ll continue to expand across Florida. http://latestvegannews.com/florida-based-vegan-chain-opens-fifth-location-plans-open-100-nationwide/

EXPERT SAYS PLANT-BASED FOODS ARE CRUCIAL FOR STOPPING CLIMATE CHANGE

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hen it comes to climate change, just a little bit of dietary change isn’t enough.

So says Dr. Marco Springmann, one of the lead authors of a recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) and carried out by Oxford University researchers.

Reducing energy consumption also won’t be enough. The world would need to make a dramatic shift towards plant-based foods in order to avoid a

dangerous rise in global surface temperature.

The study also confirmed that if the whole world went vegan, millions of lives, trillions of dollars — and the Earth’s climate — could be saved.

“Greenhouse gases, in particular carbon dioxide, stay in the atmosphere for a long time, so we need to act fast. Methane emissions from agriculture are shorter lift and could provide a good starting point for making some progress on reducing the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. But that would mean taking seriously the climate change impacts of agriculture and our diets.” http://latestvegannews.com/expert-says-plant-based-foods-crucial-stopping-climate-change/

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VEGWORLD EVENTS CALENDAR

VEGWORLD EVENTS CALENDAR Looking for the most exciting, fun, inspiring, and informative vegan events worldwide? Here they are! If you have an event coming up, let us know by sending the details to editor@vegworldmag.com

10-Day Vegan Fusion Culinary Immersion May 2nd – 6th & 9th – 13th, 2016 Portland, Oregon DC: Green Festival May 6, 2016 Washington, DC

Slovenia VegaFest 2016 May 7, 2016 Ljublijana, Slovenia

Ottawa Veg Fest June 4 – 5, 2016 Ottawa, Canada

Veggie Fest Hamilton May 14, 2016 Hamilton, ON, Canada

Long Beach Vegan Food and Music Festival June 4, 2016 Long Beach, California

New York City Vegetarian Food Festival May 7 & 8, 2016 New York City

Nuremberg: Vegan Straßenfest May 21, 2016 Nuremberg, German

Niagara VegFest June 5, 2016 Ontario, Canada

Cleveland VegFest May 7th, 2016 Cleveland, Ohio

VegFest UK Bristol May 22 & 22, 2016 Bristol, England

Rehoboth Beach VegFest June 10-12, 2016 Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

New Hampshire VegFest May 7, 2016 Manchester, New Hampshire

Maine Vegetarian Food Festival June 4, 2016 Portland, Maine

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Farm Santuary’s Summer Pignic June 12, 2016 Acton, California

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VEGWORLDLY WANDERINGS

Sunsets always beautiful in Palm Desert

FINDING FAULT AND OTHER

AMAZING VIEWS IN THE

COACHELLA VALLEY’S PALM DESERT Story and photos by Robin Tierney

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ost people travel to the Coachella Valley for Palm Springs glitz or the annual April music extravaganza. But many other lower-

profile pleasures abound in and around Palm Desert.

Here in the Valley’s heart, you can recharge amidst exquisite beauty, from mirage-like mountains to fanciful resorts to fabulous outdoor sculptures along “the Rodeo Drive of the Desert.”

This is a perfect place to explore by foot, bicycle and jeep. Sights range from bighorn sheep to the San Andreas fault.

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VEGWORLDLY WANDERINGS

One of many intriguing outdoor sculptures in Palm Desert’s great public art program

Hiking amid desert color Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument offers 300 miles of hiking routes. They include the challenging palm oasis-lined Art Smith Trail, a new quarter mile ADA wheelchair accessible trail, and Randall Henderson Trail, winding three miles through dry desert washes and shady canyons. Residents include endangered bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, bobcats, lizards and hummingbirds.

On one of the frequent free guided hikes offered

by Friends of the Desert Mountains, Ada Nuckels points out the 10,834-foot snow-capped San Jacinto Peak in the distance and, up close, plants that add texture and color to the muted desert landscape. Brittle bush show off butter-yellow blooms.

Barrel cactus bear crowns of lemon-lime flowers; beavertail cactus boast magenta flowers; flamecolored torches sprout from tall arms of ocotillo; blue bells adorn indigo bushes. Teddy bear cholla glisten after rains, but don’t touch -- those needles hurt. Ada explains how native Americans used plants for food, medicine and baskets; grassy skirts from California fan palms, a truly native palm species, were used for thatched shelters.

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Bighorn sheep in a Coachella Valley conservation area

Bicycling the San Andreas Fault Zone Big Wheel Tours offer a novel way to explore the San Andreas fault zone, guiding cyclists along a backroad past geological formations and within sight of the fault line. The fault is distinguished by splotches of greenery nourished by underground water channeled there when tectonic plates slid together, elevating the terrain into the rugged mountains seen today. Palms thrive in “oases” here because fault fissures give roots access to water.

Coda gallery on El Paseo-2

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VEGWORLDLY WANDERINGS

JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort, by Robin Tierney

Big Wheel supplies mountain bikes, and its van follows the cyclists during the 20-mile gently downhill ride to the edge of the vast, inland Salton Sea.

Jeep Tours to the Fault Desert Adventures Red Jeep eco-tours explore colorful stretches of the San Andreas fault in Bureau of Land Management backcountry. On the jeep and during short hikes in hidden havens, naturalist-drivers talk about seismic activity and how the Cahuilla people used desert plants. You’ll glimpse their cultural life in a re-created village and squeeze through a slot canyon created by tectonic plate shifting.

An Artful Stroll After exploring nature, we go for an easy hike along El Paseo. This “Rodeo Drive of the Desert” boasts

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Coda Gallery on El Paseo

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VEGWORLDLY WANDERINGS

Cork Tree California Cuisine mouth-watering vegan platter.

Photo by Robin Tierney

Colorful vegan dish at Mitch’s on El Paseo

300 shops, cafes and galleries. Filsinger FIne Art displays contemporary paintings like Alexandr Onishenko’s “Passion for Freedom,” a breathtaking view of horses galloping in the wild. Horses, cows, rabbits and other regional animals inspire artworks displayed in Coda, Mitchell Contemporary and Desert Art Collection.

Relax desert style Stylish yet affordable places to stay include JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa. If your muscles ache (or not), get a massage with Rosy, whose 20+ years of experience really shows. Recreation includes a huge tennis complex with hard, clay and grass courts, two championship golf courses, miniature golf, heated pools and hot tubs, and an indoor-outdoor lagoon navigated by gondolas.

The resort’s Rockwood Grill includes vegan options among its chef-prepared plates served morning to night. At Mitch’s on El Paseo, I loved the seaweed salad, fresh mushrooms lightly sauteed in olive oil and miso tofu soup. At the Cork Tree, my vegan dining companion and I split delectably prepared steamed veggies and polenta on a bed of lentils.

For grab ‘n go, try Luscious Lorraine’s fresh juices and plant-based meals or stop by Harvest Health Foods.

You’ll be sufficiently refueled to join a moonlight hike. The desert canyons and hills look completely different after dark.

Information: Visitor and event information: http://www.palm-desert.org El Paseo Art Walks http://www.elpaseoartwalk.com Coachella Music Festival April 15-17 and April 22-24 https://www.coachella.com

About the Author Robin is an award-winning writer who seeks out vegan fare on world travels. Reach her at travelveg@live.com

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feeding families / saving animals A Well-Fed World is a Washington, DC-based hunger relief and animal protection organization chipping away at two of the world’s most immense and unnecessary forms of suffering... the suffering of people hungry from lack of food and the suffering of animals used and abused for food.

Don’t like Heifer International?

Sign-up for our monthly e-newsletter for information about our Plants-4-Hunger gift-giving campaign, and give the gift of vegan food to people in need without harming animals.

care@AWFW.org

www.AWFW.org

Ashraya Initiative for Children

Poplar Spring Sanctuary by Mark Peters

~how beautiful is a world that is healthy, well-fed and kind all at the same time~ VegWorld Magazine

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FAMILY

CHOLINE IN PLANT FOODS

by Karen Ranzi, M.A.

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ountless questions have been raised recently pertaining to the vitamin-like compound, choline, especially amongst pregnant women. Choline is a chemical similar to the B-vitamins, and is frequently lumped in with them, despite the fact that it isn’t officially a B-vitamin.

The choline requirement increases during pregnancy and lactation to daily intake levels of 450 and 550 mg. According to reports, a significant number of women of childbearing age in the United States are not getting their daily requirements for choline (1) .

The importance of choline was first noted in 1944 for preventing fatty liver. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommended a daily intake level of 425 mg for women and 550 mg a day for men.

Because fetuses and infants develop rapidly, they have a great need for choline. Choline is specifically high in human milk. Choline is an important nutrient that helps brain cells develop normally.

Adequate choline during pregnancy has long- term positive effects on the child’s learning abilities and

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memory, and may provide resistance to mental illness(2). Some scientists have also pointed out that getting enough choline during pregnancy can help protect a baby against neural tube defects. This is similar to the benefits of folic acid(2).

Mothers who ingest adequate amounts of choline have a reduced risk of breast cancer and lower homocysteine levels(2). Homocysteine is an amino acid, a building block of protein, but too much homocysteine is connected with an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and cognitive decline.

A choline deficiency may result in fatty accumulation in the liver and liver damage. A deficiency can also cause elevated homocysteine levels in the blood. Markers of choline deficiency also include muscle deterioration (3).

The body produces some choline on its own, but not in amounts sufficient to meet its needs. So we

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need to get choline from the foods we eat.

Identifying choline-rich foods is crucial, especially during breastfeeding, as the choline the mother takes in through eating will ensure she and baby receive the adequate amount of choline needed for appropriate health and development (2).

Research shows that choline may help decrease inflammation, in turn decreasing heart disease risks.

Those with a choline-deficient intake, for as short as a month, have been found to have a significant increase in DNA damage as well as an increased risk of cancer (4).

Although many believe that eggs are the only source of choline, this is not true.

Although egg yolks do contain high amounts of choline, there are numerous plant foods that are

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more beneficial sources, including some nuts and seeds that contain a high percentage of choline.

A wiser health-conscious (and ethical) choice is to avoid the saturated fat and cholesterol of eggs, as well as the cruelty of egg farming.

Legumes such as garbanzo beans, lima beans and lentils have about 70 mgs of choline per cup, while sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and almonds have around 60 mgs of choline per cup. Flax seeds and pistachio nuts have 70 to 80 mg per 3-oz serving (5) . Nuts and legumes, even if sprouted, should be consumed in moderation however, as they contain small amounts of anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds are also high in fat. There are some good vegetable sources of choline.

Some excellent vegetables that contain choline include: cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy and broc-

coli. Broccoli is a particularly rich source. These vegetables boast around 65 mg of choline per cup. Others involve collard greens at 14.2% and Swiss chard at 11.8% of your daily value(5). Spinach and asparagus are also very high in choline. Other foods containing choline include green peas, Brussels sprouts, and tomatoes. Dried celery flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, mustard seed, coriander leaf, dried parsley, and dried coriander leaf add choline to dishes along with flavor.

A single banana has 11.6 mg of choline, and one orange has 15.5 mg of choline(6).

Choline is found in a wide range of plant foods in small amounts. Maintaining a well-balanced whole food / fresh plant lifestyle will ensure getting enough choline(7).

1. Fischer LM, Scearce JA, Mar MH, et al. Ad libitum choline intake in healthy individuals meets or exceeds the proposed adequate intake level. J Nutr 2005;135:826-9.

2. Caudill MA. Pre- and postnatal health: evidence of increased choline needs. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Aug;110(8):1198-206. Link 3. Blusztajn JK. Choline, a vital amine. Science 1998; 281(5378)794-795. (PubMed) 4. Kohlmeier M, da Costa KA, Fischer LM, Zeisel SH. Genetic variation of folate-mediated one-carbon transfer pathway predicts susceptibility to choline deficiency in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005;102(44):1602516030. (PubMed) 5. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary reference intakes for thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and choline. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1998;58-86.

6. Zeisel SH, Mar MH, Howe JC, et al. Concentrations of choline-containing compounds and betaine in common foods. J Nutr 2003;133:1302-7.

7. Zeisel SH, daCosta KA. Choline: an essential nutrient for public health. Nutr Rev 2009;67:615-23.

About the Author www.SuperHealthyChildren.com www.youtube.com/SuperHealthyChildren To sign up for Karen’s free monthly newsletter with recipes and family health tips, see www.SuperHealthyChildren.com

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VEGAN 101

GET BACK ON THE COURSE— IT’S THE ONLY WAY YOU’LL REACH

THE FINISH LINE!

by Andrea Denton

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his past weekend, I ran a marathon. Most people would say that is a pretty amazing accomplishment. And it is--it really is!

I know I should be proud of myself, but it wasn’t my day and I ran it slower than I have in the past—I just never got into a groove and the whole time, I was miserable. I wasn’t enjoying the race. I’m sure there’s a part of me that is proud, that recognizes that it’s not about beating a time, it’s not about a pace per minute or where I compare to others—it is that I ran the race! It’s that I finished the race. When I could have given up, I didn’t…even though at times it didn’t seem possible to take another step.

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A couple days after the race, someone asked me where I placed. Considering the fact that there were tens of thousand of runners (and by no means am I an elite) it seemed a silly question… until I realized that I’d really been allowing my performance as it compared to others to matter more than my overall accomplishment. And I had let it take away from my achievement.

How many other things in our life fall victim to this same treatment? How often do we allow our personal accomplishments to be downplayed because, when compared to others, it doesn’t seem so impressive? How often do we let the devil of comparison steal our joy?

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VEGAN 101

Our diet can feel a lot like this. Maybe we’ve made many positive changes, removed processed foods, switched to organic, fit more veggies in our diet… whatever it may be, sometimes it doesn’t seem like enough. Making improvements in our diet is a journey. It’s a tough journey, much like a race. And it’s our own journey--one that we have to take on our own. We may have to dodge others, get over our own mental barriers, get past that defeated feeling when someone passes us and stop focusing on how far we have to go rather than how far we’ve come. We have to recognize that any race is just made up lots of individual steps. We have a choice after each step on whether or not we are going to take the next one. It’s the combination of those steps, taken in a generally forward direction, that gets us to the finish line. We may take some side steps, whether it be a potty break or a sprint to the sidelines to hug a loved one, but generally, if we keep that forward motion, we will get closer to reaching that moment of knowing that we did it!

I do not want to take away from the fact that it’s important to set goals and to have expectation for ourselves, but not at the expense of recognizing that we have still accomplished some pretty amazing things. But letting ourselves feel like we have failed rather turning around to look how far we’ve come (in some cases, 26.2 miles) does not serve us well…in any part of our lives.

So if you’re feeling like you’re taking more stretch breaks or you’re stopping too often to ever make any progress, look behind you! Maybe you did eat something today that detracted from your journey, but get back on the course because any step forward is a win. And don’t expect you’ll ever finish and retire—life is a journey and the moment we stop lacing up our sneakers and shuffling forward is when the self-discovery ends. For myself, I’m signing up for another race!

This article originally appeared on the website www.veggiecraving.com.

About the Author Andrea Denton’s journey started with curiosity about a plant-based diet and the possibility that it would not only be a better diet for her family, but the solution to her husband’s battle with high cholesterol. An active fire fighter, he couldn’t shake the high numbers despite improvements in diet and exercise. After watching Forks Over Knives, she and her husband decided to switch their family of four to a plant-based diet for just six weeks. After six weeks, her husband got his cholesterol retested and it had dropped 60 points! They were sold and haven’t looked back! As a mom of two daughters, she enjoys finding tasty recipes that are enjoyed by not only her daughters, but their friends as well! Andrea is passionate about sharing the benefits of a plant-based diet on her website www.veggiecraving.com. You can follow Andrea on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE

ADAM’S CHOICE

by Dorothy Rose

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here are choices which can define us and there are choices which can destroy us.

There are choices which can open up a

world of possibilities to us and there are choices which are so limited that that they can feel more like sentences to us. That last kind of choice is the choice my husband, Adam, had to make and the path he chose, instead, has turned out to be one of the most hopeful and inspiring of our entire lives.

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In the Spring of 2009, at the age of 34, Adam began experiencing intense pain in his fingers and toes. He would wake up at night crying because the pain in his feet was so awful. Our primary care physician was not sure what was going on so we were referred to “Dr. Z,” a local rheumatologist in our hometown.

After a thorough examination followed by blood work, Dr. Z gave Adam the diagnosis that would

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THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE

change our family forever - Psoriatic arthritis. Unfortunately, psoriatic arthritis is a particularly pernicious form of arthritis which can range from mild with occasional flare-ups to continuous with disabling joint damage. It typically affects the large joints, especially in the lower extremities and occurs in about 15% of patients with psoriasis. People with PsA have increased mortality due to its high correlation with heart disease and diabetes.

Dr. Z told us that Adam’s disease is one of the most aggressive forms of arthritis there is. She warned us in that Adam could be crippled within the next ten years. He was immediately started on Methotrexate, a common drug therapy for patients with this type of inflammatory condition. Methotrexate is a powerful medication which impairs the immune system, leaving patients at an increased risk for contracting viruses and infection. Though Adam took the Methotrexate as prescribed, he found little relief from the painful swelling in his fingers and toes and was often sick with cold viruses as a result of his lowered immune system. Patients on Methotrexate must be monitored carefully to check for

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liver damage. After two years on the drug, Adam’s blood work began to reveal disturbing signs of severe liver dysfunction. He was taken off the Methotrexate and Dr. Z began seeing him every six months to monitor his condition.

Four years following diagnosis, no progress was being made. In desperation, we began searching for alternative ways to slow down the damage that psoriatic arthritis was wreaking on Adam’s joints.

We came across the documentary “Forks Over Knives” on Netflix and sat down to two miraculously life-changing hours of viewing. Adam had not been a big meat eater (about three times a month) but he was still having dairy and eggs frequently.

We decided to begin our vegan journey the very next day and have never looked back.

At our next visit to Dr. Z’s office, we shared with her that we had completely changed our lifestyle in an effort to combat PsA. We were hoping for her encouragement, support and guidance. Unfortunately, like many doctors today, Dr. Z was unreceptive to the idea that this kind of dietary change could

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THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE

have any effect on his illness. Psoriatic arthritis, she explained to us, could not be improved through diet. She proceeded to lecture Adam on the importance of including meat in his diet as our new vegan diet (especially if we were going to eliminate gluten) would be far too limited. Our newfound enthusiasm was somewhat dampened by Dr. Z’s dismissive attitude. However, since she had nothing better to offer us anyway, we decided to stick with our vegan lifestyle and hope for the best.

And, in fact, over the next six months of following a gluten-free vegan diet, Adam did begin to experience some relief from his painful symptoms. Unfortunately, the swelling in his fingers did not improve and we were growing increasingly concerned that our limited options were about to become even more oppressive.

As our visits to Dr. Z’s office continued, she began pressuring us to consider a new type of drug treatment – biologics. Biologics are medications that are derived from living organisms. Enbrel, a popular biologic on the market right now, is made from the biologic protein derivative CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary). Biologics work at suppressing the immune system. As PsA is an autoimmune disease, this is thought to decrease the attack on the joints by the immune system. Unfortunately, this also increases the risk for other autoimmune diseases to emerge.

As a nurse, I had serious misgivings about the use of biologic drugs like Remicade, Humira or Enbrel.

There were many devastating side effects listed in the literature and no long-term safety studies on patients taking these medications has been conducted. The most troubling side effects included risk for the development of leukemia, especially in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Neurologically, side effects included optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis, Gullien-Barre syndrome and seizure disorders. The drug is not recommended for anyone who has TB

VegWorld Magazine

or who has tested positive for TB. This concerned me, too. My nursing job puts me at risk of being exposed to TB and that would potentially put Adam at risk as well. As if all this were not cause enough for alarm, the Enbrel website also states: “Patients treated with ENBREL are at increased risk for developing serious infections that may lead to hospitalization or death.”

We already knew that some medications (including Lipitor) caused liver damage in Adam. When I voiced this concern to Dr. Z at Adam’s next appointment, her nonchalant response was chilling.

“You won’t know if that’s going to be an issue unless you give it a try,” she told us. In other words, we needed to gamble Adam’s liver against the highly questionable future benefits of these medications – certainly not an appealing option. But, as we were beginning to reluctantly conclude, none of Adam’s ever-narrowing choices were very appealing.

Noting our hesitation, Dr. Z began to push even harder. Her warnings were haunting. “If you do not start taking these medications soon,” she said ominously, “you will begin to experience the true reality of this disease.” Adam’s left ring finger was already severely deformed and he was unable to straighten it out. Either go with these medications, Dr. Z was telling us, or that small deformity was only the beginning.

This, then, was Adam’s choice.

“Her warnings were haunting.

“If you do not start taking these medications soon, you will begin to experience the true reality of this disease.”

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THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE

He could either submit to the use of medications which carried with them a laundry list of devastating side-effects or he would soon face ongoing and irreversible crippling of his joints.

life would these temporary improvements come?

Throughout many dark tearful evenings after our young children had gone to bed, Adam and I stayed up late into the night trying to come to terms with our bleak alternatives. I remember saying to him that if he were to experience only one of the numerous side effects, it could land him in the hospital for several days or even weeks. At the very least, he would be missing work which would have a disastrous impact on our family’s finances.

At the very worst, as I had seen from my work as a nurse, he would be risking death from infection.

Despite all these dangers, there was only a 50% chance that Adam’s unremitting pain could even be improved. Dr. Z had told us that biologics are almost always given in conjunction with Methotrexate, upping the odds that it would be more effective. Adam was no longer a candidate for Methotrexate, thus lessening the chances that the biologics would be effective in his case.

Unappealing enough? It got worse. The cost of these medications are astronomical. For a onemonth supply of Enbrel, which is a weekly injection, we were looking at a cost of $2,486 per month. We have a high deductible insurance plan and this was impossible for us to afford.

Finally, even if Adam’s pain did improve, was this relief worth the risk of possibly developing lymphoma? Multiple sclerosis? A disastrous seizure disorder?

The list of perils associated with these medications left us desolate and it was not as though these biologics actually cured PsA. At best, they might slow the progression of joint damage and perhaps help with some of the pain, but at what cost to our finances, our peace of mind and Adam’s quality of

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In our worst moments, we imagined a parade of future doctors telling Adam that, yes, your joints are not deformed but now we need to start thinking about a bone marrow transplant from the leukemia you’ve developed!

Were we truly being given any viable options here or were we just supposed to try and choose between degrees of misery?

Whichever way you looked at it – and, believe me, we examined this impossible dilemma from every angle possible, it always seemed to come down to one thing. Adam’s choice was, in reality, more like a sentencing. Whatever he decided to do, Adam was either being sentenced to a future of pain and progressive illness or some kind of shattering sideeffect from the medications….or worse.

In reality, Adam’s choice was practically no choice at all.

Facing this harsh conclusion was tough, but it gave us the motivation we needed to pursue a new path – the one we are on today.

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THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE

You see, in the end, Adam did choose – but it was not any choice that Dr. Z had offered to us.

Adam made a new kind of choice, a different choice, a choice that has filled us with hope, optimism and excitement, rather than fear, dread and resignation.

Adam chose food.

We were already vegan, but now I sprang into action and researched everything I could get my hands on about nutritional therapy. I found Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s Plant Based Nutrition Course through ecornell online. I decided to take it to further my education on the whole food, plantbased diet. The course opened my eyes to so many details of plant-based nutrition that I hadn’t considered before. Dr. Campbell’s guest lecturers, Drs. John McDougall and Caldwell Esselstyn brought me inside a whole new world of learning. I soon discovered that there is a revolution going on – the treatment of chronic degenerative illnesses through plant-based nutrition…and that Adam and I were becoming a part of it!

During this time, I was reading an article about gluten on Facebook and – to my delight – I discovered that the doctor who had authored the article lived and practiced right here in our hometown.

We quickly made an appointment for a consultation with him. We now truly believe that he will turn out to be the doctor who will save Adam’s life and, also, the quality of Adam’s life as well. He gave us a strict gluten-free, whole-food, plant-based diet (no added sugars, no oils) program to follow and we have been religiously adhering to it for the last two months.

Within the first TWO WEEKS on the new program, Adam’s cholesterol 54 points to 150. Even more exciting, for the first time in years, the painful swell-

VegWorld Magazine

ing in his fingers began to noticeably decrease. He was actually able to put on his wedding ring again, something he had not been able to do for the last year. He is now able to close his hand into a tight fist, something that was impossible for him to do just a few short weeks ago.

We were beyond excited to present this news to Dr. Z. Upon examining him, she admitted that there had been a marked decrease in swelling (an improvement none of her pharmaceutical interventions had ever managed to achieve). Remarkably, however, even with this demonstrable proof of improvement before her, Dr. Z did not ask a single question about Adam’s dietary interventions. In fact, she once again raised the subject of biologics to him, resuming her strong campaign to have him begin taking the medications!

“Whatever he decided to do, Adam was either being sentenced to a future of pain and progressive illness or some kind of shattering side-effect from the medications….or worse.”

Adam once again refused, citing concerns about his past liver dysfunction.

At that point, Dr. Z told Adam that there was no need for Adam to continue coming to see her. If he refused to take the biologics, she told him, there was nothing further she could do for him. Should he change his mind and agree to take the medications, she would leave some appointments open for him. Otherwise, she could see no reason for him to be her patient. Apparently, the “choice” Dr. Z has given Adam had now become an ultimatum – but he continues to refuse it.

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THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE

“There are choices which can define us and there are choices which can destroy us.”

We know that there is a long road ahead of us, but we are optimistic. We believe that we finally have the tools we need to take on this disease. Our plan of care is to stay the course with this diet and to see just how much more improvement we can achieve.

If things seem to stagnate, we will discuss further dietary changes with our new plant-based doctor.

We are a work in progress and – for the first time in a very long time – progress is actually being made.

There are choices which can define us and there are choices which can destroy us.

The choice that Dr. Z offered Adam is the same stark, unhappy choice so many doctors offer to millions of patients each and every day. It is a choice that might very well have destroyed him, had he accepted it.

Instead, Adam chose a new doctor and a new way to combat his illness. He is redefining himself from victim of this disease to knowledgeable and empowered partner in his own recovery.

VegWorld Magazine

He is willing to do the work it takes to create health and we finally have a doctor who will offer us something more than a risky and expensive chemical cocktail. We were incredibly blessed to find this wonderful, plant-based doctor right here in our own hometown.

The names of the diseases may change from psoriatic arthritis to heart disease to diabetes to cancer but – for many of these all too common ailments – there IS another choice that many people never get to consider.

It is a choice that is made dozens of times each day when we decide to reach for the foods that can save our lives. It is a choice that leads away from blind sheepish fear and into knowledge, understanding, action and self-empowerment.

It is a choice that heals.

And, I am so very proud to say that it is now...

Adam’s Choice.

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

REFLECTIONS ON THE

INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ” HOW ONE MAN’S HEALTH QUEST SPARKED

GERMANY’S VEGAN RENAISSANCE

by Lori Fryd & Interview by Amanda Smith

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

- Leo Tolstoy VegWorld Magazine

I

t is often said that if we want to affect positive change in others, we need to start by looking in the mirror. Nowhere is this truer than in the world of vegan living. The mother who wants to provide better nutrition for her children needs to take a good hard look at her own eating habits. The co-worker who wishes he could help out his ailing colleagues would do well to be a healthy plant-based role model. The wife who wants to help her husband struggling with heart disease should first consider her own food choices. It all starts very close to home. It all starts with the reflection in the mirror.

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

What happens when the desire to change oneself meets up with a fierce entrepreneurial spirit? What is possible when a consummate businessman makes personal changes that provide him with a new lease on life? Can one person—working hard to better just himself—end up changing an entire nation, a continent…the world?

poor German diet of meat and processed foods were getting the better of him. He felt exhausted, overworked, under-motivated and completely uninspired. At the age of 42, major burnout had hit.

One morning, Jan woke up and took a good hard look at the man in the mirror—and he knew that he had to make a change.

In Berlin, Germany in 2008, two things weren’t happening: (1) Veg tourists weren’t having much luck finding decent non-meat restaurant meals and (2) Jan Bredack, a senior manager in the highest echelons of Mercedes-Benz, wasn’t finding much happiness.

Jan took a leave of absence from Mercedes-Benz.

Soon thereafter, he fell in love with a vegetarian woman. He became interested in the lifestyle and decided to join her. It wasn’t long before he decided to go vegan. Slowly, but surely, Jan’s health and happiness started to return.

Jan was a heavy meat-eater and a top-level executive. Neither was working out very well for him.

From the outside, he seemed to have it all, but his fast-paced, highly stressful career and his typically

Scouring grocery stores to find the right foods for his new lifestyle, Jan noticed how confusing it could be to distinguish cruelty-free vegan products from the rest of the foodstuffs lining the super-

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

market shelves. So many products. So many labels to read. So many ingredients to decipher. Why couldn’t he just shop normally like everybody else?

“There should be a special store just for vegans,” he thought to himself.

Hello? Can you say “Lightbulb Moment” ??

Had it been a few years earlier, Jan’s moment of inspiration might very well have been the right idea at the wrong time. But, something was starting to happen in Germany at around that time. A new consciousness was beginning to take hold of the country. Veganism was on the rise and interest in a sustainable way of eating that could spare the lives of animals and help the environment was starting to gather momentum.

Jan rode the burgeoning crest of this new vegan wave straight into the center of Berlin, where, in the summer of 2011, he unveiled Veganz—a first of

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its kind, all-vegan supermarket. It was an instant hit.

For the first time, vegans could stroll through the brightly-lit and colorful aisles of their neighborhood supermarket and know that anything they reached for would not compromise their health, the wellbeing of animals, or their ethics. Soon, omnivores, vegan-curious and flexitarians began flooding into Veganz to see what all the fuss was about. The company motto “Wir lieben Leben” (We Love Life) perfectly captured the spirit of veganism, itself. As the success of his new venture grew, the company motto was also proving especially true for Jan Bredack.

“Our aim is not to turn the world vegan, but to make vegan products accessible for everyone.”

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

The man in the mirror was proud and smiling back at him.

Within a few years, Veganz was boasting nine other locations in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Essen, Cologne, Prague, and Vienna. Vegans actually had a supermarket chain to call their very own, bringing them out of the shadows of an isolated fringe movement and right smack dab into mainstream German life—and beyond.

The triumph of Veganz has fanned the sparks of veganism that have been firing up Germany for the last eight years. An all-vegan supermarket was an inspirational idea whose time had arrived and the enthusiasm for Jan Bredack’s innovative brainchild is mirrored in the numbers of people who are eating differently. Vegetarian meals and meal centers with vegetarian labels have increased more than six-fold—an astonishing 633%—in Germany since 2011, the very same year Jan Bredack opened his first grocery!

Coincidence? We think not.

And it hasn’t stopped there. In 2014, when the company announced plans to open up a new branch in Portland, Oregon, the “Vegan Capital of America,” the Internet went wild. “Come to New York!” commenters begged. “Cincinnati!!” they pleaded. “Oh, please can we have one in Des

“There are 800,000 [vegans] in Germany alone. Our shops make it easy to adopt and stick to a plantbased diet. More than 40 percent of our clients don’t even consider themselves vegans.”

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

Moines?” they implored. “Come to my hometown!”

VegWorld Magazine is proud to offer this exclusive

vegans everywhere wrote in to beseech the com-

interview with Jan Bredack, the founder of Veganz.

pany. And the company is poised to do just that.

Why did you adopt a vegan diet or lifestyle?

Today, with its own line of plant-based products being sold in hundreds of big name retail grocery stores, not to mention its ambitious international expansion plans, Veganz has become an important focal point and an excited rallying cry for a movement which may still be in its infancy, but which is growing stronger - and healthier - by the day.

I was a manager, working for the car manufacturer Daimler Benz in Germany. After a burnout in 2008, I realized that things couldn’t continue along the same path. I decided to take some time off. It happened that I met a woman who was vegetarian.

That was when I started to become interested in

The smallest of changes, a moment of personal

the lifestyle and turned vegetarian without hesita-

clarity, a shifting in one’s own unique perception

tion. Soon after I became a vegan.

can sometimes lead to a series of stunning events that can positively impact not only an individual,

Germany is considered a very meat-centric coun-

but a community and a nation.

try. How did you deal with that when creating your unique, niche supermarket?

That is when you surpass mere change and venture beyond the boundaries of progress.

That is when you have that rarest of things—true innovation.

One morning, Jan Bredack awoke and took a cold hard look at his reflection in the mirror—and mil-

Believe it or not, in Germany, vegan food is trending very strongly. More and more people everywhere adopt the vegan lifestyle for ethical or health reasons. There are 800,000 of them in Germany alone. In the capital Berlin veganism has already become part of the mainstream. No other German

lions of people around the world are soon going to

city offers more vegan cafés or restaurants and re-

be extremely happy that he did.

tailers than Berlin. And Veganz has played a crucial role in this development. In a little over five years we became the biggest vegan supermarket retail group in Europe: We count ten stores in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

Our shops make it easy to adopt and stick to a plant-based diet. Working your way through the fine print becomes unnecessary. As a remarkable fact: more than 40 percent of our clients don´t even consider themselves vegans. A great endorsement for what we sell!

What are your plans to expand further into the United States and other countries?

Throughout 2014 and 2015 the Veganz team was primarily focused on the German market and successfully established nationwide coverage for our product lines and brands within the wholesale channel. Looking forward, international expansion is at the top of the list of priorities. In particular, Veganz believes that the biggest potential for plantbased products made in Germany is to be found right in the U.S. The goals are ambitious: We will focus on the wholesale distribution channel for own product lines, followed by the launch of the Veganz Online Shop. Starting the retail business with VegWorld Magazine

Veganz branded grocery stores is on our agenda for 2017. Our goal is to establish the brand Veganz as synonym of fair trade, ethical and sustainable business, as well as for products that are devoid of animal suffering.

Do you plan to sell mostly meat/dairy analogues and processed foods, or will you also include a sizable produce and bulk area that features whole foods?

Our team permanently seeks innovation and closely watches global food trend developments. We

“Fast food lovers will be happy to hear that every Veganz market comes with an in store café offering a variety of organic foods.”

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REFLECTIONS ON THE INNOVATOR BEHIND “VEGANZ”

Will you have a prepared foods section or in store cafe where those shopping for fast food equivalents can find healthier alternatives?

Our stores in Germany offer a variety of fresh, ready to eat products. Fast food lovers will be happy to hear, that every Veganz market comes with an in store café offering a variety of organic foods: salads, soups and bagels, as well as sweet treats, such as raw vegan cheesecakes and blueberry scones. We also offer smoothies, juices, coffee, tea and lots more.

What have you learned on your journey that surprised you?

plan to introduce our Veganz owned product line, which includes sweet treats, savory snacks, and Superfoods, but also delicious meat alternatives.

Our product range is constantly expanding. And we ensure that our products are 100% customized to vegan needs. In our stores you find a huge section of unpacked goods, organic fruits and vegetables.

Our German customers value the bulk area, as it is rather untypical for the German market.

How do you plan to appeal to the masses who are currently eating the Standard American Diet?

Veganz stores offer customers a balanced, fullrange line of healthy, unique, vegan products. And, of course, the utmost importance is placed on natural and organic foods. Veganz attracts vegetarians and vegans, as well as people suffering from specific food allergies and intolerances. Our aim is not to turn the world vegan, but to make vegan products accessible for everyone.

VegWorld Magazine

That most of the people, I have met, where absolutely open-minded for this new lifestyle and the idea to open an entirely plant-based grocery store.

Many of them offered their help and supported me with my adventurous enterprise. That was a great experience for me and clearly confirmed my plans even though five years ago, living a vegan lifestyle was something rather uncommon in Germany. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The United States is poised for this innovative shopping experience and looks forward to the first USbased Veganz grocery store opening in Portland, Oregon in 2017.

“The triumph of Veganz has fanned the sparks of veganism that have been firing up Germany for the last eight years. An allvegan supermarket was an inspirational idea whose time had arrived.”

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IMAGINE

THE DAY WHEN ALL ANIMALS ARE FREE TO BE.

Working together, it’s within reach. For over a decade, Mercy For Animals has been campaigning diligently to prevent cruelty to farmed animals and promote compassionate food choices and policies. Through education, undercover investigations, corporate outreach, and legal advocacy, we are changing the course of history for animals -- inspiring both compassion and change.

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Join us.

MercyForAnimals.org Issue 34 - May 2016 |

36

AMAZING TRANSFORMATION

AFTER

BEFORE

TIM KAUFMAN’S

AMAZING TRANSFORMATION

by Tim Kaufman

W

alking out of the doctor’s office, reality had finally sunk in.

I was not going to be around for another year.

My wife and kids would very likely not have a husband or father within the year. My blood pressure was 255/115, I was on three medications to bring it down. My cholesterol and triglycerides were off the charts (literally). I was on a ton of heavy medications I was also self-medicating and struggled with addictions of all kinds. My weight was so out of control that the doctor could no longer weigh me in his office. I was having trouble breathing and had severe sleep apnea.

On top of everything else, I have a genetic disorder VegWorld Magazine

called Elhers Danlos Syndrome which makes my joints very loose and hypermobile. The excess weight was too much for my already destroyed joints to handle. I was constantly on crutches, canes, and immobilizers. I was cast and fitted for very expensive leg braces that would keep my legs from buckling. My wife was actually putting my socks and shoes on me in the morning.

Nothing was working. My life was spiraling out of control. I was going to die and I don’t know if I really cared. I would try diets and I would lose some weight and then gain it all back. It was a vicious cycle. The more I hurt, the more I medicated; the more I medicated, the more I hurt.

As a result, I had lost my passion for life. I was just surviving, hoping that I would wake up the next Issue 34 - May 2016 |

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AMAZING TRANSFORMATION

day. I was committing slow suicide.

Every day I could see the hurt in my wife’s eyes as I grew more and more unhealthy. We were in the process of dealing with my father and her mother both being diagnosed with aggressive cancer. It was very hard to see the pain my wife was going through. One night I realized that she would soon have to deal with the same kind of pain because of the choices I was making.

I had become an expert on excuses and reasons why I had become who I was. In the back of my head, I think I knew that at least some of what I was going through was self-induced.

A very long story short.... If I even had a chance to save my wife from more pain, I was going to give it a try. Although I really didn’t care about myself, I figured it was pretty selfish to put her through another death that was self-induced. When you watch someone struggle to stay alive, you can’t help but appreciate life no matter how bad you think you have it. While I complained about how bad my knees hurt I watched as my loved ones struggled to just breathe. Perspective is an amazing thing!

I made some phone calls and started the process to get a gastric sleeve. I had done the research and this sounded like the best option. I was scheduled for the meetings and pre-op tests. I had to get clearance from my primary doctor. This was just a formality, or so I thought. My wife was skeptical which was weird because, as an addict, you learn to become a master at manipulation. I just couldn’t sell this one to her. I thought my doctor would assure her of what a good decision this was.

She and I sat down with my doctor and I told him my plan. He explained that he had ok’d everyone that had ever asked for the surgery. He said many people have had success with it. However……he would not sign off on the surgery for me. I was

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enraged to put it mildly. I was not healthy So there I was. My last hope had dwindled. I have no idea what transpired in my head that night. I am more than positive it was divine intervention, but I grabbed a notebook and wrote down the next day’s date at the top. Then, directly underneath I wrote: “This is the first day of the rest of your life”. I got down on my knees and I asked the Lord to give me enough strength to change just one small thing a day. Underneath that I wrote: “Goal- get up from chair 2x.”

This whole notion was way out of character for me. Writing things down is for old people or weirdos. Anyway, I figured if I could get up from a chair once, I could do it twice. The next day that’s exactly what I did. If someone had been watching me, they would have thought I had lost it.

Every day, I added just one small change.

Sometimes it was to just walk up four extra stairs but it was always a little more than I did the day before. I started to log my food but I really had no idea what real food was.

In time my food choices started changing. I started to eat things that made me feel better instead of putting myself into a food coma. Little changes, many hours of research, and documentaries (Forks Over Knives, Vegucated, Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, and The Gerson Miracle, to name a few) gave me an entirely new perspective on food. The more successes and better food choices that I made, the more I wanted to stay focused.

Since I began to focus on change, my life has completely flipped upside down. Every single aspect of my life has changed. I hate going to sleep because I’m afraid I’m going to miss something.

I’ve had so many opportunities that sometimes I think it’s all a dream. I’ve climbed mountains, summited 7 High Peaks, hiked on the Appalachian

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AMAZING TRANSFORMATION

“Eat plants and move your body. All ya gotta do is a little more than yesterday!”

Trail, cycled 100 mile centuries, ran 5ks, 10ks, and five half marathons.

Next month, I am running a full marathon powered by plants and gratitude. My doctor now refers patients to me for advice. How cool is that? The best part of this whole thing is this: My wife had been there by my side every step of the way. She has done nothing but support me and she has been my rock. She too has had some major changes in her life. As a result of my lifestyle changes, hers have changed by default.

My wife and I are now thriving on a plant-based diet free of meat, dairy, and oil with starch, vegetables, and fruit as our main fuel source.

I eat more now than I did when I weighed 400 pounds and I am never hungry and I never count calories. If you are even thinking about changing your diet, please watch the movie Forks Over Knives.

We now love life together and are making memory after memory. I thank the Lord for my health and happiness every day. I am truly grateful for the second chance He has given me and I am on a mission to not only appreciate it, but to pass it on to anyone that will listen.

Please don’t get freaked out about the plantbased lifestyle. If someone would have told me I’d be eating this way four years ago, I would have tossed my burger at them! Give it a try, it won’t cost you a dime. ***results are VERY typical **** VegWorld Magazine

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MEDICINE

VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTS

MAY BE NECESSARY

by Dr. Michael Greger

H

ow much sun exposure might one need

to make it!

to get their target Vitamin D level to that found associated with the lowest total

As I hope you’re beginning to appreciate, it’s not

mortality rate? Well, it depends. It depends on our

easy to make one-size fits all recommendations

age, how long we’re exposed, the time of day, the

for how much sun exposure one might need.

time of year, our latitude, our skin color, our use

And “Low vitamin D status despite abundant sun

of sunscreen, and how much of our body we’re

exposure” has been found even in the best of

exposing. Even in Boston, though, all it takes is 10-

circumstances: young, half naked skateboarders in

12 minutes, of midday summer sun without sun-

Honolulu, mostly Caucasian, averaging 30 hours

block—if, you’re a young, pale, naked Caucasian.

of sun a week, and 51% didn’t even make it to 30. If

But then you’re golden! Actually, you’d be a little

they can’t, who can?

pink. Note: If you’re some old white guy prancing

And these days, even if we’re an albino nudist

around naked on the Commons you’re not going

at the equator, how often might we be getting

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MEDICINE

outside in middle of the day with a desk job?

So, if we’re really interested in getting to the vitamin D level associated with the lowest mortality

rates, and our lifestyle or latitude won’t allow us the necessary sun exposure, then one needs to take vitamin D supplements: the piddly amount added to soymilk, calf’s milk, margarine or mushrooms would simply not be enough.

About the Author Michael Greger, M.D., is a physician, author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the International Bird Flu Summit, among countless other symposia and institutions, testified before Congress, and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous “meat defamation” trial. Currently Dr. Greger proudly serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States.

Dr. Greger’s recent scientific publications in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, Critical Reviews in Microbiology, Family & Community Health, and the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition, and Public Health explore the public health implications of industrialized animal agriculture.

Dr. Greger is also licensed as a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition and was a founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Greger’s nutrition work can be found at NutritionFacts.org, which is a 501c3 nonprofit charity.

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WELL WOMAN WAY

CURVY VEGANS AND SWIMSUIT SEASONS

by Linda Carney MD

S

wimsuit season is fast approaching. Do you want a shocker? Some of the most fattening foods are also vegan. Oil and coconut are extremely high in fat. In fact, olive oil has 4,000 calories per pound. But the good news is that the LEAST fattening food is also vegan. Let’s explore how to eat large quantities of delicious food, feel completely satisfied, and lose weight before it’s time to get into the pool. Eating unprocessed plants provides the key to eating more yet weighing less – as my friend Dr. Hans Diehl taught me.1 Why is it important to specify that the word “plants” should be paired with the word “unprocessed?”

While many individuals following a vegan diet may be eating well, a vegan diet does not guarantee VegWorld Magazine

weight loss. Fritos and Tater-Tots are high-fat processed vegan foods, which may contribute to overweight vegans.2,3 When turning plants into processed foods, the food industry often modifies the fiber content of plant foods. They also add sugar, fat, and salt. Dr. McDougall wisely says that the fat we eat is the fat we wear.

A vegan diet emphasizes the sanctity of all life by avoiding the consumption of animal products whereas a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet emphasizes human health by promoting unprocessed plant foods. The WFPB a diet is completely compatible with vegan values. By adopting a WFPB diet, we can live gently on the earth and optimize our health. Whichever terminology is used, a trim body Issue 34 - May 2016 |

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results when we shift the focus from portion control to real health by choosing low-fat unprocessed plants foods. By limiting high-fat foods and keeping the fiber intact, we can not only build optimal health, but we can drop a dress size before summer without going hungry.

Understanding calorie concentration is crucial to eating more (volume of food), yet weighing less.

This graph shows that the same volume of food (one pound) may contain a mere 200 calories or more than 4,000 calories. Even though most adult stomachs can hold a pound of food, as we shall see – all pounds are not created equal.

BAR GRAPH OF CALORIES PER POUND OF FOODS

Compare a pound of food containing 200 calories/lb. (veggies) against a pound of food containing 4,000 calories/lb. (oil). Which pound of food do you suppose fills up our stomachs, satisfies our hunger, but still allows us to lose weight?

whatever is closest. Finally, we need to build optimal health by eating foods rich in the anti-oxidants found only in plants. We achieve this three-pronged goal by choosing unprocessed whole plant foods which are lower in calorie concentration.

Some foods (oil) are so concentrated in calories that they make it much harder to lose weight.

To illustrate how to eat for lower calorie concentration, I teach a system I call “Starch-Smart.” “Beans, Greens, Squash, and Yams” is the slogan I use to help my patients master this important concept.

Rather than restricting the menu choices, these words help them remember four categories of plants which should form the majority of foods eaten for breakfast, the key meal for steady energy

For enough energy to power ourselves through busy days of weight loss, we need to eat enough complex carbohydrate (starchy) calories. Additionally, we need that “full-tummy” satiety to keep us from feeling hungry and desperately reaching for VegWorld Magazine

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plate should be filled with colorful vegetables from the greens and squash categories (which are even lower in calories than beans but still high in phytonutrients). Their fiber and water contents provide both volume and weight, allowing bulk in the stomach which foster that all-important sense of satiety. Whole grains are added, if needed, to fill us up even more. Fresh fruits make great desserts or the center of a light evening meal. Nuts and seeds are calorie-rich, so should be eaten sparingly when we’re trying to lose weight. and best weight loss. “Beans” stands for the legume family which includes lentils, dal, and split peas as well as all types of beans. “Greens” are the leafy green vegetables which are vital to providing protein and improving cardiovascular health. “Squash” symbolizes a variety of colorful veggies on our plate. And “yams” indicates all the starchy tubers like sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes and yucca. The beans and yams categories are wonderfully starchrich foods which are low in calories, high in phytonutrients (plant nutrients), and great at stabilizing energy levels. For best weight loss, at least half our

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The fiber and water in whole plant foods work together to produce bulk in the stomach for a feeling of satiety. Doug Lisle, PhD, Director of Research for TrueNorth Health Center and co-author of The Pleasure Trap, explains that our full, satisfied feeling comes about due to the stretch and nutrient receptors in our digestive system. The stretch receptors in our stomach tell us when we’ve eaten an adequate volume of food. The nutrient receptors measure the calories and macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) in our food. If we

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eat enough volume (like a huge bowl of lettuce), but not enough nutrients, we won’t feel satisfied that the meal is over. Conversely, if we eat enough calories (like chocolate) but not enough volume, we’ll still feel “hungry.” Both types of receptors have to be activated in order to achieve satiety.4,5 Satiety signals assist weight management when we eat whole plant foods which are high in volume and phyto-nutrients, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals, but low in calories. However, a diet of animal products and processed foods containing oil and flour may foil our weight loss by allowing us to take in excess calories (particularly the macronutrient fat) without sufficient volume to trigger satiety. If, in our attempt to shed pounds, we ignore the law of satiety, our diet is destined to fail over the long term. The hunger drive is the strongest drive in the human body. Our menu must provide

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the bulk (from fiber and water in plant-foods) to fill and satisfy us without permitting too many calories.

Dietary oil can quickly undermine weight management and overall health. At 120 calories per tablespoon (all from fat), oil can easily double a salad’s caloric value while not satisfying the stomach’s stretch receptors.6 Similarly, high fat avocados, coconut, nuts, and seeds may not promote weight loss. If weight loss plateaus while eating WFPB, these sources of dietary fat may well be the culprits.7,8 For weight loss and comprehensive health, I encourage my patients to drink 64 ounces of water per day before 5 PM, exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day, get to bed two hours before midnight (to optimize grehlin and leptin balance), and finish eating for the day by 6:00 pm. 9, 10, 11, 12 My patients tell me

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that the later and more fat-filled their supper is, the harder it is for them to lose weight. The Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and UC San Diego, found that in 2,413 breast cancer survivors providing 30,000 time-stamped dietary recalls, earlier suppers reduced breast cancer mortality by 21%. Longer overnight fasts lowered all-cause mortality by 22%, according to Catherine Marinac of UC San Diego, a doctoral candidate in public health who presented the WHEL Study at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 2015.

weight loss.13 This subtle, but vitally important difference, allows longer-lasting weight loss as well.

When we pay attention to which food is best for our insides (rather than merely focusing on the pounds packed onto our outsides) we can achieve our desired weight loss while promoting real health. Eating for vitality permits our outer body to reflect our inner health. Amazingly, excess weight may be banished for good.

Hearty helpings of low-fat unprocessed plant foods allow curvy vegans to enjoy slimmer swimsuit sea-

Pursuing inner health (as opposed to merely restricting calorie intake) promotes permanent

sons. So dive into the Starch-Smart way today for a

1. Diehl, H. Eat More, Weigh Less: Successful Weight Management by Dr. Hans Diehl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KgDoT59FzM

7. http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/stuck-in-arut/

trimmer, healthier swimsuit season tomorrow.

2. http://www.peta.org/living/food/accidentally-vegan/

8. https://happyherbivore.com/2013/04/not-losingweight-plant-based-why-how-to/

3. https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/dec/ fat.htm

9. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-preventionsource/obesity-causes/sleep-and-obesity/

4. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1113/jphysiol.1954.sp005207/asset/tjp19541262255.pdf?v=1&t= ilx6jk82&s=e73f2c46181b59ef9fbd483a0e56114a82 4e1e97

10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15583226

5. Lisle, Douglas J., and Alan Goldhamer. The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force That Undermines Health & Happiness. Summertown, TN: Healthy Living Publications, 2003. Print.

6. https://www.caloriecount.com/calories-olive-oili4053

11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC3756673/ 12. http://nedleyhealthsolutions.com/index.php/resources/book-excerpts/proof-positive/impact-ofeating-breakfast-on-longevity.html 13. Campbell, T. Colin, and Howard Jacobson. The Low-carb Fraud. Dallas: BenBella, 2014. 11. Print.

About the Author Linda Carney MD was Medical Director for the employees of Whole Foods Markets at Rip Esselstyn’s Engine 2 Immersions in Texas. She practices medicine near Austin, Texas and loves to share helpful science at www.DrCarney.com.

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TRUE BEAUTY

TRUE BEAUTY VEGAN COSMETICS MORE THAN JUST SKIN-DEEP

T

his month, I had the pleasure of trying out some products from a fairly new vegan cosmetics line. Since I worked for several years as a freelance makeup artist, I still always enjoy playing with new formulas and colors but I’m fairly picky about performance, so I only use products that are high quality and do what they are supposed to while still looking natural. And these days, I also insist that they are cruelty-free and safe (meaning no endocrine disrupters, carcinogens, etc., as described in the EWG.org database, Skin Deep Cosmetics (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/).

I recently heard about Au Naturale Cosmetics from an aesthetician who is developing her own skincare line. She highly recommended them. They almost sounded too good to be true. The founder, Ashley Prange, has a mission statement that sounds like what I would have written if I had developed my own line: “Ashley believes that no woman should have to sacrifice her health and values for beauty….Her ultimate goal is to help our customers wear makeup that embodies their values and promotes their health - allowing all to live the life to which they aspire.” I knew I was going to fall in love with these products, especially because they are paraben-, talc-, gluten-, sulfate-, and bismuth oxychloride-free, as well as non-nano, vegan and made and sourced in the U.S.!

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Au Naturale Cream Concealer Since I am already very happy with my powder makeup from Rejuva Minerals, I decided to play around with the cream formulas from Au Naturale. Cream concealers and foundations tend not to stay in place as long as powders, but the advantage is that they are super quick and easy to apply and you can even use your fingertips, so there’s no need to carry brushes along for touch-ups or travel.

I started with the Cream Concealer in Ecru (I have a fair to light skin tone). The texture is very creamy and it was easy to apply by patting around my under eye area with my fingertips. A concealer brush made for this purpose would be great as well, but fingers work fine for a quick application. Just on its own, this product immediately made me look more awake. And it didn’t tend to settle in any lines under my eyes or appear cakey, even hours after use…though I did apply moisturizer all over prior to applying makeup. Those with oily skin would most likely benefit from using a setting powder over this, applied lightly.

Au Naturale Cream Foundation Next, I applied the Organic Crème Foundation in Sand, which is the company’s most popular shade for light skin tones. It comes in a stick format, like a big, fat lipstick, so you can apply straight to the areas of your face where you need coverage and then blend using fingertips (a foundation brush would work well too). The coverage was medium and very buildable.

Since my skin tends to be more on the dry side these days, I didn’t set with powder, but you could definitely use a finishing powder to set or just for touch-ups. It was very easy to apply the foundation directly from the stick to the center of my face, mostly around my nose, where there is most often redness, and blend outward for a natural look.

Au Naturale Organic Cream Bronzer Stick & Blusher On to color: Next, I tried the Organic Crème Bronzer Stick to add some warmth to my skin. This is also in the “fat lipstick” format, and very easy to spot apply a touch over the tops of cheekbones, on the chin, nose, and hairline, where the sun would naturally hit the face. I used my fingertips again

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to blend out and downwards, and it gave a very natural sun-kissed look. To finish, I used a bright pop of color on the apples of my cheeks from the Adrenaline Organic Crème Blusher…same stick format and also very easy to blend over the bronzer. Since this is a vivid magenta with pink undertones, a little goes a long way, but it looks very natural over the bronzer.

Au Naturale Eye Pencil To add definition to my eyes, I used the Eye Liner Pencil in Night, a matte jet black color. This was one of my favorite products in the collection! It was super easy to apply, with a fatter point than most, and it was soft enough to glide easily over my lash line. I used it under my top lash line as well as over it with no irritation to my eyes at all. And the smudger on the other end is the perfect touch to soften the look. I was surprised, but it stayed in place without smearing for a few hours. For even longer wear, I would definitely set it with finishing powder or layer a black powder shadow over it.

Au Naturale Lipstick Lastly, I received a sample of the Sangria lipstick, a deep bold pink with shimmer. As I typically wear a natural shade of lip gloss, this was a bit too much color for me, but I can see that it will work well as a stain layered under a gloss for evening wear. I’m looking forward to trying the Au Naturale glosses soon!

All in all, I’m super impressed with the Au Naturale makeup line, and I highly recommend trying it. I will definitely use these products when I need a “throw it on and go” face and I’m sure they’ll be great for travel, too! Most of all, I love buying products from a company that supports my values. I’m so happy to have found Au Naturale and look forward to trying out other products from the line soon!

About the Author Sharon McRae is a wife and mother of three teens, as well as a certified health coach and PCRM Food for Life instructor residing in Columbia, Md. She has been adopting and applying principles of health and nutrition in her own life for more than three decades. She became a health coach to fulfill her passion of helping others take control of their health by making better lifestyle choices and adapting a whole food, plant-based vegan diet.

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Things We

o L ve !

Simple Mills Gluten-Free Crackers Simple Mills has just launched a gluten-free almond flour cracker line. The crackers are made from simple, organic ingredients and are completely grain and soy free. The unique use of almond flour makes the crackers resemble the texture of traditional white flour crackers (think saltines) but without the gluten that is an issue for so many people. Out of the four new varieties, three of them are vegan – Sundried Tomato & Basil, Rosemary & Sea Salt and Fine Ground Sea Salt. Things I love about this are: the packaging – the cracker pictured on the box is a true representation of the cracker size inside the box; you get 13 crackers in a serving for 150 calories and the sodium content is low compared to other cracker brands on the market; plus they all taste great. You can go to http://www.simplemills. com to shop online or find a retailer near you.

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THINGS WE LOVE!

Tea Forté Tea Forté is known for creating the exceptional tea experience and for those that really love tea, this elevates the art of taking tea to a whole new level. Tea Forté just released its new couture collection with organic single steep, loose teas and beautifully designed infusers. Whether you are a lover of black, green, white or herbal tea, Tea Forte´ has a tea for you – even diehard coffee drinkers. The flavors are unique (white tea – tangerine rosemary, green tea – lemon sorbetti and herbal tea – cherry amour are just a few) and one taste transports you to a place of peace and indulgence. Go to www.TeaForte.com to see the entire line of luxury teas.

Hilary’s Burgers It is grilling season and what could be better than a good plant-based burger on the grill? Hilary’s Burgers are made with whole grain millet and adzuki beans plus a bunch of other good stuff like sweet potatoes, carrots and cabbage. They are free of the following: gluten, corn, dairy, egg, soy and nuts. But, they are not free of flavor. Actually, they are surprisingly good. I tried three out of the eight different flavors – Kimchi, Curry and Spicy Thai. All of them were very good and would be a great for your next backyard barbecue. Go to www.hilaryseatwell.com to view the entire product line and to find a store near you that carries them.

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BETWEEN THE PAGES

BETWEEN THE PAGES

COOKBOOK REVIEW “NAKED NUTRITION: WHOLE FOODS REVEALED”

by Robin D. Everson

“N

aked Nutrition: Whole Foods Revealed” by Amy Choate and Annie Miller with beautiful photos

by Marilyn Choate is a guide to why we should eat “real food,” why it matters, and how we can change our lives to live healthfully. Real food is food in its natural state, minimally processed – so cooked food is fine but heavily processed food is not.

This book is about more than just recipes.

It is an easy-to-follow guide for a lifestyle of healthy eating and living. The book provides a pantry staple list, step-by-step cooking instructions, valuable nutritional information, and lots of photos of many of the completed dishes.

Readers will discover a delicious, nutritious transition to a lifestyle of health that can be easy. While both authors share their individual stories, Amy Choate’s section on “Musings of a Conscientious Mother” provides sage advice

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on transitioning, tips on living a wholesome life and how not to lose friends in the process.

What I love about this cookbook is the detail in explaining things that newbie vegans as well as veteran vegans may not know – how to really make herbal tea including the different methods used to make it along with some great tea recipes. I also love the soak and sprout chart, which is a quick guide on how long it takes to sprout and soak grains, nuts and seeds. If you don’t know what agar agar, Lucama powder or psyllium is, you will learn in the informative glossary that provides a geographical as well as definitional knowledge of these terms.

asparagus soup on page 89. They are my favorites because they are easy to make and full of flavor.

I highly recommend “Naked Nutrition” as a cookbook staple for your kitchen bookshelf. You will find yourself referring to its facts and enjoying the simple, tasty recipes.

The book covers everything from breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, beverages (including plant-based milks), desserts, soups and salads.

It was very hard to pick my favorite recipes but I did narrow it down to three – the raw apple pie salad on page 52, the pomegranate sweet potato salad with wassail dressing on page 55 and the cream of

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SIMPLE GREEN SMOOTHIES

by Robin D. Everson

T

here is so much to love about Jen Hansard and Jadah Sellner’s book “Simple Green Smoothies.” First off, this is not another smoothie book with some kale thrown in it. This is a Green Smoothie Bible!

The Authors

“Oh my goodness, I have to drop off Jill here and Jack there, at the exact same time!” can be a bit

Jen Hansard and Jadah Sellner are friends who wanted to make some improvements to their health and the health of their families. As with many moms juggling family life, snacks were goldfish crackers and meals were frozen fish sticks, pizza, nuggets – quick and easy but not necessarily nutritious. Even as adults chugging down Starbucks coffee to reboot the endless cycle of

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overwhelming especially if the locations are across town. Powwows with your best buddy can be reduced to “Can you help pick up so-and-so after baseball and I will pick up such-and-such after ballet.” Trying to get control of their health, Hansard and Sellner made their first green smoothie in 2011 and haven’t looked back. Their twice-a-day Starbucks runs are a thing of the past as green

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smoothies became their new fast food pick-me-up. By adding green smoothies to their diets, Hansard went from an exhausted mom to a half-marathon runner and Sellner slipped back into her honeymoon jeans.

The Book The book cover boasts over 100 tasty recipes to lose weight, gain energy and feel great in your body and includes a 10-day kick-start to get you going. The cover claim is true. The recipes taste great and have helped me lose weight, gain energy, and feel great. But more than just recipes, it offers great advice (like you don’t have to count calories) and gives an in-depth look at different blenders, how to prep, how to save money when making your green smoothie, how to blend (what foods should be at the bottom of the blender and what should be on top) and a detailed guide to different types of greens and their flavors (spinach – subtle, argula – peppery, kale – bitter, etc.). How to de-stem kale, and how to really wash produce are also part of this smoothie bible. One of the most valuable sections in the book is the 911 on how to save a green smoothie fail because somewhere down the line, you are going to blend something that doesn’t taste quite right. It also includes the authors favorite accessories like mason jars, lids with a hole for the straw and cool straws. The recipes are awesome! I don’t say that often so when I do, it is because it really is awesome.

From kid-friendly recipes (yes, you can get a kid to drink a green smoothie without going saying blech), to energy boosting, fitness fuel, healing and immunity boosting, lean and green and smoothie bowls - there is a smoothie recipe for everyone in your family.

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MOVIES

Y E E T P ERIC &

Y

ou can get a minute into this video without much reaction. You can be two minutes in and still remain relatively unaffected.

When you get to three minutes, you might find your heartstrings being tugged on just a bit. Four minutes in, your eyes will probably begin misting over slightly. At four and a half minutes, you’d better have a hanky nearby.

If you get to the end of this video and you’re not wiping away tears, please take a mirror and hold it in front of your face to make sure that you are still breathing. But, we’re pretty sure there will be no need.

This is way more than a cute pet video and it is worlds apart from a clichéd “Man and his Dog” story.

This is a tale of life-saving friendship and of finding hope in the most unexpected of places. It’s the story of an unexpected connection that

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transformed two lives. It will remain with you far longer than the six minutes it takes to tell.

As vegans especially, we understand the strong bonds that humans can form with their animal friends. We respect their individuality and their spirits. We defend their rights.

But, every so often, stories of such powerful connection emerge that we are left in pure awe. Animals – all animals – can enrich our lives in ways we never dreamed possible.

This is the story of a man who saved the life of a dog and a dog who, in turn, saved the life of a man. Neither one was ever the same again.

We invite you to find a quiet, contemplative moment to be enriched by this moving narrative, told in Eric’s own words, about his life before and his life after rescuing his beloved dog, Peety.

Have a box of Kleenex at the ready and prepare yourself.

Because the chances are pretty good that once you’ve seen the tale of Eric and Peety, you won’t ever be the same again either.

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FOOD REVIEWS

BEANFIELDS BEAN AND RICE CHIPS:

SNACK OF CHAMPIONS

by Robin Tierney

Q

uestions. Everyone keeps asking questions. The tasters are supposed to critique the tortilla chips between bites.

But instead, I get questions.

“Where can I buy these?”

“Can you order them online?”

“What’s the website?”

“Can you order a mix of flavors?”

“How many flavors are there? What are they?”

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“What are they made of?”

“Tell me again, what’s in them?”

“When did the company start making them? Don’t they advertise?”

“Tell me the brand again?”

Tasting parties can be a bit exasperating for the host.

Then again, I should have expected this. Beanfields Snacks Bean and Rice Chips have won several

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awards. They’re smart, healthy chips. Endowed with zesty flavors and a solid, snappy, satisfying crunch, healthy is not the first descriptor that pops to mind when munching these chips.

Their specs compared with conventional corn-, potato- and wheat-based chips are impressive: • Double the fiber per serving • At least double the protein • At least 29% less fat per serving* • No major food allergen ingredients • Certified gluten-free • Non-GMO Project Verified • Vegan The company mission: to make delicious, plantbased, Non-GMO snacks with beans as the main ingredient. The chips double as a vegetable and protein source, containing 5 grams of protein.

Beanfields’ backstories are interesting. Founder Reed Glidden is lifelong a natural foods enthusiast who drove an 18-wheeler in Utah salt mines, ran a construction company in Alaska, won weightlifting competitions and practiced yoga. Beanfields qualifies as a Certified B Corporation, which strives to use business as a force for good.

My tasters gave thumbs-up to all varieties we tested. Some preferred the lighter unspiced varieties, such as White Bean and Sea Salt, which contains just navy beans, brown rice, safflower or sunflower oil and sea salt. So the whole-ingredient flavors dominate. My own favorite was the Black Bean with Sea Salt, made from black beans, brown rice, safflower or sunflower oil and sea salt.

We also tested and loved the Nacho and fiery Jalapeno Nacho varieties, boldly seasoned with natural ingredients to achieve cheese-like and zesty flavors. Ranch fans liked the Ranch variety. I VegWorld Magazine

thought the salt outcompeted the ranch-iness, but I tend to like everything less salty. Tasters seemed to consume these flavors faster and in greater quantity; I find that is common for any snacks flavored with zippier and saltier seasonings.

The chips are sturdy, crisp and not oily. The varieties I tasted were delectable “naked” -- while also pairing well with tomato-based salsas and sauces, my light and chunky homemade veggie dip, and hummus. Tthe group agreed that they felt more satisfied eating these chips compared to empty-calorie conventional tortilla chips.

The package sizes are 5.5 and 1.5 ounce and are clearly labeled “vegan” -- a nice touch.

Other flavors include Barbecue, Salt and Pepper, unsalted and Pico de Gallo. Got other questions?

Check out their website: http://www.beanfieldssnacks.com

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BANZA CHICKPEA

PASTA?

NOODLE-LICIOUS!

by Robin Tierney

O

kay, I’d admit it. As a chronic multi-tasker I sometimes overcook pasta. Preoccupied with crafting profound paragraphs, I let my spaghetti pot boileth over.

Thus, my first batch of Banza chickpea pasta morphed into a rib-sticking porridge that Goldilocks and the Three Bears would drool over. A dash of red pepper and herbs, a bag of Beanfields vegan bean-and-rice chips, and the porridge became a serendipitous dip. Whatta save!

But porridge was not the goal. Cooked right, Banza pasta delivers taste and nutrition in stylish shapes: penne, rotini, elbows and cute little shells.

produced in a facility free of those ingredients.

Kosher, too. And chickpeas are grown GMO-free.

In 2013 in downtown Detroit, Brian Rudolph perfected his recipe for a power pasta. Brother Scott helped him get Banza on 2,000 grocery shelves in barely a year. Tech investors and celebrity foodies helped expand their market penetration. The young venture has won awards, such as Grand Prize at the 6th Annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The icing on the cake -- or sauce on the pasta -- was Banza being lauded among the “Top 25 Inventions of 2015” by TIME Magazine.

The secret: Follow the directions. When they say 7 minutes, they mean 7 minutes. Don’t overcook.

Watch. Serve. Enjoy -- my guests and I loved it with a tomato sauce as well as tossed with coconut oil.

Find Banza in indie markets, health food stores, Wegman’s, Fresh Markets and online. You can order directly from Banza; a 6-box case of individual varieties or a mix is $30.

Banza is pasta 2.0. Compared to the near-empty carbs in wheat noodles, Banza nourishes with double the protein, four times the fiber, and nearly half the net carbs. The box indicates four servings, but my guests and I ate an average of two servings apiece. But hey, it’s healthy, right?

With Banza, you can nutritionally turbo-charge warm and chilled noodle dishes. Or make a dip or porridge like I did inadvertently on my trial run. Oh, wait, it wasn’t pasta-pot neglect -- I was considering the pastabilities!

More info: http://www.eatbanza.com

Banza is vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, soyfree, egg-free, lactose-free and nut-free, and it’s

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Recipes: http://blog.eatbanza.com

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JUICE GURU

JUICE GURU On our premiere episode of Juice Guru TV, you’ll find out the top ways juicing can change your life. Also, we feature an exclusive interview with eternally youthful 65-year-old celebrity chef Babette Davis (co-owner of Stuff I Eat restaurant).

About the Authors

Steve Prussack is the author of “Juice Guru: Transform Your Life by Adding One Juice a Day” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Juice Fasting”. He is the founder of Juice Guru, a business dedicated to spreading the message about juicing for healthy living. He is also the founder of the accredited Juice Guru Academy, which offers courses in juice therapy and health education. Steve is the awardwinning host of Juice Guru Radio and was the founder and publisher of VegWorld Magazine. Steve resides in Los Angeles, CA. Julie Prussack is the co-author of”Juice Guru: Transform Your Life by Adding One Juice a Day”.

She is an environmental lawyer and administrative law judge who became an avid juicer when she reunited with her high school sweetheart, Steve. For three years, Julie has also been a head writer and associate editor of VegWorld Magazine. Julie resides in Los Angeles, CA.

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UN-PASTA FAGIOLI

UN-PASTA

FAGIOLI

by Amy Johnson

This pressure cooker recipe makes a nice, big pot of nutritious soup.

It’s a filling fat-free soup, loaded with veggies, beans, and greens!

Ingredients: • 2 cups of dried cranberry beans (you can also use dried pinto beans), soaked overnight or prepared using “quick method” below • 1 large yellow onion, diced • 2 stalks of celery, chopped finely • 6 garlic cloves, minced • 2 large zucchini, diced into 1/2 inch pieces • 3 t. dried basil • 2 t. dried oregano • 1/2 t. dried rosemary • 1/2 t. smoked paprika • 2 t. salt (or to taste) • 1/4 t. black pepper • ¼-1/2 t. red pepper flakes • 1 28-oz can of organic diced tomatoes • 4 cups of vegetable broth • 2 cups of water • 16 oz. fresh baby spinach VegWorld Magazine

Quick Method for Soaking Dried Beans: At least 1 hour before making the soup, remove any stones or pebbles from your beans. Wash and drain the beans. Add the beans to the pressure cooker and cover with 2 inches of water. Set pressure cooker to SAUTE or BROWN mode. Bring beans to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the pressure cooker. Let beans rest in the water for 1 hour before preparing the soup.

Move the beans to an interim bowl as you begin making the soup in the pressure cooker.

Add the onions and celery to the pressure cooker.

Sautė until tender.

Add the garlic, zucchini and dried spices. Add in the broth, water, beans, and diced tomatoes, and stir well to combine. Pressure cook for 10 minutes with natural release. Open the lid and check the beans for tenderness. If done, stir in the fresh baby spinach. If the beans need more time, close the lid and cook on high pressure for 1-2 more minutes with quick release. Then, stir in the spinach. Serve!

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SOS FREE LIVING WITH CHEF AJ

SOS FREE LIVING WITH CHEF AJ

Q:

A:

Dear Chef AJ, What can I make for breakfast that is quick and easy? I’m always in a rush in the morning and prone to grab the wrong thing later if I don’t start the day off right. ~ Melody in the Morning

Dear Melody,

You are right about wanting to start the morning off right so that you make better choices throughout the day. If you are short on time in the morning, I suggest that you actually make your breakfast the night before. Something like overnight oats can even be made several days in advance and enjoyed cold, at room temperature or heated up. If you drink green smoothies for breakfast, you can put almost all of the ingredients in the blender except for the frozen fruit and then blend it in the morning before you drink it. I eat vegetables for breakfast and I always roast several days worth in advance and eat them cold or reheated. Or, I cut the vegetables up the night before and steam them quickly in my Instant Pot. I recommend savory breakfasts instead of sweet ones, so even leftovers from the night before like sweet potatoes or rice and beans can make a great breakfast.

Here is a super simple recipe for Overnight Muesli that I think you will enjoy.

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OVERNIGHT MUESLI

OVERNIGHT MUESLI Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. Muesli in its modern form became popular in western countries starting in the 1960s as part of increased interest in health food and vegetarian diets. Traditional muesli was eaten with orange juice and not milk.

Ingredients: • ½ cup of gluten-free oats • 2 Tablespoons currants • ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk • ¼ cup unsweetened apple juice • 1 apple, grated (I prefer Gala) • 1 Tablespoon chia seeds • ½ teaspoon apple pie spice or roasted cinnamon • ½ teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla

Instructions: 1. Pour the unsweetened apple juice and unsweetened almond milk in a large glass and stir in the extract, spice, and chia seeds.

2. Place the oats and currants in a medium bowl. Grate the apple over the oats.

3. Pour the liquid mixture over the apple and oats and mix well. Place in the refrigerator covered overnight. The chia seeds will swell and become gelatinous and the next day will have absorbed all of the liquid and become almost like a pudding.

4. In the morning you can enjoy this dish cold or warm in the microwave. You can also add additional fruits and almond milk, if desired.

Notes Both apple pie spice and roasted cinnamon is available at Ralph’s and Krogers. Feel free to substitute regular cinnamon. Apple pie spice is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace. For a delicious variation, substitute a grated pear for the apple or goji berries for the currants.

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ULTRA LIGHT BERRY COBBLER

ULTRA LIGHT BERRY COBBLER

by Chef Tess Challis

SERVES 4-6 GF (WITH SUBSTITUTION)/SF/GREEN (ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES IN MY BOOKS AND BE RADIANT PROGRAM)

This is the recipe for “Ultra Light Blackberry Cobbler” from Radiant Health, Inner Wealth - I’ve always loved this dish because it’s crazy easy, fat-free, high in fiber, and still manages to taste wonderful!

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ULTRA LIGHT BERRY COBBLER

Ingredients:

Directions:

• 2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt very well in a medium bowl.

Stir in the vanilla, maple syrup, and milk until evenly combined.

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla • 1/3 cup maple syrup • 2/3 cup almond milk (or other nondairy milk) • 2 cups blueberries (or blackberries), fresh or frozen

2. Lightly oil a round pie pan. Pour the mixture into the pan, using a rubber spatula to remove all of the batter. Evenly sprinkle the blackberries over the top of the mixture. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cobbler is a gorgeous shade of brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so, then serve immediately.

Many thanks to Dr. John and Mary McDougall for providing the inspiration for this recipe! Their books are the reason I was inspired to go vegan 20 years ago.

About the Author Tess Challis is an author, vegan chef, wellness coach, and cooking instructor.

Tess began her holistic health journey in her late teens. After a lifetime of numerous health ailments (including severe acne, obesity, constant illnesses, anxiety, and depression), she found that a vegan diet along with an inner wellness regime made all the difference. In 1994, Tess began to work as a personal chef across the country. In 2008, she shifted her focus to writing, coaching, speaking, and teaching healthy plant-based cooking. Her books include Radiant Health, Inner Wealth, The Two-Week Wellness Solution (foreword by Dr. Neal Barnard), Radiance 4 Life (foreword by Robert Cheeke) and Get Waisted: 100 Addictively Delicious Plant-Based Entrees (co-authored by Dr. Mary Wendt). Tess’s greatest passion is helping others achieve radiant health and wellness - all while enjoying the most delicious foods on the planet! Tess resides in SW Colorado and Florida with her daughter, Alethea, Vegan Kid Chef.

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LOVE, LORI

LOVE, LORI

MONTHLY MUSINGS ON THE PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE MONTHLY MUSINGS ON THE PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE

THE FATE OF A POUND

by Lori Fryd

F

ar be it for me to single-handedly combat the weight loss obsession of an entire nation.... but I’ve got to say this.

How many times do I hear people reciting their weight loss numbers with the fervor and passion of a revival meeting? They know where they started, they know every ounce that was lost and in what

VegWorld Magazine

increments the weight came off. They can recite chapter and verse every sliver of poundage removed and gained and they can tell you what time of day it came off along with what hour, minute and second it came back on again.

I received a special text message from someone yesterday to inform me that the pound they had

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LOVE, LORI

gained last week was now gone again, so that person was back to where they were seven days ago and would be breaking into new fat from here on in. Hallelujah! Can I get an Amen, Holy, Holy and Hosannah? Uhhh.....no.

Ok, I get it. We’re dealing with an obesity epidemic.

It’s an emergency and it’s very, very real. Of course, it is important for those pounds to come off. I’m not denying that.

But, I’m a bit of a stickler these days. I am far less concerned with the fate of a pound than with the training of a mind and the conditioning of a body. If that pound came off as a result of new plant-based habits being formed, if the weight loss is happening because taste buds are being re-programmed and delicious plant-based recipes are being discovered - I’ll fall down on my knees alongside you and sing glory to the heavens as well. Because that means you are learning a new way of eating and developing consistent routines that will all go towards cementing that (usually undefined) thing we call a lifestyle change. That’s worth celebrating.

However, there are many ways for a pound to perish in this weight-obsessed world of ours. I am far less inclined to celebrate its demise due to dehydration, random calorie restriction, low carb absurdity, gastric bypass alteration, cabbage soup extravaganzas, forced elimination, manic exercise or any of the other unnatural, myriad tricks we know how to play on our bodies. These methods (and so many more) hold no long-term promise and impress me not one little bit.

“I’m all for killing unwanted pounds, but I demand to know the cause of death.”

As much as that person wanted and needed for me to jump up on the support bandwagon and throw a bucket load of enthusiastic confetti in their general direction, the fate of that pound was meaningless to me because I knew they hadn’t rid themselves of it in the right way. If 10 or 20 or 30 more pounds follow suit - and still no new training is taking place, I will remain unimpressed.

I would rather celebrate the loss of one pound on a plant-based lifestyle than the loss of one hundred pounds to any of the grim, unhealthy alternatives our society has devised for weight loss.

The ultimate goal here is to figure out how the heck to get out of the SAD trap we have all struggled with and to teach ourselves an entirely new way of living.

I’m all for killing unwanted pounds, but I demand to know the cause of death.

Because the fate of a pound doesn’t mean a thing to me.

Our fates, on the other hand, most definitely do.

Love, Lori

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