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n o r t h a m e r i c a’ s v e g a n r e s o r t

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CONTENTS VegWorld Magazine - March/April 2017

THE FUN SIDE

COVER STORIES

12 Vegan Hot Sheet

37 The Veggie Vanguard

17 Key West: Seeing the Sights While Taking It Slow

38 Kathy Freston – Lending Us A “Veganish” Hand

23 Events Calendar

42 Lisa Bloom – Straight Talk

24 Top Vegan Festivals You Must Go To!

45 Jane Velez-Mitchell – Unchained!

FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE 28 Vegan 101: It’s a Trifecta!

30 The Keys to Good Health 33 Quick, Easy, and Creative Ideas for Healthful Lunches for Children

49 Julieanna Hever – Charismatic Vegiterranean

FRESH FINDS 54 Things We Love 56 French Themed Spring Fling!

58 True Beauty 61 Eat The World - Sluggo’s of Chattanooga Tennessee

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CONTENTS VegWorld Magazine - March/April 2017

NUTRITION AND THRIVING

REGULAR FEATURES

64 Taking Personal Responsibility for Your Health - Dr. Michael Greger

10 Editor’s Note

09 Credits

88 Love, Lori

67 Juice Guru 83 Prescriptions for Health

RECIPES FOR HEALTH 68 Cauliflower Crabless Cakes 70 Creole Beans, Greens & Rice from the Instant Pot 72 Raw Ravioli with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce 75 Banish Bloat, Lose Weight, Feel Great for Spring and Summer with Green Drinks!

© VegWorld 2017 VegWorld Magazine

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VegWorld Magazine

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CREDITS VEGWORLD STAFF

CONTRIBUTORS

Publisher Edward N. Smith III Editor-in-Chief Amanda C. Smith Managing Editor Lori Fryd

Chef A.J.

Lori Donica Barber

Courtney Garza

Tanya Cleary

Andrea Denton

Lori Fryd

Assistant Editor Tanya Cleary Advertising Manager Jill Alexander Marketing Director Courtney Garza

Linda Carney MD

Fashion Editor Erin Goldmeier Food Editor Amy Johnson Graphic Design Lise-Mari Coetzee

Erin Goldmeier

Michael Greger, MD Amy Johnson

Dr. Joel Kahn

Jill McKeever

Sharon McRae

Lani Muelrath

Natalie Norman

Steve Prussack

Karen Ranzi

Michael Taylor

Robin Tierney

Cover Design Clay Garrett

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EDITOR’S NOTE A message from the Publisher of VegWorld Magazine, Ed Smith

“Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again And don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin And there's no telling who that it's naming For the loser now will be later to win Cause the times they are a-changing” - Bob Dylan

Yes, the times they are a-changing.

The season is changing. Our government is changing. Our society is changing. For most of us, our health insurance is changing. As springtime beckons, maybe even the firm commitment behind your New Year’s resolution is changing?

Yet, with all the uncertainty that may be going on in our country and in our lives, the one thing we can rely on is that our plant-based diets do help prevent and reverse most of the chronic illnesses which plague Americans today.

WFPB way of life - Kathy Freston, Lisa Bloom, Jane Velez-Mitchell and Julianna Hever – whose enthusiasm and kindness are sure to inspire you to grab the reins of your own health and to take charge!

We can combat the uncertainty of our changing times by arming ourselves with knowledge and good oldfashioned American ingenuity – even in the kitchen.

For those who are dedicated to a healthful vegan lifestyle, perhaps it’s not such a stretch to believe that food preparation can be compared to practicing medicine – as Lori Fryd whimsically proclaims in her engaging, tongue-in-cheek article, “A Doctor in the House.” Likewise, Dr. Linda Carney is back to teach us about what we call “veggie vision,” (“The Green-Eyed Advantage”) how loading up on our dark leafy greens and eschewing the high fat SAD lifestyle can actually improve our sight and combat certain diseases of the eye.

Taking charge of our health has never tasted so good.

Our phenomenal chefs are putting such delicious delicacies as Cauliflower Crabless Cakes, Creole Beans, Greens & Rice, and Raw Ravioli with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce on the menu --- not to mention some scrumptious down home fare at a small, unpretentious café by the name of Sluggo’s in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

To that end, Dr. Michael Greger is back at VegWorld to reassure us that there is one thing that does not and will not change – the science which demonstrates that: “There’s only one diet that’s ever been proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients—a diet centered around whole plant foods.” With this proof in mind, Dr. Greger reminds us that it is now more important than ever to fully accept responsibility for our own health.

Yes, times they are a-changing – But understanding the food to health connection, and accepting responsibility for our own health is the surest way to ride through change and come out stronger, healthier and better on the other side

Also, in this issue, some of the most prominent women in the plant-based movement today are here to encourage us to do just that. We are proud to present the personal stories and insights of these remarkable ambassadors for the

VegWorld Publisher

VegWorld Magazine

Ed Smith

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VegWorld Magazine

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VEGAN HOT SHEET Latest Vegan & Plant Based Buzz

COCA-COLA

HIT WITH "TOBACCO-STYLE" LAWSUIT

WHO ELSE IS AT RISK?

U

sing tactics similar to those that defeated the tobacco industry, consumer activists are suing Coca Cola, claiming the carbonated drink is just as dangerous to

health as cigarettes. The lawsuit charges the beverage giant with colluding to mislead customers about the science linking sugary drinks to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, as well as specifically targeting kids with their advertising. What will this mean for other beverage manufacturers and processed food companies selling candy, chips, ice cream, and snacks?

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VEGAN HOT SHEET

AN EVEN MORE COMPELLING REASON

TO AVOID SEAFOOD

P

lant-based physicians agree that, as humans,

is also a growth of a new type of predators that feed

we have evolved to thrive on a no oil, vegan

on bacteria. You basically get one extra step in the

diet. Be that as it may, modern man has now

food chain and methylmercury is enriched by about

managed to create an even more persuasive reason

a factor of ten in each such step in the food web."

to stop consuming animal protein in the form of fish. Researchers in Sweden have concluded that

It is now more emergent than ever that we embrace

climate change is creating environmental changes

a plant-based lifestyle to avoid – not only the

in the ocean which lead to an increased level of

naturally-occurring diseases which occur as a result

mercury in fish. Lead scientist on the study, Dr. Erik

of consuming animal protein – but the man-made

Bjorn of Umea University in Sweden tells BBC News:

effects of global warming that have contaminated sea

"When bacteria become abundant in the water there

life and made fish even more dangerous to consume.

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VEGAN HOT SHEET

PLANT-BASED MEATS ARE NOW ON THE MENU OF COURSES AT U.C. BERKELEY!

O

ne of the fastest exploding sectors of the

team-based challenge to build novel enterprises to

food industry is fake (plant-based) meat

address the most pressing environmental and ethi-

and the University of California at Berkeley

cal issues of our times. Unique opportunity for stu-

is teaching students how to take full advantage of

dents with experience or demonstrated interest in

this growing trend in food technology. This fall, UC

life sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, biotechnolo-

Berkeley is offering students a new entrepreneurial

gy, plant biology, chemical engineering, design and

class – the goal of which is to develop pioneering

mechanical engineering.”

plant-based products. Students will be challenged to come up with innovative foodstuffs which will ad-

An in-class competition for the most innovative

dress growing concern about the ethical treatment

plant-based food product will award one ingenious

of animals and the environmental impact of factory

student a $5,000 prize and perhaps the next big

farming. According to the course curriculum, partic-

entrepreneurial breakthrough in the ever-expanding

ipating students are invited to: “Embark on a unique,

plant-based meat markets throughout the globe.

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VEGAN HOT SHEET

SHORT SELLERS

BACKING AWAY

FROM BIG PHARMA,

BUT ONLY SLIGHTLY

I

nvestors are cautiously watching how the new administration is affecting Pharma stocks, which haven’t rallied

with the rest of the market, due, in part, to rhetoric from President Trump. These comments

have

reignited

discussions

about the industry’s pricing and practices, and the high costs US citizens are paying for medications. Fortunately, a whole food, plant-based diet is still the best way to avoid relying on pharmaceuticals.

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KEY WEST

SEEING THE SIGHTS WHILE TAKING IT SLOW Story and photos by Robin Tierney “So where are you from?”

H

ow did my new acquaintance know I was a visitor?

“You’re walking too fast,” she smiled. “You miss good things when you hurry.” Anne has wisdom to share as a “saltwater conch,” meaning a Key West native.

Moving slowly does not come easy for high-energy me. But taking Anne’s advice, I noticed pleasant details during my weekend escape (http://www.flakeys.com).

VegWorld Magazine

Anchoring the south end of Florida’s Keys, Key West is an isle of laid-back cheer. People flock here to start new lives; travelers come for mostly G-rated hedonism. Eat, drink, stroll, lounge, repeat.

I stayed overnight at the Centric (https://keywest. centric. hyatt.com), a Gulf of Mexico waterfront Hyatt recently transformed into the Hyatt’s new boutique brand. Big rooms with comfy, contemporary furnishings and soothing colors overlook pocket beaches, a dock circled by jetskis and the sunset sailboat cruise dock.

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Hyatt Centric executive chef Dan Higgins offered light bites of history. Key West was built on piracy. Knowing that ships would hit the reef off-shore, residents watched for wrecks and quickly responded by shouting “Wreck Ashore!” Then they plundered. Today the reef is among the world’s few remaining living reefs.

The Centric proved to be a convenient base for exploring Key West landmarks and pleasures. They include: Mallory Square, a free every-evening carnival with street performers, crafter booths and low-key (i.e. lazy) revelry. Get there before dusk for the sunset!

The performers and vendors seem like characters out of a romantic comedy. A young ball-twirler hitched here from Kentucky; she thumb-upped my vegan lifestyle. A torch juggler captivates crowds on the dock, sometimes atop a tall unicycle; with his schtick he could moonlight as a stand-up comedian.

VegWorld Magazine

Take a Floridays Sunset Sail, which docks at Hyatt Centric.

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VEGWORLDLY WANDERINGS

Savor sea views and delicious vegan fare at SHOR.

Rescued parrots at Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden.

Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden (http://www. nancyforrester.com) is a parrot and macaw sanctuary run by an artist since the 1970s. In this lush oasis in Key West's Old Town live beautiful, bright and chatty birds such as Ara Ara and Mr Peaches. Some sound exactly like humans. These highly social beings can live 70 years, which is one reason it’s unfortunate people capture and sell birds. Since their wings are clipped and they’ve been domesticated, they can’t be released into the wild.

The author does a bit of yoga at North America's southernmost point.

Key West Shipwreck Museum (https://www.keywestshipwreck. com), which through artifacts (coins, magnetometers, spices, a salvaged piano, wine casks) and skits with costumed actors reveals Key West’s maritime heritage. One story involves the vessel Isaac Allerton, which sank in 1856 on the nearby reef. Get a bit of exercise climbing the 65foot lookout tower. One actor, Jared (AKA Smoky Joe), actually works as a wrecker, sailing out for search, rescue and recovery.

Key West Shipwreck Museum shares history indoors and outside.

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Mel Fisher Maritime Museum (http://www.melfisher.org) faces the grand Customs House (http:// www.kwahs.org). In 1622, a hurricane drove the Spanish galleon Our Lady of Atocha into coral reefs near the Dry Tortugas 35 miles west of Key West. It sunk quickly, taking passengers, sailors, slaves and stores of gold, copper and silver down with it. The wreck was found 1985 by Mel Fisher after years of searching. The amazing story is told through photos, artifacts and displays.

Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center (http://ecodiscovery.com) appeals to all ages with interactive exhibits about the region’s waters, plants and animals.

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A lazy guide to Key West dining SHOR: Binoculars on patio tables at the Hyatt Centric’s fine-dining restaurant help you savor those gorgeous Gulf views. The food is beautiful too. My vegan ratatouille was followed by a delectable quinoa and veggies platter. Breakfast was just as yummy.

Those thirsty for waterside margaritas or a Pink Tutu can walk across the pool deck to Blue Mojito.

Blue Heaven (http://www.blueheavenkw.com) beckons with an ever-festive dining yard surrounded by oddball buildings that previously served as a bordello. Drinks run goodie-goodie to high-test.

Remember: you’re never too old to switch from boozy to alcohol-free refreshments. The food? My bright server suggested several vegan starters and mains. Since I had cultivated a Key West lazy-daisy attitude, my decision was: let the chef decide. Laziness paid off: the portobello curry and house-made

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VEGWORLDLY WANDERINGS plantain chips hit all the right tastebuds.

Sugar Apple Cafe & Market (http://www.sugarapplekeywest. com) prepares healthy, organic 100% vegan delights such as tempeh/avocado temptations to savory pizzas flecked with sundried tomatoes.

The Cafe (http://www.thecafekw.com) draws crowds for Saturday and Sunday brunch, but at any meal, vegan choices include grilled tofu benedict, a plant-based chicken and waffles and crispy battered cauliflower.

The vegan Key lime cheesecake is heavenly, but gone in three bites. Next time, I’ll pair chai tea panna cotta made with coconut milk with a mocktail.

Date & Thyme (http://www.helpyourselffoods. com) is part of a market housed in an old gas station. Also called Help Yourself, its breakfasts and lunches are made from scratch using organic ingredients.

Relax at a private beach at the Hyatt Centric.

More information: Key West visitor guides http://www.fla-keys.com Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa https://keywest.centric.hyatt. com/en/ hotel/home.html

Floridays sunset cruise sails from Hyatt Centric into open waters

About the Author Robin, an award-winning writer and photographer, travels in search of enlightenment, fun and great vegan food. Reach her at travelveg@live.com VegWorld Magazine

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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

VegFest UK Brighton Mar 11 - Mar 12, 2017 Brighton, England

HealthFest 2017 Mar 31 - Apr 02, 2017 Marshall, Texas

VegFest Kansas City Apr 22, 2017 Kansas City, Missouri

Holistic Holiday at Sea Cruise Mar 11 - Mar 18, 2017 MSC Divina

Texas VegFest Apr 01, 2017 Austin, Texas

Milwaukee VegExpo May 06, 2017 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

North Florida VegFest Mar 18, 2017 Tallahassee, Florida

Seattle VegFest Apr 01, 2017 Seattle, WA

Veggie Fest Hamilton May 06, 2017 Hamilton, ON, Canada

Live A Better Life Fair Mar 25, 2017 Liverpool, England

Las Vegas VegFest Apr 08, 2017 Los Vegas, Nevada

Cork VegFest 2017 May 13, 2017 Dublin, Ireland

Vegan Street Fair Mar 26, 2017 North Hollywood, California

Nashville VegFest Apr 08 - Apr 09, 2017 Nashville, Tennessee

New Orleans Vegan Food Festival May 13 - May 14, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana

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EVENTS YOU MUST NOT MISS!

Top Vegan Festivals

YOU MUST GO TO! Story and photos by Courtney Garza

W

e’re pretty lucky to be living in an age where vegan festivals are popping up all over the place due to the rise of the vegcurious and true animal lovers out there. Instead of searching for options at a regular ole “bacon fest”, vegans (and animals) can rejoice in these veggie heavy fests that are sweeping the nation.

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EVENTS YOU MUST NOT MISS!

MARCH/APRIL HealthFest For a small town in east Texas (or any small town in America, for that matter), Marshall is not only changing their community, but the whole world.

The vegan spark started in the former mayor the town and grew this festival that invites in some of the top vegan medical professionals, chefs, fitness instructors, and brands that come together to educate and inspire how to live the healthiest. https://healthfest.com/ Major Takeaways: Every restaurant in the Marshall town square goes vegan for the weekend with creative options, talks by vegan celebrities and health professionals, fitness tips and demos, pet adoptions, 5k race, cooking demos, small vegan business tips.

Vegan Beer Fest (now Eat.Drink.Vegan) http://www.veganbeerfest.com/ Started in LA and expanded to Portland, this festival is all about the food, so come hungry. If you’re a beer fan (or even if you’re not, don’t worry, there’s ton of yummy kombucha), this fest is perfect for those bar hoppers on the hunt for a great vegan beer. You’re given a shot glass upon entry so you can sample all of the beers, or kombuchas, as you’re chowing down on crazy concoctions like a vegan fried chicken bacon burger with a glazed donut bun… Yeah, you’ll want to make this trip.

Takeaways: Live music, beer/kombucha sampling to your heart’s desire, once-in-a-lifetime creative food tastings, mix and mingle with fellow vegans, art vendors, outdoor venue.

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EVENTS YOU MUST NOT MISS!

OCTOBER Texas Veggie Fair The biggest fair in the nation and it just so happens to be in the heart of Dallas. This festival holds all kinds of vendors to satisfy your vegan lifestyle from dog treats to fried oreos. You can even bring your kids along to enjoy the fun as they create crafts and hang out with Norman the Pig. (https://www. facebook.com/normannotjustapig/) You can still hang out with Norman even if you don’t have a kid though. We did and it was awesome.

Major Takeaways: Free event, live music, beer garden, kid corner, lifestyle vendors, outdoors, speaking sessions, yoga

Boston Veg Fest http://bostonveg.org/foodfest/ VegFests might seem a dime a dozen, but when done right, they’re gems. Boston happens to have a unique vegan community filled with creative food, strong animal rights advocates, and long intellectual conversations about vegan world domination.

This particular fest does a great job of not only providing amazing vegan foodie treats like VeganTreats (http://vegantreats.com/) and FoMu (http://www. fomuicecream.com/), but also a cultural look at a plant-based lifestyle and it’s effect on the community.

Major Takeaways: Food samples, coupons, unique food vendors, book signings

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EVENTS YOU MUST NOT MISS!

NOVEMBER Seed Food & Wine Fest http://www.seedfoodandwine.com/ We were so happy to be at the first Seed Summit last year after hearing all about how awesome the Seed Festival is every year. The best part was, it certainly lived up to the hype. The summit was filled with talks from your favorite vegan celebs and business professionals that are really changing the game for animals in just about every industry. We not only came away with journals filled with incredible information, but also left with some new best friends. This knowledge-rich event was truly taken to the next level with the buffet style food and creative extra events, like the Plant Based Burger Battle (yes, we ate all 13 burgers in one night) and yoga + meditation brunch. The cherry on top was the all day festival that introduced us to new products and companies that are bringing amazing new vegan goods to the market that are sure to push the others out!

Major Takeaways: Celebrity led conferences, all food included in the price (and the food is out of this world), morning yoga, 5k, expo, private dinners, 200+ vendor expo with unlimited samples!

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FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE

VEGAN 101

IT’S A TRIFECTA!

by Andrea Denton

I

became vegan so I could take longer showers.

OK, I’m kidding, but I was pretty thrilled when I found out how much water I was saving by not eating hamburgers anymore. It makes me feel a little less guilty when I take longer cleaning up, or just enjoying the hot water. My original motivation for going vegan was health. Once I learned it was

VegWorld Magazine

healthier on the heart, helped prevent diseases such as cancer, and did a number on keeping cholesterol down, I was all in. When I found out how impactful my decision was on the environment, I gave myself a huge pat on the back and stopped sweating the stuff that didn’t get nearly the bang for the buck when it comes to saving the planet.

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FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE

Here are some facts snagged off Cowspiracy.com. If you haven’t seen Cowspiracy, get on that! The information is pretty compelling and gives you another tool in your arsenal when someone asks why you’re vegan-- not that I expect they ever will … wink- wink.

• It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. To put that in perspective, the average American shower uses about 17.2 gallons of water. You see why I don’t feel as guilty when it comes to spending an extra minute in the shower—I’m already kicking ass when it comes to water conservation!

• It’s cool, you don’t eat beef—but check out what it takes to produce these other animal products: o 477 gallons of water to produce one pound of eggs. o 1,000 gallons of water to produce a gallon of milk. o And 900 gallons of water to make a pound of cheese.

For the love of Mother Earth, and your arteries, put them ALL down! Seriously, just step away!

agriculture, we could see fishless oceans by 2048.

So much for there being more fish in the sea.

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. Yikes!

• Finally, the leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feed crops and up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction—yikes.

So those are just some of the numbers. You can go to the website and check out a whole bunch more, complete with references for all of the information.

When I consider being vegan, it’s a no-brainer— vegan for my health, the environment and the animals—it’s the trifecta … and we all know everyone loves a good trifecta! So hop in the shower and contemplate those numbers for a while.

• Californians use 1,500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to half of that is associated with meat and dairy products. Hmmmmmm, I wonder how the California drought situation would have been impacted if a few more folks had gone vegan?

• 56 percent of water in the U.S. goes to growing feed crops for livestock. That’s right, livestock that we’re going to kill for food. How about we just cut out the middle animal and use that water to grow healthy fruits, vegetables and grain? High five!

• 90 – 100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year—that’s TONS. Because of this, and other environmental impacts due to animal

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The "Keys" to

GOOD HEALTH A

Dr. Joel Kahn

s a plant-based cardiologist who has treated patients for over 30 years with vegan meal prescriptions, one of the greatest benefits I offer my patients is a diet naturally low in saturated fat. For over 100 years research studies have identified that food rich in saturated fats, particularly from animal sources like cheese, chicken and red meats, are harmful to health.

VegWorld Magazine

How did we learn of the risks of dietary fats? Let me introduce you to Dr. Ancel Keys. After earning two PhDs (one from Scripps and one from Cambridge) and positions at Harvard, the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Minnesota, he was selected by the War Department to develop a reliable source of calories for WWII soldiers at war. The K-ration was the result (K is for Keys) was a small box of food dense in calories that saved many

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FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE

soldier’s lives in battle. After the war, Dr. Keys observed that the number of heart attacks among European citizens fell in many countries like Norway during WWII. He wondered if the largely plant-based diet eaten by these oppressed populations was actually good for the heart? Dr. Keys developed a theory, called the dietheart hypothesis, that food influenced the risk of heart disease, an idea that challenged the notion that heart disease was just an aging process.

In order to study this idea formally, he planned the first international prospective evaluation of diet and death rates, using large teams of researchers visiting 16 communities in seven countries from the USA to Japan.

The teams measured details of diet, labs and EKGs in originally healthy persons. The Seven Countries Study began in September, 1958 and published results in over 12,000 subjects beginning in 1970. The research team he led showed that the diet-heart hypothesis was correct and that increasing percentages of calories from animal saturated fats and protein were associated with increasing death rates from heart disease.

Keys so fell in love with the food and lifestyle he studied around the Naples, Italy area that, along with his research partner and wife Margaret, he bought a home below Positano on the Mediterranean Sea in a little town called Pioppi. He was the first to describe the Mediterranean Diet, a lifestyle that is celebrated today as an excellent model for health, in several best-selling cookbooks beginning in 1959.

He stressed reducing both animal fats and added sugars and replacing them with whole foods especially beans. He actually spent over 40 years visiting Pioppe and the Cilento National Park surrounding it, often there for over half of the year until his death at age 100 in 2004.

This June I will lead a tour of Cilento National Park and the home of the Mediterranean diet. This is in

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the Campania region of southern Italy famous for food, wine and beaches. I will be joined by the amazing Julieanna Hever (www.plantbaseddietician. com) and we will visit Pioppe and the museum to the Mediterranean Diet in that small town. Dr. Keys’ library is there. We will also visit Acciaroli, a resort town just north of Pioppe, recently made famous as a pocket of longevity with many residents over age 100. They credit the regular use of rosemary in their food for their good health. The streets, beaches and markets are stunning. As the tour will be plant-based with no-added oil meal options, it will be a true vegan heaven for the tourist. We have arranged the leading vegan chef in Italy to travel from Milan to cook for us for the week. Finally, the location we are using as a basecamp is a breathtaking hotel and spa on the Mediterranean to enjoy accompanied by yoga, meditation hikes, and lectures on health and longevity. I hope you can join us. You can learn more at www.vegretreats.com.

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FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE

Quick, Easy and Creative Ideas FOR HEALTHFUL LUNCHES FOR CHILDREN

by Karen Ranzi, M.A.

M

uch research in the past decade has reported the immense benefits of eating mainly fresh plant foods, or eating them exclusively. Raw fruits and vegetables, sprouts, sea vegetables, nuts and seeds are vitamin and mineral packed. Nutrients can be severely depleted, from

VegWorld Magazine

70 to 85%, by means of the cooking process.

Organic, living foods provide “life force energy,� so encouraging children to create healthful and tasty snacks, smoothies, salads, main dishes, and desserts with living foods can enhance their abilities in all areas.

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FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE

After increasing their children’s fresh plant food intake, parents have pointed out the following improvements in their health and wellbeing: Reduction or absence of eye, ear, nose, and throat infections, increased energy and longer attention spans, enhanced ability to process information, less hyperactivity, strengthened immune systems, enhanced athletic performance, and increased brainpower.

How can parents begin to feed their children more fruits and vegetables, given today’s plethora of toxic choices? Children are constantly programmed to think that fast, processed foods are appropriate for the busy, stressful lives many people today lead.

Most school cafeteria food is high in fat, overly processed, anti-nutrient food. We want foods our children eat to be nourishing, but processed foods lack nutrients. Packaged, processed and refined foods are depleted of Vitamin C, folic acid, and Vitamin B1, which cannot be absorbed from the added synthetic vitamins in so-called “enriched” foods. The famous 1960s nutritionist, Adele Davis, wrote that when foods are enriched, a hundred dollars is stolen and twenty-five cents is given back.

Piña Colada Smoothie • 2 ripe bananas • 1 big chunk pineapple • 1 generous handful of baby spinach leaves • 2 cups of filtered water

Directions Blend until smooth, and relish that your child will be getting abundant vitamins from the fruit, and plentiful amounts of vitamins and minerals from the spinach, which is also 49% protein by calories.

Pack it in a glass jar or stainless steel thermos. This smoothie can be so filling that, for some children, it’s a meal.

Green smoothies are a great way for kids to start eating mineral-dense leafy green vegetables. Kids often love fruit, and adding fruit and greens together into a delicious green smoothie packs a lot of nutrition into a single food. At raw vegan events, I demonstrate with the following green smoothie at schools, colleges, and universities, and the students always love its taste. I recommend starting with 60% fruit and 40% leafy green vegetables. This should be made at home in the morning. It takes only about five minutes, and can be eaten either for breakfast, or children can eat it later for their school lunch:

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FAMILY AND LIFESTYLE

Dips are a fabulous way for kids to eat their sliced vegetables. My kids loved a “Creamy Cucumber Dill Dip” they learned to prepare by themselves. They would eat an abundance of sliced veggies, such as celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc. with this nutritious dip:

Creamy Cucumber Dill Dip

Almond Taco Filling • 1 cup almonds, soaked 8-12 hours • 1/2 cup lemon juice • 1/4 cup organic salt-free sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 15 minutes, chopped • 2 Tablespoons red onion (optional)

• 1 cup chopped cucumber

• 3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

• 3 Tablespoons soaked pine nuts

• 1 teaspoon each cumin and paprika

• Juice of 1/2 lemon • 2 soaked and pitted dates • 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Directions

Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Add more dill if desired. Dips can be packed in tight containers and used with a variety of sliced vegetables at lunch.

Put all ingredients into a food processor with an S-blade. Process until smooth, adding a little water, if needed, until the consistency of a traditional bean dip is reached. Place in the whole grain wrap or lettuce or cabbage leaf wrap. Top with freshly made salsa and a small mashed avocado. (For lunch, this should be packed separately, as the lettuce or cabbage leaf will get messy and soft from the taco filling).

You may ask, “What about something more filling to satisfy my child’s appetite?” Since children love wraps and eating burrito-style, let’s invent a yummy and healthy Almond Taco filling which can be used inside a whole grain wrap or, even more nutritious, a soft cabbage leaf or Romaine lettuce leaf used as the wrap.

If you think the above lunch options will be thrown in the garbage and replaced by fast foods, there are solutions for this. Parents frequently ask me what to do with their child who refuses to make nutritional changes toward eating whole, living plant foods. I suggest starting somewhere, which may mean integrating raw foods into the foods that they already easily accept.

• 1 to 2 stalks celery

Directions

There are wonderful ways of incorporating fresh, nutrient-dense plant foods with whole cooked foods.

For example, some children love tabouleh, which is a Middle Eastern combination of bulghur (steamed cracked wheat), parsley, diced tomatoes, lemon, olive oil, and scallions. You can substitute fresh cauliflower, ground briefly in a food processor for the bul-

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ghur wheat, and many children will still love the taste.

If switching from bulghur to cauliflower should prove too much of a jump, then focus on adding more raw foods, such as a diced cucumber and celery, so the tabouleh is rich with fresh plant nourishment. You can transition toward raw by gradually increasing the amount of cauliflower and diminishing the amount of bulghur each time you make tabouleh.

Or if your children insist on eating sandwiches, make salad sandwiches consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, and a tablespoon of raw hummus (a spread made of sprouted garbanzo beans, or a no-bean hummus made with zucchini and soaked sesame seeds) on sprouted gluten-free, whole grain bread, with strips of carrots, celery and red pepper on the sides.

Even children who are unwilling to give up processed foods can make nutritional improvements simply by

eating salads before unhealthful dishes. One mother brought her children a beautiful big bowl of salad when they were attending a pizza party, and all the children at the party joined in eating salad before having the pizza.

It is our responsibility as parents to pack healthful lunches for our children when they’re away from home, and to teach them about the superiority of whole plant foods. Uncooked greens, fruits, vegetables, soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds are called “live” (rhymes with thrive) foods because their nutrients are intact. Living foods are free from the harmful chemicals that high cooking temperatures create, and their vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber remain whole. Complete nutrition, undamaged by fire, helps prevent disease, prevents obesity, and increases strength and energy.

About the Author

Karen Ranzi, M.A., Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Speech/Language/Feeding Therapist, Certified Raw Food Chef, Nutrition for Autism Coach, Award-Winning Author: Creating Healthy Children through Attachment Parenting and Raw Foods and Raw Vegan Recipe Fun for Families www.superhealthychildren.com Director: Raw Vegan Coaching Certification Course at www.superhealthyraw.com Retreat Leader: Love Raw Food & Yoga Costa Rica Retreats at Farm of Life (Finca de Vida) VegWorld Magazine

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FEATURE

The Veggie Vanguard A FORMIDABLE FOURSOME OF LEADING LADIES AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE PLANT-BASED REVOLUTION

T

hese four fabulous Women of Veganism are our charming inspirations and our radiant role models!

Reading through their books and following their sensible advice for leading a long, healthy and delicious plant-based life is like having a best buddy along with us on our journeys. Each in her own right is a powerhouse of knowledge and enthusiasm, helping those of us who need a helping hand to get on the right track with our diets and supporting those of us who have already transitioned over to the WFPB lifestyle to keep up the great work. Their vivaciousness is contagious and their down-to-earth, common sense approach to cooking up global change is uplifting for us all. VegWorld is proud to have the opportunity to introduce these remarkable and influential ladies to our readers and to give you all a chance to get to know them intimately, in fascinating detail, and in their very own words.

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FEATURE

Kathy Freston

FEATURE

Kathy Freston

LENDING US A “VEGANISH” HAND

by Lani Muelrath

K

athy Freston is one of those rare authors

a mistake by saying “It’s so easy, just try it!” For the

blessed with the media-savvy, daytime TV

great majority of people, it’s not easy. You’re breaking

touch. Good news for all of us - for of all of

off from family and social traditions, and you haven’t

us, since Kathy’s most popular books, several of her

yet figured out grocery shopping and ordering at

six titles have presented or been about the vegan

restaurants. You don’t know what to tell your protein-

journey, beginning with Quantum Wellness, Veganist,

obsessed boyfriend, or how to answer concerned

The Lean, and most recently released, The Book of

(and even angry) friends. And most of all, you’re afraid

Veganish. No doubt Kathy’s Oprah/Ellen/Dr.Oz/Charlie

you’re going to miss out on things that have made

Rose endorsements have brought veganism and plant-

you feel very happy and fulfilled for your entire life.

based living to the attention of a lot more people.

Going vegan is challenging. And if we don’t speak into that, and make room for that, we’re simply going to

When Kathy and I first connected about this upcom-

keep seeing more recidivism.

ing feature in VegWorld, I told her that I wanted to do something different from the usual 'why did you go

Lani: What have you found to be the biggest causes

vegan' kind of interview. Without skipping a beat, Kathy

for difficulty in becoming vegan? Food preparation?

had some illuminating answers for me.

Social and family challenges? Which is most prevalent?

Lani Muelrath: What urgent message - close to your heart - would like VegWorld Magazine readers to

Kathy: Going vegan is a mind-shift in every way.

know more about in terms of becoming vegan?

Shopping is different. Eating out is different.

What is it that you uniquely bring to the plant-based

Holidays are different. Relationships are different.

table - the vegan cause?

Because quite often, you’re the only one in the room who wants to eat animal-free. And unless

Kathy Freston: I always try and put myself in someone

you’re a very strong personality and you’re super

else’s position, and when they tell me it’s really hard to

committed, you’re going to struggle. Trust me, there

give up meat and dairy because they’re worried about

were plenty of times I was really hungry at a party -

being hungry or gaining weight or having energy, I

getting cranky and feeling left out - that made me

take them seriously. These were all my concerns, too,

want to throw in the towel. It’s not one thing – meal

before I made the shift. I think we sometimes make

prep or social pressure – it’s a life-changing shift.

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FEATURE

It’s an incredibly great shift, with huge rewards, but

practice? For example, do you eat strictly whole

it’s the road less traveled and that can be daunting

foods, no sugars or oils of any kind? Or is your plate

until you find your way.

more vegan-Mediterranean in nature?

Lani: Can you name two or three specific strategies

Kathy: I’m really not good with strict anything! I

you have suggested that make a difference for the

allow myself just about anything that’s animal-free.

people you have been able to reach, giving them

That said, I tend to lean toward the healthier choice

greater success at getting started at and going vegan?

as each year goes by. I may have eaten more “fake” meats in the earlier years, but I’ve moved toward

Kathy: Yes!

more whole grains, beans, veggies, and nuts lately. I don’t eat much sugar because ultimately I’m vain and

1. Lean into it. Rather than jump in overnight, gradually

I don’t want to gain weight, and the research is clear

crowd out the old meaty meals with animal-free

that it’s not good for your health. As for oil, I’m dating

options. And do this at a comfortable pace, without

Mr. Blue Zones and he says the longest living people

pressure. If you usually have tacos on Wednesdays,

in the world have pretty much always enjoyed olive

try black bean or meatless crumbles in the taco

oil. So I’m down for that!

instead, and pile on the guac and salsa. If Fridays are burger nights, don’t just opt for a bowl of rice

Lani: Is there an element about veganism that you’d

and beans, find a killer veggie burger (research

like to shine a spotlight on – another important part

is so fun!), and put your favorite stuff on it. Don’t

of your vision and mission - that people either may

worry if it’s not “perfect”, meaning that it’s ok if your

not know about you?

meal isn’t organic and non-processed. The point is, you’re finding your way, and being veganish is

Kathy: Being vegan is not just about health or food or

great. Don’t let people intimidate you into thinking

ethics; it’s also fashion and culture and relationships.

you have to be 100% healthy or plant-based. Just

It touches and transforms everything. You may go

keep leaning forward. Trust yourself to figure it out

through one particular door (I came in because of

in your own time and in your own manner.

my love and respect for all of life, animals included), but you end up kind of shifting across the board

2. Jam on social media. Find vegans you relate to or

because each little awareness sets off another. I think

are inspired by and follow them. You’ll find great

this path away from eating animals is actually a kind

recipes, meal ideas, quotes, and all kinds of stuff

of "hero's journey". You feel called to it, face all kinds

to make you feel good about going down this

of difficulties and challenges that you (hopefully)

road. Community is so, so important, and you

rise to, and ultimately you feel reborn, like you’ve

might find an awesome one online. Look for tags

transcended who you were to arrive at your better

like #vegan #veganish #veganfood #plantbased

(and healthier!) self. When we look back at the end of

#vegancommunity .

our lives, I think most of us will actually see it for the profoundly transformative process that it was, and

Lani: What particular ‘flavor’ of eating vegan to you VegWorld Magazine

we’ll be so pleased that we gave ourselves to it.

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40

FEATURE

Lani: I am so glad to see you working for veganism

Kathy: Certainly!

in realms beyond our plates. Americans are so

1. Be a kind ambassador; people will respond much

accustomed

to

compartmentalizing,

putting

more to your demeanor than your information.

things in boxes to fix, without the greater vision

2. Be the healthiest, most appealing person you can

of how one thing connects to another. Can you

be; there is no better advertisement for animal-free

name two or three specific action takeaways for

food than your robust image!

people who want to make a difference in the

3. Be ever willing to gently take a stand for animal-free

advance of vegan living beyond what they eat?

food, even when you’re totally alone and it’s hard.

Where to start?

You are at the forefront of a wonderful movement, so don’t turn away from being a leader.

About the Author

Lani Muelrath, MA, (www.lanimuelrath.com) is an award-winning teacher, best-selling author, and speaker. Lani, the author of The Plant-Based Journey and Fit Quickies, is currently working on her next book, The Mindful Vegan (2017). She has been featured on ABC-TV and CBS-TV; in Prevention magazine, USA Today, and The Saturday Evening Post. Lani also regularly presents and writes about healthy vegan living, and is a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Graduate as well as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Certified Behavior Change Specialist, Advanced Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and associate faculty in Health at Butte College. instagram facebook

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FEATURE

LISA BLOOM

FEATURE

LISA BLOOM STRAIGHT TALK

by Tanya Cleary

L

isa Bloom is a well-known civil rights attorney

For decades, I thought dairy and eggs were acceptable

and legal analyst who often appears on CNN,

choices because the animals weren't killed for them.

NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, and The Today

I thought, “I have to work. Why shouldn't animals

Show. She is author of several books, including

work too?” I am ashamed now at my ignorance.

“Suspicion Nation,” “The Swagger” and “Think:

In 2009, I read several books about the factory

Straight Talk For Women To Stay Smart in a Dumbed

farming of animals, and saw some documentaries.

Down World.”

My eyes were opened. Animals aren't working; they are suffering from unimaginably horrific cruelty.

As founder and managing partner of The Bloom

And every dollar we give to a dairy or egg company

Firm, based in Woodland Hills, CA, Bloom handles

promotes the ripping away of newborn calves from

family, civil, and criminal cases, and, in the past,

their agonized mothers, the grinding alive of male

has launched high profile lawsuits against the Boy

baby chicks, battery cages of hens, etc. I went 100%

Scouts of America and the Roman Catholic Church.

vegan that summer, and my husband Braden went

She is also the daughter of famed civil rights attor-

vegan with me. We have never looked back. We only

ney, Gloria Allred.

wish we had done it years earlier.

Yet, as visible and outspoken as she is, many people may not know that Lisa Bloom is also a vegan.

VW: How long have you been vegan and what prompted that change?

LB: I've been vegetarian since 1977, when I was 16.

I looked into the big brown eyes of my dog, and thought, “I would never eat you. I comfort you when you're hurt. I take care of you when you're injured. Why should it be any different with any other animal?”

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FEATURE

VW: What do you find most challenging about being vegan?

LB: Having to explain where we get our protein.

The protein myth is probably the biggest health propaganda being perpetrated on the American public, by the meat and dairy industries. I usually reply, "Where do you get your fiber?"

VW: Do you have any ideas or recommendations for the animal rights movement? Do you feel it’s gaining traction?

LB: Be bold. Never be silent. Most people are against animal cruelty. Appeal to that compassionate part of them. And, yes, the animal rights movement is gaining. We are winning battles every day.

VW: Have you influenced anyone else in your life to become vegan, and what do you believe is the best way to share this lifestyle with others?

"I never knew vegan food could be this good!"

LB: Yes, I have veganized many people. I don't

That's the first step. Then, I talk about Meatless

push, but if someone asks a question, I give an

Mondays, or VB6 (eating vegan before 6pm), or

honest answer. The question is usually, "why are

eating "veganish" to get them to take a few steps in

you vegan?" and I tell them that animal cruelty is

the right direction. The perfect should not be the

sickening to me, and I cannot in good conscience

enemy of the good.

give one penny to support it.

Invite them to watch “Earthlings” with you, or I love to cook delicious gourmet vegan meals, and

Melanie Joy's “Lectures about Carnism”. Turn them

invite a bunch of omnivores over. I also usually

on to HappyCow.com. Give them a good vegan

insist on business lunches taking place at vegan

cookbook, like anything by Chloe Coscarelli. Presto!

restaurants. In both situations the omnivores say,

Old omnivore friends are new vegan friends!

About the Author

Tanya Cleary is a freelance writer living in Key Largo, FL. She has been plant-based for over 5 years, and enjoys spreading the word about plant-based diets. She also helps moderate the Facebook group, “McDougall Friends,” for those who follow the recommendations of Dr. John McDougall and is an Associate Editor here at VegWorld Magazine.

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FEATURE

Jane VelezMitchell

FEATURE

Jane Velez-Mitchell UNCHAINED VEGAN

by Andrea Denton

“I went from being a cynical personal, who prided

particularly inspired by Howard Lyman, the 4th

myself on not caring about much, to being some-

generation cattle rancher who wrote the book

one who wants to change the world… for animals,

Mad Cowboy, revealing the secret horrors of

people and the environment.”

the meat industry to Oprah and millions of other

J

Americans. I was a Los Angeles TV news anchor

ane Velez-Mitchell’s resume is impressive --

when I had the pleasure of interviewing How-

successful journalist and author. You would

ard about two decades ago. After the camera

think those were the pinnacles of her career.

light went off, his publicist said she’d heard I was

But the work she does now takes those skills a step

a vegetarian. I nodded. Then she asked me if I

further – she’s out to change the world, and doing a

ate dairy. Somewhat ashamed, I nodded again,

pretty good job of it.

whereupon she pointed her finger at me and loudly declared “liquid meat.” That did it for me. I became

I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Jane

a vegan at that moment. Then, when I worked at

about her motivations, passions, and her advice on

a syndicated TV show called “Celebrity Justice,”

going vegan …. I dare you to not be even more im-

I interviewed numerous Hollywood celebs about

pressed after having a read!

their desire for justice for animals. Robert Redford spoke to me about his work to save whales from

Q: From hosting your own show on CNN Headline

the devastation caused by sonar. Then, when I had

News to being a New York Times bestsel-ling

my national TV show, I asked for and was given

author, you've certainly had a very successful

the opportunity to do a weekly segment on animal

career, but one that focused on news re-porting

issues, where I showed footage of factory farming

and even more specifically, crime stories and

horrors like pig gestation crates. And, as I write

addiction. Your focus now is very much on animal

this, I’ve just returned from going live from a vigil

rights and veganism. Why did you take that turn?

outside an LA pig slaughterhouse for my latest journalistic venture: JaneUnChained. You can see

A: I’d always loved animals, but it was only after

my videos at facebook.com/JaneVelezMitchell

I got sober, 21 years ago, that I put my passion

and JaneUnChained.com. Yes, I’ve covered crime

to work, taking the energy I had once put into

all my life. And, what they’re doing to animals on

partying and switching it to animal activism. I was

these factory farms is a crime in my book.

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FEATURE

Q: There are various reasons a person becomes

Q: I love cooking and eating--Tell us about your

vegan. I understand you've been vegan for 20

live vegan cooking shows.

years. Has your original motivation changed?

A: For my whole career, which is approaching four A: When I got sober, I really had to take a good,

decades, I’ve gone live: live reporting in the field,

hard look at my life. I had always regarded my-self

live anchoring in studio. This generally required

as - basically - a good person. But, was I really? I

millions of dollars in equipment. Now, anyone

was a half-assed vegetarian who sometimes broke

with a cellphone can go live. This inspired me to

down and ate shellfish and regularly packed in the

start a daily live cooking show on Facebook called

cheese and the ice cream. Deep down, I knew my

#LunchBreakLIVE, which airs on facebook.com/

half-measures were robbing me of a principled life.

JaneVelezMitchell Monday-Friday at 12:30 p.m.

Then, when I met Howard Lyman and his crew,

Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern. We are completely plant-

I suddenly knew that I had to go all the way and

based and have featured some of the best vegan

completely eliminate animal products from my

chefs in the world, including Julieanna Hever, Chef

food, clothing, and cupboard. I had been trying to

AJ, Fran Costigan and many others. Sometimes I

find an easier path, but the truth is: animals simply

take over and do a recipe, which generally inspires

are not ours to eat, wear, torture in labs, or use for

smoke, fire alarms and lots of laughs. One great

entertainment. I wouldn’t have made that leap had I

thing about plant-based cooking: it’s hard to make

still been drinking. Sobriety changed everything for

a mistake. It all tastes so good!

me. I went from being a cynical person, who prided myself on not caring about much, to being some-

Q: What is your favorite vegan food or meal?

one who wants to change the world… for animals, people and the environment.

Gosh. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would probably be (it’s so hard to choose with so many vegan options)…. Tofu fried rice, with brown rice, firm tofu cubes, lots of veggies, onions, spices… and some pineapple slices.

Q: I know you recently took part in the 21-day vegan kickstart with a little more focus on health.

How did that go for you?

It’s fabulous! It takes a day or two to readjust the old taste buds when reducing/eliminating salt, sugar, and oil. But, the dishes are very tasty, and it’s helped me realize that I can have a baseline lifestyle that is super healthy, filled with fruits, veggies, beans, and grains.

However, I can still splurge when I go out to dinner

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FEATURE

with a (vegan) dessert. One great discovery has been

is a very proud (and rather haughty) Chihuahua

the Engine 2 line of foods. Engine 2 has great cereal,

terrier mix, who has long forgotten that he was

tortillas, hummus, and grains that I can get at Whole

left in a box outside an LA shelter. I call him my

Foods or order online. It’s a wonderful foundation

VIC: Very Important Chihuahuamix. Foxy Girl, a

on which to build. It’s healthy and guilt-free. The key

Chihuahua/Mini Pin mix, is a very mischievous

to me, when it comes to food, will always be keeping

party girl, who was found dodging traffic on the

a peaceful plate. Indeed, as my friend Patty Shenker

streets of Fresno. Lil Rico, who hails from Puerto

says, peace begins on your plate.

Rico, is more actual Chihuahua than the rest. All our babies are rescues.

Q: What's been your proudest moment in your fight for animal rights?

Q: Finally, you've had oodles of experience--what is your advice for someone who is consider-ing

I was very involved in fighting a laboratory monkey

becoming vegan?

breeding facility that tried to open in Puerto Rico.

My reports put the controversy surrounding that

My advice is: just do it. It’s so easy these days. It’s

facility on the map. Thanks to PETA and local

not a deprivation at all. It’s an adventure. You will

protesters, a legal battle ensued, and the company

venture into a whole new world of cooking and

was not allowed to open. Sadly, they have since

eating. And, it’s a non-stop celebration. Anywhere

popped up in Hendry County, in Southwest Florida.

I go in the world, I just punch in my Happy Cow

We continue to do reports on what’s happening in

app, find the nearest vegan restau-rant and - voila

this morally reprehensible industry.

- I stumble upon a whole new bunch of friends.

Whether in New York, LA, Lon-don, Vienna, Puerto

Q: Do you have any pets?

Rico, Australia, Zimbabwe, or India, the thing that binds vegans together is their shared love of good

My partner and I have 4 companion animals:

food and their compassion. You will never look

three dogs and a cat. The cat’s name is Tux, as

back. There is some-thing absolutely wonderful

she is a tuxedo cat. Tux was found in a gutter

about putting your head on the pillow each night

during a snowstorm in New York. The dogs are

knowing, whatever mistakes were made, you didn’t

all var-iations on Chihuahuas. Cabo San Lucas

kill today.

About the Author

Andrea’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 choles-terol. 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 web-site www.veggiecraving.com. You can follow Andrea on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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FEATURE

Julieanna Hever

FEATURE

Julieanna Hever

CHARISMATIC VEGITERRANEAN

by Lani Muelrath

W

ho doesn’t know and love Julieanna

Lani Muelrath: These sound like great plans -

Hever, aka The Plant-Based Dietitian?

so helpful, and so needed. Can you tell more

After all, she’s the one who first brought

about what has inspired you to draw attention to

plant-based out of the daunting closet with her book

physicians and healthy eating for vegans?

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, demystified gluten with The Complete Idiot’s Guide

Julieanna: Along with many other vegans, I found

to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking, and then invited us

myself becoming caught up in the excitement

into a vegan version of the Mediterranean Diet with

of the booming vegan marketplace. With all of

The Vegiterranean Diet.

these great new vegan food products becoming more readily accessibly now, along with new

When I recently caught up with Julieanna, I asked

vegan restaurants and menus popping up around

her if there are any new dimensions into which she

the world, it is becoming way too easy to get

is expanding her healthy vegan message. Along with

seduced into eating a vegan version of the standard

leading those spectacular vegan adventures to Italy,

American diet. Unfortunately, that promotes the

that is!

unintended consequence of ending up with the same health problems. For over a decade, I have

Julieanna Hever: Yes! Recently, I am focusing

both been dealing with clients who struggle with

in on working with people who are highly

resistant healthcare practitioners who do not utilize

motivated to make a dramatic, sustainable

nutrition as part of their prescriptive protocol as

lifestyle transformation as well as researching

well as clients who are not achieving the maximum

the optimization of healthspan. I am also

(and common) health benefits of an optimal vegan

honing in on two calls to action. First, inspiring

diet due to the abundant accessibility of tempting

physicians to offer plant-based nutrition to their

vegan junk food. So, in my all of my work now, from

patients as a first line of action in their healthcare

writing, lecturing, and consulting, my goals are to

armamentarium. And second, encouraging ethical

turn these issues around.

vegans to aim for optimal health by emphasizing whole plant foods and dramatically minimizing

Lani: How have you encountered these problems

highly processed products.

among vegans? For example, have you seen a lack

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FEATURE

of knowledge in the vegan community at large

Lani: What do you see as the biggest challenges to

regarding healthy eating? Or do you notice this

vegans for making the switch to healthier eating?

problem with clients or people who come to you with health problems?

Julieanna: Perhaps more significant than the ubiquity of these alluring hyper palatable foods, the

Julieanna: I have had an influx of clients coming to

biggest challenge for vegans and anyone interested

me because they are unable to lose weight, lower

in making the switch to a plant-based diet is the social

their cholesterol or blood pressure, and/or not

element. Not only do most healthcare practitioners

seeing an improvement in their health issues despite

dissuade this decision, but family, friends, and

switching to a vegan diet. It seems the problem

coworkers can offer the most resistance. Because

always stems from both overnourishment (eating

most people do not understand what a plant-based

too much) and/or the inclusion of adulterants

diet is, and the fact that there is a deeply embedded

in the diet: sugars, oils, salts, and flours. When

fear of nutritional deficiency in our culture (despite

working with people who are motivated to make

the fact that plant-based diets have been found to

dramatic changes, they begin to experience the

be more nutritionally adequate than the standard

transformative positive results typical of eating a

American diet), people will do all they can to

whole food, plant-based diet.

prevent you from pursuing this plan. Further, many people become defensive when they hear about

Lani: What do you generally see most people

you switching your diet because it inherently forces

doing right – something upon which to build?

them to self-reflect on their own dietary decisions.

For example, are most people good at eating fruit

This is something that I have learned to live with

regularly? Greens? Or‌

as a personal trainer and registered dietitian for twenty-plus years. People always automatically get

Julieanna: Clearly, the elimination of animal products

protective about what they eat just by being in the

by itself makes an impact on health. This becomes

same room with me, let alone when we share meals

apparent within days. This is in part due to the

together. It is a projection of ideology. The best

crowding out effect, making more room for health-

way to avoid the negativity is to arm yourself with

promoting, disease-fighting whole plant foods. So,

information and avoid having the conversation with

adding more vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole

people in your life. Once they witness how great you

grains is a huge benefit. As long as the transition is

feel and all of the advantages you are experiencing,

not focused on vegan burgers, cheeses, ice creams,

they may be more receptive to the details. Instead,

and other products, amazing and notable changes

find likeminded individuals to support you on your

take place. For example, I consistently see clients

journey.

reduce and remove medications within days for chronic, high-risk conditions as well as experience an

Lani: Can you name three first steps you suggest for

amelioration of their health. It is quite extraordinary

vegans to take in moving toward healthier vegan

and inspiring!

meals?

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FEATURE

Julieanna: Ultimately, the goal is to base your

conferences, screenings of documentaries, or even

diet on vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fruits,

meet people on social media. There are myriad

nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. Experiment with

groups of people enthusiastic about sharing tips,

the infinite recipe combinations available to find

recipes, and support. Finally, make this journey

your favorites. Bookmark them as you build your

optimistic, fun, and fabulous. There is an entire

repertoire. Secondly, summons your social network.

universe of delicious food, educational materials

As I mentioned above, this is key for sustainability.

(books, films, websites, organizations, etc.) and life-

Find people who are on the same page as you, even

changing health advantages nowadays. Plant-based

better if they have already been living this lifestyle

diets are the future. It is extraordinary to be a part of

for a while. If you do not know anyone yet, go to

this beautiful revolution.

About the Author

Lani Muelrath, MA, (www.lanimuelrath.com) is an award-winning teacher, best-selling author, and speaker. Lani, the author of The Plant-Based Journey and Fit Quickies, is currently working on her next book, The Mindful Vegan (2017). She has been featured on ABC-TV and CBS-TV; in Prevention magazine, USA Today, and The Saturday Evening Post. Lani also regularly presents and writes about healthy vegan living, and is a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Graduate as well as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Certified Behavior Change Specialist, Advanced Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and associate faculty in Health at Butte College. instagram facebook

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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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THINGS WE LOVE

Amanda Smith loves truRoots Single Ingredient Pastas Two new and exciting pasta styles have come to our attention and we absolutely love both! Organic Just Red Lentil Sedanini and Organic Just Green Pea Fusilli from truRoots®.

It really is just lentils in the first and just green peas in the second. That’s it. No other ingredients. These delicious pastas are imported directly from Italy.

Healthy, easy, and an exciting find for gluten free folks or grain avoiders, but good for anyone. Although we discovered these two products only recently, truRoots® products have combined ancient traditions with modern convenience since 2009. The company was founded on the philosophy that people should understand not only what’s in their food, but where that food comes from. According to truRoots mission statement they are committed to transparency, authenticity, and making the world a better place – making them a company we can admire and stand behind. Available in grocery stores across the US and online. Visit http://www.truroots.com to learn about their other great products.

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THINGS WE LOVE

Amy Johnson Loves

Veggie Republic Bracelets A few rows away from me at HealthFest in Marshall, TX two years ago, I spotted a woman wearing the most charming stretch bracelets I had ever seen. It was decorated with shimmering fruits and veggies. I quickly headed over to her to find out where she got them. As it turned out, The Veggie Republic—the designers of these bracelets—had a booth right there in the conference room! As soon as the current speaker finished, I rushed over to check out their wares. Before buying the bracelets, a wonderful woman explained to me that for each bracelet that is purchased, FIVE pounds of fresh, organic produce is provided to families in need. I quickly ordered two for myself and another for a friend. I wanted to ensure that their “Veggies for All” mantra could be made into a reality through my purchase of their bracelets.

The mastermind behind The Veggie Republic is Karen Koman, a former awardwinning journalist. She believes that EVERYONE should be able to benefit from the colorful nutrients in veggies. However, selling these VegWorld Magazine

brilliant bracelets is the easy part. Believe it or not, getting the food to families in need takes a great amount of expertise.

To do so, The Veggie Republic formed an alliance with the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB). Along with CAFB’s expertise in assessing needs and delivering fresh product, The Veggie Republic has been able to help out thousands of families. Last year alone, through its innovative Farm to Family program, CAFB distributed over 140 million pounds of fresh produce to its 42 member local food banks. CAFB aims to increase that number to 200 million pounds over the next couple of years.

Now, I get to wear two stunning bracelets that remind me of my own plant-strong journey to better health, along with knowing that I was able to impact others through my purchase. If you’re looking for a small way to make a big difference in the lives of those less fortunate, check out The Veggie Republic. Be a part of cultivating The Veggie Republic’s movement toward conscious, veggie-rich diets for ALL! FREE shipping on all U.S. orders!

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FASHION WITH COMPASSION the Perfect CASUAL FRENCH-THEMED (VEGAN)

Outfit for

by Erin Goldmeier

Spring!

I

t has been said that the French do everything better. They eat better, dress better, kiss better and even dress better. We did a little digging and found that there is a lot of truth to the

aforementioned; French women do in fact wear beautiful, classic pieces that flatter their bodies. And, here at VegWorld, we always want you to look your best, so here is the ultimate casual, Frenchthemed outfit for spring, Vegan-style. Tu as l’air beau!

The Striped Maritime Dress, in Navy/Fresh Cream, by J. Crew Factory is made with soft, 100% cotton, just a hint of stretch and falls above the knee. This piece is machine washable, extremely versatile, a staple for the frequent traveler and will carry you through those cool spring days & nights. Factory.jcrew.com

Pair the Striped Maritime dress with an international classic: The Supergas 2750 Cotu Classic shoes in White. The 2750 Cotu Classics have a sturdy cotton unlined canvas upper, natural rubber outsole and are made with vegan latex glue! Superga-usa.com

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FASHION WITH COMPASSION

must have

To finish off your look, tie a bandana around your neck like this floral paisley one from J. Crew in Dusty Guava. Jcrew.com

WHEN THE SUN SETS AND THE EVENING GETS CHILLY,

THROW ON A JEAN JACKET LIKE THIS ONE FROM LEVI’S. THE LEVI’S BOYFRIEND TRUCKER JACKET IS A TIMELESS PIECE THAT HAS A RELAXED, SLIGHTLY OVERSIZED LOOK. LEVI.COM

Your outfit wouldn’t be complete without a beret! We found a lovely, 100% cotton beret from

Your outfit wouldn’t be complete with a chic pair of tortoise

The Village Hat Shop that comes

shell sunglasses like the Luisa Matte Havana Tortoise shades

in eleven different colors, though

made by TOMS. The best part? For each pair of sunglasses

for this outfit we suggest the

you purchase, TOMS will help give sight to a person in need.

Navy Blue. Villagehatshop.com

About the Author

Erin Goldmeier is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Radar Online, PETA Prime, The Virgin Atlantic Airways Blog, Southwest Virginia Living magazine, Convention South magazine, Smart Meetings magazine and others.

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TRUE

by Sharon McRae

T

his

month,

my

challenge

has

been

smell is heavenly to me…it reminds me of the delicious

keeping my skin clean without stripping

Gravenstein apples I had last summer in California (if

it of moisture, which is at a premium

you’ve never tasted them and you have a chance to,

during this cold, dry weather on the East coast.

don’t miss them!). The best part is that the scent is all

I have three favorite new products to share:

natural, from essential oils, and it lasts the entire life of the bar! It doesn’t really linger on the skin to compete

Organic Apple Cider Soap from Bubble & Bee:

with any other natural scent you may wear, but it’s a nice pick me up after a long workout. The other variety I really enjoy is the Mint Tea, also scented with essential oils and

I love bar soaps, but one of my pet peeves is when

plant extracts. The ingredients of the Apple Cider Soap

they hardly lather, and also when they lose their scent

are simple and very moisturizing: Organic saponified

after the first couple of uses. This vegan, cruelty-free,

coconut oil, organic vegetable glycerin, water, salt,

gluten-free organic soap exceeded my expectations!

organic apple extract (in organic sunflower oil), organic

It’s a softer formula than most, and it lathers like crazy,

cinnamon leaf essential oil, organic cinnamon. As

so you don’t need to use much. It is important, though,

they say on the website, “That's it... No "Bad" Stuff!”

to keep the bar dry between uses, as it will disappear

If you enjoy bar soap, definitely give this one a try!

much faster if left to sit in a soggy soap dish. The apple

http://bubbleandbee.com/organic-apple-cider-soap/

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TRUE BEAUTY

Believe Organics Dry Oil This is an amazing product that is extremely hydrating and smells wonderful, without being overbearing. It’s obvious that the coowner of the company is an aromatherapist, as the combination of essential oils in this oil is so relaxing, grounding, and balanced.

I couldn’t understand how an oil could be called dry, but I now believe it has to do with the fact that it literally soaks right into damp skin after a shower or bath and it doesn’t leave behind that shiny, greasy feel that I’ve noticed after using other oil-based moisturizing products. And the best part is that a small amount goes a very long way. Just a few pumps are enough to cover my extremities, and I also love to use this as a hand moisturizer before bedtime…just a pump is more than enough. If your skin is like mine and tends to get dry during the colder months, you’ll love this product. I’m sure I’ll be using it all year round, too! Like all of the other products sold by this company, it’s organic, vegan, and scented with only essential oils. http://www.believeorganicsshop.com/shop/dry-oil-foryourbody

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TRUE BEAUTY

Kaelen Harwell Green Smoothie Mask

Being the plant-based foodie that I am, how could

before rinsing and moisturizing. Aside from the fact

I resist a skincare product called “Green Smoothie

that I look a little scary when I’m wearing it, it’s a really

Mask”….especially when the main ingredients are sweet

nice mid-week treat. And I definitely understand why

potato, kale, black radish, and basil leaf powders?! I

it’s called “smoothie.” The next morning, my skin is

love to use a mask/scrub on my skin weekly to keep

literally as soft and smooth as a baby’s bottom. We

it looking brighter and radiant, especially during

already know that whole plant foods make our skin

the colder weather. This versatile product comes

look radiant from the inside out, and this one shows

in powder form, and it’s recommended to make a

that they’re effective from the outside in as well. I

paste using the Kaelen Harwell Toner or water. It can

highly recommend adding this one to your weekly

be used as a scrub, or left on the skin as a mask. I

skincare regimen to maintain that healthy glow!

usually do a little of both, rubbing it in lightly and

https://www.kaelenharwell.com/products/green-

then letting it sit on my face for around 10 minutes

smoothie-mask

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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EAT THE WORLD

SLUGGO’S OF CHATTANOOGA A SAVORY & SATISFYING CAFÉ EXPERIENCE

by Michael Taylor

I

n the North Side of Chattanooga, there is a small, unpretentious café by the name of Sluggo’s North Vegetarian Restaurant. You may be a little suspicious of this place when you first walk in, as it is decorated in a more minimalistic way than you might normally see at an earthy, vegan restaurant, but, trust me, it is worth the experience!

Sluggos has a very hip ambiance - feels like a Starbucks meets modern art museum. And, by

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EAT THE WORLD

the way, even though the name states that they are vegetarian, their menu is 100% vegan.

On the menu is an abundance of comfort foods, such as Philly Cheese Steak subs, barbeque subs, and vegan burgers, but I have to say that they have one of the most eclectic menus I have come across for a cafĂŠ. Wraps, Mexican food, a variety of bowls, plus a great list of side dishes and soups! I ordered the lentil soup, Sluggo Burrito, and a cookie. My eyes were way bigger than my stomach, as I ended up taking food home, but it was delicious. Like salads?

They make their own dressings, including a rich looking soy based Russian dressing.

The one issue I had with this place is their extensive menu. I really struggled on deciding what to order and then was jealous of every other order I saw coming out. I took mental notes of what I will order next, which will include the Zucchini Griddle Cakes, Mushroom walnut burger (a sight of beauty), and the Sweet Chili Thai bowl smelled awesome!

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EAT THE WORLD

Order at the counter, and they will bring their food out to you. Not sure what to get? They have great suggestions, so please ask! Once you order, grab a table and listen to the diverse variety of music they have pumping through their speakers. When I dined there, I was treated to an acoustical live Bruce Springsteen!

The small parking lot in front should accommodate you even during a rush. Credit cards are accepted.

Open for lunch and dinner Monday thru Saturday (11:00 AM – 10:00 PM), and brunch on Sunday, keep this place in your dining rotation.

About the Author

Michael Taylor travels in North America, South America and Europe for business and strives to dine at the very best vegan restaurants in every city he visits. As a vegan of seven years and vegetarian for 20 years before that, he has sampled some of the best Vegan foods in 46 states and 24 countries. Michael looks for restaurants using the best ingredients (organic preferred), innovative recipes and vegan outreach.

“This book is the companion volume to Whole that needed to be written.”

—T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and Howard Jacobson, PhD, coauthors of Whole

“Lani has created a great ‘how-to’ book for every stage of your plant-based journey.”

—James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron

Learn more: theplantbasedjourney.com

AVA I L A B L E E V E R Y W H E R E B O O K S A R E S O L D .

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NUTRITION & THRIVING

TAKING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

FOR YOUR HEALTH

by Dr. Michael Greger

E

very year millions of people make resolutions

patients—a diet centered around whole plant

to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more

foods. So, anytime anyone tries to sell you on

and eat healthier. They start of with gusto

some new diet, do me a favor. Ask them one

and within a couple of weeks have abandoned their

simple question: “Has it been proven to reverse

resolution. This year, it is time to really look a your

heart disease—you know, the number one reason

lifestyle and take personal responsibility for your

you, and all your loved ones, will die?” If the

health.

answer is “No,” why would you even consider it? Only one diet has ever been proven to do

There’s only one diet that’s ever been proven

that. That’s not cherry-picking—there’s only one

to reverse heart disease in the majority of

cherry.

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NUTRITION & THRIVING

In fact, if that’s all a plant-based diet could do— reverse the number one killer of men and women, shouldn’t that be the default diet, until proven otherwise? And, the fact that it can also be effective in preventing, arresting, or reversing other leading killers—like type 2 diabetes and hypertension—would seem to make the case for plant-based eating simply overwhelming.

So, why don’t more doctors prescribe it? How could there be such a disconnect between the science and mainstream medical practice? Well, look, it took 25 years before the first Surgeon General’s report against smoking came out. It took more than 7,000 studies, and the deaths of countless smokers, before the powers-that-be officially recognized the link.

You’d think after the first 6,000 studies they could have given people a little heads up or something?

Powerful industry.

In fact, even after the Surgeon General’s report came out, the medical community still dragged their feet.

The American Medical Association actually went on record refusing to endorse the Surgeon General’s report. Why? Could it have been because they had just been handed a ten million dollar check from the tobacco industry? Maybe.

What was the AMA’s rallying cry back then? Everything So, we know why the AMA may have been sucking up

in moderation. “Extensive scientific studies have

to the tobacco industry—but why weren’t individual

proven that smoking in moderation…” Oh, that’s fine.

doctors speaking out? Well, there were a few gallant

Sound familiar?

souls ahead of their time writing in, as there are today, standing up against industries killing millions.

Consumption of animal foods and processed foods

But, why not more? Maybe, it’s because the majority

may cause at least 14 million deaths around the

of physicians themselves smoked cigarettes—just

world every year. 14 million people dead. Those of us

like the majority of physicians today continue to

involved in this evidence-based nutrition revolution

eat foods that are contributing to our epidemics of

are part of a movement with 14 million lives in the

dietary disease.

balance every year.

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NUTRITION & THRIVING

Plant-based diets may now be considered “the nutritional equivalent of quitting smoking.” How many more people have to die, though, before the CDC encourages people not to wait for open heart surgery to start eating healthy, as well?

Until the system changes, we have to take personal responsibility for our own health, for our family’s health. We can’t wait until society catches up to the science again, because it’s a matter of life and death.

Last year, Dr. Kim Williams became President of the American College of Cardiology. He was asked, in an interview, why he follows his own advice to eat a plant-based diet. “I don’t mind dying,” Dr. Williams replied, “I just don’t want it to be my [own] fault.”

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66

THE JUICE

GURU

by Steve Prussack

Juices vs Smoothies They’re not The Smoothie Gurus – they are The Juice Gurus. Still, Steve and Julie understand that smoothies can be a delicious and easy way to get more fruits and veggies into your day. Here they present the latest in scientific research regarding the classic “Juice vs. Smoothie” debate and share with us a recipe for the best green smoothie ever!

About the Author

Steve Prussack is the bestselling author of “Juice Guru: Transform Your Life by Adding One Juice a Day” (Robert Rose) and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Juice Fasting” (Penguin Books). His mission is to show you how to get the “juice” back into your life… so you can gain more energy, become naturally lean and beautiful (on the inside and out).

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by Amy Johnson

CAULIFLOWER CRABLESS CAKES

by Amy Johnson, aka Mrs. Plant in Texas

SERVES 2 ingredients • 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseeds and 3 Tablespoons warm water • 1 stalk of celery

• a dash or 2 of cayenne pepper • 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

• 1 large shallot or ¼ onion

• 1/2 teaspoon kelp granules or ¼ sheet of nori, cut into tiny pieces

• 1 clove of garlic

• ½ head of cauliflower (florets only)

• ½ red bell pepper • 1 teaspoon dried parsley

• ½ cup of sprouted grain bread crumbs

• 1/4 –½ teaspoon salt (optional)

• Chopped green onion to garnish

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CAULIFLOWER CRABLESS CAKES

method 1. Mix the ground flaxseeds in the warm water and set aside.

2. Steam cauliflower florets until tender. Set aside to cool.

3. NOTE: You can also place the florets in a steamer basket on top of the stand in your pressure cooker, add ½ cup of water, and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes with QUICK release.

4. In the food processor, pulse the celery, shallot, garlic, and red bell pepper until they are in tiny pieces.

5. Add veggie mixture to a medium-sized bowl. Add in the breadcrumbs.

6. Add the cauliflower florets, parsley, salt, cayenne pepper, old bay seasoning, kelp granules (or nori), and ground flaxseeds/water mixture to the bowl. Stir to combine.

7. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 8. Form patties (about 3� in diameter and about 1/4-inch high) with the mixture and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

9. Bake on one side for 25 minutes. Flip and bake another 15 minutes or until crispy on both sides.

10. Serve with sriracha sauce.

About the Chef:

Amy Johnson is a home chef living medicine-free in Frisco, Texas. She works with patients who have been diagnosed with dietary illnesses like obesity, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. to prevent and reverse these illnesses through a whole foods plant-based lifestyle. Before her journey, Amy was taking medication three times a day for Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, as well as struggling with severe osteopenia and obesity. After adopting a plant-based lifestyle, she has been able to get off her medications, lose weight (finally!) and run!

Visit her website at www.mrsplantintexas.com for hundreds of whole foods plant-based (no oil!) recipes, as well as cooking tips and plant-based education.

Or, follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrsplantintexas, on Instagram: mrsplantintexas, or on YouTube: www.youtube.com/mrsplantintexas.

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CREOLE BEANS, GREENS & RICE FROM THE INSTANT POT

by Jill McKeever

I'm obsessed with using my Instant Pot electric cooker. Have you heard of this appliance? It's a game-changer, ladies and gentlemen. The Instant Pot pressure cooks, slow cooks, steams, sautĂŠs, keeps food warm and makes yogurt. I have turned all my stove-top recipes into Instant Pot recipes, it's that amazing. I own three Instant Pots and use at least two everyday. Did I mention I was obsessed? Creole Beans, Greens & Rice is great recipe for breaking in a new Instant Pot.

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CREOLE BEANS, GREENS & RICE FROM THE INSTANT POT

MAKES 6 SERVINGS ingredients • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

• 2 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped

• 4-5 cups chopped fresh greens (kale, spinach or collard greens)

• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped • 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

• 3 cups cooked brown rice

• 3 celery stalks, chopped

• 1 medium tomato, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

Method 1. Press the [Sauté] button to heat up the inner pot. Pour just enough broth to cover the bottom of the pot. Add onion, red and green bell peppers, celery, and garlic; cook until onion is translucent. Add remaining broth, cooked pinto beans, greens, cooked brown rice, and tomato. Lock on Instant Pot lid. Turn the steam release handle to “Sealing.”

2. Press [Keep Warm/Cancel] once to cancel sauté mode, then press [MANUAL], use [-] button to adjust cooking time to 2 minutes. After cooking time is finished, wait 10-minutes then carefully turn steam release handle to "Venting" to release steam from the cooker. Remove lid, stir and serve.

3. Leftovers keep very well in the freezer for makeahead lunch or dinner.

About the Chef:

After watching the film Forks Over Knives in 2011, Jill McKeever healed herself of migraines, anxiety attacks, and lost 30-pounds when she adopted a plant-based lifestyle. She is a chef, cookbook author, and personal coach with a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Foundation. Her most recent cookbook, OMGee Good! Instant Pot Meals, Plant-Based & Oil-Free is all the rage with owners of the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. Every week, she hosts entertaining live broadcasts on Facebook and YouTube to guide viewers through living a plant-based lifestyle. Subscribe to watch and chat with her live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SimpleDailyRecipes and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jillmckeever/

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Raw Ravioli

with

SUN-DRIED TOMATO SAUCE

by Mark Reinfeld

I

’m not sure the pope would give his blessing to this out-of-the-box version of the Italian staple. In fact, they might not even let you into the Vatican with this in your

VegWorld Magazine

lunchbox. Using thinly sliced zucchini, beets, turnips, or watermelon radish as the “pasta” and a raw cheese like filling of cashews and pine nuts, a magical dish is born.

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RAW RAVIOLI WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO SAUCE

MAKES 18 RAVIOLI WITH FILLING AND SAUCE LEFT OVER. • 2 medium-size zucchini • Chiffonaded fresh basil or finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley • Diced black or kalamata olives

Notta Ricotta Filling • 3/4 cups raw cashews or macadamia nuts

• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

• 1/4 cup pine nuts

• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 3 Tablespoons water

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (optional)

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 2 teaspoons Italian Spice mix (optional)

Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce Makes 1 cup sauce

• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 3 sun-dried tomatoes soaked in 1/4 cup hot water

• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch

• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

chunks (1 cup) • 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt • A pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Method 1. Soak the cashews and pine nuts in about 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in 1/4 cup of hot water for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice each zucchini into eighteen, 1/16 inch-thick rounds, using either a mandoline or a sharp knife. Set aside.

3. Prepare the sauce by placing all of its ingredients, including the sun-dried tomatoes and soaking water, in a blender and blending until creamy.

4. Prepare the Notta Ricotta: Drain and rinse the soaked nuts well. Transfer to a food processor or strong blender with the remaining Notta Ricotta ingredients and process until smooth. If you are using a blender, you may need to add additional water.

5. Create the ravioli by placing a small amount of Notta Riccotta in the center of a zucchini slice. Top with an additional zucchini slice and seal by pinching the two slices together along the edges. Repeat with the remaining zucchini. To serve, drizzle with sauce and garnish with basil and diced olives.

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Variations: You can bump up the flavor of the Notta Ricotta by adding 1 teaspoon each of finely chopped fresh rosemary, oregano, thyme, and/or sage.

Chef’s Tips and Tricks: • For added flavor, and to keep this dish raw, you can place the zucchini slices on a dehydrator tray, lightly drizzle with olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Dehydrate at 115°F for 30 minutes, or until the zucchini are just soft before filling with the Notta Ricotta.

• Alternatively, if you do not tell the raw police, you can place the zucchini slices on a baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt (try smoked salt), and ground black pepper.

About the Chef:

Mark Reinfeld is a multi-award winning chef and author of seven books, including the best selling 30 Minute Vegan series and his latest book, Healing the Vegan Way was selected as “#1 Book for Vegans in 2016” by Philly.com. Mark has over 20 years experience preparing creative vegan and raw food cuisine. Since 2012, he has served as Executive Chef for North American Vegetarian Society’s Vegetarian Summerfest and has offered consulting services for clients such as Google, Whole Foods, Bon Appetit Management, and more. Mark was the founding chef of The Blossoming Lotus Restaurant in Kaua’i”, voted "Best Restaurant on Kauai." His first cookbook, Vegan Fusion World Cuisine, has won 9 national awards, including “Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the USA.” He is the recipient of Vegan.com’s Recipe of the Year award, and Aspen Center for Integral Health’s Living Foods category Platinum Carrot award. Through his Vegan Fusion company, he offers consulting, chef services, culinary workshops, chef trainings and teacher trainings internationally.

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BANISH BLOAT, LOSE WEIGHT, FEEL GREAT

FOR SPRING AND SUMMER WITH

GREEN DRINKS!

TIPS, TRICKS, AND RECIPES TO GET YOU STARTED

by Natalie Norman

Hello, Wonderful VegWorld Readers!

It’s your raw food pal, Natalie! Are you ready to slim down, drop those pesky holiday pounds, and feel fantastic for spring and summer?

Raw foods are your friends in this department, especially in the form of delicious, fast, and easy GREEN DRINKS!

VegWorld Magazine

In this issue I’m focusing on how adopting a daily green drink habit can help you banish bloat, lose weight, and feel powerful and energized! I’ll explain the difference between green juice and green smoothies, describe how they work to nourish and support your health, teach you how to make them, share some recipe ideas to get you started, and supply you with plenty of support.

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Ready? Let’s go!

What’s the difference between green juice and green smoothies?

This is a very common question that I get almost daily. I know it can be a little confusing at first, so I’ll break it down here.

Green Juice Demystified Green juices are made by pressing lots of vegetables, herbs, and a very small amount of fruit through a filtering mechanism using a juicing machine. Juice comes out one end, while fibrous, nearly-dry pulp gets extracted out the other.

Doing this allows you to ingest high quantities of vegetables and herbs that you

VegWorld Magazine

might not otherwise be able to eat in one day or one sitting. For example, one batch of green juice might use three cucumbers, one head of celery, two bunches of cilantro, one bunch of kale, and three lemons. That’s a lot of awesomely fresh produce to get into your body!

When was the last time you ate all that in one meal? By juicing and removing most of the pulp, you are also lifting your body’s digestive burden while infusing it with those wonderful concentrated phytonutrients. This process of removing fiber and concentrating nutrients helps increase your overall energy with healthy, filling calories.

Some people have concern that removing pulp means lowering their fiber intake. We all know fiber is good for us, but please don’t

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be concerned! When you include plenty of fresh whole raw foods in your diet on a regular basis, obtaining adequate fiber is a non-issue. Think of green juice as part of your diet, in addition to other whole plantbased healthy foods.

Green juice delivers an added benefit of blasting bloat and helping us lose weight, too.

That’s a big WIN when you’re trying to get rid of any excess poundage or tummy bloat you might have picked up over the holidays.

Two ingredients I love to use in green juice because they’re so great at busting the bloat are celery and lemons.

Lemons are even doctor-recommended for their anti-inflammatory properties. Try limes, too, for another delicious bloat-busting green juice ingredient. Beets and leafy greens are also fantastic for reducing inflammation in the body, so juice those up, too!

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Be careful to limit the amount of sweet fruit in your green juice, because fruit juice stripped of fiber is naturally high in sugar. Fruit sugar is great in whole plants when its natural fiber and water content are preserved, but juices can become too concentrated in sugars if you add more than what’s necessary to balance flavor. I’ll add several lemons to my green juice recipes without concern, but when I seek to balance out the flavor of my green juice, I’ll only add around 1-2 small apples depending on the size of the batch of juice I’m making.

Oftentimes, I don’t add sweet fruit to my green juice recipes at all. You don’t always need it! Cucumber celery juice is delightful all by itself, for example. Same goes for carrot, spinach, and celery juiced up together. You can even make deliberately savory green juices with tomato, basil, celery, bell pepper, spinach, and carrot. YUM! Aren’t you craving some green juice now?

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Use the basic green juice recipes I’ve included below and build on them, experimenting with flavor combinations. You’ll master the green juice habit in no time!

Now that we’ve discussed green juicing, let’s move on and talk about the other green drink that can help you get energized, feel great, and drop some unwanted pounds – smoothies!

Green Smoothies: Blended Whole Plants In contrast to green juice, where the fibrous pulp of a plant gets removed, green smoothies blend up whole plants with water in order to create a liquid that’s much thicker than a green juice. Think milkshake consistency.

You don’t need a fancy blender to make delicious green smoothies. High-powered blenders can emulsify your smoothies with improved texture and overall consistency, but just about any blender should be fine. If your blender isn’t very powerful, simply take a few extra moments to chop up ingredients to ensure that your blender motor and blades can handle them.

about making your green drinks delicious and downright craveable, and proper blending technique helps!

While green juice is mostly vegetables and herbs, green smoothies tend to be full of raw fruit. This works well in a smoothie because you are blending up whole fruits, complete with all their wonderful fiber. So go for it with the fruit!

Fruit blended with greens and water makes for an excellent source of healthy carbohydrates while flushing your body with fiber and hydration. Green smoothies are a fantastic breakfast in that regard, but they also can be enjoyed any time of day.

Just remember – green smoothies are a full meal by themselves! So don’t go chasing a big sandwich with a smoothie or you might feel overly full, and that’s not the result we’re aiming for.

No matter what type of blender you have, always make sure you place your greens and water at the bottom of the blender container first, then add fruit and any remaining ingredients on top. This way your greens will be well-blended and more palatable. I am all

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You can use both frozen and fresh fruit in your green smoothies. I like to keep my freezer and my

So if you’re trying to stay on a plant-based diet but you’re finding yourself feeling bloated,

counter tops filled with raw fruits. For example, I keep banana chunks, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, and even cherries ready to go in my freezer. Frozen fruit is not only convenient and economical, but it also gives green smoothies a delightful, creamy consistency.

heavy, lethargic, or just plain stalled-out on your progress, try ditching the salty tofu scrambles, trendy avocado toast recipes, fake veggie meats and cheeses, and other such foods. Replace them with a green smoothie that’s packed with leafy greens, fruit, and water.

Because green smoothies are so packed with healthy carbohydrates, water, fiber, vitamins and minerals, they are naturally filling. If you get in the habit of making green smoothies daily, you will drop other foods without much effort, if any. I am a big fan of using intelligent practical strategy to lose weight and I always say that “will power” is a myth. Instead of making yourself crazy trying to resist unhealthy food, shift your focus to adding healthy, filling, delicious alternatives.

Smoothies are one of my favorite “fast foods” because they are also extremely convenient!

You can even make them the night before, store them in glass jars with airtight lids, and then keep them in your fridge for simple, portable grab-ngo meals the next day.

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Sometimes people ask me which is better, green juice or green smoothies. The answer is: Neither!

Drink BOTH juices and smoothies as part of your well-rounded raw food plant-based diet.

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Recipes to get you started Here are some basic beginner recipes for both green juices and green smoothies to get you started with green drinks today!

Beginner Green Juice Recipes

Beginner Green Smoothie Recipes

• 2 cucumbers

• 3 bananas, preferably broken into

• 4 stalks of celery • 1 lemon • ½ small apple

-or• 1 bunch of celery • 4 kale leaves • 2 lemons • 1 whole apple

chunks and frozen • 1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries • 3 pitted dates, any kind • 3 cups of baby spinach • 3 cups of water

-or• 3 bananas, preferably broken into chunks and frozen • 2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries • 2 cups of kale, any kind, stems removed • 2 pitted dates • 4 cups of water

Do’s and Don’ts of Green Drinks DO treat them as a meal.

As healthy as green drinks are, they still have calories and can be quite filling! And if you’re not accustomed to the fiber or intensity of raw plant-based nutrition, drinking green drinks on top of standard American cuisine can create the opposite effect that you desire.

VegWorld Magazine

Green drinks can actually make you feel very full if you’re drinking them on top of breads, cooked pastas, and other heavy meals. Treat your green drinks as meals unto themselves.

Give your body a chance to digest them alone. You will naturally find yourself eating less as you get into a daily green drink habit.

DON’T make your green juice full of fruit juice.

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As discussed above, too much fruit sugar without its natural fiber to slow absorption into your bloodstream can cause blood sugar spikes. High volumes of fruit are best left for blended smoothies.

DO keep the focus on fresh raw greens!

Whether it’s a green juice or a green smoothie, I want you really focusing on the word “GREEN.” As you make your green drinks, ask yourself if you’re getting in plenty of servings of fresh raw greens and herbs each time. If greens seem scary to you at first, that is OK. But keep pushing yourself to move that needle each time, increasing the volume of greens you consume.

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DON’T use fatty or processed ingredients.

Beginner’s mistake, and so common! Many people are not used to eating simply, so they load up their green smoothies with things like processed nut milks, nut butters, coconut oil, avocados, oh boy, you name it! This is OK if you need it to transition to smoothies for a week or so, but if you keep it up, you might just see yourself gaining weight and not feeling as great as you should. I don’t want that happening to you. So make a point of keeping your smoothies filled with greens/ veggies, fruits, and plain water. Remember, you are FLUSHING out your amazing body while nourishing it, hydrating it, and energizing it. Keep it light!

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Started around Thanksgiving of 2016, the Green Drink Every Day group was originally an accountability platform for just a tiny handful of us, and I myself take part! We have grown into over 100 people, all encouraging and empowering each other. We post photos and recipes of our daily green drinks and learn a lot from each other. Support is key! I want to see you there!

Keep in Touch, VegWorld Readers!

Supporting your green drink habit!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’m a huge advocate of surrounding yourself with support. This goes for raw foods in general and definitely applies to the green drink habit! It can be quite challenging to adopt new dietary habits of any kind. But when you know you’ve got a support group for ideas, inspiration, and accountability, boy, what a difference!

With that, I am overjoyed to extend to VegWorld readers a PERSONAL invite to my private Facebook group called Green Drink Every Day. Shoot me a request to join and I will approve you. YUP, you’ve got VIP status now!

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I’m loving contributing to VegWorld regularly, so be sure to reach out and let me know what you thought of my column and what kinds of topics you would like to see covered. Drop me a line and subscribe at www.natalienorman. com, and be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for daily inspiration. I’m so proud to be a VegWorld contributor and am myself an avid reader of this amazing magazine. I look forward to continuing to meet all of you, and I support you 100% on your journey into plant-based living!

PLUS, I hope I will meet you at this years’ starstudded HEALTHFEST! Wow, what a lineup they have this year. I’m thrilled and honored to be speaking about raw foods to get you pumped up and inspired!

Now, time to get your green drinks going! I can’t wait to see what YOU create!

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PRESCRIPTIONS FOR HEALTH WITH DR. LINDA CARNEY

I

A GREEN-EYED ADVANTAGE? s there any advantage to eye color? Beyond

vision loss(2), and scientific research indicates that all

personal preferences, there is evidence that

are strongly related to what we do and don’t eat.

darker shades of eye color provide a small level

of protection against certain diseases that affect

Diets high in fat, dairy, and cholesterol are closely

eyesight.(1) However, the biggest color advantage

linked to cataracts, a progressive clouding of the

for eyes is green -- as in eat your kale, collards,

eye’s lens that causes a reduction in vision similar to

and spinach. What we eat can make a surprisingly

frost on a window pane. The National Eye Institute

significant difference in our long-term eye health.

says that more than half of us will have cataracts--or have had surgery to remove cataracts--by age 80.(3)

Four diseases are primarily responsible for vision

A study which followed 440 women ages 54 to 73

loss among American adults. Cataract, glaucoma,

demonstrated a connection between cataracts and

age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic

a high intake of linoleic and linolenic acid; the study

retinopathy cause the overwhelming majority of

particularly identified mayonnaise and other creamy

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PRECRIPTIONS FOR HEALTH

salad dressing as part of the problem. Because the

but no meat), vegetarians, and vegans. Compared

lens of the human eye naturally contains some

to meat eaters, pescatarians lowered their risk of

linoleic acid, the researchers said “it is reasonable

cataracts by 20 percent, vegetarians by 30 percent,

to assume that high intakes of linoleic acid may

and vegans were down to a 40 percent lower risk of

increase its concentration in [the] lens membrane.�

cataracts.(9) This decreasing risk may be attributable

The researchers suspect that oxidized linoleic acid

to the fact that as animal food consumption

in the lens tissue is causally related to the formation

decreases,

of cataracts.(4) For individuals who consume large

typically increases. Fruits and vegetables are high in

amounts of dairy products, the simple milk sugar

antioxidants, which are powerful fighters against the

galactose may build up in the lens, causing cataracts.

oxidative stress known to be a cause of cataracts.(10)

And a diet which includes animal products

Antioxidants also fight oxidation that happens in the

or contains too much fat can lead to elevated

arteries, resulting in plaque build up, another known

cholesterol and high triglyceride levels, which in

risk factor for cataracts.

(5,6)

fruit

and

vegetable

consumption

turn raise the risk for developing cataracts.(7,8) Cardiovascular disease also puts our eyes at risk for Conversely, a vegan diet has been shown to

age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Currently,

significantly lower the risk of cataracts. In a study

11 million people are losing their vision to this

of over 27,500 people, researchers compared the

progressive disease and the number is expected to

diet of meat eaters, pescatarians (those who ate fish

double by 2050. AMD is the breakdown of the small

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PRECRIPTIONS FOR HEALTH

patch of light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye

of vitamins E, A, and folic acid that are usually found

-- the macula -- which filters out retina-damaging

in multivitamins to increased rates of cancer of the

blue light. Scientists know that macular pigment

lung, liver, breast, and prostate, respectively.

is made up of lutein and zeaxanthin. Since greens have an abundance of these pigments, it is believed

Greens are also protective against glaucoma,

that a diet high in leafy greens may help protect the

a disease that results in eye pressure and is the

macula.(11)

second leading cause of blindness worldwide.

But people who eat kale or collards regularly

In fact, people with the most lutein and zeaxanthin

have been shown to lower their risk of

have been proven to see distinct mountain ridges

glaucoma by 69 percent. Carrots and peaches

27 miles farther away than people measured to

also scored high as foods proven to prevent

have the lowest amounts of these plant-sourced

visual loss from the increased intraocular

macular phytonutrients. To gain this advantage

pressure of glaucoma as we age.(12)

of seeing 27 miles farther, we don’t need to pop lutein supplements, though. Lutein pills have been

And vision-loss due to diabetic retinopathy is largely

correlated with an increased risk for lung cancer.

preventable with diet. A low-fat, whole foods,

More evidence that foods -- not pills -- should be our

plant-based diet, free from added oil, can prevent,

medicine is provided by studies linking the amounts

halt, and even reverse type 2 diabetes. I’ve seen it

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PRECRIPTIONS FOR HEALTH

happen before my eyes both in my private practice

At age 43, my eyesight blurred due to senile

and during my time as the medical director for the

presbyopia, and I discovered that my arms just

Engine 2 Diet Immersion Program conducted for

weren’t long enough anymore! Realizing that eggs

employees of Whole Foods Market.

and cheese were foolishly compromising my vision, I reverted back to a vegan diet again at age 44 so

A plant-based diet is even beneficial for the

that I would NOT need those humbling “readers.”

less serious but more common condition,

No more grocery store glasses for me in my 40’s

dry eye disease (DED). This condition vexes

after veganism restored my previously youthful

us with irritable eyes that don’t focus as well

vision. At age 50 when my vision again blurred,

as hydrated eyes. To prevent the diminished

I threw out olive oil as I learned how dietary oil

visual acuity often caused by DED, we can

harms circulation. You guessed it: I got my eyesight

hydrate well with 64 ounces of water daily

back within months. Now in my late 50’s, I admit

before five p.m. for most adults. We can also

to keeping readers with me everywhere, but I’m

limit diuretics like caffeine and alcohol, which

thankful to have gotten an extra 10 years of mileage

make us urinate away our body’s water,

out of these green eyes of mine.

promoting dehydration. A WFPBNO diet (whole food plant-based no oil) will also help

Combining oil-free vegan diets, rich in produce,

us need less of the medications that promote

with the use of over-the-counter natural tears can

DED, such as drugs for allergies, Parkinson’s,

help you depend on readers later rather than sooner

depression, psychosis, beta-blockers, and

as you enter your 40’s and 50’s. Some women feel

HRT (hormone replacement therapy like

younger if they can put off by a few years the need

estrogen for menopause). Excess dietary salt,

to buy those “readers” from the drugstore. How

fat, cholesterol, protein, and sucrose have

“green with envy” will our bespectacled omnivorous

been associated with increased risk for tear

peers be if we, instead of buying “readers” at age 40,

dysfunction, while plant-based diets rich in

let our veggie-rich, oil-free, plant-based diets keep

red, orange, yellow, and dark green vegetables

us not only “green-eyed” but also clear-eyed for a

have been shown to greatly decrease DED risk.

few years longer?

1.

http://www.amd.org/risk-factors-for-macular-degeneration/

7.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9063243

2.

https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/

8.

http://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(02)01762-1/abstract

3.

https://nei.nih.gov/health/cataract/cataract_facts

9.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/93/5/1128.long

4.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/4/773.long

10.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16765571

5.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6804198

11.

http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2123005

6.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1901325

12.

http://www.ajo.com/article/S0002-9394(08)00084-6/abstract

About the Author

Linda Carney MD served as Medical Director for the first 7 Immersions by Engine 2 under Rip Esselstyn. She practices medicine just south of Austin, TX and loves to share science at www.DrCarney.com

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Love, Lori

MONTHLY MUSINGS ON THE PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE

A DOCTOR

In The House

by Lori Fryd

T

hroughout most of my life, my lack of interest

messes and the grease, the tiresome defrosting, the

in the art of cooking has kept me in the kitchen

dreaded, never-ending clean-ups.

only through necessity and sometimes with

resentment. Raising my family of three small children,

Plant-based eating has inspired and reinvigorated me.

of course I was obliged to take my place behind the

When it's time for me to go into the kitchen these

stove and sink and I did my duty. But, truth be told, I

days, I enter it with a sense of purpose, excitement and

never much enjoyed it. The scrubbing, the washing,

resolve. I'm not just there as a drudge, a homemaker, a

the chopping - the heat and the boiling, the spills, the

chief cook and bottle washer. I don't just get in and get

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LOVE, LORI

out as fast as is humanly possible. I no longer resent

or a hospital. Except, my side-effects are satisfied

the work I do in there.

bellies and, when I'm lucky, delicious memories. I have succeeded in curing our chronic conditions and I have

No. I've got a purpose in there these days and I take

improved the quality of our lives more than any pill-

my responsibilities seriously. I am a doctor in my

pushing doctor ever has because of the work I have

home and the kitchen is my examination room and

done in that kitchen. I am not a drudge, a slave to the

my surgical arena.

kitchen sink, an unskilled laborer toiling away over a messy counter top and a hot stove.

I scrub up. I don my yellow rubber gloves with the same precision and care as a surgeon about to perform his

I am a doctor.

craft. My instruments are my ladles, my spoons, my veggie choppers and my cutting boards

If food is indeed medicine, then I claim

and I use them with the same care

my rank as a physician of the highest

as the surgeon wields his scalpel

order and spotless credentials.

or the GP his stethoscope.

I go to my office each day

They are not just everyday

with

pride

because

I

kitchen utensils. They are

have the satisfaction of

the tools I need to save

knowing that what I do

myself and my husband

in there truly matters,

from years of needless

that the time I took to

suffering and loss of life.

educate myself about plant-based eating has

Whether I need to be

made

in the kitchen for a few

an

enormous

difference in our lives and

minutes or a few hours, I

to our health - and that I have

am there on a mission now. I'm

actually healed.

not just creating soups, stews and salads - I am synthesizing and prescribing medications. I'm not just throwing anything I've found

How many Western doctors these days can say the same?

on the supermarket shelves together into any kind of edible concoction. I am applying my knowledge, my

And now, if you will excuse me, I have a patient who

years of study and my insight into the power of nutrition

needs my care and the operating room awaits.

to create health and quality of life for me and for Bob. How is that any different than what a physician does?

I practice medicine in my kitchen in much the same way as a "real" doctor practices medicine in their office

VegWorld Magazine

A doctor's work is never done....

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