Stumped for what to give your friends and family that already seem to have everything? Or even if they genuinely need another sweater, maybe you have different tastes. What if giving health were as easy as giving a package with a nice bow?

The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine just published a study showing that, as a country, we are losing ground to obesity. People are smoking less, which is great. Yet the hastening of death from obesity more than wipes out the gain from reduced smoking.

On average, because of being over their ideal weight, people will live a full

You can give the gift of health to yourself and others!

year less! Of course, this is an average. Normal weight people will not lose any of their allotted years, but obese people will lose a lot more.

Would you give your family or friends cigarettes as a holiday gift? Of course not! So why would you give them food that will shorten their lifespan as much or more?

If you are giving food as a holiday gift, choose yummy whole foods. Think about a fruit basket, dried fruit in nice packages, fancy nuts, or gourmet dark chocolate.

If you are serving food over the holiday or bringing a dish to a potluck, there are thousands of whole food recipes your party will enjoy. Check out the newsletter archives at Dr. McDougall’s site or the fat free vegan site with fantastic plant-based recipes. Not only will you be boosting health for one meal, but you will be educating all those enjoying your cooking. Maybe you’ll even set them on a path to permanent weight loss. Let them grab back that year that obesity is robbing them of.

The gift of health is truly the best, and yes, you can give it. Your example of your own healthy choices paves the way, educating and motivating others all year long.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

Thanksgiving is a time for abundance. While many may find Thanksgiving without turkey to be lacking, an animal-free holiday maximizes love, caring, and great food.

My favorite celebration is an annual Thanksgiving potluck in a casual San Diego home. The hosts are committed to a plant-based diet; so the many choices people bring are animal-free. Some of the dishes crowding every corner of three large tables were Tofurky® (of course) with gravy, several kinds of potatoes, large pans of stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, quinoa salads, polenta with pesto sauce and tomatoes, vegetables of all types,

Polenta topped with pesto, tomato, walnuts, and peppers was a huge hit at our animal-free Thanksgiving

yams, pasta dishes, garlic bread, rice paper rolls with spicy sauce, and way more. Too much to even take a forkful of everything.

A separate dessert table tempted with about eight pies of all types, several kinds of cookies, brownies, and cakes.

I basked on a sunny deck with dozens of relaxed friends, all enjoying the food, weather, and each other’s company. Laughter and quiet conversation created a pleasant background. A few dogs, ranging from an American bulldog to a standard poodle to a tiny Katrina rescue, roamed from person to person looking for pets and approval (and maybe a bit of Tofurky®).

For most of my life, I would have shuddered at a turkey-free Thanksgiving. I was the one who ate mounds of meat at dinner and nibbled at the leftovers for days.

Now I revel that Thanksgiving is animal-free. I LOVE a turkey-free thanksgiving. Then I can truly be grateful for the wonderful gifts in my life without damaging my own health or the planet. The food that would have gone to feed the turkey is now available to others, hungry and less fortunate, who deserve their own abundance. And I can eat way too much of the tastiest foods on earth – without guilt.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

Our family, bonded around plant-based nutrition and love of nature, is very close. My younger daughter lives in San Diego with me. We were so happy when Rebecca, my older daughter, could visit to celebrate Thanksgiving – even though the visit was a few weeks early.

Rebecca drove down from Northern California with her boyfriend Jan and their rescued American bulldog, Rikki. This goofy and ultra-friendly canine

Rebecca and Rikki the American bulldog

is a poster child for why adopting from a shelter is the best way to add a furry family member.

On the first Saturday night in November we enjoyed a tasty and low-budget Thanksgiving feast. When you stick to plant-based options, you can eat way too much delicious food for Thanksgiving and stick to your spending limits.

Actually, we did splurge a little, as you can see from our menu and costs. By cooking totally from scratch, we could definitely have saved money. But all four of us ate to oblivion on Saturday night and had enough food left over for several days. So the total covers much of the food we all ate for about three days.

Two Tofurky roasts (animal-free and delicious) $17

Potatoes, onion, carrots roasted with Tofurky $3

Gravy (animal-free mix) $1

Stuffing (two bags of animal-free stuffing mix liberally boosted with fresh onions and celery) $5

Homemade cranberry sauce (meal highlight for me) $2

Homemade veggies medley stir fry (in broth) $3

Homemade winter squash pureed with spices and a little miso $3

Pumpkin pie (animal-free from Whole Foods) $13

Dairy-free whipped topping $4

Total for four people eating for several days: $51. A homemade pumpkin pie would have brought the total down to about $40, or $10 per person. Not bad for a healthy and loving Thanksgiving. No one missed the poor turkey. In fact, we were all hugely thankful that the bird was celebrating, too, happy and enjoying another day.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

We adults may pretend Halloween is for the kids, but deep down there is nostalgia for the excitement of our own childhood on October 31. For me, the best part of Halloween was the anticipation. What costume would I wear? How about my friends? Would it be raining on that crucial night?

Healthy and fun Halloween

Most of all, my anticipation was all about what our neighbors were going to hand out as treats. How many houses could I go to? What goodies would layer our table when I dumped out the Halloween candy bag?

Actually eating the candy was anti-climatic. Much of our sweets collection ended up in the trash.

You can get that same anticipation now by leaving yourself open to chance, stepping out of the ordinary. The fun is in the process of change, seeking the new the same way a kid plans a cool costume for trick-or-treat.

Step into the world of whole foods, healthy eating, and permanent weight loss. Yes, you can still enjoy that sweet surprise of Halloween. Open your favorite plant-based cookbook to the dessert section, close your eyes and choose a recipe at random, cook and enjoy.

If you don’t have a suitable cookbook, online is just as good. Head over to the dessert section of Fat Free Vegan and let your mouse randomly choose the recipe that was meant for you. Halloween can get better every year if you make this your new tradition.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.