Posts Tagged ‘making a difference now’
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Robert Grillo with one of the friends who inspires him
Robert Grillo Is a Dedicated Advocate of a Plant-Based Lifestyle and Getting To the Core of Truth about Our Food
Robert Grillo makes time every day to report on top news and issues in plant-based eating and the reality of animals raised for food. His website Free from Harm is one of the best sources I’ve found for must-know animal stories that may not make ordinary headlines. Rather watch than read? Free from Harm hosts a collection of dozens of long and short videos on plant-based nutrition and animal issues.
When Robert is not digging through and sharing the news, he shares veganized version of classic American favorite foods on his other site, Hearty Vegan Recipes.
Robert, an independent writer and marketing consultant, has lived in Chicago all his life. I met him on LinkedIn. After marveling at the daily stream of hard hitting information he posted on vegan and vegetarian groups there, I had to contact him to get to know him better.
Robert generously took time from his packed schedule to answer my questions on his journey from (more…)
Tags: blogging, cancer, Free From Harm, making a difference now, Plant-based nutrition, Robert Grillo, whole foods plant-based diet
Posted in Animals | Comments Off on From Meat-Centered Meals to Free From Harm
Sunday, April 8th, 2012
Davie Maxwell and his mom in the seedling greenhouse of Hidden Oasis farm. Davie starts his leafy green powerhouse crops out from seeds.
Davie Maxwell Pioneers Compassionate Farming for Delicious Leafy Greens
Whole food, plant-based diets and veganic farming are natural partners. Veganic gardeners grow crops without manure, bone or blood meal, or other animal products. While plant-based nutrition is a blossoming trend, raising cruelty-free crops is evolving more slowly.
Using veganic methods, Davie Maxwell grows the world’s healthiest, tastiest leafy greens on his 5-acre Hidden Oasis farm near Vancouver, Washington, a short drive from Portland. I was deeply impressed with (more…)
Tags: Davie Maxwell, environmental degradation, getting healthy, Hidden Oasis farm, Janice Stanger, leafy green vegetables, making a difference now, Plant-based nutrition, veganic gardening, whole foods plant-based diet
Posted in Green spaces | Comments Off on How To Get Animals Out of Our Vegetables
Sunday, December 18th, 2011
The Perfect Formula Diet awards for plant-based happenings in 2011. The "top 10" list with 11 awards for an important year for the plant-based world.
Actually Eleven of the Top Good, Bad, and So-What Legacies of 2011
As 2011 speeds to its end, it’s time to reflect on the top events, organizations, trends, and people that will have a lasting impact on American food choices. The Perfect Formula Diet (PFD) 2011 awards point the way to making 2012 a better year for you and the planet.
THE BEST FOOD OF THE YEAR:
Kale – Kale was all over the media in 2011. This vegetable is universally recognized as dense with minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals (beneficial nutrients found only in plants), and fiber – all with barely any calories. WebMD calls kale “the queen of greens” and notes it is growing in popularity.
A recent Huffington Post blogger calls kale “the new beef.” This is way too kind to the beef industry. However, the point is that you can get all the nutrients in animal foods by eating kale, in a way that is infinitely healthier for you and the planet. Kale comes in many varieties and colors, with flat or curly leaves. You can enjoy kale raw or include it in just about anything you cook. Find this easy-to-grow powerhouse in farmers markets and supermarkets all over the country.
MOST FUN WAY TO CONSUME THE BEST FOOD OF THE YEAR:
Green smoothies– In recent years, (more…)
Tags: Captain Paul Watson, cardiovascular disease, Climate change, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Dr. Baxter Montgomery, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Terry Mason, EarthSave, environmental degradation, fish, Forks Over Knives, getting healthy, green smoothies, Janice Stanger, kale, Lipitor, making a difference now, Meals for Health, phytochemicals, President Bill Clinton, reverse chronic disease, Sanjay Gupta, Sea Shepherd, The Last Heart Attack, vegetables, weight loss, Whole Foods Immersion Program, whole foods plant-based diet
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Mike Vee, dressed in black, in the days when he was eating meat and processed food and struggling with one health problem after another.
Mike Vee Is Transformed From Dead to Vigorous on a Whole Foods, Plant-Based Diet
Mike Vee is an amazing Facebook friend. I always enjoyed his posts, but when I learned he died in the emergency room and then was revived, I had to know more and wanted to share his story. Mike Vee has been working as a clinical dietitian for 25 years and presently provides medical nutritional therapy through a Federally Funded Grant for people living with HIV/AIDS in Trenton NJ. He reduced the number of meds he takes from ten to zero solely with a whole foods, plant-based diet.
What kinds of foods did you grow up eating?
Growing up as third generation Italian-Americans, our home life reflected this. We would have the prerequisite spaghetti and meatballs, veal and chicken parmigiana, escarole and beans, pork chops, flounder, beef stew, hamburgers and hot dogs and TV dinners. Most of the vegetables we ate came from a can and were heated up to a point of ashen green that shouldn’t be allowed on the color wheel in the scheme of things. My mom liked to bake more than she liked to cook and our waistlines often reflected this.
What kinds of foods do you eat now?
If it is in the plant family, I’ll eat it. Suffice to say, on occasion I do tangle with (more…)
Tags: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, getting healthy, Janice Stanger, lose weight, making a difference now, Mike Vee, Plant-based nutrition, reverse chronic disease, vegetables, weight loss, whole foods plant-based diet
Posted in Health | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Ruth Heidrich crosses the finish line in the Great Aloha Run.
Ruth Heidrich Shares Her Success in Forks Over Knives And Everywhere Someone Can Benefit
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D., one of the star patients in the movie Forks Over Knives. Ruth provides insights into the making of the film and her ongoing work to educate others on the power of a whole foods, plant-based diet. If you have not seen this film yet, grab the first opportunity to experience it. You will see Ruth and several other patients revitalizing their health through diet, not drugs. In this dialogue, Ruth is RH, and I am JS.
JS: For those who are not familiar with your story, it would be great to have a short overview of your diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer and subsequent cancer-free life. I always think of you as the woman who beat cancer into submission with broccoli and oatmeal.
RH: Sitting in the doctor’s office awaiting the results of a breast biopsy, I was positive that this was going to be just a little blip in the road of life, that there was no way it could be cancer. I was a runner for 14 years, had even run marathons, and ate what I thought was a good diet, you know, chicken and fish, low-fat dairy, all the “good proteins.” I was the healthiest, (more…)
Tags: breast cancer, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Ruth Heidrich, Forks Over Knives, getting healthy, ironman, Janice Stanger, making a difference now, whole foods, whole foods plant-based diet
Posted in Health | 2 Comments »
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
Todd after 7 months on a whole foods, plant-based diet
Todd Rosenthal Shares Recipes and Secrets of His Four-Step Eating Plan
Todd Rosenthal changed his diet “on a dime” in November 2010, plummeting his fasting blood sugar from 310 to below 100 in a month without drugs. He enjoys sharing his success as we discuss what he’s learned.
Todd ate “the Standard American Diet” growing up. His eating habits deteriorated even more when he began working as a small town journalist. Always on the go to cover the news, Todd consumed a diet he describes as “90% fat.” His favorite foods were barbecued ribs, ice cream, frozen dinners, and snack items. Later, when he switched careers to a family-owned business and then Internet sales, he continued the same food habits. Todd notes “I logged a million miles in the fast food lane.”
One visit to the doctor changed all that. In addition to his scary fasting blood sugar of 310, Todd had numbness in his limbs and extremities, low energy, and a constant grumpy mood. “If you don’t change, you won’t be here in two years,” his doctor advised.
The physician’s idea of change centered on taking lots of meds, but Todd pushed back. He researched the drug side effects and grappled with the need to take them for life.
The timing was perfect for a trip from Todd’s Florida home to visit a San Diego couple who are close friends. Tracy Childs and Steve Sarnoff are long-time vegans who advocate a whole foods, plant-based diet. Tracy gave Todd two books to read during his stay. The first was (more…)
Tags: diabetes, Dr. Neal Barnard, getting healthy, green smoothies, home run diet, Janice Stanger, lose weight, making a difference now, Plant-based nutrition, reverse chronic disease, Steve Sarnoff, Todd Rosenthal, Tracy Childs, whole foods, whole foods plant-based diet
Posted in Health | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
New Survey Shows Vegans are Happy and Thriving
In our over-stressed and rushed world, is there a simple secret to inner peace? Amid the wasteland of fast food and supermarkets crammed with thousands of processed choices, is there a straight line to health? Surrounded by pavement and parking lots, how can you feel a direct connection to the majesty of nature?
2,068 vegans took a moment to share the answers in the survey Vegan From the Inside. Respondents completed questions on what it’s like for them to be (more…)
Tags: getting healthy, Janice Stanger, lose weight, making a difference now, Plant-based nutrition, process of change, survey, Vegan From the Inside, weight loss, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | 2 Comments »
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Until we change the way we eat, getting health care costs and the deficit under control will be a losing struggle.
Surging Health Care Costs Come Right Out of Your Pocket
The health care costs draining your personal budget come in two pieces: the amount you see directly as health care, and the hidden costs embedded in taxes, salary you don’t get, and the cost of virtually everything you buy. Health care costs gobble one out of every six dollars of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), with that percentage rising every year. Even Warren Buffett, the wealthy business man, called health care costs a “tapeworm” dragging down the economy.
The direct costs are obvious. Milliman, a leading actuarial firm, reported that health care for a family of four in 2010 in the U.S. averaged a staggering $18,074. Of this, employers paid an average (more…)
Tags: budget definit, cardiovascular disease, Congressional Budget Office, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, family, getting healthy, health care costs, Janice Stanger, making a difference now, Plant-based nutrition, T. Colin Campbell, Warren Buffett, whole foods
Posted in Health | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Miguel Villarreal’s Passion for Gleaning Blazes the Path
Miguel Villarreal holds a box of tomatoes that will be the next day's lunch for these lucky students who helped glean the vegetables. Their classmates benefit as well from the local organic goodness.
Now in his ninth year as Food Services Director at Novato Unified School District, Miguel Villarreal muses about the kids under his watch. The students who were first graders when he started are now high school students with one big advantage over many of their peers.
These kids never had candy and soda at school. Miguel got rid of that junk food right away. He has also phased out red meat, and believes Novato Unified is the only school district in the country that does not serve it. Instead, Novato students have nourished (more…)
Tags: family, Farm to School, getting healthy, gleaning, Green spaces, Janice Stanger, making a difference now, Marin Organic, Miguel Villarreal, Novato Unified School District, organic, Plant-based nutrition, vegetables, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | Comments Off on How To Make Kids Love Their Veggies
Saturday, August 28th, 2010
Discover the Excitement in Nutrition
Nutrition can be this exciting when you discover how many myths you have been saddled with and how much the truth will change your life
Nutrition’s dull reputation may keep you from delving into one of the most exciting topics you could study. Part of nutrition’s mundane image likely springs from high school classes that indoctrinated you on the standard disease-causing diet while at the same time putting you to sleep.
I still remember my last high school nutrition class. The lesson plan was based on the same four “food groups” I had memorized in elementary school: meat, dairy, vegetables and fruits (combined), and grains (whole vs. refined never mentioned). The instructor was our gym teacher. I had no clue about why this diet was supposed to be good, only that it was what everyone ate. The main concern was about “getting enough protein.” Sound familiar?
From the ages of 16 through 43, I avoided the topic of nutrition whenever I could. This did not mean I regarded food as humdrum. In fact, food was one of my favorite obsessions. Not surprisingly, I was (more…)
Tags: getting healthy, Janice Stanger, lose weight, making a difference now, nutrition facts, Plant-based nutrition, weight loss, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | Comments Off on Nutrition and Health: Dull No More
