Esselstyn, etc., continued (Notes from the Health Conference)

Here are the rest of my notes from the Appalachian Health Conference - finally!

Roger Greenlaw

I was not familiar with Dr. Greenlaw but I was very impressed with the information he laid out for us in his presentation and his Lifestyle Medicine approach.  He is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Rockford, and it gives me such hope for our nutritional future to see someone in that position bringing forth the empowering message to patients and medical students that lifestyle is vital for good health. http://www.lifestylemedicine.org/Greenlaw

He, like so many others that I follow now, views nutrition as medicine.  (I often quote Hippocrates, father of 'modern' medicine, "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food").

He had me at the literalness of words, something that is a bit of a nerd-esque passion of mine, and spoke of the word 'disease'.....  DIS - EASE and the absolute miracles that come from better nutrition.

Dr. Greenlaw put up a series of charts that were fascinating....they were a series of maps of the U.S. with color-coded keys.  These were stats provided by the CDC and tracked obesity trends; the first one was for 1985 and showed about 20 or so of the states on the chart...there were only two ranges of percentages, the highest being 10-14%.  By 2010 the U.S. had clearly reached epidemic proportions with 4 more categories added to the chart to keep pace with the growing numbers.  If this was any other sort of ailment, there would have been mass hysteria long ago (think avian flu and the relative small percentage of the population affected).

Chronic disease (per Dr. Greenlaw) is currently absorbing 75% of our medical care costs and we are treating the symptoms only, not the root cause.  At the current rate, by 2030, 150 million Americans will be chronically ill, which will be roughly half of the population.

I did a search and found the series of charts.  Click on the 'previous' button and watch the colors change on the chart....watch for when new categories are added because the rate of obesity has exceeded the maximum range previously set.  Watch the once colorless states take their place in the percentages of obesity.

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

Dr. Greenlaw believes that we have the potential to have a longevity of 110-120 years, but instead, we are currently facing the first generation that will likely have a shorter life-span than its parents....what a sad legacy.

Lifestyle changes the genetic expression of all the major diseases:  cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and diet is the number one lifestyle choice.  This is a hugely important concept in my way of thinking as I hear the argument 'it's genetic' so often from people.  I'll see a family that is all suffering from obesity and claiming the genetics of it, but this condition simply could not be expressed if a healthy diet and lifestyle was being followed!!!

Dr. Greenlaw spoke of the C.H.I.P. (Coronary Health Improvement Project) program developed by Hans Diehl.  (This program was heavily promoted at the conference and many people enrolled in it and got off to a great start.  For more on C.H.I.P. see:  http://www.chiphealth.com/ ).

Dr. Greenlaw also addressed the topic of factory farms and stated that we are now feeding food designed for humans to animals and then eating the animals.

Dean Ornish's work is the source of much inspiration for Dr. Greenlaw.  (See the lifestyle medicine link above to read a bit more about Greenlaw's background and the truly great work he has done).

Rural Asia has virtually no disease, so why not put our patients on the same diet, using that healthy diet as a model!

Telomeres, are like rosary beads at the end of the DNA helix.  We can lengthen telomeres, per Greenlaw, via consumption of phytonutrients (and carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) as these are responsible for maintenance and repair of our body.  Dean Ornish, The Spectrum, also goes into the telomere issue.

(I am reading an interesting article in Popular Science right now regarding telomeres.  Of course science here is invested heavily in the discovery of an 'elixir' of sorts to extend the life of our cells.  Basically, our cells lose their ability to divide over time, losing a bit of genetic material ---the telomeres---each time they divide.  If that was turned off or if we could extend it, then we would only have to worry about the other health issues, heart disease, cancer, etc.)

A successful diet is less than 10% fat.

Greenlaw also mentioned Roy L. Swank, M.D., a name I am familiar with, for his work on M.S.  He is a respected neurologist who has had success in the treatment of M.S. with a low-fat, high fiber diet.

There are 60,000 miles of capillaries in the human body, about one cell thick.  A plant-based diet thins the blood, with obvious benefits.

Our body is in a constant state of renewal on a cellular level.

  We get a new stomach lining every 7 days.

  We get new skin every 30 days.

  We get new liver tissue every 45 days.

  We get new red blood cells every 120 days.

We are 98% new every year and this is created from what we eat!

There is no fiber in meat and dairy and there are no phytochemicals either.

Despite all the phytochemicals that have been identified, there are at least 100,000 more we have yet to identify. 

Greenlaw recommends 10 hours of fasting so the body can rest and repair.

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7.4 is the approximate ph of plants.  A base ph drives calcium into bone.

Plant foods are anti-inflammatory.

Self-Care is the new Primary Care.

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Rip Esselstyn



Rip Esselstyn explains the SAD (Standard American Diet)

It was my great honor, pleasure and vastly supportive opportunity to hear Rip speak when I was a mere two weeks or less into this program.  I had just finished his book, Engine 2 Diet, and happened to find out he was coming to central Ohio that very week.  Exposure to Rip couldn't have come at a more important time for me as I had virtually NO support for the decision I made to do this program.  In the difficult first two months, I would rely on words from Rip many times.  So, an opportunity to hear him again, now, when I feel so strong in this program was just non-dairy icing on an eggless cake for me.  Rip is down-to-earth, effective, clear, concise, and let's face it, downright easy on the eyes.  Rip, I mean no disrespect whatsoever when I say that I enjoyed the part of the program where you changed your tee-shirt as much as any of the rest of it!  What can I say....Rip is well, ripped!

Rip's message:
51% of people will die of heart disease.  We are now seeing evidence of the start of coronary disease at age 2 and 3 in the form of fat lesions.

In 1971 Richard Nixon declared war on cancer and no dent has been made.
Tons of money is spent on research, but it is nutritional literacy that is needed.

13, 14, 15 year olds are now getting type 2 diabetes, which is lifestyle diabetes.

James Anderson, diabetes researcher, said the U.S. spends 5 times the money on weight loss that the U.N. spends on hunger/famine relief efforts.

David Kessler:  The End of Over-Eating author said that food industries make unhealthy food uber-palatable.

Rip's message:  Real men eat plants.  Real men are compassionate.  (Yes, they are, Rip....yes they are.)

A chart that Rip showed breaking down the protein percentages and growth factors of milk by species:

MILK                  PROTEIN %                                  # DAYS WHEN WEIGHT DOUBLES
Human                        5%                                                                  180
Horse                         11%                                                                  60
Cow                           15%                                                                  47
Goat                           17%                                                                  19
Dog                            30%                                                                    8
Cat                             40%                                                                    7
Rat                             49%                                                                    4

Rip mentioned Bizarro comic (http://www.bizarrocomics.com/) blog as one of his favorites and I found this on YouTube from the creator, Dan Piraro  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfLUKaxIoLY&feature=fvsr

One of Rip's favorite quotes:  "American always gets it right but only after they try everything else.  Winston Churchill.

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Ann Esselstyn

The first two things you have to notice about Ann, wife of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Rip's mother, is her piercing nearly turquoise eyes and her radiant energy.  She was only given 20 minutes to speak to us as the Esselstyn's had to jet, literally...had to catch a flight, but she pounded us with information on food preparation with the enthusiasm and energy of a child on Christmas morning.

NO OIL!!!!  That was the resounding message from Ann, a staunch supporter of her husband's construct about oil's debilitating effect on the lining of our vascular system.

In place of mayo, Ann uses hummus made without tahini.

For a dressing, she likes hummus, balsamic vinegar, O.J. and mustard or just lemon squeezed over salad (I have tried this and it is pretty good and works in a pinch when at a restaurant with no salad dressing options...they always have lemon quarters).

For no oil baking, substitute apple butter, prunes, banana or applesauce.

Fit kale into your diet wherever you can:
  use it as a nest for your food to sit on
  add it to pasta for the last few minutes of cooking
 
Use collards for wraps.

Add swiss chard to soups.

Beet greens are wonderful with lemon and balsamic vinegar.

Use hearts of romaine with dips.

Eat oats everyday for breakfast.  They lower cholesterol, are anti-inflammatory, add fruit and flaxseed meal to oats and have as a cold cereal.  Make up a batter and cook in waffle iron.

SAMI's bakery is a resource Ann likes for their flax pizza crust; she adds kale with the pasta sauce for pizza.

Coconut milk is not a health food.  1/4C has 12 g fat, 10 of which is saturated fat.

Dark chocolate: 2 1/2 squares have 17g fat and 10 is saturated fat (no wonder my weight started dropping when I ended my affaire with Monsieur Dark Chocolate!!!)

She stressed: eat oats, eat greens, eat all the colors, no oil, eat beans and lentils, red lentils--add these to pasta sauce--- drink water, use sugar and salt very sparingly, be plant-perfect!

Sue, 'can't-face-a-day-without-kale', in Ohio

Veggie Burgers/Veggie Loaf & Give-Away Winner

Veggie Burger/Veggie Loaf

I have an awesome husband; I really do. Sure, sometimes I look at him like he is as alien as kohlrabi and there have been days when I seriously want to run away to Montana, but truly, he is wonderful and treats me like a queen (or so he says, but we are going to have to work on the bowing and the backing away respectfully when he leaves a room in my presence).  So, I shouldn't have been surprised when one day he came home with a glint in his eye and said 'I have something for you'.  I knew it was going to be special, but would never have guessed what he whipped out of his pocket for me. 

(For those of you who don't know me well, you may be expecting me to tell you of something small and in a box with a gilded ribbon.  Nope...not my cup of Irish Breakfast tea).

So what did he whip out???  A veggie burger recipe!!!  From a chef at a restaurant that he frequents who he just happened to speak to about the lack of veggie choices on the menu and just happened to mention that his wife was vegan and just happened to launch into a discussion about veggie burgers at which point the chef asked did his wife have a good recipe for one....and he said, well, uh.....now that you mention it....uh, no. (My poor husband has been bravely choking down my MANY renditions of veggie burgers, saturating them in ketchup and mustard, and earning massive credits towards his upcoming knighting ceremony....seriously, the last batch I made looked like something that may have come out of a very sick dog....I couldn't believe he ate it...and didn't complain).

I have since contacted Chef Mark....who has generously given me permission to publish the recipe.  Thank you MARK!!!

Veggie Burger

3 C cooked brown rice
2 C black beans, rinse and chopped (reserve liquid)
1 C oat bran (I just ground up some oatmeal)
1/4 C red beet roasted, diced (I used WAY more than that)
3T red onion, diced (I used a whole onion)
3T jalapeno, fresh diced
3T roasted corn (I used about 1/2 C)
3T green bell pepper, diced (I omitted because the Knight of the Castle hates green peppers, but I would prob. use an entire red pepper if I made this for myself).

Combine all ingredients and mix together by hand.  Add 1/2 C reserved bean liquid and mix by hand.  Portion into patties and wrap and REFRIGERATE FOR 12 HOURS!!!!

(Don't you hate it when you get to the bottom of a recipe and you have forgotten what you learned in home-ec, that you really should read a recipe all the way through before making it and surprise, surprise, you are supposed to freeze it, marinate it, or REFRIGERATE it for like 4 days???  I hate that, so I put it in all caps for you.  And, what I ended up doing was making a few burgers for dinner and chilling the rest, making those the next day.  It still worked ok).  I pan-fried mine, but you could bake on parchment paper too.

Veggie Burgers ready to cook

The second time I made this recipe, I used it as a 'clean-out the frig' exercise.  I had some leftover quinoa, so subbed that for the rice, also added mushrooms and a few other veggie remnants.  I decided to press it all into a loaf and it was quite good.  I do think the brown rice works much better than the quinoa though.

Veggie/quinoa loaf along with mashed cauli-potatoes & mushroom gravy and roasted kobacha squash

I used the mushroom gravy recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's wonderful book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  It is super fast, very easy and a really great recipe that was wonderful on these cauli-potatoes.  You can find it here:  http://sunnyhawklane.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-recipe-mushroom-gravy.html

For the cauli-potatoes, I just cooked up white potatoes (with the peel left on) and about half-a-head of cauliflower, adding the cauliflower later in the cooking.  I drained the water off (I reserve this for veggie stock), and I added a very thick almond milk which I make myself in Viv, my Vita-Mix super-heroine.  I don't strain the almond milk but you could, through cheesecloth, if you wanted a purer-looking potato mixture...I'm all about efficiency (read:

l-a-z-y).  I just beat the mix with a hand mixer and it's good to go.  No butter or dairy needed.  Yum.

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Give-Away Skin Care Goodies

Thank you for entering; it was fun getting some comments, and I really am just extremely happy to be celebrating this milestone. 

My special equine-yin-yang hat

That's my knight picking the winner...my hands aren't quite that hairy

And the winner is:

Congratulations!!!

Sue, starting year number 2, in Ohio

Rain-Inspired Philosophy and Last Two Days to Enter Give-Away

It's a weather mish-mass here in Ohio for Labor Day weekend.  We had sweltering heat yesterday, torrential rainstorms last night and tomorrow will probably be idyllic.  This weekend's weather seems to be the perfect metaphor for life, how sometimes it is all we can do to get through a given day, hour or even minute and sometimes it is just bliss personified.

We would likely script it for all of our days to be filled with that bliss, but time has taught me that progress only comes from challenge, adversity or the occasional bump in the road.  Even muscle and bone develop on our bodies as the result of outside pressures and forces; indeed the universe seems to be designed with this inherent need for stress in order for growth to occur.

Would we even be happy if it was all-bliss-all-the-time?  I'm thinking, no....likely not and we would end up creating our own chaos....or maybe that is what we do anyway, at least to some degree.  Have you ever known someone who clearly doesn't have enough to do and seems to make a problem out of everything that comes his or her way?  Or maybe you know someone who seems perpetually trapped in drama fit for only day-time soaps. 

Of course we have to decide that we WILL grow, expand, develop and move on as a result of those stresses and challenges, or else we will collapse into an ever-shrinking sphere of influence and soon the tasks we could handle, will now become too much.  Most of us probably know people who seem unable to pull themselves out of an abyss and may even turn to self-medication, or over-indulgence of some form....even unhealthy food.  I have certainly been in that downward spiral before in dealing with depression, the most recent event being my reaction to the death of my mother.  Weight gain from not taking proper care of myself only made matters worse, and so the hole got bigger and deeper.  But, I now view the depths I sunk to as the opposite of the amount of growth I have made and the springboard to get me to where I am now, which is in a very good place. 

To anyone else reading this who may have what seems like a lengthy and difficult climb ahead of them, remember, the down side is likely proportional to the heights that await you.  Take that first step.  Then take the next one.  Rinse and repeat..... :-)

Rainy day inspired philosophy.....and humor.

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I'll pick my winner (randomly from an organic cotton hat) at the end of the day tomorrow, so you have until then to enter to win this basket of goodies made by Karen at Crafty By Nature.  http://www.craftybynaturestudio.com/  Karen has gone above and beyond for me on this project, creating vegan lip balm and now has in the works a vegan working hands skin repair cream.  Thank you so much, Karen.  Your efforts are deeply appreciated and I hope both new products end up being successful for you.  Check out Karen's very special products at her web-site, and look at her cool pottery too!

Gift Basket Give-Away

To enter:  leave a comment listing your favorite veggie

Sue, possibly 'crafty-by-nature', but definitely inspired by nature!, in Ohio

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CSAs, Beets and their Greens, Last Week for my Skin Care Goodies Give-Away

Summer.  Beautiful, hot, sweaty summer.  Isn't it great how each season has the things you love and also the things you could do without?  Balance, yin and yang. 

I love the sound of the cicadas & crickets, the twinkling of the lightening bugs, the longer rays that dance from the sun across the horizon, and the feeling that time could (or should) s-l-o-w down, just a bit, if we let it.

Of course I could do without the energy-sapping humidity (although this year has not been bad at all), the severe thunderstorms with frightening hail and potential for tornadoes (and now, this week, a massive hurricane barreling up the east coast), and the feeling that time is going by too quickly.

If there is a season for vegans, certainly it is summer.  Farm markets and neighbors begging for people to take their excess zuccini and cucumber harvest, tomatoes of every color and my new favorite thing:  my CSA!

CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, is a program wherein you purchase a 'share' of a farmer's or farm coop's production.  The programs vary depending on the farm offering it, but generally the cost seems to range from around $25 - $50/week.  I go to pick up my share weekly and my bundle of goodies usually includes around 7 or so veggies and some fruit.  I'm very fortunate to have a CSA which includes fruit in their program; they also include an herb for us....very cool.  Our program spans 24-25 weeks. 

Part of my weekly CSA pack a couple of weeks ago - a lovely English cuke and some squash ---and the best peaches ever, nestled in the bottom

Kale and beets???  Life is good.

I can make a lot of good points for the case of joining a CSA.  (Check www.localharvest.org/csa and http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ to find one in your area).  There are counter-points as well; if I really tried, I could probably get the AMOUNT of food I am buying for less, and it does require a substantial financial commitment, but many CSAs have payment programs, but I am looking at several bigger pictures here.  The first is the feeling that I am part of something good; something sustainable, something ground-breaking here in relatively conservative Ohio.  I love that I am getting fresh, organic and locally grown food and the knowledge that I am contributing to an effort to shift our thinking about food, to move us into a pro-active point of view and stop viewing food as some sort of entertainment-- to get to a point of understanding that nutrient content and quality count, in a major way.  My CSA is run by someone who understands that we are killing ourselves with food, and she works hard and diligently to offer variety and to include heirloom species that I would likely never come across otherwise.  The zone of foods & herbs that I am exposed to is forced outward and, as a vegan, I really need to know these other foods and expand my culinary comfort zone!

Here is Jamie...my CSA hero.  Kind, knowledgeable and a true pioneer

with the most beautiful blue eyes.....

Farm market and the retail space of our CSA

Jamie explaining each and every item in our share

For more information on our CSA, check their website here:  http://waywardseed.com/

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Beets and Beet Greens

Speaking of variety...I had my very first sweet potato last year, and now wonder how in the heck I've lived all these years without them!  I adore them.  So, it was with that in mind that I jumped into the world of beets not long ago. 

Fast-forward a few months and I now understand the intrinsic beauty of the beet.  What I hadn't understood was the yummy prize that lies ABOVE the ground....the greens.  Jamie, of our CSA, pushes greens.....I love that she does that and we discussed just recently the amount of food that just shamefully goes to waste in this country.  I jumped in with a spirit of enthusiastic hope-for-it-not-to-taste-like-boiled-shoelaces-optimism and coarsely chopped my beet greens to add to a quick stir fry.

I was so pleasantly surprised and I now LOVE beet greens, shown here with peppers, onions and squash. 

It was with this same enthusiasm that I decided to try the darker, reddish shoots that develop on maturing sweet potato plants (I had no clue we could eat the leaves...there is so much bounty surrounding us --- I am pledging to devote more time into discovery on this topic).

Sweet potato shoots, fresh from my garden

I paired them, lightly sauteed in water, with Rip Esselstyn's Mac Not Cheese

The shoots were earthy and tender, really quite good.  I enjoyed the stems as well.  I definitely will be eating them again.

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This will be the last week to enter my Give-Away as a celebration of my one-year vegan anniversary.  I'm giving away a package of goodies from Crafty By Nature, including lip-balm (Karen was inspired to whip up a vegan version just for us!!!), mineral bath salt, apricot body scrub, and body lotion (love this stuff!).  To enter, just leave a comment for me telling me your favorite vegetable.  A winner will be picked at random at the end of the week.

The lip balm Karen created for us.  Vegan Vanilla! www.craftybynaturestudio.com

Enjoy the rest of the summer.  Despite the arrival of Xmas displays in the retail outlets and the pressure to move us along at the speed of light through our lives, we actually have a full 4 weeks left until the Autumnal Equinox....plenty of summer left.

Me at the Farm Market, nearly at my goal weight, 13+ months into vegan eating

Sue in Ohio, loving my summer

Esselstyn, Campbell, Esselstyn, Greenlaw & Esselstyn, oh my

I've been so busy with the horses this summer, I've neglected my blog and have much to catch up on.

Here is the continuation of my notes from the 'Healthy Living Workshop' I attended in southern Ohio this past May.

T. Colin Campbell

Each speaker was only given about an hour and Campbell wasted no time in jumping right in to all the ground he wanted to cover.

He pointed out something very interesting about the studies that are often quoted and suppositions deduced from; he said that most, in fact virtually ALL, studies are done on populations who consume the western diet.  Whole-food, plant-based diets are not included.  So conclusions are based on changes made in the people already eating an unhealthy diet.  Interesting.

He spoke about the 'affluent' diseases and how they correlate with each other.  Lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer tend to group together and also correlate with elevated blood cholesterol.

In the USA, the typical range of cholesterol is 170-270.  In China, the range is 90-170, or so with an average of around 120.  In many other countries, the average is even less than 88!  And, in rural China, heart disease is nearly non-existent.

There is a direct correlation between the consumption of animal protein and the rise in cholesterol, and a direct causal relationship between the consumption of plant protein and the lowering of cholesterol.

Dr. Campbell shared an interesting tid-bit about the title of The China Study.  This is a book that I revere and is the one that set me so solidly on the whole food, plant-based diet.  Well, it turns out he didn't want that title at all.  He wanted any number of other titles and had as one choice, "Food Sense and Nonsense"......I really like that one myself.  But publishers dictated and we have his phenomal work today as The China Study.

He went back to the subject of diseases and said that they do tend to cluster....cancer, heart disease, diabetes and so on, but that there probably is only one disease....that it is all the same. 

He spoke of the exposure that western women get to estrogen over the course of a lifetime.  Western girls start menstruation much earlier than in other parts of the world where the age span is 15 - 19  years, with an average of age 17.  These populations also show menopause coming earlier at around age 48, so western women get it at both ends.  Dr. Campbell says that milk and dairy are big factors.  Rate of growth is the biggest factor for starting menstruation, and the consumption of milk causes an accelerated rate of growth. 

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Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn

Dr. Esselstyn immediately launched into his passionate belief of coronary artery disease being a disease that need not exist.  He classifies it as a food borne illness and cites the populations of Papau Guinea and Tarahumara, among others, as having virtually no such illness.

Historically, in World War 2, the axis powers took over rural farming communities and took all the animals.  In Norway, in 1940, there was a huge drop in heart disease and stroke which was directly related to the reduction of the consumption of animal products.  The previous levels of the disease returned when animals were once again available.

Endothelial cells, the one-cell width lining in our blood vessels are the "life jacket" or guardian of the blood vessel.  Nitric oxide is produced by the endothelial cells which helps to keep the vessels pliant.  Dr. Esselstyn talked about the risks of juvenile plaques that can form and then the body's defenses scramble to repair creating a plaque which can then rupture, block an artery and have catastrophic results.  Dr. E maintains that one cannot rupture a plaque if on a plant-based diet. 

Other highlights from Esselstyn:

If one is consuming animals or their products, one is damaging HDL. 
45% of  Medicare goes to 'treat' heart disease
Heart disease is not being treated today.  Stents and surgeries do not cure the disease.

Avoid:  oil, fish, fowl, meat, dairy.
Consume nothing with a mother or a face.

Also, no caffeine.
Eat greens all day if you have heart disease and NO OIL! 

In 3 weeks, you can be heart attack proof!

....to be continued.....

Happy Anniversary, Give-Away and "Alien-Veggie"

Happy Anniversary to me.  It's hard for me to recall when I've been so happy about acknowledging a time-defined milestone.  This past month was my one-year anniversary of going vegan, and adopting a whole-food plant-based dietary commitment.

My achievements have definitely paralleled the amount of energy, time and resources I have put into this year.  Just in statistics alone, I have lost 36 pounds (total weight loss is a bit over 50 pounds but that includes the 14 I lost in the 6 months prior to adopting this food program), down nearly 3 pants sizes.  I will have new blood-work numbers to include soon also and I am anxious to see those, but for sure I know my blood pressure is consistently lower hovering around 107/77.

Best of all is the amount of energy I have, less sleep required and a massive improvement in my general sense of well-being.

There is a bit more to it than just the numbers and even the increased energy though....it's the sense that I am no longer as much of a drain on this poor abused and over-taxed planet- a sense that there isn't as much damage being done by the fact of my existence (I do know that there is still damage though).  Best of all, I am happy that no animal (directly) has to die so that I can live.  That is something that never did sit well with me.

I look around at my sphere of influence and see others that have now adopted this way of eating, either totally or in some proportion.  Recently, my son has been eating more and more whole foods and this gives me endless joy.  As the father of my grand-daughter,  he has the power to directly influence the next generation.  He's already experienced noticeable health benefits and I am so proud of the choices he is making.

Yesterday while picking up my CSA pack at the farm market, a friend's husband said to me that he wanted to try this way of eating.  I thought, wow....this is just beyond cool to have a little bit of effect on getting someone to even THINK about adopting a healthier lifestyle.

It is so easy to be cynical in this world that is filled with so much despair and wrong-doing, and it is easy to feel that we simply cannot make a difference; that the job is too big, that we may as well try to move Mt. Everest with a teaspoon.  But I see the changes coming; I see awareness increasing; I see many of us, exerting a teeny bit of influence, and I see that effort sending out the proverbial ripple in the pond...and I see apathy falling away.  If ten million people all grabbed teaspoons, well, Mt. Everest would still be a job....but we'd be in it together, and some of that mountain WOULD get moved.  Are you in?
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Alien Veggie.  That's what I'm calling it. 

Seriously, don't they look positively alien?  It's actually kohlrabi, and came in my CSA pack a couple of weeks ago.  I thought....oh no, I've managed to avoid aliens for all these years (although there was that one guy in my chem lab in college....) only to have to face them now.  I bravely grabbed knife and cutting board and whipped out the old "Joy of Cooking" to figure out what to do with these babies.  (Joy had nothing for me...).

Kohlrabi is a brassica, of the same family that kale, mighty kale and cabbages are.  In fact it is cultivated from wild cabbage.  My husband's cousin is married to the most wonderful German woman, (Hi J if you are reading!) and her vegetarian son, also fluent in German and also wonderful (Hi E!), told me that kohlrabi means turnip in German.  It's high in several minerals and vitamins and can be eaten raw or cooked....I like my aliens cooked, so went for a light water saute.  In case it was an utter flop, I did some baked zuccini slices and sweet potatoes for back up.

 

Then, I pulled out my secret weapon....Viv, the magnificient, and Lindsay Nixon's (The Happy Herbivore) never fail, Queso.  This stuff could make rusted metal taste good. 

You can find Lindsay's recipe for Queso, which she generously supplied to me, here.  http://sunnyhawklane.blogspot.com/2011/03/chunks-of-change-kale-chips-and.html    {I got to thinking about this later and I think this is actually Averie's sauce that she uses for kale chips and I just heated it on the stove to use as a sauce---this will teach me to fall behind on my blog....maybe.  Anyway here is that recipe: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/04/raw-vegan-kale-chips-making-our-own.html , and this works wonderfully in many applications e.g. as a dip for veggies, from this planet or elsewhere.)

Aliens a la queso.  Let me just say, they were good!  Not super flavorful, but definitely a specific taste.  Think mild radish meets cucumber meets red potato....something like that.  Even my husband ate them.  I am now a kohlrabi fan, even though I still think they are from another planet.
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Give-away.  Ok, in celebration of my one-year plant-based diet, I am giving away a gift basket, lovingly prepared by Karen of Crafty By Nature. http://www.craftybynaturestudio.com/  Included will be her vegan hand lotion, apricot skin scrub, and a few other items...I'll try to put a picture on here later if possible of what all will be in it.  We are trying to keep it all vegan and a few of her items do contain beeswax.

To enter, just leave a comment of what your favorite vegetable is.  That's all you need to do.  Winner will be chosen at random in a week or so. 

I know I don't have many 'followers' listed on here, but I check my stats a couple of times a week and am endlessly astonished, humbled and tickled to see people from so many countries that visit my blog.  I'd love to hear from you from time to time although I know everyone is busy.  Thanks for reading though!

And on your next visit to the store....pick up an alien or two....

Sue in Ohio....still celebrating my first year plant-strong!

Appalachian Symposium - Part One - Calorie DESTINY

A few weeks ago, a friend (Hi, "A"!) and I traveled to Athens, Ohio, to attend a symposium on healthy eating.  I was so thrilled for the opportunity to see several of my nutrition heroes up close and in person, as the symposium featured T. Colin Campbell (author "The China Study"), Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (author "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease"), Jeff Novick, and Rip Esselstyn ("Engine 2 Diet").  I was fortunate to hear Rip speak once before, very early into my plant-based, whole food diet, and he is a terrific speaker, very down-to-earth, and inspirational with his sage advice, so I was anxious to see and hear him again, now that I am nearing the one-year mark of this way of eating.

I was not dissapointed and even had a 'rock star' moment as I found myself standing next to T. Colin Campbell in between lectures.  Wow.

The event was extremely well-organized and there were tables of fresh (vegan) food available as well, all complimentary.  I'm not sure how the event was funded, but it was an incredible opportunity for locals to come in, have some testing done (blood sugar, etc.), and get educated on how to take charge of their own health through diet.

Jeff Novick.  I've watched several of Jeff's videos on YouTube, (here is a short clip of Jeff-I recommend watching all of his videos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPVqlP75PJs&feature=fvsr, and on some of them you get a sense of his impish style, but nothing is captured on film that truly emanates out of him in person:  the man is a leprechaun!  He is hilarious and his enthusiasm is palpable and bubbles out of him like a mountain spring.  I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of his presentation.

Here are my notes from Jeff's talk.

He speaks quite a bit about calorie density, and this information is on youtube in his videos as well.

Calorie Density is the most important factor for food.  (I have come to think of this as calorie DESTINY....as in: where are the calories destined to go... i.e. my hips???)

Per Jeff, forget glycemic index....this has very little practical effect. 

Forget simple vs. complex carbs.  Too much confusion.

A good carb is one that is UNrefined and UNprocessed. 
The refining process reduces water, fiber and nutrients (basically everything that would make food FOOD!).

In healthy populations, 80-90% of the diet consumed is complex carbs.

Calorie density is the number of calories per pound.  There is a range in foods of more than 40 times from lowest to highest.  We are much more likely to overeat those foods that are high in calorie density.  Jeff notes that there aren't that many broccoli bingers around.  (Jeff, you are so flippin' funny....seriously....I don't know what was funnier, the words he said or the MANY times that he cracked himself up with his own corny humor!).

1# of broccoli = 128 calories
1# of oreos = 2197 cal.
1# of oil = 4000 cal.

Jeff has also coined the acronym C.R.A.P.  = Calorie Rich And Processed.  (A trip to any 'regular' grocery store shows shelves and freezer cases filled with C.R.A.P.  I am sometimes stunned at the lack of real food available in stores.  It's almost like someone doesn't want us to eat healthily....hmmmm......).

He spoke of satiety and explained that hunger is a built in survival mechanism.  Hunger HAS to be powerful.  Hunger is your friend, like breathing.  Could you breathe half as much?  It wouldn't work.  So you can't think of just eating half as much.  Need to think of calories in vs. calories out.

What would you rather eat?  2 chicken nuggets or 1 1/4 C of veggie/lentil soup?  (Both being about 100 calories).

There are stretch receptors in and around the stomach and we need volume and weight or bulk to feel full.  We can have water in foods that will contribute to volume but bulk or fiber is the biggest contributor to satiety.  Also a factor is how high in nutrients the food being consumed is.  (See nature is a wonderful thing and we have all of what we need to eat properly in place physiologically! Of course, breaking habits we were raised with and learning to tune into our bodies is vital.  ---my words, not Jeff's, but I am sure he would agree).

Generally speaking, there are 100 calories per pound of veggies, 250 calories per pound of fruit, 500 calories per pound of unrefined carbs, 600 calories per pound of legumes and 1200 calories per pound of refined carbs.  There appear to be cut off lines for weight management:  if you eat predominately 400 cal/pound foods, weight will be lost.....if eat 600-700 calorie/pound foods, weight stays the same or weight lost, if increase to over 700 cal/pound, weight gain takes place.

In the last 25 years, food has drastically shifted in an increase in caloric density.

The World Cancer Fund, Dec. 2007, stated that the number 1 factor in cancer is weight. 

Jeff recommends the balance point of 550 cal/pound on the scale....so one would try to consume mostly fruits, veggies and some legumes staying away from oils and other highly processed foods.

For more on Jeff (and for a darn cute picture....tell me this guy doesn't look like a leprechaun...) see his web-site here:  http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Home.html
(Symposium notes to be continued).
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I've been playing around with different recipes lately, to try to avoid getting into my proverbial food ruts.  You know how it goes:  you get a few favorite recipes and then make them over and over and over.  Also, this time of year is such a celebration of fresh foods and that creates inspiration to try new recipes. 

In an effort to encourage food exploration, I found a local CSA to join.  I have been thinking about joining one for several years, but hadn't located one I thought would work for me.  Since becoming vegan, I am always on the lookout for new fruits and veggies to try, but sometimes chicken out when at the store.  I figured that a CSA would force me out of my comfort zone a bit and also allow me to contribute to something local, more than just shopping at our weekly farm market.  (CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  You basically buy a 'share' of the year's crop committing to a certain length of time.  The CSA I am a member of, The Wayward Seed, http://www.waywardseed.com/, has weekly packs for us from late June through early Dec.).  I've been very excited by the items in my weekly CSA....I've had 3 weeks so far, and the variety of lettuces alone that I have been exposed to is wonderful.  I'll cover our CSA more in future posts.

Speaking of lettuce, I can now live happily-vegan-ever-after thanks to Lindsay Nixon's fantastic ranch dressing.  I adore Lindsay's book, The Happy Herbivore, and look forward to her new one which is coming out soon.  Her ranch dressing whips up quickly and is wonderful as a veggie dip as well.

Also from Linsday's book is an incredible version of a 7-layer dip.  She uses a low-fat guacamole in it that is made with peas or edamame, I used a combo of both.  It is yummy and I mean yummy.  Former carnivorous husband loved it.  With respect for Lindsay's work and her generosity of allowing me to put her queso recipe on here http://sunnyhawklane.blogspot.com/search/label/Queso, I'm not including the recipes for the dressing and the 7-layer dip here, but for about $12. you can have your own copy and it is well worth that.   http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Herbivore-Cookbook-Delicious-Fat-Free/dp/1935618121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310416252&sr=8-1

Lindsay Nixon's 7-layer dip and her sour cream --- oh yeah.

Sue, eating at the 550 mark, in Ohio

Black-Bean Burgers, Stuffed Peppers & Weight-loss Update

It's finally feeling like summer here in Ohio, after an extremely long winter and an equally wet spring.  But all of that cold and wet melted away with the first sunny day, the reappearance of barn swallows, butterflies and all things 'summer'.

These longer days keep me outside until all hours and I only reluctantly drag myself in pulled by a vague sense of spousal and vegan duty....didn't I say I was going to help my husband eat healthier by making sure he had good meals prepared?  Why yes I did!

Duty was a little late in calling the other night and I found myself in a bit of a panic with darling husband on the way home and had not clue one on what I would make.  I thought,  hey, how 'bout a veggie burger?  I mean, how hard can it be just to whip one up.  With child-like enthusiasm I opened frig and cupboard doors and started dumping ingredients into Viv (my trusty superhero blender).....

Feeling a little like a superhero myself, I tossed in a can of black beans, some salsa, chopped onions, carrots, some spices and, figuring it would need bulk, a bunch of oatmeal.  I then pulled out the secret ingredient (every recipe needs one).....roasted corn.

If I used the phrase "this stuff is the bomb", I would say it about this stuff....but since I don't use that phrase....disregard.  It does rock though.

Viv blended all ingredients up for me and I was left with something that looked a bit like pureed mud pie....never one to give up (read:  admit defeat when all evidence indicates it), I kept adding things, especially more oatmeal as this stuff was seriously runny.  I added some chopped zuccini and some more spices...blended again.  Now it was more like pate...I sampled with a pita chip and actually, it was pretty good!  I saved some for a spread/dip.  The rest I made into patties, browned in a pan and then finished off in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

They kind of reminded me of salmon patties while cooking.  I served with sweet potato and regular potato fries and while it wasn't a heroic success, it did pass for dinner and has inspired me to try my own recipes more often.  (The dip really was very good though....I'll definitely make again!).

Speaking of creating new dishes....darling husband went off to Lake Erie to maim and torture fish....sorry, that is plainly how I see it, but it relaxes him, and he didn't actually catch anything, so guess it is win-win.  This left me free to eat as late as I want and not worry about his palate.  For all we have in common, one big, big parting of the ways, is the wonderful red pepper.  I love them.....he hates them in a 'don't-even-think-about-letting-them-touch-anything-I'm-going-to-eat' kind of way...

I'd been having some cravings for this baked stuffed pepper dish I used to live on ....was browned hamburger and rice, basically, in a pepper and tomato soup/milk for a sauce.  Loved it.  So I thought, why not try to come up with something similar.

I made up some short-grain brown rice.  I really like the sweetness in the short-grain rice....definitely has a different flavor to me.  In a bowl I assembled some more of the roasted corn, sweet peas, some sauteed chopped onion and added the rice.



For the sauce, I made up some almond milk --about a cup or so---- (soak raw almonds in some water, and blend in high-speed blender), added about half a cup of nutritional yeast, and about half a jar of salsa.  I added water to adjust consistency, but left it a bit runny as I knew the nutritional yeast would thicken it up a bit during baking.



Here it is pre-baking.  I baked it for about 20 mins in a 350 degree oven, and then turned the heat off and let it sit in the oven for another 15 mins.  (Not because I thought it would be better, but because one of the dogs took off on walkabout....).

Here it is out of the oven.  This is one of those recipes that would have endless varieties according to your tastes and you could vary the vegetable being stuffed, although I think the flavor of the red pepper really makes it.  It hit the spot for me and no cows were harmed in the process!

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I traveled to one of my favorite places in the world recently, Yellow Springs, Ohio.  It's a beautiful place to shop (has the feel of the 60s), and as a bonus, has Clifton Gorge nearby with lots of hiking trails.  I always get a sense of wonder when I'm there and come away feeling a bit more inter-connected, grounded and with an affirmation, that, as Max Ehrmann said so eloquently in "Desiderata".....'no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should'.  While we were in Clifton, my son's roommate snapped a picture of me with my son.....I was stunned when I had a chance to view it and realized, I really have made progress.  I've been so refocused on BUILDING health, that I had nearly forgotten my weight loss goals.  I knew I was down another size in pants, but somehow just didn't realize I actually look smaller.

I am nearing my goal and now feel I probably only have about 10 pounds to lose, but I am also working on my fitness and wanting to build up some muscle, so the scale may not end up budging much, but I expect things will continue to shift around a bit.  Best of all, I have so much energy and continue to feel so much better.  And the spiritual benefits, of living a life a little more harmoniously with our planet and the creatures we share it with, is also coming to the forefront....yes, Max....it is still a beautiful world.

Wishing you the best in health.  (Upcoming blog soon on my symposium notes from Dr. Esselstyn and Jeff Novick.)

Sue, rocking the red peppers, in Ohio

"Winning", Focus, Magic and Corn Bisque

I'm on a winning spree.  Truly winning, not winning in some sarcastic-Charlie-Sheenish way.  At my last craft show (I make jewelry and sell at craft shows....my jewelry site ---which needs alot of attention--- is here:  http://www.sunnyhawklane.com/ in case you are curious), I didn't win the raffle (I usually do, it's so weird), and went home thinking, ah, well, can't win EVERYtime.  A few days later I get an e-mail telling me I have won this wonderful gift basket from a crafter I met that I went ga-ga over....Karen makes VEGAN hand-cream AND awesome pottery.  I bought this wonderful bowl from her:

So, I thought it was amazingly cool that I won these items:

See more of her lovelies here:  http://www.craftybynaturestudio.com/  (Note:  she uses beeswax in some of her products, so some are not strictly vegan....check ingredient list).

I love her stuff so much that I am going to order some things from her to give away here, on the blog, in July, to celebrate my one-year vegan anniversary.  More on that in June.  (June, now there's a happy thought....flowers, fresh produce from the market, butterflies....ahhh.....but I digress).

Earlier in the year I won the new edition of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat-to-Live from Wendy's Healthy Girl's Kitchen blog. Meet Wendy here: http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/  She rocks.  That made someone else a winner too, since I have a copy of the original and it will now get passed forward to another person.

I also won a prize at my niece's shower earlier this month.  It was so funny because there was a game and my other niece had set her timer on her phone and whoever's gift was being opened when the timer went off won the prize.  When the first timer setting went off, I thought to myself, I'm going to win the next prize, and I did!  I love when that happens.  Not so much the prize, although it was lovely....here it is:

but the idea of manifesting something....of somehow injecting your will and intention into the physical realm, sitting back and then watching it appear, poof, abracadabra, bibbity-bobbity-boo!  (Interestingly, a definition of abracadabra is "I create as I speak").

Winning these little treasures recently and the fun I had trying to 'will' them got me to thinking about intention and focus and how powerful these tools really are.  How often do we put our intent into the things that are 'wrong' with our lives at any given moment, or how much extra weight we are carrying, or this person's expression that we didn't like, and so on, ad nauseum. 

In horse training, we know that if our horse comes upon a scary object and we react by (somewhat naturally) putting our attention or focus on that scary object, we now embue it with even more life and power and we are now both focused on it solely.  Instead, if we continue our focus on down the path or over to whatever destination we were originally traveling, we at least don't add more to the anxiety and power of the object, and we continue to be the leader we need to be to divert the frightened horse back to the task at hand.

Wow, that's some powerful stuff when applied to our own lives.  How often do we get upset with another or get off of our own path and are now re-focused, not through our own intent, on another person's reaction, drama, or view of where else we should be, or whatever.  In the practicality of day-to-day living, we may have to pause, acknowledge the distraction or deal with it to some extent, but the sooner we get back to our own path, the more we are our own good leader.

We do tend to get, or manifest, that which we focus upon.  So, when the focus is on BUILDING health or achieving goals or making the very best food choices, we can more easily bring them into reach than when we are distracted by another path.

Leadership, intention, focus....all translate to modern day magic when practiced regularly.

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A friend of mine sent me a really good recipe.  I love it when I have someone else out there keeping an eye out for something I might be interested in....love it even more having a friend to bounce plant-based ideas off of.  We all need a little support from time-to-time and isn't it funny how far a little will go sometimes.  (Thank you, R!).

Well, this recipe is just right in there with my 'winning' cycle.  It is making me happy in these dismal rainy days that we are STILL having here in Ohio.  (I haven't worked out how to manifest sunny days yet....still working on that one!)

Yummy Corn Bisque
(My friend got the original recipe from a library book and she changed it and I changed her changes, so it is probably ok to post on here, but I am still hoping to find where it originally came from to give proper credit.  We think it might be one of Isa's recipes, but I haven't found it matching anything yet, and since I regularly promote Isa's work, I won't feel too neglectful).

Roasted peppers (yellow or red/canned or roast yourself)  I used about 3
1 bag frozen corn
1 large sweet onion
garlic cloves to suit your taste (I used 4)
3-4 C vegetable broth
2 sweet potatoes, cubed  (or white potatoes)
1/2 head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped
1.5 t salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I'm a weenie, but adjust as you like it)
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 T maple syrup
juice of 1 lime
grated nutmeg

Saute onion and garlic in stock pot with small amount of water, approx. 3 -5 mins.  Add corn, potatoes and cauli.   Cook a few minutes and add pepper flakes, broth and salt.  Cover and simmer 20 mins on low heat.  Add coconut milk, puree all but a few cups of soup (I didn't puree all because I wanted some texture/chunks in the soup, but adjust to your tastes).  Heat.  Grate nutmeg into soup and add syrup, lime, stir and serve.

Yummilicious.  If pureed totally, would make an excellent sauce for any number of things and also a nice addition to a veggie casserole.

Sue, winning so very much, & not just 'stuff', in Ohio

P.S.  DVR  Dr. Oz, tomorrow, Wed. Apr 27.  Caldwell Esselstyn, T. Colin Campbell and Neal Barnard will be on discussing the upcoming film "Forks Over Knives.  Now that's a winner!