Continue for: 3 data-dense podcasts with gastroenterologist Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (Have cardiovascular disease, colitis, Crohn’s, IBD, depression, anxiety? You’ll want to listen); more before-and-afters in the lawn created by this plant-based powerhouse; Settlers of Catan and how it is great for teaching numbers, math, matching, sequencing, but also just one of the best dang games ever; a full day of plant-based family-feasting.
Continue on for: even more evidence-based information tying animal-products to heart disease, another explanation of TMAO (compound created in your gut when you eat animal-products and how it causes cardiovascular disease), recommended podcasts with keen interviews with nutritionally-focused doctors, a family full of energy/health/action from Plant-Based Whole-Foods (<— only diet proven to prevent and reverse heart disease and diabetes) not wasting away like so many in our culture assume, and a full day’s worth of PBWH feasting.
Continue for: how that stents alone won’t save us from a heart attack, a family leading-by-example with the only lifestyle and diet clinically shown to reverse/prevent heart disease, plus full day’s worth of plant-based whole-food family feasting.
Live kindly, feast kindly, grow forward.
If you feed yourself body-kind fuel (fiber, complex carbohydrates, plant-based proteins, omega-rich fats) your microbiome will thrive, which makes your immune system the best it can be, which betters your entire health, gives you more energy to power through your days, and that swell combo leads to a brighter outlook in all directions…even when the earth is falling down around you. In fact, it’ll give you the energy to stop wailing and move forward to be part of the solution.
Continue reading for: how exercise affects our microbiome, how sitting for long spells increases your risk of diabetes/cardiovascular disease/death, a family thriving on lifestyle medicine pillars (eating well, moving more, being present), and a full day’s worth of PBWF feasting.
Continue on for: a life of leading by healthful/environmentally-kind example, two cathartic songs, and a full day of Plant-Based Family Feasting.
Have (or love someone who has) Depression, Anxiety, “Leaky Gut”, SIBO, GI Issues, Eczema, Colitis, Crohn’s, C-Diff, Psoriasis, or Eosinophilic Esophagitis? Want to have a luminary gastroenterologist explain how what you eat is causing all of the above? Make yourself a little time today to listen to one of these podcasts, and have your mind opened and your life propelled forward.
Continue reading for: lessons learned through She-Ra Princesses of Power, how fiber alleviates menstrual cramps, interviews with the luminary/inspiring/super-intelligent gastroenterologist Dr. Angie Sadeghi explaining gut-health/mental-health, and a day’s worth of plant-based family feasting.
Continue for illumination on: how our micro-biome controls our mental health; how I went from arms full of cutting scars, to arms budding biceps; how we move forward with light and purpose daily; and a full day of Plant-Based Family feasting.
You can keep your head in the sand and say it’s just opinion, but read on if you want: illumination on the mechanisms behind what’s going on at the cellular level when those eggs hit your system; an explanation of choline, methionine, and angiogenesis; a family thriving on plant-based whole-foods (healthier, stronger, more energetic than ever); and delicious plant-based whole-food family feasting through a day.
Continue on for: an explanation of “Parent’s Day”, a family thriving on Plant-Based Whole Foods and Lifestyle Medicine pillars, a day’s worth of plant-based whole-food family feasting, how we handle homeschooling and organization, how/why we almost divorced last year and how we’re now more in love than ever (and healthier too, and this is after 15 years of being together), handmade love notes, and the latest research on telomeres.
Continue on for: obligatory fickle Central New York spring/winter/spring weather photos, the silent grief of infertility, plant-based whole-food family feasting through a day (+ that same family meal-prepping for the upcoming week + how a kiddo can participate + tips on how to be as zero waste as possible), the important health benefits of brassicas and the sulforaphane found within them, some panoramic Onondaga views while working in some cardio, socializing in the time of pandemics, and an explanation of how fats bind with sugar in your bloodstream to create “advanced glycation end products (AGEs)” and how this accelerates cardiovascular disease, dementia, osteoporosis, kidney disease, and the aging process.
Still consuming saturated-fat filled animal products day in and out? You may want to see the page about what’s going on at the cellular level of you and your kiddos. This sort of reading is what opened our minds and propelled us forward in health.
Continue reading if you want some illumination on: love & spook-filled art (and the music that inspires it), a family thriving on growth & lifestyle medicine, how a limited screen-time house still incorporates love of cinema, a day’s worth of plant-based whole-food family feasting, ways to cook as zero waste as possible, a family working on the first stumbling steps of incorporating daily fitness (with a video of a Physical Therapist explaining/showing some safe core workouts), and the simplicity of making zero-waste/plant-based/whole-food popcorn on the stove.
About a month ago (April 8th to be exact), I started a daily theme of “Full Day, Full Log, Full Plant-Based Living” via my Jasquatch Instagram; but the text limitations and photo restrictions (ie 10 photo maximum, a post can either be horizontal or vertical, not both) of Instagram were getting vexing, I’m loathe to have FB be my primary platform, and I have this handy-dandy website, so we’re shifting the daily posts to where they should be: a realm where I can add as many resources and links as I want, and can explain why we’re doing what we’re doing. [This first one will be extra long, because I’ll be explaining what would have already been explained via the last month’s posts, to catch y’all up.]
Want to avoid taking a sleeve of medications? Want to reverse diseases holding you and your kin back from your healthiest/strongest/kindest lives? Truly listen/read the doctor-lead resources I post, and have your mind opened to the reality that what you eat either heals you or harms us all.
The inspiration for this recipe actually comes from the first vegan that ever entered my realm. Chris had a radio show just before mine on our college radio station. We were “friends” from the start, but I was a complete jackass for the first year, because veganism was so counter opposite to my culture that my response was to be passive aggressively offended by his compassionate choice.
One night, Chris came to one of our boardgame-potlucks and whipped up a dish by mixing a can of vegetarian refried beans, a can of Rotel, cilantro, and lemon juice. It was simple, delicious, and swiftly convinced me I didn’t need to be buying the lard-filled bean can version ever again.
We’ve been making something akin to the Chris recipe for years now; and what follows is our bare-bones version, because I err on the side of simple-spinal-columns for posted recipes, and hope y’all will throw in whatever you want to make it your own (that’s what we do over here. Every batch is different, but the framework is the same).
We and our kin should mainly be drinking water. If you find yourself wanting to drink something sweet: make sure it is full of fiber, not empty/harmful calories. You want to be consuming something that will fill you with power and vitality, not lead you down a path of chronic disease and inflammation.
Want to dip your toe onto a new path of health and environmental kindness? Start with a simple smoothie. :-)
The cruelty of factory farming animals, and the impact of livestock on land, water, emissions, and other species is well understood as fact. Sadly, it seems those facts are easy to ignore (because if you’re still eating this stuff, you’re basically stating —like I once did— that taste is more important than any of the before-mentioned impacts); my wonder is whether knowing what animal products are doing inside of your body may shake you into wakefulness, or —most importantly— whether this knowledge will make you internalize how they are harming the souls in your care. That was precisely what compelled me to get my husband and son on board. Saving myself by sitting back in silence was selfish: saving my son and soulmate was imperative, hollering out to the rest of you is a compulsion in empathy and purpose.
After years of couch sitting and feasting on harmful foods, I’m now spending my free-time digging into new research and explanations of how our diet is affecting us all; and I’ll keep siphoning off time to relay this information to anyone who wants their mind opened and health bettered. Below you will find some purpose-driven mind-rattlers, but we’ll start with the most important.
Looking for a hearty, tasty, plant-based whole-food dish that’ll fill you up and maybe also spice up whatever is in your usual rotation? This was thrown together with items we had on hand, it tastes like an Ethiopian variant of jambalaya, and it is now a family fave.
We bought some organic, pink lady apples (our personal favorite) from Aldi’s 2 weeks ago and they were starting to lose their crispness; so yesterday morning we set to making them into some apple sauce.
If you’re in a similar position and looking to make use out of (not waste) slightly mealy apples, or if you just like apple sauce and have never made your own, here is a quick and easy way to use them up. ‘Twas also a fun way for Q and I to work in the kitchen together. He’s always looking for ways to practice knife skills and to generally be of help, and I’m always looking for ways to soak up that sweet soul’s light.
For those that were horrified I could speak ill of her: I’ve written many light-hearted things about my mother in the past too, but the purpose of that essay was to reflect on overcoming abuse. One can relay a truthful, painful past while simultaneously acknowledging the good a person had as well.
For those who are hurting, I’ve included the text of the speech given at her funeral (which was a celebration of her light side) as it may be a bit of a balm for those that were hurt by the other essay.
When you can: If you have an Ethiopian or Eritrean restaurant near you, treat yourself to some authentic mastery. If your budgets are like ours and you want Ethiopian food, but can’t afford to be eating out, this is my super inexpensive way to get some of those flavors on the cheap, with items I usually have on hand. (Because at this point, there has been berbere seasoning in this house.)
Aside from the berbere, the rest of the ingredients are pretty standard: water, red lentils, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and a medium sized onion. You don’t even need oil, because this is the whole-foods version: completely heart-healthy.
