When you're not in the mood....

I'll let you in on a little secret: There are just some days when I am NOT in the mood to cook. Typically I'm a batch cooker, spending 3+ hours in the kitchen to prepare lots of meals at once. However, that doesn't suit my schedule lately, so I'm back to cooking every other day or so, usually first thing in the morning.

I recently learned about a "whole food plant based, no-added-oil" meal delivery service called Whole Harvest, and because I had a $30 off coupon, I decided to give them a try.

But first I spoke to the company and discovered that not only is Whole Harvest working with hundreds of physicians who recommend plant-based diets to their patients, but they've also partnered with the likes of many pioneers in the plant-based world, including Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Dean Ornish, and the folks at Forks Over Knives. 

My Initial Order

There are many great options at Whole Harvest! Many meals are gluten free, and some are SOS-free (no salt, oil, or refined sugar). Due to the seasonal availability of certain foods, their menu items do change from time to time - which is nice!

The minimum order is 8 meals, but I ordered these ten:

 Other Benefits of Whole Harvest

Great for Traveling!

Your $30 Off Code

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite

Have you ever felt like you're under the spell of food, or you just can't seem to stop eating?

I just started reading a book titled The End of Overating: Taking Control of the Unsatiable American Appetite​ by David A. Kessler, M.D.

Kessler is a former FDA commissioner who led the battle against the tobacco industry. He's now exposing how the food industry has hijacked the brains of millions of Americans, resulting in our #1 public health issue.

A Lethal Combo of Palatable Ingredients

Dr. Kessler states that continued hypereating is a biological challenge, not a character flaw. And it all has to do with our three biggest food addictors - salt, sugar, and fat. Especially when they're combined and consumed as a trio.

These 'palatable' foods - all of which stimulate the appetite - are familiar territory for many of us because of Michael Moss' best selling book titled Salt, Sugar and Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. 

I've only read the first four chapters of Dr. Kessler's book and I'm not sure where the book is headed as far as solutions go...so this isn't necessarily a book endorsement. But I was struck by the information he shared about restaurant food - where Americans spend 50% of today's food dollars.

An insider food consultant described how countless new foods have been introduced in restaurants, most of which hit all the three compass points. Sugar, fat, and salt are either loaded onto a core ingredient (such as meat, a vegetable, a potato, or bread), or layered on top of it, or both.

Examples of Food Layering

Examples provided in the book by the insider food consultant who wished to remain anonymous:

Potato skins: A potato is hollowed out, the skin (which is a substantial surface area for "fat pickup") is fried. Then some combination of bacon bits, sour cream, and cheese is added. The result is fat, on fat, on fat, on fat, much of which is loaded with salt.

Buffalo Wings - start with the fatty part of a chicken, which gets deep fried. Served with creamy or sweet dipping sauce that's heavily salted. Usually buffalo wings are pre-fried at a production plant, then fried again at the restaurant. So you have sugar on salt on fat on fat.

Spinach Dip - the spinach is there to provide color and a bit of appeal. Dairy is the main ingredient, combined with high fat and high salt.

Chicken Tenders are so loaded with batter and fat that insiders joke about them being "UFO's: Unidentified Fried Objects." Salt and sugar are loaded into the fat.

White Chocolate Mocha Frappaccino at Starbucks: Coffee diluted with a mix of sugar, fat, and salt. With optional whipped cream.

Bloomin' Onions at Outback: Fried in batter and topped with sauce, for a combination of salt on sugar on fat.

Salads have become a vehicle for eating fat. Creamy based ranch dressing and flavored with cheese chunks, bacon bits, and oily croutons.

Menu Items at the Cheesecake Factory

Tex Mex Eggrolls: Spicy chicken, corn, black beans, peppers, onions, and melted cheese; served with avocado cream and salsa. The avocado alone is high fat, and that's before any mayonnaise or heavy cream is loaded in. A fried outer layer wraps fat around salt and more fat.

Roadside Sliders: Bite-sized burgers on mini-buns, which suggests a cute little hamburger. But, the food consultant said, there's salt and fat mixed in the meat, and sugar and salt in the caramelized onions and ketchup. This dish is fat surrounded by layers of sugar on salt on sugar on salt.

Chicken Pot Stickers: Oriental dumplings pan-fried, served with soy dipping sauce. Frying the pot stickers replaces the water in the wrapper with fat. The layer of meat inside is loaded with salt, while the outside layer of sauce is rich with sugar and salt.

Buffalo Blasts: Chicken Breast, cheese, and spicy buffalo sauce all stuffed in a spiced wrapper and fried until crisp; served with celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing. The food consultant just laughed; that's fat, sugar and salt. The chicken breast allows people to suspend their guilt because it suggests it's a low-fat dish, and the celery sticks hint at something healthy. But the cheese layer is 50% fat and carries a load of salt, and the buffalo sauce adds a layer of sugar and salt. The dough wrapper is fried and so absorbant that it he called it a "fat bomb."

To Sum it Up

Just as chicken becomes the carrier for fat in the Buffalo Blasts, pizza crust can be a carrier for sugar and salt. Caesar salads are built as an excuse to carry fat and salt. French fries are 'double fried,' first at the manufacturing plant and then at the restaurant. Burgers are layered with bacon and cheese. Cheese is added to spinach, batter added to fish before frying it, and Mexican food slathered with cheese.

Each one of these foods "becomes more compelling; more hedonic," said the consultant. He referred to the food industry as "the manipulator of the consumers' minds and desires."

(My Note: The same principles apply to the processed foods that line our store shelves and freezer cases!)

You are the Target

Dr. Kessler points out in the book's Introduction that there's no shortage of people who lack control in the face of highly palatable food. Food has the power to fixate and control people because we've been conditioned by cues that focus our attention, promote anticipation, and build desire.

He points out that the food industry has been remarkably successful at designing foods to capture people. Food manufacturers, food designers, and restaurant owners may not fully understand the science behind the appeal of their foods, but they DO know that sugar, fat, and salt SELL. As surely as if wearing a bull's-eye on our chests, we are the industry's targets.

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So take comfort my friends....overeating and being overweight may not be your fault! Perhaps you've fallen prey to the Salt, Sugar, and Fat trap that plagues the majority of Americans, most often without their knowledge.

But now you know better. 

Take action to free yourself from the grip! As mentioned above, I'm not sure what the book prescribes, but I do know that there's a way out. If you'd like to have a complimentary coaching session, please watch my webinar and then schedule a call. I'd be delighted to talk things over and create s plan, or at least a starting point!

Restaurants don't HAVE to be totally off limits...but their main offerings sure do.

And beware, because even vegan foods at a restaurant can be loaded with salt, sugar, and fat.

Check out my video on How to Eat Out.

My First NHA Conference Did Not Disappoint!

In June 2023, The National Health Association (NHA) held their 75th Anniversary Conference in Ohio and I'm so glad I attended! Four days of education, cooking demos, buffets filled with compliant food, hiking, and getting to meet several on-line friends in person!

The line-up of doctors was amazing, including Drs. T. Colin Campbell, Frank Sabatino, Stephan Esser, Kim Williams, Joel Fuhrman, and Allan Goldhammer; each delivered excellent presentations. Cooking Demos were also provided by Brittany Jaroudi, Tami and Tom Kramer, and the folks at Vitamix.

​​Today I'll share a few take-aways from Dr. Stephan Esser's talk regarding health at a cellular level, and how our cellular function impacts the seven INPUTS of health: sleep, emotional poise, water, food, exercise, sunlight, and toxins.

40 Trillions Cells

Dr. Esser talked a lot about cellular regeneration, which is the body's natural process of replacing or restoring damaged cells and tissues. Our bodies contain 40 TRILLION cells, and each cell goes through a cycle of life (spring, summer, winter, and fall). Four million cells turn over every second! Many die while others come to the front.

Each day, 1% of your body regenerates. Imagine that! Which, according to Dr. Esser, means there's no such thing as a cheat day. You either feed your tissues with things that will restore and regenerate, or you feed your tissues with things that compromise and inflame them.

Many of us get caught up in thinking that something formulated in a laboratory or available in a bottle is what leads to regeneration of cells. But the REAL heart of regeneration is occurring every microsecond in our bodies. Remember, 4 million cells turn over every single second.

The Seven Inputs of Health

SLEEP - is required for survival and optimal function. Impaired sleep can lead to a 500% increase in cell death, while sleep loss contributes to cell damage and increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and inflammatory diseases. Get 6-10 hours each night, and optimize your environment (mattress, lighting, temperature).

Develop pre-sleep patterns about an hour before bed - no blue lights, take a shower, plan out your steps. Eat smaller quantities at night, you don't want your body to just 'digest' - but to heal and regenerate cells.

WATER - Did you know that 60% of your body is water? Nutrients, blood cells, and stem cells travel in channels of water in the blood stream. Water aids digestion and alkalizes your body. However, there is no good data to suggest that alkaline water is helpful.

FOOD - greatly influences cellular regeneration. We should stop thinking about food as "calories in / calories out" and instead consider that food is "information at the cellular level." Food alters your cellular activity, and can stimulate cell regeneration which facilitates the healing process. Look at your food and ask "is this facilitating my health?"

Eat big salads before going to less nutrient dense, calorie rich foods. Maximize fruits, and make sure there's enough COLOR on your plate. Eat a variety of foods, because the more you diversify your pallette, the more you optimize your gut microbiome. Every 30-90 days, try some new fruits or veggies you haven't tried. And use spices on a daily basis, which are powerful. Also make sure you're consuming your caloric needs.

Every sip, bite, and swallow has the ability to alter your cell function, cell replication, longevity, and performance. So what will you choose to consume? Fasting is another activity that promotes cell regeneration and slows cellular aging.

EXERCISE - reverses cellular aging, reverses age-related muscle loss, prevents stem cell aging, improves lean muscle mass, accelerates healing and improves blood flow, slows cognitive impairment, and more. Are you exercising the way you need to? Compared to drugs, we know that exercise is "as or more" powerful than most of the common medications used to treat common diseases. Shoot for 150 minutes of cardio each week, plus resistance exercise 3x/week, and flexibility/balance 3x/week.

SUNLIGHT - Reduces depression and anxiety, reduces blood pressure and the risk for cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disease. Sunlight enhances melatonin production, improves sleep, and of course increases our vitamin D production and activation. Get 15-40 minutes each day on the arms, legs, chest, and back, when the sun is greater than 45 degrees above the horizon. Avoid prolonged exposure which could injure your skin.

EMOTIONAL POISE - The state of worry and mental tensions that we experience, whether real or perceived, alters our cellular activity, recovery, and performance. On a scale of 1-10, where is your stress level? Is food or your escape? Netflix? Your computer? Develop 5 healthy coping strategies (exercise, prayer, hobbies, music, nature, baths, etc.) - and according to Dr. Esser, it cannot be Nutella.

TOXINS - Avoid them, remove them! Buy organic produce as much as possible; cook at lower heat and don't char your veggies; beware of toxins in your water, soaps, shampoos, deodorants (especially those with aluminum), laundry soaps, makeup, sunscreen.

Avoid all of those toxins, including ALCOHOL. Even one glass a day increases the likelihood of volume loss of your brain over time. It also leads to an increased risk of dementia, a 15-20% increase risk of breast cancer, and increases the risk of esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, and more.

Dr. Esser's Reminder to Us All

Do not overlook the basic elements of health. Don't look past the capacity of your body to facilitate regeneration at the cellular level when we give it the appropriate input. What we do matters! The choices you make throughout the day will be the biggest predictors of your health for the days and years to come.

Thank you, Dr. Esser, for the informative presentation and these great reminders! It once again shows that we have more control over our health than we may have every imagined! That's great news!