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My Plant-Based Family

Eating Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet recipes, On a Budget.

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book giveaway

The Empty Medicine Cabinet Giveaway

October 31, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 28 Comments

The Empty Medicine Cabinet

Since transitioning to a plant-based diet in 2011 I’ve read a lot of books on healthy living. I can see almost 20 books from where I sit and there are more scattered throughout the house and on loan to friends.  The Empty Medicine Cabinet: The Pharmacist’s Guide to the Hidden Danger of Drugs and the Healing Powers of Food by Dustin Rudolph, PharmD is the one book you need to read and buy for your loved ones.

The Empty Medicine Cabinet

Why This Book?

There are a lot of reasons this book stands out from the crowd.

  • It was written by a pharmacist who understands the “disease climate” we face today
  • It’s full of inspiring stories from people who have reversed disease
  • It provides solutions to help you make lasting changes

The Pill Trap

To often we feel stuck in our situation. If you have heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or a host of other illnesses you get stuck in what Dustin Rudolph calls “The Pill Trap. ” He writes,

As a patient, you’re only an asset to Big Healthcare if you linger between perfectly healthy and dead. Having a chronic disease requires continuous medical care involving costly follow-up visits, medications, and many different procedures over time. This is great news for the  pharmaceutical industry, medical supply companies, and healthcare organizations because you’re now a customer for life.

This book grabs you by the shoulders and gently shakes that nonsense out of you. You do not have to be a slave to your illness. Many diseases can be reversed or stopped by making changes to your lifestyle.

Stories of Hope

There are many uplifting stories in this book from people who have made incredible strides in their health through diet change. My favorite story is Bev’s. She was able to drastically turn around her health problems which included coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, kidney disease and many other issues by adopting a whole food, plant-based diet (in her 70s). If she can do it, you can do it.

Solutions

Part 2 of The Empty Medicine Cabinet provides real world ways to make healthy changes including information about what you need to eat, what you should avoid and a guide to help you make those decisions for yourself. Part 3 is full of delicious, healthy recipes including a few from your’s truly.

If a friend asked me for a book recommendation for someone interested in a plant-based diet I would wholeheartedly say The Empty Medicine Cabinet is a must read.

The Empty Medicine Cabinet Front3DI’m partnering with Dustin to make sure one lucky reader gets a copy of The Empty Medicine Cabinet: The Pharmacist’s Guide to the Hidden Danger of Drugs and the Healing Powers of Food.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This book will be shipped to the winner (US only). The winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or anther winner will be chosen.

You can read more from Dustin at his website Pursue A Healthy You!

I was given a free copy of this book as a gift. I provided a few recipes for this book but I am not being compensated for this review. All opinions are my own. You can read another review I wrote on Amazon. This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using a link I may make a small percentage of the sale. 

Filed Under: How to, Uncategorized Tagged With: book giveaway, book review, Healthy, Plant Based Diet, Vegan

Book Review and Giveaway: Oatmeal On the Go by Sarah Kirkconnell

October 8, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo 30 Comments

I love reading cookbooks! Lately I’ve been relying on ebooks to get my fix because they are usually less expensive and I always have access to my favorite recipes, especially when I’m at the store or a friend’s house.

Oatmeal On The Go ebook

Today you will have the chance to win a FREE copy of Oatmeal On The Go by Sarah Kirkconnell. You may already be familiar with Sarah, she is constantly creating impressive allergy-friendly and mostly plant-based recipes at her personal blog, Gazing In. You can also find her at Trail Cooking. She is also the author of Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple.

Oatmeal On The Go ebook

Sarah’s newest book, Oatmeal On The Go is available in electronic format for only $3.99!

Plant-Based, Vegan and Gluten-Free

I LOVED reading a cookbook that is safe for our whole family. Sure there are some delicious recipes in this book that use nuts but we can easily substitute those.  Many “healthy” cookbooks still contain gluten which is a no-no in our house. We already buy gluten-free oats and using Sarah’s easy method’s I can prep a weeks worth of breakfast in minutes. She also includes a Freezer Bag Method, Mug Method or “Bring to Boil” Pot Method.

If you need help streamlining  you breakfast routine or even some inspiration this book is a great investment. Oatmeal On The Go includes 11 recipes and helpful tips. So whether you are a Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal fan or more of a Coconut & Blueberry Oatmeal kind of person Sarah has got you covered. I’m sure this book has a few combinations you can’t live without.

Enter the Giveaway

There are several easy ways to get extra entries, just click “a Rafflecopter giveaway” to enter. The winner will receive a FREE ebook from Sarah. This contest is NOT restricted to the US, anyone can enter. The winner will be emailed once the giveaway ends. If they don’t respond another winner will be chosen. The giveaway ends October 12th at 12 am, AZ time.

If you don’t win you can still own your own copy by visiting Sarah’s site and purchasing your own copy.

What is your favorite oatmeal combination?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: book giveaway, Breakfast, cookbook, gluten free, Plant Based Diet, Recipes, Vegan

Giveaway & Interview with author Sid Garza-Hillman

April 2, 2013 by Holly Yzquierdo 9 Comments

 

ApproachNatural_CVRweb-184x300

Approaching the Natural: A Healthy Manifesto

A few weeks ago Sid Garza-Hillman, a Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Coach and the Programs Director at the Mendocino Center for Living Well at the Stanford Inn Eco-Resort in Northern California asked if I was interested in reviewing his book, Approaching the Natural: A Health Manifesto. My first thought was, “Heck Yeah!”  which was quickly followed with an overwhelming sense of responsibility to accurately portray the book to my readers. While I recommend books often I’ve never given a formal review.

I really enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend it. First I want to tell you my impressions of the author. Sid, yes we are on a first name basis now (he may not know that though), makes you feel like you have known him for years and probably got in trouble in math class together in high school. Well, maybe not but he seems familiar, like an old friend and explains confusing concepts with easy to understand imagery and humor that will keep you engaged. His passion for life, his family, health and the earth are infectious.

In some ways I felt like he let me, “off the hook” and in other ways I felt extremely challenged and empowered to rise to the occasion and get moving. There is much more to your health than just the food you eat or the amount of exercise you fit into your day. He doesn’t give you a magic formula to follow for success; he simply encourages you to approach the natural and explains how to do that in every area of your life. The book discusses nutrition but it is so much more than a “health” book; it is more of a “this is how you were designed to live” book.

“Approach the natural by taking the smallest steps necessary to at least get you to take steps in the first place.” He explains that you can make huge changes overnight but it is often the small incremental changes that are easiest to make and keep. Basically you don’t have to give up all your vices, sell everything you own, and frolic naked in the forest; health and happiness can be found by choosing to make better food choices, eliminate unnecessary stress, and move your body among other things.

SID10_lo

I also had the opportunity to ask Sid a few questions about his book, his philosophy and of course food.

1. Explain “Approaching the Natural”.

“Approaching the Natural: A Health Manifesto” is a philosophy of health and happiness book. I argue that when we act in line with our natural design, both mentally and physically, we thrive individually and as a species. I believe it isn’t only healthy body, healthy mind, but also healthy mind, healthy body.  The reason why it’s “Approaching the Natural” and not “All the way to the Natural” is that I advocate taking small steps toward a more natural existence until you get to a place that works for you. In writing the book, I wanted to create a super accessible, fun (and hopefully funny!) read that would be easy for anyone, no matter how busy, to pick up and use as an everyday guide (it literally fits in a back pocket!). I am a father of 3, and my wife and I both work….However, we still live very healthy and happy lives using the very tools I lay out in the book.

2. What obstacles stand in the way of approaching the natural for most people?

First, I would say that most people may not even frame health or happiness in terms of what is natural to us, so one obstacle is that they haven’t explored that way of looking at it. For instance, many people want to lose weight so try and figure out a way to do it. Yet, I see weight loss as just one side-effect of health – a healthy body will be at a healthy weight. Understanding that what we do in our lives (both what we eat and how we interact with others and the world) is either in line with or in conflict with our natural design can put things into perspective a little better. Being thin doesn’t mean you’re healthy or happy…Give your body and mind the tools they need to thrive and you’ll increase your chances for both.

Second, quick-fix solutions to our problems are obstacles in that they aren’t solutions at all. To lose weight, we try 7 day cleanses, 21 day meal plans or any number of diets only to return to our old ways of eating. We join expensive gyms and sign up for classes, only to burn out 2 months later. We simply take on too much too soon and don’t approach a more natural existence at all. To truly become healthy and happy we first need to learn to live as healthy and happy human beings. This takes time — I believe incorporating small, manageable steps will yield life-long change.

3. Why does your philosophy work?

Because people don’t have to turn their lives upside down to start living better. With some of my clients I start really, really small. For instance, if someone comes to me having never exercised, I might see if they can manage walking across the room and back once a day. If that’s something they can handle and do every single day, then very quickly they become ‘someone who exercises.’ Sure it’s not enough exercise to yield any substantial weight loss, but it’s a foundation from which to build. They have learned a new behavior, which is the act of taking care of themselves. At that point it’s just a matter of teaching them how to increase the amount of exercise over time until they’re at a place that works for them.

photo 1-3

photo 3

4. Tell us how this works in a busy family.

Same thing goes for a busy family. As I wrote before, my wife and I have three kids – a 9 year old, and 4 year old twins. We both work and trust me, we’re busy (understatement of the year). But we are constantly mindful of the way we want to live. We value time with each other and with our kids. We value treating our own bodies well (through the food we eat, and how we move) and living that example for our children so that they might grow up feeling both good about themselves and worthy of health and happiness. No matter how busy you are as a family, you can take a few moments to consider what is important, and do whatever you can in the context of your lives. If it means only 5 minutes each day with your children to step outside and talk to them about their day, then that’s better than nothing. We too often think it’s an all or nothing proposition – either a 1 ½ hour family dinner every night or nothing at all. I think there is a lot of room in between that can be extremely beneficial. During the first couple years with the twins we barely had time to socialize with other families even though being with our friends is very important to us. But we believe that socializing is natural to humans (we are tribal in nature) and plays a very real part in our health and happiness, so we did what we could even if it meant literally 20 minutes with friends here and there. Recently we have been able to increase that time significantly as the kids are becoming a little easier.

GarzaHillmanFamily

5. Since this is a food blog can you share one of your family’s favorite meals with us?

We make an awesome plant-based lasagna with brown rice pasta, tofu ricotta, shiitake mushrooms, a gluten-free béchamel, and spinach….I’m getting hungry just writing about it!

6. Any last words for my readers?

Please understand this: that taking steps toward increased health and happiness is a gift. It’s not giving up anything at all. Because it involves a transition, it’s essential to take however small steps as necessary to actually get you on the path to real life-long change. In the end, though, every step you take is worth it. Humans have an innate and unique capacity and drive to think, create, and love. Acting in ways that facilitate (and are not in conflict with) these by how we feed our bodies and minds will benefit ourselves, our families, and the world as a whole.

You can contact Sid Garza-Hillman through his website www.transitioningtohealth.net or follow him on twitter: @sidgarzahillman. His book can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powells.

I’m giving away 1 copy of Approaching the Natural: A Health Manifesto to one lucky reader. Click here to enter the giveaway. This contest is open to people living in the US. A winner will be drawn Saturday and notified by email.

FTC Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book to review and a copy to giveaway but I was in no way compensated or asked to give a favorable review. All opinions are mine.

This giveaway is over, Susan won! I have emailed her. If I don’t hear from her in 1 week I’ll draw a new winner.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: book giveaway, book review, Giveaway, interview, Sid Garza-Hillman

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