Healthy

Office Joke or Morbid Statistic

November 14, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 2 Comments

Please welcome another great guest post from my husband Jim. You can read his story here. In short, he was able to get off all medications after switching to a plant-based diet. He is passionate about letting people know they can eliminate the need for most medications through healthy living.

When I first started eating a plant-based diet, as a man I drew a good amount of attention at the office…

So Jim, why did you go from a hunter to a gatherer? …Your health, no laughing matter

I think I can take a joke as well as the next guy but some of the jokes were about manhood and off-color and hitting below the belt… well kind of… A deathly serious problem for men in America is Erectile Dysfunction, according to a leading expert in nutrition and health, Dr. Mark Fuhrman, ED is the first clinical manifestation of Cardiovascular Disease. Cardiovascular Disease remains our nation’s biggest killer, responsible for about one-third of the deaths in this country. Dr. Fuhrman further shows that there is a strong relationship between ED and high blood pressure, high cholesterol, angina, stroke, heart attack and premature death. So really, if I continued to eat the Standard American Diet (SAD), I, like millions of other Americans would be heading down a path that leads to destruction, no thanks. My health is no laughing matter and neither is yours.

Take the jokes from the guys, your wife and family will thank you for it

When I initially went plant-based, not only was I being supportive of my wife’s quest for good health and getting healthier myself, I also started to lose a significant amount of weight. I not only felt better and younger, I also looked better. The better I felt, the more active I became and the more active I became the better I felt. Quality time with my family was truly filled with quality. I have a great friend who is 20 years my junior, we were at a get together recently where we were playing with our young children on floor and it was caught on video. That awesome time, would not have happened before my diet lifestyle change.

The CDC, has a bunch of morbid statistics on unavoidable tragedies as well as avoidable tragedies

The best way to lower your risk of health related tragedies is to focus on a plant-based (nutrient rich) diet and exercise. The CDC and other entities have a bunch of different morbid statistics on deaths in this country, by age, gender, causes… If those statistics weren’t enough, in my own personal history and that of my family, there are many reasons for me to adopt this diet lifestyle change. I want to honor my Lord and Savior, Jesus with being a good steward of this body that he has given me. I also want to be a great husband to my great wife and a great father to my great kids, I can’t do that if I’m dead. I don’t want to die of an avoidable tragedy. I don’t want to be another statistic.

Struggle is OK, giving up is not.

As I’ve written in previous posts, I struggle at times just like anyone else with eating a non-nutritious meal (pancakes and French fries come to mind right now actually) and struggle is OK. Your health however, is too important to give up on. Take the ribbing, eat healthy anyway.

Plant-Based Holiday Meal Plan and Cookbook

November 12, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

It’s almost Thanksgiving and Christmas will quickly follow. Do you have a plan for the holidays?

Favorite Foods made Healthier

Food may be at the center of most holiday traditions but that doesn’t mean you have to eat poorly. In fact, many of your traditional favorites can be adapted and made healthier (and allergy-friendly).

You may need to substitute eggs, butter or oil but it can be done. I highly recommend you test each dish before the big day or follow a trusted recipe.

The Holidays can be a Slippery Slope

The problem with straying away from healthy eating habits during the holidays is that most of us don’t stop with one meal. We polish off a turkey dinner and dairy-filled sides with a couple of pieces of pie, then start all over the next day with leftovers. Then we have a “hankering” for rich and fatty foods that can only be quenched with Christmas cookies, cakes and cheese.

Does that sound familiar?

Plan for Health

I’ve collected all of my favorite traditional Holiday foods in one place. The Plant-Based Holiday Meal Plan & Cookbook is a PDF download that contains 20 recipes. This collection is perfect for anyone who eats vegan, gluten-free, or allergy-friendly.

Recipes

Let’s take a closer look at the recipes!

Thanksgiving Sage Dressing
Gluten-Free Cornbread for Dressing
Perfectly Whipped Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole with optional Pecan Glaze
Thanksgiving Mushroom Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Creamy Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Dry Veggie Broth Mix
Cranberry Sauce
Holiday Lentil Loaf
Cheezy Potatoes (Vegan Scalloped Potatoes)
Faux Cheese Sauce
Butternut Squash & Quinoa Salad with Oil-Free Cranberry Dressing
Oil-Free Cranberry Salad Dressing
Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
Veggie Pot Pie (this recipe contains gluten but can be made GF using the GF Pie Crust Recipe)
Recipe for Easy All Purpose Sauce for Veggie Pot Pie
Roasted Asparagus
Maple Glazed Carrots
Gluten-Free Pie Crust (contains vegan shortening)
Apple Pie
Creamy Apple Pie Bars

Most of the recipes are also oil-free, the only exception is the pie crust. (I’ve yet to create a truly great pie crust that is gluten-free and oil-free hence the vegan shortening used in the crust).

Last year I offered a Thanksgiving Meal Plan but this year I’ve taken that old Meal Plan, updated it with new recipes and made it more user-friendly. If you bought the old Thanksgiving Meal Plan I’m happy to send you this one for free. Just send me an email and I’ll verify your purchase and send you a new download link.

If you haven’t purchased it yet what are you waiting for? The Plant-Based Holiday Meal Plan is only $4.99!

It’s also available on Amazon but I HIGHLY recommend this PDF version. The Amazon version is e-reader friendly but the charts get difficult to read do to formatting changes. The larger you screen the easier it is so it will likely work fine on ipads but not as well on iphones.

I guarantee it will make your holiday meals healthy and delicious! It’s full of helpful information, a cooking guide and plenty of tips.

Healthy Eating Challenge Meal Plan week 1

November 3, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

On November 1st many of started the 21 Day Plant-Based Healthy Eating Challenge.

If you haven’t started yet now is the perfect time to make a commitment that could change your life for the better.

Read this post to find out all of the details then join the My Plant-Based Family Facebook Group that is serving as “Headquarters” for the challenge.

There isn’t a required Meal Plan for the challenge but I’ll offer suggestions each week.

21 Day Plant-Based Challenge Meal Plan for Week 1

Breakfast

Focus on unprocessed foods as much as possible. If you are crunched for time and need a bowl of cereal choose one made from whole grains and eat fruit to accompany it.

Overnight Chia Porridge
Multi-Grain Breakfast Bowl
Tofu Scramble from our sponsor A Journey with Tiffany
Breakfast Quinoa
New Oatmeal Recipe coming this week!

Lunch

Plan ahead to avoid making poor food choices out of desperation.

Enchilada Soup and Salad
Taco Salad
Baked Potatoes with Steamed Veggies
Bean and Grain Bowl
Baked Sweet Potatoes

Dinner

Make extra at dinner so you can take the leftovers for lunch.

Enchilada Soup
Lentil Tacos and Mexican Rice
Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole (loaded with extra veggies) in the Crock Pot
Portobello Fajitas with Unfried Beans
Lentils with Roasted Potatoes and steamed veggies

If you are participating in the challenge I’d love to hear how it’s going!

You can also watch this video where I talk a little about the challenge and answer a few frequently asked questions.

The Empty Medicine Cabinet Giveaway

October 31, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 28 Comments

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.

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.

I’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.

21 Day Plant-Based Healthy Eating Challenge

October 30, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 5 Comments

Do you struggle with your Plant-Based Diet? You are not alone. I hear from people all of the time who are having a hard time sticking to (or starting) a plant-based diet.

21 Day Plant-Based Healthy Eating Challenge

Starting November 1st I’ll begin a 21 Day Plant-Based Healthy Eating Challenge and I’d love for you to join me.

The Guidelines

There aren’t a lot of rules but there are guidelines. They can be adapted to meet your particular needs. For example if you can’t tolerate grains then adapt this to your needs. If you are like me and thrive with grains eat more. If you need more calories eat nuts, seeds, avocado, etc. If you need to lose weight omit those high calorie plant-foods.

“Headquarters” for the Challenge will be at The My Plant-Based Family Group (not the page).

Each day I’ll create a thread and you’ll report in and tell me how many points you earned for the day. I’ll keep a tally and each week I’ll (discretely) post the rankings for example John S., Suzy Q., Jane D. I’m working on arranging giveaways from sponsors for participants.

If there is an interest we will have weekly Video Chat using Google Hangouts where you can ask questions and get support.

About the Food

How can I eat that much food? For the purposes of this Challenge consider 1/2 cup to be a serving size, except for raw greens (those are 1 cup serving size). Let’s look at one possibility of a typical day.