It is no secret I am on the road a lot. But how does one eat while being a road warrior? Here are some tips that have been tried and tested by yours truly.

#1) Careful planning! I count how many meals I will be away for and either make a mental note or write it down in my trust iPhone. I always carry nut bars, jerky and pumpkin seeds with me. Planning ahead prevents you a lot of stress while on the road.

#2) Containers, containers, containers! I can’t stress this one enough. Small containers can make or break you while traveling. I pack Brewer’s Yeast (great source of protein), Ground Flax Seed, Hemp Hearts, and Chia Seeds. These are my staples on and off the road. And by packing these with me, my health travels with me. There is no excuse not to eat for health while on the road!

#3) Farmer’s Market’s, Co-op’s, natural health food stores. Make Yelp or Google search or your Twitter/FB feed your go-to resource for these hidden gems. I love to explore when I am traveling so I usually wander right into a Farmer’s Market or co-op as I am running. Or I research the town or city ahead of time and find out what day and time a Farmer’s Market will be open. I like to support small, family businesses so co-op’s, private, natural food stores and Farmer’s Market’s are my go-to place to shop for food. Chain national natural food stores are my second option. You can usually get a great, healthy meal at Whole Foods Food Bar if you stick to the salad area.

#4) Be flexible! You can plan all you want, but sometimes life just happens and you don’t have any control over it. Be calm and get back on track as soon as you can. Also, if you keep food with you, you won’t be caught off guard as easily. Carry Tanka Bars, KIND Snacks, Lara Bars, or Bearded Brothers. Don’t go hungry while traveling or yo

#5) Be wise! If you are eating out with business folks, be wise. Be smart. Don’t let them guilt trip you into eating crap. Don’t let their poor habits dictate how you eat. Set the positive, healthy example. You’ll be credible and secretly admired. Stick to your guns!

Those are a few of my travel-tried-and-true secrets. You can eat for health while on the road!

Don’t let people guilt you into eating because “you earned it.” We don’t earn food by exercising, we earn our life by excerising.

photo credit: Dendroica

What’s On My Shopping List: Carob Powder

If you follow my photos on Instagram, then you see the food I buy, make and eat. Of course I get some great questions! I posted a photo this week of something I’ve been eating for years. It’s called Carob Powder. I received a lot of comments on it, so I thought you might be interested in learning more about it and adding it to your shopping list!

Why: Carob is caffeine and theobromine free. Chocolate contains both of these things which can cause or contribute to these conditions: acne, racing heart, insomnia, fatigue, obesity, dizziness, irritability, anxiety and much, much more. So if you are craving a sweet before bedtime, opt for carob!

Carob also contains vitamins A and B and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, potassium and even protein. Two other facts: carob has no trans fats and is basically fat-free (not to be confused that fat is bad for you) where chocolate is half fat. The other important thing to note is that is doesn’t contain oxalic acid that interferes with absorption of calcium (this is found in chocolate).

One other cool tidbit? It’s been suggested that it can boost your metabolism.

How: Use it just like you would in recipes calling for cocoa powder. I make my famous fudge-like sauce. I mix carob powder, water, honey and EVOO and mix well. Heat for 30 seconds, add fresh fruit, unsweetened coconut and nuts. So, so delicious! (Recipes can be found in the monthly eNewsletter.)

Taste: To be really honest, it tastes just like chocolate! Maybe a little bit better though?! It won’t be as sweet as chocolate so when using it in baked goods, you might need to add a touch more honey or natural sweetener.

Where: Where can you buy it? I don’t recall ever seeing carob powder at a commercial grocery store (Safeway, Giant, etc). You can easily find it at Whole Foods Markets, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s, local natural grocery stores (Sunflower Market, Vitamin Cottage, some co-ops) or online ( Z Natural Foods).

Grocery shopping today? See if you can find it and add it to your cart!

Eat For Health!

photo credit: Vegan Feast

We’ve been on this series for a while and there are no plans to end it soon. I’m really excited to see people taking an interest in the food they eat and making changes in order to live a better, healthy life.

So I was really excited to find out about a new documentary called Hungry For Change. It’s only available online until March 31 and then you can buy the DVD after that date. I’ve already watched it twice. And will probably watch it again. I learned many more facts only furthering my passion and work on this topic.

There are many, many things I want to share with you about this film. Here are a few to start with. Many of these are quotes directly from the people on the film.

“Diets are built with failure in them.”

$60 billion spent each year on diets and weight loss product in the US.” ($60 BILLION!!!)

“We aren’t eating food anymore, we are eating food-like products. Made to look better, smell better.” 

“Food marketers want you to believe that you will be sexy, skinny, happy, but in reality you will be sick, miserable and unhappy.” 

“People just want to look good. But they don’t consider that it could be done from the inside out.”

“The average American consumes 150 pounds of sugar and sweetners per year or 22 teaspoons a day.” A DAY!!

“Sugar = cocaine in the food world.”

“Overfed, but also starving to death.”

“It’s not what you’re eating, it’s what’s eating you.”

“Fatty or sweet meant survival for people of thousands years ago.”

“A lot of food available, but the wrong kind. Store up for winter, but winter doesn’t come.”

“Famine is a stress. And when your body senses stress, it stores up fat.”

“Hunter/gatherers had high amount of nutrition, low amount of calories compared to people today is low amount of nutrition, high amount of calories.”

“We’ve got feast like no one business, we just don’t have any famine.” 

“Manipulate the chemical structure of their food so that it doesn’t become fulfilling but empty but gives the impression that it is the most fulfilling thing they’ve ever had.”

Companies want repeat customers. It only makes sense, but when it comes to your food, they have gone a step too far. Not only has GMO affected pretty much everything we eat, but commercial food companies actually put chemicals in your food to make you crave it so you come back to buy more. Translation = addiction.

“Diet cola contains aspartame and caffeine which create “excitotoxins” that kills off brain cells. People drinking this don’t need food, they just need the the next buzz of diet colas.” And thus the cycle goes.

Affects of aspartame: (as quoted by the film)

• formaldehyde buildup in the brain
• migraines
• symptoms mimic MS
• seizures in more serious cases
• different cancers
• carb cravings
• neurological problems

“90 percent of studies are funded by the very company making it, not a third party or the FDA!!” 

“Diet soda = you will be fatter than when you first started drinking diet soda.”

“If you eat MSG, processed sugars, aspartame, you will be addicted to them.” 

“Chemicals are in food that make people want it again and again.” 

“How do you make a mouse fat? You make a mouse fat by feeding them MSG. Google MSG Obesity Induced Mice.” 

“MSG is in 80 percent of all our foods.”

“MSG and free glutamates can be hidden behind over 50 (!!!) different names.”

“Marketing lies to you. Doesn’t tell you what’s in it. It says you’ll be cool, sexy, hip, popular. But really you’re going to lose bone density, be obese, have type 2 diabetes, etc.”

“Food companies create chemicals to appeal to the consumer that creates a food addiction just like drugs/smoking/etc.”

“Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal and there is not a blueberry in it. They want you to imagine what you’re eating, not what really is or isn’t in the box.” 

What is the “blueberry” made of? I hope you’re sitting down. The “blueberry bits” are made with Propylene Glycol C3H8O2. This chemical is the same chemical in antifreeze. And other stuff you don’t want to know about.

The information in this film is great. Go educate yourself about what you are putting in your body. Times have changed. Our food system has changed. It’s not what it used to be.

Here is the link to watch the film till March 31, 2012. Please, please go watch it. And no, I have personal association to this film whatsoever. Just a passionate person trying to wake up America and the world about what they are putting in their body.

I receive a lot of questions and comments on the food I create. So in response to your feedback, I’m going to share a sample shopping list. I hope it helps you when you are grocery shopping!

2.0.1 My (few) criteria for what goes in my basket or cart: 

• No GMO made products – either directly or indirectly (if you still don’t know what that is, read this site for what they are)
• No corn (read a label the next time you pick something up – you’ll be surprised. If you don’t know why you should eat corn, read this)
• No fake sugar, white sugar, sugar substitutes, etc. I’m not vegan so honey in moderation is okay.
• No dairy
• Preferably organic
• No additives, no hormones, no corn-fed meat, no nitrates, no MSG
• No grains
• No legumes
• I limit canned, frozen, boxed food to none or rare

In the next How I Eat (My Shopping List 2.0)we’ll cover spices, seasonings, oils, paring the different veggies together and the hot topic question “isn’t it expensive?”.

Over the last few months I’ve written a series called How I Eat. My theory behind this series is to show by example how I eat, live, breathe. In doing so, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback I’ve received. And it goes to show you that you can make an impact by breathing and walking by example.

You never know how your positive choice will help someone else. You may never know it and they may never share with you. Regardless, being a positive example- be it in health, food, fitness, faith, business to name a few- inspires others to do it too. And that is where change really happens.

Maybe you’re in a line at Starbucks and you really, really, really want a cupcake. But you know you shouldn’t. So you walk away with only a halfway sinful (sorry, couldn’t resist) double shot-soy-no whip-extra shot of cinnamon-hold the sugar venti latte. Or whatever it’s called. BUT, here is the point, you don’t know how your resistance to temptation might have helped the person behind you in line.

All the positive little thing healthy things you do add up. Drinking water versus soda. Having kale instead of a donut. Yes, I know they aren’t same, but your body sure will thank you. Just like the negative unhealthy things you do add up (pants suddenly don’t fit?), so do the negative influence you have will too.

It has been a lot of fun to post photos of the meals I make, plan and eat. Even when on the road. It has been really neat to write about the food I eat and don’t eat. And exposing the truth behind GMO and Monsanto. Food is more than just what I eat. Food is what everyone around me is eating too. And because I care so deeply about people, I put myself out there and share with you my personal food experiences, research and food facts. But I have to admit, I wonder if I’m making any headway. But isn’t God great. Because just this past week someone sent me this message:

Being a positive influence DOES matter

It was just the encouragement I needed. And it made me jump for joy. Seeing that people CAN change their health simply by what they eat. I’m not sharing this to brag, but to simply show that when you have a positive influence, people do watch you. People will change.

Not everyone will change, but those that do will be all the better for it. Feel like you aren’t making positive difference? Let the above example prove to you that people are seeking positive examples. Positive change is what people are longing for.

So if you think you aren’t making a positive health difference, you are. You just don’t know it. Keep doing the right thing. Even if it is hard and people make fun of you. Because the people that make fun of you are secretly wishing they had the strength and courage to do what you are doing. Keep the (healthy) faith!

Food for thought #1: Has someone encouraged you to live healthy? Tell them.

Food for thought #2: Are you a positive, healthy, faithful example and feel discouraged? Keep at it. You never know who you are positively impacting.

peace, sweat, love: life

photo credit: Grakus Art

Happy Fitness Friday!

First of all, if you are new to this site I welcome you.

Second of all, if you don’t know how I eat, I’ll recap it for you.

Third, if you don’t know why corn is killing you, read on.

How I Eat:

Seventy-six percent fresh vegetables and 4 percent fresh fruit. Not canned, boxed, packaged, frozen, other). They are straight from the earth. Organic. Perishable. I will occasionally (3-4 times a year) buy frozen dark cherries.

Ten percent nuts and seeds. Unprocessed, organic. Seeds include ground flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp hearts (seeds), sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, Macadamia, Hazelnuts, Cashews. No peanuts. I include coconut and hemp and almond nut “milk” in this category.

Ten percent meat/seafood/eggs. When and if I do eat meat, it has to be nitrate-free, hormone-free, grass-fed, no MSG, non-corn feed meat. And I eat Brown Eggs that were fed grass, not corn.

One hundred percent water. No coffee, sports drinks, alcohol, dairy milk, soda, etc). I will occasionally have a cup of herbal tea.

Other: Brewer’s Yeast (not nutritional yeast), Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, Wheat Grass Powder. Earth-based supplements.

What I don’t eat:

Packaged, canned, boxed, frozen, processed junk (it’s not food), grains – including corn, dairy, nitrate/GMO/corn-fed meat, rice, legumes. I will occasionally (a few times a year) have Quinoa or brown rice.

Now on to the real topic at hand: why corn is killing you.

If you haven’t watched King Corn, I strongly suggest (beg?) you to make time to watch it. You can access it on HuLu for free. Or buy the DVD and support the cause. It is WELL worth your time.

If you read the above list of what I eat, you will notice that I don’t eat grains. This includes corn, but why? We’ll get to the facts in a second, but here is what I want you to do. The next time you are in a supermarket, pick up a package and read the ingredient list. Notice anything? The word “corn” perhaps? It is in everything you eat if you aren’t eating and living a grain-free life. And it’s not straight corn, it’s corn masked as High Fructose Corn Syrup. And HFCS is in everything from soda to bread to crackers to cake to chips to – the list is endless. And even the products that aren’t labeled like commercial meats and eggs. Chickens and eggs are both fed corn which ends up in your body and even your hair. What am I referring to?

In the King Corn documentary Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis both had their hair tested and it came back with corn in it. Why? Well, the foods they were consuming had corn in them. And thus their award-winning documentary was born.

Think that burger, french fries and shake you buy and eat doesn’t have corn in it? Think again. Pretty much everything you consume has corn in it. And I’m not talking about sweet corn, but field corn. Field corn is then processed into HFCS, corn starch, corn syrup, ethanol (fuel) and feed to name a few. But why is corn so bad for you? Let’s dive right into the facts.

• Corn is the No. 1 crop in America.
• Corn produced today versus just 50 years ago can feed 155 people compared to 26.
• Corn is in everything you eat and drink (if you don’t pay attention)
• Corn is used to produce fuel alcohol.
• Over 55 percent of Iowa’s corn crop is sent out of country .
• U.S. corn production is two times any other crop
• Corn is being GMO (if you don’t know what GMO is, read other articles on this site.)
• In the last 15 years, taxpayers paid corn farmers more than $77 billion (cited from King Corn)
• Ten percent of America’s farmers collect more than 75 percent of the subsidies (cited from King Corn)
• Since the late 1970s, the real price of fruits and vegetables increased by 30 percent, while prices for soft drinks decreased by 34 percent (cited from King Corn).
• Over the last 20-50 years, corn seed has been genetically modified to resist herbicides and produce corn plants that can live close together.
• Today an one acre of corn can produce 200 bushels = 500 tons of food per acre (but yet “food insecurity” is at an all time high)
• Fifty percent of corn is turned into feed will which will end up in your hamburger.
• Thirty-two percent of corn is exported and/or turned into ethanol (not food).

Corn is (slowly) killing you. And most people don’t care or pay attention to this fact.

In fact, farmers today can’t even feed themselves! Why? Because the corn has to be processed in order for anyone to eat it. The corn seed has been genetically modified (GMO) to produce more crops. More crops equals more money from the government. The other sad, troubling fact? Family farms are sold to big, corporate farms run that are basically run by Monsanto. Monsanto controls the seed, the herbicides/pesticides, everything. According to Farm Aid, 330 family farms are sold every week. This makes me cry and livid.

Bigger farms, bigger farm equipment (sprayers, tractors) have taken over the little family farm. Leaving you and me in poor health. When small family farms are taken over by government (Monsanto), the food you eat changes. Your health decreases. And we are a sick nation.

A few days ago I wrote about “To Vegan or Not To Vegan” and I mentioned that I would write about honey and honey bees. Well today we’re going to talk about that!

Most peoples’ relationship with bees is that they have been stung or encountered a bee hive when they weren’t expecting it. Well, believe it or not, you actually have experienced bees in other forms, you just don’t know it. For example, did you know that two-thirds of our food supply relies on bees? Well, it’s true!

Why are bees important? They pollinate fruits and vegetables (so we can eat).

Honey nutrition facts: Some of the top vitamins/minerals are iron, calcium, zinc, B6, B2, magnesium. Honey is also recognized by the body where white sugar is not recognized by the body and results in a blood sugar spike.

Why we need bees/honey: So we can continue to eat vegetables and fruits (plants).

Best kind of honey: Raw honey is the best source because it contains traces of pollen (which also contains more minerals and vitamins). As with any product, the more refined and processed it is, the less nutrients it has.

Why I eat honey: Bees are vital to our food (veggies and fruit) supply. If we didn’t have bees, we wouldn’t have plants. Even flowers! Bees job is to pollinate so we can have food to eat. Over the last several years, the bee population has been dwindling. And this is due to the fact that more & more pesticides and chemicals are being used. We wouldn’t want to pull weeds now would we (sarcastic)? Bees also need warmth so when harsh winter storms come, bees have no where to go. Bees are essential to our food system. They pollinate 90% of our food (nuts, avocado, apples, blueberries, cherries, citrus fruits, celery, cucumber, etc). By buying organic, locally owned produce this helps the bee colonies. By not supporting GMO/Monsanto. Honey is a natural sweetener. Honey is not harming the bees but supporting the plants we need to live on. By protecting the bees, we are helping to protect the planet we live on. If you want to be eco-friendly, you’ll take personal responsibility for the foods you put in your body. Bees and honey are essential to human life.

And know you know why I eat honey and love bees

peace, sweat, love: life

photo credit: jbaker5

It’s 2012 and there are more food buzzwords then ever. From vegan to “eat clean” to Paleo to natural to dairy free to gluten free to even vegetarian, all these terms can get rather confusing. Today I’m going to focus on one such buzz word: Vegan.

First, what is vegan? Vegan is not consuming ANY animal products (eggs, honey, dairy) in addition to meat. Vegan’s still eat wheat, sugar, other grains, chemicals, etc. Processed junk.

And this is what I personally don’t understand. Why is honey “bad” for you, but yet Oreos are on the approved vegan list? Here is an Oreo ingredient label.

Oreo label

Many processed ingredients (they pretty much all are) jump out at me, but at top of the list include enriched flour and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). If you are reading this, you are probably already aware that HFCS is not a health food. HFCS has been linked to weight gain and increase in appetite (why people crave more soda). Furthermore, HFCS is made with corn and most of the corn is GMO. It all ties together. This is a lab-made ingredient, not something straight from the earth or tree. HFCS is a processed food. And we all know what processed foods do to the human body.

I did a little research and found websites that listed MANY commercial brands of Vegan friendly junk (it’s not food). The list was quite extensive. In fact, many, if not all, of the brands are on the GMO/Monsanto list. And this is where I have a few issues with the vegan “diet.”

• Processed food is processed food.
• How can you buy a Monsanto sourced product that is directly or indirectly supports the complete opposite of health?
• Packaged food that has a long shelf life is not a health food.
• Soy based (read past articles on this site about the harmful affects of soy).
• Candy is not good for you no matter how you label it.

So just because it is labeled vegan doesn’t mean it is good for you, it just means that it doesn’t have any animal byproduct ingredients in it. In a perfect (healthy) world, I would love to see processed foods not a part of the vegan’s diet.

Now, I’m sure there are vegans that don’t have a diet of processed crap. And if you are reading this, I applaud you for that. But if you are a vegan and eating processed crap, it doesn’t make you healthy, it just means you don’t consume meat or animal byproducts.

(Note: I’ll write about honey and bees in part 2 of this series.)

Now for the positive. This is what I do like about some vegan food.

1) They are dairy free. In fact, just this week I had a “cheesecake” that was made with just nuts and coconut and fruit. So yummy and delicious.

2) While I do eat some meat, I appreciate that vegan’s/vegetarians don’t. More kale!

We need to consume less (or never) processed, lab-made food. We need to eat as close to the earth as possible. Veggies, fruit, nuts, water.

These are my observations, research and opinions. Is the vegan life for me? No. I don’t eat grains, processed junk or sugar, but I do eat lean meats, fish and eggs. Are some of the vegan ways for me? Yes. I don’t consume dairy.

Food for action: are you vegan? What is your vegan life like? What is your take on eating processed food? I would love to hear from you!

photo credit: mihoda

I’ve been asked to post more recipes, but those are reserved for our (free) monthly eNewsletter. If you don’t receive it, well, what’s stopping you?

But I receive a lot of questions about the food I eat and so I wanted to share with you some sample meal plans that will hopefully be helpful to you. Here are 5 breakfast meals to make!

Remember: eat for health! These first meals of the day are packed with so many fresh, natural sources of minerals & vitamins. Your body will thank you .

BREAKFAST 1

• 2 Hardboiled (HB) eggs, chopped, topped with hemp hearts
• Veggie saute medley: red cabbage, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion, spinach
• Orange
• 2 tablespoons Brewer’s Yeast & 1 tablespoon Ground Flax Seed
• 1 Wheat Grass powder scoop mixed with water or coconut milk or hemp milk
• Chia water (1 tablespoon chia seeds in 20oz of water)