When a car can trigger grief

When a car can trigger grief

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My husband and I just sold a car we’ve been driving for 10 years. We bought it from my dad, when he was no longer able to drive. It was difficult for my dad to give up driving it. It’s been equally difficult for me. It was a 2001 Lexus, ES 300, which he purchased…

Eight seconds in hell

Eight seconds in hell

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I spent eight seconds in hell today.* I was pushing my produce through the very back of a large, chain grocery store, past the yogurt. My boy was babbling from his seat in the cart. My feet were nearly dancing to the canned music as we moved forward. Instantly the light turned into total darkness.…

Bad company

Bad company

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I have a friend who suffers from depression. Not the kind that passes quickly. Not even the kind that responds to anti-depressants; he’s tried most. He has the kind that makes him want to cry almost daily. That makes him want to throw himself off a cliff (except he’s afraid of heights). That makes him…

Sloppy science

Sloppy science

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When a hairdresser is nearly finished cutting long hair, she (or he) will look to see if both sides appear consistent. If she doesn’t do that, one side may end up longer than the other. (I know, because I’ve had that happen.) What if the hairdresser doesn’t take this step? I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t go back. Some scientists are performing equally sloppy science, and by so doing are easily able to “prove” that things like the keto diet show no long-term adverse effects.

Incredible eggs

Incredible eggs

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The more research that’s published about eggs, the more it’s incredible that so many of us keep calling them a healthy choice. It could be because we’ve found so many good uses for them; they’re hard to give up. Most of us believe that eggs are one of the healthiest foods we can eat, especially…

The coleslaw wars

The coleslaw wars

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There’s a war on. You may not have heard about it, but it’s focused on coleslaw. According to MSN.com, “What began as a simple opinion on coleslaw has quickly escalated into the Twitter war of the century.”

Insatiable hunger

Insatiable hunger

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Picture this: You’ve just finished a filling dinner, and sat down for a little relaxation, maybe you’ve selected a book or a television program or a movie. It doesn’t matter. As you sit, enjoying your entertainment, you suddenly feel the urge for a little food. You’re not physically hungry, but you feel the need for more. Or you reach for your phone to text someone, or surf social media. Or you get an alcoholic drink, or something darker or unholy.

Bones

Bones

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This past Labor day I intended to work. I wanted to finish painting the front of our garage, a job I started some time in August (or was it July). Instead of finishing the job, I got a lesson I wasn’t sure I wanted.

What if you are not fit?

What if you are not fit?

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Why do some people find exercise more difficult than others? Is it age? Fitness level? Weight? I recently heard a TED talk that covers why some people find exercise more difficult than others. Click to read my summary of it.

Vegan barbeque

Vegan barbeque

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Last year my bank sent a postcard announcing “Member Appreciation” day and invited me—and all of their customers—to a BBQ. I went, but was disappointed. There were no plant-based foods at the event. Not even fruit.

Mental illness

Mental illness

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One summer while I was in college I worked at a private psychiatric facility in New York. While there, I often wondered why some of the people were inpatients and I wasn’t.

Why a red nose may be good for you

Why a red nose may be good for you

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On May 24 this year, many Americans will don a red nose for charity. While Red Nose Day is focused on raising “money and awareness for children who most need our help” around the world, the goal is to have fun in the process.

Is diabetes reversible?

Is diabetes reversible?

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I speak often of my bout with pre-diabetes. For me it was a warning and what led, in part, to my adoption of a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. When I think about that time (now more than 5 years in the past) I can’t help feeling a little upset at the messages I heard.

Why WholeBlue?

Why WholeBlue?

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People often ask why I named my business WholeBlue. Having worked in marketing for many years, I understand their concern. A name should be quick to understand, not odd-seeming. But I stand by it and I’ll tell you why here.

Soul ties

Soul ties

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I’m writing this in February, when so many are thinking of love that brings connection, or “ties” people together whether as good friends or lifetime lovers. Many refer to these as soul ties.

Strengthening your core

Strengthening your core

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When we talk about strengthening our cores, we’re generally talking about our physical bodies. But our spiritual cores are perhaps more important.

Higher quality of life requires change

Higher quality of life requires change

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I love moving. I love to thin out my belongings and arrange them in my new space. I love the adventure of discovering new geography, new stores and new people. I love feeling that my life has been renewed.

Stuck in the harbor

Stuck in the harbor

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I recently read a story about a man whose lifelong dream was to live on a sailboat and sail if not around the whole world, at least the waters surrounding the boat’s moorings.

How to be more social

How to be more social

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It is really tough to socialize on a whole-food, plant-based diet, especially if you are new to the lifestyle. Everything feels like a list of don’ts. I was talking to a friend recently about how difficult he thinks it is. Before he tried a whole-food, plant-based diet, his food choices involved a lot of drive-throughs.…

Inflamed! Part 3: The key to successful aging

Inflamed! Part 3: The key to successful aging

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Is inflammation inevitable?

From the research shared in Parts 1 and 2 of this article, the answer to the question, “Is inflammation inevitable?” seems to be “no,” at least in part. That is due to the fact that a diet low in processed food can decrease inflammation in your body.

But is it Pizza?

But is it Pizza?

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I have a friend who is married to an Italian. New York Italian. So Italian they ate spaghetti together as a family every Wednesday night when the family was all geographically close. When I told her I make a whole-food, plant-based pizza that doesn’t include cheese (not even fake cheese), she said, “Call it what…

Inflamed! Part 2: Diseases related to inflammation

Inflamed! Part 2: Diseases related to inflammation

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In part one of this series I provided an overview of inflammation in the body. In this part, I’ll cover the research on various diseases apparently related to inflammation. In Part III, I’ll talk about the key to successful aging and what you can do to fight chronic inflammation.

Eat a Peach

Eat a Peach

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Growing up in Wisconsin, we had a summer ritual. The family would pick buckets full of piecherries from Door County. Once we got them home we would pit, and pit, and pit them. Then my mom would bake some into cherry pies and freeze the rest for future pies and crisps. Here in Colorado I have a new ritual. Peaches.

Inflamed!

Inflamed!

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We all know it as what happens when we cut a finger, get bit by a bug, or sprain an ankle. The area starts to swell up or turn red or both. Inflammation, defined as “a localized protective reaction of tissue to irritation, injury, or infection, characterized by pain, redness, swelling, and sometimes loss of function,” happens to everyone. What we don’t often think of happening to us, is the inflammation that happens inside our bodies.

On the road again

On the road again

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Whenever I travel, especially to areas where it is more difficult to find plant-based options for eating or I am surrounded by meat eaters and even vegetarians, I think about the obstacles to eating a healthier diet.

Plant-based on the road

Plant-based on the road

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I learned how to be cheap at a young age. Well, maybe frugal. Whatever word you use for it, I learned from the best. My dad. He could do vacations cheap and tasty.

When we traveled, six of us crammed into a sedan pulling a tent-trailer that was full of everything we needed for two weeks, including food and block ice to keep it cold.

Prescription Nutrition

Prescription Nutrition

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I just heard about a four-part series called Prescription: Nutrition on the powerful benefits of plant-based eating.

The first episode aired last week. It’s focused on nutrition and it is educational. Michael Greger, M.D., from NutritionFacts.org is a part of this series. The series explores the health benefits of a plant-based diet, and discusses the current cultural shift on how we approach our relationship with food.

No contest

No contest

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It’s watermelon seed spitting week, at least in some parts of the world such as Luling, Texas. There, the last weekend of June is reserved for the annual Watermelon thump, which includes a “World Championship Seed Spitting Contest.”

It’s a tall order

It’s a tall order

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June 21 is tall girl appreciation day. It’s also the longest day of the year. (You shorter gals have a day in December.)

I wasn’t able to find any history describing how this day came about, although apparently it has been celebrated for the last few years. As one blogger pointed out, we don’t need a day to appreciate tall women (or girls or short females or anyone) but someone recorded it, so there you are.

Breathing easier

Breathing easier

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This is a three-part series. In Part 1 I covered allergies. In Part 2 I focused on four foods associated with cutting your risk of allergy in half and improving allergy symptoms. In this part, I will discuss asthma.

Asthma, chronic inflammation of the airways, causes coughing, chest tightness, wheezing or shortness of breath. Nearly 19 million American adults and 7.1 million children battle the disease, with more people added to that number every year.1

The question of cynicism

The question of cynicism

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When starting on a whole-food, plant-based journey, feeling cynical is normal. I did and I’ve heard from some of my students that sometimes they do too. For me, one area where I expressed cynicism was in the idea of “sauteeing” in water instead of oil. I complained the food didn’t smell as good as it…

A 21 day trial

A 21 day trial

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My 21 days of photos started today with this “Salad for Breakfast” post on Instagram. Follow me at  Wholeplantbased to see them all. But I’m not the only one working on 21 days of healthy eating. My students are as well. One student commented on how she used to think a healthy meal included a…

What does Ellen eat?

What does Ellen eat?

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There are several very motivated students in the current WholeBlue Eating class who have finished Module 1 and are ready to start, or have already started their 21-day trial. In celebration of those students, and to encourage those of you who are not there yet, I thought it might be helpful to see what a…

Allergy Elmination

Allergy Elmination

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This is a three-part series. In this part, I cover allergies. In Part 2 I will highlight four foods associated with cutting your risk of allergy in half and improving your symptoms if you are already a sufferer. In Part 3 I will discuss asthma.

Land of sodium and fat

Land of sodium and fat

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When you eat a whole-food, plant-based diet, some things are just plain hard to do. Traveling to the Midwest is one of them.

My husband and I recently…

Shaking palsy

Shaking palsy

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There is only one thing worse than watching a loved one be taken captive by the ravages of Parkinson’s disease. That is, watching three loved ones be defeated by it.

Hyper drive

Hyper drive

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Over the past few years I have attended far too many family funerals. The latest person in my family to pass on was my stepsister. She was in her late 50s. In my opinion, she was far too young to die.

The “Hangries”

The “Hangries”

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You know you have the “hangries” when you feel simultaneously as angry as, and as hungry as, a young bird with an open mouth and a screech in its throat.

Buried in Greens

Buried in Greens

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We celebrated National Nutrition month this year with lots of green. We weren’t just wearing it on St. Patrick’s day, we were eating it in every way we could think of.

National Doctor’s Day

National Doctor’s Day

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Every year since 1933, the United States has set aside March 30 as National Doctor’s Day, a day to celebrate physicians. This year it falls on a Thursday. I’m all for celebrating doctors, but what happens if you can’t see one because there are no physicians to see?

Happy “Tea for Two” Tuesday

Happy “Tea for Two” Tuesday

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If you have never heard of this holiday, don’t worry. It’s new. The tea lovers at Holiday Insights established it in 2016 as the third Tuesday in March. I agree that it’s a holiday worth noting.

Going green

Going green

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I’m sure you’ve heard that vegetables, especially things like leafy greens, are good for you. But could you honestly eat 14 to 21 cups of greens in a week – and enjoy it?

I can now, but it wasn’t always that way.