Plant Based

Pears, like apples, are also great for losing weight

Pears, like apples, are also great for losing weight

Full of flavor and packed with phytochemicals, trace minerals and amino acids, pears are one of the world's healthiest foods that you can eat for weight loss

Pears suppress our appetite and prevent overeating

A close kin to the apple, pears are another must-have food to include in your diet.  Pears are known to be high in dietary fiber, offering us that feeling of being full and satisfied with hunger levels to the point that we don't overeat during meals or in between meals either (similar to eating bananas for losing weight).  The sweet flavor that a pear brings satisfies our hunger (and/or suppresses our appetite) and their electrolyte makeup serves to stabilize our blood sugar, giving us natural boosts in energy without the crash afterward.

Yellow watermelon fruit bowl

Yellow watermelon fruit bowl

Fruit bowl made out of watermelon shell and filled with organic yellow watermelon pieces

The Basics

  • Prep time 5 minutes 
  • Servings 3-4

Ingredients

1 whole yellow watermelon (organic if available)

Mashed pOpaya!

Mashed pOpaya!

Organic papaya cut, sliced, scooped then mashed and sprinkled with a few papaya seeds on top

The Basics

  • Prep time 2 minutes 
  • Mash Time 2 minutes 
  • Servings 2-3

Ingredients

1 whole papaya (organic if available)

Curbing your appetite (and losing weight) with cranberries 

Curbing your appetite (and losing weight) with cranberries 

Reach for the cranberry to help you lose weight while you naturally suppress your appetite

First things first: If it ain't working, fix it!

Whether the summer months are on the distant horizon or not, we're talking weight loss and health goals big time these days.  With an estimated 1-in-3 Americans now considered medically obese, the world is clearly in need of some proper education about healthy eating habits and lifestyle practices in general. The diet pills, fad diets and bogus workout plans are evidently still not working (nor will they ever work as is).  This is a call to consciousness, if you are tired of being overweight and are ready to make a true change in your lifestyle, you and only you can take the first step!

The ABC's for losing weight

The ABC's for losing weight

Never mind the diet pills, look to your local fruit stand for 3 common foods that can help you to naturally lose weight

Whether you're looking to lose weight for summerget fit to look as perfect as can be in to your bride's dress (and even groom's suit) for the upcoming wedding; or you just want to enhance your overall health by shedding some excess weight from your body, you can lose weight naturally by including some essential foods like apples, bananas and cherries in your diet.  And, you won't have to break your bank or look too hard as apples, bananas and cherries are rather inexpensive to buy and all three can usually be found year round at your nearby grocery store, local farmer's market or street-side fruit stand.

An apple a day keeps the (bariatrics) doctor away

An apple a day keeps the (bariatrics) doctor away

Examining the anti-obesity and digestive health benefits of apples for weight loss

Whether you're familiar with the old English proverb or not, an apple a day can and does actually help to keep us out of various types of doctor's offices, perhaps most notably, the bariatrics doctor's office.  Research and clinical studies show supporting evidence of apples (red apples specifically) as being effective in preventing, treating and reversing obesity with the help of water-soluble, vacuolar pigments known as anthocyanins (*as well as hints of another phyotchemical, malvidin, a type of anthocyanidin).

Keep calm and stay cool this summer

Keep calm and stay cool this summer

30 Plant-based foods that you can eat to keep your cool and stay comfy in the summer heat

Cooling foods

Whether you're feeling beach body ready yet or not, the summer like temperatures are beginning to increase for us with record high heat waves on the horizon the coming season.  This summer, you can work to naturally keep your body temperatures as cool as humanly possibly by eating foods that are known to cool the body by hydrating it and flushing heat and toxins from it.  Some of Mother Nature's most popularly known cooling foods are fruits and vegetables but, there are also some good legumes and whole grains that are known to cool the body down, too.

Cherry sweet dreams 🍒

Cherry sweet dreams 🍒

Cherries, an all natural source of melatonin, help to provide a good night sleep for all who eat

Melatonin (mel·a·to·nin)

Melatonin, scientifically known as N-acetyl-5-methoxy tryptamine, is a hormone (produced by our pineal glands) that regulates our sleep and wake cycles.  Our bodies naturally produce melatonin for us but, dependent on our current wake-sleep cycles; the amount of sunlight we take in with each day; and the overall settings of our body's internal system (i.e. circadian and biolgical rhythms), our melatonin levels may not be at their most optimal conditions.  Perhaps one of the most common afflictions resulting from an imbalance in melatonin is difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and staying awake throughout the day, otherwise known as insomnia.  Although some research and/or studies claim that one-half of the human population will experience symptoms of insomnia in any one given year, there is truly nothing to fret or even be alarmed about as you can always use natural remedies to increase your melatonin levels and improve your sleeping patterns.  Perhaps the easiest and 100% all natural method for increasing melatonin in our bodies is by utilizing the foods within our medicine cabinet (i.e. fridge) and, at the top of the list of the foods that we can eat to naturally boost melatonin and create sweet dreams with are, CHERRIES.  So, prepare to fully hit that snooze button and make yourself ready for a good night sleep with this sweet bedtime story about, cherries, one of Mother Nature's (many) natural sources of melatonin.

Purple, Gold and Green Miso Dish

Purple, Gold and Green Miso Dish

Simple Plant Based Meal with Purple Carrots, Gold Beets, Celery, Collard Greens and Miso

The Basics

  • Preparation Time: 10 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes
  • Servings: 1-2 servings

Ingredients

1 purple carrot (sliced)
1/4 cup carrot greens (chopped)
1/2 cup collard greens (chopped)
1 golden beet (diced)
2 celery stalks (sliced)
1 tablespoon miso
1/2 tablespoon turmeric
1/4 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 cup natural spring water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Side Sweet Greens

Side Sweet Greens

Collard Greens & Red Beets Cooked Down with Miso Master Mellow White Miso

The Basics

  • Preparation Time: 5 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
  • Servings: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

1 red beet (chopped)
1 cup (chopped) collard greens
1 tablespoon (mellow white) miso
1/2 tablespoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon sea salt