What a Healthy Family Eats

September's Book Giveaway- Vegan Lunchbox!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Congratulations to Jessica Long! She is the winner of last month's book giveaway, "The Engine 2 Diet" by Rip Esselstyn. Jessica increased her chances of winning by posting multiple times on my blog. Each time you post you get your name on a piece of paper to be drawn from a hat by my daughter Anika. She's my helper :)

This month I am giving away a copy of Jennifer McCann's "Vegan Lunchbox". Jennifer was a coaching client of mine from over a year ago. She has since come out with a second book called "Vegan Lunchbox Around the World". I love her Martha Stewart like creativity. The recipes are easy to make and will make any child or adult feel special when they open up their lunch!

Good luck and remember to subscribe so you can receive notice in your email when I post a new blog entry!

Dr. Fuhrman's New Nutritarian Food Pyramid

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:16:00 +0000

I am excited about Dr. Fuhrman's new colorful Nutritarian Food Pyramid! It has all the brightly colored pictures of fruits and veggies that we should be centering our diet around. He has also added the percentage of calories from each category, which was not featured on his previous pyramid. You can purchase a magnet for your refrigerator at Dr. Fuhrman's website.

Couponing For Health Foods Update

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:28:00 +0000

A few months back I posted about how I was saving close to 50% on my groceries by shopping at Publix. Well, that's when I was able to use two or more competitor coupons from Target, CVS, Family Dollar, Harvey's and Save A Lot.

Now both Publix stores that are within a 2 mile radius of my home will only allow me to use ONE of those competitor coupons per grocery visit and I can no longer use CVS ($5 off $25 purchase) and Harvey's ($2 off $5 produce) coupons.

I guess the couponing rage has caught on to more shoppers in my area because not only are they tighting policies, they are also getting cleared out of inventory on BOGO's the first two or three days of the sale!

So, now my savings is around 30-40%, still better than what it was when I was not paying attention to sales flyers or using coupons. And now I am asking myself, do I really need this item even though it is super cheap or free?! For example, I bought about 20 boxes of the Kashi 7 Whole Grain Flakes and Puffs because they were .50 a box with coupons. The cereal, though healthier than most, is essentially processed food and not really all that high in nutrients. My family would be better off eating oatmeal or home made granola in place of the cereal. Of course the preferred breakfast is the Green Smoothie!

So, now I'm being more careful about what I buy. Some of the things I have been buying on sale and lightly stocking with coupons are:

-Eden Organic Beans, Tomatoes, tomatoe paste and Pasta Sauces (BPA Free Can)
-Cascadian Farms Frozen Fruit and Vegetables
-Bob's Redmill Whole Oats
-Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta
-Texas Organic Brown Rice
-Lundberg Farms Organic Rice
-Unsweetened Almond Breeze
-Annie's Natural's Fat Free Dressings
-San-J Organic Low Sodium Tamari
-Nuts and seeds on Amazon.com
-Wildwood Sprouted Tofu
-Wildwood Organic Soy Yogurt and Probiotic Soymilk
-Food for Life Sprouted Whole Grain Breads
-Lightlife Organic Tempeh
-Tribe Organic Hummus
-Organicville Salsa
-Larabars (for the kids :)

And I'm not just shopping at Publix, I am back to shopping at Whole Foods and occasionally Hoover's Essential Health Market when I have a coupon for something I need that never goes on sale at Publix.

Drawing for the Free Book is coming up on the 31st!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:57:00 +0000

Just a reminder that I am giving away a free copy of The Engine 2 Diet on the 31st! You still have time to increase your chances of winning by posting a comment on my blog between now and the 31st. I will be using Random.com to select the winner.

Come on people! Your post can be as simple as writing "Cool, thanks!". How easy is that?!!

Champagne Grapes Make a Fun Snack

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Aren't these beautiful!? Champagne Grapes are in season and you can get them at Publix and Whole Foods right now. They are a fun snack for the kids because they are small and easy for them to handle. They have a very mellow, sweet taste. Definitely pick some up on your next shopping trip.

Shucking Beans on a Friday Night

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Beans, Magical Beans...all from our garden!

Vineet and Anika are proud of their bean harvest

Anika's hands busy at work!

How do you spend your Friday nights? At our house we spend at least one or two Friday's a month preparing food from our garden for storage so we can use it later. I love beans because you can dry them and store them in an airtight container for months. They grow really well in Florida, so all my Florida friends make sure you plant beans next Spring!

These beans will make a wonderful crockpot soup!

My Favorite Smoothie Boosters

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Pictured above are two of my favorite smoothie boosters, whole golden flax seeds (not Oil!!) and Matcha Green Tea. The flax increases fiber consumption, reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, helps to drop cholesterol levels, and reduces inflammation in the body! It's one of those foods you need to consume daily.

Green Tea contains polyphenols encluding EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) "which has been shown in laboratory studies to inhibit the growth of several types of breast cancer cells and to inhibit an enzyme called urokinase that is involved in tumor metastasis". source article: Green Tea and Breast Cancer by Dr. Pam Popper

Green Tea doesn't just make an impact on breast cancer cells, it works the same for prostate as well!

Raw Vegan food...is it always "healthy"?

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:36:00 +0000

I love the creativity of raw food chefs. They can take a typical Standard American Diet dish and totally raw it up. Pictured above is a raw meal called "I am Fabulous" that I ordered from Cafe Gratitude on a recent vacation in Healdsburg, CA. You might be able to guess from looking at it that it is a raw lasagna. The "pasta sheets" are cucumbers sliced thin lengthwise. The "cheese" is a ricotta made from cashews and walnuts and the inside layers are filled with mashed olives, basil and olive oil. The dressing on the salad with beautiful sprouts is made from figs, walnuts and oil.

As most of you know from my posts on this blog, I am an advocate of a high raw, low fat diet. However, I am not a 100% raw foodist. I believe that certain foods provide more nutrients and are better digested lightly steamed or cooked than raw. Foods like broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, collards and kale. Collards and kale work well in green smoothies, but we do need to chew our food more often than drinking it from a blender. I believe we have teeth for a reason!

While the lasagna was beautiful in presentation and appeared to be made of the freshest organic ingredients, I have a hard time calling it "healthy" when it was obviously very high in fat. I do not know the exact fat grams but I would guess it was at least 30 grams. That is a lot of fat for a person to digest in one meal. I split this meal between my kids and I still had a hard time finishing it because I could feel the oil having an effect on my body.

Oils are low nutrient, high calorie foods. They do not contain nutrients, fiber or phytochemicals that were in the original seed or fruit. Oils contain minimal amounts of Vitamin E, making it of very little value in the diet. One thing I do want to make sure everyone knows is to not cook with oils, or least try to avoid cooking foods at high temps with oil. See my article on my website about oils for more details.

At home I eat a very low fat diet and use almost no oil. My main sources of fat are avocado, nuts and seeds and I use those sparingly. There are traces of fat in grains, fruits and vegetables, so I don't obsess about whether I'm getting enough fat. I can just tell by how I feel when I've had too much fat...tired and sluggish, with upset digestion.

I have been following Eat For Health for several years and have coached dozens of individuals on Eat for Health who have lost weight and regained health. It is also much easier to follow and maintain than the popular raw food diets currently circulating.

If you are looking for a 100% raw food plan that is also low fat, I recommend the 80/10/10 Diet by Douglas Graham and Frederic Patenaude's The Raw Secrets.

Subscribe to What a Healthy Family Eats and enter to win FREE books!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:46:00 +0000

Every month, starting this month, I will be giving away a book that supports a low fat animal free plant based diet. I will be giving away personal favorites that I have read and tested recipes from.

You can enter to win by subscribing to my blog AND posting comments. Each time you post a comment you increase your chances of winning the book. This month I am giving away The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn. This is the best book to give to any person in your life who just doesn't get the whole concept that you can eat an animal free diet, ENJOY eating, feel satisfied, and be healthy! There are lots of hearty recipes in this book that will satisfy even the most die hard meat eater.

Good luck and thanks for supporting my blog!

"NoriGami" will get your kids to eat Seaweed!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:30:00 +0000

My kids are always coming up with crazy creative stuff to do with food. Here my 8 year old daughter has taken a sheet of Nori used for making Sushi and folded it into an Origami Cat!

Seriously, how cool is this? What kid wouldn't eat this sheet of seaweed?

We'll have more designs up later. Obviously this idea is limited to simple Origami designs because the more folds you have to do the more breaking occurs with the Nori.

The Perfect Sprouts

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:11:00 +0000

Don't these Mung Bean Sprouts look beautiful? That's because I sprouted them at home! Sprouting is so easy to do and so much more affordable and safer than store bought. You can sprout any dry seed or bean from the bulk bins or bags from the store. You can buy affordable organic beans and seeds from Whole Foods and Hoover's Essential Health Market in the Central Florida Area.

Here's what you do when you bring them home:

1. Pour one to two cups into a large glass bowl.

2. Sort through the beens or seeds to make sure there are no bad ones or rocks.

3. Rinse them well and then pour enough cold water over the top so they are covered at least 3 inches deep.

4. Let them sit over night or at least 8 hours.

5. Rinse the beans or seeds well and strain as much water as possible. You may have to use a fine seive for small seeds. Let the seeds/beans lay flat on a tray for the day. Repeat step 3, 4 and 5 until the beans/seeds become sprouted and the hulls start to fall off.

6. Dry your sprouts thoroughly before you put them in the refrigerator for storage in an airtight container that is cracked open to allow air flow.

7. Enjoy!

Dr. Fuhrman's Books have arrived at Whole Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:51:00 +0000

I was in Whole Foods over the weekend and noticed the bookcase in the Whole Body section has been completely restocked with mostly Dr. Fuhrman's Eat for Health book set and DVDs! This welcomed change is due to the company's new "Health Starts Here" program.

Other books on the shelf include vegan diet plans by Neal Barnard, John McDougall, Caldwell Esselstyn, and Rip Esselstyn.

I also noticed the "Food Revolution" by John Robbins which was one of the books I first read that jump started my own journey to Veganism.

I'm ecstatic that Whole Foods is taking a stand on what they believe is the right nutrition for optimal health and the health of our planet...now if they'd just get rid of that organic meat section! I mean really, if they're going to put the message out there that we don't need animal protein, then don't sell it!!

4th of July Picnic with Animal Rights Foundation of Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Today we went to the annual 4th of July Picnic with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. My kids fell in love with the Pot Bellied pigs that were rescued animals from the Kindred Spirits Animal Shelter in Ocala.

The pigs were just loveable. The one in this picture was following Anika and poking his nose at her for attention. The girls had no interest in being at the picnic until the pigs arrived...and then they didn't want to leave.

Kindred Spirits is on my list of places to visit this year. Hopefully I don't get talked into bringing home a pig....I really could see myself owning one, but I don't think I have the right backyard.

Healthy Vegan Recipes for 4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:30:00 +0000

If you are still putting together your menu for 4th of July, please take a look at the Fat Free Vegan blog! There are lots of quick and easy meals and desserts you can put together for a cook out.

I really love these red, white and blue parfaits!

She has a full line up of dishes from 2007 including an "International Quinoa Salad" and "Red Bean Chipotle Burgers".

Another Birthday Celebrated...Not With Cake But Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:57:00 +0000

For my daughter's 8th Birthday we made the Chocolate Tofu Pie from Post Punk Kitchen. Easy and far better than any cake...even the Fat Free Vegan "Can't Be Beet Chocolate Cake", which is our favorite for cake!

This No Bake Pie was chocolately without being too sweet and perfect for a hot summer day! I kept it on ice while the kids were swimming in the pool.

I found the Dandie's Vegan Marshmallows at Hoover's Essential Health Market locally. You can also get them online at Vegan Essentials.

Summer 2010 Healthy Clippings Coupon Books at Hoover's Essential Health Market

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:35:00 +0000

The Healthy Clippings Coupon books for Summer 2010 have arrived! Get your copy at Hoover's Essential Health Market in Apopka.

The book includes some decent coupons. There are more than what I'm listing. These are the ones that are Eat For Health Vegan compatible:

Drew's Products 8oz or larger (Salsa)- $1/2

Food for Life Meatless Patties or Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Burger Buns- .55/1

Sunshine Burgers any Breakfast, Falafel and/or Barbeque- $1/2

Cafe 118 offers Raw Coconut Water To Go

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:23:00 +0000

Cafe 118 is an Organic Raw Vegan restaurant located in Winter Park that uses a lot of Young Thai coconut in their various dishes. This benefits you because they have a lot of raw coconut water left over. They are selling it for $4/glass, $20/gallon. Bring your own container to fill and take it to go!

For more information about Cafe 118 go to http://www.cafe118.com/.

Wellness 101 by The Wellness Forum now on DVD!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:20:00 +0000

When I took Wellness 101 from The Wellness Forum back in 2006, the class was on audio tapes. I had to go out and buy a cassette recorder! It was well worth it because I'm more of an auditory learner, so listening to the tapes over and over again helped the information to stick in my head and make big changes quickly.

Now you can watch an entire Wellness 101 class taught by Pam Popper, ND, in the comfort of your home. It's now on DVD! While it's not studio quality (it's a recorded live class), Dr. Popper's enthusiasm and passion for plant based nutrition (leaning toward veganism) makes this video fun to watch. It comes with a study guide that includes a Wellness Assessment and changes to implement at the end of each section.

Here's what's on the DVD:
1. Introduction/Welcome
2. John McDougall, M.D. (How he became interested in Vegan Plant Based Nutrition and the success he has had with his patients)
3. Structuring Your Diet (How to plan meals)
4. The China Study (A summary of the one of the largest studies on human nutrition ever conducted)
5. Nutrition Basics
6. Dietary Myths
7. Animal Food Consumption (Why it should be severely limited or eliminated)
8. Meatless Meals (Actual Cooking Demos)
9. More Super Foods
10. Eating Habits
11. Action Plan

If you have an interest in becoming a Certified Health Educator through the Wellness Forum, taking this class is the first step. For the cost of the class, $220.95, you also get a free membership to The Wellness Forum which includes:

Ongoing workshops, conference calls and webinars on a variety of topics ranging from cooking classes to cancer prevention (see upcoming events)
Monthly Book Club meetings via conference call
Monthly Q&A and workshop with Executive Chef Del Sroufe
Monthly Q&A with Dr. Pam Popper
Health coaching to assist you in meeting your health objectives
Convenient access to healthy products that make healthier living easier
Access to a members-only website featuring recipes, educational videos, book reviews and other health-related information
Referrals to Certified Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners
Free shipping on orders over $250 (for those in the Continental U.S.)
Half-price tickets to national conferences that feature speakers such as T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn.
Ongoing support to help you in filtering and making sense out of the enormous amount of information about health appearing in the media

To Order Wellness 101 call 1-800-761-8210. Yes, you have to order by phone :) Their website is still not up to date with being able to order online but you will get fast and friendly service by phone, which I think is better. Please mention that Gretchen Goel referred you! I am a Certified Health Educator and I get credited toward future education classes.

Free Teechino Samples and New Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:55:00 +0000

Teechino brand Herbal Coffee makes a great coffee substitute. It's also the best way to wean yourself off coffee! You start out with a small amount of Teechino added to your the ground coffee in your coffee maker and then gradually add more Teechino and less coffee every day. Specific directions on how to do this are on the bag.

Teechino is giving out free samples and you can also add yourself to their newsletter for future promotions and coupons!

Naked Coconut Water BOGO at Whole Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:58:00 +0000

Naked Coconut Water is Buy One Get One Free for $2.29 at Whole Foods in Winter Park right now. You can buy a case and get 10% off, plus there's a .50/1 Coupon in The Whole Deal. Tonight I used coupons for 4 Coconut waters and they scanned the coupons for the 2 free ones.

That makes them .64 per container! Almost a 70% savings!

Just a note...the water is not sweet like Thai Coconut Water. These are made from Green Coconuts in Brazil. So this isn't a drink you would enjoy like juice.

I think it would be more appropriate to use in a smoothie or as a sports drink during an hour or longer of activity. It could also be used as a recovery drink from a long training practice for endurance athletes.

I LOVE the Coupon Clutch!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:07:00 +0000

Since I started collecting coupons for organic whole foods and household items a few months ago, I've been looking for a fashionable way to store them. Well, I found the perfect solution to my overstuffed coupon accordion wallet...

The Coupon Clutch! It's handmade here in the USA and comes with all the plastic pages to keep your coupons organized and visible. My only wish is that they would have sent more of the pages that hold large coupons. It looks like I will have to buy more.

I was wasting a lot of time going through coupons to find what I needed before a shopping trip. Now that I can quickly flip through the pages, I'm hoping I will spend less time locating coupons and not let coupons expire before I get a chance to use them.

The Coupon Clutch comes in several fabric patterns with the option to buy the pattern and make it yourself. Right now through end of June 2010 there is a 10% discount through Carrie's Coins and Sense.

My favorite Pasta Sauce is Enrico's Fat Free!

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:32:00 +0000

I often make my own pasta sauce using tomatoes from our garden but I also like to use Enrico's Fat Free Pasta Sauce. Unfortunately, it almost never goes on sale, but Publix sells it at the lowest price- $3.49 for 26oz.

It contains NO OIL, and NO SODIUM! The two things in all commercial pasta sauces that make them unhealthy!

The rule on sodium content is that your sodium milligrams should be equal to or less than the calories in one serving. For most pasta sauces the calories are 60 and the sodium content is 600 milligrams!

Now, it takes adjusting to if you are used to high sodium foods, so you may want to lightly sprinkle salt on top of your finished pasta dish. Gradually eliminate that habit and you will find that this sauce is perfect.

Organic Produce on Sale at Hoover's Essential Health Market

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:14:00 +0000

I had some time yesterday to check out Hoover's. Here's what I found for produce deals...

Organic Coconut $1/pound
Icebox Watermelon $3.75 each
Organic Mango $1.50 each
Organic Raspberries $2.50 each (though they were looking not so fresh)
Organic Red Grapes $4.99/bag (looked like 2 pounds)

6/20 Meal Plan for the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Here's my Meal Plan for the week:

SUNDAY
Breakfast
Organic Oatmeal Pancakes with Walnuts and Agave Nectar
Organic Blueberries

Lunch
Romaine Lettuce Salad from Annie's Organic Buying Club with
Publix Greenwise Organic Carrots
Cucumbers from Annie's
Corn from Annie's
Green Onions from our garden
Grape Tomatoes from Annie's
Annie's Naturals Fat Free Mango Vinaigrette

Snack
Watermelon from Annie's Buying Club

Dinner
Father's Day Dinner Out

MONDAY
Breakfast
Organic Oatmeal Publix Greenwise with
Back To Nature Walnuts, Frontier Organic Cinnamon, and Bananas

Lunch
Green Smoothie
Lettuce Salad Wraps

Dinner
Romaine Salad
Okra and Lima Bean Masala

TUESDAY
Breakfast
Blue Green Smoothie

Lunch
Veggie Wrap

Dinner
Romaine Salad
Palak Tofu

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast
Blue Green Smoothie (Gotta use up those Blueberries!)

Lunch
Salad with Seasoned Tofu

Dinner
Beansprouts and Broccoli Slaw Salad with Coconut Ginger Dressing

Low Fat Lo Mein (Both from Fat Free Vegan Blog)

THURSDAY
Breakfast
Organic Oatmeal Publix Greenwise with
Back To Nature Walnuts, Frontier Organic Cinnamon, and Bananas

Lunch
Salad with Black Beans and Brown Rice

Dinner
Thai Coconut Curry with Broccoli and Zucchini from Annie's

FRIDAY
Breakfast
Brown Rice with Raisins, Walnuts, Cinnamon, Agave, and EdenSoy
Lunch
Eat Your Greens Fruit Smoothie

Dinner
Romaine Salad
Easy Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
Using Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles and adding in Eggplant

6/17-6/24 Publix Sale Items that are Eat For Health Vegan Compatible

noreply@blogger.com (Total Wellness Mentor) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:16:00 +0000

Here are the best deals at Publix this week!

Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid- BOGO $2.99/2
Use two Manufacturer's Coupons and you get two for .99

Blueberries $3/2
Use the new Publix coupon to get your Berries for FREE!

Mangoes are $1 each! Though not Organic.

Georgia Sweet Corn is $2/10

Sunkist Lemons $1/3

I received 3 containers of Organic Blueberries from Annie's Organic Buying Club this week, plus I'm still stocked up on Organic frozen blueberries from the last Cascadian Farms sale at Publix, so, I will pass on the Blueberries, but that is a good deal!

I will post any deals I find at Whole Foods and Hoover's Essential Health Market in the next few days.