E2 Immersion Program for Whole Foods Employees

I am super excited to hear how Whole Foods has totally embraced the Vegan Plant Based Diet! They are putting their at risk employees through an "immersion" program where they will learn how to prepare healthy meals and understand the importance of whole plant foods.  This is new on the Engine 2 Diet website:

"Rip Esselstyn created the Engine 2 Diet to help Americans lose weight, lower cholesterol, significantly reduce the risk of disease, and become physically fit — in just four weeks. The Engine 2 Immersion Program was designed in partnership with Whole Foods to serve Whole Foods’ team members that are currently at risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and other diet-driven western diseases.


Over the course of an intensive 5 day program in the beautiful Hill Country of Austin, Texas, E2 Immersion participants join Rip, his father Dr. Caldwell B. Esslestyn, Jr. of the Cleveland Clinic, renowned nutrition expert Jeff Novick, Dr. Pam Popper, and a host of other extraordinary experts for a life-changing experience. They will receive information & education about the powerful influence that diet has on the body’s health, as well as extensive training on implementing a plant-strong lifestyle in their homes."

Vegan On The Go, How to Make Healthy Choices Outside the Home

It definitely requires preparation if you want to stick with eating a healthy plant based diet inside and outside the home.   If you do not plan ahead, do not expect good results. It's just that simple.

Here are some tips for eating outside the home in different scenarios:

Eating at Non Vegan Friendly Restaurants

• If you can't pick the restaurant, call ahead and let the chef know that you will require a dish free of animal foods and oil.  
• If you forget to call ahead, let the waiter know as soon as you sit down and find out if the chef can put together a platter of vegetable side dishes and a salad with oil free dressing.
• I have found that even steak houses in the area will accomidate us with a really nice veggie platter and there is one that even does a homemade oat/veggie burger near our home.
• Don't order the Kid's Meal for your kids!  Kid's Meals have some of the most unhealthy choices on the menu.  Instead, split an adult size vegetarian dinner between smaller kids and have them munch on raw veggies in the car on the way to dinner so they aren't "starving" when the meal arrives.

 Dinner at a Friend or Family members home

• Let them know upon being invited that you are eating vegetarian fare and offer to bring a dish to share.
• If they insist on cooking, offer to send them some recipe ideas that are easy to make and don't require special ingredients.  I always point people to my favorite easy to make recipes on my blog and others like the Fat Free Vegan Blog and VegWeb.

Eating at a Birthday Party

• If the party is at a Bounce House or other party facility where pizza is served, call ahead to the managers and let them know that your child will require a pizza without cheese and at least one veggie topping.
• When it comes to birthday cake, we've been lucky to have a vegan cake at the majority of parties thanks to my wonderful circle of friends.  But of course there are some parties where the cake is not vegan and that is when I let them choose, so long as the cake was home made.  If it's store bought and the icing is loaded with food dyes I will let them eat the cake but not the icing.
• Soda, Commercially prepared juices, Sports Beverages and Slurpee type drinks are off limits for my kids always.

VegWeb Holiday Recipes Page

You can now get lots of Vegan recipe and menu ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas on VegWeb.  They have an entire page organized with "Must Have Recipes", "Forum Chatter", "Around The Web" links.

The "Must Have Recipes" include two of my favorites: Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cashew Butter Sauce and The Ultimate Pumpkin Cheesecake.

The "Around The Web" section provides links to various other sites including the Farm Sanctuary Adopt-A- Turkey, which is what we do on Thanksgiving instead of eating one.  I'll talk more about the Adopt-A-Turkey program on a future post!

Mitch Spinach to the Rescue!

There's a great new children's book series that Dr. Fuhrman is promoting. The first book, which is available for purchase now is called "The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach".  The main character, Mitch, eats "high-powered fruit and vegetable smoothies that give him special powers, such as super-sonic hearing and amazing night vision, which help him tackle problems and solve mysteries at Sunchoke Elementary."

Finally a book that relates eating healthy with having "super hero powers"!  I'm totally buying this book and I'll post my review and the reaction of the kids at our weekly homeschool enrichment day.