Last night, I had the pleasure of watching the Mama Juggs show, which was hosted by Loving Arms Cancer Outreach. I didn’t know what to expect as I stepped into the playhouse (both for the show and the reception), but the energy there was amazing. I was greeted by smiles, snacked on amazing vegan, gluten-free cookies, and gained inspiration as I walked around the room and listened to some of the survivors share their stories.

I spoke with Susan Gonzalez (nurse, owner and creator of MOON Organics, and breast cancer survivor…no, champion) about her journey, vegan diets, and why she wanted to bring the Mama Juggs show to Georgia. I was excited to see that Susan had brought plant-based nutrition into the conversation of cancer prevention, but I learned a valuable lesson about the women living with cancer and the realities they face daily.

It was a sobering night for me. As a plant-based health coach, I educate about health and cancer prevention through nutrition. I spend my days with my head in a book or reading the latest research to share – learning about food, exercise, prevention, and treatment options. But, I have never given much thought to what these women (and men – yes, men can get breast cancer too!) endure with this illness. I have been on one side of the coin, and these amazing women have given me a greater insight with this disease that plagues 1 in 8 women every year.

It made me take pause.

Anita Woodley (Mama Juggs) takes you on a journey of laughter and tears as she shares her story about breast cancer as told by grandma, her mother, and herself. She spins the tale of dealing with her mother’s cancer diagnosis through satire. Mama Juggs shares the daily ordeals, mental stresses, and realities that go along with breast cancer from three points of views.

I sat in absolute awe of this powerful woman. She was sharing her story – from bra stuffing to breast feeding to checking for lumps –  with such wit and insight. She educated us on the realities of daily life of someone living with breast cancer. I laughed with her, and I cried when she shared the final days of her mother. And through it all – she smiled. She smiled, I think, because she was honoring her mother by creating a life-saving dialogue about cancer and an amazing community that would be brought together by Mama Juggs.

Would I be so brave? So daring? Could I joke about titty milk, toilet paper burritos, leaky boobs, and small titties? I don’t know.  But, what I do know is that the work of Anita Woodley is just as important as what I do as a health educator. Nutrition and fitness are very important, but the creation of a supporting community is absolutely essential. For that, I am thankful for Anita and her alter ego, Mama Juggs.

“It takes a-many women with these here titties to make the world go ‘round.” Grandma


I met Anita after the show. She is one amazing lady!

ANITA WOODLEY is an award-winning actress, journalist, writer, director, improv performer, and visual artist. She is the creator of the solo performer shows Mama Juggs,  The Men in Me, and the 100 Living Rooms – Beauty Shop Breast Cancer Awareness Project touring throughout the US and Internationally

You can find Anita on Facebook and on her website

Red Lentils

1  cup red lentils
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

toasted sesame oil (to taste – I usually use a teaspoon)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 green chili (seeded and finely chopped)
2-3 carrots chopped
handful of spinich
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander seed
6 large tomatoes (seeded and chopped)
1 can light coconut milk

1 cup cooked brown basmati rice or quinoa

Dissolve the turmeric in the vegetable stock and combine with lentils. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until tender.

Heat the sesame oil in a pot over medium heat and saute the onion and carrots until soft. Add the garlic, chili, cumin and coriander until the spices are fragrant. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, spinach and coconut milk.

Simmer on low for another 10-15 minutes and let sit for five. Serve over the rice or quinoa. Enjoy!

So I’ve been looking for a way to add this healthy vinegar to my diet (other than cooking and soaking), and I found a wonderful elixir recipe. This drink is amazingly tasty and easy to fix!

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Elixir:

• 1 1/2 cup of cold filtered water
• 2-4 tbs of apple juice ( I used fresh juice)
• 2 tbs of  Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of grade B maple syrup (optional)

Place all the ingredients together in a glass and stir until it is all mixed together. You can add a little ice if you like, and drink!

Tasty and healthy little drink!

Why apple cider vinegar you may ask? It is something that you body will love you for!

ACV Benefits:

Internally

• Promotes digestion & pH Balance (a natural remedy for heartburn)
• Helps control weight
• Helps regulate blood sugar
• Reduce sinus infections and sore throats
• It is rich in enzymes and potassium
• Can help ease menstrual cramps
• Helps promote youthful healthy bodies
• Rich in enzymes & potassium
• Support a healthy immune system
• Helps control weight
• Helps soothe dry throats
• Helps remove body sludge toxins

Externally

• Yields clear, healthy skin  and relieves conditions like acne
• Soothes irritated skin
• Relieves muscle pain from exercise

Come on – even Hippocrates, Father of Medicine, used it for its amazing health qualities! I swear by the stuff! It has always been a part of my arsenal when I get sick, so I thought why wait til I’m sick? I can stay healthy with ACV in my diet everyday.

So, this is one tasty way I can include ACV in my diet, and, trust me, I’ll be looking for more! Hmmm…maybe next time I’ll add mint. Super yum!

Try this elixir for one week and leave me a comment about how you feel! If anything, the elixir tastes delicious!!

I don’t understand why there is a need for hunger suppressing supplements/pills/shakes/drinks. Hunger is a natural process our bodies have to give us cues when to eat and when we’re full. When you starve yourself or take something that inhibits that process we become out of sync with our natural cycle.

Hunger has almost become an obscene word in today’s lexicon. We associate it with obesity, overeating, and negativity toward food. The problem we have today is not hunger, but rather a disconnection to own bodies and food. We are a nation of people who are over-fed, yet starving. Normal food is considered a hamburger and fries from a fast food restaurant or something that is stored in a box that is devoid of any nurtition. This is why we are hungry – all the time – and we feel like we need something to suppress that feeling.

Take the time to listen to you body the next time you feel hungry. Did you just eat processed food? How do you feel at that moment? What are the smells and sights around you? Do you often feel this way when you are with a certain person or in a particular place? Are you thirsty? Are you skipping meals (particularly breakfast)?  Did you get less that six hours of sleep or sleep poorly?

These are some of the things that trigger hunger, and no pill can suppress that – all those “quick-fix” methods accomplish is making you feel deprived and set you up for long-term failure. Hunger is when our bodies crave nutrients or hydration. If we don’t satisfy those needs we become hungry again, and have the tendency to overeat or indulge is unhealthy choices which greatly diminish our health.

The hormones gherlin and leptin control when we feel hungry and when we are full. Ghrelin is an appetite-stimulating peptide, and leptin is an appetite-suppressing one that gives cues to our bodies for our food intake. Ghrelin is secreted from the stomach and  influences the metabolism of fat tissue by promoting its storage during hard times. Leptin is produced in our fat cells and released in the brain to signal when we are full. Leptin gives us a feeling of satisfaction, and ghrelin enhances appetite. In a normal, healthy body this hormonal functions very well, but when we starve ourselves, eat processed foods, drink sodas, over-load on sugar or take suppressants that delicate balance is thrown off. ( There are medical issues, such as thyroid disease and Cushing’s syndrome, that are problematic to the hormonal process, and should be addressed by a physician and nutrition expert.)

What we need to do is push aside the idea that we need to suppress hunger  and look at how to balance what is actually causing it. We have to get our systems back in sync with a natural eating  rhythm.

How?

• Stay hydrated with filtered water or unsweetened teas
• Eat whole, plant-based foods
• Eat breakfast and don’t skip meals
• Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day
• Get adequate sleep  (6-8 hours of quality sleep)
• Keep positive people in your life
• Do things you enjoy

We need to make peace with hunger and understand that it, in itself, is not the enemy. Connect back with yourself and your natural cycle so you can allow hunger to work the way it’s supposed to – cue you when your body is in need of nutrition.

Come out for a lively discussion!

I’m kicking off a monthly meet-up at my office (Tabula Rasa Health and Fitness is located in Tri-Bodyworks)  this Friday night at 7:30pm! The topic will be on how we allow problems from our past to hinder our future goals! Come out and get in this lively discussion!
My guests will be be R. Mordant Mahon, David Powell, and Sheena Hunter (tentative). We will talk about how our past has affected our future goals, and how to overcome the resulting obstacles.

Who knew gluten-free could be this delicious?

Location:

[vimeo clip_id="40461514"]

David Wolfe On ADD-ing in nutritious super foods

I was sick, very sick, and I was going nowhere but to bed.

You would think I, of all people,  would know better than to neglect my own health priorities, right? Lesson learned. You see, I let excuses get in the way of eating well and exercise. I was stressed, and I allowed myself to skip meals, become dehydrated, eat sugary foods and not workout. Why? Because in my head I simply didn’t have the time, and the result was getting sick.

The saying that if you don’t have time for health, then you’ll have time for sickness rings true. I’m actually grateful for the sickly reminder (although it did come at a bad time.) I had time to think about what my body was telling me – it was screaming for nutrition and exercise. So I had time to refocus on all aspects of my life at the moment.

• Why was I sleeping in and not going to the gym?
• Why was I allowing more sugar in my diet than normal?
• Why was I skipping meals?
• Why was I not drinking the water I needed?
• Why was I skipping meditation, journaling and yoga?

Every answer I had was an excuse. There was no legitimate response to justify skipping anything, and I know it. I fell into the excuse/pity loop where the lamest excuses sounded pretty darn good to me. Well, a slap in the face from an itty-bitty virus snapped me out of it. I loathe being sick, and that was just the motivation I needed to get back on track. No more excuses. It’s time to start making time for my well-being.

So, take some advice from me – make sure you have time in your day for self-care. I know it’s difficult to put your priorities first because of work, school, family, ect…, but trust me when I say that you will have down time one way or another. You will either fill it with healthy options or you will be sick.

Get up a little earlier, take that fitness class, go for a walk, meditate, fix a healthy meal or snack, get a water bottle – anything that will make your body healthy. Don’t let the mundane things in life bog you down so that excuses can  take the place of action. Make everyday the very best you can, and put your health at the top of the to-do list!

Fall down seven times, get up eight. ~Japanese Proverb

http://www.eatingwithangels.com/its-u-mami-celebrating-the-plant-strong-way-with-hope-hughes-of-tabula-rasa-health-recipe-here/

A savory and nutritious plant-strong meal!