While I have a zillion and a half books, do love the addition of Engine 2. There's no junky food in it & that's refreshing because usually I have to sift through recipes to avoid stuff that has sugar or flour (tend to avoid both a bit for daily eating) to find the healthy stuff. Rip's recipes are also made for "real people" so he doesn't have you going to buy kilos of Goji Berries from the Mountains of China or Argentine Mesquite Powder (although I did just buy this one on sale!). The food tends to be normal for people who don't eat an eccentric diet. After all, he got his fellow firefighters in Texas (gasp) to eat this way & it probably saved some of their lives. Rip not only wrote "The Engine 2 Diet" book, but was also featured in the "Forks Over Knives" movie & book. His father, of course, is Caldwell Esselstyn, uber important Heart Doctor. He has his own website, Heart Attack Proof.
Talk about recession food. I used DRIED chickpeas & cooked them in the slow cooker. Which works out great in this disgusting sweltering heatwave in the Midwest. Also, organic chickpeas cost pennies and a tub of Whole Foods brand hummus (I don't even think it's organic), costs 4.69, as of today. So I am thinking I can get over 2 lbs. dried chickpeas for 4.69. Organic at that. My hubby is the guilty verdict of the tubs of hummus. It's easy. No mess, no fuss. But, their Hummus does actually have tahini in it also, which if you are avoiding oil, doesn't work so well. So the Engine 2 Diet Hummus has no nut/seed butters. Just chickpeas & flavors.
Of course the amount of garlic is always a "suggestion" as some people are garlic whores (me), and others meditate daily & avoid garlic & onions because it disturbs the stillness of the mind. I think my Yerba Mate & my Speed Freak Smoothies (recipe to come) probably already do that, so garlic & onions are not going to further f**k up my monkey mind.
Make sure you use Gluten Free Tamari if you have a GF guest eating! Lots of people forget that there is gluten in regular soy sauces. They usually have wheat ingredients. However, it is pretty standard to find GL soy/Coconut Aminos/et.... substitutes easily.
You just put in your almighty food processor & go until it is your desired texture. I like to leave a few beans just slightly chunky. I actually loved this hummus recipe and could not stop eating it which resulted in a stomachache shortly after. The rest of you probably aren't addicted to beans, so you will most likely avoid that problem. :)
And on the "Forks Over Knives" Movie Post. Rumor (the "news") has it that he & CEO John Mackey (Whole Foods) are going to come out with a line of foods that meets the "Forks Over Knives", "Fire Engine 2", "China Study" kinds of diet principles. Should be interesting. And of course if you don't eat "cooked" hummus, check out the Raw Vegan Hummus I made from Zucchinis from the "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people book".
And a little treat. Bill Maher (my friend's future ex-boyfriend as although he is witty & wise, he may not be a chic's best pick for a man!) But Mr. Bill did have Colin Campbell, author of "The China Study" on his "Real Time with Bill Maher" show!! Yeah!
Just wondering how many of you are familiar with all of these books. Is there anyone reading that doesn't know the ideas behind the "Engine 2 Diet" or are not familiar with "Forks Over Knives" or "The China Study"?? Also, please keep a Mother & Daughter in your thoughts. Jess & her mom are fighting cancer & going au natural (standard treatment quit working on Jess, well, they would have done more, by chopping her arm off). She has a donation link on her blog & all money donated goes to helping pay for the materials they need to do "The Gerson Therapy". Please read my post about "The Groovy Gerson Girls" & then go to Jess's blog, "The Wellness Warrior" to keep up with them. Jess writes inspirational & honest posts about what this whole experience has been like. Jess is in her twenties, not when ya expect to have to being doing this sort of thing.
So you are feeling empowered by Dr. Oz's "Forks Over Knives" show, feeling like you may actually have a larger influence over your health than a scalpel or drug industry? Than the Cancer or Diabetes Industry? And you are looking for more hints, clues, and Recipes on how to follow the premises shown in the movie. Basically, eat a whole foods, plant based diet, with no added oil. If you aren't ready to ditch the oil (processed oils), then just try a plant based, whole foods diet and aim to get more of your fats from their original sources. Flax and Hemp oil are Olive Oil alternatives.....and there is endless debate about Raw Organic Coconut Meat & Oil. And this all may depend on what stage of "the game", meaning, "your game", in which you are currently residing. But many of the top docs are in agreement that oil is not the healthiest choice.
Mike Anderson is another "Healing Champion". My mom lent me the "Eating" DVD years ago and it was impressive. His "Rave Diet" is basically the Plant Based, No processed food, and NO added oil. So if you are looking for more on the "Forks Over Knives" concept, this is it! All the books on this page pretty much fit the bill, if you exclude olive oil from some of the recipes. But Mike is a No Oil kind of guy. His Healing Cancer From the Inside Out should be Mandatory viewing for every person in this country. I watched it once and it was tough. The first part tells the story of the Cancer Industry and statistics. I believe this is where I first heard that Cancer is "cured" if you don't have it for 5 years. If you die the following year, your Cancer was still "cured". I thought that idea was a crock of Sh*t. Who would consider dying 6 years after a diagnosis "Cured"?? Apparently he has a book to accompany the movie. I haven't checked that out but everything Mike Anderson does is done with integrity and I have the utmost respect for him. He has been doing this for a long time, way before it got any press.
Medicine.
If you are younger and working out, you might not feel such urgency to restrict olive oil! But if your body is fighting cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, you might want to go with the approaches that are more rigid, and really geared for full force healing. Keep in mind though, that even if you are young, you are always prepping your body to either work for you or against you. These are just some of the books, philosophies that are based upon similar principles. There are subtle differences between them, such as the Gerson therapy uses carrot juices and white potatoes in treatment, and they yield impressive results, Hippocrates who uses mostly all greens, Using oil or not using oil, and using fruits, cooking vs. raw, etc.....but they are all plant based, whole foods diets. And I say "diet" meaning a way of eating. Not a temporary way, but a forever way.
The Basics.
Some like Gerson have a "treatment" period which is incredibly detailed and then a "day to day" way, which is after the initial longer period or just for people seeking to be healthier and not currrently battling for their lives. Flour, even whole grain, is another point of contention. In general, these Healing diets do not rely heavily on grain, or at least "processed grains". Of course Living Food diets would only include sprouted grains, and a lot of these diets do include grains, but in "whole food" form. So eat the rice, the quinoa, the millet, etc....They may prioritize that over eating bread. And some are just fine with bread as long as it's 100% Whole Grain. A good "in-between" is Ezkekiel, which is all sprouted, so no flours, yet still bread (it does contain gluten). I will post the links to their websites where you can read up about each idea. Of course, many of the DVDs are available on Netflix, and Amazon carries most everything!
These are all plant based. I am vegan for ethics, however, I must mention that I have not yet come across a credible source that promotes anything other than a plant based diet for healing the most serious of diseases.
Kris Carr is an amazing gal who was diagnosed with cancer on Valentine's Day, nearly a decade ago. There was nothing they could do for her, so they sent her home. It was Stage IV, and since there was no "Stage V", she made it a quest to find other possible healing modalities. It not only changed her life, but thousands of others! Her documentary debuted on "The Learning Channel" and is now on Netflix and Amazon (in addition to her website). Crazy Sexy Diet is a compilation of her knowledge. She dishes on diet, yoga, ethics, meditating, shaking your GodPod, enemas, and more. It's an awesome book which includes a 21 day cleanse, which I blogged through awhile back. I love this woman. Given a very shocking diagnosis, when her life was in full swing, she said "F*ck it", I am going to take initatiive, because there was NO other choice! She enlisted a cameraman, who apparently was just as smitten with her as the rest of the world was, made a documentary that chronicled her journey, and now is a Health Spiritual Guru Goddess type chic that reaches a wide range of people. Her diet is based on whole foods, lots of greens, green juice, wheatgrass Oh, and she and Mr. Cameraman are now husband and wife.
Rip Esselstyn on "The Today Show".
Of course we have "The Engine 2 Diet" by Ripped Rip Esselstyn. Both Esselstyns were featured on the Forks Over Knives Dr. Oz Show. He is Caldwell Esselstyn's son. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's work has been crucial to the scientific evidence that what you eat has the power to change your health, in incredible ways. Dr. Esselstyn has a site called "Heart Attack Proof". He doesn't mince words! You may have also seen him on CNN or other new sources lately because Bill Clinton credited his own return to health to Esselstyn's dietary prescription. Watch these clips from CNN. I think the Esselstyn is ballsy for even making the claims he does. But it's more complicated for the people who sued Oprah to actually dispute, scientifically, what Esselstyn says. Before I knew Clinton was on a plant based diet, I saw a clip of him & thought, WOW, he looks really good. Usually those guys age so much in office and just continually look more aged, even after leaving office. But he really looked like a different person. And was so delighted that Clinton had discovered Esselstyn.
His son, Rip's book is available everywhere, and especially at Whole Foods. Rip & Whole Foods CEO John Mackey are apparently teaming up to created some product line that follows these principles. It is pretty evident that John Mackey is choosing this one book, The Engine 2 Diet, to be kind of the "Spokesbook" for what he considers the path to good health. Which is cool.....He got a lot of sh*t about his comments regarding Health Insurance, and it's cool that he is taking a really proactive approach and trying to influence people's idea about health. And just the idea that you can influence it to a great extent with your diet. It makes economic sense to get people healthier. We simply cannot afford to continue subsidizing foods that make people fat & sick while also paying for all of their healthcare. Here is a link to some of Rip Esselstyn's "Engine 2 Diet" recipes.
And the "Holy Grail" of the decade anyway.....or maybe several decades. Dr. Colin Campbell set out to do research in China and never thought that he would find what he did! The China Study has very credible work about Casien (a milk protein), Meat, Dairy, etc...and disease rates. All disease rates. He was not an animal activist, just a normal guy doing research. And when he began to report his findings, he also met with some resistance from powerful places. This is a must have. Don't borrow it, buy it. Keep it on your shelf. Like I have said before, I have stayed vegan for ethical reasons, but after reading this book, WOW. Even if I had zero love for animals, I would change my ways after reading this compelling work.
John McDougall on working with the World's Sickest People from "Processed People"
An entire lecture on the "Perils Of Dairy" by John McDougall
Dr. John McDougall is also a veteran. He is very strict with the diet part, even limiting nuts and whole plant fats! Of course he is used to working with people with severe heart disease as well! So once again, it depends on your journey. He and his wife Mary have great recipes and they are really "mainstream" and use a lot of ready made stuff like frozen veggies, canned beans (please buy EDEN BPA free), so they have really created the recipes with Americans in mind. Nothing weird, nothing exotic. Just very practical recipes and no French cooking techniques. Their recipes aren't "my style" so much, but they are made to be quick & easy & normal! You can sign up for their free newsletters that include recipes!
A little About the Gerson Therapy from "FoodMatters"
The Gerson Therapy. I was exposed to this years ago and continue to be a firm believer in the Gerson Institute. Max Gerson was a pioneer in medicine and started "accidentally" healing people. Once again, there are degrees to this. There is an incredibly detailed "therapy" for major illnesses and then there is just the idea of what are considered good and bad foods. Gerson therapy relies heavily on carrot-apple juice (freshly pressed with the Norwalk Juicer and consuming 13 glasses a day at certain times!) and certain foods cooked certain ways. It is plant based. It is an incredibly intensive, detailed treatment. They have endless booklets on specific illnesses and their rates of cure, etc....Things like Diabetes and High Blood Pressure are most likely going to be a lot easier to "fix" than a very aggressive Cancer-so the intensity of the therapy may depend on what you are actually treating.
Their survival rates are very impressive and if there was a drug that could claim the same, people would be stockpiling it. But people are not yet stockpiling carrots. And I can buy them at Whole Foods, which people consider pretty pricey for about $13 for 12-15 pounds. So about 1 buck per pound, organic. They also don't kill you while "Curing" you. Carrot Chemo fills your veins with beta-carotene, not poison. One of my favorite blogs is the "Wellness Warrior", which is written by Jess, a young lady with a very nasty sarcoma. She was given an extremely bleak diagnosis from the docs (after chemotherapy failed to work) and started to do her own research. She has completed one year of the Gerson Therapy and spent a couple weeks at the clinic in order to really learn how to do it correctly. I am blown away by people like this. Now she is truly changing her life, the world, and what it means to believe in your own body & trust yourself. All nice things to say, but when shit hits the fan, to actually do them and with such incredible grace is just a testament to the potential of human beings. And Jess is living up to hers every single day.
Juicing Greens & Carrots.
At this point in time, I gravitate toward the Gerson Therapy for serious illnesses. I am also just a huge fan of Charlotte Gerson, Max Gerson's grandaughter. You know when she speaks, that she is not doing this for money, for fame, but only to tell her story. To spread a truth. A truth that she has seen time & time again. I discovered this therapy by chance, when my folks mentioned that they had seen a documentary on Max Gerson and that the end of his life was a mystery. That it was very possible that he had been killed because he was curing diseases. This was only 5 years ago, but I had never actually considered that your life would be endangered for curing people of cancer. There is a lot of money to be made. And if there were ways that were widely publicized and "endorsed", to treat diseases, the entire economy would change. Entire portions of it would nearly collapse. Of course, other people would eventually profit. Perhaps people who grow real food. I always think of Mike Anderson's quote about, "If something just doesn't make sense, follow the money". I would also like to note that both of my parents have worked in traditional medical settings their entire lives, they are by no means radical and they do not like to upset the apple cart. They were the ones who first told me about Gerson.
How a Plant Based Diet gives Brendan Brazier a competitive edge.
Brandan Brazier's mission isn't to "Cure Disease", but his recipes are basic, no fillers (like store bought veggies burgers and the like), easy to prepare, and great for anyone active. Both because of their simplicity, but also because Brandan is a triathlete who discovered a plant based, whole foods diet because it worked best for his athletic needs. His recipes include lots of items like hemp and quinoa. He doesn't do the meat substitutes or anything, just basic, real, food. He does include nuts and seeds, so no skimping on the fat. Also, he includes many homemade "Sports Drinks" and "Recovery Gels" for running, biking, etc....so you won't have to buy that nasty stuff in the store that basically has artificial everything in addition to refined sugar. His recipes are simple and constructed great for anyone, but are made with athletes in mind. And he coming out with a new book this year, 2011, with 200 Thrive Recipes! Already Pre-ordered it!
"Kickstart Your Health" from PBS Neal Barnard talking about getting a jump start on a healthier way of being. Neal Barnard seems to be everywhere these days! Which is fabulous because between his chiseled face & great speaking skills, he is getting the message out there that we can empower ourselves by taking charge of our food choices. It's funny, not really, that apparently whenever they played this on the PBS in my folks town, or anything with a similar message, that the station always had "technical difficulty" issues that would interupt programming. Even my mother, who never thinks ill of anyone, and I mean anyone, was pretty convinced that the "issues" were more like they couldn't have this guys message in the middle of "Factory Farm" country. Or at least a place where they grow all of the genetically modified corn in order to feed the factory farmed pigs & cows. Neal Barnard has healthy recipes on his site as well. You don't have to buy all these guys books either. Most of these things are in the library, or on Netflix, and you can get incredible amounts of recipes that fit the bill online. He talks about Diabetes, Cancer, Obesity, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease.....And here is a link to some of Neal Barnard's recipes.
Ann Wigmore, which has a place in Puerto Rico, and The Hippocrates Health Institute (in Florida). Now these are NOT exactly the same thing, as apparently Hippocrates has changed some of Ann Wigmore's Teachings. However, for general purposes, they are the same idea. Sprouts, Greens, Wheatgrass, Low Glycemic, and your body has the capacity to heal itself. Ann Wigmore was an amazingly vibrant woman and I refer to her sprouting book anytime I pull the sprouters out! Sprouts are truly magic! And they are kind of survivalist because you can keep the seeds on your shelf for long periods of time and then grow them when you need them. Of course her ideas & foods are "pre-packaged" anything! So she doesn't include anything packaged. Lots of salads, sprouts, and simple grains. Her books are so inspirational and it's incredible, the amount of nutrition in sprouts! They are a great thing to have on hand, because they store well, in the event of an emergency or lack of food!
And Hallelejuah Acres, the Bibically based program has lots of books and a full line of videos. I talked about the Hallelujah program a little in a previous post.They have a wealth of information of their site. You can sign up to get free mailings and there are recipes & videos on their web page as well. Hallelujah Recipe Link Here.Plant based and about 85% Raw and 15% Cooked, whole, unprocessed plant foods. If you want Raw Food and the Scriptures to live better, then this is your place. They have countless stories of people getting better using their diet eating very basic, simple foods.
uber important Heart Doctor. He has his own website, Heart Attack Proof.
! Great for virgins. (ha.)
