Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM.
The #1 risk for death is our diet, associated with more deaths than any other risk factor––responsible for us losing our parents, siblings, spouses, and friends, because of what they ate and the resulting cardiovascular disease. This is the exciting thing about plant-based diets, which lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and risk of dying from it - and in fact, lower the risk of dying from all causes put together. Increasing our intake of plant foods and reducing the intake of animal foods is the key to life longer and stronger – and even more exciting is that small changes make a big improvement! Replacing just 3 percent of animal protein with plant protein resulted in a 10 percent lower overall mortality. It is Meatless Monday and one meatless day a week is about 15% less meat and a great place to start!
It's Transition Tuesday and a fantastic resource for transitioning to a healthier lifestyle is a website called "Running on Real Food" It’s so much fun to exploit the author’s site and there are many recipes and tips. There is also a “How to Transition to a Plant-based Diet” guide that’s excellent. Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
Researchers separately scored the quality of different animal foods in an animal-based Diet Quality Index. For example, if you consider processed meats and red meats as unhealthy animal foods, but fish, seafood, dairy, and poultry as healthy animal foods, they found no association for the quality of animal foods––meaning they seemed just as bad in terms of cancer mortality, heart disease mortality, and death from all causes combined. Remember, the #1 risk to our health is the Standard American Diet, most importantly the amount of cardiovascular disease it causes. You can live longer, stronger, and better by replacing animal foods with real foods that are plants – beans, nuts, seeds, vegetables, grains, and fruits!
It is Fix-it Friday and oh my goodness, you
will love these Four Layer Enchilada Cakes
Ingredients:
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T lemon juice
1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained.
½ cup cooked brown rice
2 T chopped fresh cilantro.
2 t taco seasoning
2 medium red-skin potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces.
2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
2 cups finely chopped orange bell peppers
2 cups finely chopped red onion.
2 cloves garlic, minced.
½ tsp ground cumin
7 cups chopped Swiss chard.
10 6-inch corn tortillas
4 cups oil-free enchilada sauce
½ cup Pico de Gallo
For the cashew cream, in a small bowl combine cashew and ½ cup hot water. Let stand for 20 minutes. In a blender combine the cashews, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Cover and blend until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mash beans. Stir in rice, cilantro, and taco seasoning. Place potatoes in a steamer basket in a large saucepan. Add water and bring to the boil. Steam covered for 20 minutes. Remove and mash potatoes. In another large saucepan cook the next five ingredients (through cumin) over medium for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. In an extra-large skillet cook chard over medium low for 3 to 5 minutes. Toss with ¼ cup of the cashew cream. Place a tortilla in each of the two pie plates and spread ¼ of the enchilada sauce and half of the bean mixture over each. Top with another tortilla then spread ¼ cup enchilada sauce and half of the mushroom mixture. Add a tortilla then ¼ cup enchilada sauce and half of the mashed potatoes. Add one tortilla and ¼ cup enchilada sauce, half of the chard mixture, and top with the remaining tortillas. Spread stacks generously with enchilada sauce, reserving some for serving. Bake for 25 minutes. Warm the enchilada sauce and top with remaining cashew cream, with Pico de Gallo on the side.
From The Archives:
We have all heard the phrase, “More is not always better” – Today in our country, malnutrition is one that is excessive – in calories, saturated fats, added sugars, and salt. In the year 2000, 30% of us were obese – today it is over 42%. Obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Elevated cholesterol, associated with eating high levels of meat, butter, and cheese, along with eating too little fiber and healthy fat, increases our risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. High blood pressure, also devastating to our health, is a result of not getting enough activity, excessive salt intake, being overweight, smoking, and not managing stress well. Much of why individuals have diabetes is due to lifestyle, such as being overweight, low physical activity levels, and increasing amounts of abdominal fat. Being overweight or obese is reversible – and the healthiest way is to have Meatless Monday more and more days!
It is not commonly known that being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing cancers such as uterine, breast, ovarian, kidney, liver, pancreas, thyroid, and colon cancer. Yes, the acronym for our Standard American Diet is “SAD,” and it drives our weight issues. But there’s super news – we have a choice! We do not have to continue the destruction of our bodies and future selves – we can do quite the opposite. For those interested in eating more plant-based and healthier, the No Meat Athlete Cookbook is great, and the Food Monster App has thousands of delicious recipes. Plantify your plates and have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
The concept that “protein is good and the more the better” along with “protein quality” definitions that favor animal protein fosters the impression that eating more meat, eggs, and dairy is healthy…but this is in direct opposition to nutritional guidelines based on research. But isn’t protein, protein? It is not – unlike animal-based protein, plant protein is low in branched-chain amino acids, which improves metabolic health. People who eat more protein tend to live shorter lives – due to the increased consumption of animal protein and it is resulting in health issues. Plant protein does just the opposite. Replace animal protein with plant protein to live longer and stronger and have a wonderful Wednesday!
This is interesting! Those who suffer from allergies appear to have a decreased risk of certain cancers! Their immune systems may be working overtime to fight pollen and dust, and at the same time taking out cancer cells as well. Wouldn’t it be great to boost our immune systems without suffering allergies? We can! Mushrooms, with their array of unique "myco" nutrients, may do the trick. Adolescents living in areas where more grains, veggies, and nuts were consumed were significantly less likely to have wheezing, allergic issues, and allergic eczema. Children who eat two or more servings of veggies a day have only half the odds of suffering from allergic asthma. Those who suffer from seasonal allergies may also benefit from drinking green tea. We live in an area where allergy season lasts almost all year round – give these tips a try and see what happens!
We are launching something new today - "Fix it Friday" where we will share a recipe with you! Labor Day weekend is HERE, and it is a great time to grill veggies - easy with kabobs of mushrooms, peppers, onions, sweet potatoes - anything you like and put them on the grill. I microwave the potatoes a bit because they take longer. A grilled "cauliflower steak" is awesome - slice a huge head and spray with a little olive oil or avocado oil and grill on both sides. But we need a grillable veggie burger! Try Beyond Burgers OR make your own to be the healthiest:
Easy Grillable Veggie Burgers by the Minimalist Baker
1 cup of cooked brown rice
1 cup of raw walnuts that you have heated in a skillet
for a few minutes.
1/2 Tbsp of olive oil
1/2 medium white, finely diced onion
1 Tbsp of chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans that are rinsed off and drained.
1/2 cup of panko crumbs for gluten-free or breadcrumbs
3 to 4 Tbsp BBQ sauce
Heat up the
oil and onion and sauté them.
Add the
cooled walnuts to a blender with the spices and blend them.
In a large
bowl, mash the black beans with a fork and add all the other ingredients. Mix
the well and add more BBQ sauce if it is dry. Make patties and put them on the grill!
It sometimes helps to put oil on the grill.
