Building Collagen Naturally with Plant-Based Diet

Building Collagen Naturally with Plant-Based Diet

If there’s one topic that is super hot right now it’s collagen. Shelves in the supplement section of natural food stores are overflowing with new collagen supplements, promising to alleviate joint pain and combat aging skin. Some collagen brands also claim to help with leaky gut, support the immune system, and balance hormones. But are these claims true? And, before jumping to supplementation, can anything be done through food to prevent collagen break down and support collagen synthesis? The short answer is, yes!

First, let’s start with some collagen groundwork. Continue reading →

5 Reasons You Should Add Quinoa to Your Diet

5 Reasons You Should Add Quinoa to Your Diet

You have probably heard about quinoa and it’s superfood-like health benefits, but perhaps haven’t gotten around to figuring out how to prepare it or maybe skipped past it down the health food aisle in the grocery store. There are many reasons why this little seed, which appears like a grain similar to rice, should be a regular staple in everyone’s diet. From being a perfect protein, to increasing your nutrient intake, the list can go on and on.

Here are 5 stand out reasons why you should give quinoa a try and consider it part of your regular meal planning. Continue reading →

How a Plant-Based Diet Helps You Sleep Better

How a Plant-Based Diet Helps You Sleep Better

Something that might not be foremost in your mind when it comes to optimal mental health, physical health and performance is sleep. According to the CDC, adults need 7 or more hours of sleep per night for their best health and wellbeing.

Practices and habits that can aid in healthy sleep include regular exercise, avoiding sugar and alcohol before bedtime, avoiding caffeine at least six hours before bedtime, avoiding saturated and trans fat before bedtime (animal products or fried foods), making your sleep surroundings your sanctuary, and creating a routine. Establishing a nighttime meditation practice and not using electronic devices one to two hours before bedtime may also help. Continue reading →

How Carbohydrate-Rich Food Impacts Gut Health

How Carbohydrate-Rich Food Impacts Gut Health

Gut health is currently a hot topic. The subject of gut health is emerging in research, getting lots of media attention, and creating a probiotic boom on retail shelves through products like kombucha and kimchi. Search Google and you’ll find an overwhelming amount of articles with titles like “How to Heal Your Gut”, “Eat This to Keep Your Gut Happy”, “Healthy Gut, Happy Mind,” and many more. There’s no denying that our gut impacts our overall health. All foods influence your gut microbiota, which is why the type of food you eat, including quality and source, matter. To understand the gut and how it impacts our health you’ll first need to know about the bacteria that populate it. Continue reading →

5 Reasons to Go Whole Food Plant-Based

5 Reasons to Go Whole Food Plant-Based

As we (thankfully) step into 2021, we are hearing from more and more new viewers of The Whole Food Plant Based Cooking Show that they are taking their first tentative steps towards making the life-changing decision to switch to a plant-based diet. This uptick in interest is yet another indicator to us that Veganuary (January) 2021 will kick off what will prove to be a profound year of global transformation as the world moves towards recovering from the devastation of COVID 19 and the chaos of the last few years.

When we hear of people making the switch to a whole food plant-based diet, we are always interested to hear their reasons why. What we hear back tends to run along some common threads so we thought it might be useful to outline the five main reasons people make the shift to a plant-based diet. Whatever your initial reason for making the switch may be, learning about all of the other good reasons to live a plant-based lifestyle can serve as motivation to make your switch permanent. You will find a great selection of recipes in our our new book Plant Based Cooking Made Easy. Continue reading →

5 Tips for a Healthier Holiday Season

5 Tips for a Healthier Holiday Season

And just like that, the final act of 2020 and its festive holidays are once again upon us. Albeit this is an unusual year for many, for we the fitness community, between our squats, bench presses, and curls, like to celebrate with the best of them. But how can we remain motivated in a year in which much seems upside down and even the tools in which we utilize to forge our physiques remain, for many, closed.

The old adage that nutrition equates to some 90% of results is false. Is that to say that with near perfect eating we would look 90% of how we wish to? Fitness results are akin to the tripod of success in training, recuperation, and nutrition. But come the holiday season, it’s easy to swerve off track and even remain there until the coming new year.

Here are 5 tips that you can implement right now to help remain faithful to health and fitness, yet reasonably enjoy yourself this holiday season. Continue reading →

How to Combat Emotional Eating During the Holidays

How to Combat Emotional Eating During the Holidays

Since COVID hit in March, many have integrated wine and a medley of chocolate chip cookies into a daily diet. It seems like there is extra time to binge watch Netflix and food. This holiday season, in addition to the stresses of everyday life, there will be even more emotional triggers that may drive us to overindulge. Being with certain family members or being further isolated from family can cause us to have certain visceral reactions and emotions. Many of us turn to food to deal with these added stressors. Often it makes us focus on the pleasure of taste and texture, and lets us detach ourselves from our emotions.

These behaviors can become habitual and we begin to look to food to escape our current stress or feelings. Here are 7 tips on how to head into this holiday season with self-care and self-love. Continue reading →

6 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Coffee

6 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Coffee

You’ve heard it all before. Yes, the slew of nasty comments from those caffeinated-beverage-naysayers. Coffee will give you bad breath! Coffee will stain your teeth! Coffee will give you adrenal fatigue! Coffee will keep you up all night! Pish, posh. Coffee will give us more time to do important tasks that we likely procrastinated during the daytime. Things like clean our houses, do our laundry, do our taxes, or just peruse Pinterest for hours on end. What if we were to say, “Coffee will improve your overall health!”? That got your attention, didn’t it? Perhaps even the attention of non-coffee drinkers alike.

Humor aside, coffee has some serious benefits. The coffee drinker can reap advantages such as: potential diabetes prevention, liver preservation (especially for the alcohol drinker), improved energy levels and brain function, cardiovascular protection, and more! Without further ado, here are some super amazing benefits of drinking coffee, that make us feel a little less guilty for our supercharged habit. Continue reading →

Tex Mex Burrito Bowl Recipe

Tex Mex Burrito Bowl Recipe

Savor the flavor of the Southwest from the comfort of your own home with this easy recipe from Fertility Foods by Sara Haas and Elizabeth Shaw. Whip this up for a last-minute gathering, your Super Bowl or Oscar party, or just a night in with family.

Plant-based proteins, healthy fats and whole grains make this bowl concept a huge hit in the fertility department. Plus, this meal can be made in minutes, and let’s be honest—we all could use a little less stress in our day, right? Remember, higher stress levels have a direct link to increased rates of infertility, so try to focus on those chances you have to lower your daily stress, like a mess-free meal! Continue reading →

Renew your Health with the Vegan Challenge

Renew your Health with the Vegan Challenge

Whether to improve your diet, lose weight, or increase your health baseline, a great way to make sure you implement your New Year’s resolution is with The Vegan Challenge.

In The Vegan Challenge you will discover delicious ways to incorporate raw and cooked vegan options into your daily diet. For those of you who aren’t cooks, you will also learn how to and where to find prepared healthy food options. Continue reading →