How To Live The Supermodel Life: Plant Based LIfe

Every body comes in different shapes and sizes. It really is a genetics game. You would think being born with a supermodel body, you’d be eating pizza poolside, but Gisele Bündchen’s chef shares her physique is in part due to a plant based diet. Actually, 80 percent of her and husband’s, pro football quarterback Tom Brady, food comes from vegetables and whole grains. 

I think this would dispels any food myths of a plant based diet not being for those with an active lifestyle. What does chef Allen Campbell’s plant based diet exclude for Bündchen and Brady?

"No white sugar. No white flour. No MSG. I’ll use raw olive oil, but I never cook with olive oil. I only cook with coconut oil... [and] I use Himalayan pink salt as the sodium. I never use iodized salt," Campbell also added coffee, caffeine, fungus and dairy are also off-limits. 

It might sound super restrictive, but Tom takes it a step further with no nightshades. No tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, or eggplants. They cause inflammation, Campbell says. I figure if you’re a Super Bowl MVP several times over, your body is your temple. You will only give it the best fuel to keep you at peak performance.

Supermodels with a 20 year career don’t get there by pure genetics luck. If anything, what Bündchen and Brady’s chef has only taught me is putting pure, chemical free foods in your body will make you healthy, and keep you strong for decades to come. What you put in your body, shows on the outside. Make it the best you can.

So what do I put in my body if I’m speaking chef Campbell’s language. Well, your shopping cart if 80 percent full of organic vegetables and whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, and beans. The other 20 percent is lean meats such as grass-fed organic steak, duck, chicken, and mostly fish, like wild salmon. It can be done, but where to gather inspiration from?

I like the Campbell language, but I couldn’t tell you how to mix it up recipe wise with 80 percent vegetables and grains as your base. It can be done without a personal chef. Since we live in a glorious time, with plenty of apps, a virtual chef is a download away.

Two of my favorite recent app discoveries are Veg Kickstart and Yummly. Yes, there are several out there, but price point, you can’t beat free, and more importantly it makes trying a plant based  easier. It can be a little overwhelming to shake up our diet, so finding tools to make the transition, I’m all about sharing.

First up, Veg Kickstart. Sign up online where you can get the 21-day meal plan, along with restaurant guides, and community forums to mention a few. Personally, I went straight for the app. Nothing to fill out or sync. It’s a straight forward daily meal plan of simple vegan meals to prepare, list of ingredients, directions, and nutritional facts. Very bare bones.  Simple, easy, and manageable tools to help change our lives, not make them more complicated.

If you’re looking for a little exploring versus a laid out meal plan, you’ll fall in love with Yummly. It’s a great interactive website. You tell it your taste preferences, and what foods you rather avoid. Check the boxes, and Yummly will give you the best recipes from your favorite blogs and websites. Instead of having to visit several sites or google searches, you can let Yummly do the work.

Depending on what you’ve told Yummly, you’ll get tiles and tiles of recipes ranging from Detoxinista to Williams-Sonoma. Think of it as your recipe newsfeed. You can add/share your favorite recipes to the Yummly community. But that’s not all my friends.

The app is so easy to use, and in combination with the site, makes it a breeze to shop for meals. There’s a clean, simple shopping list from all the recipes you’ve added to it. You can check off items as you go along, or you “share” it. Making it simple to text or email the shopping list to someone who wants to do the shopping since you’re making the meal.

If you have the Apple watch, you can search for recipes straight from you wrist. You can push the cart down the grocery aisle checking off items from you shopping list, and follow recipe directions without having to stop stirring the sauce. All the pieces of Yummly work great together.

You might not have the personal chef, or the state of the art kitchen with all the bells and whistles, but if anything, you can eat healthy and make it tasty. There are too many tools out there to stop you from making your personal best a reality. Look and feel amazing for years and years to come. Be your own superstar.

Kaniwa Giving Quinoa A Run For It's Money

The struggle is real when it comes to the holiday season, exercising, and finding ways to eat healthy when you just finished the last of the pumpkin pie leftovers. During the summer, eating a salad or smoothie is the perfect thing on a hot day. It’s not so easy when the sky is dark at 4:30 pm, and you want something warm inside of you. Maybe kaniwa can become your new friend.

This little South American seed is pronounced kah-nyee-wah, and you can liken it to quinoa. They are both amazing superfoods for you. Quite versatile, and are great staples if you’re living a plant based diet. When you start getting into the health benefits of kaniwa in comparison to quinoa, you might wan to add more kaniwa vs quinoa into your diet. 

Yes, seriously, kaniwa adds a lot more to your diet than quinoa. When the health food store carries an item in large quantities, you know something’s up with it. It’s how I discovered this gem giving quinoa a run for it’s money.

If you’re it health, eating foods high in antioxidants is a must. Kaniwa is a great source of flavonoids, which are the most intensively-studied antioxidants. In fact, kaniwa has been shown to contain even more flavonoids than quinoa. Besides providing anti-aging benefits for the skin, flavonoids may help prevent cardiovascular diseases, inhibit the growth of certain bacteria and viruses, and reduce the risk of certain inflammatory diseases. All this with a little reddish brown seed.

Kaniwa, like its cousin quinoa, is naturally gluten-free; yet, it is supercharged with B vitamins and a wide range of minerals, including calcium, iron and phosphorus, as shown in the Nutrition Facts for Kaniwa below.

Macronutrients

• Protein: 15.4 g 
• Crude fat:6.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 61 g 
• Crude fiber: 7.7 g 

Vitamins

• Thiamin (B1): 0.7 mg 
• Riboflavin (B2): 0.4 mg 
• Niacin (B3): 1.4 mg 

Minerals

• Calcium: 134 mg 
• Iron: 15 mg 
• Phosphorus: 424 mg 

As kaniwa is closely related to quinoa, it is not surprising that also kaniwa is loaded with high-quality protein that contains notable amounts of all essential amino acids, including lysine which is usually found only in small amounts in grains. In fact, kaniwa has been shown to contain even more protein than quinoa (around 16% compared with 13% reported for quinoa). Now I can see why kaniwa is sold by the barrel full.

So you get this amazing seed into your house, but what to do with it? My down and dirty secret I like to do is a tri blend of seeds. I do equal parts kaniwa, quinoa, and couscous, usually 2 cups, put it in a saucepan and boil with 4 cups water and chicken broth. Not too sexy, but it’s great to have on hand. Warm it up in the microwave after a long day, put a dollop of kiefir cheese on it, and settle down on the couch. Absolutely no time, taste yummy, and feels like you’re spoiling yourself. In reality, you’re filling yourself up with proteins, antioxidants, probiotics, and the list goes on.

If you’re looking for more than a couch sitting dish, how about one of these fancy recipes. A little extra effort makes for a family meal or why not take it along to a holiday gathering. Sneak a little health to a table overladen with lots of butter, sugar, and not so good stuff for you.

Kañiwa with Lemon, Basil and Tomatoes

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup kañiwa, rinsed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped roma (plum) tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

• Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rinsed kañiwa and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until all of the broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 2 minutes; fluff with a fork.
• Transfer kañiwa to a large serving bowl. Add lemon juice, tomatoes, basil, green onions and feta, if desired. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Kaniwa Farewell to Summer Salad

• 1/2 cup kaniwa 
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 ears fresh corn on the cob
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 bunch green beans
• quick pickled onions (optional)
• ghee or coconut oil
• olive oil to garnish
• salt and pepper
• goat’s feta, if desired

• Place kaniwa in a dry saucepan over medium heat and toast it until slightly fragrant. Add water and salt, cover, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook until the water is absorbed and the seeds are tender. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool.
• While the kaniwa is cooking, prepare and grill the vegetables. Slice the zucchini into thin ribbons with a sharp knife or mandoline. Stem the green beans. Shuck the corn. Lightly coat the vegetables in melted coconut oil or ghee and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Preheat the grill and cook until tender (times will vary greatly depending on the veggies!).
• In a large bowl place the grilled vegetables and drizzle with olive oil. Add cooled kaniwa, pickled onions, crumbled feta and salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy.

Processed Meats, Cancer, & Trying Plant Proteins

The week didn’t start of too well for processed meats. The World Health Organization has put bacon, sausages and hot dogs in the same category as cigarettes. The carcinogenic cancer causing class. Yikes!

We’ve known for a while a diet rich in red meat can lead to clogged arteries and heart problems, but now munching away on bacon regularly can lead to colorectal cancer. Which starts in either the colon or the rectum.

In 2011, the World Cancer Research Fund found a statistically significant, 16 percent increased risk of colorectal cancer associated with each 3.5 ounces of red and processed meat consumed per day. Visually speaking 3.5 is about the size of deck of cards. In its newest evaluation, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has updated the findings. Now eating about 1.8 ounces of processed meat daily will increase the risk of colorectal cancer by about 18 percent.

Pretty shocking in four short years the findings have drastically changed. This scary for yourself or as a parent of a young child. I remember back to when I was kid and Lunchables were just the jam. Parents are rushed in morning trying to get themselves ready. Last thing they want to deal with is a kid who finds lunch gross, and it’s so much easier to give them a prepackaged meal they want.

If your meat has either been modified to extend its shelf life or change the taste through smoking, curing, or adding salt or preservatives, you are officially eating processed meat. The chemicals involved in the processing are what can increase the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbecue, can also create carcinogenic chemicals. Sad but true. The all American barbecue. 

Processed meat has officially been classified as a ‘definite’ cause of cancer (or Group 1 carcinogen) – the same group that includes smoking and alcohol. Group 1 includes bacon, sausages, hot dogs, salami, corned beef, beef jerky and ham as well as canned meat and meat-based sauces.  

Red meat is a ‘probable’ cause of cancer (or a Group 2a carcinogen). This is pork, beef, and lamb, but does not include chicken or fish. Up until this week, red meat was top list of the list for foods to avoid, but processed meats has now kicked it to the curb. 

You will have those who will say, “I’ve been eating meat for years. My grandfather has been eating meat his whole entire life, and he’s  89!” No one is taking away your processed foods or red meat, but you can’t argue with facts and science. It’s been proven people in the 80’s were skinnier than us eating and exercising the exact same amount. Why? Because of the processed foods we are currently eating.

Life is all about balance. Add some to your life. You don’t have to have meat everyday. There are plenty of simple and easy recipes to replace your lunchtime sandwich, without depriving yourself of nutrients and protein. Meat isn’t the only source of protein out there. Get into a plant based lifestyle, and you’ll be surprised by how much protein you can get. 

Try this simple recipe, and open yourself up the possibilities of not eating meat. Trust, you’ll enjoy it, and you won’t be putting any cancer causing processed meats into your body.

Balela Salad

• 2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint 
• 1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh parsley 
• 1/2 cup chopped onion yellow onions 
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved 
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• salt and ground black pepper to taste 

• In a salad bowl, lightly mix together the garbanzo beans, black beans, mint, parsley, onion, and grape tomatoes.
• Place the jalapeno pepper, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar into a blender, and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss to mix; sprinkle with salt and black pepper to serve.

Super simple, right? Especially if you have a food processor. Top your balela salad with some  lite kefir cheese. I figure if you want to add a little tang, why not make it probiotic? All these simple things you can do to create healthy alternatives. What your grandpa used to eat back in the day, was organic, there was just no need to label it.