Finishing the Race

January 30, 2015
Julie Yuccas

Step it up a Notch – Cranberry Orange Muffins

Are you looking for ways to increase your fruit, vegetable, or fiber consumption? It is not as hard as you might think. Step it up a notch by adding one, two, or three extra fruits and vegetables to your recipes to increase the nourishment value. This increase of plant foods gives your body more tools to keep your skin clear, strengthen your immune system, and help your body run more efficiently.

“Cranberries are a rich source of procyanidins, a phytochemical that appears to prevent bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract and causing an infection.” UC Berkeley, Wellness Foods A to Z.

During the fall and winter months I try to take advantage of the seasonal fruits, cranberries and oranges being one of them. I do put peeled oranges and cranberries in my smoothies, but I sure do like cranberry orange muffins. These muffins are convenient for a healthy breakfast or snack to bring to work or school.

The boost in this recipe compared to traditional cranberry orange muffins is that it is made with:

– whole wheat flour
– olive oil
– fresh oranges with the fiber instead of bottled juice
– a carrot and an apple

This recipe contains three fruits and a vegetable, plus nuts. We boosted the nutrition level of this muffin to nourish our precious bodies.

Please note: When you add a fruit with a higher water content to your recipes, keep a close eye towards the end of baking time for you may have to bake it a couple minutes longer, so your product is not too moist.

This tasty muffin is denser in texture, but is satisfying and filling.

Step it up a Notch - Cranberry Orange Muffins

Servings: approximately 18-20 muffins
Time: Prep: 27 minutes, Baking: 22-25 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 egg
3 teaspoons grated orange rind
3 oranges
2 cups fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries rinsed in warm water to room temp
1 large carrot or 1/2 cup carrots
1 apple (abnormally large apples, only use half)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Standard size paper baking cups

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper baking cups.
– Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
– Finely grate 3 teaspoons orange rind.
– Cut off orange peel, right under the white pith. Process oranges in food processor until liquified.
– Add to dry ingredients: olive oil, egg, orange rind, orange juice and blend together.
– Chop cranberries in food processor to small chunks. Add to batter.
– Chop carrot in food processor to very small pieces. Add to batter.
– Peel and core apple. Process apple in food processor to very small pieces. Add to batter.
– Add chopped walnuts. Mix batter evenly.
– Fill muffin cups with 1/4 cup batter for standard size muffin tins/cups.
– Bake at 400° for 22-25 minutes.

Tips:

– Before transferring muffins to wire rack to cool, let muffins rest in muffin tins for 4 minutes.

– The aroma of the muffins are so enticing, however, muffins are easier to remove from paper baking cup when thoroughly cooled. It is worth the wait!

Enjoy! Blessings to your health!

January 28, 2015
Julie Yuccas

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Ghosts of Diets Past – Sneak Peek Chapter 35

I have tried the Grapefruit diet, the Cabbage diet, Adkins diet, Calorie Counting Diets, No Fat diet, bodybuilding diets, and even religious diets starting as far back as high school. Various factors led me to jump from one fad to another. Unfortunately, fad diets of our past can cost us repercussions that last a lifetime.

Kate was never overweight in her life. She was a normal, healthy farm girl. In February of 1977, Kate witnessed the heartbreaking death of her brother. Cameron was working underneath his 1969 Oldsmobile 442. The jack slipped, and the pipes trapped him. A trucker randomly driving by, adrenalin rushing, lifted the car off her brother. Kate courageously performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. Kate was only 20 years old, Cameron 24.

Five months later, understandably so, Kate was still very upset about her brother’s death. Frequent thoughts continued to barrage her about how she could have saved her brother. Tagging along with this immense grief came tremendous guilt. Guilt turned into condemnation, condemnation into unworthiness, then thoughts of I’m fat started to creep in. Ripped apart inside, her thoughts of dieting became an internal form of self-destruction, a penance to pay. She felt if she dieted she was sacrificing something on her brother’s behalf.

At the time, an Eat Only Raw Vegetables diet was popular, and the only raw vegetable she liked were cucumbers. Eating cucumbers day and night for days on end, Kate developed colitis, which progressed to ulcerative colitis. By 1979, she was on prescribed bland diets, while the ulcerative colitis kept getting worse. With diarrhea all the time, and four out of her five feet of bowel ill, she was told her bowel could potentially perforate soon. The decision had to be made to have an ileostomy. To this day she survives without her large intestine.

Tormenting lies and guilt told her she deserved to be sick. It was not until 1991 that she learned the truth that God was a loving God, and it was not His desire for her to be sick or punish herself. Her brother’s death was not her fault, and God did not want her to suffer anymore anguish. Once that truth was finally revealed, Kate’s mind was finally at peace.

Penance for Inadequacies

It is too easy to carry a backpack full of rocks labeled guilt, anger, or shame—or is it? This is a load we were never meant to bear. Condemnation loves to bring an I have to punish myself mentality. If in the past, you carried a load of condemnation and followed suit with thoughts of I deserve to be fat, that is a lie you do not have to take ownership of.

We never, ever, need to punish ourselves! Our loving Heavenly Father does not want us to punish or hurt ourselves—EVER! I am a living example of mercy and grace. I had an abundance of skeletons in my closet, but I know without a doubt God loves me so much He wiped my slate clean from every wrong thing I have said, done, or thought. “I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins.” Hebrews 8:12 is a truth meant to set our mind at ease.

Matters of the Heart

We do not know what pains others secretly bear. Only God knows the matters of a person’s heart. Hence, there can be many underlying issues contributing to severe dieting or overeating. But, when God’s healing truth exposes the hurting places in our hearts, healing and restoration can take place.

‘Never judge. The heart of man is so delicate, so complex, only its Maker can know it. Each heart is so different, actuated by different motives, controlled by different circumstances, influenced by different sufferings…Bring each heart to Me, its Maker, and leave it with Me. Secure in the certainty that all that is wrong, I can set right.’

God Calling, May 13

January 27, 2015
Julie Yuccas

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Lean on for Support

The second half of 2013, after I was told the cancer had spread, I took a leap of faith, quit my job, and focused on getting healthy. Unemployed, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to pursue my heart’s desire—to write a book that had been on my heart for some time. I realized no matter how strong the passion, a little outside encouragement helps fuel the steps needed to see a passionate idea come to fruition. Throughout my blogs, I want to share with you some of the resources that helped me.

When my mom was alive, she was my support system. She believed in me when I started my weight management business Victory Training and my vision to write a book.

It’s interesting to me, as I started to interview women for my book, visited with friends, or met new acquaintances, how frequently women shared how they wanted to write a book, were currently writing, or had written a book. I was amazed at the frequency of this topic. I don’t believe these conversations were an accident either. Words of affirmation and encouragement is one of my love languages, and these conversations motivated me to keep pursuing my heart’s desire.

I hope Finishing the Race and this blog will spark a desire to make healthy changes and become one of your support systems through your journey to get healthy mentally, physically, and spiritually. And because so many of you shared with me your desire to write or start a business, I want to share with you one of my support systems. When the task seemed too big and overwhelming, the teachings from Mosaic in Los Angeles lead by Erwin McManus and Hank Fortener cultivated the inspiration I needed to keep pressing on. I recommend the book The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus, and as you get dressed in the morning or cook dinner listen to his coinciding, inspirational podcast teachings.

The daily routine of life can easily squelch our dreams and passion. However, God will fulfill His purpose for you, you just have to take the first step. Don’t live a life of regret. Everyday is truly a gift. Don’t wait for something tragic in your life to happen before you make a change. You were put on this earth for a valuable reason—embrace your worth!

No Chance Meetings:
All your movements, your goings and comings, controlled by Me. Every visit, all blessed by Me. Every walk arranged by Me. A blessing on all you do, on every interview. Every meeting not a chance meeting, but planned by Me.
All blessed.

God Calling, October 5

January 22, 2015
Julie Yuccas

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Water: Not Only For Showering – Sneak Peek Chapter 27

Can someone who eats healthy, drinks water, and exercises get kidney stones? I did. I was exercising and eating right, but found out I did not drink enough fluids to make up for my body’s usage of water. How do you know if you are drinking enough water? Let me share with you two simple indicators your body reveals to let you know if your water intake is sufficient.

After my kidney stone incident, I started to pay attention to how much water I drank and how frequently I was thirsty. To my surprise, I was not listening to my body. My tongue would start to get dry, and I did not want to be inconvenienced to go retrieve some water. I repeated this neglect many times.

The drug administered to me for lymphoma ruptures the cancer cells, and those destroyed cells are removed through my kidneys and urine. It is crucial for my health to stay diligent and get those toxins and waste out of my body. I’d rather not have a replay of kidney stones either, so I make a point to have water with me as much as possible.

It is too easy to take our natural bodily functions for granted, forgetting that urinating is another important aspect to keeping a body healthy. Any extra water, waste from the kidneys, and toxins are carried out of our body through urine.

First Simple Indicator

Keeping hydrated throughout the day, as much as possible, prevents the urine from becoming too concentrated. How do you know if you are drinking enough water? Many times you can visually see this by looking at the shade of yellow in the toilet before you flush. Some foods, medications, or vitamins can alter the color or scent of your urine. Such as, vitamin B turning urine a more vibrant yellow, beets may give a reddish tinge, or asparagus definitely gives off a noticeable odor.

Drinking plenty of water reveals itself by a pale yellow color. Not drinking enough water shows concentration by a darker yellow color. A quick peek in the toilet reveals: pale color – hey good job, keep up the good work, or a dark yellow – time to step it up a notch and drink more water. As you can see, this is one very simple way to monitor your progress on sufficient fluid consumption.

For Christmas, I added cranberries, raspberries, lemon, lime, and orange slices to the water. What a nice refreshing flavor!

Equally important is your bowel movements. Kidneys flush away waste products through urine; the bowels flush away waste products through feces. As waste products and water pass through the bowels, your body still grabs last minute nutrients, including water. As waste products travel down your large intestine the feces becomes drier and formed, provided there is no illness or anxiety causing diarrhea.

This is important to you, for as the feces loses water, depending on how hydrated or dehydrated you are, is how effortlessly and frequently you can have a bowel movement each day. Equally important is the combination of consuming water and plenty of foods with fiber to make elimination much more efficient, regular, and easier.

Fiber is the carbohydrate that does not go into the bloodstream during digestion, but gets a free pass to continue through the small and large intestines. Fiber takes any unnecessary items, and cleans house as is passes through. No fiber and no water means difficulty passing through the intestinal system—giving you grief. Where do you get the healthy fiber? Through fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. The combination of water and fiber is key to a healthy digestive system. When your digestive system is happy, everyone is happy! Those of you that struggle with constipation know what I am talking about!

Second Simple Indicator

How do you know if you are consuming enough water and fiber to make the process of elimination easier? Things to think about: How easy did the feces pass through the rectum? Regular elimination should be easy to pass. If you are dehydrated, feces is harder and possibly more difficult to pass.

Another quick toilet check, how hard or formed is the feces? If the feces looks like hard little nuts, or like a hard, lumpy sausage you are not consuming enough water. If the feces looks like a softer, smooth sausage, then you are on the right track for good health.

A Good Place to Start

I use glasses that are visually enticing, even at work. Glasses that say, come drink me!

I personally follow and teach the suggested daily amount of water to drink from Ted Broer’s book, Maximum Energy. The recommendation is to drink 1 oz of water for every two pounds of body weight. This amount should increase when conditions such as exercise, weather, and thirst put more demands on your body.

I have my favorite glasses that I like to drink out of. I know how many ounces each glass holds. To the best of my ability, I drink the necessary amount of glasses each day to meet my minimum 1 oz per 2 lbs. body weight.

Your health and the ease in which your body daily functions is worth every minute you invest. I hope these simple suggestions help.

Blessings to your health!

January 14, 2015
Julie Yuccas

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Very Easy Parmesan Kale Chips

Having a different perspective on how I view food compared to my obsessive dieting days is so refreshing. In the past, I looked at food as bad and felt shame when I ate. I couldn’t see past all the dieting Don’t Eat…! rules and regulations to actually see food from a healthy perspective—as nourishment to my body.

Now when I look at fruits and vegetables, especially at a farmer’s market or at the organic section at Whole Foods, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I know it sounds hard to believe that someone can actually get excited about vegetables. It thrills me to see all the beautiful foods available to me that nourish my body, keep me energetic, and help keep my immune system strong. Allow me to share with you an easy way to enjoy one vegetable as a snack, kale chips. Surprisingly, even my husband likes them.

The Parmesan Kale Chips are the easiest to make. Although, I have heard some people make kale chips solely seasoned with salt.

Step 1: After washing your kale leaves, dry off excess water. Tear approximately 2″ pieces off the spine of each leaf. Please note if the pieces are too small, once dried in the dehydrator, they shrink into little crumbs. When available, flowering purple and white kale is really nice to use, because the leaves are thicker and make a nice hearty chip.

Step 2: Start by tossing the kale leaves with olive oil, coating evenly. Next add the Parmesan cheese and salt mixture, toss lightly to evenly coat the leaves.

Step 3: Line the coated kale chips close together on the dehydrator trays. Dehydrate. Kale chips are ready when the kale is crisp—in approximately 4 hours.

When my son was in high school, he bought this dehydrator to make beef jerky. At the time the dehydrator cost $29.99. I recently found a newer model on Amazon for $41.99. I use my son’s dehydrator almost once a week; I appreciate the convenience of this appliance.

To maintain the integrity of the chips, I store my kale chips tightly sealed in a glass container. Notice the photo above, there is white rice in the bottom of the dish. The white rice keeps the kale chips crisp—same principle as removing moisture from a cell phone. Please be careful not to catch any rice in your chip while enjoying.

Very Easy Parmesan Kale Chips

Time: 20 minutes prep, 4 hours dehydrate
Difficulty: very easy
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Ingredients:

2 bunches kale (Trim into 2″ pieces, no stem)
2 tablespoons olive oil (Coat leaves evenly)
1/3 to 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (Mix with cheese before adding to kale)

Tips:
– Use 2 tablespoons uncooked white rice to keep kale chips crisp. Put rice in bottom of storage container first, then add kale chips.

– Vegans can substitute Parmesan cheese with Nutritional Yeast—start with 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast.

– Vary the flavor: Fill a measuring cup to 1/3rd with Parmesan cheese, leave cheese in measuring cup, then add Nutritional Yeast up to the 1/2 cup mark. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, blend together, toss mixture in kale.

Blessings to your health!

December 10, 2014
Julie Yuccas

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Easy Kale Reviving & Storage

Notice this kale is wilting.

Recently I was asked, how do I store kale for smoothies, so it lasts longer than a week? I apply the same technique that my daughter shared with me for flowers that arrive slightly wilted from distributors. The stems are trimmed and the whole flower is submerged in water for about an hour. My daughter is a floral designer in CA.

I want my life to be efficient and as stress free as possible, so my husband and I only go to the grocery store once a week. The last two Friday evenings, the grocer’s kale has been limp by the time we arrive at the store. A few hot, summer Saturdays, when we finally got home from the farmer’s market, the kale was slightly wilted too. I need the kale, so I revive it. Boy, I sure miss the farmer’s market!

Here is how I revive and store my kale longer: Start by filling a large bowl with cold water. The bowl has to be large enough to submerge the whole leaf, especially the stem. I also use this technique with chard.

Cut approximately 1 ½ inches off the stem of your kale. With each leaf, immediately place it into the bowl of cold water.

Once all your kale is cut, you want to insure the kale stays submersed, especially the stem tips. A plate usually does the trick. Although, if I have too many leafy greens in one batch, I’ve been known to set a wide bowl or a large pie dish with water to hold the leaves down.

After one hour, notice how the leaves rehydrate and perk up. The leaves spread out in the bowl as they drink the water. This restores the kale’s firmness too.

Remove the leaves from the water and carefully pat the kale dry. Every drop of water does not have to be dried off. However, you do not want to store the leaves soaking wet or the leaves will decompose faster. A 9×13 glass, baking dish with a plastic lid is a great size to store kale and chard. This is perfect for keeping kale firm until it’s time to make kale chips too.

Hope this helps. Blessings to your health!

November 29, 2014
Julie Yuccas

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How was your Thanksgiving eating?

The china and crystal is safely nestled back in the china cabinet. The turkey and mashed potato leftovers are easily accessed in the frig. Another lovely Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends—so much to be thankful for!

Now, I’d love to know who gave themselves permission to enjoy simple pleasures this Thanksgiving after reading Give Yourself Permission to Celebrate blog?

Did you accept the challenge to relax and enjoy your food without worrying?

Did you feel comfortable after you ate?

If you stopped eating when you were comfortably full, did you bypass the typical after dinner coma?

Did you feel like you had more energy to socialize this holiday, since your portion of food was a little smaller?

What did you do different this year that made your eating event more enjoyable?

Please share your experience. We’d love to hear your victories!

November 24, 2014
Julie Yuccas

1 comment

Give Yourself Permission to Celebrate

When we worry about what the numbers on the scale read, or what size the label on our clothing says, it is too easy to fear eating on the holidays. If we let our thoughts enter that place of fear, we rob ourselves of the joy of family, friends, and the natural enjoyment of traditional, celebratory foods. Foods that trigger happy memories and pleasure—call them comfort foods if you’d like.

We celebrate the holidays with both sides of our families on the same day. Feasts are served at each home. It brings me no pleasure to feel sick because I stuffed myself. The boundaries ingrained into my belief system is to stop eating when I am comfortably full. This allows me the pleasure to enjoy all foods without getting sick. This removes anxious thoughts about putting on weight too.

I’d like to propose a challenge to you this holiday. Lighten the load on your mind, while giving yourself permission to relax and enjoy the upcoming holidays.

Give yourself permission to enjoy all the foods you want to eat.
We live in a place where food is in abundance, allowing us many options. Give yourself permission to slow down and savor each bite.
If you want dessert, give yourself permission to have some. If you feel full after your meal, give your stomach time to digest, then have dessert a little later. Or, if you want dessert right after your meal, take a smaller portion of food, so you have room in your tummy for dessert.
If you don’t want the I overate, sick feeling afterwards, give yourself permission to eat, but set boundaries to stop eating when you feel comfortably full. Don’t eat foods you don’t like just because they’re on your plate. Select foods that bring pleasure to your taste buds. You can always go back later in a few hours for seconds or bring leftovers home for a future meal.

This Thanksgiving, may you have peace of mind, enjoy the food, company, and great memories.

Blessings and good health to you and yours!

November 19, 2014
Julie Yuccas

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Quick & Easy – Bursting with Nourishment – Smoothie

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma. One of the treatment options was to have aggressive chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant. Although I chose not to take that route, I faced other treatment options. Not wanting to be at the mercy of negative side effects from the drugs, I determined to strengthen my immune system and my health. What was in my power to do, I wanted to do.

It was suggested that I watch the documentaries: Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, Forks Over Knives, and Food Matters. As I sifted through the information, the common theme that stood out to me was the fact many people greatly improved their health and reversed disease by significantly increasing their consumption of vegetables and fruits. Juicing was promoted as a great way to help the body heal itself−loading up on nutrients in a convenient manner.

Normally, it would be difficult to eat the quantity of food necessary to gain so many powerhouse nutrients, however, concentrating them into a juice or smoothie is the perfect solution!

With evidence of an improved: beautiful complexion, stronger immune system, and cataract reversal all due to a change in my diet (please read my previous blog); I delightfully want to share my smoothie recipe with you.

Now there are a couple things I want to mention first. Three years ago, my body had to repair the effects of chronic stress, a compromised immune system, and cancer. So…

– Five days a week for the first year: I added the gel from a 2″ x 2″ piece of aloe and one TB of honey to my smoothie to boost my immune system. I chose to add these two ingredients after reading Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future by David Wolfe. I admit, aloe is bitter and you can taste it. But, I believed it to be a necessary tool for my body.

– Once a week for the last three years: I juice 4 to 5 pounds of carrots, one clump of beets, two limes, and 3 to 6 pounds of apples (whichever variety is the least expensive that week), and store it in sealed glass pitchers in my refrigerator. The whole process only takes me thirty minutes to juice and cleanup. Again, I want to cram as much healing nutrients as I can, so I draw from this juice supply to make my smoothie. Also, having these fruits and vegetables in juice form reduces the pulp in my smoothie. I get enough fiber from all the other produce I put straight into the blender.

Not all smoothie blender containers are the same size, so you may have to trial and tweak it a few times to determine the perfect amount of fruits and vegetables to add.

Quick & Easy - Bursting with Nourishment - Smoothie

Servings: Makes approximately 43 to 45 ounces or 6 cups
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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♥ Base Ingredients ♥

– Banana (1)
– Kale (2 large leaves)
– Chard (1 leaf)
– Red Cabbage (1″ wedge)
– Apple* (1) (If whole, remove core)
– Carrots* (2) (If whole, wash skin)
– Beets* (1 small or divide large in ¼ or thirds) (If whole, peel skin)
– Ginger (1 inch piece) (If fresh, peel skin)
– Frozen blueberries (1/4 to 1/3 cup)
– Ground Cinnamon (4 shakes)
– Ice (one handful)

Additional ingredients to add per your choice or season:

Avocado (¼) is a great addition. Avocado reduces the amount of foam too.
Oranges, Tangelos, Berries, Grapes, Honey, Aloe, Pineapple, Kiwi, Spinach, Green food

Tips:
– There are no rules; the sky is the limit. Think great health! Don’t be afraid to add foods that provide the specific nutrition you are looking for with flavors that blend well with the above ingredients.

– I add my homemade Apple/Carrot/Beet juice to make a more thinner consistency—in addition to the extra vitamins.

– For your favorite drinkable consistency add: ice, water, or fresh juice.

*Apples, Carrots, and Beets can either be whole or from a previously juiced supply.

There are many varieties of juicers and blenders that do a wonderful job. I use a Vitamix Blender to make my smoothies. The pitcher is large enough for me to make approximately 43 ounces a day. My It’s all good mug holds 30 ounces and my husband drinks 13 ounces. If you make too much in any given day, it will still taste great the next day, just stir well. And yes, you can make it a day ahead of time.

I started this habit while I was working at the hospital. My start time was 5:30am. When there is a will there is a way.

Grocery list for juice smoothies for one week or more, with approximate cost:
Bananas Organic – five – $1.38
Kale Organic – one bunch – $2.99
Chard Organic – one bunch – $2.49
Red Cabbage – one small head – $1.73
Apples Organic – one 3lb bag $3.99
Carrots Organic – one 2lb bag – $1.99
Beets Organic – one clump – $2.99
Ginger Root – 5″ long – $1.25
Frozen blueberries Organic (at Aldi’s) – one bag – $2.99
– Some of these foods you will not have to purchase every week.

Approximate total once a week: $21.80
Approximate cost of one chemo treatment: $20,491.35
You decide.

November 7, 2014
Julie Yuccas

1 comment

Harvesting Heirloom Carrots for Smoothies

Look at this beautiful basket of heirloom carrots I helped harvest at my friend Amy’s house!

If you were to come to my home, more than likely I would offer you a glass of homemade juice. I am so excited about how healthy I feel and how beautiful my skin looks—now that I eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables. I want to share the love! I could easily forget to add fruits and vegetables to my diet and lean towards chocolate, pastas, scones, and crackers, however, my health dictated that it was time to make purposeful changes to my diet or succumb to a bleak diagnosis. So, I started juicing and making smoothies.

For me, drinking smoothies is like an IV packed full of rich, beneficial vitamins and minerals. This nourishment gives me the feeling of little warriors boosting my immune system, little repairmen maintaining the upkeep of my body, and makeup artists improving my skin tone. The beauty of this complex system is my body efficiently performs all these tasks on its own—now that I give my body the tools she needs.

Two years ago, I found out I had cataracts forming in my eyes. I have assisted in hundreds of cataract surgeries, and the average age of our patients were in their 70’s and 80’s. This revelation surprised me, since I was only 51-years old and did not have an outdoor occupation.

My niece Stephanie was studying naturopathic medicine, and recommended that I watch the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. I am a prove it to me kind of girl; seeing people in the documentary reverse their disease by the selection of foods they consumed intrigued me. The testimonies were inspiring, so I started juicing and made a large smoothie once a day, five days a week. I also I made an effort to incorporate as many plant-based foods into the majority of my meals.

Recently, I had another eye exam. My doctor told me my eyes are as clear as glass. He asked me if I was doing anything different or changed my diet. I smiled, and said, “yes.” He asked me if I was eating more greens. My smile widened with a nod. He then proceeded to tell me the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, found in dark green vegetables, help prevent cataracts. You can check it out on the American Optometric Association website: http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/lutein?sso=y. I am living proof, I reversed the formation of cataracts with my diet—no more cataracts.

This is so exciting to physically see my body heal itself based on the foods I eat. The bonus is how vibrant and healthy my complexion looks at 54-years old. Surprising to me, now that I routinely eat a diet high in plant-based foods, my body craves fruits, vegetables, and my smoothies.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when close friends of ours offered us some of their heirloom carrots, red potatoes, orange beets, onions, kale, and herbs fresh from their garden. I felt like I was digging up gold. Now when I look at fresh produce, I see life and health! Thank you Scott and Amy for sharing the love.

Keep in touch; I’ll share my smoothie recipe with you in a future blog.

To your health! Julie