Holiday Indulgence Without the Guilt

Whenever I break out of my sheltered world of health conscious people who eat organic whole foods and use natural products to clean their clothes, homes and bodies, I am reminded of just how much work is left to do to educate the masses about the importance of diet and environment on our health. As a nation we’re obese, sick and for the most part unconscious. We’re fueled by sugar, caffeine and artificially flavored and colored manufactured consumables that don’t deserve to be labeled food. In spite of a seemingly raised awareness of the role of our daily choices on the state of our health, there are still huge segments of the population that hasn’t a clue.

As a part of some seminars I’ve been investing in to improve my ability to more fully service my tribe of health seekers, I was asked to identify my mission in life. My mission was described as the far reaching and BIG impact that I yearn to have on the world. I was told that it needs to be big enough that it is unlikely to be reached in my lifetime, yet throughout my life, my day to day actions contribute to the its fruition.

I spent a lot of contemplative time exploring my inner crevices to determine what my mission is. After some deep soul searching, here’s what I came up with.

“My mission is to end needless pain and suffering from lifestyle related diseases. These include “The BIG Three”, cancer, heart disease and diabetes” as well as so many others.”

As the flight attendant came around and asked if I wanted to purchase a meal and described the choices, I realized that another mission, a step if you will on the path to the big mission, is to facilitate the creation of a world where whole, fresh organic food is the ONLY choice on airplanes, fast food restaurants, private homes and all other places where food is available.

Imagine a world where EVERYONE returned to eating only real whole food. Imagine no temptations, no pressure to eat processed food from well meaning yet misguided friends and family members. In such a world, there would be vibrant health, compassion, joy and true peace.

As we head into the holiday season, I’d like to offer a suggestion to you IF you’d like to enjoy vibrant health, powerful energy and joyful interactions throughout this season of celebration. Do this exercise only if you’d like to wake up on January 1 in a body that you love – a comfortable, energetic body that is at or on the way to your ideal body weight.

Sit down in a comfortable place with pencil and paper and make a list of all the foods that you associate with your enjoyment of the holidays. Rate each on a scale of -5 to +5. Foods that are negative have a negative impact on your health, positively numbered foods have a positive impact on your health. The larger the number the more positive,. The more negative the number the more harmful the food. An example of a -5 food is anything containing hydrogenated o heated oil, such as margarine or many commercial pie crusts and snack foods. Foods that qualify as +5 are foods that are very nutrient dense, like green juice and sprouts. Make a commitment to yourself to only eat foods with positive numbers.

It’s quite possible that you can find or make variations of your favorite negatively rated foods that would rate as positive.

We’ve created a class called “Healthy Holiday Feasts: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Living Foods versions of Traditional Holiday Favorites” to provide you with the tools you need to create delicious and satisfying versions of traditional holiday favorite that you can enjoy without guilt and with the assurance that this year you’ll sail through the holidays with your waistline in tact and wake up on New Year’s Day feeling energetic, strona anf on your way to a phenomenal year, without the need for soon to be broken New Year’s resolutions.

We’re excited to offer the class as a webcast as well as a live and in person one, and to make the high quality videos available afterward. These videos will nicely round out your holiday recipe collection.

In a few short hours, you could be learning recipes like eggless egg-nog, turkeyless turkey loaf, potatoless mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie and more. The pumpkin pie is a new lighter, lower fat version of the one in my book “Thanksiving Feasts” book and it tastes just as delicious.

Whether you’d like to create a complete Thanksgiving feast or simply replace some of your old favorites with healthier gluten-free, vegan living foods versions, you’ll learn lots of tips at the class. And you’ll be giving yourself the best gift of all this holiday season – the gift of health!

Learn more and sign-up at

http://www.drritamarie.com/videoclasses/holidayfeasts2010-11

On the web, in person or on video afterward, this class is a winner.

In love and gratitude,

Dr. Ritamarie

Holiday Feasts cover

My Raw Food Diet: A Hot Date with Myself on a Thursday Night

I’m at a conference in Boston for the weekend and stuck at the airport hotel without a decent raw vegan meal in sight.  Of course I have my staples…seeds, fruits, dehydrated crackers and green powder.  I even have a few celery and carrot sticks and a refrigerator to store it all in.  But as I looked at the 3 days ahead and the dwindling food stash, I decided to venture out and see what’s hot in the Boston raw food scene.

Unfortunately the two restaurants I managed to find were a $50 cab ride or 2 trains, a bus and a shuttle away so I moved to plan B…I rented a car for the evening!  I found a $23 economy car and off I went.

I took myself to an incredibly charming place called Prana Cafe, In Newton, a couple of towns away  just west of Boston.

My meal was delicious, the staff was charming and super friendly, and I met a very nice couple who had just discovered raw food in April and were enjoying a date.

I’ll let my photos speak for themselves.

I started with a Creamy Blueberry smoothie made with fresh  coconut and dates.  I had them add kale!

Next I had a red pepper soup, deliciously seasoned and loaded with sprouts.

For an appetizer, I had nori rolls.  The “rice” filling was turnip and coocnut and they were filled with fermented wax beans, avocado and watercress.

My entree was a buckwheat crust pizza, topped with pesto, cashew ricotta, mushrooms and a variety of veggies.  It came with a house salad with a light vinegrette dressing.

Finally, I splurged and tried a sundae with vanilla and cinnamon pecan “ice-cream” .  The “ice-cream” was made with cashew and coconut, sweetened with dates and used irish moss as a thickener…which also cut down on the fat and added the nutritional benefits of sea vegetables.

Woops…i got so excited about eating the sundae that I forgot to take a picture.  Take my word for it…it was beautiful.

There was far too much food for me to eat, so I took some back for lunch.

I stocked up from their take-out area and my refrigerator is now filled with yummy meals.

My hot date with raw foods  was an event to remember

Love , health and joy to you,

Dr. Ritamarie

Raw Food Recipe: Gluten Free Diet Sandwich for Healthy Travel Meal

How do you travel and stick to a healthy diet high in raw and living foods, gluten free, without sugar and processed foods? Nomi Shannon, author of  The Raw Gourmet and Dr. Ritamarie share secrets in this video.

Question of the day: What’s your favorite travel food?

Love, health and Joy to you,

Dr. Ritamarie

Raw Foods Diet for Raising Healthy Children

Karen Ranzi, author of the groundbreaking new book, Raising Healthy Children through Attachment Parenting and Living Foods, will be joining us on A teleclass Raising Healthy Children to share insights and answer your questions about raising Healthy Children.

Watch Karen on Paul Nison’s Health Show.

Join us on for raising Healthy Children, a FREE teleclass.

www.drritamarie.com/signup/karenranzi

Healing Cancer with Diet, Determination and Exercise

In 1982, at the age of 47, Ruth Heidrich got the shock of her life.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer.  At the time, she considered herself healthy and fit.  After all, she ran marathons and ate what was considered a healthy diet.   After a modified radical mastectomy to remove the tumor, she was told by not 1 but 5 different doctors that her tumor was life threatening and there was nothing they knew to do to strengthen her immune system.  As she would later discover, the cancer had spread to her bones and one lung.

Fortunately for Heidrich, she was an avid reader and researcher, and found that Dr. John McDougall was doing a study on the effects of diet on breast cancer.  She paid him a visit, and was told “If you want to save your life, change your diet.”  On the spot, she decided she’d rather change her diet than undergo chemotherapy and radiation,  joined Dr. McDougall’s study and adopted a vegan, low-fat diet.

She states  “In two hours I went directly from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a low-fat, whole food vegan diet.”

In an interview with Vegetarians in Paradise, Heidrich said, “I’m convinced that a vegan diet saved my life. By the time the breast cancer was diagnosed, it had become advanced and spread to my bones and left lung. I’d had the surgery to remove the primary tumor, so I was depending on my immune system to handle the remaining cancer. My diet of 100% whole plant foods allowed my immune system to function more efficiently.

Fortunately for her, Heidrich didn’t believe her oncologist and all the other doctors she consulted when they  told her that diet had nothing to do with cancer.   Shortly after starting on the vegan diet, Heidrich began training for the Ironman Triathlon, determined to be the first cancer patient to complete it.

After 18 years as a cooked vegan, Heidrich decided to see if there were additional benefits to being a raw vegan. She’d heard lectures that cooking food denatured protein and destroyed vitamins, so she gave it a 30-day trial,  but forgot and didn’t notice when the 30 days were up. She told Vegetarians in Paradise that she has  never been tempted to go back to cooking.

Her current diet is all raw except for condiments such as salsa and mustard, popcorn for the “munchies,” and an occasional non raw meal  as a special occasion when she’s invited over to a friend’s home or a restaurant.

After her surgery, Heidrich entered every race she could find.  Her fitness improved dramatically on the new diet.  She was winning gold medals.  Since her cancer diagnosis, Heidrich has completed 6 iron man triathlons, 67 marathons and won close to 1,000 first place medals.  Her record so far is 62 races in one year.

Here’s a typical day in the life of Ruth Heinrich:  “ A typical day starts with an hour on the bike, an hour’s run, and alternating between either a mile swim or a weight training session. Then breakfast consists of a large bowl filled with greens, a carrot, celery, a banana, a mango, nutritional yeast with B-12, and a little blackstrap molasses. Midday snacks consist of carrots, apples, and other fruit in season. Supper is more greens, carrot, tomato, bell pepper, cabbage, other vegetables in season, and salsa/mustard/ground flaxseed dressing. Dessert consists of blueberries, strawberries, and walnuts for my omega 3 fatty acids.”

Had Ruth Heidrich followed conventional medical approaches to her cancer when she was diagnosed almost 30 years ago, she would most likely no longer be with us.  Instead, she decided to look for alternatives, change her diet and increase her fitness level. Her outcome is that 28 years late, she’s fitter and healthier than ever, and cancer free.  At 75 years old her latest endeavor is a run around the world trip.    A video of her stops is at http://lanternbooks.com/blog/entry.php?id=869