I came home today smelling meat cooking on the barbecue from the court yard below and all I could think was, “DON’T eat That! It’s carcinogenic!” Did you know? The fact is that when you grill or cook any type of animal protein at very high temperatures, heterocyclic amines (HCAs), a chemical, are formed! It doesn’t matter if it is chicken, steak, fish, pork…so the next time you put in an order for a grilled chicken sandwich or salad, you might want to think twice! The National Cancer Institute says that these chemicals are known to cause cancer in animals, but they are not sure if they cause cancer in humans. Hello! Well, if you’ve ever heard Dr. Barnard speak about it, he would say that if you send any type of grilled meat to the lab, it will contain HCAs. Imagine those grill lines on a piece of chicken! Yes, they contain HCAs.

In my opinion, if it causes cancer in an animal then the chances that it causes cancer in humans are pretty likely! “They” (the National Cancer Institute) are still out to lunch in regards to whether meat causes cancer and that is a tragedy with the way cancer rates are going up! I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t want to wait twenty years for these folks to bring to the table the research that says, “Yes it absolutely does cause cancer in humans too!” This information is likely to upset a bunch of people who love their grilled meat and associate it with being an American and the fourth of July, but so does getting the diagnosis from your doctor telling you, “Sorry to inform you, but you’ve got cancer!”

Grilled Chicken Contains HCAs

The good news is that if you grill vegetables or a veggie burger that it will be free of these HCAs! Therefore, I urge you to please think twice before you head for that grill! Cancer, as I’m sure you know by now, does not show up overnight…it takes time to grow and is already in each of us! We don’t need to give these nasty cells an all out fiesta on our expense! Again, if you have doubts, read the work of Dr. Barnard or The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell!

HCA free Veggies

Wishing you much Health and Happiness!

Hello! Hello!

After a rather relaxing past weekend of unplugging completely from the world in the company of four sweet dogs (one of them mine) – I was house sitting for a friend, I have been having one of those crazy busy weeks (a couple of 12 hour work days) with little to no time to write, so today I came home to this wonderful uplifting surprise from my friend John Goldfuss in New York City and became inspired to write! You might remember that I wrote a post about his new launch of Tomatina Juice a while back? Well, I came home to a sweet package from John waiting outside my door and inside I found this…

…bottle of John’s wonderful all-natural, premium tomato-vegetable juice! I am going to save it till  and savor it on Saturday. This will be my drink after I finish teaching my Food for Life Cancer Project Nutrition and Cooking Class! Tomatina is 100% Vegan, Gluten-Free, and has no GMO‘s! It is such a delicious treat! Best tomato-vegetable juice, in my opinion, that is out there on the market! Also, the juice comes in a glass container, which is big bonus for those of us concerned about cancer prevention!

Way to go, John! YOU ROCK!!! I just know that your product will rock the juice market! 

Cheers to you & everyone reading!

Health & Happiness, Nina

Today on Facebook I came across this incredibly inspiring 98 year old vegan, Dr. Ellsworth Wareham. Thank you to Carrie On Vegan for liking this one, so I could watch this man share his experiences. Dr. Wareham was a famous cardiothoracic surgeon up until the age of…HOLD ON… 95! Can you believe it? That blew me away! What an incredible inspirational voice for a whole foods plant-based vegan diet!

Hello Everyone,

I just returned from the Motherland where I spoke to a group of 50+ women and a few men about the cancer prevention and the benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet. It was my first time speaking to so many people at one time about this issue that is so dear to my heart and that I feel passionate about because I know that it’s the right way to live, eat and thrive! So I thought I’d share some photos from the day I spoke.  My sweet cousin Mette is the person behind all of these photos!

Before the talk…

The room we were in was quite nice. There was a woman preparing coffee and baked goods for the audience. I had brought t-shirts and hats from the cancer society here that I had been so generously gifted before this trip!

Survivor T-shirts and hats for the participants

The people arrived…

I received a warm welcome and was introduced by this fantastic woman who teaches exercise classes to the survivors, an important component to cancer prevention and survival!

During the introduction I got to talk about how I got there in the first place. During my last visit, I had run into a cancer survivor named Henning at the library, without that “coincidence” I might not have been there, so I am thankful to the Universe for arranging that nice little meeting!

Also, I’m incredibly grateful to PCRM and for being a Food for Life Instructor! I spoke about what I have learned over the last year or so. Here’s a glimpse of my power point introduction.

I spoke of PCRM’s awesome work (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) and Dr. Neal Barnard‘s work in cancer prevention through diet. However, I also had to mention the astounding work and findings of Dr. T. Colin Campbell! Here I am talking about The China Study…if you still haven’t read it or any of Dr. Neal Barnard’s work, now is the time!

The China Study and me

At the end I answered questions.

Overall I was happy with how it went. I know that the information was thought provoking to those who have never heard this information before, but I was invited back to give a longer lecture the next time I’m in town, so to me that is all that matters! If someone took what I had to share with them home and made just a few changes that would at least be somewhat a step in the right direction, but I am of course crossing my fingers that they will embrace what I had to say and make a total awesome whole foods plant-based vegan switch…because not only is it better for our bodies, but also for the future of our planet! It’s a Win Win situation all the way around!

Here’s Mette and I after the lecture having lunch in a hip cafe. We both had a large salad with hummus and bread!

Cousin Mette & me

What’s next? Hopefully more lectures like this one! I am open and willing to  spread the message of the awesome benefits of a whole foods plant-based vegan diet around the world as the opportunities present themselves! My next speaking engagement is in May for the local prostate support group in my city. I’m really looking forward to that one as well! Word for the week is GRATITUDE! Make it a great one! 

In Health & Happiness,

Nina

Hey Hey Everyone,

What have I been up to? I’ve been crazy BUSY lately, but so what’s new? I’m busy a lot! I got my spoon in many pots, so to speak. I thought it was time for an update since I’m about to take off for spring break! I’m flying overseas to speak for the Cancer Society in my home town and to visit my family and catch up with friends. There’s little time left before I leave so I’m trying to get everything done besides working full-time etc etc. Yadda Yadda Yadda…Seriously, you don’t really want to know all that! And now I sound like I’m complaining and as my ardent reader told me when I ran into him on Saturday (besides saying that I’m his muse for healthy eating…Thanks again for that one!), is that he thinks I’m too serious in my posts! That made me laugh, but I guess he’s right! Some of this stuff that I write about is pretty serious stuff, but if you knew me, you’d also know that I can be a goofball and even comical! I love to laugh and have fun too! 

Recently, I did a tabling event at a cancer survivors convention. I got to meet many great people at this event and I’m looking forward to further educating them about healthier eating through a whole foods plant-based diet in regards to cancer prevention and get to cook healthy delicious meals for them!

Today, I came across The J-Wro (Jason Wrobel’s show) on YouTube! That “Cruncy Green Salad with Lime Avocado Dressing: Raw Vegan Superfood Recipe that he demonstrates on here looks delish! Subscribe & give the guy a “Thumbs Up”, please! He ROCKS!

Didn’t that just look amazingly yummy? I thought so! I can’t wait to make this salad and dressing. That’s it folks! I’m not writing for another week or so. Please check back then and hopefully I’ll have some overseas Veg stories to tell when I get back and photos too!  

Happy Healthy Veggie Easter or whatever you happen to celebrate!

Special Thanks to PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) for letting me share this recipe  with you that I’ve been absolutely Zippy crazy for since I made it the first time! This has become a weekly dish that I make at my house! (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced (I’ve used a medium onion)
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced (I like more!)
• 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth
• 2 yams or sweet potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 bunch collard greens (~1/2 pound), rinsed and stems removed
• 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Thai chili paste (make sure there is no fish in the paste)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teasooon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Start by chopping the onion and garlic cloves.

Chopped Onion & Garlic

Place chopped onion and garlic into the skillet/wok over medium heat and saute until fragrant.

Add yams or sweet potatoes and water/vegetable broth. (I usually just cook it all in vegetable broth).

Sweet potatoes added

Place cover on and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in collards and cover. Keep temperature on medium for 3-4 minutes. Reduce temperature to low.

Add vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and chili paste.

Annie’s Organic Worcestershire sauce & Thai chili paste

Simmer until the collards are soft and the yams or sweet potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze lemon over the mixture and serve. Voila! It’s that easy – this dish takes about 15 minutes to make.

Zippy Yams & Collards

Mmm, tasty! Enjoy!

Health & Happiness!

~Urban Vegan Chic

This morning I came across the following article from Mail Online (the Brittish newspaper “The Daily Mail“).

The headline reads,

Breast cancer patients who eat cheese, yogurts or ice cream could HALVE their chances of survival

Read more by clicking on the link below:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2293426/Breast-cancer-patients-eat-cheese-yogurts-ice-cream-HALVE-chances-survival.html#ixzz2NofVY7CQ

I don’t have time to write much lately as I’m preparing to give a speech for the Danish Cancer Society in my hometown. I’m nervous and very excited to be doing this. Dairy is one area that I will be talking about. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that I have BIG issues with dairy and it’s association to cancer and other serious illnesses!

It’s not just women who are at risk. Through my training and study of Dr. Neal Barnard and Dr. T. Colin Campbell‘s work this is what I’ve come to learn:

Men who consume dairy products are at higher risk for prostate cancer. Dairy consumption increases IGF-1 (insulin like growth factors). It’s similar to cholesterol. As Dr. Barnard asks, “What is milks job? It is to make a little baby calf grow very quickly.” This includes not just proteins, fat, sugar, but also growth hormones. If you mix IGF-1 with some breast cancer cells in a test tube they grow like CRAZY! IGF-1 is a very potent stimulus for cancer growth! A man or a woman who drinks 3 glasses of milk per day has a 10% increase in their blood. This happens very quickly! All you need is one little cancer cell looking for some action and you add dairy which acts like fertilizer to that cancer cell!

All I can say is, “AVOID DAIRY!!!”

It is NOT a healthy choice for anyone!

Yvonne in green pastures!

This morning, I was touched by the following story of Yvonne the runaway cow. The article/video is from The Guardian, September 2011. (It has a happy ending!) It’s an unusual story because the people involved go to great lengths to help Yvonne, including hiring a psychic who communicates with animals. Aside from what your beliefs are about that, this happens to be a great story! Below the video is what I got from Facebook this morning. Click on the link below to watch the video:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/sep/02/germany-animals-yvonne-cow-caught-video

The Scarlet Pimpernel of the bovine world grabbed the German imagination when she escaped from her Bavarian farm after apparently sensing that she was about to be slaughtered in May. With a price of €10,000 on her head, she managed three months on the run before a farmer reported seeing her on his land.

Konrad Gutmann, 46, claimed the €10,000 reward offered by the German tabloid Bild after the seemingly lonely animal wandered into his meadows to befriend his cows. “It was just luck really. I was out taking a tour of my electric fence with my daughter Melanie at about 6pm when I saw Yvonne on the other side staring at the young cows. She seemed lonely,” Gutmann told the Daily Mail. “She went back into the woods when she saw us. I got up behind her and my daughter gathered the cows in one area of the field.” The cow was finally herded into the field. “She was very nervous,’ added the farmer. “You could see the stress of the past days and weeks had taken its toll on her.”

The Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary, which now owns Yvonne after buying her for €600 to prevent her slaughter, confirmed that the cow had been moved to her new home. They were able to identify the animal by the tag on her ear, they said.

In keeping with the bullish nature that has preserved her freedom until now, Yvonne did not go quietly. Pictures reveal she put up a significant fight before being tranquillised on Friday morning and transported to the sanctuary at Deggendorf.

It is a dramatic end to a story that has gripped Germany for much of the summer, with one newspaper saying the cow had become “a kind of freedom fighter for the animal-loving German republic”.

The six-year-old brown dairy managed to breach an electric fence to escape her field in the village of Zangberg, 50 miles north-east of Munich, on 24 May. She sought sanctuary in a nearby forest, surviving among the fir trees.

After a brush with the police – when she was almost involved in a collision after wandering on to a road – the hunt to find the errant cow intensified. Local hunters were given carte blanche to shoot Yvonne on sight to prevent a traffic accident, an order that was rescinded after pressure from animal rights protesters.

Friends of Yvonne tried a range of desperate means to ensnare the cow. The founder of the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary, Michael Aufhauser, enlisted the help of Ernst, a virile bull with “a deep baritone moo” to lure her home. “He is the George Clooney of bulls,” said Aufhauser.

But with Yvonne seemingly blind to Ernst’s charms, an animal psychic was called in to communicate with Yvonne from afar. Franziska Matti, an animal communication expert from Berne in Switzerland, said she had managed to contact Yvonne using telepathy. “I spoke to her and she said that she was fine but didn’t feel ready to come out of hiding,” said Matti last month. “She said she knew that Ernst had been waiting for her but that she was scared. She said she thought that humans would lock her up and she would no longer be free.”

Aufhauser had hoped that Yvonne’s two-year-old son, Friesi, who was previously believed dead but turned up alive at a local farm, might persuade her to return to civilisation. That also proved futile, but Yvonne will now be reunited with Friesi and her sister Waltraud in her new pasture at Gut Aiderbichl. The sanctuary promises that Yvonne will remain comfortable and undisturbed, if captive, for the remainder of her days.”

Yvonne’s sister

I love happy endings! Unfortunately this is not the reality for most cows alive today.

These sentient beings live in horrid environments and are kept like slaves just so humans can have dairy that:

#1 they don’t need!

#2 are disease producing!

Let’s get real here, dairy is NOT a health food! Dr. Esselstyn says that dairy is the number one carcinogen that we humans come into contact with on a daily basis. I don’t doubt him. Read “The China Study” for more facts if you have any doubts!

Dr. Neal Barnard says that dairy fat is the number one source of saturated fat. If you add saturated fat (eat meat and dairy), plus add a dose of copper to the mix from your cookware, then you’ll add 19 years of aging and cognitive decline to your life! The choice is yours!

Unlikely Friendships is an amazing book for adults. The stories will touch your heart and warm your spirit! I don’t believe, if you’re having a bad day, that it will be quite as bad once you’ve read a couple of these remarkable stories of unusual animal friendships. A few weeks ago, I was at the bookstore and discovered that Jennifer Holland has a whole series of Unlikely Friendship books made specifically for children. 

I couldn’t resist, so I stocked up on some of these and bought extra to share!

What I’m curious about is one, two or all of the following:

1. Who was your first pet? What kind was it? Any great story to share about it?

2. What pet do you own now or would you like to own?

3. Who do you plan to share or give this book to with if your name gets drawn?

4. What farm animal do you (or would you) advocate the most for/feel the most compassion for? Please explain to my readers why!

Thank you for sharing!

If they can share mutual respect and love for one another, why can’t we?

Wishing you Health, Happiness & Peace!