It’s Tasty Tuesday. Can you believe it’s been 7 months since I went vegan? Back then, I was a hot mess, in the throes of ulcerative colitis, with pre-cancer in my colon. Read more about that diabolical period of my life here. I had no idea that I could heal myself with my diet. But guess what? I did. I went from Omnivore to Vegan, cold Tofurky! News flash people! I used to take 16 or more expensive pills a day, bleed from my bowels and have other autoimmune issues that drove me bonkers.
Today, I am off all my medications. My quality of life has improved exponentially. It’s like a healing of biblical proportions. My Balm of Gilead IS a vegan diet.
Navigating a plant-based diet in the beginning made me feel like I had moved to Mars. I was completely lost because I USED to plan dinner around what meat I had in my fridge or freezer. Like most Americans, I was completely unaware that what I was eating was damaging my body. I thought meat and dairy were healthy and that they supplied my body with necessary protein and calcium. I was wrong. So I bought lots of books to re-educate myself. There were two that featured the same recipe by Chef AJ: her “Outrageous Black Bean Brownies.” I made them and realized baked goods really could be made without eggs, butter or crazy amounts of sugar and still taste delicious. I was so thrilled I shared the recipe here on this blog. Chef AJ responded to me in the comments of that post and offered to send me a copy of her book “Unprocessed” to review. She didn’t chastise me, but kindly opened the plant-based door. I learned quickly that you can’t just go and publish someone’s recipe on your blog without adapting it, or asking for permission. Sorry Chef AJ! I was a new blogger and didn’t understand the rules of blogging etiquette.
Because of Chef AJ, I rarely use oil in my kitchen, I’ve drastically cut my sugar intake and I’m working on my salt addiction (a girl’s gotta have a vice, right?). We’ve emailed back and forth and she even took the time to share an article with me about why oil consumption can be bad for you. Oils were super hard for me to significantly reduce in my diet, because I didn’t know how to create salad dressings without oil. Her House Dressing (recipe below) changed all that and rocked my world! In short, she was my mentor and a huge help during my transformation. During my Green Smoothie Challenge, she even shared her new Take Five salad dressing and encouraged me to post a link to it. Friends! It’s made without oil, nuts or seeds and is incredible!
She helped me to understand why plant based foods are so much better for us in terms of maintaining a healthy weight. Her passion is helping others discover what I’ve learned, that a whole-foods, plant-based diet is the best thing we can offer our bodies and the planet.
I’ve sampled many of the recipes from her book. Among my favorites are the Disappearing Lasagna, the Hail to the Kale Salad, and her Banana Strawberry Mousse Tart (raw, holy crap it’s good!) But there is one recipe of her’s that I have to have in my fridge at all times. It’s her signature House Dressing I mentioned above. I use it to spruce up salads, but the stuff is versatile! I put in on burritos, in tacos, over steamed veggies, use it as a dip and sometimes drink it straight from the mason jar, so without further ado, here is the Recipe.This time with permission!
Chef AJ’s House Dressing
1/2 cup water
4 Tablespoons tahini
6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 Tablespoons low sodium tamari
4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon date syrup or pure maple syrup
Method: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Chef AJ has been kind enough to offer a copy “Unprocessed” for today’s giveaway! Please read this post here for my full review.
Rules of Engagement:
1- You must be a follower of this blog, if you don’t know how to do that, there is a “Follow blog via email” button at the top column to the right.
2- You must like this post (click on the title name of this post, then go to the bottom of the post just above comments and push the like button),
3- You must comment below, telling me what led you to eat a more “Unprocessed” diet, or why you need this book to help you start!
Winner to be announced Saturday July 31st, 2012.
And now for the winner of last Tasty Tuesday’s Vegemite Giveaway……
Moon Rivers!
Winner was selected by using the random.org service. Please email your mailing address to me at goodcleanfoodblog@gmail.com and I will mail you your prize!
Until Somer Saturday….
UPDATE FROM CHEF AJ Thank you for your blog. I wish I could give a book to all of your readers but even if they don’t win they can still get many of my recipes for free at my webiste http://www.EatUnprocessed.com or on my Facebook page. I just posted an amazing oil-free dressing today called Quick 6. Love & Kale, Chef AJ
Good Clean Food 
I love the “cold tofurkey” comment. 🙂 I remember reading a link you sent me to the post about your journey to plant based. Living with a man raised on a beef farm, it would not be possible to do it completely in our household, but wanted you to know that we do have some meatless meals during the week now. I’m changing a few things slowly.
Oh Heidi! Believe me, if my man hadn’t agreed to do this with me, I would be in a very different place. It is super difficult to change your family’s diet without your partner’s support!
My husband watched “Forks Over Knives” with me and then agreed to try a plant-based diet with me for my sake. Just like that. It’s a powerful and convincing film, but it surprised me that he was 100% willing because he doesn’t particularly love vegetables and is as fond of meat and dairy as any carnivore. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me and continues to amaze me. He still eats animal products occasionally when he dines out for work, but we don’t have any animal based products in our home. What has surprised him the most is that he feels clearer mentally and has had many health related benefits as well. My children too, we ALL feel better!
Anyway, I applaud any changes you are able to make. You all ready eat tons of veggies and fruits so eliminating animal products a few times a week IS significant and you should find benefits to your health. Plus your “lightly” crunchy ways are a huge inspiration to the rest of us who learn a thing or two from you on a weekly basis!
I’m embarrassed to say what led me to eating an unprocessed diet, but it may help others, so here goes. Back in 2003, I kept getting chronic yeast and bladder infections. Doctors would give me antibiotics and the infections kept coming back. So I did some research on my own and started an all raw food diet. I felt terrific and no more yeast or bladder infections! Now, almost 10 years later, I’ve added cooked foods back, but still eat clean as possible.
Congratulations on your health and I love the “cold tofurkey” comment too, very clever!
Hey, that’s not any more embarrassing then remarks about bloody bowel movements. So glad you found a way to take care of your body and diet. It’s amazing how empowering it feels.
You have certainly been through a lot. Your story is very interesting. Amazing how diet can really be the answer to getting healthy. Too bad so many people do not believe that.
I can hardly wait to try the brownie and dressing recipes. It’s amazing the caring people we can meet on line, isn’t it? (re:Chef A.J.) I have a whole community of internet friends from all over, of which many I have met.
Fatness recently led me to an unprocessed diet. I lost 8# within 15 days of going unprocessed.
Your blog is an inspiration! I love the documentation of your “unprocessed” weight loss journey.
Do try the brownie and the dressing recipes! I think you will like them!
I have to tell you, I look forward to your blog posts probably more than any other blog I read. I’m so thrilled that you’re so much healthier, and after just 7 months! I keep thinking about what I’ll be like at 50. . .
What caused me to start eating cleaner and more unprocessed is my wife. She happened to read about how bad non-organic foods were about 3 years ago, and then she rolled that into how much better plants were for you, and lo and behold, 3 years later, I’m vegan for 4 months!
Probably the coolest person I met through blogs (present company excepted) is JL Fields, although I met her in person first, and then via twitter. . . Does that count? 😉
So glad you worship the blog! We kinda dig it too ;). Thanks dude. Cool that you’ve been able to make the transition to a vegan diet, and yes, you’re going to be rockin’ it at 50!
Within the past two weeks I learned that there was a possibility I may have gestational diabetes, which made me freak out. I decided I needed to modify my diet drastically. I eat organic but when I looked closer, I found I wasn’t eating balanced meals, or even meals that were good for my body. I saw your post on green smoothies and now I’m hooked! It’s my first step in the plant-based diet direction. But I don’t know of anyone around me following a diet like this. I really am at a loss of how to cook and how to eat in order to develop good health AND still make food my kids will enjoy.
Good for you! Try the recipe page on this blog. All of us moms on this blog switched to a plant based diet just this year. We used the blog to share recipes with each other and we’ve only posted recipes that we really liked or that the kids would eat! Because there are 4 of us, that’s a lot of recipe testing! You should be able to find something good. 😉
Good Luck!
Thanks! Love the blog!
🙂
I could write a novel with all the great reasons why I became a vegan 6 weeks ago. How I got to this point has been quite a journey. I started out wanting to lose weight and joined weight watchers. Then I did not like being hungry and eating so much chicken and fish to feel full. Having Crohn’s Disease and have recently been experiencing arthritis in my knees, I decided I needed to deal with all my inflammation issues and that would mean eating only anti-inflammatory foods. Then I saw Dr Furhman’s book at the store and remembered hearing him on a talk show a long time and thought it would be a great improvement.for me. I have been continuing to lose weight and am really enjoying my new diet. I am so grateful for all the wonderful blogs, including yours!!, with such helpful information and recipes.
I would love to pour through AJ’s book so I can expand my recipe file!
Thanks so much!!!
So glad you have found healing through your diet! Isn’t it amazing what the body can do to heal itself when we feed it the right fuel?!?
I’m just starting. Would love to cut out oils and other fats, not just “be vegan,” which is, unfortunately, not synonymous with healthful. And that is why I need this book — OH — and to learn more recipes from which to base my innovations as the Heebavore!
Once you learn a few recipes for salad dressings that are oil free and get the water sauteing method down, you are home free. My friend, Annie at http://anunrefinedvegan.com/ has a great page on substituting fats in baking as well here:
http://anunrefinedvegan.com/substitutions/
You will feel lighter and healthier as you get more into it!
I need more ideas. A swift kick in the rear and more ideas to get my kids excited.
Dude, the recipe page here is pretty awesome too. I admit it was tricky with the kids at first, but now they eat nearly everything I put in front of them.
Having made the conversion to vegan eating at the beginning of the year, I’m starting to feel like I’ve got things pretty much down pat. However, I realize that I still eat way too much processed food, and want to get away from that as much as possible in order to re-gain my health.
Yes, eating less processed food is the key to health. It’s crazy how simple it really is. But it sounds as if you are off to a great start!
I’m still battling to get back to being vegan (was vegan for 16 years), but so far, my severe hypoglycemia won’t let me. 😦 I am happy for YOUR success though!
I have another vegan friend who also battles severe hypoglycemia. She was a vegetarian but has been committed to a vegan diet now for over a year. I’ll bet she would be willing to share her thoughts and key to successfully staying vegan while managing her disease if you were to contact her. I would love to make a bridge connection if you’d like. Her site is here:
http://keepinitkind.com/
There is a contact tab there.
If it weren’t for the help and encouragement of people like Chef AJ and all my blogging buddies, my success story may not have been so successful! We gotta stick together and help each other out!
Congrats on 7 months! I’m love the story of how much healthier you are now- it never fails to amaze me how the food we eat determines our health.
When I first went vegan (about 2 years ago) I relied pretty heavily on the processed foods (and I’ll admit I still eat them sometimes!), but this year I’ve been making an effort to eat more whole foods and I’ve really cut back on my oil intake. I’m excited to try that dressing recipe, it sounds great. Lately I’ve just been using salsa as a dressing (no oil, no fat, few calories) which I love but I’d like a change of pace once in a while 🙂
Thanks Barb! I use homemade salsa and Chef AJ’s dressing often on salads in combo! Um, it’s dynamite!
I never win anything so I’m headed to Amazon now to buy it! 🙂 Thank you so much for posting about this. I’ve been a vegan for 7 months also. I haven’t had oils in 7 months either and it is VERY hard to find a cookbook that omits them.
Yup, no oil in this cookbook! If you buy it, you won’t regret it, It’s pretty amazing. Many of her recipes can also be found on her website at http://www.eatunprocessed.com/
Congrats on 7 months too! Isn’t it awesome!?!
A few months ago I began cooking only vegetarian meals at home and I’ve never been happier! It’s pushed my creativity in the kitchen, and being excited about cooking again has helped me cut down so much on emotional eating and helped me get rid of the pounds gained during grad school when I felt tired, irritable, and foggy all the time. Now I make greens-based smoothies instead of grabbing a frappucino on the way to class! But I’m still not happy with the amount of sugar and dairy in my diet, and I will begin a very intimidating, very busy job in the fall, and I need to establish great habits now so I don’t fall into the “I don’t have time” trap again. This blog has been a great resource, and I’m ready to go even further!
I hope that you can find success, once you cut out the dairy and reduce sugar as well, you’ll feel much better. An unprocessed diet will certainly help you cope with a stressful new job as well.
where would I even start on saying why I need this book? I don’t have recipes, the ingredients or even know what some of the ingredients are (nutritional vs regular yeast). I have so much to learn and you speak very highly of this book so I know it’s good.
You would love it my dear! I forgot to email you last night…. Doing it now 😉
I’ve been a junk food vegetarian for years. Even though it was vegetarian eating, it was still unhealthy eating, fried foods such as french fries, chips, fried mushrooms, etc. I was also big on cheese and butter, mixing it with almost everything I made. I’m now on the road to healthier vegan diet and would like to get more ideas on eating whole plant foods.
Way to go! It’s hard to break those habits, but you will feel so much better without all the fried foods, butter and cheese!
I love this blog! You guys are all so cool and encouraging. I’ve been a vegetarian for a year now, and have begun adopting a more dairy- and egg-free lifestyle in the past few months after watching some very convincing documentaries. While I love how I feel when I’m eating well, I tend to buckle under stress, which I’ve had a lot of lately. I took your Green Smoothie Challenge last week, and in addition to losing 3 unwanted pounds, I felt consistently awesome and in control of my eating. I’m still doing the smoothies for breakfast and lunch, and am trying to find ways to creatively incorporate more whole foods into my other meals as well.
Wow, awesome that you did the green smoothie challenge! One thing that helped me is to remove all animal products from my home. That way, I couldn’t be tempted. The food bank loved me that day!!!
Chef AJ has tons of free recipes on her website: http://www.eatunprocessed.com
And yes, those documentaries (likely the same ones that convinced me) are REALLY compelling!
So proud for you! This is awesome, thanks for sharing!! Though I don’t plan on going vegan or getting rid of oils (at this time anyhow), I am so stoked for what you have done in your life!
Aw, thanks!
Thanks for your blog. I wish I could give a book to all of your readers but even if they don’t win they can still get many of my recipes for free at my webiste http://www.EatUnprocessed.com or on my Facebook page. I just poested an amazing oil-free dressing today called Quick 6. Love & Kale, Chef AJ
I’m going to check out that dressing now! Yum! Thanks again for all you do!
xoxo!
Congrats on the 7 month mark!
More importantly congrats on healing yourself! My dad has the same disease and I keep telling him that he needs to go vegan but he doesn’t believe me and also can’t eat any fibre or hard vegetables..
I went vegan for health reasons, to fight depression and it has made the world if difference. No tablet or treatment can match up.
I’m so happy for you, her book sounds awesome!
Ulcerative Colitis is a slippery slope. When you’re in a flare it’s difficult to eat anything but low fiber low residue food, which is also the worst kind of food for your health. Such a horrible vicious cycle
I helped to stabilize my disease through this probiotic:
http://www.gardenoflife.com/ProductsforLife/DigestiveHealth/PrimalDefensesupsupULTRA/tabid/639/Default.aspx
It’s cheapest on Amazon and I still take it on occasion when I start to feel as if a flare could be coming on. Maybe it could help him as well so that he could start to eat veggies again.
I’m so happy to hear that you’re so much better and medication free! That’s huge! Chef AJ’s book sounds great, and I love that she stays in contact with her readers- what a great gal!
I became vegetarian eight years ago for health reasons (I just felt better not eating meat), but became vegan eight months ago for ethical reasons. Recently, for health reasons, I began limiting my sugar intake and eating mostly organic foods. There’s always room for improvement though and I would love to learn how to make our lives even less processed. 🙂
I love her!
Thanks for sharing your story on why you went vegan. I think most of us have a story and it’s pretty amazing to see all of them here. It’s a little emotional!
I went vegetarian as a high schooler but now (15 years later) I have gone vegan and very low oil/salt/sugar. I wanted to avoid many of the health problems that I have seen my parents and siblings deal with over the past several years.
I hope you see significant positive health impacts from your diet. Thanks for sharing!
Congrats! 7 months cold Tofurky is awesome! I went vegan after having been vegetarian for over 10 years about two years ago, but this past year I’ve really made the switch to unprocessed foods. I’ve been wanting to check out Chef AJ’s book for a while. Thanks for the opportunity!
No worries! It’s a goodie! I love that you’ve gone more unprocessed, it makes such a difference!
Great blog! Would love Chef AJ’s book to help my creativity in the kitchen! I have been eating a predominately organic, low sugar, whole foods diet for quite some time now. I decided to go dairy-free about two months ago, and just recently decided to go vegan! I am kind of torn since I feel good when I eat meat and think the paleo diet has some benefits too; however have learned a lot about treatment of animals lately. I learned that even my organic animal products may not be treated so well. After watching some animal rights videos, I just can’t bear to eat meat anymore! Thanks for sharing your story.
You won the giveaway my dear! Email me your address and Chef AJ will send it out to you.
Have you watched Forks Over Knives yet? I would love to know what you think 😉
Yay! I will email you my address.
Yes, I have seen Forks Over Knives and thought it had some really good points. I have to say I am still torn on the issue of eating meat though – I think everyone’s body is different and some may do great on a vegan diet and others may do better adding some humanely raised animal products. Have you heard of the ‘eating for your blood type diet’ and ‘nutritional type diet’? I wouldn’t say that I agree 100% with everything these diets stand for, but it’s interesting that different people may have different dietary requirements for their optimal health. I am definitely interested in vegan recipes and think the vegan lifestyle has a lot of health benefits. I may end up adding some animal products back into my diet if I find small farms whose practices I truly trust and if I feel these products will benefit me. I will just have to see where my personal food journey leads me!
Thank you for sharing great information on your blog, and thanks for the giveaway!!
My naturopath recommended the blood type diet for me years ago. I got much sicker following it, so not a believer there.
I used to be a total carnivore!
It was the China Study (read it right after watching Forks Over Knives) that got me in the end. The proven scientific links between consuming animal products and cancer rates, cholesterol, heart disease and autoimmune disorders were the kickers there. But I was all ready struggling and had pre-cancer removed from my colon twice in the last 5 years, so I was REALLY running scared and I was really sick.
I think if you’re going to eat meat, small farms is totally the way to go 🙂 SO much better for you. You won’t be putting all those antibiotics and growth hormones into your body and possibly be saving yourself from the e. coli contamination issues that all store bought meat has as well.
So glad you won! I think there is a lot of good info in her book that you will love. I will forward your address directly to Chef AJ and she will mail you out the book 🙂
Thank you, can’t wait to read it!
Did it arrive yet!?! 🙂
Yes it did and I’m enjoying it so far! Thank you so much!
Yay!
I put the house dressing on Andrew’s sandwiches, he loves it. (he doesn’t know he loves it of course)
Of course he doesn’t know he loves it. My kids don’t either 😉 Beats the pants off mayo!
Thanks I enjoyed reading your. Congratulations on your 7 months since you became in charge of your health. I will make this dressing..Chef AJ’s House Dressing. I am always looking for dressing like these, like my Japanese Sesame Dressing I prefer these to bought ones.
So much better than store bought! Thanks for reading Thom! Is your Japanese Sesame Dressing on your blog?
This dressing sounds great! I look forward to trying it. I don’t eat a vegan diet but I do try to cook a lot and eat things that are recognizable as food. I have always been inclined that way because real food tastes better, but having kids also makes me more aware of what I’m feeding their little bodies.
You are the closest to vegan omnivore I know. I think your predominant veggie intake rules!
As a college student, I began to question everything and make my own decisions. What a better way to do that than to start with the food on my plate? I went vegan over a year ago and learned to eat a whole foods plant based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. With exercise I was able to lose 20 pounds. I was so thrilled because I didn’t have to try very hard either! Later on my journey, I thought whatever I ate, as long as it was vegan, would be okay. That may be okay for the animals and the planet, but it’s not always healthy. I’ve been getting back into eating a whole foods vegan diet again and just need the resources for recipes and how-to’s. I’ve hit a weight plateau and really need to lose more, so I know that eating a unprocessed vegan diet is very key! I also wish to set a healthful example for family and friends with tasty and healthy foods.
It’s hard to overeat when you eat whole foods! Thanks for your comments! The contest is over, but Chef AJ commented that many of her recipes in her book are free on her website, http://www.eatunprocessed.com
I am amazed at your story, your progress and your recipes as well.
I was prescribed prozac back in 1990, the year after my mother died of cancer and within two weeks was totally out of my mind. (along with the prozac which the “doctor” prescribed she had given me a huge shopping bag filled with free samples of drugs that would protect my stomach from the other drugs and was told that prozac was a new drug that didn’t have any side effects! HAH! When I went back to her after almost jumping out of a plane and then almost tossing my luggage out of the airport windows, she told me that I was insane and needed to see a psychiatrist and that she could not do anything for me)
I decided that all doctors were insane and that no foods or drugs were safe to consume and went from 115 pounds to 89 pounds in a very short period. The only thing I was consuming was brown rice and purified water, then our own well water once we had a house and a well installed. I found a book that concentrated on health foods and discovered a new way to eat. That was when I learned how to eat and cook real foods and I became vegetarian. In 1995 I discovered veganism and decided that was what I needed and I’ve been a vegan ever since.
In 1998 it was strongly suggested to me to go to a doctor, many doctors really and after much testing was operated on laprocopically to remove adhesions in my pelvic area because I had had three cesearian (sp?) sections and along with that was encouraged to take antidepressants. Not a good suggestion as it led to many doctor visits and many doctor experiments with various antidepressants.
Long story made longer but trying to shorten it here and there and leaving out huge parts. I discovered in 2007 that I had a lump in one of my breasts and when it was removed was told it was cancerous even though beforehand they told me 80% of women who had these lumps found them to benign. What a false hope they gave me. They wanted to remove my breast, start radiation and give me chemotherapy. After having seen chemo. kill some of my friends and then investigating others stories about their journeys with surgeries and other horrible adventures with breast cancer I decided to refuse treatment. I found that many doctors told me that I was insane to not have treatment and I was told again to go to psychiatrists.
I did keep going for PET/CT scans and the cancer got smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared after two years and left the oncologist scratching their heads. It’s gone and has stayed gone ever since. I know it’s a very personal choice but not having treatments was a great choice for me and it’s not for everyone. I want women to know that they DO have a choice when it comes to “treatments” and doctors are not always right. This is something that I learned a very hard way and through agonizing over my decision and scared the h*ll out of me.
I did go so far as to find a regular doctor who prescribed antidepressants to help me sleep and for nerve pain pills for post herpatic nerve damage due to a bad case of shingles and was then referred to a pain management clinic where I was then prescribed morphine (large amounts) for pain left over from the lumpectomy. I did that for three years and decided to wean myself off from them by myself because I was not getting much relief and didn’t trust the doctors anymore. I wound up almost dead and in the hospital in severe withdrawl. They misunderstood me and prescribed a weeks worth of (again) a huge amount of morphine and made me agree to go back to the pain management clinic. I went back and was given a choice to go back on the meds or to have their help to withdraw. I opted to go back on again. Did that for a year and then decided to stop again. Very long story I know. I’m hoping it might help someone! I found myself being kicked out of the clinic because I was making my own decisions and they only gave me a half dose for two weeks instead of four as I had planned on and got a very rude awakening. I got through it with the help of a friend who had much experience with withdrawl and somehow stayed off.
I made the mistake of getting my own valarian root and caps to fill and have been using them (abusively) for the past year and a half to help me sleep and keep me fairly calm but have had many problems with sleep patterns and then skin rashes and very sore throat which my nurse practioner first prescribed antibiotics for over the phone without seeing me. The sore throat turned out to be a yeast infection and she prescibed me lozenges which helped while I was taking them but the skin rashes around my eyes and nose have continued since then.
I have been in the process of trying candida diets sort of but there are so many versions it’s very hard for me to discern what I can and cannot eat. I know that I have to cut out the doctor drugs and the valarian but have been afraid to stop and am not in the best condition at all and am afraid as well to be honest with doctor who seems to have deemed me as a hypocondriac because I told her I thought I had a serious candida problem. So there you have it. a perfect reason why I really need Chef A.J.’s book. I realize I need more than another book – I need to make a decision about the valarian and about doctors as well and have been looking into finding a doctor I can feel safe with which is hard after all I’ve been through.
I am sorry to have taken up so much space on your blog here but I hope my story somehow helps someone else.
Ruby, I think eating plant based can help with all your issues. I do believe there is a place for modern medicine, but it’s definitely over used AND abused!
I just bought these tiny little plastic containers that I will be adding my salad dressing to when I am not at home to eat. This salad dressing looks like a winner to me!
Hope you enjoy it! It’s really lovely!
Hello, I went to a whole foods plant based diet because I had celiac and fibromyalgia. I cry when i think about the constant pain I was in…AND IT’S GONE! I’m working on my weight now. I was introduced to the whole foods approach after my parents had me watch forks over knives…I then watched fat, sick, and nearly dead…Those movies changed my life. I had been vegetarian off and on my whole life, but not a whole foods person at those times. I had been attempting my own ‘whole foods’ approach eating only fresh meats, dairy, and simply less processed foods for a long time…SO, this helped me put those two things together!!!…that what led me here!!!!
That is so great! I love hearing stories like yours! Isn’t it amazing what plants can do for your body?
So much goodness in this post! I started eating more unprocessed so I would stop feeling so slow and sluggish and to alleviate some digestive issues I had. While I’m still trying to find the right balance, the changes have been nothing but positive 🙂 Plus, let’s face it, real, unprocessed food, just tastes better! I have been obsessed with that dressing recipe ever since you shared it with me- I put it on everything!!
I love your story Gabby! Glad you love the dressing too, I’m a little bit obsessed with it!
After reading your book Unprocessed, I seen me in the same path. I knew I had to change, and this gave me the light at the end of the tunnel. Me and my husband have been vegan now for 4 months, and loving every minute of it. I have become wheat intolerant so the plant – based diet has been working wonderfully for us!
Again I have to thank-you for your book and the inspiration that it has given us. I think i was always seraching for a book like this. And now it’s opened up so many doors!
I’m so glad you love Chef AJ’s book as much as I do!
I discovered Eat to Live and then Chef Aj as a result of that. I have had Unprocessed on my wishlist for quite a while just have had other expenses to deal with. I’d love to have the recipes Chef AJ has to offer in this book.
I wish I could send you a copy! She and Dr. Furhman are like a dynamite duo! She included a link for more of her recipes here for free http://www.EatUnprocessed.com
wow! congratulations on the 7 month mark!!! my primary reasons for going vegan were not health reasons, so it is reaffirming and inspiring to hear the positive changes veganism has had on you!! 😀
Thank you so much. I went vegan for health primarily, but I think we all end up in the same place: Grateful we’re not harming animals and the planet and our bodies feeling better too!
What a great story Somer! I am so happy to hear that you UC has gotten a whole lot better, I transitioned from a Vegetarian Diet to a Vegan one and have healed my Upper Crohns with the simple change of removing all aminal products from my diet – I am med free and loving it! Your story is truly inspiring 🙂
Mmmm that salad dressing looks amazing – and no oil – craziness!
Heather, I had no idea you had Crohns! It’s so amazing what power the body has to heal itself if you feed it the right fuel. I want to scream at the medical industry and the CCFA and show them the real cure for IBD.
And yes, the dressing really is amazing, and super creamy to boot!
Dear Somer – I love this post!! Thank you – I have a lot to learn!
XOXO!
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I need this book to help me prepare healthy meals for my meat-eating husband and daughters and transition them to a complete plant-based diet with delicious tasting meals for great health.
Sorry you didn’t win the challenge 😦 but please get more of Chef AJ’s recipes here: http://www.EatUnprocessed.com
I’ve been veg for a long time, but vegan only the past 3 years. Moving to CA and being around so much fresh food and healthy options really helped me to move toward unprocessed.
I love that! Yes, California is amazing for the fresh produce and all the healthy food choices. I’m working on Utah, one blog post at a time 😉
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Hi, I’m a new almost vegan, but definitely unprocessed person. I own Chef AJ’s book and I just love her. I trust everything she says and I have made and continue to try many of her recipes. I have lost forty pounds since I started my new health journey back in late June. I started with Dr. Mark Hyman and did his seven day detox. I went on to discover Dr. Fuhrman, and reading his book was probably the ultimate game changer. I have watched “Forks Over Knives” and I have “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” waiting to be watched.
I am off of all of my blood pressure and cholesterol meds and my doctor is very happy with my success.
I have a question for all of you. I seem to have developed a need for blue corn chips! I buy only all natural, three ingredient only chips made from organic blue corn, expeller pressed oil, and sea salt. Do you think they are harmful? Interested to hear your thoughts!
Virginia
Great job! AJ and Fuhrman together are like dynamite! Love both of them. I sometimes eat the same blue corn chips, but try to limit myself to one serving. Oil-free is what they both recommend so they’d tell you not to eat them. I’m not there yet, but close. 🙂