Julieanna Hever, the Plant Based Dietitian, was torn.

As an expert on nutrition, she knew that the healthiest diet for humans is plant-based whole foods.

As a lover of all things Mediterranean (especially Italian), she appreciated the glorious flavors of the Mediterranean diet; a diet that we’re told includes generous amounts of olive oil, red wine, cheese, and fish.

How to reconcile the two?

Turns out the Mediterranean diet we read about in the media bears only superficial resemblance to the food and lifestyle patterns of the real Mediterranean diet. Kind of like how the food served in rural China doesn’t exactly consist of deep-fried General Tso’s chicken and egg rolls.

Julieanna set out to discover the true Mediterranean diet, the one responsible for the health, vigor, and longevity of its adherents.

Her thrilling discovery: the real Med Diet is a whole food, plant-based diet. And that’s the basis of her excellent, yummy, funny, empowering new book, The Vegiterranean Diet.

In our far-ranging and laugh-provoking (at least among ourselves) conversation, we explore:

* why Julieanna felt the need to write the book

* the connection between this book and her past life as a Shakespearean actor

* the culinary advantages of an Egyptian ex-mother-in-law

* how nutrition and sex education are similar, in really unpleasant ways

* the scientific evidence for and against olive oil

* the anti-reductionist secret of sofrito

* what a true American food culture might look like

* the importance of teaching kids to grow and appreciate food

* the difference between ingredients out of context and a wholistic lifestyle

* some of Julieanna’s favorite Vegiterranean recipes

* and much more…

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that’s how we spread our message and spread our roots.

Links

The Vegiterranean Diet on amazon

PlantBasedDietitian.com – Julieanna’s website

Kerry Kay is a tango dancer, energy healer, motorcycle rider, and dear friend.

As you’ll hear, she performed a Reiki healing on me many years ago, when I didn’t believe in that sort of thing.

I went on not believing, even as I experienced something pretty remarkable (if not downright miraculous).

Over the years, my own attitudes have softened; the more I know about science, the more I realize science doesn’t know.

So if you’re willing to “go there” with us, you’re in for a fascinating glimpse into the heart and mind of a healer.

In our conversation, Kerry and I dive into:

* descriptions of Reiki and Family Constellation work

* her early experience of “deficiency” and her personal journey of healing

* how to research energy healing

* “the miracle of a cut finger”

* being willing to not know how things work

* can the past be changed in the present? (the dance of metaphor and reality)

* the astounding findings of the PEAR (Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research) Lab, and how they relate to the phenomenon of energy healing

* the benefits of being open-minded

* and much more…

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that’s how we spread our message and spread our roots.

Links

Kerry’s website: KerryKayHealing.com

ICRL (International Consciousness Research Laboratories)

Book: Margins of Reality, by Bob Jahn and Brenda Dunne

Thoughts on the episode? Let us know.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Director of Nutrition Education Susan Levin grew up on a high-fat, highly-processed Alabama diet.

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Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Director of Nutrition Education Susan Levin grew up on a high-fat, highly-processed Alabama diet.

After discovering for herself the benefits of a plant-based diet, she found herself stymied when trying to tell others about it. “What do you know about nutrition?” they’d sneer.

Not to be silenced, Susan completed a career about-face and enrolled in the Nutritional Science and Clinical Counseling programs at Bastyr University (and transplanted herself from New York to Seattle).

Now an expert in nutritional research as well as an engaging educator, Susan helps spread the good news about eating plants.

In our conversation, we cover:

* how her health improved on a vegan diet

* the ways researchers and media sometimes keep us confused

* why most clinical trials of diet are like comparing getting shot in the head 10 times to getting shot in the head once

* the USDA conflict of interest

* what it was like as an English teacher in China trying to convince her students not to drink cow’s milk like Americans

* the complete lack of credible evidence to support the health benefits of animal foods

* the low-carb sleight of hand – short term gain, long term pain

* how PCRM conducts research, and whether,  as a “vegan advocacy” organization, their findings can be trusted (her response made me laugh!)

* the latest PCRM research on diabetes, heart disease, and dementia

* how to take advantage of their research findings without enrolling in a PCRM clinical trial

* and much more…

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that’s how we spread our message and spread our roots.

Links

Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine

Susan’s bio page

The 21 Day Kickstart – support, recipes, and advice to transition to a plant-based diet

Dr Neal Barnard’s books at amazon

Bastyr University – natural health education

Thoughts on the episode? Let us know.

Robert Cheeke was a scrawny, scrappy teenager who embraced veganism - and raised hell in the process.

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Robert Cheeke was a scrawny, scrappy teenager who embraced veganism – and raised hell in the process.

Born to a family deeply steeped in animal agriculture, he took a different path. And all his life, Robert has kept that rebellious spirit alive in the service of health, fitness, and compassion.

His new book, Shred It!, is an encyclopedic reference for people who want to become fit and ripped – low body fat, fully developed muscles.

Yeah, it’s got workout routines, photos of exercises, eating plans, and recipes – but the book starts with an impassioned plea to the reader: Don’t Be Average.

In our conversation, Robert and I cover:

* the importance of finding our passion

* the ways we can lie to ourselves, and how to develop transparency and accountability in our journeys of self-development

* the idiocy of trying to get fit without a workable plan

* Robert’s childhood in the 4H club – and what he values from that experience

* the mixed messages he received about animals as a child

* why he once burned a $50 bill in front of his father – and what that taught him about effective activism

* how his advice – and professional results – changed after studying with T Colin Campbell

* the one person he really wants to reach with his message

* and much more…

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that’s how we spread our message and spread our roots.

Links

Robert’s website: VeganBodyBuilding.com

Shred It!

Robert’s first book: Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness

Thoughts on the episode? Let us know.

Mike Crockett, aka Big Bald Mike, has an amazing and inspiring story.

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Mike Crockett, aka Big Bald Mike, has an amazing and inspiring story.

A young, gentle giant whose soul hungered for music and peace.

A childhood in Marlin, Texas, being fattened up like a calf for slaughter so he could dominate high school football games.

A carnivorous hunger that had him eating 2600 pounds of meat in a single year – and had him topping out at 571 pounds.

A long spiral into addiction, crime, violence, and self-loathing. A world in which numbing out the pain – physical and emotional – became a full-time job.

A dark night of the soul that culminated in a attempted-suicide overdose that would have killed five ordinary men.

And a path to redemption that includes professional wrestling, a caring lady, kale, and bunnies.

In our conversation, we cover:

* Mike’s early years, and the cost of living up to other’s expectations

* his ongoing struggles equating sheer size with self-worth

* the crucial difference between remorse and guilt

* how a video on animal cruelty broke the floodgates of self-protection and returned Mike to his compassionate heart

* how a whole food, plant-based diet cured his body

* Mike’s life in professional wrestling, including a featured cameo in the Mickey Rourke movie The Wrestler

* The story and meaning – then and now – of his profane tattoos

* the differences and similarities between Mike Crockett the person and Big Bald Mike the brand

* junkie guilt and the phenomenon of drunk dialing

* the courage required for Mike to face himself and write his autobiography

* how his love of animals has provided his life with meaning and direction – and how that makes all the effort at self-improvement worthwhile

* his speaking career – and how little old ladies who used to cross the street at the sight of him now come up and give him hugs

* and much more…

Note: if you’re a commuter, this is a two-ride interview. We spoke for over 100 minutes. (If your commute is longer than an hour and 45 minutes, I don’t want to hear about it

Thoughts on the episode? Let us know.

Katie Mae grew up eating chicken, beef, mashed potatoes - and overcooked frozen vegetables (when her parents forced her). In high school she exhibited disordered eating patterns, and thought of herself as an "ice cream addict."

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Katie Mae grew up eating chicken, beef, mashed potatoes – and overcooked frozen vegetables (when her parents forced her). In high school she exhibited disordered eating patterns, and thought of herself as an “ice cream addict.”

Fast forward to today, and Katie is an unabashed foodie and flavor ambassador for a cuisine that most people don’t associate with hedonistic pleasure: whole food, plant-based, minus the sugar, oil, and salt.

In this conversation, Katie and I discuss:

* her unlikely and tumultuous journey from the Standard American Diet to a whole food, plant-based diet

* the relevation triggered by a red bell pepper that changed her career goals in an instant

* her experience on a raw food diet in Seattle in January, and why she stopped after four months

* her relationship with sugar: “1000 bites isn’t enough and one bite is too much”

* why she chose to create cookbooks that “healthify” Mexican and Italian cuisine, and desserts

* how to keep salad fresh for 3-4 days (this was a total master class for me)

* her “bootcamp” approach to teaching healthy cooking, and why variety isn’t always the best initial approach

* why talking about True North health center brought her to tears (don’t worry, it’s all good)

* the science behind the epidemic of gluten intolerance and sensitivity, and why it’s important for everyone to learn how to cook without gluten at least part of the time

* her upcoming (January 12, 2015) Plantz Boot Camp and how she changes people’s cooking habits in just 28 days

* and much more…

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that’s how we spread our message and spread our roots.

Links

PlantBasedKatie.com – Katie’s website, where you can find lots of free recipes and also get her cookbooks

PlantzBootCamp.com – special deal through tomorrow, December 4!

True North Health Center