Best of the Blogosphere From the Last Week!! Reverse Diabetes, Gratitude, Sleep & Salads!!! AND, the Recipe(s) of the Week!

Well, once again we have another week of outstanding posts in the free blogosphere (yay!).  I'm so grateful for my little "Pulse" app on my iPhone that I can use to keep up with all these posts on the fly!  


Here are my FAVORITE blog posts this week!  What were YOUR favorite posts?????!!! 


1) From the Healthy Librarian's Happy Healthy Long Life blog: Can You Really Reverse Diabetes with a Plant-Based Diet? 
 Fantastic video on Reversing Diabetes Mellitis with food programs--excellent explanation of diabetes & its effect on the body by Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. AND how to reverse it!!  Its 37 mins long but SO worth it!! If you have family members who are pre-diabetic, diabetic or have a family history of diabetes than please forward this on to them:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqCxVEAUjd0.


2)  Really excellent post on sleep on the Disease Proof blog.  I think that sleep is absolutely critical to our health, well-being AND ability to be at a healthy weight!  (not to mention its effect on reducing Altzheimer's disease etc.)  I'm working on writing a blog post on sleep and am considering starting a special one month long "Sleep Challenge" for all of you!  What do you think?  Would you join me in something like that?  Either way, check this post out!


3) Two very exciting posts on salads!  I really love these posts because I've been avoiding having salads for so many years because for me, salad = diet food! But in the last month or so I've been inspired by both Wendy and Susan Voisin's posts on salads (as well as My New Root's Winter Slaw)!  Now I'm eating more salads and I love hearing how other people "build salads" and encourage themselves to eat them!

• Wendy from Healthy Girl's Kitchen did a guest post on the Engine 2 Diet blog!!  Its an excellent post on how to build a salad.  Check it out!  Extra bonus in this post:  links to her oil-free dressings (as you can see I'm a huge fan of her Caesar Salad No-Oil Dressing!)
• Susan Voisin from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's blog gives "Tips on How to Eat Salad's When You Really Don't Want To!"  Extra bonus in the post:  an AWESOME recipe for vegan ranch dressing!

4)  Oh She Glow's "Gratitude Challenge".  I posted on Facebook about this but I HAD to mention it again because it is so powerful.  The idea of having a gratitude CONVERSATION every day with another person is such a huge boost to our mind-body health!  I hope you will join Angela (the blogger) on this! 

5)  Prescribing Yoga's post on "Trying to Stay Healthy":  Ok unless you are in medicine you might not appreciate this blog post, but I read it and laughed.  This brilliant young doc is doing such a great job of surviving intern year AND striving for health.  When you are an intern (your first year of being a doctor after medical school) the pace literally almost kills you.  Am I a fan of this method of training doctors--NO. Will I spend my life trying to change this system--YES.   

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:  I've got TWO this week!  

1)  Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Butternut Mac & Cheese (soooooo going on my food plan for this week!!)

2)........Ok so this next recipe may shock you guys, and for those of you who have issues with chocolate then stop reading my post now!  

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Ok, are all my chocolate addict folks gone?  Alright, Post Punk Kitchen posted a recipe for Raspberry Truffle Brownies that I think I will be able to easily adapt to be sugar-free!  Will add a bit more gluten-free flour and a bit more of the raspberry jam (grape juice sweetened) instead of the sugar!  I'll let you know how it turns out :-)


The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

My Favorite Blogs!! Inspiring, Educational, Plant-Strong Blogs & the BEST Vegan Recipe Sources Online!!!

Ok, so as requested here are my absolute favorite blogs!  They are all listed in my "Blogs I Like" sidebar on the left of my blog :-)  Somehow I manage to stay current on them because I'm a big reader on my iPhone "Pulse" app:-)  I'm sure that many of these blogs are your favorites too but if you have other ones that I haven't mentioned than PLEASE let me know in the comments!!  I am always, always looking for more inspiration and resources so please do share YOUR favorites as well!!! 

Happy Healthy Long Life by The Healthy Librarian:

Debby, the Healthy Librarian, is just the best health data-driven blogger on the net in my opinion.  Entertaining to read and a treasure trove of information, I never finish reading one of her blog posts without learning something important.  From blogging about her own health journey with the vegan Esselstyn lifestyle to analyzing big medical questions to talking about books we should all read to enrich our lives--her blog has a wide spectrum of topics that are extremely engaging.  Being a medical librarian, she uses her professional expertise to explore topics from an evidence-based medicine perspective--meaning that every single statement she makes she immediately backs up with multiple references that support her analysis.  Beyond her information driven posts, I love that we get a glimpse of her richly lived life.  She is wise AND fun--some of my favorite parts of her blog posts are when she shares about her time with her husband, family & friends.  I admire her so much.  The site can sometimes be logistically difficult to navigate but it is so worth the trouble to find some of her previous posts.  The recipes in particular are outstanding--every single thing I've made from one of her recipes has become a household favorite.  I absolutely love this blog and was inspired to start blogging because of her outstanding work.  

Healthy Girl's Kitchen:
Ok, this is another of my daily must-reads! Wendy, the author of Healthy Girl's Kitchen is such an outstanding resource to the plant-based community and has a well-deserved loyal and supportive following.  And I don't just say that because I'm so touched that she shared my New Year's post "Dear 268 Pound Me" as a "don't miss" read.  She just rocks. What I love about her is that she is so honest and vulnerable about her own inspiring weight loss journey.  This is particularly important to me because as someone who has lost a lot of weight myself, it is very difficult to imagine what it feels like to be overweight (or in my case, obese) unless you have walked in those shoes.  Wendy has walked that path & the way she shares her story is extremely endearing--you feel like you know her well even though she is technically a stranger!  She is unafraid to share what she does & doesn't know and when you read your blog you feel like you are learning along with her!   The blog is smart, has great information-driven posts with solid resources & her recipes are fantastic.  Did I mention that her recipes are fantastic?  :-)   Definitely one of the best blogs out there:-).  

 Vegan Epicurean:
Ali, the Vegan Epicurean, is one inspiring woman.  With each of them facing cancer, both she and her husband decided to make a sudden and radical lifestyle change to plant-based eating & lifelong wellness.  With each blog post, Ali takes us on this vibrant journey of theirs to live life with health and to the fullest!  You cannot help but be drawn in to her energy and honesty.  Occasionally she shares some of her medical challenges but her blog isn't driven by disease---its driven by this mission for a healthy life.  Not only did she embrace a plant-based diet, she became a student of nutrition, wellness and disease prevention and (lucky us!) she shares what she has learned along the way.  A graduate of Dr. Campbell's Cornell Plant-Based Nutrition course, she seems to try to attend every educational seminar available.  With a background in healthcare herself, I find her to be a real kindred spirit.  Oh!  And she has great recipes too!  I obviously love her blog!


Disease Proof, Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Blog:
I never miss one of this blog's posts.  Dr. Fuhrman's blog supplies me with the much needed information on the latest in nutritional research developments and teaches me very valuable clinical applications of plant-based nutrition.  As I still feel a huge gap in my medical training with regards to my understanding of nutrition, I really appreciate blogs like this that help fill that gap little-by-little.  I realize that its only a matter of time before I sign-up for Dr. Campbell's Cornell Plant-Based Nutrition Course, but in the meantime, Dr. Fuhrman's blog is an outstanding resource for all of us to learn more about the "why, how & what" of our nutritional health.  In addition, I have an enormous amount of respect for Dr. Fuhrman's work and life mission.  Its wonderful to have such an accessible source of information from him!  I can't recommend this blog enough!


The Happy Herbivore:  
If you couldn't tell by my "Best Cookbooks" post, I'm a huge fan of Lindsay Nixon and of course, love her blog (as evidenced by my "Herbie of the Week" Interview as well).  Friendly, open & energetic, its no wonder that she has so many fans on Facebook and her latest cookbook sold out on Amazon within its first week! She has hundreds of delicious, free recipes available on her site and her daily posts really give me, among other things, excellent practical direction with my food preparation.  She writes about everything from "how to replace fats when baking" to how she followed her bliss--leaving practicing law to become a low-fat vegan chef!  She is disarmingly honest & I have an enormous amount of admiration for the life choices she has made along the way.  Lately a lot of her posts have been guest written by her sister and her intern.  While I like them very much as well, Lindsay's posts are definitely my favorite.  She has a strong voice & I believe she is a major rising star in the plant-based world.  She is one of the few blogs I actually "subscribe" to over email.  I read her posts (sometimes several in one day!) religiously.  


The Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen 
I've been using Susan Voisin's recipes since before I really knew what the terms "blogs" and "bloggers" meant!  It can be hard to eat fat free when you are pursuing a vegan lifestyle but with her incredible collection of recipes you really can't ever complain that fat-free means taste-free.  She generally stays pretty recipe focussed in her posts but recently I read a post of hers that was much more self-reflective--of course I loved that!  Particularly since she was noticing the negative influence of flour and sugar!  Anyways, back to her recipes.  She posts pretty much every seven days like clockwork and I find myself eagerly anticipating her posts, excited about the recipe that week and hoping that it has ingredients I can eat!!  Subscribe to her blog--you will never be disappointed!  Her site has one of the most comprehensive recipe banks around and she has a great vegan blog directory (the "Blog Roll") where you can find over 800 vegan blogs!!  I keep forgetting to ask whether she would be willing to add my blog to her blogroll but writing this made me realized I need to!  The Blog Roll is a fantastic resource.  Oh and in case you don't believe my assessment of her blog--she has 25,000+ fans on Facebook who agree it is awesome!


The Engine 2 Diet's Daily Beet:
How could I not be a fan of one of the Esselstyn's blogs?!  Rip Esselstyn is the author of the "Engine 2 Diet," among many other things, and he has developed an excellent team that publishes the "Daily Beet." Its yet another informative and entertaining blog that I learn from and enjoy reading.  One of my favorite features on the site is "Plant-Strong Q&A with Fitness Expert Lani"--it comes out every Tuesday and I really like her practical & intelligent answers to readers' questions.  Definitely an excellent blog which provides much needed support for us plant-strong folks!


Prescribing Yoga:  I love this blog.  It gives me such hope about the future of medicine.  It is written by a young doctor finding her way through the rigors of medical training while trying to stay centered in her practice of yoga.  Its not vegan but it is about health and wellness!  I learn from her and am inspired by her! 


NEW Blogs (to me!) I'm Loving & Reading Each New Post:
Watch Me Lose 150 lbs!--a fellow Herbie of the Week, Jason is a true kindred spirit in my book.  His post series chronicling his journey to obesity is so so so very familiar.  After succeeding on the Atkins diet to the point that it made him seriously ill, he saw the light through Forks Over Knives and became a plant-based machine!  This blog is an absolute delight to discover--its great to read about another blogger new to veganism, struggling with the same weight issues & obviously in love with his supportive spouse.  Oh, and its beautifully written as well!   


My New Roots--super nutrient dense recipes, this chef from Denmark is something special.  Loving this blog & starting to become a huge fan!  I have now made her Roasted Sesame Slaw & its dressing two times in two weeks!  And now I have my eye on her "Sweet Potato Hummus" recipe for our menu next week :-)My sister made her Holiday Recipe Contest winner's fantastic Cranberry Pear Tart for Christmas to reach out to my husband and I in our vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free world.  It was SO good!  I love that she is an advocate for holistic nutrition and not only shares her recipes but also explains why they are nutritious!  I also think her "Whole Living Detox Plan" for January is very medically solid (and looks delicious!). 


Craxy Sexy Life--cancer surviver, plant-based diet advocate, awesome energy and great guest bloggers!  What's not to love?  I particularly like her spiritual energy--my kind of happy, love everyone, stay centered to heal message.  She has national bestselling books & I can see why!

Other Fantastic Recipe Blogs

Vegan Planet:  This is Robin Robertson's blog--my much adored author of two of my favorite cookbooks.  For some reason I haven't been following her blog!  Ack!  I need to get on that--maybe its just because I spend so much time poring over her cookbooks! , 

Nutritarian Recipes

Oh She Glows

Post Punk Kitchen: Holiday Recipes

Golubka: Food That Takes Love Blog

Gluten-Free Girl

The Reduction Project

 

Awesome Blogs I Read That Aren't Vegan
"Wild Life" by Professor Chris Palmer:  brilliant, insightful, funny & poignant--this exceptional wildlife filmmaker runs the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University among many other things.  If you're a fan of Imax and all those nature documentries, you probably have seen one of his excellent films.  His book "Shooting in the Wild" blew the whistle on the wildlife film industry's disturbing practice of faking animal scenes for profit.  I love his blog.  And its not just because he and his wife have been long time friends of my Mom's since my childhood.  His energy is an inspiration.  His blog's motto sums it up:  "Don't seek comfort; rather seek something to be passionate about."


100 Days of Real Food:  While I don't always agree with her food choices (omnivore, not low fat), Lisa Leake is a real role model for this new generation of processed food families.  She has inspired so many Moms and Dads to give up serving children processed convenience foods in favor of nutritious, unprocessed alternatives.  One of my absolute favorite blog series of hers is the year she did the entire family's meals on a "food stamps" budget of $125 a week for a family of four.  It really proves that anyone can eat healthy at any income level.  If you are a Mom or a Dad trying to make that transition to a healthy diet for your kids, her blog is chock full of great tips to change your family diet.

So that's all folks....:-) Next week I'll share my favorite books!Many, many thanks to all my favorite bloggers for taking the time to give so many of us so much!!


Oh!  And I know that many of you look forward to "Medical System Tuesdays" but this week's entry is going to be moved to next week so look for it then!!

Best of the Blogosphere From the Last Week!! Holiday Meal Ideas, Bon Appetit's Best Vegan, Gluten Free Blogs & Health Care Savings!! AND, the Recipe of the Week!

Well its been a great week on the blogs--nothing like the holidays for these incredible vegan chefs to pull out their best recipes!  I learned a lot this week from my fellow bloggers, found some awesome new blogs & am now chock full of ideas for our family's Christmas dinner(s)!  Here are my favorites from the past week!


Holiday Meal Suggestions:
I found this holiday recipe gold mine this week:  Bon Appetit's Best Gluten-Free & Vegan Blogs for the Holidays!  How can you ever go wrong with Bon Appetit?!  


The Healthy Librarian's Top Ten Holiday Weekend Dishes (as voted by her family!):  Can I just say that the HL really has some of the tastiest recipes ever & the fact that they are nearly all Esselstyn-approved--awesome!


Happy Herbivore Plant-Based Vegan Christmas Recipes:  As always, Lindsay Nixon gives us a bunch of delicious recipe suggestions for the Holidays.  


Healthy Girl's Kitchen's "Links for Latkas":  Ok so I'm not Jewish but I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and work at a Jewish hospital so unsurprisingly, I LOVE Latkas.  That said they are super unhealthy and I haven't had some in forever.  Thank you Wendy for posting all these healthy Latka options--whether you celebrate Chanukah or not, make some Latkas!! SO yummy!


Post Punk Kitchen: Holiday Recipes:  Ok this is an AMAZING collection of plant-strong holiday options!!  As always I particularly love the ease of finding recipes--click on a picture, boom you are there (like the Happy Herbivore recipe site that I like so much)  New Blog for me to follow!  Looking forward to it! :-)


My New Roots Blog:  Yummy looking, very nutrient-dense, immune-promoting holiday options.  Another great new blog I've found!


Another Exciting New Blog I Found:
OH MY GOSH--Gluten-free AND Vegan--oh can my heart sing more.  This blog looks great!  I'm going to start following it!:  Golubka: Food That Takes Love Blog


Medical Posts:
Disease Proof: New Research to Investigate Nutrient-Rich Diets:  This is research that desperately needs to be well-supported!  Love that this is a priority.


Dr. Barnard on Crazy Sexy Life: 5 Ways to Save Billions & Boost the Nation's Health:  I worked in public health and health policy before becoming a doctor so this blog post was particularly interesting to me.  This is a fantastic article--particularly his first point on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps).  Between SNAP & the Federal School Lunch Program (remember when Congress classified the tomato sauce on pizza as a vegetable a few weeks ago), I truly believe that our government is legislating childhood obesity & malnutrition.  By the way, "Crazy Sexy Life" is a great blog put out by cancer survivor & best-selling author: Kris Carr, check it out!


Healthy Eating Posts:
Engine 2 "Daily Beet": Interview with the Happy Herbivore Lindsay Nixon (Part 1) & Engine 2 "Daily Beet": Interview with Lindsay Nixon (Part 2):  How can I not like a post on Lindsay Nixon?  (I'm SUCH a fan!)  The best part of this interview for me was finding out about a gluten-free substitute for seitan!  HOORAY!  You can also check out my own interview with Lindsay here.


Recipe of the Week: 
Nutritarian Recipes: Orange-Apricot Glazed Brussels Sprouts  New Blog find!  (Thanks for the link off your blog HGK).  So excited I found this site--there are a lot of recipes listed on the blog that look really yummy--yay for more food options for the Happy Nurse & me!)

THIS WEEK from December 19-December 25th: 

• ITS THE HOLIDAY HAPPINESS MARATHON!!!  Doctors, Nurses & Patients Share Special Medical Moments That Will Warm Your Heart During the Holiday Chaos!

Coming Up After the Holidays:

• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!
• Medical System Tuesday: Tip #10 For The Best Hospital Care:  Try Not to Be Alone! ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~
• Treating Pain with Food--more thoughts

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Friday's Best of the Blogosphere From the Last Week!! Breast Cancer, Steve Jobs & Pizza is a Vegetable?? Plus: Recipe of the Week!

Wow there have been some extremely interesting posts on the blogs this week!! 

Here's a roundup of my favorites:  (click on the links to read the posts yourself!)
1)  Fighting Breast Cancer with Flaxseeds (From "Disease Proof"--Dr. Barnard's blog) Really interesting piece about breast cancer prevention--very medical but fascinating.
2)  Why Did Steve Jobs Die? (Dr. McDougall's Newsletter) Ok this piece was a bit of a shocker.  Dr. McDougall's premise is that Steve Jobs had cancer since early adulthood and the vegan diet helped delay its onset.  This seems like an incredible leap until you follow through Dr. McDougall's calculations of tumor production intervals and the track of Jobs medical treatments.  What a read!  I'm still pondering on it!
3)  Congress Declares Pizza a VEGETABLE??? (Healthy Girl's Kitchen) Ok, in case you missed it, our legislative representatives actually are actively choosing to reduce the health of our kids in favor of the food lobby! This has been going on for awhile but this latest move is SO unbelievably ridiculous that Saturday Night Live had to get in on the act!  Pizza as a vegetable.  Are you kidding me?  I already knew that they classified "fries" as a vegetable, but pizza?? To be perfectly accurate the debate wasn't about pizza actually--it was about whether the tomato paste that GOES ON pizza can be counted as a vegetable!! To me, that doesn't sound a whole lot better.  Sometimes I wonder.  And so does SNL.  This video that the Healthy Girl posted on her blog is hilarious.
4)  From Dr. Esselstyn's Facebook Page:  Newly released:  Dr. Esselstyn's Heart Disease Reversal Program on VIDEO!!  Just in time for the holidays its a stocking stuffer that can save a life!  His whole program in a four hour video!  Dr. E is amazing. 

Yummiest Looking Recipe This Week (I can't wait to try it!!):  How to Make Plant Strong Sushi!!

Coming Up THIS Week!

• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

Coming Up on Medical System Tuesday: 

• Tip #8 For The Best Hospital Care:  Be Nice ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Coming Up Next Week:

• BOOK REVIEW:  "29 Gifts!"
• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.