Any time we see the dazzling Nicole Kidman she’s on the red carpet in a designer label and covered in jewels but the Nicole off-camera is a different person. In the December issue of the British SHE Magazine, Nicole tells readers about her passion for vintage clothing, exercise and the desire to be healthy. The 42-year-old loves to go running and it’s as if she inherited that passion from her father who is a marathon runner and he’s even passing that on to his granddaughter, Sunday Rose. Nicole said,

“He’s 71 and goes on 10-mile runs. He takes Sunday hiking on his back for hours.”

In the interview Nicole also talks health. Being that she’s six feet tall she doesn’t have to worry about fitting into those gorgeous red carpet dress but she still tries to be heart -healthy and with a recipe book in hand she says,

“As Keith’s [her husband] a musician there are pit-stops at Wendy’s. But I’m six-foot tall, so it’s not weight that’s an issue for me, but things like cholesterol.”

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Britain’s Department of Health has found a poster boy for their new Change4Life campaign. And it’s none other than the beer-guzzling, doughnut-chowing, lazy slob that is Homer Simpson. An unlikely mascot for healthy eating habits indeed!

The department are about to spend $1 million by sponsoring skits which will be broadcast before episodes of the 22-year-old TV show air. In these sketches, characters from The Simpsons will be sitting on the dysfunctional family’s sofa (exactly like in the intro) eating the kinds of junk food Homer usually wolfs down. But then the food will morph into healthier alternatives.

The British government are hoping that this will encourage viewers to also choose a healthier alternative to junk like ice cream, pizza and doughnuts.

“The Simpsons are a much-loved, close-knit family facing some of the everyday challenges that modern day families go through,” Public Health Minister Gillian Merron said in a statement to Reuters. “Whilst they certainly make some questionable choices about how they go about things, they provide a popular and engaging way to get the message to real-life families about simple ways of improving their diet and activity for a healthier lifestyle.”

Well, good luck to the British.

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Growing up we were all forced to eat broccoli by our parents, no matter how badly we hated it. These days eating broccoli may not be so arduous for some, but for those who still need convincing, those little green trees really are good your heart.

Researchers have discovered that a nutrient, sulforaphane, which is most commonly found in broccoli, is essential in protecting arteries. Once ingested, sulforaphane activates a protein called Nrf2, which in turn reduces inflammation and potential disease at high-risk areas, particularly around the bends and branches of arteries.

Although the studies and tests were conducted on mice, Professor Peter Weissberg, the medical director at the UK charity British Heart Foundation, found the research fascinating.

“As well as adding evidence to support the importance of eating ‘five-a-day’, the biochemistry revealed in this research could lead to more targeted dietary or medical approaches to prevent or lessen disease that leads to heart attacks and strokes,” he told health research website NutraIngredients.com.

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Who would’ve guessed that the secret to Walter Breuning’s long life is as simple as just two meals a day? Breuning turned 113 last week and told USA Today that he’s been on his two-meal diet for the past 35 years and hasn’t felt better.

The 5 foot 8 Great Falls inhabitant who has weighed 125 pounds for about 35 years says he limits himself to a big breakfast and lunch – and no supper. Breuning wakes up at 6:15am in the morning and has his breakfast, which is usually eggs, toast and pancakes, at 7:30am.

“You get in the habit of not eating at night, and you realize how good you feel. If you could just tell people not to eat so darn much,” he told USA Today. “I think you should push back from the table when you’re still hungry.”

But the world’s oldest man also eats a lot of fruit every day, drinks a fair amount of water and takes a baby aspirin for his heart. Aside from water, Breuning also drinks a little coffee, but only with his breakfast and lunch.

Breuning’s biggest problem with America’s eating habits these days is that they eat too much.

“If people could cut back on their normal weight, it wouldn’t be quite so bad. They just eat too much!” he said.

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PETA has one great marketing team; they’ve clothed Cloris Leachman in a dress made of cabbage leaves and de-clothed Alicia Silverstone for a controversial nude PETA ad. However, their latest ad campaign on a Jackonsville Florida billboard doesn’t involve any celebrities but it has meat-lovers in a frenzy. The ad implies that obese women are like whales and if they go vegetarian they will be thin. The text reads as: Save the Whales. Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian.

Scott Johnson, a local reporter with WJXT interviewed the PETA representative Ashley Byrne and she claims that the ad is a humorous way to grab people’s attention. She said,

“People are bombarded with ads for foods that make them fat and unhealthy. PETA’s ad campaign is empowering for consumers because it highlights that a vegetarian diet is the best way to battle the bulge.”

Celeb Diet Doc
The PETA folks are off base here. What’s making people fat are vegan and vegetarian refined carbs such as sugar, cakes, cookies, bread, crackers, soda etc.

Obesity is caused by consuming too many processed foods, NOT by meat consumption. It is the very reason Atkins has been successful because it eliminates the greatest source of refined calories in the Western diet and that is refined carbs. So if you consume a vegetarian or vegan diet that is primarily refined carbs you’re consuming a junk food diet and you’ll likely be overweight.

The correct answer is to consume more unrefined fruits and veggies. This is the key to weight loss, better health and saving the “whales.” And by the way that’s where Atkins gets it wrong too, because he considered a carb a carb and limited fruit consumption in his diet, mistakenly believing that fruit causes weight gain. Pure rubbish. Whole unrefined fruits will lead to weight loss and better health.

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When it comes to blenders I highly recommend the Vitamix 5200. This blender has got some serious horsepower behind it and will blend just about anything. So why did I choose the Vitamix 5200? I was frustrated with my cheapo Osterizer blender that was severely underpowered. When I would make a smoothie with ice, the ice would still be in conspicuously large chunks. So I heard a lot about the Vitamix and was a little hestitant considering the price. But I remember my friend’s mom using it back in the 1970’s and loving it. Yes Vitamix has been around a long time!

Well I made the leap and here’s why I think the Vitamix is the blender of choice…

1.  First and foremost it blends anything and it blends it well! Ice is pulverized, smoothies come out awesome!

2.  It is the only blender on the market that comes with a rod that allows you to push down ingredients while the machine is running (it has a patent on this device so you won’t find it anywhere else). THIS IS ABSOLUTELY KEY! Because I don’t care how powerful a motor you have, any blender will have trouble blending ingredients when there is not as much liquid to blend it with. So that’s where this rod (or tamper as Vitamix calls it) comes in handy so you can push the ingredients into the whirling blade — SAFELY. And since I like my smoothies thick (I make them with a lot of leafy greens) this device is an absolute must. The tamper rod fits through the lid hole on top and has a “lip” design so it will not touch the blades.

3. It makes soups that come out hot. No cooking involved. The motor is so powerful that it actually heats up your ingredients at high speeds. So just put in your veggies, add water and you’ve got soup in less time than Rachel Ray gets finished with her cooking intro. Don’t worry about this heating feature with making smoothies. Smoothies come out cold and frosty. You have to run the machine on high settings for a while before the heat/cooking process takes effect.

4.  This Vitamix container is BPA FREE so you don’t have to worry about BPA leeching into your soups and smoothies.

5. Simple and Easy to Use. You have only 2 controls (high and low) with a variable speed control. Other blenders come with a lot of bells and whistles (ie about 20 different buttons with a dizzying array of options), but at the end of the day how many are you really going to use? One or Two! Keep it simple is my motto and Vitamix does this well – plus you don’t have to waste your time going through an instruction manual to figure out how it works or “what this button does?”

6.  Vitamix had been around a long time and they stand behind their product. The Vitamix comes with a 7 year guarantee! So if anything goes wrong, Vita-Mix will repair your machine for FREE! Now that’s a guarantee I like.

Now I will mention one downside to the Vitamix.. and that it is on the tall side, so it won’t fit on my kitchen counter under my cabinets. But other than this it’s the perfect machine for your blending needs.

Vitamix does not allow discounting, so you won’t find this machine available anywhere for anything less than the price on their website. However if you order your Vitamix 5200 through this link you’ll qualify for FREE SHIPPING.

Here’s what you get when you order via this link:

• New Eastman Tritan™ copolyester 64 oz. container is as durable as polycarbonate, features improved sound damping and is BPA free.
• New improved Swedish-built 2 peak HP motor runs substantially cooler with energy savings and better performance.
• Feedback-type variable speed control provides consistent power regardless of load. Speed ranges from 11 m.p.h. to 240 m.p.h., wider than any standard blender.
• Unique stainless steel hammermill and cutting “wet” blades process whole foods like no other appliance to deliver up to 3 times the nutrition.
• Measure and add ingredients safely while machine is running with removable lid plug.
• A tamper rod that you will ONLY find with Vitamix. When you use it through the top lid hole, you can push all the ingredients into the whirling blades with the machine running… and do it SAFELY because the tamper lip will prevent it from touching the blades.
• Vitamix’s extreme processing power helps you make nut butters and frozen treats with ease.
• Quick and easy clean-up. Just add a few drops of dish soap, some warm water and run for 30 seconds on high and your done.

You Also Get:

	All NEW, updated Getting Started Guide, the perfect companion for your DVD cooking class. A $16 value.
	All NEW, “cooking show quality” Let’s Get Started class on DVD . You’ll learn all the processes step by step in this fun and informative program, a $25 value.
	All NEW, updated Whole Food Recipes cookbook. Includes over 400 tasty recipes you are sure to love, a $50 value
	Free Shipping!

The Vitamix 5200 with these bonus values (Getting Started Guide, DVD and the Whole Foods Recipes cookbook) will have you started in no time. As an added bonus you get Free Shipping when you order via this link: Click Here to get your Vitamix 5200 and all these bonuses with Free Shipping.

Get this machine, trust me you won’t regret it.

Happy Blending,

Dr Marc

I just had a wonderful time with Olga Aura, a self described health counselor, at her raw chocolate cooking class. I might also add “gourmet raw chef extraordinaire” to her description judging by this raw chocolate cheesecake recipe she made during the class. It was in a word “delicious!” It has an amazing “cheesecake” taste to it, without the dairy. And as you know I am not a fan of dairy for many reasons. This raw cheesecake is frankly tastier than more traditional cheesecakes I have had in the past.

The cheesecake is sweetened with a pinch of stevia. Stevia is made from the leaves of the stevia bush native to South America. You only need a pinch of this stuff as it’s 300x sweeter than sugar, with zero calories. You’ll find Stevia in the supplement aisle of any health food store. There have been health concerns raised about Stevia but after a review of the literature I can say they are pretty much baseless. Btw, stevia has been used safely for centuries in South America and is the number one substitute in Japan. The Stevia taste can be a little tricky. It can have a slight metallic licorice aftertaste. But there is none of that in this recipe, probably for a couple of reasons. Citrus flavors blend nicely with Stevia and the lemon juice probably helped blunt this aftertaste effect. There are also dates in this recipe and this may have helped too.

A raw food diet is very healthy because you’re eating minimally processed foods… that is foods in their most natural state. If you’re a straight vegan be sure you supplement your diet with B12. With Olga’s permission here is the delightful raw chocolate recipe that will amaze you and broaden your horizons as to the possibilities of raw food.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust
1 cup dried coconut
1 cup walnuts or pecans
pinch of salt
pinch of stevia
pinch of cayenne

Powder the coconut first in the food processor or blender
Add everything else and process to a sticky consistency.
Press into the bottom of a 6 or a 9 inch spring form pan.
Put into the freezer to set up while you are making the filling.
The nuts need to soaked over night and dried before using to make them more digestible and lower the acid levels.

Filling
1 cup walnut or almond milk
2 cups cashews
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup carob or cacao powder
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs soy lecithin
1 tsp vanilla extract
big pinch of stevia
pinch of salt

To make the nut milk soak the nuts over night. Blend with water in a 1:2 ratio. Strain through a mesh cloth or cheese cloth.

Blend all ingredients in a blender, except the coconut oil.
Once the batter is completely smooth add the coconut oil and blend again.
Pour into the crust and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Let the cheesecake set up overnight in the refrigerator or freeze for one hour if serving that day.

This recipe was made entirely in a Vitamix blender which I would say is a must for this recipe. Attempting this in a food processor will be a little tricky in my opinion.

Be sure to check out Olga Aura’s website to learn more about her other cooking classes. Thanks Olga!

I just got back from my local produce market and grabbed a couple days worth of groceries. Here’s my tip on where to go for your produce. If there is a large Russian clientele you’re in the right place. Don’t ask me why, all I can tell you is that Russians know where to go!

Here’s what I got: 2 leeks, 1 pint raspberries, 4 limes, 3 yellow onions, 3 kiwis, 2 red peppers, 1 fennel, 5 carrots, 5 Roma tomatoes, 1 cantaloupe, 1 purple cabbage, 1 shallot bulb, 1 bunch of scallions, 1 cauliflower head, 1 eggplant, and 4 bananas. So what’s the grand total?

$17.65

When you eat unprocessed foods you’ll lose a lot of weight, get healthier and save beaucoup money! Of course you could always go to Whole Paycheck aka “Whole Foods” and needlessly blow through a lot of money and have little to show for it.

When you shop like this you’ll be eating healthier and losing weight more effectively than 99.99 44/100 % of all Americans… and all the celebs too!