Wash about 2 big handfuls of cilantro leaves well. In a pan sauté one medium sized onion. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar to the onions to turn them golden brown. Remove onions from pan. In the same pan add a little oil and brown urad dhal and no more than three green or red chilies. Add urad dhal and chilies in a blender and grind them until the dhal is more than halfway ground. Add cilantro, onion, salt to taste and a quarter teaspoon of imli paste (tamarind or puli). Blend to a chutney consistency. If you want it spicy leave it or add half a teaspoon of brown sugar. And Enjoy!

• 1½ c. of water
• Big handful of frozen or fresh strawberries
• 1 banana
• ¼ c. of raw or unsalted soaked almonds
• 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp. of vanilla

• 1 tbsp. of coco powder (optional)
• ¼ c. of coconut meat (optional)

I enjoy eating Luna Bars and love the fact that they are vegan. I like the flavors especially the ‘cookies and cream delight’ and ‘chocolate pecan pie’. I think they are convenient as they keep well in your bag and are there for times when you are hungry and need something to snack on or if there is no vegan food available. They also satisfy my cravings for something sweet and fill me up when I need something to eat and would otherwise eat something not especially good for me.

With that said I have come to think that Luna Bars are for the most part a ‘glorified candy bar’. Not unhealthy but not exactly healthy. Although Luna Bars are a packed with lots of vitamins they also have a lot of fat, sugar and a lot of carbohydrates too. I would not rely on them as a source of supplement for your diet. I recommend instead that you take a daily multivitamin as well as consider a B12 and calcium supplement to be sure you are getting the nutrients you need. Soy milk and other vegan staples are sometimes fortified with B12 and calcium- keep your eye out for them and make sure to try to incorporate these enriched versions into your diet.

Finally, being that Luna Bars are high in sugar, protein, fat and carbohydrates I recommend that you do as I do and use your discretion. I try to limit myself to eating them only on days when I know I will have a hard work out and know I will burn it off. If you can pack healthier snacks do so, but if it is your best choice- eat up.

Being vegan is definitely a change that requires a deep inner motivation and those who decide to go about this new lifestyle you also need a good support system. Cravings for non dairy foods were diminished with the more I educated myself about the reasons to be vegan. Not to say I don’t still think about things like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, but it is different. I have let that part of my life go, re-wired my brain and when I crave those things at the same time I remember my reasons for becoming vegan and do not indulge myself. 

Being sure you are receiving the proper nutrition is a valid concern. I have found through research that unless you are an elite athlete, body builder or take part in intense physical activities protein deficiency usually isn’t a problem. For the average person who works out to live healthily and fit a normal vegan diet without protein supplement is adequate. If you feel you fall into the other category as you work out heavily or exert a lot of energy throughout your day you can calculate your protein need. To calculate your protein need divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. This will give you your weight in kg. Then multiply your weight in kg by 0.8-1.8 gm/kg. This will give you the range of the amount of protein you require per gram. If you consider yourself sedentary use the lower number (0.8-1.2), if you are an intense athlete or body builder consider eating on the higher end (1.2-1.8). It is also important for a vegan or vegetarian to be sure they are getting enough vitamin B12. B12 can be found supplemented in energy bars, and are sometimes fortified in vegan and vegetarian staples like tofu and soy milk. To be understand what the best food distribution is for a vegan is be sure to check out a vegan food pyramid, here is a link to one I found on Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan_nutrition. If you still feel concerned you aren’t getting proper nutrition I strongly encourage you to consult your doctor. There is a simple blood test you can take and the results usually come back within a week to tell you if you are getting the right doses of important vitamins. Be sure to learn to listen to your body it will always tell you what it needs.

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.” – Buddha 

Health and wellness, and all things included in these categories, have always been deep-seeded interests of mine. My interests range from nutrition and fitness to allopathy and complimentary medicine. Nutrition is an important aspect in my life; I believe it is a key element for leading a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy learning about various diets such as raw food, vegan and vegetarian lifestyles and their affects on wellbeing. Fitness is and will remain an integral part of my life I believe the amount of exercise a person participates in directly and substantially influences their state of health. Throughout my undergraduate degree at Ithaca College I studied an array of medical therapies. It became clear that neither is superior, but using therapies, such as allopathic remedies and complimentary medicine, together in the treatment of a patient’s disease or illness is most beneficial. Having so many interests made it difficult to decide on what line of work I would pursue in my master studies. When it came time to decide where to go to school and what program to choose I became overwhelmed with all of the choices. I knew I had a strong need to be able to help others, but wasn’t sure as to how. I debated with myself for months and worried about choosing the wrong career and about being unhappy in my choice, during this time I talked myself into and out of every career in the health field, confusing myself more, losing myself until finally it came to me and I ended up settling on an old career interest of mine. I don’t understand why I lost hold of my love for this career as it seems like the logical path I should have seen and taken. I was blind, but now I can see. I don’t think I am alone; I think that this dilemma is one that affects many graduated students fresh from completing their undergraduate degree. If you didn’t yet figure out your reason for going to school in the first place, don’t have a clear, set path to your career interest or just lost sight of your goals like me, you know how lost I felt. After digging deep and clearing the fog in my mind, which was created too much worrying and way too many “what ifs”, I could see that the answer to what I should pursue was one that I had always known.

A passion for this career was sparked at a very young age due to the result of injuries my father sustained from a trucking accident that nearly claimed his life and changed my life forever. The injuries he sustained from his accident were substantial. Learning how to cope with his injuries took years and even today he struggles with pain management. For a large portion of his recovery he relied heavily on physical therapy. I enjoyed attending many of his appointments with him; I loved the quality time with my dad and I also enjoyed being able to witness the effect physical therapy had on his recovery, this experience had impacted me greatly, it opened my eyes to a passion to pursue a career in physical therapy. At the young age of thirteen my desire to help people as my father had been helped was as strong as ever. I had huge dreams and even now I envision myself in the future opening a one of a kind facility with a mission that incorporates my passions, values and interests to provide quality care to everyone, revolutionizing people’s current understanding of what qualifies as extraordinary patient care. An obsession with health has been a constant theme in my life, one that replays itself over and over. In my spare time I enjoy learning about new ways to improve my health, practicing what I have learned by including it in my life and then sharing my experiences with others. Nutrition is a hobby of mine and eating delicious healthy food is a mission! I can always be found reading a new cookbook or searching for new recipes online in hopes that it will inspire me to conjure up something spectacular of my own. When I have the time I go to Barnes and Noble and to the library in hopes to find new resources focused on the impact of diet on health.

In the months prior to the beginning of the year I had done a lot of research on raw food and vegan diets. Some of my favorite reads include “Skinny Bitch”, “Skinny Bitch in the Kitch”, “Raw Food, Real World”, “Vegan with a Vengeance”, and “The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods”. I tried a raw food life style and only lasted five days. I found my addiction to cooked food and my weakness for coffee was too strong. After five days of extreme moodiness due to feeling almost ravenous I felt that ‘making it’ five days was a tremendous accomplishment. I was and always will be one to rip the band aid off fast- a ‘cold turkey’ type of a person, but I realized that going from being a meat eater to the limitation of just raw foods was a difficult leap to make especially lacking proper motivation and preparation. Deciding to experiment and challenge myself with a vegan diet for New Years was the next step for me and one of the best decisions I had made in my life thus far. I am so happy I made this choice because I have found my new lifestyle to be so easy, the benefits to my health are enormous and also it feels great to see my lifestyle choice as something that positively influences the lives of others around me.  I found though my research and personal experiences that eating a vegan diet with a strong focus on the addition of raw foods is the ultimate combination for feeling energized and healthy. When combining this lifestyle with regular exercise the impacts on your health are immense. I attribute my success in becoming and staying vegan to my interests, to my passion to live a long, healthy and happy life, but mostly to my strong support system, my family.

Theories of health and wellness are ever changing and will continue to grow and evolve. My passion is so strong that I can say I am dedicated to a lifelong commitment of continued learning and I am dedicated to finding a way to integrate these interests and many other aspects of health and wellness into my future line of work. My fear about my future is gone and I am now reacquainted with an excitement that is so refreshing and centering. There are so many things that I wish I could go back and change. Sometimes I find myself dwelling on my past mistakes that impacted my present and future. I shake myself out of it and realize that there is no use being sad about the past. There is something great in using that energy to be proactive about my future. Now is the time.

Crunchy nut topping

• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup pecans
• ½ tbsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup
• Pinch of salt

Preheat a dry skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the walnuts, pecans, cinnamon, maple syrup and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until syrup is caramelized and nuts are toasted, about 3 minutes. Let cool. Crush up by cutting with knife.

Salad

• 3 cups of baby spinach, rinsed and dried
• Apple, cut into chunks
• Avocado, cut into chunks
• Lastly, add the crunchy nut topping and balsamic vinegar for dressing 

Cut all vegetables into bite-sized chunks. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients: vegetables, nuts, spinach, garlic, fruit juice and spices. Toss and serve or place in the refrigerator to pick on throughout the day or eat later.

Ingredient List 

• 2 Garlic Bulbs
• Olive Oil
• Trader Joes Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough
• 12-16 oz jar of Pizza Sauce
• Follow your Heart Cheese Mozzarella
• Smart Deli Pepperoni or your favorite toppings 

 This is optional but it is definitely worth the effort.  

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Remove the leaves from two garlic bulbs by rubbing lightly.
3. Cut off the tips of the garlic cloves to expose garlic within each clove.
4. Put the cloves in aluminum foil and pour olive oil over the garlic. Fold the foil tight around the bulbs place in a glass pan.
5. Put in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
6. Once the garlic is finished baking remove from the oven and cool.
7. Pop out the garlic cloves into a shallow bowl crush and mix with the a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Put aside for later. 

 Now for the Pizza

1. Preheat the oven at 500 degrees F.
2. Roll out pizza dough and place on a greased cookie sheet for the best crisp. You can’t roll it too thin!
3. Cut off the excess but leave enough to make the crust.
4. Brush on the garlic and oil mixture on the crust.
5. Heat the sauce and use the back of a ladle to distribute the sauce on the pizza in a spiral motion.
6. Cut the ‘Follow your Heart’ Mozzarella so that it appears shredded.
7. Add your favorite toppings. We sometimes use vegan pepperoni on half our pizza. Thinly sliced portabella mushrooms and onions is my favorite topping. If using a veggie as a topping make sure to sautéed them before putting on your pizza.
8. Put on the top shelf and bake for 15 to 20. 

The cheese should melt but if it doesn’t once switch the oven to broil on Hi. Watch intensely- I often burn things when I put the oven on Hi broil because I forget about it. If you have the same problem – I suggest you leave the oven door open when broiling anything to help you remember something is in there.

Bon Appetit!