Amazing Health Effortlessly

Waiting To Be Discovered

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:09:04 -0700

A client recently shared with us that she tried the Caesar Dressing on our website and couldn't believe how good it was. And we have to agree, we think it's a great tasting dressing. But what that brought to mind is how many recipe "gems" like this are on our site that most people haven't discovered yet.

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Our website and recipes are unlikely to show up on the first page of a Google search, so not many people find them without knowing about us. There are literally hundreds of recipes from desserts to bean and lentil dishes to quick-and-easy, and so much more.

There's a category for ethnic dishes like Hummus or a Creamy Pasta Primavera, and one with Quick & Easy recipes for when you're in a hurry.

Our favourite taste combinations are found in Mexican food and there are lots of great Mexican-style dishes on the site. One that is surprisingly simple and flavourful is the Three Sisters Meal that uses the three staple foods of the Mexican culture: corn, beans and squash. Topped with salsa and avocado, it's the best!

And we understand, if you're anything like us, you're busy and having a routine of meals that you like can keep things easy and manageable. But when you're looking for something new, check out the recipes section of our website. There are so many choices there and they all use whole foods, are very High Nutrient Dense, and use no added salt, oil or sugar.

And, just so you know, when you're on a page listing all the recipes in a category like beans, for instance, we'll show...Read More

What Are You Feeding?

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:07:45 -0700

Many of our clients come to us with the complaint that they find themselves reaching for food even when they aren't hungry. We often ask them to look at that and see if they can find what it is they're trying to feed if they know it isn't their body.

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What it almost always boils down to is some feeling of discomfort or agitation that they're wanting relief from. And food can do that. With the way food can stimulate dopamine production, it can provide relief from uncomfortable feelings we want to avoid.

Unfortunately, the food approach is very short lived and doesn't address the issue behind the feelings. So it keeps coming back and we keep finding ourselves reaching for food or continuing to eat when we're not hungry again and again.

The fact that this is a common experience is a reflection of how our mind works. There isn't something wrong with us. We aren't broken in some way. The mind is designed to move us from what is uncomfortable or feels unsafe to what feels good and secure.

It's a great design actually, but the shortcoming is that the mind will alway direct us to some physical form of relief: food, exercise, shopping, drink. Something that distracts us. But doesn't address the issue behind the feeling, so it occurs repeatedly.

The way we look at it is that discomfort is a nudge to get us to see that we're believing something that isn't true about who we are and how life works. It isn't really about the circumstance, but what we're thinking ABOUT it.

What if discomfort, instead of being rallying call to change the circumstance, is a wake up call inviting us to return to the comfort and peace that is our true nature? What if, rather than looking for relief through something changing on the surface, we look within to see what we're telling ourselves about what's happening?

When we look for relief on the surface, by eating or trying to control a situation, we do find some relief, but it...Read More

The VERY WFPB SOS-free Cookbook

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:00:24 -0700

Two years ago, I (Bill) created a little cookbook with recipes that are SOS-free using ingredients only in their whole form. We submitted it as a contribution to a Vegan Bundle that Chef AJ and Melissa Maris put together with about 50 other contributors. It was a lot of fun, and now we're making it available, for free, on our website.

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The Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) movement has been around for quite a while. But many who adhere to it still use a number of processed ingredients like flour, nut butters or maple syrup, that are not really in their whole food form. They've been processed, and in that, there's almost always some loss of nutrient value.

Nothing terribly wrong with using processed ingredients, but as Connie and I continue on our journey for optimum health, we find that the less processed the ingredients are in our recipes, the better we feel. So, this little cookbook, with 29 recipes, gives you an idea of what can be done without using processed ingredients and still taste FABULOUS!

There are soups and salads, burgers and tacos, Buddha bowls, sauces and dressings, and, of course, Bill's favourite things to be creative with, desserts.

It also talks about why eating food in its Whole form is important, which is why I wanted to create this cookbook: to demonstrate that recipes without the common processed ingredients can be just as quick and easy and taste just as good... if not better!

It also talks about the benefits of fibre, which is often what gets processed out of a whole food, and is completely eliminated in things like sugar and oil.

Most sugar, for example, comes from sugar beets, which is very high in fibre, with lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. None of those healthy parts of the beet make it through to the final product though. Such a shame. So, in this cookbook we often sweeten a dish with dates, and by doing that include all the fibre, vitamins, minerals and...Read More

NSAIDs - Some things to consider

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:16:36 -0700

NSAIDs, which stands for Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, have been mainstream pain relief since the 1980s. These are things like ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, and aspirin. Their popularity grew due to their effectiveness in managing pain and inflammation, leading to widespread use in both prescription and over-the-counter forms.

We had heard of some side effects of long term use, like stomach irritation, but not needing them ourselves, never thought too much about it. Recently we heard an MD talking about a number of side effects from long term use that we weren't aware of and thought we'd share some of this information with you in case you are not aware of them like we were.

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So, that was quite a list of things that can be affected by long term use of NSAIDs. The fact that they inhibit the production or the molecules that provide the cushion in our joints is crazy, isn't it? That they could ultimately be exacerbating the situation they're being taken to relieve. Oh my gosh.

But all these side effects, the stomach and intestinal issues, the increased risk of heart attack and atrial fibrillation, increased blood pressure and leaky gut, they all show up after long term use. So, short term use of a week or ten days to relieve temporary pain does't appear to be a problem.

We don't like to present negative things about common practices like taking over-the-counter pain relief medicine, but we were shocked at the range and seriousness of the long term side effects and wanted to bring it to light here. We aren't doctors and don't offer medical advice, so always follow your doctor's recommendations.

The recipe this week is a very simple dish, what we're calling The Three Sisters Meal. It's corn, beans and squash, topped with salsa and some avocado that we have found surprisingly delicious. The three main ingredients, corn, beans, and quash, are called the Three Sisters because they have been grown together and...Read More

Ending the Craving Cycle

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 19:07:50 -0700

We've been talking about cravings the last few weeks, and we want to go into another facet of it today. Cravings can suddenly come up around certain activities or situations where we regularly crave a particular food even though we aren't hungry. Almost like a cycle. When this certain situation occurs, the craving comes with it. But at the same time there's often a niggling little thought that we really shouldn't give into the craving.

Now, it isn't just about getting rid of the craving, because eating the food does that. But rather how do we break the cycle? How do we deal with those feelings without eating the food?

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As simple as this seems, if we pause and let our mind settle for a moment, the feeling can shift quite quickly. Now, when we say pause, that doesn't mean wait 10 seconds before reaching for the food. It means let your attention be with the feeling of the craving very lightly instead of being caught in the urgency of it. Pause and let your mind settle.

My mind doesn't settle if I keep my attention on the feeling of the craving and the dialogue that's going on inside. The craving gets stronger and I feel like I have to resist it.

Pausing to let the mind settle isn't to resist the urge to eat something. It's to pause and let the mind relax. Let it just be with the feeling without any thoughts about it. Have you ever reflected on your thoughts when a craving comes up?

I usually have thoughts like "I shouldn't," or "I don't need it, really" along with, "Heck, it's just a small piece of ...." There's almost always an inner dialog and conflict pulling me this way and that, and that keeps the feeling strong and urgent. In that state, I don't find my best thinking.

That's why we say, pause and let the mind settle. This is the critical part. If my mind doesn't settle, the feelings and the agitation increase until I do something to change that.

One way to change the agitation is...Read More

Why We Crave the Wrong Foods-Part 2

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 13:03:50 -0800

A couple of weeks ago we did our blog on Why We Crave the Wrong Foods. In it we shared Dr. Goldhamer's explanation of the "pleasure trap", the dopamine cycle related to certain foods, that can cause us to override our best intentions.

This week we want to follow up on that and take it a step further, exploring the possibility of reducing the discomfort we often feel that leads us to reaching for the wrong foods in order to change how we're feeling.

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While it's clear that the feel good hit from dopamine drives us toward the "wrong" foods, is there a way to reduce the tension or discomfort in our lives that has us looking to food for a way to feel better in the first place?

This was the issue we realized we wanted to address many years ago when we saw some of our clients switch to Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) eating and reach their target weight, get off the meds and become pain-free, only to lose those benefits some time later when a stressful event occurred and they went back to their old way of living and eating. We saw that we needed to address the mental / emotional relationship they had with with food.

We tried many things like meditation and mindfulness, Byron Katie's work and TRP, but none of these brought results for many people. Then we came across an understanding that turned our conventional way of looking at how life works upside-down. Or maybe we should say right-side-up.

This understanding points out that our experience of life is created, not by the situations that occur in our lives, but by our thinking ABOUT the situations. It encouraged us to explore whether the tensions and discomforts that arose in some situations were really caused by the situation or by our thinking.

Ironically, as often as we had seen that circumstances don't make us feel what we're feeling, which is what this understanding is suggesting, we never connected the dots. We had both seen that 2 people often had...Read More

How Not To Die

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:05:27 -0800

How Not To Die

What a clever way to get is to reflect on our diet and lifestyle choices. Diet and lifestyle have an influence or how long and how well we feel throughout our lifetime, so maybe it's a good idea to consider what we put in our mouth and how we live.

Dr. Michael Greger has put together a documentary based on his international bestselling book by the same title: How Not To Die. We found it quite amazing in the amount of scientific information he provides from the latest peer-reviewed research published in medical journals, as well as entertaining in how he shares it through his unique sense of humour.

Join us to hear more.

And if you'd like to watch the entire hour and twenty minute documentary, we've added it below.

The recipe this week is a Sweet Potato Mash. It's a simple combination of sweet potatoes and a fresh cranberry-apple-date chutney style topping. We made it one night because we wanted to do something different with sweet potatoes, which we love. We were so surprised by how much we liked it that we thought we'd share it with you. Give it a try, we think you'll like it too.

To your Amazing Health,

Connie and Bill

Sweet Potato Mash (Serves 2-4)

2 medium to large sweet potatoes or yams
8 medium dates (like Deglet Noor)
1 apple, quartered
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (and thawed)

Bake sweet potatoes 40 minutes at 360º F. We usually cut them in half and bake them on a silicone mat.

Add the dates to a food processor and process until they just start to ball up.

Add the apple and cranberries and pulse to get the chunkiness you like.

Remove potatoes from oven when done and cut them up and mash them in the serving bowls you’ll use.

If you want the double baked look, scoop the potatoes out of their skins, mash them and put the mash back in the...Read More

2026 Vegan Health Bundle

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 19:09:26 -0800

2026 Vegan Health Bundle

For the last five years, a group of Whole Food Plant Based enthusiasts and experts have contributed hundreds of WFPB recipes, courses, and beneficial information on health and wellness and "bundled" it all in one place, for one price for a limited time. It's made available for only one week each year and this year is from February 14-22, so it's on now.

This 2026 Bundle has over 50 WFPB experts offering 65 different downloadable products that are valued at over $4500 if purchased separately. All for the amazing price of just $49.

Join us to hear more.

We have contributed to the Bundle for three years now and it's been so much fun. This year Connie put together a video series titled "Having a Loving Relationship with Food". In it she talks about our relationship with food, how to handle emotional eating and much more.

There are also people like Chef AJ sharing videos from the Plant Powered Party she hosted in Las Vegas last year with numerous WFPB doctors, as well as Dr. John McDougall's Masterclass on "The Starch Solution", which is a $149 value by itself.

50 contributors, 65 products valued at over $4500 for only $49. Available from February 14-22.

To view the different contributors, what they are offering and to purchase it, click here.

If you have any questions, just post them in the comments section below.

The recipe this week is Instant Pot Polenta. We've always found making polenta a bit tedious in how it needs to be stirred constantly to avoid lumps. Now that we've found a way to do it in the Instant Pot, where we just add all the ingredients, turn it on and walk away, it's become a much more frequent dish in our house. And we love that.

There are a number of ways we serve it, usually with beans, salsa and avocado as a Mexican type dish. But it's also great with a marinara sauce,...Read More

Why We Crave the Wrong Foods

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:28:09 -0800

Over the years, many people we know who follow and observe health trends have commented that people are continuing to get fatter and sicker. We, too, have mentioned that when we go to airports, which is only about once a year, we see a noticeable increase in the average size of people and how (un)healthy they look.

Dr. Alan Goldhamer, the director of the True North Health Center in California, has discussed the hidden force that drives cravings for the "wrong foods" and how this force, largely unrecognized, is undermining people's ability to lose weight and be healthy and happy .

Join us to hear more.

When I hear him explain it, it's clear how this hidden force is created by the dopamine cycle, the mechanism that rewards us with feeling good.

It's the same force that keeps people using drugs or alcohol even when they know it is harmful. The desire for that feel good, especially when we're feeling low, is so gripping. Like drugs, alcohol and other addictive behaviours, calorie dense foods over-stimulate dopamine production and keep us eating more than we need because it feels good.

It was interesting to hear him link this process to the SOS foods, Sugar, Oil and Salt, that we've talked about before. It's pretty easy to see why these foods over-stimulate dopamine. Sugar is about 1700 calories per pound, but the sugar beet it's made from is only 200. That's gonna spike some dopamine. And in the US, the average person is eating 150 pounds of sugar each year.

Also, both olive oil and avocado oil are about 2000 calories per pound, whereas olives and avocados eaten in their whole form are around 700. Again, a much bigger spike in dopamine and overeating when we consume oil than when the foods the oil is derived from are eaten whole.

Lastly, salt. Although it doesn't have any calories, it's a taste enhancer through the...Read More

Living From Love - From Who We Really Are

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:38:07 -0800

If the way to live a full, rich life and contribute the most in our lifetimes is to live from love, and love is our true nature, how do we access our true nature?

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It's so easy to get lost in our thinking, especially our conditioned thinking. And then we're off to the races on how to deal with the things we're thinking about. And often end up thinking more and more about them.

The decisions we make and the behaviours we choose from our thinking are typically quite different from what we choose and do when we look at the same things through the eyes of love. Not that we aren't thinking about what we do, but it's coming from a different place. Do you know what I mean?

The way we find our way out of our conditioned thinking and back to our true nature, to the love we are, is to get present and back into our hearts. There are many different ways to do this from taking a deep breath, to relaxing and letting that thinking move on, like clouds moving through the sky.

The more we do this, the more we live from the love we really are, the more all of our relationships are enhanced. Our relationships with each other, our relationships with our work, even our relationship with food. From the wisdom of our love, we express balance, peace and harmony. What could be better than that?

The recipe this week is a Sweet Edamame Cooked Slaw. It came about because we were out of lettuce one night and we like having a big salad with our dinner. So Connie thought, why not just slice some cabbage and make a slaw instead. Then, it being Winter, we thought to heat it and add some other veggies. And, how about an apple and a pear? Also, while we were at it, why not add some beans, so we added edamame.

Before we knew it, we had a complete 1-dish meal with protein, lots of High Nutrient Dense fruits and vegetables and a little fat, in the whole food form, from the dressing. Because of the sweet fruits in it, we decided to...Read More