Food For Your Heath!

Hope everyone is enjoying the pre-Spring weather!

You are what we eat! Milk does a body good! An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

How many times have we heard these expressions?

Your heart is the size of your fist!

Did you know that a healthy heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels each day.

Did you also know that the endothelial lining is what protects our blood vessels.

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn calls it "the life jacket of our blood vessels." The endothelial cells which line our arteries produce this wonderful molecule of gas called nitric oxide, which protects our blood vessels.

Why is nitric oxide so important, you ask?

Well this molecule protects us from ever having a heart attack or stroke.

Here's the problem, everytime we eat certain foods, they begin to injure this endothelial lining and ultimately, our levels of nitric oxide get lower.

Then what happens when there is little nitric oxide? Our arteries begin to form plaque which starts at childhood and continues into adulthood.

What foods harm our endothelial lining?

Meat, dairy, all oils, sugar, and salt.

Funny, these same foods cause other chronic diseases such as obesity diabetes, asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and of course, cancer!

Am I just making this stuff up as I go along? What would be my motive, other than to inform others about what I've learned.

What have I learned?

That heart disease can be prevented, reversed and is the #1 killer of people!

That cancer growth can be turned on and off!

That dairy products cause osteoporosis!

That plant protein is all we need in order to be healthy!

Have you ever seen an unhealthy elephant? I wonder how he gets his protein and calcium?

He's a herbivore! How can an elephant be so strong just by consuming plants?

Think about it, all we need is what nature gave us...

Whole, plant-based foods!

The next time you decide to eat something, ask yourself, is this food going to injure my endothelial lining?

"Make yourself heart attack proof" by giving it what it so desperately needs, whole, plant-based foods!

Take the first step...

I know it will be hard at first, but once you eliminate all animal products, your body, especially your heart, will thank you!

Here are 3 great books to own and 2 informative videos! I love the yummy recipes!

What a great family!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYTf0z_zVs0


http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=what+causes+chronic+diseases


To your health,

Sandra Perri

Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Thy Medicine Be Thy Food!

Welcome back!

Sorry I couldn't post anything last week as life just got too hectic!

"Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food?" Was Hippocrates ahead of his time or just plain crazy?

Hippocrates: Father of Medicine

I think the "Father of Western Medicine" was onto something, don't you?

What powerful words he uttered more than 2000 years ago. Fast forward 2300 years and where have we arrived? This is the generation of uncertainty, especially where food and health are concerned.

Thanks to the media, we are so confused about the amount of dietary cholesterol, fat, protein, and carbohydrate intake we should consume in order to be considered healthy!

"Let food be thy medicine", let's start here...

We are educated enough to know that saturated fat is bad for our body as it raises our cholesterol and clogs our arteries. What foods have the most saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol? Meat, eggs, dairy, and junk food.

What foods give us the necessary protein, calcium, and carbohydrates? Foods that are whole and plant-based.

The media has done a good job to confuse us with the latest fads and headlines such as "Wheat belly", "Grain brain", and that "Butter is back" gimmicks! These fads are not based on any scientific proof!

Eating a whole, plant-based diet is not the latest fad, it's a lifestyle change that cannot happen overnight but has been proven by many doctors to prevent and reverse all of our wonderful Western American chronic diseases!

Need I mention them?

Follow the link below. Great informative site about the latest medical studies!

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/trans-fat-saturated-fat-and-cholesterol-tolerable-upper-intake-of-zero/

As I promised in my first post, I will be sharing some of family's homemade Italian recipes which have a plant-based twist!

Nonna Anna's Pasta Fazool Recipe

This is my mom's recipe passed on from her mother when she was a little girl in Italy. Back in the day, meat was only a garnish, not like today when the average person consumes 50g of protein from animals daily.

The tomatoes,beans, and garlic I used were from my dad's garden, 

This recipe is very easy!

Boil your beans until tender as shown below.

For the sauce, I sauteed 2 cloves of garlic with minimal olive oil, adding some hot pepper flakes to taste and then added my tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and oregano which I simmer for 20 minutes, since the sauce is homemade and was already boiled in mason jars when preserved.

Next, choose your favorite pasta. It wasn't hard to switch from white pasta to whole grain pasta. I love Catelli pasta!

Cook until al dente and drain, reserving some water in case it's needed later.

Add the beans, along with the juice it made when cooked.

Add your sauce and mix. here is where you add more water left over from the pasta, if necessary.

It should be soupy like below!

Now the hard part, eliminating Parmesan cheese and finding something that is plant-based!

I found it and my kids prefer this version over the cheese! Who would of thunk it!

Thank you, Vegan Insanity for the recipe!

http://www.veganinsanity.com/recipes/vegan-parmesan-cheese/

Let whole, plant-based food be thy medicine and thy medicine be whole, plant-based food!

Your journey to optimal health awaits you...

Open wide and take a bite...

You will never miss animal products and processed food again!

To your health,

Sandra Perri

My Family's Health Comes First!

Happy Family Day in Canada!

Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend with their family!

For me, family is everything!

So when I first watched the documentary, "Forks Over Knives" and heard about Dr. T. Colin Campbell and his scientific study called, "The China Study", the first thing I wanted to do is share it with my family and give them the gift of optimal health!

Not so easy trying to convince an Italian family that they should cut all meat and dairy products, which includes eggs and cheese! Well, Rome wasn't built in a day! I will take small steps of change from them for now...

When my parents lived in Italy more than 50 years ago, things were different than today! They worked on the farm, growing crops, tending to the animals, and harvesting all their hard work before winter came. When they came home for lunch, they needed to consume animal products and oils in order to make up for the calories they burned in the fields!

My dad told me stories from those times! He told me that eating meat was only for special occasions. If they were lucky, they had meat once a week.

The Mediterranean diet that we speak of today is not the same diet my parents grew up with. Cheese, meat and oil was used as a condiment.

Everything in moderation worked in those days, but not today!

Today, we consume more than the daily recommended intake of protein and calcium required!

Did you know that leafy green vegetables contain more calcium than a glass of milk and that beans have more protein than a steak?

But why eat salad and beans all day. A bacon cheeseburger tastes sooo much better!

I'll tell you why!

Because Dr. T. Colin Campbell, along with 30 years of research proved that eating animal protein feeds cancer growth. In other words, if you eat animal products, the cancer cells that are just sitting there, will begin to grow and divide. .But, if you follow a whole plant-based lifestyle, those cancer cells that are just sitting there will do exactly that...Nothing!

It's the casein in milk, in particular that causes cancer growth! In Dr. Campbell's study, he discovered that tumor growth can be turned on and off simply by increasing and decreasing animal protein fed to rats. The rats that were fed 5% animal protein, had a reversal of tumor growth, but once they were fed 20% of animal protein, the tumor growth increased. He did this in intervals of 5% and 20% and literally turned on and off cancer growth each time!

That was an "Aha" moment for me that changed my life forever...

Read the China Study and follow the links below for further information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygnnu68R6iU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfsT-qYeqGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g6EPHLFr-Y&list=PL65FF78C391722823

http://nutritionstudies.org/animal-protein-carcinogen/

Living a healthy and vibrant life...

Optimal heath begins with a lifestyle change!

Eliminate all animal products, cut oils, all processed foods and refined sugars!

My family, my love...

Small steps are happening right before my eyes...

If I eat plant-based foods, they will follow!

To your family's heath,

Sandra Perri

It's Time to Take Your Health Into Your Own Hands!

Hope everyone had a fantastic week and you are well on your way to optimal health!

If not, then today is the day you finally take your health into your own hands!

How many yo yo diets have you been on? Sure, you lose a lot of weight, but then you go back to your old eating habits and put the weight back on, with a few extra pounds that you didn't ask for!

I'm not asking you to go on another diet that is sure to fail. I'm asking you to make a life choice... to eat the best possible food that will strengthen your immunity, protect you against all chronic diseases, and, allow you to lose weight effortlessly, without depriving yourself, never to feel hunger again, and finally, to begin tasting, I mean really tasting food for the very first time!

Thanks to our sugar addictions, our taste buds have become distorted!

Recently, I discovered avocado, thanks to my dear friend, Simone. Thanks, Simone! I am blessed to have you in my life and to be sharing this journey with you! I look forward to the scrumptious plant-based dishes you bring to work daily! I never realized how buttery and creamy avocado was! It's a great alternative to dairy products!

Speaking of dairy products, did you know that dairy products cause constipation in children and cause many childhood illnesses such as asthma and chronic ear and throat infections? I wish I knew that when my children were smaller because I would have eliminated dairy products sooner!

I know your next question, "If I eliminate dairy products when my children are still growing, how will they get the necessary calcium to strengthen their bones?

All non-dairy milks are fortified with calcium and vitamins D and B12. Choose your favourite soy or almond milk and your kids will never miss cow's milk! And when they do, remind them that some of the cow's puss is passed on into the milk! Yum!

Follow these links from Dr. John McDougall to learn more about the harm of dairy products!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKu2n4dMMCM, Diet vs. Drugs

If you are skeptical, here are foods that are high in calcium: almonds, broccoli, figs, all dark leafy green vegetables, chia seeds, butternut squash, collards, and any plant-based milk!

Dr. John McDougall has dedicated his medical career and helped many people prevent and reverse chronic diseases by following a plant-based diet which includes starches!

It was in Hawaii that Dr. McDougall first observed the diets of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation Asians and observed how each generation ate differently from the other! The 1st generation ate mostly a plant-based starchy diet with little animal products and were trim and free of disease, while the other generations became more westernized, ate foods higher in saturated fat which came from animal products, were obese and living with chronic diseases. It was at this time that Dr. McDougall realized that it's the food that makes us sick!

Thank you Dr. McDougall for making our world a better place and for changing my family's life forever!

Follow these links for further information about a starch-based diet! https://www.drmcdougall.com/ , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5TfVp3pc- Iand read Dr. McDougall's book, "The Starch Solution."

Did you know that the Okinawa people in Japan have been eating the same starch-based diet for over 100 years and are one of the oldest people in the world living today? 

Why is that? Why is it that these centenarians have outlived their children and grandchildren?

Because they never changed their way of eating. Whereas their children and grandchildren have adopted the Western American Diet and with that have inherited all the chronic diseases we live with today!

No thank you!

I'm good with eating a plant-based diet which include all my favourite comfort, starchy foods: potatoes, rice, corn, bread, pasta...homemade tomato sauce with garlic and basil...

Life is good!

What have I modified?

We've eliminated white flour as much as we can. We now eat whole wheat pasta and rice.

Eat more whole foods that have not been processed like, quinoa, couscous, oats!

My kids don't even notice that my homemade pizza dough is mostly made of whole wheat!

Look for my upcoming homemade recipes that I've modified to make them plant-based!

I can't change the world,, but I can change one person at a time...

Helping to make this a better world...

Learning as I go along...

Sharing my knowledge...

Taking your health into your own hands was never so easy!

To your health,

Sandra Perri

Eat to Live or Live to Eat? That is the Question!

Welcome back,

Do you eat to live or live to eat? Being Italian, living to eat was something I did without a care, not giving a thought to what this way of eating would ultimately do to my health in the future. Growing up, I was pretty thin and could eat anything! That's because, we stayed outside all day and burned everything we ingested!

What's changed since I was 10?

We have! We are more sedentary than active. We eat more processed food than we did when we were kids and we are making less homemade meals than our mother's did because our kids have some tournament or competition they need to get to!

I am not here to lecture you! I was once the same person as you are now, until I watched the documentary, "Forks over Knives," and then my eyes were opened for the first time!

I am here to give you all the information you need to make your own decision and finally take your health into your own hands!

It was on Dr. Oz when I first learned about Dr. Joel Fuhrman. (www.drfuhrman.com). (youtube: Immunity Solutions, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, (www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5E6UkcH3CI)

In a nutshell, Dr. Fuhrman promotes optimal health by eating foods which are whole and plant-based and have the highest micro nutrients in order to obtain the best immunity! And who doesn't want a strong immunity, especially during the winter season!

What are these foods, you ask?

GBOMBS: Green, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, and Seeds! Eat these foods daily! Doctor's orders!

I know what you're thinking? No meat, no dairy?

Yes! We have grown up with the misconception that animal products are necessary for us and our children to get all the necessary protein and calcium for optimal health!

Not true! Science has proven with many studies that eating animal products causes chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, asthma, skin conditions, and of course, obesity...

I don't know if you've noticed, but there are more overweight kids now than when we were kids! Apparently, this generation of children will not live as long as their parents...

I want my kids to outlive me...don't you?

Try the Eggplant Cannelloni!

Do your own research, watch the videos and cookbook I recommended...

I challenge you to make a lifestyle change for 21 days and see what happens to your health...

Do you have more energy? Have you lost some weight?

Your choice, your health...

To your health,

Sandra Perri

My Family's Journey to Optimal Health!

Welcome to my first post for 2015!

I am very excited about my new blog which is inspired by my first blog:(wakeupandsmellthepetunias.blogspot.com). Check it out and become inspired, too!

Last year, my life was spiraling in the wrong direction and I needed something to inspire me and give me some direction. So, I started blogging about whatever was on my mind. It seemed that this blog was the appetizer for my new blog, Italian Pasta Fazool Girl!

Why the name, you ask?

Well, I'm Italian of course with a twist, I don't eat animal products anymore!

When I told my parents that I wasn't going to eat my dad's homemade sausage anymore...They were obviously in shock, but I told them I would eat all the vegetables in his garden, especially his beans!

Nonno Mario's Garden

As I was trying to figure out where my life was taking me, I stumbled upon my true passion: Cooking for the ones I love! 

I dedicate this blog to my husband. If it wasn't for him, I would have never ignited my love for cooking and then discover how the food we eat affects our health!

This is not a diet I am promoting. It's a lifestyle change. A change that will give you optimal health.

The goal of my blog is to help you transition from eating a Standard American Diet to eating delicious, whole plant-based foods. I will post links to websites and recommend great informative podcasts to help you reach your ultimate goal and change your life forever!

I am on this journey with you since I will be learning too! I will be sharing my family's Italian recipes but making them plant-based. I already have many recipes to share! Homemade pizza dough, stuffed zucchini, Nonna Anna's Secret Lasagna, and of course the best Pasta Fazool you ever tasted!

In the meantime, watch the documentary, "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix and learn how many doctors, such as, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn have dedicated their medical career to promoting optimal health and preventing chronic diseases from ever forming, simply by eating a whole plant-based diet!

It's time to take your health into your own hands!

One step at a time...

To your good health,

Sandra Perri