“Milk is nature’s food for a baby calf, which has four stomachs and will double it’s weight in forty-seven days.”
Marilu Henner, The Total Health Makeover
Thinking about trying a dairy free lifestyle? You might be more motivated to give it a go after reading these facts:
Dairy cows are injected with steroids and antibiotics which they pass on in their milk
Milk is nature’s food for a baby calf which has four stomachs and will double it’s weight in forty-seven days
Genetically speaking milk is identical to the human growth hormone IGF-I
Dairy cows with mastitis are treated with antibiotics rather than “waste” the milk. The pus in that milk contains bacteria which the antibiotics do not completely destroy
Dairy products are one of the leading causes of food allergies bringing on, in addition to sinus problems, constipation, diarrhea, and chronic fatigue
The calcium contained in cow’s milk is coarser than the calcium contained in human milk (which is the one nature designed for feeding human infants) and is not readily absorbed by our bodies
Spinach, broccoli, and other green leafy vegetables contain calcium as do nuts, sesame seed, dates, figs and prunes just to name a few
Researchers at Harvard have found that women who consume large amounts of cottage cheese and yogurt increase their risk of ovarian cancer by up to three times
This list just scratches the surface. Stay connected to this community to find out how you can live a healthy dairy free lifestyle.
The Environmental Working Group reports that meat and dairy have significant environmental impact.
Americans’ appetite for meat and dairy – billions of pounds a year from billions of animals – takes a toll on our health, the environment, climate and animal welfare. Producing all this meat and dairy requires large amounts of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, fuel, feed and water. It also generates greenhouse gases and large amounts of toxic manure and wastewater that pollute groundwater, rivers, streams and, ultimately, the ocean. In addition, eating large quantities of beef and processed meats increases your exposure to toxins and is linked to higher rates of health problems, including heart disease, cancer and obesity.
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Eating and wasting less meat (especially red meat) and cheese can simultaneously improve our health and reduce the climate and environmental impact of food. Choosing grass-fed, free-range, pasture-raised and/or organic products also helps to expand market demand. As the market grows, more farmers and ranchers will choose more sustainable and humane production methods, which in turn will make these products more affordable and available.
Choosing healthier, greener food is important, but significantly cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change will also require governmental action. We all need to get engaged to push for comprehensive public policies that put the nation on a path to greener energy. Reducing meat production’s negative impacts on soil, air and water will take stronger regulatory enforcement and better policies – in addition to significant changes in meat consumption habits.
The report is a goldmine of information on the impact of how we eat. Even if you’re a meat or dairy consumer, you’ll learn a few ways to make smarter choices for the planet.
Try the quiz (as a pre-test or post-test for the rest of the report), and check out the excellent graphics. Then be a smarter, healthier consumer.
Coaches Jan and Kyra will welcome you and get you caught up. We spent day 1 on some basics, and day 2 on vegan breakfast. Today it’s all about vegan appetizers – and that includes recipes! Plus, Jan is giving us videos each day, and Kyra is sharing her favorite vegan cookbooks!
You don’t have to be a vegan to take this class!
Honestly, this is a great place to learn and experiment without any fear of being chastised for not being vegan (lots of members are “vegan-ish” (close to vegan) or are dairy-free and red-meat-free), or for not quite getting it. It’s a great time to practice being vegan and see what your own challenges will be. It’s a great place to jump right in with enthusiasm, because you’ll get support for that, too.
Jan happens to be gluten-free, too, so if you need help with vegan GF meals, this is the place to be.
Classes at Marilu.com are available free to all members. Just check your inbox for your daily email, log in to Marilu.com and get to class on the message boards. There’s even a handy class page with all the resources and links you’ll need for class.
Not a member?Sign up now and get a free class (sometimes two!) every month.
Here’s a cool, refreshing, and totally animal-free frozen dessert for a hot day. Bonus – you can make it in your Vitamix! Win one from Marilu!
Don’t forget! Our Viva La Vegan class is now in session. If you want lots of vegan (animal-free) recipes, or are interested in finding out more about a plant-based diet, join the class! It’s not too late.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Evi’s Mango Cream Yellow * Serves 4
1 ripe mango
1 cup coconut milk
1/8 cup agave syrup (more to taste)
1 Tablespoon lime juice (or lemon juice)
Fresh mint leaves to decorate
Peel and chop mango. Place everything with exception of the mint leaves in a blender or food processor. Blend/mix until smooth. Place in small bowls or glasses and chill for at least two hours in the fridge. Decorate with mint leaves.
Loads of vegan recipes and info about vegan living! Download and print recipes, and get more recipes in class. Get help converting your favorite recipes to delicious vegan versions.
You don’t have to be a vegan to take this class!
This is the place to ask your questions and get real answers from real people who have chosen veganism. Join Jan and Kyra and learn what it means to be a vegan, making the transition to veganism, living in a “mixed” (animal-free and animal-eating) family, and the challenges and rewards of being vegan.
Classes at Marilu.com are available free to all members. Just check your inbox on Monday for your daily email, log in to Marilu.com and get to class on the message boards. There’s even a handy class page with all the resources and links you’ll need for class. Not a member? Sign up now and get a free class (sometimes two!) every month.
So… now we know to watch out for too much fat (most of which comes from animal products) and dairy. Kind of surprising, right?
If eating vegan sounds difficult, why not try it in small doses? More of a “vegan-ish” approach than a fully vegan approach. Start with eating one vegan meal a day, and when that gets easy, go for two vegan meals a day, or 10 vegan meals a week, or vegan family dinners, or ordering vegan food in a restaurant, or bringing vegan food to a picnic or potluck dinner. Challenge yourself a little bit.
Our online class in July is the very popular Viva la Vegan class – where you don’t have to be vegan, but you can get great recipes and reasons to try it out. Learn ways to make a vegan lifestyle (or even a vegan-ish lifestyle) work for you. Sign up now and don’t miss out!
FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the so-called “diseases of affluence” that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. (Hey, we know those guys! They’ve written some of our favorite books – The China Study by Dr. Campbell and Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Esselstyn.)
The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced “nature’s perfect food”; to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs.
The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments—while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.
Check here for theaters showing Forks Over Knives in the USA. Check here for theaters showing Forks Over Knives in Canada.
We found this great list of words used on food labels and what they mean. Here’s the beginning of the article to explain it more – we encourage you to click the link and read the whole thing, plus the comments.
These days, grocery shopping involves a lot of reading. Food is rarely content to just be, and instead, must include dozens of labels designating it as CAGE-FREE, HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS, or the dreaded ORGANIC. And even if you know your PASTURED from your HUMANELY-RAISED chickens, odds are you still need a PhD to decode most of the other language.
So, to make navigating your supermarket a tad easier, here are 26 food labels, defined and explained in terms understandable to humans. I have to be honest – 36 hours ago, I couldn’t tell the difference between LOW-FAT, LITE and REDUCED-FAT. Now, I can. And I have this guide to consult when I forget.
We just completed a really great Viva la Vegan online class here at Marilu.com, and we’re fired up about plant-based diets. These cookbooks are recommended by our members – people like you – who want good food on the table. Some of the cookbooks are not veagn, but you can easily substitute vegan ingredients, so we’re calling them vegan-friendly.
Check out these cookbooks from your library, or click on the titles to get them at Amazon. Also check this post for books about veganism that have lots of recipes. If you have other suggestions, let us know!
by Dr. Campbell and 
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