Now or Never

By: Red Hot Mamas

Published: July 11, 2017

When you reach your 50’s and 60’s and your knees, hips, ankles, neck and back are talking to you constantly, (especially in the morning and night), something has to change!  Of course you all know by now, food and yoga are MY answers but there are other REALLY smart researchers out there who have actually PROVED that what we eat makes a huge difference in total health, pain and suffering.

The arteries and blood vessels leading to our heart and brain need to be clear and flexible.  No one pill, potion or powder will save you, those things are only a bandaid.  The cause of stiff and clogged vessels need to be addressed if you want to be alert mentally and mobile physically.  The solution is within you;  take the bull by the horns and start over.  Tastebuds can be re-educated. Alter the old recipes or start over with a bunch of NEW plant based recipes that are medicinal and taste good…you could make yourself feel better in days; hard to believe but completely true.  Less animal products because they inflame and more plants because they are ANTI-inflammatory.  You may even save money during this ‘do-over’, woohoo! Doctors visits, medication and time out of work is EXPENSIVE.

I have been inspired by so many ordinary people from Peace Dale, RI who are altering their eating and exercising behaviors for their heart sake and losing visible fat on their waists and invisible fat in their arteries!   Age creeps up on us but nothing looks as good as healthy feels.   Of course these people work diligently to make health happen and continue to be mindful going forward.  What did they do?  Less animal protein; not just red meat, but less chicken, pork, fish and little to NO dairy…that means cheese and ice cream!  Also, they rarely eat processed meats or snacks, if at all.   So how can you change what all of us have been conditioned to eat from day 1 by our parents, aunts, uncles and friends…not to mention, the dietary guidelines that have been circulated throughout the country as our ‘model for health’.    It takes big money to get on that government publication, not the kind of money a local organic farmer has!  I fell for it myself back in the day and I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Pete’s sake!

Eating behaviors can change.

Tastebuds can be re-educated and going cold turkey does mean WORK and practice.   I’ve heard many people say, ‘I want to enjoy my life and I’ll eat what I want’… of course you do; so do I but I CANNOT have ice cream, snacks or cheese in the house because it calls to me when I’m tired, mad or sad.   I’ll eat these ‘risky’ foods outside the house…a kiddie size cone is plenty!

Assess your OWN daily eating behaviors and if you need help see a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for advice on tweaking your day to day meal plan.  Everyone of us is different and what works for one is not always the answer for another.

Ice cream and cheese makes us feel full and satisfied, but so do fruit sorbet, avocado, nuts and seeds.   Cashew cream is something I never dreamed of making to replace cheese sauce but it’s easy and tastes so good…here’s a good savory recipe Cashew Cream Pasta Sauce

and here’s a dessert sauce Cashew Cream Parfait

Enjoy the journey and don’t forget to get out and dance a little…