cooking class was standing room only!

I teach low-fat plant-based cooking classes in Florida. I taught at Whole Foods today, and even though they had people sign up in advance, we had an extra 10 people come in above the 30 that had signed up. Everyone asked such good questions. We made calabacitas which we loaded onto low-fat whole wheat tortillas. We made guacamole plus with peas mashed in...couldn't even tell the peas were in it. We also used low-fat refried beans. Yummy.

I eat tortillas with lettuce and salsa all the time. A great thing to shove down before going out to dinner to a place you know won't know what the word "vegan" means.

Management told me, "you have quite a following." When people see my "before" pictures...145 at 5'3" is not a pretty site, they gasp as they realize the chef standing before them is the same person. They also get wide-eyed when I tell them both my sisters and parents had/have major heart disease, and my mom, sister and aunt all had/have breast cancer.

I really love teaching these classes. I think it is in part because no one in my family of origin ever took my vegetarian eating and recommendations seriously. My audiences are so hungry ;) for this information.

The Whole Foods assistant today kept saying, "I'll organize and serve the food. You just keep talking." I'm used to serving and talking at the same time in my other classes. It was nice to have the help and to focus on addressing everyone's questions.

Vegetarian Coaching

Vegetarian Coaching

It's been awhile, and I'm resolved to keep my writing juices flowing. I teach veg cooking classes, and I am so rewarded by the success people find...in just plain feeling better and in unplanned, yet incredible weightloss. Many of my students are raving fans after a few weeks. Since I was an investigative reporter in my past life, I'm going to just start writing about current events in the veg world. There isn't a day that goes by that some study supports what I and the many excellent doctors whose work I follow is supported. Mainstream, I say. Mainstream. I've also come to understand that my 5 years as a financial consultant at Smith Barney (and the number one market performer in my entire branch...a branch of 70 men mostly, who had been in the business decades) has been invaluable in understanding the financial model of vegetables. That's right...there's just not a whole lot of money to made in veggies, or being vegan...which is really what makes the weight drop folks. Cut the meat and dairy, and watch your waistline reappear. I'm amazed when I think about my involvement with Race for the Cure. We (Smith Barney) gave a free lunch for our biggest contributors. Who were the guest speakers at the lunch? The internal analysts who covered the drug companies that were on the "cutting edge" of the new drugs and research and gizmos that would address breast cancer. So that our lunch guests, our biggest clients also, would invest in these companies. Not a bad idea, of course. Their hearts were in the right place. Once you understand the financial model and connections, then you begin to do your own investigating into finding truth, justice and maybe, the not so American way. Good luck on your journey! Let me know if I can help or offer support.