How whole can you go? What we mean by that is how many of the ingredients in your recipes and what you put in your mouth are in the whole food form? Think of a whole grain for breakfast instead of oatmeal or a dry cereal. Or using whole black beans to make brownies instead of flour.
Join us to hear more.
Over 35 years ago we embarked on a plan to change the way we ate. Driven by the desire to reverse some health challenges, we wanted to see if changing what we ate could address the cause of our conditions rather than turning to medications or surgery as remedies.
We wanted to get the cause of the problem turned around and our bodies functioning in a healthy way again instead of addressing the surface expression of the condition.
The shift we made was from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to plant based and mostly whole foods. Basically we dropped the animal, the dairy and a lot of the processed foods that came out of a box or wrapper. No more pancakes, cookies or energy bars, and no more bread, pastries or even vegan pizza.
We switched to whole grains and beans with cooked or raw whole vegetables. And, over the years, we noticed that the more whole we went, the better we felt and the healthier we were. We haven't had so much as a cold for years so it seems to be working for us.
The latest foray into "more whole" is in the form of a cookbook we put into the 2025 Vegan Health Bundle (you can explore the Bundle here) where, with the exception of using minimally processed rolled oats in some recipes, all of the ingredients are in their whole form.
The reason we want to use more and more ingredients in their whole form is because the more we do, the better we feel.
Which makes sense because our human physiology evolved being fed only whole foods. There wasn't a choice for millions of years of our evolution. In fact, it's only in the last few centuries that processed foods were available and the last few decades that ultra-processed foods came on the scene. And isn't it interesting that as more processed foods became available, the more chronic health conditions rose. Hmmm.
Our mantra is to eat a Wide Variety of Organic Whole Foods. And the "whole" part is important because, like we're seeing from research, if we add something like avocado oil to a salad instead of just the whole avocado, our bodies utilize the nutrients differently.
When we get our calories from the free oil out of a bottle, our bodies go into the fat storage mode. So, like Dr. McDougall always said, "from the lips to the hips." But when we get those same calories from the whole avocado, we don't turn on the fat storage.
And as part of the "Wide Variety", it's great to include sea vegetables, even in small amounts. This helps ensure we have enough iodine, among other things, in our diet.
Keep in mind there's no "perfect" way to do this. Everyone is different and what's best for them is a unique combination of foods. We suggest learning all you can from the growing evidence of scientific research that points to the foods that provide long-term health and longevity, and to listen to your body. Our bodies have great intelligence and can guide our food choices when we can hear their prompting free of our old food habits and cravings.
The recipe this week is Simple Mexican Beans. With only 4 ingredients, it's ready to eat in just minutes and absolutely delicious. We like them with a tortilla or Corn Thins or topping a big salad.
To your Amazing Health,
Connie and Bill
Simple Mexican Beans (Serves 3-4)
- 2 avocados, mashed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained
- 1-1½ cups salsa (the salsas we love are Que Pasa, medium and Whole Foods, medium)
- 8 corn tortillas
Optional:
- 1 Jalapeno, diced
- 10 cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
In a large bowl add avocado and cover with lime juice, then mash with a fork.
Add pinto beans and salsa and the optional ingredients (if using) and stir well.
Fill tortillas with ingredients and serve with a big salad or steamed greens.