I am sitting on the plane on the way home from Miami, FL right now. Mindy and I are returning from one of the best fitness conferences on the circuit – WSSC in Miami. Great people and tremendous interest in our message of a plant based lifestyle. Thanks to all who attended my lectures, which you can download for free, right now by clicking here.
Mindy and I are also emboldened by my one year check with with Dr. Dattoli in Sarasota 2 weeks ago:
No sign of cancer in the prostate bed (the fire has a good probability of re-igniting in the same area it started, in addition to metastasizing to other parts of the body), and my PSA is once again, ZERO. I am going to stay on metformin, celebrex, cabergoline and finasteride, along with an estradiol patch for at least another year (read more that here). The hormone therapy of the last year will begin wearing off over the next few months. Great news all around and I feel great! Thanks to all of you who have been tracking our story and providing wonderful support. PSA blood tests every 3 months going forward, and I’ll update accordingly here on the blog.
Now back to business. Some people question making all of our presentation material public with free access. This is what I have to say about that: Every single piece of information, lecture, summary of research studies that come from me will be posted on this site and made available to anyone who wants access to it. The more I can spread the word regarding the latest in unbiased nutritional research, the better. I would also love it if anyone wants to use this information for their own publication / presentation needs.
We ate at 2 wonderful vegan restaurants in Miami:
- Whole Food and Wine
- Full Bloom
Both had fabulous dishes and great service and I would highly recommend either for anyone, plant based or just looking to check out different styles of food preparation, both raw and cooked. Although the plant based food options in Miami are many, I can’t wait to get home to my zen nest space: MY KITCHEN.
Kitchen and Cooking Zen
For the past 2 months, I have changed my approach to cooking – only use ingredients I know are high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and anti-angiogenesis (anti-cancer) promoting foods. I love it and live for it. I want to share my ideas to help anyone who wants learn to spend more time in the kitchen, concocting all kinds of crazy healthy (and sometimes weird) food to consume every single day I am home. I can’t totally explain why but I cherish my ZEN time in my kitchen. The act of preparing delicious and nutritious food drops me into a totally different meditative zone that I am never in any hurry to depart from. I could easily spend most of my waking hours cooking, cleaning, and, of course, surfing.
Here are a few of my quick tips for getting the most out of your kitchen time:
– Get creative and don’t set the details. Mix and match different foods to try them out. I recently made fresh quacamole and decided to mix it in with some finely chopped yellow beets – unbelievably tasty – you must try it!
– Low and slow. If you are cooking on the stove top or in the oven, keep the temperature below 350 C if possible. As Dr. Greger pointed out to me during our interview (it’s coming soon I promise – just have to finish up the editing and I am not a professional editor), high temperature cooking of any sort can create advanced glycation products that are carcinogenic. I have always loved the burned end of ANY type of food – onions, leg of lamb, toast – always loved the crunch of well done food. No more, no more. Another reason for low temp cooking is that it demands even more time in the kitchen, which is what we all need!
– Keep it simple, dude. If you are transitioning to a more plant centered diet, don’t try to add to many items to a dish. Ingredients for the guacamole and beet salad bliss mentioned above: avocado, lime, garlic, and chopped beets / mix. It takes about 10 minutes.
– Fresh, Fresh, Fresh. There is absolutely nothing more important in good food prep than having fresh ingredients and we are getting into the season of bountiful fresh fruits and veggies. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS AND SHOP AT THE FARMERS MARKET. The vendors / farmers markets work their asses off to bring you the most tasty and fresh items they produce and they are proud of it. Be a proud member of your local farming community and support them! You’ll be doing the right thing and you will probably live longer!
-Spices. Again, fresh is best but it’s so easy to purchase great dried mixed spices. Spices can really make the difference between good and great cooked veggie meals – just don’t overdo it. If you feel like you need to add a lot of spices to a dish to make it taste good, you probable are not using good fresh ingredients.
– Don’t get hung up on recipe details and quantities. Already said it earlier, but bears repeating. Cooking should be composed of fun, family, friends, and love. If you are stressing out about getting everything perfect, you are missing out on the most important components of the experience. JUST DO IT!
Mindy and I have a mutual symbiotic relationship in the kitchen and life in general. We have a giant island kitchen counter and what I call Mindy’s “nest” is usually spread across most of it (pic attached). If not kept in check, like cancer, this nest will continue to spread over to business end of the counter – meaning not the business Mindy is working on but the heat, the flames, where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Got off on a tangent there…….but check out the pic of Mindy in her element and me in mine. This is where we will be preparing all of the meals at our One Weekend to Wellness event November 4th through 6th. Can’t wait to see you there!
Bruce