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I was given a copy of the books for review purposes only. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review.
After being officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia I have become more aware just how much the food we put into our bodies affects the way it runs. You are what you eat. I am not totally vegan but I do like to cook vegan as much as I can and can appreciate it’s healing properties. I was like a lot of people and thought that eating vegan would be bland, boring and expensive. That is far from the truth. I read Rea’s Power Vegan book and now I am even more pumped to try out some of the things she recommends and get my family on board. My goal (if the Illinois weather cooperates and I can plant on time) is to have our garden sustain a lot of our meals this summer. So check out Rea’s books. She is one smart lady and understands the parents point of view. I wish I would have had her Detox book before I was pregnant, it might have changed a few things!! Rea was kind enough to write a few tips for us and provide a couple of recipes to get you started. Check those out and then enter to win a copy of both books!
-Jen
THE FIRST EVER CLEANSE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO GET A WOMAN’S BODY TO AN IDEAL STATE FOR MOTHERHOOD
Being pregnant is an amazing experience, but before you conceive, you’ll want to do everything possible to minimize risk and maximize the well-being of mother and child. This book’s step-by-step detox will help you cleanse your system and reach optimal health for carrying a baby. Detox Before You’re Expecting provides:
•Gentle, whole-foods cleanse program
•Delicious, nutrient-packed recipes
•Natural, non-toxic product guide
•Fertility-boosting plan
Don’t wait! Your baby’s healthy beginning starts with you getting healthy first, even before you see the plus sign.
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Power Vegan is a guide to finding the foods that will truly power our daily lives and explains the reasoning behind how eating a more plant-based diet will achieve this aim. Whether readers want to eat better, get fit, or train like an athlete, Power Vegan contains the personalized, balanced approach to a healthier lifestyle. The idea behind power eating is not a fad diet. It’s about incorporating foods into your life that you like, make you feel good, are easy to prepare, and are not too expensive. The book is filled not only with tips, but easy 30-minutes-or-less recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, and snacks. Whether the goal is gaining energy, building muscle, or simply feeling and functioning better, Power Vegan will provide the tools to get healthy and avoid all-too-common pitfalls. Power eating is not about being tied to the gym or the kitchen, but rather about fitting in the health concepts everyone needs while ditching the rest of the diet and exercise “noise” that people are bombarded with every day.
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by Rea Frey
But where do you start? People always assume that eating plant-based will leave you lacking protein, vitamins and minerals. While this can be true if you don’t know where to get your nutrients, thriving on a plant-based diet has never been easier. Steer clear of meat analogues and processed foods and keep your diet based around whole foods. This is a great first step. My top tips for clients?
1. Stop eating dessert for breakfast. As we all know, breakfast is an important part of the day. But after fasting all night, when we give our bodies muffins, pancakes, waffles, and super sweet smoothies first thing in the morning, we’re not focusing on adequate nutrition to jumpstart the day. Instead, eat a savory soup; make a stir-fry, or even enjoy a huge salad with warm, cooked oats, blueberries and a healthy homemade dressing (the best of both worlds). Eat your leftovers from last night. Just break the sugar habit first thing in the morning, and you will feel and see instant results.
2. Eat raw. While it’s not feasible to eat raw all the time (and especially in winter), start thinking about making the bulk of your diet stem from whole foods. Starting your day with a huge green smoothie (packed full of greens, fruit, nondairy milk and hemp or chia seeds), eating a hearty salad for lunch (throwing in cooked quinoa, teff, amaranth or even sweet potatoes when you have the time), and a quick soup made from just a few ingredients for dinner will cover most of your nutritional bases. Snack on fruit, nuts, veggies, hummus, etc. While all of this won’t be raw, when you think about eating food in its most natural state, it takes the guesswork out of what you can eat and solves the “I hate to cook” or “I don’t have time” problem.
3. Do your nutritional homework. There’s definitely responsibility when you eat a plant-based diet. Do you know where you’re getting your vitamin B12, your protein, your vitamin D, calcium, iron and zinc? If you’re going to do it, do it right. Research the best sources and vary your diet for the most nutritional benefits. (My book, Power Vegan, has a chapter called Eat Your Vitamins, which tells you where to get all of these important vitamins and minerals!)
4. Stop freaking out about protein. If you’ve fallen prey to the paleo bandwagon, you know we are a nation obsessed with protein. Over time, we’ve become consistently more confused about protein. Amino acid excess demands increased protein synthesis, which mimics and increases the pathways of a damage response in your body (i.e., stress). Exercise is stress. Digestion is even stress. So when we eat too much protein, the body now has the demands to regulate the rate of cell division, which vastly exceed the supply when you ingest high protein. What is the result? Often disease and cancer. When you eat protein, the body has to convert it to energy that you can even use, which causes another damage response besides the first damage response. But here’s the really interesting part: If you train hard enough, you produce enough heat to allow your body to chop up damaged amino acids. Your body then takes the useable ones, combines them with others and synthesizes them. So, in essence, your protein needs (amino acid requirements) diminish with training effect and the more you train! So, if you eat a balanced diet full of nuts, seeds, legumes, pseudo grains, fruits and veggies, you will get everything you need.
5. Figure out what you love to eat the most. Make it plant-based. Often, we think we have to give up our favorite dishes. No more pasta! No more burgers and fries! No more Mexican food! Instead, make simple swaps. Love a hearty meat sauce? Replace the meat with mushrooms, tempeh, or a healthier meat replacement, such as Beyond Meat. Make a veggie burger or mushroom burger and bake some sweet potato fries. Dish up hearty sweet potato and black bean burritos with guacamole and cashew sour cream. You can make easy, delicious meals by replacing one or two items a few times a week. Notice how you feel. Notice how much quicker you digest your food.
Regardless of your diet, opt to eat plant-based at least two times per week and see how you feel!
To learn more about plant-based nutrition, to chat about your asshole toddler, or to get a personalized nutrition analysis, please visit www.reafrey.com to learn more.
Check out these AWESOME recipes (even adults will love these):
Baby Sushi (12+ months)
1 nori sheet
1/3 avocado, mashed
1/4 cup grated carrot
2 heaping tablespoons cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon hummus (optional)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1. Lay nori sheet flat with the shiny side up.
2. Spoon mashed avocado, grated carrot, brown rice, hummus and sesame seeds evenly along sheet and gently roll up.
3. Slice into rolls.
Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (18+ months)
3 frozen bananas
1 frozen avocado (optional)
1 tablespoon nut butter
1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips or vegan chocolate chips
Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend on high speed, scraping down sides as needed, until creamy. Enjoy!
About the Author:
Who am I? I’ve been a great many things. A world traveler, an author of four books, an editor, a ghostwriter, a loner, a socialite, an assistant, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, a consultant, an advisor, a freelancer, a teacher, a divorcee, a reporter, a gypsy, a valedictorian, a gymnast, a boxer, a student, a pregnant person, a mother, a real wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, and now this. Here. Now.
When talking with brand specialists to market my books (also just semi-successful), they always wanted to know who I was, what my platform was, what I was an “expert” in. It finally dawned on me that I’m not any one thing. I’m all of these things, and I don’t have to be one. I can have fifteen years of personal training and nutrition experience and a lifetime of writing and editing and not fit into a box. It’s okay. Really.
I’ve never much liked boxes anyway.
She discusses how to live a balanced life at www.reafrey.com.
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