I like to stock up on supplies at WalMart. They have some of the best prices for bags of dried beans, cans of no-salt beans (with the convenient flip top lids!), tomato paste, frozen berries, and a variety of frozen fruit and vegetables. Yesterday, I had about a month’s worth of supplies on the conveyor belt.
At the checkout, a couple behind me exclaimed, “Wow, you eat really healthy!”
Within thirty seconds, I explained that food is my medicine—and then proceeded to tell them the nutshell version of my story. It blew them away when they saw how little it cost for that much food. I told them how much money I save by eating plant based nutrition.
If you’ve followed me for any length of time or read my book, you know that I’m all about making plant based nutrition uncomplicated, convenient, and cost-effective. (Twelve years ago, when I started this journey, I knew I had to figure out a practical and sustainable way to eat plant based nutrition for the rest of my life—not just to lose excess weight. Sustainability was a top priority, because I never wanted to be sick again.)
Today’s nutrient-boosting tip is to add chopped cabbage to salads. Yesterday, I bought an entire head of red cabbage for $1.01. (I’m also growing heads of red cabbage in my garden, but they won’t be ready for another month or so.) Cabbage is a relatively inexpensive super food. It’s a cruciferous vegetable that prevents plaque build up in arteries and vessels, kills cancer cells, boosts the immune system, detoxifies wastes, and is antiviral. . . just to name a few of its many benefits.
Today’s salad: chopped Romaine lettuce, red cabbage, onions, and broccoli with black beans and slices of carrot, yellow pepper, strawberries, and radishes. . .and dressed with red raspberries, balsamic, tomato paste, ground flax seed, turmeric, and pepper. It’s a salad fit for a king, yet cheaper than a cheeseburger and fries!
My garden: red cabbage in the foreground; collard greens in the background.
My mom suffered a stroke at age eight-six. Soon afterwards, she decided to take charge of her failing health by eating plant based nutrition. In less than a year, she dropped eighty pounds, got off insulin that she’d been taking for more than twenty years, lowered her high blood pressure, and gained enough strength to be relatively mobile again. As a result, she was able to celebrate her 90th birthday and meet her first great-grandchild.
Before she passed away, I recorded her wise words. Here’s an excerpt:
“If you are young, don’t wait until you are old to change your priorities and eating habits. If you are old, it’s never too late to change and get healthier. Don’t cheat yourself out of the best health that’s possible. Where there is a will—there is always a way.” -Helen Taylor
On the left is my mom at age 79. . . and on the right at age 90. Food IS medicine!
Here’s to your good health and well-being!
Emily Boller, artist, mother, and author of Starved to Obesity, lost 100 pounds more than twelve years ago by eating an abundance of high-nutrient, plant-rich food. Today, she’s certified in whole plant food nutrition from the Nutritarian Education Institute. She’s on a mission to combine practical, no-nonsense and cost effective tips—with easy to understand science—in order to help anyone escape the addictive grip of the Standard American Diet.