Category: Health & Wellness

Be it weight loss, being able to stop taking diabetes medication, lowering cholesterol by 50 points, sleeping like a baby, having clearer skin and living each day with  energy, these articles reflect Chef V’s plan for living healthier, easier.

3 Reasons Why Summer’s The Best Time To Do A Cleanse

Jean Yates

summer cleanse

Thinking about doing a cleanse? There’s no better time than now. Here are 3 reasons why summer is the best time to do a cleanse.

Last week, I admitted that I indulged to the max while on my European vacation, and how when I got back home, I decided I needed to be a Chef V customer.

I’m happy to report that I just wrapped up a 7 Day Cleanse.

So far so good.

I don’t feel like I’m missing out at all.

In fact, I feel so good, I might do a 21 Day Detox.

And right now, in the heart of the summer, there’s no better time to do a cleanse or a longer detox.

Let me share with you my top 3 reasons why it’s easy to do a cleanse in summer.

Hack #1: take a walk

A simple way to have your blood sugar return to normal after a meal is by taking a walk. It doesn’t have to be a super vigorous hike, but getting enough exercise is important for managing diabetes and this is especially true if you’re sedentary for most of the day.

Even more important than the advice to exercise is learning when to exercise. And if you only have time (or the motivation) to move your body once per day, research strongly suggests you should do it after dinner.

Most people eat their heaviest meal at night. And the biggest spike in blood sugar occurs after eating a large meal, especially if it contains lots of carbohydrates that have the potential of converting into sugar. (Think: pasta, bread, rice and other starchy carbohydrates.) Walking after a heavy meal is a proven way to improve blood sugar levels.

Consider this study from New Zealand. Two groups of people, most of whom had type II diabetes for 10 years, were compared. One group walked for 30 minutes a day for two weeks. The other group went for a 10-minute walk after each main meal. The results: blood sugar levels were significantly lower when participants walked after meals compared with the group who only went for one walk a day.

Meanwhile a different study compares exercising before a meal and after. The group with the lower blood sugar levels exercised after their meal, not before. This supports the first study that it’s vital to move around after eating a meal.

chef v summer cleanse

Summer is Best Time To Do a Cleanse — Reason #1: You’re not as hungry

Ever watch a nature documentary that shows bears and other animals seemingly eating non-stop during the summer?

The reason bears and other creatures of the forest binge eat in summer is, of course, because they have to fatten up for the winter hibernation.

Sometimes in winter, I feel like hibernating.

But I also feel like eating a lot more in winter than I do in summer. The hot, sticky weather in summer kills the appetite, at least for hearty foods that we usually crave in the winter like stews, meat and starchy carbs such as pasta and bread.

Most people tend to crave fruit in the summer. And unlike meat and starchy carbs, fruit is a safe food to eat while doing a cleanse.

How I start off each morning while I’m doing a cleanse is drink two glasses of water. I like to add some electrolytes to the water to provide the energetic spark plug my cells need (pink sea salt does the trick).

About a half-hour later, I’ll have 16 oz of Organic Green Drink. Shortly after that, I’ll have a handful or so of berries.

This holds me over until it’s time for my vegan protein shake.

Even though I’ve done plenty of cleanses in winter with no problem, I have to admit that summer is my favorite season for detoxing. Simply for the fact that I’m usually not as hungry as I am in the winter.

But be careful to not exercise too much when you’re doing a cleanse in summer. You’re already limiting your calorie intake to begin with. Plus, with the heat, you’re at risk for heat stroke.

So just stick to walks early in the morning and/or evening.

Summer is Best Time To Do a Cleanse — Reason #2: Swimsuit Psychology

It might sound too good to be true. But we’ve had plenty of customer success stories with weight loss of 10 pounds or more within just 7 days.

Reading these success stories that make their way to my email inbox every day is a huge reason why I wake up excited to get to work.

I love hearing from women that a Chef V cleanse helped them look and feel sexier, especially in time for the summer swimsuit season.

Here’s what “Wenderful” says about her experience:

“I lost 10lbs!… This was the perfect start to leaning out for summer….Thank you Chef V….What a great experience!!

Now, I know what you might be thinking….

Sure, it’s great she was able to lose 10 pounds. But what’s going to happen once the cleanse is over?

Well, if “Wenderful” follows my cleanse daily schedule and post-cleanse tips, she’ll have no trouble keeping off the excess weight.

In winter, my hubby Brandon likes to joke that my legs need to be shaved with a lawn mower. Because of body consciousness, summer time gives us extra motivation to get leaner and look our best.

Summer is the best time to do a Cleanse
Reason #3: Salads

If you’re doing a cleanse or longer detox, one of the hardest things is going to a restaurant with friends.

However, in summer, it’s easy to join your friends at dinner. Just order a salad. Make sure to order the dressing on the side.

Most restaurants have at least one veggie they can steam or lightly grill for you, such as broccoli or asparagus.

A large spinach salad (no croutons!) with a side of veggies will fill you up. And because of the hot weather, you’re not going to feel like sinking your teeth into a burger like your friends.

If you’re having a hard time losing those last stubborn 10 pounds, there is no better time to do a Chef V cleanse than right now.

Do it now because in the blink of an eye, you’re going to feel like hibernating. And when that happens, you won’t have the luxury of sleeping the winter off like a bear. You’ll be craving high-calorie foods to make it through those long dark nights.

Fastest Way to Get into Ketosis – Chef V Cleanse

Jean Yates

Cleansing for ketosis

Following a ketogenic (“Keto”) diet puts your body in a state of ketosis. That means your body is burning its stored body fat instead of blood sugar for energy. But getting into ketosis can take up to several weeks if you’re not doing it right. One of the easiest ways to get into ketosis is by doing a Chef V Cleanse. It’s so easy, you won’t have to count carbs…

So you’ve flirted with keto for the last few years. You’re thinking about it but haven’t pulled the low-carb trigger. I get it. Ditching grains and even some of your favorite veggies and fruits is tough. For many people, it takes an extraordinary amount of willpower to eat an ultra low carb diet. 

How low should you go if you’re going Keto, you may ask? 

Well, everybody is unique. Some people may go into ketosis after consistently keeping net carbs to roughly grams per day. But for other people, it may require being even more stingy with the carbs to the tune of 25 net grams per day. 

(Net carbs equals total grams of carbs minus fiber and/or sugar alcohol. Example: one cup of cooked pasta contains 42 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fiber. So that’s 40 net grams of carbs — definitely way too much to get into or stay in ketosis!)

Maybe every year around the holidays or after a vacation, where you’ve put on a few pounds, you tell yourself this is going to be the year that you conquer Keto. 

But you don’t. 

Don’t blame yourself. Carbs not only taste great. They are literally addictive. In fact, according to Dr. William Davis, author of the best-selling book, “Wheat Belly” which was instrumental in launching gluten-free and Keto diets, “Wheat is addictive in the sense that, if you don’t have any for several hours, you start to get nervous, foggy, tremulous, and start desperately seeking out another ‘hit’ of crackers, bagels, or bread.”

So it’s not you, it’s the molecules.

keto

Easing Into Keto 

I’m not going to lie. Following the keto diet is really challenging at first. There’s the so-called dreaded “Keto flu.” 

That’s when your body basically has withdrawal symptoms and has to get used to burning fatty acids (ketone bodies) for its primary source of energy instead of all that circulating glucose. 

This phase can last a few days — just like a real flu virus.

It’s always a good idea to gradually phase into ketosis rather than quitting carbs cold turkey like smoking. Try to lower your net carb intake over a two-week period. This will help reduce Keto flu symptoms. 

Then, there's getting used to carb counting. But actually, with all the keto apps (not appetizers) these days, it’s easy to get used to. After a short while, you’ll learn the net carb counts of the foods you most often eat. 

Now, to be sure, even if you ditch gluten and everything else with tons of carbs, you can’t know if you’re in ketosis unless you test yourself. 

Many people use urine strips. But they’re not the most reliable. They are a good bellwether for people with diabetes. However, if you don’t have a blood sugar disorder, urine strips aren’t the best way to test. That’s because urine strips only measure excess ketones—not the level of fatty acids your body is using for fuel. 

Urine strips are cheap so it might not be a bad idea to start out with them. But the longer you stay in ketosis, the more your body will adapt. So you’ll need a more reliable way to test. Blood meters are the most accurate. They’re the most expensive way to test, but you get what you pay for. 

cleanse success

CHEF V’s CLEANSE: The Easy Way To Get Your Body Ready For Ketosis

A big reason why some people fail with Keto is they just don’t know how to get started. It’s too overwhelming. 

The easiest solution for taking all the guess work out is by doing one of my cleanses. The Chef V Cleanse home delivery program offers 1, 3 and 5 day options.  

On each day of the CLEANSE, you get:

  • 4 servings of Organic Green Drink
    7 Leafy Greens with only 5 net grams of carbs each
  • 2 Vegan Ultra Protein Shakes
    One Chocolate, One Vanilla; 2 grams net carbs each
  • Detox Soup
    1 high fiber soup for dinner; 2 flavors: Ginger Carrot (days 1, 3, 5) & Sweet Potato Curry (days 2 & 4)

Now, it would be misleading for me to say that the CHEF V CLEANSE is keto friendly. For some people, the net grams of carbs from the carrots or sweet potato in the DETOX SOUP, even though they are nutrient dense, would prevent ketosis. 

However, if you really want to try Keto, the CLEANSE is the best way to transition to a ketogenic diet. That’s because your net grams of carbs will still be under 100. Consider that the average American diet consists of over 300 grams of carbs per day. 

And you don’t have to be a certified nutritional therapist like myself to know that most Americans aren’t getting enough fiber. 

So let CHEF V do all the work for you. I’ll ship the cleanse right to your door and you won’t have to worry about counting carbs or figuring out what you should eat in order to transition into ketosis. 

LEARN MORE

a green drink a day can support your mood

Protein Powder: What you Need to Know before you Cleanse

Chef V

two Chef V protein powders held by a girl

When you think of a juice cleanse or detox diet, does protein come to mind? If not, it should. But not just any protein. In fact, many protein powders can be toxic to your health. Learn why you need protein if you’re cleansing and what kind is best for your body. Here’s what you need to know.

new protein shake

Doing a Cleanse? Why Protein Powder is important

All animals must eat protein every day to survive. Us wild human animals included. Now I’m not saying you need to eat a 72-ounce T-bone steak every day for health. I’d feel very sorry for your colon if you did that.

You don’t even need a small bite of filet mignon every day. In fact, there’s no proof that you need animal protein for optimal health. Any natural vegan protein will do, including nuts and seeds.

Here’s a fun nutrition fact to chew on: the human body can’t live more than 70 days without eating any protein. Give or take a day. I haven’t personally tested this theory. And I don’t recommend you try either.

But if you’re reading this because you’re researching the best juice cleanse, there’s a very good chance you’re going to kill yourself just a little bit. And thanks to me, I’m going to save you from that. I’ll explain how in just a sec….

You see, if you go ultra low carb like the keto diet, no problem. Some of that dietary fat you’re feasting on will be converted into glucose (sugar) for your brain to feed on. Even protein can be converted into glucose. If you eat that 72-ounce steak, there’s a good possibility some of the cow meat will turn into sugar and get stored as fat.

But your body can’t store excess protein. It also can’t make protein from carbs or fats or anything else. That’s why you need to eat protein everyday for optimal health.

Your lean muscle tissue, hair, skin, and nails all need adequate protein to look healthy.

So if you’re checking out some different cleanse or detox diet options out there, here’s the big problem with them….

Most cleanse programs contain zero protein. Instead, all juice detoxes are is a slick marketing trick for selling you fruit juice with loads of sugar. That’s the opposite of cleansing! (Compare my cleanse program to popular juice cleanses here.)

Think how brittle your hair and nails will look after going several days without protein.

Some people think that it’s not good to have protein during a cleanse. Why? They assume it’s bad for the digestive system. Well, in a way, that’s true. But only if it’s processed meat or unhealthy protein powder.

I’m here to steer you in a healthy direction and recommend a protein powder to take while doing a cleanse.

protein burger

Vegan Protein Powder For Cleansing

Multi-colored, attractive bottles of juice may be effective for marketing. But they’re not good for health. You see, many commercial juice cleanse programs include about a half dozen different kinds of juice, each a different color of the rainbow. But each containing 20 grams or more of sugar and zero protein.

As far as I’m concerned (as a certified nutritional therapist), you need just one color of juice: green. Green-leafy vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods and play a critical part in the body’s detoxification process. But even my cold-blended Organic Green Drinks don’t have any protein.

That’s why several years ago, I brainstormed on a protein powder that would be healthy for everybody, including people doing a cleanse. The result is my Organic Vegan Protein Shake. With 17 grams of high-absorbance pea protein per packet, brittle nails don’t stand a chance.

You’ll have to trust me (or the 5-star reviews on Yelp) that the shake tastes great. How does it taste good without adding gobs of sugar? My recipe uses organic vanilla powder, stevia, and monk fruit extract. Stevia and monk fruit are natural, calorie-free sweeteners.

Pea protein has become more popular. When I decided to use pea protein a few years ago, I never thought it would be just as effective for the weightlifting community. But check it out. This study shows that it produces the same increase in muscle thickness as whey protein.

There are a couple reasons I don’t use whey in my Protein Shake for my cleanse programs. First, many whey protein powders are contaminated with heavy metals. (Says this Harvard research report.) And also, whey protein is not good for people with lactose intolerance. True, I could have used whey protein isolate, which contains close to zero lactose, but I just don’t trust how whey is manufactured. And I don’t think it’s good for cleansing overall.

What About Soy Protein Powder For Cleansing?

Some people are concerned about soy protein’s effect on women. This is because soy is a phytoestrogen, and if the body has too much estrogen absorbed, it could produce a hormonal cancer such as breast cancer.

Thus far, there are no studies linking soy protein powder to breast cancer. However, I do believe that processed soy is not good for health. Also, I think there is something to the too much estrogen theory. After all, it’s not just the food supply from soybeans that causes estrogen dominance, it’s all the plastics and everyday cleaners that can mimic the effects of estrogen.

50% off Chef V Cleanse

Muscle Heads

You don’t need to buy one of those huge tubs of protein powders that huge weightlifters buy for bulging biceps.

If you’re not doing a cleanse, I really don’t think you need any protein powder at all. But if you are going to do a cleanse, you absolutely do need some protein if you don’t want your muscles to waste away and your immune system to get weak.

Dietary protein plays a major role in virtually every thing that happens in your cells. And not only that, protein helps you feel full. If you go even a few days without it, just having juice will make your blood sugars go up and down. You’ll get tired and cranky.

Look, even if you don’t choose one of my cleanses, I do highly encourage you to consume a little high-quality vegan-protein every day (hemp and brown rice are also good choices).

A little protein every day goes a long way for health.

Best wishes and to your health,

Chef V

Chef V and kale

Monitoring Blood Sugar Levels: When Being Normal is Good

Chef V

Monitoring your blood sugar? If you are pre-diabetic or suspect you are, monitoring your blood sugar levels is vital. But what levels should you shoot for and how do you test blood sugar? I explain and offer a few simple tips for helping keep blood sugar levels normal.

It’s so easy for someone like me, or anyone, really, to say, “avoid added sugars.” My Green Drink is one of the lowest sugar green drinks available. Check out the chart below and compare mine to the rest – the amount of sugar in the most popular “green juice” products is staggering.

You can think you are eating healthy and not realize your blood sugar is high. The only way to know for sure is to track it by using a meter.

Approximately 84 million American adults—more than 1 out of 3— have prediabetes, and more than 90% of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it. (Center for Disease Control)

Therefore, if you want to reduce your chance of becoming type 2 diabetes (or reversing it if you already have it), avoid high sugar foods and start monitoring your blood sugar levels.

prediabetes chart

What do the Numbers Mean?

However, if you monitor your blood sugar levels and just get a reading, that’s like weighing yourself on a scale. When you weigh yourself on a scale, what’s staring back at you? Just a number, right? The number on the scale doesn’t divulge how much of your weight is body fat or lean muscle or water weight. (Unless it’s a really good scale.) Sure, you can tell if your pants are feeling tighter. And if so, then, you’re probably storing body fat. Likewise, if you feel sluggish, moody or foggy brained, you might be able to conclude that you’re consuming too much sugar.

The name of the game in preventing full-blown type 2 diabetes is learning what foods (and drinks) will provide you with steady energy throughout the day. Food should make you feel energetic. But not hyper. And, of course, the reverse is true as well. After a meal, you shouldn’t feel like you need a nap.

Monitoring blood sugar levels: what’s a normal range?

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or just want to make sure you don’t develop diabetes, I recommend frequently monitoring your blood sugar levels. But first, you need to know what normal blood glucose levels are.

Now here’s the thing about normal blood sugar levels…. You’ll often come across two different charts. One will be blood sugar levels for people who don’t have diabetes. The other will be for people with type 2 diabetes. (I will be focusing this post on those with type 2 diabetes. Obviously for those with type 1 diabetes, like Whitney (her photo is below) the focus is also on preventing blood sugar levels from precariously dipping too low.)

If you have type 2 diabetes, I want you to shoot for normal blood sugar levels. But not for someone with diabetes. Rather, I want you to shoot for normal blood sugar levels for someone without diabetes. That’s because when you’re able to get your blood glucose levels down to normal levels, you’ll likely avoid any complications caused by systemic inflammation (nerve pain, for example).

With simple lifestyle changes, it’ll totally be doable. And I’ll share some simple tips with you shortly.

But first, let’s review what normal blood sugar levels are. Actually, even before doing that, you should know that you’ll want to monitor your blood sugar more than once per day.

Whitney, diabetes monitor

Test Throughout the Day

By testing your blood sugar levels throughout the day, you will learn your body’s response to sugar. Blood sugar levels fluctuate throughout the day, in different ways for different people. Obviously, they can go up after eating. Blood glucose (the term “glucose” is interchangeable with “blood sugar”) can also lower after you exercise. Because of this, it’s a good idea to test your blood sugar levels after you take a walk after eating. That’s because you’ll get validation about how easy and simple it is to normalize your blood glucose. Just a 10-minute walk is all it takes!

Monitoring blood sugar levels: shoot for normal

As I say above, try to get your blood sugar levels down to that of someone without diabetes or pre-diabetes. According to this diabetes management website, your blood sugar level when you wake up before eating should be under 100 mg/dl. And before meals, normal levels are 70-99 mg/dl.

You’ll want to take your blood sugar levels two hours after a meal. And when you do test after a meal, blood glucose should be under 140 mg/dl.

Guidelines from the American Diabetes Association state that for those with type 2 diabetes, blood sugar 1-2 hours after a meal should be under 180 mg/dl (and from 80-130 mg/dl) before meals. But, again, to hammer the point home, I think if you have type 2 diabetes and are serious about reversing your condition, shoot for levels for normal blood sugar levels.

Over time, you’ll remember these numeric guidelines as easily as your own phone number. But if you’re new to monitoring blood sugar levels, make a note on your smartphone or use an app.

Another blood sugar range you should memorize is your A1c level. Your A1c level is more like a snapshot of your blood sugar levels over the last couple months. It’s more a longer-term overall picture of what your levels are. It’s a good idea to monitor both your everyday levels before and after meals, as well as your A1c level. But you don’t have to test A1c every day. Once a month is sufficient. Shoot for an A1c level of less than 7%.

comparing sugars in Green Drink and other juices

Monitoring blood sugar levels: Chef V’s easy tips for lowering blood sugar

Want to lower your blood sugar levels? I realize sometimes it’s really hard to make lifestyle changes. But I truly believe these following tricks to manage diabetes can produce noticeable results in a short time.

#1: After you wake up and monitor your blood sugar, drink 8-16 oz. of pure water. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the water.

#2: About a half hour after drinking water in the morning, have 16 oz. of Organic Green Drink. The seven green, leafy veggies in Green Drink are clinically proven to increase insulin sensitivity.

#3: Always have my Easy Trail Mix with Goji Berries with you. Whether at home, at school, at the office or in the car, if you feel hunger, tame it with my recipe. My version of trail mix has low-glycemic, delicious berries that are good for you and won’t spike your blood sugar.

#4: Eat healthy fats! I’m shocked how many people still think that eating dietary fat will make you fat. On the contrary, it’s sugar and starchy carbs that make you fat. Furthermore, dietary fat can help you actually burn body fat. So eat a moderate amount of nuts, avocado, wild salmon, olives and olive oil. These fats will also help you feel full so you won’t be tempted by sugary snacks.

#5: Take probiotics. You need more good bacteria in your gut to help fight yeast overgrowth and other harmful bacteria in your belly. When you have too much yeast or bad bacteria, you crave more sugary foods. That’s because the yeast like to feast on sugar. And when the yeast fungus is hungry, they send a signal to your brain for more sugar.

Monitoring Blood Sugar Levels: Keep your eye on the prize!

I’ll be offering more tips that hopefully you’ll find helpful in the near future. Until then, start monitoring blood sugar levels at least a few times a day. And shoot for normal, normal. Not diabetes, normal. Good luck! I know you can do it. With just a few weeks of constant monitoring and a daily Green Drink, you’ll likely see positive results!

Veronica drinking green drink in urban setting

The Power of Pea Protein: Why You Will Cleanse So Hap-pea-ly

Chef V

peas for protein

Pea protein is one of the most popular vegan proteins with no signs of slowing down, and for good reason. It’s super easy to digest, contains all 9 essential amino acids and doesn’t cause nasty belly bloating. That’s why Chef V is excited to introduce Vanilla Ultra Shake with pea protein for cleanse customers. 

peas in pod

Puny plant-powered peas? Hardly! Here’s Why Pea Protein Rocks…

It wasn’t that long ago that if you would have told someone at the gym that you use pea protein, they would have likely responded, oooo, gross! 

After all, peas were something that only babies eat. And maybe grown-ups who ate the occasional split pea soup. But pea protein powder? That was something relatively unheard of a generation ago, much less 5-10 years ago. Peas have proven to shatter the myth of the puny vegan. 

No longer is it far left field for bodybuilders to heal the microscopic muscle-fiber tears after a lifting session with pea protein. In fact, some of the most accomplished bodybuilders are vegan and support their lean muscle tissue with plant-powered protein powders, especially pea.  

The total value of the worldwide pea protein market was worth about $380 million in 2017. By 2027, guess what the market is forecast to be worth…?

Over $1 billion. 

That’s a lot of “pass the peas, please!” 

Pea protein powder is not a fly-by-night fad. Thanks to the growing consciousness of the health benefits of eating a natural plant-based diet, plant-powered protein powders are becoming the norm, not the exception. (I say “natural plant-based” because you can be a vegan and still be unhealthy, eating lots of processed junk.)

But if you’re thinking about doing a juice cleanse, do you really need pea protein? 

Spoiler alert: YES!

And here’s why…


pea protein

The #1 Mistake With Doing a Juice Cleanse: Not Enough Protein

After doing a juice cleanse for a couple days, you might feel elated. Especially if prior to doing the cleanse you were not eating a clean diet, consisting mostly of organic produce and unrefined grains. 

But with most juice cleanses, by day 3, if not before, many people start feeling like complete $h!*. 

That’s because most cleanses on the market do not contain enough protein. In fact, most of them contain only the trace amounts of protein that are naturally occurring in fruit and vegetables. 

Speaking of fruit, that’s another problem with doing a cleanse. If you’re just drinking juice that’s primarily fruit-based, the lack of fiber and protein may cause dramatic blood-sugar fluctuations. 

You’ll become moody, irritable and you’ll eventually be so hungry, you’ll be dreaming and salivating about eating a bacon cheeseburger. Oh, and the not-so-sweet cherry on top of most cleanses is that the lack of fiber and protein will make you miserably constipated. 

So keep in mind that even if you’re doing a juice cleanse, you need to consume an adequate amount of protein, much more than one or two grams you would get per day from fruits and vegetables. 

doing a cleanse

Why Is Pea Protein Necessary When Doing A Cleanse? 

When most people think of protein powder, workout recovery and meal replacement are probably the two top things that come to mind. 

But if you want to reboot your metabolism to unclog your congested liver, then “cleansing” should be front and center of your mind when it comes to protein powder. 

And hands-down, pea protein powder is the best for a cleanse. That’s because pea protein powder is:

  • Hypoallergenic (it won’t trigger food allergies; with rare exceptions)
  • Highly-absorbable 
  • Easy to digest (won’t cause gas or bloating)
  • A complete protein (contains all 9 essential amino acids; no food combining necessary)
  • Non-inflammatory
  • High in iron 
  • Good for the cardiovascular system
  • Supports healthy skin, hair and nails

I want to briefly talk about this last benefit. I’ve been in this business for a very long time, first as a certified nutritional therapist and personal chef and now as the curator of the nation’s best home delivery Green Drink plan and Cleanse/Detox program. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen first-hand the brittle nails, pale skin and dull hair caused by an unhealthy cleanse program. 

When you go 7, 14 or 21 days or longer doing a juice fast and don’t get enough protein, you are literally starving your lean muscle tissue. Isn’t the whole point of doing a cleanse to feel better and sexier—no matter what your body type is? 

Well, I can personally guarantee you that if you don’t get enough protein while you’re cleansing, you will not look and feel your best. 


Chef V's cleanse

Just Say No To Animal Protein While Cleansing?

If protein is so important while doing a cleanse, why not eat a tiny bit of grass-fed beef or supplement with egg white protein powder? 

The reason why is because if you need to cleanse because of a sluggish metabolism, animal protein is extremely difficult to process. 

That’s because your liver produces bile, the greenish, detergent-like liquid that metabolizes dietary fat. 

If your liver is underperforming, you need to temporarily minimize your intake of dietary fat; I recommend completely avoiding animal fat while you’re cleansing and in the immediate days after your cleanse is done. 


Chef V vanilla ultra shake

New To Chef V’s Cleanse: Vanilla Ultra Shake With Pea Protein

The number one concern most people have about doing a cleanse is, “Will I starve?” The good news is that with a Chef V Cleanse, not only will you not starve, your belly will be hap-pea-ly nourished thanks to 4 Green Juices per day, 2 Vanilla Ultra Protein Shakes with pea protein per day, and 1 delicious DETOX SOUP for dinner. 

You can choose between a 5 Day, 3 Day or 1 Day Cleanse. 

Learn more here. 

Here’s to feeling “hap-pea” on your cleanse!

Love,  Chef V

Chef V, Coco and kale

Go With Your Gut: 3 Ways to keep your microbiome healthy

admin

your microbiome

Scientists say that the state of our gut is vital to good health and influences our ability to lose weight. Each of us have a “microbiome” in our belly – our own set of bacteria. Staying mindful of the impact of what we eat on our gut and following a healthy diet  has a huge impact on how we feel. The good news is that most of the bugs in your gut are friendly. But when the bad ones start multiplying, that's when your skin and digestion can suffer. Here's 3 things you need to know about your microbiome.

It's kind of creepy when you think about the fact that there are about 100 trillion bugs (bacteria) in the human gut.

Imagine looking under a microscope and seeing all those critters swimming around in your belly, enjoying a buffet of the food that's in your gastrointestinal tract.

If you think you're human, think again. We're actually more bacteria than we are human. In fact, your body has at least 10 times more living organisms in your gut alone than your whole body has human cells.

your microbiome - bacteria

1. Your Gut controls your health – understand it.

Think about that. All the cells that make you, well, you, including skin cells, bone cells, and muscle cells, all over your body is tiny in comparison to the number of bacteria that's living inside of you. Scientists consider your gut so important that they call it your “second brain”.

The good news is that the majority of the bacteria in your gut is friendly. Friendly microbes play an important part of your immune system.

But because of several factors including genetics, antibiotic use and lifestyle choices (poor diet), you may have too many unfriendly bacteria.

Researchers just a relative blink of an eye ago have discovered that the bugs in your gut more than anything else including diet and exercise determine your health.

For example, we now know that obesity isn't just linked to eating too many calories and junk food. It's also a consequence of lacking certain beneficial bacteria. (Want to read more on this topic? Here's a good article.)

weight and your microbiome

image courtesy Custom Probiotics Inc

The Gut Health Overall Health Connection

In addition to the examples of the overall connection between bacteria in the gut and overall health, here's another one: joint pain.

It used to be assumed that joint pain was a result of simple wear and tear. But now, researchers believe that the bacteria in your gut can determine whether or not you develop osteoporosis and other joint disorders.

The bugs in your gut can also determine how healthy your blood vessels are and whether or not you'll develop hardening in your arteries.

Moreover, all kinds of inflammatory disorders such as autoimmune disease and cancers of the GI tract may be caused by poor gut health.

Your mood can also be directly related to your gut bacteria. Anxiety and depression may not only be the result of circumstantial, external factors, but also because of your internal environment.

As you can see, having a diverse amount of good bacteria is perhaps the biggest influencer of  overall health. Gut health can even determine skin health.

If you spend a lot of time and money on skin care products, perhaps you need to rethink your skin care regimen entirely. That's because poor skin, from excessive dryness to acne and other skin conditions can be traced to what's inside your gut.

skin health and your microbiome

2. Feed Your Gut Good Stuff – Probiotics & Green Drink

But if genetics is a major determining factor in your bacteria portfolio, is there anything that can be done to change what's inside your gut?

The good news is there are a few simple things you can do to boost the number of beneficial bacteria.

For starters, if you're not taking a probiotic supplement, buy one today and start taking it every day. It should contain at least 10 billion colony forming units (CFUs) per serving (usually one or two capsules).

Like any other supplement, not all probiotics are created equal. If you buy a cheap one from Rite Aid it might not be effective. Do some research before you buy.

Another easy thing you can do to improve your gut health is having 16 oz of my Green Drink every morning. Good bacteria love to feast on the seven certified organic green leafy veggies in my Green Drink. The veggies contain prebiotic fibers. You can think of prebiotics as food for probiotics (good bacteria).

You can take the most expensive probiotic supplement in the world, but if you're not feeding the good bacteria with prebiotics, they're not going to flourish and multiply and colonize your gut.

Which is why if you haven't been eating healthy lately, I also recommend doing a Chef V Cleanse. With a Chef V Cleanse, you get four Green Drinks per day plus a detox soup for dinner and two vegan protein shakes in between. The soup and shakes also are loaded with prebiotic fuel to stimulate beneficial bacteria in your gut.

probiotic

3. You can reset your Gut Health with a Detox

Diet is crucial for gut health. Even if you eat a large salad with organic veggies every day, if you're also drinking beer and eating bread and other foods that are rich in either white or wheat flour, your good bacteria won't flourish.

That's because drinking beer and eating baked goods causes yeast overgrowth in the gut. Too much yeast results in the good bacteria not being able to do its job effective of protecting your immune system and fighting inflammation.

Bloated belly, foggy brain, chronic congestion and indigestion … all these are symptoms of poor gut health. And yeast overgrowth (especially from the species, candida albicans) is often the culprit.

If you need a longer digestive system overhaul that will keep the yeast at bay, I recommend trying my 21 day detox challenge. It's easy to follow. I provide all the coaching and instruction you'll need to easily finish it through, and give your gut the fuel it needs to populate good bacteria.

After your 21 day detox is over, you won't be tempted by eating yeasty, sugary foods again. And I'll teach you what to eat after the detox is over to ensure that your success will carry over and your good gut bacteria will thrive.

In the meantime, to boost the friendly bacteria in the gut, you can also eat foods that are rich in probiotics. Drinking kombucha is an easy way to get some probiotics. So, too, is eating fermented foods  like kimchi (Korean cabbage), tempeh and sauerkraut. If you happen to live in a town with good farmers markets, look for stands that sell fermented foods and drinks.

Here's to your (gut) health….

Love,

Chef V

21 day detox from Chef V

4 Tools for a Summer Health Boost & Slimdown

Chef V

summer weight loss

The biggest factor that contributes to maintaining a trim weight and overall health is nutrition. In this article I give you four tools for enhancing your diet and boosting your well being. And no coincidence, these same tips will contribute to reducing your triglyceride levels. 

The good news is you don’t have to do high-intensity, American Ninja Warrior-type exercise to have a hot summer bod. All you need is a reboot of your digestive system. Here are my 4 top tips for improving digestion and triglyceride levels and getting lean for summer….

#1: Apple Cider Vinegar

Can your “mother” help you achieve a summer slim down?

And by “mother” I mean the cloudy film that rests on top of a bottle of raw, unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar (ACV)….

Raw ACV bottles such as those sold by the brand, Bragg (the same company that sells liquid amino acids, a soy sauce alternative) prominently advertise “with the mother” on the product label. As well they should. That’s because the mother is tiny bits and pieces of proteins, enzymes and friendly bacteria.

ACV helps increase stomach acid production. And because of the friendly bacteria it contains, it also acts like a probiotic.

Honestly, I tried to find some research on humans that shows ACV can help with weight loss. I hit a brick wall, but I did find some research on animals (rats and mice) that support using it for the following: reducing fat storage; lowering blood sugar; improves metabolism and suppressing appetite.

The only downside to ACV is it tastes really harsh. But you can add it to a Green Drink to mask the taste.

ACV is also good for skin. In fact, many people use ACV to treat skin conditions. Drinking a little bit every day can help clear your skin from the inside-out. And because of its beneficial bacteria and enzymes, it can help cleanse your body.

apple cider vinegar

#2: Bone Broth/Collagen Powder

Pretty soon, it’ll be too hot to sip bone broth.

But collagen protein powders have become very popular. And you can easily add a scoop of it in your blender with almond milk and my Organic Protein Shake if you’re doing a Chef V Cleanse.

If you don’t know the difference between the two: Bone broth is animal bones with herbs and spices cooked in water for 24 hours in a slow cooker. The long-simmering process of bone broth releases collagen protein from the bones.

I admit that there’s a lot of hype surrounding bone broth and collagen protein. There are claims that it can cure just about everything.

There is research, however, that shows supplementing with collagen protein can help repair your gut. Gut health is crucial for burning fat. It’s not easy to get ready for a summer slimdown if you don’t have a healthy gut.

In fact, some people have a condition that’s known in the alternative medicine field as “leaky gut.” Leaky gut is when the tiny junctions of your gut lining tear, allowing undigested food particles to enter the bloodstream. When this happens, your detoxification system  slows down. Not only that, leaky gut can also cause an autoimmune disease.

Sipping on some fresh bone broth every day can help repair your gut and improve your body’s detox system. I do not believe in store bought bone broth, it is like trying to get your vitamins from Hi-C. Store bought bone broth is not real bone broth and does not have the same benefits. The only way to get the full benefits of bone broth is fresh made or fresh bought. It should expire in a week.  An alternative to bone broth is to take a collagen protein powder supplement.

probiotic flora

#3: Probiotics

I’ve mentioned probiotics at least a couple times recently, including the best one to bring with you if you’re travelling.

I’ll just quickly rehash here why probiotics are so important for getting or staying lean. The healthier your gut microbiome (the trillions of bacteria, etc.), that is the more friendly bacteria you have in your gut, the easier it will be to digest your food. And the easier it is to digest your food, the less likely it will be that you’ll have difficulty getting rid of unwanted body fat.

There are a few problems with probiotics….

First is that many people forget to take them everyday. Set yourself a daily reminder on your smartphone to take them in the morning or before bed.

Second, some people don’t buy a strong enough probiotic. Look for a supplement that has several different strains of bacteria and has a minimum count of 10 billion colony forming units (CFU) per capsule. The reason you need a high count is that a lot of the bacteria won’t survive the harsh trip through the digestive system.

And third, not all brands of probiotics are of good quality. Do your research before you buy. My favorite is Bio-K – they have a dairy or non-dairy version and it is fresh.


Bio K+

#4:  A Chef V Detox with my Green Drink, Detox Soups, and Protein Shakes

So this last tip for a summer slimdown isn’t exactly a supplement. But it’s a great way to to make sure you’re looking and feeling great when you’re ready to take your first dip in the ocean or pool….

If you do my 21 Day Detox, you’ll be amazed by the transformation your body will undergo, (not to mention your skin, mood and energy levels).

Here’s how it works: you alternate between following my Healthy Routine and doing a 3 day cleanse. During the 3 day cleanse, you get 4 servings of my Green Drink plus 2- 16 oz. Protein Shakes and 1 detox soup for dinner. And during the Healthy Routine phase, you’ll get a 16-ounce Green Drink and 1- 16 oz. Protein Shake for breakfast. Then for lunch and dinner, you’ll use my healthy eating and meal planner guides, which contains delicious recipes for soups, salads, appetizers, and entrees.

The best part is I deliver the Green Drinks, Protein Shakes and Detox Soups to your front door (Well not personally, but my company does.)

Doing a 21-Day Detox is the easiest, most affordable, and safest way to lose 30 pounds or more.

You can also try a 3, 5 or 7-day Cleanse if you just want to dip your pinky toe in the shallow end.

Good luck with your summer slimdown. Even if you don’t want to spend any money on supplements, rebooting your digestive system by doing a Chef V Cleanse or Detox will get you bikini ready!

Love,

Veronica (Chef V)

DNA Testing For Weight Loss: Is This Growing Health Trend Worth It?

Chef V

DNA Testing For Weight Loss: Is This Growing Health Trend Worth It?

DNA testing to discover your ancestry is fascinating. But beyond revealing what part of the world your ancestors come from, genetic testing may provide insight into what exercises, diet and supplements are best for our own unique biochemistry. Is DNA testing for weight loss worth it?….

I’m sure you already know about using CBD oil for weight loss. Same goes for Intermittent Fasting, which is probably one of the biggest health trends right now.

But here’s a weight loss phenomenon you may not have heard about: DNA testing.

Almost everybody knows that you can easily find out what your ethnicity is by taking a genetic test from companies like Ancestry.com and 23andme.com, the latter of which is so-named because human cells contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, those proteins that provide specific instructions that make you, uniquely you. (The 23rd pair determine whether you’re male or female.)

Have you ever seen the TV series on PBS, Finding Your Roots? I love it. If you’ve never seen it, check it out. It’s hosted by Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who on each episode, sits down with celebrities and presents them with a “book of life,” which is basically a family tree prepared by professional genealogists.

Imagine the shock and horror that befell Seinfeld- and Curb Your Enthusiasm-creator Larry David when he learned that he has slave-owning Confederate ancestors who lived in Alabama!

Beyond learning about your ancestral history (and potentially discovering fascinating or even embarrassing secrets about your family tree), DNA testing may also reveal the best way for you to lose weight.

I recently read a couple different accounts of getting DNA testing done to learn what type of exercise, diet and supplements are best for weight loss. I’ll sum up for you what I think about this new health trend that’s certainly going to become just as popular as CBD oil, intermittent fasting, and golden milk…

DNA Testing For Weight Loss

Genetic Testing for Weight Loss: How Does It Work?

When I was growing up, DNA testing for ancestry seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. But nowadays, it’s pretty commonplace. All it takes is a little bit of saliva and about $100 for the test.

In addition to genetic testing for ancestry, DNA tests can reveal potential disease markers that you’re carrying, such as sickle-cell anemia.

But genetic testing for weight loss? How is that even a thing?

Here’s how it works … at least in theory.

Just like your DNA can reveal which chromosomes you share with certain ethnic group, your genes can reveal, for example, what type of exercise will make you look better in jeans. Sprinting or long-distance running? Cardio or weight lifting? How do you know which is better for you, to help you lose weight?

This is the type of info that the first wave of “genetic fitness” companies are offering.

How do these genetic research companies know what type of exercise is better for you?

For starters, each person has a different composition of muscle fiber. Some people have more of what are called “fast-twitch muscle fibers” while other people have a greater amount of slow-twitch muscle fibers. For those with more fast-twitch muscle fibers, high-intensity interval training that involves sprints may be better for weight loss. On the other hand, slower-paced exercise would be better for someone with more slow-twitch muscle fibers.  

Think of it this way: there are different yoga styles. Someone who is out of shape and overweight probably shouldn’t try an Ashtanga class. And according to these first-0n-the-scene genetic fitness companies, exercise isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution….

DNA testing and muscle fibers

DNA Testing for Diet & Supplements

You may have heard of the Blood Type Diet, which, for example, suggests that if you’re let’s say a Type O blood type, you should eat a  high-protein diet, heavy on lean meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables, and light on grains, beans, and dairy.

It’s pretty easy to find out your blood type. Your doctor can order a test for you.

DNA and vitamins

And now, it’s almost as easy to find out what vitamins and minerals you may deficient in. The way it works is your regular doctor can submit your DNA tests to a company called PureGenomics, which will analyze your DNA and provide recommendations on what foods you should eat as well as supplements that may improve your overall health.

But let’s say you have an extra two- or three-hundred bucks to spend…. should you spend it on genetic testing in hopes that the recommendations you’ll receive will help you lose weight?

Sorry, but from the reports I’ve read on DNA testing for weight loss, the science behind it is very much still in the early phases; although it’s promising, it seems like it’s got a while to go before it’s accurate enough for it to be worth it.

So until then, I’m going to stick to what I know works for weight loss, for everybody:

  1. Green Drinks (very rare is the person who doesn’t benefit from getting more leafy greens in their diet)
  2. Avoid added sugars as much as possible
  3. Managing stress through meditation, yoga and mindfulness practices
  4. Intermittent Fasting and occasional Cleanses
  5. Being active almost every day of the year and getting enough sleep

The future of genetic testing for weight loss seems within grasp. But until the science evolves more, to me, it’s still the realm of science fiction….

Celery Juice Cleanse Experiment – What Happened

Chef V

celery on side saying I drank celery juice for 3 weeks and here's what happened

I’m all about trying new things that can potentially contribute to health, even if celery stalks are my competition.

So for 3 weeks, I gave celery juice a try. In order to better notice any possible effects from drinking 16 oz. of celery juice, I didn’t have any Green Drink during the entire 21 days.

(Not familiar with my famous Green Drink? It’s a certified organic cold-blend of the following 7 leafy green veggies: Black Kale, Green Kale, Collard Greens, Green Leaf Lettuce, Curly Parsley, Green Chard, Dandelion Greens, sweetened with a little apple and apple juice.)

woman wearing Chef V t-shirt holding stomach

Sample Code

The Results

The results? Before I reveal how juicing celery stalks made me feel, let me say that if I had noticed great results, I would be recommending it whole-heartedly. I’d even consider adding it in my Green Drink recipe.

However, after 3 weeks the celery juice experiment, I only felt a couple key differences, neither of them good. First of all, immediately after drinking it, I had to pee. Truth be told, that’s also the case with my Green Drink. So that’s not a bad side effect; it means that there’s a detoxifying process.

Here’s what I didn’t like about my experimentation with juicing a small forest’s-worth of celery stalks…

One of the celery juice side effects I experienced was severe bloating the entire time. I also had a lot of gas. If I continued for another week, my husband, Brandon, would have made me sleep on the couch.

Within two days after stopping this celery juicing madness, I’ve already lost all the bloat and gas. Brandon couldn’t be happier.

The happiest part of my experiment being over was the dreadful cleaning of my juicer each morning. I really wanted the celery juice to do something magical, but for me it just didn’t have a noticeable positive effect. So back to my daily Green Drink—No shopping, washing, juicing, and worst of all cleaning up the damn juicer!

Get 50% off Chef V's Green Drink Today!

many bunches of celery stalks

Green Drink vs Celery Juice

If your diet consists of lots of processed foods and sugar, I have no doubt that drinking celery juice will make you profoundly healthier. (Although keep reading because one expert, whose book I just finished, thinks drinking lots of celery juice is toxic.)

Here’s the nutritional data for a 16 oz. serving of celery juice, according to MyFitnessPal:

  • Carbs: 18 grams
  • Sugar: 11 g
  • Sodium: 430 mg
  • Vitamin A: 54%
  • Vitamin C: 20%

Now let’s see how just an 8-ounce serving of Chef V’s Green Drink compares. (For optimal health, I recommend consuming 16 oz a day.)

  • Carbs: 6 grams
  • Sugar: 3 g
  • Sodium: 24 mg
  • Vitamin A: 76%
  • Vitamin C: 44%

As you can see, Chef V Green Drink is much lower in sugar and sodium and higher in vitamins A & C. Plus, my Green Drink also contains an incredible 263% daily recommended value of vitamin K.

If MyFitnessPal’s info is correct, to be honest, celery juice does have a decent amount of calcium, iron and fiber. But my Green Drink naturally contains these nutrients as well.

I agree with William, aka The Medical Medium, that there probably are micronutrients that have yet to be discovered. And even the ones that have been identified, we’re really not entirely sure how they contribute to health.

But if you’re comparing apples to oranges, the 7 leafy greens in my Green Drink are collectively more nutrient dense than celery stalks.

Plus, there’s no concern about toxicity with Green Drink, as there is with celery.

Speaking of which, let’s take a look at some of the unknown dangers of celery…

The Risk of Drinking Celery Juice

It goes without saying that there are a lot of people who think the Medical Medium is a quack. I’m not judging William. If juicing celery has helped improve the lives and health of his followers, all the better.

But there’s at least one person who has done the research on the potential dangers and side effects  of celery juice cleanses.

Asa Hershoff is a naturopathic doctor (ND) and expert herbalist, who founded the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1978. In the world of natural healing, Hershoff has been around the block several times.

At the same time I ordered William’s book, “Celery Juice,” I also came across Hershoff’s book, “The Dangers of Celery: The Toxicity & Risks of Excess Celery Juice Consumption,” and ordered it as well.

In the preface of Hershoff’s book, he claims that he has studied the plant family that celery is in (Umbelliferae) extensively; he didn’t just start researching celery recently because it’s hip.

Here are some warnings Hershoff lists about excess celery consumption:

  • It’s more of a medicine than a food. “It has powerful biological effects and using it in large doses as if it were a harmless everyday food is simply following bad advice.”
  • It can potentially cause headaches, insomnia, fetal abnormalities, seizures, miscarriage, allergies, heavy metal poisoning, and increased cancer risk.
  • In terms of nutrient density, it’s in the bottom tier of over 700 vegetables; green leafy veggies, such as those in Green Drink are 500 times more nutrient rich.
  • Contains small amounts of neurotoxins.
  • One of the world’s most allergenic plants and may cause deadly anaphylactic shock.
  • May cause premature aging of the skin, including wrinkles and loss of skin elasticity.

Hershoff goes on to list more dangers. Perhaps Hershoff’s clarion call to avoid juicing celery in large amounts sounds just as exaggerated as William’s claim that the pale green liquid can cure virtually anything that ails you. (Can you really die from drinking copious amounts of celery juice?)

But Hershoff’s warnings seem to be a necessary, balancing counterpoint to the Medical Medium’s gospel that celery juice can cure all.

With millions of people blindly following the advice of untrained medical professionals, it’s only natural that an expert on herbal medicine would seek to discredit William’s work.

Conclusion

I wake up every morning stoked that Chef V has made a positive difference in people’s lives. If a  celery juice cleanse has helped even just one person with their health, then hallelujah.

But hands down, getting a delivery of health-supporting nutrients in my Green Drink is way easier and more nutritious in comparison to the medicically-dubious and messy enterprise that is the celery juicing fad.

What do you think of celery juice? Shoot me an email at chefv@chefv.com.

Veronica Wheat, Chef V in urban street holding green drink


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Need A Liver Detox? Here’s The Safest Way

Chef V

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Top Ways to Successfully Detox with Chef V

Did you just have a junk food binge-a-thon? Or did you recently celebrate a birthday with bottomless flutes of champagne? Then maybe you need a liver detox. But before you start one, Veronica Wheat, aka Chef V, explains what you need to know…

What Is A Liver Detox?

Did drinking too much red wine make you feel not so fine? Then maybe it’s time for a liver detox. But before I tell you the safest way to do a liver detox, let’s get to know your liver. 

Your liver performs hundreds of functions. If you’ve indulged lately, you can thank your liver for filtering your blood. That means that the liver removes toxins from drugs, alcohol and coffee and synthetic chemicals (like glyphosate) into harmless waste products. These waste products are eliminated when you pee and poo. 

But if your liver is chronically overworked because of what you’re putting in your body—or because of what your body is exposed to—its ability to filter the toxins in your blood becomes compromised. 

Time to reach for the liver detox pills? Well, let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. First let’s find out if you really need to do a liver detox. 

Free Liver Detox Resources

I’m  temporarily making available these incredible free resources:

  • Eat This/Not That chart that prepares you for the pre-cleanse and post-cleanse phase. No more guesswork about what to eat ever again!
  • Healthy Portions Guide – know exactly how much of the good stuff to load on your plate.
  • Breakfast Smoothie Guide – In a rush? No sweat, you don’t have to sacrifice your health thanks to these delicious and luxurious liquid breakfasts.
  • Lunch And Dinner Guide – Knowing what to make is frustrating. Chef V holds your hand with oodles of healthy meal creation ideas. 

You can find these invaluable resources here. 

Top 7 Signs You Could Use A Liver Detox

Here’s how you can tell if you should consider doing a liver detox. 

  • Frequently tired—even after getting plenty of sleep
  • Experiencing headaches
  • Constantly constipated 
  • Easily putting on weight—despite exercising
  • Cravings for sugar and starchy carbs
  • Trouble digesting protein or fat
  • Post-meal nausea or bloating

To put it simply, if you just generally feel like crap, it could be because your liver’s detoxification pathways are clogged up like an L.A. freeway at rush hour. 

This is why thousands of people have transformed their health doing a safe and effective Chef V 21 Day Detox. It’s like a metabolic reboot for your liver. 


21-day-detox

How Does A Liver Detox Work? 

Liver detoxes work in two phases. The first phase is reducing the toxic burden on the liver. This simply means that you remove all sources of toxic overload: junk food, alcohol (sadly this includes mimosas), tobacco, conventional brands of laundry detergent and dryer sheets (don’t underestimate how much chemicals in your everyday household goods can clog your liver), etc. 

By eliminating these toxic sources, your liver can take a breather. Then, iln the second phase of liver detoxification, you introduce foods that nourish the liver and accelerate its filtering optimization. 

In the Chef V 21 Day Detox, I teach people exactly what to eat and what to avoid in the days leading up to the detox. This is the first phase. 

And in the second phase, I provide you with liver-boosting recipes, Organic Green Drinks, Vegan Protein Shakes and Detox Soups. 

Beyond doing a 21 Day Detox, there’s other things can help you improve liver detoxification like:

  • Doing high intensity interval training (like strenuous hot yoga)
  • Using household cleaners and body/haircare products that are free of synthetic chemicals. (Sorry ladies: no perfume or anything with fragrance.)
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Sweating in an infrared sauna 
  • Eating a low inflammatory diet
  • Taking supplements to support liver function

woman holding painful stomach

What Are The Best Supplements For A Liver Detox? 

Want to improve your liver function? Then you may also want to think about taking some of the following supplements that are backed by research.

But before you start popping supplements to detoxify your liver, let me give you a warning. First of all, not all supplements are created equal. Unless you really understand the nutritional supplement marketplace, you could end up buying a supplement that clogs your liver even more. That’s because many conventional supplement manufacturers add fillers to the products. Soybean oil? That’s nasty! (Read my take on soy here.)

The second problem with relying on supplements is that many people feel like they can continue eating like crap. 

It’s true that there are some people who have low-functioning livers because of environmental contamination. But by and large, it’s a food problem. Most people aren’t flooding their trillions of cells with phytonutrients to support liver health. 

And that’s why I created Organic Green Drink in the first place. It’s a staple of my 21 Day Detox program. (4 servings a day!)

What Are The Risks Of Doing A Liver Detox? 

Not all liver detox programs are safe and effective. In my “industry” juice cleanses are synonymous with liver detoxes. But I’ll tell you a dirty little secret about the juice industry. 

The majority of juice cleanse and detox programs are just glorified fruit juice. I call it “diabetes in a bottle.” How can consuming 25-50 grams or more of sugar a few times a day contribute to liver health? 

But the insane thing is that these big brand juice companies are getting away with it. They’re marketing their juices as healthy for the liver when in fact it’s the opposite. Juice detoxes do not include enough protein. That’s why on the cleanse days within my 21 Day Detox program, you get 2 Vegan Protein Shakes. They are super easy on the liver unlike animal protein. 

In addition, you need a tiny amount of healthy dietary fat while you’re cleansing the liver. That’s why on the Cleanse days within the 21 Day Detox, you get a delicious DETOX SOUP. It contains just a gram of dietary fat. Believe it or not, that’s enough to keep you satisfied and prevent cravings. 

And don’t get me started with detox pills. Any pill that promises to eliminate toxins also has the potential to strip your digestive system of good bacteria and vital nutrients. 

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this article, don’t take liver detox pills. 

woman woth green chef v protein powder packs

Does Doing A Liver Detox Work? 

A safely designed liver detox program can definitely help you get back on track with your health goals. In fact, in a study published in Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine a 7-day detox program was found to enhance health and prevent the development of disease.

But don’t just let the research do the talking. Let’s give the spotlight to real people who have had huge success after doing a Chef V cleanse/detox. Like Maddi, who says, “When I need to get back on track, I love the Chef V cleanse – the 5 day cleanse for me has been an effective detox and metabolic reset. I love the soups, shakes, and juice and always end up feeling better after I complete one of the cleanses.”

What Is The Safest Way To Do A Detox? 

You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on supplements, fad diets and pills that could end up causing scary side effects. 

If you want the cheapest detox? Then start each day by drinking fresh lemon juice water. But if you need more support, including all the education you’ll ever need for successfully doing a liver detox, check out:

CHEF V 21 DAY DETOX

Want a sneak peek into what a 21 Day Detox is like? Check out Chef V’s 21 Day Detox Directions. This resource is usually kept private until you sign up for the detox. 

To your liver health!

Love, 

Chef V

Chef V eating mac and cheese

Is It Time For A Social Media Detox?

Chef V

Veronica reading a book

Detoxes aren’t just for resetting your digestive system after having too many In-N-Out burgers and margaritas. If you’re feeling a little insane in the membrane (like me with a pineapple on my head in the photo below), taking a social media break can be just what the mental health doctor ordered. Plus, Veronica Wheat, aka Chef V, has some tips to make social media, well, social and positive again…

salmon, nuts, beef, protein sources

We’ve all experienced it.

Checking our social media feed, we come across one post that for whatever reason stirs up feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and even loneliness. Which is crazy because it’s called social media. 

Maybe a friend from high school posted pics from an epic family vacation, staying at a 5-star resort. And meanwhile, you’ve been working your butt off and haven’t taken a vacation in years, let alone a glamorous one like your peers. Or maybe you come across a post where a bunch of your friends are out on the town seemingly having a blast but you didn’t get invited. 

Whatever the reason, there’s no denying the fact that social media fuels anxiety and depression. A lot of research has been done over the past few years that concludes that social media can stir up some toxic sh!t in us. And just like we need to do a dietary DETOX from time to time, it’s a good idea for us to take a break from social media every once in a while. And rather than being on social media to keep up with the Kardashians, we can actually use it for good. I’ll share some ideas about how to do just that so keep reading…

Why We Use Social Media 

If much of the news about social media is focusing on its bad effects on our mental health, then why do we continue scrolling? Why do we insist upon making ourselves feel potentially worse when we compare ourselves to other people? The simple answer is that we are social creatures and so social media, perhaps falsely, has led us to believe that connecting with our peer network has positive effects. But the paradox is that for many people, social media is an oxymoron, fueling even more disconnectedness. 

Another reason 7 out of 10 adults and 8 out of 10 teens use social media is that social media is addictive. To our brains, social media is no different than a gambler chasing a jackpot. Or a sad person drowning their sorrows in a pint of ice cream. Or a dope fiend hitting the crack pipe. 

When we scroll through our feeds, it feeds us a hit of dopamine. That’s the feel-good chemical that lights up the synapses in our brain’s reward center. The problem is that some people need more and more and more dopamine to stimulate this reward center. 

Like a casino pumping fresh oxygen into the room and fueling gamblers with free coffee so they never get tired, social media platforms are designed to keep us coming back. 

But why is that? 

If we feel jealous or insecure about seeing certain posts, why do we keep coming back for more punishment? Where is the reward in that? Well, we just never know when the next hilarious cat video will tickle our fancy. The point is that one session of social media scrolling is never the same as the next. Sure, there may always be foodie and vacation pics. 

But the experience is always different. And that’s what keeps us coming back for more.

Do You Like Likes? 

Despite the potential harm to mental health, some people use social media because they want to feel validated. They need people to acknowledge their accomplishments (or vacation and foodie pics). 

Although some platforms have removed likes (Instagram replaced likes with a heart emoji), that action does nothing to prevent comparing yourself to other people. And that includes comparing the number of, if not likes, then heart emojis your post received versus somebody else's. 

It’s all silly, really, the folly and whims of human nature. And the people who design social media platforms are Dr. Evil’s when it comes to exploiting human psychology. 

At the end of the day, we can’t help checking our feed to see if our post got any other likes (or hearts). This is part of the vicious cycle of chasing another hit of dopamine. And the first step to taking a social media detox is to realize you have a problem in the first place. 


21-day-detox

Got Social Media FOMO?

Another reason it’s hard for some of us to stop checking our feed—even though we know that it may fuel anxiety or other negative emotions—is because of FOMO. We have a fear of missing out on seeing a photo from high school that half your graduating class has commented on. What if you miss out on that one? It stirs up feelings of being excluded from certain activities when we were kids or being picked last. 

Should You Detox From Social Media?

Look, if you know in your heart of hearts that scrolling is robbing you blind of joy then maybe it’s a good idea to take a break. Just like a Chef V CLEANSE has 1, 3 or 5 days options, you can start by dipping a pinkie toe in the deep end. Go one day without being on social media. See how that feels. 

If you really want to feel lighter mentally, then I recommend going longer. Don’t let FOMO trip you up. You’ll be fine not looking at all your friends’ baby pics. You’ll come out of the experience with greater awareness of what’s really important to you. And, you’ll discover what truly makes you feel connected to spirit. 

almond milk

Make Social Media Social Again

If you decide to stay on social media, set some boundaries. Don’t check your feed an hour before bed or first thing in the morning. Instead, establish a spiritual practice and stick to it. Do 10 minutes of yoga or meditation morning and night instead of scrolling. 

You can make social media social by inviting friends to join you for a yoga session in the park. Instead of following friends from high school that bring up feelings of inadequacy, follow thought leaders in the spiritual movement like Deepak Chopra. Organize a mini-meditation session with your “true friends” on social. Encourage everybody to comment about how they feel after meditating.

The bottom line is that if you’re going to check your feed for posts, it might as well feed your spirit. Follow others who you find to be inspiring, enlightening, and a positive for your mental health. 

Conclusion

The truth is that rates of stress, anxiety and depression are up for reasons other than social media. But numerous studies suggest social media is fanning the flames of mental disharmony. Instead of chasing dopamine rewards by constantly checking your feed, spend more time in nature. Do more yoga. Meditate more. This is what will fuel your spirit. 


Making Cleansing Easier book

Lemon Juice & Water Daily Detox

Chef V

Lemon Juice & Water Daily Detox: The Absolute Easiest, Cheapest Way

When life hands you lemons, detox that bitterness away with … no, not lemonade — that’s got way too much sugar — lemon juice and water. It’s so simple, but it’s the easiest way to support your body’s natural detoxification process. Learn about the research-backed health benefits of lemon juice and the other best and easiest thing you can do to become a highly-efficient fat-burning machine….

I get the meaning of the maxim, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”

Lemons are associated with being sour, bitter, and pessimistic in the common expression.

Kind of like bitter beer face – But I love lemons, bitterness and all.

And every morning, first thing after I wake up, I squeeze a little bit of lemon juice in a cup of warm or hot water. It doesn’t just make the water taste better. I do it because it’s the easiest way to kick-start cleansing and detoxing.

Don’t just take my work for it. Research proves that lemon juice assists in the body’s detoxification process….

lemons

Health Benefits of Lemon Juice

This study in Nutrition Research suggests that lemon juice can help you lose both weight and body fat.

Most studies involving natural, plant-based ingredients use animals as test subjects. But in this study, the participants were 84 women. The ladies were  given a drink containing lemon juice and organic syrups (maple and palm) for 7 days.

I’m not a fan of ultra low-protein, no-food diets lasting longer than one or two days. (Which is why in my Cleanse programs, you get high-protein vegan-friendly shakes.)

Nonetheless, the lemon-sipping ladies in the study also experienced lower blood sugar levels. Another benefit of drinking lemon juice, according to the study, is lower levels of leptin.

Leptin is a hunger hormone. In people who are overweight or have obesity, leptin levels are very high. As a consequence, the brain doesn’t receive the signal to stop eating.

The cherry on top from the study was that the women’s immune systems were stronger and they had lower levels of inflammation.

CRP Blood test

Feeling Backed Up? Drink Lemon Juice!

There are lots of studies proving that lemon juice helps the body shed fat. But all I can say is that if you start drinking water with some lemon juice every morning, you’ll notice some cool things happen.

If you drink a cup of water with lemon juice and wait about 20-30 minutes and then have my Organic Green Drink (7 of the planet’s best leafy green veggies for detoxing), you’re going to experience:

  • Healthier looking skin
  • Better digestion and elimination (less constipation)
  • More energy
  • Less hunger
  • Sharper concentration and focus

But make sure you don’t eat right away after having the lemon juice and water. In fact, for optimal fat-burning and detoxing, drink 16 oz. of Green Drink after the lemon water, and don’t eat your first meal of the day until 11 a.m. or later. This is one of the easiest tips for successful cleansing.

lemon juice & water

Got High Blood Sugar? Drink Lemon Juice

Green leafy veggies, like the 7 different kinds in my Green Drink, are the absolute best thing for supporting the body’s detoxification process.

But in my opinion, the next best thing is drinking water with lemon juice every day. It’s so easy to do.

And for the almost 90 million people with prediabetes and additional 30 million people with type 2 diabetes, drinking lemon juice is an easy way to manage blood sugar levels.

In fact, the American Diabetes Association includes lemons on its list of beneficial foods for diabetes.  The vitamin C in lemons can help improve your fasting blood sugar levels as well as the amount of fats circulating in your blood (triglycerides).

Studies on vitamin C also link the antioxidant to lower insulin resistance. When your body is more resistant to insulin, your body needs to produce more of it to lower your blood sugar levels. That’s not good. Over time, your body may not be able to produce insulin and type 2 diabetes develops.

lemon juice and diabetes

Lemon Juice & Green Drinks: The Easiest Way To Detox The Body

Don’t waste your money on expensive detox supplements.

As a certified nutritional therapist, I have done the research on pretty much every detox product on the market.

I have yet to encounter a more powerful and cost-effective one-two punch than lemon juice and green-leafy veggies for detoxifying the body.

And the easiest way to get your daily dose of green, leafy veggies is by letting Chef V deliver fresh, organic Green Drinks right to your door. The veggies in my green drinks are sourced from local farmer’s markets.

Go ahead and drink lemon juice water and Green Drink every day for a week. I guarantee that you’ll feel so much better adopting this easy routine in your life.

To your health,

Chef V

Chef V

What Do I Eat Today – Gluten-Free

Chef V


what do I eat today fall

This “What Do I Eat Today” gluten-free menu starts with warm lemon water, then Green Drink. For breakfast, Avocado Toast is a rich tasting treat. Lunch is my “Chipotle” style Burrito Bowl, and the day’s snack is a choice of three different hummus’s served with fresh veggies.

Dinner is my Quinoa Enchiladas – you can follow the recipe online or watch me make it on my YouTube channel.


redhead with gren drink at refrigerator

First Thing in the Morning

I have lemon water in the morning and then I wait until I’m hungry to have my Green Drink.


avocado toast

For Breakfast – Avocado Toast

A special breakfast or a brunch treat, my recipe adds flavor to the avocado with a hint of vinegar’s tang and red pepper flakes.

Get the recipe


burrito

Lunch – Chef V’s ‘Chipotle’ Burrito Bowl

Here’s my Mango Avocado Burrito Bowl, a spin on Chipotle Mexican Grill’s awesome burrito bowls. Use my recipe as a starting point and add any of your favorite ingredients like grilled chicken or fish to make your own. You can also turn this into an easy wrap with gluten-free tortillas.  – Veronica

Get the recipe


pumpkin lasagna

Snack – Choose from Three Hummus’s and Fresh Veggies

Choose from three of my Hummus recipes, pair with fresh veggies, and have a rich tasting and delicious gluten free snack.

Get the recipe – Easy Hummus

Get the recipe – Green Goddess Hummus

Get the recipe – Red Beet Hummus


pumpkin pie

Dinner – Quinoa Enchilada

My famous Quinoa Enchilada – or “the whole enchilada” as my husband says. That’s so cheesy – no pun intended. This recipe is approved for the purpose of cleansing as long as you substitute vegan cheese and omit the corn. Watch my YouTube video or read the recipe on the blog.

Get the recipe


veronica

Essential Detox: 21 Days to Better Health

Chef V

Veronica working from home

Happy hello! Whether it’s hot or cold, every day calls for care for your health. Weather changes and cleansing go together with my Chef V cleanses & detoxes.

My cleanses include delicious Carrot Ginger and Sweet Potato Curry soups, soothing and filling.  Doing an essential detox cleanse right now may protect you from nasty viruses. Plus, doing a detox is like giving your organs a much-needed tune-up. 

 When you’re sharing oxygen in a confined space, that’s when your body is more susceptible to catching colds and flu viruses. At work with lots of people in close proximity, the state of your immune system is a major factor in determining if you’re going to have to call in sick for work.

You might feel totally healthy now. But if you eat unhealthy fast food now that you are back at work  along with alcohol, ice cream and other inflammatory foods, your immune system might be weakened right now without you knowing it.

And if you don’t detox your system now, your immune system’s energy will be spent trying to get rid of the toxic load in your organs, instead of devoting all of its resources to fighting viruses.

Hey, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones and can feast on foods with refined carbohydrates. Perhaps you’re a genetic freak who never gets sick despite a diet rich in foods with white flour, sugar, and saturated fats.

But if you’re not a member of the dietary one-percent I have some advice for you on boosting your immune system right now with an essential detox….

green line

“During my detox I lost 19 lbs! My BMI went from 24.0 to 16.9!
I am super excited for when I do my next detox because I will be
doing the expert challenge! LOVE LOVE LOVE Chef V.” – Mackenzie

Below, my Black Bean Soup, a recipe from my cookbook. A cleanse-friendly recipe created to accompany my cleanses and detoxes.

black bean soup

Ditch Sugar Addiction & Reset Your Metabolism In Just 21 Days

In addition to eating unhealthy food, you might be more vulnerable to getting sick because of stress.

Recently, I wrote about staying healthy for the back to school season. But even if you don’t have kids, many of us feel stressed out. And when stress strikes, lots of people cope by snacking on sugary treats and other unhealthy food.

If you can relate to having felt stressed out or eat lots of unhealthy food, I suggest trying my 21 Day Detox.

My 21 Day Detox is 100% organic. Although you’ll very likely lose weight after doing a 21 Day Detox, my program is far more than just a weight loss solution. More than that, my 21 Day Detox will teach you how to adopt healthier eating habits. Not just for the 21 days but for weeks, months and even years after the detox is over.


21 day detox

How Does The 21 Day Essential Detox Work?

During the 21 Day Detox, you’ll have days when you follow my Cleanse protocol, which provides you with four servings of 16 oz Green Drinks, 2 Protein Shakes and a Detox Soup. Then, on other days, you’ll also have Green Drinks and Protein Shakes, plus my Healthy Routine, which allows you to choose your own lunch, snack and dinner from my Meal Planner. The Meal Planner contains delicious recipes, an approved foods list, a portion-size guide, and more helpful tips that will make completing a 21 Day Essential Detox a breeze.

Plus, when you order the 21 Day Detox, I email you a downloadable copy of my recipe book, Making Cleansing Easier.

A lot of people have no idea what to eat. But I take all the guess work out of meal planning. My recipes are filled with lots of low-starch veggies, healing herbs and spices and healthy, whole grains that don’t promote inflammation. I also include some fruit as part of my Healthy Eating routine (but not too much), as well as legumes, lean protein and moderate amounts of healthy oils such as olive oil.

Squashing VIruses With … Squash, Soup And Other Awesome Autumn Veggies

Introducing winter squash, sweet potato, carrot, beets and other hearty antioxidant-rich veggies this time of year is a good strategy for boosting your immune system and aiding your body in the detox process.

And when you do my 21 Day Detox, you’ll get one of two delicious Detox soups for dinner: Carrot Ginger Zing and Sweet Potato Curry. The carrot ginger soup also contains yam, onion, garlic, turmeric, and sea salt with a base of filtered water.

As for the sweet potato curry, it’s loaded with leeks, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and a gentle curry spice, flavored to taste with sea salt in a filtered water base.

Although the Detox Soups are relatively low in calories, they are very nutrient dense, so you won’t still be hungry and be tempted by empty carbs after having it for dinner.

Here’s what one Chef V customer, Mel H. of San Diego, has to say about the soup on Yelp:

The detox soup is DELICIOUS- I want to try the recipe on my own one of these days. After 3 days of cleansing I feel 100% better. I will absolutely do this cleanse again. Thanks Chef V. !

Mel didn’t jump into the 21 Day Detox. She dipped her toe in the shallow end by doing my shortest detox program, the 3 Day Cleanse. If the sound of a 21 Day Detox intimidates you, doing a 3 Day Cleanse (or 5 day or 7 day) is a good alternative.

Whether you choose the shorter cleanse or the 21 Day Detox, I’ll tell you exactly what foods to eat in the days leading up to the program and for the days that follow it after you successfully finish it.

So give your organs a tune-up now and get them in tip-top shape for the cold/flu season that’s right around the corner.

To your health,

Chef V

Veronica and Coco

Chef V’s 5 Easy Healthy Gut Makeover Tips

Jean Yates


eating soup

Have you ever heard the saying, “a healthy mind lives in a healthy body?” The way Chef V founder Veronica “V” Wheat sees it, a healthy mind exists because of a healthy gut. But it’s not just mental health that’s linked to gut health. The immune system, cardiovascular health, skin appearance, and, of course, how you look in a swimsuit is all controlled by the health of your gut. So V is here to offer 5 easy tips to boost gut health.

Healthy Gut Makeover Tip #1: Take It Easy On The Kombucha

When it comes to improving gut health, some people think all it takes is drinking some kombucha.

But as I mentioned here, many brands of kombucha are just glorified sugar water. The major selling point of kombucha is that it’s loaded with probiotics. Probiotics just so you know are clinically-proven strains of bacteria that may offer health benefits. (Lactobacillus and bifidobacteria are two of the most common species of probiotics).

Forget the fact that the probiotic content in kombucha is hardly ever verified. So it’s hard to tell if you’re getting any of the friendly-bacteria boosting benefits of kombucha to begin with. Not to mention if you struggle with yeast infections, drinking kombucha is the last thing you want to do. That’s because chugging a whole bottle of it, as refreshingly bubbly as it may be, may cause harmful bacteria and yeast to grow in your gut.

So my first healthy gut makeover tip is don’t be fooled thinking that kombucha is a magical elixir. Instead, eat and drink other things that are fermented with beneficial bacteria that aren’t loaded with sugar like coconut yogurt, sauerkraut/kimchi, beet kvass, tempeh and miso.


Kombucha

#2: Probiotics

Popping probiotic pills might help improve gut health, then again it may not. Many brands of probiotics are low quality. So don’t buy the cheapest probiotic supplement you can find because you’ll just be throwing your money away.

The reason why is that in order to colonize in your large intestine (also called the colon), the friendly microorganisms have to travel through some dangerous territory: the stomach.

You can think of your stomach as a swimming pool filled with acid. Containing the lowest pH level in the digestive system, the stomach and its highly acidic juices help break the big bites of food you swallow into partially-digested morsels called chyme.

Chyme then passes into the small intestine where enzymes further break it down into amino acids and nutrients.

So the cards are stacked against probiotics surviving this harsh acidic environment. Only high-quality probiotics that are formulated to break down once they reach the relative safety of the intestines are worth paying for. But even if you splurge on a pricey probiotic, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to have the best gut makeover…


probiotics

#3: No Added Sugar Diet

Taking a probiotic supplement and eating and drinking things with added sugars is like not flossing and expecting your dentist to tell you that your gums look great.

(By the way, you should be flossing every day because if you don’t, the unhealthy bacteria will take over in your mouth and possibly other organs—including your gut!)

Sure, taking a really good probiotic is better than not taking one and consuming lots of sugar. The problem is, you might think you’re not consuming that much added sugars because you don’t eat candy, drink soda or other typical junk foods. But food manufacturers are sneaky. They put added sugars into all kinds of things, from salad dressing to coffee creamer to salsa, pasta sauce, bread … you name it.

So start paying attention to food labels on every single item you purchase from a supermarket. This is especially true of anything that comes in a package or can.

Consuming sugar from natural sources like vegetables and fruit is fine. But added sugars are to your bad gut bacteria what gasoline is to a car. Excess sugar fuels the pathogenic, disease-causing invisible critters in your gut.

I’m a purist when it comes to this rule. If I even see that a product contains just one gram of added sugar, I won’t buy it.


probiotics

#4: Take It Easy

Constantly being on the go is the American way. But that lifestyle is terrible for gut health. And remember, if it’s terrible for gut health, it’s bad for your overall health and wellness. There are a ton of research studies (like this one) that show a connection between excess bad stress and poor gut health. In order to have great gut health, your brain and gut need to have great communication, just like in a healthy marriage.

The problem with chronic stress is that it totally disrupts gut and central nervous system communication. And when that happens, your happy hormones and chemicals like serotonin won’t get activated.

Even if you have a super slammed schedule like yours truly, you must take the time to decompress from stress.

I like to take mini-meditation breaks. You can meditate even while you’re stuck in traffic. Instead of being annoyed that you didn’t make the light, take advantage of the situation by taking some slow deep breaths. Notice the plants and scenery around you. Don’t stare at the red light with nervous energy.

Do a 5-minute yoga routine a few times a day, take a walk during lunch. Knit, garden, do whatever it takes to chill out—in a healthy way.


probiotics

#5: Sleep Like A Baby

Like the link between gut and brain communication, there’s been a lot of research lately on the association between sleep quality and gut health.

It’s easy to say get enough sleep but if you’re stuck in a vicious cycle of insomnia and poor sleep quality, what can be done?

I recommend meditating or doing deep, steady breathing at 9:00 at night for about 20 minutes. Then, take a warm bath with soothing, relaxing essential oils and bubble bath. You can also try drinking some chamomile tea and then get in bed with all electronics out of the room and your phone in airplane mode several feet away from you. If you’re still having trouble getting enough deep sleep after trying these tips, you may want to try a full-spectrum CBD oil or consult with a natural health professional.

Personally, I don’t think getting 8 hours of sleep is necessary. Not if you’re eating clean and drinking organic greens, managing your stress, getting plenty of movement activity during the day and having an attitude of gratitude.

I hope that these tips help you achieve a healthy gut makeover!

Love,

V


store - new sign

Using MCT Oil For Weight Loss? Here’s 5 Reasons To Think Twice.

Chef V

MCT oil capsule

MCT oil is all the rage in the keto and low-carb community. But if you’re thinking about swallowing spoonfuls of MCT oil, certified nutritional therapist and founder of ChefV.com, Veronica Wheat, has a warning…

Imagine eating all the ice cream you want and never getting fat. (Or at least fatter.)

Sounds like heaven, right? 

Well, MCT oil is that fairytale fat. That’s because it doesn’t get stored as body fat? 

And there’s even more incredible selling points about MCT oil. With promises of fast weight loss, boundless energy, faster exercise recovery, lower inflammation and enhanced cognitive function, it’s no wonder MCT oil has become popular over the last few years. Especially in the keto diet and low-carb community. 

Without doubt, MCT oil may be extremely beneficial for some people. But for others, could it be a ticking time bomb? 

In this article, I’ll cover the basics of MCT oil plus I’ll list some of the surprising reasons it could potentially backfire on your health. I don’t mean to scare you, if you’ve been using MCT oil for some time. Just consider the following info food for thought…

MCT Oil & Coconut Oil

If you’ve been following my recipes over the years, you know I should have started my own coconut oil company. I use a ton of coconut oil and love it so much I even named my dog Coconut. Years ago, long before I was carrying a baby in my belly which I’m blissfully doing now (nausea excluded), I traveled to Bali and Thailand, where I took cooking courses. When I got back one of the first things I did when I got home was hit Costco and fill my trunk up with coconut oil so I could recreate all those scrumptious Southeast Asian dishes.

Coconut oil makes many cardiologists squirm. That’s because it’s made up of about 90% saturated fats. Saturated fat has long been considered the Dr. Evil of nutrition. 

But here’s the thing. Unlike red meat and other animal products, all of which have a ton of saturated fat, coconut oil contains a special kind of fat. Hello, MCT. 

What is MCT Oil?

MCT stands for medium-chain-triglycerides. Over 50% of the fat in coconut oil is MCT fatty acids. (Fatty acids are the building blocks of fat, just like amino acids are the building blocks of protein.)

Now, I hope I don’t put you to sleep with a boring biochemistry lesson. So I’ll keep this simple. Basically, the fat you eat in animal products consists of long-chain fatty acids. (Snoring yet?) Long chain fatty acids get stored as body fat unless you’re running a marathon. 

But the neat thing about MCT fatty acids is that they don’t get digested in your small intestine. Instead, they get processed in the liver. To your body, MCT is like a Starbucks venti latte. It’s a quick burst of fuel for your body, especially your  brain. 

Rather than eating a huge bowl of pasta to fuel up for a workout (that’s the old-school way), you can use MCT oil for sustained energy. That’s why MCT oil has become popular in functional coffee drinks.


bulletproof coffee

Unfortunately, your brain can’t rely on caffeine for fuel. But it can use MCT oil for energy. That’s because MCT oil is an external source of ketone bodies. 

When you keep carbohydrates low, your body and brain can use ketone fatty acids (also called ‘ketones’ or ‘ketone bodies’) for energy. 

Remember: sources of ketones like MCT oil, for the most part, don’t get stored as fat. This is what leads to rapid weight loss and the other possible health benefits of the ketogenic diet such as a reduced risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

(Fun fact: There are four main types of fatty acids in MCT oil: caproic, caprylic, capric and lauric acid. Coconut oil is abundant in lauric acid.)

All great stuff. But before you load up on MCT oil there are some things that may lead you to reconsider. 


21-day-detox

Reason #1 MCT Oil Might Be Overrated: It’s Not Natural 

While medium chain fatty acids like lauric acid in coconut oil are 100% natural, MCT oil is not. (In nature, MCTs are also derived from palm kernels.)

MCT oil hasn’t been around for that long, all things considered. In fact, the National Institutes of Health says that MCTs were first extracted in the 1950s. The first MCT oil product wouldn't be introduced to the market until decades later (thanks to the Bulletproof Coffee craze).  

The truth is that MCT oil is an industrial product. It’s not a naturally-expressed oil. Naturally-expressed oils don’t need heat or chemicals to be extracted. But many MCT oils you see on supermarket shelves require harsh chemicals and solvents to extract the oil from the coconuts and palm kernels. 

Chemicals that I don’t want my baby exposed to such as hexane are used in the extraction of MCT oil. Not only that, some manufacturers use corn oil to make MCT oil. Corn is one of the most highly-inflammatory oils. 

The difference between many store-bought MCT oils and expeller-pressed olive oil is like the difference between Chef V Organic Green Drink and name-brand juices. Chef V’s is made fresh without the use of high-heat pasteurization (HHP), which basically kills most of the nutritional value. Big name juices? Yup, they’re making a killing by killing the nutrients via HHP. But I digress. 

Honestly, I don’t know what the long-term effects of MCT oil are. And I don’t think anybody does. Even though it’s been shown to speed up the weight loss process if you ditch most of your carbs, I’d still take it easy on it. 

mct oil and coconut products

MCT Oil Warning #2: Detox Danger

Very few people have problems digesting coconut oil even though it’s loaded with saturated fat. But if you dive in the deep end with MCT oil it could clog up your liver. Remember I said that it’s your liver that mostly processes MCT oil instead of your digestive organs? Well, let’s say your liver is sluggish to begin with. 

—–> Need to DETOX your liver? Start here

If you consume too much MCT oil, your liver may freak out and send the contents back into the digestive system. If this happens you may find yourself running to the bathroom with loose stools. 

And more seriously than diarrhea, anybody with any liver problems should absolutely stay away from MCT oil. 

MCT OIL Warning #3: A Heart Attack In The Making?

Does the high saturated fat content of MCT oil pose a risk for heart disease? Honestly, most studies on MCT oil say it’s not really a big risk. For instance, a review of several studies in the Journal of Nutrition concluded:

“MCT oil does not affect total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol levels, but does cause a small increase in triglycerides.”

Higher triglycerides, which are fats in the blood, is not good. But overall, not a huge problem.

Unless…

…You’re someone who carries a genetic mutation called APOE4. 

The APOE4 gene is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s. Roughly 20% of people carry a copy of this gene. And 2% to 5% carry 2 copies. Even if you only have one copy, your risk of developing Alzheimer’s doubles, says research from Stanford University. If you have 2 copies, well, let’s just say you should put down the jar of MCT oil right away!

Again, not to scare the bejeezus out of you. But it’s interesting that one of the biggest supposed health benefits of MCT oil is that it can prevent brain disorders. 

However, it’s possible that for some people with a mutation of the APOE4 gene, consuming MCT oil could contribute to heart disease. Or Alzheimer’s. 

Getting lab work done is the only way to know for sure if you have this genetic mutation. I say that’s worth splurging for if you plan on using MCT oil. 

Having certain variations in the APOE4 gene can mean your body doesn’t do a good job of clearing cholesterol from the blood. MCT oil could potentially lead to a heart attack or stroke 

According to a website dedicated to all things APOE4, if you have this genetic mutation, stick with a high-quality caprylic oil. (Also called C8 oil). This is because it doesn’t impact cholesterol in the blood as much.

Veronica and Brandon kissing, showing sonogram

MCT Oil Warning #4: Avoid When Baby Is On Board

In researching this topic, I stuffed my MCT oil in the back of the pantry. That’s because I read that it might not be safe for expecting or breastfeeding moms. It isn’t advisable for people with essential fatty acid deficiency.

Reason To Avoid MCT Oil #5: Insulin Resistance

I’ll probably get a lot of heat for this one, so let me just say I totally admit that this next warning is controversial. You see, there’s so many non-scientific articles that claim that MCT oil is great for people living with diabetes because it can help regulate blood sugar levels. 

But the thing is there are some studies that suggest that MCT oil can actually induce insulin resistance. This means that the body has to release more insulin to remove sugar from the blood and drive it into the cells. Now, the study I linked to was a tiny one. So take this with a grain of salt. 

The important takeaway is that if you have diabetes you should speak with your doctor before going hardcore Keto and using MCT oil. 

Conclusion

No doubt there are thousands of people who have gotten leaner and feel great thanks to using MCT oil. MCT oil is an external source of ketone fatty acids that your brain and body can burn for energy instead of carbs (sugar). Your body doesn’t process or store MCTs like it does other fatty acids. That’s why it’s a special type of fat that’s become a godsend for low-carb dieters. 

But as the saying goes, one man’s food is another man’s poison. Whether MCT oil is medicine or poison for you largely depends on your genetics. Before you start using lots of MCT oil, get some lab work done to see if your genes (and skinny jeans) will benefit from it. 

Finally, don’t use MCT oil to cook with. It’s got a low smoke point and spoils more easily. Also, if MCT oil causes your belly to rumble, try using MCT powder. 


Making Cleansing Easier book

Chef V’s Cooking with V – Quinoa Enchilada

Chef V

Watch the enchilada video & read the recipe

Welcome to Chef V's Cooking School!

I'm Veronica, Certified Nutritional Therapist, author, and proud owner of Chef V. You might know me for my Green Drink and Cleanses, but I started Chef V as a personal chef. I'll be sharing some of my clients' favorite recipes with you.

This is my first ever cooking series and I welcome you to my kitchen. And of course I couldn't do my show without my trusty sidekick Brandon – Sous-Chef B. And our dog Coconut – Taste Tester. We're going to laugh, learn and cook – together.

We are starting with my famous Quinoa Enchilada – or “the whole enchilada” as my husband says. That's so cheesy – no pun intended. This recipe is Challenge approved for the purpose of cleansing as long as you substitute vegan cheese and omit the corn.

quinoa enchilada ingredients

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 jars enchilada sauce
  • 1 cup cooked black beans
  • 1 cup frozen organic corn
  • 3 cups organic cheese or vegan cheese
  • 1 tbsp. chopped green onions for garnish
  • 1lb. ground turkey or you can substitute chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tsp. taco seasoning (optional)

quinoa enchilada ingredients

MY SECRET INGREDIENT

Trade Joe's Enchilada Sauce is my secret ingredient – you can use a different sauce but we think this one makes the difference.

quinoa enchilada ingredients

COOK QUINOA & TURKEY

Quinoa: Cook quinoa as directed on package or use these directions:

Cook quinoa on stovetop: 1 part quinoa and 2 parts water. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 10-15 minutes or until done.

Turkey: sauté ground turkey or chopped mushrooms with taco seasoning.

mixing enchilada ingedients

MIX INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL

Add cooked quinoa, turkey (or sub), ¾ of the cheese, beans, corn, and 1 ½ bottles of enchilada sauce to the bowl and mix.

casserole assembly

ASSEMBLE CASSEROLE

Add contents of the bowl to the casserole dish.

Add the rest of cheese on top and drizzle a little sauce on top.

Top the casserole with the chopped green onions – you can add them before or after baking.

baked casserole

BAKE

Cook covered 20 minutes and uncovered 15 minutes at 350.

eating the casserole

ENJOY!

Customers who've tried this recipe say it is even better the second day. You can keep it in the refrigerator for several days, if it lasts that long! Brandon says this recipe taste as good or better than “real” enchiladas.

Cheers to your health – Veronica


Chef V Cleanse

Chef V’s Cooking with V – Organic Turkey Risotto

Chef V

->  GO TO BLOG HOME

Welcome to Chef V's Cooking School!

I'm Veronica, Certified Nutritional Therapist, author, and proud owner of Chef V. You might know me for my Green Drink and Cleanses, but I started Chef V as a personal chef. In my first video cooking series, I'll be sharing some of my clients' favorite recipes with you.

Using this blog and my YouTube channel, I welcome you to my kitchen. We're going to laugh, learn and cook – together.

Cooking with Chef V

This super simple recipe has only 7 ingredients and is so easy to make. It has so much flavor, is so filling and balanced, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! “You don't even know do', it's the BEST Risotto!”

While most risottos have a lot of cream and butter, we're not going to use those. Using arborio rice, this risotto has a nice creamy texture that we'll make using vegan broth.

Organic Turkey Risotto- Dairy-Free & Gluten-free
Step by Step

turkey risotto ingredients

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups Arborio rice
  • 2 tbsp. Olive oil
  • 4 cups broth (may need more depending on absorbency)
  • Ground turkey 1 lb
  • Organic butternut squash cubed 2 cups
  • Green Kale 3 cups chopped
  • 3 tsp. dry sage, separated
  • Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

KALE
First chop the kale, rolling it into a little ball to finely chop. Set aside.

dicing onion

TURKEY
Season the turkey with 1 tsp sage, a pinch of salt and pepper. Add a little water to the pan before adding the meat. Add the meat to the pan.

Brown the turkey meat and slightly undercook. Let it rest and set aside.

add water to pan

salt and pepper meat

salt and pepper meat

BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Using a dutch oven or heavy pan, turn the heat on medium high. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the butternut squash (previously cut into 3/4 inch cubes) for 3 minutes. Add a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Add one tsp of sage.

Next, add the chopped kale to the pot, then the browned turkey.

sliced zucchini

RISOTTO

To the pan with the butternut squash, start adding the arborio rice. Add 2 cups of rice, sautéing the rice.

Stir well, then add 1 cup of broth to start and keep stirring. Slowly add more broth as it is absorbed – keep stirring. Add salt, pepper, and remaining sage to the risotto. Stir until nice and creamy and the rice is cooked al dente. If the mixture is a little thick, add another 1/2 cup of broth.

add kale

add 1/2 cup broth

tasting 2

Time to Taste!

time to taste

Serve it up.

time to taste

Sou chef Coco joins us!

Coco


Chef V green drink

How To Read The Nutrition Facts Label & Why It Matters For Your Health

Chef V


explaining nutrition label

We all lead super busy lives. So when we go food shopping, who has time to scrutinize every single ingredient listed on every single nutrition facts label printed on every single item that we’re considering throwing in the shopping cart? Well, if you want to eat as clean as possible so that you can be as healthy as possible, learning how to read the nutrition facts label is critical. Thankfully, as a certified nutritional therapist, I'm here to break it down for you.

Food manufacturers are trying to pull a fast one on you. If you purchase any item that’s in a jar, can or box—with the exception of fresh produce—there’s a decent chance it contains the following:

  • Added sugars
  • High levels of net carbohydrates
  • High levels of sodium
  • Very low levels of beneficial minerals
  • Rancid vegetable oil or seed oil
  • Artificial preservatives

Now, I realize that we don’t live in a perfect world. And so if you’re buying one processed snacky thing like gluten-free pretzels and enjoying it in moderation, I’m not here to judge.

But, have you ever heard the expression, “Death by a thousand paper cuts”? The idea is that one little nick won’t hurt you. But 1000 painful paper cuts could lead to a nasty, fatal infection. This same principle applies to the world of nutrition. When you go food shopping, your goal should be to limit the number of nutritional paper cuts that you put in your shopping cart.


reading label on oil bottle

Added Sugars

The first place my eyes immediately go to when I’m purchasing an unfamiliar product is the nutrition facts label. Thankfully, a handful of years ago, our federal government (the FDA) finally did something about the over-consumption of added sugars in the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Let’s ignore the fact that the government itself is largely to blame for that because … well, remember those food pyramids? So what do you think will happen if you eat 6-11 servings per day of bread and other grains? But that’s for another topic…I digress.

Anyhoo, in 2016, the FDA issued rules that updated the nutrition facts label. The biggest update was added sugars. This was such a profound update because it’s shocking how many unsuspecting foods contain added sugars. We expect soda to contain added sugar but not salad dressing, bread, peanut butter and I could go on and on…

According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, adult women should have no more than 24 grams of sugar per day and 36 grams for most men. That translates to 6 and 9 teaspoons of sugar, respectively. That’s still too much in my book. But again, that’s for another topic…

Now if you’re someone who doesn’t make a lot of meals from scratch and instead rely on packaged foods, the amount of added sugars in your diet can add up real fast. So that’s why I highly encourage you to read the nutrition facts and check out the number of grams of added sugars. If the label says 1 gram of added sugars, well, I can live with that.

But for metabolic health and weight loss, the goal should be close to zero grams of added sugars. Eventually, you’ll become familiar with the healthiest packaged foods at the markets where you shop. So you won’t need to spend as much time scanning the nutrition facts.

Watch out for added sugars in so-called “healthy” juice drinks. You might be surprised, and not pleasantly.

Veronica with high sugar bottles

Net Carbs

“Net Carbs” is NOT something you’ll see listed on the nutrition facts label. To put it simply, net carbs is the number of grams of total carbohydrates minus the number of grams of fiber (as well as sugar alcohol; but try to avoid sugar alcohol if you have gut issues).

Here’s an example:

Total Carbohydrates: 15 grams

Dietary Fiber: 5 grams

Net carbs = 10 grams

Both total carbohydrates and dietary fiber are listed on the nutrition facts label. If even doing some simple math sounds like a chore, then no worries, you don’t have to whip out your calculator. The important thing is to notice how many grams of total carbohydrates a particular food has. If it’s a very high amount, say, like 40 grams or higher, there should be a significant amount of fiber to offset the total carbs.

If there’s very little fiber, then the high amount of carbohydrates can quickly spike your blood sugar levels. Healthy grains like quinoa may have a high amount of carbohydrates but they also have a decent amount of fiber as well as protein.

nutrition label carbs

Fat

When it comes to dietary fat, I’m actually not particularly concerned with the amount of fat unless it’s insanely high, like 50 grams.

What matters more is the type of fat. The Mediterranean Diet continues to have a reputation of being perhaps the single healthiest type of diet on the planet not only because it calls for lots of fresh veggies. Another key component is heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that come from foods like olives, olive oil, avocado (and avo oil) and cold-water oily fish.

I’m also not too concerned about saturated fat although there are some people who need to be careful about their intake of it because their genetics puts them at greater risk for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

The biggest issue with fat is where it comes from. The unhealthiest sources of fat come from vegetable oil and seed oils. Now I know that may sound counterintuitive because vegetables and seeds sound healthy. But the problem with these oils is that they are heavily refined and they spoil very easily. And how consuming these oils in large amounts may affect your health is that they may cause high inflammation in various parts of your body.

Heavily-processed, packaged foods are typically made with these poor oils that food manufacturers love to use because they are cheap. So if you see corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil or cottonseed oil, try to avoid it. When cooking at home, use avocado oil, walnut oil, ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil. (Just be careful of the high amount of saturated fat in coconut oil if you have a family history of heart disease.)

healthy oils

Everything Else

Sodium

As for sodium, unless you’re on a sodium-restricted diet or have edema, I wouldn’t pay too much attention. If you buy bone broth or soup stock, it will likely have a lot of sodium. The problem with most high-sodium, packaged foods is that they lack vitamins and minerals. And when you consume too much sodium and not enough beneficial nutrients, it can throw off your electrolyte balance.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol used to be demonized by the mainstream medical establishment. Eating a diet high in cholesterol—mainly anything that’s made from an animal—was thought to be a sure ticket to developing heart disease.

But just in the last handful of years, many (but not all) health experts have changed their stance and no longer regard cholesterol as a nutrient of concern. Why after so many decades did the so-called experts change their mind? Well, the latest research studies cast big doubts about the link between cholesterol consumption and cardiovascular disease. So unless your doctor has advised you to curb your cholesterol consumption, don’t pay too much attention. Just make sure you’re eating clean, organic/wild humanely-raised animal products.

Vitamin D/Iron/Calcium/Potassium

These 4 nutrients are required on nutrition facts labels. Vitamin D is hard to get from food alone so you may want to consider getting it in supplement form, especially in the winter. Many people who eat a high-processed food diet are lacking in iron, calcium and potassium.

So the moral of the story is, if you’re eating lots of fresh produce or drinking low-sugar leafy greens, you don’t have to worry about diligently scrutinizing food labels. At the end of the day, you should be eating real food 90% of the time. The ingredients should be easy to pronounce (salad, fish, Green Drink, brown rice), mostly consisting of plants.

Veronica cooking

Chef V cooking at her Joshua Tree retreat in 2021

Nightshades: A No/No for Cleansing

Chef V

deadly nightshades

Nightshades: Why These Everyday Veggies Are Toxic For Your Body

The nightshade veggies—tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant—are a no-no on my cleanse and detox list. Why are these on my blacklist if you want to reboot your digestive system? Read on to find out… 

I know next to nothing about football. But if there’s one thing about the sport I know, it’s something that my hubby, Brandon, jealously thinks I know far too much about: Tom Brady. 

Actually, I could care less about all those Super Bowl rings he’s won. (Those rings are so gaudy anyway.) But there are three things that really intrigue me about him. 

Obviously, number one on the list is his handsome looks. Second is his marriage to Giselle (she’s so fab, she doesn’t even need her last name mentioned). And like everyday else, I’m also amazed at the fact that the dude is in his mid-40s, getting chased by 350-pound monsters half his age and slingin’ that pigskin like, well, somebody half his age. 

TB is still playing at an amazingly high level (or so Brandon tells me). One reason for his amazing longevity is his diet. Tom Terrific eats a very low inflammatory diet. And one group of food Tom avoids is nightshades. 

tobacco

What Are Nightshades? 

If you smoke cigarettes, you’re not avoiding nightshades. Tobacco is a member of the nightshade family. Do I really need to say that smoking tobacco isn’t good for your health? The nightshades that get all the attention are tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants. 

Nightshades—these plants grow in the shade and they tend to bloom at night—contain seeds and relatively thick skin. 

So what’s so bad about nightshades that TB avoids them like a blitzing linebacker (Brandon: aren’t you impressed with that analogy?) And what’s the big deal about seeds and skin? Why not just be thick-skinned about eating nightshades? 

It’s because nightshades contain substances that interfere with nutrient absorption in the body. Among these substances are lectins. Lectins are proteins that bind to carbohydrates. Every single plant contains lectins. But nightshades along with raw legumes contain the highest amount of lectins. 

arthritis

Why Are Lectins Bad?

Like most things in life, lectins aren’t all black and white. There’s the good, bad and ugly when it comes to lectins. These proteins serve an important function in nature. They protect plants from being consumed by fungi or voracious insects. So what does that have to do with why Tom Brady avoids nightshades? 

Lectins are a natural bio-weapon for protecting plants from getting digested. The theory goes that those same characteristics prevent nutrients from getting absorbed in the gut. 

Some people blame nightshades for arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and general joint problems and inflammation. 

But Tom Brady doesn’t have arthritis. If he did, he would have retired years ago. Well, Tom (we’re on a first name basis now) doesn’t want to take any chances. 

And if you’re looking to CLEANSE your digestive system, I don’t want you to take any chances either. 

If you do have a digestive system that seems backed up, sluggish or stressed out, experiment with a nightshade-free diet for a week or two. See if it makes a difference. 

Some health authorities don’t think eating nightshades is that big of a deal. In fact, Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that the catalyst for the lectin-free diet is for people to write best-selling books and that the human body has digestive enzymes that can break down lectins with no problem. 

But in this instance, I’m going to trust the 7-time Super Bowl winner. (I had to Google that.) 

sore stomach

How To Make Nightshades Healthier

If you’re doing a Chef V Cleanse or 21 Day Detox, I still want you to try to go nightshade-free. But can you imagine if all of Italy suddenly decided to go nightshade-free? No tomato sauce? The country would go crazy. However, the traditional way of making pasta sauce involves removing the skin and seeds from the tomatoes. 

Another way to lower the lectin count in nightshades is to simply use a pressure cooker. The heat seems to lower the anti-nutrient proteins. 

But that being said, I’d like to offer some final advice on nightshades. Do you struggle with leaky gut symptoms like joint problems, acne, eczema, brain fog and bloating? If so, I think it’s a good idea to eliminate all potential foods that can trigger symptoms. 

So say nighty-night to nightshades. If a nightshade-free-diet can help Tom, it may help you stay in the ballgame of life, too.

Lost Your Mojo, Dude? Best Ways To Boost Male Libido

Chef V

Veronica and Brandon in bed

Is your man having an affair? Or does he just need to get his mojo back? Chef V shares some tips on the best ways to boost libido in men. 

Is your man feeling less manly lately? Tell him not to worry. Considering the stressful times of the last 18 months he’s certainly not alone. As I mentioned in the intro to my recent post, “Best Foods for Great S-E-X” lots of couples were getting it on more than normal in the first weeks of the pandemic because of the lockdown. 

But gradually over the last several months, many a manly man’s libido has plummeted. And it’s no fault of their own. And just like any normal year, there’s a one-word answer to blame for the loss of mojo: STRESS. 

Throw in a pandemic and many men may be tempted to solve the loss of desire by taking the little blue pill. But taking a little blue pill is the equivalent of going into battle without ammunition. Erectile dysfunction (ED) pills help raise the roof but don’t solve the problem of wanting to raise it in the first place. 

Now, before I reveal what I believe are the best tips for boosting your guy’s desire, let’s explore the main reasons why he doesn’t feel like getting it on in the first place. Remember, it’s not his fault and he needs to know that. 

men's libido and stress

Root Causes of Low Libido In Men

And it’s not just COVID anxiety that’s to blame for stress and a decrease in male libido. Other lifestyle factors such as drinking too much alcohol, taking recreational drugs, not getting enough antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet … these can all contribute to a loss of desire. 

—> Not getting enough antioxidants in your diet but don’t have time to cook healthy or don’t like the taste of leafy green veggies? Drink ‘em up. 

If we’re to believe the TV commercials, however, low libido in men is caused by the simple root cause of “low testosterone” or low T. 

But having low T is merely a symptom of chronic stress. And when your body is frequently in fight or flight mode the normal hormonal pathways are interrupted. You can think of hormonal pathways as a superhighway matrix. But if there’s an accident, on this superhighway, things get backed up and testosterone production plummets.

If your guy is frequently suffering from low libido, I recommend that he get a sex hormone panel test. A healthy level of testosterone is at least 300 ng/dl. 

Supposing that testosterone levels are indeed low, your guy’s doctor probably won’t educate him about how chronic stress zaps the body of a hormone that’s a precursor to testosterone. This hormone is called pregnenolone. When pregnenolone is “shifted” from its usual metabolic highway, less testosterone is produced. 

Chef V mens libido good

Reversing Chronic Stress To Increase Libido

Hey, no news flash here but it’s important to go over the fact that stress management techniques are a must for normalizing hormones and increasing male libido. Spending at least 45 minutes a day walking in a beautiful natural setting like the beach or the woods. Power off your phone while you’re out in nature. 

Yoga, meditation, tai-chi and qigong are also excellent ways to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite of your body’s overstimulated ‘fight or flight’ sympathetic nervous system.  

Added sugars also cause stress to the body. And when it comes to sexy time, the extra sweet stuff can impair blood flow to the sexual organs. If your guy likes to have a few beers, it’s important he knows that alcohol, at least in my book, is the same as added sugar. 

Eating a clean, low-sugar, low-simple-carb diet, getting daily exercise and practicing stress-management techniques is a great way to kick start male libido. 

ginseng twigs

Best Supplements For Male Sexual Desire & Performance

But sometimes we all need a helping hand. And who better to turn to for help in the bedroom than Mother Nature herself? She’s held the wisdom and secrets of great love making throughout the ages…

Here, then, are some of the best research-backed botanicals and nutrients for supporting male libido:

  • Yohimbe bark: From the bark of the African yohimbe tree, this botanical is legendary for supporting virility. It stimulates the nervous system without raising heartbeat rate or blood pressure.
  • Tongkat Ali root: Research shows it leads to free-testosterone concentrations in men.
  • Tribulus: Known as a longevity herb in Chinese medicine.
  • Zinc: It’s not just for immune support. Turns out this mineral, to quote Healthline, “has a positive effect on arousal and maintaining an erection.” SHWING!
  • Vitamin B12: Supports energy levels and stamina. As men (and women) age, vitamin B12 levels tend to decline.
  • Fenugreek seed: “Researchers found that men taking fenugreek can boost their sex drive by at least a quarter,” says an article in WashingtonPost.com.
  • Rhodiola root: An adaptogenic herb, this stress-neutralizing plant influences mood-regulating neurotransmitters, dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin, all of which are key to sexual function and libido.
  • Other adaptogens: Adaptogenic herbs are known as adaptogens because they help the body adapt to stress and normalize bodily functions. This includes restoring balance to sex hormones. Other examples include ginseng, maca and astragalus. 

mens libido high

Conclusion: Give Him Time To Get It On

Before you rush out to your local pharmacy or shop online for these herbs and nutrients for your man, keep in mind that you don’t have to purchase every single one. Taking one or two at a time can yield impressive, noticeable results. But because these are not pharmaceutical drugs, these results may take much longer than a little blue pill to take effect. 

But all good things come to those who wait!

Chef V, Veronica Wheat and husband Brandon Kress

Are You Eating The Perfect Amount Of Protein?

Chef V

arms holding weights

Certified Nutritional Therapist, Veronica Wheat, founder of ChefV.com, has  surprising news about the protein intake for the average American. Find out if your protein consumption is supporting your health…

I couldn’t believe it when I came across a study that said that most Americans aren’t eating enough protein. 

Seriously? We’re the land of burgers. Steak. Wings. Chicken fingers. Bacon. Pork chops. Protein powders. And enough dairy products till the cows come home…

So how can most Americans be deficient in protein? Aren’t most Americans getting too much? Never mind that most Americans’ protein intake consists of factory-farmed meat and dairy. I’m not talking about protein quality here … just straight up grams of protein. 

Well, a study from the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging examined the food intake of nearly 12,000 participants. Based on the data, a third of the people were eating 30 grams of protein LESS than they should be. 

30 grams of protein is roughly half the amount of protein that an average woman should consume every day. That’s a huge amount of protein that the study participants were missing. 

salmon, nuts, beef, protein sources

How Much Protein Should You Eat Every Day?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein is 56 grams per day for men and 46 grams per day for women. This is not a one-size-fits-all recommendation. For example, if you lift weights or are pregnant (like yours truly; I need a minimum of 60 grams per day according to UCSF), you’ll need more. 

It seems really easy to eat 50-60 grams of protein per day. And again, I bet you, like me, think that most Americans are getting way more protein than that. I came across articles that suggest this. Like this one that says “Most Americans eat twice the protein they need.” 

But here’s the shocking truth. According to the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the average person consumes far less protein than they need. In fact, some estimates suggest that up to 80% of the population may be protein deficient.

What about you? Are you getting enough protein in your diet? Before we try and figure that out, let’s review why getting enough of this macronutrient is so essential for your health. 

RELATED ARTICLES

Plant Based Protein Vs Plant-Based Meat

Protein Powder: What you Need to Know 

The Power of Pea Protein

Chef V’s Protein Balls

Top Benefits of Protein In The Diet

Sinking your teeth into a morsel of protein not only tastes good and curbs hunger. 

(Sorry, I have to interject here that I’m a natural plant-based protein advocate. I recommend limiting animal protein to relatively clean, healthy sources like wild salmon.)

And here’s other reasons why you need to eat enough protein every day. 

  • Contains amino acids that support healthy skin
  • Boosts metabolism 
  • Prevents muscle loss and bone fractures
  • Repairs and builds lean muscle
  • Maintains strong nails and lustrous hair
  • Regulates blood sugar levels
  • Supports the immune system

And last but not least, for women, eating enough protein has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. In fact, a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association says that PLANT-BASED protein lowers risk of premature death, heart disease and dementia. 

But here’s the thing about protein. You have to eat enough of it every day. That’s because our bodies don’t store excess protein to be used for repairing and supporting the body when needed. 

Nope, excess protein, unfortunately, just like carbs, gets stored as body fat. 


21-day-detox

Why Are People Not Getting Enough Protein? 

With so many protein sources to choose from, what are the reasons many people are protein deficient? 

For starters, blame it on fast food culture. Most people in the U.S. do not lead a European lifestyle. We rush from one project and appointment to the next. We’re always on the go. We don’t take the time to make well-balanced, nourishing meals. 

Instead, many of us wolf down a sandwich for lunch. Then late at night, to make up for the lack of calories consumed during the day, many people snack on processed foods. But those chips, crackers and pretzels barely have any protein. Plus they’re loaded with cheap, rancid vegetable oils and excess sodium. 

—-> Don’t have time to eat healthy? Then drink healthy every morning. It’s easy and delivered fresh to your front door. Learn more about Chef V Delivery Plan.

Another reason that some people don’t eat enough protein is they simply don’t realize they need more of it. Older people, especially, need more protein to prevent muscle wasting. 

The bottom line is that for many people, it’s feast or famine with protein. One day you’re eating a whole steak for dinner. And then the next, it’s back to toast and coffee for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch and then spaghetti for dinner. That’s not enough protein. 

almond milk

How Can You Tell If You’re Protein Deficient

Here’s how you can tell if you need to up your protein intake:

  • You’re frequently tired and have low energy
  • You have cravings for snacky foods, especially anything with added sugars
  • You feel weak
  • You get sick often
  • You’re moody and irritable

You can easily keep track of your protein intake with apps, many of which are free or low cost. Remember, aim for a minimum of 50 grams a day. I think a little more is actually ideal, so shoot for 60 if you’re a female and 70 for men. The standard formula is 0.8 grams for every 2.2 pounds you weigh. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you should eat 55 grams of protein a day. 

To determine how much of a food you need to eat, try this chart from cancerdietician.com.


chart of protein in foods

Best Protein Sources

Here are my favorite protein sources:

  • Chef V’s Ultra Vegan Protein Shake (which comes with Chef V’s CLEANSE  programs). 
  • Lentils (make sure they are pre-soaked to avoid bloating)
  • Beans (same issue as lentils)
  • Non-processed soy (tempeh, edamame)
  • Nuts
  • Nut milks
  • Eggs (pasture-raised only)
  • Salmon and other sustainable wild-caught fish.

wild salmon in river

How Can You Get Enough Protein?

In our land of abundance, getting enough protein should not be hard. I recommend eating protein three times a day. Every morning, I begin my day with a 16 ounce serving of Organic Green Drink. About half an hour later, I’ll make a smoothie with vegan protein powder like brown rice or pea. I always include protein with lunch and dinner. And if you need some healthy meal creation ideas, check out my recipes here as well as my e-book, Making Cleansing Easier, which is included with all my CLEANSE and DETOX programs.  

Protein is a dish, best served hot or cold every day.


Making Cleansing Easier book

Your Body Has An Internal Bliss Chemical, Anandamide.

Jean Yates

anandamide

Your Body Has An Internal Bliss Chemical, Anandamide. Here’s How To Activate It…

How do you bliss out?

Yoga retreat (can’t wait to do one of those again!)? Essential oil bath? A day at a spa? Meditation?

All these external, get-your-Zen-on rituals are fantastic for stress-management.

But I bet you didn’t know that deep within your body’s miraculous inner-workings is a neurotransmitter that when activated, can help you feel more joyous. And the best part about it is you don’t need to spend hundreds of bucks on a yoga retreat to activate this chemical.

The catch is that anandamide, the bliss chemical I’m talking about, needs to be activated over and over again. It’s effects are very short-lived. But in a little bit, I’ve got some great tips for you on how to frequently stay stoked.

anandamide and THC

Anandamide: A Molecular Mirror of Marijuana

First, though, a little background on this bliss chemical.  If you’re wondering why you never learned about it in high school chemistry, there’s a couple good reasons. For starters, anandamide wasn’t discovered until 1992.

And second, researchers discovered it is because they were studying how THC—the chemical in marijuana that makes users feel high—interacts with certain receptors in the brain. That’s not something a high school chemistry curriculum covers.

In 1988, specific THC receptors in the brain were discovered. A few years later, anandamide was singled out as the molecule that most closely resembles the molecular structure of THC.

Anandamide is Sanskrit (the ancient language of India) for “extreme joy” or “bliss”. The molecule plays a role in memory, pain, depression, appetite and even fertility.

So … am I getting at that the best way to stimulate anandamide and feel ecstatic bliss is by getting high?

It’s quite the opposite actually. Research shows that too much anandamide stimulation induces forgetfulness. That’s why if you smoke pot, you may forget where you’ve put your keys. Although similar in molecular structure to THC, whatever joy one feels from anandamide is very short lived, unlike pot, which can make you feel high for hours. Anandamide breaks down very rapidly.

The trick to feeling steady joy throughout the day, then, is not by getting high off the wacky weed…

CBD and anandamide

Feel Normal By Activating The Endocannabinoid System

One way to activate anandamide is by using the second most common chemical compound in cannabis sativa: CBD. CBD doesn’t get you high like THC. CBD comes from industrial hemp and marijuana. It’s legal in all 50 states as long as it comes from hemp and contains less than 0.3% THC.

CBD works by indirectly activating two types of receptors—CB1 and CB2—in the endocannabinoid system (the ECS). The ECS is definitely something that should be taught in high school chemistry. Consisting of receptors all over the body, the ECS is like your body’s internal health spa. Anandamide stimulates the ECS, and in doing so, promotes a state of homeostasis.

If there’s anything in life that you should wish for, it’s homeostasis. Homeostasis is a perfect state of balance. All body systems are functioning as they should. Mood, appetite, detoxification, digestion, immunity are normal. Everything is peachy keen when the body achieves homeostasis.

But CBD alone isn’t the answer to activating anandamide and feeling great. First of all, many CBD products, because they are not regulated and new to the market, are garbage. I highly recommend CBD but only if it’s full-spectrum CBD oil grown organically and sold by a company that prominently shows on its website 3rd-party- verified lab results for every batch it sells. This way, purity is guaranteed.

cbd oil

Best Foods For Bliss

There’s a good reason why eating certain meals or individual foods makes you feel happy. Eating ice cream or a donut elicits a feeling of guilty pleasure. But one reason why the pleasure is short-lived is because, as mentioned above, the effects of anandamide quickly wear off. After anandamide binds to its receptor, the molecule quickly dies.

Certain foods, however, can activate anandamide in just the right amount. And in doing so, the ECS is better able to promote homeostasis. (Remember: anandamide is a chemical in your body that activates receptors in the ECS.)

Jump for Joy with Organic Green Drink 

And wouldn’t you know it, in researching this topic, I’ve discovered yet another selling point for my Organic Green Drink. It turns out that certain cruciferous green veggies such as kale (one of the 7 veggies in my Green Drink recipe; actually there are 2 types of kales!) are rich in a compound contained in sulfur called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane interacts with the ECS and prevents the breakdown of anandamide.

There’s a lot of times I get up in the morning, feeling a bit on the groggy side even if I got plenty of sleep the night before. Then, after drinking some water and then having some Green Drink, I feel great … back to normal! After reading about this fascinating bliss chemical, I wonder if that blissed-out feeling I get after having my daily morning Green Drink is because of anandamide activation?

The key to promoting balance in your body is to keep fueling your cells with high-nutrient density foods that prevent anandamide breakdown. Using essential oils (especially citrus, eucalyptus and lavender) also stimulate the body’s internal cannabinoid receptors. So on that note, off I go to take a nice relaxing bath…

Chef V and kale

5 Best Homeopathic Remedies For a Cold free, Healthy Spring

Jean Yates

Veronica Wheat, aka Chef V, the innovator behind Organic Green Drink and cleanse/detox programs, is all about using all-natural solutions to improve health. This last winter, lots of people were nailed by colds and flu. In this article, Chef V takes a look at homeopathy and the best homeopathic remedies for quickly kicking colds to the curb – in any season.

What a crazy winter it’s been! I feel bad for anybody who has recently moved to San Diego, where I live and home to Chef V’s West Coast headquarters. It has been insanely rainy, blustery and cold. In fact, just the other night, we had a hailstorm that dusted our back yard with strange-looking white stuff. SNOW! In San Diego!

Add to that insanity the fact that I’m now pregnant and, during the last rain storm, our condo got flooded! But hey, enough about my first world problems. Let’s talk about you. How are you handling this bizarre winter? If you’ve been struck down by a cold or flu, what’s the quickest way to get over it and feel like yourself again? Spring is just about here, and now is the time to conquer a cold.

Have you ever heard of homeopathy or homeopathic remedies? If not, let’s dive in. 

homeopathic dried herbs

What is Homeopathy? 

Out of all the alternative and complementary forms of medicine like acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, etc., I think homeopathy is the most fascinating. That’s because it’s the only form of healing to my knowledge that operates on the principle of “like cures like.” 

What “like cures like” means is that one natural substance can cause symptoms in a totally healthy person while the same substance can be used to treat the same symptoms in a healthy person.

Let me give you an example. Take onions for instance. If you’re a chef like me, you’ve probably experienced watery, itchy eyes when chopping onions. So if my eyes are fine to begin with, onions make my eyes water. However, and here’s where homeopathy is so interesting … If I already have watery, itchy eyes because of an allergy, a trace amount of onion in a homeopathic solution can relieve my symptoms. 

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How Old Is Homeopathy?

Unlike other modalities like acupuncture that date back thousands of years, homeopathic remedies are the relatively new kid on the block. Invented in the late 1700s by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy, like other forms of holistic medicine, doesn't just treat symptoms. The idea is to treat the whole individual. 

Another example of the “like treats like” principle was discovered serendipitously (by accident) like Viagra by Hahnemann himself. Searching for a treatment for malaria, Hahnemann was turned on to the bark from a South American tree called cinchona. Not sure what dose to take, Hahnemann took a high dose of the tree bark extract and developed malaria-like symptoms.  

It’s fitting that homeopathy was invented in Germany because in modern times, homeopathy remains widely accepted even in the mainstream medical community. This is widely different from the attitude that mainstream medicine has towards homeopathy here in the U.S., which is downright hostility. 


21-day-detox

How Does Homeopathy Work? 

It’s easy to see why some people think homeopathy is a snake-oil disguised as medicine. (If you’re curious, the best homeopathic remedy for snake bites: ledum palustre, aka Labrador tea.)

This is because homeopathic remedies are extremely diluted in water or alcohol. You can say that the “trace essence” or the “spirit” of the homeopathic remedy—usually a plant, mineral, or even a virus—is what’s left. The highly-diluted remedies are supposed to kickstart the body’s natural healing processes. In homeopathy, the dilution process is based on the principle of potentization. Basically, the remedy is vigorously shaken each time after it’s diluted. This action is what theoretically increases its potency. 

Again, it’s easy to see why mainstream medicine bashes homeopathy because of these woo-hoo principles. But there are plenty of people who swear by it. I’m not here to take an official position on it. I just want to introduce it to you as an option for when you’ve got a nasty cold or flu. It’s up to you to decide whether homeopathy is right for you. Millions of people around the world have successfully used homeopathy. Whether it’s because of a placebo effect or the remedies actually work, who is to say. 

pasqueflower

pasqueflower – used to make Pulsatilla

Best Homeopathic Remedies for Colds and Allergies

As I mentioned, it’s a nasty cold and flu season, at least out here in the west, where it’s been COLD A.F. (Earmuffs, little one in my belly.)

Here are 5 homeopathic cold, flu and allergy remedies. 

  1. Allium cepa: Remember the onion example? Well, that’s what allium is (garlic, too). Made from red onion, allium is used for symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes.
  2. Oscillococcinum® is a patented homeopathic medicine that is made from a 1% solution of wild duck heart and liver extract. Obviously, you’ll pass on it if you’re a vegetarian. But keep in mind it’s diluted 200 times with water and alcohol. So the true amount of animal parts is like a grain of sand on a beach. 
  3. Arsenicum album – Ingesting arsenic can kill you, but a homeopathic remedy with a trace amount of arsenic may help sneezing, coughing, and  sore throats. 
  4. Nux vomica – Although it sounds way too similar to “vomit” this remedy can help you if you have a stuffy nose, headache, and feel like a whiny bitch (the less politically incorrect term: irritable). And don’t be turned off by the fact that it’s made from strychnine. Hey, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? 
  5. Pulsatilla – This one’s good for nasty mucus and noses that think they’re running a marathon. Vegetarians will delight that it’s made not from weird animal parts but the pasqueflower. 

For best results, I recommend not self-treating but actually visiting a homeopathic practitioner. Or at the very least, research the bejeezus out of it to make sure you’re taking the right remedy not only for your symptoms but other patterns. 

nux vomica tree

nux vomica evergreen tree used to make nux vomica

Does Research Support Homeopathy?

Like I said, your average mainstream whitecoat probably has a negative opinion about homeopathy. Most of Google’s top listings for the search “is homeopathy effective” links to articles that bashing it. 

Yet for every article that bashes it, you’ll find a study that supports it.

Here’s one study from Brazil that examined the effects of administering homeopathic remedies to 445 children. The conclusion of the study:

“These results suggest that the use of homeopathic medicines minimized the number of flu and acute respiratory infection symptomatic episodes in children, signalizing that the homeopathic prophylactic potential should be investigated in further studies.”

In another peer-reviewed study, the researchers made a bold statement: “There is little evidence that the decongestant, antihistamine, or cough suppressant medications commonly used to treat cold symptoms in preschool children are effective.”

So the researchers set out to see if 154 kids ages 2-5 years old who were diagnosed with an upper respiratory tract infection would get better when given a commercial homeopathic cold syrup versus a placebo. The syrup was given to them for 3 days. The outcome of the study was that the homeopathic syrup “appeared to be effective in reducing the severity of cold symptoms in the first day after beginning treatment.”

In another study, this one published in Global Pediatric Health, the efficacy of a commercial brand of homeopathic medicine called Influcid was examined. The 2016 study recruited 261 kids in Germany and Ukraine. Researchers concluded that the group treated with Influcid used less medication and their symptoms were resolved significantly earlier. Not only that, the kids had higher proportions of fever-free from day 3 onwards. 

remedy used in study

Cleanse Your System To Fine Tune Your Immune System

Maybe you’ve been eating like crap lately? And not exercising. And maybe you’ve had a lot of stress and you’re not managing it …well, if you recently have been sick, doing a CHEF V Cleanse is the best way to reboot your immune system and your digestive system. 

Choose between a 5 DAY, 3 DAY or 1 DAY CLEANSE. 

That’s all the work you have to do. Chef V will take care of the rest. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHEF V CLEANSE

Chef V eating mac and cheese

3 Easy Ways To Stay Healthy in Flu Season – and Beyond!

Chef V

Nobody likes getting sick. And with winter winding down to spring, it’s the time of year that will most likely challenge your immune system. So Veronica “V” Wheat, aka Chef V, has some tips to increase your chances of staying healthy this spring…

cherry blossoms

You shouldn’t succumb to the fear-mongering that the media is hyping over this year’s flu season. Sure, it’s true that more people will get the flu this year in comparison to the last couple of years now that most people have gone back to resuming a normal life. Still, there are some relatively simple ways you can support your immune system this time of year.

Zero Added Sugar Diet

If you’re a Chef V follower, the advice to minimize or, better yet, completely ditch added sugars probably sounds like a broken record. But when we talk about the negative effects of sugar, it usually pertains to how it expands our waistline and spikes our blood sugar levels and leads to energy crashes and moodiness.

But when it comes to the cold and flu season, one of the biggest influencers on your immune system is your sugar intake.

Now, it’s one thing if you’re eating ice cream and other sweet treats in the summer. Of course, you can get sick in the summer, too. But most people can offset the increase in sugar consumption because they are getting outside more often for exercise. And even just spending time outside without breaking a sweat has positive effects on the immune system, research shows.

But in the colder months, we don’t get outside nearly as much and we’re breathing stale air. So we’re spending more time indoors. Add to that the temptation of sweet treats at holiday parties and it’s easy to see why many people’s immune systems get overwhelmed this time of year.

That’s why it’s so important to snack on healthy, zero-added-sugar treats this time of year. Because as a recent research study shows, “a high amount of glucose [sugar] may lead to impaired function of the immune system and pathological conditions.”

Researchers explain that when you eat a lot of sugar, your body produces excessive amounts of proteins (cytokines) that trigger inflammation. More inflammation in the body increases your chances of getting sick.

This is why it’s super important to keep your added sugars to as close to zero as possible. So instead of sweetening your tea or coffee with any kind of sugar (even if it’s organic cane sugar, it’s still sugar), use stevia or monk fruit extract. And if you love baking this time of year, you can also use sugar alcohols like xylitol. They may cause bloating in some people with sensitive GI systems.

electrolytes

Vitamin D & Vitamin K

This time of year, the sun’s ultraviolet rays are too weak for your skin to make vitamin D3. (Not to mention that when it’s cold out, you don’t expose that much skin.) This is one thing I don’t have to worry about as much because I live in San Diego, which is far south enough for vitamin D synthesis.

Yet, just to be on the safe side, I take a vitamin D3 supplement. After all, it can get chilly in San Diego this time of year. And it’s super important to mention that not just any vitamin D supplement will do. The one I take also has vitamin K, which helps vitamin D absorption and helps guide calcium into the bones instead of where it doesn’t belong like the arteries.

It is important to get outside, – you get a double positive. Getting outside is both a natural source of Vitamin D and a way to keep up a healthy exercise routine. Walking, skiing, or even pushups in the snow – there's an exercise for everyone.

pushups in the snow

Nutrient-Rich Diet

This tip applies to anytime during the year, but it’s never more vital than right now. In order to satisfy your appetite and get vital nutrients to support your immune system, start eating more stews and soups. Now’s also the time to start eating lots of antioxidant-rich veggies like winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and roasted beets.

And there’s no easier way to get your daily dose of immune-supporting green, leafy veggies than with a Chef V Organic Green Drink plan.

Finally, don’t forget to get plenty of sleep, stay active and keep your alcohol consumption to a minimum at holiday parties.

Stay healthy, friend!

V


Chef V

Chef V’s Fire Cider

Chef V

My Chef V Fire Cider is sold in our store but if you prefer, you can make it at home with this recipe. My recipe uses healthy organic ingredients, blended fresh.
This Fire Cider is a natural anti-viral & antifungal. It is great for boosting immunity or getting rid of a sore throat or cold. It has a nice kick to it, hence the name “Fire” Cider. I use my Fire Cider all year long but especially in the winter when I need to boost my immunity and fight colds.

fire cider

Ingredients

  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar
  • 2 lemons, quartered
  • 1/4 jalapeno, sliced, including seeds
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp. horseradish
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 tbsp fresh turmeric, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tbsp. Coconut nectar (optional)

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large container with a lid.
  2. Store in the fridge for 2 days to marinate for up to one month.
  3. To use the fire cider, strain through a cheesecloth or tiny strainer.
  4. Consume 1-2 oz and watch the magic happen.

(Can marinate up to one month.)

A Low FODMAP Diet: Chef V’s Recipe For Conquering IBS

Chef V

Veronica eating mac and cheese

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IBS Friendly Recipes

What the frick are FODMAPS? Veronica Wheat, aka Chef V, explains what they are and how avoiding foods with high levels of them may greatly reduce Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms. (For more general info on IBS click here.)

“Beans, beans they’re good for your heart … the more you eat the more you FART.”

Anybody with Irritable Bowel Syndrome can tell you that nursery rhyme is all too true. 

For millions of people living with this gastrointestinal disorder, eating foods that are considered healthy—even by dieticians and other so-called experts—can cause severe bloating, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, and yes, toots. Really stinky horrible toots. 

While we’re still waiting for science to invent a magical IBS cure—its exact cause is unknown—what we do know is that certain foods like beans and lentils can trigger IBS symptoms. 

Make no mistake about it, there is no 100% successful IBS intervention. However, one thing that really works for people with IBS is eating a low FODMAP diet. This makes it super important to eat most of your meals at home so that you’re in full control of the ingredients. And if you wanna jump ahead and check out my IBS-friendly recipes, I have a few to share with you here.

man gagging at bad smell

What Does FODMAP Stand For? 

Warning: this acronym is a huge mouthful. I don’t blame you if you won’t be able to digest it, no pun intended. Ready? Here goes: Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. Like I said, what the frick are FODMAPS?

What Are FODMAPS?

OK, so let me explain what that means. The “O” “D” “M” and “P” in the acronym are types of sugars. I’m not talking about simple baking sugar. Rather, these are the carbohydrates (sugar is a carb) that are found in fruits, veggies, grains, lentils and other plant-based foods. 

Some people can digest, say, a can of black beans just fine. But for people living with IBS, the specific type of carbs in the beans (oligosaccharides) don’t digest well in the small intestine. It’s as if the small intestine says, ‘no thanks, I’ll pass on the beans.’ Meanwhile, the beans move mostly undigested into the large intestine where they start fermenting. 


black beans

Isn’t Fermentation Good?

Trendy fermented foods like sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) have a reputation of being super gut healthy. But here’s the thing about fermentation: it basically means the same as rotting. This is not to say that certain fermented foods do not contribute to our health. In fact, foods like sauerkraut are probably better for your gut microbiome than a conventional probiotic supplement. 

However, the problem with certain fermented foods like sauerkraut is that they are higher in FODMAP sugars. And when the FODMAP sugars move along into the large intestine, it’s the fermentation that causes the black-bean-baby-belly and other symptoms. 

mold in petri dish

Low FODMAP Diet Chart

Eating a low FODMAP diet, then, is one of the easiest ways to manage IBS symptoms. And that simply means that you eliminate as much as possible the foods that have the highest level of FODMAPS. 

And to make it easy for you, here’s a list of good and bad FODMAP foods you can print out and take with you to the supermarket and restaurants. 

If you really want to take a deep dive into the science behind FODMAPS, I highly encourage you to check out this resource from Australia’s Monash University. The researchers at Monash are IBS experts and pretty much pioneered the low FODMAP diet. 

Another great resource, especially for people who are newly diagnosed with IBS is the IBS Group forum. You’ll never feel like you’re struggling alone with this condition that can make life a living hell at times… 

you got this in white chalk on asphalt

How Long Do You Need To Eat Low FODMAP For? 

The good news is that even if some of your favorite foods are high FODMAP, it doesn’t mean you have to give them up forever. The low FODMAP diet is basically an elimination phase. I recommend giving up all medium and high FODMAP foods for a minimum of four weeks. 

After that first phase, you can reintroduce one medium or high FODMAP food at a time. Don’t start your reintroduction phase by eating, say, a bowl of pasta and dipping Italian bread into the sauce. 

Personally, I think anybody with IBS should be gluten-free as much as possible but that’s for another topic. The important takeaway is that when you reintroduce medium/high FODMAP foods, do so one at a time. 

For best results, eat that one medium/high FODMAP food for 2-3 days. If no IBS symptoms develop, then you can reintroduce your next favorite high FODMAP food that’s considered healthy like GARLIC and ONIONS.

As long as none of the reintroduced foods give you problems, you can continue to eat them. But for the best chances of IBS symptom prevention, you may want to stick to eating a low FODMAP diet for the foreseeable future.

slicing onions

Conclusion

IBS is a bitch. Imagine not knowing if symptoms are going to flare up when you go out to dinner with friends. This is why it’s so important to memorize the list of  low FODMAP foods. Or like I said, print out a list or snap a pic with your phone. 

There is so much that’s unknown about IBS and for that reason, I’ll leave you with this last piece of advice… If you have really good health insurance or can afford to pay out of pocket, work with a functional medicine doctor or naturopathic doctor, one who has tons of experience working with IBS patients. Do your research and get a referral from someone who has successfully learned to control their IBS. 

In the meantime, pass on the beans. 

Love,  Chef V

Chef V eating mac and cheese

Insomnia, Fatigue, Stress & Weight Loss Success

Chef V

sleep and weight loss

How much you sleep and the quality of your sleep play a crucial part in weight management. For the millions of Americans who suffer from insomnia, the most pressing concern is the stress and anxiety caused by chronic lack of sleep.  

Few people think of the connection between weight management and sleep. I think the link between diet and sleep quality is fascinating. Let's explore…

sleep facts

The Link Between Obesity & Insomnia

But first, let me briefly explain why I think the link between diet and sleep quality is fascinating. Mostly, it’s because few people think of the connection between weight management and sleep. For the millions of Americans who suffer from insomnia, the most pressing concern is the stress and anxiety caused by chronic lack of sleep.

While habit-forming sleeping pills are the most common solution, perhaps the easiest and most overlooked sleep remedy is eating a healthier diet. After all, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the obesity epidemic has been paralleled by a trend of reduced sleep duration and quality.

In 2023, ChefV.com products were the focus of an independent clinical trial by Citrus Labs. The 38 participants who completed a 21 DAY DETOX and then continued on a GREEN DRINK plan for 7 days saw vast improvements in all areas of their life. This includes a 34% reduction in inflammation and an average weight loss of nearly 8 pounds, and a 44% improvement in sleep quality.


research result

Calcium In Leafy Greens

When most people think of the bone-building mineral, calcium, they think of milk and other dairy products. But dairy can promote inflammation in the body. A much better source of calcium is green leafy veggies, like the two kinds of kale in my Green Drink recipe.

Research suggests that if you don’t get enough calcium, you may have a more difficult time falling asleep. But there’s far more sleep benefits in green leafy veggies, according to research. These plants also contain micronutrients which may also influence sleep, such as tryptophan, potassium, magnesium, fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin C, lutein and zeaxanthin, choline, complex carbs, and beta carotene.

And when you drink cold-blended Green Drink, the fiber is preserved. Fiber has been shown to be associated with deeper and more restorative sleep.

Green veggies (and yellow ones) also contain the eye-health promoting antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin. Not only do these antioxidants help you see better in the dark, they also help you sleep better. That’s because lutein and zeaxanthin filter out blue light.

Blue light, which is emitted from your smart phone, TV and other devices interferes with production of the sleep hormone, melatonin.

In addition, green leafy veggies contain lycopene (another great source: tomato paste)  and beta carotene, which have also been associated with less difficulty falling asleep.

chef v and green drink

Selenium For Sleep

The trace mineral, selenium has also been linked to sleep quality. If you eat sustainable sources of seafood along with nuts, you’re getting enough selenium. Brazil nuts are one of the best sources. They are high in calories so make sure you limit the serving size to just one handful.

Besides its effect on sleep, this macronutrient is also linked to immune function and inflammation response.

Vitamin C

Less Vitamin C intake was associated with non-restorative sleep. Red and yellow peppers contain mega C. Brussel sprouts, kale, broccoli, strawberries and cauliflower are other healthy sources rich in C.

Vitamin B6

I don’t eat that much animal protein. But one reason I include wild salmon in my diet (along with the occasional tuna when I’m at a sushi restaurant) is because it contains a good amount of vitamin B6. Among the many benefits of this water-soluble vitamin (also called pyridoxine), one of them is melatonin production.

Magnesium

Magnesium is important for sleep because not getting enough of this mineral in your diet is linked to problems staying asleep. A great source of magnesium is grains. Not all grains are good for you, however, especially ones that don’t have a lot of nutrients and get digested too quickly. Barley, wild rice, amaranth, and triticale are a few examples of magnesium-rich grains that your body takes a long time to digest. (The longer it takes to digest, the less cravings you’ll have.

eat this not that

Don’t Eat This And That If You Want A Good Night’s Sleep

If you want to fall asleep fast, limit your intake of dairy and meat. Palmitic acid is a saturated fat. It’s found in butter, cheese, milk, and meat. One study shows that diets high in palmitic acid led to an increased difficulty in falling asleep. Another study reported rats fed a diet rich in palmitic acid, were unable to regulate their food intake.

The bottom line is that if you want to sleep better, it’s yet another reason you should get lots of green leafy veggies in your diet. I created the Organic Green Drink to make it very easy to get your daily dose of them. So Drink Up!

And if you need more guidance on what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat, when you sign up for a Green Drink Plan, or one of my Cleanse & Detox programs, you’ll receive all my healthy eating guidelines for long-term weight loss success!

To your health,
Veronica — Founder, Chef V

References:

Sleep Symptoms Associated with Intake of Specific Dietary Nutrients

Influence of Dietary Intake on Sleeping Patterns of Medical Students

Sleep and obesity

Chef V and kale

Inflammation Fighters Your Doctor Won’t Tell You

Jean Yates

inflammation

When you hear the word, “inflammation” what comes to mind? You probably think it’s something bad. Well, I’m here to tell you inflammation is great! Wait … what? That’s right, you see, you need a little inflammation in your body.

The inflammation process helps get rid of nasty germs. It also heals injuries. Any time you burn your skin or have some other physical trauma, inflammation comes to the rescue. Your white blood cells, which kick in to fight infections are part of the inflammation process. So, you see, inflammation ain’t so bad….

When you’re healthy, inflammation does a delicate dance. It stays in control, out of sight and mind.

But if you party like a rock star, don’t exercise and eat like crap, here’s what happens….

Certain substances that are in the cells of your immune system and are involved in the inflammation process go crazy. That, of course, isn’t the official scientific explanation. But essentially what happens is, as with the case in autoimmune disease, the inflammation response becomes excessive.  And that’s where my two powerful inflammation fighters come into play: a 21 day Detox, and the use of CBD oil – and CBD oil is getting easier to find across the USA.

CBD oil by mouth

Symptoms of Inflammation

So how do you know if you have inflammation? And what can you do about it? Well, let’s answer the first question.

Beyond the obvious signs of inflammation such as swollen joints or red skin from an injury, here are some signs you may have excessive inflammation:

  • Constantly tired
  • Getting sick often
  • Gaining weight easily and having trouble losing it
  • Digestive issues
  • Skin breakouts
  • Trouble concentrating (brain fog)
  • Headaches

Can you relate to any of these issues? Let’s say you get headaches and acne breakouts from time to time. Sure, you could pop an over-the-counter pain-reliever and use an acne remedy. Problem solved, right? Well, for now, maybe. But putting a “band-aid” on inflammation (no pun intended) does not solve the root cause of inflammation.

But I’m about to share with you 2 things that will greatly reduce it and put your body back in balance….

Chef V 21 day detox contents

21 Day Detox

If you’ve legitimately eating healthy (by that I mean eating minimally-processed-at-most organic plant-based food 90% of the time), and you exercise, and don’t use harsh chemical cleaners at home yet you still have some signs of inflammation, I recommend seeing a functional medicine doctor.

But for most people, it is caused by lifestyle factors. Needless to say, diet is a big one.

And sometimes, it’s not just enough to say to people, “eat a healthy diet.”

Sometimes, you just need somebody to hold your hand.

That’s where I come in.

With a background as a certified nutritional therapist, I created the recipe for my Organic Green Drink. Since then, I’ve created recipes for a plant-based Protein Shake and Detox Soups. These 3 items form the core of my Cleanse and Detox programs.

Now, I’m not just trying to sell you on stuff I sell. My intention is to reset your body and provide you with the lifestyle education you need to keep eating healthy long after you’re done with my cleanse and detox program.

So if you’re ready to dramatically lower your body’s inflammation response, I suggest trying my 21 Day Detox.

The 21 Day Detox combines my 3 Day Cleanse and Healthy Eating recommendations. There’s 3 different plans to choose from: Starter, Classic, Obsessive. The Starter Detox features one 3-Day Cleanse. The Classic has two different stretches of doing the 3 Day Cleanse and the Obsessive has three. For each day during the 3 Day Cleanse phase, here’s what you’ll get in these powerful fighters:

  • Four 16-oz servings of Organic Green Drink
  • 2 packets of Chocolate Vegan Protein Shake
  • 1 container of Detox Soup (either Sweet Potato Curry or Ginger Carrot Zing)

For the rest of the time you’re doing the 21 day detox, you’ll get a 16oz Green Drink and Protein Shake each day. I recommend having those two for breakfast. Then, you have lunch and dinner. I provide you with a meal planner, as well as a Healthy Eating Guide, which includes a “Eat This, Not That” easy-to-follow chart, and a Healthy Portions chart.

We deliver the Green Drinks, Protein Shakes and Detox Soups right to your front door. And you’ll get my healthy eating advice emailed as soon as you order.

If you’re suffering from excessive inflammation, doing a 21 Day Detox could finally provide the relief you’re looking for.

And not only that, it will educate and inspire you to stick with healthy eating habits long after the 3 weeks are over.

Chef V 21 day detox

Chef V

5 Easy Ways To Stay Positive & Healthy

Chef V

Veronica, Brandon, Coco on beach

During the Long Dark Winter…

If you feel like eating tons of comfort food and hibernating this time of year, I don’t blame you. But it’s so important to stay active and healthy this time of year and I’ve got some easy, fun tips to do it!  Get ready for spring – it is almost here!

It’s 5:30 p.m. It’s pitch black outside and freezing. All you feel like doing is plopping down on the couch and vegging out for a few hours. If that’s what you’re feeling, should you give in? After all, aren’t you supposed to listen to your body? And if your body is telling you that you should grab the cashmere comforter, a few of your favorite snacks, a glass of wine and the remote … well … what's wrong with that?

There’s certainly nothing wrong with chillaxing—from time to time. But if that’s how you’re gonna roll from late fall until early- or mid-spring when the weather finally warms up and the days are longer, that’s not going to be good for your mental or physical health. 

So next time you’re feeling the winter blues, follow these tips to get ready for spring:

woman meditating

Stay Positive & Healthy This Tip #1: Meditate In Bed

This may not come as a shock but it’s important to state: In general, people who meditate on a regular basis are happier, calmer, and better able to attract what they want in life. There’s lots of research to support this—at least the part about people who meditate being more positive and calmer. 

The problem with meditation is that for people who have never tried it, it seems intimidating. But learning anything new is challenging. Beyond that, though, another problem with meditation is that many people assume that you have to sit completely still in the lotus position like a Buddhist monk, with your legs twisted into a pretzel. But that’s not the case at all…

I recommend starting each day meditating before you get out of bed, lying flat on your back. So how do you meditate? It’s simple. Listen to a meditation app. Try a guided meditation, which will tell you exactly when to breathe in and breathe out. Or, if you’d rather just listen to soothing meditative music, with Tibetan singing bowls or other ethereal sonic blissed out sounds, there’s no shortage of YouTube videos or smartphone apps for that. 

Start each morning with a 10-minute meditation before you get out of bed. It will really set the stage for an awesome rest of your day. 

woman performing yoga pose

Tip #2: 5 Minute Yoga Routine

After you’re done with your meditation routine (and your potty routine), despite how tired you are, force yourself to do a 5-minute yoga routine. 

Until the weather warms up and spring arrives, If you live in an apartment without central heating, before you start your meditation practice in bed, turn on your space heater in the living room where you do yoga. Get the room nice and toasty. If you’re not sure which 5-minute yoga routine to do or how to do yoga at all, there’s a ton of intro yoga videos, many of them free. 

I recommend doing a flow that keeps your body moving, from cat/cow to downward/upward dog or sun salutations. After just 5 minutes of a continuous flow yoga practice, you’ll feel like a new person, totally energized, in good spirits and ready to take on the day’s challenges. Try my easy yoga pose routine to stress less, feel better.

healthy snacks on a tray with flowers

Tip #3: Seasonal Snacking

Let’s fast forward to the evening hours when there’s no kids around, all your work and errands are done and it’s tempting to get your Netflix on and snack away. This is the most challenging part of the day. Because even if you were successful at incorporating meditation and a mini yoga session or two (or other activity), succumbing to late-night snacking can sabotage all your healthy habits from earlier in the day. 

And just like meditation is associated with a more positive attitude, snacking is more associated with depression. 

So what can you do when it’s 9:00 at night and it’s time to watch a few episodes of your favorite show? Personally, I try to stop eating and drinking anything with calories by 8:00—unless I’m going out to dinner. Studies on the health impacts of late-night eating are conflicting. 

If you have type I diabetes, it may be essential to have a late-night snack to prevent dangerous blood-sugar drops. If you want to manage blood sugar levels and don’t have type I diabetes, however, eating late at night has been shown to contribute to metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

But other studies suggest that having a small meal before bed does not appear to be harmful—especially if you exercise on a regular basis. 

I realize that not everybody can resist the temptation to eat something. So if you are going to eat while watching TV on the couch late at night, eat a healthy, delicious mini-meal. 

My favorite healthy mini-meals are seasonal roasted veggies with some healthy fats and spices. 

    • Sweet potato with a tbsp of grass-fed butter and a dash of cinnamon
    • Brussel sprouts with avocado oil and sea salt and pepper
    • Carrots with hummus and 'Everything But the Bagel' spice (Trader Joe’s) or Zhatar
    • High-fiber toast (100% rye) with canned pumpkin and a dash of local raw honey
    • Almond flour crackers with cucumbers and lemon and pepper seasoning

I’m not going to demonize late-night snacking. The temptation is much too great. But do try your best to avoid all snacks with white flour and wheat flour (even 100% wheat). These common flours get metabolized too quickly. That means they turn into sugar and get stored by the liver as extra body fat. 

But the healthy mini-meal snacks above metabolize slowly and may even help to keep blood sugar levels within a normal, healthy range. 

Veronica reading in bed with Brandon

Tip #4: Read

When’s the last time you read a good book? Many people go all day and all night staring at screens, hardly, if ever looking at printed pages, with the exception maybe of a restaurant menu. 

Reading actual books keeps your mind sharp. And when you get in bed, opening a book gets your mind and body ready for restful sleep. Sorry, reading on a tablet isn’t the same. In fact, studies show that the blue light emanating from tablets at night lowers sleep quality. 

“The use of commercially-available tablets may have consequences in terms of alertness, circadian physiology, and sleep,” the researchers concluded. Reading books has several health benefits, including keeping your mind sharp, reducing depressive symptoms, lowering blood pressure and heart rate. 

So crack open a book and get reading. If you fall asleep after reading just one page, so be it. Let reading be your best sleeping pill.

Tip #5: Eat Before You Party

When I’m invited to a party, I never know what kind of food will be served. Will it be pigs in a blanket, deli finger sandwiches and chips and dip? Most of the time, you get what you pay for, and if the food is free, it’s going to be low quality. So what I do is I have a little Organic Green Drink and then a little later, about an hour or two before the holiday party starts, I’ll eat a full healthy meal. That way, I won’t fill my belly with empty carbs and veggies that have likely been sprayed with pesticides. 

I’ll still indulge a little bit because I’m only human and when in Rome, ya know…

Hopefully, following these tips will keep you more positive and healthier this winter. 

Cheers,  Chef V

Organic Eggs Aren’t Necessarily Eggceptional

Jean Yates

organic eggs

Organic Eggs Aren’t Necessarily Eggceptional For Health

If it’s organic, you’re not supposed to panic, right? 

Well, depending on what brand you purchase, organic eggs might not be all that they’re cracked up to be. 

Before I explain why, let me just weigh in on whether or not eggs are healthy in the first place. Out of all the common foods you can buy in a supermarket, eggs are definitely one of the most controversial. Eggs are supposed to be the perfect food, offering protein, essential fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. 

On the other hand, eggs are super high in cholesterol. Just one egg contains about 70% of the suggested daily limit of dietary cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol doesn’t affect your blood cholesterol levels that much, maybe like 10%. However, some people have a genetic predisposition to developing heart disease, which is caused by a narrowing and hardening of the blood vessels, which is caused by cholesterol buildup in the arteries. 

Even a 10% influence on blood cholesterol can have a huge impact if you’re predisposed to cardiovascular disease. And the only way to know for sure if that’s you is to get a genetic test. The safe thing to do until you get a genetic test is to limit your consumption of eggs. (You can order a DNA cholesterol test online). 

Personally, I’m not a big fan of eggs. If I’m at brunch, maybe I’ll share an omelette. But it’s rare for me to make eggs at home. For one thing, I barely ever eat breakfast. Instead, I just have a Green Drink and then later in the morning I might have a plant-based protein smoothie (with brown rice protein or pea protein powder). 

But for those of you who love eggs and think organic eggs are super healthy, I have some bad news to share with you in a little bit…

chickens in yard

Why Organic Eggs Are Healthier

For sure, it’s important to buy organic for certain types of foods. For instance, I always buy organic produce–and use organic produce for Chef V Green Drinks. Non-organic produce contains the same amount of nutrients as organic but also is heavily sprayed with pesticides like glyphosate, the main active ingredient in Roundup weed killer. 

But for foods like eggs with a hard external barrier (the shell), does buying organic really matter? 

The answer is yes, for two main reasons. For starters, unlike produce, organic eggs are more nutritious than their conventionally grown counterparts. A study from Penn State University found that organic chicken eggs contain three times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids, 40% more vitamin A and twice the amount of vitamin E. 

The other reason to eat organic eggs instead of non-organic is that they are free from antibiotics. 

And here’s one more factor in favor of organic over conventional eggs: they contain less arsenic, which is a natural Earth element but highly toxic. Think about these facts the next time you eat eggs at a greasy-spoon diner.

I don’t want you to freak out about eating the occasional egg or two. But reading this should give you food for thought about eating conventional eggs.

organic eggs rated

Not All Organic Eggs Are Created Equal

Now here’s the thing I was shocked to read. According to this Egg Scorecard by Cornucopia, some of the most well-known brands of organic eggs are rated barely better than a conventional egg. 

So if you’re buying organic eggs from the following brands, you might be fooled into thinking that the chickens have been raised in very humane environments:

  • Costco (Kirkland brand)
  • 365 Organic (Whole Foods)
  • Walmart
  • Horizon 
  • Simply Nature (Aldi)
  • Harris Teeter Naturals (Kroger)
  • Sun Valley (Smart & Final)
  • Fairway Market
  • Trader Joe’s
  • Sprout’s
  • Wegman’s
  • Publix
  • Chino Valley Ranchers

These brands were rated by Cornucopia as one egg on a five egg scale. That means the chickens didn’t have meaningful access to the outdoors and the opening often leads to a concrete porch, not a bucolic pasture where the chickens roam free all day. 

Plus, the gateway to the porch is intentionally small so that the chickens aren’t encouraged to go outside in the first place. Essentially, these brands are not much better than industrial, non-organic eggs. I can’t say I’m that totally surprised to have read this info. But I was disappointed that one of my favorite supermarkets, Trader Joe’s, doesn’t have better quality eggs. 

shopping for eggs

Splurge For High Quality Organic Eggs

My take on eggs is to treat them like ice cream: to be enjoyed as an occasional treat. And when you enjoy a rare treat, splurge for it. Buy the best quality possible. It might seem ridiculous to buy a carton of eggs for $8. But if I ever buy eggs, I’d purchase them from a farmer’s market, even if a dozen costs $5 more than a supermarket brand. I’d want to know that the eggs I’m eating come from chickens that live in a mansion of a coop, with easy access to the outdoors where they can forage for worms, grubs and whatever else it is that chickens peck and consume. 

Yes, eggs are a great source of protein. But the truth is you don’t really need as much protein as you think. Besides, there are plenty of plant-based protein-rich sources. But if you’re craving eggs, you may as well treat your body to the highest quality possible. Just like with any other kind of food, shop local for eggs—support your local farmers.

5 Easy Ways To Stay Positive & Healthy in a Hot Summer

Chef V

Veronica urban, gd

During the Heat of Summer…

If you feel like holing up in an air conditioned house and having a summer hibernation, I don’t blame you. But it’s so important to stay active and healthy and I’ve got some easy, fun tips to do it!  Stay fit and happy with my 5 easy tips.

It’s 5:30 p.m. It’s 104 degrees. All you feel like doing is plopping down on the couch and vegging out in front of a fan for a few hours. If that’s what you’re feeling, should you give in? After all, aren’t you supposed to listen to your body? And if your body is telling you that you should turn up the AC, grab a few of your favorite snacks, a glass of wine and the remote … well … what's wrong with that?

There’s certainly nothing wrong with chillaxing—from time to time. But if that’s how you’re gonna roll all summer that’s not going to be good for your mental or physical health. 

So next time you’re feeling the heat, follow these tips to stay healthy and reduce stress:

woman meditating

Stay Positive & Healthy This Tip #1: Meditate In Bed

This may not come as a shock but it’s important to state: In general, people who meditate on a regular basis are happier, calmer, and better able to attract what they want in life. There’s lots of research to support this—at least the part about people who meditate being more positive and calmer. 

The problem with meditation is that for people who have never tried it, it seems intimidating. But learning anything new is challenging. Beyond that, though, another problem with meditation is that many people assume that you have to sit completely still in the lotus position like a Buddhist monk, with your legs twisted into a pretzel. But that’s not the case at all…

I recommend starting each day meditating before you get out of bed, lying flat on your back. So how do you meditate? It’s simple. Listen to a meditation app. Try a guided meditation, which will tell you exactly when to breathe in and breathe out. Or, if you’d rather just listen to soothing meditative music, with Tibetan singing bowls or other ethereal sonic blissed out sounds, there’s no shortage of YouTube videos or smartphone apps for that. 

Start each morning with a 10-minute meditation before you get out of bed. It will really set the stage for an awesome rest of your day. 

woman performing yoga pose

Tip #2: 5 Minute Yoga Routine

After you’re done with your meditation routine (and your potty routine), despite how tired you are, force yourself to do a 5-minute yoga routine. 

During the heat of summer, the hours between dawn and breakfast are your best time for activity. Before you start your meditation practice in bed, open up the house and let in the cool early morning air. If it's cool enough, try getting outside. If not, the room where you do yoga should be at its coolest this time of day. If you’re not sure which 5-minute yoga routine to do or how to do yoga at all, there’s a ton of intro yoga videos, many of them free. 

I recommend doing a flow that keeps your body moving, from cat/cow to downward/upward dog or sun salutations. After just 5 minutes of a continuous flow yoga practice, you’ll feel like a new person, totally energized, in good spirits and ready to take on the day’s challenges. Try my easy yoga pose routine to stress less, feel better.

healthy snacks on a tray with flowers

Tip #3: Seasonal Snacking

Let’s fast forward to the evening hours when there’s no kids around, all your work and errands are done and it’s tempting to get your Netflix on and snack away. This is the most challenging part of the day. Because even if you were successful at incorporating meditation and a mini yoga session or two (or other activity), succumbing to late-night snacking can sabotage all your healthy habits from earlier in the day. 

And just like meditation is associated with a more positive attitude, snacking is more associated with depression. 

So what can you do when it’s 9:00 at night and it’s time to watch a few episodes of your favorite show? Personally, I try to stop eating and drinking anything with calories by 8:00—unless I’m going out to dinner. Studies on the health impacts of late-night eating are conflicting. 

If you have type I diabetes, it may be essential to have a late-night snack to prevent dangerous blood-sugar drops. If you want to manage blood sugar levels and don’t have type I diabetes, however, eating late at night has been shown to contribute to metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

But other studies suggest that having a small meal before bed does not appear to be harmful—especially if you exercise on a regular basis. 

I realize that not everybody can resist the temptation to eat something. So if you are going to eat while watching TV on the couch late at night, eat a healthy, delicious mini-meal. 

My favorite healthy mini-meals are seasonal with some healthy fats and spices. 

    • My guacamole recipe with mango and pomegranate
    • Popsicles made with fruit – blueberries and strawberries are a favorite
    • Carrots with hummus and 'Everything But the Bagel' spice (Trader Joe’s) or Zhatar
    • Blueberries and non-fat yogurt
    • Almond flour crackers with cucumbers and lemon and pepper seasoning

I’m not going to demonize late-night snacking. The temptation is much too great. But do try your best to avoid all snacks with white flour and wheat flour (even 100% wheat). These common flours get metabolized too quickly. That means they turn into sugar and get stored by the liver as extra body fat. 

But the healthy mini-meal snacks above metabolize slowly and may even help to keep blood sugar levels within a normal, healthy range. 

Veronica reading in bed with Brandon

Tip #4: Read

When’s the last time you read a good book? Many people go all day and all night staring at screens, hardly, if ever looking at printed pages, with the exception maybe of a restaurant menu. 

Reading actual books keeps your mind sharp. And when you get in bed, opening a book gets your mind and body ready for restful sleep. Sorry, reading on a tablet isn’t the same. In fact, studies show that the blue light emanating from tablets at night lowers sleep quality. 

“The use of commercially-available tablets may have consequences in terms of alertness, circadian physiology, and sleep,” the researchers concluded. Reading books has several health benefits, including keeping your mind sharp, reducing depressive symptoms, lowering blood pressure and heart rate. 

So crack open a book and get reading. If you fall asleep after reading just one page, so be it. Let reading be your best sleeping pill.

Tip #5: Eat Before You Party

When I’m invited to a party, I never know what kind of food will be served. Will it be pigs in a blanket, deli finger sandwiches and chips and dip? Most of the time, you get what you pay for, and if the food is free, it’s going to be low quality. So what I do is I have a little Organic Green Drink and then a little later, about an hour or two before the holiday party starts, I’ll eat a full healthy meal. That way, I won’t fill my belly with empty carbs and veggies that have likely been sprayed with pesticides. 

I’ll still indulge a little bit because I’m only human and when in Rome, ya know…

Hopefully, following these tips will keep you more positive and healthier this summer. 

Cheers,  Chef V

Nutrition and Self-Care Tips For Beginners

Chef V

At Chef V, we love green juice, in case you couldn’t tell. But, as crazy as it might sound, some people are scared of the delicious green stuff. They mainly associated it with long-term juice cleanses. However, you don’t have to be a detox juice cleanse master to enjoy fresh juice, regardless of what’s in it. There are plenty of ways to work some of that green drink into your everyday routine. You might even want to give a juice detox diet a try!

Benefits of green drink

If you’re new around here (if so, welcome!) your first question might not be what the benefits of green drink are. Instead, you’re likely wondering just what green drink is. 

Well… it’s green, for starters. Really, “green drink” isn’t a scientific term. It’s simply used to refer to all kinds of beverages that use leafy greens as their main ingredient. Our own Chef V green drink, for example, includes green kale, black kale, collard greens, curly parsley, and green chard among its ingredients. 

These kinds of leafy greens are packed full of essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, vitamin K, and iron. This means drinking juice filled with these greens is an excellent way to ensure you’re getting all the important nutrients you need. 

Beyond general nutritional goodness, there are a few more specific health benefits to green drinks. The leafy greens in these vegetable juices are great for fighting inflammation, reducing your risk of a whole host of health issues, including heart disease. 

These leafy greens are also great for helping you get your blood sugar under control, improving digestion, and helping you better control your weight. What’s not to love? 

Cleanses versus adding green drink to your diet

It’s important to note here that while green drinks are clearly a fantastic tool for healthy eating, you do have flexibility in how you use them. A lot of people associate green drinks with undertaking detox juice cleanses to lose weight. 

And yeah, green drinks are pretty great for this. The idea behind a juice cleanse is to cut down on the carbs and calories in your diet. Green drinks let you do this while ensuring you still get all the essential nutrients and minerals.

But don’t be afraid to just add some of the green stuff into your daily diet. It doesn’t need to be all about the juice fasts. The anti-inflammatory properties and benefits to your digestive system alone make adding in some leafy greens a worthwhile endeavor. 

Swapping for other drinks

If you don’t want to go for a whole detox juice cleanse, it can be a significantly healthy step to swap some of your other regular drinks for something fresh and green. Just switching out a caffeinated beverage every morning for a glass of green stuff can have a significant effect on your mood and energy. Or you can swap out those sugary drinks for a healthy option that’s got its own sweetness. If you’re going for the Chef V option, that includes apples. 

Chef V green drink delivery

If you’re interested in getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet, but are afraid of going for a full-on juice detox diet, we at Chef V have got you covered. Our green drink delivery brings the good stuff right to your doorstep. This ensures you’re getting only the freshest green drink, no processed foods or liquids anywhere near your juice. 

What’s The Best Plant-Based Burger? A Comparison Of The Most Popular Brands

Jean Yates

woman eating a plant based burger

Plant-based burgers are having a moment. It seems that every time I hit the supermarket, there’s a new veggie burger brand. Even food-industry giants like Tyson Foods, Cargill, Nestle and Perdue Farms are having veggie burger FOMO. They’re hopping on the plant-based burger wagon, launching meat-substitute products.

But is this a good thing?

Before I answer that question, I reviewed the ingredients list i seven of the most popular brands of plant-based burgers. Here’s what I found:

impossible burger

Impossible Burger

Along with Beyond Burger (listed below), Impossible Brands’ Impossible Burger has fueled the plant-based burger revolution. I wrote extensively about the Impossible Burger in a previous post. I’ll sum up what I wrote: Probably the best-tasting plant-based burger on the market. There’s a good reason why Burger King chose it for its wildly-successful Impossible Whopper. It looks just like a meat burger, drips blood-red juice just like a real burger and tastes pretty much like a beef patty. What’s not to love?

The bad news is that it contains two highly-processed forms of soy, one of which is a new genetically-modified version called Soy Leghemoglobin (“Heme” for short).

I’ve had a couple friends tell me that after eating an Impossible Burger, their next trip to the bathroom did not go well. Plus bad cramping.

Could it be that because Heme is basically new to human stomachs, our bodies don’t know how to react to it? Could it be that in some people, Impossible Burgers can trigger autoimmune reactions?

Time will only tell. I’m all for eating plant-based REAL food, but a soy that’s been grown in a lab? I don’t care how much it tastes just like the real thing, I’d rather eat a 100% grass-fed burger once a year that’s sourced from an organic, small family farm.

And one more concerning thing about the Impossible Burger: it’s made with coconut oil. The problem with coconut oil is that saturated fat comprises up to 90% of the total fat. For some people with a family of heart disease, coconut oil could be a ticking time bomb. (If you eat a lot of coconut oil, get your cholesterol levels checked once a year.)

beyond burger

Beyond Burger

Like Impossible Brands, Beyond Meat, maker of Beyond Burger, has scored some fat paychecks in the form of venture capital. Bill Gates invests in Beyond Meat (he also invested $50 million in Impossible Brands) and that huge seed funding (no pun intended) is the reason why Beyond Burgers can be found in virtually every single supermarket in the country.

Beyond Burger claims to be GMO-free. So that’s a good start. It also tastes similar to the Impossible Burger. So if I had to choose between these two fake meat giants, I’d go with Beyond, based simply on the fact the company does not use soy heme.

For proteins, instead of soy, Beyond uses pea protein isolate, beans and brown rice. Pretty good so far. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, pea protein isolate does not contain whole pea’s carbohydrate compounds that can support anti-inflammatory gut bacteria. But let’s not split hairs (or peas), because when you’re craving a burger, you know you’re not exactly eating a salad between two buns.

A couple things to watch out for: Beyond Meat also uses coconut oil as well as canola oil. I’m not crazy about canola oil. But again, when you want to sink your teeth into some fake meat, every once in a while, it won’t kill you. At least the canola oil is expeller-pressed, which means no harsh chemicals like hexane are used to extract the oil from the rapeseed plant. (Yes, canola oil comes from the rapeseed plant but don’t let that name spoil your appetite.)

I also like the fact Beyond uses beet extract to make its burger appear blood-red, unlike the lab-produced soy heme of the Impossible Burger.

Dr Prager burger

Dr. Prager’s California Veggie Burger

The godfather of the plant-based burger world, Dr. Prager’s California Veggie Burger hit the shelves in 1996. Fun fact: The brand was launched by a heart surgeon, Peter Prager, who died in 2012 at the age of 66. But don’t let his early death cloud your judgement of the California Burger. His obituary hinted his death could have been caused by prostate cancer.

Anyhoo, how does this relatively ancient brand of fake burger compare to Impossible and Beyond? In terms of taste, there’s no comparison. Dr. Prager’s tastes nothing like a real burger. But nutritionally speaking, I think it’s one of the most superior ones.

The ingredients list is not perfect. There are two ingredients I’m not thrilled about. Can you guess which ones they are in the list?

Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Oat Bran, Soybeans, Zucchini, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Peas, Broccoli, Corn, Soy Flour, Spinach, Red Peppers, Arrowroot Powder, Corn Starch, Garlic, Corn Meal, Sea Salt, Parsley, Black Pepper.

I already mentioned I’m not crazy about canola oil. But that’s how veggie burgers can stay relatively inexpensive. If they used avocado oil, each patty would cost a buck or two more probably. The two other ingredients that as a certified nutritional therapist bother me somewhat are soy flour and cornstarch. Soy can drive estrogen levels too high in younger women. It’s also one of the most common triggers of food allergies. As for cornstarch, while it’s a great ingredient for body powder, it’s basically just high-glycemic sugar. But all in all this is one of the best, ingredients-wise.

But the texture of Dr. Prager’s and almost every fake burger is crumbly. You definitely don’t get that true burger experience. So what I do is rather than eat it as a true burger, I chop it into pieces and top it on a whole grain or salad for a filling meal.

Morning Star Farm Burger

MorningStar Farms Garden Veggie Burger

If Dr. Praeger’s is the godfather of fake meat, MorningStar is the great grandfather. It hit the shelves in 1975. Even I wasn’t born then, haha!

Let’s jump right into the ingredients:

Water, carrots, onions, soy flour, egg whites, mushrooms, whole grain oats, wheat gluten, water chestnuts, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil), green bell peppers, calcium caseinate (from milk), cooked brown rice (water, brown rice), red bell peppers.

Good stuff, except for the same soy problem? There’s more bad news I’m afraid. Vegetable oils are terrible for your health. They are a major contributing factor to inflammatory-related diseases. Also, oats are a major source of glyphosate residue. Glyphosate is a herbicide used in the weed killer, Roundup. It’s been blamed for causing cancer in more than 125,000 lawsuits.

Considering the crumbly end-product and the fact that it’s nowhere-near-close to tasting like the real thing, I’ll pass.

Trader Joe’s Quinoa Cowboy Burger

I love the vibe at Trader Joe’s. But do I love sinking my teeth into a quinoa burger? Once in a blue moon, I do. I like the fact that it contains 13% of the daily recommended value of vitamin A. And it’s also a great source of fiber (6 grams; 24% DV).

Here’s the ingredients list:

Cooked tri color quinoa (tri blend quinoa, water), red peppers, cooked black beans (black beans, water), bread crumbs (wheat flour, sugar, yeast, salt), expeller pressed canola oil, roasted corn, onions, potato flakes, arrowroot, tomatoes, olive oil, jalapeno peppers, tomato paste, egg white powder, roasted garlic, white vinegar, salt, cilantro, chili powder (chili pepper, salt, garlic, cumin, spices), onion powder, coriander, black pepper, garlic powder, chipotle powder, lime juice powder.

Pretty much all good stuff. Just cook it much longer than the instructions say. And if it falls apart, who cares, it still tastes good in my opinion.

Sunshine Burger

Sunshine Burger

I admit to as of yet not having tried this Wisconsin-based brand, but I do love the ingredients of their garden herb alternative meat patty:

Organic cooked brown rice, organic ground raw sunflower seeds, organic carrots, organic chives, sea salt.

Simple, organic, real-food ingredients. It’s on my list to try…

Amy's All American Veggie Burger

Amy’s All-American Veggie Burger

I used to love Amy's veggie burritos back in the day. But I’m not all too crazy about the veggie burgers, mostly because of the soy issue. Here’s the list of ingredients:

Textured soy protein, organic onions, organic soy fiber, organic mushrooms, organic bulgur wheat, wheat gluten, filtered water, organic celery, organic carrots, organic walnuts, organic oats, organic bell peppers, expeller pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, organic sweet rice flour, sea salt, organic potatoes, spices, organic tomato purée, organic cane sugar, organic garlic, organic apple cider vinegar, organic blackstrap molasses, stoneground mustard (distilled vinegar, water, ground mustard seeds, salt, spices), hickory smoke flavor, black pepper, clove oil.

Again, mostly good stuff, but all it takes is a few bad apples to spoil the bunch. Besides the soy protein and soy fiber, I don’t like the wheat gluten or the vegetable oils.

But again, if you like the flavor of it and it’s a once in a while treat, go for it.

Best Plant-Based Burgers: Conclusion

I’m not going to tell you which plant-based burger I think is best. Now you’re armed with the nutrition facts. Plus, taste is such a subjective thing. What I can tell you is that plant-based burgers are most often not the healthy alternative to meat you might think it is. Are veggie burgers in general better for you than fast food burgers? Definitely. But is eating lab-produced GMO-soy better for your health than eating a grass-fed burger that was sourced on a sustainable, organic farm? That’s up for debate.

Chef V and kale

Plant Based Protein Vs Plant-Based Meat

Chef V


protein powder

If you need a detox, cleanse and digestion makeover, “V” encourages a pretty strict plant-based diet. That’s because meat is hard to digest and if your digestion is sluggish you should give it a rest.

But that doesn’t mean you should be eating vegan fast food burgers every day. There’s a big difference between plant-based meat and plant-based proteins. In fact, eating mock meat may be worse for your health than regular meat. Instead, find out what the healthiest plant-based proteins are…

Plant-Based Meats Vs Regular Meat

Which type of protein does your body absorb more of: plant-based meats like the Impossible Burger or regular meat such as beef or chicken?

The surprising answer is regular meat.

A recent study, published June 22, 2022 in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry compared protein absorption from plant-based (fake) chicken with regular chicken. And what they found was that plant-based protein was absorbed less during a test-tube simulation of digestion than protein from chicken.

The plant-based chicken was made from soy and wheat gluten. Those are two big strikes against your health right there. That’s because soy and gluten are two of the biggest food allergy triggers.

Consuming lots of soy can not only bloat your tummy if you’re sensitive to it. It can also cause estrogen dominance in pre-menopausal women.

That means that there’s an imbalance of sex hormones caused by too much soy, which is a phytoestrogen (an estrogen found in plants). A little bit of fermented soy in miso soup is healthy. But I highly recommend avoiding processed soy if you’re looking to improve your digestion and detoxify your body.

And as for wheat gluten, well, we all know how that can trigger major inflammation in the body.


tofu

Getting back to the fake meat vs. regular meat study…

Another problem associated with the lower absorption rate of plant-based meat is that it contains antinutrients like phytates. Phytates interfere with mineral uptake by the cells. The problem with phytates is that they bind to nutrients like iron, zinc and calcium. And not only does it block the absorption of these minerals, antinutrients like phytates also interfere with the digestion of other starches and proteins that you eat.

OK, but what about other plant-based meats? Might they be healthier than the fake chicken used in the study.

Unfortunately, not really. A study in the journal, Nutrients suggested that the nutritional benefit of plant-based MEAT is minimal. In fact, according to SciTechDaily, which summarized the study, “Diets that substituted animal products with the plant-based alternative were below the daily recommendations for vitamin B12, calcium, potassium, zinc and magnesium, and higher in sodium, sugar, and saturated fat.”


gluten free grains

Plant-Based Meat Doesn’t Mean Healthy

The moral of the story here is, just like gluten-free doesn’t mean healthy (gluten-free chips, gluten-free crackers, gluten-free pizza), plant-based meat doesn’t mean it’s healthy. In fact, a strong case could be made that grass-fed, grass-finished beef grown on a regenerative farm is way healthier than an Impossible Burger.

But what to do if you want to take a break from meat for a little while in order to reboot your digestive system?

The answer is to focus on plant-based proteins that are 100% natural. Out of the 20 amino acids that form all the proteins in your body, nine of them are considered essential. The problem with plant-based proteins is that they don’t always contain all 9 essential amino acids. But some of them do. Here are the ones I like the best:

  • Nutritional yeast
  • Quinoa
  • Hemp seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Tempeh (a fermented, healthy soy)
  • Spirulina

In addition, you can combine veggie proteins to get all 9 nine essential amino acids.

The most famous combo is beans and rice. But just make sure you eat beans that are soaked overnight in water to remove the antinutrients I talked about earlier.

Other plant-based protein combos include:

  • Tahini or hummus with whole wheat
  • Broccoli with whole grain pasta
  • Oatmeal with almond butter


women on beach with green drink

Eat “Real” Plant-Based Food 99% Of The Time

This article isn’t meant to be a crusade against meat. Well, maybe against factory-farmed meat. A small amount of high-quality, organic meat can be part of a healthy diet.

But if you want a do-over for your digestive system, skip breakfast, do intermittent fasting, break your fast with Organic Green Drink and get your protein from real (not lab-produced) plant-based foods.

To your health,

V


store - new sign

Green Goddess Hummus

Chef V

I love hummus. Kids love hummus too! I eat hummus probably once a week. I like to make different flavors all the time. I love avocado hummus, bruschetta hummus, hummus with curry, and lots more. Your kids will love this healthy and delicious treat. – Veronica

This Green Goddess Hummus is amazing! It’s so full of flavor from the cilantro, chives, parsley, and lemon. It has the bright green festive coloring that kids love. Bring out the Green Goddess in you this holiday, or anytime.

This recipe is easy and it tastes delicious! Eat it with naan, veggies, gluten-free bread or pita chips. I love Stacy’s brand gluten free pita chips, they are the best. Enjoy!

skinny shamrock smoothie

Serving Size: 4 Person

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro
  • 1 tbsp. fresh chives
  • 2 cups garbanzo beans or chickpeas
  • 1 tbsp. tahini paste
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ cup cold pressed olive oil

Directions

Blend all ingredients in Vitamix or food processor. Chill for 1 hour before serving. Serve with gluten free bread, carrots, cucumbers or anything else your little leprechaun desires.

Impossible Burgers: I tried them, here’s what I found

Chef V

Chef V, Veronica Wheat

A plant-based fast-food burger with a bloody-red chewy texture that tastes just like a regular hamburger? Sound “Impossible” to you?

Now available at Burger King throughout the U.S. is the Impossible Whopper, a 100% plant-based patty that looks and tastes supposedly exactly just like the beef-patty Whopper. The Impossible Whopper is possible thanks to the brand, Impossible Foods.

But before you hop in your car and run red lights racing to get to your local Burger King, there’s a dark side to the Impossible Whopper.

I have yet to try the Impossible Whopper. I’m not completely ruling out giving it a try. But after the research I just read on it, let’s just say I want be committing any moving violations to sink my teeth into the faux-bloody plant patty.

Impossible Burgers: The Good

Before I share with you why I’m not bursting at the seams to try this plant-based meat alternative (even though I’m a certified nutritional therapist and advocate for a 90%-plus plant-based diet, including daily Green Drinks), let me first say why I give props to the company Impossible Foods.

The company’s heart is in the right place. Eating a plant-based burger instead of a regular beef patty, requires 96% less land, 87% less water, and emits 89% fewer greenhouse gases, according to company statistics.

As John O’Connor, founder of the blog, Gene Food, says in his review of the Impossible Burger, “Raising cattle the way we do does real damage to our planet, and it has to stop, at least at its current trajectory. The industrial farming system is unsustainable, environmentally ruinous, and cruel to both animals and humans alike.”

Anything that gets Americans to consume less factory-farmed meat is a big win-win-win for the planet, consumers and farmers.

Impossible Burgers: The Bad

But as O’Connor points out, the people who created the Impossible Whopper, which is 100% vegan if you hold the mayo and cheese, forgot something crucial. Americans are, by and large, sick because of eating too many highly-processed foods. The Impossible Whopper does contain a few natural ingredients. But most of the ingredients in the vegan burger are processed; a couple of them are cause for alarm (see below).

The Impossible Whopper, though it may be a seemingly perfectly-healthy comfort food, contains two of the most common food allergens: soy and wheat.

Both soy and wheat are highly culpable in the ever-increasing rates of autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune disorders often destroy the mucosal barrier of the gut, which is the body’s first line of immune system protection.

So before you go sinking your teeth into an Impossible Burger, thinking you’re doing your body good, just be aware that they soy and wheat in the plant-based burger may trigger your body’s immune system to go into inflammatory overdrive, eventually attacking itself.

(Modern wheat and processed soy aren’t natural; your body recognizes the particles in these ingredients as harmful.)

What’s In The Impossible Burger?

Impossible Food’s vegan patty also contains coconut and sunflower oils, which constitute the third and fourth-most ingredients in the Impossible Whopper, respectively. (Water and soy protein concentrate are the first two, respectively.)

Here’s the problem with these two oils…

Although coconut oil has been hyped in the natural health world (Guilty as charged: I include it in some of my recipes in Making Cleansing Easier), for some people (especially those with the APOE4 gene) consuming a lot of coconut oil is bad for the heart. As for sunflower oil, it has a high amount of omega-6 fatty acids.

Most Americans consume far too many foods with omega-6s (and not enough omega-3s). The ideal ratio of omega 6’s to 3’s should be no more than 4:1. The typical American diet is roughly 20 times higher in omega-6’s than 3’s. Consuming too many omega-6’s, especially from processed seed oils like sunflower contributes to inflammation.

Impossible Burgers: The Ugly (Soy Leghemoglobin)

In addition to the dangers of PFAS compounds in fast food packaging, I wrote about recently, I have another reason to severely restrict your consumption of fast food. And this reason specifically relates to the Impossible Whopper.

The inventors of the burger knew that in order to sell a lot of plant-based burgers and get a huge chain like Burger King to get behind it, they needed to imitate the dripping red juicy aesthetic of a beef patty.

Enter the most problematic ingredient in the Impossible Whopper: Soy Leghemoglobin (or simply, soy “heme”). Basically, it’s a genetically-modified organism. In other words, it’s lab-produced. Is it safe to eat? The short answer is: maybe. According to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), soy heme is a GRAS ingredient (Generally Regarded As Safe.)

But the fact is, humans haven’t been eating soy heme long enough to know if it is indeed safe to eat on a long-term scale. And for people who are either allergic or sensitive to soy, it’s most likely not healthy to consume.

An online letter published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest says that the FDA should have done a more thorough job in assessing the safety of soy heme. The letter states that the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization, is concerned that there is “strong evidence that heme contributes to the carcinogenic mechanisms associated with red and processed meats.”

Read my article: PFAS: Why Fast Food is Worse for you than Ever

Soy Burgers & Breast Cancer

I’m especially concerned about the risk of breast cancer because of the soy-based ingredients. Soy products mimic estrogen. If your hormones are out of balance and estrogen dominant, it raises the risk of breast cancer.

Conclusion

So … would you like fries with that?

Oh, and here’s one more problem with the Impossible Whopper…

If you’re vegan or vegetarian be aware that the short-order cook isn’t going to scrub down the grill before your order. In other words, cross-contamination is an all but absolute certainty. (As this article on CNET claims, you can request the Impossible Whopper be cooked not on the broiler.)

Personally, I think you’re better off buying patties from the company, Beyond Meat, and making your own plant-based burger at home.

In conclusion, eat a diet rich in plant-based foods. But in light of the booming popularity of the Impossible Whopper, I feel obligated to revise this recommendation to: eat a diet rich in natural, unprocessed plant-based foods.

–Veronica Kress is a certified nutritional therapist and founder of ChefV.com.

Why Zinc Matters Now More Than Ever

Chef V

Chef V Interview - Cleansing your Body

Do I ever have any fun? 

Do I ever stop practicing what I preach? 

Or am I constantly perched on this virtual altar spouting natural health gospel? 

If you’ve been following my recent articles, you might think that I never stray from the healthy path. 

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You see, I follow the 80/20 rule: eat healthy and practice other wellness-forming habits 80% of the time and let yourself “cheat” a little the other 20% of the time. (Maybe it’s more like 85/15.)

Want to know my secret indulgences? Here’s a few of my occasional transgressions: French fries, wine, and chicken sandwiches.

I guess because of the pandemic, I haven’t let you, dear reader, see the human, relatable side of me, the side that’s just as prone to stress-eating temptation as you might be. 

(The key to conquering snack food cravings: indulge in kale chips instead of regular chips. Eat almond flour crackers instead of white flour crackers.) 

This blog has focused on different ways to stay healthy during these challenging times. That doesn’t mean, however, I don’t celebrate life by indulging in crap from time to time. 

But I do stick to a healthy routine, including daily yoga/meditation and Organic Green Drink. 

Sorry for the long-winded intro. I just needed to get the fact that I’m only human off my chest. 

Now back to my regularly-scheduled next health spiel…

Why Zinc Is Important

All dietary minerals are important. But in 2020-2021, zinc just might be the most important. It’s received a lot of attention in research studies. That’s because zinc can help prevent viruses from replicating in cells. In order to become infected by a virus, the virus needs to first penetrate your cells and then start making copies of itself. Zinc is like  anti-virus software that prevents your computer (the cells) from getting hacked. 

There’s also one other function of zinc that’s very appropriate for the times. The mineral, which is the fourth-most abundant metal on Earth, is essential for maintaining your sense of smell. 

I’m sure you’ve heard that one of the first tell-tale signs of COVID-19 infection is loss of smell. Could it be that zinc deficiency or suboptimal levels is to blame for infection? I found a research study from September of last year published in the International Journal of Infectious Disease that supports this theory. The researchers write in the conclusion of the study: 

“The data clearly show that a significant number of COVID-19 patients were zinc deficient. These zinc deficient patients developed more complications, and the deficiency was associated with a prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality.”

Does reading that conclusion make you want to open a new browser and order a zinc supplement this instant? I don’t blame you. After all, if you want a balanced immune system, one that won’t go haywire and attack your organs should you God-forbid become infected, then you need to make sure you’re getting enough zinc. 

Sample Code

high versus low glycemic index

Sample Code

Best Sources of Zinc

But getting enough zinc is just half the story. Absorbing it is another issue. Most Americans eat stuff with plenty of zinc, especially meat. A serving of ground beef contains about half of the recommended daily value (according to the FDA: men need 11 mg, women require 8 mg). Pork,  seafood and chicken are also rich in zinc. 

Animal protein, especially oysters, which contain the highest zinc content of any food (over 65 mg per 3.5 ounces!), are the best sources of zinc. So what’s a plant-based dieter to do? Fortunately, some of my favorite vegan treats like pumpkin seeds, cashews, and chickpeas are solid sources. 

But both carnivores and vegans face an inconvenient truth about zinc. Because of both natural factors and man-made environmental concerns, we’re not absorbing enough zinc as we should. 

Why We’re Zinc Deficient

What’s to blame for zinc malabsorption? Let’s start with an issue that affects vegetarians and vegans…

In nature, plants have developed ways to protect themselves from insects. Beans and lentils come from plants that have a coating that contains phytates. Phytates are anti-nutrients. That means that they interfere with mineral absorption. 

As the song goes, “Beans, beans they’re good for your heart,” but the more you eat of them, without soaking them, the less zinc your body will absorb. So if you’re buying beans or lentils in a can from the supermarket, soak them overnight in pure water to eliminate some of the phytates. 

Recently, I wrote about glyphosate, the most heavily-sprayed chemical on food crops in the country. Glyphosate prevents plants from uptaking zinc and other minerals from the soil. Unfortunately, just about everything we eat contains glyphosate residue. The best way to minimize your exposure is by eating organic.  

Conclusion

This weekend, I’ll probably kick back and enjoy a glass or two of wine. I might even get some carry out Thai (tastes amazing but lots of carbs) and partake in another as of yet to be determined indulgence. But I’m going to make sure I’m eating a ton of organic plants (and drinking them) to make sure my cells are supplied with enough zinc to keep my immune system balanced.

 I’ll also be taking an ionic zinc supplement (liquid drops that the body absorbs much better than pills or capsules).

Chef V Warns: Don’t Drink Coffee First Thing In The AM On An Empty Stomach!

Chef V

coffee t-shirts

Are you a first-thing-in-the-morning coffee drinker? After reading the advice of certified nutritional therapist and ChefV.com founder, Veronica Wheat, you may want to wait a little bit before having your first cup. 

“But first…COFFEE!”

“A day without coffee is like … just kidding I have no idea.”

“Coffee spelled backwards is EEFFOC. Just know that I don’t give EEFFOC until I’ve had my coffee.”

“Eat. Sleep. Coffee. Repeat.” 

Even though I don’t drink coffee, I can’t help but laugh at ironic coffee t-shirts. 

But let’s take a closer look at the “Eat. Sleep. Coffee. Repeat” slogan. 

A more accurate ironic slogan for many people would be, “Wake up. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.” That’s because most people race out the door on their way to work with a cup or two or three of coffee well before they eat anything. 

And I’m not talking about functional coffee drinks that contain coconut oil and mushroom powder. 

Nope, I’m referring to the straight black stuff some people wish they could inject directly into their veins in order to feel alive in the morning. 

If nothing can resurrect you in the morning except for coffee, I’m not going to try and convince you to give it up. (Unless you’re about to do a CLEANSE, which requires a coffee-free pre-cleanse phase.)

I am, however, going to ask you to reconsider drinking coffee on an empty stomach. 

woman with coffee in bed

But First…Cortisol!

You’re probably familiar with the term “cortisol.” But just in case you need a refresher, in plain English, cortisol is known as the body’s major stress hormone. 

Cortisol helps our body physically deal with stress, sending us into fight or flight or freeze mode. It’s a good thing that we have cortisol because it regulates our body’s stress response.

So when a distracted A-hole driver swerves into your lane and is heading right towards you, you can thank cortisol for giving you the superpower to be alert and steer your way to safety. 

But just like 10 cups of coffee or glasses of wine a day, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And when we’re constantly stressed out, we can have too much cortisol coursing through our system. 

Having excess cortisol is no bueno! It can cause elevated blood sugar levels, even contributing to type 2 diabetes. It can also wreak havoc on your immune system. And ladies: too much cortisol can screw up your cycle and may cause an imbalance of other hormones. 

And if that’s not bad enough, having too much cortisol may lead to an increase of the most dangerous kind of fat: visceral fat. Visceral fat is the deep belly fat that surrounds the organs in your abdomen. 

Now, normally, levels of cortisol are naturally high in the morning. Why then do we need coffee if our body should be more alert? Why do we feel dead to the world without coffee if cortisol is supposed to be our natural alarm clock? 

—-> 3 Ways To Feel Unstoppable In The Morning Without Coffee 

It could be because you’re not getting enough sleep. Or maybe you’re drinking too much coffee, which can screw up normal cortisol fluctuations during the day. 

coffee mug in bed

How Drinking Coffee First Thing In The AM Affects Cortisol 

The important thing to understand is that drinking coffee first thing in the morning on an empty stomach might be harmful to your health for a couple reasons. 

First, drinking lots of coffee can itself cause excess cortisol, which can lead to having high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. 

And secondly, if you have GI problems like acid reflux, drinking coffee first thing in the morning can increase acid production, making your GI issues worse. 

Drinking Coffee & Brain Function

There’s actually plenty of research that supports moderate coffee consumption. To reiterate: my point of emphasis here is not that drinking coffee is bad … it’s that drinking it on an empty stomach may be for some people. 

People drink coffee to fire up their neurons so they can function at work. But what are the effects of having early-morning excess cortisol and brain function? Well, a  study published in Neurology that was summarized in Scientific American looked at the effects of early-morning high cortisol on brain performance in more than 2,000 people. 

Most of the participants were in their 40s. The study found that those with the highest levels of cortisol performed worse on tests of memory, organization, visual perception and attention.

To make matters worse, the brains of people with the highest levels of cortisol showed precursors to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. 

I’m not trying to scare the bejeezus out of you. I’m not suggesting that if you drink coffee first thing in the morning, your brain will deteriorate. Just think twice about drinking it on an empty stomach—especially black coffee. (Sorry, a splash of cream and a packet of sugar won’t help prevent a cortisol spike.)

Fonio grain

Here’s What To Do In The Morning Before Drinking Coffee

If you can’t wait to have coffee until noon or early afternoon, when cortisol levels are naturally lower, then I have a simple solution for you. It’s something I’ve been preaching for years but it works. 

Step 1: After you wake up, drink a tall glass of water with lemon juice. This will help you naturally detox your body before introducing any stimulants into your system. 

Step 2: Wait 20 minutes after drinking water and then have 8 ounces of Organic Green Drink. 

No, this is not just some promotional plug for my nationwide Green Drink delivery plan. My recommendation, I’ll have you know, is science-based. Minerals such as magnesium in green leafy veggies help regulate and lower cortisol, research (like this) shows. 

Step 3: About half an hour after having CHEF V GREEN DRINK, if you must, have your coffee. I also recommend doing some parasympathetic (relaxing) exercise like yoga in the morning to regulate your cortisol levels. 

Step 4 (optional): wear your ironic coffee t-shirt.

Go Veg: Healthy Gut, Smooth Skin, Glossy Hair And Strong Nails

Jean Yates

Veronica in kitchen with blenders

The best veggies for a healthy gut, skin, hair and nails are the same ones in Chef V’s mega-popular Green Drink. And it’s no coincidence that these same veggies are also the best for helping you cleanse and detox. Chef V covers how each of the veggies benefits your beauty.

I created the recipe for Organic Green Drink several years ago back when I was a private chef. Over time, demand grew for my Green Drink and that’s really the catalyst for launching Chef V.

I did a ton of research for the Green Drink recipe. I wanted to select the best veggies that would not only taste amazing cold-blended, but that would also be the best for a 3 day cleanse or 21-day detox. And as it turns out, the seven veggies in Green Drink not only happen to be the best for cleansing and detoxing, they also happen to be the best veggies for skin, hair and nails.

Now I admit, it would be a pain in the behind to have to chop green kale, black kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, green chard, curly parsley and green leaf lettuce every day. And then have to juice it. Then clean up.

The main reason why I transitioned from being a private chef to launching Chef V: making healthier easier for people just like you. And it doesn’t get any easier than having a bottle of our certified organic Green Drink delivered to your home.

Not only can you lose weight, gain energy and sleep more soundly by having Green Drink every day, there’s a very good chance your skin, hair and nails will look better.

So let’s take a look at how the ingredients in Green Drink are the healthiest veggies for skin, hair and nails.

varieties of kale

Best Veggies for Skin, Hair & Nails: Kale

Sure, there’s some excessive kale craziness these days. But for good reason. Kale is rich in vitamin K. And it’s really hard for most people who eat the average American diet to get enough K. Vitamin K actually helps minimize dark circles in your eyes. That’s why it’s one of the best veggies for skin.

In fact, kale can even help tighten your skin. How? Well, one of the reasons why your skin isn’t as tight when you get older is that the aging process weakens your collagen. Collagen is the body’s main structural protein. In fact, over one-third of the thousands and thousands of proteins in the body are collagen proteins. Collagen provides strength to your tendons, ligaments, teeth, nails, hair, bones, gut lining, and much more….

The vitamin C in kale along with the antioxidant, lutein, promotes collagen regrowth and production. In addition, the vitamin A in kale helps prevent damage to the skin. It also repairs and damage to the epidermis.

There’s a good reason why kale has been added to several beauty products. Because it’s such an efficient detoxifying nutrient, kale can help clean your pores. It’s even beneficial for your hair pores. Moreover, kale contains fatty acids such as omega-3s. These fatty acids provide moisture to your hair and skin.

There’s even a nail polish with kale extract. Supposedly, it can help stimulate keratin production. Keratin is the other main protein that’s in your nails.

These facts about kale make it one of the best veggies for skin, hair and nails. So drink your Green Drink and schedule that kale facial!


dandelion

Best Veggies for Skin, Hair & Nails: Dandelion

Another incredible detoxifying green veggie in our Green Drink is dandelion. Dandelion widens your pores. That’s how it helps your body get rid of toxins. And according to this article, dandelion shrinks wrinkles. It may also help whiten dark spots and reduce fine lines.

Like kale, dandelion also contains lots of beta carotene and vitamin C. It’s also rich in the B vitamins and vitamin E, which is a standard ingredient in many skin care products. Moreover, the minerals and trace minerals in dandelion may actually help regrow hair.

collard greens

Best Veggies for Skin, Hair & Nails: Collard Greens

The reason why collard greens is one of the best veggies for skin, hair and nails is the same reason as kale and dandelion: it’s loaded with beta carotene (a precursor to vitamin A). One benefit of Vitamin A for your skin is the production of sebum. You can think of sebum as a waterproof lubricant for your skin. Without sebum, your skin would feel like it’s been scorched in a sauna for hours. And sebum is also in your hair. Without enough of it, your hair feels like straw.

Collard greens also contain iron. And one major factor for thinning hair is low iron intake.

chard

Best Veggies for Skin, Hair & Nails: Chard

Here’s why I think chard is one of the best veggies for skin, hair and nails….

Just one serving of it contains over 700 percent of your vitamin K suggested intake. It’s also got about 200 percent of your beta carotene needs and about half of your daily vitamin C needs. And chard is also very high in minerals such as magnesium. Getting enough magnesium in your diet is very important for healthy skin. It can help balance the amount of oils you have. Obviously, you need some oil but not too much. If your skin tends to run on the oily side, magnesium can reduce the amount of oils.

Chard is also high in biotin. Biotin is vitamin B7. There’s a good reason why many hair care products contain biotin. That’s because biotin stimulates hair follicles. Consume enough chard and your hair may benefit by appearing shinier and fuller in texture. And like all the other of the best veggies for your skin, chard is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants repair and help regenerate new skin cells.

Best Veggies for Skin, Hair & Nails: Parsley

Poor parsley. Most people just eat a tiny bit of it as a post-meal garnish to freshen the breath. But here’s why you should consume more of it. (And what easier way to get your daily dose of parsley than having one or two Green Drinks per day?)

Parsley is a wrinkle destroyer. As I say above, vitamin C-rich foods help encourage production of collagen in your body. And parsley is particularly rich in vitamin C. And the more collagen production your body undergoes, the more wrinkles and fine lines will fade.

Moreover, parsley is a natural antibiotic. Thus, it can help kill bacteria-causing acne. There are several other benefits of parsley for your skin as well. But this post is already long and we’ve got one more of the best veggies for skin, hair and nails to cover:

Chef V and kale

Lettuce

One of the main reasons why lettuce is good for your skin is it contains the following three minerals: silica, sulfur and phosphorous. You don’t need a large quantity of these minerals from the foods you eat. That’s why they are called trace minerals. But these three trace minerals are vital for maintaining healthy skin, hair and nails. Without doubt, you’re not going to get many benefits by eating iceberg lettuce, which is devoid of nutrition. But green leafy lettuce can also protect your skin against harmful UV rays.

So now do you see why I selected these six veggies (7 really; Green Drink includes two different types of kale)? Not only are they the best-tasting and most detoxifying, they’re also the best for your skin, hair and nails.

Chef V, Coco and kale

We’ve Got The Beet! Why Beets Are Having Their Moment

Chef V

boy with beets

Chef V is seeing red for Valentine’s Day in a good way with beets. If you’re not on the beet bandwagon then hop on board. Never tried beets? With Chef V’s beet recipes, you’ll eventually fall in love with them and you’ll be healthier for it…

“Beets are sexy.”
—Said nobody.

But maybe I should be the first to coin that phrase. That’s right, you heard it here first. I think beets are the perfect Valentine’s Day food and not just because of the bright red color. Although for sure that’s a part of their attractiveness. 

What makes beets the perfect food to eat around Valentine’s Day? Because it can get the blood flowing to parts of the body that need to operate in tip-top shape on Valentine’s Day. If you know what I’m sayin’…

And it’s not just men who benefit from beets. Ladies, eat some beets because this unsung root veggie boosts production of nitric oxide in the body. Every single cell in your body has nitric oxide, which is a gas. (Not to be confused with smelly toot gas.) 

hands peeling beets

Check out my Beet Based Recipes

Beets For Better Sex?

When you have sufficient nitric oxide, blood flow and oxygen delivery to the muscles is improved. For men, nitrous oxide means better blood flow to the penis. Millions of men take sexual performance supplements that are designed to boost nitric oxide in the body.

So for men, beets may improve erectile dysfunction. For the ladies, enhanced nitrous oxide production also means that blood vessels dilate, allowing for better circulation and blood flow. When erogenous zones get more blood flow you can get more aroused. 

Who would have ever thought that a beet smoothie could spark sexual arousal! 

Veronica, Brandon, and Coco drinking beet smoothies

Other Reasons To Just Beet It

Because beets improve nitric oxide levels in the body, they may enhance your athletic performance. So if you’re a competitive athlete looking for that extra edge, give one of my beet recipes a try. 

Check out my Beet Based Recipes

Here’s why else you should go bananas for beets…

Beet Benefits At A Glance:

  • High in minerals
  • Low in calories
  • High in fiber
  • Low in carbs
  • Lowers blood pressure and inflammation
  • Supports digestion and gut health
  • Supports cognitive health

Taking a deeper dive into beet nutrition facts here, so like most veggies, they’re a great source of minerals, especially potassium. This is yet another reason why athletes and active people should incorporate beets in their diet. You see, strenuous exercise depletes the body of minerals. If you don’t refuel your body with enough minerals, post-exercise, you’ll be lethargic and wear down your immune system. 

Beets are also great for people who have high blood pressure and inflammation. 

And remember how beets may kick your sex drive into high gear? Well, it turns out that nitric oxide also benefits brain health. In fact, a 2017 study showed that older adults who exercised and drank beet juice had brains that resembled much younger people. 

seniors playing golf

Making Beets Yummy Again

Now I’m not suggesting that you eat raw beets. That would be just as unappetizing as eating raw potatoes, unless you're adding raw beet chunks to a smoothie. 

The key to cooking with beets is to learn how to balance the bitterness of the veggie. And you do that by adding a pinch of Himalayan sea salt, red-wine vinegar, ginger, garlic or other herbs and spices. 

Actually, before you even start cooking with beets, there’s a rookie mistake I have to warn you about!

Beets are like the permanent magic marker of the veggie world. They will leave stains that look like a horrible crime scene. I’m usually not a big fan of using anything plastic. But when it comes to cutting beets (for a salad or smoothie), a plastic cutting board is your best bet because it can be easily washed.  I still use my wooden cutting board but I make sure to wash it right away.

And don’t toss out the green part that’s attached to the beets! They are highly nutritious and you can easily add them to a veggie stir fry or a smoothie. Oh, and one more tip when it comes to cooking beets…

You don’t have to remove the skins. The skin will add bulk to your stool, helping you more easily poop if you need help in that department. But if you don’t want to eat the skin, wait until after you’ve cooked the veggie to do it. It’ll be much easier. 

Check out my Beet Based Recipes

beets on a counter

Beets: The Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift?

It’ll be a long time before a box of beets will be on equal par with a box of chocolates as the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. So my gift to you this Feb. 14 is leaving you with these beet recipes. May they help enhance the love you feel on this special day. 

beets

5 Libido Spiking Ways To Spice Up The Romance On Valentine’s Day

Chef V


Valentines Coco

What are you doing to make this Valentine’s Day special for your mate? A box of chocolates? Flowers? Yawn! While those V-Day traditional go-to’s will always be appreciated, these 5 activities will help resurrect your romantic life—even if you’ve been married for years. 

“I love never being spontaneous and having absolutely no romance in my life.” 

You know who said that? 

Nobody, ever. 

But stress in America is endemic. Wake up, race to get ready. Work your butt off. Race home to take care of the kids. Cook, clean and hopefully you’ll get an hour of peace and quiet to stream a favorite show. 

You and your spouse are like strangers passing in the night. You two have become functional roommates more than lovers. 

And then February 14 rolls around and you go through the motions. Maybe you will have a nice dinner. But deep down inside, as you’re enjoying a slice of tiramisu and drinking a glass of cab (even though you actually enjoy cooking and eating at home more than eating out), you know the thrill is gone. 

You and your partner may be partners for life—but in name only, not in romance. 

Well, this Valentine’s Day, don’t be ordinary. Do one or more of these 5 things to respark the romance and rekindle your libido.

couple hands yoga

Couples Massage

No, I’m not talking about both of you going to a 5-star spa and getting pampered. Although, that does sound just about what I need right now. If you get a massage from a spa, you’ll feel great but it won’t really do anything to get your romantic grooves back. 

What I mean by couples massage is this steamy scene…

Both partners are seated Buddah-style facing each other on comfy cushions. 

With shirts off and a high-quality CBD oil, coconut or jojoba oil (or another synthetic-free fave massage oil) in hand, each partner rubs the oil onto the other’s neck and shoulders. 

Stare into each other’s eyes for a few minutes and smile. Really take each other’s spirit in. Reconnect with why you fell in love with each other in the first place. Just say the reasons internally. 

For a few minutes, continue simultaneously rubbing each other’s neck and shoulders. Or see where the night takes you; perhaps to different places—wink wink. 

Then, rest your foreheads on each other and keep the romantic, healing vibes going. 

candle

Grateful Affirmations

After both of you have had your fill of couples massage, it’s time to externalize your appreciation of your partner and vice versa. 

You can stay seated in the lotus position facing each other. Or if you’re uncomfortable because you have tight hips, both of you can lie down on a warm, cozy rug or yoga mats while holding hands.

With romantic candles lit in the room—I should have mentioned candles in the couples massage part, haha—express your gratitude for your partner. 

“I feel blessed to have you as my partner because you are so kind and supportive of me.” 

Something along those lines. 

Think of everything that you appreciate about your partner. Valentine’s Day should be the annual rite of passage where you renew your partnership vows—instead of just flipping on the TV after coming back home from dinner. 

partner yoga

Partner Yoga

Can it get any more erotic than having your partner adjust you while you’re doing a downward dog? Sorry, my intention isn’t to be pervy; there are plenty of male yoga teachers who give adjustments without any ulterior motives. 

But when you’re doing partner yoga—or even just a regular yoga routine side by side—, it definitely has the ability to reignite libido. 

If you’re not sure what partner yoga is there are tons of videos online. Basically, one partner helps the other go deeper into a pose, albeit comfortably and safely.

With downward dog, your partner can lean back, facing up, on your back. Your weight supports your partner and vice versa. 

Another great partner yoga pose is spinal twists. 


walking at night

Late Night Walk Or Hike

This one’s easy for me to recommend since I live in San Diego. But if you’ve never visited here, you might be surprised to learn that it can get down into the low 40s or even high 30s at night here. That may sound downright tropical to my Organic Green Drink delivery customers who live in Boston or Buffalo. 

But if the weather isn’t too brutal outside, instead of hopping in the car for dinner and then just driving right back home, having a quickie and then Netflix, go for a walk, even if it’s a short one. 

Make sure you’re holding hands. The frigid weather will be conducive to huddling together and walking arm in arm.

The key is that on this Valentine’s Day, do something out of the ordinary that will bring you and your partner closer together. Sure, it’s just one day out of the year, but if you do one of these fun things, the effects will carry on…

Green Drink Cocktails

And speaking of Green Drinks, if you want to enjoy a healthy adult beverage that’s out of the ordinary (that means no wine), just add a shot of vodka. Seven leafy greens and a strong distilled spirit. Life is all about balance. And for this Valentine’s Day, balance your love life by not doing something you wouldn’t do the other 364 days of the year. 


green drink plan on sale

3 Ways To Feel Unstoppable In the Morning—Without Coffee

Chef V


V pouring green drink

Do you feel like a slug in the morning? Is guzzling three cups of coffee the only thing that wakes you up from the dead? Chef V offers up 3 caffeine-free ways to help you conquer the day…

So … you’re addicted to coffee? Well, I’m not here to tell you to quit. But what I will say about caffeine is that because it’s a drug, you’re going to need more and more of it over time. Remember the good old days when one cup of coffee would make you feel invincible? But these days, there’s a good chance that if you’ve been a coffee drinker for years, just one cup is no longer going to do the trick.

The danger of drinking a lot of coffee is that it can mess with your cardiovascular system. Research shows that drinking coffee raises your blood pressure, heart rate and stimulates your sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is your body’s fight or flight response. If you’re trying to be more chill and less stressed-out, then activating your sympathetic nervous system is the last thing you want to do.

OK, so I’m done with my spiel about the evils of caffeine. Again, I’m not saying that you should quit. But what I am saying is that if you feel like that without it, you’d be a worthless lump of coal, then maybe it’s time to reconsider your morning routine. For instance, try doing one of these 3 things to wake your butt up.


shower head

#1: Cold Showers

I admit that on a frigid February day, taking a cold shower at 6 in the morning is the last thing on Earth I’d want to do. But if it’s energy you desire, taking a cold shower will jolt you awake more than a Jolt cola.

There’s even research to back this up. According to Healthline, cold water sends electrical impulses to your brain that … and here’s that word again … “jolt” your system to increase alertness, clarity, and energy levels. The so-called happy hormones known as endorphins are also released. So not only can taking a cold shower wake your butt up in the morning, it could also make you feel happier and more optimistic—at least after the shower is over and you’ve dried off.

Another possible benefit of taking a cold shower is that it may increase your metabolism. Researchers aren’t exactly sure how cold water plunges may help with weight loss. But hey, a replacement for coffee that may help you lose weight? I think it’s worth a try.

veronica and coco green drink

#2: Replace Breakfast With Green Drink 

If you’re somebody who eats a typical American breakfast of toast, cereal, orange juice and coffee before heading out the door to work, listen up. OK, so the first problem with this breakfast is that it’s pretty much all carbs.

Even if the coffee gives you an energy boost, here’s probably what’s going to happen within an hour of your breakfast. Your blood sugar levels are going to rise from the cereal, milk sugars, toast and orange juice. Later, your blood sugar levels will drop to a level that’s lower than what it was before you ate breakfast. So what’s going to happen is you’re going to feel tired and need a second or third cup of coffee.

To prevent this blood sugar spike and dip, ditch the regular breakfast and replace it with Organic Green Drink. The 7 dark leafy greens are sweetened with a tiny bit of apple. And with only three grams of sugar per serving, you won’t have an energy crash.

But will Organic Green Drink give you that pick-me-up that coffee does? Well, not in the same jittery way. However, the 7 dark leafy greens are so nutrient-dense that they will flood your cells with energy in a very short amount of time. And if you must have your coffee, drink it at least one hour after having a Green Drink.

#3: Exercise

If you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, just repeat this mantra: Get up, get up, get busy, do it. Get up and move that body. Anybody remember that song (from the one-hit wonder Techtronic way back in 1989.)

So I guarantee you that if you take a cold shower in the morning—even if it’s just for 30 seconds—and have a serving of Organic Green Drink, you’ll feel ready to conquer the world. And, if you can find time to do 10 minutes of exercise before you start your work day, you will feel absolutely bulletproof. Go for a walk, do a mini-yoga routine. It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you do, just do it.

Hopefully, having Green Drink in the morning plus taking a cold shower and/or exercising will wean you off caffeine.


V in kitchen

Best Foods For Great S-E-X

Jean Yates

Best Foods For Great S-E-X

Best foods for great S-E-X – Ladies: don’t feel like getting it on lately? Got no mojo, gentlemen? Here’s how certain foods and holistic health can improve your sex life.

A curious thing happened in the initial weeks of the pandemic. Couples who for the most part functioned as roommates prior to the pandemic suddenly rediscovered their intimate side. 

Despite the stress and fear in the early days of the pandemic, stay-at-home orders led to an initial increase in sex. After all, what else is there to do besides watch TV when you’re stuck at home all day and night? 

However, as stay-at-home orders eased (at least in the U.S.) and life’s other chronic stressors returned to the fold, our collective libido plummeted to pre-pandemic levels.

So if your libido is shot because of Covid-anxiety and life’s general grinding assault, I’ve got some tips for you about foods for great S-E-X…

Root Causes Of Low Libido

But before I share my tips for restoring your libido, including the best foods for great S-E-X, let’s explore some of the factors responsible for lowering sex drive.

Obviously, stress is a huge factor. But how exactly does stress affect libido? Chronic stress places a huge demand on two glands that rest on top of the kidneys called the suprarenal glands. You probably know these glands by their more familiar name, the adrenal glands.  

Your adrenal glands produce stress hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol plays several critical roles in the body, including normalizing inflammation levels; regulating blood pressure, and increasing blood sugar in order to deal with an emergency situation. 

The problem with chronic stress is that your body acts as if it’s always an emergency situation. And after a while, elevated or insufficient cortisol levels cause an imbalance of sex hormones. 

Imbalanced sex hormones can make sex torturous for women. For example, poor sex hormone balance can lead to vaginal dryness. 

Women who suffer from vaginal dryness often experience anxiety before intimacy because of the dilemma caused by the lack of enjoyment and the desire to please their partner. This pre-intimacy anxiety leads to a vicious cycle of more stress. And it’s not just women going through menopause that experience this. 

For men, excess cortisol results in poor sexual performance or a lack of desire to engage in sexual activity. 

Ancient Secrets To Enjoying Sex

Ancient Secrets To Enjoying Sex

No, I’m not going to rehash steamy scenes from the Kama Sutra here. But what I do want to share is the simple yet profound logic of traditional Chinese medicine that rules all aspects of life including getting it on between the sheets. 

You’ve probably heard of Yin and Yang. But can you define them? No, it’s not as simple as opposites. Rather, Yin and Yang are two halves of the same whole, constantly transforming but always striving to maintain harmony. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, every organ system strives for Yin/Yang balance, or as we would say in the West, homeostasis. 

When homeostasis is achieved, that is every single bodily system is running efficiently, a healthy libido will naturally arise (no pun intended). 

When your body is mostly humming perfectly along with Yin-Yang balance, blood vessels widen, circulation improves, the synapses that activate sensory organs fire more effectively and sex organs and sensual areas of the body receive enhanced blood flow. 

Ladies: don’t feel like getting it on lately? Got no mojo, gentlemen? Here’s how certain foods and holistic health can improve your sex life. A curious thing happened in the initial weeks of the pandemic. Couples who for the most part functioned as roommates prior to the pandemic suddenly rediscovered their intimate side. Despite the stress and fear in the early days of the pandemic, stay-at-home orders led to an initial increase in sex. After all, what else is there to do besides watch TV when you’re stuck at home all day and night? However, as stay-at-home orders eased (at least in the U.S.) and life’s other chronic stressors returned to the fold, our collective libido plummeted to pre-pandemic levels. So if your libido is shot because of Covid-anxiety and life’s general grinding assault, I’ve got some tips for you… Root Causes Of Low Libido But before I share my tips for restoring your libido, including the best foods to eat for a healthy sex life, let’s explore some of the factors responsible for lowering sex drive. Obviously, stress is a huge factor. But how exactly does stress affect libido? Chronic stress places a huge demand on two glands that rest on top of the kidneys called the suprarenal glands. You probably know these glands by their more familiar name, the adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands produce stress hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol plays several critical roles in the body, including normalizing inflammation levels; regulating blood pressure, and increasing blood sugar in order to deal with an emergency situation. The problem with chronic stress is that your body acts as if it’s always an emergency situation. And after a while, elevated or insufficient cortisol levels cause an imbalance of sex hormones. Imbalanced sex hormones can make sex torturous for women. For example, poor sex hormone balance can lead to vaginal dryness. Women who suffer from vaginal dryness often experience anxiety before intimacy because of the dilemma caused by the lack of enjoyment and the desire to please their partner. This pre-intimacy anxiety leads to a vicious cycle of more stress. And it’s not just women going through menopause that experience this. For men, excess cortisol results in poor sexual performance or a lack of desire to engage in sexual activity. Air Fryer Ancient Secrets To Enjoying Sex No, I’m not going to rehash steamy scenes from the Kama Sutra here. But what I do want to share is the simple yet profound logic of traditional Chinese medicine that rules all aspects of life including getting it on between the sheets. You’ve probably heard of Yin and Yang. But can you define them? No, it’s not as simple as opposites. Rather, Yin and Yang are two halves of the same whole, constantly transforming but always striving to maintain harmony. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, every organ system strives for Yin/Yang balance, or as we would say in the West, homeostasis. When homeostasis is achieved, that is every single bodily system is running efficiently, a healthy libido will naturally arise (no pun intended). When your body is mostly humming perfectly along with Yin-Yang balance, blood vessels widen, circulation improves, the synapses that activate sensory organs fire more effectively and sex organs and sensual areas of the body receive enhanced blood flow. air fryer and avocado oil How To Achieve Yin-Yang Balance For Great Sex

How To Achieve Yin-Yang Balance For Great Sex

The question then becomes, if you clearly lack Yin/Yang balance, how can you achieve it?

Well, diet of course is a huge factor and I’ll share my top foods for a great sex life below as well as a few supplements. But diet is only one piece of the holistic puzzle. Another critical lifestyle habit that will help you achieve homeostasis, and thus, a healthy sexual appetite is stress management.

If you’re waking up checking your news or social media feed and doing the same right before bed, you need a lifestyle change, stat! Replace staring at a screen in the morning and late at night with a healthy stress management technique such as yoga, meditation, a walk in the woods or neighborhood, etc.

Instead of confirming your biases or satisfying your gossipy nature, focus on getting your body back to a state of balance—if you want to have great sex!

Getting enough exercise is also important but some people actually deplete their adrenal glands even more by exercising too much. If you ask me, lowering your stress levels via meditation or going for a long walk is more important than doing high-intensity exercise. And of course, eating the best foods for great S-E-X.

Best Foods For Healthy Libido

Best foods for great S-E-X

As I mentioned, eating specific foods can help bring your body back into balance. Physiologically, certain nutrients are known to be effective vasodilators. This means that they open the blood vessels, which can help reignite libido. 

Here are my favorite foods to eat to support a healthy sex life: 

  • Dark leafy greens, like the seven different kinds in Organic Green Drink
  • Dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)
  • Beets
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Citrus 
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Chickpeas/hummus
  • Avocados

These foods are great for a healthy libido because they contain nutrients that stimulate nitric oxide. Not to be confused with laughing gas (nitrous oxide), nitric oxide, or NO, relaxes the blood vessels. Every single cell in your body produces NO. But if you eat lots of processed food, your cells will do a poor job manufacturing NO. No NO means no sexy time!

As a vasodilator, NO increases blood flow by widening blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. While these benefits may be associated mainly with just men, the libido-stimulating effects apply to women as well. When women have increased levels of NO, it’s as if the nitric oxide itself acts as a signaling molecule to become sexually aroused, this study from Stanford University explains. 

Best Supplements For Sexual Arousal

In addition to eating plenty of foods on my best-for-sex list above, you may also benefit from taking a nutritional supplement. One that’s discussed in the Stanford study is L-arginine, an essential amino acid that increases NO in the cells. 

Zinc and B vitamins are also important nutrients that are often missing from the Standard American Diet. It’s best to get these nutrients from a whole-food plant-based diet. However, if your libido is running on empty, you may want to give your body the extra supplementation it needs to rediscover that magic spark. 

Here’s to your healthy sex life,

Chef V

Chef V

Not Ready To Go Gluten-Free? Eat These 5 Healthy Grains You’ve Never Heard Of…

Jean Yates

gluten free grains

Should You Be Gluten Free?

“Hey Chef V, should I go gluten free?” 

It’s a question I get asked almost every day. 

So here’s my take on gluten…

I recommend people go gluten-free during the pre-cleanse phase of Chef V Cleanse (3, 5 & 7 days) and 21 Day Detox. 

That’s because most people aren’t eating the 5 healthy grains I’ll introduce in just a bit. Most people eat heavily-processed wheat products. Which can ruin your health in a few ways.

Most packaged foods contain wheat or wheat flour and are not organic. The wheat flour in processed food is heavily sprayed with pesticides like glyphosate. That’s bad news because glyphosate may be linked to several health problems including poor gut health (this study shows).

So it might not be the gluten you’re having a reaction to in wheat products. It could be the chemicals!

The wheat that’s in products sold in almost every supermarket aisle contains gluten that has been dramatically altered. 

ancient grains

Today’s gluten protein molecules in packaged foods are larger than the 5 healthy grains below. And that means your body might not recognize the modern wheat protein like it does ancient wheat. As a result, your body could start attacking the genetically-engineered wheat proteins. This in turn can lead to autoimmune reactions. 

The good news is that you don’t have to completely give up gluten. (Unless you have Celiac Disease.) There are several healthy grains with old-school gluten that may not cause gluten sensitivity after you eat them. 

(No, quinoa is not on this list because most people have heard of it by now.)

More articles about Gluten from Chef V

What do I Eat Today – A Gluten-Free Menu

Do you have the be gluten-free to be Healthy?

Your Guide to Gluten

Gluten Article Archive

All About Gluten and Gluten-Free Foods

Jobs Tears

Healthy Grain #1: Job’s Tears 

I’ll explain the weird name in a bit. Job’s Tears taste like rice, corn and barley had a thrupple. The chewy grain has a texture like chickpeas and is about the same size as one. 

Also called coix seed, Chinese pearl barley, and Hato Mugi in Japanese, Job’s Tears are perfect for buddha bowls (huge healthy, hearty vegetarian salad). 

Ok, so now the trivia. So Job’s Tears are after the Biblical character whose faith was constantly tested by God. Personally, I’d have an anxiety attack if I went through all the stuff Job did. 

Anyway, legend has it that when Job cried because of his many sorrows, the tears produced this healthy grain that looks like gray teardrops. 

Fonio grain

Healthy Grain #2: Fonio

You can think of fonio as couscous’s cousin. A tiny grain originally from Africa, fonio doesn’t look all that appealing raw. In fact, it looks like grains of sand. But if you have a delicious sugar-free sauce, fonio will wonderfully absorb the flavors. 

You probably won’t be able to find fonio in most supermarkets. Not even Whole Foods. But like just about anything else, you can find it online. 

Super high in B-vitamins (with the exception of B12, which is only obtained from animal sources), fonio might be a grain you’ll be hearing more about in the future. 

Will it be as popular as quinoa one day? Probably not. But time will only tell. 


Einkorn wheat

Healthy Grain #3: Einkorn

If you love the taste of commercial wheat just like it’s found in the supermarket, einkorn is for you. Only, einkorn is healthier than typical supermarket wheat-based products. 

That’s because it’s nature’s original wheat and it’s never been genetically messed with in the 12,000 years it’s been cultivated. 

I’ll get to the reason why it hasn’t been altered. But first, let’s review einkorn’s taste profile. Like most ancient grains, it’s got a nuttier flavor than commercial, modern wheat. People who love to bake but want to use healthier ingredients love einkorn as a substitute for commercial wheat. 

Next time you try baking banana bread or making pancakes, make them with einkorn flour instead of whole wheat flour. 

The superfood of the Egyptian pharaohs, einkorn was largely forgotten about for centuries. Early farmers discovered other grains that were easier to harvest. As gluten sensitivity has become more widespread, people have taken an interest in this long-forgotten unhybridized good gluten. 


Freekeh grains

Healthy Grain #4: Freekeh 

Get your freekeh on! Haha. What the frick is freekeh you may ask? It’s known as the King of Grains in the Middle East, the first breadbasket of civilization. 

Raw freekeh wheat does look freakish. It’s green. But after it’s cooked it emerges with a light smoky profile. I’ve heard it described as having a taste similar to fire-roasted cashews. 

As is the case with all 5 ancient grains, don’t eat them plain. Drizzle some olive oil or avocado oil on them. I also like Bragg’s liquid amino acids and a dash of Himalayan sea salt. 


Freekeh grains

Healthy Grain #5: Teff

OK, so what the “F” is teff? It’s actually the one healthy grain on this list that doesn’t have gluten. That’s right, teff is gluten free. That means that people with Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity can party with teff.

Naturally rich in calcium and vitamin C, teff are tiny grains that act like a resistant starch. Resistant starches resist digestion in the small intestine. Instead, they ferment in the large intestine (colon). 

That may sound gross. But it’s actually super healthy. Your good bacteria digests these fermented teff sugars and creates short-chain fatty acids. Short chain fatty acids provide us with so many health benefits. But that’s the subject of another Chef V article. 

For now, try a couple of these ancient grains and tell us what you think on Chef V Life. 

Do You Have To Be Gluten-Free To Be Healthy?

Jean Yates

sourdough bread

“Let’s talk about bread, baby, let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be…”

With apologies to Salt ‘N’ Pepa (I’m starting to show my age!), bread isn’t as sexy as a topic as, well, sex. But actually in a way it is, because the conventional logic in natural health circles is that if you want to be slimmer and feel sexier, you’ve got to abstain from bread. 

Personally, I don’t have bread every day or even close to every day. On the rare occasion I do eat bread, I’ll choose a gluten-free variety or organic sourdough cracked bread from Trader Joe’s. 

And what about you? How often do you eat bread and other foods that contain gluten? If you’re eating gluten everyday, is this a ticking time bomb? Are you setting yourself up for an autoimmune disease or other serious health condition later on in life if you continue on your gluttonous gluten-filled path? 

Here’s what I think about whether or not it’s necessary to go gluten-free…

ancient breads

Today’s Gluten: A Different Breed 

When wild wheat was first collected some 20,000 years ago, it was much different than the wheat that’s harvested today. Through selective hybridization, wheat has been modified thousands of times. 

Wheat, which contains gluten, the glue-like protein structures, is one of the most complicated species in terms of gene variation. You and I have about 25,000 genes that contribute to our individual traits. Wheat can contain as many as … get this … over 330,000 genes!!!

That’s right, wheat is more genetically complex than human DNA. But it wasn’t always like that. During the last 50-60 years or so, as the industrialization of food became the norm, wheat has become so bastardized that it would hardly be recognizable to the first agrarians who started cultivating it. 

And as wheat has changed, so has gluten. The gluten molecules over the years have become larger. And modern wheat products contain more gluten than their ancient counterparts—gluten has become bigger and badder!

What does this mean for your health? If you’re eating lots of processed wheat and other foods that contain gluten, your blood sugar levels are going to suffer. That’s because modern wheat elevates blood sugar levels higher than ancient wheat varieties. 

In fact, Dr. William Davis, author of the best-selling book from a decade ago, Wheat Belly, compared his blood sugar levels after consuming processed wheat bread compared to an ancient variety of wheat. With his baseline, fasting blood sugar at 84, Davis’ blood sugar spiked to 167 mg/dl after eating modern wheat bread. But after eating a variety of ancient wheat, his blood sugar rose to a far more moderate 110 mg/dl. 

So you see, like most things in life, not everything is black and white. The devil is often in the details as they say. 

The same is true with gluten. Gluten has a bad reputation, and for good reason; 99% of supermarket products contain highly-hybridized wheat gluten. 

And with bigger gluten molecules and more of them, it’s no wonder that many people have bad reactions after eating gluten. 

But not all gluten is bad…


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Organic Sourdough Bread: Good Gluten?

Sourdough bread contains gluten. But there’s less gluten in sourdough than in wheat bread. Another benefit of sourdough is that it acts like a prebiotic fiber. Prebiotic fiber is what the good bacteria in your gut feed on in order to survive and thrive. 

When I do eat sourdough bread, I always opt for organic. That’s because organic foods in general have less glyphosate. That’s the potentially-cancer causing herbicide and pesticide in Roundup weed killer that was developed by Monsanto, and the focus of over 125,000 lawsuits and counting.

Organic sourdough bread is fermented and contains more antioxidants than other varieties of bread. Plus, it’s easier on your belly to digest than wheat bread. 

ancient grains

Gluten: The Older The Better

Besides sourdough bread, what other foods with gluten may actually be good for you? Try eating ancient varieties of wheat that have not been hybridized to the extent that modern wheat has, and that won’t spike your blood sugar as high.

Einkorn and emmer wheat are a couple examples. There’s also spelt, kamut, farro and teff. 

Considering how used to modern wheat your taste buds are, it may take some getting used to ancient heirloom wheat varieties. 

But if you don’t want to give up gluten and want to take charge of your blood sugar levels and your overall health, give ancient wheat a try. Unless you have a true allergy to gluten such as Celiac Disease, you’ll probably find ancient wheat is easy to digest and won’t cause wheat belly. 

Chef V and kale

The Best Foods to Break Intermittent Fasting

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The best weight-loss program is always the one that works best for you. So it’s great news that so many people have succeeded with their intermittent fasting programs. If you’re in the midst of an intermittent fast, or planning one, you have nothing but good vibes from us at Chef V. Plenty of customers have found great success with green juice intermittent fasting using Chef V green drinks. But with any organic cleanse, it’s essential to keep your eye not just on the finish line, but beyond it. 

You can’t just break an intermittent fast by getting right back into the hamburgers and donuts. Not only does that sabotage all your hard work from intermittent fasting, but it can potentially give you serious digestive issues as well. 

If you’re looking for the best foods to break intermittent fasting, then we’ve prepared a list, including some of our favorites here. Of course, remember that there’s also Chef V’s own great products as well. When it comes to the best smoothies to break intermittent fasting, you shouldn’t miss out on our own recipe included in our cleanse! 

Why finding the best foods to break intermittent fasting matters

We understand. You’re getting to the end of your intermittent fasting period. You’re starting to dream of big, juicy hamburgers, or giant buckets of ice cream. But there are a few things you need to consider.

Firstly, decide to undergo intermittent fasting not only to lose weight, but to control your eating habits better. By indulging in the foods you were trying to cut back on, you risk swinging the pendulum all the way into binge eating. 

But there are also more immediate reasons to be careful what you eat. The best foods to break intermittent fasting will be easy to digest, low on carbs, and low on sugar. Why does this matter? A major diet shift is going to cause some significant changes to your metabolism and digestive system. If you don’t find foods that meet those criteria, you’re likely to end up in serious digestive distress and with uncomfortable bloating. 

Our favorite examples of fast-breaking foods and beverages

Apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is a beverage that is finally getting the buzz it deserves. We’ve always enjoyed using it as an ingredient in healthy pick-me-ups. However, apple cider vinegar is great  on its own, cut with water to make it go down easier. Even two tablespoons is going to be amazing for your gut health.

Avocado

Ah, is there anything that avocado can’t do? Some people have argued that the fat content of an avocado disqualifies it from being a good food for breaking fast. However, most of these are healthy fats. When you add on all the antioxidants, vitamins, and potassium, and the low calorie count, avocados start to look like a great food to break fast with. 

Broccoli

Don’t forget cauliflower either! These veggies, when cooked, tend to be easy on the stomach and easy to digest. They’re also full of tons of vitamins and minerals, just like many of the darker, leafy greens, but more on them later. 

Fermented foods

This is a broad category of foods, everything from yogurt to kimchi to sauerkraut. The reason they’re on this list is that they contain a lot of good gut bacteria, as well as compounds that promote the growth of those good gut bacteria. This helps you stay gut healthy even as you start to eat to break your fast with solid foods. 

Nuts

Nuts pack a ton of nutrients into a small package, and are a great way to start boosting vitamin intake after a fast. Some nuts are also high in protein, which will be good for giving you energy. Don’t forget seeds either—chia seeds are popular for fast breaking too. 

Smoothies 

Smoothies give you all the hydration of a drink or juice, but with some extra fiber and nutritional value as well. There’s a reason so many people love smoothies for breakfast. You can put in all the fruits and vegetables you love to make your own smoothie recipes. We certainly recommend a lot of berries and bananas if possible. 

Soups 

Like smoothies, soups are a perfect balance between solid and liquid foods. This makes them an easily digestible and suitable transition from a juice cleanse or fast back into a more solid diet. There’s also a ton of great soup recipes out there for you to try; find one that works best for your taste and nutritional needs. Fill them up with plenty of healthy vegetables. Bone broth is also popular among many non-vegans for breaking fasts. 

Spinach

Spinach is a real hard hitter when it comes to nutrition in food. However, you can put any of the dark leafy greens in this position, including kale and swiss chard. Dark leafy greens are loaded with vitamins A, B2, B6, C, E, and K. They also include plenty of calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. When it comes to the overall nutritional punch, the dark greens are hard to beat. They’ll also do wonders for your digestion, prevent constipation, and regulate blood sugar. If you cook them, they go down easily as well. 

Break your fast with Chef V

Chef V’s signature cleanse has everything you need to power through your intermittent fasting. Unlike other blended juice cleanses, Chef V provides detox soups and detox smoothies to give you everything nutritionally needed to meet your goals.

However, Chef V’s green drink is great on its own. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it’s a great companion to any fast-breaking food. Even at the end of your intermittent fasting, Chef V is there to back you up! 

Headaches and Other Negative Side Effects of Celery Juice

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Chef V is often lauded by supporters as one of the best juice-cleansing products you can buy. Over the past few years, it’s exploded in popularity online as a potential “cure-all” for a variety of ailments. But is celery juice good for migraines and gut health like they say? Is a celery juice diet really going to make you lose weight and feel great? Since we take juice diets seriously, we consider it our duty to get you the celery information you never knew you needed.

What are the benefits of celery juice?

To understand what has people so excited about celery juice, it’s probably best to get right down to the basics. The nutritional basics, that is. According to the US Department of Agriculture,
 1 cup of chopped celery includes the following: 

  • 40 mg calcium 
  • 14 calories
  • 2 grams fiber
  • 263 mg potassium 
  • 1 gram protein
  • 80 mg sodium
  • 453 IU of vitamin A
  • 3 mg of vitamin C  
  • 30 mcg of vitamin K 

For most of you, that’s just a bunch of numbers. So let's highlight a few standouts. Most notably, celery has a ton of vitamin K, an essential vitamin for helping us repair our body from injuries. Celery also has decent showing in calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. 

But, overall, celery’s nutritional profile could be best described as “inoffensive.” It’s not packed with any particular vitamin or mineral, but its calorie count is also pretty low. This isn’t to say it isn’t healthy. Celery is undoubtedly a super healthy vegetable, and with its low-calorie count, it’s great for a snack. 

If you were to turn celery into juice, it would be an equally inoffensive juice. In an age with so many sugar-laden drinks, we can respect that. Getting more veggies in your life is never a bad thing, whether it comes from celery stalks or drinking juice. Lots of fruit and vegetable juices, celery included, feature antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties. 

Problems with celery juice

What's the main negative side effect of celery juice? Well, it’s got one obvious and dangerous side effect. Hype. Celery juice isn’t magically going to make all of your serious ailments suddenly vanish, no matter what your favorite celebrity tells you. It’s just a juice made from a single vegetable and a fairly innocuous vegetable at that.  

Of course, plenty of people want to focus on that tantalizingly low-calorie count and assume celery drinks are great for juice diets and fasting. Trying to go for a juice fast based on celery juice isn’t a great idea. Firstly, the juicing process tends to strip most of the fiber out of celery juice. This can give you tons of digestive issues if you’re relying on celery juice alone for nutrition. 

There’s also the fact that the low nutritional profile of celery juice means it’s just not sustainable for something as long as a 7 day cleanse, let alone a longer 21 day cleanse. The lack of serious nutritional value can lead to the infamous “celery juice headaches” as your body goes without what it needs. 

Beyond the digestive concerns and celery juice headaches, there are also some adverse side effects of celery juice that are concerning for specific people. If you have a celery allergy, you should obviously stay away from large amounts of the stuff. However, people on blood thinner medication may also want to avoid too much celery due to the abundance of clot-promoting vitamin K.

The verdict

In the end, celery juice is just juice. That’s about it. In reasonable doses, you’re fine drinking it. The negative side effects of celery juice only start to kick in when you try to lean on it for a juice cleanse. If you want a juice cleanse that works, make sure to cleanse with Chef V. Our green drinks, detox soups, and detox smoothies have all the essentials to get you through even the legendary 21 day detox, no problem. 

Alli-Yums? Should You Pass On Garlic & Onions?

Chef V

shallots on board

For most people, cooking a meal at home just isn’t whole without garlic or onions. Harsh breath aside, garlic and onions (allium vegetables) possess potent health-building properties. But for a few people with poor digestion, alliums are just no fun. Chef V explains why garlic and onions can lead to indigestion. 

Here’s a little health tip that you can try at home. Just make sure you have some mouthwash handy: eating raw garlic and onion may be two of the best things to eat for your gut. 

That’s because they both contain prebiotic fiber. You’ve heard of probiotics (friendly bacteria in your gut) but in case you don’t know what prebiotic fiber is, it’s basically the preferred source of food for your beneficial gut bacteria. 

If you feed your gut prebiotic fiber, the good bacteria will feast on the undigested fiber in your colon and produce short-chain fatty acids. Pretty much every single health benefit you can think of, from emotional well-being to your immune system depends on short-chain fatty acids. 

So does this mean you should be eating garlic and onions by the handful? 

onions

The Health Benefits of Alliums

Garlic and onions are members of the allium family of plants. Leeks, chives, and scallions (green onions) are also alliums. 

Besides being used to flavor dishes, there are some very good reasons to eat a lot of alliums. They are rich in vitamins and minerals and contain compounds that are believed to fight disease. 

For instance, a 2017 study in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine says that alliums are rich in organosulfur compounds, quercetin, and flavonoids, among others. These compounds, says the research, have the following properties: 

● Protect against cancer

● Cardiovascular disease prevention

● Anti-inflammation 

● Prevents obesity

● Fights diabetes

● Contains antioxidants

● Kills germs

● Protects the brain and immune system

Moreover, several studies, says a research article in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, have shown that a higher intake of allium products is associated with reduced risk of several types of cancers.  

Besides bad breath, is there any reason not to eat these most common alliums by the bulb-full? Maybe there’s a good reason why Mediterranean cultures eat a ton of garlic and seem to have less chronic disease than Americans? Garlic is thought to be one of the most powerful foods for keeping the arteries clear of plaque buildup. 

As for onions, it’s an excellent non-citrus source of vitamin C. Both garlic and onions are excellent for people trying to manage their blood sugar levels. 

garlic

The Downside Of Alliums

But before you go eating bulb after bulb of garlic and onions, keep in mind that not everybody can tolerate alliums very well. It’s hard to say how many people have a true allium allergy. 

  Unlike Celiac Disease, which we know affects roughly 2 million people in the U.S, there’s no reliable data on garlic and onion allergies. Relatively few people are probably truly allergic to alliums but there are many people who are intolerant of them. 

So what’s in garlic and onions that cause bloating, gas and other digestive upset? The reason why is that alliums are high in FODMAPs. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. Basically, these carbohydrates are very hard for some to digest.

For people that have to eat a low FODMAP diet, eating alliums can cause the small intestine to poorly absorb the sugars in the onion and garlic. The sugars then ferment in the colon (large intestine), causing gas or other symptoms. But only a few people – who need to eat a very low FOD map diet – cannot tolerate alliums. For 99% of people, they are fine.


allium flowers

Fructans in Garlic and Onions

The main offending carbohydrate in alliums is called fructan, which is a chain of fruit sugar (fructose) molecules. Fructans represent the ‘oligosaccharides’ in FODMAPs. Garlic is especially problematic because it contains one of the highest levels of fructans in the plant world. 

Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill you can take to break down fructans like you can a lactase enzyme for dairy. That means if you eat at a meal with lots of garlic and onions, you may experience abdominal pain, acid reflux or constipation. 

In general, it’s a great idea to get more prebiotic fiber in your diet. More prebiotic fiber means better gut health. But not everybody tolerates prebiotic fiber (fructans and inulin, which is a polysaccharide). 

Elimination Diet

If you have trouble digesting alliums, I suggest giving them up for a few weeks along with every other type of food that may be triggering food sensitivities. That means no gluten (wheat), soy, and the most common other food sensitivity triggers: artificial sweeteners, caffeine, MSG, dairy, tree nuts, shellfish, peanuts and eggs. 

That bit of advice may seem overwhelming because what’s left to eat? But if you have serious digestive issues, I highly recommend working with a nutritionist who can help you discover the root causes of your digestive issues. 

The good news is that after a few weeks, you can start reintroducing some of these foods back into your diet, one at a time. 

And if you love garlic but it doesn’t love you back, here’s another piece of advice. Buy garlic-infused olive oil. It’s low in FODMAPS so it won’t trigger any food sensitivities. 

Just don’t forget to brush and use a strong mouthwash. 

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What Is Leaky Gut & Do You Have It?

Chef V

leaky gut

Leaky anything never sounds good: Pipes. Faucet. Radiator. Can you think of a situation where leaking is a good thing? I can’t think of one. The worst leak of all, one that affects millions of people’s health and happiness is leaky gut. 

How Do You Fix Leaky Gut?

Fixing a leaky gut isn’t easy and it takes time. Unlike calling a plumber, you can’t call a GI handyman to fix it fast. This is especially true if you’ve been experiencing the above symptoms for many years. 

The first step in conquering leaky gut is to stop it from leaking more. And to do that, you need to stop eating and drinking things that will continue to weaken it. For this, I recommend two options. The more accurate but more expensive way is to get a food sensitivity blood test. That takes the guesswork out. If you want to go the cheaper but longer route, follow an elimination diet. That’s where you avoid all potential allergenic foods like gluten for at least 4 weeks and then reintroduce them one by one to see if you have any allergy symptoms. 

There are certain foods like bone broth and collagen protein that may actually help repair the gut lining. But you can’t just sip a cup of bone broth and continue eating allergenic foods expecting miracles. 

As a certified nutrition therapist, I wish I could work one on one with you to help repair your gut. But one recommendation I have for you—besides replacing the typical American breakfast every day with my Organic Green Drink—is working with a functional medicine doctor or naturopathic doctor. Through diagnostic testing and supplement recommendations, these natural health experts can help you overcome leaky gut and get you living your best life. It’ll cost a pretty penny but isn’t looking and feeling your best worth it?

Gut: Not The Same As Belly

You’ve probably heard of leaky gut but aren’t quite sure what it means. In order to understand what leaky gut is, it’s important to first understand what the gut refers to. 

Many people think the gut is the stomach or abdomen. But your belly is just a small part of your gut. Your gut, or gastrointestinal (GI) tract actually begins in your mouth. Digestion begins even before you take the first bite of food. When you so much as look at or even smell what you’re about to eat or drink, saliva starts forming, ready to soften food for transit down the digestive tract. Eventually, what you eat is eliminated through your backside, which is where the gut ends. 

So now that you have a clear definition of what the gut is, let’s focus on a specific area of the gut that heavily influences your immune system, mood and overall health… 

Your intestines are home to trillions of bacteria. It’s also here that 80% of your immune cells reside. Some people believe that in order to have strong digestion, you need a strong stomach. But actually, the part of your body that has the most influence on your health is called the intestinal mucosal barrier. 

stomach mucosa - leaky gut

The Mucosal Barrier & Gut Health

Years ago, when I first heard the term mucosal barrier, I was kind of grossed out. When you hear the word mucus what do you think of? Disgusting runny noses, right? But it turns out that mucus is one of your best friends. Your intestines are lined with a mucosal barrier. This barrier protects you from potentially-disease-causing pathogens like harmful bacteria, viruses, fungus, etc. In addition, the barrier interacts with immune cells, absorb nutrients and is also responsible for directing waste out of the body. 

Your mucosal barrier is lined by epithelial cells. A healthy mucosal barrier has tight junctions between the cells. 

Leaky Gut Explained

So here’s where we get to leaky gut. Because of several reasons I’ll mention in just a sec, the tight junction can weaken over time. And when this thin intestinal mucosal wall leaks now you have a leaky gut. What exactly is leaked? Undigested food particles, toxins and microorganisms (bacteria, etc.). 

leaky gut

What Happens When You Have Leaky Gut?

Bad things. Autoimmune disorders can arise. A weak gut lining can cause rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and other imbalances in which the body attacks itself. 

Why does the body attack itself? It’s because when these undigested food particles, toxins and bacteria flow unimpeded through the bloodstream, the immune system mounts a defense and tries to destroy them. This creates a high inflammation response in the body, leading to painful joints, skin and digestion problems and more…

Why Hasn’t My Doctor Told Me About Leaky Gut?

Because leaky gut isn’t an officially recognized medical disorder. The closest thing to it is “intestinal permeability.” But in order to get diagnosed with that, you need to undergo a biopsy, in which a slice of your intestinal tissue is removed. 

There is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario with leaky gut. Did the weakening of the mucosal barrier cause an autoimmune disease or is it the other way around? 

I’m convinced that because of various factors, leaky gut causes inflammatory conditions, not the other way around. 

probiotics

Symptoms of Leaky Gut

You don’t have to have an autoimmune disorder to have a leaky gut. Other signs that your intestinal wall has gotten weaker include:

  • Brain fog
  • Constipation
  • Insomnia
  • Fatigue
  • Feeling cold
  • Bloating
  • Gas
  • Acne, eczema and rashes
  • Anxiety and depression

Causes Of Leaky Gut

If you have any of the above symptoms do you relate to any of the following causes? 

  • Frequent antibiotic use
  • Gut dysbiosis (not having enough friendly bacteria, having too many harmful bacteria)
  • Chronic stress 
  • Exposure to harmful chemicals like glyphosate
  • Excess alcohol
  • Consuming too much sugar
  • Eating foods to which you are allergic or sensitive, e.g. gluten, dairy. (This is also a chicken or egg question: are you allergic because of leaky gut or did leaky gut cause the allergy? Hmmm.)

There are other causes of leaky gut but these are by far the most common. 


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