Andy's Idea Factory

Traveling gives me such joy  –  to be out exploring the world and it's many cultures, people, vistas- makes my heart sing. But as someone who has struggled for over a decade with food sensitivities, weight fluctuation due to a thyroid condition, and committed to eating a healthy, plant-based diet, traveling can indeed be a challenge. Whether there is a language barrier or not, often what I'm looking for simply isn't on the menu  –  vine ripe, organic, plant-based food. So if you're new to this way of life and type of eating, you may say "oh screw it," when you're on the road.  But if you're wise to why you're eating this way  –  for mind, body and spirit  –  then you may notice that you're more tired, touchy, emotional, sore, restless, and overall just not yourself. Or you may even suffer from physical symptoms, which are perhaps the root of why you're eating this way (IBS, gas, bloating, pain, inflammation, etc.) The day that I shif...

Living without sugar is still a daily challenge for me. I've covered this topic often because going sugar free helps me so much, but it SO isn't easy, so I hope these posts help you, too. Especially around Valentine's Day. But let's face it, every month of the year has at least one holiday that's infused with sugar. A February free of...  - 2/1/17 Raw, vegan lifestyle isn't just for crazies anymore  - 3/11/16 30 days of "no" sugar - successes and challenges, and moving forward  - 2/9/16 30 days of sugar free: Kicking the Addiction  - 1/28/16 30 days Sugar Free: Switching date sugar  - 1/11/16 Committing to 30 days without sugar - YOU will hold me to it  - 1/10/16 Partying with a restrictive diet - yes, it can be done!  - 3/24/12 Healthy Living 2: Healthy Eating  - 8/5/10 Healthy Living 1 - Read the Label  - 7/28/10 Bottom line, I know I feel exponentially better without it  –  sugar gives me headaches, tummy ache...

Welcome February! I am embarking on a month with the theme of free . I have tried gluten free . Dairy free. Grain free . Sugar free . Alcohol free . Caffeine free. But I rarely try them all at once - I like the old adage "everything in moderation," although there are times when I do adopt all of that. At once. For months. I know, that's crazy talk. But I felt amazing. I was pain free. Insomnia free. Worry free. So now is that time again. After the holidays, and then another month of "I'm kind of being good" with my diet (not the weight loss kind of diet, but my clean eating regime) while on the road, I figured February was a good (short) month to get back on track. I am committing to cutting all of those things out, while adding in a daily workout of any kind (from just walking to cross country skiing), a morning and midday smoothie with my Complete protein Today's smoothie: Pumpkin, cranberry, soymilk, flax, hemp seeds, and Complete powder,...

This was too good not to share! From Dr.Popper's Wellness Forum update Triglycerides are fats in the blood stream. Both dietary fat and carbohydrates can contribute to high triglyceride levels. Carbohydrate can be converted into fat in the liver through a process called de novo lipogensis. This takes place under certain circumstances, such as when people eat a diet that contains a lot of refined foods, juices, and soft drinks; and/or when people overeat. Both are common practices in Westernized countries. The reason why the body converts excess carbohydrate into lipids is because fat is more energy-dense and a more efficient storage form of excess calories. Unfortunately, the relationship between carbohydrate intake and triglyceride levels has been misrepresented by some health professionals, who tell people that the cause of high triglycerides is a high-carbohydrate diet. They conveniently omit the fact that the relationship is between refined carbohydrates, juices, soft...

We are living in a very acidic world; it seems like nearly everything we do lowers our pH, and in a low pH internal environment, inflammation occurs, bad gut flora thrives, our bodies oxidize faster, and disease sets roots. Therefore eating an alkalized diet is a must to return the body to it's natural state of self-healing. When I look at these two food charts it's easy for me to see why the new "food pyramid" and FDA recommendation is for 70-80% vegetables and fruits at every meal. That's no easy task, but the 30 days of sugar-free and  Transform 30 program I embarked on this past Monday helps me alkalize my body. I know that when I eat that way, my body feels better, I have more energy, I sleep better and wake up refreshed, I heal faster and generally don't get sick. When I am acidic, my joints hurt, I'm sluggish and unmotivated, and I've even gotten gout (as a vegetarian, that's pretty hard). But even though I know better, eating right ...

Updated: Fall 2019 When I wrote this post in 2014, I had recently joined a new community of health-minded individuals, and after five years with Juice Plus, I went back and updated, shorted, and revised this post so you can all see and hear how powerful a consistent practice can be of adding more plant matter to your body.   Our Story – The Kennedys and Juice Plus In 2007, Craig broke his femur waterskiing. Craig is a T-12 paraplegic, meaning his spinal cord was severed at the Thoracic #12 vertebrae, just above his hips. Craig was injured skiing in March 1996 in Steamboat Springs, 2 years after moving to Colorado, just before his 25 th birthday, and has used a wheelchair ever since. It doesn’t slow him down. It didn’t affect his love for skiing.  And it didn’t affect his soulshine. Craig and I met in 1998, at a bar in Steamboat, and we started dating in August 2000. I fell in love with Craig because of his Can-Do contagious attitude, and immediately we start...

My lesson learned in the last four years is that only YOU will advocate the most for your health. Only YOU know your body best. Know when something is wrong, despite negative tests, medical brush-offs, and a lot of "yeah I have that too, nothing helps." Keep searching for the answer, because healing is within your power, and starts from within. Hypothyroidism  30 million women and 15 million men are affected by a low thyroid - known as hypothyroidism - caused by toxic environments, stress, and a poor food system. Four or five years ago (lost track) my the symptoms started with swollen, painful joints, which lead to the discovery of a gluten intolerance, so I cut out wheat, but the symptoms eventually returned about a year later. So then I cut out all grains, then sugar, then caffeine. Nothing made me feel better, just deprived. I was put on Vitamin D. Vitamin B. Nettles. Apple Cider Vinegar. Probiotics. Nothing made me feel better, just over medicated. I tried more e...

I've found some amazing blogs out there that I thought to share, as I've found some great recipes here after 6 months on the SCD diet and getting bored with the few staple things I make weekly (granola, muffins, yogurt and smoothies, cottage cheese), salads, and restrictions.  I am craving bread again. And due to my latest class and needing to lead by example, I am losing my interest in meat's low vibrational energy.  So I went on the hunt for recipes that were grain free and meat free. I know, I know, what the heck does that leave? Well, I found some excellent options. I have found kindred spirits out there in these blogs, and know if you're reading this, you are one too. Enjoy! http://www.againstallgrain.com Love this girl! Fish tacos! Meringue Cookies! Bread! Pizza! Yes. There's a lot there to love. http://www.nourishingmeals.com Grain free, sugar free, and vegan chocolate brownie cupcakes. OMG. http://www.grainfreeliving.com Educational too - a list...

If there's one thing that people on restrictive diets complain about, it's attending public functions and being able to eat holistically.  And the reverse goes the same- when someone I know is hosting a party I'm attending, they're always worried about how they can feed me.  Here are some things to think about if you're either person, struggling with hosting or attending a public function.  Whether you're the dieter or the host, your tummy and your friends' tummies will thank you for taking a moment to include these few tips.  For the Dieter: Be honest:  Tell it like it is.  Don't be ashamed of your special needs, but don't be a pest about it either.  If they ask, let them know what you can't eat, and if they don't ask, kindly suggest some of the options below. Whether your reason is weight, medical, or just a life choice, everyone is different, and it's ok to state your differences. Be proactive:  Always travel with something. ...

Having been off coffee since going on the SCD diet, and boosting my existing Scotch-Irish-induced adoration for tea, I've found a new favorite: the naturally sweet and nutty Kukicha tea, also known as bancha twig tea or winter tea (how perfect).  Kukicha comes from the tea tree Camellia sinensis, just as it is the case with green tea, white tea and black tea and is made from roasted and aged twigs, stems and coarse leaves of the tea plant. I was introduced to Kukicha at my last Tea Party by my Ayurvedic Practitioner for cleansing and healing my liver ~ but the benefits of kukicha tea are numerous, it is an important part of the macrobiotic diet (truly taken from Ayurvedic tradition) and it is considered to lead to stable health and longevity.  Sold! Kukicha tea's benefits come from its alkalizing properties and is good for the prevention of numerous diseases by balancing our levels of acidity.  Here's where the SCD diet comes in:  diets containing white flo...

Last week I began the 3-part Healthy Living series for returning to the basics to achieve overall physical and mental health, and covered " Read the Label ." This series is intended to remind you that everything you need to be healthy is within your reach, and to act now for your long-term health rather than re- acting later to any health issues that arise. In addition to being proactive about what you put ON your body (as discussed in Read the Label), it's imperative you do the same WITHIN. But in this day and age, our society doesn't exactly make that easy on us, with quick, easy options at our fingertips that seem on the surface to be healthy, often we make the wrong choice without even knowing it, and even more often, without knowing what the true healthy alternative is. Clause: I'm no nutritionist or medical practitioner, but I find it frustrating that those two jobs are rarely combined. What is written below is from my personal research, years of my...

It's no wonder this company has the word "great" in the business's name; I've been sampling their products for over a week now and am astonished, truly taken aback, that they are actually gluten free. We've ordered Joan's everything bagel, plain bagel, and english muffins, all with great texture, perfect substituted-flour ratio, and delicious flavor; and after a year of being off these favorite glutenous baked goods, it's sure awesome to have them back! What makes Joan's goods unique is that they arrive frozen in a dry-ice container and are only partially baked (if at all?), so you are instructed to let them defrost (or nuke-defrost) and bake them for twenty minutes at 425. This way you're not toasting and reabaking the bagel or muffin (and reducing the quality of their texture in my opinion), you're actually getting hot, fresh baked goods right from your own oven. Other than Udi's bread, I haven't found anything that actually tast...

I'm a baker, it's in my blood. Vivid memories from my childhood of making pasta and cookies and breads and elaborate oven concoctions swirl my brain when I enter the kitchen, and I know all my mother's gifts lie at the ready in my hands, and I feel the presence of my grandmothers double checking my measurements. I like the science of it all, and I love the aromas and results even more. And after living in the high desert of Colorado at 7,000 feet for 12 years, I've learned some great techniques for high altitude baking and cooking. Thanks to my friend Amy for reminding me to share these. Practice makes perfect, and many of these techniques I've learned from trial and error even after all I've read on the subject. One thing that confused me for years was while water may boil faster at a lower temperature, baked goods will actually take longer. Why? Mainly, atmospheric pressure is less at high altitudes than at sea level, this lower pressure affects the bakin...

Recently I've been putting my researching brain cells to work on studying the Gluten Free way of life. Since the age of 14 I have had psoriasis, and recently it's been showing signs of progression to psoriatic arthritis, a progression that occurs in about 20-40% of the cases (studies are still incomplete, although the reverse is 80% of PA patients have had psoriasis, so the two are definitely linked). I've been tested for allergies in the 1980s (none), and I'm a pretty natural consumer as well, so I don't use body products with harmful ingredients like parabens or sulfates. Herbal and homeopathic remedies and dead sea salts have all helped reduce my inflammations, but have never eliminated the disorder completely. I was vegetarian for 7 years in the 1990s, and that never cleared up my psoriasis either. Because of its progression I've started researching the diet and how it relates to the disorder, and stumbled upon several articles and studies that now link...