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Whole Foods + Plated.com

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If you visit my little blog frequently, you may have noticed that I’ve been talking more and more about whole foods recently. The more that I learn about human biology and nutrition, the more passionate I become about the importance of whole foods. If you’re not familiar, whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain any additives. Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains, beans, fruits, vegetables and non-homogenized dairy products. Originally (and naturally) all food is whole food. The term whole foods is often confused with organic food, but whole foods are not necessarily organic, nor are organic foods necessarily whole.

Whole foods are important because a lot of the food on the market today — especially in the United States — is processed with dangerous chemicals, preservatives, salts, artificial sweeteners, and so on. While these artificial substances may taste “good” and may make food cheaper — they are toxic. They cause cancer, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, just to name a few. It is naive to believe that the government is protecting us from toxic food. The U.S. is far behind the curve when it comes to food safety and nutrition. The U.S. government allows for a whole variety of dangerous foods to be sold that are actually banned in other countries. Over the coming months, I will be introducing a series about whole foods and nutrition, so stay tuned for that.

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Today, I would also like to introduce Plated.com. Plated compiles gourmet recipes from noted chefs and delivers all the ingredients necessary to make a home-cooked meal. This means everything from the meats, vegetables, and spices directly to your door. Plated costs $14 to $15 per plate for non-members, and as little as $10 to $12 per plate for members. After learning about my commitment to nutrition and whole foods, Plated reached out and invited me to give the service a try. I was impressed.

A few of the things that I like about Plated… The company works hard to build relationships with the same reliable, quality-controlled companies that supply top-notch ingredients to some of the finest restaurants in America. Plated strives to support local suppliers and American farmers by limiting the number of imported ingredients included in their recipes. Plated pays close attention to sustainability of resources, and keeps environmental implications at the forefront when scoping out new suppliers. Plated’s menus are seasonal to help support sustainable farming! The menus are nutritious and each meal contains a generous helping of fruits and vegetables. Since the fruits and veggies in each box are sourced direct from farmers, Plated greens are fresher than what you’d buy at a grocery store.

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The service is easy to use. Plated posts new chef-designed recipes to the site each week. You choose your plates and order online. Soon the fresh ingredients you need to create each plate are delivered to your door in a custom-made, 100% recyclable & biodegradable box. After trying it myself, I can confirm that it really is that simple and easy. The box includes prep and cooking instructions to make preparing the meal easy for even “simple chefs” like me. We ordered two meals and my favourite was the Fall Harvest Vegetarian Squash Chowder. If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that it was the best soup I’ve ever had. I’m not just saying that. It was so good. (There may have been some licking of the bowl involved…) I took all of of the photographs in this post while preparing & enjoying the soup.

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I hope that you enjoyed my first post about whole foods. If there are any topics that you’d like me to cover in future posts, leave me a comment and let me know. You can also head over to the Plated website to learn more about their service and the cool things they do like supporting Teach for America and donating remaining ingredients to local food banks. It’s a neat company and I’m pleased that I got to work with them on this post.

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    Are You Oblivious, Aware, or Getting It?

    This is a guest post from my friend, Andy Feld.

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    As I travel and meet new people all over our country, it seems most everyone falls into one of the three areas mentioned in this month’s title. What am I talking about? It’s the societal evolutionary change which is now in progress, although admittedly sometimes imperceptible. It is easy to see that violence rarely leads to anything but more violence. Overt materialism, absent integrity, brings happiness and abundance to very few. Additionally, centuries of male dominated insensitive energy added to a populace unwilling to take responsibility has us at a precarious tipping point.

    So, do you sense what I say is true? Are you oblivious to these changes in the air, or are you ahead of the curve and already taking the steps necessary to not only survive, but thrive in the years to come? Frankly, I am often greeted by individuals with long faces who tell me they will be happy again when things get back to ‘normal’. Normal for many means simply getting back to a life dominated by financial gain and the purchase of new things, but those days may be long gone. Banks are not lending money, our population is increasingly unemployed or aging and dependent, houses are not selling, there seems to be an oversupply of everything and worldwide competition is greater than ever. What if today is the way things will be for the next 20-30 years or longer? What are you going to do to be happy, prosperous, and emotionally abundant?

    Make no mistake, everything is changing and just about everyone is affected. Personally, my income does not approach what I once earned as a corporate CEO, my car is not as new and shiny as it once may have been, and I visit fewer restaurants, but my life has never been more pleasant. Would you agree that now is the time to not only re-evaluate, but also re-create our lives? If so, you are GETTING IT loud and clear, but if not, let’s look into what we can do about it.

    1. We are all One, connected with a common thread of spirit. When I say WE, I mean ALL humans, animals, plant life, earth, and stars. We all are of the same source energy, and understanding and respecting this Oneness is a key to thriving in our new age. Allowing all else to be, with love and respect, and without judgment of unique individual differences will open our portals to Universal Light. One cannot mistreat another human, the earth, our vegetation, and the animals without also mistreating oneself. We are all connected and what we put forth to others is what will always come back to us.

    2. Listen to our heart, our Inner Radar as I call it in my books, without the fear of judgment from others. We are all unique and different, and learning to reach within and hear that guidance we all individually brought forth to this lifetime allows us to grow and prosper in alignment with our life’s purpose. There is no better way to accomplish this than a regular practice of meditation and contemplation.

    3. Understanding the process for manifesting our life’s dreams. It takes quite a bit of practice and self-discipline, and you may be getting tired of hearing me speak about it, but we are the product of our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. Very little we desire will manifest without the alignment of these four elements. Believe in this, practice and have faith and you will embrace your life like never before.

    4. Learn to appreciate all that you have. From hot running water, to clothes in your closet, and food in the refrigerator, most of us have so much to be thankful for yet rarely acknowledge. The beauty of nature, our relationships, our health and the list should go on and on. Write it down and truly rejoice in how many ways you are blessed.

    5. Diligently work on balancing your male and female attributes. We are all a combination of both masculine and feminine, and the more we keep these two in balance the more we vibrate with the earth.

    Yes, everything is changing. First, become aware and then jump on board, but it will always be the choice of the individual. No one, other than you is responsible for your rescue.

    Whether it is a business, an organization, or individual, the time for changing the status quo in right now. How to go about it in this new environment is what I speak about and teach. I would love the opportunity to work with you or your group.

    With much love and appreciation,
    Andy

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    Andy lives in Morrison, Colorado outside Denver. He travels the country as a frequent speaker on life inspiration and business sales. He is also a regular guest on radio programs across the United States and on local TV.

    You can read more about Andy at his website, Simple Happy, and you can find his books on Amazon at the following links.

7 Comments

  1. Love it! Plated would be fun for special occasions, like Valentine’s Day. We always make a fancy dinner at home.
    (We actually just printed their postcards yesterday: ) Small world)

    Can’t wait to see more from this topic!

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  3. The hubby and I just did a “clean eating challenge” last week and we both FELT so good after NOT eating processed food!

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  5. Well that all looks delicious. Funny, I’ll be doing a review on Plated as well 🙂 I’ve been putting it off but your yummy post just lit the fire under my rear. Thanks.

    Reply

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