My Cooking series and blog are titled "Love Your Body - Love The Planet", since a plant-based lifestyle means we are each taking care of our own health in a VERY big way, by being much more conscientious about what we eat, how it's prepared, limiting chemical additives and keeping things real and natural. It also means that we are each doing our part in a small way to help the environment and the protection against the harmful effects of "factory farming", the disease-causing, over crowded conditions, which means animals being continuously fed antibiotics to keep from getting sick and infecting the rest of the herd or flock and dying. This in turn means, that every egg, every glass of milk, every chicken wing and burger and hot dog etc. that you consume, also contains antibiotics. When you think of all the animal products you consume in a day, from those just mentioned, to cheeses, butter, mayonnaise, yogurt,  your pizza, the sour cream or buttermilk ranch dressing on your salad....it all adds up. And ALL those antibiotics, are making us sicker, because our bodies can no longer respond to the medicines our doctors prescribe for us when we get sick with the latest virus that goes around, or we need to have surgery, or tooth extractions. 

We hear a lot about trying to eat organic and avoiding chemicals sprayed on our food, and eating fresh and avoiding chemical additives in all the packaged and processed foods in the supermarkets. But I think the antibiotic issue is also a very serious one, that hasn't been talked about enough. Personally, I am extremely reactive and/or allergic to chemicals in general. As it is, there is only one antibiotic my system will tolerate. If I ever don't respond to that one drug and I am seriously ill, then I am in big trouble. So that alone was reason for me to go 100 % plant-based years ago. But it actually wasn't the reason, because nobody was talking about that then. My story is a long and complicated one. But I will say that going plant-based saved my life. And you can believe me, and everyone who knows me, when we say, this is fact.

I'll actually write about it in my upcoming cookbook. (it's been a long, tedious, work-in-progress, but it's getting there!)

I LOVE to help pass on my experience and knowledge and creativity through ways that nourish others. I LOVE to help other people get on the road to recovery, whatever their medical issues they might be struggling with: "Let food be thy medicine..." Making changes to the way we eat can have such an impact! I LOVE hearing people tell me how much better they feel after a few weeks/months of changing their eating habits! I LOVE the surprised expressions I get when people see the food on my blog posts, and actually have an opportunity to taste it either by purchasing baked items, or by signing up for the class series. (which is not only informative, but LOADS of fun, too!) I LOVE what I do, and especially the fact that I am still alive to be able to do it!  And THAT is how "LOVE'S KITCHEN" came to be.