October 31, 2012
As many of you know I am currently here in Orlando working closely with a well known cancer surgeon. (read more here) I have been teaching my Gracious Living Nutrition Workshops and Yoga classes to the cancer staff, nurses, doctors, surgeons, and cancer patients for the last month and a half. It has been an amazing experience to see how much this information is needed and how grateful people have been to receive it. I have realized how much REAL FOOD nutrition is needed in the world and at hospitals, especially for cancer survival and cancer prevention. (to read more about my dad’s cancer survival story click here)
Yesterday I was asked to pick one of my Gracious Living recipes to hand out on the “Cancer Fighting Cart”.
I made nearly 400 raw, vegan chocolate squares packed with antioxidants, magnesium, fibre, omega 3 fatty acids, and most of all Gracious Living love!
Together with the cancer prevention health educator we walked through all the cancer units at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre handing out my samples to anyone who would take them. i sang about the ingredients and how they help to heal the body. i shouted out how they were refined sugar free. i bellowed about how they were raw and all you had to do was mix the ingredients and stick ‘em in the freezer! i exclaimed they were vegan and there was no dairy. i cried out how it came with a free recipe!
people were perplexed. people were amused. people were interested. people were curious. people were grateful.
as i walked up and down the floors from cancer unit to unit, to different buildings, all i kept noticing was that so many patients in the hospital were eating chips. fries. pop. crackers. mcdonalds. most people looked really sad. i felt sad seeing people eat these toxic foods while they were fighting for their lives.
i tried to make people laugh and smile. one old man nearly fell on the floor laughing because he thought i said “would you like to try a caca ball?” instead of “cacao ball”. that was pretty hilarious.
we ended off our day in the kids cancer floor. my raw, vegan chocolates were definitely not a hit. 2 kids had no problem spitting it out of their mouths in front of me. one girl nearly started crying. i bent down and tried to wipe her chin and said “i am so sorry sweetie. i was just trying to make something healthy!” and then she smiled and ran away. yay, i was forgiven.
one of my favourite moments of the day was walking by a doctor about to eat a big honking cupcake with orange icing about an inch thick. he actually took a bite as he looked at my brownies listening to me talk about fibre. i looked at him munching on his toxic cupcake and actaully said “you won’t like my chocolates after eating your high sugar cupcake. don’t even bother”. i knew his tastebuds were not ready for my no-sugar chocolate square. perhaps i was feeling a little disheartened at that moment after seeing so many sick people in the hospital eating foods that are depressing their immune systems and increasing their toxic load. 2 minutes later as i was walking down the hall, the doc came after me and said” i threw the cupcake away. i am going to have your stuff instead”.
halleleuliah! my heart melted like coconut butter. someone was listening to my rants about antioxidants and enzymes! and if he was the only person that heard me from the 400 i saw yesterday i don’t care. just affecting one person everyday means it is a great day for me.
thank you MD Anderson Cancer Centre for allowing me to do this. I can’t wait to do it again. Need to think of something really good for next time, especially for the kiddies. i can’t watch another kid spit food out in front of me!
Nov 15, 2012
Another day with the cancer fighting food cart today. Went from cancer unit to cancer unit teaching cancer patients, families of the cancer patients, and cancer staff, including nurses, doctors, and head honchos of the hospital about fibre, plantbased protein, chia seeds, and the importance of green food. Both recipes were a hit….no one spit anything out and people were asking for more! Gracious Living “Lemon Lentil Dip” and “Black Bean Cilantro Chia Dip” made the rounds. I hid some dark, green leafy veg in there (YES, I DID!) and also added lots of cilantro for heavy metal detox, chia seeds, turmeric, cumin, and garlic for anti-inflammatory benefits. Once again people were intrigued, enthusiastic, curious, and eager for more information and recipes! onwards and upwards Gracious Living!
As the day ended, I sat in the Cancer Prevention Office waiting for my ride and picked up the book most often given to patients going through treatments from the National Cancer Institute.
To my horror and shock, I saw things recommended like ice cream shakes with butterscotch sauce, sports drinks (loaded with sugar), and carbonated beverages (loaded with sugar and chemicals).
¿qué???!!!
These are the things that contribute to cancer!! I can’t believe this information is being distributed in hospitals and is being recommended to cancer patients during and after treatments. Blows my flippin’ mind. What is going on in our world?! Things need to change. RAPIDLY.
I am thankful I have had this opportunity twice to hand out my Gracious Living samples and recipes throughout the MD Anderson Cancer Centre Hospital while here in Orlando. I hope that from the hundreds I saw both times that someone learned something, someone tried something new, someone is starting to question where there food is coming from and how it is affecting their body and healing.
I am also so grateful that I got to teach at the American Lung Association support group for lung cancer patients 2 days ago. As I stood up in front of a group of people and spoke about the healing benefits of plant based smoothies, I noticed that most of them were drinking diet pops and eating puffed pastries dripping with icing. YIKES! DOUBLE YIKES!! People so badly need to be educated on what to eat. People are eating chemicals and poisoning thmselves and don’t even realize it!! I knew this before, but now, more than ever, this just ignites the fire in me to keep pressing on singing the virtues and healing powers of foods that come fresh, right from the earth, to nourish our bodies, our brains, our hearts.
WE ARE LIVING BEINGS. IF YOU WANT TO BE FULL OF LIFE, EAT FOODS THAT ARE ALIVE!
PROCESSED FOODS, CHEMICAL FOODS, SUGAR FOODS, OVER COOKED FOODS, GMO FOODS ARE DEAD FOODS!
A LIVING BEING NEEDS LIVING FOODS TO FUNCTION BEST. CHOOSE:
FRESH FOODS…
WHOLE FOODS…
REAL FOODS…
THAT COME FROM THE EARTH AND START NOTICING HOW YOU FEEL. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY START NOTICING HOW YOUR ENERGY INCREASES!
PLEASE STOP EATING FOODS THAT CONTAIN NO LIFE. THEY DRAIN YOU OF ENERGY AND THIS LEADS TO DIS-EASE OVER TIME.
I taught at a “Forks Over Knives” event last weekend, too, which was so much fun and lots of people showed up! 3 people came up to me after and told me they had cancer and wanted to heal their bodies with fresh, life giving, nutrient dense foods. There is definitely a health revolution beginning to happen. I love it.
If you have read this far, thank you.
you are amazing. you are here for a reason.
here’s a goodie for YOU:
“FORKS OVER KNIVES” life-altering documentary. MUST SEE! click: here.
www.gracevanberkum.com
click links for exciting, upcoming GRACIOUS LIVING retreats in 2012/2013:
Nicaragua Yoga Adventure Retreat
6 Sivananda Bahamas Retreats
Nicaragua Yoga Adventure Retreat alongside Randi Smith
Miami Yoga & Sport Retreat alongside Gwen Lawrence
Nicaragua Yoga Surf B&B
(HUGE thank you to Sunwarrior wholefood, healing powders, Ergogenics Nutrition Organic Whole Greens, Canadian Tonic Yoga Wear, Anjaly Organic Yoga Wear, Superfood Mila Chia Seeds for supporting Gracious Living Nutrition & Yoga Events.)
Gracious Living Nutella Smoothie
