Today, I took the Four Sigmatic Mushroom Academy course and I had to share it on my blog. As a pretty healthy eater, I love to research anything that can make my body happier and function better. I've already taken the probiotics train very seriously but after seeing a ton of my favorite instagrammers take various mushroom powders daily, I was curious about how mushrooms work better than some drugs. The academy level 1 teaches you about the main 4 mushrooms and the basic science behind them. According to the website, the academy will teach you about 12 mushrooms in total and the more complicated theory behind them when all three levels are completed. I learned a ton in level 1 and I cannot wait for level 2 to come out. I plan to do more in-depth research about mushrooms but this class was a great head start for me and at under an hour, it is super easy and not time consuming.  Check it out here.

1. I like to buy precut veggie mixtures or make my own for the week. I then cook the veggies to day of, where they still have some crunch but soften just a bit. One of my favorites is the Asparagus mixture from Trader Joe's but I usually add half a red onion to it to make it more filling. Sautéed in olive oil or butter with a little merlot salt, it is to die for and really good for you. I also really like carrots sautéed in coconut oil with maple syrup or mini zucchini with olive oil and lemon. 

2. I make a large pot of grains for the week and portion the cooked grains in small bags with a little of the cooking water. The cooking water in the bag is for when I microwave them to make sure do not get all dried out. I love wheat berries, barley or brown rice but I try to keep the amount that I eat of them down. Usually two cups of dry grains yields 6 to 8 bags depending on the grain and the serving size - I do 1/3 cup. 

3. I like to make a protein with my meals. Because I am vegetarian most of the time, I usually make two kinds of protein prep. For beans or lentils, I make them in the slow cooker during the day so I do not have to wait on them when I get home. For fish, I make canned salmon or tuna burgers or I defrost tilapia in water during the day so when I get home, it is ready to be cooked.

These three tips have let me make a good dinner that doesn't kill my whole evening schedule. Hopefully, they can be helpful to you as well! 

There were three main things that really helped me to understand how good this is for the body. One man and one woman both had a lot of what I call "American" diseases - diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and a slew of other health issues. With the new diet, they both lost at least 30 pounds and felt so much better. So much better that they did not even need the medications they started out with in the beginning of the movie.

The other case study that I loved was the Dr, Esselstyn's son who was a triathlete turned firefighter in Texas. He eats a whole foods based diet and challenged his other firefighters to get their cholesterol checked. One of them had a cholesterol level in the lower 300s which is really high - near death. They all started eating a more plant based diet and his cholesterol went down significantly. The other great side effect of the diet was that they enjoyed eating the plant based foods and it made them feel better as a team, which is important when fighting fires everyday.

Lastly, there was a segment about how the receptors in your stomach work. Basically, there are two kinds of receptors: Density and Fullness. 500 calories of nutrient dense plants fill the stomach activating the brain to stop eating, while 500 calories of calorie dense foods half way fill the stomach so you eat a little more and 500 calories of oil barely make a dent in the stomach's volume making you eat a ton of it to be full. I always sort of knew this to be the case but to see it laid out like that was awesome! Plants fill me up - you have to eat a lot of them but it's very low in calories for a full stomach vs. a burrito at Chipotle that will fill me but it's two or three times the calories of the veggies.

Diet is a huge part of how you feel! I totally agree with that concept after my experiences in my freshman and sophomore year of college. When I came to college, I was a full vegetarian. I did not eat fish but I did eat eggs and cheese regularly. Because the dining halls really catered to meat eaters, unless I went to the buffet which was more expensive, I would end up eating a weird mix of processed foods and fresh veggies when I could find them. It was really hard for me to eat the way because I was accustomed to eating pretty healthily at home. I felt pretty sluggish. I slept a lot - took a nap or drank a large cup of coffee everyday to keep going at the pace that I work at now.

After I moved off campus and could cook for myself, I had the problem of going to the grocery store and literally wanting to buy fresh food but also lots of junk.  It's really hard to resist (Pleasure Trap) because it tastes delicious and it's cheap! Finally, half way through my junior year, I started buying food at Trader Joe's or Aldi religiously and it made all the difference. Though I have gained weight since my freshman year, I feel pretty good most days without drinking 3 cups of coffee or eating a lot of junk food. I treat myself to good fair trade dark chocolate or fruit ice pops and some sort of salty snack each week but I try to keep processed food out of my diet when possible.

It's amazing the link between food, diet and health. There is a bit of sketchy science in the documentary but the overall message is a good one. Eating a more plant based diet with less processed foods will improve your health. Completely cutting out milk and cheese and meat may not be possible for most but limiting your intake to one meal a day or a couple times a week is a good start towards good health. My dad always says "The better gas you put in your car, the better it will run." I believe this to be true about the body. If you put in good things, it will be good to you in the long run.

P.S. For those who love to play Devil's Advocate - check out this review. Super long but dissects the movie with great graphs and indepth readings of the studies.