First things first.  I’m really happy to report that, thanks to Oprah Winfrey, The Kind Diet has been helping lots of people.  Here’s a link to see some cooking videos starring Alicia and Laura Linney!

Second, here’s an interview I did at newnaturalista.com.  It’s a really cool site. 

THIRD… I want to give everyone time to make their plans for the cruise this year.  The WHAT, you say?  Yes, the cruise.

Seven years ago, Sandy Pukel decided to take veganism and macrobiotics on the high seas.  Since then, every spring, Costa cruises hauls just under a thousand of us pasty health food freaks out into the sunshine of the Caribbean.  If you’ve never been, I can’t recommend it enough.

Here are the five reasons you should go:

1.  The Food.  Commandeered by Mark Hanna  (total genius, cookbook author and my next door neighbor) and his crew, every meal is a multi-course, plant-based mouthgasm.  AND if you’re not feeling particularly virtuous, you can still order from the regular ship’s menu, even from our groovy dining room.  But that rarely happens.  The food is REALLY good.

Because the food is so good, and so healthy, instead of gaining weight and feeling like a weeble  by Thursday, you actually begin to feel fantastic come mid-week.  Smiles become spontaneous, steps lighten and skin glows throughout our half of the ship.

2.  The Classes.  This cruise is not just about the food, or the Caribbean.  All day, every day, there are classes given by some of the greatest holistic and plant-based thinkers in the world.  Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Colin Campbell, Marilu Henner, Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Yogi Amrit Desai will all be there.  Not to mention Ohashi, Christina Pirello, and um… yours truly.  All this amazing information, in the form of lectures, workshops and cooking classes, is a kind of mental and spiritual food that is deeply nourishing.  One walks around the ship thinking "I’m so glad I’m here!!"

3.  The People.  I try to sit with new people at every meal.  The stories that come out of them are mindblowing.  Recoveries from cancer.  Families just trying it out.  Longtime vegans with a passion for the planet.  Everyone has a story.  Everyone is interesting.  And everyone cares.

4.  The Ship.  Costa is an Italian cruise line.  In the spirit of La Dolce Vita, they go OVER THE TOP in many ways.  The design of the ship itself is romantic, colorful, and mischievious.  There are 11 bars.  5 dance floors.  Swimming pools.  A theater.  Water slides.  A gym, a spa and a casino.  Plus a whole club for kids!  And the cabins are great.  The staff, always pleasant and attentive, start really liven up by the end of the week and even put on singing/dancing spectacles at dinner.  I won’t wreck it with more details!

5.  The Caribbean.  Oh yeah.  I forgot.  Did I mention that you’re floating around on the bluest sea, stopping at ports of call throughout the region?   I know it seems crazy to mention it last, but the other stuff really–amazingly–trumps even mother Nature.  The Caribbean just becomes a breathtaking backdrop to a fantastic experience.  You can get off the ship and explore the islands as much as you want.  Or stay on the ship and take a class.  No pressure.  YOU’RE ON VACATION!

If you know me personally, you know that I am a horrible salesperson.  I’m usually like "uh… I mean if you want to try this thing… I mean, you don’t have to… it’s not a big deal…. really, don’t do it".  I’m usually sort of an anti-salesman, having been trained by Canadian culture to never step on any toe, real or imagined.  But the cruise is different.  It is 100% unadulterated, healthy, silly fun.  I recommend it to all my friends, veggie or otherwise.  You won’t regret it.

And the prices?  Very reasonable, considering everything you get.  Check it out.  And tell them I sent ya!  I’ll see you in March!

Jessica

I’ve been in bed most of this week.  I was felled by a sinus infection and it decided that my bed was the safest, comfiest, snottiest place to rest my painful head.  I’m just pulling out now, but I’d like to share some some interesting discoveries:
I found something this week you might want to look [...]

January 2nd is my favorite day of the year.  I mean, I don’t want to get all scroogey about it, but personally, I find all the buy-the-perfect-present pressure a little much.  I have a hard time keeping the kitchen clean, let alone organizing an orgasmic cadeau for every special person in my life.  Forget wrapping [...]

Okay.  I know I’ve written a cookbook and just co-wrote another one, but I’m not really a cook… I mean, I can put good vibes into food, and I  have a decent understanding of the energy of foods, but I’m not sitting around thinking up new recipes every day.  Which makes it THAT MUCH MORE [...]

So yeah, I’m basically a movie star now.  No biggie.  It feels fine.  I don’t have paparazzi at my doorstep (yet)… I haven’t signed an autograph (yet)… and my apartment still awaits its ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ renovation, but hey, those are just details.
I was asked by some friends to play a part [...]

To tell the truth, my life is already half-vacation.  As a self-employed person, I pretty much make my own rules, and as a hypnotherapist, I have a tendency to go DEEP into relaxation, especially at work!  But this semi-retirement has a flipside; while my regular life might seem relaxed to many, I don’t really know [...]

I spent this past weekend in Santa Barbara, California, at the annual Health Classic.  It’s a gathering of West Coast macrobiotic teachers and personalities sharing their knowledge and strengthening their practices.
Of course, it made me want to barf .  Well, at first.  You see, I always find stepping back into the fold an ego-threatening experience.  [...]

First, some blagging.  That’s blogging x bragging.  As a self-employed person, please indulge me: 
My first blag is that The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone  (co-written by Yours Truly) hit the New York Times Bestsellers List in the category of Hardcover Advice this past week.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!  Click here to get your copy and ten more [...]

So, my niece finally called.  She took her time, busting a hole in the amniotic sac first, and giving us almost a full day to assemble ourselves before kicking off some contractions.  All in all, it was a safe, healthy, un-medicated birth which brought my newest niece into the world.  Yay!
But even the easiest birth [...]

So I’m in Toronto, on Baby Watch.  This means that I have bought a throw-away cell phone, like a drug dealer, only because AT&T has cut such a lousy deal with Canada on the iphone that it is STEWPID to do otherwise. That’s probably why the drug dealers buy them too! 
Anyway, I’ve got this phone, [...]