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"Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food"

--Hippocrates

The goal of Sherlock TruHealth is to help people consider the delicious, energizing, health-promoting whole foods, plant-based diet for health, the environment and a world with less cruelty. The importance of lifestyle factors to short- and long-term health is convincing in the body of research literature, and the ability of food to harm your health and keep you sick, or promote your health and keep you thriving, is clear. Let me know if you have any questions, or if I can help you meet your individual health goals or those of your workplace.

Check out Melissa on The Exam Room Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdweBildkyo

Upcoming Events

Classes are continually being formed so check back often, or email me at sherlocktruhealth@outlook.com to be put on my email distribution list.

Food for Life: Kids' Health

8 or 12-week class series, but join anytime!
Geared for kids 9-12 years old
Wednesdays 9 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. (for homeschool)
via Zoom
Individual classes $15
Payment Options (mention Kids' Health class):
Venmo using melissa.sherlock@outlook.com or @Melissa-Sherlock-1
PayPal using kevinsherlock@outlook.com Pay via

The goal of Food for Life: Kids Health (FFL Kids) program is to focus on highlighting the positives of good foods (whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables). The classes focus on the positive, fun, inspiration of food. Children are exposed to the great taste and health benefits of eating a healthy diet through kid-friendly recipes approved by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s staff of dietitians. The curriculum aims to empower children with the knowledge and skills they need to establish healthful habits to carry them well into adulthood with a fun and tasty experience. This class has been very popular with kids, and their parents! For individual classes, please email me at sherlocktruhealth@outlook.com.

Food for Life: Let's Beat Breast Cancer!

One-Time Class

Thursday, October 26, 2023 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Online Class Via Zoom

Costs: $10

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Join me in my kitchen for this class packed with the most vital information you need to know to reduce your risk of breast cancer or recurrence. Includes cooking demonstrations of cancer-fighting, immune-boosting dishes. You'll even be able to cook along!

Cooking with Melissa online classes via Zoom

Recorded Classes

Available anytime, 40-45 minutes long

Costs: $15

You will be provided a list of ingredients to prep, and cook along with me as you watch these recorded classes. With food prepped in advance, in 40 minutes, you will have dinner made, as well as one, two or three more dishes made for the fridge to enjoy for future meals! If you purchase the recorded class, I send you the prep list and the video, and will make myself personally available for questions afterwards by email or phone. I want to be sure you get the most from these classes. To purchase a class(es), email me at sherlocktruhealth@outlook.com. Payment is by check, Venmo or PayPal. Ask me how to pay by credit card via Eventbrite.

The feedback from these classes were that they helped participants get some great recipes they felt confident making. Even former students from a couple years ago who already went totally plant-based! Here is some feedback one of them gave me: "It was so great to interact in class with you and the great ladies (on the call). I took two full pages of notes on my notepad! So many great ideas!! I made the potato salad last night. To die for!!! Looking forward to future classes. I love the cooking portion, product shares and tips. You are the best!"-Mona M.

I will be teaching more live Zoom classes featuring comfort food this winter. Here are the four recorded classes currently available:

Cooking with Melissa - Mexican!
I really think these are the easiest, quickest and tasty dishes I make. A very popular class, with dishes that will become part of your weekly rotation.

Cooking with Melissa - Italian!
My most popular Zoom class. Make my signature lasagna, stuffed peppers, creamy mushroom pasta, all without meat and dairy. One student told me her Italian husband enjoyed these dishes!

Cooking with Melissa - Rice Dishes
Check out some of my favorite rice dishes! I'll talk about the different types of rice, with the staple being brown rice. Most Americans are not getting enough whole grains. I show you helpful and yummy ways to make nutritious, low-fat rice dishes and how to use a batch of rice in several, totally different dishes. Quinoa, farro or other grains could be used too.

Cooking with Melissa - Hearty Salads
Prepare some of my favorite entree-style and side salads! I show you helpful and yummy tips to make sure you getting in your greens, have a salad as an entree, or make a beautiful side salad.

One-to-One Coaching to a Plant-Based Lifestyle

With my training at Creighton in Lifestyle Medicine, I am working with people one-on-one to help them transition to a plant-based diet in a way that I can give individualized attention to their specific needs, and goals. This is not medical advice; it's all about the food! Most sign up for six months, but I also offer three month plans. Based on what is requested, we do goal-setting, may do store tours, cooking demos, discussion of specific hurdles or menu creation. Currently, coaching is done by phone or Zoom. For more information, please see my website here under Services/Coaching. Email me if you are interested in discussing whether this may be for you.

Corporate Teaching is something I love to do, whether its a Lunch & Learn, Food for Life class, cooking lessons for a group outing, or something else. I've done Lunch & Learn classes from one to a series of six. Corporate teaching is currently done via Zoom, and I also have a 3 part video series provided to employees, followed up by a live Q&A session over Zoom. If you know an organization who cares about employee health and may be interested, please let me know!

FREE Plant Powered Omaha Monthly Meetings

Monthly community interest group

Click here for info and to sign up:

https://www.meetup.com/Plant-Powered-Omaha/events/265657281/

I am a co-organizer of this group, which was formed as one of hundreds of community groups after the documentary Plant Pure Nation. Meetings are currently suspended due to COVID-19, but usually are held monthly to learn together about all the benefits of a whole food plant-based lifestyle and have a sense of community. We have different presentations and speakers, and all learn from each other. We also share experiences, and of course, food! The potlucks are to die for! Sign up for the Meetup so you find out about future meetings. Note: the group has grown large and it's difficult to find a venue.

https://www.meetup.com/Plant-Powered-Omaha/

Free Forks Over Knives Meetup Group

Various times and places around the Omaha area

https://www.meetup.com/Omaha-Forks-Over-Knives-Group/

Meet up with others for plant-based food at restaurants in Omaha. Sign up to the Meetup.com group to receive email notifications of gatherings. Schedule is currently being impacted by COVID-19.

Healthy for a Lifetime Conference

Educational Community Conference

October 23, 2023

CHI Health Center, downtown Omaha

This non-profit event in October 2019 and 2021 were a huge success, and the 2023 conference was no different. Don't miss the news on upcoming events--subscribe to updates at the website below. We do fundraising to keep these epic events with top speakers very affordable. You don't want to miss them!

https://www.healthyforalifetime.org/index.html

Also see the Facebook page and Twitter account for Healthy For a Lifetime

Recipe of the Month:

Healthy Apple Crisp -No oil

The leaves are starting to fall, the orchards are open, fall has arrived, so time for apple crisp for the family:

Author: Moms Own Words

Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

For the filling:

6 medium apples, diced into chunks (about 6½ cups worth)
5 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons corn starch

For the Topping:

¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup rolled oats
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup applesauce

Instructions

Cut apples into chunks and place in a large bowl
Add remaining filling ingredients to bowl (lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, and corn starch) and toss with the apples until well combined
In a separate bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping. Add the applesauce and mix by hand. The topping should be crumbly.
Pour apple mixture into a pan (I used a 9″ square dish)
Cover evenly with the topping
Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes, or until the apples are bubbly and the top starts to brown
Allow to cool/rest for 15-20 minutes before serving

For news of my events and classes, recipes, testimonials, inspiration and information on studies, please check out my Facebook page at Sherlock TruHealth

Find me on Instagram at Sherlock TruHealth

To receive emails with news of my events and classes, please email me at sherlocktruhealth@outlook.com

Definitions

What is a whole foods plant-based (WFPB) diet?

A whole food plant-based diet is a diet based on minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods from plants, including vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans, peas & lentils) and fruits, but with no animal products like meat, fish, dairy, eggs. Processed or highly refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil are minimized. This diet is typically chosen for health or because of its positive impact on the environment. It can be considered a high carb, low fat way of eating and has been shown to prevent, treat and even reverse chronic disease such as heart disease and diabetes. This is the way of eating promoted by Sherlock TruHealth

How does that compare to a "vegan" diet?"

A vegan diet includes no animal products, but may include unhealthy, processed or fried foods and oils. Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to animals for food, clothing, medical testing or any other purpose.

How about a vegetarian diet?

Generally, a vegetarian diet excludes meat. Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy and eggs. "Lacto" means milk." "Ovo" means eggs. A pescatarian adds fish to a vegetarian diet.

And the Paleo or Ketogenic diet?

The paleo diet consists of foods that can be hunted or fished like meat, organ meat and seafood and foods that can be gathered like eggs, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. It has in common with a whole foods plant-based diet, an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, with little to no oil and sugar, but it restricts carbohydrates. It is considered a high protein, low carb diet. The Ketogenic diet is a way of eating that promotes the metabolic formation of ketone bodies by causing the body to use fat (rather than carbohydrate) as its principal energy source. It's referred to as many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF). A keto diet consists of 80% fat and little to no carbohydrates. Staples are fish, meat, eggs, dairy, oils, and green vegetables. Pasta, rice and other grains, potatoes, and fruits are strictly prohibited.

The broad body of research supports a Whole Foods Plant-Based diet as the best for long-term health

Who promotes a whole foods plant-based diet?

The Cleveland Clinic, a world premier hospital for heart disease treatment, recommends a plant-based diet.

Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest health insurers, advocates for a plant-based diet. Why? Because it's good for business. It keeps people alive and healthy.

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the professional medical association for physicians, medical professionals, allied health professionals and those with professional careers devoted to advancing the mission of lifestyle medicine, including a whole foods plant-based diet.

Several prominent physicians and researchers promote a whole foods plant-based diet such as Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. John McDugall, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Michael Gregor, Dr. Kim Williams and others.

Actuaries for Sustainable Healthcare, an international association of actuaries dedicated to achieving long-term sustainability of health care financing systems through the use of whole food plant-based nutrition.

American Diabetes Association (ADA) in its 2017 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, the American Diabetes Association maintains that a plant-based eating pattern is an effective option for type 2 diabetes management and encourages clinicians to always include education on lifestyle management.

American Heart Association states on their website that eating a mostly plant-based diet was associated with a 42 percent reduced risk of developing heart failure among people without diagnosed heart disease or heart failure, and states: “The AHA strongly endorses the consumption of diets that include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the day, both as meals and snacks. Fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients and fiber and relatively low in calories and hence have a high nutrient density.”

American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) suggests that no single food or food component can protect you against cancer by itself. But research shows that a diet filled with a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and other plant foods helps lower risk for many cancers.

American Medical Association (AMA) has called on U.S. hospitals to improve the health of patients, staff and visitors by offering plant-based meals and meals that are low in fat, sodium and added sugars, eliminating processed meats, and providing and promoting healthful beverages. They have also passed a resolution recommending healthier foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, because economically disadvantaged patients are at the highest risk for diabetes, obesity and other serious problems.

American Public Health Association (APHA) has called on federal food assistance programs to emphasize vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, and nondairy vegetarian foods.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in its 2009 report, School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children, recommends that the USDA adopt standards for menu planning, including increasing the amount and variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association): “It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the lifecycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”

American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention recommends eating a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant foods and limiting processed and red meat, eating at least 2 ½ cups of vegetables and fruits each day, choosing whole-grain breads, pasta, and cereals (such as barely and oats) over those made from refined grains, choosing vegetables, whole fruits, and other low-calorie foods instead of calorie-dense foods.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a national nonprofit organization representing 12,000 physician members and more than 150,000 lay members actively promote a plant-based diet, and have worked with more than 100 hospitals and health care providers to also support a plant-based diet.

From the book by Michael Gregor, How Not to Die:

After Dr. Ornish proved that heart disease could be reversed without drugs or surgery, he thought that his studies would have a meaningful effect on the practice of mainstream medicine. After all, he effectively found a cure for our number one killer! But he was mistaken--not about his critically important findings regarding diet and disease reversal, but about how much influence the business of medicine has on the practice of medicine. In his words, Dr. Ornish "realized reimbursement is a much more powerful determinant of medical practice than research."

Sherlock TruHealth