Abundance of Vegetables: My Inspiration for Abundance of Vegetables

I enjoy food and being creative with it. I am NOT a cooking professional. I do it for fun and love sharing my joy for it.

I started my focus on eating an abundance of vegetables in mid 2019 after a recommendation by my doctor, who is a Naturopathic physician.

I had an alarming cholesterol rate over 200 points. My Dr. recommended that I eat an abundance of vegetables with a little bit of protein, avoid processed foods, gluten, dairy and alcohol. I didn't completely follow the rules, but I did make a conscious effort to increase my vegetable intake. A month later, my cholesterol was normal.

I have taken the following hands-on cooking classes:

Farmer's Market & Cooking with Nivea - Santurce, Puerto Rico

Tostones
Adobo chicken and beans
Cucumber, avocado, tomato salad
Candied papaya with goat cheese

House of Taste Cooking School - Bangkok, Thailand

Pad thai with shrimp
Thai chicken salad
Green coconut curry with chicken
Mango with sticky rice

Culinary Institute of the Pacific - Honolulu, Hawaii (Seed to Table course)

Kale smoothie
Pesto with pasta and grilled chicken
Salad with pears, cheese and toasted walnuts

I have attended the following cooking demonstrations:

McCully Shopping Center Test Kitchen - Honolulu, Hawaii

Scone making demonstration with baker Pieter Vliet, Ohia Bakery, LLC

New Orleans School of Cooking - New Orleans, Louisiana

Cooking demonstration with Ms. Harriett

Gumbo
Chicken Creole
Pralines
Abita Amber lager (this was not prepared for us, but served along side the meal)

So much fun! I love!

May and July 2019 - My cholesterol is out of control.

Update - December 2019: My cholesterol is elevated again. 😐👊 Perhaps this is due to all the holiday gorging and drinking, etc. I need to try harder, I know.

Update - January 2020. Triglycerides elevated.

Update - February 2020: My cholesterol is back to normal. I have been taking a red rice yeast supplement.

Update - September 2020: My overall cholesterol is good at 176. However, my triglycerides are elevated. I don’t normally eat a lot of sweets or fruits and had issues with this before. My doctor thinks it’s because it’s hereditary and prescribed a high quality fish oil supplement to assist me with this.

Update - October 2020: My overall cholesterol is excellent at 169. Additionally, my triglycerides, HDL, LDL , and non-HDL are all in check and in healthy ranges. Fuck yah! I've had a horrible October, but at least I have some good news now here. 👌

Update - April 2021: My overall cholesterol is still excellent at 157. Fantastic!