This magazine is the story of the most challenging period in my parents’ health history. I am grateful for Influencers featured in these pages, such as Dr.  Andrew Weil whose books contributed to opening our minds to new ways of thinking so many decades ago. His seminal works validated our sometimes-fragile and vulnerable experience at this life-stage.

Growing up on the farm, food preparation and keeping everyone well-fed had always been an important part of our day. In the summer, this frequently included extending the dining room table to farm crews who helped us on a seasonal basis. Even in recent years, some of our farm hands have remembered the excellent meals Mother would prepare for them.

But now, we were looking to food as medicine. Fast food. Good food. Real food. Whole food. Food for life. In 2006, I signed up to receive Dr. Weil’s e-newsletters.

Soon we were pursuing his anti-inflammatory nutritional approach which he recommended for Alzheimer’s. We included healthy mid-morning snacks in our pursuit as well.  Some of our caregivers were very good cooks and we kept them busy with new recipes. We all continued to have good appetites, enjoyed eating together, and ate well.

But we experienced a considerable shift in what tasted good. Our appetites and taste buds changed, once we made the shift to eliminating sugar, flour, and processed foods and began eating mostly organic foods. For myself, the desire for sweets was quite simply eliminated.

I had seen the infomercials for the early NutriBullet and initially purchased the smaller, earlier version of the one pictured here for our mid-morning smoothies.

In Mother’s final months, we used the “Bullet” to puree her food – the same good, nutritious food which everyone at our table would be consuming. She continued to heartily consume almost everything we prepared for her until about 36 hours before her death.

During these years, a favorite collection became cookbooks with healthy, nutritious and delicious recipes – all prepared without added sugar, flour, and processed foods.

 

From the NutriBullet recipe book:  Smoothie name – “Inflamed No More”

2 cups spinach

Pinch of whole wheatgrass OR

2 tsp wheatgrass powder (2 Tbsp wheatgrass juice may also be used.)

1/2 cup pineapple chunks

1 banana

20 walnut halves

1 tbsp flax seeds

1/2 cup Rainier cherries – pitted (may substitute frozen cherries)

2 cups brewed and chilled green tea

Add all ingredients to the NutriBullet and extract until smooth. Serves 2.

 

Author: Susan Troyer