I can name several people who influenced the brand AC Art Of Food through cooking, tasting, and conversations about a great meal. However, only a select few really inspired me to take hold of the health aspect of culinary- never letting go! One of those individuals is Dr. Rovenia M. Brock, or fondly known to most as Dr. Ro. I remember first laying eyes on Dr. Ro in the late 80s as one of the hosts of BET's Heart & Soul. For some reason I was hooked on the show and all the intriguing info of good health that was delivered. Fellow co-host Mocha Lee was the super-fit workout contributor, but Dr. Ro focused on the nutrition fitness, piquing my interest with every common sense health remedy and scientific nutritional fact she would relay- I.WAS.HOOKED! Not realizing that some 30+ years later she would still be impacting not only my personal health, but my business path as well. Dr. Ro is an amazing and knowledgeable nutritionist, author, coach, journalist, motivator, and seemingly all around cool individual. Her passion is real like mine. We've both endured the loss of a loved one due to illness and disease that very well could have possibly been prevented had proper diet and nutrition been incorporated, ultimately dispelling generational health 'curses'. Thank you Dr. Ro for your continued quest for best health and being overall a true inspiration for AC and AC Art Of Food! *** Click here to find out more about this influential icon! ~Great Eats & Healthy Inspiration!~
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As a culinary health resource, my clear-cut objective is to help you eat better....yes, YOU! Through my clean eating recipes, tips, study/research, experiences, apparel, seasoning, etc., I am certain you will find something that will inspire you to get started and keep going on your journey to a healthful eating! Now, about the vision. This New Year has presented itself with an anticipation that is igniting many of us to literally live our best live! I mean seriously, how can you not get a bit geeked about the year, 20-FREAKIN'-20!! It's in the year, this IS the year! The year of perfect and complete vision. We have been blessed with the gift and permission to get it right this time! As if a covering has been placed over us to see intently and guide us in:
The obvious common core of healthful eating is being sure to incorporate fruits and veggies each time you eat. Now, how these fruits and veggies are prepared and what accompanies them is where things start getting a bit foggy, lol! No fear, AC here to help you battle just that. So here's a few basic tips:
So get this year started by not contemplating so much of what to leave behind, but more so of what you can incorporate to kick-start your healthful eating journey with perfect vision! Allow yourself grace on this journey, Rome wasn't built in a day! Listen to your body and understand certain things work for certain people, and you my dear, are a masterpiece of couture- only custom for you! Embrace your imperfections and love you like no one else can. Your body will thank you and be healthier for it! Great Eats & Healthy Living! -AC A key focus of AC Art Of Food is derives from focusing on foods that benefit the body as a whole. One specific component in particular, our blood. And I have a super list of 7 Benefits of Eating Right for Your Blood. Think about it, blood is our lifeline and is essentially the juice we need to exist! Our blood cells heal us and if compromised will ultimately lead to our demise. So it's absolutely essential that this element in our bodies is operating at the highest level of efficiency. I first became aware of this particular way of eating by reading the actual book specifying this regimen. Over the years I have experienced, as well as witnessed, numerous accounts of this eating style where weight has been successfully lost and maintained, health significantly improved, and energy levels skyrocketed! So doesn't eating right for your blood make basic common sense? Still not convinced? If not, check out the list below and let me know your thoughts! 7 Benefits of Eating Right for Your Blood 1. Consuming specific foods that condition the blood for your optimal heath. 2. Ideal weight loss by eating the right food combinations specifically battling your fat and stress. 3. A healthy diet custom for your make-up boosting energy levels. 4. The ability to determine which foods to avoid that work against your body and identify those acting as medicine for healing. 5. Determine which types of exercise will give you the best results inside and out. 6. Become aware of which diseases and infections you are most prone to and eating the right foods to fight back. 7. Slow down the aging process by consuming specific foods focusing on cell regeneration. what are your thoughts on eating according to your blood type?
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The Verdict: AWESOME!! I do believe my favorite part of the bar though was the amazing variety of sweet and luscious tropical fruit- truly earth's candy if I ever tasted. Our amazing server Bridgette gave us an awesome tip: Come down to dine 30 minutes prior to the end of the buffet. That way we'd pretty much be satisfied for most of the day! Boy was she ever right! And as an added bonus, Bridgette became such an insight to me as our 'culinary health' discussions regarding blood conditioning provided validation for a facet of AC Art Of Food. She was and is a true gem!
The Verdict: A toe-wiggling winner!
The Verdict: The perfect ending bite to a perfect vacation!

There is a scale in our bodies on the ph spectrum that balances acid and alkaline in the body. You want your body on the alkaline side. 'Why' you ask? Cancer cells CANNOT live in an alkaline environment. For this reason, prevention is paramount.
This champion of a woman beat the odds by focusing her diet on alkaline rich foods. Just think, if we all incorporated alkaline rich foods into our diets the monumental changes we can make to our lives. Please be clear, I am not stating, nor am I in a position to state, that this is a cure for cancer. However, I am expressing that alkaline foods are a large contributor in the fight against cancer.
I became so pumped by this story that my mind immediately started buzzing with ideas on how to create delicious recipes rich in alkaline. There are plenty of these types of foods to choose from, check out a few of my favs below:
- spinach
- kale
- swiss chard
- leeks
- mushrooms
- cucumber
- citrus
- tomatoes
- avocado
- broccoli
- onions
- garlic
- ginger
- cabbage
- watermelon
- figs
- alfalfa, barley, and wheat grass
- sweet potato
- celery
- carrots
- kiwi
- cauliflower
I didn't have to look any further than my own backyard garden for one of the stars of my recipe where I'm growing gorgeous swiss chard! The recipe you ask? Here it is! My colorful Alkaline Rich Black Bean & Leek Salad. This amazing salad was a huge hit at our cookout! But this is just the beginning! I can't wait to develop more of my new 'F@#$ Cancer' recipes!
Alkaline Rich Black Bean & Leek Salad
Earth Day is a great way to really focus on what we as people should do in order to protect and preserve this planet in which we live. It's unfortunate that we have not done a very good job as a whole in this effort. From hunting for pleasure endangering species, to chopping down vital forests and everything detrimental in between, we have not done a very good job in nurturing OUR earth. However, now is the perfect opportunity to re-commit, re-connect, and play in the dirt again- figuratively speaking...or maybe not!
This year's focus is on the need to end plastic pollution. So many items we purchase to wear, eat, and drink, often if not always, come packaged in plastics of some sort. In my household, we're doing our part by growing fresh fruits and vegetables to help avoid plastic packaging- garden to table, if you will, ha! But inquiring minds what to know what you are doing to leave your mark on protecting Mother Earth.
Not sure about what you can do? No worries! I've formed a list below of excellent steps you can take towards rebuilding a better place in which we dwell. Which ones will you choose to participate in? Let me know by posting in the comments below!
AC Art Of Food's Tips To Preserving Mother Earth:
- Grow your own garden and get your hands dirty!
- Use reusable drinking water bottles (BPA-free/Glass/Steel), cups, and straws.
- Bring your own reusable grocery bags to the grocery store and markets.
- Pack your lunch and bring it in a reusable lunch bag.
- Utilize cloth napkins and towels instead paper ones.
- Purchase more ebooks over paper ones! (Like the AC Art Of Food Culinary Health eBook Cook Book Vol.I)
- Request to have have local sourced food served in your neighborhood schools.
- Support farmers and buy local and organic when possible, as often as possible- reducing emissions of food transport and the elimination of pesticides to preserve foods.
- Reduce meat consumption to reduce carbon emissions produced from the livestock industry.
- Recycle your non-meat garbage into fertilizer by composting kitchen scraps and using them to fertilize your garden! (FYI- Aldi's has a freaking TUMBLING compost bins on sale now for $40!!!- get'em while they got'em!)
- Run the dishwasher only when it's full.
- Water your garden either first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
Find even more ways at www.earthday.org!
One Green Planet has done a great job of spotlighting 8 individuals you may know at various ages who relay how they optimize their culinary lifestyle to maximize to their fullest potential in the article link below.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/plant-based-diet-good-health-age-defying-vitality/
Are you living your best life, right now? Let me know what you nosh on to keep it right and tight, at your age!
So how is a 'true foodie' determined? Associations Now feels they've tapped into the basic mindset of this creature of culinary expertise in their 2017 research. Check out the article and the checklist below from Popsugar and let me know if you agree or disagree- this should make for tasty conversation!
Article: Get A Glimpse Inside The Foodie Mindset
Find out if you're a Foodie: Foodie Checklist!
Enjoy!
'Yes, I'm Vegan'. 'Vegetarian is what I've become'. 'Yes I'm flexible- mainly vegetarian, but I only eat chicken on Mondays and Wednesdays, that means I'm Flexitarian'. 'Pescetarian here, fish isn't really meat, so I'm good'! I make sure that veggies are based around my chicken and steak, so I feel that makes me just good ol' plant-based, yeah, I'm Plantbased'. LABELS.
My eating journey started out like most, trying to figure it all out in an instant. I eat this, not that. Basically following a trend of what was popular, but also with the potential of eating better. I've pretty much dabbled in all of the above eating labels and have finally concluded that it's about what works for ME, regardless of the culinary trend. And isn't that what it's really all about- what works for you? Common sense says yes- enter EvilVeganism. It is truly a phenomenal time when the popular thing to do is eat more healthy. Unfortunately, these self-appointed spokespeople have an uncanny knack for making clean-eating-challenged, primary meat-eaters feel as if they're less than adequate for not giving it all up and once. These Evilvegans hop on their soapboxes and dictate all types of judgement and critique that raises them seemingly higher on this platforms as they look down on those not yet conformed. Ugggh, you eat that? You know you're killing yourself, right? So you're good with eating a chicken's period? And you wonder why you smell like that? I have heard and seen enough! You would think these self-righteous, holy-grass eaters have been vegan ever since the boob! Just a few years ago if not LESS, these exact same 'Mean Girls' (persons), were most likely in the drive-thru line of their neighborhood fast food chicken spot trying to get a 2-piece with a side of red beans and rice or at the burger joint ordering a double cheeseburger with extra pickles CUT IN HALF! Get tha' hell outta here! Because of these Evilvegans, I have seen friends and acquaintances at one time or another go into seclusion denying themselves holiday and other festive gatherings as not to be tempted by meat-laden vittles trying to fit into this unrealistic square peg magically overnight.
*NEWSFLASH*: If you have been a primary meat eater for 30+ years, chances are your body/mindset aren't going to adjust in 24 hours, or even 24 days.
While I am a strong proponent for a plant- based lifestyle wholly believing food is indeed medicine, as with anything your body consumes on a regular basis over an extensive period of time, you must PREPARE. Never have I heard those behind this EvilVeganism movement once utter the importance of speaking to your physician about plans to begin this lifestyle and considering your labs/blood work. Or providing resources and/or help to guide you in making an optimal and realistic plan for you to obtain this goal. Or encouraging one to not aspire to be a label but in fact to incorporate a healthy 'lifestyle'.
And this word 'lifestyle' has even gotten lost in the shuffle. Folks are being so ill-advised to embrace labels that they don't even comprehend what's all involved. What may seem like common sense to some is foreign to most. Veganism is not just an eating plan rid of animal protein and product derivatives. Veganism means that your favorite oh-so-soft-all-leather handbag is being donated to a shelter. Those badass leather and/or suede boots, shoes, earrings, jacket, headband, bracelet, wool coat/socks, etc., yep, no more. That killing-me-softly-warm fur coat you inherited- yeah, pass that on down to the next family member in line. And this is just your attire, we haven't even touched on that sheepskin rug or leather couch you're sitting on as you read this blog post. And did you pay extra for that all leather interior package in your vehicle? Or better yet, do you own a pet? Oh, ok. So you see, this style of living is deeper that what it looks to be on the surface. And it's not fair to those true vegans living this reality daily. Now this is not to say these are not your endeavors, my point is that research, time, and self-realization is needed. Understand that it is completely OK to take time to process and not feel bullied or less-than trying to live up to some Evilvegan's epiphany and exclusion of those just trying to live their best life.
So do you, be you, know YOU! Don't fall prey to EvilVeganism. Embrace and acknowledge your limitations and AT YOUR OWN PACE, seek to be more than a label.
Now go out and make it a Great Tasting Day!
So this is how I know sugar is the devil. See, I've been pretty consistent to limiting my 'sweets' intake to only a few times a month- and they most, if not all, of the times were dark chocolate (me making it beneficial, ha!) Limiting caffeine, gallon-a-day water intake, no meat, you know, just working really hard to be great.
Enter: the week after Halloween.
With my lifestyle of eating and exercising, I have miraculously demolished the 2pm work day slump. So walking into the break room to fill up my water mega mug around noon, what do I see?!? A bounty of the 'good' chocolate Halloween candy sitting pretty, right there on the table. WTH?!?!? And whyyyyyyy is the flesh so weak?!?! Somehow, completely unbeknownst to me, a handful of these chocolate 'devils' jump into my hand and walk me back to my desk- the nerve! After about only 15 minutes of being back at my desk I start to hear something. Low and behold, the Halloween candy begins whispering my name, louder, Louder, and LOUDER!! So me, trying to not to call any additional attention to myself, immediately put the candy in my mouth to keep down the noise, LMAO!! When I tell you, these little portions of delight blessed my soul something beautiful!!
Enter: 2pm.
I begin to feel my eyes get heavier and heavier. The usual podcast I listen to while working seems to now be singing a lullaby. All of a sudden I'm hearing this 'pinging' noise that startles me into snapping my head back to the upright position from being tilted all the way back, with yes, my mouth wide open in mid-slumber! It just so happens that my fingers properly in the home-row position, have acquired a bit of additional pressure from me FALLING ASLEEP!!! This NEVER happens! I am usually always alert at work, especially with my mid-day workout. As I begin to assess what could have possibly altered my sleep the night before, it hits me. The Halloween candy. That one piece of candy turned into me consuming 3 pieces within a 10 minute period. People, the sugar-rush struggle IS REAL!!!
Thankfully I had a 16 oz. mason jar of my usual morning green juice (spinach, cucumber, green apple, banana, ginger) I hadn't drank yet waiting in the fridge. I kid you not, I drank the entire jar and within 30 minutes you would have thought I had a shot straight to the vein of concentrated caffeine! It was unreal!! I didn't have that 'jittery' effect associated with a cup of strong coffee. It was like I was on a natural high! Even hours later after getting home and beginning my evening job as 'wife/mommie', I was still good, not winding down until it was my bedtime!
I say all of this to relay, beware of the sugar monster, it is a thing...a very, very baaaaaaad thing. It is indeed satan. Here's your proof from me, tried and true!
But as always, don't take my word for it! I gave you the ingredients of my SUPER green juice above, you try it and let me know how you felt afterwards in the comments below!!
Make it a Great Tasting (sugar-free) Day!
So enjoy the video, and don't just take my word for it, head out there and find your favorite! And PLEASE be sure to comment below and tell me what you think!
Make it a Great Tasting Day!
My thought process: A skinny person is not necessarily to be assumed 'healthy', nor is a thicker individual necessarily 'unhealthy'. Once you get the mindset to make 'healthy' not only your priority but your way of life, i.e., lifestyle, a much satisfied and health-ful person you will be.
Out of all the food fads throughout my lifetime, one tidbit seems to always prevail- plan-tbased is best. No, this does not necessarily mean all the world should ONLY eat grass for the rest of their lives. However, making plants primary and animal protein the smaller portion on your plate, is not at all a bad thing. Salads are not the only dishes to be enjoyed within a plant-based lifestyle. Roasted seasonal vegetables have taken over as a more tastier option when eating from the earth. Various beans/legumes, and even veggies taking the place of certain grain carbs such as rice and pasta, are heavily on the climb as the more tastier and beneficial choice. And yes, salads are a one bowl traditional go-to for vegan, vegetarian, plant-based grazers alike, but the salads of today are created thoughtfully 'outside the box' where in most cases lettuce is either a very small ingredient if included at all.
If a more gradual approach is what you're seeking, there's an option for that as well. There are loads of veggie 'meat' substitutes out there for those transitioning desiring a more textured vegetable replacement. However, be mindful that just because it's not meat doesn't mean it's better. In all things consumed and applied to your body, check the labels. Make sure your meat-subs are free from GMOs, too many ingredients with more than 8 letters (lol!), and are artificial anything! I'm not going to bash the product lines that are guilty of providing such ingredients for the sake of taste, but I will acknowledge my top two (2) favs:
- Gardein
- Quorn
And that's my take!
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