I’m a mom to two teen boys and a health and wellness advocate. If you asked me to describe our family 20 years ago I would have said we were a healthy active family. Looking back, not so much. We were certainly active but our health was challenged with things like asthma, allergies, skin rashes, and anemia to name a few. It wasn’t till 10 years ago when I was introduced to my wellness community that I understood the role of food. I started to connect some very important dots. Food either builds us up and supports our immune system or it compromises it and tears it down. The processed foods and high sugar treats were like pouring gasoline on my kid’s asthma and allergies and were certainly not helping my energy and moods.

Another big aha moment that was super empowering to me is that we have control over our health. Over 80% of disease is preventable through diet and lifestyle. When I connected these two things I made the decision to change up our diet. I started with one simple change of adding in plant-based food concentrates, Juice Plus, to our family’s diet and from there we started making additional changes.

One of the best ideas that was shared with me was a snack tray for the kids. You take a simple muffin tin and fill the holes with all sorts of fruits and veggies. My first snack tray also included Pop-Tarts and Gold Fish, two staple snacks my boys had daily. Within one week all the process junk food was gone and their after school snack was all sorts of fruits and veggies.

Another perk was that I was eating more fruits and veggies as I was slicing and preparing. Milk was the next change and we swapped out cow’s milk for plant milk.

Here’s the best part. When you start eating more plants your cravings change and you crave more clean foods. I used to eat ice cream every night and was addicted to sugar. Now I enjoy it on special occasions but it’s not a craving anymore.

Once we started growing our own fruits and veggies year-round with the Tower Garden, salads became a regular part of our meals. Kale, fresh-picked from the Tower, was being put into smoothies and we sautéed up the greens often with dinner.

We are a work in progress and my husband and I have decided to take it up a notch and remove meat from our dinner rotations. I’m happy to say my 19-year-old is also on board.

We have noticed profound changes since eating a more plant-based diet. My boys went from needing 3 medications a day (the first 9 years of their lives) to being medication free after only 6 months of increasing our plant intake and making these lifestyle changes. They have been medication-free for 10 years now! Skin rashes are a thing of the past. My energy is amazing and my moods and mental clarity have greatly improved.  

I’m excited by all the resources that are at our fingertips to live healthier lives and my goal is to impact as many people as possible with offering simple solutions through the Juice Plus products.

In health and wellness,

Kim van der Heijden
National Marketing Director
www.vanderheijden.juiceplus.com
508-641-4816