October: What We’re Reading, Cooking, Listening To & Learning

While we’re busy growing local plant-based resources here in Santa Barbara County, nationally and globally there’s a bigger movement taking place and lots of opportunities to grow our plant-forward knowledge and know-how. Following are some resources that our Rooted team is digging into this month!

What We’re Reading:
Breasts: The Owner’s Manual by Dr. Kristi Funk

While there is no silver bullet for cancer prevention, there are ways that a healthy lifestyle may help lower risk for certain cancers. We love this straightforward resource by Los Angeles-based Board-Certified Breast Cancer Surgeon Dr. Kristi Funk! In Breasts: The Owner’s Manual, Dr. Funk outlines ways that we can reduce our cancer and recurrence risk based on food choices and healthy lifestyle changes backed by rigorous scientific research. Learn more about the book here!

What We’re Cooking:
Our Vegan Mexico by Dora’s Table

We love this resource by Chef and Recipe Developer Dora Stone of Dora’s Table. Dora was born and raised in Mexico and is passionate about teaching others the benefit of a plant-based lifestyle. She brought together 32 talented cooks from both sides of the border to share recipes representing each state of the Mexican union. Our Vegan Mexico is filled with plant-based Mexican recipes available in both Spanish and English and available to download (for free!) on her website – find it here!

What We’re Listening To:
How Much Fiber?! with Dr. Will Bulciewicz on the Exam Room Podcast

While protein gets a whole lot of attention as an essential nutrient – possibly the most important nutrient we’re not talking about is FIBER. The Exam Room Podcast recently hosted Gastroenterologist Dr. Will Bulsiewicz where he breaks down why 95% of Americans are not getting enough fiber, what we can do about it, and answers a range of questions that you may have on your mind too about fiber and health. Get geeky over fiber with Dr. B and hear his podcast here!

What We’re Learning:
Intro to Plant-Based Eating for RNs and RDs by the Esselstyn Foundation

The Esselstyn family is legendary in the plant-based movement and their work is a full family affair. Their foundation is on a mission to heal the world through the promotion of whole food, plant-based nutrition by providing free programs and resources. They have a free webinar coming up for RNs and RDs to learn more about plant-based nutrition and earn continuing education units! Check it out and sign up (or grab the link share with your favorite healthcare professional!) here.

Supporting Our Work - We’re currently an all-volunteer organization and we see incredible room and need to grow over the coming year. We understand that this time has enormous challenges for everyone, so while we’ll be seeking support to help roll our vision forward, we’re also thinking creatively to keep our costs low to efficiently build resources and deliver programming at low to no cost to our community. If you’d like to support our work, we hope you’ll consider making a donation to one of our giving programs through our community partner, the Santa Barbara Foundation!