Thank You, Dr. Fuhrman and Vita-Mix Corporation!

Back in September 2011 I received an email from Dr. Fuhrman. I had signed up to receive his weekly emails (newsletters, events, specials) and so this was one of those:

Basically, he was teaming up with Vitamix and if you wrote an essay as outlined in his email, you could win a refurbished Vitamix. I love love love my Vitamix but I do realize that it is a costly investment, especially for young families who cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a kitchen appliance. So I forwarded the email to several friends. One of them was Mimi Nishimura. Mimi is a former student and now a great friend. On Facebook she and I would post back and forth about being plant strong and how what we eat affects our health. Mimi was the only one who followed through and wrote an essay. Part of her essay focused on how Hawaiians have historically been on the lower side of the health spectrum and how we have seen great success with all our friends following a plant strong diet and how she knows that when we are given the proper tools and guidance, success is possible. She was hoping she could encourage her mom to improve her health through changing her diet.

Lo and behold, one month later, Mimi heard back from Dr. Fuhrman and Vitamix. SHE WAS A WINNER! She received her Vitamix in the mail shortly thereafter:

Mimi and her Vitamix, complete with Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live book!

Mimi is the picture of health and is a walking example of what a plant strong diet can do for you. She has always been thin but had gained a few unwanted pounds and was looking for a change for the better for herself and her family. Now with a Vitamix in the kitchen she can prepare smoothies for her and her family.

After Mimi won, I got very very excited! I spread the word a little farther and forwarded the email to a few more friends that expressed interest when I told them about Mimi's win. You won't believe it: two more wrote essays and they both won a Vitamix!

Meet Michele Macanas. Michele is a Hawaiian language speaker and her son was a student of mine. She also joined one of the 6 week challenges that we had a few months ago.

Michele and her Vitamix, complete with green smoothie!

Michele's essay focused on her 2003 battle with stage 2 breast cancer. It seriously makes me cry every time I think about Michele and her family going plant strong. I know the connection of diet to cancer and I am CONFIDENT that the better you eat, the healthier you will be and this INCLUDES lowering your chances of getting cancer. I know that once you get cancer, you can get it AGAIN and I am certain that because Michele is plant strong she is ensuring a healthy present and future for herself AND her family.

Michele's husband and sons all lost weight, she lowered her cholesterol and her husband, who has had high blood pressure his entire adult life has brought his pressure down and lowered his medication to half his normal daily dose. I have no doubt that he will one day be off of his blood pressure meds. This thrills me. Their lives have changed in so many ways.

The third is my very own flesh and blood, Kika. Her essay made me cry. She talked about my dad and how obese he was and how poor his health was. She knew that genetics was not on her side as her paternal grandparents both passed away way before they should have (before they even turned 50!). She knew that she needed to take control of her health through improving her diet. She reflected on how my husband and I had changed our lives by switching to a plant strong diet and how daily green smoothies made with the Vitamix every morning helped us start each day. And now she was doing the same!

Kika was living with us in Pa'auilo but had moved back to O'ahu for a new job when she wrote her essay. Winning a Vitamix is PERFECT because now she can continue her nutritarian ways (she doesn't cook all that much but she can make the best smoothies and desserts in the Vitamix) for herself AND her sister (and HER family!). Needless to say, I'm all for that!

Kika is now a member of the Vitamix family!

I don't think Dr. Fuhrman OR John Barnard of the Vita-Mix Corporation will see this post but I am so grateful to them for giving these three special women (and their families) a refurbished Vitamix (that are JUST LIKE NEW) in an effort to promote good health through a plant strong diet! Having this king of the kitchen helps them to create yummy smoothies, shakes, dressings and much much more. I have had mine for 7 years and it is one of the most used appliances in my kitchen.

I hope Dr. Fuhrman and Vitamix team up again to do another promotio.  Rest assured that if they do I will post it on this blog so you can ALL write essays.

Congratulations, Mimi, Michele, and Kika!!! KEEP PLANT STRONG!