Amazons planned purchase of high end grocery chain Whole Foods introduces a lot of questions - many of them around technology, delivery, and the future of retail. Its also a time to consider what, exactly, the Whole Foods value proposition is. After all, were told that Whole Foods seeks the finest organic food, but not all their customers have been fully satisfied with what they get in return for their dollars.

By and large, when folks pay more for food, they want it to taste better. Whatever labels we read about sustainability or endorsements about health, the thing that we always can judge for ourselves is how good a food tastes. And many people claim that organic, whatever its other virtues, does taste better.

Others disagree, and the science is mixed.

Studies show that some organic foods can have a different flavor, due to factors like how plants respond to environmental stress, but often differences are subtle and may fade away in the face of other factors like long transportation to reach stores. Plus, some organic ingredients go into processed foods in small quantities where they add almost no distinct flavor at all.

The practical implications of organic flavor appeared in a recent Washington Post investigation of mislabeled food imports. Shipments started out conventional, yet somewhere in the paper trail received an organic label. It was a multi-million dollar fraud, made possible because that label provided the only way for shoppers to know they were eating organic - they couldnt taste a difference for themselves.

We didnt have to move this far away from using our senses to know our food. In Vermont, organic certifiers provide truthful labeling while also supporting a better consumer experience. They encourage local organic food, eaten at the peak of flavor, or plant varieties that prize flavor over the ability to withstand cross-country transportation, or home gardeners who grow the freshest food possible in exactly the varieties they want. Its reasonable to expect food produced in a thoughtful, sustainable way to offer pleasure that goes beyond reading the fine print on a certification label.

All of which brings us back around to the idea that the simplest reason to buy premium foods is because they taste better - and when they dont, thats a problem. This concept doesnt take away from our loftier ideals - it supports them. And who doesnt want food to be delicious?

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Jordan: Organic Food Spotlight - Vermont Public Radio

1992: From Austin to Wall Street

Now operating 12 stores in Texas, California, North Carolina and Louisiana, Whole Foods Market went public. The prospectus stated that a significant segment of the population now attributes added value to high quality natural food.

Marian Burros, a food reporter for The New York Times, wrote that these gleaming new supermarkets 13,000 to 27,000 square feet of floor space bear about as much resemblance to the grungy, 1960s fern-bedecked natural food co-op, with its shriveled produce and flour stored in trash cans, as McDonalds does to Lutce.

Later that year, the company expanded into the Northeast with the purchase of the Boston-based supermarket chain Bread and Circus.

1996: From Hippie to Hip Capitalist

Whole Foods acquired Fresh Fields, a Maryland-based chain with 22 stores. Mr. Mackeys natural foods empire now consisted of 70 stores in 16 states. While still small compared to traditional supermarket chains, the natural and organic foods company grew at more than 20 percent a year. The next year, revenue surpassed $1 billion.

1997: Whole Foods, Whole Paycheck

Whole Foods started its store brand, 365 Everyday Value. The private label was later used to combat the perception that Whole Foods, sometimes known as Whole Paycheck for its notoriously high prices, was too expensive for everyday people.

2002: Fighting Unions

Mr. Mackey says he is pro-employee, but anti-union. In Madison, Wis., workers voted to unionize, a victory that was later decertified. Mr. Mackey told The Times that the vote came from his inattention to worker concerns. The following year, he visited all the Whole Foods stores in the United States to bond with employees.

2004: Manhattans Largest Supermarket

Whole Foods, which already operated a 40,000-square-foot store in Chelsea, opened its flagship 58,000-square-foot store in the basement of the Time Warner Center. On opening day, a line stretched out the door.

2006: Wall Street and Foodies Grow Disillusioned

Critics began to complain that Whole Foods was straying from its roots. The newer stores focus on prepared food and include in-store restaurants and spas. Bruised by competition with traditional grocery stores, the stock dropped by nearly 40 percent.

2007: An Ill-Fated Merger

The Federal Trade Commission challenged the acquisition of Wild Oats, claiming that the deal would create a natural-foods monopoly. The F.T.C. discovered that Mr. Mackey had used a pseudonym to write anonymous blog posts attacking Wild Oats. The end game is now under way for OATS, Mr. Mackey wrote in one. Whole Foods is systematically destroying their viability as a business market by market, city by city. Two years later, Whole Foods agreed to sell 13 stores to resolve the complaint.

2008: Selling a Stake to a Private Investor

Squeezed by the financial crisis and traditional grocery stores, Whole Foods stock plummeted 76 percent in one year. The company sold a 17 percent stake to Green Equity Investors, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners.

2009: Obamacare and a Boycott

Mr. Mackey wrote an Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal quoting Margaret Thatcher and arguing that the last thing our country needs is a massive new health care entitlement. His companys liberal-minded customers responded with a boycott.

2013: The G.M.O. Label

Whole Foods became the first retailer in the United States to label all genetically modified foods. The companys stock peaked at $65.24.

2015: Wall Street Sours

Wall Street analysts grew increasingly negative as organic food became cheaper and more popular at big supermarket chains.

Conventional retailers can get it into their stores more cheaply, and they can be more predatory on pricing, Mark Retzloff, a pioneer of the natural and organic foods retail business, told The Times. If one of those stores is just down the street from a Whole Foods, theres a big segment of their customer base that isnt going to shop at Whole Foods anymore.

2017: Under Hedge Fund Duress

After the activist hedge fund Jana Partners took a stake in Whole Foods and pushed for change, the company overhauled its board in May and began a push to cut costs. Gabrielle Sulzberger, a private equity executive who is married to Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., the chairman and publisher of The New York Times, became chairwoman.

In an interview with Texas Monthly published on June 14, Mr. Mackey criticized activist investors. Its the idea that business is about a bunch of greedy bastards running around exploiting people, screwing their customers, taking advantage of their employees, dumping their toxic waste in the environment, acting like sociopaths, he said.

Two days later, Amazon agreed to buy Whole Foods for $13.4 billion.

A version of this article appears in print on June 17, 2017, on Page B5 of the New York edition with the headline: The Life of an Organic Giant.

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How Whole Foods Became the Organic Giant - The New York Times - New York Times

852Hz Music: Awakens intuition & raises awareness, healing meditation music, frequency music 32205A

NuMeditationMusic youtube channel is devoted to create a new collection of LONG MEDITATION MUSIC videos for you to relax and enjoy in your daily meditation. In our channel you will find MUSIC playlists dedicated to BINAURAL BEATS, CHAKRA MEDITATION, BUDDHIST MEDITATION and SHAMANIC MEDITATION. Our goal is to enhance your experience of MEDITATION, ASTRAL PROJECTION, LUCID DREAMING and DEEP SLEEP. Check out our selection of PLAYLISTS:

CHAKRA MEDITATIONS

http://www.youtube.com/play...

A collection of chakra meditations for balancing & healing all the chakras (Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat,Third Eye and Crown chakra). This playlist also includes Healing meditations.

MONK CHANTS & MEDITATION BACKGROUNDS

http://www.youtube.com/play...

A collection of Buddhist Meditation Music for Positive Energy. These mixes are very peaceful and include monk chants of buddhist monks. We also use Tibetan Singing Bowls and these mixes are influenced by Zen Meditation Music.

ASTRAL PROJECTION & SPACE MUSIC

http://www.youtube.com/play...

A great resource for Lucid Dreaming and Astral Projection. The influences of this playlist come from relaxing ambient music, space music and binaural beats. This is also a sleep music playlist.

BINAURAL BEATS & MEDITATION MUSIC

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We use binaural beats several times for this kind of sleep meditations. Our music is also written with the Sacred Solfeggio Frequencies like the powerful 528 Hz. These frequencies will induce deep states of relaxation and the binaural beats will stimulate deep meditation states.

SHAMANIC MEDITATION MUSIC

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We love shamanic music, specially Tuvan Throat Singing and Native American Shamanic Music. These healing meditation tracks will definitely take you on a spiritual journey.

20 MINUTES MEDITATIONS

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These are simple meditations for beginners or when you don't have much time to meditate. We include Mindfulness, Zazen and Awareness meditations in these mixes.

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"Our mission is to write music that can impact you in a positive way because we believe music can change people's lives! We hope you enjoy, and we hope to connect with you again in the near future!" Show less

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NuMeditationMusic - YouTube

Like any startup founder well-trained in public relations, Andy Puddicombe is reluctant to talk politics. But when I ask about the explosive growth since the election of Donald Trump of Headspace the app that features meditation lessons delivered in Puddicombes charming British accent accompanied by whimsical cartoons he concedes that we are in an inflection point. More people are trying to find calm and clarity when they see so much chaos and confusion, he says.

Headspaces numbers alone are suggestive. The app recently surpassed 15 million downloads, up from 5 million at the beginning of 2016.

Even more telling is use of the SOS feature a special meditation designed to calm you down during sudden meltdowns. The day after Trump was elected president, Headspace saw a 44 percent jump in SOS sessions. And so far in 2017, theres been a 31 percent bump in SOS sessions monthly compared to 2016.

For Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, leading a meditation technology company means walking a cultural fault line: Trying to stay true to ancient mindfulness teachings to calm and focus the anxious masses while scaling to deliver returns to investors. Lately, thats meant allowing users the freedom to meditate for as little as a minute, down from the 10-minute minimum Headspace had. (Users can also meditate with the app for 30 minutes or more, if they choose.)

Catering to frenetic modern humans deeply habituated to precisely the tendencies mindfulness is supposed to uproot distraction, desire, selfishness, greed it turns out, means capitulating to those instincts.

I would never have said that 10 minutes is going to make a difference before I started working on this, Puddicombe told me over sparkling water during a recent visit to Washington, DC. Then we launched the app and people were asking for five-minute exercises.

But even that was deemed too long by many antsy, time-crunched users. And so this month, Headspace launched new mini mediations, along with more flexibility to jump around to different meditation packs with themes like Self Esteem and Relationships.

Before he co-founded Headspace, now a Los Angeles company with 184 employees, Puddicombe spent about a decade exploring Buddhism at various monasteries in Burma, Nepal, and Scotland, among other countries. He meditated for up to eight hours a day. He wore robes and was ordained in the Tibetan tradition.

Then, after a brief stint at the Moscow State Circus (drawing on circus skills hed honed in college), he returned to London where he befriended fellow Englishman Rich Pierson whod also benefitted from meditation. Pierson convinced him that disseminating mindfulness was a tremendous business opportunity. And what began as their meditation event business is now one of the most successful monetizations of mindfulness in a fast growing market. Forbes estimates that Headspaces revenue is $50 million a year and values the company at $250 million.

I spoke to Puddicombe about whats behind Headspaces exponential growth, the power his British accent has over Americans, the companys controversial ads, its ongoing scientific studies, the strain of growing a business, and how having kids forced him to change his meditation routine. (Full disclosure: I meditate but am not a Headspace user.)

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Just before this interview, I surveyed my friends and colleagues and turns out about 10 of them use your app. I didnt know.

It's becoming a lot more socially acceptable to admit that you're a meditator. But a lot of people are in the closet.

Interesting that people still feel self-conscious about it.

The kind of journey meditation has been on in the West, we [Headspace] have been one part of that conversation of demystifying it. But I do think for a lot of people it still is seen as a little bit unusual. I really would liken that to the journey of fitness you know, in the beginning, people who jogged around Central Park were seen as crazy. Meditation makes a lot of sense now that we understand the science in the same way.

In America do you think meditation has a New Age association? Is it weird to some people because its quasi-religious?

I think all of those things. Traditionally there's a sense it's tied up in religion. Back then went through a hippie phase. If you went off to India or Afghanistan in the 60s, sure, thats what you did. Then theres the later New Age self-help kind of phenomena which promises you everything. So I think there are kind of different elements along the way that made our job much more challenging.

The Buddha came up with these teachings of mindfulness and intended for them to be a map of the mind, to be used by any human being. Here we are, 2,600 years later, and they are really resonating. Millions of people who werent raised in a meditative tradition are using apps, books, and classes and going on retreat to learn meditation.

Do you think this is simply because technology is finally making it possible to mass distribute these teachings or is there something unique about this era where people need them more?

I do think meditation is for all people of all ages, across all millennia. The human mind is what it is. We have always struggled, and the fact that there were techniques for coping with anxiety and sadness and anger 2,600 years ago just goes to show that.

But we're living in a time where everybody is feeling more squeezed whether it's an increasing amount of responsibilities or commitments or just the busy-ness of life. I think there is no question that the digital revolution has only exacerbated that. People are really feel overwhelmed by the amount of communications they're involved in.

When I left the monastery, I set up a private [meditation] practice in London. It was just around the time of the financial crisis. And I sometimes wonder whether had it not been for that whether I would have met so many people who came along wanting to learn meditation. [The crisis] had really shaken them. They were asking, What am I doing with my life and what's my purpose?

And I think we've almost cycled round to another kind of point like that right now. How do I find a sense of calm and clarity when I see so much chaos and confusion going on around me?

In Tibet, for example, it took maybe 100 years for the teachings to reach 6 million people, and it took [Headspace] maybe a couple of years to reach 6 million people. And so I'm not comparing the depth or the breadth of the teachings that we deliver, but I do think there's something really kind of interesting in just how immensely scalable this is.

You recently ran ads in the New York City subway that said I meditate to crush it, and I meditate to have the edge to promote your performance-oriented meditation pack. That seems to encourage a kind of craving and grasping which seems problematic since mindfulness is supposed to teach us to let go.

I understand the marketing side of this, but how do you reconcile this message with the teachings?

Those werent our lines. Those came from our community. The crush it line came from a power lifter. One came from a salsa dancer. We went out and said, Why are people using it?

I don't feel like it's my business to be telling other people why they should meditate. I see it as a skill, I genuinely believe its up to every individual to apply that skill. Our job to get people excited.

I dont think anyone starts meditating to benefit all sentient beings. We all start with some kind of motivation, whether it's because we want to run faster or experience less stress. I'm not sure theres much difference. What excites me is the journey of realization, its about having a great sense of calm, clarity, contentment, and compassion. That evolves in different ways in different people in different lengths of time.

I feel really passionately about trying to maintain that authenticity.

Are there threats to that authenticity?

We havent taken investment that in any way threatens the future of company. And there have been really good challenges.

To begin with, I would never have said 10 minutes is going to make a difference before I started working on this. Then we launched the app and people were asking for five-minute exercises. Then Snapchat [a corporate client] asked us for one minute. Each time, its been a challenge to my own way of thinking. But for some people, a minute is the right amount of time.

Youre basing that on peoples feedback?

Were basing it on anecdotal feedback, and data. We see how people use the product in an anonymous way. Theres a lift in engagement the shorter they get. Ten minutes is still far and away the most popular, but weve just launched more of that shorter content.

So youve seen these big jumps in use of the SOS feature since the 2016 election in the US. Is this a sign that people are having meltdowns about politics?

Weve been growing exponentially, but we couldn't attribute that to the change of administration in DC. But regardless of whats happening here and I don't think it is just here, in my home country of England we had Brexit I just think there is a there is a feeling of uncertainty, instability, and destabilization. Inevitably in those times people look for ways to go inside rather than out.

Youve said that you have to meet people where they are, and were on our phones. What would you say to the person who says, I dont like the idea of a meditation app that tethers me to my phone?

Id want to investigate that: What is their relationship to their phone that is so disconnected and uncomfortable that they're unable to sit and listen to a guided meditation? The medium for me is not so important. I think that once you put it on Airplane mode and you press play, it might as well be a CD player from the 80s.

There is nothing inherently evil or bad about this piece of glass and plastic. So it can only be the relationships we develop with it.

Things I recommend people do is turn off notifications, clean up your home screen. Put apps on another page. Rich [Pierson], our CEO, now has no email, no social media on his phone.

I wonder about the power of your accent. Americans have a thing for the British accent. Your product is clearly much more than your voice, but your voice is also a powerful part of it. Are you as popular in the UK?

[Laughs] I am not sure I am more popular in the UK. America is now our fastest growing market.

As for the accent, it's the one my parents gave me. If the voice works for people it, Im happy for that.

You have scientists on staff, you have studies going on. So if were trying to understand the long-term benefits of these short meditations, there isnt much data out there on mental health and changes to brain. What are the biggest questions your scientists wants to understand?

Dosage is definitely one of them, how much and how often is necessary to see a significant difference. Because youre right, the truth is we really dont know. A lot of the mindfulness research thats been done, theyre often quite long sessions, over extended period of time on daily basis.

We have clinical trials running, always in partnership with a university or teaching hospital. Theyre funded independently, peer-reviewed before published. The most recent one on chronic pain was done with the National Health Service in the UK. I dont get excited about science. My own experience has been sitting down and seeing it work in direct way.

But for a lot of people, knowing that something is happening to the brain is really important, and I think its right that we pay attention to that. Part of demystifying [meditation] is giving people confidence and trust and science is a key way of doing that.

Whats the hardest part of joining the profit-driven world? Its clearly a huge contrast to monastery life and values.

You said profit-driven, I say mission-driven. My own personal role, strange as it sounds, hasnt really changed. In the monastery I sat down and did my practice. Now I talk into microphone. I dont see my role as having changed that much. I have a partner who looks after branding and an amazing team of people who look after every aspect.

This speaks to the inherent tension that anyone whos passionate and works hard has to face: Sometimes its just overwhelming.

Our practice defines how we relate to that feeling of being overwhelmed. For some people, that feeling of being overwhelmed is just the worst thing in the world and makes them run away. For other people, maybe its even exciting and challenging in some way.

Your ultimately aspiration is to build the most comprehensive guide to health and happiness in the world, right?

In the short term, we want to build most comprehensive guide to meditation. Certainly were not there yet but well on our way. Potential through the brand and platform for it to go beyond meditation.

Thats pretty ambitious though.

My lama one of my main teachers at the Tibetan monastery he was obsessed with this idea of thinking big. Not to be attached to the goal, but to be committed to the journey and process. Something changes when we open our minds to the possibility of something. If we dont make it there, its okay.

Have you felt much disapproval from members of the Buddhist community for your approach?

In the beginning, yes, when we were doing events in London. We put out a brochure, and we started getting letters from Buddhist professors saying it was terrible to change money to come to event. It felt uncomfortable for me personally. And then I started looking back, theres always been an exchange of value. People would bring food to a monastery, and in the West people come and give a donation and receive teachings. This feels like a good and healthy exchange. In companies where theyve given subscriptions to Headspace for free, they find that when they charge employees, engagement is higher.

Are you still in touch with teachers in Tibet? Do you still study with them?

I consider myself a student of meditation and always will be. I have my teachers from the monastery and outside. I was back there about six months ago, discussing my personal practice with my teacher, and how we can start making a difference to the communities where these teachings come from.

If you come to my house, I have a shrine, and all my teachings and texts. I still practice in the same way as I did at the monastery.

What is your daily meditation routine?

I practice well, its changed a bit since having kids. Im an early riser, I used to get up around 4:30 or 5 am and then go surfing with Rich before going to the office. Those were the days. Now I get up and I look after Harley, our first son, [and new baby, Leo.] So I'll do my meditation in my lunch hour or do it at the end of the day. On the rare occasion Harley does sleep in I get to do it in the morning. But I'm a lot more flexible with my practice now than I once was.

Best book you read recently?

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, he lived in a certain manner that not everyone is comfortable with, but his Cutting through Spiritual Materialism was a brilliant book. There is a risk as meditation becomes a thing that we start wearing it as a label, and in doing so only increasing this sense of identity and self, through which traditionally in meditation we try to let go of. So I think that is particularly relevant for now.

My other favorite would be Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. While Cutting through Spiritual Materialism gets into the nitty gritty, the nuts and bolts, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. zooms right out, its more of a look at absolute mind, rather than intellectual, thinking mind. Every chapter is just 3 to 4 pages, which I think is our attention span, collectively.

A senior disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh explains mindfulness for times of conflict.

Is mindfulness meditation good for kids? Heres what the science actually says.

See the rest here:

Meditation is thriving under Trump. A former monk explains why. - Vox

Forbes

How Meditation And Yoga Can Alter The Expression Of Our Genes Forbes For those who are still skeptical about whether mind-body practices like meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi actually work, a new study goes further in laying out how they affect usright down to the level of our genes. The meta-analysis, published in the ... Meditation and Tai Chi don't just improve your health and mental state, they seem to improve genetic activityZME Science Why Yoga, Tai Chi and Meditation Are Good for YouWebMD Meditation, yoga cut risk of cancer, depression by reversing DNA, says studyHindustan Times AlterNet -PsychCentral.com -ScrollToday all 21 news articles »

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How Meditation And Yoga Can Alter The Expression Of Our Genes - Forbes

Read Mark 4:35-41 Romans 8:38-39 (NRSV)

Neither death, nor life...nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In todays reading, the disciples were overcome by fear and woke Jesus from a sound sleep. They cried out and questioned his care for them. But Jesus calmed the wind and waves with the command, Peace! Be still! Jesus then challenged the disciples, Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?

Similarly, the storms of life assault us with little or no warning. Winds of change scream and howl. We are tossed up on the shore like driftwood, where we find ourselves lying among the wreckage of serious health problems, ruptured family relationships or broken dreams.

When we face hard times, grief and pain can dominate our days and fear may visit us in the middle of the night. Like the disciples, we cry out, Lord, do you not care that we are perishing? Jesus may not instantly command these winds and waves, Be still! But he does say to us, Peace! He speaks with loving-kindness to comfort and strengthen us.

Scripture reminds us that our Lord will never leave us or forsake us. We are encouraged to cast all our cares, concerns, hurts and fears, and pain on God because God cares for us. (See 1 Peter 5:7.)

PrayerThank you Lord, for hearing our prayers and giving us your peace in the stormy times of our lives. Amen.

Thought for the DayWhen my life seems to be falling apart, Jesus can give me peace.

Patricia Wilgis-Patton (Texas)

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Meditation | Home And Family | hpj.com - High Plains Journal

"Hi. It's so good to see you. Are you comfortable? Oh, I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling stressed out. Let me help you relax," says Kylo Ren, one of the villains from "The Force Awakens." YouTube channel Auralnauts posted an unusual video on Friday titled "Kylo Ren ASMR Interrogation / Personal Attention / Dark Side Tingles." It's a Star Wars-style take on a guided meditation combined with a very polite Sith interrogation.

To be fully in on the joke, you have to know what ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is. A 2015 study describes ASMR as "a previously unstudied sensory phenomenon, in which individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli."

The Auralnauts video is all about using Kylo Ren's creepy voice combined with him offering up Darth Vader-style breathing techniques, ocean sound effects and squeaking gloves. It later descends into utter weirdness involving a can of shaving cream and a lightsaber.

The video brings to mind another not-very-soothing sci-fi video, the infamous "Dalek Relaxation Tape" featuring a harsh-voiced alien from "Doctor Who." Good luck trying to de-stress with either one.

11

Death Star shows up in unusual places (pictures)

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Relax with Kylo Ren's guided meditation interrogation - CNET - CNET

The Tomah Aquatic Center will host water aerobics classes this summer.

Based on participation from last year, the program has been expanded to two nights per week. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 5:15 -6 p.m., starting June 20 with the final class Aug. 17 (no classes July 27 and Aug 1.) The cost is $3 per class.

Instructors are Deana Protz and Cathy Coffey.

Protz said the classes are low-impact and easily tailored to individual fitness levels. She said anyone can benefit from water exercise, regardless of age or agility.

Participants can work as hard or as easy as fits their fitness level, Protz said.

Classes are taught in the shallow end of the pool with some optional cool down exercises in the deep end.

Theres nothing better than a water workout on a summer evening, Coffey said.

For more information, call the city of Tomah Parks and Recreation Department at 608-374-7445.

Excerpt from:

Water aerobics begins June 20 at Tomah Aquatic Center - La Crosse Tribune

Detroit Vegan Soul restaurant owners Kirsten Ussery and Erika Boyd want to show Detroiters how tasty, filling and comforting vegan dishes can be.

Customers pack Detroit Vegan Soul on Agnes in West Village for lunch. The restaurant that serves all plant-based dishes and started as a catering company in 2012 is expanding to a second location on July 22.(Photo: Stephanie Steinberg / The Detroit News)Buy Photo

Stevie Wonder, Wu-Tang Clan members, MC Hammer, American Idol winner Ruben Studdard, actress Nicole Ari Parker of the TV series Soul Food and even former President Bill Clinton, a noted vegan, have all dined at the citys only vegan restaurant, Detroit Vegan Soul in West Village.

While co-owners Kirsten Ussery and Executive Chef Erika Boyd welcomed the celebrities and public figures Clinton, especially, helped distract hungry customers during a rush theyre more excited to have the Grandmont-Rosedale neighborhood try their BBQ tofu and smothered tempeh when their second location opens July 22 at 19614 Grand River.

Part of our mission is to help people live healthier lives, and in this community, they currently do not have any place where people who live here can sit down and have a meal. Its all take out. Its all fast food, so they needed a healthy option, Ussery said.

The restaurants opening comes at a time when Americans are making healthier food choices.

The 1,200-square-foot restaurant that will seat about 36 customers and serve plant-based, organic dishes, is indeed a healthy haven in a 2.5-mile area inundated with McDonalds, White Castle, and Little Caesars.

Our neighborhood currently does not have a full-service restaurant, says Martha Potere, Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporations economic development program manager, noting there is a partially full-service Coney Island. Other than that, everything is either carry out or carry out and sit in.

The 14,000-area residents have a higher than average median household income, Potere said, but theyre not wasting dining dollars at fast-food joints.

There is disposable income in this community that folks are spending outside of the neighborhood on things like restaurant experiences, she says. Were really excited to have an offering for them.

Yet the fast-food diners shouldnt be scared by the word vegan in the sign. Ussery promises they whip up comfort food just with a healthy twist.

Were here to hopefully help people transition from a standard American diet over to a plant-based diet, she said. And if we dont get full converts, it would be nice if people would consider vegan soul food a dining option just like they consider Italian or Chinese.

Veganizing meals

Before Ussery, 38, a North Carolina native, and Boyd, 43, a northwest Detroit native, opened their West Village location in September 2013, they were far from working in the food industry. Or vegan.

Now life partners and seven-year vegans, the two crossed paths nearly 13 years ago in Detroit.

We met at a party, Ussery laughs. ...Weve been pretty much together since then.

Ussery had a career in public careers while Boyd paid the bills as a natural hair stylist. They connected over a desire to start a business what kind wasnt clear until Boyds father lost his life to cancer, and they made it their mission to break the cycle of disease in their families.

Through our own research and experience we came to the conclusion that the healthiest way for us was to eliminate animal products from our diet, said Ussery, not sugar-coating the process. It took a lot to get there.

Going vegan for health, animals

Vegans, like vegetarians, do not eat land or marine animals. Vegans go the extra step by refraining from all animal products such as cheese, milk and eggs. Some avoid wearing animal skins like leather. Theres medical truth to Ussery and Boyds conviction that veganism can fend off illness.

A vegan diet emphasizing whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains is naturally low in salt, sugar and added fats while being high in fiber, nutrients and minerals, said Dr. Joel Kahn, a cardiologist and Wayne State University School of Medicine clinical professor. Scientific data is clear that diseases can be prevented and reversed with this diet.

A Whole Food, Plant Based (WFPB) diet is associated with lower risks of breast and colorectal cancers, Kahn added, and studies by Dr. Dean Ornish show prostate cancer can be reversed with lifestyle changes and a vegan diet.

Kahn has been a vegan for over 30 years, starting as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan.

The salad bar at the dorm cafeteria was the only attractive item I saw on the first day and that was it for me, he said. As I trained as a cardiologist and learned of the potential of heart disease reversal with WFPB diets, I began teaching my patients since 1990 of the value to prevent and reverse heart disease by choosing a vegan diet.

Kahn also owns GreenSpace Cafe, a vegan restaurant in Ferndale, and applauds the success of Detroit Vegan Soul. It is great to see them expanding..., Kahn said. The more the merrier to give people choices across the city and state.

Animal liberation activist Gary Yourofsky has dined at Detroit Vegan Soul every weekend for three years.

Unless I am out of town, I never miss the Sunday brunch and am usually the first person there when they open at 11, Yourofsky said. The mac n cheese is to die for, too, especially because no one had to die for it.

The longtime vegan follows the diet more for animal rights than health reasons. In 20 years of activism, Yourofsky has traveled to 30 states and given 2,660 lectures.

My main perk was having the opportunity to eat at dozens of restaurants nationwide. Without hesitation, DVS makes my top 10 best restaurants list, he said, ticking off his recommendations: the tofu scramble wrap and breakfast sandwich add avocado and Daiya cheese to both.

Intimate space for the soul

With a $60,000 Motor City Match grant, Ussery and Boyd bought the building last year. Its roughly the same size as their first location, and they plan to hire another 20-25 employees. Ussery said they may expand to a bigger building, but for now, they want to focus on intimate spaces.

Theres a certain kind of feeling and energy that we created, and we just didnt want to do something that wasnt going to allow that to be present, she said.

The neighbors are ready for the doors to open. While working outside, Boyds younger brother Sam said several residents have stopped their cars to share their anticipation.

Ive had some good food in my life, he chuckled. Ive never been moved to pull over on the side of the road to say Hey, I cant wait for you to open up your restaurant!

ssteinberg@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2156

Twitter: @Steph_Steinberg

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Detroit Vegan Soul opens second location July 22 - The Detroit News

sweet and cinnamon-y,

reminiscent of cold-nosed mornings,

spent in warm bakeries.

the perfect pair to a cup of coffee.

Unfortunately, I think we all know cinnamon rolls arent necessarily the, ahem, healthiest breakfast. Traditionally full of sugar, butter, eggs, and white flour, they definitely arent the best way to start your day. Lets change that with these vegan whole wheat cinnamon rolls with date filling.

So why dont we ever make them at home? While these are slightly more time consuming, the majority of the time consists of waiting for the dough to rise. And boy, oh boy, is it worth the wait. I think Ive consumed my body weight in cinnamon rolls today.

These vegan whole wheat cinnamon rollsare whole wheat, vegan, healthy, and (duh) delicious. These have a great almost pastry like texture, mostly due to the coconut oil. While I do try to limit the use of oil in my recipes, the coconut oil is a healthy and incredible addition to this vegan whole wheat cinnamon rolls with date filling recipe.

The filling is made of delicious dates. They reduce the added coconut sugar and make an incrediblepaste that I absolutely love. It would be great spread on toast or on top of oatmeal too!

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Date Filling

2017-06-19 06:50:24

Yields 12

A delicious vegan whole wheat cinnamon roll filled with a cinnamon date paste.

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

By Mikayla

Eco Child's Play http://ecochildsplay.com/

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Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls With Date Filling - Eco Child's Play