257 - What Beating Cancer and Amazing Holiday Recipes Have in Common: Chef & Nutritionist Lauren Kretzer

Our guest today, Lauren Kretzer, is a vegan chef, recipe developer, and holistic nutritionist. She has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and cooked privately for celebrities. Her work has been featured in magazines like Vogue and New York Magazine, PLUS her recipes are in some of your favorite vegan cookbooks. 

In 2020, while the world was being forever altered by a pandemic, she was forced to square off against a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Rather than undergo formal treatment, Lauren chose to fight back with a holistic approach.

Today, Lauren is cancer-free, and she has a message – food can be our greatest healer. 

Tune in to learn from this renowned chef and cancer survivor what foods we should all be eating more of!

 

“Being plant-based around the holidays is not as difficult as people anticipate. I think in terms of the menu, speaking about Thanksgiving specifically, but also true for the December holidays as well, most people are excited about the sides. So, when you think about Thanksgiving, even meat eaters will tell you that turkey is probably not high on their list of things that they really love. It’s just part of the tradition and part of the centerpiece of the table, but you can have lots of beautiful centerpieces for a table that aren’t a bird. You know, I personally splurge for a beautiful floral arrangement that day, which I normally don’t do, but I will, you know, go all out on that. And then I’ll make sure that I have gorgeous dishes of lots of other abundant things on the table. So, we still have mashed potatoes in my family, we just make them plant-based. We have vegan stuffing. We have vegan green beans. We have cranberry sauce, of course, which is naturally vegan. All the traditional Thanksgiving dishes can be made plant-based.” – Lauren Kretzer

 

What we discuss in this episode:

- Switch4Good’s efforts to remove dairy from the dietary guidelines. 

- The events that led to Lauren receiving a cancer diagnosis. 

- How she overcame fear and negativity after receiving her diagnosis. 

- Why Lauren chose a holistic approach rather than conventional therapy.

- The changes she made to remain cancer-free.

- Lauren’s list of anti-cancer foods.

- The importance of reducing stress and the stress reduction techniques Lauren employs.

- What she does every day to stay healthy.

- Lauren’s tips for raising vegan children.

- Her plant-based holiday tips.  

- Lauren’s work as a recipe developer.

Resources:

- Lauren’s website: Lauren Kretzer

- Instagram: Lauren Kretzer | Plant Based Chef & Culinary Nutritionist (@lauren_kretzer) • Instagram photos and videos

- Substack: Lauren Kretzer | Substack

- Wall Street Journal article: Does Milk Do a Body Good? Two Olympians Race to Influence the Answer

 

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