Hi Herbies, welcome back Julieanna, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking,  for another guest post. This time on raising plant based kids.

As difficult as it is for some people to personally commit to a plant-based diet, it may be actually terrifying to switch your kids to this way of eating. As a Mom of two little ones I know just how scary this can …

What are rolled oats? What are steel cut oats? What's the difference between quick and instant oats? 

I get these questions about oats a lot and hopefully I can answer them here. There are 5 main types of oats, plus oat bran and oat flour.

The first type, is the whole oat or oat groat. It is the whole oat kernel with the outer hull removed. They take the longest to cook of all the oats; taking about 50 minutes, …

Last week we met two amazing herbies who lost almost 100 lbs together. This week we're meeting Lisa, who gained more confidence and energy, as well as losing almost 20lbs, by changing her diet!

HH: How did you find your way to a plant-based (vegan) diet?

About two years ago I read a bit about "clean eating" (cutting out processed foods). It made sense, but after eating clean for several months I didn't feel any better. I then dabbled in …

Lots of new things going on with the meal plans this week: First off, 7 new meals this week and a new website dedicated to the meal plans!

We're also including my "New Year, New You" ebook again this week (in case you missed it!) This quick read will help you be more productive, start the year off right and reach all of your 2012 goals, whatever they may be.

New meals this week:

• Quesadillas
• Fried Bananas
• Vegan Alfredo
• …

I've heard it over and over that canned foods are high in sodium, and yes generally they are. But that doesn't mean that they are inherently bad for you or should be avoided. They can also be higher in calcium and potassium.

Canned goods can also provide variety. Up until last week, I wasn't able to buy fresh or dry black eyed peas. If I wanted them, my only option was to buy canned or frozen. It is also …