Members of the Nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health have been advising Google food service to ensure healthy choices since 2009. During this summer, Google executive chef and nutritionist Olivia Wu and I discussed the appropriate portion size for desserts. Since all Google meals are free and employees get unlimited servings, I commented that it’s important for Googlers to learn about mindful eating along with healthy portion sizes and the nutrition of their food.

In this interview series we speak with Mondo Samu: a husband, father, devoted Savor reader and student of Thich Nhat Hanh who has lost over 100 lbs practicing mindful living. 

Savor: In your blog- you equate the amount of weight you’ve lost to the weight of 5 spare tires. Wow! How do you feel physically, mentally & emotionally, having lost 100 pounds?

The San Francisco Bay Area is known for its innovative, delicious, and healthy culinary options.  Ingredients are always fresh—half of U.S.-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables come from California.  Vegetarian and vegan options are especially abundant, making it an ideal place to eat a full-time, or part-time, plant-based diet.

Suffering is universal, and if we really think about it, we all know what makes us suffer. Often we are stuck to it, and we feel that we have no power—no courage—to cut off from the roots of our suffering.

But we can cultivate the spiritual power to transform our cravings, our anger, our frustration, our suffering and our despair!  We can transform all of our afflictions, because like everything else in the universe, they are impermanent.

When we are able to cut off from suffering, we become free people.  In this freedom, we find happiness.

I enjoy mindfully preparing and eating this breakfast on spring, summer, or even on fall mornings when I need to fix a fast breakfast.

The nut or soy butter is a good source of healthy protein.  The blueberries are naturally sweet and loaded with antioxidants, and the whole grain bread is a good source of fiber and minerals.

The average American eats about two-and-a-half cups of fruits and vegetables each day—and if you subtract potatoes and fruit juice, even less than that! On average, Americans only eat about ¾ of a cup of dark green vegetables each week—about a tenth of a cup a day.  That’s far short of the amounts that nutrition experts recommend to stay healthy

An alarming study reveals high levels of drug resistant Staph bacteria in meat and poultry sold in U.S. grocery stores.

Vitamin D is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin,” since our skin makes this essential nutrient when it is exposed to the sun’s rays. So, with the longer, sunnier days of spring upon us, do we need to be concerned about vitamin D?