I’ve become a girl obsessed.

For the past week, I have been online researching one topic & one topic only. This behavior in and of itself is not abnormal, but normally the topic in question would be vegan food…and in a way it still is, but only incidentally.

This week, my obsessive internet search has more to do with…my father.

I took this photo as a tiny 2-year old.

You see, last weekend, my family was hit with a double-whammy of disturbing news:

First, we were informed that the skin biopsy my father had undergone to remove a strange growth on his shoulder had come back cancerous…that took my breath away.

Then, on Halloween, we found out that his prostate biopsy had also tested positive for cancer. How’s that for a scary evening?

So what’s a budding holistic health coach to do? Find a way to help heal him through food.

We’re still waiting for further tests to reveal just how far the cancer has spread, but in the meantime, I’m busy at work trying to prepare a comprehensive eating plan that won’t make my father gag. You see, though my own taste buds have evolved over the years to enjoy a wide variety of natural, wholesome vegan foods, my father is a red-blooded, typical-American male who’s set in his ways with a smoking habit & a taste for steak.

So here’s the challenge of the Life Tastes Better project: to make delicious, cancer-fighting foods that even the most hardcore of omnivores can love & to better educate both parents on the importance of eating for their health. It’s a challenge I happily accept.

First things first: I’ve compiled an easy-to-use list of “foods to enjoy/foods to avoid” my parents can reference when cooking at home:

hang it on the fridge, mom!

Next step: old-fashioned, home-style, cancer-fighting recipes [that also happen to be vegan...shhh!].

Anyone have any suggestions?