Although I have loved spending a lot of time in Los Angeles to shoot a TV pilot or touring America for media appearances, my success started in Germany which is known to be the country of brats, beer, the Oktoberfest and pork chops. If you think about it that way it is even more impressive that I’ve sold 750,000 vegan cookbooks there in the last two years. That certainly affected the German food culture.

My book “Vegan for fit” was a number one Amazon bestseller and lots of Germans got inspired to try out my 30 Day Challenge to lose weight effectively without feeling hungry. It had a tremendous effect on vegan options at restaurants as many of them started to put vegan items onto the menus!

But for all of those accomplishments, I love coming to Los Angeles, my favorite city in the United States, where it is far less difficult to eat healthy, fresh and vegan. I love to shop for my groceries at Whole Foods or the local farmers market — you can certainly taste the california sun! Whole Foods specifically is heaven to me. I do not take it for granted – we have nothing like it back in Berlin.

I also love to check out new vegan restaurants and hotspot like Cafe Gratitude, Gracias Madre, Seeds and so much more. Unlike Germany, Los Angeles plays host to an abundance of opportunities to get vegan milkshakes, burger, kale salads and vegan sushi! Don’t get me wrong, there are organic grocery shops in Germany, lots of them, but unlike Whole Foods, 99 percent of them do not offer a wide variety of foods and certainly not warm dishes to eat right on spot. And I love that about wholefoods. To me it feels like a Vegan paradise! There is a saying that every chef is only as good as his ingredients are and you can get quality ingredients in Los Angeles almost everywhere!

If you practice a healthy, vegetarian or vegan lifestlye and want to spend some time in Germany, make sure to check out google maps and use keywords such as “vegan restaurant,” “falafel,” “imbiss” (meaning “snackbar” in German) to find something to eat. Berlin has become the capital of vegan foods in Europe and Mediterranean restaurants especially offer a lot of vegan foods like tabouleh, falafel, hummus and grape leaves. If you visit the capital, you have to check out Lamanoverde, which is the most renowned vegan restaurant in Germany right now. They offer lots of raw dishes as well.

There are vegan places everywhere but my second home makes it much easier. I love SoCal! All you Los Angeles readers out there remember to appreciate how good you have it. At least that’s what I do everytime I come here.

Bananas: Fruit of the Zoom

Endurance athletes have long known about the power of the banana. Unlike certain other snacks that dump high levels of sugar into the bloodstream right away, bananas give a steady supply of sugar as it is needed, and are a great source of potassium which is essential in the prevention of cramps. Competitive cyclists are therefore often seen with the ubiquitous yellow fruit poking out of their back pockets as they set off on long haul training rides.

However hard core athletes are not the only people who can benefit from the humble banana, and its health benefits are legion.

As well as containing fiber, bananas are a source of sucrose, fructose, and glucose which are natural sugars. Therefore the sugar goes into the bloodstream immediately but does not dump all of it in at once, giving a sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.

As well has helping us power our engine as we keep fit, bananas can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions.

According to a recent survey undertaken among people suffering from depression by MIND, a British mental health charity, many felt much better after eating a banana. It is known that the fruit contains tryptophan, a type of amino acid that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

The yellow wonder is a source of vitamin B6 which regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood and alleviate stress. Because they are rich in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia. This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. Indeed the FDA allows the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

In a study in a school in England, two-hundred students ate bananas for breakfast, at break time and lunchtime in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Because they are high in fiber, a diet that includes bananas can help restore normal bowel action and alleviate the need for laxatives.One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, while the honey builds up depleted blood sugar levels, and the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Bananas have a natural antacid effect, and can help to relieve the pain of heartburn. Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Many people bitten by mosquitos have reported that rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin, rather than using an insect bite cream, reduces swelling and irritation.

Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found that work-related stress leads to gorging on unhealthy snacks and processed “comfort food.” In a survey of 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found a correlation between obesity and high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours can help to keep blood sugar levels steady.

The banana’s soft texture and smoothness means that it lends itself to the treatment of intestinal disorders such as ulcers. The only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in cases of chronic ulcers, it neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

In many cultures the banana is seen as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. Pregnant women in Thailand eat bananas to ensure that their babies are born with a cool temperature.

When compared to an apple, the banana has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

To cap it all off, it comes in easy-to-open, biodegradable packaging in a cool yellow color which is also smart enough to indicate the state of the fruit inside.  The skin indicates that it is not ripe enough yet with a green signal, the optimum time to eat it is signaled with a pattern of brown speckles on yellow, and a banana out of date turns a solid brown.  What’s not to like?

Next time you don’t want to cook and you have an urge to jump through a drive thru for a processed chemically filled meal consider trying healthier a fast-casual dining establishment instead.

Recently I was invited by the management of DonerG Turkish and Meditation Grill a fast-causal restaurant to try their menu, a free tasting for another website I manage. Right away I was pretty impressed of the healthier choices on the menu and how affordable they were and since then have become a regular craving their salads and kebabs.

For the price of a fatty burger at competing restaurants you can be ordering a healthier lower calorie favorable dish at DonerG made with local fresh produce and meat.  I personally loved the DonerG Adana Kebab and have gone back a few time to order it. I am not surprised but so many others love it as well that if you show up near closing they get sold out of Adana Kebabs which isn’t that big of a problem because there are so many other healthy entrees to choose from.

Service at DonerG is fast, quicker than waiting in a busy line in a drive thru. You can eat in or take out. The food meets Halal restrictions. With two locations in Orange County one in Anaheim off Ball Road and another in Irvine off Barranca Parkway it is worth the drive to try DonerG’s food and have a healthier meal for the price you would be paying in a drive thru. I drive from Rancho Santa Margarita bypassing 100s of other places with calorie rich food so I could eat at DonerG favorable dishes and stay true to my diet and goal to eat health.