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Anti-Inflammatory Archives · Page 4 of 8 · Rachel's Nourishing Kitchen

Category: Anti-Inflammatory Page 4 of 8

Melt-in-Your-Mouth, Pan-Seared Curried Scallops {Paleo}

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On December 14, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Paleo, Recipes

My dad is allergic to seafood, so we never had it in the house or ate it much when I was growing up.

Since I was born and raised in Baltimore, a city known for its steamed crabs and crabcakes, the fact that I didn’t like or eat seafood of any kind was a little strange. 

It wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I tried fish for the first time.

Spending a semester abroad in Spain as a junior was what really opened me up to trying and (much to my surprise) LIKING so many different kinds of food, especially seafood. I’ve enjoyed it ever since!

IMG_0662

Enjoying one of many meals in Granada, Spain in 2004!

Wild caught salmon and sea scallops are my absolute favorites.

There’s something about a perfectly cooked, silky scallop melting in your mouth that is unlike any other food experience.

I’ve become a big fan of culinary translator and food-as-medicine guru, Rebecca Katz, lately and have been trying lots of her recipes. I admire and appreciate all of the work she’s been doing to “spread the YUM” and bring excitement, flavor and nourishment to the plate. 

When I saw that one of her recipes included my #1 flavor blend (curry powder) and my favorite seafood (scallops) and I saw how simple the ingredient list was, I knew we had to try it!

We had it for dinner a few weeks ago and l-o-v-e-d it 🙂

(Oh, and we enjoyed it SO much that I forgot to take a picture, so don’t mind the pic below of another sea scallop dish we’ve made! I’ll update the image the next time we make it.)

IMG_3305

Servings: 4

Ingredients
12 dry-packed sea scallops
Sea salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, ghee or coconut oil
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon snipped fresh chives, or 1 minced scallion, for garnish

*Click here for the full recipe and directions from the cancer-fighting kitchen expert, Rebecca Katz!*

25 Energizing Breakfast Recipes {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}

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On December 8, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Nourish, Products I Use, Recipes, Savor

For most of my life, the back of the cereal box was the highlight of my first meal of the day.

As much as I enjoyed starting my day that way, I’ve learned that typical breakfast cereals and other breakfast foods like donuts, bagels and granola bars are not the most filling or nourishing choices.

We’ve heard that breakfast is an important meal, and it’s true.

Eating breakfast helps us stabilize our blood sugar levels throughout the day, which affects things like our energy, alertness, and mood.

Not hungry when you wake up? You might have eaten too late the night before and spent your night digesting instead of repairing and resting. Another possibility is that you might not have gotten enough quality sleep and could still have some stress hormones floating around that are dampening your appetite.

When we grab something to “break the fast,” the key is to make sure we’re eating the most filling and satisfying combination of food to keep us going throughout the day. The secret to lasting energy and feeling satisfied after a meal is eating a combination of…

PFF

Fiber only comes from plants, so that would mean we want to include something that was growing in nature at some point. Protein can be plant-based or animal-based. Examples of healthy fats include things like nuts, seeds, avocado, wild caught salmon, and coconut.

Remember, breakfast is a time of day, not a group of foods. Anything is fair game!

Check out this video I put together that walks through some of my favorite breakfast ideas. Then, take a look at the links below that direct you to a bunch of the recipes I mention in the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EogpMpWFN3A

Smoothies

Smoothies are a great way to jam pack nutrition in a glass, but drink them slowwwwly instead of downing them in 90 seconds, as I have a tendency to do. Smoothies are so easy to make as well and can be done in minutes with the help of the Best Juicer! Getting nutrients from veg and fruit has never been so easy.

Make sure you follow the guidelines of the PFF combo – protein, fiber AND some healthy fat in each smoothie. Most of the time when we make smoothies, we put in lots of fruit and juice and very little protein or healthy fats, so we spike our blood sugar and end up feeling hungry a couple hours later.

My basic formula for making smoothies looks like this: ~2 cups veggies (spinach, baby kale, lettuce, cabbage), 1 cup fruit (berries are best!), 1 -1.5 cups liquid, 2 tablespoons protein (nut butter, hemp seeds, protein powder) and then some add-ins like coconut oil, flax seeds, chia seeds, dates, cinnamon, or cacao powder. My preferred protein in smoothies are hemp seeds, sprouted pea protein, or sprouted brown rice protein (you can get all of them on Amazon). Sun Warrior and Vega are two good brands.

These are some of my favorite smoothie recipes, especially the Ultimate Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Smoothie, Caribbean Island Breeze, and this Snickerdoodle Smoothie.

Whip up a smoothie in the morning and put it in a thermos. It should stay cold for about four hours.

smoothie bannerIMG_6864

You can also find lots of free smoothie recipes here at Simple Green Smoothies.

Here’s a link to an awesome and FREE downloadable smoothie guide from the Academy for Culinary Nutrition that you can print out and put on your fridge.

I like smoothies, but I don’t drink them every day. Sometimes my body wants something warm or something a bit more savory like a frittata, so I pay attention to my cravings and eat accordingly!

Gluten-Free Grains

Sugary cereals aren’t the only bowl-based option for breakfast. Check out some of my favorite hot and cold cereal recipes below. I serve them with some almond milk or coconut milk. Yum!

PS Oatmeal Banner

Granola Aerial

No-Bake Bites

Enjoy these as a side to some fruit and/or veggies or oatmeal. If you make a lighter smoothie based mostly on veggies or fruit without fat, try these as a side to that, too. They also make a great snack!

coconut chai biteslacto cookies

Egg-Based Dishes

For more savory options, the dishes below are some of my absolute favorites. As the weather gets cooler, my body tends to crave these warmer, veggie-packed, nutrient-dense meals.

Beet Shakshuka Recipe from Two Moms in the Raw cookbookMexican Black Bean Scramble

Leftovers

Who says breakfast has to be a boring bowl of cereal? Have some leftovers from the night before? Heat them up for breakfast!

currycrock pot chili

Curry-Lime Chickpea & Protein-Packed Pasta {Gluten-Free}

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On November 30, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

After getting back from a long weekend away for Thanksgiving and my sister-in-law’s wedding (which was SO fun!), we hadn’t thought much about what we’d be eating for dinner this week.

So, when I got home from work tonight, I checked the pantry and fridge and used a few things we had on hand to whip up this recipe. That’s the value of having a well stocked pantry – even when you have no time and no plans, you can create a delicious dish pretty quickly without making a trip to the store.

This meal came together in about 20 minutes and was filling, delicious and nourishing (the trifecta of food awesomeness!). It showcases GBOMBS – some of the most anti-inflammatory, disease-fighting, immune-boosting, health-promoting foods we can eat!

If you’re not eating pasta because of the gluten or refined flours, keep reading! I have a solution for you 🙂

Meet, Tolerant Foods pasta.

Tolerant Green Pasta

I first tried their pasta last fall at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore. At the time, the only pasta I ate was brown rice pasta (ingredients = brown rice + water), but I was curious to try Tolerant’s pasta because it was made from one ingredient.

Beans.

Or, in this case, lentils.

We had tried the black bean variety and the red lentil version, but this year I was introduced to the latest and greatest addition – green lentil pasta.

Here’s why this pasta is so awesome.

Unlike regular highly processed pasta that’s usually made from enriched flours that can send our blood sugar (and energy levels and weight) on a roller coaster, Tolerant’s pasta is PACKED with satiating protein and fill-you-up fiber. 

Just over 1/3 of a box of the green lentil pasta has a whopping 21 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber. It’s also full of energizing B-vitamins, iron and zinc. It’s also made with non-GMO, organic ingredients.

Green lentil label

What’s not to like??

The pasta cooks up in 8 minutes, making it a great option for a quick dinner. And because of its pale green color, it looks more like pasta than the red lentil or black bean pasta, so it would be an easier sell with kiddos or bean-based pasta skeptics.

It’s sold at a higher price point than a box of Barilla, but I focus more on nutrients/dollar than calories/dollar, so it’s worth it to me.

MOMs and Whole Foods sell Tolerant pasta (sometimes on sale!), but you can also buy their stuff online at Vitacost or Amazon. Check out this link to use the store locator to find where Tolerant sells their products near you.

Then, make this recipe 🙂 (And don’t mind the less than stellar pics taken from my iPhone without daylight!)

Curry Lime Chickpea PastaChickpea Pasta Pan

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil
  • 1 8-ounce box Tolerant pasta (or other gluten-free or bean-based pasta)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, no salt added, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Coarse sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1/3 cup pasta water. Strain pasta and leave in strainer.
  2. Heat ghee or oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
  3. Add onions and saute 5-7 minutes or until they start to soften. Add ginger, garlic, and curry powder and saute another minute or so. Add pasta water and stir to loosen up anything stuck to the pan.
  4. Add chickpeas, coconut milk and pasta and reduce heat to medium. Stir to combine. Add spinach and toss until coated and slightly wilted. Add lime juice and stir to combine.

I added some sea salt throughout, probably about 1/2 teaspoon total. How do you know when you have enough? If your food tastes flat or bland, add a little salt at a time to increase the flavor. The acidity from the lime juice, fat from the coconut milk, and spice in the curry powder give this dish a lot of flavor, so just add salt to your liking 🙂

Two Soups for You! {Moroccan Chickpea & Curried Butternut}

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On November 14, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Holidays, My Story, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

It’s the perfect time of year for a nice big bowl of soup. As the weather cools, my body starts to crave foods like that, so I give it what it wants!

Soup is the ultimate savory comfort food for fall. Remember back to when you were a kid and your parents gave you a bowl of chicken noodle soup when we were sick? How about a dippable bowl of creamy tomato soup for your crunchy, buttery grilled cheese sandwich?

Foods like these are comfort foods because they give emotional comfort to us when we eat them.

Today I’m going to share recipes for two soups we recently tried from culinary translator and food as medicine guru, Rebecca Katz.

I recently wrote a post about her cancer-fighting, brain-boosting, longevity-promoting cookbooks and her famous Magic Mineral Broth. If you missed it, check out that post here. You’ll use the mineral broth in both of these soups, which is why we made it in the first place!

Broth

I love the rich flavors of today’s soups, especially the Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Soup. When I lived in Spain in college, I was in the southern town of Granada, so I was just a couple hours north of Morocco.

It was at that time that I first started to get comfortable trying new foods and experimenting with what I put on my plate. It also served as my introduction to Moroccan food.

I can’t say that I was always excited to be more adventurous with food, but the payoff has been incredible! I now enjoy so many different types of food and ethnic cuisines I would have not even thought to try before that experience.

The second soup uses my favorite fall squash – butternut – and incorporates healing spices like turmeric, ginger, and cumin along with a rich, creamy can of coconut milk.

Butternut Squash Closeup

I found it to be a little thinner than I prefer, but you can always use less broth to start and then add more to thin it out.

If you’re looking for some immune-boosting, heart-warming, soul food for this weekend or upcoming week, try one of these two soups! They are delicious and packed with flavor.

Get the recipe for the Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Soup.

Moroccan Chickpea

And the recipe for the Curried Butternut Squash Soup.

BSquash Soup

Immune-Boosting Magic Mineral Broth

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On November 12, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

On one of my morning walks, I was listening to an interview that Evelyne Lambrecht of Elevate Your Energy did with “Author, Educator, and Culinary Translator,” Rebecca Katz.

The topic was Eat Well for a Healthy Mind and Longer Life, and Rebecca’s playful, positive approach and style intrigued me.

I love finding other people in this field who are out to make the world a better place through food, health and healing and who do it in a positive, build-you-up way. It’s what I aim to do as well!

Rebecca says this about her work:

I teach people how to connect the dots between food…big flavor…& vibrant health!

She invented the term “Culinary Translator” to describe what she does, which is essentially translating nutritional science to the plate. She got to this place in life after a stressed-out career in the business world led her to seek a more nourishing life.

She’s an expert on eating for health and healing, especially for when it comes to boosting immunity, protecting the body and brain from chronic conditions (especially cancer), and living longer.

You can find her cookbooks here on Amazon.

Katz Books

We’ve made some of her recipes over the past few weeks and have not been disappointed!

The base of many of her soup recipes starts with her Magic Mineral Broth. Here’s what she has to say about this nourishing, immune-boosting staple:

This rejuvenating liquid, chock-full of magnesium, potassium, and sodium, allows the body to refresh and restore itself. I think of it as a tonic, designed to keep you in tip-top shape.

I’ve made my own vegetable broth before using scraps from things like celery, carrots, onions, scallions and other veggies (find that recipe here), but I wanted to give this one a try.

It’s loaded with healing, nutrient-dense, mineral-rich ingredients like garlic, celery, leeks, onions, sweet potatoes, and kombu (a seaweed that has been a pantry staple of ours for years!).

MMB Ingredients

You can sip this broth on its own, especially when you are feeling a bit run down and want a mineral boost, and you can also use it as the base for any soup recipe that calls for vegetable broth.

We used this broth to make a few of her soups, and I will post about them this weekend, so you can have some new ideas for soups to try this fall and winter.

Click the picture below or click here to get the full recipe for Rebecca’s amazing broth!

Broth

Happy National Kale Day! {10 Kale Recipes Plus a Must-See RNK Video}

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On October 7, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipes

My friend Natalie texted me this morning to wish me a “Happy National Kale Day.”

She’s super thoughtful and was actually the person who got me an awesome Eat More Kale shirt last year for my birthday. I was so excited that I had to make a short video dedicated to today’s vegetable of honor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IP4jVrh0Do

In addition to posting that video on my Facebook page today about why kale is so awesome and some tricks for how to make it taste good and NOT bitter, I thought I’d whip up a quick blog post 🙂

Kale is related to some of my other favorite veggies, including cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts! It scores 1,000 on the ANDI scale, which measures the nutrient density of a food. In English, that means it packs in a TON of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals essential for our health, growth and development).

The more nutrient-dense our diet is, the better off we will be!

Kale is loaded with antioxidants that protect our body (inside and outside!) from damage caused by things like stress, poor diet, lack of activity and smoking.

This leafy green also contains isothiocyanates (say “eye-so-thio-CY-a-nates”) more simply known as ITCs. These compounds have strong cancer-preventive properties. Not only that, but kale contains over 45 flavonoids, a type of phytonutrient (FIGHT-o-nutrient) that protects plants from disease as they are growing. Flavonoids protect our bodies as well AND are give plants their colorful pigments.

Veggies at the San Diego Farmer's Market, including lots of kale!

Veggies at the San Diego Farmer’s Market, including lots of kale in the middle!

Kale is full of micronutrients like beta carotene, vitamin K, and vitamin C. Vitamin K is an important nutrient involved in blood clotting and one cup of kale contains 7 times the RDA for vitamin K.

You may have heard people express concerns about eating too many leafy greens if they are on blood thinners. In fact, the well-known anticoagulant drug Warfarin (Coumadin) works by blocking the function of vitamin K, which is why anyone taking those medications should talk to their doctor about any dietary changes like significantly upping their intake of vitamin-K containing foods.

When there are ways to naturally support our body rather than using medication, I’m all for it!

Kale is anti-inflammatory and detoxifying, so it helps us calm the fires inside of our body and get rid of toxins that can build up as a result of how we live, including how we eat. Dr. Mark Hyman, Director of the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, writes and speaks about how inflammation and toxicity are two of the reasons we are sick, develop disease and have trouble losing weight. Check out his video about it here.

If you want to learn even more about the awesome benefits of kale, check out this post by Authority Nutrition about the 10 Proven Benefits of Kale.

Oh, and if you want to be entertained, make sure you check out my National Kale Day tribute video on Facebook!

In the meantime, here are some recipes to try (and check out others on the National Kale Day website):

My Famous Super Food Kale Salad!

My Famous Super Food Kale Salad!

Med Kale Salad

  1. “Taste the Rainbow” Super Food Kale Salad (my signature salad that gets RAVE reviews!)
  2. Upgraded Kale Waldorf Salad
  3. Mediterranean Chickpea and Sundried Tomato Kale Salad
  4. Mini Kale & Mushroom Breakfast Frittatas
  5. Peachy Keen Kale Salad
  6. White Bean & Fennel Soup
  7. Caribbean Island Breeze Smoothie
  8. The Recipe that Will Make You Fall In Love with Kale All Over Again from MindBodyGreen
  9. Lentil & Carrot Salad with Kale from Serious Eats
  10. Bobby Flay’s Sauteed Kale from Food Network

Do you have a favorite kale recipe or one that you want to try? If so, feel free to share it below!

No-Bake Chocolate Walnut Brownies {Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan}

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On October 2, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes

My friend Sarah came over for dinner last night, and after making some yummy stuffed sweet potatoes from this new cookbook, I wanted to whip up a quick and easy dessert, which is what prompted me to make these brownies!

I love that these are no-bake, made with heart healthy, brain boosting walnuts and antioxidant-rich cacao powder, and topped with crunchy cacao nibs.

I find that Amazon has the best deals on cacao powder and nibs, so I’ve linked out to them below in the ingredient list. Viva Labs is one of the brands I love!

These are easy to make…and easy to eat 🙂 Make them this weekend!

IMG_2208 Yield: 20 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 cups raw walnuts
  • 2/3 cup raw cacao powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes to soften
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut, lightly toasted
  • 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs

Directions

  1. In a food processor, blend walnuts, cacao powder, salt and cinnamon until nuts are finely ground.
  2. Drain dates and squeeze out excess water. Add dates, vanilla and toasted coconut to food processor. Process until mixture sticks together. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to make brownies more moist.
  3. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Press brownie mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with cacao nibs and press nibs into brownies.
  4. Put in freezer for 30-60 minutes to firm up and then cut into 20 squares.
  5. Refrigerate brownies in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks.

Easy Sauteed Greens & Onions {Paleo, Vegan}

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On October 1, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

As often as I share recipes for sweet treats and snacks, you might think that’s all I eat!

Fortunately, that’s not the case.

In fact, I’m a huge fan of vegetables and I eat LOTS of them. I eat vegetables at almost every meal and am a big fan of what Michael Pollan has to say about them:

IMG_2198-0

He goes on to say:

THAT, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.

Pollan’s advice is something that everyone in the nutrition community can 100% agree on, which is a rare thing these days.

Most of us spend so much time pitting one diet against another that we lose sight of the basic, universal truths all of us believe and know to be true about food and want people to know.

That’s why I wanted to share this recipe with you today. It’s loaded with plant-based goodness.

I’ve been cooking this dish for over 5 years and, for whatever reason, had never taken the time to share it with you!

greens onions

What prompted me to do it was hosting a table at two client health fairs in the past week and sharing my passion for G-BOMBS. G-BOMBS is an acronym coined by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who wanted to come up with a simple way to remember the most nutrient-rich, anti-aging, immune-boosting, disease-preventive, protective foods on the planet.

You can read more about G-BOMBS in this blog post (which happens to be the most often read post on this blog!), but to sum it up here, it stands for:
Greens
Beans
Onions
Mushrooms
Berries
Seeds

This dish uses 4 of the 6 GBOMBS, but I’ve made a version of it with all 6 and will share that in another post.

A stack of Swiss chard at the farmer's market!

A stack of Swiss chard at the farmer’s market!

In this recipe, I’m using Swiss chard, a leafy green vegetable that often has colorful stems (rainbow chard) or white stems (regular chard). It’s a softer green than kale or collard greens, and it works really well in this recipe and in frittatas.

It’s packed with anti-aging antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, supports bone health because of its high vitamin K and magnesium content, and has even been found to benefit blood sugar regulation – a KEY to having sustained energy and maintaining a healthy weight. Read more about this super star veggie here.

It comes together in about 20 minutes and is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We use it as a side dish and can easily split the whole thing between the two of us. It’s versatile, too.

Don’t have Swiss chard? Use kale.
No pumpkin seeds? Try sunflower seeds.
Out of red onions? Use yellow.

Just make the dish. It’s delicious, packed with nutrients and flavor and is simply prepared. Simple is doable, and simple is often best 🙂 Enjoy!

greens saute words greens plate

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter)
1 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 bunches Swiss chard
1 1/2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 of a large lemon)
1/4 cup lightly toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries or goji berries (optional)
Scant 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Cut off stems at base of chard and compost or toss it. Chop chard leaves into 1/2 inch strips and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt oil/ghee. Add onions and cook about 10 minutes or until soft and translucent.
  3. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not browned (it turns bitter when it browns). Add 1-2 tablespoons water to prevent sticking, if needed.
  4. Turn heat to medium-high and add greens and remaining water and toss with tongs to combine. Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes until greens are wilted but still BRIGHT green.
  5. Remove from heat and toss greens with cider vinegar (or lemon juice), pumpkin seeds, cranberries and sea salt and pepper, to taste, until everything is evenly coated and combined.

The ONLY Real Food Cookbook You Need to Buy This Year!

By

On September 29, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan

One of the things I love about this blog is that it gives me the opportunity to share fun and exciting info and inspiration with you guys. Today’s post is no exception!

As most of you know, I completed a culinary nutrition certification program last year, which helped me take my nourishing and yummy meals to another level.

It also gave me a community of people who love food, health and healing as much as I do!

my people

Meet, Meghan! :)

Meet, Meghan!

The creator and rock star behind the program is Meghan Telpner (more about her here). Her philosophy has inspired and is aligned with so much of the way I eat and how I live.

She has this unique way of presenting nutrition and healthy living in a way that makes it really fun, approachable and not at all intimidating, which is something I’m passionate about doing as well. Both of us want to take the “fear factor” out of eating well and make it accessible, so it’s something WANT to do instead of something we feel like we HAVE to do.

If any of you have come to a class or workshop I’ve taught, you’ve probably heard me declare it a “judgment-free zone” and Meghan takes the same approach, which I LOVE!

Both Meghan and I are happy for you to start from wherever you are on your journey and just make a few small changes, one step at a time. And neither of us will ever preach one kind of eating to you. We’re not pro-vegan, or pro-meat, or anti this or that. We really want people to pay attention to their food, skip the processed stuff and learn how to listen to their bodies to figure out what they need.

You can learn more about her take on everything by watching her creed. 

Meghan’s newest book sums up everything you need to know to live a vibrant, awesome life into one entertaining read.

undiet cover

Over the years, I’ve been following Meghan’s advice and have noticed for myself how much better my mood is, better sleep, fewer colds and flus and overall a better outlook. What I’ve learned is that health becomes this bonus of just following this rule-breaking way of living. I feel like the “UnDiet” lifestyle inspires me to live in a way that lets me feel alive and not filled with guilt or restriction.

I choose to live this way and am pumped to share everything I learn with all of you, so you can have your best life ever, too! That’s why I’m SO excited to tell you guys more about this cookbook put together by my teacher, Meghan.

The UnDiet Cookbook starts by Meghan telling her own story of how she healed from an inflammatory autoimmune disease that her doctors told her was incurable. From there, she breaks it down: why calories don’t count, how to eat real food, why we might want to kick-it gluten-free (with evidence based research to back it all up), and then we dive into 130 simple, delicious, beautiful and health supportive recipes.

The cookbook includes:

  • Over 130 gluten-free + dairy-free recipes (the oat-mazing berry banana muffins are AMAZING…seriously, you need them in your life!)
  • Guidelines for stocking an UnDiet pantry
  • Delicious recipes for DIY beauty care
  • UnDiet on the road: travel tips
  • UnDiet Entertaining menus for every kind of event
  • UnDiet Health Tips
  • Cooking Tips
  • Healthwashing Alerts
  • 85 mouthwatering, vibrant photos

The UnDiet Cookbook is on sale today and when you buy the book, she’s also giving away some pretty cool presents (more on those here). If you’re curious about this book, you can get instant access to your Sneak Peek.

Stay tuned for a few posts from me in the coming weeks giving you even more sneak peeks at the yummy dishes I’m creating from the book! I can only share one of the recipes though, so you’ll have to get the book if you want to know how to make everything 🙂 It will be well worth it!

click here

My Go-To Real Food Protein Bar {Gluten-Free, Paleo}

By

On September 24, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Products I Use

Because of the nature of my job, I’m on the road a lot and don’t always plan out every single meal.

There are times when I need something to hold me over between meals that will have the pick-me-up, energy-boosting combination of clean protein, fiber, healthy fats and low sugar.

As best as I can, I also make it a priority to stick to the same standards in my snack food as I do with my meals.

I like to think of snack as a TIME vs. a particular type of FOOD (thanks, Dina Rose!). That helps me prioritize health and feeling good whether I’m snacking or sitting down for a full meal.

Here are some of the standards that are important to me whether I make it myself or buy it in the store:

  • Real (the ingredients are actual food, not chemicals, and I can see them when I look at the product)
  • Whole
  • Minimally (if at all!) Processed
  • Non-GMO (not genetically modified)

I forget exactly when it happened, but one day I was at Whole Foods in Baltimore before heading to a meeting, and I was hungry. I didn’t want or have time for a full meal, so I went to the bars section.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that a lot of the bars have over a dozen ingredients and contain ingredients that I can’t readily identify as food OR they have as much sugar as a candy bar, so I tend to steer clear of them.

I saw a new bar that had been added to the shelves, so I turned over the packaging to check out what was in it, and this is what I found:

  • 14 grams protein
  • 7 grams fiber
  • 12 grams fat
  • 9 grams sugar
  • 15 mg sodium

Since (real food) protein + fiber + fat = sustained energy (and that’s what I was looking for!), I decided to try it.

That’s how I found out about Ever Bars 🙂

ever bars

These bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and locally made in Olney, Maryland! I could also identify all of the ingredients as “food,” which isn’t always the case with bars.

While most bars list whatever sweeteners they use as one of the first three ingredients (because those bars are more sugar than anything else), Ever Bar has sweeteners as their last two ingredients, and the primary ingredient in every bar is organic hemp seeds.

Packed with mineral-rich, plant-based protein from hemp seeds, almonds, and sesame seeds, Ever Bars are one of our healthy snack staples. They’re a bit chewy, compared to some other more crumbly bars, but even that varies based on which bar you purchase.

I’d recommend starting with the Almond Cranberry followed by the Blueberry Cashew and then the Green Power bar. I find that is the best progression in terms of taste based on what most people are familiar with when it comes to bars.

Here’s what the 3 bars look like…up close and personal 🙂

ever bar green power ever bar cashew almond cranberry

I served the Almond Cranberry bars at a workshop for a client about How to Eat Healthy on the Go, and everyone loved them. The following week, some of the workshop attendees told me they had already gone to the store to purchase their own 🙂

You find them locally at Whole Foods and MOMs Organic Market or order online from their website.

I had the opportunity to meet some of the team members who are behind Livity Foods and Ever Bar when I was at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore. They were so nice and had a super cool display.

I love meeting the great people behind the foods I eat!

Ever Bar NPEE

Livity Foods is based in Olney, MD. Here’s what they have to say about their bars (and one of the reasons I stand behind them and buy their stuff!):

Ever Bar, handcrafted in Maryland, has ingredients that look like they did when they came from the earth; they are the bar’s source of sustenance as well as flavor and energy.

Working in an environment not based on social hierarchy or a one-way chain of command, but exchange and contribution. The company is structured, but open to participation by everyone involved. This, we believe, is conducive to a cohesive and multi-skilled work dynamic, but is also an end in itself, a desirable social model which embodies effective human cooperation.

To order bars directly from them and to learn more about them, check out their website.

Disclosure: I received free bars in exchange for writing this review, but I loved the product and what it stood for before this opportunity arose! All opinions are my own, and maintaining the integrity of all content on this site is of utmost importance to me. I will never promote products I don’t love and use myself! 🙂

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