1. Go Hydrated:  Drink several glasses of water in the hours before you go out.  You will digest your food better that if you were to drink water with your meal.  Also if you would like to have a cocktail or glass of wine you can have it without already being dehydrated.  We often think we are hungry when we are really dehydrated, so going out already hydrated could help curb your appetite.

2. Salad for Appetizer:  This is a great way to get some raw greens in on your empty stomach.  Chew your bites really well, this helps digestion and prepares for the rest of your meal.

3. Split a heavy entrée you are dying to taste: or ask for a half portion. This way you get to taste it but you don’t feel obligated to eat a huge portion of it.

4. Choose some side dishes:  Be creative.  Most restaurants will have healthy vegetable side dishes that can be combined with appetizers to make a tasty “custom” meals.

5. Talk to the waiter:  If you have any allergies or sensitivities, let them know. Most restaurants are very accommodating and can offer suggestions or substitutions.

6. Doggy Bag it! Stop eating before you are totally full, even if it is absolutely delicious.  (How many times have I said, “I’m so full but I’m still eating because it’s so good…..”) Ask your server to take it away as soon as you feel physically satisfied.  You can have it for lunch or dinner the next day.  Plus it leaves room for a few guiltless bites of scrumptious dessert…..

7. BYO:  (Speaking of dessert….)Bring your own bar of organic dark chocolate (my favorites are NibMor and Dagoba) along for when everyone else is having dessert.  You could also bring your favorite tea bags or even gluten free crackers to much while everyone else is eating bread.  It takes a little planning ahead and forward thinking, but this way you don’t feel deprived or regretful.  And at the end of the day, you’ve kept your promise to yourself to make healthy decisions, and that makes it well worth it!

Good Luck!!

How we eat our food is just as important as what we eat when it comes to how well we digest our food.  And good digestion is key for weight loss, cleansing, energy, and good health in general.  We have some control over it, once we know what to do.  For problems like constipation, diarreah, gas, bloating, cramps, a good place to start is to take a look at what’s going on with your eating habits.  More mindful eating=better digestion=happier you. Here are a few tips on ways to improve your digestion. They are some really simple things, but they really work!

1. Slow Down

I know time is precious, but when it comes to eating, giving yourself the time and space to relax, sit down and eat is so important. It doesn’t matter if you are taking a quick break to eat an energy bar or sitting down to a 5 course meal.  Wherever you are, give yourself a few minutes to stop what you are doing and concentrate on enjoying your food. Even if you don’t have a long time, that’s okay, slow down and be present for the few minutes that you have. You will swallow less air which will result in less gas and bloating, plus you will have more time to taste and enjoy and chew.

Also, notice if rushing is a habit for you. Even if you have the time but are used to having to rush through a meal, you could be stressing your body out.  Stress is a real, physical response, not just in your mind.  The body responds to stress by sending blood away from the stomach and other organs, and straight to the limbs (“fight or flight” response, since stress in the caveman days meant running from a predator, our bodies still respond that way) so we digest less efficiently when we are stressed.

2. CHEW!

Digestion actually begins in your mouth, with chewing.  Your saliva helps to liquefy and lubricate the food, but it also contains enzymes that actually begin chemically digesting carbohydrates in your mouth. The more you chew the easier it will be for your body to digest food and absorb its nutrients.  Take human bites and chew your food for as long as possible. Not only will this physically break down the food before you swallow it, but it will slow down the whole eating process so that you give your body time to feel full, and as a result you may eat less.

3. Drink water between meals

Drinking to stay hydrated is very important, but it’s best for digestion to drink about 20 minutes before or 20 minutes after eating a meal.  This is because water can dilute the digestive juices and slow down the process. Hydrating in between meals will prevent thirst during meals, and will allow the digestive enzymes to do their job of breaking down the food you eat.

4. Take Probiotics

Probiotics are a type of friendly bacteria in our intestines that help with digestion, immune protection, and monitoring the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms, such as candida albicans (yeast).  They can be found in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, cultured vegetables and in supplement form.  While antibiotics kill disease causing bacteria, the problem is that they also kill the protective probiotics and leave no protection against the overgrowth of more harmful bacteria in the intestines.  That’s why supplementing with probiotics (especially if you have had to take antibiotics) is so important for overall health  as well as  digestion.

5. Eat Fiber Rich Foods

Fiber helps digestion by regulating the length of time food takes to travel through the digestive tract.  So if you are having diarrhea issues, that means the food is moving too quickly through the intestines.  Fiber can help bind and bulk up the contents of the large intestine so as to slow down and solidify it so that it can be eliminated in a more solid form.  If you are having constipation issues, food is moving too slowly. Fiber helps by absorbing water and softening the stools so they can pass more easily.

There are so many so called “healthy” foods out there which are processed and claim to have a lot of fiber in them such as  breads, cookies, crackers, bars, etc. The best place to get your fiber from is whole foods, meaning totally NOT processed.  This means fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and legumes.  Meat, fish, and poultry do not have any fiber.  As much as I love juicing, even the healthiest green juice has no fiber.  The body does not have to digest anything with a juice.  Sometimes that’s what you want, to give the digestive system a rest, as in a juice fast.  But if your not fasting, fiber is a great thing.  Smoothies, on the other hand DO have fiber because the whole food is blended. I highly recommend smoothies as an easy and quick way to get fiber.  My favorite things to add to berries and juice is flax and chia seeds and sometimes psyllium husk for added fiber.

6. Breathe

Most of us are not aware of how we are breathing, whether we are eating or not.  We can really learn a lot about ourselves by just observing how we breathe.  Of course this goes along with slowing down, chewing more, etc., but right before a meal is a great place to check in with your breath.  Notice what your normal habit is.  Start by just taking a deep breath and exhaling before your first bite.

7. Don’t eat too many snacks

Are you a frequent snacker? While there’s nothing wrong with a snack here and there, constantly grazing all day doesn’t really give your stomach a chance to digest fully.  Even if you like to eat 6 small meals, give yourself an hour or two in between eating sessions to fully finish digesting your last meal or snack (and drink some water ).

8. Include ginger, peppermint tea or apple cider vinegar

Ginger and peppermint tea (homemade or store bought) are known to be digestive aids.  You can also purchase digestive enzymes (they come in small pill form) at any health food store or Vitamin Shoppe.  Apple cider vinegar is great for helping stimulate digestive acids in the stomach.  Ten minutes before a meal, drink a 6 oz glass of water with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, and you are good to go.

1. You can start with using biodegradable non-toxic detergents and cleaning products or making your own cleaners from simple things you have around the house. This not only is better for your health, since you don’t have to breathe in all the harsh odors and chemicals, it’s better for the environment too. (All those chemicals have to go somewhere after they get washed down the drain; they don’t just go away). Products like chlorine bleach and ammonia are very irritating to mucous membranes and can cause burns. Many conventional cleaning products contain fragrance to cover up the strong chemical odors. And what if you used one product with ammonia and another with bleach at the same time? You might not even smell it, but the combination results in chlorine gas, which can be fatal. There are so many non-toxic, green cleaning products available now, so you have lots of options and most every supermarket carries at least one brand. My favorites are Method, Ecover, Seventh Generation and Earth Friendly Products.

2. Have a “no-shoe” policy: I used to think this was more important in the city than the suburbs, but now I just think it’s a good idea especially if you have carpets (which are like a sponge for dirt and debris) and/or small children (or adults) crawling, lying or playing on the floor. We have wood floors, and I find myself constantly sweeping up dirt and debris from outside. Removing shoes at the door prevents all sorts of unwanted things from being tracked all through your home. For me, it was mostly about the dog poop in the street. That’s what initially grossed me out enough to actually really do it and make it a habit. Don’t get me wrong, I do my best not to step in in at all, but you just never know what’s been on the sidewalk! And it’s not just the visible dirt – there’s urine, pesticide, and fertilizer residue, toxic cleaners and chemicals, old food residue, and I can only imagine what else. It helps if you have a designated spot for shoes near the door. The next best thing is to have a doormat right near the entrance to your home so that the majority of the debris and germs gets deposited on that rather than tracked through the house.

3. Use only soy wax or beeswax candles. Most regular candles these days, unless otherwise specified, are made from paraffin. Paraffin is a petroleum waste product, so it’s really cheap and that’s why so many manufacturers use it. The black soot they produce is toxic if not carcinogenic. Soy and beeswax candles are natural, non-toxic, biodegradeable, and renewable. They also last up to 50% longer than regular candles, and the wax cleans up easier (won’t ruin your tablecloths). They might be a little more expensive, but well worth it.

4. Do less drycleaning
This is scary: You might be getting more than just stain-free clothes back from the drycleaner. Check this out: Alexa Dantzler, a high school sophomore, came up with a science project ideato test to see if chemical residue stayed in clothing after dry cleaning. She called a chemistry professor at Georgetown University to ask for help, and inspired a research study. The researchers found that perchloroethylene, a harmful chemical linked to cancer and nerve disorders as well as groundwater contamination, actually does remain in polyester, wool, and cotton clothing and levels increase with repeated cleanings. I’ve noticed several dry cleaning businesses around the city that claim to be “organic”, but apparently this means nothing since dry cleaning is not regulated by the government. Actually a process called “wet cleaning” is the best, least toxic option. I found this website while I was searching the web for more information on this. http://whatisorganiccleaning.com/learn.html.

5. Get some houseplants: They actually humidify and recycle the air, making it fresher and cleaner. They take carbon dioxide (what we breathe out) and turn it into oxygen (what we breathe in). Plus, they help remove other common toxic chemicals like formaldehyde (found in carpets, pressed wood) and trichloroethylene (found in paints, and drycleaning) and carbon monoxide (produced by smoking.) Bamboo palm, Chinese evergreen, chrysanthemum and philodendron are some of the most air-purifying plants. Personally, I like spider plants because they are easy (and hard to kill) and fresh basil to use in my cooking. Check out my windowsill…

Breathe deep!

Danielle

I usually keep a zip loc bag of frozen, ripe, peeled bananas in my freezer.  I find this makes a creamier smoothie than using room temperature bananas and ice. But when I’m all out of frozen bananas then room temp bananas it is, with a handful of ice.  You can adjust ingredients based on how thick you like your smoothies.

1-2 bananas (I recommend frozen)

2-3 tablespoons peanut butter (almond butter is great too, or sunflower seed butter)

1/2 teaspoon non alcohol vanilla flavoring

1 tsp pure maple syrup or agave syrup (optional)

1-2 cups almond milk, rice milk, or water

ice (optional)

Blend it all together and serve right away.

Variations:

Add a tbsp of coco powder for a chocolate version.

Add strawberries or blueberries for “peanut butter and jelly” version

These also make great ice pops!

It’s very easy to make your own products at home with just a few things you probably already have around the house. Homemade products work just as good minus the “fresh clean scent” (which you can add yourself, by putting a few drops of essential oil into the solution). Personally I love to use lemon essential oil in my cleaning products, but you could try using peppermint, tea tree, rosemary or thyme. It’s so worth it knowing that your family is safe from the toxic chemicals that are in some of the conventional cleaning products.

Here’s how to do it:

Window cleaner:

1 bucket of water
2-3 tablespoons dishwashing detergent

Wipe solution on with wet sponge, and wipe off with newspaper for streak-free windows/mirrors.

Scour and Scrub: (Think Soft Scrub)

This mixture is great for cleaning the bathtub because it scrubs off any soap scum and doesn’t leave any grit.

½ cup pure baking soda
2-3 tablespoons liquid detergent
Add a few drops of essential oil of tea tree, rosemary, or lemon.

Make a paste and scrub gently with a sponge.

Scouring powder (Think COMET)

Pure, plain old baking soda! Just sprinkle and scrub!

Furniture polish:

½ teaspoon olive or jojoba oil
¼ cup white vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice
2-3 drops lemon essential oil (optional)

Mix ingredients in a jar. Dab the soulution onto a cotton cloth (like an old t-shirt) and wipe on wood surface.

Deodorizer

White vinegar is great for kitchen counters or cutting boards. I use it also to spray and wipe off the bathroom sink from toothpaste scum. Just keep it in a spray bottle in a convenient place. I use it several times per day!! It’s also great for killing mold.

After having some experience with stress and burnout (who hasn’t???) I’ve learned to use some simple strategies to prevent it from being the focus of my time. Here are my top 4 ways to stay sane during the ramp up to the holidays, or anytime.

1. Make real space in your day: Schedule your breaks, and take them! The night before plan out your vision for the next day. Buffer the mornings and evenings with a little down time. For me, if I don’t schedule things, they don’t happen!! I use google calendar to map out my whole week every Sunday night. It syncs with my phone, so I can make changes on the go.

2. Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep. This keeps the stress hormones in your body lower, boosts your immune system and allows your body to heal. Eat well, drink your water, take your vitamins. Do not wait to be really sick to do this. Feeling nourished, rested and balanced in your body allows you focus and have energy to take on the tasks in your day without distraction. Take some time to slow down and enjoy a meal, even if it’s not a fancy one. Move your body every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

3. Surround yourself with stuff you like. This may sound weird, but for me, little things like this go a long way. It might not seem like it’s totally essential for your physical health, but just think of how your mood affects your stress level. Small details can make a big difference in how you feel. For instance, I love the Kiehl’s Coriander scented body lotion, so I picked some up the other day just because I know I’m going into a busy couple of weeks before the holidays. Whether it’s a piece of art, a scented candle, fresh flowers, your favorite song, or whatever floats your boat, make it a point to proactively design your environment this way. Right now I’m in a cozy Starbucks and they are playing Christmas music. Just the vibe of the coffee smell and the music is so inviting. I can only imagine what it would be like if they were playing heavy metal and the room smelled like garbage. How are you creating your environment to support yourself?

4. Think of what you are grateful for. Make a list or even just pick one thing. Even if you feel like your life is in the toilet right now, there’s gotta be something you can find gratitude for. This works because it changes your perspective, even if for only a few minutes. How about the fact that you don’t have to worry about the sun rising each day, or that someone else had to invent the pipes that bring you hot running water? It might sound silly, but theres a lot of good stuff going on. I used to take so many things for granted, but just thinking about what I have in my life right now – (my family, friends, freedom, food, great teachers, my health) and how it would be if I didn’t have them – makes me feel so grateful for so many things.

I hope this helps
Please share any other ideas/comments. It not only helps me to know what you would like to hear more of, but it gives other readers good insight too!!

xoDanielle

I first made this about a year ago, just after I bought Laurie David’s The Family Dinner, Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids One Meal at a Time (which is now one of my favorite cookbooks!) This recipe is from the book, which I highly recommend because it offers so much more than recipes. It has ideas for cooking with kids and how to get them interested and involved in food and prepping meals, as well as stories, playlists, great quotes, pictures and poems.

This is a great recipe if you feel like you or your kids are in a bit of a pasta “rut”. Plus, it’s a great way to include vegetables since they get to be creative designing their own pasta bowl. I don’t know who had more fun with this recipe, me or my kids! Don’t toss it, it’s great the next day too. Just heat it up and add fresh toppings.

For Peanut Sauce:
1 pound of pasta, any shape (I used regular pasta for this recipe, but you could also use rice noodles, whole wheat or quinoa pasta.)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup warm water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoontoasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons white (rice or wine) vinegar

I put all the ingredients for the peanut sauce in the blender in order to keep it simple and also to make it easy for the kids to help. Blend sauce ingredients together and mix into your cooked pasta. Serve with small bowls of various chopped garnishes: red cabbage, cucumber, scallions, cilantro, red pepper, tofu, etc.

The picture above was taken after the pasta bowl was attacked! It looks soupy but it tasted delicious.

ENJOY!!!

It was one of those nights when I came home starving and without a plan for dinner.  The last thing I felt like doing was shopping, and I was too impatient to wait for take out.  I had some things in the fridge and really wanted to use them up.  So, I  made this without measuring anything and without a real recipe, just letting my taste buds lead the way. It came out absolutely delicious!

Quinoa is just an awesome base for just about any salad.  I know I’ve posted a few recipes for it in the past.  I actually used to eat it just plain with flax oil and lemon juice as dressing, and as much as I love it that way, I still need a change from time to time! This dish would be great with any meat or fish served on top as well.

I didn’t have any kalamata olives or grape tomatoes, but I think those would go nicely as well.

So give this recipe a try if it sounds good to you, or use it as inspiration to give your own creation a try!  When was the last time you stepped up to the “use-what’s-in-the-fridge” challenge?

1 cup quinoa

1 small red onion chopped

1 big handful arugula

1 cucumber chopped

about 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:

juice of 1 lemon

roughly 1/3 cup olive oil

about 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced

Cook quinoa by combining with 2 cups water and bringing to a boil.  As soon as it boils, remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.  It may take more or less time depending on how long it boiled. Fluff with fork.  It’s done when grains are crunchy yet tender.

Combine vegetables with quinoa  in a large bowl.  Put dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid.  Shake well, pour over quinoa mixure and serve.

Enjoy!

Danielle

I was talking with my friend recently about this.  We talked about it for a while and we were reminiscing about how the things we remembered from our childhood were things that were repetitive, or recurring, such as trips to see our grandparents, or trips to the same place summer after summer.  The memories that stuck with us were not necessarily the “one time” activities.  Kids love familiarity and repetition.  They love their bedtime bath-story-routine.  If I had a penny for every time my  kids have watched the Backyardigans’ “Super Spy”  I would be a millionaire!  But as we get older, the repetition can becomes too habitual and sometimes boring.  It seems having new experiences is what keeps us from getting stuck in a rut.

I remember a while back I was walking around in my neighborhood in midtown nyc, and ran into a neighbor, Larry, who looks as though  he is  maybe in his late 60’s.  I commented that he was looking great, and he said, “Thanks, I try, you know I’m 90!”    I was blown away that this guy was so youthful and active and sharp that I asked him what his secret was.  “Do you smoke? Do you eat meat? Do you exercise? What’s your secret? I never would have guessed that you were 90!”

Sometimes I don’t want to offend people by saying something like that, like, “Holy Crap, you are so old!!!”  But the reality is that 90 years old is longer than a lot of people live with a good quality of life – even these days with modern medicine supposedly keeping people alive longer.  I was really curious about what he does, if anything. (He wasn’t offended anyway.)

His response was not what I expected.  He said, “You know what I do?  I’ll tell you.  Whenever I go somewhere, I make sure I come back a different way.  I always take a different street or avenue to come home.”  He also grew up in NYC, walked everywhere as most New Yorkers do. Navigating city streets is something that you can get creative with when you do it on a daily basis.   He also never smoked.

But this got me thinking about how many habits, and “ruts” we might have that we are not even aware or mindful of.

For kids, they grow and change so rapidly that so much of what they learn and experience is new.  They are in school, and they are always meeting new kids, playing, imagining, building, creating.  One minute they are into Elmo, next thing you know it’s Barbies or Superheroes.  Every food is a new experience.  Every smell creates a new memory. As we get older there are less and less brand new experiences, unless we create them for ourselves and get somewhat out of our familiar zone.  (I’m sure there is a ton of research done on this that I am not even mentioning.)

Think about the things you do every day that you do completely on auto-pilot. I remember hearing somewhere that if you paid attention to the way you brush your teeth or dry yourself after a shower you would notice that you do it EXACTLY the same way every single time.  You could probably do it in your sleep, many of us do!  I also heard on the radio that some people are even texting in their sleep!  Can you imagine?  Having text conversations that they have no recollection of.  (Scary!)

We all have different tendencies towards being creatures of habit.  Some of these routines make us more efficient and streamlined in terms of getting things done.  We all know someone who has had the same commute to work for 40 years or eats the same thing for breakfast since they were 10.   What about those people on Oprah who have the same haircut since the 60’s?  A little bit of forced, conscious change in our lives here and there can wake us up a little bit and keep things interesting.   And who knows?  Maybe it will keep us young!

Here are some ways you can throw a little change into your life without too much of an overhaul:

Read a new book on a topic you don’t typically read about.

Take a class in a subject you’ve always wanted to try but never had time or always thought it wasn’t practical.

Watch a movie you’ve never seen before.

Take the back roads. In other words, change your most routine trip.  Even if you can’t always take a different route, you can listen to different music or let someone else drive.

Make a new friend.

Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

Travel, even if it’s just a drive or walk in a new neighborhood.

Try a new recipe or new food.

Check out a new restaurant.

Approach new opportunities and experiences with curiosity. Notice if unfamiliar people or places create anxiety or stress.  If  they do, just noticing is a new experience for you, since your “autopilot” response might be to retreat to where you are familiar.

What “new” thing can you try today?

Be well,

Danielle

Recently I attended a training at Omega in Rhinebeck NY called Off the Mat, Into the World, with Seane Corn, Hala Khouri and Suzanne Sterling, three of the most inspiring, amazing, trail blazing women I’ve ever studied with.  It was a workshop devoted to service in the world and conscious activism, identifying our own traumas and triggers, our own practice of being so that we can fully serve in the world consciously and with empathy.

While we did yoga every morning, the afternoons were hard core discussion, diving deep into ourselves to discover what our true passions and life purpose is.  It was the most life changing and practical training I have done. Even though I’ve been a teacher and practitioner for years, I don’t usually write much about it.  Since I took so many notes at this training and then went back and for my own understanding expanded on them later,   I thought I’d share for a change .

One of the things I love about yoga practice is that when you think about it, there really is no separation between what is done on the mat and in life. But what I practice on my mat is like a regular reminder of mindfulness, receptivity, stillness, awareness, subtlety, and presence that sets the groove and tone for where I want to be in relationship to myself, my relationships, the world.  I practice because…well, I need the practice.  It’s not easy, and sometimes it doesn’t go as well as I’d like it.  That’s reality of being human on this great planet earth, I guess.

Here are 3 of the many major themes I took away from my week.

Love comes first, change comes later. Don’t wait for things/people/situations to change before you love them.  (Or even yourself.) The energy of love is what gives the power to transform.   I once heard Rabbi Shmuel Boteach on the radio, and he said “Most people think of love as a feeling they are supposed to have, when in fact love is a verb, it’s an action.”  Its so empowering to look at it this way, isn’t it?  You can love, pro-actively, rather than waiting for something or someone to do something love-worthy.  Not that this is easy, it’s just another perspective. I love his book called “10 Conversations You Need to Have With Your Children.” It’s a must-read if you have kids.

We are spiritual beings having human experiences, not humans having spiritual experiences. If we remember that spirit is our true nature, it puts things in perspective.  We are here on the planet to learn what love is.  But in order to learn what love is, we also need to learn what love is NOT.   Our souls are trying to grow, they are begging for evolution.   It’s our ego that gets uncomfortable and thinks it sucks.    Without challenges in life, you can’t develop the wisdom to develop empathy.  And to quote the fabulous Nikki Meyers , (excuse my French, these are her words) “Sometimes you need to get through the ‘fuck you’ to get to the ‘bless you.’”

Apparently, those broken times are when transformation really happens. There was a 73 year old woman named Clementine in our group, a yoga teacher (with a beautiful yoga practice I might add), and she had been through almost everything having raised 6 kids. She said, after looking back, those times when things get tough are the best times of your life.  That’s when you come out so much stronger, and having shed parts of ourselves that we didn’t need anymore, like a snake shedding it’s old skin.    The struggle is what strengthens, like the newborn chick who would die if someone helped him hatch from his egg.  This is how we can have gratitude for our difficulties and challenges.  It’s how you can be grateful for those people or situations that are really pushing some buttons.  One of my favorite sentences I had in my notebook was, “The motherfucker was an angel!?!” (Sorry, gosh, I’m so not used to writing the F word! But that’s how they said it.)

“The issues are in the tissues,” again to quote my new friend Nikki Meyers.  Trauma lives in the body, not the mind.  Developing awareness in the body through yoga (and other mind/body modalities, like dance, movement therapy, Pilates, martial arts, breathwork)  is very healing, and unless you include the body, therapy is very limited.  Humans are really just balls of energy walking around, exchanging energy all the time.  The chakras are a good place to start looking into blocked energy.  There’s a great book that I highly recommend by Anodea Judith called “Eastern Body -Western Mind” which outlines each chakra and what energies each holds.

There’s more to come on this, but that’s all for now.  I hope this gave you something to chew on for a while!!

Be well,

Danielle

I love this recipe.  I just made it tonight.  I happened to have a bag of pre-shredded cabbage from Trader Joes and wanted to use it up.  In the past I’ve used whole cabbages and if you get a small one it takes no time to slice yourself if you have a good sharp knife.  The pre-shredded was just as good, though.

I found this recipe in Laurie David’s “The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids, One Meal at a Time.” It’s not only a great dish to have at home, but perfect for hot summer picnics because it can handle the heat.  It’s sweet, pungent, crunchy, tart, and delicious.  Plus, its great for digestion as well as cleansing the digestive tract.   Buy cabbages that are heavy for their size and have nice tight outer leaves – that’s a good sign of freshness.

Here’s a few other facts you may not know about cabbage:

*It has more vitamin C than oranges

*Good natural source of iodine

*The outer leaves contain more vitamin E than the inner leaves.

If you like vinegar-y things, you will love this salad!

So here it is:

Cabbage Slaw

1 small white cabbage

1 large carrot

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ cup white wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives (I never add these in but the original recipe calls for it.)

To make about 3 cups:

Cut the cabbage into thin strips.  Grate the carrot, or just keep peeling it with the peeler so you get thin strips.  Toss the vegetables with the salt and sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Drain the cabbage and carrot well, and toss with the remaining ingredients.

It’s SO EASY and SO QUICK!  And it goes great with rice and beans, or anything spicy or Mexican.

Enjoy!

Danielle

I love to try new foods, and I often go through phases with things I love to eat.  What I was really into eating a year ago is very different from what I’m into now.  Things change based on how often I’m able to cook at home, who I’m eating with, what’s in season, and what I’m in the mood for. But some things do not change.  Here’s a list of 12 things that I always have on hand and use consistently, no matter what season it is or phase I’m in.

1. Flax seeds: While some “more healthy” packaged foods have flax seed as an ingredient I’ve noticed they are whole, not ground up.  Grinding helps to release the beneficial oils present in the seeds. I grind these in a coffee grinder and sprinkle them over oatmeal, in yogurt, in smoothies. They are a great source of fiber and Omega-3’s!  You can also bake them into any muffin, bread, or pancake recipe.  Be careful though, the oil in flax seeds goes rancid quickly so only grind what you can use right then.  For that reason I don’t recommend buying already ground flax meal.  I usually grind and use up about a tablespoon at a time.  You can get flax seeds almost anywhere, or in health food stores.
2. Chia seeds: Yes, the ones from your Ch-ch-ch- chia! pet.  Those cute little sprouts were more nutritious than we ever knew growing our fuzzy pets!  Chia seeds are the second highest source of omega-3 fatty acids (flax is the first.) My friend Jen Gatz was recently telling me about the book called “Born to Run” which is about a Southwest American Indian tribe that ate chia seeds for endurance.  They also have tons of fiber.  The other day out of pure curiosity, I tried a chia muffin at Le Pain Quotidien here in NYC, it was pretty tasty.  It really made me want to experiment with baking more with chia seeds.  I usually put them in smoothies, my favorite being my fiber berry smoothie.
3. Olive oil: I keep this around always for sautéing or to make dressings for salads. My favorite dressing is a mixture of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, 1 clove of garlic pressed, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  I just put it all in a jar and shake it up.
4. Garlic: I love garlic.  I eat it raw in dressings mostly, but I also crush it in sautéed or roasted vegetables. Pretty much anything roasted with garlic smells and tastes delicious.  Just dice up some root veggies (carrots, potatoes, beets, even mushrooms, onions, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, celery root, or squash) and add some crushed garlic, olive oil, and maybe a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary, and roast at 400 degrees for 45 min to an hour.  It’s a great side dish and so easy.  You couldn’t screw it up if you tried! if you eat meat, you could use it to roast or sautee any meat or fish as well.
5. Lemons:  I always have these around.  Lemon water first thing in the morning, and it adds a great tang to dressings and sautéed veggies.  I love lemon squeezed over sliced apples with a dash of cinnamon. I throw half a lemon into my green smoothies skin and all!  The zest is where most of the flavor is. I highly recommend investing in a microplane or zester so you can easily remove it for certain recipes, like my crunchy fruity wild rice salad (which, by the way is great with quinoa instead of wild rice!)  It just seems that lemon makes most things taste better!
6. Sea salt: More minerals than regular iodized salt, and love love love the taste.
7. Walnuts: The only nut that has Omega -3’s! I love them in oatmeal, in salads, or sometimes I make a mix with berries, dark chocolate chips and walnuts.
8. Quinoa: I’m better at making quinoa than I am at making rice.  It cooks up so quickly and is so versatile.  It’s great for breakfast or in salads or as a side dish.
9. Coconut oil: I use this just as I would use butter, in baking, sauteéing, even on toast or pancakes. I prefer the taste for oil pulling, and you can also use it as a moisturizer after dry brushing.
10. Dark chocolate: It’s just so darn good and there are so many different kinds now that I like to try them all! My favorite is Dagoba eclipse.
11. Raisins: I love them with almonds or cashews as a sweet snack, or with dark chocolate chips.  YUM.  In oatmeal they are great, or even just to jazz up a plain old bowl of cereal.
12. Frozen organic blueberries: Awesome source of antioxidants, plus great for making pancakes, smoothies, or as a topping for yogurt or cereal. One of my favorite treats is a few teaspoons of goat’s milk yogurt (easier to digest than cow’s milk) with a handful of chopped walnuts, some raisins, and frozen blueberries with a drizzle of maple syrup, and a few drops of vanilla flavoring, (and maybe some ground flax seeds).  YUM!

Keeping good versatile ingredients in your kitchen will help you to make healthier choices since, well, you have no other choice!  All the things listed above are things I use and restock all the time.  For those of you who have kids, I would encourage you to get these foods into your children, the earlier the better!  Most of the foods mentioned can be blended, or mixed in, or delicious enough alone that your kids will love them too. It’s so worth it to pump yourself and family with food that is fortified naturally, rather than food that needs artificial fortification.  That’s what we really need: the real thing. No more empty filler!  (That’s my name for food that is filling but has no nutrition.) I would love to hear how you experiment with different foods and what staple ingredients you have around! Please share!

Be well,

Danielle

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a sweet treat on occasion. Some of us, though, are eating sugar more than just occasionally. We can certainly live without refined sugar….or can we? It’s everywhere –in most anything packaged, including drinks, soups, breads, in a lot of things you wouldn’t even consider sweet. Every celebration involves sugar and sweets, and boy, those sweet cravings can be brutal. I’m one of those people that almost never makes it through a day without a little taste of something sweet. I imagine I’m probably not alone, that’s why I’m posting this!

Did Someone Say Dessert??
How bad is sugar really? And are certain sweeteners better than others? Is it possible to control sweet cravings? And why would anyone want to cleanse from sugar?

The Slavery Of It All

I’m glad to say that while I still love my sweets – especially chocolate – on a regular basis, I am no longer asleep to how I was literally a slave to my sugar cravings. I didn’t have a weight problem, so calories didn’t matter much to me. I just thought I loved sweets, and had a sweet tooth and that was it. Until, that is, I decided to try and eliminate all sugar from my diet for a short time. For the first time I noticed not only how often I craved sweets, but how little control I seemed to have with frequency and portions of sugary snacks.

The problem is subtle sometimes, not always so dramatic, but definitely there. There are short bursts of energy followed by a crash that leaves you right back where you started, lethargic, maybe a little spacey or cranky and craving more sugar. I still remember my daily routine several years ago: after a full day of work, coming home exhausted and sleepy. I would crash at home for a while, before I peeled myself off my couch, groggy and foggy, to go to Starbucks to get a latte and a delicious, big fat chocolate chunk cookie. Then I would be fine again for a while. I was on a sugar roller-coaster.

This back and forth pendulum-like quality is what happens when you are eating a lot of foods (simple carbohydrates) that spike your blood sugar. You might feel energetic for a short time, but once your body’s insulin response kicks in (which will send all the sugar into your cells to use it as energy) you wind up with low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, otherwise known as the “crash” that comes after eating sugar. This can cause irritability, lethargy, shakiness, nausea, even fainting. So then you crave more sugar to get more energy. And away you go, constantly swinging between high and low energy. So you can see how sugar alone will not sustain energy for any significant amount of time.

Not all carbohydrates will have this effect. Complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes have a much more even effect on blood sugar. Also, it’s not only sweets like cake and candy that send your blood sugar sky-high. White flour, pretzels, fruit juice concentrate, honey, maple syrup, even white rice, will do the trick as well. Because they raise your blood sugar quickly, they are rated relatively high on the “glycemic index” which is basically a measure of how high a food raises your blood sugar. Some fruits, like bananas or raisins, are likely to send your blood sugar up more quickly than others, so they are considered to be higher on the glycemic index.

There’s good news: it gets better once you get off the crazy sugar treadmill! Your energy will improve, and you won’t feel so tempted by treats or sugar when you are in their presence.

Getting your sugar intake under control has other benefits too. Excess sugar intake has been shown to suppress the body’s immune system and lead to insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity. It also creates the perfect conditions for cancer cells to live. They literally live off sugar! Chronic inflammation has been shown to be the basis for disease, and is exacerbated by guess what….sugar.

Here’s what can help to even out blood sugar levels. By adding more of these into your diet, you can hopefully feel less “hunger-panic” and not need so many quick sugar fixes:

1. Greens: in every meal, even for breakfast in a smoothie! Salads, sautéed, steamed, YUM! They are alkalizing and contain minerals that normalize blood sugar, thus reducing cravings.

2. Green juices: You can get these on the run at a good health food store or make them yourself at home. You can juice just about any green, and add lemon, maybe a little apple to help it go down at first if you are not used to the taste. Again – delicious and alkalizing.

3. Healthy Protein and Fats: Nuts, avocado, eggs or lean meats (if you are not vegan or vegetarian), beans, tofu, tempeh, olive oil and flax oil. The fats take longer to digest and slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream.

4. Water: Being hydrated helps decrease cravings and has tons of other benefits too!

5. Eating regularly: Healthy snacking between meals is key for keeping blood sugar even. Skipping meals makes you more likely to grab whatever junk is around when your blood sugar drops.

Actually, I don’t think it’s so bad to have a treat occasionally. Eliminating all sugar is unrealistic for an average healthy person, not to mention boring! But the idea of being in control of your sugar intake is key.

Keep in mind, control doesn’t always mean “strict” or “rigid” or “self depriving”. It means being balanced so that you are not reacting to the fluctuations in your blood sugar. This way you can have treats occasionally when you choose, and you can also choose to limit your intake. Doing this is a lot easier if you’re in a balanced state.

That’s my point. It’s not really a choice until you are aware and making conscious decisions. If your blood sugar is swinging like a pendulum how are you supposed to know if it’s a decision or a reaction to your body chemistry? It’s not always just a question of willpower!

Emotional eating is another reason people overeat sugar, but that’s a whole different ball game. (One of my favorite books about cravings, physiological and emotional is Nourishing Wisdom, by Marc David.)

The fact that sugar is in so many foods makes it no wonder that we as Americans are so confused about why we are hungry all the time and keep gaining weight. I think many of us are unaware as to just how much sugar we really are eating. Maybe that’s why we crave it so much! It really pays to develop awareness about how much sugar you’re eating and how it makes you feel. You can start by trying some of the following things:

Here’s how to have your sweets and eat them too!

1. Keep your fridge stocked with fresh fruit. When you are craving sweets, grab and apple. To get fancy try this: slice it and drizzle with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with cinnamon. It’s seriously delicious!! Plus, the fiber in the apple will kill your appetite for a while.

2. Never on an empty stomach. This will spike your blood sugar, which calls for an insulin response. This is what your body is supposed to do, send the sugar to the muscles for use as energy. But when there’s no protein or fat, just simple sugar, it could lead to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. These fluctuations are what make you feel the sugar “crash” after eating sweets. Having a meal or at least some protein before eating sweets will help this problem.

3. Really make it worth it. Think about your decision to have sweets. Notice if you are craving out of habit, low blood sugar or because you are bummed out. Don’t just eat them because they are there! Eat them because you are making the choice to really enjoy a moment of sweet bliss. You know what those Twinkies taste like, do you really want to waste your sugar intake on them?

4. Stop, Sit, Enjoy. No shoving down a chocolate fudge brownie as you run to catch the bus! A few years back I even stopped walking around the city carrying hot tea or coffee in “to-go” cups after a visit to Italy where nobody (I mean nobody…) does that. I don’t think they even make paper cups over there. Everyone stops, drinks their coffee (or eats their treat) enjoys it and then gets on with their day.

5. Take a small portion. It’s all you really need if you get to savor your treat. Don’t talk. Don’t let anyone talk to you. Put all your attention to that sweet you are eating and fully enjoy it and remember the taste. Make it last in your mouth. If it’s something that is a few bites, like a piece of cake or small dish of ice cream, do this for each bite and pause between bites. If you are eating with someone else and you are talking, then talk in between bites. What often happens to me is if I’m enjoying something so much, I shovel it in because it’s so good, then the last bite is the one that tastes the best because it’s the only one I’ve had a chance to take a breath after. That makes me want more. Oh, one more thing: at a party, if given the choice between homemade and store bought, I always go with the homemade!!

6. Allow yourself to get used to the real taste of things, without the extra added sugar. I grew up putting tons of sugar on my grapefruit for breakfast!! Now, when I eat a grapefruit without sugar, I can actually taste the darn thing. And it’s pretty good! Learn to love your oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins and maybe some coconut oil drizzled over the top. Expect that it might be a slightly different taste, but remind yourself that you are doing yourself a huge favor out of love and respect for your body because you want to feel great both mentally and physically. You’ll get used to it, (and learn to like it!) I promise. One thing I’ve noticed too is that a good green juice with a little apple in it cuts the sweets craving big time. Try it!

7. Eat enough of the good stuff. Don’t stuff yourself, but eat enough protein, fats and good carbs at your meals so that you don’t have cravings for sugar on a regular basis (every day at 4 pm…sound familiar???). Having a non-fat salad for lunch won’t do you any good if you can’t live without your mid-afternoon venti white chocolate mocha. Eating a little protein and/or healthy fat at each meal will help keep your blood sugar steady.

8. Find other ways to nurture yourself. Call a friend, take a bath, relax with a great book, have some green tea or a piece of amazing dark chocolate rich in antioxidants and savor it. Sometimes sweets are our only “fun” thing that we get to indulge in all day. That’s fine, but also make sure you are doing other non-food related things you enjoy just as much!

9. Read labels. Sugar is in things you don’t even think of as sweets. Breads, crackers, tomato sauces, baked beans, soups. High fructose corn syrup is a cheap version of sugar that is in many food products. Anything ending in –ose (sucralose, maltose, etc.) is sugar. It’s more important than ever right now to understand what you are spending your hard earned money on. Whether or not you consider yourself a food activist, when you buy something you are sending a message that you approve, you want this product to continue to be available. Read labels and put your money where your fork goes.

10. MOST IMPORTANT: When you do eat sweets, go for the real thing. When you do eat something sweet, please, please choose your poison carefully. Sugar substitutes like Splenda, Sweet n Low, aspartame, and Equal might be approved by the FDA but that doesn’t mean they are completely free and clear from dangers and side effects – especially when given to children or used on a regular/frequent basis. Click here and here to read more about artificial sweeteners. Stevia is a great all natural sweetener. It’s an all natural herb extract that doesn’t affect blood sugar levels.
All this being said, I think it’s important to emphasize that when taken in moderation, natural sweeteners are better than artificial. Even though sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, fruit juice concentrate, molasses and agave nectar will affect your blood sugar, contain some minerals and they are at least found in nature and are a more wholesome alternative to processed white sugar and artificial sweeteners. I feel a heck of a lot better about giving them to my family and eating them myself than anything else.

Good luck with your sugar journey!

Keep me posted and be well,

Danielle

Miso soup is one of the quickest, most delicious soups you can make at home. And miso, (in case you didn’t already know) has plenty of amazing benefits. For starters, it’s extremely effective in reducing the toxic effects of radiation, smoking, and air pollution. Here are some other great things about miso:

1. Helps fight cancer (the darker the color, the more medicinal properties it has)
2. Great digestive aid (because it’s fermented)
3. Good source of protein

I only started buying miso to make things at home with it several years ago. It was a new taste for me, since I didn’t really eat much Japanese food growing up. I would sometimes just crave warm, savory, salty, broth-like soups. I found myself making a simple stock made from the water of boiled greens, and I would drink it from a coffee mug. I started adding a little miso for flavor and I found it really delicious. Sometimes I even have it with breakfast.

Miso is actually a paste made out of fermented soybeans, salt, and some sort of grain, (usually rice or barley). There are many different flavors of miso depending on what is mixed with the soybeans when fermenting. You can find miso in the refrigerated section of almost any health food store. I would suggest if it’s your first time trying or cooking with it to get a light flavored variety since the taste will not be as strong. Some health food stores (and I know for a fact Trader Joes!) sell freeze dried instant miso soup in small packets which are great for trips!

Here’s my favorite recipe for making a quick and delicious miso soup:

Serves 4

5 cups water
1/2 cup julienned carrots or coarsely chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped kale or small broccoli florets
2 tablespoons white miso or barley miso
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1-2 tbsp. cubed firm tofu

In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add the broccoli or kale (or both) after 6 minutes and cook for 4-6 minutes more, or until all of the vegetables are well cooked.

Dilute the miso in 1 cup of the broth and then pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Reduce heat to simmer. (Try not to boil the miso, as this destroys the beneficial microorganisms.) Stir in the scallions and serve.

You could add any assortment of vegetables such as onion, cabbage, bean sprouts, peas, etc.

Enjoy!!

But what I’ve realized is that even though I couldn’t get to my favorite yoga class or even do an hour of my own yoga practice every single day, or do a full Pilates reformer session or strength session, what I could do was a small amount consistently and regularly….as in each day, even if it was for only 10 minutes. And it really works! I feel pain free, flexible, and strong, and I didn’t have to dedicate hours to being in a gym. I almost feel more energized than when I force myself to work out longer.

The same goes for eating. If how you eat is consistently healthy, fresh, nourishing food, then the occasional treat at a party or celebration is not going to make or break anything. It’s when you are only occasionally eating healthy and the main components of your diet are things that clog your system such as meat, dairy, sugar and processed flour products, that weight packs on, you crave unhealthy foods, and the vicious cycle begins.

The good news is each day you can start fresh with healthy breakfasts. This is a great place to start, because even if you fall off track later in the day, you at least started in a good place. Plus, you are then more likely to stick with the plan if you started with a plan in the first place.

The bottom line is, you need to do the little things to take care of your body every single day, like taking out the garbage or brushing your teeth. Otherwise weight piles up, immune system weakens, sluggishness kicks in, cravings take over, and it’s a downward spiral. How do you know if you are on this path?

1. You don’t have a plan for your meals
2. You are tired in the mid-afternoons and often reach for caffeine or sugar for “energy”
3. You can’t seem to lose those few annoying pounds
4. You don’t feel great, but not really ‘sick’. Maybe you have allergies, skin problems, sugar cravings, constipation or diarrhea, mental fog, etc.
5. Maybe you are sick, more often than you would like.

So, if you are in this situation, it’s okay! There’s hope! And luckily lots of ways to get back on track. And because they are little habits that don’t take a lot of time to commit to, you can squeeze them into every single day. Yes, you can!
Here are some ways to get started:

1. Drink more water every day: At least 6 glasses. In the morning is a good time to get hydrated. I recommend a 16 oz. glass before you eat or drink anything else. No matter what, you’ll feel better if you have clean fresh water in your system.

2. Eat a healthy, low sugar, protein rich breakfast. Click here for some ideas. Lately one of my favorites is brown rice and beans which I prepare and keep in the refrigerator. I know it’s not a typical breakfast, but it’s so delicious when I crave a warm and savory breakfast instead of cold (smoothie) or sweet. It also keeps my easily fluctuating blood sugar stable, I can really feel the difference. Click here for my Cuban black beans and rice recipe if you want to try it. It goes great with this Amazing Cabbage Slaw!

3. Eat water rich foods. Vegetables, fruits, fresh juices, soups. They help mineralize and hydrate your body.

4. Find some sort of physical activity that you love doing and do it for as much or as little time as you can. Walking, dancing, a few minutes of yoga, some pushups or squat thrusts, some lunges, stair climbing up to your apartment, jumping on a rebounder trampoline, whatever. It’s all good.

5. Make a small workout plan. For example, you might have only 10 minutes to workout, so you can do 2 sets of lunges and 2 sets of pushups and a forward bend as a stretch. Then later in the day do another round. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but hey, it is way better than nothing.

6. Don’t underestimate the power of a few minutes, often. A little goes a long way when you keep it up. And those minutes add up. You don’t necessarily need to be in a gym 24/7 to get fit.

I found these to be really helpful when it got really cold and I just could not get myself to the gym, or even to commit to a full hour or more of working out. If I’m feeling it, I’m thinking someone else out there must be too! It truly is the little things that you do regularly and consistently that add up to a healthy lifestyle. So, hope this helps, keeps you feeling good until you have time for and feel ready for longer workouts!

Danielle