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How-to Make French Vanilla Coffee Creamer (Dairy and Non-Dairy)
Since I have begun seeing clients as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I am so grateful for my longstanding experiences with and my love for food. I am constantly asked the question “If I shouldn’t eat this, then what can I have, instead?”. I love having answers to this question.
I firmly believe that changing diet and lifestyle has to come from a place of both education and confidence. If I meet with a new client and tell them to stop drinking several Cokes daily, but don’t explain why, I can’t really expect them to want to make this change. Why would they? They are both chemically and emotionally attached and possibly even addicted. If I can take the time to explain the effects that the high levels of sugar are doing to their insulin resistance, if I can talk through the reasons why high fructose corn syrup is terrifying and explain the affects this one drink can have on their blood sugar, digestion, mineral absorption and so on, I have a much better chance of getting them on board for the long haul.
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Grain-free Baja Fish Taco Bowl {Paleo-friendly}
For most of my life, I have always had a (totally rational) fear of fried foods, something I can say I happily accepted and followed. It wasn’t until this past year or so that I finally experimented with for-real frying at home, beyond a simple pan-fry. Besides the occasional french fry indulgence, I never really found myself drawn to deep-fried anything. It just was never my thing. But to be totally honest, beyond the fact that I intuitively never liked how fried foods made me feel, it was mostly because of the scary calories and fat. And while calories and fat should absolutely be a valid concern, in excess, after spending time truly learning about fats and oils in nutritional therapy school program, I have learned what we should really fear more than these numbers, instead are the oils themselves and the havoc that they can wreak on our bodies and our health. That old saying ‘quality not quantity’, has really never been more appropriate.
At most restaurants, even the nicest of places and honestly in most people’s homes, fried foods are generally cooked in denatured vegetable and seed oils. These are usually highly refined polyunsaturated fats that are highly unstable, especially in high heats. Often they are hydrogenated and when exposed to heat they oxidize and go rancid very quickly and form free radicals. “These chaotic, skewed fatty acid molecules, now in the form of free radicals, wreak havoc on the body attacking and damaging DNA and RNA, cell membranes, vascular walls, and red blood cells, all of which cascade into deeper physiological damage such as tumor formation, accelerated aging, arterial plaque accumulation, autoimmune imbalances, and more!”[1] WOAH – just woah, right? My life-long intuition-led opinion on fried foods was definitely not for nothing.
Now, before we get into this recipe, I am certainly not advocating that fried foods, even in healthful oils, are something we should consume often. Like sweets and treats, even of the more healthy variety, this type of cooking falls into the category of once-in-a-while eating. But, being totally afraid of something and never being able to enjoy it, that doesn’t really feel good either and it certainly isn’t a lifestyle I ever want to live or promote. However, these curiosities for a better option, this is usually how I manage to come up with an alternative, a new way to enjoy something one-in-a-while that I never get to, but in a much more health-minded approach.
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Comforting Mushroom Soup
Something strange has happened in Southern California over the last couple of days…we had weather!! Yes, more than just sunshine and blue skies. We had violent and incredible thunderstorms lighting up the skies, pouring rain with the biggest rain drops you ever did see and heavy winds, bending those strong and sturdy palms, to and fro. It was incredible, chilly and so cozy. I miss days like this. When the skies open up and bathe us in this sweet and necessary rain, I am beyond grateful not only for the obvious, but also for the reminder and the excuse to slow down. I also find myself reminded of the importance of soul-warming, comfort food.
I have been making this comforting mushroom soup on and off throughout this winter. It’s so hearty, rich and earthy without being too heavy or indulgent. I also find that like most of my recipes, it’s also quite versatile. You can make it vegan by utilizing just the flavor of a beautiful mushroom broth and the meatiness of the varying mushrooms as the base, or you can, as we opted to here, add in some beautiful chicken stock and a little shredded dark meat chicken, for additional flavor and a source of protein for a complete meal.
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Grain-free Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Creme
Often when I find myself traveling new cities and towns, seeking out new dishes and popular local delicacies, I feel left out from being able to fully savor the flavors of the region. When you have dietary challenges, whether it be allergies, intolerances or choices, it can make dropping into a new city a little bit less than spontaneous. You can’t just stop by the most popular restaurants, the hot spots featured time and time again in magazines and TV shows, instead you have to plan ahead, do your homework and find places that will support your restrictions. This extra work, the plotting and scheming, I can tell you, is always worth it.
While traveling to Maine earlier this fall, this is exactly what I did. I had just 2 days in Portland, Maine and I was determined to make the most of it. Portland truly is a foodie town, with more restaurants per capita than most major cities in the US. So, I did what any good gluten-free foodie would do, I did my homework and I truly ate and drank my way through the city, so I have lots of great tips to share with you, at the bottom of this post.
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Spicy Southwest Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro Lime Avocado Cream
There are times in life that call for grand meals, several dishes, a theme, planning ahead and so on. Other times, when life has your brain in a million places, simple, easy, one dish and one thought is just what you need. This recipe is perfect for when you want something simple, light and healthy, but still hearty and comforting.
With the start of my level 2 advanced yoga teacher training (RYT 500 hour) over the weekend, life is back to being slightly hectic once again. From now until just a few days before Christmas, every Saturday and Sunday I will be up in Venice Beach for 9+ hours, completely submerged in the teachings of yoga! This means – easy meals, getting my stuff together throughout the week and being more organized than usual – are all back to being major priorities!
Besides loving simple meals, I am also a big fan of sweet potatoes, though I will admit I can forget how amazing they are. Sweet potatoes are highly underrated in my opinion, I don’t think they get nearly enough love. When I saw this great recipe from Gaby way earlier this year, I was inspired to make my own vegan version. Spicy Southwest Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro Lime Avocado Cream!!
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Peaches and Cream Smoothie (Vegan)
Smoothies are seriously my favorite, easy weekday breakfast. I wake up, practice yoga and immediately head into the kitchen to throw together a delicious, nourishing smoothie made from whatever I have on hand and it always keeps me full till lunch!
I almost always have a quart or two of my homemade almond milk on hand for just this reason and I let the fruit and veggies we get from our CSA box determine what the flavor of the day will be.
We’ve been getting these beautiful, organic juicy, sweet peaches from Tony, our farmer, and they have been an absolute treat, while we are waiting for our own peach tree to do it’s thing.
This Peaches and Cream Smoothie is creamy, rich and so easy to throw together. I add a small amount of raw honey when I make my almond milk and the peaches we have been getting are quite sweet, so I find no additional sweetener is needed, but you can use your own judgement.
