Hallloween Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

We are now entering into the shorter days and longer nights of the winter season. Nature is pulling back in, the yang energy of warmer months converts to the more yin energy of the cooler months.

Most animals begin to hunker down and rest… but we human animals… we start speeding up with holiday shopping and enormous amounts of busy fourth quarter preparations. Why do we do that?

Now is the time to be especially mindful of how you can nurture yourself. Can you sleep more? What can you do that brings you joy? What are you eating these days?

For me, cold foods like salads just don’t to cut it for me this time of year. I like to make soups and stews and broths and stir-frys, increasing warmth and comfort.

When we feel un-nurtured, we eat emotionally. And emotional eating coupled with stress is a ticket to everything from lowered immunity, inflammation, bloating, weight gain, increased anxiety, general dissatisfaction, fatigue and meloncholy.

You may want to find some delicious indulgences that will make you feel loved-well and won’t throw your system off by making you crave a whole bag of candy corns (ugh!).

Try this pumpkin pie smoothie recipe (easy) – treat yourself – I’m fairly sure you will love it.

The Holidays are upon us. What Joy can you gift yourself? What minor changes can you make to simplify and slow down for the next 8 weeks?

Sending you warm wishes on Halloween and for the yin season to come!

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What’s for Breakfast?

Pastured soft boiled eggs on gluten free toast. Bright yolks.

At a recent workshop I was asked,”So, what do you eat for breakfast?”

I paused. 

Why? Because sometimes my breakfast choices are things like soup. Not the sort of thing you want to just blurt out in public. And becasue we all need to discover what is the best breakfast for us.

We’ve all heard it’s the most important meal of the day – but then what do we think our choices are? Yogurt ? (Watch this it’s hilarious — I actually worked on one of those commercials back in the day – talk about karma. ) Or Toast, eggs, oatmeal, cold cereal, just coffee, a lara bar, or simply nothing. 

Why is breakfast so important?

I’ll give you a few simple reasons in bullet point:

  • Breakfast literally breaks the fast. While we are sleeping, our body is detoxifying and fasting. When we wake, our blood sugar is low.  Morning is an important time to eat something and balance your blood sugar out.
  • Our breakfast sets the tone for our day. Our choices effect our energy, mood and focus.
  • Metabolism. Eating a breakfast that works for you energetically will support your metabolism.

So, what’s the best thing for breakfast?

That depends. Every Body is Different.  Here’s how you can test it out:
Download The Breakfast Experiment. I give this exact form out to my clients– it will help you figure out what really works for you. It’s deceptively simple and the results are life-changing.
Give it a go and let me know what you find out.  If you feel you need more support, you can always schedule a breakthrough session.
So, what’s for my breakfast today? Homemade Broccoli soup. Well, it’s what works for me (today).

Fresh, organic broccoli soup, it's what's for breakfast.

 

 

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Warming Autumn Broccoli Soup

Fresh, organic broccoli soup.

Here’s a simple recipe to warm you up. It’s packed with protein and calcium. 

Ingredients

  • 1 head of Broccoli -chopped
  • 2-3 cloves of Garlic – diced loosely
  • 2 TBS Ghee
  • 1 Onion
  • 1-3 cups of vegetable stock (make it at home ahead of time by sautéing onions, celery, carrots and turnips, add water (3-6 cups) bringing water to a boil, and simmering for an hour. Refrigerate and/or freeze. Use as a base for soups like this)
  • 1 cup beans (choose, black-eyed peas, white navy beans, butter beans, etc.)
Directions
  1. In a corning ware dish, add chopped and rinsed broccoli, garlic, 1 – 1/2 TBS ghee, and a tsp or two of filtered water.
  2. Put in oven or toaster oven (my preferred method) on 350˚ until roasted to desired brightness
  3. Meanwhile, sauté or sweat onion in 1/2-1 TBS of ghee until medium soft (smelling great) 
  4. Add in beans and cook through till hot
  5. Heat up stock on stove top
  6. Add all ingredients to high speed blender (broccoli + garlic, Onions and beans, and stock) and blend until smooth and creamy
  7. While blending squeeze in 1/3 of lemon, add salt to taste.
Serve with fresh lemon and a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt. 

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My film about New York on September 11, 2001

In honor of the 10th year of remembering New York on September 11, 2001, I thought I’d share a less sensationalized film I made during the events of that day. This event changed many lives, clarifying priorities and crystallizing dreams.  As a result, many got married, broke up, moved to places they’d always dreamed of.

As we move forward together into global awakening, we are realizing that we can co-create a New Earth, a new reality for ourselves. So, let me ask you this: If you could quiet the “no,” “that’s not possible,” “that’s for other people,” “you’re not good enough” voices in your head, what would you create for yourself?  What is waiting for you in your life that you’re shelving?

Life is not a dress rehearsal.

HOME. a film.

Foregoing the manipulative melodrama of rubble and tears that fills many depictions of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, Nicole DiDio left the safety of her Brooklyn apartment and took her camera to the streets of downtown Manhattan, determined to capture the eerie, slow, human calm that immediately followed the impact of the planes. Through intimate, unadorned images of bike messengers, executives, secretaries, rescue workers and residents Nicole successfully documented the misery and bewilderment that united a nation without sensationalizing the truth of this most difficult to define emotional reaction to 9/11. Nick Drake’s haunting “Day is Done,” performed by Norah Jones and Charlie Hunter, gives voice to what so many felt as they instinctively banded together to survive Tuesday, September 11, 2001: “When the day is done/Down to earth then sinks the sun/Along with everything that was lost and won/When the day is done.”

   

Read the review (Note: you will be jumping to my teaching website – yes, I used to work in Advertising– that’s why I stopped watching TV and became a Health Coach ; )

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How do we Soothe Ourselves?

This morning I woke up at 3:30 and could not get back to sleep. My jaw was tense, I felt a general feeling of unease, and so after 30 minutes of tossing and sighing, I just simply got up and started my day. In fact, I’m writing to you now form my meditation spot in an effort to stay focused and clear.

The turning of the seasons naturally hold a lot of change. And recently, all over the world change, movement, and shifting is what’s on the menu. In just one week on the east coast we’ve had an earthquake and a hurricane, and of course we see what’s happening elsewhere around our country and the globe.

This got me thinking about how we soothe ourselves. If we look at children and how they seek soothing through breastfeeding, thumbsucking, pacifiers, temper tantrums (release), we can perhaps reflect on how we choose to (consciously or unconsciously) soothe ourselves. Some are temporary foxes that end up exacerbating our tension and stress, and there are others that really help us leap to the next level. Here are a few that some to mind:

These habits keep us stuck in stress and tension:

  • Tuning out and getting lost in Television
  • Watching the news
  • Drinking, drugs
  • Eating comfort foods (childhood foods, sugar, heavy foods for grounding like pasta, meats, cheeses)
  • Caffeine and Coffee (also a drug – “America runs on…”)
  • Creating drama and arguing with loved ones 
  • Pavlovian attention to smart phones, email, Facebook (this takes us out of the present moment)

Here are a few habits that while sometimes challenging to start, help to ACTUALLY SOOTHE:

  • Meditation
  • Yoga, or simple gentle morning/evening stretches
  • Deep, belly breathing
  • Qi Gong (this is very slow Thai Chi)
  • Wandering in nature or for a walk with no particular destination
  • Cultivating an herbal tea connoisseurship
  • Dancing
  • Drinking water (we are approximately 70% water)
  • Sitting and watching anything that has life force: birds, trees, wind, people
  • New earth comfort foods (dark leafy greens (life force energy), green drinks like Green Magma barley grass powder (my current favorite), E3live (amazing microalgaes), root vegetables for grounding (sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, burdock root)
  • Gentle cleansing with foods
  • Spending quality time with loved ones
  • Making more love (literally – both physically and emotionally)

The concept here is to be in your body, be present in the moment as much as you can. We are really just very tall children who desperately need some free play. There’s this odd thing going on in our culture which takes us not only out of the present moment – into the future or past – but into a virtual world – a playground of the mind (Facebook, email, etc). This keeps us disconnected from our bodies — our first house.

Yes, you read that correctly. This is similar to the concept of Body as Temple, but different in that I hope this metaphor helps you connect more deeply back to your Self. Our first house is our body. We literally inhabit it. And yet we forget how to care for it properly. Or rather, we weren’t given the maintenance manual that many ancients had. We tossed that information out around the time of the industrial revolution.

Here’s the thing, as you come back into your body and remember/ relearn how to listen to what it has to tell you, how to care for it, how to love and appreciate it NOW, you will find that life is completely different. When you know how to soothe yourself in a deep and intuitive way, you will actually become soothed.

I know that when I wake up early with tension and stress that I actually need to spend some time soothing myself. This morning, I understood that something was creating tension, something in my body or mind was overstimulated. I decided to soothe myself. I did some yoga, some meditation and deep breathing, drank my green barley grass, cultivated a state of gratitude for choosing those things, and then this topic came to me. I try to keep my posts short and sweet, but apparently this one needed some space to breathe.

So, the questions I have for you are:

  • Where do you need to breathe space into your life? 
  • Where do you need to breathe? (what is weighing down on you?)
  • What is your default soothing mechanism? 
  • What is one new soothing habit would you like to cultivate?

Email me back or post to the blog, I’d really like to know.

Personally, I am recommitting to meditation. I’d like to show up and sit every morning for 10 minutes or so. I do guided meditations – which are easier for me, they allow me to shut off my brain chatter. I’m a much better person with daily meditation practice, more intuitive, connected, less reactive to stress, in general – more happy.

Off to enjoy my morning tea…

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Rawkos! A travel food.

Happy Labor Day weekend! It’s time to celebrate all the toil and sweat you’ve put into you’re year. 

Here’s a fantastic recipe that will keep you in the summer mode. This is a popular favorite from my Seasonal Cleanses (Join me in September for a healthy kick-start)–It’s great food to travel with and requires NO COOKING. Rejoice the Rawko!  It’s like a taco but it’s raw – not raw meat – raw foods (means no cooking, more enzymes, more energy). 

Wraps

  • Bunch of collard greens*, rinsed and de-stemmed – leaving 2 halves (depends on how many people are eating– figure 2-3 wraps per person)
  • Pat those dry
Sweet Cucumber Salsa
  • 1 apple – peeled, cored, diced
  • 1 cucumber – peeled, seeded, diced
  • 1 medium sweet yellow onion – diced
  • parsley and/or cilantro – washed and diced
  • a few pinches of Celtic sea salt (this is a high mineral salt- very good for you)
  • Fresh squeezed lemon
  • Add all ingredients together, then add in salt and lemon – make sure it really gets on that onion! Toss, let sit. 
Rawko “meat”
First, let me say, I am not anti-meat, I am pro sustainably-raised, grass-pastured meat*. I am pro health for our bodies, and health for the planet. So why the non-meat tacos – er- rawkos? Because they are delicious. Because raw foods pack an amazing amount of energy and vitality, and because everyone loves new and exciting foods that make them feel good with no negative repercussions.  So here you go:
  • 1 -2 cups of raw organic walnuts (again, depending on how many people you are feeding)
  • 2-6 TBS of gluten free tamari (go easy on this — it can get real salty quick)
  • Add to a high speed blender or food processor and blend it up
Making Rawkos
  • Lay  your collard wrap on a flat surface
  • Spread 1-2 tsp of the rawko “meat” onto the wrap length-wise
  • Add some salsa (this offsets the heavy flavor of the walnuts nicely)
  • Here, I added some sunflower sprouts for some more green and texture
  • Roll up and enjoy. 
You can pre-roll these and eat them on a car ride — or pack the ingredients separately and take to work, beach, or party. 
*When I travel I also make  an organic turkey and goat cheese wrap that you can eat in the car. Just add shaved onions and apple. Divine. 
Let me know what you think. Happy Labor Day Weekend. 

 

 

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Tasty Harvest and Seasonal Eating

Harvest season is upon us – the time when our foods need the least amount of effort to prepare and bring us the most taste and delight. I’m talking, lightly steamed or raw, a little bit of olive oil, some herbs, a dash of salt – yum. Check out my mid-summer bean salad recipe.

We’re only a few short weeks until September and the journey into the colder, darker months begins. As the seasons turn, our bodies begin to crave different foods. If we’re listening, we can keep step and stay healthy, fit and emotionally balanced through the coming months.

There are a few simple techniques you can use to tune in, slim down, and stay healthy.

1. Understand how to eat with the seasons

2. Cleanse at the turn of each season

1. Seasonal Eating At-a-glance

The most simple way to understand this is to visit Farmer’s Markets, farms, and farm stands. Take a look at what’s for sale and you’ll know what is being harvested at the moment. Right now in the northeast, we’re beginning to see the heartier summer vegetables, corn, beans, and summer squash.  We’ve got tomatoes, herbs galore, and delicious peaches and plums. Check out this mid-summer bean salad recipe.

As the grasses change from green to gold, we’ll be seeing even more squash, potatoes, and starchier vegetables. As the weather turns colder our bodies crave more fat, we like to eat it and then hang on to it for the colder seasons. Which brings me to number 2.

2. Seasonal Cleansing

As we pass from the sweet fruits and watery vegetables of summer in to the more dense, heartier vegetables of fall, our bodies benefit greatly from seasonal cleansing.

It’s a way to create a pause and reset, to shed the heat of summer and prepare it for fall. It’s a way to cycle down the sweet and the heat and ready ourselves for the fattier heartier foods that bring us comfort and satisfaction in fall and winter.

It helps build our immune system and readies us for a healthy winter season. We shed excess weight and are ready to take on the new season.

If you’re feeling like a reset is in order, and want to stay slim and healthy through winter, join me for a fall cleanse. I’ll be writing more about it in the coming weeks, but just wanted to plant the seed with you.

About Cleanses

There are many different cleanses and detoxes on the market. The programs I’ve created are food centered — that means you can get the health benefits and weight loss while eating.  I made these two cleanses for busy busy people, and everyone finds them fairly simple and gets great results.

This September I’ll be offering a 10-day reset and a 4-week body changer. They both rock. Think about what resonates with you and send me an email.

Noticing What Your Body Craves

Until then, take notice of what you are craving. What are your default foods? What is your go-to meal? How are you feeling in your body? Are you ready for fall? What is your diet abundant in? What seasonal foods are you enjoying?

Enjoy the Harvest and Get Creative

Mid-Summer Bean Salad Recipe

 

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Mid-Summer Bean Salad

Fresh, filling, delicious and energizing. Seasonal eating is at it’s peak right now. And we have a good harvest season ahead of us. Beans are great for stabilizing blood sugar, supplying protein, energy and fiber. They help reduce cholesterol, support the kidneys, heart, and promote good gut health.

Mid-Summer Bean Salad

1-2 cups organic white navy beans (or beans of your choice) cooked (or canned if you’re pressed for time or if cooking beans is a dark mystery)

1 fresh summer onion – these are no in the markets, they have long green shoots growing out of their tops

1-2 cups fresh green beans (this time of year they are sweet and crisp)

handful of chopped fresh herbs – Use what you love, dill, parsley, cilantro, sage, thyme, basil, mint – whatevs.

Extra virgin olive oil – 1-4 TBS depending on who big your salad is

Generous squeeze of lemon

A few pinches of Celtic sea salt (high mineralized salt)

Additions:

Cucumber – peeled, seeded, chopped

Goat cheese – crumbled

Apple – peeled, seeded, chopped

 

Directions:

1. rinse beans if canned

2. in large mixing bowl add olive oil, lemon and pinch of salt, and chopperd herbs

3. wash chop, prepare all other ingredients

4. add to bowl and toss

5. add more oil , lemon, salt to taste

6. for best results let marinate for 20 min to an hour to let flavors mingle and the lemon and salt to turn the onion

7. enjoy it alone, as a side, with eggs,  or over a bed of mixed greens

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Bring on the BBQ – 7 Simple Tips to Savor Summer

Let’s face it. The last thing any of us want to hear at a BBQ is a list of “shouldn’t haves”. Eating cleaner and healthier most of the time – gives us room to enjoy ourselves at parties and celebrations without guilt or negative side effects.

Here are 7 simple tips to help you enjoy a healthier BBQ season without feeling deprived.

  1. Forget “portion control” and tune into “portion awareness.” Load up on heart-healthy vegetables, greens, and salads, make them fill ½ – ¾ of your plate.  Eat the lighter food first, to maximize digestion and reduce bloating. Then enjoy and savor your cheeseburger, chicken, veggie burger or other BBQ cuisine.
  2. Whenever possible, choose grass-fed, sustainably raised meats and poultry. The health benefits here are exponential. These are hormone and antibiotic free, which will support your immune system, hormones, metabolism and digestion.
  3. Check out the sides. Summer BBQ’s are usually full of terrific side dishes, guacamole (avocado is a very healthy source of fat), salads, and fruit. If you’re watching your weight or blood sugar, you may want to choose a bean salad or guacamole over potato salad.
  4. Gravitate towards greens. Whatever is leafy and green, pile it on your plate. Dark leafy greens and dark lettuces (like romaine) add in a ton of nutrients and fiber. They provide energy and lift your spirits.
  5. If there is a bean dish, go for that. Beans are a terrific source of protein, have low caloric density, have tons of fiber, help stabilize blood sugar and lower cholesterol.
  6. Keep yourself circulating and socializing. If there’s an activity, go and play. Focusing on being present and spending time with friends and family recharges your batteries on multiple levels.
  7. Disarm the “Brownie Blackout.”  If you’d like desert, then choose it. Don’t try and avoid it or rationalize it away. If you really want it, eat it consciously, savor it, be grateful for it. Enjoy – or you may just wake up having stuffed 7 brownies in your face without realizing it!

Experiment with these simple tips and observe how you feel. You are the best judge of what’s working for you.

 

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The OK Corral is looking healthy!

On Friday I had the honor of kicking off  Party City’s Wellness Program. It’s fantastic to work with companies who value their employees and promote wellness!

These are some of the early adopters and industry leaders. Way to go!

In addition to the monthly wellness workshops hosted by yours truly, they’ve put together an on-site wellness committee and started a walking club and a basketball team. They’ve got pilates and self-defense classes. It’s outstanding. They even have a gym and showers on site. 

The folks I met over there were super friendly and all fired up about all the new programs in store.

I raffled off a delicious gift basket full of all my favorite goodies. Each month, they host a party for their employees (it is, after all, Party City) and Friday’s theme was… western… hence, the OK Corral. Love it.  So, I gave them some summer BBQ tips that I’d love to share with you.

It was a good time, and I got to meet many bright and lovely people. We kick off the first wellness seminar in two weeks with “Myth-Busting Health:  an anti-rice cake food-lover’s approach to looking good and feeling even better.” It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Welcome aboard Party People! It’s gonna be a fun ride.

 

 

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