My Favorite Snack: Golden Beets

Although I am in nutrition school, practice yoga daily, make attempts at meditation, and do my best to have positive things in my life, I admit, eating my vegetables every day is tough! Most things I eat are pretty easy to prepare, but vegetables take a bit more effort to prepare... if you like to cook them that is. So although cooking vegetables is a little annoying and tough to do throughout the day, one thing that makes eating them way easier is making sure they taste delicious :) My favorite snack, appetizer, and side is golden beets... yummmm. Cook them just right and you will be hooked! Here's how:

Find a few delicious golden beets.

Maybe take a cool picture :)

Make sure you have what you need.... coconut oil, a good paring knife, Himalayan sea salt.

Boil the beets in a large pot for 50 minutes- 1 hour. Peel with your awesome knife and slice thinly.

Sautee in coconut oil on medium-high until slightly browned.

Transfer each batch to a nice big plate.

Lightly sprinkle Himayalan sea salt evenly over beets.

Option to add crumbled feta on the side.... it is sooooo delicious :)
Enjoy!

Homemade Honey Roasted Sea Salt Almond Butter

Make sure you have all the ingredients you'll need to make the best almond butter.

You'll need 2 cups of almonds, honey, coconut oil, and sea salt.

 I like roasted almonds to make my almond butter, but it's optional. If you choose so, set oven to 400.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Grab your food processor. Blend until flakey. 

Continue blending for a few more minutes until chunky and scrape from the sides. 

Blend until desired consistency.

Now add 1 tablespoon softened coconut oil, 2 pinches of sea salt, and 1 tablespoon of honey. 

Blend for a couple more minutes. Total blending time will be 10-15 minutes. 

Put it in a cute mason jar.

Keep it for yourself...

Or tie it up and gift it to a friend...

Enjoy!

Glorious Grains!

I've been really inspired lately by the nutrition school that I am in right now, and have been dying to write about the wonderful world of whole grains. I know I mentioned them in my last post, but I wanted to go a little deeper with that subject and talk in detail about why I am such an advocate for eating grains and ancient grains. I know that a lot of people struggle with a gluten intolerance, however, wheat is not the only grain in the world. Here are a list of non-gluten grains:

Buckwheat, aka Kasha
Quinoa
Brown rice/Wild rice
Amaranth
Millet
Teff
Sorghum
Corn

Andrea Beaman introduced me to the health benefits and importance of whole grains. Whole grains do a lot in the body. The bran and fiber content keep your colon moving, they increase your energy, balance blood sugar levels, and on top of it all, chewing grains more finely assimilates digestion... not to mention they fill you up. Grains include:

Enzymes
Iron
Dietary Fiber
Vitamin C
B-complex Vitamins

To take a look into history for a moment, it's important to recognize that grains have been central to every culture and region since the beginning of time. Brown rice contains the highest about of B Vitamins than any other grain... pretty cool. So something about grains that isn't very well known in the general community, and is new to me too, is phytic acid. There are so many articles written about phytic acid and how it is an anti-nutrient to your body. It has binding properties which extract minerals from your body. However, if you are relying solely on grains to get minerals and fiber, there is an issue... you should have high amounts of vegetables and leafy greens being absorbed into your body every day.

Here is the upside of phytic acid AND ways to reduce phytic acid.

Phytic acid is said to be a powerful antioxidant and is helpful in ridding the body of heavy metals and other toxins. One great way to reduce phytic acid AND is a good thing to do for easier digestion is to soak your nuts, grains, and seeds. Soaking these foods also reduces tannins and helps to decrease health disease and conditions. There are a lot of articles on phytic acid if you want to learn more, I know I am definitely still learning, so I recommend checking out this article that Andrea Beaman shared on her Facebook page:

http://wakeup-world.com/2012/03/04/the-benefits-of-soaking-nuts-and-seeds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-benefits-of-soaking-nuts-and-seeds

I hope this provides at least a small amount of insight on grains! I also understand that not everybody enjoys eating them, and that's fine too... but for those of you who are questioning the consumption of grains, I hope this was a tad educational.

Or Maybe Not...

I thought that the Whole30 was going to be this amazing life changing experience and I would prove to myself that I could do something like cut out 6 different variables from my diet and be a new woman. But honestly, that's not what I want. Here's the thing about me... I already know how to listen to my body. After one day of doing the Whole30, I quit. I know that's like no time at all, but cutting out things that I know I need to feel great didn't make sense to me. In school we are encouraged to live by bioindividuality. One person's food is another person's poison. The cleanse and what I am learning in school were contradicting themselves, and at this point in my life my biggest concern is developing my knowledge as best I can, and that includes trying on what I'm learning in class.

Whole grains for example. They are carbs. But they are also much more. How many people in your life do you know that stay away from carbs to save their life? It's completely ridiculous....but, I respect it if that's the way they want to eat. For me, I am a grain fan. I love how they make me feel, I love that they are full of nutrients and phytic acid. And more so, I love ancient grains. AND.... not all grains have gluten... so the gluten-intolerant card doesn't work all the time. Millet, buckwheat, sorgum, amaranth, kasha. So many yummy grains that are so so good for you. Don't be afraid to eat grains and the RIGHT carbs. Here is a new sandwich that I've crafted that I absolutely love:

Rudi's Ancient Grain bread- panfry in coconut oil or ghee
Sliced Turkey
Sliced Avocado
Thin-sliced Roasted Golden Beets
Vegannaise or Light Canola Oil Mayonnaise
Sea Salt

When I decided that I didn't want to do the Whole30 I definitely had a complex about it. But really what matters is always listening to your body, and alwasy reminding yourself that what works for one person will not work for the next. And that is why there are SO many different ways to eat.

So I am back to posting my favorite smoothies, the wonderful things I am learning and trying in nutrition school, and always motivating people to get out and do yoga and try new things!

You Can Do Anything For 30 Days: A Challenge

I am involved in a lot of things within health and wellness. I really enjoy being in the field, and I love studying health and nutrition, it excites me. I am always up to try new things and always willing to make a change, as hard as it may be. So for the month of September I have made a commitment. I will be participating in The Whole30. What is it? Well, it's not a diet, but more like a cleanse. It has similarities to the Paleo diet, but it has different rules. You can think of it more as a reset button for your body and your mind. Here is what I cannot eat for 30 days:

Sugar.
Caffeine.
Alcohol.
Grains.
Dairy.
Legumes.

And that's not all because it is more detailed than that. Like honey... NO HONEY!

For some reason we have decided that we cannot doing something this "crazy" for 30 days. I am not sure what the big deal is, our culture of confusion I suppose... too many things to choose from and not enough structure and discipline. But I am going to do this, and there will be struggles, but one day at a time and September will be over sooner than I know it. I hope.

The upside to all of this is that I am not the only one doing it. A good friend of mine has put all of this together and there are now over 30 other people participating in The Whole30. Knowing I am not alone makes it so much better.

So why am I doing it?

First: I believe everybody can always be healthier, including myself. I am always looking for ways to improve my eating habits, and by cutting out a lot of variables I will be able to resolve what works and doesn't work in my body.
Second: I am doing it because I have a future career in health coaching. I think it's really important to speak about something when you've had a first hand experience. Often, people voice their opinions without having a personal relationship with it. It's easy to talk, but challenging to lead by example.
Third: I have never fully committed myself to this sort of discipline. I've claimed it in the past, but I have never actually succeeded. My friend, Bri, can tell you that I definitely ate Froyo the whole time we were on the wellness cleanse. So I want to show myself I can do this, and clients.

So tomorrow, Sunday September 1st is the day. I will keep everybody posted on my progess including weaknesses and successes. You'll know everything.

Wish me luck!

The Most Amazing Vegan Cookie You Will Ever Eat: Created By Me.

This is the vegan cookie you have always wanted to eat but never could because it didn't exist until now. Please enjoy this fabulous-ness. And you can eat the whole batch, permission granted.

2 Bananas

1 cup raw oats

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/2 cup blended almonds and raw pepitas*

1/3 cup raw cacao 

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon almond butter

Put all this stuff in a bowl and mix it.

Use coconut oil as a pan shortening.

Preheat oven to 375.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Makes 6-8 cookies. 

Eat.

*blend 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup raw pepitas in chopper/grinder until fine. 

ENJOY!

Juicing: It's Trendy For A Reason

The health and wellness industry is a really funny world to work in. We put billions of dollars, literally, into helping people get healthy, and giving everybody the tools they need to reach their goals. One of the best ways to get healthy is to understand that it is not complicated. Eating well can be SO simple. Joshua Rosenthal, the owner and founder of Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I am attending school, says that it doesn't matter where you go, everybody on this planet knows that they should eat healthier. You hear this alot, "I know I should eat more vegetables." But are you eating more vegetables and fruit? That's where the line is.... everybody knows, but few are doing it. Finding the reason why you are not listening to what you know, is key. My diet is so simple. I make smoothies every morning, I juice mid-day, I eat good nutritious sources of protein, I enjoy food, and above all, I hydrate constantly. Most people on this planet are either sleep deprived or dehydrated. And there are SO many things you can do to fix that, and one of those things is juicing. 

Like many nutrition fads, juicing has spread to all corners of the world. And for a good reason. And let me set the record straight.... I do not think juicing is better than making smoothies. I get asked this ALL the time. I think they are equally important. It's very true, juicing takes most of the fiber out of the drink, but as long as you are conscious of getting fiber in other foods and meals, juicing will still hold its value. There are so many health benefits to juicing, and they vary from the ingredients you put in the machine. I highly recommend looking into the benefits of each ingredient you use for your drinks, because then you can determine what you really need. For example, making a beet-blend juice will give you nutrients that you wouldn't get from any other vegetable.... read the following, and you will eat beets every day. 

Beets are high in vitamins and minerals (potassium, magnesium, phosphorous), they serve as a blood purifier, and they have high amounts of sugar (healthy sugar) that are released slowly into the body give you lots of energy. I have also read that beets help with depression because of the betaine content.... not too bad. 

Invest in a juicer, I just bought one recently, and although it was costly, it has been amazing. And it's REALLY simple and takes only a few minutes. One of the best benefits of juicing is that it cuts cravings. When I juice in the morning my desire for coffee and caffiene decreases almost completely. Juicing diminishes your desire for carbs, breads, and sugary crap. I'm sure the side effects are different for everybody, but the common understanding is that you can more easily give up your guilty pleasures. Speaking of which, another result is that I feel more productive. It's just true.... when you are treating yourself with high care and putting your well-being at the top of the list, you get more things accomplished. Taking care of your health does not need to be time consuming and stressful; find easy and simple ways to get your vitamins and nutrients and you will see changes so quickly. 

Try out this beet juice recipe and you will fall in love, I promise...

1 whole beet

4 large carrots

1 whole cucumber

1 whole apple

Fresh ginger (cator to your taste buds, I don't like it too heavy on the ginger)