This salad is all about magnesium, a highly undervalued and under-consumed mineral. Not only is it nature’s anti-stress nutrient (for its ability to calm us and promote restful sleep) but any deficiencies can be the secret culprit behind fatigue and PMS. Those chocolate cravings can really just be the body’s cry for more magnesium. Since magnesium plays an important role in the body’s energy production and helps to speed up many chemical reactions, our energy levels can start to dimish when we are not consuming enough. Continue Reading →
Balsamic Salmon Quinoa Lettuce Cups
When you just do not feel like a salad lettuce cups are a good way to sneak in some leafy greens. With a warm, cooked filling like this they can be very substantial and grounding. Any larger greens like romaine lettuce, kale or collard greens make great bases but I prefer iceberg lettuce, it does not have as many nutrients but the leaves are a good size, very pliable and barely have any taste so the filling shines through. Even though it has less than the darker greens, iceberg still does offer a decent amount of nutrients including fiber, vitamins A and K, folate and potassium. Continue Reading →
Apple Dijon Roasted Beet Salad
Beets are beautiful in a salad with their dark red color (or pink or gold- depending on the variety) and they add a unique earthy flavor, density and sweetness. Back in ancient times they were prized for their health properties and were thought to help with fevers and skin and digestive ailments. We now know them to be potent sources of antioxidants and very high in fiber and several vitamins and minerals. Technically they do help out with blood and liver “purification” because they have some nutrients that help the liver efficiently perform a crucial stage of detoxification (a task it is continually fulfilling). Since different cultures have been eating beets for many centuries there is lots of interesting folklore that has erupted around them pertaining to blood, love and the heart. Continue Reading →
Pomegranate Orange Massaged Kale Salad
Kale is so hardy, it’s one of the very few vegetables that can survive through frosts. This is great for farmers and gardeners but it’s dense fibrousness can be found unappealing. The secret to softening kale up is to massage it. Literally… you add some oil and a pinch of sea salt and massage it with a hand or two until it softens and decreases to about half its original size. Most leafy greens don’t last long, becoming slimy, once they come into contact with dressing, massaged kale however will last for a day or two so you can make extra and have easy left overs for lunch the next day. Continue Reading →
Lentil Chicken Salad
Many of the meat eaters I know are not really interested in replacing their animal proteins with plant proteins. If I told my dad and brothers that I was making them a nice stew and then surprised them by replacing beef with beans they would be packing up and heading to a restaurant. Yet this doesn’t mean that omnivores can’t still benefit from widening their horizons. A good gateway plant protein source is lentils, they come in lots of different colors and they are usually easier to digest than larger beans for people are not really used to digesting legumes. Continue Reading →
Pomegranate Yam Salad
Raw leafy greens are a super superfood. They are incredibly high in several vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making them supportive of so many healthy body functions, not the least of which is detoxing. Our bodies are constantly detoxing from dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of chemicals and toxins in our air, land and water and feeding ourselves leafy greens is a great way to support this important process. Continue Reading →
Chicken Chorizo Bake
It’s dark and wet outside and I’m curled up in blankets by the fireplace. This is my favorite kind of weather, the kind that requires high boots and long coats. It also requires warming and nourishing food that was stewed slowly, to the point where all the flavors blend together and become something even better than each part is individually. Continue Reading →
Steak Skewers
Iron is probably the mineral we hear about the most when it comes to nutrition. Especially easy for vegetarians, consuming an inadequate intake of iron leads to a deficiency that can severely affect energy levels and lead to anemia, a decrease in red blood cells that can be evidenced mainly by pale skin and fatigue. Continue Reading →
Asian Millet Salad
Unfortunately, carbohydrates have suffered a poor reputation in many circles over the past few decades. Yet they are very simply a requirement for human life. They are our bodies’ main source of energy, and therefore they sustain us. Continue Reading →
Balsamic Salmon Salad
My mom recently commented that it is easier for celebrities to be fit and healthy because they have people to prepare their food and make them exercise. My brother astutely replied that she has me. And thus we began our two week challenge where she eats only what I make for her. I am excited because I finally have the chance to make her eat tons of vegetables and other healthy food to help out her insides. She is excited because it is day five and she has already lost the couple pounds she gained recently from sangrias on her summer vacation, plus an extra three that she has not been able to lose, no matter what she tried. She is liking the results on her outsides. Continue Reading →