Healthy Eating Archives - LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

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7 Steps to Train your Taste Buds for Health

Mareya Ibrahim — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 15:30:04 +0000

You CAN Train your Taste Buds to Enjoy Veggies!

Without exception, everyone wants to feel their best and thrive, yet the path to this state of nirvana is highly debated with all of the quick-fix diets out there. In my over 26 years of experience in the food world, I’ve found there to be one essential strategy that is frequently ignored: Having a good set of taste buds. You can train your taste buds to make choices to support eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods.

As a health coach, if I tell you start eating as many green veggies as you can, it might bring you to tears if you have never been able to stomach spinach. You have to begin by changing what you crave, and the way is through your mouth. If you build your house with powerful nutrition, you set up a proverbial fortress, guarding against oxidation, degenerative disease, and atrophy.

Can you Choose Broccoli over Brownies?

Imagine choosing broccoli over brownies? Carrots over cake? Kale over potato chips? It’s possible. There is a process to firm up those flabby taste buds. Your palate is pretty much set by the time you’re five years old, and if you’ve grown up eating tons of sugar and refined, processed foods, chances are you were left to languish in the land of colorless foods, such as hot dogs, mac and cheese, hamburgers, fries, and pancakes. Blame it on your parents.

The good news is that it’s never too late to rotate your plate and train your taste buds. Reconditioning your palate to crave health-boosting foods is a formula. Taste buds are highly complex structures. Thousands of them respond to temperature, and the physical sensations from food or drink coupled with smell send signals to the brain and ignite a perception—savory, sweet, acidic, acrid, bland, salty, balanced, and the range in between.

Conditioning Your Taste Buds

The average person is born with about ten thousand taste buds, which explains why certain foods may taste stronger to children and why accepting different flavor profiles can be so challenging. Just like muscles, those taste buds need to be conditioned, tested, and strengthened so they can take on abroad spectrum of those flavors.

This doesn’t mean you have to quit the less-healthy foods you love cold turkey. It simply means you’re diversifying and developing a taste for more nutrient-dense sustenance. Flexing your taste buds means retraining them with the same focus and energy that you would use if you were strength training at the gym.

By developing a taste for the sour, bitter, and umami—that fifth taste profile that is often described as meaty or savory and results from a combination of amino acids—you’ll learn to love foods such as spinach and other nutritious greens, celery, seaweed, citrus, mushrooms, and tomatoes, which will forever change how you eat and will help you naturally fight disease.

You can transform how you build your meals, reset your taste buds, and refine your waistline to head into a new decade, armored up.

Get Your Taste Buds Back on Track

1. Build your plate starting with non-starchy veggies.

Any of the veggies from my “All You Can Eat Buffet” are suggested. (Some of these include artichokes, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, fennel, leeks, turnips, and more.)

2. Start in the morning with good quality protein and mostly plant-based fat, and avoid sugary foods to stabilize your blood sugar.

This can include any of my egg dishes, chia seed pudding. (Yes, you can have pudding for breakfast!), or smoothies made with mostly green veggies and a handful of low-glycemic fruit like berries and apples.

3. Combine protein, fat, and complex carbs in every meal.

Focus your meals on bitter, sour, and umami flavors.

4. Eat smaller reconditioning meals every 3 to 4 hours.

Eating smaller meals to keep your energy high, rev your metabolism, and sustain your blood sugar so you never feel hungry.

See the Taste bud Reconditioning Flights (in Eat Like You Give a Fork) for more. The flights include at least five bites or sips of the following ingredients daily for eight days: tomatoes, mushrooms (other than white button), dark leafy greens, celery, avocado, and toasted seaweed. Non-meat eaters also include at least one of the following: quinoa, seaweed, pickled foods, tempeh, miso, edamame. Meat and seafood eaters can also include items listed in Eat Like You Give A Fork.

5. Enjoy at least one raw or mostly raw meal a day.

This helps you get the maximum benefit out of your nutrients, enzymes, and probiotics without cooking them off.

6. Drink the Real Vitality Tonic.

The Real Vitality Tonic is a warm, raw apple cider, cinnamon and ginger drink. Drink this for eight days after your first meal of the day and again with your other meals.

Drink cold water in between meals instead of with your food.

7. Give your full focus to your food.

Sit down, put aside the technology and eat slowly, tasting every bite and knowing each forkful is building your house to greatness. This is your time to fall in love with flavor again.

Mareya Ibrahim

Mareya Ibrahim is an Author, Chef, and the Founder of Eat Cleaner. Text FITFOODIE to 22828 to get her free 7-Day Reset and more information about the book, Eat Like You Give a Fork: The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive: eatcleaner.com.

www.eatcleaner.com

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Top 10 Food Trends for 2020

Jamie Mok — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 23:48:31 +0000

How Food Trends Can Inform Your Meals

The beginning of the new year is always buzzing with conversations around health, food, and fitness. While most diet fads get a hard eye roll from nutrition experts, there are some optimistic trends and others that are intriguing enough for more convo. Here are 10 food and nutrition trends that’s catching our attention in 2020.

1.Plant-Based Meals

The rising trend towards plant-based eating has driven food companies, distributors, and restaurants to offer more plant-based options for health- and environmentally-conscious consumers. Different from vegan and vegetarian, plant-based eaters adopt a flexible diet approach that mostly consists of plant-derived foods and minimal, if any, animal-derived foods. Culinary innovators are elevating the plant food scene by revamping recipes and menus to please a variety of palates. The expanded options we have available today are helping people make a delicious and seamless shift toward healthier eating.

2. Sustainability

When it comes to sustainability in food, it’s about more than just eco-friendly packaging. There are industry-wide innovations that are reducing the impact of food production on the environment. At the same time, everyone from farmers to consumers are concerned about supporting the welfare of humans, animals, and the ecosystem. Some examples include sustainable seafood and regenerative agriculture for ecosystem health. Food companies are becoming more and more creative by creating delicious snacks, cereals, and even flours from upcycled fruit, vegetables, and grains. This movement in the food industry is on a mission to be one of the sustainable solutions for the health and well-being of the future that tastes great today.

3. Grain-Free Flours

Move over wheat, there are new flours mixing up the baking game! Shelves, bulk bins, snacks, and even your favorite baked goods are filled with a variety of grain-free flours made from fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. We can bake with flours that include coconut, cauliflower, almond, and chickpea. This trend promotes nutritional diversity, adds fiber and protein from different plant food sources, and provides options for anyone with food allergies or intolerances.

4. Adaptogens

Adaptogens are a category of medicinal herbs, roots, and mushrooms used in ancient traditions around the world. Adaptogens support a number of physiological processes in order to bring the body back to homeostasis (balance) and are used to help the body handle the effects of various stressors. The purported physiological benefits include reducing stress and anxiety, increasing energy, and boosting immunity.

While there are few long-term clinical studies, the past 10 years has seen an expansion of interest in adaptogens by the scientific community, which is accompanied by more research. Chances are you have seen popular adaptogens such ashwagandha, reishi, and ginseng on social media, in specialty health food stores and smoothie shops. And you will see more of them this year.

5. CBD-Infused Foods

The cannabis industry is definitely going through a growth spurt. The variety of products that have made their way onto market shelves and restaurant menus is at an all-time high. CBD, aka cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive, natural substance in the cannabis plant. Studies confirm its medicinal effects including reducing pain, decreasing anxiety, and improving insomnia. As more research is published on its safety and efficacy, we can anticipate a wider range of CBD-infused foods and beverages.

6. Mocktails

More people are realizing that it’s possible to enjoy an active social life without alcohol that’s also fun and delicious! The “no proof” space is growing among consumers seeking a wider variety of non-alcoholic drink options. Keep an eye out as more restaurants and bars offer a larger menu of creative non-alcoholic drinks featuring fresh-pressed juices, infused syrups, and specialty waters that are adorned with organic fruit, flowers, and herbs.

7. Collagen

Collagen is a protein that is found throughout the body in connective tissues, such as tendons, ligaments, and skin—essentially everything that holds us together. Although people around the world have been making homemade bone broth for generations, these days we’re smitten with dietary collagen. Collagen consumers are looking for glowing skin, hair, and nails; pain-free joints; and natural remedies for gut health. These are only a few of the purported health benefits of collagen.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence and concerns over contamination of supplements, there’s massive anecdotal conviction that dietary collagen holds promise. As the curiosity for dietary collagen continues to grow, expect to see more of everything from bone broth to collagen supplements hitting the shelves this year. Also be on the lookout for vegan or plant-based supplements that allow for easy intake of some of the minerals and nutrients that are the building blocks for collagen production.

8. Nootropics

Found in notoriously healthy foods like salmon, blueberries, and green tea and coffee, nootropics are substances that are suggested to support brain function and enhance mental performance including memory, learning, focus, mood, concentration, processing, motivation, and attention. There is a good deal of research on the positive effects of some nootropics including omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, L-theanine and caffeine on brain health. Yet the body of research supporting the benefits of some of the other nootropic dietary supplements are limited.

Nevertheless, nootropics have made their way into beverages and foods like chocolate and honey, and appeal to the high-achiever who wants food that boost brain performance and support fast-paced lifestyles.

9. Eating for Gut Health

Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, and yogurt are rich sources of probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that promote the integrity of the massive community of microorganisms that live in our digestive tracts–the community commonly known as the gut microbiome.

Taking care of the microbiome includes adding prebiotics to a daily diet. Prebiotics are the non-digestible fibers found in plant foods such as banana, onion, garlic, beans, and peas. Prebiotics feed the so-called good bacteria, improving the balance of our gut microbiome. Foods that support gut health are gaining popularity, as we learn more about the gut-brain axis and the important role diet plays in our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

10. The Anti-Diet Trend

The anti-diet movement has spread like wildfire across the health and wellness space. Unlike most trends that come and go, this one is sticking around. Breaking free of old ways of thinking, the anti-diet movement opposes deep-seated food rules and restrictions and weight-centric obsession of “diet culture.” The anti-diet, or non-diet approach is founded on principles of Intuitive Eating and behaviors that respect our bodies and promote health at every size. This powerful non-diet approach takes us out of a “diet culture” mindset and back into our own bodies where we, our greatest teachers, are in the driver’s seats of our own health and well-being.

Keep up with Food Trends that Work for You

Now that you’re up to speed with the latest trends in food and nutrition, hopefully everything from grocery shopping, eating out, and reading news headlines and social media feeds will seem less confusing and more interesting! Listen to the feedback from your body with everything that you eat. Seek out personalized advice from a trained dietitian nutritionist (RD/RDN) with expertise to fit your specific needs. Before starting any dietary supplement, confer with your primary healthcare provider or a trained dietitian nutritionist to be sure it’s safe and beneficial for you.

Jamie Mok, MS, RD, RYT is a Los Angeles-based dietitian, nutritionist, and yoga teacher who practices nutrition therapy at Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center and teaches weekly yoga classes at Purple Yoga in Long Beach. In her “between time,” Jamie is on her yoga mat developing her personal practice, in the kitchen whipping up something fresh, and snapping photos for her Instagram feed @the_yogini_rd, and exploring the LA restaurant and food scene one bite at a time. Learn more on her website www.jamiemok.com

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How Yoga Can Help Defeat Eating Disorders

Kyla Fox — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 16:46:57 +0000

Suffering with an eating disorder means that you are disconnected from your body. This most severe mental health issue takes over your mind and, in doing so, it denies the needs of your body or a persons ability to answer to them. The innate messages of hunger, fullness, exhaustion, fear, pleasure, everything, really, become dulled and eventually silenced. This overtaking of the mind, ignoring of the body, is what perpetuates the power of the eating disorder.

When you’re hungry, you don’t eat.

When you’re full, you can’t stop.

When you’re tired, you push harder.

When you’re hurt, you avoid it.

When you’re caught, you lie about it.

Overtime, the body learns that you do not listen to its needs (it’s hungry, but you won’t feed it). It will either stop asking for its needs to be met (won’t send hunger cues) OR it becomes so manipulated by the mind of the eating disorder, that it learns how only to communicate the eating disorders needs (body believes it’s not hungry because the eating disorder says not to eat). This makes it impossible for a person suffering to reconcile what’s even real.

In recovery, there are many facets of healing that are required for a person to live freely and without an eating disorder. One of those pieces is learning how to connect with, your body.

When I was 19 years old, I was incapacitated by the power of the eating disorder. I was overtaken by it. I had become a fraction of myself and my ability to function was deteriorating. My older brother took me to a yoga class at a studio in Toronto that he had regularly frequented. I was weak and I was angry for having to be out in the world and seen, but I felt supported by him and so I appeased his request to go along. I remember walking into the studio, taking off my shoes, heading up the stairs to the practice space. The place was busy and the energy was high, music was playing, people were connecting, and though I felt overwhelmed and exposed, I was intrigued. I had never really been in a space like this before. A calming came over me. Having spent the past many months prior in a haze under the guise of my eating disorder rituals, I forgot what it meant to be in the world. And it “helped” that I had developed an over-exercise addiction as part of my eating disorder rules and so I was comfortable to have been dragged out to “exercise”. Little did I know that the power of yoga was so much deeper than this.

I have since, for the last 20 years, practiced yoga in my life. It is one of the biggest parts of who am I; how I identify, how I move through things in my life, how I connect to myself.
There are so many parts of a person that require focused intervention and healing from an eating disorder (practicing yoga will not, in isolation, resolve all these places of repair by any means) but, for me, it has been a powerful place of relearning how to tap in deeper to myself and how to hear and respond to the messages and needs of my body. I find serenity on my mat which has allowed me to find serenity in my body. There’s a sense of focus and connection to breathing with movement that facilitates clarity, the ability to quiet my mind and focus inward. My years of practice with yoga (and why it has been do profoundly affecting in terms of my recovery), is that it has taught me about how to get out of my head, into my body; how to listen in more deeply – which really is the opposite of how you live when you have an eating disorder.

At The Kyla Fox Centre, yoga is offered as a part of our clients recovery – we believe strongly in facilitating repair in their relationship to their body and this is one of the many ways we do this.

I will forever be grateful that I said “yes” to my brother in those dark days of my life. For he provided me with a gift of connection that I believed has allowed me to live without an eating disorder.

Kyla Fox

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The Magic of Manuka Honey

Felicia M. Tomasko — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 21:14:40 +0000

Manuka Honeycomb Photo by @elsas_wholesomelife

The first time I heard about Manuka honey, it was presented to me as an almost mythic substance. A master healer. A recommendation for something that could be eaten or used on the skin. An anti-bacterial agent. A boost for the body’s own natural healing processes. A honey beyond all ordinary honey.

Is Manuka really magic? Well, it turns out the evidence suggests this is actually true. To begin with, “Any honey is good for you,” say Les Stowell, the General Manager of Onuku Limited in New Zealand and one of the trustees of the Onuku Maori Lands Trust, which farms land that includes groves of Manuka trees. Les started out as a bit of a Manuka skeptic, until he witnessed first-hand how the benefits of Manuka honey go above and beyond other varieties. “Manuka honey takes you to another level.” When it comes to the premium Manuka honeys, those mythic healing powers can be substantiated with a growing body of scientific evidence.

What Makes Manuka Manuka?

Pronounced with a long “a,” Manuka is a Maori word for the native New Zealand tree Leptospermum scoparium. True Manuka comes from New Zealand and is a monofloral honey, which means that it is made by bees visiting this one plant. Beekeepers in the region deliver the hives to the remote groves of trees, where they make their magic.

Bee pollinating Manuka flowers.

While you may see Manuka honey from Australia, that’s a bit like looking for champagne and buying sparkling wine from Italy. Still good, but something different. (Remember, any honey is good for you.) Beyond the fact that the Manuka honey is produced by bees feeding on the Manuka trees, there are a number of identifiable—and specific—chemical components of this variety of honey.

Unique Manuka Factor™ (UMF™)

When you’re buying a jar of Manuka honey, one of the things to look for is the Unique Manuka Factor™ or UMF™. The Unique Manuka Factor™ is what makes Manuka distinct from other honeys. Most forms of honey have antibacterial properties, in part from the hydrogen peroxide that is produced by one of the enzymes in honey as well as the polyphenols (including flavonoids and phenols); these are potent antioxidants and antimicrobial agents. So while many honeys have their own array of polyphenols, Manuka has a unique combination of these nutrients that provides its characteristic qualities. In addition, Manuka honey has three unique signature compounds: Leptosperin, DHA (Dihydroxyacetone) and Methylglyoxal (MGO). These three compounds that make up what is known as the UMF™.

Authenticity of Manuka honey has become a worldwide conversation. Information on labels may be misleading, MGO and DHA are actually being added into honey after being manufactured in a laboratory, and according to a 2014 report by the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries, New Zealand produces 1,700 tons of real Manuka Honey while 10,000 tons are sold in the global marketplace. To have confidence in what you’re paying for, look for the UMF™ Trademark. New Zealand’s Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association™ (UMFHA™) is an internationally recognized third party that ensures authenticity, quality and purity of genuine manuka honey.

Another meaningful number on the label is the MGO potency, the measurement of the aforementioned methylglyoxal in the jar. Speaking of knowing what you’re buying, the Manuka honey sold by Flora in partnership with Onuku Limited and the Lands Trust has an even more stringent authentication, with a scannable tracking label. With the tracking label you can access batch, region, lab tests, and UMF™ certification info.

Read the numbers. A verifiable UMF™ value of 5-10+ has a medium potency level to support health, between 10-15+ has strong antibacterial and healing properties. Above 15+ has very high therapeutic properties. The corresponding MGO levels are as follows: MGO 100-250+ has medium support for good health, 250-515+ MGO has strong antibacterial and healing properties while above 515+ MGO is the strongest.

Manuka at Home

If you read the scientific research on Manuka, a number of studies look at its medicinal properties when used in wound healing. Yet the antioxidant and antimicrobial qualities are such a vital part of Manuka’s role in food as medicine. Manuka generally has an earthy flavor palate, and since no two jars are alike, it can vary by flavor and color. While there are other varieties of honey that are sweeter, Manuka is delicious as well as medicinal. Eat it by the spoonful when you need an antioxidant boost, sweeten tea with Manuka, or even spread it on toast to take your honey experience to another level.

All opinions and statements in this article are the author’s own.

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RightRice Collaborates with The Butcher’s Daughter

Felicia M. Tomasko — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 07:42:30 +0000

When Rice is More Than Rice

The Tabouli Bowl at The Butcher’s Daughter is the veggie-based Right Rice

“It was a thrill and a treat to create something good enough that one of your favorite restaurants will want to feature it.” RightRice® Founder and CEO Keith Belling had this to say about the RightRice collaboration with the hip and forward-thinking plant-based restaurant The Butcher’s Daughter.

The Menu collab: A RightRice® Tabouli Bowl created by The Butcher’s Daughter Executive Chef Richard Rea. The complex array of flavors includes mint and cilantro, micro greens, radishes, asparagus, and avocado. Dairy or vegan feta is the salty and savory garnish on top. The debut bowl is a popular choice, and one that features a pay-it-forward component. A percentage of sales support No Kid Hungry, a campaign run by the nonprofit organization Share Our Strength, which is focused on ending childhood hunger and increasing access to nutritious food. So we already love the Tabouli Bowl, even before tasting it. Then upon tasting, the love affair is complete.

What Makes RightRice Unique

But let’s talk about the base of the bowl. What makes RightRice different from the rice we already know and love? Belling, the founder and former CEO of Popchips, turned his attention from snacks to rice because, well, he loves rice as much as he enjoys chips. Finding himself eating less rice and longing for a more nutrient-dense version of this staple food, he spearheaded an effort to create a plant-based ready-to-eat food that could fill the role of rice in recipes. The blend of rice, along with lentils, chickpeas, and peas means that RightRice can proclaim that it is made of vegetables while containing fewer net carbs, more protein, and even more fiber than white rice. And the protein is a complete protein due to the blend of legumes and grains in the mix.

If you’re not planning an excursion to Abbot Kinney in LA to order from the menu at The Butcher’s Daughter, you can DIY your own bowls. Pick up Original, or thoughtfully seasoned Lemon Pepper, Spanish, or Garlic Herb and start experimenting.

For more information about RightRice®, visit: RightRice.com

For more information about The Butcher’s Daughter, visit: thebutchersdaughter.com.

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Set your Alarm for a High Performance Breakfast

Jill De Jong — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 18:43:44 +0000

Models do Eat Author Jill de Jong shares her tips for a high performance breakfast.

Meaningful food choices begin in the morning with a high performance breakfast

I love sleep because it’s like a time machine to breakfast…And I’m the kind of person that doesn’t ever skip breakfast. A high performance breakfast fuels my day—especially when I’m training for an upcoming triathlon or marathon.

Making good breakfast decisions sets me up for sustained energy, satisfaction without cravings, and even for the focus I need to maintain a demanding schedule. A high performance breakfast fuels my day. It’s so important to me that I’m the kind of person who doesn’t skip this morning opportunity to fuel myself well. I enjoy variety to keep my breakfast fun and interesting.

Inform Your Breakfast & Make Clear Choices

Food influences the way we feel. So added chemicals (such as preservatives and colorants) in our food can mess with our mind, increase brain fog and even lead to anxiety.

When you study labels, instead of looking for what’s not in there (e.g. gluten free/no hydrogenated fat/sugar free), read at the ingredient list instead. You need to know what the ingredients actually are, not what is left out. Something can be gluten-free but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Something can be sugar-free, but it may contain harmful artificial sweeteners.

You are in control of what you put in your mouth, one bite at a time. Make the best possible decisions. Remember to take the pressure off yourself; you don’t have to be perfect. Making one not-so-great decision doesn’t mean you’ve fallen off the high-performance healthy eating wagon. Just make a better decision again next time.

If you love toast, pick the sprouted organic brand with no sugar added. Avocado toast is a great choice for breakfast. And If you enjoy scrambled eggs, why not cut up some yellow onion and sauté a big handful of spinach for an extra nutritional punch? Yes, you get extra points for adding greens to your breakfast!

Taking excellent care of yourself is sexy. Starting with breakfast.

Tips for making breakfast easy:

1) Stock your fridge/pantry with a variety of breakfast options.
2) If you have very little time in the morning, make breakfast the night before so you can take it with you on the go.
3) Clean your kitchen every night so you don’t have to deal with the dishes in the morning and you can enjoy breakfast and getting ready for the day in a tidy space.

Breakfast on the Go

Make this deliciously simple yogurt treat the night before and stick it in the fridge. Then it’s ready when you are. If you start the day with a jar filled with goodness, it will be much easier to say no to the bagels, croissants, and donuts that will try to seduce you along the way.

Ingredients

(1 serving)

1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Raw honey, to taste
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 TBSP sunflower seeds, unsalted
1 TBSP chia seeds (optional)
Your choice of chopped fruit

Directions

Place the yogurt in a Mason jar.
Add the juice, sweeten the mixture with a little raw honey, and stir until smooth.
Add the oats, sunflower seeds, chia seeds (if using), and your choice of fruit. Stir to combine.
Cover the jar and store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Exotic Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Quinoa for breakfast might sound a little strange at first. But this flavorful and nourishing breakfast bowl is going to win you over. It’s easy to digest and will give you lots of energy for the day ahead.

Want to save time in the morning? On Sunday, make a big pot of quinoa for the week. This recipe will only take five minutes to make when the quinoa is already cooked.

Ingredients

(1 serving)

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2–3/4 cup almond milk or your milk of choice
1 teaspoon extra-virgin coconut oil
Pinch of salt

Toppings

1/2 banana, sliced
2 TBSP goji berries
1 handful dried mulberries
1 handful pistachios
Pure maple syrup (optional)

Directions

Put the quinoa and almond milk in a small pan and stir in the coconut oil and salt.
Cook over medium-high heat for three to four minutes or until heated through.
Transfer to a bowl and add the toppings. Drizzle with a little maple syrup, if desired.

Chocolaty Protein Shake

I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like a yummy chocolate shake. No wonder there are so many premade protein shakes on the market! But most of them have tons of sugar, or worse, toxic artificial sweeteners. I like to use dates, a nutritious whole food sweetener. This is a great post-workout shake.

Ingredients

(1 serving)

1/2 cup ice
1 banana
1 cup milk of choice
2 TBSP hemp seeds
1 TBSP organic peanut butter
1 TBSP raw cacao
1 Medjool date, pitted
Splash pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a powerful blender and blend until smooth, then enjoy!

Models Do Eat–Pick up the Cookbook!

Recipes by Jill de Jong from the cookbook Models Do Eat. Jill has put together the cookbook Models Do Eat with life-changing advice from health experts and models on how to look and feel your best. Read more about Models Do Eat at: modelsdoeat.com and on IG @_modelsdoeat

Jill De Jong

Jill de Jong was born in Holland, and her successful modeling career brought her to the US. She was based in New York and then Miami before falling in love with her current home of LA. After making the career shift from full-time modeling to health coach, personal trainer, and chef, she’s never looked back. When Jill isn’t working, you can find her running, biking, surfing or stretching in a yoga class. To stay motivated to exercise, she signs up for triathlons and Spartan races.

www.modelsdoeat.com

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How Intermittent Fasting Supports Growing a New Body

Alberto Villoldo — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 06:37:27 +0000

When Not Eating Can Feed Your Body’s Repair

Abstaining from food for short periods (the practice of intermittent fasting) as a way to cleanse body and mind has a history going back millennia. Indigenous medicine men and women, Buddhist monks, Christian mystics, and others would subsist on only water for a few days to prime the brain to function optimally and pray. In the process they would repair and upgrade their body.

However, there’s no need to fast from good carbs, including fruit, for more than 18 hours at a time. Brain repair starts to happen quickly, and brain fog begins to clear in a matter of days. As long as you drink plenty of water and refrain from rigorous exercise while you’re fasting, you may find that you don’t even experience hunger pangs, or if you do, that they’re mild enough not to bother you.

One form of intermittent fasting involves not eating any grains, or anything that turns into sugar in your bloodstream between 6 pm and noon the next day. This daily 18-hour fast will bring you into ketosis, a metabolic change that happens when your cells exhausts the energy from carbohydrates and sugars, and breaks down fats into a powerful fuel known as ketones. Then your brain starts burning ketones for fuel.

Hunger pangs while fasting are an indication that you are switching from the glucose fuel to the ketones, and your brain is beginning to burn fats. But your ancient limbic brain, that runs on sugars, may try to convince you that you’ll die if you don’t eat a glazed doughnut right away. Don’t give in to it. Simply observe your cravings, knowing that in fact, your body has enough fuel reserves to get you through the next 40 days without eating—though I don’t recommend it!

“Hanger” pangs are different. Hanger is what happens when you become angry as you get hungry. If you find yourself getting hangry as you do the daily 18-hour fast from sugars, it is because of Candida overgrowth in your GI tract. They want to be fed, and want to be sure that you know this, and they begin releasing toxins that signal the brain to increase the levels of ghrelin, the “hunger hormone.”

Triggering Autophagy through Intermittent Fasting

The purpose of intermittent fasting is not for weight loss. That’s a dangerous misuse of the practice. You fast in order to go into ketosis and turn on the body’s fat-burning system and repair mechanisms. Fasting brings about detoxification at a cellular level.

Reducing the intake of sugars and processed carbs for more than a few hours triggers a process called autophagy, in which more than 90 percent of the “waste” inside the cells is recycled into amino acid building blocks the cells can reuse for repair, and the remainder is eliminated as garbage. Cells have a most efficient recycling system. If our cities were as effective in recycling waste as our cells are, we would hardly have any garbage in our landfills.

As you detox, you release cellular waste into your bloodstream, where it’s carried to the GI tract and to the liver to be flushed out of the body. But fasting can be dangerous if your liver is not working properly, because if you are not eliminating the toxins in your bloodstream, you are recycling them. And the worst place toxins can end up in is the fatty tissue in the brain.

When Eastern sages and Western Christian mystics fasted, they did not have to deal with a toxic burden in their body or brain that modern humans have. They were not exposed to the chemicals you find today in our foods, in cosmetics, in water, and in the air. The Chernobyl nuclear tragedy had not contaminated the air and gardens in Europe, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster had not contaminated the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the seafood that ends up in our dinner plate.

Upon entering ketosis during fasting, their bodies would go into repair mode, and they would activate higher order neural networks in the neocortex. They would begin to grow a new body as they attained mystical Oneness. When we’re burning carbs, the body is in building mode; insulin levels are high as we build muscle. When we stop utilizing carbs as our primary fuel, even for a few hours, we go into ketosis. This allows the body to recycle waste and repair itself. It triggers the production of stem cells in the brain and every organ in the body. It also awakens the higher order neural networks where we can have a spiritual experience, even when we are not looking for one.

Even during a short fast, amazing things happen to the body and brain. In just 24 hours, the production of human growth hormone increases by 1,500 percent, repairing cells that make up our tissues. Not eating carbs for as little as 18 hours switches on the longevity genes.

Intermittent fasting should be done carefully if you are hypoglycemic or diabetic. You should not undertake any long-term fasting until your blood sugar levels are regulated. Do not attempt this program while trying to maintain a diet made up primarily of sugar-filled, processed carbs. This means that you need to eliminate the pizza, pasta, bagels, croissants, potato chips, soda pop, and so on before starting this program. Be sure to fill your diet with high-fiber vegetables, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, and raw nuts.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

The payoffs of the 18-hour daily fast include:
• Increasing your metabolism. After you exhaust the sugars in your bloodstream, your cells will begin to burn fat for energy.
• Providing a quality fuel for your higher brain. The ketones (fats) are jet fuel for the brain and will switch on the higher order neural networks involved in creativity, discovery, exploration, compassion, and the experience of Oneness necessary to grow a new body.
• Lowering levels of insulin. When you lower the levels of glucose in your bloodstream, your need for insulin is reduced, because insulin’s job is to remove glucose from the bloodstream. Insulin receptors in the cell have a chance to reset and reduce insulin resistance, and the risk for diabetes.
• Increasing the detoxification of every cell in your body. Ketosis allows for autophagy and recycling of cellular debris, emptying out the garbage.
• Preventing cancer and reducing the proliferation of existing cancer cells. While cancer cells can readily burn glucose (sugar) for fuel, their impaired metabolism makes it difficult for them to burn ketones (fat). In addition, ketosis lowers the levels of the tumor marker IGF-1. That is a sign that the ketosis is preventing cancerous tumors from growing or spreading.
• Protecting the brain. Ketosis reduces inflammation in the brain and body and turns on the production of stem cells in the brain. It does this by activating BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which enhances brain repair.

Be sure that you give your liver support for eliminating the toxins that will be released into your bloodstream from your fatty tissues as you begin to burn fat for fuel. Zinc, B12, magnesium, and glutathione will help your liver do its job. Without these nutrients, the liver will not eliminate toxic waste effectively, and the toxins may end up in your brain.

It will take a few weeks to persuade your gut flora to become comfortable with eating only one or two meals a day. Remember that they are the ones who eat first, and you have trained them to eat three meals a day or more. Once your body has shifted into fat-burning mode, you will find it easy to go for 18 hours without feeling hunger pangs. Your cravings for sugars will gradually dissipate as you eliminate the Candida and you restart your fat-burning engines that have been dormant for decades.

Encouraging Autophagy through Fasting

Autophagy is the garbage disposal service inside the cells, the process by which cellular waste is broken down and damaged mitochondria are recycled to harvest amino acids, the building blocks of new cells. So just as dead plants in the forest get turned into food for new plants with the help of microbes that break them down, your body has a system for recycling the amino acids from dead and damaged mitochondria to make new cells. It is called autophagy.

Aerobic exercise triggers autophagy: exercise consumes oxygen, which starves off the weakest mitochondria while fostering the growth of more vigorous ones. Detoxifying is another way to jump-start mitochondria. And eating a diet high in phytonutrients switches on the antioxidant production inside the cell that repairs mitochondria and supports autophagy.

The most effective way of supporting autophagy is through fasting. Even a short 18-hour fast between dinner and lunch the next day causes the body to go into repair mode. The body’s ability to switch over to burning fat gave us an edge when it came to surviving harsh winters when food was scarce. But our mitochondria can’t make the switch if our fat deposits become waste dumps for toxins. The body in its wisdom will not burn fats if they are full of poison. To switch from carb-burning to fat-burning, you have to begin recycling waste and eliminating toxins.

Why Grow a New Body?

After starting the Grow a New Body program, you will find it much easier to maintain your equilibrium no matter what is happening around you. You won’t have a brain full of toxins or a gut overpopulated with Candida sending you back into the old emotional responses. Whatever uncertainties you face, you will find your eyes are now open to opportunities for experiencing something better. You will have the inner resources that serve you in creating a life of your own making.

Excerpted from Grow a New Body: How Spirit and Power Plant Nutrients Can Transform Your Health by Dr Albert Villoldo (Hay House). Reprinted with permission.

Learn more about the full program for transforming your health at: growanewbody.com.

Alberto Villoldo

Medical anthropologist and best-selling author, Alberto Villoldo Ph.D. has studied the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and Andes for over 30 years. He is the founder of the Four Winds Society and Light Body School, which trains certified energy medicine practitioners. The Light Body School is internationally recognized as the Gold Standard in shamanic education, bridging ancient shamanic wisdom teachings with cutting-edge practices in nutrition, biology, and neuroscience.

Villoldo is author of 17 books, including Power Up Your Brain; Shaman, Healer, Sage; The Four Insights; One Spirit Medicine; A Shaman’s Miraculous Tools for Healing; Soul Journeying; The Illumination Process. His newest book, The Heart of the Shaman: Stories & Practices of the Luminous Warrior, published by Hay House and available for pre-order from Amazon and major booksellers, will release July 31, 2018. thefourwinds.com

www.thefourwinds.com

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Beyond Celery Juice

Jamie Mok — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 22:07:52 +0000

Don’t stop after your glass of celery juice: Drink the Rainbow

I love celery and enjoy eating and drinking green vegetables. But I won’t be sippin’ celery juice to remedy all of my health woes.

Any health trend claiming to be a “cure all” is a red flag warning to proceed with caution. It’s a time to seek actual sound scientific evidence instead of falling for glamorized and oversimplified pseudoscience advertised by anecdotal success stories on social media. The scientific evidence on celery juice as a treatment for any chronic disease is next to nonexistent—case in point.

Like any other natural juice, celery juice is mostly water and micronutrients…essentially its the original “vitamin water.” Celery juice is particularly high in vitamins C, K, and folate. It’s also filled with the essential mineral potassium and a host of phytochemicals that possess antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits. Celery juice is one of many nutritious beverages. So “cheers” if you love it. But don’t sweat it if it’s not for you.

Decades of nutritional research have consistently shown that a higher intake of fruit and vegetables is strongly associated with lower risk of a number of chronic diseases and early death. So my advice? Eat MORE fruits and vegetables!

Eat the Rainbow of Colors

Aim for a spectrum of colors. And explore different ways to prepare and incorporate fruit and vegetables into your daily diet.

Pro tip: Sneak greens in with breakfast and make it a thing!

Regularly consuming a wide variety of deeply-colored vegetables is a powerful preventative measure against chronic inflammation. Eating a rainbow of colors is also an important method of preventing the development of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, which are among the leading causes of death.

Dark leafy greens add a boost of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. These nutrients support the normal function of cells and systemic processes that maintain good health.

Eat More Greens at Every Meal

Try adding cooked collard greens (8 grams of fiber per cup) to your next breakfast scramble or wrap, or switch it up by baking breakfast egg muffins with cooked broccoli (5 grams of fiber per cup). If you enjoy pesto, try making it with super-nutritious kale.

More about that smoothie life?

For a green-filled smoothie, grab a couple big handfuls of raw kale (2-3 grams of fiber in 2 cups) or cooked then frozen zucchini (3 grams of fiber per cup) to add into the blender and go!

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Pumpkin Spice Bliss Balls

Jamie Mok — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 18:14:56 +0000

Pumpkin Spice in a Snack

This recipe is a perfect snack to make in advance. You can serve it on a healthy dessert platter. Offer it up as an appetizer. Pack it to-go for a midday energy booster. Or you can even bring a selection on a trip for a energy-boosting convenience food. If you follow my blog or my Instagram, you’ll know that I love bliss balls. You can spice them up for the season. even bring it along with you on a trip

Pumpkin Spice Bliss Balls

Ingredients

6 pitted Medjool dates, soaked in water
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup pumpkin purée
1 TSBP pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp maple syrup (optional)
1 scoop of protein powder* (optional)

Directions

Combine in a food processor or Vitamix, pulse until all ingredients are incorporated well.

Roll into balls.

Optional: roll balls in a topping.

The two toppings I used for this recipe are a combination of cinnamon, pumpkin spice, almond flour, and crushed pumpkin seeds.

Tips

Keep refrigerated; best served chilled.

*I used Sun Warrior’s plant-based protein powder in natural flavor.

More from The Yogini RD

If you are looking for other bliss ball recipes, try my Gingerbread Bliss balls with a sprinkle of cinnamon and other warming spices.

Read more of Jamie Mok’s plant-based recipes.

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Plant-Based Dishes to Delight the Senses

Jamie Mok — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 15:51:43 +0000

Combine Colors and Flavors for Satisfying Plant-Based Dishes

Colorful meals and plant-based dishes offer a welcome array of delicious and nutritious table settings any time of the year. Try using ingredients with an array of rainbow hues.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 TBSP fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup raw cashews
1 large butternut squash, cubed
5 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup full fat coconut milk
Few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Directions

Use a large pot and set on the stove to medium heat, adding the extra virgin olive oil, onion, ginger, and cashews.
As onions turn translucent and cashew start to brown, add in garlic and butternut squash to cook for a few minutes.
Next add broth and all the spices, then allow to simmer for a good 20 minutes or so.
You should be able to pierce the squash with a fork easily.
Allow soup to cool before transferring to a blender to purée smooth.
Return back to the pot then add coconut milk and rosemary and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Maple Roasted Rainbow Carrots

Ingredients

1 bunch of rainbow carrots from Farm Fresh To You
2 TBSP avocado oil
1 TBSP maple syrup
1/4 cup pepitas
Pinch of sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wash carrots, cut most of the tops off, then slice.
Cut into halves or quarters depending thickness to ensure they cook evenly.
Place slices on baking sheet evenly spaced apart.
Whisk together the avocado oil and maple syrup.
Drizzle over carrots, using tongs to turn and evenly coat carrots.
Season with sea salt. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, turning carrots midway through cooking.
Top with pepitas and set oven to broil for another three to five minutes.

Salad Arrangement with Creamy Tahini Dressing

Decorate a bed of organic mixed greens with a mixture of the following:

• Shredded red beets
• Sliced golden beets
• Sliced watermelon radish
• Sliced persimmon
• Coarsely chopped radicchio
• Shredded purple cabbage
• Dried mulberries
• Chopped curly parsley
• Pomegranate seeds
• Toasted sesame seeds

Creamy Tahini Dressing

1/2 cup tahini
3 TBSP water
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt

Makes about 1 cup

*Depending on the thickness of tahini and personal preference, you may need to add more water (1 TBSP at a time) to thin the consistency of the dressing.

www.moringalightenergy.com

The post Plant-Based Dishes to Delight the Senses appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Moringa Sources and Products

Jeff Perlman — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 14:02:52 +0000

With the growing popularity of the superfood Moringa, a number of innovative companies are offering this dark leafy green. You can find seeds as well as powdered greens to add to smoothies and more.

Kuli Kuli

kulikulifoods.com
Former Peace Corps Volunteer Lisa Curtis was introduced to eating Moringa while serving in Niger. With her co-founders Valerie Popelka, Jordan Moncharmont, and Anne Tsuei and a team of entrepreneurs, Kuli Kuli’s successful crowd-funding campaigns include an initiative to plant Moringa trees in Haiti.

Products

Organic Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder
Moringa Greens & Protein Superfood Smoothie Mix (Natural Greens, Vanilla, Dark Chocolate)
Moringa Green Energy Shots (Raspberry, Coconut Lime, Ginger Lemon)
Energizing Herbal Moringa Tea (Original, Lemongrass, Peppermint)
Moringa Energy Bars (Crunchy Almond, Dark Chocolate, Black Cherry)

Moringa Farms

moringafarms.com

The team at Moringa Farms is focused on the company’s Social, Product, and Economic Missions to share the benefits of Moringa. The array of available products even includes live trees.

Products

Moringa Leaf Powder
Capsules and Seeds
Moringa Seed Oil
Fresh Moringa Leaf
Live Moringa Saplings
Moringa Seed Deodorant

Moringa Light Energy

Moringa Light Energy grows thousands of organically grown Moringa trees in California’s Coachella Valley. Their tagline is, “Before there was Medicine, there was Moringa.”

Products

Gold Seeds
Gold Leaves
Fountain of Youth Moringa Oleifera Essence
Ancient Healer Essences
Moringa Light Energy Rejuvenating Pure Oils

M Solutions

www.msolutions.energy

Their Moringa oil undergoes a proprietary light energy process to increase potency.

Products

Nano CBD Light Energy (Moringa infused)
CBD Light Energy (Moringa Infused)

Organic India

organicindiausa.com

The mission of Organic India includes a commitment to working with farmers to promote regenerative agriculture as well as regenerative community

Products

Moringa Lift Single Serve Pouches
Certified Organic Moringa Leaf Powder
Certified Organic Moringa Capsules

Superfoods by MRM

mrm-usa.com

Founded with the goal to create products that support a life of health and vitality.

Products

Raw Organic Moringa Powder

Sunwarrior

sunwarrior.com

Sunwarrior was founded to offer clean, plant-based superfoods that capture solar energy.

Products

Moringa is one the ingredients in Sunwarrior’s Ormus SuperGreens

Your Super

yoursuper.com

Cofounders Michael Kuech and Kristel De Groot created combinations of superfoods to come up with seven blends to make healthy eating easy.

Blends Containing Moringa

Skinny Protein (for Hunger Control), Power Matcha (for Focus), and Super Green (for Immunity)

Jeff Perlman

Jeff Perlman is a Clinical Ayurvedic & Pancha Karma Specialist, Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor, Certified Massage and Marma Therapist, a professional member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and a Cordon Bleu Chef. He is available for private consultations. He leads annual trips to India. You can contact him at jeff@tsayurveda.com or visit his website: threeseasonsayurveda.com

www.threeseasonsayurveda.com

The post Moringa Sources and Products appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

6 Delicious and Nutritious Bars

Felicia M. Tomasko — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 13:04:04 +0000

Snack with Purpose

This editor’s pick of nutritious bars offers flavors that satisfy and ingredients you can feel good about eating. Even better–these brands are doing their part to craft food that is good for you and good for the planet. Whether you’re traveling across the world, or across the street, pack some of these nutritious bars to have at the ready.

This Bar Saves Lives

What do you get when you bring together a group of friends and colleagues with a commitment to combining worldwide humanitarian efforts with delicious snack bars? This Bar Saves Lives Founders Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell, Kristen Bell, and Ravi Patel’s pay-it-forward model donates life-saving nutrition to kids in need via packets of the supercharged vitamin- and mineral-enriched Plumpy’Nut. So far, they’ve donated over three million packets. They have an array of tasty whole food, gluten-free, non-GMO flavors. The recipes began in Ryan Devlin’s kitchen. Try them all. We did! Enjoy: Madagascar Vanilla Almond & Honey, Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate & Coconut, PB & J, Dark Chocolate & Cherry, Wild Blueberry & Pistachio, Kids Chocolate Chip, and seasonal Maple Pecan.
thisbarsaveslives.com

SunWarrior

SunWarrior is known for their clean, plant-based protein mixes, as well as their high vibration vitamins and minerals. You could say that they make food for warriors. SunWarrior’s four flavors of protein bars offer a full scoop of their famous and functional protein powder. There is no blender required. These protein-rich bars are a nutritious travel food. Blueberry Blast, Salted Caramel, Coconut Cashew, and Cinnamon Roll are all perfectly balanced for breakfast or any time of the day. Ingredients include: yellow peas, brown rice, quinoa, blueberry, sunflower butter, and coconut.
sunwarrior.com

Clif Bar

Clif is one of the sponsors of the ROGA series on the Santa Monica Pier. They hand out their latest and greatest bars to hungry runners and yogis post-practice. One of the stalwart brand’s newest lines is their Fruit Smoothie Filled energy bars in three certified USDA organic flavors: Wild Blueberry Acai, Tart Cherry Berry, and Strawberry Banana. The filling is a blend of nut and seed butter, dried fruit, and juice concentrates, giving added benefits to the grain-based energy bar. If you’ve dreamt of having jelly sandwiches on the go without the mess, this just may be the bar for you.
clifbar.com

Health Warrior

Packed with Omega-3s as well as fiber, protein, and some carbs, Health Warrior‘s vegan chia seed-based bars come in an array of flavors: Acai Berry, Apple Cinnamon, Banana Nut, Caramel Sea Salt, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Coconut, Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Cherry, and Mango. At 100 calories each, they offer a pick-me-up without weighing you down. The chocolate blends are our fave and substitute for a candy bar. Pack a handful on the plane.
healthwarrior.com

ReGrained

You don’t have to drink beer to love ReGrained bar’s supergrain base. ReGrained’s base was originally part of the process of making beer. According to ReGrained, “The brewing process extracts most of the sugar from the grain, leaving behind a high-protein, high-fiber ingredient that mitigates food waste.” These grains are upcycled and then combined with functional adaptogenic ingredients such as immune-strengthening turmeric, ginseng, and honey. Pack some of the Chocolate Coffee Stout, Honey Cinnamon IPA, or Blueberry Sunflower Saison. Pair them with tea, coffee, or a superfood smoothie.
regrained.com

Dang Bars

When you need keto on the go, Dang Bars deliver. The brand is also known for their other coconut-based treats. The Dang Bars offer balanced macros (4-5 g net carbs, 10 g protein, and 16 grams fat). Dang features recipes that are paleo, keto, and vegan. Ingredients include: almonds, chicory root fiber, pea protein, cocoa butter, sunflower seeds, pea protein crisps, coconut, chia seeds, stevia, and salt. Their slight crunch definitely satisfies. Dang’s three flavors are Almond Vanilla, Chocolate Sea Salt, and Lemon Matcha. They are all crave-worthy snacks to keep you fueled any time of day.
dangfoods.com

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Siriously Delicious by Siri Daly

Felicia M. Tomasko — Thu, 03 May 2018 21:38:52 +0000

Maybe you aspire to be one of those Instagram-worthy chefs for whom everything they touch seems to turn into a vibrant photo of bright colors and appetite-stimulating perfection. Or you may want to simply be a home chef who creates delicious family-friendly meals with a greater sense of ease. Popular food blogger, TODAY show food contributor, and former producer of the Carson Daly show (who happens to also be Carson Daly’s wife and mother of their three kids), Siri Daly has a fun, playful, and healthy approach to the kitchen that she shares in Siriously Delicious: 100 Nutritious (and Not So Nutritious) Simple Recipes for the Real Home Cook.

Siri Daly and her Mealtime Approach to Food

The six sections in the book cover some of our favorite approaches to food: Wakey Wakey! (I don’t need to tell you this is morning/breakfast fare), Halftime (the oft-neglected lunch), It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (a selection of DIY drinks and apps), Time for Dinner, Sidekicks (side dishes), and Sweet Treats.

Recipes that are Far from Routine

Many of the breakfast ideas are great for kids. One example is when Siri plates Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits in muffin cups for kid-friendly nibbles. She also includes a preponderance of veggies in items like the Open-Faced Green Breakfast Sandwich. Of course there’s a pancake dish (Spiced Pumpkin). After breakfast, Siri encourages us to include lunch in meal-planning. Some of the lunch suggestions include a colorful Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad. Another delicious option is the Buddha Bowl: crispy garbanzo beans mixed with roasted sweet potato, broccolini, and kale, as well as avocado. Siri offers creative takes on happy hour apps, like Miso Tzatziki. Some of thee colorful side dishes include Roasted Carrot and Pumpkin Seed Salad, Buffalo-Baked Cauliflower, and Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Siri Daly in LA May 20

The colorful photos throughout provide inspiration when you need something new to do with veggies. Look for Siri at Williams Sonoma in Beverly Hills on May 20 at 1pm.

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Meal Prep Tips for Festival Food

Nikki Sharp — Tue, 01 May 2018 17:44:33 +0000

Photo of Nikki Sharp by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer. Clothing by Root to Rise.

The sun is shining, the crowds are screaming, and you’re at a festival with thousands of others enjoying your favorite music—fun times! Food-wise though, festivals can throw even the best meal-prepper for a spin.

Don’t let it frighten you! There are some easy ways to survive the festival while still enjoying those last drops of summer sunshine.

Prepare Your Snacks

Plan ahead. You already know there isn’t going to be a salad bar with all the fixings, so have snacks ready to go if hunger strikes and there’s nothing healthy nearby. Pack some snacks such as nuts, trail mix, date balls, a piece of fruit, or a healthy bar. Opt for items that can’t go bad or get squashed.

Photo by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Pack with Intention

Remember the good-old days being a kid and having a lunch box/bag? It’s time to whip that out and fill it with all the essentials. Some ideas: hardboiled eggs, homemade popcorn, sliced veggies, and proportioned hummus in containers.

If you’re going for more than a day, pack a cooler with frozen waters at the bottom, chilled snacks next, paper towels to soak up condensation, then any snacks that don’t need to be chilled.

Drinking alcohol will inevitably lead you to want to eat a slice of pizza (or three), but resist those extra slices. You’ll only feel worse the next day. Soak up the booze with water, some more water, then one slice of pizza or a burger.

Photo of Nikki Sharp by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Hydrate

Drink plenty of water. If you want to mix up your flavors, add fruits or herbs like mint to your water bottle or Mason jar. Make sure to munch on all veggies you can find as part of your hydration plan.

Protect Your Skin

Apply sunscreen every two hours. This is absolutely key because sunburns dehydrate your skin, can cause headaches, and will pretty much ruin any fun time you want to have. Bonus points if you drink a liter of water each time you apply sunscreen. The extra stress from dehydration or sun burns can interfere with your meal planning.

Credits

Photos by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Yoga Clothing by Root to Rise

Nikki Sharp

Nikki Sharp is the author of The 5-Day Real Food Detox and Meal Prep Your Way to Weight Loss. You can follow her journey and find more recipes at: nikkisharp.com. Follow her on Instagram @nikkisharp.

www.nikkisharp.com

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Meal Prep for Travelers: Healthy Hacks

Nikki Sharp — Tue, 01 May 2018 17:34:06 +0000

Photo of Nikki Sharp by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Healthy Travel Food for road trips, plane rides, family excursions and more

We may have our kitchen organization on point when we’re at home. It’s easy to find everything we need for salads, soups, smoothies and more. But then it comes time to pack a bag and get on the road. While travel can definitely be one of our most rewarding activities, there are times when we feel confused about what and how to eat when we’re faced with all of the unknowns that come with being on the go.

Fortunately, with a bit of planning, it is actually possible to enjoy healthy food and to maintain vitality and wellness even while crossing time zones.

Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to test out success strategies for healthy eating while on the move. So far, I’ve lived in seven countries, traveled to more than 50 cities, and lived out of a suitcase for two years. In my professional life, I’ve made my living as an international model and have segued into sharing success strategies as a book author and health and wellness expert. So really, I’ve become a bit of a professional traveler. Along the way I’ve collected info related to mastering the art of maintaining the fun in flying, beating jet lag, and knowing how to eat healthy food wherever in the world I may be.

Photo by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

We know that meal prepping is essential for better health and saving money. So, we can apply techniques from meal prepping at home to the needs of travel. In my new book, Meal Prep to Weight Loss, I show readers how to become a meal prep master. Don’t get turned off by the title—this isn’t a diet book and it’s not about weighing yourself daily.

I believe that focusing your attention on how you eat for health and wellness can set you up for life-long success. Weight loss just might be a result of making a lifestyle shift motivated by wanting to be healthier, have more energy, enjoy your daily life more, or even sleep better.

Let’s take this on the road so you can not only survive traveling but you can thrive while enhancing your life.

Learning from Travel

As I have traveled the world for work and for fun, I’ve developed greater empathy and compassion from my experiences. And I’ve also seen the importance of finding the pleasure and enjoyment of small moments. This is the case even in the midst of the challenges of daily life, the frustrations of being stuck in traffic, or hanging out in airports as a result of delayed flights.

Practicing meditation has helped me see the bigger picture wherever I am. Cultivating compassion and letting go of control have helped me connect to the journey rather than the end goal. Living with love and understanding is a great reminder that I can’t always control everything, and when I let go, I realize that the path is actually pretty awesome.

Traveling for Service

In November, 2017, I took a trip that I had been wanting to take for years: volunteering in Africa. A friend and I served with International Peace Initiatives (IPI.org). IPI was founded by Dr. Karambu Ringera to empower those around her, which included starting women’s groups, housing kids and sending them to school, and having a positive impact in the community of Meru, Kenya.

While in Kenya, I experienced how communities can become family, with a sense of always having someone to rely on. Africa taught me the importance of community and that sharing life with others daily is far more rewarding than a bigger house, more money, or more cars.

In addition, there was my relationship with the food. I learned that GMOs are banned in Kenya. We ate all organic, local, fresh food that IPI’s chef prepared daily with the help of the kids, as a family effort. The predominantly vegetarian meals were some of the freshest and most delicious meals I’ve ever had.

Eating Locally

As I experienced in Kenya, I would recommend trying local foods and flavors wherever you are. This could be handmade pasta in Italy, durian in Asia, fresh moringa in Hawaii, Balinese gado gado, or even a po-boy in New Orleans. Release your restrictions and practice moderation in portion control. Seek out farmers markets or the places where the locals in the know eat. Look for food made with love.

Photo by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Quick Tips For Meal Prep Travel Success

Hydrate! Carry a bottle of water with you at all times. All too often, we think we’re hungry but we’re really a bit dehydrated. Water is more important than food; we can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food, yet we tend to flip this and skimp on our hydration and nutrition. If you are somewhere you can bring a reusable water bottle (or Mason jar), carry it with you and refill often. If you’re in an area where you need to think about water safety, make wise choices but drink often.
Count the colors on your plate. Having three colors at every meal ensures you’ll have maximum nutrients and this naturally will curb your cravings.
Relax! When it comes to food, eat what you love and create balance with nutrient-dense foods. Guilt about what you eat equals stress in the body. This is worse than eating a slice of cake—especially if it was that made or served with love.
Reframe your mind when it comes to indulgence and weight gain. Going on vacation shouldn’t mean you put on weight then have to diet when you come home. Enjoy things in moderation, both healthy and not-as-healthy foods.
Ask for steamed or grilled vegetables as a starter. When you stimulate your appetite and start your meal with veggies, it adds more nutrients than bread. But if the bread is freshly made, enjoy it! Just balance the meal with colorful vegetables.
When you’re on the road and out of snacks, airports and gas stations will have bottled water and raw nuts such as almonds. Choose the nuts and water over the processed sugar found in candy bars and soda.
I travel with some select supplements. What works for me: magnesium to combat bloating and constipation, digestive enzymes, and probiotics for overall immune system health. Try out what works for you and have them packed in advance. I like to keep them in snack-size plastic baggies with their name and directions for written in a sharpie to reduce bulk in my bags. I reuse the bags every trip.

Upgrade Your Water

One of my favorite tricks to drink more water is to make it colorful and tasty. Some people don’t like the taste of water, so I recommend adding in slices of fruits such as orange, lime, and/or lemon. Fruit gives water a beautiful burst of color inspiring you to drink more. Sparkling water and citrus is a great combination, as it’s super refreshing. To make it, I’ll add slices of citrus, or chopped strawberry and mint into a Mason jar, and fill it with ice. I’ll carry it with me during the day, refilling as needed. This refresher banishes cravings and makes drinking water far more enticing.

Photo of Nikki Sharp by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Fly High and Healthy

I have gotten many-a-strange look while flying when I whip out my homemade salad with all the fixings. However, when I start eating, those looks turn to requests for my airplane secrets.

Bring your own food. Most people are surprised to know that you can actually bring your own food into the airport and even onto the plane.
Know your no-gos: There are items which don’t make it through TSA check-points, more than three ounces of anything liquid or liquid-like, such as yogurt, hot cereal, humus, soup, peanut butter, or salad dressings.
When prepping your own meals, make sure that salads include a light dressing that has already been drizzled on top. Remember bottled liquids or dressings are no-go items for TSA.
You can bring fruits, salads, wraps, or similar items. If you travel with produce to Hawaii or outside the country, remember to eat it on the plane because you won’t be able to take it with you.
My favorite meal to bring on the go is a Mason jar salad. I put some dressing at the bottom and then I layer it with items such as spinach, roasted vegetables, quinoa, black beans, chopped hard boiled eggs, and avocado. When I’m done, I rinse the jar and use it for water.
Bring mint tea or even fresh mint leaves to add to your bottled water. When flying, we tend to get bloated and constipated. Mint is excellent for freeing your belly from this discomfort. The water doesn’t need to be warm, just steep the mint for a few extra minutes.
If you’re flying on an itinerary that includes a meal, call the airline in advance to request something health-conscious. Some options include: vegan, vegetarian, fruit plate, or low salt, among others.
When ordering food at the airport, choose lightly and simply. Skip meals that are full of salt or processed items, which can increase bloat, dampen digestion, or make jet lag worse.
If you don’t have time to prep before a flight, pick up a ready-made, healthy salad or other meal or even order delivery in time before you leave.

Photo by Jeff Skeirik/Rawtographer

Mason Jar Salads 101

These are my favorite style of salads to make because of their convenience and because they’re packed in a reusable container. Start with your salad dressing at the bottom. This keeps the vegetables, especially lettuce, from wilting. When you’re ready to eat the salad, you can flip over the jar to drizzle the dressing over the salad. I like to mix it up with items with different colors and textures such as spiralized cucumber or zucchini, roasted veggies, black beans, or avocado. I recommend using a one liter Mason jar with a wide lid to make it easy to add food and then to eat it with a fork.

After you’ve finished the salad, you can just wash out the jar and use it for water while you travel. (Bonus points if you add mint or strawberries later!) Then, on your trip home, you can again make a salad for the plane or car ride, so you reduce plastic and save money. (Check out my Meal Prep book for more ideas and recipes)

Cheating or Enjoying?

I am asked often if I cheat when I travel, which includes drinking or eating naughty food. While the answer is yes, I don’t see it as cheating, which has a negative connotation. I see it as balance, and savoring all that there is to offer. It has taken me years to arrive at this attitude. All too often, we see health as something restrictive rather than something fun and enjoyable—and balanced.

For example, I can go out on the town in Barcelona for a 10pm dinner. I enjoy a shared bottle of wine, lots of little bites with sharing plates, and then water before bed. The next day, I’ll enjoy a light breakfast of fruit, some green tea, and a walk around the city. This way, I eat locally while enjoying the energy and love in my food, and then I fully experience where I am in the moment.

Family Feud? No, Family Food + Prep

Traveling as a family can offer both challenges and opportunities.
Make it fun. By using gadgets such as a spiralizer, it is no longer just about preparing dinner for others. You can get everyone involved. Kids love using this, but then again, so does everyone I know!
Create a family affair when making dinner. It can be easier to cook the meals you want when you give tasks to everyone and sit in the kitchen together.
For the kids, focus on colors. Select a variety of colorful foods in fun shapes to maintain their interest and excitement.
When cooking for the family, make it a point to put on an extra pot of water and whip up a batch of quinoa at the same time. Then it’s available to either enjoy the same night or ready to eat another day with veggies. This streamlines your overall meal prep.
For greater success, don’t make your loved ones eat like you if they’re not feeling it. This might be the hardest tip because when we believe in something, we want others to do it with us. Allow them to be on their journey, just as you are, and without judgement. Ask if they will eat what you want, and if they say no, then don’t stress.

The Key Ingredient in Meal Prep: Eat With Love

Two of my favorite things in life are traveling and health. When paired together, it becomes a recipe for success to enjoy every place you go. I recommend trying these tips and find what works for you. It has taken me years to stop being fearful of food and to enjoy everything I eat. I focus on quality over quantity and choose things that have been made with love. For example, the last time I had fast food from a large chain was nearly six years ago. I remember walking into the place, ordering a burger, and seeing how quickly they threw it together. It hit me that if I am eating food that is made that quickly by people who don’t like their job, then the energy of the food will affect me. Since then, I’ve made it a point to focus on finding food that I know has been grown, prepared, and served with love. When we’re on the road, whether we’re eating our own humus, or trying something new, love is one of the most savory ingredients for our own wellness.

Credits

Jeff Skeirik shoots video and still photography in the health and wellness space: rawtographer.com

Select Yoga Clothing by Root to Rise: roottoriseofficial.com

Look for Nikki Sharp’s book Meal Prep Your Way to Weight Loss

Nikki Sharp

Nikki Sharp is the author of The 5-Day Real Food Detox and Meal Prep Your Way to Weight Loss. You can follow her journey and find more recipes at: nikkisharp.com. Follow her on Instagram @nikkisharp.

www.nikkisharp.com

The post Meal Prep for Travelers: Healthy Hacks appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Simples Tonics in Santa Monica Offers Herbal Infusions

Felicia M. Tomasko — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 10:06:19 +0000

The Game Changer (Nettle). The Chill Pill (Oatstraw). The Hug (Linden). The Superhero (Schisandra). The Fortifier (Dandelion Root). The Star (Chickweed). The Purifier (Burdock Root). The Elevator (Rose). These are the delicious herbal infusions available at the Simples Tonics shop on Main Street in Santa Monica.

Simples Founder Traci Donat says, “These are in the category of herbs that are nourishing and safe. They have tonic effects on the body; they’re food as medicine.” Many of them—such as dandelion and nettles—are even considered weeds. Yet to call them weeds doesn’t do them justice.

“I opened the shop because these plants are amazing. They’re so readily available and so nourishing but people don’t know enough about them,” Traci says. Tonic herbs have been part of her life for years. “I feel that everything in my life has led to this point.” Traci brings to Simples her study and love of herbalism, her experience growing and harvesting herbs, nurturing her family and friends through tonics, and her background in marketing.

Traci’s passion for the practice is evident from the moment you walk into the welcoming shop. The highly trained staff are experts when it comes to explaining the array of tonics as well as the other nourishing items on offer. Their array of items includes their own Simple Cider recipe for boosting immunity.

Simples Tonics herbal infusions are served cold and are available in two sizes in beautifully designed glass bottles. Savor the flavors and enjoy them as is. You can also warm them up for instant nutritious tea, use them as a broth base for recipes, or mix them for potent and nourishing mocktails.

For More Information about Simples Tonics Herbal Infusions

Simples Tonics
2724 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.314.7676
simplestonics.com

Read some of Meredith Klein’s Ayurvedic Recipes online here at LAYOGA.COM

The post Simples Tonics in Santa Monica Offers Herbal Infusions appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Kitchen Ritual: A Cookbook by Meredith Klein

Felicia M. Tomasko — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 15:38:23 +0000

Roasted Cauliflower from Kitchen Ritual by Meredith Klein

Chef Meredith Klein is known throughout the SoCal yoga community and beyond for her mindful and delicious approach to the ritual of creating nourishing recipes and serving celebratory feasts. Her long-awaited cookbook, Kitchen Ritual, shares her culinary secrets with recipes as well as tips and tricks for home cooks. Whether you are just becoming comfortable with your own kitchen or you are an Iron Chef, Meredith serves up wisdom for you in these pages.

She opens the book explaining her approach to being a “love-atarian” who enjoys meals made with love. This includes tips on creating sacred space and tools for setting up a mindful kitchen. Try using items like wooden spoons, Mason jars, and inspiring dishware. She also provides the 411 on buying and using knives skillfully.

Recipes in Kitchen Ritual

When it comes to the recipes, Meredith shares treats for any time of the day from breakfast to before bed comforting snacks. She loves the trending small plate approach to a meal that allows for both variety and a sense of satisfaction. While her approach is grounded in the tradition of Ayurveda, her world-fusion cuisine offers creative combinations. Some of the delicious recipes in the book include the following: Moroccan Acorn Squash & Pear Soup, Rustic Watermelon Gazpacho, Black Bean & Edamame Salad, Green Chile Stew, Curried Red Lentil Dip, Turmeric Sweet Potato Hash, and Roasted Broccoli with Meyer Lemon.

In addition, Meredith shares her hacks for pantry and spice staples. She has recipes and instructions for making your own Garam Masala spice blends, homemade Hemp Milk, Preserved Lemons, and Vegetable Broth. Smoothies, teas, and desserts round out this must-have addition to the modern yogi’s well-stocked kitchen.

For More Information on Kitchen Ritual

For more information, visit: pranaful.com