Introducing.... My New Website and Blog Design!

Image via samburke.wordpress.com

I got a makeover, friends! Isn't it just a beauty?

But that's not all... there's more good news to share. I am now open for business! As you may know, I've been studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and starting today, I am available for personal health coaching.

You've never heard of health coaching?

Well, you're in for a treat. Health coaching is a fairly new field that's been gaining lots of attention recently in the media as the newest trend in healthcare. A health coach is a holistic wellness authority who actively helps clients achieve their health (and life) goals by providing coaching, support and resources.

Health coaching is for all types of people, whether you feel healthy or not. It provides a safe place for you to identify your health and life goals and work with someone to achieve those goals. Whether you are dealing with food concerns, weight loss issues, increased stress, lack of sleep, new food allergies, or anything else,  working with a health coach can give you a fresh perspective on your individual situation, as well as unlimited support and attention.

I am providing my services in two ways - either in person in the New York City area OR by phone or Skype. To learn more about health coaching, click here. And if you'd just like to get to know me better, you can read about my journey here!

Oh... and how could I forget? I will be doing a workshop on 'Eating for Energy' in New York City on Tuesday, June 4th from 7-8 pm at Freshmade NYC. If you feel like you are always burning the candle at both ends, this class is for you! I will be sharing simple recipes for increasing your energy, fueling your workouts and ensuring better sleep. To sign up, click here!

Now that we've covered all the bases, take a cruise around the new site! My health coaching site is located at www.strictlynutritious.com, while my blog has moved to www.strictlynutritious.blogspot.com.

And if you're really feeling generous, 'Like' me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter!

Many thanks to my exceptionally talented website designer Sharon over at Redbud Designs and my amazing photographer Linda Peters (@lpetersny). They were both a pleasure to work with and I HIGHLY recommend their services!

The Benefits of Sesame Oil (Part 1): Kale, Brussels Sprout and Soba Noodle Salad!

Image via vataworld.wordpress.com

I've come a looooonnnnnnng way, y'all.

Before moving to New York, I had never even tasted Indian food! Not to mention mussels, oysters, Ethiopian cuisine - you name it, I hadn't tried it. Thankfully, I started dating Adam and even though he hails from a small town with a similar culinary climate as my own, he was an adventurer when it came to food and drink and I quickly followed suit. Now, Indian food is actually one of my favorites. 

Based on this information, I should have known I would fall in love with Ayurveda. 

As you know, I'm currently studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. One of our recent lectures was an introduction to Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine. Now, having gone from zero knowledge of Ayurveda to the equivalent of two books and a lecture's worth of knowledge, I can say quite confidently that I'm literally obsessed with all things Ayurveda. I even find myself daydreaming about going to India to visit a Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor). It's quite fascinating stuff and I can't get enough.

To embrace my obsession wholeheartedly, I'd like to do a recurring series this month on sesame oil. While this may sound completely out of left field to you, I promise you that sesame oil is a natural medicine that you should know about! It has so many health benefits (especially as we enter spring) and you can use it for much more than just food!

But let's start slow this week with a simple recipe that uses sesame oil! This weekend I made Kale + Slivered Brussels Sprout Soba Noodles from one of my favorite blogs Sprouted Kitchen. I used her basic recipe, then threw in some sauteed shrimp to satisfy my inner carnivore. Here are the dirty deats...

Cut off the ends of 10 Brussels sprouts and slice them paper thin (if you have a mandolin, use it!).

Wash 1 bunch of kale (tuscan or dinosaur kale is recommended, but we used what we had!) and discard the stems.

Now working in batches, stack the kale leaves, roll them up tightly and slice them into long, narrow ribbons.

Grab your sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil) and sea salt.

In a large mixing bowl, add the kale, 1 tsp. of sesame oil and 1/4 tsp. of sea salt. Now, massage the kale with your hands for approximately 3 minutes, until the kale turns a dark shade of green.

Now add the sliced Brussels sprouts.

Toss in 1 bunch of sliced scallions.

Cook 4-8 oz. of soba noodles according to package directions. While they are cooking, pound 1 plump clove of garlic.

In the same bowl as the garlic, stir in 4 tsp. sesame oil, 1 Tbs. rice vinegar and 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce. Now, pour this dressing over the mixture (I actually doubled this amount because I like things on the saucy side. Use as little or as much as you want).

Add 2 pinches of red pepper flakes and 2 Tbs. of toasted sesame seeds (white or black).

While the soba noodles are cooking, saute the shrimp (we used ghee and peppercorns for flavor).

After draining, add the soba noodles to the mixture.

Top with the cooked shrimp and sprinkle a few more sesame seeds on top for extra flair.

And now, the health benefits behind sesame oil...

SLOWS AGING - Sesame oil is packed with antioxidants that can help slow the signs of aging. Not only this, but consuming the oil keeps your skin hydrated from the inside out.

LOWERS CHOLESTEROL - The vitamin E in sesame oil has been shown to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Plus, the dynamic duo of antioxidants and poly-unsaturated fats in sesame oil work together to lower blood pressure.

AIDS IN MOOD REGULATION - Many people find that sesame oil helps to calm their anxiety and improve their mood. Also, because sesame oil promotes blood circulation, it has been found to aid in deep, restful sleep.

HELPS PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS: The calcium and zinc in sesame oil work together to promote bone health, thereby protecting you from the decay that leads to osteoporosis.

See? I told you it was a miracle food! I can't wait to show you sesame oil's other innovative uses next week, but in the meantime, enjoy this wonderful soba noodle salad and let it remind you that spring is upon us!

The Experts Weigh In: How I Became A Farmer

Tara at Ferme de Gally in France.

BY: TARA TRANGUCH, GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

On my 35th birthday, I was living in Paris, France, working at the headquarters of a telecoms manufacturing company. I spent my birthday tied to my desk on back-to-back global conference calls for 7 straight hours. When I went to sleep that night, I pledged that on my 36th birthday, I would not be doing the same type of work. 

Don't get me wrong - I loved living in Paris, and I honestly enjoyed working with my colleagues. I was blessed with a wonderful boss who mentored me and put me on interesting projects. Sure, there were the usual bureaucratic headaches that most employees of multi-national companies face today, but overall, my life was nothing to complain about! 

But... something was missing.

Tara in Champ de Mars, Paris.

I had started to realize that, upon waking, I was already looking forward to the end of the workday. On Mondays, I was already looking forward to the upcoming weekend, and I was starting to live for the next holiday. That was not the kind of life I wanted to continue living. So I asked myself "what do you want to do?".

My inner voice answered that question with the same response it had repeated for the past few years. To be honest, I think it was pretty tired of answering that question, as each time it voiced the answer, I brushed it off with an emphatic "Well that's just not possible! Be reasonable, Tara!". But nevertheless, that inner voice responded yet again "You want to be a farmer. You want to grow vegetables and work in the dirt".

I believe that inner voice is the innate truth within each of us that knows who we are and want we truly want. It is not governed by reason, and in fact, reason is its greatest opponent. In the world of scientific, rational thought in which we live, reason usually wins. But not this time.

As I fell asleep on my 35th birthday, I replied, "Ok. I'm going to be a farmer".

Kale microgreens

Many people ask me where this desire came from. No one in my family works in agriculture, I majored in English and Chinese, and my career up until last year was in telecoms. There is no logical explanation, but there is a story - my story about my journey towards greater health and wellness.

I lived in China for most of my 20's. One Chinese New Year, I went with my girlfriends to Thailand for my first fast/cleanse/detox experience. It was only 3 days without food, but this cleanse sparked a change in the direction of my life. The next year I went on a 5 day cleanse, the following year a 7 day and by the next year, I was going on an annual detox. When I moved to Paris, making a ticket to Thailand less convenient and economical, I started doing 10 day juice cleanses at home. With each fast, I shed addictions - smoking being the biggest one. Sugar cravings and yeast addictions were another. One year during the standard post-fast 7-day raw food diet, I decided to keep going and to earnestly explore the vegan raw food diet. During the two years that I was high raw, I met David Wolfe and George Lamoureux and began integrating superfoods and superherbs into my diet. In fact, it was the winter right before I turned 35 that I met George Lamoureux of Jing Herbs. I told him what herbs and medicinal mushrooms I had been taking and in what quantities (roughly 1/2 tsp./day each of reishi mushrooms, eucommia and astragalus, for those who are curious), and he said to me "Time to increase the dosage. You are ready for a transformation". So I did, and within three months of our encounter, I had taken the leap of faith to change careers and try farming.

There is no logic to this story. How can a fast from food, a raw vegan diet and medicinal mushrooms lead to such a drastic change in lifestyle? Is there a logical explanation? Or is there perhaps a more - what we could consider - magical explanation? 

I believe that the plants themselves called me to a different kind of life.

Mung bean sprouts

Now before you mutter 'hippie chick' and exit the page, I'd like to state my case. Since making the shift to being a farmer, I have come across various webinars and essays about the communicative relationship between humans and plants. Stephen Harrod Buhner in The Lost Language of Plants describes how we are trained in reductionism, to look at the earth as a series of isolated units that function as a machine to support the human race. He says that our current cultural epistemology has us viewing ourselves as isolated from other life forms. Prior to this universe-as-machine mode of thinking brought about by the Industrial Revolution, people perceived nature as alive with intelligence and soul. They saw "Earth as a living being, not a ball of resources inhabited by human beings hurtling through space". He goes on to write: "We have always lived, surrounded by original language".

Part of that original language is generated by plants. Plants communicate through our nose, our skin, our eyes and our tongue. Buhner provides countless examples of cultures who listen to plants. For example, the Iroquois believe that if a person becomes ill, the plant that can heal that particular illness will stand up and begin calling to the ill person. Buhner writes, "To a Heliconius butterfly, a honeybee, or a moth this would not be strange; they would understand". I believe that my ingestion of plants and my openness to their nutritional and health-building properties resulted in them taking a leading role in my life's journey. 

They have called me to work with them.

Tara at Devon Point Farm in Woodstock, CT.

So how has this leap of faith panned out? Last year, I started farming as an apprentice at Devon Point Farm in Woodstock, Connecticut. Following the apprenticeship, I started my own farm, Serafina Says Farm. I currently grow sprouts and microgreens and make artisanal raw living foods for sale at farmers' markets, a local co-op, an organic delivery service and a few local restaurants. This coming season, I will grow organic vegetables for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) on 2 1/2 acres of leased farmland plots in Canton and Simsbury, Connecticut. In parallel, I am training to become a Certified Health Coach via the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). This is where I met Lauren!

Being a new farmer and an entrepreneur has its own challenges, but every day I wake up living for each moment. I love what I do all the time! Weekdays are just as enjoyable as weekends. Mondays are great because they signal the start of new projects, and I have an inner peace that was previously missing because I know that I'm doing what I'm meant to do. As I'm still a new farmer, I don't have more to share with you yet on what it's like to run my own farm, but I would love to come back at the end of the growing season and let you know how this first year goes. Wish me luck!

My concluding words to those of you who have made it this far: In my experience, the path to health and wellness if a step-by-step process. It's a lifelong journey that will change not only your physical well-being but also your mental well-being. Changing your diet and flushing out toxins will enable you to listen to your inner voice, to have the courage to live the life you dream about and to be who you are meant to be. It is not an overnight journey and you can never be sure of where the journey will take you. So take that first step, because the world is full of magic and mystery.

If I wasn't experiencing it firsthand, I'm not sure I would believe it either!

Devon Point Farm in Woodstock, CT

Tara Tranguch is a former corporate world maven turned farmer. Last year, she left her life in Paris and moved to her home state of Connecticut to pursue her inner passion. Tara now runs her own farm, Serafina Says Farm, where she grows sprouts and microgreens and makes artisanal raw living foods. She confesses to being really in love with plants - so much so that she's  currently dreaming up a way to make her living room rug into a patch of living grass. In her own words, "Wouldn't it be great to sit on the grass while watching a movie, or walk on grass while inside?". If Tara were stranded on a deserted island, she'd be just fine eating coconuts and seaweed for the rest of her life, and when it comes to guilty pleasures, Tara admits to loving the new TV show The Carrie Diaries because it allows her to relive her childhood in the 80's. If you ever find yourself at a farmer's market in Connecticut, look for Tara's goods!

The Experts Weigh In: Cooking Up Jungle Gourmet

BY: SARAH KAGAN, CONTRIBUTOR

Every cook has a story of his or her ‘journey’ into the world of food. It often starts at a grandmother’s kitchen table, with memories of floured hands rolling fresh dough or the smell of a ‘signature’ dish in the oven. Similarly, I grew up in a house where family dinner was a nightly commitment, and I logged some serious hours with my mom in the kitchen. So while my culinary journey started at a very young age, it wasn’t until this last year that I really started to make it my own.

It was exactly this time last year that my boat pulled up on Padi’s beach. I had ventured to Costa Rica to work as a chef at Punta Mona, a center for sustainable living and education a mere two hour hike through the jungle from Puerto Viejo, the last town north of Panama on the Caribbean coast. And while I undoubtedly learned to cook at the hem of my mother’s apron [poetic license – my mom doesn’t actually wear an apron], it wasn’t until I went to Costa Rica that I learned to really love food; to move beyond the stove [although I certainly spent a lot of time behind it] and start to really see the full picture.

Have you ever come up with a menu plan and then grabbed your boots and machete to go gather your ingredients? I have.

Have you ever gathered coconuts, shucked them, scraped out the insides, and processed the meat to make your own coconut milk? I have.

Have you ever peeled rotting bananas, let them ferment for three weeks, and then squeeze out the juice to make vinegar for salad dressing? I have.

Have you ever planted hot peppers and then turned them into your own hot sauce? Watched a single fruit ripen on a tree for days until it’s just right? Gone to the greenhouse at 2 a.m. just to encourage the plants to grow? Eaten a meal made entirely of things planted, harvested, and prepared by your own hands, all within 100 yards of your bedroom? I have.

I learned to identify at least three different kinds of limes, as well as fruits with foreign names and exotic flavors. I learned to cook vegetables that were considered poisonous if not prepared properly [talk about stressful!], and I can confidently build and cook over a fire with the best of them. And yes, I learned that it is possible to eat too much raw cacao [It’s bad, trust me].

At Punta Mona, food wasn’t just about sustenance. Food was everything. An excerpt from my journal at the time:

‘The cries and moans of excitement and joy heard at least once a day over a piece of exceptionally delicious, fresh fruit never fails to make me laugh. You would think it was 

some sort of a ‘fantasy island’, and I guess in a way it is.  

It’s that kind of simple pleasure that governs life here in the jungle.’

The meals prepared in our open, outdoor kitchen, which produced three meals a day for up to forty-five people on two gas burners, an open fire, and no refrigeration, were a direct reflection of the love put into the land.

Every meal was a small miracle, and my holistic understanding and appreciation for food is firmly rooted [pun intended] in my time spent at the farm.

A few nights ago, I played 'personal chef' in Lauren's kitchen. My Rondon-Caribbean Coconut Stew is classic Caribbean fare, and was a staple at Punta Mona. Rondon can be loosely translated to ‘run down’, and is typically made with whatever leftover meat or fish you’ve ‘run down to’ at the end of the week. We never had any meat at the farm, but we always had a plethora of vegetables to use and it never came out the same way twice. This dish always took a while to prepare, as it required cleaning and slicing some pretty substantial root vegetables and grinding a ton of coconuts for milk. But it was worth the work - the result is a thick, flavorful, slightly spicy, super satisfying stew packed with farm fresh produce. Served with plantain chips and toasted coconut [sauté pan + coconut + soy sauce … I die], you can practically feel the Caribbean sun beating down.

Rondon – Caribbean Coconut Stew

If you can’t find the Caribbean vegetables, any root vegetable combination would be good. Try to find yucca if you can… it adds a lot of thickness to the broth and is also just delicious.

1 medium yucca, peeled, washed, and cubed

1 medium yellow yam, peeled, washed, and chunked

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 small / medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbs. fresh minced ginger

1 small hot pepper, seeded and minced

1 can of coconut milk

1 Tbs. curry powder [or more]

S&P

In a large pot, sauté the onions in oil [coconut oil if you have it] until tender. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.

Add the coconut milk and all your vegetables to the pot. Add about ½ - 1 cup or so of water, or enough that your vegetables are mostly covered but not totally. [You can also add more coconut milk if you have a lot of vegetables].

Reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the vegetables simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the minced hot pepper, curry powder, and salt and pepper. Continue to simmer the vegetables until everything is tender.

While the vegetables are simmering, prepare your plantain chips...

Plantain Chips

A classic Caribbean side dish. Although typically fried, I started mine in a pan and then moved them to the oven in an effort to make them a little healthier. Delicious.

2 green plantains

2 T. EVOO [or coconut oil]

Salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

Peel and slice the plantains into ¼ inch thick disks.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium – medium / high heat. Add the plantains in a single layer [I did two batches] and cook until the outside is slightly browned [about 1-2 minutes per side]. Transfer to a foil lined baking sheet, spray with a little cooking spray and add salt. Mix all the chips together.

Bake for 10-ish minutes. Try not to eat all of them before dinner is ready.

Buen Provecho!

Sarah Kagan landed in Brooklyn this Fall, and man, I'm glad she did! We discovered we were neighbors after crossing paths at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Our friendship has been fast and furious. I mean, hello! She cooks for me! Who wouldn't adopt her? We also share a love for all things Costa Rica, having both lived there previously. Sarah is also a certified yoga teacher, having received her certification in India, where she lived in an ashram for 6 weeks and practiced yoga for 5-6 hours a day. In her free time, you can find her running in the park (she just completed her first half-marathon!) or cruising through the farmer's market for fresh goods. Sarah also teaches cooking classes in the city and is the new Director of Health and Wellness for Butter Beans Kitchen. You just might find her teaming up with me very soon to run nutrition and cooking workshops... so stay tuned! Sarah is a mover and a shaker! Who knows where she'll be next!

Check out Sarah's blog Beyond the Batter for more great recipes!

2013: New Year, New You from New York City!

Image courtesy of eventa.co.uk

Well the good news is we're already one step ahead! We made it to 2013 (apparently the Mayans weren't as prophetic as we thought)! Phew.

So now that things are back to business as usual, it's time to get on with the business of resolutions. If you're like most people, your resolutions probably involve some sort of weight loss goal. You're not alone. Many Americans will jump on the diet bandwagon, most likely in the form of a fad diet, a diet promising instant results so you can fit into that bathing suit you wore in college.

I'm here to save you the trouble. You can thank me later.

The word diet is confusing. On one hand, it refers to a way of eating, a pattern often dictated by culture. On the other end of the spectrum, a diet can refer to a restrictive way of eating in hopes of dropping a few pounds. Here's the problem with looking at diets in this restrictive way. Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down?

They don't work.

Image courtesy of frogrocket.blogspot.com

It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. The statistics speak for themselves - almost 95% of all people who lose weight through dieting gain the weight back within 1-5 years, with many gaining back more weight than they started with. Here's why...

Your body is smart. It's meant to survive. It instinctively knows how to do that. When you begin to drastically restrict your caloric intake, your body goes into survival mode by slowing your metabolism. The more you cut back, the more your metabolism slows. It's a nasty catch-22, making it nearly impossible to lose weight and keep it off permanently. You know as well as I do that it's already hard enough to stick to a diet! Intense caloric restriction just makes it that much harder because as your metabolism slows, you have to eat less and less to keep losing weight. Talk about discouraging.

In addition to metabolism issues, many fad diets specifically lack the nutrients that your body needs to function properly, support your weight loss efforts and maintain your health. Just take the high protein diets for example. Many people lose weight eating in this way, but the consequence in packing your body with so much protein (and lots of animal protein at that, which is extremely high in saturated fat) is a sharp increase in your cholesterol, which could lead to heart disease or stroke. In addition, consuming too much protein puts a major strain on the kidneys, making you much more susceptible to kidney disease. Your body needs carbohydrates, and when you're restricting this important part of your diet, you're losing important vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

Most people look at their New Year's diet as a short-term action plan. They hold to a particular way of eating until the weight is lost, then 'wa lah!' they are right back to their old patterns of eating. If you had high cholesterol and took medication to lower it, would you just discontinue using the medication as soon as your cholesterol came down? Probably not! Your cholesterol improved for a reason - because you took your medicine every day. The same goes for a diet. Instead of looking to a fad diet for a quick, short-term fix, being to think of your diet as a long-term, sustainable, healthy eating plan for life - a plan that makes you feel good, satisfies you and keeps your body in tip-top shape.

You only get one body, and it's your job to take care of it. When you start to treat your body like you would your child - feeding it, nurturing it, making sure it gets the rest and care it deserves  - you will automatically begin to see the changes you desire in your waistline, not to mention drastic changes in your energy levels and well-being.

Image courtesy of kcmag.com

Instead of going the fad diet route, I encourage you to explore the concept of 'crowding out'. Instead of telling yourself you 'can't have this/can't have that', focus on what you CAN have. Start to 'crowd out' your temptations with things that are good for you. A great place to start would be eating one big salad per day. This is a simple goal. If you make room for one big salad every day, I guarantee you won't have room for all the other calorie-dense foods that you're accustomed to eating. As you adopt this one simple addition on a daily basis, your taste buds will begin to change and so will your cravings. Your body knows what's good for it and when given the chance, it will begin to crave healthy options like it's instinctively wired to do. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories, but very filling due to their fiber content. I'll bet that you can eat much more of them without ever coming close to your previous caloric intake. Why eat less when you could eat more?

Whether your goal is to eat a salad every day or just to add a side of vegetables to every meal, your resolution for the new year should center around nutrition, not weight loss. When you feed your body the proper things, your body will do you one better and reward you with the physique you spent years trying to attain through fad diets and the empty promises behind them.

Let your resolution this year be to nourish your body through nutritious eating and daily physical activity. It's as simple as that!

Happy New Year from New York City!

Oh...and P.S. If you need help reaching your weight loss, nutrition or healthy living goals in the new year, I am a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and I will be officially accepting clients in April. Please feel free to email me at laurenyarbrough@gmail.com to inquire about my services.

Amaranth: Spicing Up Your Breakfast The Aztec Way!

Image courtesy of southernexposure.com

You may recall my breakfast confession from a few months ago. You remember, right? How I used to eat anything BUT breakfast food for breakfast? Seriously, when I was in elementary school a bowl of spaghetti or some leftover meatloaf would do just fine in my book. Gross, I know.

Though I've graduated from leftover meatloaf, I still feel like something's missing in the breakfast arena. You've got your eggs, your granola, your toast... maybe even your healthy smoothie if you're feeling spunky... but all these choices still leave me feeling like something's missing. This past weekend I decided it was high time to try something new... something old school yet little known... a little something I like to call amaranth.

Excited? Ok, good. Here we go! Let's talk about amaranth.

Image courtesy of yumuniverse.com

Amaranth is usually grouped into the 'grain' category, although it's not really a grain. It's actually the seed of a flowering herb. Amaranth has been around for a long, long time. It was a dietary staple of the Aztecs. At one point in time, it represented almost 80% of their daily caloric consumption! To this day, amaranth is generally grown in Mexico, Peru and Guatamala, although many Asian countries now grow it as well. You can find it in your local health food store or natural grocery store (think 'Whole Foods')!

And great news for a few of my sensitive friends out there, amaranth is GLUTEN-FREE! Happy stomachs everywhere!

(Insert happy stomach dance here)

Amaranth is a very concentrated source of nutrition. Let me explain why amaranth is so great...

HIGH IN PROTEIN - Just 1 cup of amaranth equals about 28 grams of protein. If you remember from my previous posts, the average person needs approximately 50 grams daily. That's almost half your daily requirement! What's even better is that you're getting the plant-based protein without the fat! Perfect combo! 

CHOCK FULL OF CALCIUM - I don't want to burst your dairy bubble, but amaranth is a better source of calcium than milk. Because amaranth also contains magnesium and silicon, which aid in calcium absorption, you are better able to use the calcium in amaranth.

GLUTEN-FREE GOODNESS - I know I said it before, but I'll say it again... if you're gluten-free, amaranth is a fantastic 'grain' source because it contains more iron and fiber than other GF grains.

HEART HEALTH - Studies have shown that amaranth consumption lowers cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, keeping your heart healthy and strong.

This weekend I wanted to experiment with amaranth. As many of you know, I'm in the midst of becoming a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. As part of this week's material, we were encouraged to try cooking with something we'd never used before. That's where amaranth comes in. 

Nothing like a warm amaranth porridge to get the day started right.

For 2 servings, soak 1 cup amaranth in a bowl of water overnight for 8-12 hours (amaranth is most nutritious and digestible if it's soaked prior to cooking).

When you're ready to cook the next morning, bring 3 cups of fresh water to a boil. Meanwhile, pour the amaranth through a strainer (just make sure your strainer's holes are tiny enough to capture the amaranth, which is fairly small, even after soaking). Discard the leftover water and pour the amaranth into the boiling water. Add 1/2 tsp. of sea salt.

Reduce to a low simmer for 30 minutes and cover, stirring periodically. At the 20 minute mark, grab your healthy ingredients
and get busy doctoring your porridge. 

Throw in 1/2 cup of dried goji berries (a fantastic superfood).

Stir in 1/4 cup of milk (or a milk substitute like hemp milk in this case)... if it's not creamy enough for your liking,
don't be afraid to add more.

Add 2 Tbs. of honey...

Add 1/2 cup of currants, raisins or cranberries, whichever you prefer.

Top with raw pine nuts or any other nut that you're digging on (pecans, walnuts or
slivered almonds would work well too).

Grab a cup of hot tea and you've got yourself one impressive, immune-building breakfast!

Weekend Wrap-Up: So Long, Summer! Hello There, Fall!

A beautiful mural I passed on my walk to brunch.

I LOVE fall. I mean, who doesn't? The air is crisp, coffee shops suddenly have your favorite latte, you can curl up inside a big, fluffy sweatshirt with complete disregard and the holidays are right around the corner! Family, food, presents... oh my! I - LOVE - FALL!

My seasonal bias can be traced back to my elementary school days at good ole Eastside Christian. The school threw an annual Fall Family Fun Night every October - a night of games, moonwalks and tasty treats. I even won a few goldfish over the years with my ping-pong throwing expertise, but sadly, none of them lived to see the next Fall Family Fun Night. To this day, my brother Cale still calls me up and says 'Man, those were the days. Fall Family Fun Night... if only I could go back.' 

This weekend, my friend Marissa (who wrote the article Battling With Body Image) and I decided to wish summer farewell by perusing the Dekalb Market, which closes later this month. The DKLB Market is an outdoor market on (you guessed it) Dekalb Street in Brooklyn. They have great food, drinks, local art and sometimes even a roller derby. On Saturday, they even had a cooking demonstration, which kept us entertained for awhile while we munched on some snacks. One of the best parts of summer in the city is the wide variety of NYC outdoor markets, so we felt it was only proper to send off summer with one last market (and of course, spend a little hard-earned dough!)

Fall is a time of new beginnings, and this weekend was particularly poignant for me because I just found out that Marissa is embarking on a new chapter in her life this fall. She accepted a job managing the Southern Living headquarters in beautiful San Francisco, California!!! It's a promotion AND she gets to move to a city that's humidity-free and sunny 365 days a year (a far cry from NYC)! I am so excited for her, and a little sad... but mostly excited!

It was very, very windy... can you tell?

You may consider January the beginning of the new year, but I tend to disagree. The coming of fall reminds me that we always have a chance to begin again. With the cool air and the falling leaves comes a sense of energy and possibility that I rarely feel with any other season. Fall is a great time to 'reset the clock'. 

As the kids go back to school or you get back to work after an extended summer vacation, I encourage you to take some time for yourself, assess what you've been doing this year so far and see what you could do to start fresh. Fall brings renewal and there is no better time to make changes!

Don't worry... I practice what I preach. In late October, I'm starting school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified Health Coach and holistic healthcare practitioner. I've learned a lot about myself this year, and I feel completely certain that this is the path I was meant to take (it just took me awhile to figure it out, of course). I want a career where I help people reach their ultimate potential, and I know that the knowledge I gain at IIN will help me accomplish that while also giving me the tools I need to live a full and healthy life.

So happy 'New Year', everyone! I wish you a very successful year - a year full of health and happiness - a STRICTLY NUTRITIOUS kind of year!

Our brunch destination on Smith Street in Brooklyn.

I got a little crazy and went for the beet burger with a whipped lemon feta sauce. Hmm...not so sure about this one.