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New 28-Day Clean Eating Program with SloBody!

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I’ve partnered with SloBody and created a 28-day Clean Eating Program. Many people may not be familiar with clean eating so I’m going to break it down for you!

What is Clean Eating?

There are so many different diets out there and all of them promise a sleek, slim, and sexy new you in just a couple of days or weeks. Many of us have tried too many to count AND can count more failures than successes in these endeavors AND have gained back all we have lost and then some.

When deciding what to eat, how often do you listen to YOUR OWN BODY instead of listening to the ‘media health experts’ reporting on what food is supposed to be the best new food? 10 years ago margarine was the best choice, now butter is back. Eggs are good; eggs are bad; eggs are good again. Who can keep up? The problem with cookie cutter nutrition guidance is that some foods may not be good for your unique body.

So what way of eating truly works and is something you can follow for a life time? The Clean Eating way of eating is your answer. This means you eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods most of the time. Using the rule of thumb 90/10 or 80/20 if you are just starting out. You don’t have to eat perfectly clean 100% of the time, it’s what you eat most of the time that counts!

Clean Eating does mean planning meals ahead, but as the saying goes, “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you are new to this way of eating, seeking an expert to guide you is your best move. An expert such as a Certified Health Coach, can help you plan meals that you will actually eat, and meals that work best for your body. Most diets do not consider your individual needs and that just sets you up for failure. Hiring an expert to learn the Clean Eating way of eating can ensure your success not only in the short term, but in the long run as well.

So what is Clean Eating you ask? Here are the basics:

· Eating whole, minimally processed foods. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Skip frozen meals, packaged snacks, cookies, crackers

· Fresh produce, think fruits and veggies (local and organic are best). Stick to the clean fifteen and dirty dozen list for guidance: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews

· Lean and clean proteins: See Clean Protein Sources section in this manual for details, think fish and animal proteins from sustainable and organic sources, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils

· Whole, intact grains: rice, quinoa, millet, rolled or steel-cut oats, amaranth, sorghum, cous cous (contains gluten), barley (contains gluten)

· Healthy sources of oils and fats, your body needs fat to absorb important nutrients, cushion your joints, give you soft skin and silky hair, helps you feel full longer. High quality olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocados, nuts, coconut oil

· Focus on drinking water as your best beverage, avoid sugary and highly caffeinated drinks

· There is no perfect way of clean eating, follow the basics and you will achieve better health, aim for 80% clean eating, 20% discretionary

Are ready to discover what actually fuels your engine properly and get your body running as efficiently as a racecar?

Check out the 28-day Clean Eating Program: http://slobody.com/training/kickstart/.

And one of the best parts, you can do it from anywhere! All your tools and coaching are online.

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Homemade Grillable Veggie Burger {vegan, gluten free}

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Grilling season is here! Save money and eat lighter with homemade black bean burgers. Ground flax and bread crumbs are used to bind the burgers. Shredded carrots sneak in more veggies! Serve over a bed of shredded lettuce and top with avocado slices (my favorite burger topping) or add classic mustard and ketchup.

If you prefer to make your own black beans instead of using the prepared canned recipe, I have included my simple crockpot method. This makes a lot of beans for a huge cost savings! These burgers are good for your wallet and your belly Smile

This recipe is featured on Vitacost.com, click the link to check it out:

http://blog.vitacost.com/food-and-drink/grillable-gluten-free-black-bean-burgers.html

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Print
Homemade Grillable Veggie Burger {vegan, gluten free}

Yield: 4 Burgers

Calories per serving: 200

Fat per serving: 1

Ingredients

    Ingredients for homemade crockpot black beans:
  • 2 cups dried black beans if soaking and cooking (see crockpot method below)
  • 1 tsp each cumin and turmeric
  • stir in 1 tsp. sea salt after black beans are done cooking
    • Ingredients for black bean burgers:
  • 3 cups prepared black beans (divided)
  • 1 T. ground flaxseed + 3 T. water (mix together and set aside until it gels)
  • 1 carrot, grated (about ½ cup)
  • 1/2 cup brown rice bread crumbs
  • 1/4 t. each cumin, turmeric, oregano, garlic powder (or favorite spices)
  • 1/2 t. sea salt
  • Burger fixings:
  • Shredded lettuce
  • 1 Avocado sliced
  • Ketchup + Mustard

Instructions

    Method to make crockpot black beans:
  1. Using your crockpot ceramic container, add 2 cups dried black beans and fill with water so beans are covered, plus an extra inch or 2.
  2. Allow to soak overnight or at least 8 hours.
  3. Drain and rinse beans really well, remove any damaged beans or excess skin floating in the water.
  4. Pour beans into crockpot ceramic. Add enough water to cover beans, then add another inch of water over the beans.
  5. Add 1 teaspoon dried cumin and turmeric powder.
  6. Cover and set crockpot to cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours, until beans are fully cooked and softened to your liking.
  7. Drain excess water, then stir in 1 tsp. sea salt.
  8. Proceed with recipe below to make fabulous black bean burgers! You will have leftover beans to make extra burgers or for another recipe.
    9. Method to make burgers:
  9. Drain and rinse black beans, set aside in a bowl.
  10. Add to a food processor, 2 cups black beans along with brown rice bread crumbs, shredded carrots. Pulse until mostly smooth with some chunks.
  11. Add flaxmeal and spices, pulse to combine.
  12. Remove bean mixture from food processor and combine with remaining 1 cup of whole black beans. Mix with your hands in a large bowl or on a large cutting board.
  13. Divide into 4 portions and form 4 burgers of equal size so they cook at the same rate.
  14. Grill (place a sheet of foil underneath burgers) on medium-low heat about 8-10 minutes, these cook at a gentle heat, unlike meat burgers.
  15. Black bean burgers with become crisp on the outside and stay soft on the inside.
  16. Serve over a bed of shredded lettuce and top with sliced avocado and your favorite burger toppings.
  17. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutritionals: (1 burger) 200 calories, 1g Fat, 35 carbs, 11g Fiber, 1g Sugar, 12g Protein

https://www.totalhealthcounseling.com/2014/homemade-grillable-veggie-burger-vegan-gluten-free/

 

Chocolate Buckwheat Granola {gluten free}

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Berries are in season right now so what better way to enjoy the season’s best than with some crunchy homemade granola!

Granola can be a crunchy and satisfying breakfast with fruit or afternoon snack. Most packages granolas a full of sugar and additives your body would prefer to skip. Buckwheat is used as a crunchier alternative to oats. Toasted with pumpkin seeds and flax in this recipe then coated in a simple chocolate glaze, divine!

Print
Chocolate Buckwheat Granola {gluten free}

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole hulled buckwheat
  • 2 T. ground flaxseed
  • ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • Chocolate glaze:
  • 1 T. cacao powder
  • 1 T. grapeseed oil
  • 1 T. raw honey
  • Pinch of pink salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Grease an 8x8 glass baking pan, set aside.
  3. In a bowl, combine buckwheat, ground flaxseed, and raw pumpkin seeds.
  4. In a separate smaller bowl, combine cacao powder, raw honey, oil, and pinch of salt. Mix together until thoroughly blended.
  5. Pour chocolate mixture over buckwheat and seeds in medium bowl. Stir to coat evenly.
  6. Pour granola into baking pan, spread evenly then back 25 minutes, stir halfway through baking time.
  7. Remove from oven when pumpkin seeds are toasted.
  8. Allow to cool then store in glassware in fridge.
https://www.totalhealthcounseling.com/2014/chocolate-buckwheat-granola-gluten-free/

See my recipe featured on Vitacost:

http://blog.vitacost.com/recipes-2/non-gmo-recipe-chocolate-glazed-buckwheat-granola.html

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Serve up in a fancy parfait glass and enjoy!

New 28-Day Program: Partnering with SloBody

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Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 7! SloBody is celebrating their 1st Anniversary in their beautiful space in Delray Beach with a huge event! I wrote about them last year when they first opened up.

The day starts with free yoga from 9:45 – 10:45 AM, call to reserve a spot: 561-400-0608.

After a great yoga session, stick around for the party for food, fun, and raffle prizes! Sample delicious and yummy clean eats provided by yours truly of Total Health Counseling, The Olive Taste of Delray, and Fit Food Express of Delray.

Food samples will be straight from the recipe guide in my 28-day program. There will also be samples from Lori of The Olive Taste – she has amazing gourmet vinegar’s which will be available at the fruit sundae bar. Olive Taste also has high quality olive oils loaded with healthy fats that your body needs to absorb nutrients, vital for healthy organs and to give you glowing skin and silky hair. You’ll want to use Lori’s olive oil for many of the dips and dressings in my 28-day program to make them extra delicious and gourmet. Dean from Fit Food Express will also have delicious fresh juice and food samples. Fit Food is right around the corner from SloBody so you can zip over after a great SloBody workout if you’re short on time. Dean offers high quality healthy foods on the quick.

You will also learn about my new partnership with SloBody to bring you a whole new experience of exercise and clean eating. I have created a new 28-day Clean Eating Program to work alongside their new program SloBody Kick Start. Janine and Kirk are the exercise experts and I am the clean eating expert!

I will show you how clean eating can improve your health with weekly eating plans for 28 days.

You’ll get:

· A full guide explaining the entire program

· how to successfully transition to clean eating

· plus tips on self-care for reducing stress

· Full recipe guide with 66 recipes!! Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert.

· Weekly menus and shopping lists

· Plus a food diary to track your eating and how you are feeling

Additional handouts:

· Eating out 101, tips for keeping it clean when dining out

· Staging your kitchen for success

· Carb Tolerance on choosing the best carbs to eat

· Plus juicing recipes for those who like to make juice

My new 28-Day Clean Eating program is loaded with all delicious and healthy meals you can make each week. Everything is made from fresh and simple ingredients. Easy to make and keeps well in your fridge for a couple days. So you can cook once and eat several times. This program is customizable, you can add your choice of protein if you are vegetarian or eat meat. I make recommendations for both in the program guide. Everything is very flexible.

We are also super excited to open up a special Facebook group just for you to be able to ask questions and get support in a private group setting. I’m also giving each participant a free 30-min power session over the phone with me for 1:1 support anytime during the 28-day program. You will also get weekly check in e-mails delivered right to your inbox.

My practice, as a Health Coach and in life is based upon the idea that there is no one way of eating for everyone – we are all individuals. I grew up eating based on the food pyramid, like most people, but it didn’t work for me. I never felt that great, but after changing my diet, based on the foods that worked for my body – everything changed. I learned more about this way of eating in my education at Integrative Nutrition. And many of my clients have benefited from eating based on their own bio-individual needs.

Another important aspect to overall health is the concept of Primary Foods, which describes everything around food that affects our well-being including exercise, career, creativity, spirituality and relationships. Encompassing healthy foods and healthy lifestyle changes is a whole person approach to a healthy and balanced life. In my own life having a family, busy life, high stress corporate career, and my own business – clean eating is crucial for me on a daily basis to not only get through my day but feel great in the process.

For more info about the event please call: 561.400.0608 or check out http://slobody.com/training.

Hope to see you there!

XO

What I Ate in Paradise

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Last week my husband and I were away in Puerto Rico for a relaxing vacation. We stayed right on the beach in a little B&B, it was paradise! After getting back results a few weeks ago confirming delayed food allergies, I proved to be a challenge to the B&B. After all, I can’t eat eggs, dairy, wheat, nuts so the standard breakfast of eggs, yogurt and granola, or pancakes was a no go. They offered to get me gluten free bread to eat with fruit and bacon, but the bread proved to have egg whites in it, so I skipped out on bread after learning that and having a little allergic relapse when I ate some.

Here we are on vacation: me at dinner and one of Heman while exploring the beach earlier.

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So I kept it simple with meals, and focused on relaxation, not having to make the bed or do dishes, and no laundry for a week either = heaven!

Even if you don’t have food allergies, you may want to live life with more energy, not feel bloated in your belly or foggy in your brain. So clean eating is really important and it’s totally possible in paradise too, that way you can actually enjoy it more! Find out what foods are native to where you are traveling. In Puerto Rico, mangos are everywhere, so are bananas and plantains. They also like to grill meat and fish on skewers, called pinchos. You can get those just about anywhere. I also enjoyed rice and beans, which had bits of cooked yucca and yummy spices in the beans, delish and paired with fresh salad was a delightful meal.

There were other dishes such a mofongo and tostones, made of mashed and fried plaintains. Heman tried those out, very filling but not the healthiest. He also tried the empanadas, some great and some just okay. It’s fun to try these authentic dishes too, but the key is having them as part of the meal, not an entire meal of fried empanadas or tostones. Fish tacos were easy to find and pinchos (skewers) of fresh fish were easy to come by and super tasty!

Tips for eating healthy on vacation:

  • start with fruit for breakfast or healthy smoothie plus some protein like bacon or pumpkin seeds, skip a heavy meal so you have energy to explore for the day
  • eat outdoors as much as possible, this makes eating that much more pleasurable
  • enjoy local cuisine as side dish if it’s fried or share as appetizer
  • indulge in fresh fish or local fresh produce
  • build meals with fresh or cooked veggies
  • share desserts or skip dessert if you’re getting a cocktail
  • go all out one day and eat the indulgent local foods, then you’ll be over it and crave healthy the rest of the trip

Plate scenes…

His and her breakfast:

His = pancakes with banana compote, bacon, fruit. Hers = fruit with bacon

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Lunch at a cozy cafe: churrasco bowl with sweet potato, red bell peppers, and spinach.

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Sunset dinner: churrasco with veggies

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Giant salad with grilled mahi, topped with seaweed salad

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Overall, I ate pretty well and even though I brought a bar of chocolate with me for dessert, I ate just 3 squares in 5 days. that’s very little for me! When we got back home and I had two super busy days at my corporate job, I craved chocolate and fats like crazy. Wow this really hit me and showed me clearly that high stress = cravings for chocolate and fats. This struck me so clearly and helped me bring a direct awareness that obviously I don’t need tons of chocolate and fat in my diet so I really need to work on reigning in the stress.

One of my neighbors brought a book to me that his friend wrote about how to handle stress called, The Practice. The writer found her way to meditation and has integrated it into her daily routine for over 18 years. If you are like me and affected by stress than check it out. I’m reading through this book and it’s been really helpful!

What are your tips for clean eating on vacation and how do you reign in stress?