Tag Archives: healthy

Free 31 Page eBook – Healthy Eating Shouldn’t Be a Workout!

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This 31 page ebook is yours for free with sign up of my newsletter!

This 31 page ebook is yours for free with sign up of my newsletter!

I’m giving away a Free 31 page ebook called Healthy Eating Shouldn’t Be a Workout:  Real Life Strategies to Take the Confusion Out of Healthy Living.  I launched it today and I’m really excited about it!  I know it’s kind of a weird thing to write a blog post about but I want to make sure as many people get access to it as possible and sharing it here is a great way to do that.

This is a great free resource for anyone who wants to take charge of their health and is willing to put in just a little effort to do it. It’s full of tried and true strategies for eating well, recipes, snack and meal ideas, ways you can save money when adopting a new lifestyle and so much more!  Everything in this book is something I know works because these are the things I have come back to day after day after years of trying to lose weight, eat more intuitively and take better care of my body.  Why do I come back to them?  Because these are things that work.  These strategies keep me moving forward and enable me to get back on track quickly when I take a detour.

I know we’re hit with so much health and wellness “noise” today that it has become hard to know who to listen to.  One minute we’re told something is good for us, the next it’s bad.  It’s really confusing knowing if what you are doing is helping or harming your health.  My goal with this ebook is to take some of that stress away for you, especially if you are a beginner in making changes.  I know just how overwhelming it can be!

If you want to feel your best, you need to eat your best.  And this free guide can help you figure out how you can make that happen.  If you don’t want eating well to feel like a workout, it doesn’t have to! How do you get it?  Just click on the photo at the top of this page and follow instructions or click here.

If you sign up for it, I’d love to know what you think!

 

 

Secret Green Chocolate Banana Smoothie

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chocsmoothie

Green Smoothies!  They’re all the rage these days, aren’t they? They’re a great way to get some veggies in, especially if you are someone who doesn’t have a lot of time to prepare vegetables or you don’t really like them.  But, if you are really squeamish about veggies, the idea of a “green” smoothie is about as appealing as eating grass clippings as you mow the lawn.  That’s where sneaky secret green smoothies can help!

I published this one on social media before I even thought about putting it in a blog post.  My veggie hating clients really enjoyed it and that was a big win and I wanted to share.  I figured I should probably have it in a more permanent place too so up on the blog it goes!  This is a sneaky little bastard.  It doesn’t look or taste like there are any vegetables in it.  It tastes like Chocolate Banana pudding and it’s so thick (especially if you use chia seeds) that you can actually eat it with a spoon.  It’s so good!

This badboy has about 15 g fiber, 15 g protein and 15 g fat to get you through your day.  It is a meal replacement more than just a snack. I can drink one of these at 9 am and not need to eat anything else until at least 2pm, sometimes later. So filling!

It also has almost 100% of the Vitamin A you need each day, 30% of your Iron, 50% of your calcium and it’s also a great source of potassium and magnesium. To help absorb the iron, have a glass of water with lemon with your smoothie. And it has less sugar in it than most protein bars out there (the banana is the sole source).

Secret Green Chocolate Banana Smoothie
1/2 cup cooked oats (i like steel cut) or 1/3 cup raw rolled oats
1 heaping tbsp cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder
1 banana, peeled
1 tbsp unsweetened nut/seed butter of your choice
1 tbsp chia or hemp seeds
1 cup of unsweetened almond, rice or hemp milk
1/2 cup romaine lettuce
1/2 cup baby spinach

Directions
If using raw oats, blend them with the cocoa powder and chia seed first until ground finely, then add the rest of your ingredients blend, chill and enjoy! It also freezes well but be sure to stir well after defrosting (before drinking).

This recipe is gluten free (if you use gf certified oats), dairy free, soy free and vegan.

I prefer to use cooked oats in mine – I think it adds a creamier texture!  You can also use water in place of any of non-dairy milks.  It will change the color/texture slightly but the chocolate banana flavor will still dominate.  If the 1 cup of greens in this freaks you out as a first timer, start with just a few leaves.  If you feel ok with that, add a few more each time you make it.  And someday you’ll be amazed that you even needed your greens to be masked!

Do you hate your veggies? Try this and let me know what you think and please share with your friends if you think they would enjoy.

 

Wild Cod with Parsley, Lemon & Shallots and Arugula Salad

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Wild Cod with Lemon, Parsley and Shallots - can't go wrong.

Wild Cod with Lemon, Parsley and Shallots – can’t go wrong!

Yay for summer!  I secretly (or not so secretly) love heat and humidity but that doesn’t mean I love being in a hot kitchen on those days (like today!).  When it’s a perfect summer day outside, I want to minimize the amount of time I have to spend indoors so I love having quick dinners at my fingertips and that’s where fish and a raw salad come in.

Wild cod takes just a few minutes to cook and a little chopping and slicing is all this arugula salad takes to make.  You can have healthy and delicious dinner on the table in 15 minutes tops.  Feel free to use any white mild tasting fish for this recipe.

If you are brave (and have amazing grill skills), feel free to grill your cod outside.  I find fish a little too delicate to do on the grill with my clunky bear-like coordination (unless it’s on a wood plank).  But by all means show me up with your gracefulness and report back.  And then come over and get grilling, thanks!

A tip for you:  Keep things like parsley, lemon, shallots, garlic, vinegars and oil/butter regularly in your kitchen.  Why?  Because almost anything tastes like you slaved over it when you add some of those ingredients.  Almost any combo of those ingredients makes a delicious salad dressing, chicken marinade, pasta or potato salad dressing and of course in this recipe, a topping for fish.  Get into the habit of keeping a few simple ingredients in your kitchen and you’ll always be able to whip up something delicious at a moments notice.

Ingredients
4 Wild cod fillets (skinned/skinless)
1 tbsp olive oil

1 organic lemon zested and juice reserved*
2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp pastured butter
1 large shallot, minced
sea salt to taste

Arugula Salad
4 cups baby arugula, chopped (try other baby greens if you don’t have arugula)
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 large carrots, shredded or sliced thinly
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt to taste

*it’s really important to use an organic lemon in any recipe that uses the peel or zest.  That is where all the pesticides are and they are not easily washed off.  If you are just using the juice of a lemon, conventional is ok but please go for organic when using zest (and rinse well before using anyway).
Arugula salad -a simple and quick way to get a spicy new green into your diet.

Arugula salad -a simple and quick way to get a spicy new green into your diet.

Directions
Cook cod in a hot sauce pan with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. When hot, cook the cod for 3-4 minutes on one side, flip and then immediately put in hot oven.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes in the oven (exact time will depend on the thickness of your fillets) and remove when fish is opaque and flakes easily.

While the fish is cooking, heat 1 tbsp of the butter in a small saucepan, cook shallots for 3 minutes or until softened/browning.  Turn off heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest, parsley, sea salt and remaining butter.  Spoon over fish.

Make the arugula salad before you begin making the fish or during (it takes just 5 minutes to make). Chop and prepare all your veggies and then dress with the oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.  Serve the cod and salad immediately.  Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

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