Welcome to 21 Days of Detoxing! Whether you are one of our amazingly motivated participants or just interested in eating clean, whole, real food – boy do I have some recipes for you! From now ’til May 21st I’ll be featuring a delicious detox-friendly recipe each day. (And if you want to join in and get the whole detox manual, cookbook and access to our online forum, it’s ok to start a few days late – click here and sign up!)
Eating healthy meals is one thing. I mean, if you’re gonna cook it’s only a little more effort to do something healthy. But eating healthy snacks? I think that can be tough. After all, the definition of a snack is like, a quick fix on the go, right?
Try finding a snack that’s real, clean, whole food at the movies. Or at the airport. Or at your inlaws’ house. Um…that’s a task. It’s much easier to make your own and carry ‘em with you or keep ‘em out on the counter and within easy reach for whenever you get the munchies. That’s what I like to do. Otherwise my hand somehow finds it’s way into a bag of Oreos. I don’t know how that happens!
Final tips? Double – no, triple the recipe. And feel free to add a teaspoon of cinnamon or bit of vanilla extract. For a more savory snack you could add cumin or cayenne. Possibilities, my dears, they go on and on.
I’m 41 weeks pregnant tomorrow. A natural birth means I will not be induced nor will I have a C-section just because I’m a bit past my due date. This makes me weird in the pregnancy world, where most women by now would be facing medical intervention in the form of surgery or drugs. But babies have been born at 42 weeks, 43 weeks, whatever, for a gabillion years. No need to rush. Yet still…I admit…I might punch someone. I think this is the appropriate way to feel at 41 weeks pregnant. Ha!
In the meantime, I thought I’d direct my punching to 3 newsworthy items from this past week. They all fit in well with Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday, which I haven’t participated in for awhile. But today…yeah, I’ll Fight Back!
Earlier this week, I wrote a post about food allergies. My main questions: What is causing the rate of food allergies to rise so drastically? And what can we do to reverse the trend?
Who do you cook with? I grew up cooking with my mom, although that was more of a “helper” role. Now I sometimes cook with my husband, which is one of my favorite ways for an evening to go. But mostly I cook by myself while listening to NPR, and that’s cool too.
Anyway, it was unusual and fantastic to cook with friends during my recent trip to Chicago. (Have you been there? I love that city. I love the beach by the lake and the combination of ‘big like New York’ and ‘clean like Boston’ vibe.)
Oh boy, that’s an old pic from college, and yes I was in a sorority but I was also in the honors program if that helps any. Regardless. You know what I want to do these days? (Hint: nothing to do with greek letters.) I want to learn to preserve and can food. This is one kitchen skill my mom doesn’t know about, my grandma never did, and I’m not willing to try on my own for fear of botulism.
(Botulism = yucky illness causing paralysis from bacteria in improperly canned food)
About once a month I have a marathon coaching day, where I set up on the couch and talk to 7 or 8 clients in a row. Whew! These aren’t my regular clients though – they’re my student groups from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. As a graduate in the Immersion program I’ve committed myself to these guys for the past 6 months or so, acting as a health coach/business coach/open ear/mentor/friend.
It’s kind of cool to go through IIN again, this time from a new perspective. Hey, I know a lot of you are interested in IIN because I get a ton of emails about it – if you want the scoop, check out their upcoming Q&A webinar on Tuesday June 8th. Sign up here and please tell them you heard about it from Michelle Pfennighaus.
But I will tell you – these marathon sessions are a long day on the phone for me! I have a break for lunch, during which I whipped up a really easy seasonal lunch. It’s one of those things where you look in the refrigerator and just piece something together! I started with the radishes I picked up yesterday from the farmer’s market. Most people think of radishes as raw slices for a salad, but I love to cook mine in butter and include the greens. I find them much tastier and more versatile this way.
Hey there! Looks like I have a few things to give away today. I feel like Santa!
First of all, gotta remind you guys that you can save 10% at Sunfood.com by entering the code Balance10. You’re welcome! Remember, the code is only good until the end of April.
When you go to the site I have to recommend you get these Go Raw snacks. They are freaking AWESOME. The Pizza Flax Snax are delicious and crunchy – they definitely satisfy that urge for chips without resorting to Doritos. Here’s the very impressive ingredient list:
Beets were on sale last week, sending me into a tailspin of ideas. Beet burgers? Beet soup? Beet and millet croquettes? I roasted and peeled those bargain beets and stuck ‘em in the fridge while waiting for inspiration to strike.
During my training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC, I learned from those at the forefront of nutrition science – people like Andrew Weil, Sally Fallon, Walter Willett, and Mark Hyman. Seriously smart stuff.
But I also learned a ton from my fellow classmates. And I gotta say, one of the most amazing things I learned was this kale chip recipe, I swear! These are awesome. No matter what diet you follow, there is always room for eating more dark, leafy greens. They’re great for detoxifying your body, aiding digestion and improving your mood. Plus, dark leafy greens are a good source of calcium. Who knew?
Would you believe me if I told you my husband (who prefers Twizzlers and Root Beer) downs a whole head of kale when I make these? It’s the darn truth. Kale chips are one of my favorite recipes to give to my clients. I even brought them to my family’s Thanksgiving and everyone, including my grandfather and little cousins, ate ‘em up. A real winner we’ve got here.
You’re chomping at the bit, I can tell. No worries, the recipe is just moments away. Let me first tell you why kale chips represent healthy eating to me:
1. They are real food. The only processing this kale undergoes is in your kitchen.
2. Kale chips taste delicious, as real, healthy food should.
3. They are quick and easy. Healthy eating is not about slaving away at the stove.
4. No sugar. Enough said.
5. They’re cheap. A head of organic kale costs $2.50. It’s proof you don’t have to spend $99 on Maca powder or some kind of prepackaged frozen diet meals to eat healthy.
So that’s basically my theory on eating well. Real, delicious food that’s accessible to everyone. Rock on. Ready for the recipe?
Sesame Kale Chips
1 head of kale
2 Tbl. toasted sesame oil
1 Tbl. umeboshi Plum vinegar (find it in the asian section)
2 Tbl. sesame seeds (try to find unhulled)
Ground black pepper, to taste If you prefer more simple ingredients, olive oil with salt and pepper does the trick! Or add parmesan, or crushed red pepper, or…
1. Rinse kale leaves and shake dry. Tear leaves into chip-sized pieces. Reserve the stems for another use, like vegetable stock.
2. In a large bowl, combine kale pieces with oil, vinegar and sesame seeds. Mix with your hands – it’s easier!
3. Preheat oven to 350F. On two large cookie sheets, spread out kale leaves so they are mostly not overlapping. Grind fresh black pepper on top.
4. Bake for about 7 minutes. Flip and move chips around to cook evenly. Bake another 7 minutes or so. They should be crispy.
Careful to not overcook – they’ll go from crispy to burnt very quickly! But I like the burnt ones too.
I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to review this post on StumbleUpon or Twitter. Spread the kale chip love!
There must be two kinds of people in the world – those who get home from a trip and immediately unpack their suitcase, and those who sort of half live out of the suitcase until it’s empty, leave it out to trip over for another week and finally go ahead and stick it back in the closet after stubbing their toe on its wheel one too many times.
I’m in the latter category. (And yes, that’s my white noise machine in the suitcase. I sleep like a baby with that thing!)
This past weekend was my first Immersion Conference with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York City. It’s really an awesome deal – after you pay to attend the school, you can apply for a free second year. And you can do that second year any time, not necessarily right after you graduate from the main program. I’m so happy I was accepted! It’s a bit of an honor, really, because as Immersionists we act as mentors to the incoming class. It’s nice to feel trusted with that responsibility.
Clearly, IIN doesn’t know about how poorly I manage suitcase unpacking or else they may not have picked me. (hehe)
Anyway, this past weekend all 300-some Immersionists gathered in New York and it was a really welcome, inspirational weekend. *Happy sigh*
While we were there we ate some yummy dinners, of course. Candle Cafe was new to me and I really loved it. What an extensive menu! If you ever thought vegans had few options, check out this place. I had a southern inspired dish of layered millet, black beans and sweet potatoes over steamed greens, served with gravy. Ate. Every. Bite.
My friend Laura had a tofu entree – I forget exactly what was in there but the tofu was crusted with sesame seeds and it came with kim chee.
Now that we’re back home, I can’t wait to start working with the incoming students from this year’s IIN class. This is the very first year that there are in-person classes in New York AND distance learning classes happening worldwide. The internet is pure magic, I tell you. Now more people can access the awesome experience of IIN without having to travel to New York. (I mean, people do it. I met a girl from Japan who came to New York specifically for IIN. Whoa, right?)
If you love food and nutrition and can’t get enough of learning about this stuff, you may want to check out IIN. Especially if you feel a career change coming on. Especially if you find yourself always giving nutrition advice to friends anyway. Here’s a post I wrote about my experience. And I am always, always happy to chat over email or phone if you have questions. Sometimes it’s nice to hear from a “real” person’s perspective. And, here’s a pretty cool thing – they gave us a special offer to extend to…well, YOU. Enroll by 11/16/09 and save $500 off tuition!
Has there ever been a time where life handed you lemons? Did that experience ever turn into something much, much better than you ever could have imagined, pre-lemon?
It could be anything. A sickness that turned out to be a blessing. A cooking blunder that turns out a remarkably good dinner. But specifically here I’m talking about the dreaded pink slip. I’m not sure what the unemployment rate is at, but according to the movie Lemonade, over 70,000 folks have lost their jobs in advertising alone since this recession began.
As some of you know, I’m one of them!
And one of my peers, laid off from the same company, has certainly turned his lemons into lemonade. He has created a film to tell the story of these advertising professionals who took their creativity in a new direction after being laid off. It’s an honor to play a role in this film alongside so many inspiring individuals. If the YouTube trailer is not displaying properly at the top of this post, please view at http://lemonademovie.com.
We’re actually still shooting…this weekend I will hopefully not face-plant too many times while filming in a yoga studio. It’s totally fun to be made up and directed and asked all about my new career. This shift in my life has been an amazing adventure, beginning with yoga teacher training, then the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and now finally working fulltime in a profession I adore.
So, tell me. If you are stuck in a job that drains you, what keeps you stuck there? Or if you are in a bad relationship, or a situation, or facing illness…if the people in this movie can make lemonade, why can’t YOU?
Of course, for the record, when life hands me lemons, I make lemon kefir.
This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays because a career you love is as nourishing as any meal.
I help busy people find balance in their over-worked, over-stressed lives. Trust me, it's not an all-or-nothing situation! A few shifts in diet and lifestyle can rock your world like they did mine. Read on
