So excited for my Winter Citrus Salad to be featured in Mind Body Green!
As you know, when cooking I chose every ingredient for a specific reason and eat for a “purpose” 🙂 this recipe is a perfect example of just that – each ingredient serves a health and nutritional benefit plus the combination of citrus and fat is key!
Haley, my partner at 10 Day Health Challenge and amazing holistic nutritionist, explains in the article why this is such a Super-Detoxifying recipe!
Before we can throw green tea, kale and brazil nuts at our wrinkles, we must go a little deeper than what’s on our plate. I think we can all agree, that the most beautiful woman in the room is the happiest woman in the room. No amount of makeup and hair products can fake that natural glow and vibe of a radiating happy chick! I love talking about foods and their health benefits, but I think first we should all remmind ourselves of this:
Now to what;s on your plate. It’s true, our food choices give us the power to reshape our beauty and body from the inside out. The foods and nutrients we consume affects cell growth (in our skin, hair and nails), therefore, it’s important we eat what’s best for maintaining healthy cell rejuvenation. Mother Nature has been so kind as to give us a planet full of berries, herbs, nuts, fruits and veggies, all of which are loaded with vitamins, minerals and other benefits for a glowing body.
Need any more of a reason to load up on sweet potatoes and almond butter? I think not!
.
Here are a few of my favorite foods and their Beauty-fing Health Benefits
1) Selenium
Benefits: Protects skin from sun damage
Found in: Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, tuna, sole, rice, wheat
2) Biotin
Benefits: Promotes strong hair and nails
Found in: Egg yolks, hazelnuts and sesame seeds
3) Coenzyme Q10
Benefits: Kick-start cell activity and provides energy to cells, supports healthy metabolism
Found in: Fish oils, walnuts, beef
4) Omega 3 fatty Acids
Benefits: Combats skin inflammation
Found in: Flax seeds (ground and oil), salmon, walnuts, hemp seed, nori
5) Antioxidants
Benefits: neutralizes free radicals (caused by pesticides, uv rays, stress) by giving them electrons
Found in: Green tea matcha, berries, orange vegetables
6) Zinc
Benefits: Supports cell repair and renewal.
Found in: Garbonzo and kidney beans, oysters, sardines, beef, liver, lamb.
7) Vitamin A
Benefits: Skin cell renewal
Found in: Leafy greens, orange and yellow vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash)
8) Vitamin B
Benefits: Overall skin health
Found in: Whole grains, nuts, meat, potatoes, bananas, prunes
9) Vitamin C
Benefits: Production of collagen and components that keep skin tone and firm
Found in: Bell peppers, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, kiwi, strawberries
10) Vitamin E
Benefits: Maintains healthy, moisturized skin and scalp. Supports healthy levels of antiaging glutathione
Found in: Almonds, avocado, chard, olives, papaya, spinach, sun flower seeds, tomatoes
“It’s not a fad or a diet, it’s a practical guide to healthy whole living”
The 10 Day Health Challenge includes: a meal plan, grocery list, easy to follow recipes, FREE online yoga/pilates classes, nutritional support and daily inspirations to keep you motivated.
I wanted to share with you a recipe from our Winter Menu so you can get a taste of just how delicious and simple our recipes are!
Slow Roasted Citrus Salmon
Prepped in less than 5 minutes and baked in 1 dish!
Slow Roasted Citrus Salmon
Serving Size 2
Ingredients:
2 Salmon Portions
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Blood Orange
1 Lemon
1 Lime
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F
Thinly slice the fennel and citrus and toss with extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil) and quality salt and fresh pepper and place into the bottom of a shallow baking dish
Place salmon over the veggies, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake at 275 for 35 minutes for medium rare.
Chef’s notes:
Garnish with dill and citrus zest for a fresh bang of flavor!
This pairs perfectly with a whole grain like brown rice or quinoa and a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
3lbs OF A WINTER SQUASH!
I believe that you can eat as much from the EARTH as you want and you will NEVER gain weight.
my theory: our bodies recognize squash, seeds and salmon NOT maltodextrin & lecthin (found in almost anything packaged)
I don’t write about “dieting” and counting calories because I don’t live that way. Restricting myself from foods that my body wants (sea salty almond butter and egg yolks) does not work for me. If I can give you one piece of staying slim advice, it would be to eat whole foods.
“it’s not about how much you eat – it’s about what you eat”
Also, listen to your body… Some mornings I wake up at 6am famished and make myself a bowl of oats, almond butter, banana and chia seeds, and other mornings a kiwi holds me over until noon…
It was a Tuesday and my first day off from “cooking for my job” in 12 days. So the laaaaaaast place I wanted to be on my day off was in the kitchen. These meals take less than 5 minutes of prep and are SO SIMPLE you don’t even need a recipe!
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner combined was LESS THAN 10 INGREDIENTS total! (Hello, that’s less than the number of ingredients in a single CLIF bar) and each meal took me less than 5 minutes to prepare.
Whoever said eating whole and healthy had to be hard, huh?!?
Winter Squash Recipe and Menu Roasted Squash with Breakfast: Tahini, Goji Berries, Chia Seeds & Hemp Hearts Lunch: Roasted Kale & Poached Egg Dinner: Roasted Broccolini & PanSeared Salmon
I ate more animal protein than usual because I took a Kick-A** TRX class here!
Haley and I also created a guide to healthy eating and living – it’s 25 pages packed with my recipes, a grocery list and Haley’s nutrition tips. Eating whole has never been easier – or more delicious – Grab your guide here!
My roommate (slash amazing close friend since middle school) is a pesca-vegan (a vegan who eats fish), and let me tell you, she is one knock out bangin chick!
Besides for me eating eggs, we eat the same. You will not find manufactured/processed boca burgers and soy milk in our fridge, or vegan/gluten free cookies and crackers in our pantry.
In our kitchen you’ll find: avocados, nut butters, beans, grains, homemade almond milk, fish, coconut oil and loads of veggies! The only animal products in our fridge are eggs (mine) and fresh fish occasionally.
I just spent a week in Mexicoby myself and when I got home I realized that the only animal protein I ate that week was ceviche one night (since my friends went out on their boat and caught beautiful fish) and 2 eggs for dinner after a beach-cross-fit class. My point is, when you are laying in the sun all day reading, you do not need to eat as much as you would on a day you are running around and being active. LISTEN to what your body is asking for. Do you really need steak at 7pm when you’ve just been sitting behind a desk all day? Probably not.
The common thread here: EAT WHOLE FOODS – you will never gain weight eating from the earth!
So there you have it, if it came from the earth (and not a factory) eat it!
ps: I do eat chips and salsa and wine with chocolate – in moderation 🙂
Hola! Coming at you from Todos Santos…. The little beach town in Southern Baja Mexico I moved to (exactly) this time last year. I moved here to open a farm-to-table store/cafe on an organic farm (see here & here) and after the hurricane which touched-down on Souther Baja last month, the store and farm were nearly destroyed. {Which brings me back to Todos Santos to give alittle love}.
Since the local organic farms have been destroyed in the hurricane, the only available produce in town comes from farms that drench and drown their produce in pesticides 🙁
Tips on Healthy Traveling & Choosing NON Organic Produce: -Choose fruits and veggies that you can peel, minimizing your pesticide exposure!
(avoid berries and foods that grow IN the ground like carrots)
-I pack baggies of superfoods like spirulina and green tea matcha when traveling – both are loaded with antioxidants {fun fact: Antioxidants help repair damaged cells caused by free radicals in our bodies – free radicals come from pollution, pesticides, smoke, toxins, etc.)
-I also travel with Yogi Super Antioxidant Green Tea and freeze the brewed tea into ice cubes for smoothies
– while we’re on the subject, here are more healthy travel tips Green Smoothie Recipe: 1 Cucumber (peeled), Avocado, Lime, Frozen Banana, Spirulina, Green Tea Matcha and Green Tea Ice Cubes (not pictured)
Breakfast was chia seeds and oats cooked with cinnamon, vanilla and coconut oil. Topped with walnut butter, bananas, hemp hearts and local honey (I brought everything from SF except for the bananas, coconut oil and honey)
Papaya and Green Smoothie Afternoon Snack
Jicama and Cucumber with Lime and Cayenne
Loving my Klean Kanteen – Powereed by Spirunia and Matcha 🙂 OOOOOMMMM
(drum roll please)
I teamed up with Haley (an awesome chick and nutritionist!) to create an eBook and guided program that makes healthy living FUN, EASY & DELICIOUS! See HERE!
We believe that living healthy is a LIFESTYLE – not a strict diet plan –
which is why our guide is designed for real people, with real (busy) lives!
yes, you can eat your cake and have quinoa too :o)
sounds pretty awesome, right?
our beautifully illustrated eBook gives you the tools and guide to get you started and keep you motivated… forever!
Traveling and being away from home is the perfect opportunity to rest, replenish and restore your body and mind… not to mention turn off your phone and disconnect!
I’ve just gotten back from a wonderful 3 week trip to New Zealand! You can see our pictures HERE.
A few of my tips for staying healthy while on the road.
1) Move your body!
Download exercise videos and apps to your phone and iPad. My Favorites are pilates, stretching and abb exercises. There are SO many free apps out there! Everyone has 5 minutes….no excuses.
I also encourage you to jog or walk daily. Not only is this a great way to check out a new city, but it’s a great way to reenergize and clear your mind.
Even something as simple as pushups, squats and planks in your hotel room will get your heart pumpin in just 5 minutes! (try 20 of each exercise 4 times)
2) Order Wisely & Pack Healthy Snacks! Yes, I pack my own meals for the airplane. It’s easy and you can too. Even picking up a salad from the airport is a great option if you’re tight on time. See what’s in my carry on HERE and watch the VIDEO HERE. Airplane food is full of salt, nasty additives and factory farmed animal products.
Freeze mini plain Greek yogurt -it got through customs and doubled as an icepack for keeping other items cool 🙂 As far as alcohol goes: Wine or vodka soda (with 1/2 a lime) are healthy options compared to beer and fruity cocktails.
On every menu you can find a BIG SALAD. Ask for dressing on the side and add a piece of protein (fish, chicken, beans or tofu). Beware of anything that includes the words “crispy” “cheesy” “fried” “creamy”
Treat yourself once a day. Allow yourself to have one splurge a day like french fries, dessert or cheese.
Drink lots of water.
3) Disconnect from media and email!
Seriously. Turn off your phone. We don’t bring our phones into the bedroom which I love. Try starting with just that if you can’t make the full move to turning off your phone for the day. Or schedule 15-30 minutes a day (that’s it) to check in…but don’t get sucked in.
There is really no better time than when you are traveling because if your VM and email auto response is updated to say “out of the office and will get back to you on —” than you are free to disconnect.
4) Sleep!
Without a million things on your “todo list” – use these extra hours to catch up on some much needed shut-eye. When you rest, you are giving your body the time it needs to digest, repair and restore. So not only will you be feeling great the next day, but you won’t be feeling the need for that 4pm pick-me-up cookie and coffee.
Life Balance:
As I’m sure you can imagine, taking 3 weeks off (fully) from work was a bit stressful for me, especially because while I’m not working my business essentially stops. The first few days (like during any shift in life) were the hardest for me. The feeling of “I don’t deserve this time off” and “there are emails and work I should be doing” haunted me. But I reminded myself, “I’ve hustled and worked hard so that I we can enjoy these moments with the people I love, doing the things that make me happy (hiking, wine tasting, experiencing foreign cultures!)”
My dear friend Sarah Jenks put it perfectly here “How to Hustle and Flow”
A few great healthy traveling tips from Women’s Fitness Australia, HERE
And if you’re new here, check out My Meal Delivery Service: Every week I create 5 recipes based on what’s in season and available locally. The meals aregluten free, vegetarian, organic and absolutely delicious! You can checkout last week’s menu here, I deliver to client’s in SF every Monday night.
I make everything from scratch and do not use pre-made gluten free crusts or tarts. For example, these cauliflower crust pizzas and cornmeal zucchini tarts are all made with ingredients you can find in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods. Shoot me an email if you’re interested in getting on my private mailing list for meal delivery.
Coming at you from Todos Santos, Baja. {My last day actually, as I’m packing up and moving back to SF tomorrow…My dreams came true here and it’s been an amazing experience}
It’s week two of Wellness Wednesdays and I’m LOVIN this!
Today’s Take-Away on Living Well:
The Power of Community and a Support System…Together we can inspire, reenergize and cultivate change!
Over the weekend, I was reminded time and time again of the importance of community, a support system and surrounding yourself with inspiring, driven and like-minded people!
This is going to be a quick one… 🙂 I’d like to share a few thoughts and hopefully my experience can inspire you too!
4 days with 5 wonderful girlfriends will do that! We are all coaches, teachers, givers and therapist who share the same vision: to spread wellness and enlighten the people in our communities. Whether through yoga, business coaching, healthful cooking or massage, our mission is to inspire, teach and heal!
A Women’s Mastermind Wellness Weekend, we called it, and it was a perfect! We were able to seamlessly move from relax to present, teacher to student, baja white wine to local organic kale juice. Ashley and Martin led effective and strategic lessons on business/personal goal setting and helped us dial in on our 2014 business plan. They held the space for us to be open and clear so we could give ourselves permission to fully express ourselves. Twice a day we took a break from relaxing and business-work-shoppin to clear our minds with a little rooftop, gentle yoga, led by Leila and Nicole.
It was being in the presence of inspiring women that was the force behind my transformation 🙂 It was all of our combined energy that has created change within and furthermore, provided us with the tools to create change in our communities back home! It this support-system that can motivate all of us to translate our passions into action in our urban communities.
We are pack animals…. we’ve evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to to stick together, support one another, inspire one another and survive together!
Not only is this a delicious salad, but the benefits of the combination will boost your health and slow down aging by reducing cellular inflammation!
Photograph was taken by the talented Eric for my Decadent Detox website – thank you, my friend!
I love learning about foods and their medicinal purposes, and in addition, what foods paired together create an even bigger beneficial bang (than when eaten on their own)!
When I cook for myself, I cook with a purpose and choose foods for their health benefits 🙂 do I always want flax seeds on my yogurt? No, but I always sprinkle a little on because probiotics (yogurt) need high fibrous foods (flax) to thrive and do their thang’ in our tummies!
When I cook for my clients, it is with these intentions as well…every ingredient I choose serves a specific purpose… I LOVE IT… So fun!
Grapefruits are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that’s been shown to reduce inflammation and prevent cell damage. But when you pair grapefruit with avocado, the avocado’s healthy fats actually help increase lycopene absorption, making it more available for your body to use. says Dr Oz
Lately I’ve been enjoying making a Lemon Honey Flax oil dressing for this salad. I like this Flax oil for dressings. And anything tastes better with chopped nuts on top and fresh greens.
Welcome to Day 1 of Wellness Wednesdays! I’ve started this weekly news letter as a way to share tips, advice and wisdom on “Living Deliciously Well”. If you haven’t noticed, I LOVE an alliteration. So clearly, Wednesday must be the day to share Wellness Wisdom 🙂
Why “wellness” as opposed to “recipe” or “health”? Because wellness incorporates ALL aspects of living a whole, healthy, happy and mindful life! And yes, “wisdom” sounds a little hippie dippie or self-salvant of me {I made up that term}, just don’t over think it…it works well with my alliteration obsession 🙂
Day 1 on Living Deliciously Well… drum roll please…
Happiness!
I truly believe happiness is the foundation for overall wellbeing, health and success (in relationships, career, finances, etc). If you are living a life of resentment, substances and greed, it won’t mater the number of yoga classes you attend and green smoothies you down, you will never reach a level of contentment and true happiness.
And how coincidental that this was my YOGI tea mantra this morning. So true:
“Inspiring others towards happiness brings you happiness”
Ben sent me an article today published in the Elite Daily titled, “15 things that emotionally strong people do not do” And number 15 nailed my happiness philosophy to a T! Here it is verbatim… I wont even paraphrase, that’s how spot on this is:
“They don’t forget that happiness is a decision: Most importantly, the emotionally strong have learned to understand the power their brains have over both the mind and body. They understand that emotions are reactions, not reactions to direct physical causes, but to the way we perceive those causes. In other words, our emotions don’t reflect reality; rather, our emotions reflect the way we interpret reality. Understanding this gives us near-full control of our emotions and, therefore, our lives.”
I read this quote in Oprha on the plane yesterday, and though Iyanla is speaking of LOVE, I believe it applies to happiness as well.
“Don’t expect to get all you need from someone else. Whether we are talking about romantic relationships, deep friendships, or close bonds with family members, love is never codependency, validation, self-worth, self-value, or self-esteem. It’s an experience that should fill us with joy – not serve as a replacement for loving ourselves.”
Happiness and love begin from within. You must be happy and content in your life, in your body, and with yourself FIRST and not seek it through external sources (relationships, materialism, food, etc). Your GLASS must already be FULL before moving into a deep authentic relationship with someone.
I’m writing to you from Baja. On Halloween, I packed up my entire life, left SF and drove to the very most southern tip of highway 1….you can read about the journey HERE. Anyway, point being, I thought a life of beach, sun, tacos, organic farming and yoga would be the happiest place on earth. And as it turns out, even though I accomplished and learned a lot while living here, a slow-paced Mexican beach town, away from my friends and family, is not for me.
I’ve teamed up with 4 experts in the women’s wellness world to provide you with an unforgettable and relaxing weekend! Your stay includes morning meditation with my cousin Laney, rooftop pilates with Kelsey, holistic cooking/nutrition demos with Andi and Christian and 1 restorative massage. I’ll be cooking 3 nourishing meals a day with organic produce picked that morning, eggs from our farm and fish caught in the afternoon.
We’re at Bloomfield Farms for a morning of “U PICK” – and guess what else… every Sunday a guest chef is on the farm whipping up breakfast with produce from the farm… AH talk about a day of farm to mouth!
Just Do It, video: When you need motivation to sweat HERE
Her Future: Change Yourself, Change the World HERE as I ask myself, “should I hop on a plan to Baja and help feed the hungry?’
Happy Mothers Day Weekend! I swear we do more than eat and drink…
Picnic at China Camp with Comforts Chinese Chicken Salad. Mom’s favorite dessert from the 60’s: Pineapple and marshmallow Whip (went to 4 stores before finding it…people really still eat this?). Mindee (my cousin/best friend) and I take our moms (sister) to the Lyon Street Steps for Champagne and A16 for dinner.
