Posts

Forget “Healthy” Eating

The concept of eating healthy has become so confusing

It is often based on bad science: one of the biggest examples was the low-fat diet which resulted in a highly refined carb and sugar-drenched-everything-from-soup-to salad-dressing leap into 20th century chronic diseases.
Or it chases contradictory data: eggs are bad, eggs are healthy. Butter is bad, margarine is good. Margarine is bad, butter is good. Soy is healthy, soy is bad…

“Healthy” diets and fads can be misleading

Touted by celebrities and “influencers” — paleo, vegan, keto, intermittent fasting – they catch on through social media yet often lack sound nutrition. Or are just not meant for everyone. There is no one-size-fits-all diet. Every individual has unique genetics, physical activity, lifestyle pattern and stress levels.

Marketing persuades us to buy processed “healthy” foods 

In the grocery stores, in our entertainment, on every online channel, just everywhere we go we are drowned in persuasion to eat foods labeled to trick us: Gatorade, Cliff Bars, Veggie sticks…
How long (and how much disease) before the Impossible Burger is debunked like Crisco and trans-fat margarine?

Eating “healthy” is associated with deprivation

We go to extremes. We “go on a diet” based on restrictions and the false promise of calorie counting. We stop eating foods that give us pleasure. Which makes us want to eat them all the more. So we binge. Fall off the wagon. Feel guilty. And we go back to our old habits.

What to do?

Forget “healthy” eating. Nourish your body instead. 🌟

Instead of asking “is this healthy”? ask “am I giving my body the nutrients it needs?”

Keep it simple. Eat real food the way nature intended. That is how our amazing human body evolved over millions of years before the agrarian revolution when domestic wheat and grains began to change the way people ate.

  • Along the coasts – fish and seafood, seaweed and local plants
  • Inland – All varieties of animals from nose to tail, even bones and hooves nothing went to waste. All parts of plants: leaves, stalks, roots, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds
  • In some parts of the world, humans ate mostly animals like the Inuit: whale, seal…
  • In other areas they were vegetarian with a WIDE diversity of plants including herbs and spices

Bottom line: nature was the only source of food.

When you eat

  • carbs from plants
  • fats from nature
  • quality sourced animal products the way nature intended, giving thanks in the way of ancestral traditions

You give your body the nutrients it needs for optimal physical, mental and emotional health:

  • tissue building, enzyme making amino acids from protein
  • essential fatty acids
  • vital minerals
  • vitamins and powerful phytochemicals – the natural compounds that give plants color. Every color represents a family of preventative and healing compounds
  • fantastic fiber so necessary for gut health – center of the immune system and integral to brain health — and necessary for your body’s detoxification and elimination processes

How many foods from nature do you eat? How many colors from plants?

Skip the diet. Enjoy a delicious, nutritious lifestyle.

Here are some recipes to put it into practice:

5 Moroccan Tagines 

5 Delicious, Nutritious Chili

5 Delicious, Nutritious Meatloaves

10 Ways to Use Leafy Greens

For more empowerment:

Nutrient Dense Foods

Good Mood Food

Why Nutrient Density Matters – Chris Kresser

Updated from January 2023

Delicious Nutritious Easter Menu

This menu is inspired in the joy of Easter, its gift of love and the promise of life. Anchored on nature’s foods of the season, it celebrates spring bringing asparagus, snap peas, carrots and strawberries to the table with another dozen vegetables, fruits, nuts and herbs for a meal good for body and soul.

Read more

5 Good Mood Red Cabbage Recipes

In a farewell to February and a tribute to red/purple foods, here is a round up of delicious, nutritious red cabbage recipes. Cabbage is one of the most nutrient-dense foods. Purple cabbage has additional powerful phytochemicals (natural chemical compounds in plants) called anthocyanins that are good for your brain.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Drew Ramsey, MD” source_title=”Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety” full_quote=”I want to give a special shout-out to anthocyanins, the compounds you can find in reddish-purplish foods ranging from blackberries to red cabbage. I don’t like to play favorites, but these molecules are something special. These flavonoids have long been known to exhibit extraordinary anti-inflammatory properties. They have also been linked to improved memory and mood states.” short_quote=”These flavonoids exhibit extraordinary anti-inflammatory properties. They have also been linked to improved memory and mood states”]

Tip:

Shred a whole cabbage in a food processor to use throughout the week. In addition to using in these meals you can

  • Add a handful into leafy green salads
  • Replace rice with the shredded cabbage and use base for curry, bean dishes
  • Add a handful on top of chili or bean soups

Nutrient-Dense Cabbage Mushroom Ramen Soup – Color My Food

Creamy Red Cabbage Soup – Easy Healthy Recipes
Topping options

  • Micro greens or chopped parsley
  • Toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

Braised Red Cabbage – Maria Ushakova
I made this with Roasted Pork Tenderloin, a classic pairing with cabbage in Germany and Austria. The leftover braised cabbage I mixed, about 1/4 cup or so, into leafy green salads.

Roasted Red Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts – Color My Food

This is so pretty. And super nutrient dense!

Variations

  • Use broccoli instead of Brussels sprouts
  • With or without potatoes
  • Use sweet potatoes instead of potatoes
  • Experiment! What other veggies could you add?

Pesto Roasted Cauliflower and Purple Cabbage – Sanity of Lack Thereof

I never thought I’d ever say I am crazy for cauliflower. Yet here I am. Especially for roasted cauliflower. Yum! When I learned how powerful cauliflower is for our immune system, I set out to find ways to make it taste good. Suddenly I have found so many possibilities!  This is an especially nutrient-dense recipe because it has both cauliflower and red cabbage.
Pesto is a favorite in our house. I always make a double batch to use later in the week:

  • on roasted fish or broiled chicken breasts
  • spread on toast and broiled with tomato for breakfast with goat cheese on top
  • a generous dollop mixed into salad
  • on a tortilla wrap with greens, olives and goat cheese

6 Nutritious, Delicious Beet Recipes

Eat more good mood red food beets!  Did you know beets are a rich source of vitamins and minerals?

Vitamins : Vitamin A, B6, B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, folate, riboflavin, and betaine.

Minerals: Calcium, iron, potassium phosphorus, sodium, fluoride, Zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.

Beets also contain phytochemicals (natural chemical compounds in plants) called anthocyanins that are great for your brain. These powerful antioxidants help reduce inflammation.  Research shows they help prevent age-related decline in the nervous system.

[su_expanding_quote_web alignment=”right” source_site=”Drew Ramsey MD” source_url=”https://drewramseymd.com/nutrients/anthocyanins/” full_quote=”Anthocyanins cause levels of the brain protecting chemical BDNF to increase, improving learning and memory skills while helping warding off depression. They also help promote different types of memory, whether it’s remembering a phone number long enough to jot it down or learning how to navigate a new city. Anthocyanins have even been shown to slow down age-related decline in brain function. These phytochemicals are linked to better heart health and posses anti-cancer activity.” short_quote=”anthocyanins improve learning and memory skills while helping ward off depression”]

In addition to helping boost brain function, here are 10 Reasons to eat beets:

  1. Improve liver function
  2. Prevent signs of aging
  3. Increase hemoglobin levels – increases oxygen levels and improve blood circulation in the body
  4. Reduce inflammation
  5. Improve stamina
  6. Lower blood pressure
  7. Brighten skin tone
  8. Help control diabetes
  9. Purify the blood
  10. Promote healthy hair

Roast them, steam them, bake them or shred them raw. You’ll be surprised at all the delicious nutritions ways to eat them. Here are some our favorites:

Beet Hummus – The Natural Nurturer

How about some good mood red food hummus? Hummus is a frequent inhabitant in my refrigerator for lunch wraps and salads, or afternoon snacks. This is a fabulous way to change it up.

Beet Apple Carrot Ginger Soup – Just Beet It

Carrot Beet Salad – Color My Food

Crimson Coleslaw – Color My Food

It’s worth making this for the colors! And oftentimes even people who don’t like beets change their minds after trying this beautiful coleslaw.

Red Beet Pancakes  – Weelicious

These are not only a standing Valentine’s tradition in my kitchen, but show up with some frequency when beets are in season. I make a double batch and freeze them.

  • Top with whole-milk Greek yogurt mixed with a bit of honey
  • Make “sammies” with cream cheese
  • For a special treat, top with with melted dark chocolate mixed with a bit of butter of coconut milk

Red Beet Cupcakes  Weelicious

Made these for a Valentine’s play date when my daughter was a toddler. Almost a decade later, these cupcakes are still one of our favorites!   So yummy and pretty.

Did you know you can eat the beet greens to? Another rich source of nutrients! AND fiber! I slice them coleslaw-style into a salad, or I add to soups and stews they way I do with spinach, kale or other dark leafy green.

What’s your favorite way to eat beets?

For More Empowerment

Just Beet It   – Creative beet recipes, fascinating beet history, interesting beet facts and trivia, and detailed beet nutrition.

Updated from post published February 2021

Delicious Real Food Thanksgiving Feast

Brimming with colors and flavors, this Thanksgiving menu is a delightful healthy feast bringing together fifteen vegetables and fruits (cranberries, blueberries and apple), whole grains, four herbs and three different nuts.
My intention was to celebrate nature’s bounty; the end result is dairy-free, mostly gluten-free with plenty of vegan food.

Read more

One Pot of Black Beans for Four Meals

I usually anchor my weekly meals on one key Sunday meal: meatloaf, whole-roasted chicken or a pork tenderloin. But I had a big bag of black beans winking at me every time I opened the pantry and it didn’t want to wait any longer.

Beans you say? An odd departure from anchoring on sustainably-sourced animal protein. But oh so nutrient-dense!

Beans are rich source of:

  • Water-soluble vitamins, especially B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folacin.
  • Phytonutrients (plant chemicals essential for health)
  • Essential minerals including magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium and zinc that strengthen our immune system and protect us from disease
  • Dietary fiber which lower cholesterol keeps blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal

Black beans

Here’s why we should Eat More Beans

So how do I turn a pot of beans into meals for the week?

[su_expanding_quote_without_link alignment=”right” source=”Joel Fuhrman, MD, Eat to Live” full_quote=”Beans and legumes are among the world’s most perfect foods. They stabilize blood sugar, and the blunt the desire for sweets. Beans and greens are the foods most closely linked in the scientific literature with protection against cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and dementia.” short_quote=”Beans and legumes are among the world’s most perfect foods. They stabilize blood sugar, “]

Meatless Monday

Black Bean Quinoa Chili

Tuesday Dinner

Cajun Shrimp Sweet Potato Hash. This is a great versatile recipe. Add poblano pepper, red bell pepper, mix in spinach or chopped kale. Top with avocado or salsa or toasted pumpkin seeds or Greek yogurt and chopped jalapeños.

Make extra a lunch or two

  1. Toss with greens and a Dijon mustard vinaigrette, top with toasted pumpkin seeds
  2. Make a wrap with mashed avocado, a dollop of whole-milk Greek yogurt and chopped jalapenos

Wednesday Dinner

Zucchini “boats” with leftover Black Bean Quinoa Chili. Cut zucchini in half, scoop it out, mix the scooped-out-part into chili. Fill the “boats” top with cheese and back in oven preheated to 350 for 25 – 30 minutes.

You can also use baked sweet potatoes. Scoop out half mix in into the chili and stuff the sweet potatoe. Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese if desired and broil.

And MORE

Black Bean Hummus – use this base recipe. Add black olives and fresh basil.

  1. For breakfast: Spread it on whole wheat toast with avocado slices. Optional, add a poached egg on top
  2. For lunch: Make a wrap with spinach, avocado, chopped veggies (tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, celery, carrots – whatever you have)
  3. Anytime: with celery, snap peas, carrots or crackers hummus-style; or on rice cakes with some salsa on top

And even Dessert!

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies (I reduce the sugar by half)

 

References:

National Library of Medicine. (2022). Potential anti-inflammatory effects of legumes. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35042569/

Medical News Today. (2018). Everything you need to know about black beans. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/289934

Medical News Today. (2020). What are the health benefits of black beans. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320192#benefits

November Birthday Dinner

The mushroom leek stuffed pork tenderloin makes an elegant dinner. It delights me that there are more than twelve plant foods in this meal, but it is so delicious no one enjoying it thought of it as a “healthy” dinner.

Read more

Sunday Breakfast with Veggie-Loaded Egg Bake

Starting with the pineapple smoothie that floods tastebuds and cells with goodness, this breakfast is so delicious to eat, with the added benefit that it is loaded with the power of plant foods and protein. A delicious, nutritious home run.

Read more

Chicken and Veggies One Sheet Dinner

I found chicken one sheet dinners on Cooking Classy and have made innumerous variations depending on what vegetables I have on hand.

I prefer to cook the potatoes separately, to have the option of using just chicken and vegetables in other meals (such as tossed with pasta and pesto) so technically it becomes a 2-dish dinner.

Variations:
• Skip the potatoes
• Skip to tomatoes
• Use cauliflower instead of broccoli or both
• Use Brussels sprouts instead of broccoli, quartered
• Add 1 cup of green beans cut up
• Add fresh herbs after cooking, about 1/2 chopped basil, parsley or cilantro. Or 1/4 cup finely chopped rosemary

Check out Cooking Classy for many other Chicken and Veggie One Sheet Dinners.

Recipes

Chicken and Veggies One Sheet Dinner

I found chicken one sheet dinners on Cooking Classy and have made innumerous variations depending on what vegetables I have on hand.

I prefer to cook the potatoes separately, to have the option of using just chicken and vegetables in other meals (such as tossed with pasta and pesto) so technically it becomes a 2-dish dinner.

Variations:
• Skip the potatoes
• Skip to tomatoes
• Use cauliflower instead of broccoli or both
• Use Brussels sprouts instead of broccoli, quartered
• Add 1 cup of green beans cut up
• Add fresh herbs after cooking, about 1/2 chopped basil, parsley or cilantro. Or 1/4 cup finely chopped rosemary

Check out Cooking Classy for many other Chicken and Veggie One Sheet Dinners.