And then I slapped my client...

Organic vs. Conventional...What's the Deal?

Ok, so I didn't REALLY slap him, but I wanted to.  He sat in front of me saying that he didn't care at all about organic farming, saw no value in it and thought it was a waste of money.   In honor of him, I am sharing this wonderful wisdom...

 

Let's feel the moment.  You're perusing the produce section at your local supermarket, trying to navigate the aisles without being rear-ended or getting misted in the face (or what I consider my free facial), and suddenly you spot two bins of bright, shiny, red apples. One basket bears a sign that reads "conventional apples $1.99/lb.", the other "organic apples $3.99/lb." Instinctively, your hand reaches for the apples in the cheaper bin, but have you ever wondered why organic products are more expensive? If you are like my client, not only has this thought never crossed your mind, but you snicker at the poor fools grabbing the organic thinking they are stupid and financially wasteful. If you are about to email "Joe Shmoe" congratulating him for his wise thinking, hold off until we discuss some important key points.

First, let's define organic. "Organic" refers to the way that a farmer produces or raises fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic methods avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and encourage soil and water conservation. Organic animals are fed a diet of organic feed from birth to death.  This means no toxins, no GMO’s, no dead animal bi-product in their feed, no hormone altering poisons, nada. I won't mention the quality of life of the animal, because that's an entirely different newsletter.

So, you ask, how bad is conventional? Well, those chemicals and pesticides used to increase yield have been linked to cancer and other health concerns. Synthetic dyes, banned in most countries (but still allowed in the US) have been linked to brain damage, bladder tumors, chromosomal damage, and lymphomas. Ever had a bite of steak that you could keep chewing for hours? Sadly enough, cows raised conventionally are often fed...wait for it...cement chips. And this sh*t is legal! How about some cancer with your side of veggies? Enough said!

If you still don’t believe me, YouTube some factory farming videos and then try to enjoy your lunch.  It ain’t happenin’.



Last FYI - Organic fruits and veggies will have a SKU number that begins with a "9" (easy to spot when the bins aren’t displaying enough signage). For products that have more than one ingredient, things get a little dicey. Any product labeled as "100% organic" must be completely organic and USDA certified and will therefore display the USDA seal. Products labeled as "organic" must be at least 95% organic and will also carry the seal. Confusing? We think so.

So…."Joe", have I convinced you?  

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Success Stories of the Week:

Congrats Gabe, Lisa and Abby!
 

  

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Recipe of the Week:

Sausage & Mushroom Stuffed Eggplant



Ingredients:
4 medium long eggplants, cut in half length-wise
10 ounces porcini mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. mild pork sausage
3 tomatoes, chopped
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
3 cups leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards, chard, etc.)
Parsley
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 garlic clove, halved
Coconut oil
Freshly grated Parmigiano (Yep, it's real cheese my friends!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Scoop out the middle of the eggplants and set aside. Salt the eggplant "boats", place in a baking dish covered with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, dice the eggplant that was scooped out. Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the garlic. Crumble the sausage into the pan and saute until browned. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and diced eggplant. Cook for five minutes, then add the greens and continue to cook until the greens are wilted. Remove from heat and add the basil and parsley. Season with sea salt and pepper. Stuff the eggplant boats with the filling and top with grated Parmigiano. Lower the oven to 350F and cook for 10 minutes.

Yields 4 servings

Find your aha moment

We are so excited to share special guest blogger and Nutritional Wisdom client Aimee Hendrix and her perspective on the "diet" world...

Eating Outside the Boxes

by Aimee Hendrix

 

As a long time fat girl, even when I wasn’t even vaguely fat, I’ve let diet advice guide my nutrition choices for most of my life. Following what I call The Science of the 90’s, like a lot of people, I ate low fat for a long time. Fat content guided all food choices. Sometimes calories, but mostly fat. Not sugar content, not amounts of crazy chemicals, not nutrient content, and certainly not taste. (Am I the only one with nightmares about non-fat cheese?)

 

In my household, cooking often meant Southern cuisine and a million potentially fatty choices. In between diets I ate my mom’s cooking, which can shame Paula Deen’s (tastes better, more butter, less racist) but, I never learned her recipes because they weren’t low fat. And I couldn’t eat out, because I had seen the fat content of the Chili’s Old Timer burger and that was that. So…I ate a lot of frozen boxed food. I thought this was the best option, because everything was clearly labelled and portion controlled. Thanks to the guidance of an organization I’ll call…Fat Hawks, I believed that I couldn’t be trusted with choices beyond the box. I also had such a complicated relationship with food that I didn’t really want to invest time in it. So by the time I finished college and began the glamorously busy lifestyle of a teacher (jetsetting from one stack of papers to another and what not), I ate almost exclusively from boxes containing low fat frozen “food.” It was Unhealthy Choices, Fat Hawks, and Not-a-Cuisines for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and snacks.

 

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I was unhappy: mood swings, insulin resistance, low energy, and seemingly uncontrollable cravings. And I still struggled with my weight. Over the next decade, I learned a few things and made some changes. Thanks to Atkins (oh dieting) I discovered the power of protein, particularly eggs. By choosing less carby and more protein oriented choices, I was able to reduce many of the symptoms of insulin-resistance including my mood swings, but I still feared fat and I was addicted to convenience foods. Even as I started to prepare some of my foods, I still relied on packaged snacks and desserts to help me manage eating. And I was more confused than ever at the grocery store.

 

In 2010, my roommate started talking about her new awesome nutritionist, Carly. I started following some of her guidelines and experimenting with crazy items containing fat, like almond butter. I felt better. When Carly visited my running group (yes, I’m a big fat runner), her advice made more sense than any advice I had ever been given as an athlete, so I scraped together my teacher pennies and made an appointment.

 

While I had a lot of knowledge and had already made some positive changes, Carly helped me craft a set of choices all my own, not guided by diet advice, but by my body’s own responses to the fuel I put in it. I felt terrific. Cravings did not control me. I ate for health.  I still struggled with the need for convenience and my own meager cooking skills; for an embarrassingly long time, I filled up on organic turkey slices, carrots, and hummus. Sometimes I still foraged for a fast-ish food lunch because I was unprepared.

 

On my 37^th birthday, I recommitted myself to planning and eating the best meals for me…and right after that I started a job in a relative food desert…and right after that I broke my leg. That could have been the end of my healthy eating, and the start of ordering pizzas, but with the knowledge and confidence I obtained from Carly and my own studies, along with a lot of help from my friends, I began to cook my own fresh food in batches, a few times a week. I healed my leg weeks ahead of schedule, and became even more convinced of the power of good-for-you nutrition. Never mind an occasional morning taco problem, I’ve brought a powerful lunch to work almost every day for the past two years, and I feel better for it.

 

My journey is far from over. On the surface, I am not one of Carly’s success stories. After extended periods of excellent nutrition, with very little fat loss, we concluded that nutrition isn’t my problem. Not anymore anyway. With this knowledge, I’ve selected a natural hormone therapist, and we have identified a problem and hopefully, a solution. The medication is just a tiny portion of repairing my relationship with food though; the real change began when I learned how to eat outside the boxes.

 

Aimee Hendrix is an Austin area teacher. She writes about her feelings in her blog, Beauty and the Beast: Fairy Tale of a Fat Girl...so she doesn’t have to eat them.

 

http://fairytaleofafatgirl.blogspot.com/

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Conscious Eating Group Workshop

This is your last chance to join us and find your aha moment!

When: 
Sunday April 27th & Sunday May 4th
12:00pm - 2:00pm

Where:
Soma Vida Garden Studio 
1210 Rosewood Avenue, Austin TX 78702

$75 per person (includes both Sunday sessions)
Only two spots remain!

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Recipe of the Week:

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Artichokes, and Leeks



Ingredients:
4 tbsp ghee
2 lbs chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp raw, local honey
1/2 tbsp coconut flour
1 13 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Place a Dutch oven on the stovetop on medium heat. Season chicken thighs with sea salt, pepper, and paprika and brown in melted ghee. Set the chicken aside and add the mushrooms, garlic, and leeks into the ghee. Brown for a minute, then add chicken broth, vinegar, honey, and coconut flour. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the chicken back to the pot along with the artichoke hearts. Cover and place in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Serve over cauliflower rice.

Try this eating experiment

Click on the image below to watch the video





Conscious Eating Group Workshop

When: 
Sunday April 27th & Sunday May 4th
12:00pm - 2:00pm

Where:
Soma Vida Garden Studio 
1210 Rosewood Avenue, Austin TX 78702

$75 per person (includes both Sunday sessions)
Limited space available



 

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Success Stories of the Week:
Congrats Barry, Angie, Timea, and Tommy on your success!

 
 

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Recipe of the Week:

Easter Samoas
Let's not fool ourselves, these still have sugar, but they are a healthier alternative to the Girl Scout version. No offense to you, awesome Girl Scouts out there!



Cookie Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup raw local honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in wet ingredients until dough forms. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thick. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Use a knife to cut holes in the center if desired. Bake at 350F for 6-8 minutes. Cool cookies completely on a baking sheet.

Topping Ingredients: 
1 cup dark chocolate chunks
1 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut nectar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Directions:
Melt chocolate over very low heat. Dip base of each cookie into chocolate. Place on parchment paper to set. To make caramel, place coconut sugar, coconut nectar, and coconut milk in a saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove mixture from heat and stir in toasted coconut. Use a small spoon to drizzle mixture onto cookies. Drizzle additional chocolate over cookies and sprinkle with extra coconut if desired. Place cookies in refrigerator to set, then serve!

Yields 36 cookies

Recipe and photo courtesy of http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-samoas/

Fresh coconuts, massage, beach, and no cooking for a week...

Have you been saying that you need a vacation?  You have to check this out... For those of you who faithfully read these newsletters, you know that I don't talk about any product or event that I'm not completely in love with (umm...have you ordered your Squatty Potty yet?!?). I am really excited to be able to share this wonderful opportunity for the best vacation of your life, and it's coming up...SOON!  Last year I went to a 7-day yoga retreat in Tulum, Mexico with a famous Austin teacher, Angie Knight.  At first I was a little hesitant.  "Yoga twice a day? I'm lucky if I make it to yoga twice a week! Will I be able to hang with this?" Even if you have never done yoga before, trust me you can hang with yoga (it's for every different level), massage, hammocks, new friends, slow dinners where you sit and talk for hours, and sleeping with the sound of the ocean feet away from you. I plan on going every year that my schedule allows (which unfortunately is not this year, so go and let me live vicariously through you!) Even though I'm not a drinker, I should probably also mention that if you like to booze they have that too.  Spirituality and cocktails! I know many of you don't have the flexibility to just take off a week in June and set off for the best vacation of your life, BUT some of you reading do have that luxury.  Perhaps you would never push yourself to go without a little shove from someone else, so SHOVE.   Details are below including some of my favorite pics from the trip.  If you can make the scheduling work, I promise you this will be an experience you will never forget. http://www.angieknightyoga.com/maya_tulum.php      Please watch the video as I do make some fun cameos :) For those of you who now can't stand me for describing this wonderful heaven that you cannot attend, check out Angie's weekly class schedule and get a taste of Mexico right here in Austin! http://www.angieknightyoga.com/classes.php               Continuing Wisdom There is still time to register for our upcoming Conscious Eating Group Workshop. RSVP below to secure your spot! Sunday April 27th & Sunday May 4th 12pm - 2pm Soma Vida Wellness Center Garden Studio 1210 Rosewood Avenue, 78702 $75 per person (price includes both sessions) Success Stories: As you can see, it's been great week! Congrats to Sumaya, Sanjay, Derek, & Becky!       Recipe of the Week: Squash Apple Soup with Thai Red Curry (shown with Thai Peanut Shrimp Wraps) Ingredients: 2 tsp grapeseed oil 1 small butternut squash, seeded and cubed (about 4 cups) 1 apple, cored and diced 2 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced 1 small carrot, sliced ½ stalk celery, finely chopped 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil 2 tsp Thai red curry paste 4 cups vegetable stock 2 cups water 1 tbsp honey 2 tsp sea salt, or more to taste Thinly sliced chives and basil Thin strips of orange zest (optional) 1 tbsp of good olive oil Directions: In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the squash, apple, leeks, carrot, celery, and basil and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened - maybe 30 min; do not brown. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the stock, water, maple syrup and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. Cool for 30 minutes, then, in a blender or in the bowl of a food processor, puree until absolutely smooth. Reheat and taste for seasoning, adding salt if needed. Serve very hot, with a sprinkling of chives/basil and the orange and zest, if desired. Drizzle with a touch olive oil then top with ground black pepper.

Connect with us

The Search for Sustainability

A note from Carly: Regardless of your relationship with food (positive or negative) we all still have to eat it...everyday....a few times a day in fact.  We have to make choices all day long that either help us live our best life, or contribute to our nightmare.  Nothing fills my cup more than to help other people find more happiness, health and peace in their lives.  Food, weight, body image and mood largely dictate someone's quality of life, which is why the practice of conscious eating is so vital to one's overall happiness. We have now completed two conscious eating workshops with such great success that it was only logical to create another one! For all of you who wanted to come but couldn't, were thinking about coming but never pulled the trigger (yes I'm talking to you) come join us this time for discussion on one of the most important topics relative to our overall happiness.  Come learn how to improve your relationship with food, end the pendulum swing of being "on" and "off" the program and simply how to start putting your self-care as first priority.  Here's to food freedom! Wishing you health, happiness and a peaceful mind! Upcoming Event: Conscious Eating Group Workshop  led by Carly Pollack Who: Current clients in need of continuing wisdom Former clients who want to stay connected Anyone looking to join a health-conscious community and meet like-minded people Friends and family in need of a little wisdom What: This is a two-part group workshop that will guide you towards self-discovery. You will establish new relationships, not only with yourself, but also with others who are embarking on a similar path towards overall health and balance. Our goal is for you to leave with a renewed sense of well-being and a concrete practice of daily self-care.  You will receive:  -Two 90 minute workshops  led by Carly (two consecutive Sundays) -A specific daily self-care routine -Rules for conscious eating -A supportive community -Practical tools you can put into place right away to overcome obstacles and choose your health over instant gratification -Three hours away from your children, partners, email, and iPhone! When:  Sunday April 27th & Sunday May 4th 12:00pm - 2:00pm Where: Soma Vida Garden Studio  1210 Rosewood Avenue, Austin TX 78702 $75 per person Limited space available   Testimonials from previous workshops:   "I loved the workshop and feel like it's given me tools to continue working on myself. The workshop was not about "eating" but about "living." I learned a lot listening to others about their struggles and to hearing their strategies. Carly is a very good leader and very funny! Her experience and insights are invaluable." "I loved having more time with Carly and her incredible wisdom! It felt a lot like an extended one-on-one session. I really liked that we all went around and introduced ourselves because hearing other's reasons for being there really resonated with a lot of the things I wanted to accomplish as well. The one thing that I really took away from this was learning to really enjoy my food. Whether it's a slice of pizza or Brussels sprouts, I am now taking my time, really savoring the food and amazingly, I am actually enjoying it more."  "Carly is engaging and gives people a comfort level to open up which creates an overall positive environment for what can be sensitive issues." "Carly is a wise soul, and she presents information in an engaging and non-judgmental way. I liked that the participants all seemed to have a common need to be there. I also liked the sharing among the group, hearing what others' challenges are. I think the worksheet is awesome, and all the items in the notebook are very helpful and something I can go back to again and again."    The Search for Sustainability by Way of Transcending the Diet Dogmas Most of us see pictures of our parents or friends from 30 years back and screech at whatever heeeedious outfit was cool and in style at the time. Personally, I look at my current wardrobe and think it would be impossible that in 30 years I wouldn’t be wearing the same clothes and still looking effortlessly chic (what? My ripped jeans from Zara aren’t going to be appropriate in 30 years?!). Sometimes it’s hard in the moment to picture any other way of life fitting us better and serving us more than what we are doing now. Ten years ago, with the help of Jennifer Aniston, The Zone Diet seemed to be the answer for healthy eating. Currently, the Paleo Diet is sweeping its way across the nation. I’m not picking on either diet; in fact, many diets out there (minus any diet selling boxed foods, and the Fruitarian diet) have some base of sound principles that do help people improve upon what they were currently doing at the time. Most practical diets remove sugar and processed foods and put some importance on eating vegetables. We can all agree that it’s a healthier way to live. Regardless of whether it’s the South Beach diet in 2004 or Paleo in 2014, all of these “diets” share a commonality: they don’t create balance and life-long lasting change, and most importantly people are relying on rules and not on their inner communication with their bodies to guide them to eat what is healing for them at that moment.   This inner communication I call conscious eating. Conscious eating is a spiritual practice that can never be mastered. It is a discipline much like meditation, exercise, being kind to others, and thinking positive thoughts. You don’t get to check it off your list much like a 30-day diet challenge (sweet! Finished the 30-day detox, let’s go grab a burger!) The number one rule for conscious eating is to ONLY eat when you are physically hungry. I know my sweet, Jewish mother would gasp at the idea of me skipping dinner because I’m simply not hungry for it, but listening to your body is the only sustainable way to maintain ultimate health and vitality.   The human body is constantly changing. Stresses, our environment, activity level, immune system function all vary depending on circumstance. Following any one rule or diet basically says that we don’t trust the innate wisdom of our bodies to guide us. I understand completely (without judgment) why clients come to me begging for rules. This conscious eating I speak of is virtually impossible if you aren’t connected to your inner guide. You may be thinking, “what the f&*k is my inner guide”? It’s a voice inside you that comes from your higher self, always guiding you in the right direction to make the best decisions for your life and health. This guide only works when we quiet our minds and sit still enough to listen to its whispers. Because our current culture places very little to no importance on the practice of mediation, breathing, and reflection time, for most of us we are left only to our thoughts to guide us, and when it comes to eating, the mind can be your worst enemy.   There is a pendulum swing we typically see when we use rules to govern our nourishment. We go back and forth from “food prison” to “reckless abandonment”. I’m not saying rules are bad; they are usually the beginning of how we change a habit that is no longer serving us until conscious eating can allow the rules to fall away naturally. Rules will never last forever. They aren’t sustainable. Listening to your body and asking questions like “Am I hungry? What am I hungry for? Will my digestion like this? Am I eating something medicinal for my body? What am I feeling? Does my body want this at this moment?” is the only sustainable way to achieve long lasting health. Do you know how many times I would reach for food (with the excuse of “it’s healthy so who cares if I am hungry or not”) when after asking those questions what I really needed was to get in bed and watch reruns of Sex in The City?   I’ve been practicing conscious eating for years, I lead workshops on it, I write blogs about it and I teach the practice to clients one-on-one. Even with this level of consciousness, I still have to gently remind myself to come back to it when a rule has taken over. I normally eat animal protein with every main meal; usually I don’t feel good without it. I was fighting off a cold last week and for the first few days I ate as I normally would and went to sleep feeling full and uncomfortable. After two nights of feeling off, I woke up the next morning, sat still for a few minutes and came to the conclusion that my body didn’t need meat for that day. I made one of my favorite breakfasts from childhood: a piece of gluten free toast with a half of avocado spread on it, sea salt, tomato and sprouts with some strawberries on the side. Before I ate it, I looked at this beautiful plate filled with colors, and 4 different fruits and veggies and thought to myself “how sad it would be for my clients to think this is an unhealthy option because there is a piece of toast in this scenario”.   I promise you, most of us are overweight not because of carbohydrates but because we eat too much food, bottom line. It doesn’t matter if it’s too much egg white omelet, or too many nuts. We completely over estimate how much food we need to thrive. We feel we need these strict diet rules to help us get to our ideal health and they wind up driving us crazy and making us feel deprived. Practice only eating when you are physically hungry, and asking your body what it truly wants (you may be surprised when the answer is green juice instead of potato chips) and allow all those diet rules to slowly fall away over time. Trust yourself. If when you read this you think that this would never work for you and you need rules or else all hell will break loose, then you simply just need a little help aligning yourself with your inner guide! When we are energetically at peace with ourselves, we want to put nourishing foods in the one and only body that we have to carry us through this life. Break some diet rules today and instead practice going within and eating more consciously. Avocado toast for everyone! Recipe of the Week  Chorizo Paella Ingredients: 2½ cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons ghee 1 lb chorizo sausage, casing removed and crumbled (homemade or nitrate free) 2 chicken thighs, cubed (boneless and skinless) 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 roma tomatoes, chopped 2 teaspoons sea salt 1 teaspoon saffron threads ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika ¼ teaspoon cracked pepper 1 head cauliflower (about 4 cups chopped) ¼ cup fresh parsley lemon wedges for garnish olives, for garnish (optional) Directions: Place the cauliflower florets in a blender or food processor, and chop finely until it resembles short-grain rice. Set off to the side. Pour the chicken stock into a saucepan set over medium heat. Keep warm while you cook the meat. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown the chicken on all sides. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, paprika, pepper, and saffron. Continue to sauté for another 7 minutes until the onions have softened. Pour ¾ cup of the broth mixture into the skillet, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the riced cauliflower and simmer for 25 minutes then remove from heat. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve each dish with a lemon wedge. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and top with olives right before serving.