Recipe of the Week

Still feeling the sugar high from Valentine's Day? Hopefully these muffins will help you ease back off the sweet stuff. Carly (and Asher who made a "that was the worst thing I ever tasted" face) didn't think the frosting was worth it so we turned the recipe into muffins rather than cupcakes. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

    

Ingredients:
2½ cups blanched almond flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅔ cup honey
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup finely chopped strawberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups. Combine the honey, coconut oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest in the jar of a blender. Puree on medium speed for 20 seconds or until frothy and smooth. Add the dry ingredients and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. The batter should be very smooth and contain no lumps. If needed, scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend again for a few seconds until all of the dry mixture is incorporated. Gently fold the chopped strawberries in by hand. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin, filling about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick can be inserted into the middle and comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before serving.

For other sweet treats, please visit
http://www.nutritionalwisdom.com/recipes/sweet-treats/

More Products We Love

More products we love:
Sometimes being healthy feels like a big pain in the butt! We are always excited to share the products that make the day to day easier. 

NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp
http://astore.amazon.com/nutritwisdom-20/detail/B00FZNPN7C

Suffering from the winter blues? This lamp is effective in helping people who suffer from low mood, loss of energy, jet lag, and sleep disorders, and is especially proven in helping people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The SunTouch Plus Lamp and Ionizer bathes you in Sky Effect light while simultaneously releasing healthy negative ions into the atmosphere. A natural way to rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit :) 

Paderno Tri-Blade Veggie Spiralizer
http://astore.amazon.com/nutritwisdom-20/detail/B0007Y9WHQ

We know it's not pasta, but this is as close as we can get! The Paderno veggie slicer creates spiral cuts and veggie noodles, is BPA-free, and easy to use. 

Glass Water Bottle & Bottle Cleaner Brush

 

The glass water bottle is a great alternative to plastic, can be reused, and easily helps you track your daily intake. We know it sometimes feels like there is a science experiment being conducted at the bottom of your bottle, so use this handy brush from Target to keep it clean :)

Valentine's Day Expectations

What are your Valentine's Day expectations?
 

"Expectations are like fine pottery. The harder you hold them, the more likely they are to crack." ― Brandon Sanderson

 

Valentine's day is about celebrating the people you love, although we can all agree that this practice should be a daily occurrence. Regardless of the holiday, days regarded as "special" bring up the subject of expectations.  Even though it's been over 10 years, I'll never forget the Valentine's day of 2002.  I was living in Ithaca, NY attending Ithaca college and my boyfriend of three years (sorry Josh if you are reading this) had driven up to visit me for a special Valentine's Day.  I was super excited because I had bought him a very expensive art piece from a gallery in Manhattan.  I couldn't wait to give it to him and I couldn't help but wonder about the amazing gift he had gotten me.  As I gave him his gift I squealed in delight, so proud of myself for buying something adult and meaningful.  In return, he handed me a small blue box to which I could only have assumed was some fantastic piece of jewelry.  Unless you are in complete denial, a blue Tiffany's box will excite even the most stoic of women. I opened it to find a Tiffany's "heart" key chain.  A key chain.  A KEY CHAIN!?!?!?!  Did he think I was the type of girl that 1) uses a key chain and 2) would want a key chain from Tiffany's?  I was so utterly disappointed I could hardly feign gratitude.  If my memory serves me right, we wound up getting into a huge fight, I called him the worst boyfriend ever, threw his flowers away, and he drove the two hours back to his house.... all this drama on one little day. Although it was quite ugly at the time, I learned an important lesson about expectations.  The higher expectation you have of someone else, the more disappointment you open yourself up to feel.  It's a vicious set up when you think about it.  If I had expected nothing other than the company of my loved one, I would have been able to appreciate his token of love for what it was and returned it to get something else like any other logical Jewish American princess would have.

I read that more people break up on Valentine's Day than any other day of the year.  I can't help but think that this is due to our abnormally high expectation of our partner to display the measure of his/her love for us.  This year try having no expectation of your partner or yourself (if you are single, you don't necessarily need to feel lonely just because culture tells you that you should be).  The more present and conscious we are as people (and eaters), less and less will we need to use expectation in order to measure our success.  Practice self-love and self-care every single day as changing any unwanted behaviors can only begin with love.  I love you all!



Addendum: I contacted Josh to let him know I would be sharing a story of ours and he responded by saying the art I got him still hangs in his house to this day.  Josh is now married with two kids. Thanks for completing the story for everyone and for putting up with me for 4 years!  Sorry I threw away your flowers :) enjoy everyone, Happy Love Day!!!

Practicing the F Word

Being on live news is exciting and energizing, although quite frankly, I never know what’s going to come out of my mouth (that statement may extend to more than live news).  For those of you that watched this past weekend, I was asked to be on KXAN to talk about eating healthy during a Super Bowl party.  At the end of the segment, the anchor asked me about quality of food.  Not sure why, but I wound up using the chicken wing restaurant Pluckers as the example of low-quality meat.  As soon as it came out of my mouth I thought to myself “Guurl you done f&*$d up” so I tried my best to redeem myself in the 20 seconds we had left and then before I knew it the segment was over. 

Does Pluckers deserve the slandering for selling poor quality, abused, innocent little chickens?  Either way, it’s not nice news etiquette to use brand names unless I am promoting something or speaking in a positive manner about that business.  Whether or not I spoke the truth, I felt bad about what I said.  In the past, I would have let that one comment block my happiness and gratitude for another successful news segment.  I would have willingly engaged in a guilt and shame cycle that may have ended in consuming some unhealthy food (maybe Pluckers? Just kidding).  After years of that destructive behavior I now do something new and it’s been working wonders for my happiness: immediate forgiveness. 

We have all made mistakes in the past and we will continue to make them in our future.  Practicing the ”F word” allows us to see us as we truly are: imperfect beings on a path to self-discovery and growth.  Next time you make a mistake, say something you wish you hadn’t, or think anything that makes you question yourself, try IMMEDIATELY forgiving yourself, and then let it go.  Welcome your mistakes. They are how we grow into the people we are meant to be.  Forgive all of the people who have ever wronged you, it is absolutely the best gift you could ever give yourself.  Practice the F word all day long and see how your life changes. 

Yours in health, happiness and peaceful mind…

Kitchen Makeover Challenge

What's lurking in your pantry and fridge?

We challenge you to take a deeper look...

What should you be looking for?
High fructose corn syrup found in sauces, salad dressings, marinades, etc.
Hydrogenated oils (trans fat) found in many packaged and processed foods.

Having trouble finding products to replace what you have tossed out? Whole Foods has banned high fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings and flavorings, preservatives, GMOs, and hydrogenated oils from the products sold in their stores. We are ALL worth the extra effort (and $$)!

Thanks to Cynthia and Dan for sharing the results of their kitchen clean-out!

  

Our Favorite Products

Today we share with you a few of our favorite household items, things that make life just a little easier and take your health to the next level!

The Squatty Potty. Yes, we went there :)


The Squatty Potty puts you in the correct position for fast, easy elimination, and slides underneath the toilet when not in use. Be prepared to explain this to those who frequent your bathroom (always makes for great conversation!).

Misto Oil Sprayer


The Misto Oil Sprayer allows you to choose your favorite oil to mist your food when roasting, sauteing, grilling, baking, or as a salad topper.
(Tips: fill with olive oil for raw purposes, i.e. as a salad dressing; choose grapeseed, sunflower, and other high-heat oils when cooking on medium to high heat).

Centrifugal and Masticating Juicers


Centrifugal juicers use a fast-spinning metal blade, which generates heat, to separate the juice from the flesh. PROs: Good for beginners, less expensive, easy to use. CONs: Heat destroys enzymes, machine can be noisy, juice must be consumed immediately due to rapid oxidation, lots of parts means lots to clean.
Masticating aka "Cold Press" juicers crush then press the fruit or vegetable for the highest juice yield. The nutrients are left intact because they are not exposed to heat. PROs: Juice can be kept for several days, higher nutrient retention, machine is less noisy and easier to clean. CONs: $$$.

For these and other great products, please visit http://astore.amazon.com/nutritwisdom-20

Role Playing and Our Collective Identity Crisis

     

Normally my Jewish mother brags about my accomplishments, which is great because frankly, it sounds better coming from someone else's mouth!  Today I have hit a huge milestone and accomplishment in the nutrition world, and I want to share this joy with my community.  I always knew I wanted to be a CCN (Certified Clinical Nutritionist) because all of my mentors had this credentiall. If I wasn't going to be Beyonce' when I grew up (there's still time), then I was happy to accept second place alongside the very people who inspired me to do what I do today.  In order to become a CCN, you need to have a Master's Degree in Nutrition and 5 years experience in the field of practice.  Once one gets that far, they need to complete a year's worth of schooling through the CCN program (this took me three years as I was running a business at the same time) diving deep into homeopathy, herbology, lab testing, hormones, and so on, with more detail than ever before.  The final hoop to jump through is a rigorous exam that requires 3 months of study.  

 

I am going to share with you that after almost 10+ years of working in the field of nutrition, I "failed" the exam by ONE POINT.  ONE...POINT. I couldn't believe it.  I am an A+ student and overachiever, I couldn't accept that not only did I not ace this test but I actually had failed it. As I've taught you, there is a lesson to be learned in every experience.  This lesson for me was one of mistaking the roles we play with the identify of "who" we are.  After failing the test, I felt so lost.  I thought  "who am I if I am not the smarty pants I think myself to be?"  

 

As you see from my goofy pics above,  I argued a test question and they passed me!  The reason why I take this vulnerable gesture in sharing is because there is a lesson in everything we do and I want to share my experience in the hope of collectively dropping the roles we play and actually being who we are meant to be instead of who we think we should be.  I was reminded that "nutritionist" is not WHO I AM, it is what I do to fulfill my passion.  When we start to identify with our roles (mother, employee, partner, sister, athlete, executive etc..) and confuse them with "who we are" we set ourselves up for disappointment and miscommunication, much like the mother who experiences empty nest syndrome.  Her inner turmoil is truly "who am I if I am not the person who carpools, makes the meals, and watches over my child?"  If she realized that who she is is far more than her role as "mom", that transition would be one of ease.

 

Bottom line is this: "who" you are is not what you know, what you have, the car you drive, the clothes you wear, or the money you make.  Roles will undoubtedly come and go.  The less we identify with them, the less suffering we experience.  As we decrease suffering (pain, anger, disappointment, sadness) we eliminate the need to numb ourselves through food, television, drugs, alcohol and so on.  As we all set intentions (not resolutions, we've already broken all of those by now) for 2014, I'd like you to think about defining yourself by the love that you give and share, and less by roles you happen to be playing at this point in your life.  I look forward to another wonderful year of helping all of you live your health dream and let go of the stories and roles that are no longer serving you.