Healthy Chicks

Good afternoon ladies, and Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you all have a magical evening celebrating life, and everything positive that happened for you this past year, while also celebrating the year to come. If you haven’t already done so, you can read my newsletter on setting intentions for yourself in 2013 over here.

Clean Plates Cookbook: Background

OK, ‘nough about me. It’s time for a book review of Clean Plates Cookbook, written by Nutritional Consultant and Founder of Clean Plates Jared Koch with Cookbook Author Jill Silverman Hough.

I was particularly excited to read this book, as Jared Koch is not only a fellow graduate of IIN but he’s also someone whom I admire greatly for his success as an entrepreneur in the wellness field.

Bio-Individuality

One of the main concepts that shines throughout the book is something we learned at Institute for Integrative Nutrition: bio-individuality, or that one way of eating doesn’t work for everyone. While vegan dining may suit your best friend, you may thrive on high-quality, organic meats. Simply put, we choose what to put inside our bodies to make us feel our ultimate best. Jared explains this process further in Chapter 2.… Read More!

Good morning Healthy Chickies, and Happy Day-Before-New-Year’s-Eve. Since I’m still getting over some sniffles from the holidays, I’ve been trying to eat (and drink) with my health in mind, paying extra attention to the foods that are going to fill me up and make me feel strong & healthy.

This morning, I whipped up a health-boosting green smoothie in the Vitamix, carefully choosing ingredients that’d work on my side as I knock this cold to the ground.

Hope you enjoy!

Health Boosting, Anti-Inflammatory Green Smoothie

Serves 2

• About 1 c. unsweetened coconut or almond milk
• 3 large handfulls baby spinach (fill to about 3/4 of the blender): high in vitamin K and A & rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants
• 3 carrots – rich in antioxidants like Beta Carotene
• 3 celery stalks – high in vitamin A & C, boost immune system and have been used to help lower blood pressure
• 2 cloves garlic – antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, anti-infection…need i go on?
• juice of 1 small lemon – strengthen immunity, cleanse the stomach & liver, fabulous detox to name a few
• 1 large apple – good amount of soluble fiber and have also been known to reduce LDL (“bad cholesterol”)
• 1

Today’s Lit: Remember that every day is a new day. So, you ate one too many brownies or “cheated” on your diet. You didn’t ruin anything. Instead of beating yourself up with guilt, start again tomorrow!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a woman say, “Well, I ate crap today, so I might as well forget it!” or “Guess I’ll wait ’til next week to start that ‘going to the gym’ plan since I didn’t work out today anyway,” or even “I ate pizza last night and now am on a major guilt trip.”

I’m here to tell you it’s NOT TOO LATE. Remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day. As a matter of fact, you can choose to start your day over any time you like!

So, you ate one too many brownies, overdid it with the Peppermint Martinis, or “cheated” on your diet. NEWSFLASH: You didn’t ruin anything!

Instead of beating yourself up with guilt, start again tomorrow…

If you’re looking to let go of that guilt and make 2013 about you, check out my “From Oy Vey to OK in 30 Days” premiere Health Coaching Program. I’ll teach you how to … Read More!

… Read More!

The weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful, but for some reason your holiday season is turning out to be complete chaos. From running around like a chicken with your head cut off to find the perfect gifts for your kids to the temptation and guilt that comes from work cocktail parties, you’re likely feeling completely out of control, and you’re not alone.

Survive the holiday season without gaining a muffin top (and completely losing your mind) with Zesty Living’s Healthy Holiday Crash Course.The course begins the first week of December, as I hold your hand and coach you throughout the holiday season.

Your December Holiday Crash Course includes:

• One initial 30-minute power session to discuss your goals, dietary restrictions, and health concerns with simple tips to get you started right away (Over the phone)
• Weekly emails every Monday (4 total) with recipes, tips, handouts and articles to keep you on track
• A healthy holiday shopping list to jumpstart your success!
• Unlimited email support to guide you along the way
• One 60-minute phone session upon completion of course to discuss improvements, Q & A, and anything on your mind!
• BONUS: FREE one-hour healthy shopping tour

Good morning ladies! I hope you are all safe and dry from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Fortunately, the worst of it for me is losing power for a few days so I can’t really complain, but I’m praying for those whose homes have been flooded or destroyed.

I’m running out of power on my laptop, currently writing at Daybreak Coffee House (where I was pleased to run into the lovely Cait from Cait Plus Ate who is just the most bubbly, friendly girl!) This will have to do as my “office” for now, which I don’t mind AT ALL because this Pecan Roast & Vegetarian Egg Sandwich on sourdough is totally hitting the spot.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about a rather popular topic today on Healthy Chicks: motivation. That is, how to stay motivated even during those realllllllyyyy tough times.

Here are some tips to get you inspired, whether you need motivation to run that race or simply get out of bed an hour earlier!

1. First and foremost, you need to have a purpose. If you’re struggling to stay on a healthy diet and exercise regimen, ask yourself “Why do I want to eat well and … Read More!

Since moving in with The Boy two weeks ago, we’ve quickly become much more…domestic (well, at least in the kitchen). While I do enjoy cooking homemade meals, when I lived with my sister I frequently settled for salads, signature pasta dishes or breakfast for dinner. Since our schedules were so different, I would often cook for myself and therefore resorted to something easy.

However, living with a man is a completely different beast. Soups, salad, and what I consider “leftovers” simply don’t suffice for a Real Meal. Men need hearty, wholesome, grandiose dishes and thus we’ve become quite familiar with our teeny tiny Cambridge kitchen.

Thankfully, we both like to cook and we both enjoy eating well. I lucked out that my guy doesn’t eat processed food, soda, take-out pizza or boxed meals, but rather enjoys organic meats, high-quality cooking oils and most importantly: real food.

Here’s what’s been on our dinner menu lately:

–Homemade Gluten Free pizza with spinach, broccoli, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, mushroom, onion, garlic and Italian seasoning (crust mix from Bob’s Red Mill)

–Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers (inspired by Simply Life blog)

–Green Quinoa & Rice Bowl (Inspired by Life … Read More!

Today marks day two on the cleanse, and my sister and I are feeling pretty good. Our stomaches feel much flatter and we feel overall “cleaner” from the inside out. The downsides include mild headaches and lack of energy, but I’m hoping that subsides by tomorrow. The first two days are always the hardest, kind of like the first three miles are always the toughest when running.

Speaking of running, today I started my training for the Newport Half Marathon in October. Since this will be my third half marathon, I decided to up my game a bit and train with Hal Higdon’s Intermediate plan which includes interval speed work and tempo runs.  I can’t wait to begin running again, particularly the way it makes me feel on the inside, and working toward my own goal of beating my PR.

OK, back to the cleanse. This is what’s on our plates today:

Breakfast: Green Berry Smoothie with kale, carrots, celery, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, flax seed, and banana made with Coconut milk

Snack: Handful raw cashews & almonds

Lunch: Big green salad with collard greens, spinach, mixed greens, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, apple, basil, dill, lemon juice, garlic, olive … Read More!