Healthy Chicks

I don’t usually post grocery lists on my blog because:

a. I don’t like to obsess too much over the what (what foods are the “best”) but rather like to focus on the why (listening to your body & finding the foods that make you feel your best self)

b. My grocery lists change every week as The Boy and I both love experimenting in the kitchen

c. Grocery lists usually bore me. I’m more of a spontaneous, buy what’s in season, analyze the sales, grab-and-go kind of gal. Don’t get me wrong: I love lists and think they definitely have their place, but I don’t typically go by a list when it comes to grocery shopping. I also don’t like following recipes to a T either…where’s the fun in that?

BUT, BUT BUT… today I am going to be posting my grocery list for the week because:

a. The Boy is gone for  a week and a half and I totally had too much fun doing some Single Girl Shopping tonight! (Is that normal?) I loved those days when everything in the fridge was mine and I knew exactly what was running out (no more eggs?) and what I had too much of. Of course, I have a blast cooking with my man, but I’m excited to see what I’ll create in the kitchen the next 12 days when he’s gone.

b. There were some great seasonal sales this week I want to tell you about!

c. I have a tons of health-boosting, affordable staples that I want to share with my lovely readers.

[tonight's din: an open-faced salmon burger topped with avocado and served with tamari & coconut oil sauteed baby bok choy seasoned with Seaweed Gomasio.]

The List

• Cage-free organic eggs (a staple)
• Baby bok choy (Great sautéed with tamari and coconut oil!)
• Organic Mixed Greens (a staple)
• Bananas (I add them to most smoothies and my a.m. oatmeal)
• Organic grape tomatoes (love throwing them in salads, omelets, and stir frys!)
• Trader Joe’s Ancient Grain Gluten-Free Soup
• Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread (I usually hate gluten free breads because they lack that hearty texture but they were all out of my favorite brown rice wraps so I decided to give this a try!)
• Giant box of Clementines (on sale for a little over $5; will be perfect for snacking and salad-topping. Side note: clementines are great for those of you with sweet tooths!)
• Big bag of sweet potatoes
• Bag of Avocados (I put them in salads, smoothies, wraps, you name it. Such a wonderful healthy fat!)
• Gluten-free Quinoa & Black Bean Chips (For when that crunchy craving comes on)
• Trader Joe’s Three-Layer Hummus (Red Pepper, Cilantro, and Original. Need I say more?)
• Organic, all natural roasted turkey breast
• Baby bella mushrooms (a staple…love mushrooms for their health-boosting, disease-fighting properties and taste)
• Organic cucumber (add in salads, smoothies, wraps, you name it)
• Baby carrots (for dipping in hummus or to toss in smoothies)

Already In the Fridge/Freezer:

• Alaskan Salmon Burgers
• All Natural Chicken Sausage, various flavors
• Organic chicken, frozen (Leftovers from soup and previous meals)
• Lemon & Lime Juice
• Organic Celery
• Unsweetened Almond milk
• Organic apples
• Kombucha
• Yerba Matte Iced Tea

Essentials We Never Go Without:

• Organic, Cold-Pressed & Unrefined Coconut Oil
• Cold-Pressed & Unrefined Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Leafy greens (Spinach, Kale, etc)
• Frozen organic broccoli
• Frozen organic spinach
• Frozen organic blueberries (great for smoothies!)
• Onions
• Tamari (delicious gluten-free soy sauce alternative!)
• Vinegar (Balsamic, Apple Cider, and Rice)
• Old-fashioned-rolled oats
• Garlic
• Lemons / lemon juice (love it in my water!)
• Veggie or chicken stock
• Raw nuts (my favorites are almonds, walnuts and cashews)
• Raw, organic almond & peanut butter (Once Again is one of our favorite brands currently)
• Ground flax seed
• Superfood powders (like Cacao and Maca for smoothies!)
• Any & all herbs and spices (you name it…we have ‘em all)
• Sea salt
• Seaweed Gomasio (my favorite seasoning and great for sneaking in extra minerals!)
• Organic Quinoa & Brown Rice
• Brown Rice or Buckwheat Pasta
• Gluten-free crackers like Mary’s Gone Crackers
• A life-time supply of tea (If you can’t tell by my Instagram photos, tea is a must-have in our lives. We have about 15 boxes currently…I’m not kidding!)
• Organic coffee
• Something sweet (usually a dark chocolate of some sort)
• Usually some kind of local cheese (although I’m cutting out dairy this month so not lately!)

So there you have it; now you can get a better sense of what goes on inside and outside my kitchen! I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but you’ll just have to come over if you really want to know everything we eat.

While we do a good amount of our grocery shopping locally or at the Harvest Co-op, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, The Boy and I save a lot of money shopping online for organic, non-GMO food with The Green PolkaDot Box.

If you’re wondering what it is or how you can sign up for a membership, shoot me an email and we’ll hook you up with more info or maybe even a free membership  You can read my boyfriend’s inspiring story (he’s a Founding Trust Member) on why we choose to eat this way over here.

Now it’s your turn: what’s on your list?

Halloween season is here: a time for jack-o-lanterns, hayrides and sugar-laden treats. But we’re all aware that the food and candy that often comes with this holiday is more like a TRICK, setting us back a few steps from reaching our goals. No need to fear…here are 7 ways to treat yourself well this holiday season.

1. Make an Orange Strawberry Dream Smoothie like the one in the photo above. (OK, maybe it’s more like an Orange-Green.) This morning, I used my new Vitamix to blend this Vitamin C packed smoothie with 1/2 c. unsweetened coconut milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 orange, 6 frozen strawberries, 3 celery stalks, 1 carrot, couple apple slices, and 1 baby cucumber. The combination is great for your hair & skin, and gives you just the right amount of a.m. energy!

2. Read the Labels on all your favorite Halloween candies. You’d be shocked to find out how much sugar some of them pack on, like the whopping 32 grams in 19 pieces of candy corn. That’s almost 2 grams of added sugar per tiny corn, and we know how quickly that can add up!

3. Get…Sweaty. Change up your usual fall activity routine and try something out of the box, like this Trick or Treat Halloween workout put on by Ultimate Bootcamp. Instructors will dole out fitness challenge “tricks” and attendees will be rewarded with “treats” like goody bags and special prizes. The event takes place at Fillipello Park in Watertown on Saturday, October 27th at 9 a.m. Not from the Boston area? Ask your local YMCA or gym if they are doing anything special for Halloween.

4. Load Up on Fall Vegetables like butternut squash, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes. Eating in season is not only good for your health, but you can most likely save a few bucks too!

5. Don’t Toss Your Pumpkin Insides just yet! Save the seeds to roast your own pumpkin seeds, with delicious combos like sea salt & garlic, cinnamon & agave syrup or just a dash of sea salt.

6. Trade in Your Store-bought Cocoa for homemade. Melt your own dark chocolate chips and combine with steamed milk, use raw cacao powder instead of chocolate syrup or use a more natural hot cocoa mix like Trader Joe’s Sipping Chocolate.

Happy Halloween-ing! I’m off to New Hampshire to enjoy the last bits of fall foliage while I can…

Yesterday evening, I hosted my very first Zesty Living wellness workshop, Get Real (About Food) for a small group of ladies at Oficio on Newbury Street.

While I was slightly nervous during the week leading up to the event, everything went as smooth as can be and I’ve never felt more confident in the work I am doing and growing my  business. I truly feel I have finally found my calling, and am doing the work I feel most passionate about. It also didn’t hurt that I had the support of my wonderful friends and my sister, who captured pictures and videos (and helped me lug all of my heavy bags!).

While you can read a bit more about the event description here, I wanted to share a few highlights from the evening with you.

As attendees trickled in, I had appetizers on the table to snack on like Mediterranean Snacks lentil crackers, Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks, organic sliced celery & carrots, and artichoke hummus.

To break the ice, everyone went around the room to share their #1 guilty pleasure or greatest health concern, which ranged from late-night pizza to Mike’s Pastry’s Amaretto cannoli.  I then shared my personal story of how I escaped a lifetime of dieting to where I am today (happy, confident, and 20+ pounds lighter) all thanks to loving and appreciating my body, and just as importantly: eating real food.

I kicked off the workshop by discussing the top 12 food additives to steer clear of, many of which are frighteningly enough found in most packaged foods today! This includes things such as artificial sweeteners like Aspartame (which is appallingly found in Dannon Light & Fit yogurt), MSG, artificial colors (straight up synthetic chemicals), partially hydrogenated oils (hello trans fat!), and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), all of which have numerous detrimental side effects.

Everyone was completely shocked by some of the statistics, many saying they’ll think twice next time they’re grocery shopping. I then went into a discussion of my “Top 7 Healthy Foods That Aren’t Healthy,” offering up healthier, more natural alternatives for each. I covered everything from Diet drinks like Crystal Light and Diet Soda (both containing numerous artificial sweeteners and colors hence drinking CHEMICALS), foods with health claims (low fat! sugar free! all natural! made with ‘real’ingredients!) to reduced fat/nonfat foods and wheat products claiming they’re “made with whole grains.”

For each topic, I gave a number of real-life examples, stressing the importance of READING THE LABEL and knowing the ingredients you’re putting into your body. For instance, did you know Skinny Cow ice cream contains high fructose corn syrup, a highly refined sugary substance derived from corn starch that’s linked to diabetes and obesity? Or that Vitamin Water is actually owned by Coca Cola and was sued for advertising their product as healthy, even when it contains over 30 grams of sugar, essentially sugar-induced water? Oh, or how about the fact that most veggie burgers out there contain over 60 ingredients, many of which aren’t vegetables at all?

While these factoids may seem shocking, it’s unfortunately the truth. When sugar-laded breakfast cereals like Lucky Charms have health claims all over the box, and fake packaged cheeses, breads, and snacks stock 99% of the supermarket, we know we are in  HEALTH CRISIS.

Throughout the session, I shared healthier alternatives for the group to try including Vita Coco Coconut Water, a homemade Quinoa & Wild Rice Salad, garlic & basil goat cheese from the Copley Square Farmer’s Market with Mary’s Gone Cracker’s herb crackers, a variety of Truebars and KIND Bars, and almond butter with sliced organic apples. I guess it’s fair to say I feed my people well!

[quinoa & rice salad with goat cheese, celery, cherries and toasted pecans]

After our discussion, I shared my personal tips on how to eat real food in a society where real food is hard to come by, including one of my favorites: eating whole fruits and vegetables that don’t come in a package and shopping from local farmer’s markets. We then concluded the workshop with a quick Q & A session, where I answered any last minute questions that weren’t covered during the evening.

Each attendee left with a little brown goodie bag including:

• Vita Coco Coconut Waters
• Exhale pass for a comp Core Fusion or Yoga class
• a variety of herbal and green teas
• Truebars
• Kind Bars
• organic chocolate
• An Eventbrite notebook

I can say with 100% confidence (and a huge grin on my face) that the event was a success. I look forward to hosting additional workshops in the Boston area, and will keep you posted on my next one in July! Big thank you to Eventbrite for inviting me to take part in their Week of Wellness in Boston.

To learn more about my program, or to sign up for my newsletter, visit my website or contact me for more information.

What’s your diet like? What are areas you wish to improve on? Do you eat REAL food?

Today is one of those days where I found myself pressed for time in the kitchen, let alone to breathe in general. With work at 6 a.m., then straight to a meeting with a client for a health counseling session, and hours of freelance writing in Starbucks, I knew I wouldn’t be home for dinner until at least 8:15 p.m.

However, I didn’t want to let my action-packed day get in the way of my dietary choices, as I know very well that the more wholesome and balanced the meal, the better I feel overall (mind, body, & soul).

As you know, I’m usually a huge fan of 100% home-cooked, all-natural meals for ideal nutritional benefits, but today I had to be a little flexible due to the time crunch. Instead of settling for ordering in (or dining out), to-go sushi, or bland pasta, I chose to make the most of what I had on hand with a little help from Trader Joes.

Here’s what made my plate:

1. Salad with organic arugula + extra virgin olive oil + fresh lemon juice + feta + fresh mint + dried basil + raw pumpkin seeds

2. 1 c. Trader Joe’s Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains (delicious vegetarian/gluten free blend of lentils, quinoa and amaranth in a wholesome broth)

3. Piece of low-sodium Ezekiel bread toasted with Grade AA Natural butter from Whole Foods + Himalayan Pink Salt

For a lazy evening, this trio came out pretty darn fabulous, not to mention nutrient-packed and 100% satisfying. You see, sometimes it’s worth skipping the admittedly tempting takeout as a ‘rescue’ and simply making the most of what you have.

Stay tuned for more healthy tips on making quick ‘n’ easy dinners when pressed for time!

XoXo,

[source; how can you not love these baby blues?]

Good afternoon there! I’ll keep this intro short  because it’s Friday and if you’re like me you have a very low attention span right about now. So let’s just get to the point: Here are my top 5 favorites of the week. Enjoy and please leave a comment at the end with your own obsessions!

1. This little gem from Stella & Dot: I wear it every day, especially now that my nails are nicely manicured. I simply can’t help it. There’s just something about chunky, unique rings that I absolutely adore. Take a peak at some other summer items – from necklaces and earrings to charms and bracelets – that might be suitable for YOU.

[vintage cluster ring]

2. Jango : Usually I’m a fan of my iTunes, but I was getting sick of the same ol’, same ol’ thus I thought I’d give Jango a try again. I’m absolutely in love with this free internet radio service. You simply pick a few of your favorite artists, and bam: a personalized playlist is created for you.

3. Frozen Blueberries: Frozen blueberries are among my favorite treats for the summertime. I eat them in my morning oatmeal, as an afternoon snack with some plain greek yogurt, a little cinnamon and some almonds, or before bed to cool myself off after a long day. You can buy a bag of frozen blueberries at a Trader Joe’s (my favorite place to shop) or supermarket near you for a pretty cheap price. They may not be as good as fresh, but they come pretty darn close. Plus, they are packed with the same antioxidants and nutrients, for a fraction of the price!

4. Networking: They say moving up and making positive changes in your life is all about networking, and I’ve been really trying to focus on that this week. It’s amazing how much is out there from Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn to blogger meet-ups to tweet-ups to networking parties. Opportunities to network are endless and I really need to jump on the bandwagon if I want to see some positive things start happening for me. Do you have any networking secrets or advice?

5. Long Walks: I love when the weather gets warmer as we get closer to the summer, especially the ability to be outside so much! This week I’ve been a walking machine, from walking (instead of bus-ing or t-ing) for some errands to going on a walk for some fro-yo with my best friend the other night. Walking makes everything feel so much better, and it allows you to spend some time with yourself and your thoughts. Talk about healthy therapy.

What’s going on in your life lately? Anything you’re absolutely lovin’ that you’re just dying to share? Share away!

XoXo,

Oops. All day yesterday, I thought it was Thursday and therefore totally forgot to do my Hump Day Wednesday post. Therefore, since yesterday was Thursday in my mind, today I will pretend it’s Wednesday over here at Healthy Chicks. Alas, here is your Hump Day Lesson of the Day:

Seriously, their wine selection is pretty darn good, and may I add extremely cheap. Yesterday my sister enjoyed a lovely glass of a Trader Joe’s brand California Cabernet. It paired perfectly with our sharp cheddar cheese paired with Onion & Chive seeded crackers. Yum. 

That being said, you should feel embarrassed accidentally spilling your roommate’s wine glass and getting red wine all over your white chairs. Oops, my bad. Guess I’m more of a light weight than I thought. 

So, Happy Hump Day (Just pretend it is for me, OK?)