Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

High fiber (flat belly), less sugar, better protein!

You can have your tasty muffins (foodie approved) and feel good that it is a healthy flat-belly food.

And for those of you who worry that gluten-free or healthy baking is too much work, you'll be happy to know that I got almost all my ingredients from Trader Joe's. The low-sugar magic is cinnamon -- it helps accentuate what sweetness you already have in the recipe. I was able to cut the sugar down to only 1/2 cup of sugar from the original recipe from the Victory Garden Cookbook (Marian Morash). And the coconut oil is heart healthy for you, all those who are avoiding the bad saturated fats, this is a good alternative for cooking and baking.

My new favorite non-wheat flour (and ancient grain) is buckwheat flour (Bob's Red Mill is a brand you can find most grocery stores like Whole Foods or any health food store). Just a 1/2 cup of buckwheat flour gives this recipe a dark molasses taste, again helping to enhance the flavor without extra sugar. I was first introduced to buckwheat from a French cafe that featured buckwheat crepes (from Brittany's cuisine). Then I learned that Japanese soba noodles also use buckwheat for a nutty taste. If you look at Wiki, you'll see that buckwheat has a place from all over the world!

The pairing of almond flour (sneaking in protein in your muffin!) and coconut flour helps give a balance of taste, and both of these gluten-free flours have great fiber. For my friend who has had heart issues, she was delighted to eat something that didn't have butter and was heart-healthy for her. If you don't already know, check out my Heart Health Explorers hiking group where I sometimes teach meditation and other heart-healthy exercises to pair up with exploring great parks in the LA area.

Click on this link to get your health pumpkin muffin recipe. Makes for a great snack, dessert, or breakfast side. And happy heart health month!

Best Seafood to Eat?

What seafood is safe to eat? What is more healthy for you?

If you didn't already download this list on your phone for your shopping convenience, here is Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch List for those who live in California, or go to the main page to find your state's Seafood Watch Guide.  What is tough for those of us who try to eat healthy, is how to make it practical and easy to focus on the best choices (see list for California reprinted below).

In order to succeed in eating healthy, use this strategy -- prepare and stock up in your pantry and freezer. "No one plans to fail, we just fail to plan!" Seafood is a terrific choice for eating more healthy fats (heart healthy!) and getting lean proteins to support healthy weight or your weight loss goals.

You can get things like Arctic Char, Scallops, Tilapia, Alaskan Wild Salmon in the freezer section for budget-friendly shopping and store it in your home freezer. Small fish rich in Omega-3 healthy fats like Sardines and Herring can be found in the canned or jarred food section so you can have it ready in your pantry, for easily less than $2-3 per serving. Clams, Mussels, and Oysters have terrific levels of minerals, especially for women who need iron-rich foods -- there is a great easy way to make your own healthy seafood chowder at home. Whenever you make soups, chowders or chili, these are great foods to make in a bigger batch and save in your freezer for eating at another time. Gotta have strategies to save you time, money and keep your healthy eating at your best! If you're a vegetarian and want to balance your nutrition with vegetarian sources of minerals and Omega-3 healthy fats, there are other strategeis! Anyone you know who wants to improve your nutrition, please email me and we can set up your complimentary phone-consult--you can be anywhere with a phone and we'll get you started!

List of "Best Choices" seafood for California

• Arctic Char (farmed)
• Bass: Striped (US hook & line, farmed)
• Catfish (US)
• Clams, Mussels & Oysters
• Cod: Pacific (US hook & line)
• Halibut: California (US hook & line)
• Lobster: Spiny (Mexico)
• Prawns: Spot (AK)
• Rockfish (US)
• Sablefish/Black Cod (AK & Canada wild)
• Salmon (AK)
• Sanddab (CA, OR & WA)
• Sardines: Pacific (Canada & US)
• Scallops (farmed)
• Seaweed (farmed)
• Shrimp (AK wild, US farmed)
• Sole (CA, OR & WA)
• Tilapia (Ecuador & US)
• Trout: Rainbow (US farmed)
• Tuna: Albacore/White canned
• (Canada & US troll, pole)
• Tuna: Skipjack/Light canned
• (FAD free, US troll, pole)
• Tuna: Yellowfin (US troll, pole)

Yummy sweet potato

The yummy sweet potato is a terrific root vegetable that is nutrient-dense and has good fiber. For those who love potatoes, this is a healthier alternative to hash browns or home fries. It's a terrific side for breakfast or any other meal for those of us trying to eat more veggies for more Flat Belly food. Bonus: sweet potatoes help boost your mood and if so many picky baby eaters love this food, I think Mother Nature gave it an advantage for our bodies! By cutting up the sweet potato into small diced cubes, you can cook this in about 5-minutes!

5-minute RECIPE
olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 small sweet potato cut into small cubes
4-5 mushrooms (white button ok, crimini preferred)
1 dash (2 tbsp) of white wine (optional) or water
Italian herbs that you have handy (3-4 fresh basil leaves, sprinkle of oregano, 3-4 stems of fresh thyme leaves)
salt + pepper to taste
optional: for those who like more spicy or more flavor
a pinch of smoked paprika or taco seasoning

Warm skillet over medium heat. Warm oil before putting in chopped veggies and liquid. Cover to steam and make the sweet potatoes cook up quickly. In the next 2 minutes chop up herbs and add. Cover for another minute or until the sweet potatoes look tender enough for a fork to pierce easy. Makes 1-2 servings (depending on the size of your sweet potato and your appetite!)

If you have trouble getting your minimum 5-7 servings of veggies/day, you can strategize by picking one meal a day that you have better control over -- whether it's breakfast or lunch to really focus your veggie efforts. Smoothies with added spinach or kale can help. To boost your veggie varieties, you can try this tasty greens powder that can be added to smoothies, soups, and other foods like our turkey meatballs recipe.

May seasonal fruits

I'm excited to check out upcoming Farmer's Markets here in Los Angeles, the seasonal produce is changing and we'll get some of my favorite fruits that are not found other times of the year:
* apricots
* nectarines
* peaches
* figs
Vegetables like summer squash have been around earlier, and I really like this "What's in season" page for finding out what's around at the farmer's market. I'm a berry fan and often disappointed at what I see at the regular grocery stores, so I'm planning a trip to "pick your own berries" at this family farm.

If you're not able to get your berries everyday or if you're not a fan of berries, this ORAC supplement is a powerful delivery system of berries like cranberries and elderberry I don't get around to eating and can help support healthy vision. I have trouble with my night vision, and if I don't get my berries, I actually have cravings for berries! So I have a back-up of frozen berries in my freezer, and there is also my new favorite frozen Greek yogurt place that has terrific fruit toppings to help quench my cravings and cope with the hot weather. Seasonal fruits make for a quick healthy dessert or a great topping on salads. Hope you'll find or re-discover some favorites in the next few weeks!

Quality Eggs

Quality eggs are not obvious with all the different labels. Here's a great article from Organic Consumers Association on what words to look for: “Free Range” is better than “Cage Free,” but “Pasture Raised” is best. Avoiding cheap factory farm eggs is not only the right thing to do for your vote on agricultural practices but also for your health. Eggs got a bad rap in the 1980s about their nutrition, but when you get what I call "happy eggs," you'll get Omega-3 good fats and other important vitamins and minerals. Eggs are an inexpensive protein packed full of nutrients if you get the right ones. Egg-xcellent!

Healthy Snack Options

For busy people, we sometimes need to take a quick snack to eat in the car or on-the-go so that we don't get hit with that energy drop when our blood sugar drops. Eating every 3-4 hrs with a blend of protein+carbs is a way to maintain a healthy weight and your better mood. Please say "no" to eating fruit leather by itself--too much sugar by itself (ok in combo with other foods) and not good for managing a low-glycemic nutrition!

As much as I like to snack on trail mix, it's a little messy when I'm eating on the go and I don't have a place to wash my hands. Bars are my go-to because they fit neatly in their wrappers or jars or bags and can sit in my car's cup holder.

Many "health food snacks" are full of ingredients you can't pronounce. I prefer that my snacks are created from 5-6 food ingredients without the "soy protein isolate" or that too-sweet flavor of too much brown rice syrup or other added sugars. And I would rather they taste yummy instead of cardboard sustenance. When I need more protein, I can always resort to almonds or a low-sugar wild salmon jerky.

What are your favorite snacks? Share your ideas with us so we can share build up our resource list here. These are my current favorites:

PUREnola - local and hand-made in LA, they are all so tasty, and my favorite flavors are Coconut and Rosemary Spice. Thanks to my friend Michelle for introducing me to these tasty treats!
LaraBars  - my favorite flavors are the Apple Pie and Cashew Cookie
Kit's Organic Fruit+Nut Bars - my favorite is the Berry and Nut
GoRaw bars and cookies - I like the Lemon Super Cookies
Jocalat bars - For when you're craving some chocolate or a brownie, this is the healthier version
Pea Crisps - Trader Joe's "Inner Peas" - Veggie crunch option with lots of protein and no MSG. I grew up on the the Asian snack version of Pea Crisps but they have MSG and other chemicals. This new improved version is clear and full of vitamins! However, you do need a handi-wipe to get the crumbs off your hands.

BONUS TIP: For those of you having trouble finding a way to eat a healthy breakfast, a quick on-the-go option is 2 boiled eggs (free-range omega 3 preferred) and a snack bar from above.

Chicken Barley and Pea Soup

Soup is a great way to use up your veggies and get your nutrition all in one bowl! Pre-make the soup so you have something ready-to-eat when you're too busy to cook. Total cooking time was about 30-45 minutes, depending how quickly you chop. Full of vitamins, protein and fiber, and covering the rainbow nutrition with peas, red onions, mushrooms and basil.

Outline of the recipe:
Crimini mushrooms (sliced), chix broth, frozen peas, carrots, sweet potatoes (and parsnops if you like 'em), 10-minute barley (cooks faster!). Put in more of what you like! I like extra mushrooms so I put in more.

Get started on your weight loss today

Wow, the weight loss challenge from TLS Weight Loss solution has a big jackpot of $100,000 in cash prizes. You've got to register by tonight Thursday Aug 29th! Transform your mind+body in 12 weeks for a leaner healthier you!

You can register to do the weight loss program on your own, but I can help you be more successful if you want a coach. All you have to do assign me as your coach by typing in my email address where it asks if you have a coach (embodyhealth at gmail dot com).

I have 2 spots left for scholarship students where I'm waiving my usual coaching fees. If you want more info, please check out the program from a free recording of the introductory teleseminar or my website to see what my graduates have said about their successes. Whether or not you decide the challenge is for you, the teleseminar is chock-full of information about wellness strategies to improve your stress management, sleep, exercise, low-glycemic nutrition, and helping you be aware of your patterns to get to a healthier you. And feel free to share this FREE teleseminar recording with your friends and family. I want to hear from you even if you don't want to do the weight loss challenge because I want to know your questions to add more material to this blog. And I'm happy to work with anyone who wants to do a version of the program at your own pace because new healthy lifestyle habits stick when we figure out how it best works for you!

Quinoa pizazz

I've been challenged with how to best prepare quinoa in a way that is easy on my palette. As adventurous as I am in trying new foods, the only way for me to keep eating the healthy foods is to find a way that I actually like it! So I've been trying different quinoa salads at different restaurants and cafes, and decided that it's best to go with Mediterranean flavoring, as if you were playing with quinoa the way you would with couscous. So this past weekend, I made quinoa salad 2-ways. I cooked 1-cup of quinoa (measure 1 cup dry) and did 1/3 with a kale salad, and the bulk of it for this cucumber quinoa salad.

Cucumber quinoa salad - Mediterranean style
2/3 cup (measured dry) red quinoa cooked in rice cooker (you might need to cook in 2 cycles, because the auto-cook function doesn't cook it soft enough)
3 persian cucumbers chopped small
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 handful of fresh mint leaves
1/2 lemon, squeeze the juice
salt, fresh pepper, and olive oil to taste

Serves 2 generously, or serve 4 as a side dish.

A great summer recipe that doesn't require much cooking except pressing the button for the rice cooker. The crunch of the cucumber and the pine nuts are a terrific blend for the nutty taste of the quinoa! Bon appetit!

Support for Your New Year's Resolutions

Give yourself the gift of RESULTS for a healthier you!
Many people make new year's resolutions about their health but could really benefit from some educational support to get RESULTS. With popular media and conversation about health, it can be confusing to find a program that you can implement on a daily basis for a healthier lifestyle. Get started with our educational conference calls or a personalized phone consult to design your program!

Please join us for a FREE education teleseminar to get you started on your health goals! And if you can't make these times, please RSVP to our wellness+nutrition coach Jennifer Cheng (embodyhealth at gmail) anyways, so you can get the recording and BONUS rainbow nutrition worksheet. I want to help you find an easy way to keep proactive on your optimal health so you can be successful with all your other new year's resolutions.

*** FREE education teleseminars ***
Healthy Weight Loss :: Mon Jan 7 12:30pm-1pm PST
Digestive Health :: Wed Jan 9 8pm-8:30pm PST
Detox Program (7-day or 30-day programs) :: 1pm-1:30pm PST

To learn more about our programs, visit http://www.embody-health.com or become a fan on facebook.

New tasty healthy foods

Since I have figured out that I am sensitive to lactose, especially with uncooked milk (it makes my stomach blow up a few extra inches!), I've been looking for a solution to my yogurt cravings. If I'm going to have milk products, I should really be taking my digestive enzymes which have lactase to break down the lactose. I like to carry a travel pack of the digestive enzymes in my purse for protecting my stomach while eating out, for the times that I can't avoid the lactose.

For those who are lactose-sensitive, yogurt is less irritating, but why have any irritation? I have newly discovered this brand of yogurt that has lactase in it so that it becomes lactose-free AND it has a good collection of probiotics! Happy tummy!

On other snack foods, I'm sensitive to the varying levels of vinegar found in most olives. Olives are so good for you, but it's simply easier for me to get them into my diet if they are already mixed in with something like hummus. You can find these pre-made at your local grocery store like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. This is a great substitute for those of us who like cheese and want a healthier low-fat savory snack.

And to satisfy my sweet tooth, I'm defrosting a cup of frozen wild blueberries. The wild boreal blueberries are smaller and have so much more flavor than its conventional cousins. With frozen fruit at my disposal, I can have tasty fruit year-round conveniently at less than 1/2 the cost of the fresh kind. I would prefer fresh fruits, but sometimes it's helpful to be easy on the budget and my shopping schedule!

Fun in the Caribbean this July!

Many people fall off their nutrition or fitness plan when they go on vacation. However, you can choose a healthy creative spirits getaway with Embody Health and actually GET HEALTHIER. Click here to learn more about our Caribbean Getaway for July 4th weekend!

We can accommodate gluten-free and vegetarian requests. And of course, food options will be inspired by local produce and low-glycemic eating supporting anyone on the Transitions Lifestyle System.

New Spin on Spanish Tortilla

Here's a new spin on a Spanish Tortilla -- otherwise known as a flourless quiche!
Great for breakfast, on-the-go snack, or party hors d'oeuvre.

I brought my healthy vegetarian, low-glycemic creation to a foodie event last night, and one of my friends says "are you sure there's no meat in here?" I say that's a great compliment! It's the heartiness of the sweet potatoes and the muskiness of the wine-soaked mushrooms that made it feel so filling that my foodie friend had to ask that question.

What you need:
8" skillet with 2-3 tall height, and a lid
separate sautee pan for prepping the veggies
30-45 minutes for a dish that can last 8-12 servings

Please note, my recipes are approximate and depend on what I have around the house. To make it easy on yourself, you can substitute herbs based on what you have available or what you like! (Thyme vs rosemary, still very tasty.)

Click here for full recipe.