Words of Wisdom.

Here are some brief highlights from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s Conference that I attended in NY this past weekend.  I was one of over 4,000 health coaches who attended.  It was a fun-filled, information packed, and inspiring weekend.

“The absence of speaking is what keeps people ill.” – Joshua Rosenthal

“Restrictive eating patterns in children and teenagers lead to an increased risk of obesity and other eating disorders.” – Sally Fallon Morrell

“Eating eggs for breakfast resulted in greater weight loss and better energy levels than eating two bagels, even though the number of calories was about the same.” - Sally Fallon Morrell

“Federal rules for school meals place a limit on FAT in meals, but no limit on SUGAR.” - Sally Fallon Morrell

“Viruses replicate and mutate when we are not nutritionally fulfilled.” – Joel Furman

“Childhood diets are the major cause of adult cancers. “ – Joel Furman

“Food and lifestyle is the medicine that will prevent any disease.” – Dr. David Katz

“There is a constant flow of marketing dollars to get us to eat highly processed foods.” – Dr. David Katz

In 1990, obesity rates in the US were less then 15% in every state.  Now, only about twenty years later, every state is exceeding a 20% obesity rate. Pennsylvania has a 25-29% obesity rate.  Meaning if you and three friends get together for a night, one of you is obese.  – Dr. Mark Hyman

“There’s a 73% increase in obesity in 6 month old babies since 1980.”  - Dr. Mark Hyman

“When we dream together it becomes a reality.”  - Deepak Chopra

“Be free of criticism and flattery. Which means you feel beneath no one and superior to no one.” – Deepak Chopra

“Learn to be comfortable with ambiguity.” – Deepak Chopra


If you are interested in learning more about the school I’m attending, please let me know. Mentioning my name will grant you access to the latest tuition scholarship.

Silver's Power Balls

I’ve found gold! Well, not really, but something just as good. MACA. It’s a radish-looking root that grows in the Andes of Bolivia and Peru.  Back in the day, Incan warriors would eat it in preparation for an intense battle, as it was known to increase stamina and strength.  It is also an adaptogen, which helps the body regulate and adapt to stress (google it). It’s perfect for any athlete, physically active, or stressed individual.  I've been consuming it the past few days and have seen a significant difference in my energy level. 

This recipe goes out to my best friend Lauren.  She’s running the Philly Rock-N-Roll half marathon this weekend.   How she has the strength and stamina to run for hours straight always blows me away.  I unfortunately will not be there in person to cheer her on due my attendance at the world’s largest health coaching conference in NYC, but a will be there in spirit (GO LAUREN!) 

If you’re looking for some energy, put down the coffee, Gatorade and/or power bar and grab what I’ve named Silver’s Power Balls. These balls are raw, vegan, gluten-free.

Silver’s Power Balls

Need:

¼ cup Maca Powder (I use Navitas Naturals which you can get at Whole Foods)

¼ cup Almond Butter

1 cup dates (about 8 – don’t forget to remove the pits!)

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ cup chopped almonds

¼ cup unsweetened coconut

Do:

Soak dates in water for about 10 minutes.  Drain water and place in food processor or vita mix and blend into a sticky paste.  Add remaining ingredients and processes until a thick sticky dough as formed (it should be sticky enough to roll into small balls.) If dough is too sticky, add more chopped walnuts. If dough is too dry, add a little water a teaspoon at a time. Roll into little one-inch balls and enjoy.  Refrigerate leftovers.   If you’re not a fan of almond butter you could try replacing it with peanut butter. Just make sure it’s organic as peanuts are the #1 pesticide item.

Photo and Recipe adapted from Navitasnaturals.com. Other photos via Jess and Lauren. 

"Chick-a-pea" Burgers

I have a friend who calls chickpea’s “chick-a-peas”.  They’re also known as garbanzo beans. Whatever you call them, these little balls are packed with fiber and protein.  Those are two things you should fill yourself with to ward off sugar cravings and blood sugar spikes and dips.  If you purchase canned “chick-a-peas”, I recommend buying Eden Brand.  They don’t use BPA in their cans and cook their beans with kombu which aids the digestion of legumes.

These chickpea burgers are a staple.  When I know a busy week is coming my way, I make these and keep them in the fridge to grab throughout the week.  Place on top of a salad or top with avocado and eat with veggies. I also froze a bunch, wrapped in plastic wrap and let them thaw for a day in my fridge prior to eating.  The recipe is from a favorite cookbook of mine, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen.

Chickpea Burgers

(makes about 8)

2 15oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ cup parsley leaves

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

¼ cup gluten-free all purpose flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

Place chickpeas, parsley, garlic, cumin, and pepper flakes in a food processor or vitamix.

Blend until smooth, periodically stopping to scrape the sides. 

Place mixture a bowl and stir in flour and salt to taste.  Shape into about eight 3-inch wide patties.

Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat, until simmering.

Add chickpea burgers and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. 

Flip burgers carefully and drizzle remaining oil around the edges of the pan.

Cook until golden brown on second side, just a few minutes. 

Let cool and enjoy!

Images via Google

A Secret From The Retail World.

A secret from the retail world: Your tag doesn’t always tell the truth.

As the sun sets earlier, the air gets a chill and we reach to the back of our closets for blue jeans and chunky sweaters, as women, we notice things may not fit quite like they used to 5 months ago when we replaced these items for tank tops and shorts.  Whether you’re going out to grab a new size or add a snazzy new shirt to the closet we are all victims of vanity sizing.  [GASP]

What is vanity sizing?

Ever notice that you’ll be a certain size in one store and be a completely different one in another?  Most retailors, particularly the more corporate ones, will skew the measurements on their sizes to play off of the enjoyment that women get when they need to grab a smaller size then they expected.  Sorry to break it to you, but more then likely you didn’t drop a few inches crossing the mall from Nordstroms to Gap.  If your clothes are your gauge on workouts and weight-loss, try to pick one pair of pants and one top to be your ‘measurement’ clothes. But also keep in mind, your weight does fluctuate on a daily basis because of environmental factors. 

When I worked in the retail world, I tried my usual size in our brands clothes and found it was too big.  I even tried a size smaller and still had no luck.  Sure it was a boost in the confidence for a split second but I knew I couldn’t be smaller then an XS as all my clothes at home were screaming “this is a lie!” so loud from Philadelphia, I could hear them all the way out in Bensalem. 

So if those little tags are lying, we really shouldn’t put so much stock into them and have them be the barometer of our moods and whether or not we’ll enjoy ourselves at a meal or even throughout the day, week or month. My hope is that one-day women will be ripping the tags out of their pants just like the women of the 60’s burned their bras.    

If you would like to read more about vanity sizing, this is an article from the NY Times.

Oh, Honey!

Prior to giving up dairy, I was taking two 24-hour Claritin a day to try to get some allergy relief. Even with that, I still could barely breathe.  Since then, dairy got the boot and so has my congestion!  But, now that I am spending more time outside than in a windowless office of the corporate world, I’ve noticed my eyes have been much itchier recently as the seasons begin to change. Not to mention it’s been quite windy lately in the concrete jungle of Philadelphia. 

On my trip to Terrain last week, I purchased some local honey.  Ingesting local honey has been known to help relieve seasonal allergy symptoms.  Think about it like this: those little buzzing bugs fly around collecting all of the stuff that’s making your eyes, nose and throat get irritated.  By enjoying their produced sweet stuff, you’re giving your body a natural allergy shot like you would get at the doctors, boosting your immune system and reducing your allergy symptoms. 

Note: you should enjoy the local honey in the raw.  Which means don’t heat it or put it in your tea which will kill off its good properties.  I’ve been enjoying my 19129 zip code honey by drizzling it on almonds. Raw honey also has been known to help aid digestion, morning sickness, constipation, and sore throats. So buzz off allergies! 

Snack Attack!

In anticipation for learning about raw foods and super foods in school in the upcoming week, I nabbed these at Whole Foods as a snack. (They also sell them at Organic Avenue when I was there).  They’re 100% organic Spirulina Super Chips. With all organic ingredients of sesame seeds, bananas, coconut, dates and spirulina, they are pretty yummy. While raw diets don’t work for everyone, people who have success have noticed an increase in their energy levels, the disappearance of digestion issues and mood swings.

If you’ve tried this chips or others, let me know what you think!

Little Shop of Juices (Smoothies and Raw Foods)

Before Hurricane Irene hit, I made a trip up to NYC.  For a while I’ve had my eye on Organic Avenue,  a boutique which provides high quality juice cleanse programs, smoothies and raw foods.  They’re similar to Blue Print Cleanse, which I tried back in the spring and have to say I was not a fan.  Organic Avenue have five locations throughout NYC and I sauntered into the Upper East Side store.

The place was packed for a Friday.  They have so many varieties of juices and tonics that it was hard to choose what to test out first – Watermelon Juice, Blueberry Spirulina Smoothie, Mint Chip LOVE* Smoothie, and Green LOVE* were a few of the others I was considering.  With lunch 45 minutes and 6 blocks away I opted for the Green Lemonade to keep things light and refreshing.

It was great! -- 16oz in a cute (but seriously heavy) glass jar.  It contained: purified alkaline water, Lemon, Lime, Ginger, Agave, Himalayan Salt, Cucumber, Celery, Spinach.  Very delicious!

If you’re looking to do a cleanse they do ship to Philly and the juice containers will be plastic, not the cute glass ones. But the food they will not ship. Bummer!  Until they come to Philly, I’ll be adding a juicer to my Christmas list. And if you're ever in New York I suggest popping in to check them out!

Dairy-Free in OC

Frozen yogurt shops are popping up all over Philadelphia like chicken pox...Sweet Ending, Yogorino, Tutti Frutti and Old City Frozen Yogurt.  It's another food trend. All of which I steer clear of because yogurt = dairy = me not happy.

Yesterday, I grabbed lunch with my mom after a mid-morning lithe class, at the beautiful Old City studio in my soon to be new neighborhood (I'm moving in September).  The sun was shining, humidity was absent from the air and it was just a flat out beautiful day.  After lunch, I wanted to head over to Old City Frozen Yogurt because a friend told me they had a dairy-free flavor. In disbelief that they would cater to the dairy-free minority of Philadelphia, I needed to check this out for myself.

Well believe it my friends, they do have a dairy-free sorbet! And it's pretty good! Mango-tango is your only option though. But you no longer have to feel left out when your friends want to partake in the Frozen Yogurt trend of dessert.

You serve yourself and add as many toppings as you'd like (I added blueberries and coconut to mine) and then you pay by how much it all weighs.  And they're yogurt and sorbet doesn't contain any high fructose corn syrup - another plus! Located at 229 Market Street, they're across the street from another dairy-free friendly dessert spot, Franklin Fountain.

Green Love.

The first time I ever tried kale, I couldn’t get past it’s rough texture. It just tasted so raw. “But it’s so good for you,” I just kept telling myself.  Well good-for-you-food should taste good.  So, here is a recipe I’ve been hooked on that’s easy to make, disguises kales ‘raw’ taste, and is yummy!

What you’ll need:

4 tablespoons water, divided 

6 cups chopped kale, swiss chard or collard greens, tough stems removed 

(I hate measuring. Especially greens. So I just used a bunch of kale – the amount that comes in the twist tie at Whole Foods. I also don’t like chopping so I just rip the leaves from the stalk. Trust me it’s faster and no one cares about how lovely your kale is chopped!)

2 tablespoons tahini (Tahini is ground sesame seeds and has a great nutty flavor. Be sure to mix it really good before going for your tablespoons.)

2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice (I keep a bag of clementine’s in my fridge for recipes that call for a small amount of orange juice. The juice from one clementine worked here!)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Do:

Heat 2 tablespoons water in a large skillet over medium heat. 

Add greens to cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted/turn a bright green color, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Let cool. 

In a large bowl, whisk together tahini, orange juice, remaining 2 tablespoons water and garlic. Add greens, toss to coat and enjoy immediately.

Weekend Review.

I spent this weekend attending the Healthy Living Summit, a gathering for bloggers focused on healthy living, which was held right here in Philadelphia.  One of the best parts about it was spending solid time with my favorite person, Ali Shapiro! Also, gathering a group of people who have similar interests can be quite empowering.  Friday night was a cocktail party at Reading Terminal after hours.  I find that place to be quite stressful during the day so it was nice to see it transformed for a social gathering.  Saturday was a day full of break-out sessions and speakers. I certainly learned a lot (my head was spinning my Saturday night) and will be incorporating some of the topics discussed here, so stay tuned! You can find excepts from some of the sessions on my Twitter account, @JessicaPro.

PS. On the right hand side of the blog here, I've added a link if you would like to be added to my Health Coaching Newsletter.  They'll be sent out in moderation so I won't be flooding you inbox. xoxo Jess