Shannon's ***-Kickin' Kohlrabi Slaw

I incessantly encourage my clients to eat more cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, bok choy).  They are loaded with phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals that can help with hormone balancing, cancer prevention, heart disease prevention, and because of their natural anti-inflammatory properties can avert any form of inflammation.

If you dislike any of the aforementioned vegetables, no worries! There is an unfamiliar cruciferous vegetable that I love more than all of the above. It’s sweeter and more succulent. It’s called Kohlrabi and it’s in season— go find one at a farmer’s market near you! Kohlrabi has more than 100% of your daily vitamin c needs and it is loaded with minerals as well as the cancer-fighting phtonutrients.

Try out this ***-kickin Kohlrabi Slaw.

Ingredients

-          1 Kohlrabi, peeled and shredded

-          ½ cup plain yogurt

-          2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

-          3 Tablespoons of honey or agave nectar

-          2 shredded carrots

-          Handful of raisins

-          Sea salt to taste

Directions

Mix the yogurt, vinegar, and honey or agave nectar. Mix the kohlrabi and carrots. Pour yogurt mixture over the kohlrabi and carrots. Season with sea salt and toss in the raisins!

Quick and Easy Fueling Food of the Month: Quinoa and Lentils

I may be a proponent of consuming more whole foods and less processed foods, but I am REALISTIC too. Just like you, I have days where I am lucky if I have 20 minutes free for lunch. What do I do? I put together something that's convenient and healthy.

Yesterday's lunch was microwaveable Quinoa and Brown Rice from Seeds of Change with Tasty Bite's Jodhpur Lentils over it. Neither product has harmful ingredients. And this meal was perfect for fueling my run. It gave me 12 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. Quinoa and lentils are both great for sustaining energy as complex carbohydrates. The seasonings are great natural anti-inflammatories too. With processed food, you have to be careful about sodium content. I usually look for products with less than 500 mg of sodium (or less than 20% RDA). The lentils had 460 mg of sodium and the quinoa had 400 mg. Here's the trick though: each package equals two servings so I had half of each...and saved the other half for today's lunch! I should also note that I DID NOT microwave these in their packages because I did not want harmful  xenoestrogens to leach into my food, especially because I am breastfeeding! I use glass pyrex dishes for microwaving and never microwave plastic for this reason!

If you have quick and healthy lunch ideas like this, email them to me at shannonlynn.nutritionATgmail.com and I will feature them on my blog!

Quinoa Tabouli Time

Tabouli salad is one of the most nutrient-packed Middle Eastern dishes. After learning that I had a wheat and gluten sensitivity five years ago, I was bummed that I could no longer have this delicious salad that is made with bulgur wheat...until I made my own recipe with qunioa (keenwah). This is a great dish to bring to a barbecue; it's the perfect dish for athletes with it's plethora of antioxidants and it's complete amino acid profile.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

-3 cups pre-cooked quinoa, refrigerated

(to cook quinoa, take 1 dry cup of quinoa, rinse in water.  Bring two cups

of water to boil, add the cup of quinoa, reduce to simmer and cover for

20-25 minutes)

-1/2 a small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)

-1 cucumber: peeled, seeded and chopped

-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

-Handful of cilantro, chopped (can also experiment with mint or parsley)*

-Juice of 1 Lemon

-2 Tablespoons of olive oil

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

DIRECTIONS:  In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well.

*Add more for an antioxidant boost!

Wild Rice Fueling & Recovery Salad Shannon-Style

The best type of food to have before and after a workout (about 2 hours after your recovery shake) is a nice complex carbohydrate with a decent amount of protein! This tasty wild rice salad meets the criteria with Aduki beans (which actually do NOT cause gas). 

Ingredients:

- 1 package of Lundberg Jubilee wild rice, cooked

- 1 can of Eden Aduki beans

- 1 handful of cilantro chopped

- 2 stalks of celery, diced into small pieces

- 2 medium carrots, diced into small pieces

- 3/4 cup dried cranberries

-3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Dressing: 

- juice from two limes

- 2 Tablespoons olive oil

- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

- 2 squirts of agave nectar

- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin

- dash of salt

- dash of pepper

Directions: 

Cook rice according to package instructions. Allow to cool (I often cook it the night before I make the salad). Mix all of the ingredients well. Prepare the dressing and pour over the salad and mix well again! That was easy!

Tasty Gluten-Free Tea Cookies!!!

What is your favorite dessert food? My ultimate favorite is brownies—I am a major pushover for brownies, especially when made with dark chocolate and walnuts. Brownies are special; they’re not something I crave everyday; a nice-sized brownie is something I reward myself with after big accomplishments. However, I am not perfect; I admit to having a sweet tooth and fruit doesn’t always do it for me. What’s a girl to do, especially when she would love to have shortbread cookies with her tea yet she’s on a gluten-free diet? Introducing…my gluten-free tea cookies. I made these cookies last week and the whole batch vanished within a day; turns out my husband loved accompanying his coffee with them!

Shannon’s Gluten-Free Tea Cookies

2 cups of raw almonds

1/3 cup coconut sugar

Grated lemon rind from 2 lemons

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350. Use a food processor to pulse the almonds into flour. Add sugar, lemon rind, and egg and process until a dough forms. Spray olive oil on a baking sheet. Form the dough into small balls and place about an inch a part on a cookie sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden.

Finally...my Sweet Potato, Quinoa Stew

Looking for a warming, healthy, delicious vegan recipe that even meat lovers will like? Try this! It calls for quinoa (keenwah), which you can find at any health food store and most chain grocery stores carry it now as well. It is the only grain that contains all essential amino acids, making it a phenomenal source of protein!


Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups cooked black beans (2 cans, drained & rinsed)
• 1 cup hominy (1 can, drained and rinsed)
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
(I use Pacific Organic)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large sweet potato or yam, peeled, chopped in bite size pieces
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and diced
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 Tbsp (2 - 3 cloves) garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 can chopped green chilies (for spicier, use 1 chopped jalapeño)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• More Heat: Add more cayenne
• 1 tsp dried basil leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
• 2 bay leafs
• 2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Peel & mince the garlic, jalapeno (if using) and ginger
2. Wash and trim the celery, slice lengthwise, then crosswise to dice
3. Seed and dice the bell pepper
4. Peel and chop the sweet potato in bite sized pieces
5. Heat the olive oil on medium low in a large dutch oven
6. Sauté the garlic, ginger, celery, & chilies/jalapeno 5 minutes
7. Add the sweet potatoes and bell pepper, sauté 5 minutes
8. Add the herbs and spices, stir for a minute
9. Add the beans, quinoa, soup stock or water, salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 30 minutes
10. Add Braggs or soy sauce, pepper, cilantro or parsley just before serving

Charlie Brown Smoothie (serves 2)

This recipe is PERFECT to recover from workouts. I also find it to be a very satisfying breakfast. Hey, it can even help you for those moments when you are craving Charlie Brown ice cream!

Ingredients:
- 1 chopped frozen banana
- 2 cups of Silk chocolate almond milk
- 2 Tablespoons of almond butter
- 1 scoop of LifeTime Chocolate Protein Powder
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed

Directions:
Place the banana in the blender on the ice chopping setting for about 10 seconds. Add the chocolate almond milk and almond butter and then blend for 10 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and blend for about 15 seconds! Enjoy!

Butternut Squash for a SNACK?

Yes, you read that right! If you've been reading my blog for a while or if you've been a client of mine, you know a lot about the convenience trap that forces us to make unhealthy food choices...and we sabotage our good intentions!

Butternut squash is a satisfying snack that can attack the allure of convenience foods. Some of you may be thinking you do not have time to peel, de-seed, and chop a butternut squash. Hey, I don't have time either. Do what I do: pay a little bit more and get pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash that is available in the produce section of most grocery stores! Here's a delicious recipe that takes only 10 minutes of your time (the oven does most of the work) and voila, you have a healthy snack available for the week.

Shannon's Cherry-licious Baked Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
- 1 pack of Wegmans family-sized butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup organic dried cherries
- 1 cup organic raw pecans
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- Sea salt to taste

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450.
- If the squash pieces are larger than one inch, take a bit of time to chop them into one-inch pieces.
- Drizzle olive oil over the squash in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Arrange the squash in a casserole dish and sprinkle the cherries and pecans throughout.
- Add a tiny bit of sea salt.
- Drizzle maple syrup over the squash.
- Bake covered for 50 minutes.

Recipe for Happiness: Millet Sweet Potato Breakfast Cakes

It’s no wonder that depression is such an epidemic in our country—look at the food we eat. Because of our obsession and need for convenience, we consume refined flour and sugar far more than the nourishing grains and vegetables that our ancestors ate. These refined products create harmful blood-sugar fluctuations, which no doubt affect our moods. Further, these foods lack nutritional value and it is scientifically proven that our cells will not thrive without nutrients, leading us to feel icky. Put simply, junk foods make us feel junky.

So, how do we rid our junk food addictions? Breakfast is the place to start! Eating a nourishing breakfast sets the stage for the rest of the day. Millet is one of my favorite comfort foods; it’s a complex carbohydrate with dozens of nutrients. I’ve recommended it for clients diagnosed with mild depression and it has worked wonders. Potato-family foods have been shown to have a positive effect on serotonin and dopamine, our feel-good neurotransmitters (read Potatoes Not Prozac to learn more about this).

Make a big batch of these cakes on a Sunday and have a couple each morning for breakfast. You’ll notice a positive effect right away. Serve them with a tablespoon or two of REAL maple syrup; the darker grade the better.

Millet Sweet Potato Cakes:

Ingredients

2 cups leftover millet* (millet can be found in the bulk section of health food stores)

1 large sweet potato mashed

¼ cup gluten free flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

A couple tablespoons of rice milk

Sea salt to taste

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Mix the millet, sweet potato, and rice milk. Add a bit of sea salt. Form cakes and douse them in the gluten-free-flour. Place oil on a medium-heated iron skillet. Pan-fry the cakes, about 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden.

*Learn more about amazing millet!

Healthy Hot Cocoa Fix?

Yes, you read that right! I have discovered a healthy alternative to hot cocoa. Would you believe me if I told you that it is even has fiber? If you are like me, hot cocoa is a must in order to survive winters, especially Syracuse winters. There's nothing quite like curling up on the couch with a steamy mug of hot chocolate and a good book. It makes the winter almost worth it.

I am not the biggest fan of dairy (or rather it's not so fond of me), so I try to limit my dairy consumption. This hot cocoa alternative is vegan! Silk's Pure Almond Dark Chocolate Milk hit the market this winter. Brent and I picked it up to try in our post workout smoothies. One evening I was fiending for hot cocoa. We didn't have any milk or cocoa. I heated up a couple cups of the almond milk. I was amazed at the result--a super-tasty hot cocoa alternative!

I have to say Silk's tag line for this almond milk is quite accurate: Choose Wisely. Drink Happily.

In a 12-ounce serving of this hot cocoa, you get 1.5 grams of fiber, 1.5 grams of protein, over 50% of your RDA for vitamin C, almost 70% of your RDA for calcium, 75% of your RDA for vitamin B12, and a good amount of zinc, riboflavin, magnesium, manganese, vitamin D, vitamin A, and iron. Yum!

Vegetarian Chicken Parmesan-I Kid you Not

I'm a sucker for chicken parmesan. Most of you know that I was a vegetarian for 12 years. I’m surprised I made it 12 years being deprived of this delicious dish! If only I had this recipe back then! We all know that eggplant parm. is not the same. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of eggplant parmesan during that 12-year period and still make it during the summer months when eggplant is in season. This dish is different and best of all, it doesn’t use any soy or wheat-gluten fake meat. It uses chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). I didn’t even make the connection to chicken parmesan until my husband said “Wow, this is like chicken parmesan!”

This recipe came to me as I scanned my pantry, desiring to concoct a recipe with what we had on hand. I was going to call them chickpea burgers, but I like vegetarian chicken parmesan better. So, here’s the deal!

Ingredients:

2 cans organic chickpeas

1 Tablespoon organic Italian seasoning

Up to 1/3 cup warm water

¼ cup raw walnuts

½ cup nitrate-free sundried tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic minced

1.5 Tablespoons olive oil

4 slices organic mozzarella cheese (soy or rice cheese for vegans)

Directions:

Blend the chickpeas in a food processor so it turns into “mashed chickpeas.” Pour into bowl and mix in Italian seasoning, sundried tomatoes, and garlic.

Slowly mix water in and use your hands to mix all ingredients until the consistency feels like dough.

Preheat oven at 350.

Pulse the walnuts in the food processor for 10-15 seconds until they turn into small pieces/crumbs (not flour).

Dry roast the walnuts for 3 minutes on a pan over a medium flame.

Pour olive oil in a large pan (I like cast iron) over a medium flame. Make four patties out of the chickpea mixture and press into the pan with a spatula.

Turn the patties every few minutes and sprinkle walnuts on the outside each time to get a crunchy outer texture.

Place cheese slices over the patties and place in oven for 10 minutes or until patties are thoroughly heated. Delicious!

I like using Eden canned beans because these cans are BPA-free unlike most canned foods. BPA is a toxic xenoestrogen, which just means it's like the female hormone estrogen, except for two things: 1) it's foreign to the body, which is what "xeno" means, and 2) it is way more harmful than our natural estrogen for everyone, male and female. It can lead to fertility problems and even certain types of cancer, like breast cancer.

Don't Let the Word "Natural" Fool You

Excuse the cliche, but when it comes to food, never, ever "judge the book by its cover!" A few weeks ago, I attended the Natural Products Expo East. One would expect to find only natural food there, right? Well, no, not exactly. There were several products there that were terrific, some that I even fell in love with. I'll blog about those at a later date. At the moment, I need to get a few things off of my chest.

There were many products with soy protein isolate! That is SO far from being natural. First of all, the soy is likely genetically modified. Secondly, soy protein isolate is made in large aluminium bins, which leaches aluminum (a TOXIC metal) into your food!

One product that irked me to the extreme was Chortles. I found the package to be super-cute and I loved the taste! Think Cocoa Puffs! I was mortified when I read the label! It had partially hydrogenated soybean oil. I haven't knowingly consumed that in years! It also had high fructose corn syrup, another ingredient that I avoid like the plague. Lesson learned: even at a natural products expo, you cannot trust that everything is truly natural. Remember this the next time you go to the grocery store, even when you are shopping in the "natural" section!

A Case Against Coupons

“American food-and-beverage producers spend $36 billion annually to advertise and market their products, but practically none of this goes to promote fruit and vegetables—a few million dollars a year compared to the tens of hundreds of millions used to promote any single soft drink, candy bar, or breakfast cereal.” ~ Marion Nestle, What to Eat

I admit it; there is a frugal side to me. In graduate school, I not only read the SundayNew York Times, but also read the local paper just so I could clip coupons. And I used those coupons too for everything from toilet paper to canned soup (ick—I can’t believe I used to unknowingly consume MSG). Anyway, you would think that I would ditch frugality once I learned how to eat healthier, but I did not do so immediately. I did refrain from clipping Sunday paper coupons because I didn’t eat that stuff anymore nor did I use chemically-laden beauty products. Instead though, I would jump at a product in the natural food section of the grocery store that had coupons on the box (and I confess, I’d grab a couple off from other boxes as well). I’d also readily grab those little booklets of coupons that highlight organic foods (not just one or two booklets, but like five). I did this up until about six months ago.

I would look through my coupons every time I wrote my grocery list. I’d add two boxes of Kashi cereal to my list because I HAD A COUPON! I’d add two boxes of Cascadian Farms granola bars because I HAD A COUPON…and so on. Then one day, I reflected on this and decided to ban coupons from my life. You never see coupons for produce (okay, maybe once in a while you’ll see one for bananas, but first you have to buy a sugar-laden cereal that is made with genetically engineered corn. No, thank you.). And those organic food-focused coupons, those are no good either. Why? They get you hooked on processed food. Do you notice that you usually have to buy two or three of something to get a discount? I don’t know about you, but if I didn’t have a coupon, I certainly wouldn’t buy two or three boxes of granola bars!

Since I’ve weaned off my coupon addiction, I rarely crave processed food. I’d take homemade granola over boxed cereal any day! And fruit and veggies have become my favorite snacks. I kid you not. Am I still frugal? Yes, I am when I have to be; hey, I’m not rich! In my next couple blogs, I will share with you ways that you can eat outstandingly healthy and still SAVE!

LOCAVORE CHALLENGE DAYS 5-7

NOFA knew what they were talking about by labeling this Locavore adventure I’ve been partaking in as a “challenge.” It was a heck of a lot more challenging than I would’ve ever imagined it would be. How do I grade myself? A solid B +. As you saw in my previous entry, I did cave in and had gluten-free pretzels. I also had to alternate my five cheats each day; without that switch up, I don’t think I could have completed the challenge. So to summarize the final three days of my locavore challenge…

Day 5:

Day 5 was a rough day at work. Super-busy insanity. For breakfast that morning, I had my non-local muesli; this time, I ate it like oatmeal so that I wouldn’t have to waste a cheat on rice milk. I brought a local egg and cheese wrap with a non-local brown rice tortilla to work with me; that was to be my brunch, but I didn’t even get to eat it until 3:00 PM and followed that with a succulent local, organic peach. Brent and I went to Empire Brewery and I had a delicious local free-range turkey sandwich with sautéed onions and peppers and chipotle mayonnaise; let’s call it a Philly Cheese Steak-Shannon style! And I had a most delicious local beer called Golden Dragon.

Day 6:

Day 6 was by far the most difficult day. I had local eggs with local cheese and a non-local piece of toast for breakfast. For lunch, I had local purple string beans dipped in babaganoush. At 4:30 PM, I had to rush to the airport for a flight from Syracuse to NYC. I had a local peach while I was waiting to board. After boarding the plane, we all learned that our flight would be delayed for an uncertain amount of time. That uncertain amount of time turned into turned into three hours. Needless to say, I was starving when I arrived at JFK. I didn’t find anything local at the airport, but I did find two healthy and organic options. An organic chicken sandwich, and an organic fig and pistachio bar. Both options made me happy.

Day 7:

I didn’t get much sleep the night before, so I opted for black coffee in the morning as one of my non-local cheats. I met my friend Judy at the Union Square Green Market and we shared a rosemary-garlic sourdough baguette with local honey chevre. That was absolutely delectable! We then shopped for all kinds of local veggies that we would later roast for dinner along with homemade pesto from basil picked out of her garden. I forgot how scrumptious and appetizing roasted veggies were. I’ll be roasting away all fall and will have recipes to share. Locavore Challenge completed!

If you ever in Syracuse, you must go to empire Brewery; they source a great deal of their food locally and have damn good beer!

Hot peppers growing in Judy's Bedstuy Brooklyn garden! So pretty!

It's amazing to me how heat alone can add so much flavor to vegetables. Judy and I roasted these veggies at 475 degrees for 20 minutes. What a super fast meal. Roasting makes onions so sweet and eating onions prepared this way doesn't make your breath smell!

Locavore Challenge Days 2 and 3

Being a true Locavore is tough work especially when you thrive on variety! I have thoroughly enjoyed eating seasonally-available foods since spring but there are some things that are available year-round that I am not loving much anymore. I can not eat another egg! That feeling put me in a jam yesterday for breakfast. I HAD to have my Bob’s Red Mill muesli! Some may argue that I should have had Mu Mu Muesli because it is produced locally. However the ingredients are not local so I somewhat feel as though that doesn’t count, though I LOVE SUPPORTING LOCAL COMPANIES, PRODUCERS, ETC. And I will vouch that Mu Mu Muesli is delicious!

Being at work on my locavore diet has been challenging. I had to ignore my Cajun-spiced pumpkin seeds and my licorice. I am a grazer; I think it’s a product of being an athlete and bordering hypoglycemic. I generally eat 4-6 small meals a day. I found it SO odd yesterday that I didn’t need to graze. I was totally satiated by ¾ cup muesli with rice milk for breakfast and then 1 ½ cups of my quinoa with local veggies for lunch. Granted I did have a BIG cup of iced black tea and the caffeine could have been suppressing hunger. I didn’t even want my yummy gluten-free allowable chocolate chip cookies. When I arrived home from work yesterday, I had my local peach that I forgot to eat at work. And then I reheated the homemade chicken soup for dinner and made a beet, goatcheese spicy greens solely-locally produced salad. Gotta love the yellow and red/white striped beets from Wyllie Fox Farm! The goat cheese and spicy greens came from Monarch Farm. And Brent’s client tipped him with some local beer. I only had a few sips, but it was tasty! So, I’ve decided my five non-local ingredients can rotate by the day. Monday, my non-local five were: muesli, rice milk, quinoa, black tea, and the rice that was in the chicken soup.

Today, I had muesli again. And I had quinoa salad again for lunch. I had my peach at work in the mid-afternoon and two of my gluten-free cookies. Then I strength trained and was soooooooooooo hungry after the fact that I had to have some of my gluten-free pretzels with the baba ganoush. So, there goes my five non-local foods: muesli, tea, rice milk, quinoa, cookies, pretzels and baba ganoush! Oops-that’s seven! Good thing my dinner was entirely local: local chorizo sautéed with local red onion, over baked butternut squash with dried oregano from my herb garden and other spices (shhh…not local) like cumin and cayenne. I’m about ready to have a couple of slices of local cantaloupe and then to bed I go! I have leftover dinner for lunch tomorrow. But dinner might have to be a trip to Empire Brewery!

Local chicken soup with local beet medley, goat cheese, spicy baby greens salad!

Local chorizo with local green chard, local red onion, over local butternut squash!

Locavore Challenge Days 1 and 2

I am attempting to be a locavore for an entire week. I’m on Day 2 and it is HARD! I am partaking in the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)’s Locavore Challenge. It’s happening for the entire month of September. You can choose to be a locavore for a day, a week, or a month. When I first learned of this challenge back in July, my intention was to do it for an entire month, but then I remembered that I had the Montreal Marathon in September. There’s no way I’d be able to melt into the magic of Montreal if I had to scout out only local food. Brent and I opted the challenge for a week.

If you would’ve asked me a week ago how much of my food is local, I would’ve confidently replied “About 90 %.” Wrong! I’m only now realizing this. So, for this challenge, we’re allowed to select five non-local foods to have in our food repertoire. That was easy for me: quinoa, brown rice (as athletic as Brent and I are, we need grains to sustain us), tea, my gluten-free chocolate chip cookie mix, and chocolate.

Day 1:
So yesterday, I started to prepare a homemade tomato soup. This was my first time peeling tomatoes! Oh my goodness, I was like a kid tying her shoes for the first time! Success! But then I started adding ingredients and looked at my spice cabinet, dismayed that so few of my spices are local. Fortunately in the locavore challenge, spices don’t count; they have a Marco Polo rule. After cooking though, I had to expand that rule to include ANYTHING that I use to season my food with (and sadly it’s a long list: vinegars, several spices (like asafetida powder), lemons, broths, yikes! At any rate, my homemade tomato soup was so delicious with a dozen fresh, local heirloom tomatoes (thanks to Wyllie Fox Farm). I wanted to have grilled cheese sandwiches with the soup. Ugh—Bread! And I can only eat sourdough; I get hives when I eat any other type of bread. Brent and I scoured the market looking for sourdough bread with flour that was made locally. The closet we could get was Vermont, but the vendor made us aware that there “could be some North Dakota flour mixed in there.” We’re trying. We used a local sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

Day 2:
Breakfast was easy. We had local eggs, with local goat cheese, with chives from my herb garden and leftover local eggplant parm (oops the tomato sauce was not local, but I guess that can count as a seasoning?), and the semi-local sourdough bread toasted. Lunch was my yummy quinoa, corn, cucumber salad. And the corn and cukes were local! Dinner is cooking in the crockpot right now. Homemade chicken and rice soup with a local organic chicken, wild rice, local carrots, celery (shoot that’s not local either, but it is organic!), local garlic, and lots of chives and parsley from my herb garden!

Two days almost done! Five to go! Stay tuned! Definitely contact me if you’re up for this challenge!

Simplicity: A Lifestyle

Isn’t it crazy how complicated we make our lives through technological advances? The things that are supposed to make our lives “easier,” can in fact make our lives less meaningful. Think of all of your acquaintances; they all have mobile phones, right? And many, if not all, have Blackberries or other email-functioning mobile devices. This is just one example of how technology dominates our lives.

Americans are seduced into thinking that we need these items in order to be satisfied. Think of how many young lives are sucked up by video games. Think of how many miles are put on our vehicles. Think of hours used in cyber world.

I challenge you all to try to simplify your lives some. Go back to basics. Spend time “in person” with your close friends as opposed to skyping with them! Encourage your kids to “go outside and play.” Play with them! Fly a kite!

This reflection was inspired by a new Canadian friend that Brent and I met in Montreal. Francois owns a Bed and Breakfast. He and his wife Isabelle opted to make this their career so they could spend more time with their two children. Francois mentioned several facets of their lives that I admire and each facet revolves around the notion of simplicity. Here are just a few.


1.) His children are given a choice to either go outside and play or play an educational game on the computer (no Wii in this family)! They choose outside almost every time!
2.) The family owns only one car and they use it sparingly.
3.) Many of their friends take holidays to far-away places like Cuba. They stay close-to-home generally.
4.) They bring LIFE to their home with COLOR as opposed to material objects. One immediately feels at peace merely by looking at the walls.
5.) The family takes strolls through parks together.

Don’t let technology interfere with your life. Yes, I am usually writing about food and encouraging you to feed yourself this nutrient or that nutrient and I’m also telling you to avoid this toxin or that toxin. Remember though, that relationships are of primary importance to your health. So too is nature. You can experience both by simplifying your life a bit. Turn your computer off now and go get a coffee with a chum!




A Clutter-Free room makes a Clutter-Free Mind!

I have Converted...to a Container Gardener

If you told me last summer that I’d be growing a container garden of tomatoes, green peppers, zucchini, mint, parsley, basil, cilantro, sage, lavender, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, and chives, I’d laugh hysterically. I do not have a green thumb at all. But, I’m attempting to develop one. This summer, I grew all of the above. Some of my growing was successful; some was not. For those items that were not successful, I’m learning what to do next year and I’m eager for the challenge. I’m open to ANY suggestions on how I can transform this thumb of mine into a bright-and-shining shade of green.

My Outdoor Garden:

Tragedy # 1: I was way too enthusiastic! I planted my bell peppers, tomatoes, and a variety of herbs the second week in May. We had two frosts in May. During the first one, Brent and I carried the plants indoors. YIKES! What a workout. During the second frost, we were away, which resulted in the deaths of my pepper plants, parsley, and cilantro.

Tragedy # 2: Mr. Groundhog. He had quite the obsession with my zucchini flowers. I sprinkled my dog’s fur around our plants, put up ugly windmills to frighten him, sprayed vinegar, etc. I didn’t ever see him again, but my zucchini never did grow (I should probably mention they were free as part of the Finger Lakes Wine + Herb Tour…I’ll decline the plants next time).

Tragedy # 3:

Not enough drainage. I was intelligent and drilled holes in all my plant pots...and lined the bottom with pebbles for helpful drainage…except Brent did not properly drill holes in my plum tomato pot…I got three lone tomatoes from that plant!

Tragedy # 4:

Beatles! They’re back and they’re big and gross! They love my basil. Oddly, they would go through phases; one week they’d munch away, the next week they wouldn’t. I was still able to make tons of pesto, so this was the mildest of tragedies.

Okay, on a positive note, I did get over a dozen yummy tomatoes, plenty of parsley, a lot of basil, and a decent amount of mint.

My Indoor Garden:

My little herb box contained chives, thyme, tarragon, mint, and sage. I have a separate lavender plant and a separate rosemary plant. All get plenty of drainage and sunlight. I think I didn’t tug enough at the roots of my chives, tarragon, or thyme seedlings before planting them because they didn’t live very long.

What I love about indoor herb gardens is that I can attempt to grow all year long! I better re-pot my lavender soon too because it is outgrowing its pot!

All in all, a positive experience. And few things are as therapeutic as digging in dirt, especially after a long day at work!

Sadie's fur and this flower windmill did seem to scare the groundhog away!

My window herb box looked so lovely until the chives and tarragon kicked the bucket!

I suspect that this gigantic beetle ate my basil. Here, he/she's munching on our grape vine!

Isn't this tomato a beauty? I'm so psyched that I grew this!

You Ain't Gonna Find a Cucumber Like This at Whole Foods

I remember when I first discovered Whole Foods; it was the summer of 1999, a few years before I began my adventure into holistic nutrition counseling. I was in complete awe of the fruit and vegetable arrangements; the beauty of the peppers in orange, red, yellow, and green stacked to perfection astounded me. I had a friend who lived near Whole Foods and was completely irritated to learn that she couldn’t get Crisco there; I thought the concept was kind of cool and that was before I even learned that Crisco was nothing more than trans fat grossness!

So at first, I thought Whole Foods was pretty darn awesome even though it didn’t quite welcome those with budgets like mine; I was a graduate student after all and absolutely agreed with the nickname “Whole Paycheck.” As I began to learn the differences between organic and conventional vegetables and fruits, I developed an aversion toward Whole Foods. I could not BELIEVE that they made people believe that because they shopped there, they were eating healthier foods, when in fact, the majority of their food was pesticide-laden conventional foods. Yes, they do offer plenty of organic, but it’s not all organic.

At any rate, I recently bought the most delicious, organic cucumber I have ever had. Where did I get it? I bought it from my CSA, Wyllie Fox Farm, for $1.00. It was so big that I was able to use it in two different salads. Try this recipe. So delicious. And to think, you can get such a gorgeous cucumber for less than a cup of coffee, isn’t that great?

Brent shows off our awesome cucumber!!!

Shannon’s Dilly-Wonder Salad:

Ingredients:

SALAD

- 1 cucumber sliced thinly (or in the case of a cucumber as big as mine, you only need half)

- 5 cups baby salad mix

- 1 cup shredded carrot

- ½ cup chopped dill

DRESSING

- ¼ cup lemon juice

- 4 Tablespoons olive oil

- ¼ teaspoon Herbamare or sea salt

- 2 Tablespoons agave nectar

- Ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix the salad ingredients together. Toss in the dressing.

I Heart My CSA

Each spring, I get super-psyched about my “CSA season,” which typically runs from June through November here in the Northeast. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture; its structure connects conscientious consumers to a local farmer. As a CSA member, you purchase a share of the farm and in return receive an abundance of seasonal produce every week throughout the CSA season.

I have been a member of three different CSAs: one in New York City, one in Easton, PA, and my newest CSA in my newest city of residence, Syracuse. I feel amazingly gratified to be able to say that my CSA, Wyllie Fox Farm, just received its USDA organic certification! The USDA has many specifications for farmers who choose to become officially organic and the process of becoming legally organic is so arduous that many farmers choose not to apply for the certificate. In order to become USDA certified organic, a farm has to refrain from using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers; they can not use plastic mulches, they can not use non-organic transplants; they are not allowed to use any synthetic materials in their washing, handling, and storing of the produce; the list goes on and on. But Jamie and Maggie Edelstein work very hard to meet the USDA certified organic specifications.

Here is an example of a large share! So many greens! And rhubarb!

(wait until you find out what I did with THAT!)

Brent and I had the great pleasure of visiting the farm and celebrating their certification. They’re totally GREEN! For example, the plastic that they use for their high tunnels is recycled; it came from farmers who no longer need high tunnels. The farm equipment appears archaic, but hey, it does the job; they feel no need to get the “latest and greatest” farm equipment.

We are thrilled about our CSA! We’re splitting it with a friend so it’s only costing us $275 a season. $275 for 20 weeks! That comes out to $13.75 a week. What a deal for the freshest, local, organic produce!