ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FATHER'S DAY MENU

Have you been looking for an easy and healthy recipe idea for this Father’s Day that isn’t going to make you feel bloated?  

Here is a total menu from a no-added sugar cocktail to the grilled veggies and meat that will make everyone happy.  Grilled vegetables and lean protein can make for an excellent and healthy meal. Cooking them over actual fire can bring out a bouquet of smells and an assortment of flavors that will dance across your taste buds, but you’re probably curious to know which veggies can go great together.  

Give these a try this Father’s Day to keep it simple, delicious and healthy.  

Watermelon Mojito:

Instead of using sugar, use a wooden pestle or a big spoon to gently crush cubes of fresh watermelon with fresh mint leaves. Add rum and sparkling water for a sweet mojito with half the usual calories.

Grilled Veggie Medley:

This is a relatively simple and easy recipe to make. All you have to do is lay out onions, yellow bell peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, a sprig or two of fresh thyme, and zucchini slices on a sheet of foil. You can drizzle them with your favorite olive oil and season with sea salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper to taste. Once the grill is properly hot, place the foil with the veggies on the grill. Let it cook for at least 15 minutes. Once the vegetables have slightly blacked edges you can remove them from the grill to cool down.  I like to make these in single serving packet sizes so each person can open their own veggie packet.

Marinated Grilled Salmon:

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice 

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

3 pounds salmon fillets

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, green onions, parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade. Place salmon in a shallow dish and pour the remaining marinade over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove the salmon and discard the used marinade.

You can use this same marinade for chicken, steak or even a pork loin.

Now you’re ready to serve up some great healthy food for Father’s Day!

IT'S A PIZZA PARTY!

GRAB THIS EASY-PEASY GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE!

Summer is here and that means the heat is here, too. No one is interested in slaving over a hot stove to cook dinner when it’s hot outside. This easy-peasy pizza is the answer to a quick, delicious and gluten-free pizza that will satisfy everyone’s hunger.

This dough is easy to throw together and you can make a couple of them in just a few minutes. Grab everyone’s favorite toppings at the store and let the family pitch in to prep the toppings.

TWO INGREDIENT PIZZA DOUGH

Make your own self-rising flour by combining:

1 ¼ cups gluten-free flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

 ¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup plain greek yogurt

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F. Mix together.  Add a few tablespoons of water if the dough seems dry.  Mix together in a bowl with a fork, then move to a flat surface to knead together with hands until smooth (around 8 minutes).  You can also just add this to a mixer with a dough hook and mix together until dough forms together (3-4) minutes.  

Roll pizza dough out onto a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal so it doesn’t stick to the pan.  Roll out into a 12”-14” round or square, depending on what type of pan you are using. 

Pizza sauce:  use about ⅓ cup of an organic pizza sauce (I sometimes just use a jar of organic marinara sauce) or a pesto sauce. If you use a pesto sauce, be sure to drain most of the oil off before spreading on the pizza or the pizza will be quite oily.  

⅓ cup mozzarella cheese

Toppings:  Use your favorite toppings such as mushrooms, onions, nitrate-free meats for the pepperoni or ham, fresh tomato, fresh basil, or sweet peppers.  Fresh garlic is also very tasty! Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

4 AMAZING BENEFITS YOU GET BY ADDING YOGA AND PILATES TO YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE

So, you already have a workout routine that is working well for you. You are getting in your cardio and your weight training. The problem is, you still have some flexibility issues and you need something on to give you an option for muscles and strength training. One way to do that is to add yoga and pilates to your workout routine. If you aren't sure this will work for you, consider these benefits.

Leaner Muscle

One of the main benefits of adding yoga and pilates to your workout routine is to work on leaner muscle. If you are already doing weight lifting or weight training, you may notice that your muscles are building. This is great, but you may want them to be leaner offering more flexibility to you in your day and in your workouts overall. Yoga and Pilates can give you that easily and is one of the main reasons that people do add it to their workout plan.

Stretching

You may think that stretching goes hand in hand with leaner muscle. It does and it doesn't. Stretching has additional benefits such as better circulation. It also helps cut down on inflammation from other workouts. In addition, the stretching portions of yoga and pilates are instrumental in improved posture. You can also find that your range of motion gets better when you add the stretching of yoga and pilates to your current workout routine.

Body Awareness

Yoga provides you with the ability to have increased body awareness. This increased body awareness lets you notice if you have strains in parts of your body you would not have normally noticed. You can also notice if you have increased inflammation in areas or if you just simply are having pain that you should not have. Body awareness is an ideal reason to add yoga and pilates to your workout plan and routine.

Meditation

Yoga and pilates also brings in mediation to your daily workout and workout plan. This can help you handle stress easily and help you work through problems and issues that you normally would not think of during your normal workout. Overall, this can be a huge benefit if you are overly stressed and concerned about your stress levels during your day.

By keeping these benefits in mind, you can begin to look through the large number of yoga and pilates styles to find the ones that work best for you and your lifestyle. Remember, there are many styles like Barre that combine yoga and pilates to maximize your time an

THREE HIIT WORKOUTS YOU CAN DO ANYWHERE

HIIT WORKOUTS

Looking for a workout you can get done quickly and feel like you’ve worked your body? 

Here are three HIIT workouts you can try at home just using your body weight.

Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.  

Suggestion:  If you are just starting back into working out,  be safe and only do what you can.  Start with 30 seconds per exercise and work up to 60 seconds per exercise, or more as you get stronger.  Google any exercise you don’t recognize and watch a video on how to perform it correctly.  

WORKOUT 1

Wall Sit 

High Knees 

Body Weight Squats 

Burpees 

Lunges 

Push ups 

4 rounds of each exercise.

WORKOUT 2

Plank 

Push ups 

Squats 

Lying hip raises 

Plank 

Push ups 

Squats 

4 rounds of each exercise 

WORKOUT 3

Jumping jacks 

Crunches 

Tricep dips

Side Lunge

Pushups

Butt Kickers

Squats

4 rounds of each exercise

SPICE UP YOUR MEALS WITH THESE HOME-GROWN HERBS

When you are trying to lose weight and remove inflammation from your body, you will find yourself cooking a lot more at home.  Most of the dishes you make can be spiced up with herbs and spices from your garden or pantry.    Fresh herbs provide a burst of flavor as well as nutrition because they are full of antioxidants and vitamins.  Here are some herbs you can grow in your garden or on your patio during the summer season. 

Parsley 

The first herb you can grow in the spring and use to flavor your dishes is parsley. This is really good when you want to make dishes with rich flavors, similar to Italian and Mediterranean dishes. It is also an herb that is relatively easy to grow, so even someone without a lot of experience gardening can grow parsley. You will find both flat-leaved and curly-leaved parsley plants.  

Cilantro 

Another herb that is great for salads as well as Mexican flavored dishes is cilantro. Cilantro can be grown from the seed or by getting a cilantro plant, since it is a good herb for beginners. If you are going to make salsa to add to your meals, you definitely want access to some fresh cilantro at home! Cilantro can be started in the spring, even if it is still a little cold where you live. This is a very tolerant herb and can survive in many different climates. 

Dill 

There are so many things you can do with dill, so if you have room in your herb garden, definitely consider adding it. Not only can you use it for dishes like cucumber salad, but it is also good with other vegetable dishes and tastes great with fish and seafood. If you want dill in the spring and summer, you should plant it a few weeks before spring begins as long as you don’t have a bad frost. It does best with full sunlight, so it isn’t the best for indoor herb gardening. Though if it is going indoors, just make sure you keep it by a south or west-facing window. 

Basil 

Who doesn’t love cooking with basil? Here is another Italian herb that goes great with meat, salads, vegetables, and tons of other wonderful meals.  A little basil goes a long way, especially when you are picking it fresh from your own herb garden. This can grow well indoors as long as it is placed near a sunny window, so it is also perfect for container gardening. 

I hope that you give these delicious herbs a try this summer as you are cooking from home.  

HAPPY HOUR COCKTAILS MADE HEALTHY

As we start cooking out more and enjoying happy hour outside on the deck, here are a couple of healthier versions of cocktails that you can try!  Both are low in sugar and one of them uses Kombucha, which adds beneficial probiotics to your digestive system.  

Watermelon Mint Cooler

It's refreshing and tastes like America in a glass!  Perfect for Memorial Day, 4th of July or celebrating your favorite patriot. 

To make it, add 3-4 chunks of fresh watermelon to your glass and crush.  Add 3 to 4 mint leaves to a highball glass, then top with 1 ounce of your favorite vodka.  For sweetness add 1 to 2 teaspoons of 100% maple syrup (or to taste). Use a fork to gently crush the mint leaves at the bottom of the glass and stir a few times, then top with a few ice cubes and a few chunks of seedless watermelon. - recipe by Chef Laura Lee

Hibiscus Ginger Fizz

This Hibiscus Ginger Fizz is light and refreshing. Hibiscus is rich in vitamin C and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals to support skin health, and ginger kombucha supports digestive well-being, which is important for glowing skin. Kombucha is also a wonderful way to add healthy probiotics to your digestive system and help reduce inflammation.  

Brew double-strength hibiscus tea: Add 2 tea bags of hibiscus tea (look for organic teas) to 1 cup boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes. Carefully squeeze out tea bags with a spoon. Add 2 ounces of the tea to a tall glass with ice. Add ½ cup ginger kombucha, and stir. You can sweeten with just a touch of 100% maple syrup if you’d like.  Top with sparkling water (passionfruit or mango flavor is great here!) and a sprig of mint or slice of lime.  - recipe by Desiree Nielsen, R.D

My Top Six Favorite Supplements for Digestive Wellness

Here are my Top Six Favorite Supplements that I use to help keep my digestive system healthy and free of inflammation. Eating whole, real foods and removing processed foods is a huge step towards restoring your digestive health, but I also take these natural supplements as a way to add more nutrition that I otherwise would not get. These supplements also help me to fight off inflammation so that I don’t have the bloating and digestive issues. Consider the steps below to restore your own digestive health.  

1.  Probiotic - Your body needs good bacteria to digest food fully allowing nutrition in food to actually benefit your body. These little miracles boost your immune system because 70% of your body’s immune cells live in your digestive track. It is important to have probiotics in your intestines…these get there and work. This one is a clean cucumber flavor and you eat it like a pixie stick.  Sugar free and yummy! Check it out here.

2. Greens drink mix - I LOVE getting my greens in daily!  Vegetables are an important  source of fibre, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and minerals. This is a great way to supplement natural vegetables in your diet.

   Eating a lot of greens helps your body to stay alkaline.  If your body is too acidic, you will have chronic inflammation.  It makes me feel good and all the phytonutrients and superfoods going through my body give me energy!  This greens drink is not sweetened, so you can easily add it to your morning smoothie, without it getting super sweet.  You can find it here.  

3. Adult Multi-Vitamin - Most people don’t get all of the needed vitamins through their diet. Vitamins are not naturally produced and are only obtained through your diet or a supplement (except Vitamin D which comes from the sun). Have more energy. Support your bones, skin, and immune system. When your digestive system is inflamed, you cannot properly absorb your food and nutrients.  I love this multi-vitamin because it has the basic vitamins and minerals that most adults need. Find it here.

4. Ground Flax Seed - It is considered a superfood because it is loaded with benefits. Flax seed contains the omega 3’s, it has healthy fat, fiber, and has lignans which has shown to lower cancer risk.  The fiber in it helps the digestive system stay regular so it doesn’t get clogged, thus helping to remove inflammation.  Lower inflammation, cholesterol, and blood sugar.  Add it to your morning smoothie, or breakfast oats.  You can find it in most grocery stores and health food stores.

5. Maca Powder - Boost your libido and energy! Add a scoop of this powder to your morning smoothie.   I (and my husband) love the benefits!  Maca powder also provides your body with antioxidants.  Maca works to help the body deal with stress, balances hormones, and helps with menopause.  You can find Maca powder at most health food stores.

6. Collagen - Collagen helps to restore soft tissue in your body. Our soft tissues act as the glue that keeps our bones in place. As we age, our bodies are not able to make as much of it and that is when we start seeing the signs of aging. Aches and discomforts, wrinkles, leaky gut and we tend to be more prone to injury. Collagen helps to restore all that. My favorite collagen improves joint mobility and lubrication, reduces joint discomfort, promotes healthy connective tissue, improves skin firmness and elasticity, supports heart health, and also helps reduce inflammation. If you’d like information on my favorite collagen, let me know and I can send you some information about it.

SIMPLE WORKOUTS YOU CAN DO IN UNDER 30 MINUTES

Sometimes a quick workout is all you can get in. When you have work, household responsibilities, children, and a full agenda thirty minutes may even seem like an impossible time frame to get a decent workout in. Before you toss it all and say there is no way you can do it, consider these simple workouts you can do in under 30 minutes while still achieving your fitness goals.

Kettlebell

Kettlebell workouts can be focused on specific body areas. This means that a one hour kettlebell workout can be reduced to less than 30 minutes. You can focus on your back one day, arms the next, legs the following day, and so on. This can give you a full body workout option for the week that also uses limited equipment. If you are looking for simple workout option on a limited budget with limited space, then this may the ideal option.

Tabata

Tabata workouts can be short or long depending on your needs. The key point to keep in mind is that this workout is HITT based. This means that you are working on a specific area of the body, like your arms, then taking a quick rest, and going to the next body area. You can do shorter reps and shorter rests with Tabata workouts. This can shorten the entire workout while still giving you a full body, or partial body, option that works in under 30 minutes. This workout is also one that requires limited to no equipment, which makes it easier to start and finish since you don't have clean-up time or set-up time to consider.

Sectional Body Challenges

You can take on 30 day challenges that are done in less than 30 minutes. Each challenge is designed to help you focus on a particular issue with your body or a particular goal. For example, you can focus on squats or HITT training. The key idea is that you only do the challenge for 30 days and you keep it under 30 minutes. What is ideal about this type of workout plan is the ability to pick challenges that work with your needs, time constraints, goals, and budget.

Spinning

Spinning classes do require one major piece of equipment, a spinning bike. However, this type of workout is high intensity and can get your cardio in while burning the maximum amount of calories available. The key point with this workout is to remember you can do it at home if you have the equipment or you can do it in a gym. It all depends on which one works best for you.

One way you can maximize these workouts is to swap them out or revolve them. Use a different workout each day to keep your body active and to keep yourself from getting into a rut with your exercise. After a few weeks or a few months, change up the intensity or the workout plan to give yourself even more benefit in under 30 minutes.

5 AT HOME WORKOUTS THAT YOU CAN DO WITHOUT EQUIPMENT

When you begin a plan for an at home workout, you may immediately go to the type of equipment you need. It may surprise you to find out there are several workouts that don't require equipment at all. The misconception is that these workouts will not give you the results you need in the time constraints you have. The truth is, these five workouts give you better results than you may think.

Tabata

Tabata workouts require no equipment and give you a full body workout easily. The idea behind tabata is doing intervals of intense workout and then rest. For example, most people start out by doing 20 seconds of high intensity workout followed by 10 seconds of rest. They do this in intervals until the entire body workout is done. You can then repeat this eight or more times. The only weights required are what your own body has to offer. All you need is you and the floor.

Yoga

Yoga can be done with no equipment. Though you may immediately think of things like yoga blocks, straps, resistance bands, and so on. The truth is these may help if you are new to yoga, but they are not required. By knowing a few basic moves, you can make yoga work for you with no equipment at all. You can also span out to options like Tai Chi and other similar workouts. Stationary Walking Stationary walking is just what it sounds like. You follow an online coach on free sites or DVD options and you simply walk through a mile or more. This home workout may sound boring but you will be changing intensity levels, moving your arms during the workout, and combining aerobic workouts with the walking. This is an ideal option that works for people who may not want a treadmill in their home and may not have an area where walking four miles in a short amount of time is doable or safe.

Cardio Dance

Cardio dance uses your imagination and music you enjoy. No equipment is required. You can use the radio on your phone, music on your phone, or some other option for the music. Ideally, you are just dancing. You can do specific dance options for more cardio or full body workouts, but overall this is the same type of cardio you would get a dance club, you are just in your home and dancing to what you want how you want. It will work up your heart rate and help you drop weight easily.

Body Weight Circuit Training

Body weight circuit training is similar to Tabata but does not require the HITT intervals of intense workout and rest. Instead you are doing a series of workouts like push-ups, sit-ups, and so on. You do a certain amount of reps and then move on to the next part of the workout. You use your own body weight to give you resistance.

Something to keep in mind with these workouts is the ability to work them into a revolving routine that gives you maximum results. If you want to purchase weights or other equipment you can, but even at high intensity levels the equipment is is not necessary, making these workouts the most affordable option for your at home needs.

Healthy Spring Time Desserts for Celebrations!

There are lots of delicious recipes that are sweet enough to enjoy on spring holidays like Mother’s Day and Easter! I love giving my clients delicious recipes like these below. You do not have to live in deprivation to be healthy!

5-Ingredient Chewy Coconut Macaroons

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Makes 8-10 macaroons

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites

3 T. honey

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1 c. shredded coconut, unsweetened

¼ t. salt

Directions: Place the top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a Silpat® baking sheet and set aside. Using a hand mixer, briskly beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the honey, vanilla, coconut, and salt into the egg whites with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Do not overwork, but it may require a few folds for the ingredients to start to incorporate with one another. Scoop heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between to prevent overcrowding. Transfer the baking sheet into the oven and bake until the cookies become golden brown on top and around the edges, around 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Strawberry-Banana Granola Parfaits

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

6 large dates, pitted

3 T. natural almond butter

3 T. honey

2 T. coconut oil, melted

1 t. real vanilla extract

1 c. rolled oats

½ t. ground cinnamon

¼ t. salt

¼ c. raw almonds, roughly chopped

2 T. sunflower seeds

2 c. plain Greek yogurt

2 large bananas, sliced

1 c. fresh strawberries, sliced

Directions:

1. Pre-heat -oven to 350°F and line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a bit of overlap on the sides.

2. In a high-powered blender or a food processor, combine the pitted dates, almond butter, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

3. Transfer the date mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the oats, cinnamon, salt, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Mix until well combined and the oats and nuts are nicely coated.

4. Transfer the granola mixture to the prepared baking dish and pat down into an even layer. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake until lightly golden brown and toasted on top, approximately 20 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Granola will crumble as you remove it from the pan, with some larger chunks.

6. To serve, alternate layers of Greek yogurt, granola, sliced bananas, and fresh strawberries in 4 parfait dishes or mason jars. Enjoy!

And then you can try this amazing drink and I am sure everyone will love this drink!

Sparkling Apple-Ginger Punch

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: n/a Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 c. fresh 100% apple juice

1½ c. sparkling water

2 t. ground ginger

1 small orange, thinly sliced

1 small apple, thinly sliced

Ice, to serve

4 large cinnamon sticks

Directions:

1. Add the apple juice, sparkling water, ground ginger, orange slices, and apple slices to a large pitcher or punch bowl and stir to combine.

2. To serve, fill tall glasses with ice and add a cinnamon stick, and fill with the sparkling apple ginger punch. Enjoy!