Slow Cooking Winter Inspiration Without Meat

“Brrrr,” is the first word which comes to mind when you crack open those eyes in the am. Blizzards pounding th east coast. California finally getting some of the rain it so desperately needs. Being surrounded by so much cold and darkness, makes one crave warmth after a long day at work. Why not open the door to a house filled with flavor, aroma, and most importantly, dinner within second. Enter the infamous “Crock Pot” into your life.

Get over those childhood memories of the slow cooker only being used for nachos fundraiser at school. Warm cheese isn’t the only good thing to come from low temperature cooking. Healthy eating gets the winter makeover with the slow cooker. Rethink the possibilities of what delicious can be.

I’ll admit, I was one of those who only thought of the slow cooker for stews. All I thought was, “ughs,” whenever I saw the contraption on the kitchen counter growing up. Meat, it was just full of meat. You ate the same thing day after day. You can’t blame the grown ups for trying to keep a household going. Work, kids, and keeping their sanity during those cold days.

Now it’s your turn to mix it up, and reinvent the concept of the slow cooker. It’s not a device for only cooking meat. It’s a way to prepare healthy, tasty, and savory dishes. Meals which are ready to go the second you walk in the door.

Some will counter, slow cooking takes away nutritional value from vegetables by being exposed to heat for such a long extended period of time. In actuality, it’s far from the case. A large portion of nutrients are found in the skin of vegetables. We usually peel away the goodness because the skin can be tough in it’s raw state, like in carrots. We also think of the skin as a container for foods, such as potatoes. 

The skin is where it’s at when it comes to vegetables. Potato skin has far more fiber, iron, potassium and B vitamins than the flesh itself. It’s also rich in antioxidants. Another vegetable favored by vegans, the infamous eggplant. An eggplant's purple hue comes from a powerful antioxidant called nasunin, which helps protect against cancerous development, especially in the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Nasunin is also believed to have anti-aging properties.

Hello eggplant skin for a fresher, healthier looking you. Eggplant skin is also rich in chlorogenic acid, a phytochemical that boasts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and also promotes glucose tolerance. Most of the benefits are found in skin, but if you want to really reap the all the health benefits of the miracle eggplant. Eat the skin.

So we’ve established vegetables, and their skin is a good thing. Perfect for slow cooker recipes. What else though when chunks of meat is not on the agenda. How else do we create the perfect, well balanced all-in-one meal? It might take a little more prep time than traditional meat and potatoes recipes, but the results will be well worth it.

One of my favorite slow cooker meals includes chickpeas. Chickpeas are a great source of protein, fiber, manganese, and folate. Using the slow cooker you avoid buying those canned vegetables. Yuck. There are so many great recipes. Create your own. Be inspired by the vegetables and grains you love. But enough, onto the slow cooking heaven which is…

Chickpea Chili

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas

2 quarts boiling water

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and crushed

4 cups chopped peeled butternut squash

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

6 cups hot cooked couscous

8 lime wedges

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Place chickpeas in a saucepan; add 2 quarts boiling water. Cover and let stand 1 hour; drain. Place beans in a 6-quart slow cooker.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through turmeric); sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add onion mixture to slow cooker. Add broth and next 4 ingredients (through tomatoes) to slow cooker; cover and cook on HIGH 8 hours.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil; swirl to coat. Add squash; saute 5 minutes. Add squash to slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour; stir in peas. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve over

How To Live The Supermodel Life: Plant Based LIfe

Every body comes in different shapes and sizes. It really is a genetics game. You would think being born with a supermodel body, you’d be eating pizza poolside, but Gisele Bündchen’s chef shares her physique is in part due to a plant based diet. Actually, 80 percent of her and husband’s, pro football quarterback Tom Brady, food comes from vegetables and whole grains. 

I think this would dispels any food myths of a plant based diet not being for those with an active lifestyle. What does chef Allen Campbell’s plant based diet exclude for Bündchen and Brady?

"No white sugar. No white flour. No MSG. I’ll use raw olive oil, but I never cook with olive oil. I only cook with coconut oil... [and] I use Himalayan pink salt as the sodium. I never use iodized salt," Campbell also added coffee, caffeine, fungus and dairy are also off-limits. 

It might sound super restrictive, but Tom takes it a step further with no nightshades. No tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, or eggplants. They cause inflammation, Campbell says. I figure if you’re a Super Bowl MVP several times over, your body is your temple. You will only give it the best fuel to keep you at peak performance.

Supermodels with a 20 year career don’t get there by pure genetics luck. If anything, what Bündchen and Brady’s chef has only taught me is putting pure, chemical free foods in your body will make you healthy, and keep you strong for decades to come. What you put in your body, shows on the outside. Make it the best you can.

So what do I put in my body if I’m speaking chef Campbell’s language. Well, your shopping cart if 80 percent full of organic vegetables and whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, and beans. The other 20 percent is lean meats such as grass-fed organic steak, duck, chicken, and mostly fish, like wild salmon. It can be done, but where to gather inspiration from?

I like the Campbell language, but I couldn’t tell you how to mix it up recipe wise with 80 percent vegetables and grains as your base. It can be done without a personal chef. Since we live in a glorious time, with plenty of apps, a virtual chef is a download away.

Two of my favorite recent app discoveries are Veg Kickstart and Yummly. Yes, there are several out there, but price point, you can’t beat free, and more importantly it makes trying a plant based  easier. It can be a little overwhelming to shake up our diet, so finding tools to make the transition, I’m all about sharing.

First up, Veg Kickstart. Sign up online where you can get the 21-day meal plan, along with restaurant guides, and community forums to mention a few. Personally, I went straight for the app. Nothing to fill out or sync. It’s a straight forward daily meal plan of simple vegan meals to prepare, list of ingredients, directions, and nutritional facts. Very bare bones.  Simple, easy, and manageable tools to help change our lives, not make them more complicated.

If you’re looking for a little exploring versus a laid out meal plan, you’ll fall in love with Yummly. It’s a great interactive website. You tell it your taste preferences, and what foods you rather avoid. Check the boxes, and Yummly will give you the best recipes from your favorite blogs and websites. Instead of having to visit several sites or google searches, you can let Yummly do the work.

Depending on what you’ve told Yummly, you’ll get tiles and tiles of recipes ranging from Detoxinista to Williams-Sonoma. Think of it as your recipe newsfeed. You can add/share your favorite recipes to the Yummly community. But that’s not all my friends.

The app is so easy to use, and in combination with the site, makes it a breeze to shop for meals. There’s a clean, simple shopping list from all the recipes you’ve added to it. You can check off items as you go along, or you “share” it. Making it simple to text or email the shopping list to someone who wants to do the shopping since you’re making the meal.

If you have the Apple watch, you can search for recipes straight from you wrist. You can push the cart down the grocery aisle checking off items from you shopping list, and follow recipe directions without having to stop stirring the sauce. All the pieces of Yummly work great together.

You might not have the personal chef, or the state of the art kitchen with all the bells and whistles, but if anything, you can eat healthy and make it tasty. There are too many tools out there to stop you from making your personal best a reality. Look and feel amazing for years and years to come. Be your own superstar.

5 Tricks For Winter Health and Motivation

“Now what,” is what the little voice in my head says. No, it’s not schizophrenia. It’s what becomes our inner monologue after weeks of traveling, eating, and let’s face it, excitement. Here you are back at the grind, but it’s still winter. It’s cold outside, and the rain really doesn’t help matters. So let’s motivate. Kick up your winter health inspiration with these tips and tricks.

• Rise and Shine Sweetheart

It’s cold. You don’t want to get out of bed. Do yourself a favor, set your alarm clock for half an hour earlier. If you can do more, even better. The holiday break made sleeping in a treat, and now, it’s seems a little easier to hit the snooze button. With it getting dark so early, and the cold not going away for a few months, enjoy the daylight. 

Admit it to yourself. You’re not gonna come home and get all those things chores done. It’s a struggle not to sit on the couch, and marathon watch “Making A Murderer.” The temptation to Neflix binge is strong during the winter, almost like you deserve after making it through a long, dark outside. Enjoy more daylight in your

day, and get the vacuuming done. Your morning meditation done, whatever you decide, but add more “life” to your day vs. zombie tv watching.

• Morning Detox

Have you tried the power of raw coconut vinegar? If you haven’t, you need to get on this asap. You’ve heard of the mircales of apple cider vinegar for a morning cleanse, and all it’s benefits. But raw coconut vinegar kicks it to the curb in terms of benefits, and taste might I add. Try this simple recipe to get your body working right from the start of your day. You’ll help get your internal organs back on track after all the sugar, butter, and fun of the holidays with:

• 1 Tbsp raw coconut vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sacha inchi powder
• 1 Tbsp fresh coconut water probiotic
• 1 Tsp lemon juice
• 1 scoop green superfood (I recommend immunity/tangerine)
• dash of ginger
• dash of cinnamon
• squirt of peppermint spirits
• squirt of cayenne

You might be thrown off by this interesting mixture, but it tastes great. Your body will realign, rebalance itself, and there will be no need for the doughnuts as you walk to your desk. The cold weather makes us feel a little blah, and it’s what leads to the comfort eating. Notice those craving aren’t so strong on a hot, sunny day? Don’t give in, give your body health instead of refined sugars and flour.

• Water Additive

For some reason the cold weather makes it a little harder to get in those daily 64 oz of recommended water into our systems. Somehow we gravitate towards the warm coffee. It perks us up. Feels good when it’s dark so early, and helps motivate us for the rest of the day. Cold weather doesn’t mean we don’t need our daily hydration. 

Add a little kick to your water to make it fun and tasty. Avoid the sugary, processed, “fluffy” drink additives. Try Coco Hydro’s Instant Coconut Water Hydration. It comes in a variety of flavors like original, pineapple or pomegranate raspberry. More importantly it contains 5 macro nutrients like potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium, and zinc. It also has 72 micro nutrients. Did I mention it also tastes great.

• Indoor Workouts

So life is good. You woke up earlier. You did a little morning detox to get your day going. You put the coffee away, and put more water into your system. Now to get our bodies moving. Yes, gotta go outside, where it’s cold, dark, and rainy. Don’t let it stop you from getting your cardio and strength training done. 

Hit up your favorite studio class. A couple of moments in the car will lead to getting all those right spots tone and fit.  The energy from your classmates will motivate to push yourself to break a sweat. If the weather is so bad, driving is not an option, turn on the tv. Yes, it’s more than movies and tv on there. 

Airplay/Chromecast cardio and strength training exercises while you clear a workout space for yourself. Youtube has more than cat videos. Check out channels like Blogilates to burn those muscles in your own living room. There are so many options you’ll never run out of at home exercises to do.

• Winter Workout Outfit

For those days you cannot be indoors anymore, take it outside with winter workout gear. Our drawers seem to be full of cotton yoga pants and lycra stretchy pants, but when it comes to braving the elements do a little splurging. It’s hard to run or hike in those baggy sweatpants and oversized sweatshirts. Let alone go for a walk if your favorite pants might have a hole or two in them. Hey, we’re not judging, comfort is comfort.

Check out Sweaty Betty’s Outdoor Training selection or Lululemon’s Cold Weather Run Gear. You’ll find some great items to keep your ears, head, upper and lower body warm without bulk. You’ll be able to get those limbs moving, and make your workout a reality. Don’t talk yourself out of exercising because of the elements. Enjoy the crip air on your face while you’re bundled up, and getting your heart rate up. The tv and coco will still there when you get back from the outside.