by Melanie Albert, Food and nutrition expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC.
Our card today from my new “A New View of Healthy Eating, A 55-Card Deck”:
Eat What You Love
A New View of Healthy Eating, A 55-Card Deck: Eat What You Love
I was very excited about his message today, as I have one of my favorite foods in my home right now, organic dark chocolate, which I will definitely enjoy.
To me, the message around this card is to give ourselves permission to eat and enjoy foods that we may have deprived ourselves from eating in our past or even today.
I invite you, right now, to grab a piece of paper and pencil and do the following exercise:
Step 1: Write down all of the foods that you absolutely love. Be creative. Write down all of the foods, even from spices, to olive oil, to fruits, to veggies, to snacks, to beverages.
Step 2: Now, draw a circle around 5 of those foods that you generally deprive yourself of. That is, you love the food, but you do not eat that food.
Step 3: Draw another circle around one of those 5 foods that you commit to eat this week. Choose your food that you will, right now, give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Unconditional permission to eat with joy!
Step 4: Say out loud with passion: “I love my life and I give myself unconditional permission to eat_________________” (fill in your food)
Step 5: Go out and purchase your food or go out to a restaurant and enjoy your food with a friend.
Step 6: Share your experiences with us on Facebook. Would love to see your photos of you enjoying your “eat what you love food” and how this experience was for you.
Often when we do this “eat what you love” exercise in classes and workshops, people give themselves permission to eat chocolate cake. Pizza is always on the top of the list. Many love ice cream. Do you relate?
In this blog we are focusing on shopping, where and how to shop for real whole foods.
Shop local and in season. When we eat food that is grown by local farmers, community gardens or our home gardens, our food is fresher and more nutritious since it is more recently harvested has not traveled thousands of miles and many days to arrive at a grocery store and our table. When we eat food that is in season, we eat food that our bodies naturally need at that particular time of the year or location around the world. We also support our local farmers and local economy. And, we have the opportunity to experiment with new foods that we may not be familiar with.
“I love to the opportunity to try new-to-me foods, especially when I shop at farmers markets. Sometimes I do not recognize a plant food, but I buy it anyway and experiment with it in my kitchen or classes.” Melanie Albert
Enjoy Intuitive Shopping. Enjoy the Process of Intuitive Shopping. When we shop for our food, it’s important to first pause and listen to our body. What are we craving right now? When shopping, shop mindfully and pay attention to the foods, colors, textures, and even aromas we are intuitively drawn to. Sometimes we might be drawn to lots of greens, other times it may be citrus or tomatoes. This is especially fun when we shop at different farmers markets and notice our choices in food during different times of the year.
“Intuitive shopping is fun. Listen to your cravings and shop with your senses.” Melanie Albert
This week, visit a farmers’ market and shop with your intuition. Come over to our new page on Facebook, and share photos of your shopping experience: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating
For daily motivation check out our new: “A New View of Healthy Eating, 55-Card Deck.” Available NOW www.EXPNutrition.com
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, Phoenix, AZ. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition and Whole Food Cooking Instructor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.
I am excited to share that I’m working on my new book, pulling together my new thoughts, approaches to cooking and eating over the last few years. I started teaching simple cooking with small groups in 2007 and in 2008 I began teaching former NFLplayers and their families, kids , seniors, and holistic practitioners (such as yoga teachers, life coaches). Since my early work, my work has evolved.
I noticed that my way of teaching simple healthy cooking that works, is fun, and creative, blends several different methods or concepts:
Shopping. Cooking and eating intuitively.
Using simple professional culinary methods to prepare and cook food.
Using beautiful farmers market-fresh local, organic food, as much as possible and eating with the season.
Bringing mindfullness and intuitiveness to enjoying eating.
I have now worked with 1,000s of people, guiding them to cook; Completed a Professional Plant-based Culinary Course with Rouxbe in early 2015; completed a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification with Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in 2015 and am now a 200 hour registered yoga teacher; and I have had the honor to teach Whole Food Cooking and Conscious Eating courses at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts since March 2014 and have reached hundreds of students and their families.
As a result of my new experiences , I have come to writing this new book with a new view, with such new knowledge, skills and awareness, that I want to share it with the world to guide and encourage others to really enjoy shopping, cooking and eating food with family and friends; and to add-in some self care, such as yoga each and every day. Combining the enjoyment of food and life.
I am very excited and will share with you my ideas, writing, photos along the way in my writing process and look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
Please visit us on Facebook and share your new ways of cooking and enjoying food.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition and Whole Food Cooking Instructor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.
This week during our Whole Food S.O.U.L. (Seasonal Organic Unprocessed Local) Cooking Class at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, Arizona, I shared one of my favorite quotes which is totally in-sync with way I cook and teach intuitive cooking with real whole foods.
Enjoy the quote from Alice Waters, organic food activist and writer and founder of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, which is the model of edible education for youth gardening and cooking programs across the USA. Click here to learn more about The Edible Schoolyard Project.
Inspired by Alice Waters
I am also very inspired by Alice Waters overall philosophy, which is showcased at The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley.
Alice Waters Philosophies
Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a few months in Berkeley and enjoyed peaceful quiet time at the Edible Schoolyard at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School.
If you have ever visited the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, or in other cities across the country, we invite you to post photos on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/experience.nutrition.now
by Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Food Expert, Author, Speaker, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
I’ve been enrolled in a Professional Plant-based Culinary Certification Course with Rouxbe. This week, one of my creations was Raw Crackers which are so incredibly tasty and beautiful that I’m sharing the recipe, and step-by-step raw food process with you. Once you make these crackers, I have a feeling that you’ll never want to eat processed crackers again. Enjoy!
Raw Dehydrated Organic Flax Seed & Almond Crackers
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
Simple Ingredients MIse en Place
¾ cup golden flax seeds, ground, then soaked in 1.5 cups of water
¾ cup raw almonds, soaked for 2 to 3 hours, until soft, drained
1 ¼ cup yellow bell pepper
2-3 green onions, chopped
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and drained (use my own dehydrated Roma tomatoes)
1 ½ TBSP onion granules
1 tsp sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS: Make the Batter
Blend flax seeds and almonds in food processor until smooth
Blend all remaining ingredients (separate from flax seeds and almonds) in food processor until smooth
Add the vegetable ingredients to the flax seed/almond mixture, and fold to thoroughly combine
SIMPLE STEPS: Dehydrate the Crackers
Set dehydrator at 115 degrees (I use an Excalibur, which I love!)
Evenly spread mixture, less than ¼ inch thick, on a non-stick dehydrator sheet (or parchment paper)
Dry in dehydrator for 2 to 3 hours, then score into crackers
Dry for another 2 to 3 hours, then flip crackers onto dehydrator trays (without the parchment paper or non-stick dehydrator sheet)
Love this quote from author, restauranteer, and activist Alice Waters, who has been a “healthy food” leader and innovator for decades. Her perpective captures the concept of Intutive Eating & Cooking…
9 Ways 90 Days Favorite Food Quote
Enjoy your Intuitive shopping, cooking and mindful eating today!
Click here to learn more about how to intuitively shop, cook & eat to reach your 2015 Goals.
Top 4 Tips to Eat & Cook Intuitively to Reach Your 2015 New Year Eating & Weight Goals
by Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition
Every year half of Americans make New Year Resolutions, with weight loss at the top of the list. This year in 2015, rather than going on a diet, eat and cook intuitively to naturally achieve your weight loss goals.
Intuitive Cooking Experience: Shop at a Farmers Market
1. Shop at a farmers’ market and eat with the season. Eat based on what our Arizona farmers are growing. When you shop, use your intuition. Choose foods based on their beauty, colors and textures. You’ll be shopping mindfully, eating fresher food, and supporting our local farmers and economy.
2. Listen to your Body. Pay attention to when your body is hungry and when it’s full. Before you eat, pause and notice whether you’re feeling physical hunger, or eating based on emotions such as boredom, eating because it’s a certain time of day, or eating to be social. On the other side, pay attention to your body while eating and stop eating when you’re satisfied. Don’t wait until you’re stuffed to stop eating.
3. Cook Intuitively. Learn a few basic healthy recipes and cooking techniques (such as roasted, stir-fried, or steamed veggies) to enjoy preparing your meals. In the winter you may roast warming root vegetables with quinoa; and in the summer you may prefer refreshing steamed veggies and a salad.
4. Eat Mindfully. Take time to really enjoy eating. Plate your food beautifully. Notice the aromas, textures and colors of your meal. Sit at your dining room table to eat. Slow down and really taste the food you are eating.
Take Action Share your Intuitive Eating & Cooking photos with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/9Ways90Days
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Certified Health Coach.
I’d like to share with you a guided visualization with intuitive eating that I recently shared in our Feel Fit Yoga class at Spirit of Yoga in Tempe, Arizona. After 90 minutes of a beautiful yoga practice with Will Zecco, full of pranayama, asana including lots of warriors, our Hindu squats and closing with singing bowl and gong savasana, I guided the students through a guided visualization inviting them to go back to their early eating memories.
Melanie Albert: Intuitive Eating at Spirit of Yoga in Tempe, Arizona
Intuitive Eating Childhood Memories
I invite you to sit quietly, close your eyes, take a deep inhale and deeply exhale out through your mouth a few times. Now, quietly read and visualize your own eating memories.
I invite you to go back to your very first memory of eating. What did you eat? Where were you? Who were you eating with? Who prepared the food? How did the food taste? How did it smell? What were the textures of the food? How did you feel when eating the food? Was the food hot? Warm? Cold? How did your body feel? How did you feel while eating your food?
Now, take a few minute to journal or reflect on your memories and come on over to our Facebook page and share with us.
Early Eating Memories
Some of the early memories of eating of the yoga students in the class include:
• When I was a child, we didn’t have a lot of money, so my mom always made grains and beans for breakfast. We were very satisfied and happy.
• My Great Grandmother cooked Swedish pancakes, with a lot of butter and sugar. Now, after all these decades, I see why I love and crave sugar.
• I remember the ice cream truck bell and running out in the street to buy my frozen treat. Today, ice cream is still one of my favorite snacks.
• We lived on a farm in the mid-West and most of our food came from our huge garden. I especially remember my mom cooking and our family eating purple beets.
• I remember making pancakes that looked like snowmen with my Grandmom. I can still see her teaching me how to cook the pancakes with lots of bubbles, and I remember the sweet, yummy thick syrup.
• I was 5 years old and I was baking a cake with my Grandmother. It was an amazing chocolate cake made by scratch.
Back to the Basics
It’s so interesting to reflect on our childhood eating memories. Not only do they affect our eating habits as adults, but they are also very significant in our lives. We very clearly remember our cooking and eating experiences, the aroma, who we were with, the tastes and the enjoyment of eating.
It’s also interesting that we have really come full circle. 360 degrees. Today, I teach basic whole foods intuitive cooking, like our Grandmom’s and Mom’s did. In my writings and cooking classes we focus on real whole foods that are minimally processed, including grains, beans, fruit and vegetables. And, I love to encourage the enjoyment of cooking and eating.
I invite you to visit our Facebook page and share your early eating memories. Enjoy!
