Experience Nutrition

Tag: healthy recipes

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Superfood Wild Blueberry Smoothie

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Superfood Wild Blueberry Smoothie

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Happy New Year 2018 to you! As we start our New Year 2018, I decided to share with you every day (my goal!) a quick look at the meals I prepare for myself. The goal is to inspire you to enjoy shopping, cooking, and preparing your own meals intuitively. And to enjoy eating your meals mindfully.

    Philosophies

    Before I share my first meals (so far) for 2018, I would like to briefly share my food philosophies with you. A few of the keys are:

    • Eat real whole foods. Focus on plants.
    • Eat organic.
    • Eat with the season.
    • Shop intuitively with your local farmers.
    • Learn a few simple culinary techniques.
    • Intuitively experiment in the kitchen.
    • Enjoy food and life.

    Superfood Wild Blueberry Smoothie

    Today’s smoothie was inspired by a gift of wild Maine organic blueberries and left-over pre-soaked sunflower seeds.

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    Ingredients

    • Sunflower seeds, pre-soaked 6-8 hours
    • Coconut water
    • Wild organic blueberries
    • Banana
    • Hempseeds
    • Basil

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-soak sunflower seeds 6-8 hours in room temperature water.
    • Rinse sunflower seeds.
    • Blend sunflower seeds and coconut water (creates a quick nut milk).
    • Add wild blueberries and banana. Blend.
    • Pour into cup.
    • Top with additional wild blueberries and hemp seeds, and freshly picked basil.

     

    Intuitive Cooking Tip: Create your smoothie with other berries, like raspberries and other nuts, such as cashews or almonds.

    My book, “A New View of Healthy Eating,” features 54 plant-based recipes, 3 salmon recipes, and 84 simple culinary techniques.

     

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    Happy New Year 2018 to you…Melanie

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Kids Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain: Recipes! Part 2: Simple Organic Hummus

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Kids Cooking at The Farm at South Mountain: Recipes! Part 2: Simple Organic Hummus

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    This week at the Kids Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, the kids made their own hummus with fresh herbs and wrapped it with a bamboo steamed collard green. Loved seeing the kids’ creativity. One of the hummus batches was full of cilantro and lots of fresh squeezed lemon, and the other one was made with a lot of dill.

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    The timing for the herbal hummus was perfect. This week while shopping at the Old Town Scottsdale Market for the Kids Cooking Class I met Dewayne Frelix of DaddysGourmet.com in Mesa, Arizona, who grows the most intense fresh organic herbs, such as Mexican oregano, chives, marjoram, and basil.

    Before I share the hummus recipe, enjoy my creation inspired by the Kids Cooking Class and the intensity of the Daddy’s Gourmet fresh herbs.  Beautiful, delicious, creamy hummus with fresh oregano and marjoram, and lots of tahini.

    The simple, beautiful marjoram oregano hummus with the edible pansy!

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    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating

    Make Your Own Hummus: EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Super Simple Organic Hummus

    I’m excited to share with you the same recipe we made for the Super Bowl XLIV VIP Tailgate Party for the Super Bowl in Miami. Now you can make it, too.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
    • ⅓ cup chickpea water
    • 3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste or sesame seeds)
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • ¼ tsp black pepper
    • ⅛ tsp cumin seeds, ground
    • ⅛ tsp coriander seeds, ground (seeds from cilantro)

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Place all ingredients into high-speed blender (such as Vitamix) or food processor.
    2. Blend until smooth.
    3. After the hummus has been blended, taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.

    Interested in a fun hands-on interactive cooking class at your organization, contact Melanie Albert at 602.615.2486 or Mel@MelanieAlbert.com

    “A New View of Healthy Eating” book is available now

    OR

    Stop by the Downtown Phoenix Market on Saturday, April 15, 2017, 9-10am or the Old Town Scottsdale Market on Saturday, April 22, 2017, 10:30-11:30am.  I’ll be doing cooking demos with the local Arizona goodies from these markets and I’m happy to autograph a book for you.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Top 3 Super Bowl Healthy Snacks: Hummus, Wild Sockeye Salmon & Avocado Salsa

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Top 3 Super Bowl Healthy Snacks: Hummus, Wild Sockeye Salmon & Avocado Salsa

    By Melanie Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Many of you are aware, I have been active with numerous Super Bowls and guiding former NFL players and their families to enjoy cooking healthy foods.

    As a little background, my very first experience was in 2008 when Super Bowl XLII was right here in Phoenix. My company created 3 healthy lifestyle products with the Super Bowl logo: a Zen Clock, Soy Candle Collection, and Matcha Tea kit. And, I had a lot of fun talking to football fans at the NFL Experience.

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    For a few years, we catered at the VIP Tailgate party at the Super Bowls in Tampa and Miami and attended numerous charity events networking with former NFL players. During Super Bowl XLIII week in Tampa, we learned about the serious health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease,  of the former players and then started teaching several former players how to cook simple healthy foods.

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    In 2011, my company, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, was honored to be an Official Health & Wellness Partner of the NFL Alumni and participated in 9 events in 4 days during Super Bowl Week in Dallas.

    Since the Super Bowl and many former NFL players are still dear to my heart, I am sharing my favorite Super Bowl snack recipes with you:  Experience Nutrition Hummus, Quick Salmon on the Grill, and Avocado Salsa.

    Today’s recipe is hummus. Tomorrow I will post the salmon and avocado salsa recipes.

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Super Simple Organic Hummus (Excerpt from book, A New View of Healthy Eating)

    I’m excited to share with you the same recipe we made for the Super Bowl XLIV VIP Tailgate Party for the Super Bowl in Miami. Now you can make it, too.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
    • ⅓ cup chickpea water
    • 3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste or sesame seeds)
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • ¼ tsp black pepper
    • ⅛ tsp cumin seeds, ground
    • ⅛ tsp coriander seeds, ground (seeds from cilantro)

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Place all ingredients into high-speed blender (such as Vitamix) or food processor.
    2. Blend until smooth.
    3. After the hummus has been blended, taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.

    Come on over to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating) and share your Super Bowl Hummus creations with us!

    Enjoy the Super Bowl weekend!

    Purchase A New View of Healthy Eating today and I’m happy to mail a personalized copy to you.

    Join our e-newsletter for simple culinary tips, delicious & healthy recipes, and to stay up-to-date with events.

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  • A New View of Healthy Eating: New Year 2017 Decadent Chocolate Vegan Dessert

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    While I’m still on my vacation sitting at my parents’ pool with the view in Cocoa Beach, I am thinking about New Year 2017 celebration, with a decadent chocolate dessert. I hope you enjoy this amazing recipe, which is totally healthy, gluten-free, vegan, and totally delicious, for your New Year celebration.

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    Excerpt from new cookbook, A New View of Healthy Eating: Raw Chocolate Bliss

    Enjoy this rich, intense raw chocolate dessert, created with raw cacao powder, local Arizona dates, fresh raw almond butter, and vanilla bean, on a pecan maple sugar cinnamon crust.

    Raw Pecan Cinnamon Crust

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 ½ cups raw pecans
    • 3 tbsp maple sugar
    • ½ tsp sea salt
    • ½ tbsp cinnamon, freshly ground

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Blend all ingredients in food processor until finely minced.
    2. Press crust into 10-inch springform pan using your palms.

    Chocolate Filling

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • ½ cup raw almond butter
    • ½ cup date paste
    • ¼ cup agave nectar or maple syrup
    • 1 ½ tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
    • 1 cup raw cacao powder
    • 1 vanilla bean, scraped
    • ½ to 1 cup water

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Gather mise en place.
    2. Make almond butter. Place raw almonds in food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
    3. Blend date paste. Soak dates in water for 1-2 hours until soft and pliable. Pour off water. Add to high-speed blender and top with water to cover fruit. Blend starting on low, then moving to high, until smooth.
    4. Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth and thick.
    5. Add water if difficult to blend.
    6. Pour filling into crust.
    7. To set, freeze for about 20 minutes or refrigerate for an hour.
    8. Use a knife dipped in hot water for a few seconds, wipe water away, then slice.
    9. Plate with fruit or sorbet.

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    A New View of Healthy Eating Book is available now, with shipping from Phoenix or Cocoa Beach.

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    Share your Raw Chocolate Bliss with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: New Recipe: Raw Carrot Cake

    by Melanie A. Albert, Intuitive Cooking Expert, Author, Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    We are getting very close to completing the design of my new book, A New View of Healthy Eating. This weekend while completing the design of the Desserts, Snacks, and Superfood section, I  got re-excited about some of the healthy, simple, mouthwatering recipes. I’m happy to share with you, for the first time, the raw carrot cake recipe in the book, which I initially prepared while visiting my parents in Cocoa Beach. Enjoy!

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    Excerpt from A New View of Healthy Eating           

    Carrot cake has been a favorite of mine for decades. As much as I love the aromatherapy of cooking raisins with cinnamon and nutmeg for a baked carrot cake, I love the simplicity and freshness of a raw version of carrot cake.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour in water, then rough chopped
    • 2 cups carrots, shredded
    • 1 ½ cups apple, minced
    • 1 ½ cups raw cashews or pecans, ground into a fine meal
    • ½ tsp cinnamon, freshly ground
    • ½ tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
    • ½ tsp sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Gather mise en place.
    2. Soak dates.
    3. Place all ingredients into mixing bowl and combine gently unit the mixture forms a ball.
    4. Press dough into springform pan or bowl.
    5. Refrigerate for an hour.
    6. Serve with sorbet, fresh fruit, or herbs.

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    The Raw Carrot Cake Recipe with 6 Favorite Natural Sweeteners

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    I ‘m placing the first order for A New View of Healthy Eating this week. Pre-order today if you’d like to order a copy and be one of the first to experiment with the culinary skills and recipes in the book. You’ll also receive my Top 5 Favorite Recipes & Culinary Tips.

    Step 1: Buy the Book

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    Step 2: Join our list to receive the Top 5 Favorite Recipes & Culinary Tips

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: 12-Week Arizona Winter CSA: Part 1

    Arizona Winter CSA Part 1: Organic Salad Mix with Orange Green Garlic Dressing Recipe

    By Melanie Albert, Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC.2007 graduate Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Instructor Whole Foods Cooking and Conscious Eating, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Her new book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” will be available in April 2016.

    Eat Local & In Season
    One of the best ways to eat local and in season is to get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Share. Developed in the 1960’s in Japan, CSA programs are designed to build a relationship between the farmer and the community. At the beginning of each season farmers sell CSA memberships to consumers. Each week consumers receive a sampling of produce that’s available from one farmer or a group of local farmers. Cost is generally $25-35 per week for 6-8 weeks.

    CSA’s are great for those of us who wish to experiment with new-to-us locally grown food. CSA’s are generally distributed at farms, farmers’ markets, convenient pick-up locations, such as yoga studios, and some farms deliver CSA’s right to your home.

    My Commitment to a 12-Week CSA: A Mile from Home!
    This week I committed to a CSA with Maya’s Farm at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix. Maya’s Farm is a small certified organic 7 acre farm and a quick 1 mile walk from my home. I purchased the Winter (Late February through mid-May) Arizona season for 12 weeks, at a total cost of $300, or $25 per week.

    Each week, I will blog about my simple whole food intuitive creations with the Winter Arizona CSA and share recipes, simple culinary techniques and nutrition tips.

    The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ
    Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, at Maya’s Farm, The Farm at South Mountain

    Week 1: February 20, 2016: Greens, Roots, Citrus and Tomatoes
    This morning, when I picked up my CSA at Maya’s Farm I was really excited to see the colorful rainbow baby carrots and smell the fresh green garlic. This week’s CSA share includes several different greens (Tuscano kale, mini bok choy, arugula, spring salad mix), rainbow baby carrots, fresh green garlic, a few tomatoes, red French breakfast radishes and different bright oranges.

    Arizona Lettuce Mix

     

    Arizona Organic Salad Mix with Orange Green Garlic Dressing Recipe
    As soon as I arrived in my kitchen, the pungent aromatherapy of the fresh green garlic and sweet aroma of the oranges was the inspiration for a very simple salad. The key to a farm-fresh salad is a simple light dressing, gently tossed with salad mix and a few colorful veggies.

    Orange Green Garlic Dressing

    Simple Ingredients
    • Orange, freshly squeezed
    • Twice as much organic extra virgin olive oil (eg. 1/8 cup orange juice: ¼ cup olive oil)
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Fresh green garlic, minced

    Simple Steps
    • Squeeze orange into jar.
    • Add olive oil.
    • Add sea salt and garlic.
    • Shake.
    • Taste. Add additional oil for more fat or orange juice for more acid.

    Arizona Winter Organic Salad
    Simple Ingredients
    • 2 cups salad mix
    • 3-4 rainbow carrots, sliced
    • 3-4 red radishes, sliced
    • 1-2 tomatoes

    Simple Steps
    • Gently toss salad mix with dressing, coating all leaves.
    • Add carrots, radishes, tomatoes and toss.
    • Plate and enjoy.

    Culinary Tips

    • Lightly toss salad greens with dressing right before serving to keep leaves fresh and not soggy.
    • To make a great salad dressing, use a high quality extra virgin olive oil and pair it with an acid. Use a 2:1 ratio of fat (olive oil) to acid (citrus or vinegar).
    • Create a salad with a rainbow of colorful veggies for beauty and a variety of nutrients.

    NOW AVAILABLE: Purchase “A New View of Healthy Eating. A-55 Card Deck” for motivational messages to inspire you to cook simple healthy whole food, try new recipes, learn simple culinary techniques and add selfcare to your life. “A New View of Healthy Eating” book to be launched April 2016.

    Join our e-newsletter list for recipes, simple healthy culinary techniques, intuitive cooking, nutrition tips, mindful eating and self care. www.EXPNutrition.com

    Share your CSA Creations on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating

  • Experience Nutrition: 9 Ways 90 Days: Top 10 Super Bowl Healthy Recipes: 1: Avocado Salsa

    by Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, Nutrition & Food Expert, Author, Speaker

    I have been guiding former NFL players, their families, organizations and kids about simple healthy eating since 2008 and my company, Experience Nutrition was an Official Health & Wellness Partner of the NFL Alumni Association in 2011.

    One of our very favorite healthy recipes for Super Bowl is avocado salsa, otherwise known as guacamole.

    Avocado Fun Facts

    • Almost all avocados in the US grow in California in 6,000 acres, Some avocados grow in Florida
    • The most common avocados in the US are Hass avocados. The Mother tree is still standing in California
    • Hass avocados are sometimes called Alligator pear since they are so rough
    • On Super Bowl Sunday, we eat 8 million pounds of guacamole in our country

    Try this simple Avocado Salsa Recipe and make your own guacamole this weekend!

    Experience Nutrition: 9 Ways 90 Days: Top 10 Healthy Super Bowl Recipes: 1: Avocado Salsa
    Experience Nutrition: 9 Ways 90 Days: Top 10 Healthy Super Bowl Recipes: 1: Avocado Salsa

    We invite you to come over to our Facebook page  www.facebook.com/9ways90days and share your Avocado Recipes. The 10 best recipe photos Super Bowl weekend will receive a free download of our new book, “Enjoy Food & Life,” by Melanie Albert, featuring former NFL players and their wives nutrition tips and recipes.

    Enjoy!

  • 9 Ways 90 Days Recipe: Raw Veggie Pasta with Cashew Basil Pesto

    By Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Food Expert, Author and Speaker, Certified Health Coach

    WOW! If you’ve been afraid of the “raw way of eating”, try this simple, beautiful, colorful, fun-to-prepare side dish. Enjoy fresh, local organic veggies with a creamy nutty pesto.

    9 Ways 90 Days Veggie Pasta with Cashew Basil Pesto

    Ingredients: Veggies
    • 2-3 golden beets
    • 2-3 carrots
    • 2-3 zucchini
    • 1 sweet potato

    Ingredients: Cashew Basil Pesto
    • ½ cup fresh basil leaves
    • 4 oz raw cashews, soaked
    • 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
    • 1 tbsp garlic, minced
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • ½ cup organic extra virgin olive oil

    Simple Steps
    • Cut the veggies with a spiral slicer or mandolin.
    • Place all ingredients for the cashew basil pesto, except olive oil in the food processor.
    • Puree.
    • Add the olive oil until smooth.
    • Toss the veggies with about ½ cup of the pesto and serve.
    • Enjoy the taste, the textures and the colors!

    SHARE
    Come on over to our Facebook page, and post your raw veggie pasta creations: www.facebook.com/9Ways90Days

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: New to Me: How to Gently Sweat Organic Veggies

    By Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Wellness Expert, Author and Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition

    To further my cooking expertise for myself and my clients in speaking engagements, cooking classes and writing, I’m enrolled in a Professional Plant-based Cooking Certification with the Rouxbe Cooking School. I am definitely learning amazing skills, such as knife skills, and new ways to prepare simple, healthy, beautiful food.

    This week, I learned something totally new: Sweating vegetables. Why do we even sweat veggies and how do we do it? I learned that sweating veggies is the first step in preparing the flavor profile of a dish, it’s a dry heat method of cooking and a very gentle way to cook. Patience is key.

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITION 9 Ways 90 Days Organic Veggie Sweat Recipe
    The recipe I prepared for my class was local organic veggies with quinoa. Within “9 Ways to Enjoy Food & Life” eating real food, cooking simple meals, and eating local, in-season produce are important. So, this recipe is perfect.

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    EXPERIENCE NUTRITION 9 Ways 90 Days: Sweating Organic Veggies Recipe

    Ingredients
    Approximately ½ cup of each of the following organic veggies:
    • Onion
    • Fresh garlic cloves
    • Carrots
    • Red pepper
    • Celery
    • Squash
    • Quinoa cooked in a home-made veggie broth
    • Plus, Olive oil, sea salt

    Simple Steps
    • Mince all veggies
    • Place olive oil, onion and a pinch of sea salt in sauté pan, turn stove on medium-low and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. It’s important to be very patient, with the gentle slow heat, and do let the pan get hot enough to hear sound (that’s the moisture of the veggies).
    • Add in the carrots, celery and fresh garlic, and again cook until the veggies are a little soft.
    • Add in the red pepper and cook until soft.
    • Add in the squash and cook a little. (I prefer a little crunch in squash, so I only cooked it about a minute).
    • Fold the quinoa into the sauté pan
    • Enjoy!

    Come on over to our 9 Ways 90 Days Facebook page to see more Sweating Veggies photos and to share your sweating veggies photos.

     

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: Simple Organic Sprouted Spelt Flatbread Recipe

    By Melanie Albert, Nutrition and food expert, author, speaker. Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group

     

    A few years ago I discovered that I was sensitive to gluten (the protein in grains like wheat, barley and rye). By exploring different grain flours, I’ve found that I’m not sensitive (no hives, no bloating, no headaches) to the Organic Sprouted Spelt Flour by One Degree Organic Foods. During the last few months, I’ve traveled with this flour and have made organic flat bread with 15 pounds of it. Have fun making your own flatbread.

     

    Organic Sprouted Spelt Flatbread Recipe

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    ·         What You Need

    o   ¾ cup hot (not boiling) water

    o   1 TBS dry yeast

    o   ½ TBS honey

    o   2 TBS organic olive oil

    o   2 cups organic spelt flour

    o   ½ tsp sea salt

     

    ·         Simple Steps

    o   Pre-heat oven at 450 degrees

    o   Put 1 TBS dry yeast into ¾ cup hot water, add ½ TBS honey and ½ TBS olive oil. Let it sit for about 10 minutes

    o   Put 2 cups sprouted spelt flour in bowl with ½ tsp sea salt

    o   Add the water with yeast into the flour

    o   Blend with a fork a few minutes, then knead with your hands another few minutes. Only knead for about 4-5 minutes total. Otherwise the flatbread will be tough. If the dough is sticky, add more flour. If it’s dry, add more water

    o   Split the dough in half. Place 2 balls of dough into a bowl which has coated with organic olive oil, and cover for about 2 hours (to rise)

    o   Again, split the dough into 2 sections and spread it onto a pizza brick or silicon sheet with your hands

    o   Bake for 5 minutes, check it, bake for another 5 minutes

    o   Enjoy your flat bread with olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar, or just plain

     

    Come over to Facebook www.facebook.com/9ways90days and post your photos or ask questions.

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: Hummus Recipe, Just like the hummus we served at the Super Bowl XLIV in Miami

    by Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Wellness Expert, Author, Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition

    Excerpt from book, “Enjoy Food & Life, 9 Ways 90 Days Step-by-step action plan for healthy eating & living.”

    9 Ways 90 Days Organic Hummus Recipe: Just like Super Bowl VIP Party in Miami
    9 Ways 90 Days Organic Hummus Recipe: Just like Super Bowl VIP Party in Miami

    This is the same recipe we made for the Super Bowl XLIV Tailgate Party for the Super Bowl in Miami. Now, you can make it, too.

     

    Blend all ingredients in Vitamix or food processor, until smooth

    • 2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
    • 1 can Eden organic garbanzo beans with kombu
    • Or, If you have time, 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (soak beans overnight, cook for  about 50 minutes with ½ strip kombu seaweed)
    • 1/3 cup chickpea water
    • 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste or sesame seeds)
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
    • ¼ tsp black pepper
    • 1/8 tsp cumin
    • 1/8 tsp coriander (seeds from cilantro)

    After the hummus has been blended, taste and add any more of the ingredients to your taste.

    Add any of the following and blend again: Cilantro, dill, sautéed onions and garlic, sun-dried tomatoes or olives. Remember, you can make hummus with any kind of beans. Once you know how to make this basic hummus, try making it with black beans or navy beans.

     

    Make your own delicious, simple hummus and enjoy the Super Bowl today!

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: 5 Simple Ways to Eat Kale.

    9 Ways 90 Days Eat Kale
    9 Ways 90 Days Eat Kale

    Pre-order NOW: Get the simple ways to prepare kale in our new book, “Enjoy Food & Life, 9 Ways 90 Days step-by-step action plan for healthy eating & living.”

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: Quick Simple Organic Collard Stir-fry with Hemp Seeds Recipe

    by Melanie Albert, Nutrition and Wellness Expert, Author and Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition

    Excerpt from new book, “Enjoy Food & Life: 9 Ways 90 Days Step-by-step action plan for healthy eating and living.”  PRE-SALE Available NOW

    If you only know collard greens cooked in lots of pork all day, this is a new way of cooking delicious collards in a few minutes. Learn how to cook stir-fry collards and you can cook any type of greens.

    Greens are missing from the SAD. Greens are one of the most absent foods from the Standard American Diet (SAD). We typically eat plain iceberg lettuce which has no nutritional value. Many people only know greens as the décor around a salad bar. I started eating greens 6 years ago while a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Little did I know that the green stuff I remember seeing around salad bars would become one of my favorite foods. Or, that I’d be eating weeds (dandelion greens).

    Greens are important to add to your diet as they are mineral-rich with calcium, iron, vitamin-rich with A, C, and K, and have a lot of fiber.

    Other Reasons Why You Should Eat Greens:

    • Cleanse and detoxify
    • Strengthen bones
    • Cancer-protective
    • Boost immune system
    • Energetically uplifting, since they grow upward
    • Easy to cook
    • Taste great

    Organic Collard Stir-Fry with Hemp Seeds Recipe

    9 Ways 90 Days Collard Stir-fry with Hemp Seeds
    9 Ways 90 Days Collard Stir-fry with Hemp Seeds
    • Chop about 5-6 large collard greens or kale and mince a few fresh garlic cloves and green onions
    • Pre-heat saute pan on low or wok on medium-high. Thanks to Chantal Cookware for the beautiful Copper Fusion Saute Pan; The veggies cook perfectly, with bright vibrancy
    • Turn saute pan heat to medium-high
    • Add organic extra virgin olive oil and then garlic and onions, and stir-fry a little
    • Add collards and about ¼ cup water
    • Stir and steam
    • Enjoy with pizza, wild Alaskan salmon, goat cheese or nuts and seeds, like hemp seeds

     Action. Make your simple, quick stir-fry with collard greens, garlic and onions. Take note of all the wonderful flavors and post your photos on our Facebook page.

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: Organic Chia Pudding Recipe

    By Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Wellness Expert, Author, Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition

    Chia seeds are the rage today! But some of us remember when they were the green hair that grew on our Chia Pets when we were kids. Who knew that decades later we’d be eating them!

    Chia seeds come from a flowering plant in the mint family that’s native to Mexico and Guatemala, and history suggests it was a very important food crop for the Aztecs.

     Benefits of Chia Seeds

    •   Good fats. Chia seeds, like hemp seeds and flax seeds are a great ALA omega-3 healthy-fat rich seed, which is important for brain health and reduction of inflammation in the body.
    • High in protein. Great source of protein for vegetarians and vegans
    •  Stabilize blood sugar. Important for diabetics
    • Improve heart health. According to the Cleveland Clinic, chia seeds have been shown to improve blood pressure in diabetics, and may also increase healthy cholesterol, while lowering total, bad LDL and triglyceride cholesterol
    • Good source of calcium. 18% or the recommended daily intake for calcium.

    9 Ways 90 Days Organic Chia Pudding Recipe

    9 Ways 90 Days Chia Seed Pudding
    9 Ways 90 Days Chia Seed Pudding

     Ingredients

    •  1/3 cup chia seeds
    • 1 cup soy milk
    • 2 chopped bananas
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 1 Medjool date, if you desire more sweetness
    • Berries, nuts and seeds for toppings

     Simple Steps

    • Mix chia seeds, vanilla and date into the soy milk
    • Fold in the bananas
    • Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight)
    • Enjoy for breakfast, snack, or dessert with your favorite berries, nuts and seeds

    Post your Chia Pudding creations on our Facebook page!

     

     

     

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: Organic Raw Kale Salad Recipe

    by Melanie Albert, Nutrition Expert, Author, Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition

    Recipe excerpt from book, “Enjoy Food & Life, 9 Ways 90 Days Step-by-step action plan for healthy eating and living.”

    Did you know you can eat raw kale? Simple, delicious healthy recipe to add this power food to your meals.  Kale is full of bone-building vitamin K, calcium plus, iron and vitamins A and C.

    9 Ways 90 Days Organic Raw Kale Salad
    9 Ways 90 Days Organic Raw Kale Salad

    Raw Kale Salad Simple Steps 

    • Finely chop a few handfuls of dinosaur kale
    • Add 2 TBS organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Squeeze ½ fresh lemon
    • Sprinkle sea salt (to your taste)
    • Massage the kale for about 3-4 minutes
    • Let the kale sit for 10-15 minutes
    • Add some fresh veggies, such as tomatoes, cucumbers or carrots

     

    Your Action

    Make a raw kale salad.  You will love it!

    Did you enjoy it?

    Come on over to Facebook and share a photo of your raw kale salad.

  • Our Country is Sick & Confused About Food

    by Melanie Albert, Nutrition & Food Expert & Author, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition

    America is Sick & Confused about What to Eat
    America is Sick & Confused about What to Eat

    America is Sick & Confused about Food. Our country is sick with epidemic levels of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes and many live in pain. An estimated 45 million people are on diets each year. The food in our country has changed dramatically with processed food and fast food over the last 50 years. Many in our country today do not eat at home and do not know how to cook. People are also confused about what to eat. There are so many different food pyramids and 100s of different dietary theories in the media.

    Status of Health in America Today. There are huge problems in our country today. Our country is sick with epidemic levels of obesity, heart disease and diabetes with many people living in pain. An estimated 45% of people are on diets, which do not work.  Even professional athletes experience many of the same health concerns as the general public.

    Growth of Processed Foods. The food in the U.S. has changed dramatically with the consumption of processed foods and fast foods negatively affecting the health of our nation. McDonald’s opened in the U.S. in 1955 and today one-fourth of the population of our country eats fast food every day. Furthermore, Americans eat 31 percent more packaged food than fresh food, and they consume more packaged food per person than their counterparts in nearly all other countries.

    Changed Eating Habits. In addition to the food eaten in the U.S., people’s eating habits have changed dramatically. Today, people are eating while watching television, driving or working and many do not know the basics of eating at home.

     Confusion About Shopping and Preparing Food. People are so accustomed to eating out, eating on the run, grabbing quick processed foods or microwaving a meal, that we have lost our skill of shopping for and preparing real food.

  • 9 Ways to Enjoy Food & Life

    9 Ways to Enjoy Food & Life

    The 9 Ways to Enjoy Food & Life
    1. Hydration
    2. Organic Roots & Greens
    3. Snacks, Superfoods & Smoothies
    4. Right Fats
    5. Plant Protein
    6. Whole Grains
    7. Be Active
    8. Self Care & Relationships
    9. Live your Passion