Experience Nutrition

Tag: organic

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: 6 Reasons Why Dark Chocolate is a Good for You Superfood

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

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

    BOOK PRE-SALE NOW   www.9ways90days.com

    9 Way 90 Days: Why Dark Chocolate is Good for You

     Why Dark Chocolate is Good for You

    1. Good for Your Heart

    • Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure.
    • Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of blood clots.
    • Eating dark chocolate may prevent arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). 

    2. Good for Your Brain

    • Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain, so it can help improve cognitive function. Dark chocolate also helps reduce risk of stroke.
    • Dark chocolate also contains several chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), which encourages your brain to release endorphins, as a result eating dark chocolate may make you feel happier.
    • Dark chocolate contains caffeine, a mild stimulant. However, dark chocolate contains much less caffeine than coffee. A 1.5 ounce bar of dark chocolate contains 27 mg of caffeine, compared to the 200 mg found in an eight ounce cup of coffee.

    3. Helps Control Blood Sugar

    • Dark chocolate helps keep your blood vessels healthy and your circulation unimpaired to protect against type 2 diabetes.
    • Flavonoids in dark chocolate help reduce insulin resistance by helping your cells to function normally and regain the ability to use your body’s insulin efficiently.
    • Dark chocolate also has a low glycemic index and glycemic load, meaning it won’t cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.

    4. Full of Antioxidants

    • Antioxidants help free your body of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to cells. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and may be a cause of cancer, so eating antioxidant rich foods like dark chocolate can protect you from many types of cancer and slow the signs of aging.

    5. Contains Theobromine

    • Theobromine, which has been shown to harden tooth enamel.
    • That means that dark chocolate, unlike most other sweets, lowers your risk of getting cavities if you practice proper dental hygiene.

    6. Dark Chocolate is High in Vitamins and Minerals

    • The copper and potassium in dark chocolate help prevent against stroke and cardiovascular ailments.
    •  Iron in chocolate protects against iron deficiency anemia
    •  Magnesium in chocolate helps prevent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

    ACTION: Eat some good organic dark chocolate with 72% cocao. If dark chocolate is new to you, try it with 55%.

  • 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: Learn to Eat Local

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

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

    “With farmers’ markets and CSA, I’ve tried new-to-me veggies such as purslane, striped beets, purple carrots and all kinds of leafy greens,” Melanie Albert, Experience Nutrition

    9 Ways 90 Days: Farmers' Market Berkeley, CA
    9 Ways 90 Days: Farmers’ Market Berkeley, CA

    Great Reasons to Eat Local

    • Locally grown produce is fresher, tastes better and lasts longer – It’s farm-fresh, just picked, unlike food in our grocery stores that travels an average of 1,500 miles.
    • Eating local keeps us in touch with the seasons – We eat foods when they are at their peak taste, most abundant and importantly foods that grow where we live are generally what our body needs at time of the year.  For instance, when it’s summer-time, much of the available food, like strawberries and watermelon tends to be light, water-rich and cooling.
    • You can support your local economy.Shop at your local farmers’ market or Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
    • It’s better for environment – Eating local does means your food is not traveling long distances to reach you.

    Find a Farmers’ Market Near You

    As demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables has increased, so too has the number of farmers’ markets across the nation. After 18 years of steady increases, the number of farmers’ markets across the country now registered with the USDA is 7,864, compared to 1,744 in 1994.

    To find a local farmer’s market, visit the Local Harvest site at www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/.

     

    Join us on Facebook and post a photo of your favorite farmers’ market.

     

  • 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: Stop Your Sugar Cravings with Organic Sweet Potatoes

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

    Excerpt from book “Enjoy Food & Life: Step-by-step action plan for healthy eating & living. “

    When my Dad was preparing his garden in Cocoa Beach, Florida last we he “stumbled upon” sweet potatoes (on the left in this graphic) that were still growing from last year’s crop.

    Reminded me of how great sweet potatoes are for sugar cravings. Over the years, I’ve encouraged my sugar addicted clients to enjoy a sweet vegetable, like sweet potatoes every day.

    Sweet Potato Facts

    • Rich in beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A
    • Good for vision
    • Boost immune system
    • Low in calories and high in fiber, great for weight loss
    9 Ways 90 Days Baked Organic Sweet Potatoes
    9 Ways 90 Days Baked Organic Sweet Potatoes

    Action: Bake an Organic Sweet Potato and come on over to Facebook and share your experience.

    Scrub a few organic sweet potatoes then puncture with a knife a few times for venting. Wrap the sweet potato in foil and cook at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Take note of the sweetness of a plain sweet potato.

  • 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.

  • Alice Waters, The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley

    “We can participate in the preservation of both the land and our health by buying directly from local farmers at farmers’ markets, asking for organic produce at our grocers, and requiring food labeling that is explicit about how it is grown.” – Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food II

    I totally embrace the food philosophies of Alice Waters, and have had the pleasure to spend time at the more than incredible Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1996, it’s a one-acre garden and classroom where students are given the knowledge and values to make food choices that are healthy for them, their communities, and the environment. Will definitely post photos of this beautiful school garden.

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    The Philosophy of Alice Waters, The Edible Schoolyard Berkeley

    Join us on Facebook and share which of these philosophies you resonate with.

  • 9 Ways 90 Days: What snacks did you love when you were a kid?

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

    Take a Look at the Snacks You Loved as a Kid

    As a kid, I loved ice cream. Now, I really love healthy thick fruit smoothies. And, as a kid I ate red licorice. Now, I enjoy trail mix, goji berries and dark chocolate. I notice that the fruit smoothies I enjoy today are a lot like ice cream; cold and creamy. And, I think one of the reasons I love goji berries is because they are red and chewy, just like the licorice I used to love as a kid.

    Superfood Snack: Organic Goji Berries
    Superfood Snack: Organic Goji Berries

    Come over to Facebook and share your responses to the following 3 questions.

    • What snacks did you love the most when you were a kid? __________
    • What snacks do you now eat as an adult?_________________________________
    • Describe the similarities in these snacks__________________________________

  • 9 Ways 90 Days Recipe: Organic Lentil Soup with Greens

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

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

    This process of cooking soup gives us the foundation for making any type of bean soup. To make quick, delicious soups you will use a mix-and-match of beans, veggies and greens.

    •       Beans: protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals

    •       Any roots: Carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnip, and/or turnips

    •       Whole grains: Brown rice, Quinoa

    •       Greens: Kale, collards

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    Ingredients

    • 1 cup lentils
    • 3-4 carrots and/or sweet potatoes
    • 2-3 cloves garlic
    • 1 onion or 5-6 green onions
    • 3-4 celery stalks
    • 2 TBS organic extra virgin olive oil
    • 5” strip of kombu seaweed (Seaweed is high in minerals and improves digestibility of beans)
    • 1 cup brown rice
    • 4-5 cups water
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1/2 bunch kale

     Simple Steps

    • Saute carrots, garlic, onions and celery with extra virgin olive oil
    • Add about 6 cups water to pot
    • Wash lentils and add to pot
    • Add brown rice
    • Add kombu to pot (to tenderize the beans)
    • Add cumin and black pepper
    • Bring to a boil
    • Skim off foam
    • Cook at moderate-low heat for about 30 minutes
    • Sprinkle chopped kale to top of soup and cook 5 more minutes

     Your Action

    Cook and enjoy a basic home-made lentil soup. Visit us on Facebook and share a photo and what you used in your soup:

    Beans__________________

    Roots__________________

    Whole grains_____________

    Greens__________________

  • Get Clear on Organic

    by Melanie Albert, Nutrition expert & author, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition

    How much organic do you eat?
    How much organic do you eat?

    I’ve been eating organic food for decades, way before it became trendy and in the news. In my mind it made intuitive sense to eliminate pesticides from my body. At times it was challenging to shop for organic food; I was shopping at very small co-ops which did not have a large organic variety. I’m glad that there are so many places to buy organic in Phoenix, where I live and that farmer’s markets, many which grow without pesticides and herbicides, have grown so much across our country. I love supporting local farmers and eating delicious, local, in-season produce.

    How much of your food is organic? Come over to Facebook and share.

     

    What does organic mean?

    The important aspects of organic, as defined by the USDA National Organic Program are:

    •      No synthetic chemicals or fertilizers

    •      Not genetically engineered

    •      Not sterilized by irradiation

    •      Not fertilized by sewage sludge

  • 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