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Showing posts from 2016

Roasted Persian Chicken and Cauliflower

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In this Persian-inspired recipe, chicken and cauliflower are perfumed with saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, black pepper and other spices, then roasted until crisp. The cauliflower is dotted with goji berries, pistachios and slivered almonds, and the chicken is finished with a dusting of parsley and mint. Combined, this is a fragrant, deeply flavorful meal. This richly spiced dish isn’t just flavorful though. The spices also contribute antioxidants and protection against microbes . This recipe gives measurements for both whole and ground spices – you can choose which to use. Buying whole spices and grinding them (a coffee grinder works well) often means more potent flavor and health benefits. Pre-ground spices are more convenient. Just make sure they’re organic and less than a year old. Time in the Kitchen: 1 hour 15 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients Chicken 6 to 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, or 1 tablespoon ground (15 ml) 1 tablespoon cor

3 Ways to Be Mindful in the Kitchen

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The kitchen can be a very stressful place, especially when things get busy. Weeknights in particular can get hectic with running errands, completing homework and cooking a healthy dinner. Here are three ways you can be more mindful in the kitchen to help alleviate some stress. Create calm out of chaos. Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, author of Body Kindness , recommends the following technique to help make rational choices in the kitchen: “First take a very deep breath and exhale to a slow count of 10. This simple exercise tells your body to relax and helps you make rational choices like actually cooking your meal instead of eating it cold from the fridge! (I know I’m not the only one.) Then do one quick thing that makes you happy. I like to play soothing or energizing music, depending on my mood. Even if you’re not excited to prepare your meal, find a benefit that does excite you — like ‘I’m happy to save money and take care of my body by cooking at home’ — and let that be your motiva

I Feel Outstanding and Am in Control of My Relationship with Food

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It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here . In fact, I have a contest going right now. So if you have a story to share, no matter how big or how small, you’ll be in the running to win a big prize. Read more here . Hi, I’m Sarah, and I am 39 years old. I’ve always been interested in science. I loved the experimentation, tweaking little things and the precision required. I studied biochemistry at university and started working in a lab diagnosing illnesses, and later doing cancer research. I moved away from it as a career, but I became interested in nutrition and exercise, trying different ways of eating and training to lose weight for my wedding. I found some that worked – but were really hard going and just not sustainable. As soon as I married I started to put weight on again. We

Refresh Your Fitness Routine For the New Year

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Whether you’re a seasoned fitness enthusiast or a resolution-driven exercise newbie, there are always ways to freshen up your routine. If your New Year’s resolutions involve getting more exercise, use these strategies to set yourself up for success. Gear Instead of calorie-laden celebrations, reward your hard work with a little retail therapy. Set realistic exercise goals such as a personal record on the treadmill or increased daily steps for a week, and then reward yourself with some new threads. Target and Kohl’s have durable and fashionable exercise clothing and shoes. Under Armour , Athleta and Lululemon offer high-end options that fit beautifully and are on trend with latest fashions. No matter what your budget you can find some new gear to get excited about.   Fuel In the wake of holiday gluttony, it’s likely time to freshen up your diet. This doesn’t mean slashing all calories as you need fuel for workouts, but giving some elements of your diet an upgrade can have a bi

2016 In Review

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2016 was a huge year of change for me. It was a year of learning, growing, and adapting. For those who might have missed parts, Matt and I separated early in the year, which pretty much rocked both of our worlds. I think, I hope, we are all happier now. Matt and I remain friendly, and Mazen seems to be doing fine. I have lots of thoughts on divorce in general that I have thought about sharing, minus any specific details – things like reflecting on divorce with a child verses what I imagine it would be like without – but I am still pondering whether or not I want to jump into topics like that here. I guess I am waiting to see if it feels right. Perhaps with a little more time it might be. My goal with this space is to help others live their healthiest and best lives, so if sharing some of my thoughts helps others going through the same thing then it’s worth sharing. Despite the changes, Mazen and I had quite a fun year together! And we welcomed some new friends into our lives as wel

Four Wishes for 2017

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This post is brought to you by CJ Affiliate’s VIP Content Service. Thank you Lucky Brand for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Lucky Brand , all content and opinions expressed here are my own. With the new year arriving in just a couple of days, I wanted to take a minute to chat about my goals for 2017. Ok, wellllll, when I started to write this blog post, my usual goals for the year turned more into wishes . It’s funny because I use to put so much stock into  my goals for the new year . I’d devote a whole blog post to them, sometimes revise and review them at mid-year, and then evaluate what I accomplished or didn’t accomplish at the end of the year. Of course, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of goal-setting. I mean, it helped me achieve all sorts of great things over the past 8 years, but when I sat down to write a goals post for 2017, I didn’t have that same thought process as I did in previous years. But, it’s not like I don’t have

My Favorite Moments From 2016 – See Which Food Companies Are Dropping The Toxins!

We’ve come a long way Food Babe Army! 2016 was full of surprises and a lot of turmoil – but there was so much good to reflect on, these are some of my favorite moments of 2016… At a recent … Continued The post My Favorite Moments From 2016 – See Which Food Companies Are Dropping The Toxins! appeared first on Food Babe . from Food Babe http://ift.tt/2icBcWr

Dietary Trends: Are Popular Interests Inching toward Ancestral Wisdom?

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As the calendar draws toward the close of another year, I’m inclined to take stock of where the Primal vision stands. Are people slowly warming to the idea of Primal eating (and living), or are we merely seeing inconsequential, lateral shifts within the same old confines of conventional grain-based, saturated fat-averse, dietary “wisdom”? All right, all right. It’s fair to say that, without examining the numbers, the majority of people are still stuck in their same detrimental ways. But are the cracks in CW I noted a few years ago deepening and expanding? If we look closely enough, could there be a bit of whole-food common sense shining in there? Or is it just some refracted marketing gloss that catches the right angle from time to time? Or just wishful, starry-eyed delusion? All good questions with their own claim on truth. Still, are there any substantive takeaways from 2016? And how are things shaping up for the next year at that? Let’s take a brief look. 2016 in Review: Where

New Year Intentions

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Can I jump into scrooge mode for just a minute and say that I am so ready for this tree to be out of my living room?! Sorry I just had to admit that out loud. I love the coziness of Christmas, but the decorations really make me a little crazy by the end, and I don’t even have that many! Admittedly January is not one of my favorite months. It’s cold and dark and reallllly long. Sorry, January. This year, however, I am trying my hardest to look at January in a positive light. Let’s swap the negative words for positive ones: Pure Refreshing Minimalist Crisp Blank slate Potential Time {Breakfast: Two eggs and whole wheat blueberry muffins } I was looking for some new year challenges and stumbled upon the  “Screw Your Resolutions” challenge put on by the Healthy Habits, Happy Moms ladies. They are doing a free 30 day challenge from January 2-31 with daily prompts for quick home workouts, meal prep ideas, self-love and self-care activities that all focus on YOU in 20 minutes a