Prevent Vitamin D Deficiency

Here in the Northeast, many (if not most) of us are vitamin D deficient. Unfortunately, we spend most of our days indoors (especially during the Winter months!) at the office, in our homes, our cars, etc. Or, when we are outside on a bright sun-shineny day we lather up with sunblock, enabling ourselves to absorb the benefits of the sun's delicious rays with this precious vitamin!

There are loads of reasons to step out into the suns beautiful rays and stock up on foods containing vitamin D.  Usually the best way to protect yourself from any deficiency is to build your health from the bottom up and let your body balance itself. I always encourage starting with sunshine first, then nutrition.  Here are a few recommendations to prevent vitamin D deficiency:

Check your levels.

Schedule a blood test then review the results of your vitamin D levels with your doctor. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to many different problems, so it's something that you want to target and start working towards improving if your levels are low.  Keep in mind, if your doctor is testing your D levels while you are in for a sick visit, your D will naturally be lower than usual.  When you get your blood test, be sure you're in good health to receive an accurate level.  

Let the sun shine on you!

Allow yourself limited, unprotected sun exposure in the early morning and late afternoon (no more than 15 minutes for light-skinned individuals, 40 minutes for darker skin). 

Eat a diet rich in whole foods.

Dried shitake and button mushrooms are surprisingly high in vitamin D. Be sure to find mushrooms that have been dried in the sun in order to extract the benefits. Cod liver oil is super-rich in sunlight vitamin D, as well as rich in omega-3 fatty acids. If you can stomach its aroma and terrible taste, check out taking capsules of it instead.  I swear by Green Pasture's fermented cod liver oil!  Nutrient-dense, fatty fish like mackerel and sardines are good sources of vitamin D. Eggs are a good source of vitamin D. Fortified organic milk and other dairy products, and some organ meats (like liver) are also reasonably good natural sources of D. Please be sure your meat/eggs and dairy are organic and grass fed. If the animals had the ability to graze out in the sun, they were absorbing sunlight and all of its vitamin D!   

Take a supplement, for peace of mind.

Take a vitamin D3 supplement to be safe. Nowadays vitamin D3 supplements are widely recognized as the superior, more bio-ready form for use in the body. How much you need really depends on your particular needs, so testing is really the best way to go for most people. If you are in need of a good supplement, feel free to contact me because I sell Metagenics, high quality nutraceuticals.  I love their vitamin D3 5k.

Your health is a work in progress that needs your consistent attention and support. I encourage you to investigate your personal vitamin D level with your medical practitioner as part of a comprehensive approach to your whole health.

Yoga Classes with Lauren

Join Lauren at her weekly yoga class!

Wednesdays @ 7:00pm at Power Yoga Center in Middletown, NJ

Lauren teaches a 60-minute Power 1-beginner/intermediate flow yoga class every Wednesday night at the NEW Power Yoga Center. This class is challenging.  We get a good, warm flow going but Lauren treats you to a restful relaxation at the end.  Drop-ins welcome.

Interested in a private class or a small group class at either your home or on the beach?
Lauren offers all of these!
Contact her for more information. 

Roasted Veggies

Get out that chopping board and your best chef's knife.

Crank some tunes.

Pull out whatever veggies you've got in the house.

Get chopping.

Ingredients:
Sweet potato (washed and skinned), chopped into chunks
Russet potatoes washed and chopped into chunks
Carrots peeled and chopped
Cauliflower head, chopped
Garlic cloves (to your taste), minced
100% grade B maple syrup
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
(Insert any other veggies you want to add in or substitute to this mix)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450.  After chopping all of your veggies, place them in a huge bowl.  Drizzle olive oil (or coconut oil) and maple syrup over them.  Toss to coat, adding a bit more of either oil or syrup if needed.  Sprinkle sea salt and pepper and keep on tossing until everything has a nice shimmer to them.  Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet and throw into the oven.  Check and give them a stir at 10 minutes.  At twenty minutes do the same thing, but this time stir in the minced garlic.  At 30 minutes (or when veggies are browned and crispy at spots), remove from the stove and transfer to serving bowl.

Roasted veggies are great leftovers either warmed back up or cold.

Black Bean Burgers

In a perfect world I'd be soaking my beans the night before making the dish to put them in, however, this world is far from perfect.  Unfortunately, canned food is dead food.  It's nutrient content has been lost after being cooked and stored on the shelf for who knows how long in a dark, BPA-laden can.  However, while engulfed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life sometimes popping a can open is the simplest way of creating a meal.  I'd rather my clients get in some canned black beans over no black beans.  I'd rather them make their own hummus using a can of chick peas rather than just buying a tub of hummus from the store.  With that being said, it's important to buy the right canned foods.  Below is a great example:  Eden Organic black beans with NO salt added, grown in the USA, with BPA-free lining.  Score!  Begin to be more mindful of the canned foods you so easily just grab while food shopping - those differences can make the difference in your health!  

These black bean burgers are a breeze to put together (you'll get the hang of it after a few tries) and usually satisfy all who have a taste.  It's my go-to recipe when I want a home cooked meal without a fuss.  I also love that it makes enough to pack burgers away for other nights when I don't feel like cooking.  Now, with all of the drama surrounding quinoa lately, I feel guilty even posting this recipe!  Who wants to starve poor Peruvians of their precious grain?  Not me.  So, I've significantly cut my quinoa consumption down.  For example, this recipe calls for 1 cup quinoa so I do 1/2 cup quinoa and the other half millet.  I love the sweetness of millet and how sticky it makes these burgers.  Highly recommend.  Enough chit chat, give these a whirl and let me know how they turn out!  

Not all canned foods are created equal.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa 

2 cans black beans (BPA-free, please), rinsed and drained

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

dash of cayenne pepper

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/3 cup flaxseed meal (or you can use dry breadcrumbs, GF if gluten free)

Add ins after they're cooked:  

avocado

salsa

lime

Directions: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add quinoa and simmer for fifteen minutes. Let quinoa cool and then transfer to large bowl. Add beans, flax meal, cilantro, 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic, cayenne, salt, chili powder, cumin and pepper. Wash hands and squish ingredients together until smooth (or use an immersion blender to soften). Form into 1/2-inch thick patties. Place flaxseed meal or breadcrumbs in shallow bowl or on plate. Dust patties with flaxseed meal or press patties into breadcrumbs, turning to coat both sides. In non-stick skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Cook patties in batches, turning once, for about 8 minutes or until browned.  

Not going to eat all of the patties you just prepared?  Don't fry up the ones you aren't going to eat just yet and throw them into your fridge (if you plan to eat them within the next few days) or into your freezer (to eat them within the next 2 weeks).  

No bread needed for these patties.  They're surprisingly filling and quite delicious without any bread.  I like to eat it with half an avocado mashed with lime and cilantro with some salsa on top.  I prepare a bed of greens on the plate dressed in some fresh squeezed lime, sea salt, olive oil, fresh ground pepper and chopped cilantro.

ENJOY!

Sassy!

My boyfriend teases me saying that I'm "sassy."  The first few times it bothered me and made me feel bad - that maybe I needed to work on being sweeter.  But the more I thought about it I realized, yea, I am sassy and love it!  Guess it's the Jersey shore gal in me that's got a bite to my personality.  Instead of harping on the negative and consider ways to change aspects of my personality that others may or may not particularly like, I want to embrace my sassiness and confidently own it.  

It's what makes me who I am!  What's more sassy than that?  

SASSY:  Lively, bold, and full of spirit; cheeky.

Green Juice = Glass of Sunshine!

When I get a whiff of those bitter greens at my
local health food store my mouth actually starts to water.
I love, love, love fresh green juice!

Everyone is always so shocked to hear me say this, but I totally refuse to buy a juicer.  They're expensive, BIG, a pain to clean and require tons of fresh produce in my fridge to juice when I'm ready.  No thanks.  I'll keep things simple and snag a juice during my usual trip to my health food store or while strolling through town.  It's an expensive habit, but to me not having the hassle is worth it. 

I also feel that even though juicing is SO great, it's important to make shakes in your blender as well.  I dig fiber and enjoy blending whole (intact) foods into a shake.  As with most things, it's all about finding a balance.  I flip flop between juices and shakes all week long, allowing my body to let me know what it's feeling like that day.  Now, with either of these, the whole chewing process is eliminated.  To be sure that you're not completely confusing your body (which sometimes can result in cravings later in the day), try to enjoy something crunchy with your shake or juice like some sliced apple chunks or nuts.  You can even sprinkle coconut flakes and raw cacao nibs on top of your shake to add some crunch while enjoying, too. 

Green Juice

When I purchase a green juice it's loaded with greens and only greens.  I always ask for extra kale and a dash of cayenne pepper.  ZING!  Juices with fruits can get high in sugar dangerously fast.  This is NOT good.  If you're having a "fruit" juice, be sure to add plenty of greens (such as spinach because it won't effect the taste) and make it only on special occasions.  You want to flood your cells with nutrients, not sugar!  They are best consumed fresh, but you can keep them only for a day at the most in the fridge.

Green Shake

When I blend my morning shakes no matter what I'm throwing in it, it always turns out green.  Spirulina is a staple in every shake, and I throw whatever greens in my fridge in as well (kale, spinach).    Be mindful of the sugar in your shakes as well.  These can come from an overload of fruits, powdered protein substitutes (with additives as well, ick), or whatever juice or milk you're adding to the shake.  

Why is there such a green juice craze?

Green juices are power-packed with nutrition. Green vegetables have the ability to transform sunshine into the food that all creatures consume. True to their nature, greens produce chlorophyll, which oxygenate your body. This enables us to release stored toxins in the body. Greens improve blood circulation and give your body a boost of energy.  Chlorophyll foods also act as a form of 'stored sunshine', to regulate calcium and Vitamin D deficiency. So if you get no sunshine, then increase the greens in your diet.  Drink up and feel the amazing benefits!  

Happy Feet = Happy You

Your feet are awesome.  They hold all of you up and take you anywhere you want to go.  In turn we should take very good care of them.

Warm them up.  Our feet can get cold during the chilly months here in the Northeast.  Be sure to bundle up in nice cozy socks to retain your body heat.  A relaxing habit to get in before bed is turning the warm water on in your tub while you brush your teeth.  Afterwards, sit on the ledge of your tub and soak your feet in just a few inches of the warm water while you practice some deep breathing, meditate for a few minutes or read your favorite magazine.  Follow that up with some nice lotion after drying.

Massage them good.  After bathing or soaking your feet, be sure to lather them with your favorite cream or oil and give them a good rub.  Allow your fingers to glide up and down the instep of your foot, pressing your fingers into the tops of your feet to work all of the tension out.  Squeeze each toe one at a time.  Doesn't that feel nice?  If you're not up for doing this yourself ask someone to do it for you or even better, book a pedicure!

Walk on nails.  Have you checked out the Shakti Mat?  It's a bed of nails that you can lie on, walk on, fall asleep on, etc.  It's invigorating, exciting, totally different and tons of fun.  I love keeping it at my feet while I work to stimulate every bit of my feet.  My feet are always happy and pink when I step off the mat.

Do your yoga.  Yoga stretches some of the muscles of our feet/ankles that most other physical activities do not.  Standing poses (like warriors, triangle, wide-legged forward folds, etc.) will allow you to appreciate those muscles as you hold the pose and feel your feet opening up.  When you're suffering from back aches, foot cramps or just need an excuse to kick your feet up, get a pair of Yoga Toes.  I swear by these suckers!

Go barefoot.  Shoes are fantastic, there is no doubt about that.  However, they create a barrier between our bodies and the earth, making us unable to soak up the healthy energy that our loving mother has to offer.  It's ever so important that we go barefoot as much as possible (more-so in the warmer months) so that we can directly connect to the earth's energy.  Think of how amazing it feels to be barefoot on fresh green grass outside, or how exfoliating it feels to walk on the beach where the sand gets caught in between your toes.  It's energizing on levels that we are so unaware of!