Author Archives: samanthaelkrief@gmail.com

Raw Corn Salad – Recipe

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The Farmers’ Markets have been so beautiful and inspiring over the last couple of months. I feel so lucky to be at a market almost every day! Corn has been amazingly fresh this summer, and it’s been a big hit at the markets. Check out the recipe below, courtesy of the Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables program, for a refreshing, healthy and simple salad. Corn is also a great source of fiber. Who said healthy couldn’t be delicious? Make sure to read to the end, too. That’s where I give away my pro tips 🙂

For those of you who don’t know, I’m also chronicling my Farmers’ Market and cooking journeys on Instagram, so stop by for some photos and inspiration!

Raw Corn Salad

71cbbf65-21de-49c6-905d-fc00f8b1c882Corn is one of those vegetables that almost everyone loves. It’s bright and sweet, and just screams summer. While corn is quite popular, a lot of people don’t realize you can eat it raw! Yup, you heard me. RAW!

I remember the first time I had raw corn. I was driving back to NY from working at a retreat site in Maine. When we got to New Hampshire, one of my friends saw someone selling corn on the side of the road and demanded we stop. He bought a few ears and proceeded to eat the corn as it was, no cooking, no salt, no butter… nothing. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t reluctant, but I was surprised at how sweet and delicious it was right off the cob.

Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
2 tomato, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, grated
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Remove the corn kernels from the the cob by running a knife along each side.

Mix together all ingredients and enjoy!

Pro tip: Get all the delicious juices from the cob by running the back of your knife along each side of the corn. No toothpicks or floss required!

Pro tip #2: If you’re anything like me, you hate to waste. Instead of throwing away the cobs, you can make a delicious and sweet corn stock by simmering them for 45 minutes with some onions and herbs (optional). Corn soup is awesome!

Till next time!

Samantha

What’s a Healthy Diet? Plus 3 Ways to Create Your Own

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The other day I was eating dinner outside with a friend and a man approached us and said, “Hey! I see you’re eating diet food, this is my wife’s card. You should call her. She sells (insert company name) weight loss shakes.” You might be able to guess that we weren’t interested.

While I appreciate his intention, I also found the conversation frustrating. We weren’t eating “diet” food. I had quinoa, some roasted vegetables, kale, tahini and avocado. My friend was eating greens with fruit and some raw veggies. For me, these aren’t diet foods, they are simply real food. I choose to eat these foods for lots of reasons, here are some of them:

  1. Vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats taste awesome
  2. They make me feel good
  3. They give me energy
  4. They keep my body healthy and happy

The foods we were eating were simply whole, unprocessed foods. A variation of the foods my grandparents ate, and the foods his grandparents likely ate. Some people may eat this type of food to lose weight, which is great (and effective). For me, health isn’t a quick fix that can be found in a shake or packaged food. It’s about a lifestyle that places value on real, whole foods. While I use the term diet, as in a “healthy diet”, I am not on a “diet”, nor do I encourage my clients to follow “diets”. The way I eat is a part of my lifestyle, and there isn’t an end in site. It’s hard to know what to eat when there are so many quick fix diet programs and fad diets out there. I once had a coworker tell me about a diet she was on that involved eating 3 soda crackers each morning, another 3 in the afternoon with a can of tuna, and an allowance for some grapefruit and mayo. She lost some weight, but it’s not sustainable.

So what’s a healthy, whole foods diet?

balanced-plate1. Keep packaged foods to a minimum. Even if it has all sorts of buzz words on it like “healthy” “organic” “high fiber” etc.
Stick to foods you can find in the produce section of the grocery store as much as possible. Broccoli doesn’t need a nutrition label. Marketing teams aren’t spending millions trying to make fruits and vegetables look good. You get exactly what you see. No trickery or buzz words involved.

2. Eat whole and unprocessed foods.
When choosing grains, always go for the least refined option. That means brown rice over white, whole wheat or whole grain bread or pasta, and other fun grains like millet, quinoa, buckwheat or barley.

3. Fill half your place with veggies!
Ok, the USDA says fill half your place with fruits and veggies, but I say fill up on those veggies! Especially green ones. I like to call green leafy veggies the gold of all the veggies. Try to eat some at every meal. The simplest way to make greens is to saute them with some olive oil and garlic. It’s super easy and makes a great addition to any meal. (Needs more ideas? try adding frozen spinach to beans, or thinly sliced kale to your omelets. You can also check out my instagram to see what I’m eating).

Give it a try and let me know how you do. I love photos, too!

Recipe: Chickpea Soup

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Chickpeas were always a staple in my family. The first thing I learned how to cook on my own was roasted chickpeas with cumin, salt and olive oil. I guess I did inherit some of the habits and tastes from the Moroccan side of my family!
In the last year, my dad found a chickpea soup that he just loves. It seems like he’s made it almost every time I go to visit. It’s very basic, just chickpeas, onion, rosemary and lemon. I decided to add my own flare to it with more veggies and greens.
For those of you who follow my posts, you know I’m not that into recipes. I like to work with what I have, what looks good in the market, and I tend to measure by eye. That said, someone on Instagram (hi Yogacheeks!) asked that I post a recipe for the soup after posting this photo. So here it goes!
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*Note* This recipe uses dried chickpeas. It makes the soup really rich and creamy because you’re basically making stalk while cooking the beans. However, this takes a longgggggggggggg time, so feel free to sub in canned chickpeas and start at step 7.

Chickpea Soup with Spinach, Cauliflower, Tomatoes and Herbs

Ingredients
  • 4 cups dried chickpeas
  • 1 onion, grated
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon
  • 1 carrot, grated or cut into small pieces
  • 1 tomato (fresh if in season, canned if not)
  • 1 small head cauliflower (about 2 cups)
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation
  1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.
  2. Drain them the following morning, add the baking soda and leave for 1 hour.
  3. Rub the chickpeas in your hands or with a towel to remove the skins.
  4. Rinse the chickpeas very well 4 or 5 times.
  5. Put chickpeas in a pot and add just enough water to cover the chickpeas.
  6. Bring to the boil, removing the froth at the top with a wooden spoon just before they come to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes.
  7. Drain the chickpeas and then put them back in the pot with more water (cover them by about 2 inches). If you are using canned chickpeas, this is where you start.
  8. Bring to a boil, add grated onion, carrots and rosemary and simmer for about 1½ hours (30 minutes if canned) or until they are really tender – don’t let them get dry and add water if necessary.
  9. Add cauliflower and tomatoes when the chickpeas are soft, cook for 5 minutes, then add the spinach.
  10. Whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice together and add to the chickpeas.
  11. Simmer for about another 5 minutes and then serve.
  12. Add salt and pepper to taste and add any fresh herbs you have on hand (cilantro, parsley, basil or chives would be amazing).

Enjoy!

Dinner for Breakfast

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Say it 5 times fast and see what happens! ha, just kidding.

A couple of years ago I spent a week in San Diego in the middle of February. One of the best parts about being on vacation was having time in the morning to relax. Add the inspiration of the beautiful and bountiful produce, and you end up with on of my favorites, dinner for breakfast!

Over the week, we made use of whatever was fresh and local. By the way, did you know that California grows over 28 varieties of avocado? What a great reason to eat guacamole!

Here are some of the dinner-like breakfasts we enjoyed:

  • Sauteed red cabbage with fresh peas from the farmers market
  • Garlicky asparagus and avocado
  • Heirloom tomato and avocado salad
  • Sauteed kale with shallots

Everything was prepared simply, we just sauteed the veggies with a tad of coconut oil, salt, and garlic or shallots when they were around. For our protein, we had paleo bread (it’s a type of gluten free bread made with coconut flour and eggs) with almond butter.

It may seem strange at first, but there are a lot of cultures around the world that eat more typical lunch and dinner items for breakfast. In fact, they might look at our sugary pancakes, cereals, donuts and bagels as strange! Want some visuals? Check out these breakfast photos from around the world.

Breakfast in Turkey, Courtesy of NYT Magazine

Breakfast in Turkey, Courtesy of NYT Magazine

Besides it tasting good, why eat dinner for breakfast? So many of the foods we eat for breakfast in the US are heavy and filled with refined carbohydrates and simple sugars. If you’re used to it, you may not notice how these foods make you feel. But, if you start observing your energy levels, you’ll likely see that it’s a surefire way to end up crashing. After the initial energy boost from the sugar, these foods often leave us feeling tired, bloated, and unsatisfied. It’s a perfect setup for the chocolate in the office, or the candy bar across the street. I know you know what I’m talking about. You know, I always wondered why my former boss kept chocolate for all of us in her office, but it made perfect sense. And more chocolate, candy bars, coffee and muffins means more spikes and drops in our blood sugar, leaving us tired and worn out.

But there are other ways to keep your energy up throughout the day without depending on these pick-me-ups. One way is by starting your day with dinner foods for breakfast. You don’t even have to cook! It’s a perfect way to eat your leftovers 🙂

Here are some ideas for wintery breakfast foods, I am back in NY, after all. These recipes include things like whole grains, protein and veggies. The whole grains and veggies are rich in fiber, which keep you feeling fuller longer and keep your digestive system running smoothly. They also will regulate your blood sugar level. The protein will also give you the energy you need to hold you to your next meal without crashing. Remember, you can use whatever seasonings you like to fit these recipes to your taste. You can also substitute the types of grains, beans, and veggies used. The possibilities are endless!

Dinner for Breakfast recipe ideas (just click on the links for the recipes):

  • Brown rice with chickpeas and some steamed or sauteed greens (kale, spinach, collards, swiss chard etc).
  • Savory Steel Cut Oats with Miso and Walnuts: I leave out the sweetener in this one, it’s super delicious and rich.
  • Root Vegetable Stews: One of my favorite flavor combos is adding peanut or almond butter to soups and stews, especially with sweet potatoes. It adds a lovely creaminess, and a bonus of extra protein. The links above include recipes for Sweet Potato and Peanut soups and stews.
  • Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with a cumin lime dressing.
  • Miso Soup with loads of veggies, a boiled (or poached) egg and some rice or soba noodles. If you are gluten-free, make sure you read the ingredients on the soba noodles, they often are made with a percentage of wheat flour.
  • Tofu Scramble or a Veggie Omelette

What are some of your favorite breakfasts?

Why I hired a Personal Trainer

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When I wstrong womanas in college I worked at the gym… swiping people’s ID cards 🙂 I was not a fan of working out, in fact I thought it was silly.

I always loved to dance, and that’s how I would get my exercise. I’d go out one night a week and dance for hours and hours. It felt great, and that was that. Sometimes friends would remind me that regular physical activity was an important part of a healthy lifestyle, not just the way you eat. I would “yeah yeah” them, and move on. I’ve always been active, walking everywhere (I live in NYC for goodness sake!) and dancing, and that’s about as much mind as I paid to exercise.

Then a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I didn’t want to go on prescription drugs to regulate my hormones, so I had to find some other ways. Regular exercise happens to be a great way to regulate estrogen, so I jumped on board. I’m also a bit type A (and wouldn’t change that!) and store a lot of stress in my body, just like most of us. And we all know yoga, cardio and almost all exercise is a great stress reliever.

I started going to the gym three times per week. And, for a year that was enough for me. I did the same thing almost every time I went, and I felt super proud of myself. I would tell my trainer and fitness friends that just walking into the gym was a victory in itself, and I was cool with that (and still am to a certain extent! baby steps!).

Until…

I’ve always wanted to be strong. But I thought it wasn’t attainable. And because I didn’t think it was possible, I didn’t want to try. After all, some of us feel it’s better not to try if there is a risk of failure. If you never try, then you’ll never have to face the potential failure. Except you constantly face it! It’s like a little whisper in the back of your mind that never goes away. In fact, it’s so constant that it becomes like white noise and you can’t even tell it’s there after a while.

Well, I’m not in the business of staying in my comfort zone anymore, so I decided to face my fears head on. I hired a personal trainer because I had no idea what it would take for me to get strong, and I knew that on my own, without accountability, I would likely weasel my way out of it (that whisper and I have quite a long history and it has a lot of influence!).

I still go to the gym three times per week, but I have a routine to follow that someone who specializes in this stuff customizes for me (shout out to Will at NYSC Astoria!). I have someone who watches me to make sure that I’m doing things the correct way and not hurting myself in the process. I pay someone a lot of money because this is valuable to me, and that helps keep me motivated (I want my money’s worth!). I also have someone who is going to ask me if I did my exercises each week. That bit of accountability really helps me step up my game. And I have someone who is cheering me on and who gives me high fives and fist bumps, satisfying the part of me that loves affirmation. And (I can’t believe there are still more ands!) he can let me know when I’m making progress, even when I can’t see it myself. Having a set of outside eyes committed to my progress is huge.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because we all need coaches sometimes. They are an incredibly valuable asset and tool. Over the years I’ve hired health coaches, life coaches and trainers, and I am so thankful I did. In fact, I wish I knew coaches existed years ago when I first got sick. The support would have made a huge difference. And that’s why I do what I do, because I know it makes a difference for people.

If you’ve been thinking of hiring a coach, whether it’s a health coach, life coach, personal trainer or career coach, send me a quick email. If we’re not a good match, I know tons of other coaches and I guarantee you I can find you someone that will help you rock your world.

Sending you lots of love,

Samantha

5 Tips for Storing Fresh Produce

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One of the farm stands at the 125th street market where I did cooking demos last season.

It’s that time of year again! Amazing summer produce is abundant and farmers’ markets are popping up every where. With the abundance of produce around, I thought I would share some of my top does and don’t with you on storing fresh produce.

Tip #1: Wash your Fresh Produce Right Before you are Going to Prepare Them.

A lot of people like to wash their produce as soon as they bring it home from market (or the grocery store). Cleanliness is awesome, but moisture and produce are not great friends. Hold off on washing your produce until it’s ready to be used.

Tip #2: Store your Fresh Produce in the Appropriate Spot.

This is a tricky one, and there are lots of different opinions on this, but there are a few basics that most people agree on. For example, tomatoes do not get stored in the fridge (until they’ve been cut). Tomatoes do much better out on the counter. When you end up in the fridge they get soft and mealy, and the flavor isn’t as strong. Don’t believe me? Do a little experiment. Buy two tomatoes (of equal ripeness). Store one in the fridge and one on the counter and do a taste test after a couple of days. And let me know the results, please 🙂 If you aren’t sure where to store something, feel free to send me an email or do a quick online search.

Tip #3: For Produce with Greens Attached, Separate the Root from the Tops before Storing.

One of the great things about shopping at farmers markets is that you get the whole food item. Ok, that was kinda cryptic. What I mean by that is when you buy the beets, you get the beets and the beet greens. Same goes for carrots and radishes. And it’s all edible! Beet greens are basically swiss chard. Carrot tops are great in soup and radish greens can be used to bulk up a salad. It’s like a two for one special! After you get your two for one special home, you want to separate the tops from the root because the tops will draw away moisture from the root and your fresh produce won’t be fresh for very long.

Tip #4: Store Salad Greens in a Bag with A DRY Paper Towel.

Everyone hates soggy salad greens. To keep them fresher longer, store lettuces in a bag with a dry paper towel. The paper towel absorb any moisture keeping your greens happy longer! Yay!

Tip #5: Don’t Be Afraid of the Freezer.

Yes, I said it. We all love fresh produce. But sometimes life happens, and I end up with more produce than I can prepare or eat before it will go bad. In enters our hero for this scene, the freezer! Fruits can be stored in the freezer just as they are, and corn can also be stored in the freezer without cooking it first, just cut the the kernels off the cob. Greens and most veggies will are best to blanch or cook first, but blanching only takes a few minutes (just boil some water, throw in the produce for a couple of minutes, drain it and run it under cool water). And there is an added bonus, too! The water you used to blanch your produce is now an awesome stock ready to go! Or if you’re kinda crunchy like me, you can drink it like a tea 🙂 Just make sure you wash the produce before you blanch it, otherwise you’ll end up with some dirty water instead of stock or tea.

What about you? What are your tricks to keeping your fresh produce happy?

Thanks for tuning in!

With love,

Samantha

Understanding Cravings

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Hey there, thanks for stopping by!

Over the past 2 weeks I had the privilege of leading over 150 people in an online 10 day sugar cleanse. It was awesome to hear from people about how they were exploring their cravings and making changes in all areas of their lives.

Some people tend to look at cravings as a bad thing, it’s how we’ve been programmed. We shame and guilt ourselves for giving into our cravings, and then wonder why we keep doing the same thing over and over again. I like to look at my cravings a little differently. I see understanding cravings as a way to know myself better and deepen my relationship with myself.

Sounds a little deep, right? lol. But it’s true.

For example, over the past week I have definitely been eating differently than usual. The way I see it, I have a few choices of how I want to proceed.

1. Eat whatever I’m craving and be done with it.

2. Notice when I’m craving something, pause, and bring my attention inward instead of focusing on the external thing (cookies, chocolate, chips, whatever). Once I’ve paused, I ask myself what’s going on and what I’m really looking for/what I need.

3. Acknowledge there is a deeper need, and enjoy whatever I’m craving anyway.

So, what do I do? Depends on the day! Some days I want to be self-reflective and give myself as much love and healing as possible. Other days, I just want chocolate, even if that means I’m self-sabotaging. And neither choice is inherently better or worse than the other. It’s just about what’s important to you. What’s most important to me right now is the ability to love myself and others unconditionally. When I give into my cravings, I’m most often blocking off and numbing a part of myself that needs love and attention, which is not aligned with who I want to be. There are many reasons for cravings, for me they often come from feeling out of control, looking for comfort, avoiding making hard decisions or dealing with difficult emotions.

Small disclaimer: In this post I’m talking about cravings that stem from hidden emotions, but there are lots of other kinds of cravings. For example, a lot of my clients report craving sweet foods at night. Does that sound like you? One reason that often happens is because we stay up past when our bodies want to sleep, so we reach for sugary foods to give us energy to stay awake. Same thing happens around 1pm at work when a lot of people tend to crash. Our bodies also crave certain foods when we are low on certain key nutrients. These aren’t the cravings I’m talking about in this post, but stay tuned!

When I reflect on my eating habits over the past week, I can see that a part of me is looking for control. Last week I found out I have a new cyst growing outside of my uterus (you can read more in my post about endometriosis). Initially, what comes up for me is anger and a feeling of being out of control. Eating foods I normally don’t eat is a way for me to lash out against my body, it’s my way of saying, “see, f*** you, I can do whatever I want, you can’t tell me what to do”. Or some version of that.

But, truthfully, it’s just like a little child acting out when (s)he is sad or upset. The child just wants attention and the same is true for me. When I act out with the food I eat, what I’m usually looking for is some self-love, some self-compassion, and permission (from myself) to express what I’m feeling. What’s underneath the anger is actually fear and sadness.

Expressing what’s really going on takes courage and vulnerability. It also takes strength to know that sitting with whatever emotion that is there is not going to break me. In fact, letting the feelings pass through me is what gives me the ability to move forward and act with clarity (instead of letting my cravings run the show).

When I look at cravings this way, they are actually a gift that point me to areas in my life that need attention and action. When I attempt to understand my cravings by moving them to my conscious mind, I’m no longer run by them and they actually teach me a lot abut myself.

What about you? How do you view your cravings? What’s one thing you can do to understand your cravings a little more?

With so much love,

Samantha

Endometriosis and How I Relate to My Pain

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stomach

Hello dear reader.

This is a bit of a personal post, but I wanted to share a little bit about what’s been going on with me. As you may or may not know, I have endometriosis (don’t worry if you’ve never hear of it, I hadn’t until it came out of my doctor’s mouth). I haven’t shared much about it because it’s very new to me. I was diagnosed about 15 months ago and had to have surgery within a few weeks of finding out in order to save my right ovary. To keep it short, I’ll just say it sucked.

The conventional way people keep endometriosis in check is with birth control pills. But there are a lot of us who are trying to heal our endometriosis naturally. I haven’t had the best luck with Western medicine over the years, and I’m very sensitive to any type of medication (or food) I put in my system. So, I jumped on the natural bandwagon. I started exercising regularly, reduced stress, dechemicalized (yes, I made that word up) my beauty and cleaning products and modified by diet by cutting out soy and continuing to avoid sugar. Yesterday I had a sonogram and found out that I have a new cyst, but it’s only 1.5 inches (compared to 6 inches last year). I’m happy I don’t need surgery, but I also wish that I didn’t have another cyst.

So, why am I sharing this with you?

Last month I had a wonderful realization around my endometriosis and how I relate to pain. One of the symptoms of endometriosis is significant pain during your period. I’m very lucky that my pain is not so bad. But sometimes, it literally knocks me off my feet. One area where I usually experience pain is my lower back. This is also an area that is very tight for me and that I haven’t had a ton of awareness around. For those of you into chakras, this chakra is also closed for me.

Last month, I was able to use the pain as a way to focus in on this area and deepen my connection with it. What a shift! I was able to see my endometriosis as another “gift”, so to speak, to bring my awareness further into my body and into areas that I otherwise would neglect.

This area (gut, pelvic floor etc), which a friend recently called “organ town” (love it!) has historically been an area of pain and frustration for me as all of my health issues have been in this region. I’ve constantly tried to fix and control this area. What I’ve come to realize is that what this area needs is my love. What this area needs is compassion.

Our bodies are smart, and just like a child, when they want attention they will make a fuss. Now, when I experience pain, I try to see it as a sign from my body that something is out of whack. Instead of taking pain killers and moving on, I ask my body, “what are you trying to tell me?” or “what do you need”?

Is it always easy? Absolutely not. But is it a wonderful shift? Yes, absolutely.

What do you think? How do you relate to pain and disease in your body?

Thanks for reading.

With love,

Samantha

If you have endometriosis, there are tons of resources out there on healing naturally. One of my favorites is Aubree, from Peace with Endo. She wrote a wonderful book and is a wealth of information. She also runs a facebook support group. You’re not alone!

Sugar is Sugar is… sugar?

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Hey folks! It’s been a while since I’ve written here. Right now I’m in the middle of hosting a sugar cleanse with over 150 people! How awesome! One of the questions that keeps coming up is, can I eat fruit? So, I thought I’d share my thoughts with all of you.

Fruit is high in fiber, which keeps the sugar in it from being absorbed into your system as quickly. That means you don’t end up with that crazy sugar high and crash that I’m sure we are all familiar with. Fruit also has tons of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. But, that doesn’t mean all its forms are equally awesome or that fruit is good for everyone.

Dried Fruit:

Dried fruit is delicious, but it’s good to be mindful when eating dried fruit. Many dried fruits are coated with sugar. It’s always important to read your nutrition labels and ingredients, especially when buying “healthy” packaged foods. Additionally, since dried fruit is dehydrated, one cup of dried fruit will have way more sugar than one cup of the same fruit in its original form.

Fruit Juice:

Fruit juice is awesome, it’s also super sweet! And, fruit juice has very little to none of the great fiber that comes along with eating fruit (Did you know that adults should be getting at least 25 grams of fiber per day?). One serving of fruit juice often has as much sugar (or more) as soda. I’m not saying you should drink soda (really… I promise), but it’s just important to keep in mind that fruit juice does contain a ton of sugar. When buying juice, also keep in mind serving sizes. An Odwalla drink or similar type of smoothie usually contains 2 servings, with upwards of 25 grams of sugar per serving. That’s over 12 teaspoons of sugar per bottle.

So, what do you do?

There are tons of sweeteners out there to choose from, from aspartame, to maple syrup, to high fructose corn syrup. Some are “sugar free” or “calorie free”, some are unrefined, some have valuable nutrients, and some are just empty calories. So, what do you do? It really depends on what your diet looks like now and why you are looking to remove sugar from your diet.

I don’t eat sugar because all sugar feeds yeast, something I am quite susceptible to. If you’re in the same boat as me, then you might want to look at removing processed sugar, fruit, and simple carbs from your diet. I also avoid artificial sweeteners like aspartame because I try to refrain from putting chemicals of any sort or anything artificial in or on my body.

If you’re new to healthy eating (which I define as eating whole, unprocessed foods and lots of veggies), then eating fruit is likely a very important part of your process. Whenever you’re making changes, you want to do it slowly and sustainably. Otherwise you end up on another yo-yo diet and beating yourself up for not sticking to it.

So, the good news is that you get to decide. What changes are you comfortable making? And remember, you can always try something for a few weeks and see how you feel, and then make a decision if you want to keep on that path. You know your body better than anyone else, and changing things up in your diet is a great way to learn even more about your body and what makes you feel good. I’d love to hear what you’re doing and how it’s going. Feel free to post in the comments section or send me an email!

With love,

Samantha

quinoa tabbouleh

Recipe: Quinoa Tabbouleh (gluten free and vegan)

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Tabbouleh is a traditional Middle Eastern dish made with bulgar wheat. You may have had it in Turkish restaurants, or seen it at Costco (my mom got a big tub of it for her 60th birthday party yesterday!). But, if you or your guests/friends/family are gluten-free, bulgar wheat is a no no. Quick fix? Switch out the bulgar for quinoa and you have Quinoa Tabbouleh! Honestly, I never liked tabbouleh before making it this way. If you’ve never had it, give it a shot. You can also make it your own by adding in the type of herbs that appeal to you. I personally love the mint, I think it really brightens up this dish.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2 cups of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup mint, chopped
  • 1/3 cup scallions, sliced
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes (about 3 cups), halved
  • 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
  • 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 small cucumbers (Persian or English are best because they have less seeds), diced

Directions

  1. Cook quinoa with ½ tsp salt and two cups water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and cover for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for another 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.
  2. Mince the garlic and put it in the lemon juice to sit. Chop the herbs, scallions and the rest of the ingredients.
  3. When the quinoa is done, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Toss to coat the grains.
  4. Add the rest of the herbs and vegetables to the bowl along with 1 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Mix and adjust seasoning

Happy Eating!