And nothing’s better than finding new clean eating resources that inspire me in the kitchen. This past week, I had the pleasure of attending Terry Walter’s talk on Clean Food at the New Haven Public Library. Terry, a fellow graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, is the author of the recently published Clean Food cookbook, a seasonal guide to eating close to the source.

She shared about the power of preparing and eating real food for her and her family and how any of us can take baby steps in the right direction using seasonal, locally grown food. I’m always of that mind with my clean eating clients — it’s never about changing up everything in your routine at once, but about simple choices we can make everyday to step in the right direction.

Terry has a warm personality and engaging style that shone through during her talk. Along the way, she prepared some yummy dishes — a quinoa salad with fresh mango, black beans and mint, and a delicious garden salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing — that we all had the pleasure of enjoying.

Nothing was a better follow up to the evening than noshing over a healthy meal with my good friend Jannae as we compared notes about what we were going to make from the cookbook over the weekend. 

And just as I promised myself, I got busy on Saturday and whipped up her sweet potato, corn and kale chowder.  I used Trader Joe’s frozen, fire roasted corn and loved the rich flavor.  I also tried her banana, coconut and chocolate chip cookies.  They are so easy to make and I like that the only sweetener is a 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup.  These vegan cookies were a bit hit at the dinner party we attended on Saturday night.

I really like the way Terry has divided up the cookbook by seasons.  Given that spring is officially here, I naturally gravitated to that section and am giving special focus to recipes that contain greens, one of the best springtime detoxifiers around.

If your aren’t familiar with Clean Food, you have to check it out, it’s worth every penny of the price. And it’s the perfect resource for clean eaters like me that are looking for some fresh, new recipes to build into my repertoire — it reminds me how fun it is to experiment in the kitchen as I support my health.

Have you had a chance to try out Clean Food already? What do you think? What’s your favorite recipe that you just can’t get enough of?

But to me, losing weight is all about making permanent lifestyle changes in how you eat, exercise, and manage stress, not a short term fix from the latest diet book. It simply doesn’t work.

So I was intrigued by the idea of certain foods that are helpful, and of course, I had to flip through to find out what they were. Interestingly, I regularly eat half of them, some of them I’ve even talked about like kale and quinoa. And last week, before I even saw the article, I wrote a blog post about how I combined three of them into one dish (quinoa, kale and lentils) that was healthy, delicious and low in fat and calories.

Here are the 20 foods they mentioned:

Steak, eggs, kale, oats, lentils, goji berries, wild salmon, apples, buckwheat pasta, blueberries, almond butter, pomegranates, chiles, yogurt, quinoa, sardines, tarragon, parmesan, avocado and olive oil.

I have to say, I eat about half of the items on a regular basis, and it’s a fact, things like kale, oats and lentils can help us lose weight for a host of different reasons.

You can read the whole article with explanations about why these foods are so good by clicking here.

I’m curious to know how many of these foods you’re regularly eating. Which ones are staples in your diet and to what degree does it help you to lose weight?

But the truth is, with relatively minimal effort and a dose of creativity, anyone can create delicious and nutritious dishes that pack a powerful punch. What’s so great about greens? Let us count the ways…

Greens such as kale, collards, spinach, and Swiss chard are bursting with important vitamins and minerals to keep us strong like vitamins A, C, E and K. In addition, greens are full of calcium and provide a tasty and low fat alternative to dairy products.  Moreover, greens pack a powerful punch with abundant amounts of magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, folic acid and fiber. 
 
And we’re only scratching the surface…greens are powerful antioxidants to help prevent cancer, cleanse and purify our systems and give us abundant energy. Recovering from a cold? Think greens. They help reduce mucus and clear up congestion.  In need of some springtime cleansing? Greens will do the trick, helping to detoxify our liver and kidneys. In addition, greens have the added benefits of improving circulation, strengthening the immune system and promoting healthy intestinal flora.

Cooking with Greens
 
There are so many greens to choose from. Find greens that you love and eat them often. When you get bored with your favorites, be adventurous and try greens that you’ve never heard of before. Broccoli is very popular among adults and children. Each stem is like a tree trunk, giving you strong, grounded energy. Rotate between bok choy, napa cabbage, kale, collards, watercress, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, dandelion and other leafy greens. Green cabbage is great in the form of sauerkraut or raw. Arugula, endive, chicory, lettuce, mesclun and wild greens are generally eaten raw, but can be consumed in any creative way you enjoy.

Spinach, Swiss chard and beet greens are best eaten in moderation because they are high in oxalic acid, which depletes calcium from bones and teeth, and may lead to osteoporosis. Cook these vegetables with something rich like tofu, seeds, nuts, beans, butter, animal products or oil. This will balance the effect of the oxalic acid.

With plenty of options to eat greens both raw and cooked, the possibilities are endless.

Quite simply, going green is the way to go to energize and nourish ourselves and our families.

Want a quick, simple and delicious way to make greens? Check out this super easy recipe!

http://www.healthy-endeavors.com/2007/04/04/jumped-greens/

Directions:
1. First make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and whisk well.
2. Chop all the salad ingredients, leaving the apples until last, and mix in a salad bowl.
3. Toss salad with half the dressing. Add additional dressing if so desired.
4. Either eat immediately or chill for up to one hour and then add the apples just before eating.