This gluten-free grain from South America is nothing short of amazing. With plentiful amounts of protein, B vitamins and fiber, a serving of this cereal will keep you satisfied all morning.  I’ve adapted this recipe from Claire’s Corner Copia, a fabulous vegetarian restaurant in New Haven, reducing the sweetener and changing up the ingredients a bit.  Have fun with it and add your favorite items to make it your own.

(photo courtesy of Jeanette’s Healthy Living Blog)

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups almond milk (or soy or low fat milk)

1 tsp. cardamom

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp pure maple syrup (optional)

1 cup blueberries

1 pear or apple, diced

½ cup chopped walnuts

Ground flaxseed

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, add quinoa, almond milk, cardamom, cinnamon and maple syrup.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
2. Add cut up fruit, nuts and sprinkle with ground flaxseed.
3. Add additional almond milk or sweetener as desired.

Serve and enjoy!

What’s your favorite way to serve up quinoa for breakfast that you find irresistible and just have to share?

You must take a moment to watch this video and tell me what you think — true or hype? Does it make your stomach turn like mine?

Honestly, it looks pretty darn authentic to me, but even if it’s not, it got me thinking about the quality of food we eat everyday and especially about eating canned food. It sure is convenient but for so many reasons, I limit my intake of canned foods to organic canned beans (no salt added), tomatoes and coconut milk. That’s pretty much it. Why so few items?

Let’s start with the fact that a huge portion of canned food would hardly fall in the clean eating category.  Over processed and often full of too much sodium (think canned soup), calories or unhealthy fats, it doesn’t usually provide us with the essential nutrients we need. In addition, most cans are lined with BPA (bisphenol A) – a chemical in plastic that’s been linked to increased risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease in animals.  Even in the healthiest of canned foods, you’re likely to find BPA.

Even if I wasn’t already focused on eating clean, whole foods, simply watching the video would be enough to make me pause and think about the choices I make.   Am I making the best decisions? What, if anything, do I need to change? Honestly, it’s hard to have confidence in our food supply these days and this sure doesn’t help.

This is one more reason to eat fresh, clean foods. With a focus on more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, it’s hard to go wrong.  That’s especially true if your food is locally grown and you know specifically where it’s coming from. But even if you eat frozen veggies, that’s a big step up from canned. Know what else? Even if I’m going to eat pasta, I’m sure not eating it from a can. How about a little extra time to cook some up with jarred sauce, at the very least? With some simple meal planning, any of us can reduce our dependence on questionable canned and processed foods and support a healthier lifestyle with more fresh, whole foods that boost our immune system and help stave off chronic diseases.

What will you do to minimize the impact of canned foods and eat more fresh, clean eating, whole foods?

The good news is that I’m doing well with my eating, focused on clean, unprocessed foods that I’ve been making on the weekends. I’ve been enthused to try some new recipes, do some entertaining (we even hosted a clean eating dinner party over the weekend with some yummy dishes) and stay pretty true to my clean eating roots (doesn’t mean I haven’t had a few detours, but all in moderation).

But this does beg the question of what one’s to do when faced with the winter doldrums about eating. Once you fall off the wagon, it can be easy to just not get back on, justify that you deserve to not exercise or eat well because you’re tired or sick of winter, and just plain not do what you know you should.

Question is, what will it take to motivate you to eat clean, get through the next few weeks of winter and feel energized for spring?  I’ve put together a few simple things you can do to kick the winter doldrums to the curb and get reinvigorated about clean eating without a whole lot of “I really don’t want to do it” drama.  Remember, clean eating is all about keeping it simple, so no fancy schemes needed here.

1. Try a new recipe or food that intrigues you.  I’m a big fan of experimenting with foods that I’ve never tried making. For example, there was a recent article in Clean Eating magazine about how to prepare fresh artichokes. That’s one of those foods that I’ve never tried making because it looked complicated.  Truth be told, it’s really not, I just needed a little information and inspiration to help me.
2. Eat less meat and lighten up. It’s so easy for Americans to OD on meat.  We eat far more protein than we need and it’s often of mediocre quality, at best.  Plan your weekly meals with at least 1-2 less servings of meat and instead focus on the variety of plant based proteins that exist. I’m a huge fan of beans — they’re inexpensive and eat to prepare.
3. Add more whole grains.I’m always amazed out how easy it is to eat clean and inexpensively when you build more whole grains into your diet.  I love quinoa and making a pot on Sunday can add a healthy side dish to our repertoire that we’ll eat for 3 or 4 days.  Check out one of the simple recipes on my blog for delicious quinoa dishes — quinoa tabouli, Southwestern quinoa stew or basil quinoa — yum!
4. Revel in a leisurely meal.  So many of my clients spend copious amounts of time running around from one task to the next barely making the time to eat, let alone to really enjoy and savor a meal.  One of the simplest ways to tune into your body, eat less and kick start weight loss is to make time for meals when you can be present to your food.  Can’t do it every meal? Commit to at least twice a week when you can sit down without distraction (yep, I mean NO TV!) and enjoy your food.
5. Visualize how you’ll look and feel a month from now.  I’m a big picture kind of a girl and I love visualizing the result I want to achieve. There’s no time like the present to create a vision for your energetic, fit and happy spring self. It just may motivate you to try one of the first four steps.

What’s your plan to make it through the rest of winter and what’s one proactive step above you can easily take to give you a late winter kick start and banish those doldrums?

Interestingly, I’ve been checking out the gluten-free section of my favorite two health food stores for ages, yet never even spotted the crackers before.  As someone who tries to avoid wheat and gluten, mostly because it can aggravate my eczema, I’m no stranger to gluten-free products. In fact, it’s usually my inclination to reach for gluten-free brown rice crackers as a good option.

Recently a friend on Twitter connected me with Mary’s Gone Crackers, and they offered to send me some samples.  Little did I expect such a generous shipment and variety of crackers. I was immediately taken by all the flavors and varieties — onion, herb, original, black pepper and caraway, to name just a few. My clean eating care package also arrived with what they call “Sticks & Twigs,” miniature snack sticks in a variety of flavors like curry and chipotle tomato.

I have to tell you that when I opened up one of the snack sized packages and popped a cracker in my mouth, I was caught off guard. I’m used to the bland, not so exciting flavor of brown rice crackers.  They get the job done but there’s nothing to jump up and down about. And yes, even though several different brands come in a variety of flavors, I tend to opt for the basic ones. So when I bit into the cracker, I sure wasn’t expecting so much flavor.  At first, I wasn’t even sure I liked the crackers — they tasted bold and different. But I kept eating, and several crackers into the package it dawned on me that they tasted really good. That all the flavor and texture was a welcome and much needed change from my usual cracker routine.

What a concept — an all-organic, gluten-free and wheat-free cracker that’s also vegan, has no hydrogenated oils and contains Omega 3-fatty acids. Even better, they boast a variety of whole grains — quinoa, brown rice, flax seed, and sesame seeds. I thought all the flavors tasted great with my favorite hummus but I was especially enamored with the caraway.

My last time at the health food store I finally noticed the crackers on the shelf in the gluten-free section and they surely aren’t cheap,  but I would be willing to pay a little extra for something that’s organic, clean eating and so healthy.  And it looks like you can get better pricing by buying them online via Amazon which I might be willing to try.  Nonetheless, I’m excited to have a tasty, whole grain alternative to the usual gluten-free fare that’s got me so intrigued.

Have you tried Mary’s Gone Crackers before? What was your experience like?

With the new year upon us, and many of us wishing we hadn’t indulged so much during the holidays, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be so hard to get on track. 

If you didn’t eat so clean during the holidays, no worries. Now’s the perfect time to practice slow but steady clean eating changes that have nothing to do with going on a diet! Yep, it’s true, diets don’t work and all they really lead to are depriving yourself, expending too much energy on trying not to fall off the wagon…and ultimately, falling of the wagon!

Here’s my post holiday advice: establish a few realistic goals for clean eating — not the “I’m going to lose 25 pounds in the next month” kind of a goal, but a goal that you can actually achieve.  Here’s a sampling of some clean eating goals that might spark your imagination:

• eat at least two more servings a vegetables a day
• drink 32 ounces of water by 12:00 and another 32 ounces by 5 pm
• eat at least 4 out of 7 dinners per week without any distractions like the TV
• chew each mouthful of food at least 25 times
• add at least three types of whole grains to your diet per week
• add 2 more vegetarian meals to your diet per week

Clean eating is all about improving the quality of your food — less processed food, more whole foods, more locally grown food, — and the experience you have while eating it. To me, it’s about increasing your awareness and tuning in.   When you eliminate distractions like the TV, you taste your food more fully and eat less.  You’ll actually need less food to feel filled up because you’ll be enjoying your food with reckless abandon and paying attention to the signals your body is sending you.  This is key to successfully losing weight and keeping it off.

And then there’s the steady part — consistently putting a meal plan into action week after week. To me, meal planning is the system by which I stay on track with my clean eating. It’s the vehicle by which it all happens on a weekly basis. And not only do I practice this religiously, but I work with my clients to do the same and what a difference it makes.

I’d love to hear about what you’ve got planned for 2010 to practice clean eating. What are you clean eating goals that will help you maintain your weight or loss some? What will you do differently this year to feel your best?

Here are a few clean eating goals of my own:

• Eat at least three different varieties of greens per week (I just bought kale, collards and Brussels sprouts as part of this week’s meal plan)
• drink 6-8 glasses of water per day, consistently (I struggle with the consistent part, working on new strategies; check out a recent post on how I’m getting better)
• eat less meat and create at least 2  meat-free dinners (this shouldn’t be hard, we don’t eat that much anyway) per week
• whip up a raw, green smoothie for breakfast with fresh greens at least 3 times per week

So cough it up, let me know what you’re inspired to do and create in 2010 regarding clean eating! If I can do it, you can too!

PS If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to clean eating, let me know. We can set up a complimentary 30-minute consultation to talk about your health goals and how yours truly, the Clean Eating Coach, can help you reach them.

But now that the weather has dramatically cooled (yesterday we had light snow!), I’m all about warming up.  One of my favorite morning treats is oatmeal. In the summer, I make a yummy raw oatmeal that I absolutely love that’s served at room temperature, but this time of year, it’s got to be hot.

Recently, I was flipping through the most recent issue of Clean Eating magazine when I came across a recipe for Jamaican style oatmeal that sounded yummy.  As you can probably imagine, the Jamaican part of it is that is has  tropical flavors — coconut, pineapple and banana.  When I saw it, I just knew it would be good, with a few adjustments.  I personally can’t stand bananas (except in my smoothies), so I took that out and added a touch of cinnamon instead.  It made for an absolutely delicious oatmeal, so much more interesting than just adding some berries on top, and the addition of nuts made it even more robust.

Best part of all is that I felt satisfied all morning long.  I’m a big fan of a bigger breakfast that keeps you feeling nourished and focused, in addition to setting your blood sugar level for the day.  This clean eating breakfast is just that — robust, tasty and so good for us.  Plus, oats are heart healthy, can lower cholesterol and can even aid in weight loss.  This is whole food nutrition at its best!

Jamaican Style Whole Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup almond milk (or use skim, rice or soy)
2 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 cup fresh pineapple
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
2 tbsp. almonds, toasted and sliced

Directions:

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in medium saucepan.  Add oats, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes.  When oats are done, add milk and agave nectar, followed by the pineapple and cinnamon. Top with coconut and almonds.

What do you do to make oatmeal interesting and appealing? Do tell – please share your comments below.

And be sure to join me on Wednesday, October 21 at 8 pm ET for more clean eating and meal planning ideas on my next teleseminar, “Fabulous Fall Seasonal Eating and Meal Planning.” You can check out all the details and sign up here: http://budurl.com/falleating

Despite my best efforts, however, there are days when I can’t always create a home cooked meal.  Some weeks simply get busier than I anticipate and by the end, I may be running out of food or time.  I find this usually happens at the end of the week when I’m running out of lunch options and I’m in between appointments in need of sustenance that’s healthy.

So my back up plan to support clean eating is all about keeping healthy frozen meals on hand for when I just can’t find a better, quicker option. One of my favorites is Kashi’s Mayan Harvest Bake. It’s a vegan entree with plantains (one of  my favorites), black beans, sweet potato and kale served over their 7 whole grain pilaf.  As frozen meals go, this has got to be one of my favorites — high in fiber, good source of plant-based protein, it’s all natural and the sodium isn’t sky high as in some frozen entrees.   The plantains are pleasingly sweet and with the contrast of the black beans, it’s delicious. Plus the amaranth-based pilaf is sooo good — creamy and light.  I had it the other day with a spinach salad and I have to say that it kept me satisfied for hours.

Have you tried the Mayan Harvest Bake or any of the other Kashi options? What’s your favorite Kashi or other frozen meal that supports clean eating by using fresh whole foods, not artificial ingredients?

I’m a big fan of stocking up on a few of your favorites for just these type of days — you can maintain clean eating in the midst of your busy schedule.

But you know what else? Whole grain cereals like this recipe are a great source of fiber that helps us feel full, nd they provide complex carbohydrates that keep our energy levels up.  In essence, less is more.  A little high quality hot cereal can keep up satisfied all morning long.

Ingredients:

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal* (available in most health food stores)
1 1/2 half cups water
1/4 fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. orange zest
chopped walnuts
agave nectar (optional)

Directions:

1. Zest the orange and squeeze the fresh orange juice.
2. Bring water, orange juice and salt to a boil.
3. Add cereal and orange zest, lower temperature and cook covered for about 10 minutes.

When cereal is ready, serve with your favorite garnishes — fresh, fruit, walnuts, raisins, almond milk — are a few of mine.

The orange zest provides a nice twist that livens up your cereal and adds variety.

Give it a try and tell me what you think.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy hot cereal and how do you keep it interesting?

*This is a gluten-free cereal. If you prefer other hot cereals, just add the zest and orange juice to the usual cooking directions.