Our ancestors may have had to garden to survive, but these days, many of us choose gardening to thrive. Not only is it a great way of providing yourself and your family with delicious, nutritious produce or beautiful fresh-cut flowers, but there are tremendous physical and mental benefit to be—pardon the pun—reaped. Just the act of being outside is good for both the human body and mind. Being exposed to the sunlight and feeling like you’re part of nature lowers your levels of the stress hormone cortisol, lowers your blood pressure, and strengthens your immune system. All that vitamin D you’ll be soaking up with the sun’s rays will boost your mood, potentially reducing a dependency on anti-depressants, while also making you half as likely as someone with low levels of vitamin D to develop heart disease. People these days spend so much of their time indoors it’s actually harming […]
How to Get the Glow – One Step at a Time
You want the glow, right? And you want to feel on top of the world when you get out of bed in the morning, right, too? Not to mention, you want more energy and a beautiful, toned body. You know, and I know, to have these things, you have to move that body of yours, no matter what shape you’re in now. But how? How do you get the glow when you just can’t get motivated? How? Here’s my secret: Start Small. Forget jumping into an intense bootcamp or CrossFit class. If you want to do those things, start small first and work up to it. To get to the point where I’m exercising consistently, I like to start with manageable amounts and then expand from there. For example, when I get back into a daily jogging plan, I usually start by pushing myself to run two miles for several days, then […]
10-Minute Salmon Dinner
Buy at the store: Salmon fillets Corn on the cob Cut and cleaned organic spinach in a tub To cook: Salmon – sprinkle with a little garlic pepper, a touch of smoked paprika, and a teeny drop of maple syrup. Don’t overdo the spices- just a little! Add a little olive oil to a sauté pan, and heat the oil on medium high. As soon as the pan is warm, add the salmon and sear on medium high for a minute on each side. Then turn heat down to low and continue cook slowly to your preference. One inch salmon takes about three minutes per side. The trick is to watch your salmon as its cooking and leave it pink in the middle. Spinach. Add a little olive oil to a sauté pan, heat the oil on medium, then add a big bunch of spinach, sprinkle with a little garlic […]
10-Minute Baked Chicken Dinner
This fabulously colorful, succulent and healthy dinner took me all of 10 minutes to make. It’s perfect for those nights when the last thing you want to do is cook, but you still want to eat great food and get in a few veggies while you’re at it. Ready for it? 1. Stop by the deli on your way home from work and grab some steaming hot chicken pieces. 2. Grab a little pre-made pesto. 3. Pick up the plumpest, juiciest, ripe, red organic tomato you can find – one per person. 4. Add a little bunch of organic bok choy per person and head to the checkout stand. 5. Get home, cut the tomatoes in half, and spread a little pesto on each half. Broil them for maybe 5 minutes. 6. While the tomatoes are broiling, steam the bok choy – it only takes 5 minutes, too. No need […]