Quench Thirst & Detox Naturally

Infusions are a quick and easy way to add delicious flavor and detoxifying ingredients to your water. These small additions can instantly transport you to a spa, prompt even more sipping throughout the day and they’ll bring a real boost to your cells. Here’s one of our favorite summer time sips!

Citrus Mint Water

8 cups water, can be still or sparkling
1 lemon, sliced (great for digestion & boosts the liver)
1 orange, sliced (adds delicious flavor & Vitamin C)
5 springs of mint, roughly 2 inches long (soothing for digestion & great breath freshener)
3 sprigs of rosemary, roughly 2 inches long (herbal liver detox)

Combine all ingredients and let chill for 2 + hours. I will often keep all of the ingredients in the water and then refill the pitcher once all the water has been drunk to get a second infusion from the same ingredients. The flavor will be more subtle.

Incorporate this miracle food into your diet today!

One of the many things I love about nettle is its energetics. Nettle is all about waking up! It will sting you if you handle it incorrectly, but it’s also the perfect food to move us out of hibernation and into spring. I consider it a miracle food — it is packed with vital minerals and nutrients — and I’ve been incorporating it into my diet for years. It boosts my energy throughout the day and has worked wonders for my skin and nails. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Preparation time: 1 hour

If using fresh nettle:
1 ½ cups water
4 cups young nettle tops
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 onion or leek, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk or nettle broth
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup goat cheese
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Cook nettle in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Drain well; save broth. Puree nettle in blender or food processor; set aside. Sauté onion in oil until golden. Add flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Slowly add ½ nettle broth or milk and cook, stirring often until dry and thick. Add a little of this at a time to the beaten egg yolk, until they are well mixed. Now stir in nettle puree, salt and cheese. Last, carefully fold in egg whites. Put in a soufflé dish, bake at 350 degrees until firm, 30-40 minutes.

If using dried nettle:
1/8 cup dried nettle
1/c cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 onion or leek, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk or nettle broth
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup goat cheese
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Place nettle in bowl with milk; set aside. Sauté onion in oil until golden. Add flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add nettle and milk and cook until it thickens slightly. Add a little of this at a time to the beaten egg yolk, until they are well mixed. Stir in the salt and cheese. Last, carefully fold in egg whites. Put in a soufflé dish, bake at 350 degrees until firm, 30-40 minutes.

Copyright 2009, J. Adler, original recipe

Start measuring your health on a cellular level

Ever wonder about what’s really going on inside your body? As nutritionists, we work to answer that question for our clients on a daily basis — and we don’t look to scales to give us the answer. Instead, we use a powerful tool that offers us a snapshot of your overall health on a cellular level. It’s called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), and it has revolutionized how we work with our clients. With BIA, we’re able to measure your Complete Body Composition, and determine everything from how well your body absorbs nutrients to how many calories you burn during a 24-hour period. Once we get your BIA results we design a personalized dietary plan that is tailored to your own specific needs, and we track the changes and improvements that you make over time.

Once we get your BIA results we design a personalized dietary plan that is tailored to your own specific needs, and we track the changes and improvements that you make over time.

Whether you’re interested in weight loss, boosting your energy or just curious about what is really going on inside your body, BIA can give you a detailed look at your current state of health, and provide us with the information necessary to help you achieve your goals.

Know Your Numbers
The BIA Measurements Include:

• Body Mass (fat-free) and Fat Mass: total amount of non-fat or lean parts of the body (muscles, bones, organs, and water) and total amount of stored fat. These numbers are measured in both pounds and percentages, and provide information about metabolic risk.

• Cell Membrane Health: this number tells you how effectively your membranes are functioning and measures the actual health of your cells.

• Intra and Extracellular Water: water inside & outside the cells. This number is a marker of inflammation.

• Basal Metabolic Rate – the number of calories metabolized at rest during a 24-hour period. This number, interpreted alongside your activity level, can be used to determine what is an appropriate amount of food for YOUR body.

Hop Off the Scale
BIA is much more sophisticated than your bathroom scale, but just as painless. BIA is a simple procedure that can be performed right in our office in a matter of minutes. Sensor pad electrodes are placed on your right hand and foot, and a small electrical current is applied. The BIA interprets the way the electricity passes through your body, and uses the information to calculate your tissue and fluid compartments. This information allows us to individualize a diet and lifestyle plan for you, and monitor its effectiveness over time.

What do I need to do to prepare for my BIA?

• Avoid alcohol for 24 hours prior to the test.
• Avoid exercise, caffeine, and all food within 4 hours of taking the test.
• Drink 2-4 glasses of water 2 hours before your test.
• Wear socks that are easy to take off!

With your BIA results, we can assess your current state of health, and provide preventative and nutrition care earlier. BIA enables us to detect an improper balance in your body composition before you develop more serious health conditions, and let’s us know when your health is back on track.

We look forward to introducing you to this incredible new tool, and creating a personalized dietary plan for you soon.

~ The Passionate Nutrition Team

Tune in for a weekly serving of nutrition wisdom every week! 

Want to boost your metabolism and energy using food? Ready to discover beauty foods that really, truly work? We’ve launched our new radio show to be your go-to source for all things nutrition. Food is our most powerful medicine and Passionate Nutrition Radio is packed with useful information that will transform how you look and feel. Tune in Fridays on 1150 AM KKNW. We welcome any and all nutrition questions throughout the show. Call in to the show at: 425-337-5527. We’d love to hear from you!

Passionate Nutrition Radio Details:

Show Time: Fridays (1-hr, 1st 3-weeks are 4-5pm and then noon-1pm after that.)
Tune In: 1150 AM KKNW
Call in phone number: 1.425.337.5527

11/09/12 (4-5pm): Spice it up!: How to transform your health and food flavor with essential spices.

11/16/12 (4-5pm): Grateful Eating: This holiday season practice eating with love, joy and happiness — regardless of what’s on your plate. Plus, this power food                diminishes fine lines and adds gorgeous shine to hair and nails. Tune in to find out what it is.

11/23/12 (4-5pm): Day after Thanksgiving rerun: Grateful Eating: This holiday season practice eating with love, joy and happiness — regardless of what’s on your plate. Plus, this power food diminishes fine lines and adds gorgeous shine to hair and nails. Tune in to find out what it is.

11/30/12 (12-1pm): Holiday Cooking: Dazzle your guests with these delicious holiday dishes and boost your health during the busiest time of the year.

Embrace autumn with these two power foods — Essential Fatty Acids + Water

Our body is made up of what we eat and one of the quickest ways to bring more shine to your hair and vibrance to your skin is with delicious food — specifically essential fatty acids (EFA’s). While EFA’s won’t solve every hair and skin woe (sometimes bad hair days and breakouts happen to good, healthy people) they are a great place to start.

Get Your EFA’s here:
The Pacific Northwest is salmon country and this fish is loaded with EFA’s.  Other foods rich in EFA’s include:  grass-fed beef, which provides 60% more EFA’s than grain-fed beef, halibut, mackerel, herring, sardines, trout, anchovies and cod liver oil. For vegetarian options try nuts and seeds. Flax and chia are both excellent sources of EFA’s.

Whatever your EFA of choice, get these essential fats into your diet on a daily basis. Your hair, skin, nails and brain will thank you, especially as the weather gets colder. 

Your Fountain of Youth
Most of us are much better about staying hydrated during the summer. The sun is out, the heat is on and it’s easy to remember to drink lots of water. As the seasons change our biggest piece of advice to you is: don’t stop sipping!

More than half of the human body is comprised of water (60 to 70 percent), and there is no better beverage than water to keep hydrated. Every system in our body depends on water to function properly and when we get dehydrated our mood, energy, mental focus and overall health is compromised. Water flushes toxins, carries nutrients to our cells, energizes our muscles and gives our skin a radiant glow. One easy fix for dark circles and under-eye puffiness is water.

This fall, have a glass of water at your desk at all times, keep water in your car and make a conscious effort to sip throughout the day. You’ll look better, you’ll feel better and staying hydrated is also an easy and inexpensive way to boost your metabolism and lose weight!

Enjoy the changing seasons, stay hydrated and embrace essential fatty acids! You truly can transform your health from the inside out with these two power foods.

Make delicious home-cooked meals, stop snacking and give yourself the gift of time.

For many of us, evening time (right after work) can be prime snacking time. We’re tired, we’re hungry and it’s so easy to reach for those snacks that we may regret later. Having dinner ready and waiting when you get home is a great way to avoid extra snacking. Plus, there really is nothing quite like coming home after a long day to a nutritious and delicious meal, already made!

Here are a just a few of our favorite recipes:

Crock-Pot Chicken Marbella

Serves 4

4 chicken thighs
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pitted prunes
1/8 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/8 cup capers with a bit of juice
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine
1/8 cup parsley or cilantro, finely chopped

In crock pot combine chicken, garlic, oregano, pepper and course salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice and bay leaves. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice. Usually 4-6 hours.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to remove temperate in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over the chicken.

Crock Pot Pork Loin

Makes dinner for two, with leftovers for lunch.
Approximate cooking time: 7 hours

Ingredients
1-1/2 lb pork loin
1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
2 medium (6″-8″) zucchini, sliced
1 head cauliflower, separated into medium florets
1-2 Tbs dried basil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to a large crock pot.

Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Yes you can!
Canning dates back to the early Revolutionary Wars when the notable French newspaper Le Monde, offered a hefty cash award of 12,000 Francs to any inventor who could come up with a cheap and effective method of preserving large amounts of food to help feed the armies. Canning was the winning invention and has been a beloved preservation method ever since. Canning preserves food by first sealing it in airtight containers, and then heating it to a temperature that destroys contaminating microorganisms.

Dry it you’ll like it
Sweet chewy apples, crunchy peach chips, crisp blueberries, green pea poppers and vine ripened sun dried tomatoes. Enjoy the succulent flavors of summer by drying them for the winter. Drying, otherwise known as dehydrating, is an even older method of preservation than canning. The oh-so economical sun and wind have been used for this purpose since ancient times. The modern day version can be done at a low temperature in your oven or in a dehydrator. Removing water from food makes it inhospitable to bacteria and microorganisms that need water to grow. Many different foods are prepared by drying. Plums magically prunes when dehydrated. Another example of a commonly used dried culinary delight is herbs. They keep summertime and winter flavorful.

Feel the freeze
There are few things better in this world than icy cold frozen blueberries. Throw them in your cereal, put them in your muffins or add them to buttermilk pancakes and cook them on the griddle. Freezing food (especially berries) is one of the easiest and most convenient ways of saving summer food for later. It’s also one of the most common preservation methods. Why settle for a freezer burned vegetable medley when you can freshly freeze your own cornucopia? Freezing slows decay by turning water to ice, which makes it unavailable for bacterial growth. It’s fast, easy and keeps food flavorful for many months. This is by far one of the easiest, no muss, no fuss ways to preserve food.

Bring on the bubbles
The oldest form of preservation is fermentation, which precedes human history because fruits ferment naturally. Since prehistoric times humans have enjoyed their fermented brews. The earliest evidence of winemaking dates back to 6000 BC in the former Soviet Republic. The Chinese are considered to be the first to develop fermented vegetables. Imagine a batch of crisp green and red fermented cabbage, salted to perfection accompanying your Thanksgiving diner this year, or a jar of fermented apricot butter patiently waiting each morning to accompany your toast, or even zesty fermented salsa bubbling with attitude on your burrito in December. Fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids. This was a traditional method of preserving foods in times of plenty for later consumption. It is also the preservation method that has brought many of us our favorite foods: wine, beer, bread, cheese, vinegar and various vegetable and dairy ferments. Who would have thought that Velveeta and bud light had such history?

Pickle this
It’s the easiest form of fermentation, and uses either vinegar or brine to produce lactic acid. The distinguishing feature is a pH less than 4.6, which is sufficient to kill most bacteria. Pickling can preserve perishable foods for months. For food that is moist and juicy you simply add salt, and the brine is produced.  For example, sauerkraut is made by salting cabbage and pressing it into a vessel. The water from the cabbage naturally (through osmosis) leaves the cell walls creating its own brine. Unlike the canning process, both pickling and fermenting do not require that the food is completely sterile. The acidity of the solution, the temperature of fermentation, and the exclusion of oxygen determine which microorganisms dominate and determine the flavor of the end product. Eventually, the production of either wine or vinegar occurs. Fermentation also has the added bonus of retaining the enzymes and healthy bacteria present in food, which our digestive system loves.

We hope these preservation techniques inspire you to get local, fresh grown goodies while you can and preserve them for the winter ahead. Happy drying, canning, pickling, freezing and fermenting!

Exfoliate & Hydrate with Our DIY Seaweed Scrub 

Packed with lipids, proteins, minerals and vitamins, seaweed deeply moisturizes and penetrates skin, hair and nails like no other. Whether you suffer from dry skin, rosacea, acne or just want to give your skin a dazzling glow, seaweed can help from the inside out, and the outside in.

Our Seaweed Scrub is easy and inexpensive to make, and just in time for summer!

Time Required: 10 minutes

Recipe:

1. Choose either sugar or salt as your exfoliating base. Sugar is usually more gentle on the skin so we recommend this if you’ll be using the scrub on your face.

2. Choose an oil: Most oils will work, but our favorites are organic extra virgin coconut oil, olive oil and almond oil.

3. Prepare your seaweed. We prefer dry, ground kelp for added detoxifying benefits, but really you can use just about any ground seaweed. You can find seaweed at Whole Foods and other health-focused food stores or join us this summer and harvest your own seaweed from a kayak!  It’s a pretty incredible experience. Once you’ve got your seaweed you can use your coffee grinder to grind it to the consistency you’re looking for. We like a finer consistency for the face, and rougher blend for the body scrub.

**Please pay close attention to the quality of seaweed that you use. Seaweed is a powerful detoxifier, and soaks up whatever is around it. You want to be certain that the seaweed you use comes from pristine waters.  This is really important. 

4. Finally, you’ll want to add 1 part oil and 1 part seaweed to 2 parts sugar or salt. Place anywhere from a few tablespoons to a cup of salt or sugar in a container, then add half that amount of oil and seaweed. Mix with a spoon. Keep in mind that it’s nearly impossible to keep the mixture fully mixed so don’t worry if the sugar settles to the bottom.

5. Scent your scrub, feel free to add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mixture. We love lavender, clary sage and rose.

6. Apply to dry skin. Scrubs work best on dry skin so try and apply before you shower or bathe, and let the scrub soak in for a few moments before you wash it off. You can also use the sugar scrub as a mask, and keep it on longer (10 to 15 minutes).

Finally, Enjoy! You’ve just sloughed old skin cells, absorbed nourishing minerals and hydrated with a super moisturizing oil. Your skin should look and feel ah-mazing. Happy Summer!

The health of our diet — specifically antioxidant intake — influences how affected we are by the sun. Antioxidants and the pigments that color fruits and vegetables help prevent sun damage to skin cells. Here’s why, living plants have to protect themselves from UV rays, just like we do. Plants use color pigments as a sunscreen, so the more colorful the food is, usually the higher it’s UV protection. When we consume colorful fruits and veggies, these pigments act as antioxidants and help defend us from UV rays in the same way they protect the plants. Here are a few of my favorite sunscreen foods. Enjoy!

Cinnamon has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice. In fact, there are as many antioxidants in one teaspoon of cinnamon as a full cup of pomegranate juice or ½ cup of blueberries. To bring more cinnamon into your diet try adding it to tea (I like steeped dandelion root). Add cream and honey, and enjoy. It’s a delicious combination, and you can drink this beverage cold or hot. Try it iced during the summer.

Pomegranate was named by the Romans and translates to “seed apple” in Latin. It’s deep garnet color delivers a high dose of antioxidant phytochemicals. Quick tip: If you’re deseeding the pomegranate yourself submerge the entire fruit under water and then remove the seeds. This keeps the splatter casualties’ way down.

Blueberries & Strawberries are high in anthocyanins, the colorful pigments that give many foods their gorgeous shades of blue, purple, and red. These berries are renowned for their antioxidant power, and I love serving them with heavy whipping cream. It’s the perfect summer dessert.

Watermelon: Rich in lycopene, a bright red carotenoid that has been shown to protect our skin from harmful UV damage, watermelons can help reduce the risk for skin cancer. Watermelons have 40 percent more lycopene than tomatoes, and nibbling on this water-rich fruit can help protect you from sunburns and sun damage.

Keep in mind that these are just a few of the delicious antioxidant foods you can choose from. This summer, remember that the most colorful foods tend to provide the most UV protection. Eat vibrant colors, and you’ll be doing your body and skin good in more ways than one. Also, if you’re buying topical sunscreen, look at every ingredient and search the EWG database to check safety first. If you can’t eat the ingredients don’t put them on your skin.

Happy Summer!

Jennifer