Nectarine-Blueberry Crisp

I visited family this weekend and was given the task of making a summery dessert.  While looking through this month’s Bon Appetite magazine, I saw a recipe that looked great — and it tasted delicious.  Filled with succulent nectarines and blueberries, both of which are in season right now, and topped with a crunch, buttery topping.  I modified the original to be a bit more healthy, without sacrificing taste.  We served it warm with vanilla bean ice cream on top

NECTARINE-BLUEBERRY CRISP
adapted from Bon Appetite
serves 12

TOPPING
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
5 tbsp brown sugar
1.5 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

FILLING
2 eggs
1 c sour cream [I'm going to try greek yogurt next time and see what happens]
1 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
4 c blueberries
1 nectarine, pitted and cut into 1 1/2 in cubes

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk flour, brown sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl to blend. Add melted butter and vanilla; stir until crumbly.  Let stand at room temperature.  Whisk eggs in another bowl to blend. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Add 1 tbsp flour; whisk to blend. Butter 8×10 dish. Mix fruit and place in an even layer in bowl. Pour egg mixture evenly over fruit. Using fingers, crumble topping over fruit.

Bake until custard is set ans topping is golden brown, about 55 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Get the Glow

A question I get a lot is, what do you do to your skin? It’s clear! And has a glow! How can I get the glow?

I’m a big proponent of organic skin care. Ever noticed how lotions and serums absorb into your skin? Their ingredients–all of them–are absorbed, too. I look for lines that are organic or biodynamic and don’t have a huge list of ingredients. I also keep it simple:   I wash my face, exfoliate twice a week, and moisturize–and that’s about it!

Some of my favorite skin care lines:

• Jurlique – I recently discovered this line and am in love. All of their ingredients are from a biodynamic farm in Australia. My favorite products are the Biodynamic Beauty Refining Treatment, the Balancing Foaming Cleanser, and the Rosewater Balancing Mist

• Dr. Hauschka, whose line pioneered holistic skin care. I find that a lot of the products are designed for skin on the drier side–and are too heavy for me–but I do like the Lip Balm and Daily Revitalizing Eye Cream
  
• Alba — This is the skincare line for ladies on a budget. My favorites is the Sea Moss Moisturizer, which is great in the summer or the winter.

As important as it it what you put on your face, remember that your skin reflects what you put in your body. I try to eat lots and lots of carrots (with the skin on), tons of berries, and drink a LOT of water. Also remember to eat adequate healthy fats (olive oil, fish, avocado, etc.). If you’ve been breaking out, try to avoid heavy, congestive foods like meat, dairy and sugar.

Shirodhara

It’s been busy in HadleyHolisticLand.  I’ve been leading workshops, developing and presenting teleclasses, and, of course, seeing all my clients.  It’s been so great… but also kind of exhausting. To rejuvenate myself for the summer, I decided to treat myself to a spa day at Pratima, an Ayurvedic spa in SoHo.  I chose the shirodhara treatment, which I have heard about before but never tried. It involves a massage and then they pour a steady stream of warm oil over your third eye.  When I looked it up on the internet, I was promised such benefits as “feeling extraordinary bliss”, reduced stress, and mental relaxation — sounds good to me!

It was my second time at Pratima and I found it just as calming and Zen-like as I remembered. My stress melted away the minute I entered the treatment room.  The shirodhara itself was AMAZING. All of my ‘to do’ chatter melted away and I just relaxed into it.  When I left, I was totally blissed out — not a care in the world. It was a great place to be.

I highly, highly recommend this to anyone in need of deep relaxation. I cannot overstate how awesome I felt afterwards. While you’re at Pratima, also check out their skin care line, which is all natural and super unprocessed.  Then your skin will match your post-treatment mental state!

Maestro Month!

I just found out about an amazing month of wellness-related teleclasses by some of the biggest names in the holistic health world.  Best of all, they’re all totally FREE!

Click here for more details.

Who am I excited to hear speak? The list is long:  Deepak Chopra (”Fronteirs of Health and Consciousness”), Debbie Ford, (”Letting go of the Past”), Mary Shomon (”Is Your Thyroid Making You Fat?”),   and Gary Renard (”Fearless Love”).

You also get 8 freebies when you register for one teleclass, which is an added bonus!

Meal Planning

When you’re busy, sometimes it can be hard to find time to cook for yourself. I find it very, very helpful to pick a day (for me, Sunday) to plan out a week’s worth of meals.  It takes the guesswork out of everything!  Follow these simple steps to creating a quick and easy meal plan to get you through the week in a healthy way.

1.  Write out a chart for the week: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks.  (or, print this one).

2. Look at your schedule, and cross off any meals that you *don’t* need to prepare (e.g., if you have plans to eat out, have a lunch meeting, etc.)

3. For the rest of the meals, start to brainstorm some ideas for what you’d like to have.  Make sure you take into account that you’ll tire of the same foods after a few days, so mix it up!  Write down different meals in each slot.  (Note: you don’t have to actually eat spaghetti on Wednesday night, but at least you’ll have the ingredients on hand for Tuesday or Thursday).

If you need ideas for quick, simple recipes, some of my go-to websites are 101 Cookbooks, Mark Bittman’s blog,  and Foodista.

4. Cook once, eat twice!  Learn to love leftovers, either for lunch the next day or as a foundation for the next night’s meal. Take leftovers into account as you prepare your meal plan.

5. Make a shopping list. Go to the store and buy as much of the food as you can.  This way, you’ll have it in your home and won’t have to think about it again until it’s time to prepare the food.

6. When you get home and don’t want to think anymore–just look at your meal plan, take out the ingredients, and cook away!

Thumbprint Cookies

Yesterday, I led a workshop called OPENING THE DOOR: How to Make Room for Fulfillment in Your Life.   Four hours of goal setting, future-building, and getting out all the negative chatter that holds us back.  It was so much fun!

Since we were dealing with some pretty tough subjects, I thought it’d be a nice treat to bring some healthy cookies.  My friend Chandra gave me the recipe and it was SUPER easy to make. I just put everything in the food processor and baked — so simple.  They weren’t too sweet and were hearty, since they’re full of almonds.  You could probably make them with peanuts, too, for a PB&J-type cookie.

Jam Cookies

makes about 16 cookies

Ingredient:

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup rolled oats or oat flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

pinch sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup coconut , canola, olive or grapeseed oil [I used olive oil]

1/2 cup maple syrup [I used agave]

all-fruit jam [I used raspberry]

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet [or use parchment paper].

Chop almonds into coarse meal. This can be done with a knife (which takes a long time and is messy) or in a food processor (or a blender, but a food processor is ideal) by pulsing a few times. For a chunkier cookie, grind the almonds only into small pieces.

Grind oats to flour in a small food processor, flour mill, or a blender. You can also use oat flour. For a chunkier cookie, don’t grind oats all the way.

Combine almonds, oats, flour, salt, and cinnamon.

In another bowl combine oil and maple syrup. Add to dry. Mix lightly.

Roll into walnut-sized balls. Place on an oiled cookie sheet. Press an indentation in the center with thumb.

Fill indentation with jam. Do not overfill.

Bake 15-20 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes.

And the winner is…

The winner of this week’s Waverly Kitchen giveaway is… drumroll… Stacey!

Send me an
email with your mailing address and I’ll get your yummy spices to you!

Tomorrow: FREE Pop-Up Wellness Retreat

Tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday  Vital Juice Daily is sponsoring a Pop-Up Recessionista Wellness Retreat in NYC’s Union Square.

Check out the schedule, which includes lots of juice yoga, pilates, and dance classes.

Indian night! and GIVEAWAY

After a long day of counseling, I wanted to make myself a special treat. I hadn’t had time for lunch, so by 6pm, I was famished!

Luckily, a few weeks ago the nice folks at Waverley Kitchens sent me three items from their new product line to try out.  They have a simple yet brilliant concept:  they sell individualized packets of Indian spices that you can use to quickly throw together a flavorful South Asian meal.  This is perfect for me because, while I love Indian food, I never have all of the spices… and when I decide to buy them, I’ll use a pinch here and a pinch there and most of it eventually spoils.

Each packet comes with the spices, a shopping list of ingredients, and an easy-to-follow recipe.  They sent me Chola Curry (onions, garlic, and chickpeas), Potato and Pea Sabji, and spinach raita.  I had all but one of the ingredients (tomato paste) on hand, so decided to try it.

It was super simple to make — the whole meal was ready in 30 minutes.  I decided to throw in some crispy tempeh for extra protein, which went really well with the chickpeas. I also served it with leftover short grain brown rice.

I would definitely recommend this product, especially for those nights when you’re getting home late and don’t have time to prepare a huge meal.  Everything was very flavorful and just spicy enough. The one thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the raita, because I found it a bit sweet. But the sabji and the chickpeas were amazing!

So now… I am pleased to offer one lucky reader the chance to win packets for three different dishes!  All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me your absolute favorite South Asian dish.  I’ll announce the winner on Thursday, June 18.  Good luck!!

JUNE TELECLASS (FREE!)

FREE June Teleclass:
End Emotional Eating for Good!

Do you ever feel like…

food controls you?
you’re eating for reasons other than hunger?
once you start eating certain foods you can’t stop?

We’ve all been there!  Join me for a one-hour teleclass* for my top tips on how to say goodbye to emotional eating.  Together we’ll explore how to banish bingeing, overeating, and dieting and  learn to listen to your body’s wants and needs. (Hint: It has nothing to do with willpower or exercising more control over your diet!)

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 8-9PM
Contact me by June 19th to register

* A teleclass is simply a seminar delivered over the phone.  Once registered, I will send you a dial-in number and password to join the call.  This is a great option for people who want to learn more about wellness topics from the comfort of their own home!