What are your holiday triggers? 

Do you salivate at the sight of peppermint bark?

Or wear your extra stretchy yoga pants when you know mashed potatoes is being served? 

During the holidays, it’s important to take note of your triggers and understand when you feel tempted to overdo it with food. Ignoring the triggers will lead to weight gain & gut rot.

Here are some examples:

• Attending a cocktail party or a wedding
• Corporate cafeteria leftovers (you know, the area people bring all the items they don’t want at home.) 
• When you’re watching TV
• Desserts delivered to the house for the holidays
• Bringing treats to your kid’s school
• Preparing food for a party you’re throwing
• Family or corporate holiday parties
• Cocktail parties with drinks and tons of hor deserves

Holiday Hot Tip: PLAN AHEAD

Make SURE TO PLAN before you attend a gathering or party. 

Find out what will be served: If possible, ask the host what kinds of foods and...

Feeling “puffy” from the Fall treats?

Seasonal detoxes can be a great transition from the previous season's toxic build up. 

Fall detoxes can help flush out toxins which lead to the belly bulge, headaches, and weakened immune system. The fall season is a great time to boost the immune system and ditch the stubborn weight. It’s also great for slowing down, turning inwards, and letting go of foods, thoughts, emotions, and people that don’t serve you. Actually, the falling leaves are symbolic of us shedding negative memories, thoughts, and patterns.

Here’s a simple Fall Salad detox recipe you can add to your meal plan for the next few months:

KALE SALAD WITH ROASTED BEETS AND APPLE

Serves 2

• 2 medium beets
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 avocado
• 2 green apples, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds

PREHEAT OVEN. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

ROAST BEETS. Trim the ends of the beets and scrub them clean. Wrap each beet individually in aluminum...

The holiday cocktail season can literally take the “Spirits” right out of you. If you’re not in the mood to be hungover and lay around feeling guilty about being unproductive, here's my must try Golden Milk Tonic.

This mocktail cocktail has amazing benefits for the immune system and it is loaded with antioxidants which keeps your face glowing with holiday cheer and lowers the risk of being infected and quarantined.

Plus it’s tasty!

Here’s the recipe straight from my upcoming Gut Revival Holiday Edition Program:

Golden Milk

Serves 2

This recipe has 2 simple steps: make the turmeric paste (which can be stored in your refrigerator for several days), then prepare the milk.

Turmeric Paste

½ cup water

¼ cup turmeric powder

To make the paste, add the water and turmeric to a small pot over medium heat.  Gently stir the water and turmeric into a paste of medium consistency. If the paste becomes too dry, add a little water. Cook the paste for...

Three simple smart moves to avoid the Halloween bloat->

• Buy Halloween candy the day of at 50% off 
• Buy Halloween candy which makes you gag like Wax Lips or Good & Plenty (hint: parents don’t want their kids acting like Chucky from Child's Play anyway)
• Join my new program Gut Revival Holiday Edition

In a study funded by Yale University and the National Institutes of Health, it was found that high consumption of simple sugars could be affecting the composition of the gut microbiome. Sugar is also known to feed toxic gut bacteria and candida. When you create an environment of opportunistic bacteria you’re prone to symptoms associated with gut dysbiosis -> weight management issues, fatigue, digestive symptoms, headaches, skin issues, and more! 

Instead of stocking up on Halloween candy starting Oct. 1, try these Fall Superfood swaps so that you can avoid the Holiday weight gain.

Use Pumpkin in Cake Mixes

Pumpkin puree turns cake or cupcakes into...

I often hear. “I buy healthy food, it just gets shoved in the back of the fridge and by the time I remember it's there, it’s time to throw it out.”

Sound like you?

That’s why I love batch cooking. When you learn to batch cook you’ll be able to buy a few ingredients and spread them across multiple meals with little waste. 

One of my favorite gut healthy ingredients in parsley. Parsley has evidence to help with digestive problems, including irritable bowel syndrome. (1) Curly parsley also stays fresh in the fridge for days!

Here’s one of my favorite side dish recipes which has 7+ variations.

Quinoa Tabouli

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• sea salt, optional
• sliced or chopped cucumber
• minced red onion
• chopped fresh scallion
• chopped fresh mint

Dressing:

• juice of several lemons
• Bragg's extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt

Directions:

1. Bring rinsed and drained quinoa to a boil...

Our garden overproduced zucchini this season and I’ve become OBSESSED with this simple side. 

Zucchini Cakes are a veggie side dish my kids don't complain about! Made with grated zucchini, garlic, dairy free “cheese”, basil, almond flour, egg, then baked in the oven and finished in a simple marinara sauce.

These vegetarian patties were inspired by a neighbor's “ball” party. She made a similar zucchini meatball recipe using bread crumbs and cheese. They were a huge party hit so I transformed these party favorites into a dairy free (DF) and gluten free (GF) masterpiece so that my lactose intolerant son & I can enjoy them without a belly ache. 

We’ve served these patties over GF pasta and as a side with Italian grilled chicken.

If you're one of my gut health warriors note that zucchini research suggests that zucchini also offers anti-inflammatory protection within the gastrointestinal tract that can reduce IBS, ulcer-related...

Burgers, Buns, and Beers - the classic American summer weekend meal.

But these classics can leave you with gut rot and feeling like you need a nap during your Monday conference calls. 

Here’s 3 quick tips to ditch the bloat & energize yourself -> 

Tip 1

The obvious: Hydrate with lots of water

Take it one step further: To jumpstart your digestive system and help flush out the toxins make my Gut Revive AM concoction.

• 16 ounces of room temperature or warm water 
• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon or lime
• 1 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Dash of unrefined sea salt

Tip 2

The obvious: Eat clean

Foods high in antioxidants like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, dark chocolate, pecans, kale, and spinach are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants scavenge free radicals from the body cells and prevent or reduce the damage caused by oxidation. (1) AKA - antioxidants help sweep up the toxins.

Take it one step further: Take a glutathione...

“How do I boost my gut health without taking a bunch of supplements?”

Sound familiar? It’s a question I frequently get asked.

Here’s 3 quick tips to address that question-> 

• Fermented foods
• A diverse diet - rich in high quality fruits & veggies
• Run a GI Map test and discover what supplements your unique gut will respond best too 

Fermented foods have been around for thousands of years and are slowly making a comeback. Kombucha seems to be leading the charge with the fizz stacked in rows in grocery stores, gas stations, and even bars. Believe it or not, kombucha is extremely easy to brew. I’ve been brewing for almost a year and have created flavors ranging from earthly herb to fruity pebbles. 

Tempeh is another fermented food I enjoy because it’s so versatile. Traditional tempeh is fermented soybeans. During the fermentation process acids are processed which control gut compromising pathogens like salmonella. (Hutchins 1995)...

Oops! You received an email from me earlier this week welcoming you to my Gut Revival program. This was an accident. I was trying to multitask at 6:35am and my brain wasn’t working yet!

So I thought I would send you one of my favorite gut friendly protein bar recipes from the Gut Revival Recipe book. This recipe is perfect for summer as it contains the aromatic zesty punch of lemon and may help to relieve you from the burger & beer belly bloat.

Lemon is a potent antioxidant which helps to reduce gut inflammation and boost the immune system. Lemon is also a natural antimicrobial which helps to balance gut bacteria reducing the chances of wearing spanx under your swimsuit.  

Lemon Sesame Cacao Bars

Makes about 10 bars

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

½ cup raw cacao nibs

3 tablespoons sunbutter

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

1 cup sesame seeds

1 tablespoon lemon zest

8 pitted Medjool dates (soak for about 30 min if hard)

cup shredded...

Salad - if you follow me on Instagram you know I’m a fan of #bigasssalads. A bowl full of leafy greens, a simple protein, and healthy fat makes for a balanced lunch. But, when it comes to feeding your healthy gut bacteria, diversity is crucial in your diet. 

There are different species of gut bacteria and each have different functions. If you continue to only feed one type of species your gut may become overpopulated with a certain species. Overpopulation of any species can lead to gut dysbiosis. Getting a variety of different types of fiber into the diet increases the growth of healthy bacteria species and increases production of beneficial byproducts. 

Roots like carrots, sweet potatoes, and turnips, are a rich source of nutritious complex carbohydrates. Instead of upsetting blood sugar levels like refined sweet foods do, they help regulate them. They are especially rich in soluble and insoluble fibre, which helps to boost the health of gut bacteria (1)

Why Eat...