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...

Here’s the real deal: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for wellness, but there are things you can do to support your own unique blueprint and it starts in the gut.

Inflammation and irritation are the two main contributing factors to your muffin top, belly blah, and “Holiday Fatigue Syndrome.”

By addressing certain factors through a systematic, no fluff, simple-to-follow approach, you can begin to restore balance, proper gut function, and open up your detoxification system which allows for long lasting weight loss.

The 4-Week Gut Revival Holiday Edition is not specific to any single condition but rather - it supports the pillars of gut health.

After completing this program, you may experience relief from symptoms, weight loss, and more balanced digestion.

With this program you get:

•  4 Weeks of Suggested Meals and a Shopping List
•  30-Day Gut Health Calendar
•  A Food Mood Diary
•  Educational Guide
•  Handout / Worksheets / Quiz...

If you find yourself stuck in the holiday gut rut year over year, a little weight gain and an extra pair of stretchy pants in your Amazon cart, I encourage you to educate yourself on gut health.

Your gut bugs may be the one thing causing you to eat the stale Halloween candy or liking the social media ad for a sweatshirt which reads, “Thou Shall Not Try Me.” 

When there is an imbalance in your gut health (dysbiosis) it can cause an influx of toxins. These toxins can block hunger hormone receptors modifying your eating behaviors causing you to eat Aunt Mel’s fruit cake. The hunger hormones which regulate satiety are activated by binding to bacteria. So the feelings of hunger are coordinated with the diversity of your microbiota. (1)  

Symptoms from gut dysbiosis or toxic bacteria show up as “common” life nags.

Side effects of poor gut health include:

•  Fatigue
•  Weight gain
•  Gastrointestinal issues (IBS, IBD, Constipation,...

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...

Gut health or detoxing doesn’t have to be hard, it can be as simple as 1 ingredient.

I first heard of mono eating from Fully Raw Kristina. She healed her hospital stricken body by consuming only fresh peaches for a week. Check her out here-> Top 3 Reasons to Eat 1 Fully Raw Mono-Meal a day.

Way back when our ancestors were running barefoot in search of food they didn’t have the convenience of making one of my #bigasssalads with 7 ingredients. Instead they ate from the ripest raspberry bush or the one animal they hunted. 

A mono meal is a snazzy way of saying, stuff yourself up on a meal that consists of ONE item. For example, cutting a watermelon in half, grabbing a spoon, and consuming it out of the core like it was a bowl. Eating four bananas or a big bowl of mashed sweet potatoes. 

The benefits of mono meals are to ease your digestive workload. If your gut is in overdrive from being over stressed by your lifestyle or is suffering from gut dysbiosis, you...

Nutrition bars, energy bars, meal replacement bars...whatever your use, I usually have 1-3 bars shoved in my purse or corporate bag. On the go bars help curb my hunger pains when I’m running meeting to meeting or carting kids around like their personal Uber driver. 

The older my kids get, the more time they spend on the go themselves. My oldest spends 15 hours in the gym a week. At 12 years old, “little kiddie” snacks don’t do his body good. In order for him to perform optimally his body requires nutrient dense foods.  

On the go protein tends to be the hardest for our family to consume. For starters my son and I are lactose intolerant so that rules out a few decent options like yogurt, cottage cheese, or string cheese. Most protein bars also contain milk and are loaded with an abundance of unnecessary ingredients like hidden sugar, additives, chemicals, whey or soy. It’s also a challenge finding a protein bar my son will actually eat due...

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...

"Do I need a probiotic?"

"Do I need to spend a lot of money on a probiotic?"

"Do I need to take a probiotic everyday?"

Common questions I hear from my clients and the same questions I asked myself before diving deep into my gut health journey. Before my gut health education I too was hella confused by all the professional gut health jargon. 

The truth is, you are exposed to stores and websites LINED with probiotics supplements which leaves you confused and empty handed.  It can be a grueling task to choose the right probiotic supplement, so how do you decide which probiotic is right for you?

Here are simple tips to guide you towards choosing the best probiotic supplement.

REVIEW THE COLONY FORMING UNITS (CFUs)

CFUs, or Colony Forming Units, are the measuring unit of probiotics. This number must be clearly displayed on the probiotics bottle. To best suit the digestive system a probiotic should be in the range of 3-50 billion.  

Lower range CFU products can be...