Massaged Kale with Fennel Salad

This salad is delightfully nourishing and gives you all the benefits of kale, without the digestive distress. When you massage kale you break down some of the tough fibers in the cell wall that make raw kale hard to digest. 

If you normally have trouble digesting kale the solution is to either steam your kale or massage it. This recipe is one of my clients favorites! You still get all the amazing benefits of raw kale: the enzymes, magnesium, vitamin C and more. 

Massaging nourishing oil and lemon juice into the kale also help make the nutrients more bioavailable and easier to assimilate. Plus, it tastes delicious and can be paired with grilled chicken or fish for a classic healthy meal. 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale, chopped

• 1 large lemon, juiced

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• Sea salt and black pepper to taste

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• 1 cup chopped celery

• ½ cup thinly sliced fennel (optional if you don’t like the taste of licorice)

• ¼ cup pine nuts
  
  

Directions

1. Add kale to a large mixing bowl along with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Using clean, bare hands, massage the kale until it is wilted (about 2 to 3 minutes).

2. Once the kale is ready, top your salad with carrots, celery, fennel, and pine nuts. No extra dressing is needed.

If kale is something that’s hard to digest for you, there might be a deeper issue that needs to be addressed. If you want to be able to eat whatever you want and have no digestive issues, you need to check out my gut health program. These principles have truly transformed my life as well as countless others. 

Check out my new 6 week program Stop Dieting and Live Your L.I.F.E - Discover your #YOUtrition launching February 11! Or join me for one of my upcoming webinars where you will learn more about your #YOUtrition and have the chance to ask me any questions!!

Can you indulge without ruining EVERYTHING?

Hey hey diva friends!

Throughout my coaching career I have noticed that women often struggle with the mentality of "cheating". Some women take a cold turkey approach to changing their nutrition, some women starve then binge when the cravings become too much to handle, some women say "just a taste" but finish 3 cupcakes. Some women take a "cheat day" but instead of 1 treat it turns into 3 full blown cheat meals that derail their entire week...most of the time the mentality, their core belief system and their approach to how food relates to their body never changes....

Because of this fundamental mis-step they fail to see the results they are after. They continue dieting, yo-yo-ing, struggling, binging and cycling through every fad diet in existence wondering why all their best efforts go nowhere. Without a dramatic change in how we view food our best intentions are essentially worthless.

I know- because until I changed how I thought I did ALL OF THOSE THINGS TOO!

Once I began learning about how food affects my body, my brain, my energy, my past, my present and my future....it became clear that each bite of food is detrimental to the outcome of my health. Whether that be positive, or negative....and good news is.... I'm in charge. 

Once that really sunk in and rooted itself into my food philosophy, I realized that I can eat whatever I want WHENever I want....as long as i make some critical shifts with the nutrients I use. I  had a pancake this morning and chocolate last night....but I guarantee you the ingredients in both were not the same ingredients that you'll find in a Hershey bar or a bisquick pancake! 

Substitution - NOT deprivation

This is they key. This is how we take control and BREAK the cycle of endless dieting so we can finally just live our lives and not obsess about food. Because once we make that shift, our bodies do what they are created to do...use the food as fuel, build muscle, burn fat, and create healthy energy for us to get through our day effectively.... MENTALITY IS EVERYTHING.

That being said, many people struggle with giving up their favorite foods like...pizza....and pasta. I understand!!!! I was a bread-a-holic 5 years ago. BRING ME ALL THE BREAD! and pasta? pizza?? Now you're talking.... but I also struggled with intense gut pain, rosacea, weight gain, diet cycles....you've seen my story, you get the picture....

So I love to provide substitutions for you and today is a recipe that is sure to please even the pickiest "non-healthy" eaters in the fam :)

Is it spaghetti? Is it pizza? Is it lasagna???? It's...

Pizghania

:) hehe see what  did there?

Ingredients:

• Rice/quinoa pasta (or if you want this to be grain free use spaghetti squash)
• Pizza sauce ( read the ingredient label and make sure there are no sugars added)
• Turkey Pepperoni ( or substitute your favorite sausage)
• Cheese ( optional. I chose to use a Pescarino Romano sheep cheese. If you use dairy cheese look for raw, organic and grass-fed. You can find organic valley brand at Kroger!)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375
2. Cook the pasta according to the directions. If it's rice pasta rinse it with cold water after draining.
3. Pour 1/3 pizza sauce in 9x9 baking pan. Cover with 1/2 noodles, layer with pepperoni. Repeat: sauce -->noodles-->pepperoni and then cover the top with remaining 1/3 jar of sauce.
4. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and then sprinkle the top with cheese.
5. Place in the oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and everything is warmed.
6. Enjoy!

So there ya have it! I'd love to hear what YOUR favorite comfort foods are  - leave me a comment below!

If YOU are interested in getting serious about your health and if you're FINALLY ready to break that cycle, then check out my comprehensive 8 week program launching January 15th, 2018 called  "Get Gutsy With Me"

In the program you get a ton of delicious satisfying recipes as well as strategies that will help rebuild your intestinal flora, PLUS live videos, extra support in an online community and fun from me WITH the option of boosting your results with additional personalized gut testing!

Not sure you're ready for all that? Join me on my Facebook page Stop Dieting and Live your Life! where I’ll be sharing more information, tips and recipes to help you live a happier, healthier life. PLUS you'll have FREE access to my Holiday Survival Guide through the months of November and December to really kickstart your goals!

By for now!