Three Questions to Direct Your Energy Toward Better Health

As we all collectively passed over that timing that is the coming of the New Year (can you believe it’s 2014?!!  I mean, remember when it was 2001 and you were like, 2014 is the FUTURE FAR AWAY and practically 2020 which is like, when the Jetsons were flying around, right?), I personally found myself in a confusing whirl of New Year’s resolutions, questions, goals and vision quests. Suffice it to say, I was feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes these times of confusion can be super informative in that they force us to work through them and find focus.  I have been working on making my nutrition coaching business more of a full-time endeavor, yet suddenly, I’ve had tons of time, and frankly, a little more time than I’m generally comfortable with, to focus on ME, my business, the future trajectory of my life, and everything in between.  Seeking guidance, I looked … Continue reading

The Incredible Edible Egg Oatmeal

Sometimes you need to write a blog post because when you search the internet for the topic you want more information about, you don’t find exactly what you are looking for.  A while ago now my mother-in-law told me about mixing egg into oatmeal to add protein and make it more sustaining.  I thought it was a great idea at the time but didn’t try it myself until recently.  Like so many things that we “finally” get around to doing, this is a huge game-changer for me.  As a “protein-type”, I need more protein and healthy fat in my daily diet. I have found that some of this protein needs to come from animals if I am to feel good.  Eggs, chicken, pork, beef, bison, venison, fish, and seafood are all part of my weekly menu and even a very small amount of these proteins, in combination with healthy carbohydrates … Continue reading

Springtime Green Coconut Curry: SageSpoonLiving Recipe

Spring has finally come to my neck of the woods!  And my Red Bud Tree is in full bloom, a sign that I can start to relax into spring breezes, warmer weather, and GREEN-ery. Whenever a particular season is upon me, I’m excited to cook with local and seasonal ingredients. And, now that spring is here we have so much to look forward to: greens, sugar snap peas, radishes, asparagus, fiddleheads, morel mushrooms, ramps, green garlic, herbs, rhubarb, and strawberries. With some of these ingredients in mind, I drove by a Thai restaurant the other day.  A craving for coconut curry hit me as I caught a whiff of the delights within.  And I thought, why not a spring-themed coconut curry?  I could satisfy my love for a cuisine on the other side of the world AND my love for cooking locally and seasonally. Of course, spring has only just … Continue reading

Healthy Snacks That Will Make a Meal: SageSpoonLiving Approach

I’m constantly telling my clients to eat whole foods and if necessary, because of busy modern lifestyles, to incorporate them into their lives in the most simple of ways. There is a foodie in me that loves to make delicious, indulgent, gourmet, everybody-is-going-to-rave-about-this food and then there is the healthy-minded practical side of me that knows that EVERY meal cannot be AMAZING, and that if I want to take care of myself  and feel good, I just need to be open to eating whole, minimally-prepped, simple food, especially when I’m busy and don’t have time to cook. Enter the “snacks-as-a-meal” approach.  Sometimes we forget that a handful of nuts, an apple, a carrot, dollop of hummus, and hard boiled egg are sufficient for lunch. You could probably even skip the hard boiled egg and you’d be fine til about 3:30pm when you might need another snack.  This is the reality … Continue reading

How to Prep an Artichoke: SageSpoonLiving Technique

Artichokes are in season!  Not in Minnesota, where they don’t grow for nothin’, but most definitely in Castroville, CA, the self-proclaimed artichoke capitol of the world. April begins the peak of Castroville’s prime growing season and this town has an artichoke festival in mid-May to celebrate. We mid-westerners see signs of all of this activity on the other side of the country, when we begin to notice little tender artichokes showing up in our grocery stores at the end of March. These artichokes are smaller than the huge globe artichokes that are available nearly year-round from god-only-knows-where. Artichokes have been shown to improve various digestive health disorders. They significantly lower blood cholesterol levels, prevent heart disease and atherosclerosis, enhance detoxification reactions, and protect the liver from damage. I really like these little spring artichokes, not only because they are delicious, but also because they don’t have a pithy cottony choke … Continue reading