This is one of those summer recipes that you can whip up in under five minutes.

It’s an incredibly simple dish and I’ve been enjoying it (beyond words) over the past few weeks.

I just can’t help but share the love here, folks … I make easy vegetarian recipes every week- but this one’s a keeper!

Sheeehhhh- it’s been hot in Manhattan and all I want is salad. How’s the weather by you? I’ve been dodging the heat for the air-conditioned food stores here in NYC every day.

And after spending hours soaking up the cool air in Whole Foods Market last week, I landed upon their fabulous organic berries that looked so plump and perfect. Next thing I knew it was an hour later and I was at the register purchasing four pints of their pretty organic blueberries.

Ha. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Am I the only one that has fun in Whole Foods Market? I swear I could live there. I’d pull up a sleeping bag right between the avocados and the zucchini.

Not kidding.

Anyway, back to this healthy salad recipe … I’ve been craving this sweet salad every afternoon since I bought those berries.

All you need is some fresh lettuce (I love Earthbound Farms), organic blueberries, coconut flakes, lemon juice, flax seeds and fresh cilantro!

I know I’ve chatted with you before about my love affair with summer salads.  Sweet, fresh, organic summer salads….Ahhhhhhh.

Aren’t they the best?

Grab a large bowl and a whisk away.

Fill up your bowl with these simple organic ingredients and you’re on your way to salad heaven.

That’s it.

Now, don’t forget your sunscreen!

Have a great week. I hope the sun is shining for all of you today. (I’m headed back to Whole Foods Market for more organic blueberries and air conditioning!)

And if you wanna get in on the Whole Foods Market goodness, head on over to my facebook page today for a $75 Gift Certificate Giveaway to any of their stores. You can leave a comment on this post to enter! I’ll be picking a winner tonight.

xo

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O boy! Do I have the easiest most amazing diner for you tonight!

I’m not gunna lie…I made this vegan salad the other night as a way to use up what I had in my fridge and it turned out to be a gluten and dairy free masterpiece. My family loved it, but that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. They’d eat a sock if it was covered in hummus.

Simple rice is tossed with creamy hummus then jazzed up with pecans, dried cherries, asparagus, scallions, cilantro and pretty lettuce leaves. If you can believe it, this recipe can be whipped up in less than 5 minutes is you make the rice ahead of time (say…the night before).

Easy, right? Told ya it was simple.

It’s great for a weeknight dinner and leftovers taste twice as good the next day.

O ya and toss in a bit of fresh lemon zest while you’re at it.

When in doubt, add lemon zest, sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes.

That, folks, is the secret to my easy ‘Clean’ cooking.

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Do you take probiotics?

I’ve been taking probiotics every day the past few years and I’ve noticed a huge difference in how they make me feel.

Three years ago I heard about Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics from my integrative medical doctors and other nutritionists – surprisingly they all recommended Dr. Ohhira’s brand to me…so I started taking them and haven’t turned back since. It’s been over three years and I can’t go a day without them. So when my clients and readers ask me what probiotics I like…I always respond with these fabulous ‘good bacteria’  probiotics that have helped me tremendously.

Why do I love them?

O let me count the ways.

First of all – these probiotics are cultured vs. freeze-dried probiotics you’d see sitting on the shelf at your local store. These babies contain all 12 strands of probiotics who are all eating organic and living together so they ‘play nice’ in your intestines. I take one in the morning and one at night on an empty stomach, at least 2-3 hours after meals.

So, what is a probiotic anyway and why do we need them?

Probiotics are also known as ‘friendly flora’ or good bacteria and are a crucial part of our immune systems. Their job is to keep bad bacteria and yeast (Candida) from growing in our intestinal tracts.

Ideally, we should have 100 trillion of these good bacteria lining our intestines but if you’ve ever taken antibiotics or other drugs- you probably have far less than this. Why is that? Well, it’s something I just learned the last few years since I was on a ton of antibiotics when I was younger. Antibiotics aren’t able to distinguish between good and bad bacteria in our bodies so they kill off infections (bacteria) in our tissues and blood- but they also kill off the good bacteria in our digestive tract. And if we don’t replace that good bacteria by eating high-quality foods that provide probiotics and prebiotics (fibrous food for the good bacteria so that they can grow and multiply) you’ll end up like ME with a huge bacterial imbalance in your intestines called Dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast in your ‘gut’ and leads to weight gain, sugar cravings and bloating. Our typical American diets are filled with sugar, processed foods and toxic additives – all of which contribute to this imbalance in our bodies.

To maintain a high level of probiotics in our intestines, I eat clean (nothing processed) and include 100% organic healthy fats, lean proteins, veggies and whole grains!

My doctors recommended I take these probiotics with digestive enzymes before I eat anything. I use Digest Gold and take 2 capsules before meals and snacks to help my food get digested and so that large molecules of food don’t end up in my gut- leading to Leaky Gut.

I love the Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics because Dr. Ohhira himself developed this revolutionary probiotic (a supplement containing live beneficial organisms) with a powerful bacterial strain proven to destroy pathogens in our guts. One of the difficulties in developing foods and supplements (such as yogurt) that contain live bacteria is that the bacteria may no longer be alive by the time you use the product due to improper packaging, exposing the bacteria to high heat during processing or extended storage time without properly nourishing the bacteria. To ensure the potency of their bacteria, Dr. Ohhira developed a protective shell that keeps bacteria alive and free from harmful pathogens. After just a few weeks on these probiotics, I felt amazing and so do my clients. We never get colds and our immune systems are at their prime, thanks to these tiny probiotics. These probiotics are so good that I put both of my parents on them – they’re in their 60′s but very healthy and I want to make sure their immune systems are strong and ready to fight any pathogens that they may come in contact with through their food, environment, etc. I have them taking two of these probiotics a day, just like me.

You can get more information on how to live with ’gut’ health on my Healthy Living Resources Pages: Candida, Leaky Gut, Supplements, IBS and more on my Getting Started page!

To order Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics, use this is code: Amie6 for Free First Class Mail shipping and a Free Sample Size of their Kampuku Soap with any order.

I also take Dr. Ohhira’s Professional Formula. This product is the same as the Original it is just fermented two additional years and is stronger. Dr. Ohhira recommends this for those of you who may be dealing with a specific health condition like IBS.  It helps with my IGA Deficiency and keeps me from getting stomach infections and colds every year. I took this formula for my C-Diff Colitis two years ago and I’ve started taking it again for a bacteria infection I had in my small intestine.

The checkout code above: Amie6 works for any product on the Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic website including the Digest Gold so feel free to browse and take a look to see at the vast array of products!

Overwhelmed? Don’t be. You’re probably wondering what you can start to do today for healthy ‘gut’ flora, right?

Easy, peasy folks!

• Stock your pantry and fridge with healthier options. Toss sugars and use stevia, throw away white rice and enjoy brown rice or quinoa and taper off from processed flour products. Most important, add lots of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables every day.
• Stick with organic everything! The more organic you eat, the better you’ll feel because you won’t be filling your belly with pesticides, chemicals, antibiotics and other hormones found in everything from yogurts to vegetables.
• Eat a healthy breakfast filled with protein, healthy fats and fiber!
• Replace processed foods with higher-quality whole foods. Swap margarine with Barlean’s Coconut Oil and toss canola and vegetable oils. Avoid hydrogenated oils, which are trans fats and are lurking in many of your foods under ‘other’ names on your ingredient lists!
• Reduce stress and find time to relax and step away from your computer screen to unwind. If I can do it in NYC- you can surely do it, too!
• Remove alcohol from your lifestyle.
• Drink filtered water with organic lemons and cucumbers with a dash of aloe vera juice.
• Avoid processed soy such as soy milk, edamame, most tofu and other soy products found in a box!
• Decide which foods you consume the most and prioritize. For instance, start eating organic as much as possible by starting with the foods you and your family eat most often.
• Add in prebiotic foods. Prebiotics help to nourish the good gut bacteria(probiotics) and help support digestive function. I take 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar every morning and night.
• Ask your doctor about taking probiotics. I take the Dr. Ohirra’s brand twice a day and I’ve seen great results from them.

It is essential to work with a nutritionist and an Integrative M.D. because I am sharing general information about probiotics based on my results from using them.  This information is not intended to be medical advice. This content is only for informational purposes. Please consult your Integrative M.D. before starting any new supplements or probiotics.

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 Okay folks, I realized something MAJOR this weekend.

Super MAJOR as in ‘rock my world’ MAJOR.

I’ve had grilled romaine before but never quite like this. It’s always served with olive oil and vinegar and well, that’s just boring to me so I tossed around a few ideas and peaked into my fridge for some fun dairy-free ingredients to coat these crisp heads of romaine.

I’m not sure what you’re thinking right now… romaine on the grill with almond milk? Yes and yes.

And I know these little romaine hearts don’t photograph so well but let me tell you- they are Delish! I mean, I can’t really think of a better summer dish for a simple week night dinner or a weekend BBQ.

But yeah…these heads proved quite challenging to make a plate of romaine look as fabulous as they taste. And well, some of the most tasty food is just not so attractive. But I still hope you’ll dig into these ‘creamy’ heads of romaine because boy o’ boy did I have my family smiling when I served these alongside our first summer BBQ of the season!

This simple side dish is perfect for this time of year! The addition of almond milk and slivered almonds was something a little different- it gives the romaine a little sweetness. My father ate every bite- which is saying a lot since he’s not a huge romaine kinda-guy!

For this recipe you’ll want to grab a few heads of fresh organic romaine lettuce, almond milk, slivered almonds, chili powder, poppy seeds, sea salt and pepper.

Let the grill do all the work, people! And if you don’t have a grill, let me just tell you that you can use a grill pan on your stove top.

What’s the trick to this simple recipe? The poppy seeds- just a pinch will do and is all these guys need to go from being so-so to out-of-this-world delish!

Trust me.

Happy BBQ season.

(Just don’t forget your sunscreen).

xo

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My dad’s a salmon guy. Always has been.

Give him a piece of salmon and it’s gone within 5 minutes.

What a guy!

So, when I was asked to create an almond-inspired main dish for the Almond Board of California, I thought I’d whip up a fish dish for him.

And boy o’ boy was he one happy camper.

Salmon is one of those foods that you can make over and over again and people just don’t seem to get bored with it.

What’s the trick?

Simple.

Just don’t overcook it.

Friends, allow me to share with you my easy salmon recipe.

Go ahead, pick up a piece from your local fish market. I’ll wait.

There. Now get ready. This salmon is delicious. Like, kinda ridiculous. I surely don’t know everything (my dad does), but I do know that there’s not much in life that a good meal can’t fix. I mean it’s just gunna make your life a little bit better.

It just will.

So, ya wanna make it?

I thought so.

All you need are a few simple ingredients. Salmon and quinoa are the main two. The others are dried cherries, fresh cilantro, sliced almonds and a few other odds n’ ends. But, don’t be intimidated by the recipe below, I promise it’s not as scary as it looks.

It’s actually quite easy. Yes, a very easy gluten-free recipe that you can make tonight!

And if you’ve never cooked salmon or you hate the way it smells…

Well, then let’s just say you’re in for a treat. Plug your nose with a clothes pin and strike up that stove top, sista.

The finished product is positively sinful. At this point, you may either eat it right out of the pan with a fork or- if you have patience (which my father does not) you can plate it and then eat it.

Let me know what you decide to do.

It’s okay. I’ve been there.

Enjoy!

I created this recipe for the Almond Board of California; check out my other tasty recipes in the Almond Board’s Spring Booklet, free to download here.

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