Elevated Mood Archives - Page 9 of 10

Matcha Chia Pudding

April 25, 2016/8 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance breakfast, make-ahead American, Asian /by Stacey Isaacs

This matcha chia pudding combines the healing power of matcha and chia seeds… make it the night before and be amazed!

Last week when I was really tired and a bit achy, my acupuncturist/mentor recommended green tea, but in the form of matcha or sencha. These intense green tea powders are so good for you, but I had forgotten all about them.

Honestly, I don’t know how I forgot about them because matcha seems to be everywhere these days… everywhere I look there are matcha smoothies, matcha cookies, matcha lattes. So, I figured, why not matcha chia pudding…

I do love a good chia pudding. Really, if you can make something the night before and have it ready for breakfast when you wake up, and have it taste delicious, what’s not to love?

This chia pudding is great. It’s not too sweet, has a distinctive green tea flavor, and is …

Paleo Vegetable Kugel

April 19, 2016/7 Comments/in Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Stress, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance Passover, paleo, vegetables, casserole, side dish recipe adapted from: [url href="http://whatjewwannaeat.com/vegetable-kugel-caramelized-leeks/" target="_blank"]What Jew Wanna Eat[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

This paleo vegetable kugel is light and healthy!

One of the first things my mother-in-law asked me to cook was a kugel for Passover. She wanted a real kugel, as she put it, not one of my healthy recipes. So, she gave me a recipe and asked me to follow it. I think that kugel had two sticks of butter in it and a bucket of matzo meal!

This year, I won’t be home for Passover. A few months ago I had to postpone a trip because I had the flu and the only time my sister and I could reschedule for was Passover week. So, I had to decide between the traditional family seder or a trip to Anguilla with my sister to celebrate our big birthdays… I picked the trip… so don’t judge me… I will, however, miss this paleo vegetable kugel!

Here is my healthy answer to …

Sweet Potato Strawberry Arugula Salad

April 10, 2016/3 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance salad American, vegetarian, vegan /by Stacey Isaacs

This sweet potato strawberry arugula salad has everything your body needs to feel awesome!

We are in the process of trying to sell our house so there are strangers walking through at all times. It’s hard to keep the house perfectly clean for all of the potential buyers stopping by! Especially the kitchen! Now, when I cook I try to be mindful of the cleanup, which is a real challenge for me because I use a lot of equipment and ingredients when I create recipes.

I went to the market the other day with absolutely no idea of what i was going to prepare when I got home. So many things looked so good… this might have been because I was hungry when I got there, which is probably not the best time to food shop…

It’s much more of a challenge to put my food together into a cohesive …

Lemon Pesto Fish Fillets

March 27, 2016/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Weight Management fish American, Mediterranean /by Stacey Isaacs

Dinner doesn’t get easier than these lemon pesto fish fillets!

Sometimes I want to make fish but I don’t want all of the fuss that sometimes comes with some of my seafood creations. I don’t know what it is about fish that triggers something in my head that says I have to make a sauce or lots of sides, but it really doesn’t need to be that way. I created this recipe on one of those nights that I was hungry and wanted to eat fast. It was mid-week and the cod at the market looked really good, so I bought it. When I was deciding what to do with it, I stood in front of my open fridge and peered inside. This is a bad habit of mine — I just stand there hoping for ingredients that don’t exist to appear…

But, on this particular day, I saw a …

Acai Bowl

March 17, 2016/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance smoothie bowl, breakfast superfoods /by Stacey Isaacs

You are going to like this acai bowl better than the ones you buy!

Yesterday, I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw an article about Gwyneth Paltrow and her favorite superfoods shake. I was excited to read this because, well, I just am a sucker for anyone’s superfoods shake (especially someone who looks like Gwyneth). So, I clicked on the link and I was taken to an irate blogger talking about how all of the ingredients in this shake are made-up and fake and that no one could ever really make this “fantasy” shake. Boy, was I annoyed. I use almost all of these ingredients on a daily basis and I think everyone would benefit from their use!! And now, so many people think they don’t exist!

So, here’s my love-letter-to-Gwyneth-Paltow’s-smoothie. It’s my favorite superfoods non-fantasy smoothie bowl. And, if you have trouble locating any of the ingredients, just …

Baked Chicken Tacos

March 10, 2016/1 Comment/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation tacos, comfort food, Mexican recipe inspired by: [url href="http://www.thecookierookie.com/baked-spicy-chicken-tacos/" target="_blank"]The Cookie Rookie[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

What’s better than baked chicken tacos that can be made in advance… it’s not just for taco Tuesdays!

I’m always ranting about eating healthy, so when I post a recipe like this one, people are often surprised.

Yes, I eat tacos. Yes, you can eat tacos too — and still be healthy!

And, tacos are awesome!

These tacos are made with chicken (and you can cheat a little like I did by shredding up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken; I was lucky enough to find an organic one…) I used non-dairy cheese and organic taco shells. They are filled with lots of healthy ingredients, taste really decadent, and OMG, they are so good!

One of the best things about this baked chicken tacos recipe is that you can make them in advance and reheat them in the tray right before you want to serve them. The recipe that inspired me to …

Slow Cooker Vegetable Minestrone Soup

March 7, 2016/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance soup Italian /by Stacey Isaacs

This slow cooker vegetable minestrone soup is so simple and healing and it makes for great leftovers!

The slow cooker is an awesome kitchen appliance. Sometimes, however, I shy away from it because I am just not that accomplished with it. I like my food to taste really fresh and sometimes when I use my slow cooker, I feel like the vegetables and other fresh ingredients just don’t seem as crunchy or fresh tasting as when I cook them for less time on top of the stove.

So, believe me when I tell you that this slow cooker vegetable minestrone soup recipe is perfect in the slow cooker. The vegetables keep just the right amount of crunch. And the soup tastes really fresh and healthy. And it requires almost no effort at all! If I can do it, you can do it!

Maybe my slow cooker won’t get the best …

Creamy Vegan Chocolate Mousse

February 12, 2016/1 Comment/in Boosting Energy, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance Dessert vegan /by Stacey Isaacs

This creamy vegan chocolate mousse is so delicious that nobody will miss the dairy!

Last year when I was on vacation in Carmel, California, I had the best chocolate mousse in the world. I’m not being overly dramatic. It really was The Best. Chocolate. Mousse. Ever. You know how sometimes out of the blue, for no reason at all, something just pops into your head? Well, the other night that chocolate mousse popped into my head. I really, really wanted some.

OK, so I don’t eat dairy now and I don’t eat sugar now, so what was I to do?

Also, I love eating dessert but I am not a great baker/dessert maker.

I posted a recipe for a healthy chocolate mousse a long time ago, so I looked it up. I remembered it being good, but it really wasn’t that same creamy decadent goodness as the mousse now stuck …

Hot Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

January 25, 2016/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance Breakfast, Smoothie Bowl American, superfoods /by Stacey Isaacs

This hot chocolate smoothie bowl is my favorite breakfast of all times! It’s deliciously healing and energizing.

This is my favorite breakfast of all times!!!

I know I say a lot of things are my “favorites” but I really mean it this time…

Many mornings I make a healthy superfoods packed shake for breakfast. I adjust the ingredients depending upon what my body needs on that particular day. I use herbs, superfoods, fruit, vegetables… you name it and I’ve blended it up for breakfast.

If you’re looking for a whole list of great breakfast ideas, there are some great recipes here: 10 Breakfasts To Boost Your Energy.

Last week, on a cold windy morning, Steve wasn’t feeling great and asked me to make him a shake to make his sore throat and emerging cold feel better. Now, I’ve done this many times before so I started pulling out the …

Hot And Sour Soup

January 14, 2016/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management soup Chinese /by Stacey Isaacs

Once you make this homemade hot and sour soup, you won’t want take-out again!

It’s freezing here in New York. I’m not complaining, because the winter has been so mild, but the mild weather did stop me from making as many pots of hot soup as I usually do. This hot and sour soup made me realize how much I miss having a big pot of healing warming soup in the fridge at all times!

When I was a kid I remember getting hot and sour soup from the Chinese restaurant and we used to top it with those deliciously fried Chinese crispy noodles… does anyone else remember this? I’m so out of the take-out food loop now that I don’t even know if you still get those little waxy bags of crunchy noodles… But, this soup recipe is so good that it doesn’t need the noodles. Really. I did, …