Managing Illnesses Archives - Page 19 of 19

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

December 8, 2015/1 Comment/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, main course Vegetarian /by Stacey Isaacs

Stuffed sweet potatoes are a great go-to last minute dinner — stuff them with whatever makes you happy!

I was in the kitchen and I had no clue what to make for dinner. It’s not that I didn’t have any ideas, it’s that I was feeling kind of lazy (OK, more than kind of lazy) and I didn’t want to go to the market. But, as I was looking around, I really felt that everything I was in the mood for required an outing, which required more energy than I was willing to put forth.

I had a few sweet potatoes left over from Thanksgiving. And these were no ordinary sweet potatoes. These tubers were almost as big as my head. I mean, obscenely huge. It was time to get them off of my counter (I mean, they were taking up so much room and I needed the space…), so …

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Fudge

December 4, 2015/7 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Digestive Health, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation dessert, fudge /by Stacey Isaacs

Keep this pumpkin peanut butter fudge in your freezer and you’ll always have an awesome healing dessert ready to grab!

Open your freezer right now. Look in. Is there a healthy grab-and-go bite-size dessert in there? If not, think how happy you would be if a tray of this deliciously creamy no-guilt fudge was starting at you.

This is how it works. I make at least one tray of petite freezer-friendly dessert every week. After dinner or when we are binge-watching TV shows, I don’t have to worry about it when Steve grabs his idea of healthy snacks (which somehow he can rationalize as being fried chips with a whole tub of dip), because I can just open the freezer and grab the best desserts ever.

This fudge is not one of those desserts that “tastes good for something that’s healthy.”

It IS really good… even if it wasn’t healthy …

Spicy Chickpea Turkey And Tomato Stew

December 1, 2015/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management stew, chili, one-pot meal /by Stacey Isaacs

This spicy chickpea turkey and tomato stew is so warming and healing!

Why is it that a big pot of spicy stew makes me smile so much?

Do any of you feel the same way?

Whether it’s chili or hot and sour soup or a spicy meat and veggie concoction, just the smell of it makes me happy. Maybe that’s why a huge pot of chili is often on my stove. Or, maybe it’s because I love football and all of the traditional foods associated with the game. I’m sure it’s partly because a big pot of simmering goodness is the perfect foil for my Chinese herbs.

But it’s mostly because it’s just so yummy! And warming! And filling!

Whatever the reason, this stew came together because I had a hankering for chili, but it wasn’t football Sunday. So, what’s a cook to do? Lots of times, I just make …

Persimmon Pomegranate Smoothies

November 27, 2015/1 Comment/in Boosting Energy, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance Smoothie /by Stacey Isaacs

When persimmon season hits you have to try these persimmon pomegranate smoothies — so sweet and so healthy!

Here it is the day after Thanksgiving. When I walked into my kitchen this morning and looked around, I saw all of the food that remained staring at me. I’m not talking about leftovers (although there are plenty of those…); I’m talking about the fresh ingredients that I bought with grandiose ideas of preparing so many more dishes than we needed. Or that I had time to make. Or that I was in the mood to make after a few glasses of wine…

So, this morning, on my kitchen island calling out to me were the most beautiful, huge persimmons you have ever seen. Persimmons are amazing. They are in season now and here in New York they are everywhere. The farmers markets have them, the fruit vendors on the street are …

Raspberry Lavender Cranberry Sauce

November 23, 2015/1 Comment/in Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management condiment, side dish /by Stacey Isaacs

This raspberry lavender cranberry sauce is a great everyday condiment — it’s not just for Thanksgiving!

I was deciding which Thanksgiving recipe to post today, when all of a sudden I was famished. Really hungry. So hungry that I had to stop thinking about food (which I am always doing…) and eat something. So, I opened the fridge, took out some leftover soup, grabbed my just-made cranberry sauce, put a big scoop of it right in the center of my soup and I ate. And I smiled. The cranberry sauce made my delicious soup even better. Cranberry sauce post it is!

Cranberry sauce is an awesome condiment. It’s so much better than ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise on a sandwich. And, I’m not just talking about serving it at Thanksgiving or on those delicious leftover turkey sandwiches. You can put a dollop of a great cranberry sauce on top of …

Lamb Meatballs With Herbs And Kale

November 19, 2015/2 Comments/in Boosting Immune System, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance meatballs /by Stacey Isaacs

These lamb meatballs with herbs and kale are incredibly delicious and satisfying!

Who doesn’t love a good meatball? I mean, you can’t be unhappy while eating a meatball, right? I’ve kind of become a little obsessed with them… I’ve been making them out of beef, chicken, pork, veggies… and they’ve all been good. But these lamb meatballs… these are great. They are grain-free and paleo, they are healthy, and they have a slight Greek feel to them. And the tomato sauce is so aromatic and amazing (don’t tell my husband that I hid olives in the sauce…)

A few weeks ago I went to The Meatball Shop. It’s a restaurant that pretty much serves meatball everything. I ordered “The Kitchen Sink”. I got to choose they type of meat or veg I wanted my meatballs to be made from and which type of sauce I wanted. I got three …

Butternut Squash And Apple Soup With Beets And Kale

November 17, 2015/1 Comment/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management soup /by Stacey Isaacs

I make this butternut squash and apple soup with beets and kale so often — you’ve got to try it!

Yay, it’s full-blown soup season! I eat soup all year round but now that Thanksgiving’s almost here, I feel better posting my soups because who doesn’t love soup when the weather gets all crisp and chilly? I know when I post soups in the summer, some people wonder what could possibly be going on in my head… This is the soup I’m going to serve for Thanksgiving. The base of it is an amazingly warming butternut squash and apple soup but it’s kicked up with fresh turmeric. Turmeric makes it so good for you and it gives it a little spice and just look at the gorgeous color! And the toppings (because you have to have toppings, right?) are shredded beets and garlicky kale… OMG, it’s so good…

This year, …