Managing Illnesses Archives - Page 8 of 19

Birthday Cake Chia Pudding

February 7, 2018/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance breakfast, simple, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, make ahead, chia pudding recipe inspired by: [url href="http://www.paleocrumbs.com/2016/04/vanilla-birthday-cake-chia-pudding.html" target="_blank"]Paleo Crumbs[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

Do you have any descriptive food words that make your mouth water? For me, if I see the words “birthday cake” or “cake batter” I have kind of a drooling, mouth watering response. I don’t know what it is about those words, but for me, when I see them, I have to have whatever it is immediately. So, when I started seeing recipes for chia puddings that were described this way, I was all in. I have to give a big thank you to Macy at Paleo Crumbs because her awesome recipe was the one that made me run to the store to buy the ingredients and make this birthday cake chia pudding.

I don’t know what mornings are like in your house, but here in my house we are kind of laid back. It wasn’t always that way. We used to run around, grab whatever we could to eat, …

Baked Lemon Cod

January 29, 2018/5 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance fish, cod, baked, simple American, seafood, paleo, Whole30 /by Stacey Isaacs

I used to cook fish all of the time. I knew the fish monger by name, and we had an understanding — he let me smell the fish before I bought it, he always told me which variety was the freshest, and I in turn would tell him great ways to cook the different types of seafood. Then I moved. Ugh. Now I don’t make my beloved fish recipes as much anymore because I haven’t developed a relationship like that yet. When I do buy fish, I make it as simple as possible (because sometimes the more complex recipes make my apartment smell like fish a tad too much…) and I’m finding that sometimes I end up loving these new simple recipe creations as much as I used to love my old recipes. This recipe for Baked Lemon Cod is really simple and it’s a winner!

You would think since …

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

January 12, 2018/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation oatmeal, hot cereal, breakfast grains, gluten free, dairy free /by Stacey Isaacs

Last week here in New York we were freezing our tootsies off. It was so cold outside! And, unfortunately, it was really cold inside our apartment as well. If you’ve ever lived in an old pre-war apartment, you know the “Three Little Bears” type of frustration with the heat. It’s often too hot or too cold. I have to say, too cold is most often easier to deal with than too hot… but last week we had to break out every blanket we had to stay warm. So, I did something to make me feel nice and toasty — from the inside-out — I made a big batch of peanut butter banana oatmeal. You just can’t hate the cold while you are eating this…

You can make this oatmeal with quinoa or with a grain-free blend if you prefer. On this cold, snowy, day, I went for the real thing …

Pumpkin Turmeric Latte

January 3, 2018/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Youthful Appearance beverage, latte, hot drink paleo, whole30, breakfast, snack, dairy-free /by Stacey Isaacs

I have never been a “winter” person. I just hate the cold. But, over the years as I have learned to practice gratitude on a daily basis, I have found many things I love about winter. Don’t get me wrong — I still prefer a beach to a snowy mountain, but there are so many reasons to truly be happy about winter. And one of those things is a steaming cuppa… And this cuppa pumpkin turmeric latte is really something to make you smile, no matter how frigid the temp outside may be. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr….

Other than steaming favorful lattes, some of the things I now truly feel grateful for about winter are:

* Watching huge snowflakes fall from the sky (okay, so a lot of the time, I’m inside watching them, but still grateful) * Christmas music (all the way from Thanksgiving to New Years) * Fuzzy boots * Big …

Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Apple Salad

December 19, 2017/3 Comments/in Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management salad, side dish, vegetables American /by Stacey Isaacs

Shaved Brussels sprouts are awesome. I’ve been using them for everything. My true favorite thing to make with them is Caesar salad. Yes, it sounds weird, but don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. I like to mix these shaved sprouts with kale or Romaine lettuce, slather them in my fav Caesar dressing and I’m a happy camper. This recipe for shaved Brussels sprouts & apple salad is a kicked-up version of my traditional Caesar recipe. I say kicked up because it also has apples and bacon in it. Really, what could be bad?

Obviously this recipe is not vegan, because…. well… umm… I’ve used bacon in it. But, I can honestly tell you that I’ve eaten this so many times, in so many ways, and there is so bad version. You can leave out the bacon or use a vegan bacon or a smoky mushroom to easily veganize this …

Zoodles With Creamy Avocado Pesto

December 12, 2017/1 Comment/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance zucchini noodles, faux pasta, simple vegan, vegetarian, paleo, whole30 /by Stacey Isaacs

Pasta is my favorite food in the world. Give me a big bowl of spaghetti, and just leave me alone. But, I feel so much better when I don’t eat grains. Ugh. Now there are some awesome grain-free faux pastas available today I am sooooooo happy. BUT, when people tell me that zucchini noodles/zoodles or spaghetti squash noodles or any vegetable that’s been turned into noodles will satisfy my pasta craving, I think they are crazy. That being said, these zoodles with creamy avocado pesto are really awesome…

I know, now I’ve kind of talked you out of making them. I really stink at marketing sometimes. But, I am honest — sometimes to a fault. Really, what I should have done is compared these to other vegetable recipes, not to my beloved pastas. Because — and this is so true — this is one of the best vegetable recipes around. …

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

December 1, 2017/1 Comment/in Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress appetizer, dip, vegan, vegetarian recipe adapted from: [url href="https://veganheaven.org/recipe/vegan-spinach-dip-with-artichokes-super-creamy/" target="_blank"]Vegan Heaven[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

Spinach artichoke dip is one of those weird things that almost everybody seems to love. I say weird, because even people who don’t love veggies or think they hate artichokes or spinach, seem to dive into a bowl of spinach artichoke dip whenever it’s around. This vegan spinach artichoke dip is no exception. I had people diving into this dip the second it was plopped down on my coffee table.

My kids used to order this dip (the cheesy original version) every time we went to a restaurant that had it. It always came out steaming hot and creamy and it smelled so good! It’s one of those things that I could never eat because of all the dairy. Well, this vegan version finally gives me my turn!

This dip is warm and creamy. It may be vegan, but it tastes so similar to the cheese-laden original, that nobody will …

Raw Chocolate Pomegranate Tart

November 16, 2017/5 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Youthful Appearance dessert, chocolate, paleo, simple, tart recipe adapted from: [url href="http://www.wifemamafoodie.com/no-bake-chocolate-pomegranate-fudge-tart/" target="_blank"]Wife Mama Foodie[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

I was going to a friend’s house for dinner the other night and I wanted to bring a dessert. If you know me, you know that while I can cook just about anything, I am not a great baker. And that’s saying it very kindly… I’ve been known to burn slice and bake cookies. So, when I tell you that this raw chocolate pomegranate tart is the best dessert I ever made, that’s another way for saying this recipe is idiot-proof.

One of the reasons — and I can’t stress how important this reason is — that I was able to achieve such perfection with this dessert is because the original recipe is just genius. All of that genius-credit goes to Joscelyn at Wife Mama Foodie. I just love when I can take an existing recipe and have it come out perfect the first time, so a big thanks to …

Dumpling Meatballs

November 2, 2017/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management meatballs, Asian, Chinese, paleo, whole30 recipe adapted from: [url href="http://nomnompaleo.com/2017/03/20/2017032020170320wonton-meatballs" target="_blank"]Nom Nom Paleo[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

I love all meatballs. For some reason, anything that can be made into a ball just tastes good to me. I remember when my kids were young, I would get them to eat foods by making them bitesize and sticking a toothpick into each one so they could easily grab whatever it was. And, that’s my favorite way to eat these meatball… I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. So, when I saw a great recipe from Nom Nom Paleo for a meatball I hadn’t yet experimented with, I just had to try it. So, thank you Michelle… these dumpling meatballs are awesome!

For those of you who know me, you know that for the month of October, I changed up my diet and I ate plant-based. I learned so much, and I enjoyed so much of that experience. Staying away from animal proteins forced me to …

Creamy Vegan Baked Pumpkin Pasta

October 25, 2017/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Youthful Appearance /by Stacey Isaacs

It’s pumpkin season! I know everyone gets so excited to go out and grab their pumpkin lattes, but not me. Don’t get me wrong — I love all things pumpkin too, but give me pumpkin comfort foods and I am the happiest ever. And this creamy vegan baked pumpkin pasta blows your favorite pumpkin latte out of the water.

I never met a pasta I didn’t like. Especially a creamy pasta. Add in the fact that this is a hot and comfy baked pasta dish with a great crumb-topping, and you’ve got me drooling. So, when I saw a recipe for a baked pumpkin pasta by the amazing and inspiring Candice Kumai, I had to go for it.

What’s better than eating a delicious dinner with pumpkin in it while looking outside at the beautiful fall foliage? Nothing! Come on, look outside. Watch the leaves blowing around, smell the …