Weight Management Archives - Page 7 of 15

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 …

Sweet Potato Apple & Swiss Chard Stew

October 17, 2017/7 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Brain Functions, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance stew, soup, paleo, whole30, vegan, vegetarian recipe inspired by: [url href="http://www.contentednesscooking.com/vegan-sweet-potato-soup-with-kale/" target="_blank"]Contentedness Cooking[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

The second that it started to feel like fall was finally in the air, I started clicking through all of my favorite blogs and sites and I happily flipped through my favorite beautiful cookbooks looking for inspiration for what kind of soup or stew to make. This sweet potato apple & swiss chard stew was the perfect choice.

I can sit on the couch with cookbooks surrounding me and lose all track of time. Same thing with sitting with my laptop perusing food blogs and recipe sites. Yup, I can be a couch potato to the max — it’s one of my best talents!

But, whoever said couch potatoes are not productive, has not seen some of the results of my expertise in this area. Because I come up with my best recipe ideas when I’m in full-on couch potato mode (maybe even with a cheesy romantic movie playing in …

Chocolate Banana Dairy-Free Fudgesicles

September 13, 2017/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance dessert, frozen, sweets, ice pops, popsicles paleo, vegan, vegetarian /by Stacey Isaacs

These chocolate banana dairy-free fudgesicles will take you back to your childhood…

Summer may be almost over, but ice pop season never ends. At least not in my house. Every few weeks, I make a new batch of ice pops. I love to try out new flavor combinations and new textures, mix them up, and pour them into my retro ice pop molds. These chocolate banana dairy-free fudgesicles were an experiment that came out great!

Do you have any foods that when you taste them bring you right back to your early childhood? For me, food is responsible for a lot of deja vu moments. And fudgesicles are one of those foods. I’m right back on the lawn under the fireworks on the 4th of July. Or at a BBQ, running through the sprinklers and laughing.

I will admit that sometimes when I experiment, the end result is… well… ummm… …

Tomato Pomegranate Salad

September 1, 2017/3 Comments/in Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management /by Stacey Isaacs

Salads don’t have to be boring! Try this tomato pomegranate salad for a change of pace…

Last week I had a counter filled with tomatoes. You know how it is… I went to the farmers market and there were tomatoes everywhere. I mean everywhere. Red ones. Yellow ones. Purple ones. Teardrop shaped ones. Oval ones. Round ones. Big ones. Little ones… you get the picture… This tomato pomegranate salad was the perfect use for this gorgeous variety of tomatoes.

Back at the market, I just started filling my bag. It was like I was possessed. But, in my defense, they were so pretty — like jewels.

I made a lot of dishes with these beauties. And there were still more.

Sometimes the universe just provides you what you need. I opened my email inbox one morning that week, and there were my weekly recipes from The New York Times, …

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

August 14, 2017/0 Comments/in Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance chicken, one-pan meal, baked, simple Mexican, dinner, paleo, whole30, grain free, dairy free /by Stacey Isaacs

Sheet Pan dinners are all the rage. They are like last year’s kale recipes. Remember when every recipe seemed to have kale in it? Everything has it’s time, and for one pan, oven-baked dinners, that time is now. And nobody is happier than I am! I mean, really, what’s better than putting everything on a single tray, plopping it in the oven, and ending up with a flavorful, well-seasoned, spiced-up, healthy dinner? Nothing. Well, at least that’s how I feel now… I can’t wait to see what the next “in” thing is. So, if you want to jump on the sheet pan dinner bandwagon, you have to try these sheet pan chicken fajitas.

I love Mexican food. But, I try not to go out to eat it too much. It’s dangerous! All those chips… and margaritas… ugh… I have little self-control when it comes to this kind of deliciousness……

Buckwheat Ramen Soup

August 2, 2017/2 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance soup, ramen, lunch, dinner, main course Asian, vegetarian, grain-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, healthy /by Stacey Isaacs

What is it about ramen that makes it so good that I will eat it even on a hot summer day? I mean, usually, if you told me I was going to have hot soup for dinner in August, I’d run the other way. But not with ramen. It’s just so good! And this buckwheat ramen soup is one of my all-time favorite recipes.

I like to eat grain-free whenever possible. I also love pasta and noodles of all kinds. Now, I could make this soup using all different types of vegetable noodles, like zucchini, carrot, parsnip, etc. This recipe from feedfeed is awesome if you want to give the veggie noodle ramen a try. The buckwheat ramen noodles that are available in stores now are amazing, so I say give this a try! It’s close to real, authentic ramen noodles.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, buckwheat (despite its …

Sauteed Squash Blossoms

July 26, 2017/26 Comments/in Boosting Immune System, Managing Illnesses, Weight Management vegetables, side dish, simple vegetarian, seasonal /by Stacey Isaacs

Before this season, I had never cooked squash blossoms before. I’ve eaten them, but not cooked them. I think the delicate nature of them had me in a kind of awe. They are so pretty, and so dainty that you can almost see through them. But after making these sautéed squash blossoms, I will be buying them each and every time I see them.

I was at my local farmers’ market when I finally jumped in and bought these beauties. There were so many containers of these gorgeous yellow-orange flowers. They were stacked up in a big floral mountain. It was like a country meadow. They were calling me name.

It’s such a short season for these blossoms, that I recommend that if you see them, you buy them. Don’t make the mistake I made of waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Ugh… so much lost time…

Oh, and the lovely …

Blackberry Kombucha Ice Pops

July 14, 2017/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Boosting Immune System, Digestive Health, Managing Illnesses, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management, Youthful Appearance dessert, frozen, fruit, berries vegan, vegetarian, simple, ice pops /by Stacey Isaacs

Blackberries are great to reduce intestinal inflammation… and, they will make your skin luminescent!

I love ice pops. I love kombucha. Oh, and fresh berries… well, they are divine! So, these blackberry kombucha ice pops have become my new favorite dessert.

If you are one of those people who craves sweets after dinner (or after lunch, or after anything…) then you are the perfect candidate for these ice pops. I mean, think about it. If these were in your freezer now, you could just grab one anytime you want one. With no guilt. Yup, absolutely none.

These ice pops are made with no added sweeteners. But they are sweet. And tangy. And have a bit of a pop from the fizziness of the kombucha.

I made 6 of them several days ago and I have been slapping my own hand away so that I don’t eat them all before someone …

Beet Hummus

June 20, 2017/6 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Elevated Mood, Increased Athletic Performance, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Weight Management appetizer, dip, hummus vegan, vegetarian, simple /by Stacey Isaacs

Beets are good for endurance and digestion!

I used to make homemade hummus all the time. I don’t know why I stopped, but stop I did. I think I forgot how easy it is to make it and how much better it tastes than those store-bought containers. But, let me tell you, it is easier to make homemade hummus than it is to go out to the store and buy it! And when you can add in your own flavors, there’s no need to ever buy it. Hmmmm…. I hope I remember this next time. Anyway, this Beet Hummus is delicious! And, look how pretty!

Long, long ago, when I would be preparing for a dinner party, I fixated on the appetizers. I would put out pretty platters of way too many finger foods and dips. I loved to make them and I loved the idea of eating all of …

Kale With Tomatoes And White Beans

June 10, 2017/0 Comments/in Boosting Energy, Digestive Health, Elevated Mood, Managing Illnesses, Managing Stress, Reduced Aches & Pains, Reduced Inflammation, Weight Management side dish, kale, simple recipe adapted from [url href="http://www.eatgood4life.com/caramelized-tomatoes-white-bean-kale-salad/" target="_blank"]Eat Good 4 Life[/url] /by Stacey Isaacs

A few nights ago I was rummaging through my fridge trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Nothing caught my eye. I opened all of my cabinets, hoping that something would jump out at me there. That’s when I realized that I have so many cans of different kinds of beans, it’s a little embarrassing. My embarrassment was the start of this kale with tomatoes and white beans side dish.

Usually, when I cook with beans, I end up with something very warming and better suited to a cold winter night than one than a warm summer night. My daughter was flying in for a visit and I knew she’d be hot and starving and there was no way I would be able to sell a hot chili or Mexican-y dish… ugh… I was just drawing a blank.

So, I started looking through recipes on some of my …