My diet is plant-based. While I’m not 100 percent vegan or vegetarian, the majority of the food I eat comes from plants. Yes, tofu is plant-based, but soy is also one of the few plant-based foods that get mixed reviews from doctors and other “experts” in the health and wellness industry.

Since soy is a bit controversial, I use moderation. Soy makes up a small percentage of my diet. With all soy products including tofu, I make sure I buy a non-GMO, organic brand. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 93 percent of all soy cultivated in the US is genetically modified. Yikes. Corn and canola oil are also among the most common genetically modified foods.

Research suggests that soy can play a role in lowering cholesterol and the risk for heart disease. It also contains two groups of phytochemicals; saponins and isoflavones. Generally speaking, phytochemicals are good. Phytochemicals are produced by plants and are promoted for the prevention and treatment of many health conditions like high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes. Good stuff.

However, research suggests that isoflavones, a type of phytochemical found in soy, mimic the actions of estrogen. This is where the controversy begins. Some research suggests that the estrogen-like effect is beneficial, especially for women and breast cancer patients. Other evidence suggests that soy is harmful for the same groups of women.

While soy is not a super-food, like kale for example, I believe that it is more likely that a moderate amount of unprocessed (edamame or soy beans) or lightly processed (tofu or soy milk) soy will neither significantly increase my risk for health issues or provide substantial health benefits. I eat it because I like the way it tastes and because it is a good source of protein. It is important to eat a variety of foods and tofu is an easy, affordable and minimally processed option.

As for the tofu-turkey, soy cheese, soy hot dogs and other heavily processed soy products out there, I steer clear. Not so much because of the soy but because they are heavily processed. Those products are obviously soy-containing processed foods. What about isolated soy protein – a common ingredient in some energy bars? Gotta read those labels!

I like this baked tofu as a snack (pictured below) or as part of a meal (pictured above).

Ingredients:

14-ounce organic, extra firm tofu

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil for pan

Directions:

Remove tofu from container and wrap in kitchen towel

Place heavy object on top of wrapped tofu to drain excess water for 30 minutes

Mix soy sauce, ginger and rice vinegar in small mixing bowl

Remove tofu from towel and slice into equal sized squares or whatever shape you desire – about ¾’’ thick

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Soak tofu in marinade while oven preheats – I use a large 8x6x2 Pyrex container

Flip once

In a large pan, pour about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Use your fingers to spread it evenly around the pan. The bottom should have a tiny coat of oil

Place tofu onto pan – tofu can touch, but do not overlap the pieces

Place pan in oven

Flip tofu every 12 to 15 minutes.

Bake until tofu is firm on the outside – about 60 minutes

Remove pan from oven – serve tofu warm, room temp or straight from the refrigerator

Back in December I posted a recipe for whole wheat blueberry muffins. Although my body does not tolerate wheat, my fiancé does not appear to have any issues with this whole grain so I find myself experimenting with whole wheat every now and then. These muffins quickly became a breakfast staple and I was thrilled because that meant fewer store bought granola and cereal bars. My fiance leaves for work fairly early in the morning to beat rush hour traffic so his breakfast needs to be easily transported.

Every time I was in the kitchen I saw these muffins. They looked so delicious, but I knew even one bite would make me miserable. After a few weeks I had enough. It was time to come up with a blueberry muffin recipe that was “P-friendly” (my fiance’s label for foods that agree with me).

This is what I came up with. I haven’t made any whole wheat muffins since. We both happily enjoy the “P-friendly” version.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa flour

3/4 cup tapioca flour

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup sucanat

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease muffin pan

Combine all ingredients except for the blueberries in medium mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to combine ingredients thoroughly.

Pour in blueberries and use a spoon to mix into batter.

Use a spoon to pour batter into muffin pan. Fill 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. The batter will rise.

Bake until the tops are firm – about 24 minutes.

May be it’s the cold weather, I don’t know, but lately I’ve been eating more grains than usual. Sure, they’re whole grains and all that, but too many grains and I start feeling heavy. No, I’m not talking about my weight. This isn’t about weight at all. I’m talking about my energy. I feel more sluggish. I snack more often. I just feel out of sorts. Just because I’m a health coach doesn’t mean I don’t have to make tweaks every now and then. I’m still human.

Anyway, in an effort to cut back on my daily whole grain consumption I came up with this delicious breakfast. I made a big batch of cabbage earlier in the week and have been eating it throughout the week. For me to eat well on a regular basis, I have come to learn that I need to cook in larger quantities and reheat leftovers. I simply don’t have the time or desire to cook 7 days a week.

But I digress -

This morning I pulled my Pyrex container of cabbage out of the refrigerator. I chopped ¼ of an apple and tossed it in a small pan with a little bit of water to help it cook. When the apple was soft, I drained any extra water that remained and added the cabbage to heat it up and then everything went onto a plate. I used the same pan to fry and egg and added it on top. The whole thing took about 5 minutes and I had a sweet, nutritious and filling breakfast to enjoy. Not a bad way to start the day!

This is the recipe I used for the big batch of cabbage. I use the word “recipe” very loosely here. You can add as much as you want to your plate for breakfast.

Ingredients:

½ medium green cabbage, chopped into large pieces

1 small onion, chopped into large pieces

1 cup cooked or canned Cannellini beans

A couple of shakes of Balsamic Vinegar

Grapeseed oil or water

Directions:

In a large skillet, add a little oil or water to create a thin later on the bottom of the pan.

On medium heat, add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add oil or water as necessary.

Add the beans. Drain any remaining water and add a few shakes of balsamic vinegar.

Once the cabbage is soft enough to insert a fork, remove from heat and serve or put aside to cool and store for breakfast.

What are your favorite breakfast foods? How do they make you feel?

Winter is a rough couple of months. Keeping warm in an old house can be tricky business. Drinking tea, eating warm foods and wearing multiple layers of clothing helps, but I’m also guilty of occasionally using space heaters for instant relief. Unfortunately, too much time with space heaters and my skin gets really dry. It’s a difficult balancing act.

I’ve read about the benefits of raw honey and decided now was as good a time as any to see first-hand what raw honey can do for my skin. Raw honey is full of enzymes, one of the must-have ingredients in any effective skincare product. It has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties – also great for skin. Raw honey is a little coarse, making it perfect for exfoliating and removing dead skin cells.  Awesome stuff.

Our skin is our largest organ and what we put on it is absorbed into our body. It makes sense to put onto our skin only what we can also put into our mouth. Easier said then done. Well, for me anyway. But we all have to begin somewhere.

A simple face mask made with raw honey and a few spices seemed like a good and affordable place to start. I realize the picture above isn’t exactly um, glamorous or flattering, and yes, there is a chunk of honey on my cheek, but I’m keepin’ it real with you.

I scooped about a tablespoon of raw honey into a small bowl and added a couple of shakes of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.

Cinnamon and nutmeg are also both anti-inflammatory – perfect for soothing red marks and puffiness. I mixed it all up and used my fingers to spread it across my face. I think I put it on too thick because after a few minutes it started dripping down my face and droplets were plopping into my lap. At least it tasted yummy when it dripped down my lips.

I removed some of the mask and left a very thin layer on my face. There, problem solved.

I left the mask on for 30 minutes before rinsing it off. Damn, my skin felt awesome. And it looked good too! Clean, moisturized,

During my “research” on face masks, some raw honey users suggested raw honey as a daily cleanser. While a high raw honey frequency is certainly out of my beauty supplies budget at this point in time, I think a handful of times a month is reasonable.

Do you have a home-made beauty product that you love? There are so many products that I’ve been curious about. Up next, I think I will try coconut oil.

It’s that time of year! Baking time! No matter what holiday you’re celebrating this holiday season, I think we can all agree that we’re spending more time this month compared to other months baking sweets or eating someone else’s baked sweets. What a fun time of year!

Indulging during the holiday season is all fine and dandy, but if I’m going to be eating more sweets than usual, they at least have to be made with real ingredients like whole grains and natural sweeteners. Oh who am I kidding – that’s my rule of thumb year round.

Baking with ingredients that aren’t white flour and sugar took a little while for me to figure out. Let’s just say there were some issues with texture and consistency. It wasn’t pretty. But that was a few years ago. I’ve grown since then.

So why the change? Why was it important for me to upgrade the quality of my ingredients?

White flour is pretty much a big loser when it comes to nutrition and flavor. Sure, it’s great at holding stuff together and getting that texture just right, but that’s about it. The same goes for white sugar – it’s a shock of sweetness to your taste buds that doesn’t last long and only leaves you wanting more, and more, and more. The taste of honey or maple syrup – now that’s real flavor.

Here are some gluten free baking ingredients that I’m crushing on right now in a big way.

Quinoa Flour

Why I love it – it’s loaded with protein (all 9 of the essential amino acids), zinc, iron, calcium and other wonderful essential nutrients, is easy to digest, and gives a subtle and delicious sweet and nutty flavor to foods.

Tapioca Flour

Why I love it – It’s a starchy white flour with a sweet flavor. It helps baked goods have a good texture and consistency because it can be used to thicken batters and soups.

Sucanat

Why I love it – It is whole cane sugar. It’s minimally processed – the natural molasses is still intact, giving sucanat a deep brown color and natural molasses flavor. Why the weird name? Sucanat stands for Sugar Cane Natural.

Raw Honey

Why I love it – Great flavor and it’s sticky which is great for holding the batter together. The real stuff, not the highly processed runny honey that comes in the bear-shaped jar, is full of enzymes that aid in digestion, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.

Coconut Oil

Why I love it – It can withstand the heat of cooking, unlike most oils. An oil’s smoke point is the temperature that decomposition and oxidative damage begin. Refined oils have higher smoke points than their unrefined counterparts, but they’re also refined and highly processed, making them a poor choice anyway. Yes, coconut oil is made up of mostly saturated fat, but not all saturated fats are created equal. The fatty acids in coconut oil are mostly medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), not long-chain triglycerides found in other fats and oils. Research suggests that MCTs improve the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol so it’s actually health promoting. Coconut oil is also known for its hair and skin benefits. I love it for its sweet and delicious flavor.

Happy baking and happy holidays!

This chocolate chip cookie has great texture and a very subtle sweetness. I love the addition of quinoa flakes for a soft crunch!

Ingredients: (makes 2 dozen)

¾ cup quinoa flakes (I used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes)

½ cup quinoa flour

½ cup tapioca flour

½ to ¾ cup sucanat

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 eggs

2/3 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 ounces high quality dark chocolate (I am currently loving Scharffen Berger 82% Cacao), chopped – size of chocolate chunks is up to you

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease cookie sheets

Combine all ingredients except chocolate in medium-sized mixing bowl

Use electric hand mixer to blend ingredients thoroughly

Add chocolate and use spoon to evenly distribute chocolate throughout batter

Use spoons to place dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Cookies will expand a little bit in the oven so allocate space on the baking sheet accordingly.

Bake until cookies are firm – about 20 to 25 minutes.

My fiancé has a potluck holiday party at work today. The idea is that everyone in the office brings their favorite holiday dish to share with coworkers. Easy. Simple. Great way to keep costs down for the company and still boost morale. Sounds good to me.

Last week we discussed a few different dish options he could bring. Planning ahead. Go us.  Then we completely forgot about it. Until 10pm last night. Whoops.

One of us could have run to the store and picked up something pre-made. But that’s just not how I roll.

Lucky for us (him?) the potluck was an all-day party and we figured a breakfast-friendly dish made with whole ingredients would be a good contribution to help balance out the probable surplus of dips and desserts.

Going through our kitchen pantry could have been a challenge, but we almost always have these basic ingredients in stock – flour, sweetener, milk, eggs, oil and baking soda. Frozen blueberries is also a must for us during the winter when they aren’t in season in Ohio.

The muffins came out of the oven looking large, moist and delicious. Since I don’t tolerate wheat very well, I have to admit that I did not try them myself, but watching Ryan’s reaction when he popped one into his mouth reassured me that these muffins would be a hit at the potluck.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups frozen blueberries

1 cup coconut milk (or other full-fat milk)

3/4 cup honey

1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease muffin tin

Combine all ingredients except blueberries in a medium mixing bowl

Use electric hand mixer to combine ingredients thoroughly

Fold in blueberries

Pour batter into muffin tins

Bake until tops are brown – about 30 minutes

A few months back my friends threw a mac & cheese and wine pairing theme party where I brought a super delicious vegan and gluten free dish for the competition. Even though it went over really well with the crowd, I never made it again… until this week.

Now that it’s cooling off outside I find myself starting to crave heartier meals – like brown rice noodles in a thick and creamy sauce! For example. This time around, I had a better idea of what the sauce would look and taste like so I felt more comfortable making a few tweaks. I also threw in some veggies so that I wasn’t just eating a bowl of pasta. Not that there’s anything wrong with that every now and then, but I like to add something with color any chance I get. A colorful plate means a variety of health-promoting nutrients!

Here is my slightly modified recipe. It tasted just as good and I didn’t need the oil. It cost very little to make and fed my fiancé and I for the better part of the week. Even though he loves his dairy, he’s a big fan of this one. I have a feeling it won’t be another six months before this is in our bellies again!

Ingredients:

16 ounces brown rice pasta

1 head broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces

1 head Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped

Cheese Sauce:

¾ cups unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup nutritional yeast

½ cup GF tamari/soy sauce

12 ounce extra-firm organic tofu

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

3 tablespoons mustard

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to directions on package. When noodles have about 3 minutes left to cook, add broccoli to pot with brown rice noodles and boiling water. Stir in broccoli.

Just before you are ready to strain the pasta and broccoli, add the Swiss chard. As soon as it is wilted, strain pasta and vegetables. Rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Add cheese sauce ingredients to blender and process until smooth.

Mix the pasta and sauce in large pot and pour into casserole dish.

Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly brown and crispy – approximately 15 minutes.

Growing up in New York, school was always closed on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Little did I know that this was not common practice in other school districts and communities across the country. Since leaving New York in 2008, when it comes to Jewish holidays, life is served on a silver spoon a lot less often. But that’s ok. I think I’ve gotten the hang of it.

This year I didn’t have a lot of spare time to prepare a special meal on top of all my other commitments. Still, it was important to me to do something for Rosh Hashanah other than attending services at a local synagogue.

I invited some friends over and mostly stuck to recipes that I’ve made before and felt comfortable with. I skipped the hors d’œuvres and pre-dinner munchies and whipped up a few batches of cookies and banana bread during study breaks. This chicken recipe called for four ingredients and I’ve made it countless times before. I made a big batch of quinoa and threw in some spices. Of course there was the traditional plate of sliced apples and honey; apples for health, fall and the myth of creation and honey for sweet wishes in the New Year.

I read an article about traditional foods served on Rosh Hashanah and learned that eating carrots sliced into the shape of coins represents prosperity. Well that seemed easy enough to add to my Rosh Hashanah menu. I threw them in a pan with green beans from the Farmer’s market and came up with a sauce that complimented the sauce used for the chicken.

Dinner is served!

While it didn’t take days to prepare and I didn’t roll and matzah balls, I think this was a pretty good meal to celebrate the New Year and still manage to stay on top of my other responsibilities while keeping my stress levels to a healthy level. Finding balance can be tricky, but I’m proud that the New Year is off to a great start!

Ingredients:

Juice from 1 lime

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Equal parts:

Green beans trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Carrots: Cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch pieces

A head of kale, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped

1 small onion, chopped

Directions:

Add small amount of water to sauté onions. Once transparent add green beans and carrots. Cook al dente. Green beans and carrots should be slightly tender on the outside and crunchy on the inside.

While vegetables are on the stove, combine sauce ingredients in mixing bowl.

Once vegetables are cooked, drain extra water. Toss in lime ginger sauce. Serve warm or room temperature.

Tonight begins the Jewish New Year. If you celebrate, Shana tova! If you don’t, then Happy Wednesday!

Ryan and I are attending services tonight, but tomorrow night our friends will be joining us for dinner. I am very excited to celebrate our first holiday in our new home! Although my “free time” is extremely limited these days, taking the time to celebrate holidays and special occasions by getting together with friends and family and break bread is a huge priority.

I’ll share the rest of my recipes after I make them tomorrow, but today I took a study break and made this chocolate chunk banana bread. I had 3 bananas that were a day or two away from spoiling so I thought I’d try to turn them into dessert instead of putting them in the freezer for green smoothies. I debated between turning the batter into cookies or a loaf of bread. End of the story is that I’m very happy I decided on banana bread.

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas – should be pretty easy to mash them with a fork

2 cups almond flour

1 cup teff flour

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup sucanat

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate from chocolate bar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease loaf pan – I used a Pyrex 9 x 5 loaf pan

Peel bananas and place in medium mixing bowl and mash with fork

Add remaining wet ingredients and mix well

Add flour, sucanat, cinnamon and baking soda. Use electric mixer to combine well.

Fold in chocolate chips with a spoon.

Pour batter into loaf pan and put into oven. Bake until top is firm and brown on the edges – about 40 minutes.

Store any leftover in refrigerator.

Whenever I go to the grocery store I always try to make sure it’s somewhat recently after I’ve eaten. For me, grocery shopping on an empty stomach often results in purchases that were never on my shopping list – typically items that can usually be eaten right out of the box. Ok, lets call a spade a spade here – they’re processed!

In moderation, a little processed food here and there isn’t the end of the world. And of course some processed foods are better than others. Reading the ingredient list is the best way to really know what it is what you’re really eating. The marketing ploys on the front like “made with whole grains” can often be a load of BS.

So this week I went to the grocery store right before lunchtime and came home with one of my favorite special treats – Puffins. Whoops. My favorite is the peanut butter variety. They’re my reward when I get through another chapter of reading. I worked hard. I deserve a special treat, right? Well, I went through that box really fast. But they were my pat on the back, my incentive to keep on truckin’. Even though they’re gluten free and most of the ingredients are reasonable, my stomach was a little less than thrilled with my impromptu purchase.

Anyway, the Puffins are gone. And I refuse to replenish my supply. Puffins have been banned from my home! There I said it!

Instead I came up with this sweet treat. Real ingredients. Less processed stuff.

Ingredients: (makes 2 dozen cookies)

3 cups almond flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup sucanat

1 teasoon salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 cup dried cranberries (unsweetened)

3.5 ounces dark chocolate

optional: 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Combine almond flour, baking soda, salt, and sucanat in large mixing bowl.

Add vanilla, honey and eggs.

Use electric mixer to combine dough thoroughly

Stir in dried cranberries and dark chocolate

Grease baking sheets

Use your hands to roll dough into balls – about 1 inch diameter

Place balls of dough on baking sheet and lightly press to slightly flatten

Bake until cookies are brown on edges – about 25 minutes

Cool for a few minutes. Use spatula to transfer cookies to cooling rack.