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

Honey is a great alternative to sugar. I love it and have been using it for years. Whenever possible I buy local honey. Local food always tastes fresher to me plus it’s a simple way to give the environment a little extra TLC. Other than local or not-local, I admit that I never really gave honey much thought.

Until now.

Recently my youngest sister introduced to me to raw honey. I had no idea it could be so different from the honey I was buying at the grocery store.

For starters – raw honey is creamy, smooth and spreadable. It’s not runny at all. The highest quality is unheated and unfiltered. A fresh unopened jar usually has a layer of beeswax, pollen and propolis (made by bees to glue the materials of their hives together and for centuries has been used to treat ailments ranging from acne to osteoporosis and cancer) on the top. The honey is underneath and since it has never been heated or filtered, it’s full of enzymes that can aid in digestion, plus amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Yes, it’s definitely pricier than runny honey, but in my opinion, worth every penny.

Check out how thick raw honey is in this picture. Amazing. Rich sweetness. Yum!

Many consider raw honey to be a superfood. And for good reason. Here is just a brief list of some of the benefits that raw honey can bring.

* increase calcium absorption

* help arthritic joints

* natural and gentle laxative

* constipation and allergy relief

* when applied topically, can speed healing of tissues damaged by infection and trauma

* facial deep cleanser for acne and unwanted blemishes– mix with an equal amount of oatmeal, apply to the face and let it sit for 30 minutes before washing off

Delicious, health promoting and a facial cleanser? Sorry, runny honey, but you just can’t compete with your raw sister.

Thanksgiving was my first encounter with sugar in weeks. Now I find myself craving something sweet in the middle of the day or after dinner. Or both.

That’s the thing about sugar – it’s a slippery slope. A little bit can open the floodgates and leave you always wanting more.

Instead of reaching for something that comes in a box, I whipped up these subtly sweet cookies instead. They have just enough sweetness to satisfy without going overboard. That’s the cool thing about eating real food – your taste buds are so much more alert to flavor so a little bit goes a long way.

Ingredients:

3 cups gluten free rolled oats

2 eggs

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup sucanat

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¾ cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease cookie sheets

Pour 1.5 cups of rolled oats into blender and blend to create flour

Put wet ingredients into mixing bowl and mix well with spoon

Put dry ingredients except raisins into mixing bowl and mix with spoon

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well

Add raisins and combine

Scoop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet

Bake until cookies slightly harden – about 12 to 15 minutes

Most of the loved ones that I celebrated Thanksgiving with this year.

As far as non-Jewish holidays go, Thanksgiving is my absolute-favorite – Passover will always trump Thanksgiving in my book. What I love most about Thanksgiving is how pure of a holiday it is – it’s not about presents or “stuff”. It’s about family, good food and laughter. Thanksgiving is an annual reminder to reevaluate our priorities and to remember what’s really important – what we should be thankful for.

The last few years my family has asked everyone joining us at dinner to write a note about what they are thankful for and place it in a big woven basket before dinner begins. Between dinner and dessert the notes get passed around the table and read out loud. There are no names on the notes so no one knows who wrote what. It’s a sweet, but quick way to commemorate the holiday and I really enjoy hearing the kind words that my relatives share.

I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s some of the delicious gluten free (except for the rosemary bread) and dairy free food that we enjoyed this Thanksgiving. I am so lucky for so many reasons including having a family that is incredibly supportive of my dietary limitations – although this meal hardly felt limiting to anyone.

Local turkey

Quinoa with herbs and pomegranates

Roasted veggies

Asparagus with mustard glaze

Whole wheat rosemary bread (recipe below)

Dutch Oven Bread

Ingredients:

6 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon yeast (active dry)

3 teaspoon salt

3 cups warm water

3/4 – 1 cup honey

6 twigs package Rosemary, stems removed and leaves chopped

Directions:

Measure out yeast in a bowl and add warm water. Stir until yeast dissolves.

Add in flour, salt, honey and chopped Rosemary.

Stir ingredients until flour is all mixed in.

Let flour rise overnight.

Grease Dutch oven.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with Dutch oven inside.

Put dough into Dutch oven and cook for 45 minutes. Take off lid and cook for 15 minutes.

To remove bread from Dutch oven, turn Dutch oven upside down.

Another shot of the bread because it was so delicious (so I heard).

Triple Chocolate Brownies (recipe by www.MyraKornfeld.com)

Triple Chocolate Brownies (recipe by www.MyraKornfeld.com)

Ingredients:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 ¼ cups natural sugar – maple or succanat

1 cup silken tofu

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

Melt the semisweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate together over a double boiler. Stir continually to prevent burning or hardening – about 5 minutes. Mix in the cocoa powder and remove the double boiler from the heat.

Blend together the sugar, tofu and coconut oil in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to medium bowl, stir in the chocolate, then the flour, cayenne, baking powder and salt.

Pour the batter into the baking pan, making sure it spreads evenly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until slightly puffed. You’ll know it’s done if a toothpick inserted at the center comes out with some crumbs.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 2 hours before cutting into squares and serving.

Banana bread

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

3 very ripe bananas

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup raw honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease loaf pan

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl

Use electric mixer to blend ingredients almost thoroughly – I like it with a few banana chunks remaining

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake until top is brown – about 45 to 60 minutes

Allow loaf to cool for at least an hour before slicing and serving

I probably should have checked the weather forecast before I went to the grocery store this week, but when the temperature seriously dropped last week, I couldn’t get the idea of making chili out of my mind. There are several quintessential meals when it comes to my favorite season and chili is definitely one of them.

Between working and studying for my comprehensive exams that are just around the corner (eeeek!), I haven’t been able to spend as much time in the kitchen as I like to. Preparing meals in large batches that will feed us for a few days at a time is the easiest, healthiest and most inexpensive way I can think of to get through these long days. Cause they sure are long!

Sure, leftovers get a little tedious, but it really doesn’t bother me or the future mister – especially when I consider the alternatives – take out or processed stuff. On a regular basis – neither option is very budget friendly or makes my body very happy.

So this batch of chili is going to last a couple of meals, which is good because it tastes awesome. I was hoping to have time to make some cornbread too, but I didn’t. Oh well. May be I’ll make a loaf tomorrow to dress up the leftovers.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs grass-fed ground beef

1 onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1.5 cup black beans, cooked

8 ounces, sliced mushrooms

1 small head of cauliflower, chopped

1 large sweet potato, cut into ½’’ pieces

15 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 cup vegetable or beef broth

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon red chili powder

1 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoons pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

Pour a little olive oil (1-2 tablespoons) into a large skillet. Add onions and garlic. When onions are transparent, add ground beef and cook completely.

Add all ingredients to slow cooker. Cook on low heat until potatoes are soft – about 5 hours. Contents will likely be almost overflowing in your slow cooker at first. Use a wooden spoon to mix things around as they start to cook down.

Serve with cooked dark leafy greens.