Sound Food Advice

A lot of people come to me and ask me for dietary advice. I'm not a certified nutritionist or dietitian but I can claim to know a bit more than the average person about food and its potential healing properties. Recently a few close friends have asked me to put together dietary plans for them. Each for different reasons, each one at different stages in their lives and all of them on a tight budget. However the end goals are always the same; to eat a more whole foods based diet, incorporate different foods into their diet, gain more energy, kick sugar cravings and as a result shed some extra pounds. When I set out to create a personalized plan, I began by doing the following:

1) Talking with them about their overall diet, diet history, habits, favorite foods, food dislikes and what they enjoy about food. Usually I like to do this over preparing a meal for them in my home.

2) Then I have them keep a detailed food diary for one full week (or longer) and a list of the items in their pantry (everything!). They write down their goals and a rough idea of their food budget.

3) Then from there I analyze what they are currently eating and their habits and put together a final document that outlines what they need more of/less of, meal plans (if asked for), a list of foods that are best consumed organically, a list of their personal "superfoods", and items they can start to incorporate into their diet right away along with the healing properties of key foods.

4) We then go through it together and off they go. Some people want me to go shopping with them and/or show them how to prepare foods they have never eaten before (this is cherry on the top...I love sharing my cooking knowledge!)

5)1 month follow-up to see how things are going and make adjustments if needed.

Now this is A LOT harder than it sounds. First off it was extremely hard to not write out a plan of what I eat and whats in my pantry; everybody is different, everyone requires different food. So I had to come up with a personal philosophy as to what is the BEST way to eat. Since I am not a certified dietary expert I went with my gut and my favorite Michael Pollan quote "eat food, mostly plants". The diets created are plant and whole grain based with minimal meat and seafood consumption, no refined oils, no processed food, healthy fats and a balance between cooked and raw. With a conscious lean toward local foods and creating/maintaining a small carbon-food imprint.

I have not yet expanded my services to a wider group of people, but if you live in Baltimore and are curious let me know and I would be thrilled to work with you!

Simple Stir Fry

Birthday Stir-Fry with Buckwheat soba & Umeboshi Plums

This is it. This is the basic food concoction that started it all for me. When I worked at the Wedge Co-op in Minneapolis I was introduced to so many wonderful new foods. Kale was one of them. Not really wanting to eat it raw I decided to use the suggested recipe on the back of the Lady Moon Farms label: Heat some oil in a pan, add minced garlic, wash and chop kale, saute, add a little lemon juice enjoy. Okay I remember thinking simple enough. Kablam! A whole new world was opened up to me. So after years (about a decade to be exact) I have perfected my all-time favorite default meal...Stir-fry. Usually when folks approach me about their first time foray into a new vegetable (and usually its Kale!) AND tofu I write this recipe down for them. I stay away from quantities because I have never measured this one out. And frankly you really don't need a recipe for this dish. Oh AND this is a GREAT meal to make on a Sunday night along with a pot of brown rice and eat from it all week long by refreshing it with steamed veggies! Can you say healthy and economical?

Simple Stir-Fry

serves as many as you'd like

You will need:

A large saute pan or wok

Oil (olive, unrefined coconut or ghee)

Garlic (about 2-3 cloves) minced

Fresh ginger, about 1 tablespoon, grated (powdered will work too)

Cayenne (to taste/optional)

Braggs or Tamari

Lemon Juice (optional)

Extra Firm Tofu drained, squeezed of its water and cut into one inch cubes

Washed spun dry and chopped (about 3-5 cups) Kale (any kind)
(Any green veggie will work, kale, collards, broccoli, bok choy and cabbage work great)

Carrots, julienned

One white or purple onion sliced and diced any way you'd like

You can keep adding to your hearts content...other great additions are pea pods, corn, mushrooms, peppers etc...

Have everything chopped, grated, minced and ready to go...

Heat the oil on medium to medium low heat. When hot add the garlic, ginger, cayenne and saute until fragrant (about one minute) add a splash of Braggs or Tamari and Lemon Juice. Add the tofu in an even layer saute/cook your cubes, flipping them over every 2 minutes for 8-10 minutes, adding a splash here and there of Braggs or Tamari. Then add your onions, saute until almost translucent, add your carrots, another spash of Braggs or Tamari and Lemon Juice, saute for 2 more minutes, add your kale and other healthy splash of Braggs or Tamari andLemon Juice cover and steam until the greens are bright or if using a wok saute until bright green. Serve over brown rice or buckwheat soba noodles.