Power of Protein

Protein is a hot topic. Carbs have been demonized, fats (until recently) had a bad rap... It's the only macronutrient that rarely, if ever, goes under fire. Brands drive sales of their food products by throwing the word "protein" on the label, exemplifying protein's health halo. It's often connected to everything from weight loss to muscle gains. And maybe this if for good reason! Protein is crucial for the structure, function and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. While protein is essential in the diet, there seems to be a "more is better" mentality which isn't quite right.

NutritionStephanie RomeMarch 16, 2016healthy weight, healthy lifestyle, meal planning Comment

Steering Clear of Hidden Sugar

Sugar is almost impossible to avoid. It's in everything from fruit to yogurt to salad dressings. But there is a distinction to be made between the two forms sugar comes in. It's either naturally-occuring sugar, such as in fruits, starchy veggies, grains, and beans, or refined/added sugar which is hidden in the majority of packaged food products - juice, sports drinks, yogurt, cereal, salad dressings, etc.

10 Healthy Gut Must-Dos

This past weekend, I led a Gut Health workshop with my friend and colleague, Dr. Missy Albrecht. It was awesome teaming up with a physical therapist on this topic because she has a lot of education around how to heal the gut from a mobility standpoint, while I was able to talk to the nutrition piece of the equation. In our workshop, we addressed signs of an unhealthy gut, functions of the gut, factors that damage the gut, and what to do to repair and heal the gut.

Gut health is a very comprehensive topic, one with which I struggled to narrow it down and pick out the digestible (pun intended :)) bits for an hour long workshop. Cutting edge research on the digestive system, and in particular the microbiome, is coming out every day. It's something I am fascinated by and want to learn everything I can about in order to help my clients to the best of my ability.

As the workshop attendees seemed to be particularly engaged during the "What To Do" section of my talk, I thought you, my readers, might also be interested in getting some tips for keeping your gut healthy and functioning optimally! Check them out below....

Excuse-Proof Your Eating

'Tis the season for fad diets. It seems that every time I turn around, I'm hearing about some new 'hot' crash diet that promotes huge weight loss in a crazy short amount of time. I'm here to dispel a massive myth about weight loss. Are you ready?!

Happy WeightStephanie RomeJanuary 13, 2016healthy weight, weight loss, healthy lifestyle Comment

Crock Pot Roast with Garlic Cauliflower Mash

Who doesn't love a crock pot meal in the winter? How good is a "chuck everything in and walk away" dinner? It's freakin awesome is what it is. This crock pot roast is as quick and easy as they come. It literally takes 2 minutes to prep, which you can easily squeeze into your morning before racing out the door. The cauli mash isn't too difficult or time-intensive either, apart from the 25-ish minutes it takes to roast in the oven. But, again, you're able to pop it in and walk away. Then you just have to whizz it in the food processor and you're ready to serve! If you're like me and feel a meal is incomplete without something green, you can saute up some spinach super quick or steam some kale, chard, or beet greens (pictured here). Recipe for this simplicious weeknight meal comin'atcha.....

RecipesStephanie RomeJanuary 7, 2016main dishes, crock pot meals, gluten free, dairy free, paleo, fall/winterComment

Superfood Hot Chocolate

Ok team, I've got a warming, sweet-tooth satisfying, anti-inflammatory and deeeelicious recipe for you today.....SUPERFOOD HOT CHOCOLATE! This is a recipe I make often in the winter, either as a mid-morning pick-me-up or an after-lunch treat. It's chock full of superfood nutrients and is home run for satisfying sugar cravings.

How to Detox your Home from Chemical Chaos

What do cosmetics, shampoos, shower gels, stressful lifestyles, conventional food, and home cleaning products all have in common? They can all be hiding endocrine disruptors - toxic chemicals that can interfere with your body's endocrine (hormone) system. Endocrine disruptors can increase, decrease, block or imitate certain hormones, or alter how these hormones work in the body. They harm the body's neurological, immune, reproductive, and developmental systems and have been linked to a wide range of health concerns, including fertility problems, decreases sex drive, kidney disease and birth defects.

9 Ways to Beat Cravings

....So we're in the 'tweaner' time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You're back in the real world after 4+ days of indulging in turkey and marshmellow-covered sweet potatoes. You likely have lots of holiday parties to go to in the next couple weeks. You also probably have a lot of work to get done before you take off for Christmas which doesn't leave much time for home cooking or morning/evening runs or exercise classes. Anddd you might feel like your teetering on the edge of 'I should be really healthy right now so I don't get the holiday pudge' and 'ahhh f*ck it, I'll deal with that in January.' Well, I'm right there with you! I'm writing this post to inspire you to GO WITH THE FORMER, as well as to give you some tips for helping quell those crazy carb and sugar cravings that get out of control this time of year! Below are my top ten ways to beat cravings and strut into Christmas time without feeling forced into wearing only stretchy jeans and baggy sweaters. Unless that's your jam...in which case, rock on :)

Happy WeightStephanie RomeDecember 2, 2015cravings, healthy weight, weight loss, self-care Comment

Health Hacks to Thrive This Holiday Season

The holiday season doesn't have to be all about gorging, boozing and no sleep. With a little planning, you can keep it fun and healthy without without getting fat and sick!

Here are five of my favorite health hacks to help you thrive, not just survive, this holiday season:

Lifestyle PracticesStephanie RomeNovember 18, 2015holidays, gut health, healthy lifestyleComment

Five Ways To Cut Food Waste At Home

The importance of food wastage is serious sh*t. Did you know that, globally, 1.3 billion tons of edible food is wasted per year? A new report from the National Resources Defence Council shows that an alarming 40% of food in America - more than 20 pounds per person each month - is thrown away. So, it's consumers (yes, us!) who cause half of this food wastage disaster! The average household throws out 20% of their groceries. That's one shopping bag in every 5 (*shock horror*). To me, throwing out food is like tossing dollar bills into the toilet. Whenever I have to do it (which is slim to never cause I'm a bit of a food waste nazi), it literally pains me. Surely I'm not the only one?

Lifestyle PracticesStephanie RomeNovember 12, 2015healthy lifestyle, healthy home Comments

Indian Dal Comfort Food

This stuff is straight Sunday night comfort food. Not mac n' cheese, not pizza, not take-out sushi....Nope, I want mushy, creamy, Indian-spicy dal. For my dal, I use split yellow mung beans. I've already expressed my love of mung beans here. But these are special mung beans. These have had their green husks taken off which removes the gaseous content of the bean making it much easier to digest. Without a husk to keep each bean intact during cooking, they all turn to mush. Mmmm.. So split yellow mung beans are the perfect food for babies/the elderly, as well as for healing the gut and cleansing your digestive tract.

RecipesStephanie RomeNovember 3, 2015breakfasts, lunches, main dishes, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, fall/winter, cleanse, detox Comment

Autumn Paleo Porridge

I love a nice warm bowl o' oats for my brekkie in the Fall. Oats make for a satisfying and cheap breakfast while doing great things for your heart and digestive health. Some people can't or choose not to eat grains as perhaps they have an autoimmune disease, or they're following a Candida diet or Paleo / Primal eating approach. For my grain-free folks - guess what? Grain free doesn't have to mean porridge-free! By swapping out the oats for apple and coconut, you can achieve a porridge-like consistency. I wanted to give this bowl an Autumn spin so I added in butternut squash puree, ginger and some turmeric for all it's immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory goodness. The result is a rich, creamy, satisfying, grain-free, Paleo porridge that should definitely make it on your breakfast rotation this season.

Top 10 Produce Picks for a Healthy Fall

Autumn is here (YAY!) so here are my top 10 picks for seasonal produce during this beautiful time of year. Buying seasonal (and ideally local) ensures that you're getting the freshest fruits and veggies at the peak of ripeness!

NutritionStephanie RomeOctober 13, 2015meal planning, fall/winterComment

Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Spiced Millet

This dish has Fall written all over it. Eating a stew that's been simmering all day in the crock pot on a chilly night - that's what I look forward to as the days get shorter and the nights get colder. To make this dish, you don't have to have a tagine. In case you're wondering, a tagine is a conical shaped pot with a wide, shallow base and a tall lid fitting snugly inside. As the food cooks, steam rises into the cone, condenses, and then trickles down the sides back into the dish. Ideal for stews and, of course, tagines. It's cool to have if you want to wow your dinner guests, but realistically I don't have enough room in my kitchen cupboards. So a dutch oven, or a crock pot, will serve the same purpose and you probably already have at least one of those. I've outlined two different ways you can make this dish depending on time constraints and equipment you own. You can serve the lamb with spiced millet (recipe below) or, for a Paleo-friendly version, serve with cauliflower rice.

10 Kid-Friendly Snacks

Most kids are picky eaters and I know a lot of moms struggle with getting their little ones to eat healthy. One tip is getting them involved in preparing and cooking snacks and meals. If they are part of the process, it's likely they will want to taste the end result. Also, exposing them to as much variety as possible, especially when it comes to veggies, is key. Try putting a small serving of a fruit different veggies on their plate. Every little bit they do eat helps them acquire a taste for healthy foods.

Kids love snacks. But generally they like those of the refined carb variety (Goldfish, anyone?). Here are 10 healthy and yummy snacks that are sure to be a hit with kids and adults alike!

RecipesStephanie RomeJuly 21, 2015snacks, kid-friendly, gluten free, dairy free Comments

5 Healthy On-the-Go Breakfasts

Getting in a good breakfast is very important in setting you up for a successful day of clean eating. When you don't eat enough, or grab something sugary or junky just to fill your tummy, your blood sugar starts off on a wonky note and you'll be fighting an uphill battle the rest of the day to bring it back into balance. If I know I'm going to be rushing out the door the next morning, either I make something the night before to bring with me, or decide to have a breakfast that takes less than 2 minutes to pull together. Below are my five favorite breakfasts for busy mornings when I'm on-the-go.

RecipesStephanie RomeMay 27, 2015breakfasts, smoothies, paleo, gluten free, dairy freeComment

Gluten Free Pizza

When people choose, or are instructed by their doctor/nutritionist, to start following a gluten free diet, it's common for them to feel like all of their favorite foods are being taken away from them -- pizza, pasta, sandwiches, muffins, cereal, cookies, beer, etc. While I completely understand how it can feel this way at first, I love providing my clients, friends, family, etc. with recipes that are delicious and naturally gluten free, as well as surprising them with ways to make their favorite gluten bomb foods sans gluten! This recipe is a perfect example of one of those surprises! Gluten free pizza? YES. While there are a few ways to make gluten free pizza crust, using polenta is definitely in the top three. It's pretty much fool-proof and hardly takes any time or effort. The nature of polenta is that it firms up and becomes quite dense when cooked. This is perfect for our pizza-crust purpose as the goal is to be able to cut it and hold your slice with your hand without it falling apart on you. While it looks like there is a lot to do in this recipe, it's really quite simple. If you're proficient at multi-tasking, you could have your pizza on the table in 45 minutes!

RecipesStephanie RomeMay 15, 2015main dishes, lunches, gluten free, kid-friendly Comment

What You Should Know about Food Labeling

Is going to the grocery store a dreaded chore? Does it send you into a state of panic at the realization you actually don't know what to eat? Do all the food product labels make you dizzy with confusion? I get it. It's a jungle out there! And I want to help you navigate it with grace and ease. By understanding front-of-package marketing labels, you'll be armed against getting duped into buying processed foods with undesirable ingredients just because a "health halo" trips you up.

NutritionStephanie RomeApril 30, 2015healthy lifestyle Comments

Spring Clean Watercress and Asparagus Soup

Spring is the time of year when our bodies naturally want to "spring clean" or detox after the heaviness of winter. If you tune in, you may notice that your appetite naturally begins to wane during the months of spring. Spring boosts natural fat metabolism which, in turn, decreases cravings, hunger and appetite in order to reset fat burning, start detox and loose any extra weight carried over from winter.

RecipesStephanie RomeApril 21, 2015soups/stews, sides, main dishes, paleo, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, spring/summer, cleanse, detoxComment

Food as Medicine: Eating for Stress Management

Let’s face it – most of us feel like we’re experiencing some level of stress in our lives at the moment. Whether it’s family, work, financial or physical stress, our bodies are under some form of stress on a daily basis. While some stress is a good thing - it’s what gets you out of bed in the morning and motivates you be a productive person – many of us are feeling too much stress too often or for too long which puts us at risk for various health conditions.

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