Let's talk about living the good life as we hit middle age! We all know (and feel deep in our bones) how important it is to keep ourselves healthy and vibrant! So, today, we're going on a delicious adventure into the world of the Mediterranean diet—a superhero (think Wonder Woman) among diets! And it's not only about eating right but also about feeling amazing.

And guess what?

I've got a super scrumptious and easy-to-make dish for you—the Watermelon Arugula Salad!

For me. taking intentional time to slow down and enjoy my meals is one of the ways that I savor my day. But sometimes, we also have to eat fast without hurrying.

Oddly enough, that is often the case on Zen retreats. I remember my first Zen retreat. I assumed that we'd be eating slow and mindfully. So I did. By the time I expanded my awareness enough to notice everyone else in the room, I was stunned (and a little embarrassed) that I was the last one done eating.

When we think about being mindful of eating until well before we are stuffed, we often think about noticing when we begin to feel full. But actually, this practice starts well before you even sit down at the dinner table.

Tuning in to your body's cues and not feeling deprived go hand-in-hand.

I love soups. In fact, every Sunday (Soup Sunday), I make soup for the week — especially during the cooler months. Having soup on hand makes for easier meal prep throughout the week. Plus, most soups freeze well. So I can stock the freezer for days when I don’t have the time or bandwidth for preparing a meal from scratch.

In my household, we have different nourishing needs. My partner often prefers more meat. I prefer more vegetarian meals. For this recipe, I cook it up until the point where the lentils are fully cooked. After that, I divide the soup before I serve. I add the kale and corn to my soup and the Polish Sausage and spinach to his.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

I love the taste of cardamom for sweet treats and savory dishes. Most of the cardamom bought here in the states is green cardamom. It has a strong, sweet, pungent flavor and aroma, with hints of lemon and mint. But there’s also black cardamom with a smoky note and hint of menthol. Green cardamom pairs nicely with sweet treats (think Scandinavian baked goods), fruit, and savory dishes like curries and kababs. Yes. It is that dynamic.

Today we’ll create some simple Cardamom Bliss Balls for a super simple tasty treat. They’re a perfect match for your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

The star of this dish is rooty dish is the knobby celery root. But this funky root doesn’t party alone. It’s joined by its skin-loving companion, the carrot, and Omega-rich fish friend. If you’re looking for a new dish to add to your menu that will nourish you through the midlife ‘pause (hello perimenopause) and be great for the family and on the go, then this Polish fish dish is for you.

 One thing we can do for our loved ones, community, planet, and social change is to understand how we can be health and wellness warriors from our own personal emotional and physical well-being. So let’s start with what everyone on the planet does. Poops! 

Your poops are an excellent indicator of your total health. Your gut and brain are in constant communication via the amazing Vagus Nerve, which I LOVE to talk about. If you are feeling depressed, experiencing mood swings, and all digestive issues, your communication between the brain and gut are not getting along and this disruption is the beginning of many symptoms and diseases. 

This year our Crab Apple trees are fruiting to the point of limbs nearly touching the ground.

Now, if you are in upstate New York and have an apple tree in your yard, then you know that all apples are about to start abandoning their post. You may have already experienced these tiny tarts dive-bombing your car and your head. You might even be enjoying the sweet stench of those that are composting themselves right there on your lawn.

When a branch finally made contact with my thick head the other day, I realized that I needed to do something about it. Really?! Why on earth was I letting these wonderfully organic and insanely accessible food bits go to rot? And why-oh-why wasn't I enjoying the reaching up, squatting down, and all the wonderful movements associated with gathering my harvest. So I grabbed two of my largest bowls (one for each tree) and started collecting my bounty.

You can’t beat a warm and gooey baked banana. This super simple recipe is a perfect dessert for quenching your sweet-tooth without the guilt. Plus, these delicious morsels will make your house smell divine!

Baking bananas bring out the fruit's natural sweetness and turn them golden with a soft, gooey texture. They taste amazing all on their own, or you can dress them up with a range of toppings. I like mine with toasted pecans, walnuts, or coconut.

Here's a little background on this probiotic delight. I think you'll find that it be your new go-to gut-loving drink. They're super easy to make, and once you have the hang it, you can experiment with a flavor of the season. 

Kvass is a traditional fermented Slavic and Baltic beverage commonly made from rye bread. The bread-based Kvass tastes a bit like a sweet, non-alcoholic beer. From my research, Kvass only has up to 1% alcohol content (usually less). My first experience of this bubbly beverage was a somewhat traditional Beet Kvass. Since then, I've experimented with gluten-free recipes like the sweet and rooty Orange, Ginger, and Carrot Kvass. Now that peaches are in season, it's time for a different brew. 

I love the simplicity of this recipe. A shortlist of ingredients makes prep a breeze. Plus, these pancakes keep well for 2-3 days and reheat quickly in a toaster oven. So I always double or triple the recipe so that my efforts can continue to nourish me over the course of a few days.

You’ll get the best results with this recipe if you use ripe bananas: go for the ones that already have brown spots. You'll also find that making smaller pancakes will give you the best results. The larger ones tend to break apart when they’re flipped. Pile up a big stack of pancakes on your plate, top it all off with some coconut yogurt, berries, and drizzle maple syrup (or honey, if you like), and enjoy!

This recipe is one of my favorite summer Polish dishes! Traditionally, Chłodnik is served with warm mashed potatoes. Together they create a combination that is rich with flavors, varying textures, and contrasting temperatures. Every bite is a sensorial delight. 

Chłodnik (pronounced h-wo-d-neek, meaning cooler) is perfect for those hot summer days. Plus, this lacto-fortified bowl of flavor will nourish your gut with each bite. Thanks to those wee microbes, the soup is in a lacto-fremented kefir or buttermilk base, it keeps well for nearly a week as the live probiotic bacteria feed on the sugary starches in the veggies. It's one of those great dishes that can nourish your palate for days on end. 

This dreamy recipe will tantalize your tastebuds and nourish your dream-state.

Tart cherry juice is one of the powerhouse ingredients that live up to the ‘food as medicine’ hype. Research has shown that it can help to improve sleep, reduce muscle soreness & inflammation, and may even reduce belly fat. That’s a lot of goodness packed into these little antioxidant nuggets of juicy joy.

Kvass is a newcomer in my life — a very welcome newcomer! As you probably know, consuming a variety of fermented foods helps you get all the health benefits of bacteria and keeps your colonies refreshed and varied. This is why I always embrace any new fermented food I learn about, and kvass is a must-try.

This is a wonderful recipe for a quick and nourishing breakfast! It's even fancy enough to serve at your next Sunday Brunch, and it's guaranteed to rock your taste buds. 

Kale is a super-duper nourishing and low oxalate food. You can cook, blend it, massage it, and serve it in a stew. It's packed with antioxidants, and it's a cruciferous vegetable, which means it can block an enzyme that causes swelling in the joints. Just one cup of kale contains 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. That's some serious nourishment.

Did you know that the most abundant tissue in the body, is none other than “connective” tissue?

Your lifestyle can drastically impact your fascia. But for this post, we’ll focus on nourishing our tissues with our fork because we all want to be continually supplying our joints (and the rest of our bodies) with ample nutrition to make them as robust as possible!

Golden Turmeric paste is a combination of ground turmeric, oil (this could be coconut oil or ghee), water, ground black pepper, and other spices heated until melted and turned into a paste for the purpose of using it in turmeric milk, smoothies, curries, etc.

I’m a BIG fan of any recipe that simplifies daily life. But the super wizardry of this recipe is that it increases the nourishing value by pre-activate the turmeric by mixing it with pepper and simmering on the stove for a while. Once it’s made, my favorite way to use the turmeric paste is to add it to a little warmed homemade coconut with a bit of honey for a soothing golden milk.

Tea is often the drink associated with bedtime, adding in a bit of tart cherry juice might elevate your bedtime ritual to a whole new restful level. This delightful elixir combines one of my favorite sleepy-time teas with the tangy taste of tart cherries.

Tart cherries are high in melatonin, the hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle, and a few small studies have shown that they have promising effects on sleep.

Pesto is one of my favorite things to make and have on hand. Always! I keep a jar in the refrigerator and frozen pesto cubes in the freezer! It is one of my secret weapons for sneaking in a little extra dose of green goodness. I put spoonfuls of it on just about everything. I tell you, it makes any meal feel gourmet.

And the best part... this recipe takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

Humans have made strong brews with natural ingredients to combat illness for generations. The actual term "fire cider" is widely attributed to herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. Rosemary has been touting the health benefits of fire cider for more than 30 years. In her 1999 book, Rosemary Gladstar's Herbs for the Home Medicine Chest, she recommends making a batch of fire cider as soon as cold and flu season hits.