Summer is coming to an end and parents and kids are gearing up for the coming school year.   So how we can give them the most nourishing environment and the healthiest meals while they’re at school?  The Child Nutrition Act made its way through Congress and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution recently won an Emmy.   School food advocates everywhere applauded.  Our efforts to transform the system are being noticed by the mainstream. 

Integrative Nutrition is dedicated to improving the health of children everywhere.  We offer a scholarship to school administrators and school food directors with the intention of spreading our mission to change the future of nutrition, starting with our children.

Kimberly Daniels is a scholarship winner and guidance counselor at PS 64 in New York City.  Kimberly wants to make major changes in her school.  With Kimberly’s help we hope to improve health and wellness at PS 64 and create a ripple effect that will transform the lives of thousands of kids in New York City. 

Kimberly shared her intentions with us in her first video blog.  

Kimberly will continue to update us on her experience in Integrative Nutrition’s Professional Training Program and how she is working to make changes in her school.  We are excited to share Kimberly’s journey with you. Stay tuned….

Elly got rave reviews for her Asian-Style Lettuce Wraps in our "What's on your plate?" contest.  Simple and easy to prepare; a beautiful healthy dish!

Romaine lettuce leaves with a customizable selection of fillings including:

• hulled barley seasoned with soy sauce, brown rice syrup and garlic chili oil

• shredded raw beets, diakon radish and carrots

• thinly sliced cucumbers, red peppers, mushrooms and purple cabbage

• sliced raw turnips marinated in cider vinegar topped with a lime-ginger sauce and toasted sesame seeds

• fresh tomatoes on the side

Elly Haddad is a certified holistic health coach and founder of Elemental Fit, a health coaching practice devoted to educating and equipping women to create balanced lives for themselves and their families. Through improving overall health, her clients find success in conquering cravings, developing healthy eating habits, weight-loss, stress reduction and more.

Laury Raiken submitted her Raw Vegan Flax Burger & Fries to our “What’s on your plate?” contest and mouths began to water.  Laury shared her recipe with us so we can make our own healthy version of a burger & fries. 

Raw Vegan Flax Burger
Serves 1

3/4 Cup Almonds
1/4 Cup  Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Ground Flaxseed
1-2 tsps Sesame Seeds
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBSP Hemp Oil
Pinch or Turmeric
Sea, Celtic or Himalayan Salt, to taste
Fresh Black Pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor, I used my mini prep..if you only have a vitamix keep in on a lower sped because you want it to be chunky, not grind up too much! It serves 1, but can be doubled, tripled, etc!

I topped it with sliced heirloom tomato and some of my tasty tahini dressing!

Sweet Potato Fries

Preheat Oven to 450 degrees

No need to scrub the potato as you usually would. Wash it, and make sure it’s COMPLETELY dry before baking it or else your fries will be soggy!

Take one medium size, California sweet potato, skinned, sliced it in half, then lengthwise to make steak-fries

Use your Misto, or oil sprayer, or just brush the oil on to control how much you use then sprinkle with sea, Celtic or Himalayan salt

Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how crispy you want thems

Laury is a personal trainer and fitness nutritionist and health food blogger who practices a plant based diet.  After years of franken-foods and unhealthy, extreme dieting and exercise tactics, Laury has finally found peace and healthy balance in her life, and hopes to inspire others to do the same! You can find more recipes by Laury at www.thefitnessdish.com.

Integrative Nutrition asked our community "What's on Your Plate?"  We had an amazing response to this contest with photos of mouth-watering delights.  Frank Giglio was the top vote getter with his photo "Kitchen Sessions".  Frank kindly shared his recipe with us so we can all enjoy his yummy creation. 

Seared Scallops with Cucumber Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
4-8 Large scallops (U-10)
A sprinkle of Frank's Finest Lemon-Pepper Blend
1 large English cucumber
2 Tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
1 cup snap peas, cut into 3rds
1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Freshly cracked black peppercorns
1/2 lemon for drizzling
1 green onion, tops sliced thin

Directions:

With a Japanese mandolin or sharp knife, thinly slice the cucumber.  Place into a large bowl, mix in the snap peas, onions, and dill.  Drizzle in the olive oil and vinegar, then season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Toss well and allow flavors to meld.

Place the scallops on a dish and season with Lemon-Pepper blend

Heat a large heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat.  Melt the coconut oil and when a light amount of smoke is visual, add the scallops.  Cook on one side until well browned, then flip each scallop, turn off the heat and allow to rest in the pan for 1-2 minutes before removing.

Place a small amount of cucumber salad onto 2 plates.  Place 4 scallops around each salad.  Drizzle the plate with lemon juice and sliced green onions. Serve and enjoy!

Frank Giglio is the owner of Frank's Finest.  Frank is also the Executive Chef and Contributing Editor to The Best Day Ever.  You can find out more about Frank at www.frankgiglio.com.

When an article on obesity ends up in the Business section of the New York Times, you may think, now they’re paying attention.  Obesity has received a lot of press in the past year.  However, television shows like Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, a high profile initiative by the First Lady, food taxes, and special reports by all the major news outlets, still cannot quell the rising number of overweight Americans.

“Eat less, move more”, “Say no to junk food”, “Calories In/Calories Out”.  These are the mantras of those trying to lose unwanted pounds.   Much of this is easy to understand from the health advocate’s standpoint; but, as this analysis from the New York Times suggests, it’s more than the high calorie food and lack of exercise that’s keeping Americans fat:  it’s the environment of our society. 

“Unfortunately, behavior changes won’t work on their own without seismic societal shifts…because eating too much and exercising too little are merely symptoms of a much larger malady. The real problem is a landscape littered with inexpensive fast-food meals; saturation advertising for fatty, sugary products; inner cities that lack supermarkets; and unhealthy, high-stress workplaces.”

Fast food is cheaper than healthy food.  So, cutting government food subsidies that promote an obesogenic environment is one suggested way to lower those climbing rates of overweight Americans.  Yet another popular method to combat the problem is getting the private sector involved in workplace wellness programs; having healthy employees is advantageous for the employer.  The British are placing restrictions on advertising unhealthy foods during children’s programming and making cooking classes mandatory by 2011 for all school children ages 11-14. 

All great suggestions.   Our work and mission are being acknowledged.  Now it’s time to call for action.  Please submit your comments and suggestions. 

At Integrative Nutrition we certainly believe in having a career that you love and feeling energized by the work that you do. However, no matter how much you love your job, we all need vacation time to reboot! In a recent Huffington Post article, they suggest that most people go on vacation but don’t actually end up resting their body and mind in the ways that they need to.

Relaxation is a critical part of being a successful and productive person. Generally when people are overloaded with work and family obligations they are not able to perform to their highest potential. Here are some of our tips on how to really relax on your next vacation (even if it is a “stay-cation”).

1.      Stop checking. This includes, but is not limited to: watches, cell phones, Twitter, Facebook, emails, your favorite blogs, even the news! The world will go on without you and that’s okay. Set your out of office reply and let everyone know that you are taking time (even just a day) to yourself.

2.      Sleep. As much as you want to see and do on your vacation, take this precious ooportunity to add rest to your relaxation time. 

3.      Start moving. For many of us, work includes staying in one place for a long period of time. When on vacation try to get your body moving in ways it isn’t used to. Go dancing, biking, hiking, sky diving, and walking.

4.      Engage yourself in your new surroundings. Even if you are just staying home, go somewhere in your area that you’ve never been. Don’t try to see every single tourist attraction, but when you do see something new, appreciate it.

How do you relax on vacation?

Crack! The egg bursts onto the pan and shines like the sunrise.  A familiar visual for many, eggs are an integral part of the American diet, but many of us don’t think twice about what kind of hens those eggs come from.   In a recent New York Times article, and across the media, the discussion of caged hens has become an important debate.

Farmers with large egg farms (farms that house 4 million hens, yielding 3 million eggs per day) believe that caged chickens are just as functional as hens kept outside of cages.  However, “extreme caging methods” are being banned in California and are up for review in Ohio, calling into question the factory farming methods that are used. 

Many animal rights advocates believe that the lives of these caged chickens are subpar. They can hardly move, let alone roam free as they would in their natural habitat.

The debate is contentious, especially because eggs create a large portion of school lunches and 90% of eggs consumed by the American population come from these large farms.  Is there a way to feed our population while still respecting the animals that provide for us?  What do you think?

Many people shop labels.  Whether its high fashion or expensive cars, a label costs more; it means something to the consumer.  Food is no different.  People who care about the quality of the food they put in their body read labels.  If a label reads “high fructose corn syrup” or “trans fat” an informed consumer will bypass this product.  Whether a food has an organic label or not is also important information for today’s foodies.  If a product has the seal “USDA Organic” the consumer knows that the food was grown or prepared using organic practices and ingredients; however, the producer has paid a fee to the government to obtain that certification. 

Many small farmers cannot afford the high cost of the government’s organic label.  According to the Organic Trade Association, referenced in this article on Change.org, 92 percent of organic food sold in this country is sold by mass markets, like Wal-Mart, Costco, or grocery store chains.  By comparison, only 8 percent comes from farmers markets, co-ops, or CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture). 

Quite often the small farmers have organic growing practices; they just don’t pay for the expensive label.  How do you get this important information?  It’s easy; simply start a conversation with the person you are buying your food from.  When you visit the farmers market and you see they do not have an organic label, ask why?   Ask them about their growing practices.   Do they use pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals?  You won’t know until you ask. 

Do you only shop for products with the “USDA Organic” label?  Do local farmers in your area provide an opportunity to talk about their growing practices?  What are your conversations like?

                                                                                                                                                                                           One of the major health problems facing our country today is the epidemic of obesity. Unfortunately, experts on obesity are turning toward an unsustainable and potentially dangerous solution to this problem.  According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, citing the June issue of the medical journal Obesity, doctors are recommending a “minimally invasive weight loss surgery” to combat the obesity problem.

This is disappointing news; not only because the number of overweight children in the United States has tripled in the last 30 years.

Since obesity has hit alarming rates, physicians are scrambling for a quick fix.  The solution is actually very simple: start in the early years and create a diet for your child that is full of whole foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals.  Make sure they get physical activity everyday and diversify your meal choices.  Instead of white rice or other refined grains choose quinoa, bulgur, or buckwheat.  Processed foods that contain additives, like high fructose corn syrup, will only perpetuate the obesity problem in our country.

Remember that quick fix solutions do not generally result in long-term success. If you fix the problem at its source, you are more likely to create a lasting change. In this case, the diets of children in the US must be changed or an entire generation will remain at risk of diabetes, heart disease, and countless other problems. 

What are your thoughts on weight loss surgery as a soulution to the obesity problem?

Raw milk has become such a hot topic of debate recently; police are even getting involved.   Rawesome Foods, a natural food store in Venice, California, was the target of a police raid that confiscated over $10,000 worth of raw dairy products.  Is raw dairy a do or a don’t?  Check out both sides of the argument and give us your opinion on this dairy dilemma.

Do: Raw food enthusiasts believe that raw milk contains important bacteria that build up the immune system and prevent allergies as well as lactose intolerance. Since raw milk is banned in many states, people will drive for hours to buy raw milk from farms in neighboring states. Those who support raw milk believe that pasteurization kills not only the dangerous bacteria, which may or may not be harmful, but also the important nutrients that are in the milk in its purest form. They consider it a superfood full of nutrients and beneficial enzymes. 

Don’t: Others are happy to stick with the milk that is readily available at grocery stores throughout the country. The dangers are very real, they believe, and it is not worth the risk to drink milk raw. Bacteria found in raw milk such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria can make people sick or even be lethal.

What do you think? Should pasteurization be legally necessary for all milk products? Should the bans on raw milk in some states be lifted?

You can listen to the story on NPR’s All things Considered here.