Best Healing Postpartum Foods + 4 Favorite Recipes

I recently shared 10 tips that helped me recover after birthing my children, and now I want to delve a little deeper into the FOODS that have helped me during this “4th trimester” to nourish myself, heal, promote healthy digestion, and keep up my energy (despite sleepless nights).

I promise that what you eat makes all the difference in your recovery! A healthy nourishing postartum diet is important to: 

  • Replenish nutrients depleted during pregnancy 

  • Support a successful and speedy recovery from birth 

  • Create a healthy supply of (and good quality) breastmilk 

  • Support hormonal balance

Here are the key HEALING FOODS that I was eating daily in my first 40 days postpartum (and continue to enjoy almost daily during my “4th trimester”), and 4 of my go-to recovery RECIPES.

Read More

Easiest Protein Yogurt Chia Parfait

I’m sharing one of my favorite quick and easy healthy breakifasts for those days when you don’t have time to prep your usual breakfast.

NOTE: This recipe is amazing for both gut/digestive health and for balancing hormones (and is of course pregnancy and pospoartum friendly).

Yogurt Chia Almond Butter Berry Bowl

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 cup unsweetened vegan coconut yogurt OR plain Greek yogurt if you tolerate dairy

  • ½ - 1 scoop unflavored (or vanilla) protein powder or collagen peptides *(see note below)

  • 1 ½ tbsp chia seeds OR ¼ cup chia pudding *(see note below)

  • 1 to 1½ tbsp almond butter (option to swap for another nut/seed butter)

  • ½ cup frozen blueberries, strawberries OR cherries, microwaved for 30 seconds (can also use fresh!)

  • optional: 1-2 tablespoons low-glycemic granola

Instructions: Add all ingredients to a bowl and enjoy! *see blog for many tips, subsitutions, etc.

Read More

A delicious, colorful & flavorful salad you'll love

I’m sharing one of my favorite salad bowl recipes - Mediterranean Salad Bowl (inspired by a BeingBrigid recipe) - that is packed with fiber, protein, healthy fats, but also rich in colorful, antioxidant-rich veggies that help promote longevity and better immunity (among many other benefits). It’s easy and delicious, and one of my favorite meals for a hot summer day, or when I’m ovulating.

Read More

Your new Favorite Healthy Tacos 3 ways: Fish, Shrimp & Vegan Tacos

I love to do “Taco Tuesdays” and alternate between fish tacos, shrimp tacos and vegan tacos. All three are delicious, and I keep them low-carb by using homemade almond flour tortillas (or I buy the Siete grain-free tortillas). Also, I make sure to ALWAYS add a healthy homemade sauce (my creamy cilantro sauce is vegan and delicious!) and some greens and/or veggies to keep them extra-nutritious, fiber-rich and balanced.

Read my blog for my 3 go-to Taco Recipes (FISH, SHRIMP and VEGAN tacos).

Note: all 3 recipes are high in protein, fiber and healthy fats to support optimal blood sugar balance (plus great for your gut and “anti-inflammatory” as they’re dairy-free and gluten-free).

Read More

Healthy Burgers - 4 ways (gluten free and low carb!)

One of the main ways I like to enjoy red meat is making homemade burgers.

Burgers can actually be very healthy, as long as you choose lean, grass-fed beef, make them at home, and use healthier alternatives to serve your burgers (vs. standard bread and french fries!).

I alternate making burgers with healthier, more nutrient-dense and lower-carb alternatives for bread, including:

  • grilled eggplant “bread”

  • roasted large portobello mushroom “bread”

  • roasted sweet potato “bread”

  • large plantain “tostones” as bread (air fried vs. deep fried)

Also, I ALWAYS serve my burgers with salad and/or extra veggies, and use organic ketchup with no sugar added, mayo with avocado oil (with NO highly processed vegetable oils!), and organic mustard.

Here is my go-to burger recipe, with 4 different replacements for bread (Note: the plantain “bread” is the least healthy / most carbs, so it’s the one I make more for my husband!)

Read More

World Health Day: 4 ways to embrace it and support your health

Happy World Health Day - a special day (April 7th) that serves as a reminder to prioritize our physical, mental and social health and wellbeing.

For me personally, my definition and understanding of health has changed a lot over these past 20 years since I’ve been immersed in the health and wellness world.

Given my journey, personal experience and years as a health caoch, this year I’ve drawn 4 key conclusions on how we can best prioritize our health (and then I share 4 things you can start doing today to put in practice)!

Read More

March: National Nutrition Month - 6 nutrition tips for optimal health

March is National Nutrition Month, a month to help increase awareness about the importance of good nutrition for improving your overall health. Making healthy food choices and improving your eating habits (in combination with incorporating more physical activity and stress reduction into your lifestyle) can help prevent many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. And of course, it will help you LOOK and FEEL better, have more confidence and be happier!

Here are 6 of my best tips to help you make healthier nutrition choices (to minimize risk of disease, reach and maintain your ideal weight, and feel better in your body overall).

Read More

3 Easy, Quick, Low-Carb Dinners

After a long day of work, we’re tired and have little brain capacity left to think of what healthy meals to make, so we often go for the easiest, quick, carb-based dishes like tortilla with cheese, or pasta, or order takeout from restaurants (which often contains processed carbs, even hidden sugars and inflammatory oils).

But these dinners can wreak havoc on our health!

Plus, we are generally, more susceptible to blood sugar spikes at night, so it’s even more important to be careful with carbs at dinner time. Focusing on blood-sugar balancing meals at dinnertime is KEY for our metabolic health, our weight, our sleep and our energy levels.

The good news is, there are many healthy, delicious low-carb dinner recipes that are also super easy, quick, and loaded with flavor and nutrients to support our health, and filling enough to satisfy us after a long day.

Today I’m sharing 3 of my favorite low-carb dinners (actually 4 recipes!) that keep my blood sugar stable and are super quick and simple to make! PLUS, they are moslty detox-friendly!

  1. LETTUCE CUPS – two ways

    1. LETTUCE CUPS WITH EGG SALAD

    2. LETTUCE CUPS WITH TUNA SALAD (OR CHICKEN OR CHICKPEA SALAD)

  2. EGGS WITH GREENS AND BEANS

  3. CREAMY ONE POT CAULIFLOWER SOUP - WITH SEED CRACKERS AND VEGAN CHEESE*

*the soup is the only recipe that takes more than 10 minutes, BUT the recipe makes 3 to 4 portions so it’s great to make once and enjoy twice in the week (and its still one of the quickest soups to make, and all in one pot).

Read More

15 Healthy Snacks for Kids

Today i’m sharing my basic guidelines for holisitic nutrition - aplicable for toddlers and kids - plus 15 healthy homemade snack ideas for babies and kids, and 8 more healthy packaged snacks to buy (with links to amazon!)

Read More

A Day of Healthy, Blood-Sugar Stabilizing Meals

The foods we eat have SO MUCH power over our blood sugar, hormones, weight, mood, energy, and essentially, our overall health and happiness. If we want to FEEL good (and LOOK good!), we have to focus on eating heathy, balanced meals that help keep blood-sugar stable.

What does a day of glucose-stabilizing meals look like?

Here is one of my go-to days of blood-sugar balancing delicious meals (which I enjoy in large portions, with dessert, too!):

Upon rising: Lemon water + probiotics (and sometimes glass of AG1 greens)

Read More

How to Eat Carbs Without Fear

Carbs can be found in SO many foods, ranging from highly processed foods (with NO meaningful nutrition!), to vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains that are rich in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.

Some carbs are definitely more beneficial than others - though many factors play a role in determining this, including portion sizes, presentation, preparation, and even your own gut. To keep it simple, generally, the less refined the food, the better.

It’s important to remember that in moderate amounts, whole food carbs like fruits, vegetables, beans/legumes and whole grains can be excellent for our overall health, especially if we eat them right.

Read my blog to learn the different categories of carbs in terms of how often to eat them (ranging from always, often, less often to avoid) and TIPS for eating them to better support our metabolic health.

Read More

Holistic Health & Bioindividuality Principles: 11 Steps

I like to share various “health & wellness tools” that have worked for me and many of my clients. I may educate on reserched benefits of some of nature’s superfoods, as well as share tips and suggestions that generally support a healthy DIGESTION, HORMONAL REGULATION, BLOOD SUGAR BALANCE, and overall better health. However, everyone is different and it’s so important to honor your bioindividuality, so if anything doesn’t ring true to you, then do NOT apply it!

Try to place more focus on being healthy and FEELING good versus just losing weight. Enjoy your (healthy) food, enjoy your exercise, and view any/all of your healthy habits as ways to give LOVE to your beautiful, unique body. DO NOT do anything that is making you suffer.

With that in mind, here are 11 health & wellness “guidelines” that I follow and believe in…

Read More

Constipation Relief Smoothie

For those days when you feel a little “backed up” and need some help going to the bathroom, this delicious green smoothie is a great way to support your digestion and get you some good bowel movements!

Read More

8 foods to protect your skin from sun damage

You can spend all you want on improving your skin from the outside, but to get the best results, you also need to focus on improving your skin health from the INSIDE.

If you want beautiful skin, you need to start ADDING BEAUTY-PROMOTING FOODS into your daily diet (as well as reduce the foods that lead to oxidative stress and contribute to aging and inflammation).

This also applies to SUN-CARE. You can literally use food as sunscreen (in combination with your physical/mineral sunscreen of course). Apart from applying a good nontoxic sunscreen daily, it helps to consume certain foods that can help to protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun's UV rays. 

READ MORE for eight foods rich in phytonutrients that may help protect your skin from sun damage, and promote healthy, beautiful skin.

Read More

Low Sugar Smoothie Bowl for Energy, good Digestion and Immunity

How you start off your morning HUGELY impacts how you feel the rest of the day - in terms of digestion, energy, motivation and your metabolism/weight.

Today I’m sharing a delicious smoothe bowl recipe that helps STABILIZE BLOOD SUGAR, BOOST ENERGY, BALANCE HORMONES, IMPROVE IMMUNITY and can support WEIGHT LOSS.

Read More

Healthy Fats 101: The bad, the good, and the best

Fat is necessary for your health, and a great long-lasting FUEL. (Of course, how much you need varies person by person).

Healthy fats can help with weight loss, reduce the risk of heart disease and decrease inflammation (as long as you’re eating the right ones!). They’re also necessary for absorption of many nutrients (you’ve probably heard of fat-soluble vitamins which means we need fat in our meals to absorb these vitamins), and they’re essential for your brain, balanced hormones, healthy skin/hair, reducing stress, and so much more.

If you eat more healthy fats - and cut out unhealthy carbs - you can burn more fat, have less cravings, boost your brain, age better and have less inflammation!

But like most everything, there are good options, bad options, and amazing options. READ MORE to learn which healthy fats I recommend and why.

Read More