Serving: 2 waffles

Batter Ingredients:

• ½ cup Shiloh Farms Fine Wheat Bran
• 2 organic egg whites (or ¼ cup liquid egg whites, I like Pete & Gerry’s organic egg whites)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ cup almond milk
• dash of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cacao powder (optional for chocolate waffles)

Directions:

1. Spray waffle iron generously with 100% EVOO spray or Avocado oil spray.
2. Mix all ingredients into a smooth batter.
3. Add batter to the waffle maker and spread with spatula. Cook until very crispy. Carefully remove with a dull knife or spatula.

Every spa has a signature granola recipe. The one I love is the recipe from the Ranch in Malibu, California, that I adapted for Smart Life meal plans. I enjoy this granola over unsweetened coconut milk yogurt or with unsweetened oat milk. This granola can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. You can switch up the nuts and dried fruit to suit your family favorites.

Makes about 10 cups (20 servings)

Ingredients

• Unrefined virgin coconut oil, for brushing (or use spray)
• 3 cups walnut halves
• 2 cups steel-cut oats
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• ¾ cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup dried fruit, chopped (choose your favorite or mix dried apricots, dried blueberries, cranberries, golden raisins or dried dates)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275F. Spray or brush parchment lined baking sheet with coconut oil.
2. In a large bowl, mix the walnuts, oats, pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites and maple syrup. Use a fork to create less foam. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and mix to coat evenly.
4. Transfer the granola mixture to the baking sheet spreading it out. Bake for 25 minutes and then rotate and bake for another 25 min. Remove from the oven, add any dried fruit and mix with spatula, and then bake for another 25-30 min., until golden brown.
5. Let cool and store in glass containers.

SERVES 2

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup chia seeds
• 2 cups unsweetened dairy free milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in a mason jar, Leave overnight in the fridge, Consume the next morning (you can also warm the chia seed pudding and add cinnamon for those colder fall days).
• To make this chia pudding extra powerful, add pomegranate seeds, cacao nibs, fresh blueberries or goji berries.

What is Chia?

Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, grown in Mexico dating back to Mayan and Aztec cultures. “Chia” means strength, and folklore has it that these cultures used the tiny black and white seeds as an energy booster. That makes sense, as chia seeds are a concentrated food containing healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium.

Chia seeds are an unprocessed, whole-grain food that can be absorbed by the body as seeds (unlike flaxseeds). One ounce (about 2 tablespoons) contains 139 calories, 4 grams of protein, 9 grams fat, 12 grams carbohydrates and 11 grams of fiber, plus vitamins and minerals.

The mild, nutty flavor of chia seeds makes them easy to add to foods and beverages. They are most often sprinkled on cereal, sauces, vegetables, rice dishes, or yogurt or mixed into drinks and baked goods. They can also be mixed with water and made into a gel. 

Benefits of Eating Chia Seeds:

1. Help weight loss. Chia seeds are popular for weight loss. They reduce food cravings by preventing some of the food that you eat from getting absorbed into your system. This blockage of calorie absorption makes them a great diet helper.
2. Feel fuller faster: They can also help your diet by making you feel full. This is because they absorb 10 times their weight in water, forming a bulky gel.
3. Hydration for athletes: They are also great for athletes because the “chia gel” can hydrate the body.
4. Reduce your blood pressure: There’s evidence to suggest they can reduce blood pressure.
5. Omega-3: They are the richest plant source of Omega-3 (the vital fats that protect against inflammation—such as arthritis—and heart disease). In fact, they contain more Omega-3 than salmon!
6. Benefits for diabetes: Because chia seeds slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrates into simple sugars, studies indicate they can control blood sugar. This leads scientists to believe chia seeds may have great benefits for diabetics.
7. They are easier to digest than flax seeds, and don’t need to be ground up.

Here are some great ways to enjoy chia seeds:

• They can be eaten raw. (They have a nice “nutty” flavor.)
• They can be soaked in fruit juice (in Mexico, they call this “chia fresca”).
• They’re perfect in porridges and puddings.
• They make an ideal addition to baked goods including breads, cakes and biscuits.

How Many Chia Seeds Should You Eat? 

Two daily doses of about 20g each (1.5 ounces total).

Ingredients:

• 6 apples, peeled and chopped (your choice of apple, I used organic Pink Ladies)
• ¼  teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you like cinnamon like we do)
• About ½ cup of water to cover the bottom of pot

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a pot on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover with lid. 
2. Simmer apples for about 20 minutes or until soft. The smaller the pieces of chopped apple the faster cook time. 
3. Remove from heat and mash with potato masher for chunkier applesauce, or put in a food processor or blender for smoother texture.

You’ve probably heard before that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Indeed, Smart Life clients will hear me tell them to eat something within an hour of waking. There are tons of breakfast skippers out there. People report that they either don’t feel hungry in the morning or they don’t have enough time to fit in a meal. Whichever category you fit into, it’s time for a change. Here’s why:

1) Revs Up Metabolism: When you finally shut your eyes after a long day, your body finds sleep and happily settles into a resting metabolic mode. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) or Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the amount of calories your body requires at rest — usually about 1400 – 1900 calories — to perform the minimal requirements of your resting body. Your BMR/RMR requires fewer calories with age, but increased lean body mass actually increases your BMR/RMR, which means you burn more calories at rest if you have more lean muscle. In your resting state, your body is just metabolic enough to keep your heart rate slowly chugging along, your lungs gently inhaling and exhaling and your brain quietly functioning. By the time you wake in the morning, your metabolism is much slower than its normal daytime rhythm. Until you take your first bite of food for the day, you remain in a sort of “powered down” mode, with slower metabolic functioning in an effort to conserve energy (remember, you have been “fasting” since the night before.) This is where breakfast comes into play. Starting your day with a morning meal initiates thermogenesis, the metabolic process that gets your body going. There is also a process called the thermic effect of food, whereby your body burns calories to digest your food. You want to eat your breakfast so you will burn calories through digestion and boost your metabolism. Breakfast wakes up your metabolism, even if the rest of you isn’t ready to be up yet!

2) Promotes Weight Loss/Maintenance: The National Weight Control Registry is a log of men and women who have lost anywhere from 30 to 300 lbs and have kept it off for at least 5.5 years. One of the most striking characteristics of this group is their breakfast habits: 78% eat breakfast every day. Another study from The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported as of 2011, the percent of obese adults (BMI > 30) in America is 26.1% while the percent of obese adults in Germany is 13.7%. One reason for this difference? Over 75% of Germans eat breakfast every day, while only 44% of Americans do.

Besides the stats, it makes sense why breakfast supports a healthy weight. A good way to illustrate this is to look at what happens when you don’t have breakfast. People think skipping breakfast is an easy way to save calories. This brings us back to thermogenesis. First and foremost, skipping breakfast means you don’t initiate the process of thermogenesis — the car is idling, but not going anywhere. This programs your body to run on less calories because your body is not burning calories in the process of thermogenesis. Having a slow metabolism while you are awake and going about your day is inefficient. To build on this, your body interprets the lack of morning food-fuel as “starvation” mode and won’t really get out of that BMR/RMR state and into a more thermogenic or metabolic state until you put some fuel in the tank. In other words, when you don’t eat breakfast you’re saying to your body “Don’t burn so much energy! I don’t know when my next meal is.”

Hunger, or readiness to eat, is actually a good thing. It tells you that your body has used and burned the fuel you’ve eaten and it’s time to put gas in the tank. Feeling famished, on the other hand — especially because it’s lunchtime and you haven’t had a thing to eat yet — is not a good feeling and not good for your body. This results in overeating most of the time. You may help yourself to an extra large lunch (it’s okay because ‘you saved calories by skipping breakfast’, right?), amounting to more calories overall than you would have eaten if you’d had a sensible breakfast. Keep in mind that you do not become more metabolically active or have increased thermogenic effects of food from a large meal. This is one reason why smaller, more frequent meals are better than a couple of large ones: you keep burning energy digesting your food. In other words, if you skip meals, your metabolism is not at it’s max and you eat more. Double whammy!

3) Keeps Hunger Hormones in Check: Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, runs rampant through your body during fasting and energy restriction. It’s your body’s natural way of communicating when it needs energy. Ghrelin levels only decrease with food intake. Studies show that even a “light” breakfast of carbohydrates, protein, and fat significantly reduces ghrelin levels in your body. This is why you stop feeling hungry after a (nutritious!) meal. Of course, ghrelin levels will decrease after any energy intake, but they will stay lower longer with a nutrient dense meal (think eggs with spinach or a nutritious green smoothie).

4) Sets You Up For Smarter Choices all Day: Breakfast is the foundation for your day, and you want your breakfast to contain high quality, nutrient-dense foods. Laying a good foundation with a lean protein, healthful fat and fiber combination will give you a good start to build on for the rest of your day of eating. Protein and fat provide satiety and fiber keeps you full. If you start the day with a spinach omelet and sliced veggies, you’ll feel good going into your day, the protein will keep you satisfied, and the fiber will keep you full. Starting with a muffin or donut will make you feel lousy, and more inclined to say “yes” to the fast food, instead of the salad.

Despite some contradictory research, I am a strong breakfast believer. Thinking critically, it makes sense to me based on thermogenesis research and my experience that breakfast sets a good foundation for a healthful diet. My most successful clients eat some version of breakfast regularly. Keep in mind, you do not need a feast to call it breakfast. For those who are reluctant to eat breakfast, a morning “snack” may be a good choice — an apple with a smear of almond butter or a small smoothie will suffice to kick start your metabolism.

So go ahead and set your alarm clock a little earlier and enjoy a filling, nutritious breakfast every single morning. You’ll see its benefits throughout your day and soon enough, you’ll be a breakfast believer too.

Your Smart Life Breakfast can look like this:

Option 1: Two organic eggs (scrambled, soft, fried, or hard-boiled) with spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and celery (or other raw veggies of your choice as long as you include some dark greens).

Option 2: 1 cup nut-milk yogurt (almond, cashew, coconut), with 3 tablespoons of seeds (chia, ground flax, hemp) with ¼ cup sliced almonds, ½ cup organic berries. (* you can replace the seeds with ½ cup high fiber cereal, such as Nature’s Path Smart Bran* ).

Option 3: Green Smoothie: 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 2 cups spinach, 1 cup frozen organic blueberries, 2 teaspoons almond butter, 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed, water or ice to taste.

*In general, I am not a huge fan of most cereals, however, many people enjoy eating cereal and there are better-for-you options out there, such as the Nature’s Path product mentioned above. When choosing a nutritious cereal, it all comes down to the ingredient list. Choose products with a short list of wholesome ingredients, such as ancient grains, chia and flax. Avoid products that pack soy protein isolates and several different types of sweeteners. As a general rule, cereals with at least 5 grams of fiber and less than 8 grams of sugar per serving are better choices.

One of my family’s favorite breakfast/brunch dishes is baked eggs which is really easy to make and a great way to add lots of vegetables to the protein rich eggs. The only trick to baking eggs is to pay attention when baking and pull the dish out when the eggs are cooked to your liking. This recipe with cherry tomatoes was great because I used our homegrown cherry tomatoes. The sweetness of homegrown tomatoes at the peak season of late summer is so satisfying and brings out the best taste of every dish.

Watch my video to learn how to quickly halve cherry tomatoes! This is one of the Smart Life quick tips my clients absolutely love!

Ingredients

• 2 -3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved.
• 3 Tablespoons Basil leaves, chiffonade
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
• 3 Tablespoons grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 6 organic fresh eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Arrange halved cherry tomatoes in an even layer in a medium sized baking dish or an ovenproof skillet (I like to use my Scanpan)
3. Bake for 15-18 minutes until tomatoes are somewhat blistered (if a lot of liquid gets released, carefully pour off a little).
4. In a small dish, mix the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
5. Top the tomatoes with olive oil mixture and spread the spinach over the tomatoes. Top with grated cheese (optional).
6. Gently crack the eggs over the tomatoes and veggies, keeping yolks intact.
7. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the cooked eggs with more sea salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of basil.

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsweetened nut milk (almond, coconut, cashew) – calcium
• 2 cups dandelion greens – liver support
• 1 cup spinach – alkalizing, iron
• 2 Tablespoons parsley – liver support
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice – alkalizing and liver support
• 2 Tablespoons flaxseed – regulates estrogen
• 1 teaspoon camu – vitamin C
• 1 Tablespoons pecans – fats and fiber
• 2 Tablespoons nut butter – fat and protein
• 1 Tablespoon raw maple syrup – polyphenol antioxidants

Directions

Blend all ingredients in blender and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free oats (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 over ripe banana
• 5 cups almond milk, rice milk or flax seed milk
• 2 Tablespoon raw honey or maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 Tablespoon sunflower seeds
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin seeds
• Options for toppings: Blueberries, raspberries, cacao nibs, goji berries

Directions:

1. Mash up the banana in a mixing bowl with the almond milk and then add in the oats, seeds, chia seeds and sweetener and stir together.
2. Place the bowl in the fridge and allow it to thicken overnight.
3. Top with fresh fruit, cacao nibs, goji berries and enjoy.

This Mother’s Day frittata is just as big on flavor as it is on nutrients, thanks to loads of organic vegetables, fresh herbs and protein- and omega 2-rich eggs. It’s also a fantastic base recipe that you can customize according to mom’s palate. Super simple, this dish is perfect for weeknights when you’re cleaning out what’s left in your crisper.

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• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 large organic eggs
• 2 organic egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 ounces grated vegan cheese or Italian Parmigiano Reggiano

1. Preheat the oven to broil.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add garlic, cook for 1 minute. Do not allow garlic to brown or it turns bitter. Add zucchini; cook 3 minutes and add the cherry tomatoes. Cook veggies until tender, stirring continuously. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, egg whites and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the zucchini and cook until the eggs begin to set, about 3 minutes.
4. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the top. Place pan under the broiler for 3 minutes or until the frittata rises slightly and becomes light and settled. Eggs should not be runny. Transfer to a serving plate, cut into pie-shaped wedges and serve. I love it paired with the Spring Green Salad.

This powerful, filling and fiber-rich breakfast will hold you over on days when you’re expecting to eat a late-afternoon lunch. The oat milk lasts three days in your refrigerator when stored in a sealed glass jar.

Not keen on oats or simply prefer seeds or nuts? Just replace the oats with the same quantity of seeds or nuts and blend in their place. Almonds, brazils and hazelnuts need soaking overnight, whereas cashews absorb water more quickly so they only need about three hours of soaking.

Oat milk

1 cup whole oats or raw nuts (soaked in tap water)

1 liter spring or filtered water

2 teaspoons coconut oil

1 drop vanilla extract

2 dates

Muesli & Super Foods

½ cup sugar-free muesli

2 tablespoons Goji berries

1 to 2 tablespoons omega 3-rich seeds (hemp, flax or chia)

To prepare the oat milk:

Soak the oats in tap water for 2 hours and drain. Add the oats and spring or filtered water to a blender and liquidize until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for another 30 seconds.

To prepare the rest of the dish:

Pour 1 cup of the oat milk over the sugar-free muesli. Top with Goji berries and seeds.