Our Wellness Blog

Coconut date balls:
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup pitted dates
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup shredded coconut-choose organic
In a food processor or blender grind almonds-not too fine or you'll have almond butter
Add dates and lemon juice and blend again
Form mix into balls in your palm, then roll in coconut to cover
These are amazing! Better than munchkins!

For many families, December is a busy and sometimes stressful time of year. Holiday preparation adds worry, and mid-year school assessments may leave parents looking for more support for their children. Brain Integration Therapy (BIT) can help. BIT can reset adults' and children's brain patterns to alleviate stress, anxiety, and learning challenges. BIT actually changes the electromagnetic flow of information to the brain, opening blocked neural pathways for optimum brain function.

Call WholeBody Solutions and book your BIT appointment with Liz today!

www.wholebodysolutions.org
617-328-6300

Put that diet soda (or diet anything) down. Vote with your dollars and show the companies that you are smarter than they are. Drink sparkling water with lime, lemon, pomegranate, cranberry, or another organic fruit juice splashed in. Add mint and you have a true healthy "soda" without the chemicals. Every part of your body will thank you, since it is all connected.

Simple Curried Chickpea Millet Coconut Soup

3 cans (I use Eden brand) Chick peas (rinsed and drained)
1 cup millet (rinsed and drained)
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 14 or 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sea salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb greens – kale, collards, mustard greens, or Swiss chard
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk

Put the millet in a pan and cover with 3 cups salted water. Cover, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20-25 minutes or until water has evaporated. Set aside.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
Add the broth, drained chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, and sea salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add the greens and stir until wilted. Add millet and coconut milk. Stir and cook until hot. Season to taste.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Grain Free, Paleo, Primal, Gaps, Gluten Free)
Serving Size: Serves 6
Adapted from In a Garden

Ingredients

2 quarts chicken stock

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 stalks celery, chopped

6 carrots, chopped

16 ounces kelp noodles

1/4 cup chopped green onion or parsley

Celtic sea salt

Instructions
Pour chicken stock into a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add chicken breasts, celery, carrots and noodles and cook for about 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Using a pair of tongs, remove chicken from the soup and cut into bite-size pieces. Add chicken back to pot. Season soup with sea salt if needed. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with green onion.
*Kelp noodles are made from from sea kelp. “They are high in minerals and low in calories. Their unique texture is perfect in salad with thinly sliced vegetables. Served hot in broth, they lose their pleasant crunch, but soften and absorb flavors well.”

Sweet Potato Quiche with a Cashew Crust
CRUST

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg
1 tablespoon flax meal
1/4 cup finely chopped cashews
1 tablespoon oil
Instructions:

Cook the rice until its on the softer side. Mix in the rice with the egg, flax meal, cashews and oil. In a small to medium pie dish, press the dough so that it is distributed evenly and with even thickness. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and follow filling instructions.
FILLING

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato
1/2 white onion
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 eggs
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground clover
pinch of ground sage
pinch of nutmeg
Instructions:

Peel the sweet potato and then boil in water until fully cooked. Chop the onion and saute the pieces on medium in the canola oil. Mash the sweet potato in a medium mixing bowl. Add the onions and eggs. Then whip. Make sure the eggs are really well beat, even though they’re with the potatoes. Add the spices and mix some more. Wash the fresh spinach really well, and shake off any extra water. Rip the spinach into smaller pieces and mix into the batter. Pour the batter into the pre-made pie crust and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. (if you choose to make mini crustless quiche – you only need to bake those for 20 minutes.)

Vegetable Tian
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serving Size: Serves 4
Adapted from Barefoot in Paris
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 large zucchini, sliced into thin coins
6-7 small yukon or yellow potatoes, sliced into thin coins
4-5 Roma tomatoes, sliced into thin coins
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Celtic sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gouda or Pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and adjust rack to middle position. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and cook for about 10 minutes until soft and just beginning to caramelize. Add garlic and thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Spread onion mixture in the bottom of an 10-inch diameter baking dish.
Layer tomatoes, potatoes and zucchini in alternating layers (as shown in photo above). Drizzle with olive oil and season with thyme, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Place a piece of parchment paper over dish followed by a piece of foil (I do this because I prefer that the aluminum doesn't touch the food). Wrap the foil tightly around the dish. Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and parchment and bake for an additional 25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Serve.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa Peppers (or any veggie you like: broccoli, kale, etc.) Part I:
1 cup dry Quinoa – rinsed well, put in a pot with 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover and turn to low simmer for 15 minutes. Take off heat and put aside for later.

Part II:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders

4 tablespoon garlic flavored/infused olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 handful of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

sea salt & pepper

Cut chicken into 1” pieces. Heat large non-stick skillet over high heat and add oil. Add chicken and brown for 5 minutes. Add
onions, bell peppers, sauté 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until peppers are slightly soft but still brightly colored 1-2 minutes.
Season with sea salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add basil leaves and Quinoa. Toss until basil wilts and sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.
Serves 4.

Stuffed Acorn Squash (Grain-Free, Paleo, Gaps)
Serving Size: Serves 4
Adapted from Chow.
Ingredients
For the Squash:
2 acorn squash, cut in half pole-to-pole, seeds removed
1 tablespoons ghee, melted
1 tablespoon honey
Celtic sea salt
For the filling:
4 tablespoons ghee
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups "riced" cauliflower*
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1/3 cup pecans
1/4 cup plumped raisins** 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Place squash, cut-side up, on a baking sheet. Combine ghee and honey then brush the squash with the mixture using a pastry brush. Season with sea salt. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons ghee in a large sauté pan and swirl to coat. Add onion and celery then cook, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes until soft. Stir in cauliflower and cook for 3-4 minutes until hot. Stir in thyme, pecans, raisins, sea salt and pepper. Spoon filling into acorn squash and roast for 20 minutes. Serve.
*To rice cauliflower: Cut cauliflower into bite-size pieces and place half of the pieces in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 12-15 times until cauliflower is the size of rice. Repeat. As an alternative, you can grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater or chop finely with a large chef's knife. **To plump raisins: Place raisins and 1/4 cup juice (orange, apple, even kombucha works!) in a small saucepan. Bring to a low simmer. Turn off heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove raisins.

Basil Hummus

Basil hummus dip made with garbanzo beans, puréed with fresh basil, olive oil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, and lemon. • Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 5 minutes
• Yield: Makes about 3 cups of hummus.

INGREDIENTS • 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 cups sweet basil leaves, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed then minced
• 2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained*
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Up to 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
• Several dashes Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste * Instructions using dry garbanzo beans instead of canned. You will need about 1 1/4 cup of dried beans to make enough beans for this recipe. Soak them overnight in a pot covered by a couple inches of water. The next day, drain the water and add fresh water, again covering the beans by a couple inches. You might want to put a couple garlic cloves in the water for flavor. Bring to a simmer, and simmer on low heat for several hours, until the beans are tender but still whole. Remove any foam that bubbles to the surface during the cooking. Drain the beans and proceed with the recipe.
METHOD

1 Heat the pine nuts in a small skillet on medium high heat. Stir them when they start to brown. When most of them have lightly browned, remove them from the pan into a bowl to cool. (Reserve a few pine nuts for garnish.)
2 In the bowl of a food processor, place the basil leaves and the garlic. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, most of the pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, tomato paste, and a few dashes of Tabasco. Pulse several times, for several seconds each time, until the hummus is smooth. Add more Tabasco and salt or lemon juice to taste. Add water to the point of desired consistency.

To serve, place in a bowl and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Sprinkle with a few toasted pine nuts. Serve with pita wedges, crackers, or rustic bread. ENJOY : )