ICON MEALS Healthy Meals For When You Don't Have Time to Cook at Home

Those of you who have read my book Hungry For Health, Starved For Time , follow my Harmonious Health Facebook Page or my Instagram  know how much I value home cooking. I agree with Michael Pollan who notes in his book "Cooked",  that "it's the collapse of home cooking that led directly to the obesity epidemic." My book shares examples of why it is worth investing a little time in the kitchen, and my Health Coaching Programs all focus on simple recipes that will nourish us and make the cooking process more enjoyable. 

That said, I of course understand the busy person's struggle to always eat a healthy home cooked meal. I have been researching a lot of different options to see if I could come up with suggestions for my clients who are in a pinch now and then and need to eat an already prepared meal.  I had not been pleased with many of the options I came across from these meal delivery companies until now! I am pleased to introduce ICON Meals to all of you.

ICON Meals understands the importance of good health and their chefs use the best ingredients that I have ever seen from any of these type of companies. Their meats are grass fed, antibiotic and preservative free and their produce is organic. Their meals are all freshly prepared and they source and use local ingredients and have a new menu weekly. ICON has great options for breakfast, lunch or dinner, that can all be delivered anywhere in the U. S. at just $7 a meal with no minimum order.

I learned about ICON Meals when I spoke here in Dallas at a local American Diabetes Association Event and met their Director of Retail Operations Patricia Cox. Patricia and I hit it off and she graciously invited me to visit ICON Meals headquarters and storefront located here in Frisco Texas. Patricia and Matthew Knudson, Director of Sales at ICON gave me a tour of the facility and the kitchen and I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the facility and their entire operation. 

Posing with Patricia and Matt in front of the ICON Meals storefront where you can see all the delicious refrigerated meals behind us!

They were kind enough to send me home with some delicious meal samples. Here are some my family and I loved trying:

BBQ BRISKET WITH BAKED POTATO AND GREEN BEANS

CHICKEN AND RICE

CHICKEN AND VEGGIES

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN TACOS (MY DAUGHTERS FAVORITE)

ICON Meals also sent me home with their Protein Power Popcorn and their Protein Cookies.  My daughter loved the chocolate chip cookie, and I liked the fact that she was getting some protein in her snack. They also offer Protein Pancakes for breakfast, Protein Pizza and even Protein Cake Balls for dessert.

With a menu that changes every week, you can place an order for delivery and either pick up your meals if you are local and prefer, or have your meals delivered. The great thing about ICON is there is no minimum order for delivery and you do not have to commit every week to deliveries (which I love so you can still do some good 'ol HOME COOKING). Asian Beef and Broccoli, Chipotle Lime Chicken, Chicken Fajita Bowl, Chicken Stir Fry and Glazed Turkey Meatballs are just some of the items you can find on their rotating menu. Meals are very reasonably priced as I mentioned above at $7 per meal, and you can also create your own custom meals with sides like Cilantro Lime Brown Rice, Sweet Potato Mash, Quinoa and delicious veggies!

If you are interested in checking out ICON Meals, here is the link and if you use the code TRYICON you can receive 10% off your first purchase.

You deserve better than drive-thru dinners on the nights you can not cook, ICON Meals offers simple, convenient fresh and affordable meals for the athlete, busy professional and busy family. With summer coming to an end, and lots of you with kids returning back to school, ICON Meals may be a good solution on those late nights when you have soccer practices and ballet carpools.  If you give them a try  Email Suzy  and share your thoughts with me.

Harmoniously yours,
Suzy
www.SuzyHarmoniousHealth.com

Is Your Poor Sleep Causing You to Gain Weight???

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, its more than just what you eat and how you exercise. The  quality of your sleep, how you deal with stress, and your emotional wellbeing also play a role in your overall health. Did you know there is an interface between nutrition with sleep and dreams, and that our eating impacts our sleep and our sleep impacts our eating, metabolism and weight?? Sleep is one of the cornerstones of good health, when we get a good night's sleep, our thoughts are clearer and our mood is more stable.

Hormones that trigger hunger and satiety are released in our bodies and properly balanced when we get a good night's sleep. This leads us to make better, healthier food choices the next day which leads to less physical discomfort and ultimately, less stress and fewer health issues. When our hormones are not balanced we are constantly feeling hungry and the hormone that messages our brain from our stomach is off and so we never feel full. Have you ever noticed that you are VERY hungry the next day after a poor night's sleep, and no matter how much you eat, you don't feel satisfied? This is due to imbalanced hormones from poor sleep.

We need to renegotiate our relationship with sleep and begin to value its importance to our health. The first step is making sure we have good sleep hygiene, which refers to the habits that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis. Here are some great natural, healthy tools which I use regularly to help regulate my sleep cycle, that don't involve pills that have dangerous side effects.

1) Try to unplug an hour before you need to sleep (so difficult but so important!).

2) GAME CHANGER!!!..This one pretty much has solved my sleep issues, try diffusing some lavender essential oil into the air to start to relax. Psychologists at Wesleyan University monitored sleep cycles in participants with brain scans and found that participants slept more soundly and felt more energized the next morning when they slept in a room where lavender essential oil was diffused in the air. They also found it increased slow-wave sleep, (the very deep sleep in which the heartbeat slows and the muscles relax), also the phase thought to help organize memory. My favorite essential oil diffuser is on sale now through the end of July, you can order it here Click on this link
and here is a link to order the lavender oil if you already have a diffuser Click here to order lavender oil

3) Try to take a warm bath before you go to bed, filling the tub with Epson salt to relax your muscles and also add some essential oils to help your body start to unwind. This will relax your central nervous system and the salts will replenish the magnesium levels in your body which often become depleted when we are under intense stress, eating a poor diet and not sleeping well. Here is the Bath Gel I love that is infused with essential oils)

4) Try some progressive muscle relaxation while lying in bed by tensing and relaxing each muscle group.

5) Listen to some soothing relaxing music to clear your head and lift your mood. SEE MY PREVIOUS POST ON MUSIC HEALING

6) Try to declutter your bedroom so you are not focusing on distractions and reminders of things you need to take care of. Have you read Marie Kondo's book "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up", a great book if parting with your belongings is hard for you!!

7) Practice some self-care rituals, rub hand lotion into your hands, massage your temples, or rub essential oil scented moisturizer into your arms and legs (Here is one I love, also on sale during July)

These extra steps you take in the evening investing in sleep hygiene rituals will pay you back with more productivity the next day.

Want to learn more all-natural, healthy techniques to improve your sleep EMAIL SUZY for a one hour Stress Buster Coaching Session. To learn how to do Progressive Muscles Relaxation, check out my book Hungry For Health, Starved for Time 

Now through the end of July, order a copy of "Hungry For Health", email the receipt to Suzy at harmonious health@sbcglobal.net and receive your FREE veggie cleaning brush and FREE  guide to cooking vegetables with recipes to jazz up your summer meals.

Harmoniously yours,
Suzy

Simple, Healthy, Delicious Home Made Granola Bars

Breakfast bars, granola bars, snack bars, meal replacement bars, diet bars, & power bars for sports are all the rage. They are super convenient and you can grab them for a portable snack, if you are running out the door and too late for breakfast at home, or to tide you over after a workout until you arrive home for dinner. It is amazing how many of these bars are available in the grocery store aisles.  While some of these bars are better than others, I find most have too many calories, too many grams of fat and sugar, and worst of all too many unnatural ingredients, especially high fructose corn syrup. 

I have been experimenting with a lot of recipes for homemade bars, but have not been able to find one that would hold together and not crumble and fall apart until now! This recipe is truly simple, and once you begin to keep these ingredients on hand it will be even simpler. Give this recipe a try, it will make about 8 snack bars.

This recipe also works well with honey, or maple syrup if you prefer those minimally processed sweeteners, which may have a slightly lower glycemic index to the brown rice syrup. I like the taste of the brown rice syrup, and the fact that it does not contain fructose. While the recipe calls for just a half cup of sweetener, I usually try to use less than that because I find the sweetness in the dried fruit is very satisfying, so experiment and see what works for you.

Try to use a healthy, natural peanut butter in this recipe, one that also is not loaded with high fructose corn syrup or added sugar. 

I think you will love the crunch, the texture, the taste, and best of all the fact that you can control exactly what goes into these. I often cut them in half which makes about 16 and eat them as a mid-morning snack with some tea. Let me know how you enjoy them!

Home-made All Natural Snack Bars

   Dry Ingredients

   1 1/2 cups rolled oats

   1 cup crisp puffed brown rice cereal

   1/2 cup raw seeds: pumpkin and/or sunflower

   1/4 cup slivered almonds

   1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

   1/4 cup dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, apricots, raisins) experiment!

   If you want some added protein you can add in 2 tablespoons of finely        

   ground flaxseeds, or use chia seeds. 

   Wet Ingredients

   1/2 cup brown rice syrup

   2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

   1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

   Directions 

1. Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Mix them together.

2. In a saucepan mix together the wet ingredients, on low heat until smooth.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Press the mixture into a container and store it in the fridge until it sets.

5. Cut into pieces and store in a dry cool place. Can be stored in the fridge for about a week, and then the freezer.  I like to individually wrap them so I can grab and go.

How to Determine if You Are Really Hungry?

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE IF YOU ARE REALLY HUNGRY? 

Hunger is often a symptom of stress, and thinking about food begins the escape from stress. But when we really want to  get away from something we are feeling, we often turn to eating food, because it provides the comfort our body is craving. Turning to good healthy nutritious food for comfort is actually brilliant, because good, whole foods, found in nature, connect us to the earth and ground us. The process of cooking these foods nurtures us, in addition to the nurturing we receive from actually eating them.

Most of us however, do not turn to broccoli or beautiful green salads when we are stressed, instead we turn to processed, sugary foods. These foods provide us with the ability to have a quick fix, and we usually enjoy the hand-to-mouth, repetitive action cycle. But no matter how long we keep this up, sadly, this act does not actually comfort us. Even worse, it stresses us out more because we feel guilt, and disappointment with ourselves, in addition to feeling to side effects of elevated blood sugar levels.

Next time you are obsessing about eating junk food, but not really hungry for it, try the following:

1) Pour yourself a tall glass of water and see if the craving goes away. If it does great, but if you are still looking for something to fill that possible hunger, think about eating a piece of whole fruit or vegetable, an apple for example, or some raw nuts or seeds.  If you are experiencing true hunger, the idea of consuming these foods will be appealing to you. If you can't stop fantasizing about Doritos, something else might be going on.

2) What is the emotion you are feeling? Sometimes when we can put a label on it, it helps us to understand what we are experiencing, and the urgency to get away from that feeling subsides. A craving for the Doritos is urgent, but true hunger does not have that same immediate, drastic sense of urgency.

3) Go Outside! Really, sometimes just removing yourself from your current environment will eliminate the stress and the need to snack senselessly.

4) Squash your inner voice critic. Don't let it speak badly about you. When we feel discomfort, we often want to point blame, and sometimes the easiest place to point is at our selves. Do what you can in that moment to build yourself up not down. Think, I am good enough!

5) Are you mindfully making a decision to eat the chips or the cookies, then just freaking do it! Do it, enjoy it and then let it go and move on and don't berate yourself.


MY NEW BOOK HUNGRY FOR HEALTH STARVED FOR TIME

Looking for more great health tips, my new book is Available now on amazon Order Hungry For Health, Starved For Time HERE

If you have already ordered my book, and enjoyed it, please consider posting a short review on the Amazon ORDER link above,  it would help me out so much for a Book Contest I am in the running for.

FEELING CONFUSED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND NUTRITION NEEDS???

Want to get together for a 75 minute Brain Storming Session Email Suzy Here to book a session

Want to have a free 15 minute Strategy Session on the Phone Email Suzy Here to Schedule Your Free Session

Harmoniously Yours,
Suzy

Could Your Weight Loss Trouble be due to Your Hormones??

In my Coaching Program, when I work with women who are trying to lose weight, I often find they are frustrated with themselves from harsh deprivation, beating themselves up over poor willpower and they suffer with daily struggles with food, everyday deciding if they are "good" or "bad". This leads to stress, body shame, food addiction and the biggest problem of all HORMONE IMBALANCE!


It is not overeating that makes someone fat. It is being fat, and the hormonal chaos that led to the fat that makes people overeat. Quality of your food is what the focus should be on, not on calorie counting. If you are having trouble with overeating, keeping your portions controlled, or with cravings the first step is to balance out your Hormones. The very first step to balancing out your hormones is to get your estrogen balanced.  If you have too much estrogen in your body it is nearly impossible to lose weight and you are also at a greater risk for weight gain, breast cancer, and prediabetes.
Here is a delicious meatless recipe you can try for Vegan Enchiladas inspired by Angela Liddon of "Oh She Glows". I have made this many times for dinner and my family always loves it. Do not leave out the Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce because that is the kicker that makes it amazing!! I hope you enjoy this recipe.



By eliminating meat for just 3 days you can begin to rebalance your Estrogen levels. According to Dr. Sara Gottfried, 3 days is the minimum amount of time to reset a metabolic hormone. I have developed a program based on her Hormone Reset Diet where I work with women on resetting each of seven different hormones in 3 day bursts, but the first one I always start with is Estrogen.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 onion, chopped (~2 cups)

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 cup sweet potato, chopped (or zucchini) I do a cup of each

• 1 bell pepper, chopped

• 2 handfuls spinach, chopped

• 1 can black beans (~2 cups), drained and rinsed

• Enchilada sauce or Pasta sauce (about 2.5 cups)

• 1.5 tsp ground cumin

• 1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice, to taste

• 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp chili powder, or to taste

• 4 whole grain tortilla wraps (I used Food for Life Ezekiel)

• Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce, to pour on top (recipe below)

• Green onion & chopped cilantro, to garnish

1) Preheat oven to 350
2) Boil water and simmer sweet potatoes in a small pot for 10 minutes until soft.
3) Heat oil in a large skillet, add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, lower heat and cook another 2 minutes. Add chopped pepper, spinach, zucchini (if using), drained black beans and precooked sweet potatoes and cook 5-7 minutes on medium low. 
4) Now add in your enchilada or pasta sauce. Stir well, and add in your seasonings: cumin,  lime juice ( I use Santa Cruz Organic pure lime juice in a glass bottle), salt, garlic powder, chili powder- all to taste. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Stir well.

5)Scoop about 3/4-1 cup of the mixture onto the bottom of your casserole dish and spread out in a thin layer. Scoop about 1/2-3/4 cup of the mixture onto each tortilla and wrap, placing the fold down on the casserole dish. Repeat for the remaining 3 tortillas and leave a bit of filling left to spread over the top. 

5. Bake tortillas at 350F for 18-20 minutes. Meanwhile, make your Cilantro cream sauce (see below). When enchiladas are cooked, remove from oven and pour the sauce over top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onion. Serve immediately. Makes 4 enchiladas.

CILANTRO AVOCADO CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/4 cup avocado flesh
• 2 tbsp water, or more as needed to thin out
• 2-3 tbsp lime juice, to taste
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• Black pepper, to taste
• Red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a food processor, process the avocado flesh and water until creamy. Now add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and well blended. Use immediately for best results.

Here is the final Product......

And here is how I eat the leftover filling for lunch.....

To learn more about balancing your hormones, or for more support with healthy meatless meals EMAIL SUZY  

The Secret to Sticking to your New Year's Resolutions

Happy, healthy 2016!!

Wow! My gym was so crowded this morning I actually had to wait for a machine for the first time in a while. I wonder what it will look like 2 weeks from now at the gym?? I remember last year the same thing happened, and by early February it was back to normal at the gym and many of the new folks were nowhere to be found.

Why does this happen?

In working with many clients over the past year, and in my Nutrition School studies, I have learned that many of these people are missing a key understanding. They do not have the most important piece of information on how to change their health habits. What is that key? ....Awareness.

As Deepak Chopra says "The body is a physical reflection of choices you make over a lifetime. Knowledge is important, but adding more good advice is not the solution to healthy eating (and living). The solution is to transform your awareness."

In my coaching program I teach clients how this transformative awareness works, and why and how they can achieve it.

Become aware of why you are eating - I mean really aware!! Do you respond to triggers without even thinking. Are you really just stressed, angry, upset, seeking comfort, bored or unfulfilled??

Become aware of how you are eating - If you are busy or distracted while you are eating you will tend to overeat. Are you in front of a TV? Online? With other people who are eating CRAPPY food you don't really want but feel pressured? Just trying to clean your plate without focusing on how hungry you really are? Rushing and not chewing and breathing?

Become aware of how your body feels - Your body wants to move, but movement is personal. Pay attention to what kind is right for you. If your muscles are strained, if you feel aches, if you are not getting proper sleep and making poor food choices, you will feel sluggish and you will not stay motivated to continue with your exercise routine.

Start slow if you have not been exercising much. Get up at least once an hour everyday stand and stretch and move. Your blood fat and blood sugar levels mount when you sit still, by moving you restore those levels. Add in some walking outside, and then add a few minutes of vigorous exercise to warm your muscles up. Maybe try some yoga. Increase your awareness of what type of exercise makes you feel happy, connected, balanced and clears your mind. If your exercise choice feels like a chore you will not stay motivated and you will stop by mid February.

My 2016 Harmonious Health Motto
Be easy on yourself
Take extra time to make good choices about food and exercise
Speak positively to yourself
Stop judging
Be patient, don't look for instant solutions. It took you a lifetime to build the body you have, it will take more than just a few weeks to change it.

As always, I am here to support you in any way I can! If you have health goals, need support, accountability or guidance please reach out. I love my work as a health coach and I love watching someone become the happiest version of themselves.

Wishing you all much happiness and success in 2016.
Harmoniously yours,
Suzy
Health and Wellness Coach
www.harmonioushealth.com

Email Suzy

Did You Hear I'm Writing a Book, Why Potatoes are Stressing Me Out, and The Truth About Cravings.

So peace out November and welcome to December and the Holiday frenzy. I kind of  freaked out when I realized that Hanukah begins on December 5th this year. That's Saturday folks!
I realized how early Hanukah was this year during Thanksgiving morning when my son's dear friend was over hanging out with us, watching the parade and casually asked, "we are having mashed potatoes with Thanksgiving dinner tonight, right?" Oops, um, oh gosh, sure we are.... so I got busy texting the hubby to pick up a bag of potatoes, and scrambling to come up with a healthy mashed potato recipe with 3 hours notice. Then I got a text from my son's other friend who was headed over to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, "Since we won't be in Dallas for Chanukah can we do latkes (that's fried potato pancakes eaten on Hanukah, for those of you who don't know)? I know they aren't very "thanksgivingy" or healthy, but they are tasty!" I love these boys like my own sons, yet all these potato requests were stressing me out, .... but I digress!

The holidays can be a source of stress despite the pleasures associated with them. The food prep, the shopping, the lack of quiet time, and for many people...the cravings!! Which brings me to my big announcement, I am currently writing a book that is expected to be completed in the Spring and I can't wait to share it with all of you in my Harmonious Health Community.  My book will be a simple step by step guide to many of the topics I teach in my Health Coaching Program. One of the big topics I work on with my clients is helping them to deconstruct their cravings, and how to satisfy them in a healthy way. Today I was working on the "Cravings" chapter of my book.  I originally thought I would include it in the EATING section of the book. Then I realized, no, cravings need to be discussed in the section of the book that talks about HABITS TO CALM YOUR MIND, and here is why.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have heard statements like this from clients and friends, "I was bad this week", "I f**'kd up yesterday", "I have no self control", "I suck I can't stick to anything".  So much negative self talk, so damaging to our self-esteem when really, giving in to those cravings is brilliant. This negative self-talk upsets us, creates guilt, stress, and disappointment none of which are good for someone seeking good health and a calm state of mind.  Learning what our body is trying to tell us through cravings is brilliant, we should feel great about ourselves when we notice our cravings, it means our minds are in tune with our body, and that is the first step in making baby steps toward a healthy diet and lifestyle. That is why I am including cravings in the MIND section of my book.

Cravings are your body's way of telling you what it needs, and when we listen to what our body needs, we are actually doing something wonderful for ourselves. Now don't get me wrong, I am not praising you for giving in to your craving for a pint of Ben & Jerry's. When we crave sweets our blood sugar is probably dropping, when we crave salt we are likely deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. We also have cravings related to mood swings, events (like an argument with your boss or friend), lack of exercise, memories (especially around holiday time). Smells and sounds can also trigger cravings, especially in December.

So during this busy time of year, stay alert to the cravings you are experiencing. Remember you are not weak for having them. Do the best you can to deal with them. If you need something sweet choose the healthiest sweet option available, do the same with salt cravings, stay hydrated, get fresh air, take a walk, stretch, and do the your best to eat a whole food diet which will keep you balanced and help minimize these cravings.  Only a superhero can fight a craving. We are human, deconstructing cravings is a process, but sometimes step one, just recognizing them, before you give in to them, is the beginning of healthy progress.

As for my potato dilemma, the mashed potatoes mixed with rice milk and sea salt were delicious, and the latkes, sadly never made it onto the Thanksgiving table, they may show up this weekend in a healthier format if I can find a good recipe....but honestly I will likely make the real ones fried in vegetable oil, because I always CRAVE them this time of year!

For more info on surviving the holidays, for a one-on-one health coaching session with me during the December craziness, to motivate me to keep writing my book, to tell me if you are enjoying my blog posts, or that you just polished off a pint of Ben & Jerry's,  send me an email here


Harmoniously yours,
Suzy
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