Boost Your Collagen with This green smoothie

The biggest issue with most juices out there is the sugar content. Hence, this beautifully refreshing, yet nourishing green juice that ticks the fruit-free box. This juice recipe is loaded up with some incredible ingredients such as celery, lemon, detoxifying herbs, re-hydrating cucumber and gut-loving collagen.
These fresh ingredients combined are incredible for supporting a sluggish liver and aiding kidney detoxification. The celery in particular is a powerful anti-inflammatory food; plus, it starves unproductive yeast, bacteria, fungi, mould and viruses that can be lurking in the body. This juice helps to flush toxins out of the liver and intestinal tract, and it helps to alkalize the gut. It’s also rich in important electrolytes, which not only help to prevent cramping, they nourish the kidneys when they’re overburdened with trying to filter out toxins from the body.

collagen-Boosted Green Juice

Serves 2
Ingredients

• 1/2 bunch of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of roughly chopped parsley (loosely packed)
• 1 cup of roughly chopped mint leaves (loosely packed)
• 2-3 lemons or limes, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium-sized cucumbers, roughly chopped
• 1 scoop Collagen Powder

Instructions

1. Add the celery, parsley, mint, cucumber, lemon or limes to your juicer and collect all the juice.
2. Add the juice and collagen to your blender and blitz together for 30 seconds to combine evenly. Or simply mix the juice and collagen together using a fork.
3. Pour into 2 glasses. Serve chilled.

Bone-Broth to boost the immune system.

“Better Than Botox”

Chicken broth is the backbone of many dishes and its healing properties are unparallel. Learn to make it – it’s easy and even though you need to simmer it for 12-24 hours, it’s not time you need to spend in the kitchen.

The more I work with food, the more it takes me back down memory lane. Coming from an Eastern European background, we never used to buy chicken stock in a carton – it was all made from scratch. We would buy pre-bundled “chicken stock veggies” consisting of carrots, onions, garlic and celery sticks and pop them into the broth for hours of simmering. I then lived in Asia where heads and feet of animals are highly valued. I now appreciate them – they contain high amounts of gelatin which can be extracted when simmered for a few hours. Gelatin has amazing healing properties – not only is it good for gut repair (which is key in dealing with autoimmune disorders hence thyroid conditions) but it gets you through colds and flus in no time. There is an old Jewish saying that a “good broth will resurrect the dead.” Imagine what it can do for you :-).

Together with my clients, we are now discovering the power of this broth – returning energy, fewer colds, allergies and food sensitivities. I strongly urge you to start going back to the way we used to make food. Real food. Not packaged, not processed, not dried, hydrogenated, fortified or vacuum-sealed. Just real food.

Serves: 4 quarts

Ingredients

• 1 whole free-range organic chicken or 2-3 pounds of bony chicken parts such as necks, wings, backs, feet, head
• gizzards from one chicken (optional)
• feet from the chicken (feet are very high in gelatin)
• head from one chicken (optional)
• 3 quarts (liters) of cold filtered water
• 2 tbsps of apple cider vinegar
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 celery sticks, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch parsley

How To Make

1. If you are using a whole chicken, chop off the wings, the neck and the head if you are using them. Using organic, free-range chicken is vital, do not penny-pinch on this one.
2. Cut chicken parts to several pieces.
3. Place chicken parts, water, vinegar and all the vegetables except for parsley in a large stainless steel pot.
4. Let it stand for 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and then reduce the heat to simmer.
6. Simmer for 12 to 24 hours on low heat; the longer you cook the stock the more flavor and nutrition you will get from it.
7. About 10 minutes before finishing, add parsley – it will impart additional minerals to the broth.
8. Remove large chicken pieces, let them cool and remove the flesh from the carcass – you can use it in salads, sandwiches and spreads
9. Strain the stock into a large bowl and let it cool in the fridge till the fat rises to the top and congeals.
10. Skim off the fat and reserve the stock in covered glass containers.
11. Freeze some of the stock for maximum freshness.

• Reishi mushrooms – used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to boost the immune system (and given to patients after chemo). You can buy it in your local herbal health store, Chinatown (ask for organic), or online. 
  
  
• Astragalus – another TCM classic to boost the immune system. You can buy it in your local herbal health store, Chinatown (ask for organic), or online.
  
  
• Kombu a.k.a. kelp (avoid if you have elevated Hashimoto’s TPO antibodies) – adds iodine which is needed for estrogen detoxification, breast and brain health. I like the Maine Coast Sea Vegetables brand.  Thrive Market carries it and it’s typically 30% to 50% cheaper than Whole Foods.  
  
  
• Bay leaves – anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, buy it anywhere.
  
  
• Peppercorns – anti carcinogenic properties, buy it anywhere.

Easy Fat burning Salad Dressing

 

 

Ingredients

1 Whole clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp Honey (phase 2)

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1/8 tsp Freshly ground black pepper

  

Directions

"Smash the garlic clove with the back of a knife. Add garlic to the other ingredients in a jar or other airtight container. Cover, shake well and serve. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week."

Weight loss tips For The New Year

Write Your Goals Down
If you want to truly do something, write it down. Journals, food diaries and to-do lists are extremely important to your weight loss plan. Brainstorm all of your goals onto one piece of paper and then rewrite each one as a contract with yourself. Put your contract somewhere that will keep you reminded of the promise you have made. The fridge is a great place since this is the main area which will make or break your resolution. Refer to your contract daily to remind yourself of your long-term goal.

Set a Definite Date
If you just say you’re going to meet your goal sometime within the year, that will not work. In fact, you will probably fall into the “I’ll start next week” trap. Instead, mark your calendar for a certain date for each goal that you want to achieve. For example, by March you want to be walking 3 miles a day. Setting a definite date is a great way to make sure you stick with your plan!



Remove The Temptations
Go into your kitchen and remove all bad foods from your refrigerator and pantry. This includes all snack foods such as cakes, pies, cookies, chips, sugar colas, crackers and any “empty calorie” foods that will impede on your weight loss goals. This step is very crucial step since the temptation to cheat will be increased 10-fold if you have cheat foods lingering inside your home. If you don’t remove these tempting items, it will only be a matter of time before you breakdown and dive head first into the cookie jar at 2am in the morning for a binge! Fill your kitchen with healthy, nutrient dense food, such as:

• Lean protein (chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, egg whites)
• Fresh fruits (oranges, apples, grapes, strawberries)
• Raw vegetables (mushrooms, broccoli, squash, green beans, red peppers)
• Healthy snack foods (non-fat cottage cheese, sugar-free jello, protein bar)
• Bottled Water

Meet Mini-Goals
Make small changes every week and they will add up in time. It’s easier to move little pebbles than an entire mountain, right? Here are some examples of weekly changes you could incorporate into mini-goals:

• Week One: Drink 10 glasses of water per day.
• Week Two: Take the steps at work instead of the elevator.
• Week Three: Switch to ice tea .
• Week Four: Eliminate fried foods.
• Week Five: Begin eating one vegetarian meal per week.

Make Friends Forever
You don’t have to go it alone! Tell your friends and family what you want to accomplish and tell them how they can help you (and warn them of what doesn’t help). Telling someone else your goals will probably make you feel that much more dedicated to reaching them. Who knows, maybe you’ll even find a weight loss buddy among your peers who will join you on your journey to weight loss. Two heads are always better than one, especially when it comes to staying motivated!
Document Everything
Keep a detailed record of your weight loss, dietary intake and how your feeling. By keeping this diet diary and journal, you will be able to truly see what your consuming, where your problem areas are, how your emotional state is.
Photograph Yourself
Pictures don’t lie. Buy an inexpensive digital camera and take a pictures of yourself every week in your bikini or swimsuit. Snap 3 pictures ever week including a profile shot, frontal shot and rear shot. Include these with your diet diary and journal so you can see how your body looks each week while you make changes to your diet and exercise program. Remember, sometimes the scale does lie. Even though your scale may read that you have gained 2 pounds over the last 3 weeks, this could very easily be 3 pounds of lean muscle. Lean muscle is an extremely metabolic tissue and the more you have, the more calories you burn even when you’re just sitting around! By adding photos of yourself, you will be able to reference your physical appearance from week to week. This basically takes the guesswork out of losing weight and is crucial for any permanent weight loss plan.
Set Realistic Goals
Remember, it did not take you 2 weeks to gain those extra 25 pounds so it definitely will not take only 2 weeks to lose it all! You gradually gained the weight over several months and even years, so always remember that you’re in this for the long haul. It’s a marathon not a sprint and with this mindset you will be able to create new healthy habits which will eventually turn your “diet” into a truly healthy lifestyle to last a lifetime!

Lentil and Veggie Omelet

• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 10 mins
• Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

3/4 cup Sliced zucchini

1 cup Loosely packed cup of shredded kale

1/2 cup Halved cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp Minced parsley

1 Egg

3 Egg Whites

3 tbsp Almond milk or other milk of choice

1/2 tsp Dried oregano

1/4 tsp Smoked paprika

1/2 cup Cooked lentils 

Directions

Mist a frying pan with olive oil and sautee the zucchini, kale and tomatoes on high for 2 minutes or until the kale is bright green.

Meanwhile, whisk together the egg, egg whites, milk, oregano and paprika in a bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the frying pan on top of the veggies. Swirl it around, then reduce heat to medium and let the egg begin to set.

As this happens, scatter the lentils into the pan. Let the omelette cook for 4-5 minutes, lifting the edge occasionally with a flipper and tilting the pan slightly so that any uncooked egg can run underneath. Once set, flip the omelette in half and transfer to a plate. Serve with a green salad on the side if desired.

 

Fat Burning Egg Muffin Cups

 

Ingredients

4 Whole eggs

4 Egg Whites

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 cup Red pepper measured after chopping

1 cup Green pepper measured after chopping

1 cup Yellow onion measured after chopping

2 cups Baby spinach - roughly chopped

1 cup Mushrooms measured before chopping

2 Cloves garlic minced

1 Salt to taste

1 Hot sauce (optional for drizzling on top)

Directions

"Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a standard non stick 12-slot muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside. Heat a large non stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in oil, red pepper, green pepper, and onion.

Saute 5-7 minutes, or until peppers are tender. Add in spinach and mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes. In the last 30 seconds, add in minced garlic. Season with salt and remove from heat.

Crack eggs/egg whites into a large 4 cup measuring cup and whisk together. Stir in cooked veggies. Pour the egg/veggie mixture evenly into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are firm to the touch and eggs are cooked.

Cool slightly and serve immediately! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. These may also be frozen. To reheat, pop them in the microwave until warm."

Chicken Thighs and Couscous

 

 Using boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts is a smart way to make sure the meat stays moist and flavorful. And we love the way grape tomatoes soften under the heat of the broiler, adding more juicy goodness to the chicken. Lots of lemon, plus dill and oregano, give the dish a Greek fee

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups couscous
• 1 cup loosely packed dill fronds, chopped
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, each pierced halfway through with a paring knife
• Zest of 2 lemons, plus juice of 3 lemons, plus 1 medium lemon, cut into 4 wedges
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium Persian cucumbers, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup 2 percent Greek yogurt 

Directions

Position an oven rack about 4 inches away from the broiler heat source, and preheat. Bring 1 1/2 cups water, the butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a covered medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, quickly stir in the couscous and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork, stir in the dill, cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, toss the chicken, tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together on a rimmed baking sheet. Unfold the chicken thighs so they're covered with the marinade, and lay them as flat as possible. Broil until the chicken is cooked through and browned, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan and flipping the tomatoes and chicken halfway through.
Transfer two chicken thighs and a few tomatoes to each plate. Stir the pan juices into the dilled couscous. Place 1 1/4 cups of couscous on each plate, and top with a scoop of chopped cucumbers, a dollop of yogurt and a lemon wedge.
2 week diet plan

How to put your body into Fat- Burning Mode

  Now that the holidays are over, well this is the perfect time to give your liver a rest. I do a 14 day cleanse every year after the holidays myself.

last weeks episode  we talked about the need for you to  heal your body in order for you to lose weight. And it really does start with your liver,

Most of the advice out there about weight loss I feel is dead wrong. And I’m speaking from both personal and professional experience. You see health and weight loss has changed drastically over the years  and so has  our entire approach to health. Much of the popular weight loss advice out there today is the same exact old advice they used to give  years ago. Unfortunately, our results back then were disappointing to say the least.
So, as we continued studying, researching, and discovering answers, the entire approach has changed.
 In this Episode today, I’m going to reveal the systematic approach  I use to help clients achieve  life-changing results. If you suffer from being over weight and can't get rid of the fat espically around your waist area,  you most likely have a hormonal imbalance, in other words, a damaged metabolism, You will definitely, want to start  with a  liver cleansing protocol because it will help you start seeing the results you want and deserve.  By fixing the many underlying issues that are preventing you from losing weight Hidden beneath the surface that most medical professional don't bother with. They would just prefer to give out medications because most people prefer a quick fix that doesn't really get to the root of the problem, but just covers it up and then later starts causing other health problems  and side effects.

Unblock Your Liver Start by getting your liver healthy.  Now you might be thinking what does my liver have to do with me losing weight. 
Well, you might be surprised to learn that your liver is so important and has everything  to your weight,  and is so important to your homrene glands. such as your adrenial and thyroid glands

While your adreinals and thyroid gland produces the hormone, your liver orchestrates how your body uses it.
When you become inbalanced , one of the first things to happen is your liver becomes blocked and dysfunctional.This leads to a domino like effect along your   Hormone Pathway causing your entire pathway to become blocked at multiple levels. And leaving your body to struggle as it never gets the the right amont of hormones it needs.
And because the effects are so far reaching,  the liver is generally the first thing I address with a client.
When it comes to unblocking your Liver, there are a number of things we have to fix…

• Re-activate the conversion of your  hormones into the active form your body needs.
• Re-activate your primary detoxification pathway so you can detoxify your many suppressive hormones and toxins.

Here’s something that few people realize.
A healthy liver stores lots of sugar in the form of glycogen. This glycogen is used as a fuel source for your body between meals or when your blood sugar drops.
However, when you become hormone inbalanced, you lose the ability to produce glycogen and therefore you quickly develop blood sugar issue
And when you can’t balance your blood sugar the healthy way…
Your body does so in a very unhealthy way, by overproducing stress hormones in order to keep you alive.
You see, when you can’t regulate your own blood sugar, these stress hormones take over by breaking down your healthy muscle tissue to convert into sugar to keep your brain functioning.
At the same time they suppress your thyroid function, by blocking your liver from converting thyroid hormone into the active T3 form.  I won't bored you with the science cause I know you just want results but it does help to understans some of the science. The bottom line here is it all has to do with your healing your liver.

How do I fix a stressed liver?

So here is the  great news that you can reduce and eliminate these unpleasant symptoms. By reducing your exposure to processed foods and chemicals, along with liver-supportive herbs and foods that support you body’s detox pathways, you can lower the total toxic load.  Making you feel better and preparing your body to burn fat. You really can experience a more vibrant healthy life.

GET THE 5 DAY CLEAN EATING GUIDE FREE!

Magic green smoothie Recipe

Buy organic bags of spinach, kale, and arugula and kept in the freezer. Use the frozen greens to add to smoothies, no ice needed.

Magic green smoothie for every day 

2 handfuls of spinach

a small amount of kale

1 handful of arugula

1/2 to a cup of berries or stevia berry  

1 or so cups of unsweetened almond milk or any unsweetened liquids 

(optional) ginger powder, turmeric powder. MSM powder,

TEA To drink every day

Herbal Dandelion tea

Foods to advoid FOR THE NEXT 14 Days

Only one cup of coffee a day

No sugar

No fruit except small amounts of berries

No pasta, chips, bread or crackers  with the exemption of sprout bread

No canned, packaged  or processed foods

No grains

No milk, package juices, soda, jams or jellys
No alcohol beverages 

TRY TO Eat  only organic foods and small amounts of  grass-finished meats and butter (real butter only from grass-feed cows)

Try to Drink only filter water.

Things you CAN EAT and include In your diet

All vegtables except white potatoes
Rice white or brown,quinoa,buckwheat or product made from rice
All fish
Small amounts of grass-fed meat
Eggs  Choose eggs high in omega-3s.
Plain  unsweetened yogart 
Avocatoes
Sprout bread
Olive oil & vinegar (salad dressing)
Small amounts of berries

 

Shop Amazon store  for more Healthy powders for your smoothies

Hamburger Stroganoff with Zucchini Noodles

 

 

Recipe for  The Keto diet

This garlic, onion, cream, and butter sauce is light and tasty!   The beef and mushrooms give it a stroganoff taste.  It also uses “noodles” made from zucchini.

 

INGREDIENTS:

Hamburger - 3 oz.

Cheese - 2 oz.

Butter - 1 tablespoon

Cream - 2 tablespoons

Garlic - 2 cloves, minced

Onion - 2 tablespoons - chopped

Zucchini - 1 medium - zoodles

 Cook hamburger meat until done.  About 10-15 mins.  Lay out on paper towel to soak up some fat

Cook onion, garlic, ½ tablespoon of butter on medium-low for 10 mins.  Make sure you keep the heat low to prevent burning.

 Add mushrooms and hamburger, cook for 10 more minutes.

Add cream, cook on low for 5 minutes.

 Meanwhile, add garlic and butter to a pan on low heat

 Add zoodles to garlic/butter, cook until zoodles are desired consistency. 

 
Garish with some parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

Tip

You don’t need a super fancy spiralizer to make zucchini noodles.   The one used for this recipe was a small handheld spiralizer for $6.99 from the local grocery market.