In February my friend Kendra taught me some fun, new ways to add more flavor into recipes.  Over a course of four Saturday afternoons she and I cooked up a storm in my kitchen.  We made:

• An herb roasted chicken.
• A pork loin rubbed with fresh spices and a cherry preserve sauce.
• Steamed fish, herbs and vegetables in parchment paper.
• Coconut rice with stir fry vegetables.
• Delicious polenta and quinoa.  Here is one of Kendra’s Quinoa recipes.

She even taught me how to make the perfect omelet.  Who knew?  I certainly didn’t!

Kendra is the owner of Flavor Catering, she makes some of the healthiest, best tasting food I have ever had; so I asked her to give me some cooking lessons using this criteria:

1.  2-5 ingredients (I have no patience to tackle complicated recipes).

2.  Whole food (no heavy creams, sauces, gluten, sugar or bad fats).

3.  FLAVOR!

Today, for lunch I was in the mood for one of her many flavorful creations.  I grabbed my camera and thought I’d take you along as I make this easy and oh so tasty recipe.

If you like egg salad and if you like curry, you’ll love this.  Warning, after trying this version of egg salad you’ll never want to eat plain old mashed up hard boiled eggs with a dollop of mayo again.

CURRY EGG SALAD

Ingredients:  Eggs, scallions, curry powder, real mayonnaise, craisins, pepper

Put the eggs in a covered pot of cold water.

Bring the water to a boil.

Once the water has come to a boil turn the heat off and leave the eggs in the covered pot for 20 minutes.

Let the eggs cool in cold ice water for 20-30 minutes.

Peel the eggs

Mash up those eggs.  I just use a fork.

Keep mashing!

Dice and add the scallions

Add a handful of craisins (I used dried pomegranate craisins today)

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of curry powder (depending on how many eggs you use)

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise (depending on how many eggs you use)

Mix everything together

Voila the Best Egg Salad ever!

I’ll be eating this for lunch the next couple days.  Honestly, it’s hard for me to even get it to a plate.  I just start scooping it out of the bowl and into my mouth – Not very civilized, I know, but a testament to its amazing flavor!

Curry Egg Salad

4 hard boiled eggs (I used 8 eggs today because I wanted left-overs)

*1/4 cup scallions

*2 T curry powder

*2 T real mayonnaise (don’t use the fat-free mayo.  Use the real thing.  Remember a little fat is good, trans-fats/partially hydrogenated oils are the bad fats and they are often found in fat-free mayo)

*handful of craisins

dash of ground pepper

*Adjust to your own taste preferences

Some Nutritional Pearls For Curried Eggs:

Eggs- A perfect source of protein, containing all 9 amino acids.

Turmeric (found in curry powder) – Anti-inflammatory properties which guard against muscle and joint pain.  Turmeric also has anti-tumor effects and it’s great for your liver.

Scallions – Powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and antiviral effects.

Pomegranates – Can slow the growth of prostate cancer, promotes cardiovascular health by reducing the LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Cranberries – Helps prevent urinary tract infections, reduces dental plague and cranberries can stop certain bacteria from sticking to the stomach lining, thus helping to prevent ulcers.

For more Nutritional Pearls on all types of food check out, Jonny Bowden’s book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth:  The Surprising Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat And Why. If you’re worried about eggs increasing your cholesterol, don’t be!  Sugar and trans-fats are the culprit NOT eggs. – The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing The Fallacy That Saturated Fat And Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease. So enjoy those eggs, yolk and all!

For more information about Kendra and her company, Flavor Catering, click here.  Kendra also writes a weekly blog post for the Denver Westword, called Swirl Girl.  It is about food, wine and local restaurants.

Giselle and I work together.  We share a nutritionist position and work with an Internal Medicine Doctor in Littleton, Colorado. We see patients for weight loss, cholesterol, diabetes, celiac disease, and general nutrition counseling.  I love it!  One-on-one coaching is incredibly rewarding.

When we’re not seeing patients Giselle and I travel for our respective companies.  Giselle manages corporate health fairs around the US and I teach corporate health workshops around the US.  She has become one of my best friends.

(Giselle doing yoga in the Colorado Mountains)

Last Saturday Giselle and I attended a functional medicine conference in Broomfield, Colorado; then we went to Root Down for a late brunch.

Root Down is all the rage in Denver these days.  As nutritionists we were interested in the healthy, unique menu.  As Denverites we were long over due in visiting this hot spot.  This is what the Denver Post had to say;  “The place is packed. Solid. Hipsters, foodies, trendsetters — the beautiful people and their hangers-on come in droves to see the tricked-out, eco-conscious space.”

Really?

Yes, really!

Too bad I didn’t follow the crowd and the rave reviews a long time ago (it has been open for 14 months). This restaurant is a huge Healthy Discovery!

Root Down is a former gas station/mechanic’s garage.  Lanes from an old bowling alley serve as the bar surface, wood slats from an old high school gym are now part of the dining room floor and the bathroom wall is plastered with old cookbook pages.  On the weekends they show old movies (Kung Fu, When Harry Met Sally) on the big wall in the bar.

(Photo from RootDown.com)

And then there’s the menu. Oh my, The Menu! Following a “Field to Fork” mentality, Root Down focuses on organic, natural and local food.

Here is a sample of  their menu:

Banana Bread French Toast / Organic Chickory Creme Friache, Spiced Walnuts & Fruit Salad

Hazel Dell Mushroom Omelette / Goat Cheese, Roasted Mushroom, Sage & Caramelized Onion Creme Friache

Organic Beets 3 Ways/ Roasted Goldens, Fried Candy Stripes & Pickled Reds, Shaved Fennel, Organic Arugula, Candied Walnuts, Ewephoria Cheese & Citrus Vin

Organic Carrot & Red Curry Soup / Organic Gala Apple-Pear Chutney & Cilantro

Sweet Potato “Falafel” / Lemon-Tahini Yogurt, Israeli Salad, Sesame Seeds & Serrano Oil

Grilled Green Globe Whole Artichoke / Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Spicy Lemon-Herb Aoili

King Canyon Ranch Buffalo Sliders / Mongolian BBQ, Shitake Mushroom Relish, Arugula,
Udi’s Challah Bun & Burdock Root Chips

This is what I ordered:

Root Down Benedict / Quinoa “English Muffin”, Arugula, Iberico Cheese, & Oven Dried Tomato Hollandaise & Home Fries

It was AMAZING, the picture doesn’t do justice!  It was so tasty, I loved the Quinoa cakes in place of toast (they have many gluten-free options on their menu) I will return and order it again! Plus I can’t wait to try more things from their menu.

This is Bobby, the manager.  Doesn’t he look nice?  He is nice.  Say hi when you go.  We liked Bobby. He stopped and chatted with us; then he gave us a tour.

Root Down serves healthy, whole food – the exact food that Giselle and I recommend our patients eat.  It is a fun, happy, healthy place.  Check it out next time you’re in Denver - Located at the corner of 33rd and Osage.

1600 W. 33rd Avenue
Denver, CO 80211
303.993.4200/www.rootdown.com

AND

If you’re interested in scheduling one-on-one nutrition counseling sessions email me jolene@healthydiscoveries.com

If you know me, you know I love Omega 3 fats (fish oil, krill oil, flax seeds).

I recommend my patients add them to their diet.  I personally supplement my diet with fish oil, and I give away samples when I teach corporate wellness workshops.  Omega 3 fats are nutritional gold.  If you want to read more about my thoughts on these glorious fats go here and here.

Since I have an obsessive penchant interest in healthy fats it should be no surprise that I’ve recently fallen in love with another fat, and like anyone who has recently found new love, I want to tell you all about it, a.k.a. my latest Healthy Discovery!

1.  Coconut Oil Has Powerful Antimicrobial, Antibacterial, Antiviral Properties -

Coconut oil is a saturated fat with high levels of lauric acid which is a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT).  MCT’s are healthy fatty acids that naturally kill the following bacteria.

• Steptococcus- (throat infections, pneumonia, sinusitis)
• Staphyloccus- (food poisoning, urinary tract infections)
• Neisseria- (meningitis, gonorrhea, pelvic inflammatory disease)
• Chlamydia- (genital infections, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, periodontitis)
• Helicobacter Pylori – (stomach ulcers)

At least a dozen other pathogenic viruses have been reported to be inactivated by the MCT in coconut oil.  MCT’s also kill candida and other fungi in the intestinal tract but they do not kill the good intestinal flora.

2.  Coconut Oil Can Help You Lose Weight Or Maintain Ideal Body Weight-

• The MCT’s in coconut oil are easier to digest that other fats.
• The body uses MCT’s for energy and does not store them as fat.
• Some people swear by adding up to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to their diet each day for weight loss and increased thyroid/metabolic  function.

3. But Isn’t The Saturated Fat In Coconut Oil Bad?

Nope!  Tranfats are the “bad fats.”  Watch one of my favorite medical doctors, Michael Eades M.D. explain the saturated fat myth in Big Fat Lies.  For more of Dr. Eades well researched critiques on nutritional science visit his blog.

4.  How Do You Cook With Coconut Oil?

Use coconut oil instead of other oils in your daily cooking. A “better than butter” replacement on bread (it makes fantastic cinnamon toast) and steamed veggies, or a tasty and nutritious substitute for shortening in baking. You can blend coconut oil in smoothies (that’s what I do!), or  use it as a topping on popcorn.

Coconut oil requires no refrigeration and can be stored like olive oil. It is solid at room temperature and melts at 76 degrees, whereby it becomes a liquid.  Note:  when you buy coconut oil, buy high quality Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, don’t buy virgin coconut oil or straight coconut oil! My favorite brand is Nutiva.

5. Rejuvenate Your Skin And Prevent Wrinkles With Coconut Oil-

It helps protect your skin from free radicals and it improves the skin’s appearance with its anti-aging properties. I may or may not slather coconut oil all over my face at night before bed.  It’s an incredible moisturizer in my dry Colorado climate!

Additional Resources:

Dr Mercola speaking about Coconut Oil

The Coconut Oil Miracle (Previously published as The Healing Miracle of Coconut Oil)

Coconut Cures: Preventing and Treating Common Health Problems with Coconut

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why - ”Coconut and its oil is one of the most healthy, amazing things you can ingest.  It deserves a place in the honor roll of healthy foods” – Jonny Bowden Ph.D., C.N.S.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl – When I first discovered the popular Black Heels to Tractor Wheels on-line love story last spring I was instantly hooked.  I sat at my computer for the next 3-hours and I didn’t move. I devoured Ree Drummand’s (aka Pioneer Woman’s) true story about how she met her husband, fell in love and lived happily ever after.

Apparently I’m not the only one, as I’m editing this post tonight I saw on Twitter, via the LA Times, that 2 million people visit Pioneer Woman’s blog monthly.  Wow!

I am also partial to Pioneer Women because she and I have lived a similar life – only in reverse order.  For the first 18 years of my life I grew up on the farm that has been in our family for over 120 years; then I moved to live life in the city (London, Los Angeles, Orlando, Denver).

Pioneer Woman, on the other hand, grew up in the city, attended USC and was on her way to become a young professional in Chicago when a handsome cowboy unexpectedly came into her life and whisked her off to the country.

I now read Pioneer Woman’s weekly accounts of life on the ranch.  She talks about hearding cattle, annual pasture burns, and the isolated life on the ranch.  I often think, “oh, better you than me, as I’ve been there done that, and it’s not exactly my cup of tea.”  Yet her adventures on the ranch are so fun to read.

Pioneer Woman makes home-cooked meals for her four kids and husband every day.  She recently put her favorite recipes into her first cookbook and she is gearing up for a national book tour. Here is her promotional video about the cookbook.  It’s very cute.  I’m excited for this down-home-farm-style-cookbook to arrive in bookstores October 27, 2009.

BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery – Once upon a time not very long ago I tossed around the idea of starting a side business making gluten-free muffins.  I quickly discovered that manufacturing, packaging, delivering and running a food company is not easy. This is why I have admiration and appreciation for what  Erin McKenna, owner of BabyCakes has accomplished.  She makes gluten-free, vegan, low sugar baked goods in her New York City bakery and her products are wildly popular.  In May she released her first gluten-free cookbook.  Here is Erin’s promotional video about her cookbook – this video is way cute!

Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why – Okay the first two are fun, speciality cookbooks but if you’re looking for healthy, super food cooking, this is my favorite cookbook. Author Jonny Bowden is my nutritional hero!  His cookbook is dedicated to healthy, easy meals that taste great. Love that!

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking – I loved Stephanie O’Dea’s 365 days of crock pot cooking blog last year.  This year she put those recipes into a book and it will be in bookstores on October 13, 2009.  I’m adding this one to my Christmas wish list.

And finally, if you haven’t seen the movie, Julie & Julia it is worth seeing.  Blogger Julie Powell made every recipe in Julia Child’s, Mastering The  Art of French Cooking Cookbook in 2002.  She blogged about it, wrote a book about it and then Hollywood made a movie about it this year.

It will inspire you to live your dreams (Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was in her 50′s), create beautiful partnerships, both Julie and Julia (like Pioneer Woman) have amazingly supportive husbands.  And most of all, it will remind you to laugh at yourself and have fun along the way!

Bon Appetit!

Whether I’m speaking to a group or consulting one-on-one the issue of trans-fats and label laws frequently comes up.  Today I am reprinting a blog post that I wrote on this subject last summer.

June 2008 – This weekend my Southern California friends took me to the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Race Track. It was fun! We experienced all the fixn’s of the typical American summer fair: pie eating contests, demolition derby races, carnival rides, pig races, sunburns, and a lot of food. I saw (but didn’t eat) the deep fat fried concoctions that make their way to the summer-time fairs.

Walk me past enough signs for fried Snickers, fried Twinkies, fried Coca-Cola, fried chicken breasts sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Voila! I am ready to write my next blog post. One of the single most important things you can do for good nutrition and good health is: avoid eating trans fats! You will find trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, in fried foods such as; fried fish, fried chicken, fried appetizers, and yes, fried Twinkies The other place you’ll frequently find trans fats is in boxed, packaged or frozen food. Trans fats are added to packaged food to help preserve shelf life, but they don’t help preserve your life! Trans fats are a huge public health problem. In 2006 it was legislated that all labels must report the trans fat content. But beware! Under FDA regulations, “if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat] the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero.” In others words there might be partially hydrogenated oils in your granola bar, crackers, frozen dinner, coffee creamer, etc. but the food manufacturer can tell you their product is free of all trans fats. How can they legally do this? It’s easy, they just decrease the serving size. Very sneaky! This is what you can do to protect yourself? Read the actual INGREDIENT PARAGRAPH. If you see the words PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED, you are eating a TRANS FAT. Even if the Nutrition Facts say this do not assume it is true. The only way you’ll know if the product really has 0 grams of trans fat is to read the ingredient paragraph and look for the words, partially hydrogenated. Take a look through your cupboards and read the ingredient paragraphs next time you are grocery shopping! For more information on trans fats and their ill effects on our health, check out this site Ban Trans Fats.