“To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites.” –Robert Heinlein Hi foodie friends, I apologize for being MIA for a while. I have some news…I’m moving to the Bay Area in California! I’m looking forward to year-round farmers markets,...

Do you ever feel like staying on top of your health is a full-time job? We need to walk 10,000 steps, drink  8 glasses of water, and eat at least 5 servings of vegetables a day–not to mention all the other stuff we have to do…phew! I’ve recently...

I’m reading a new health-focused book with an interesting title: How Not to Die, by Michael Greger, MD. It promotes a vegan diet, which I’m not tied to, but presents some worthy information and useful tips either way. I’ve been enjoying reading it,...

The average American only eats half the recommended servings of vegetables per day (and we should be getting in 2.5 cups minimum, but more is even better!). As Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at NYU, says, “Experiment!...

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done...

Thanksgiving marks the start of holiday season, and with that, some anxiety around food and how to maintain health and weight-loss efforts. In that spirit, here are my top tips on staying on track over the holiday season. And, I’m grateful for you all! Thanks...

Keeping your hormones happy goes way beyond crampy cycles and cranky moods. If the delicate balance of our hormones is disrupted, it can also affect sleep, energy and reproduction, as well as increase the risk of certain diseases. The ovaries produce several hormones,...

I encourage my clients to think about their blood sugar…as I’ve learned more and more about how important it is and how connected it is to many other health considerations, I have made it one of my No. 1 topics to address. It’s not just something...

Endocrine disruptors: Have you heard of this term? They might sound like characters in a sci fi film, but they’re very real and very hard to avoid. Endocrine or hormone disruptors are in our everyday food, cosmetic and packaging items, and affect our health in a...

Do you eat BLTs every day? No, I don’t mean those savory bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwiches, but something a client of mine told me she learned about in Weight Watchers: bites, licks and tastes. Think about a typical day and where these little extra bits of food...

If you’re anything like me, sometimes your fridge gets a little packed, you forget about the beautiful cherries on the middle shelf, and new produce piles on top of the old. Just like the rest of your house, over-packed spaces can add unneeded stress and...

Did you know? The typical American eats about 22 teaspoons of added sugars every day (that jumps to 34 teaspoons for teens), which adds up to some 64 pounds of sugar per year! Lately I’ve been talking to many clients about their sweet tooth, and how to help...

If you feel overwhelmed by planning your meals and having to make at least 3 meals every.single.day over and over again, you’re not alone. Lately, I’ve been talking to clients about this very topic and trying to help them come up with strategies to make it...

In Hawaii and many tropical countries, taro is a root vegetable more popular than potatoes. Starchy and comforting, this root veggie has a plethora of health benefits, including for healthy blood pressure, glowing skin, cancer prevention, circulation, the immune...

Cherries are one of those fruits that signal summer, and the taste alone makes them worth eating during their seasonal peak. But, cherries also boast a wealth of beneficial properties, too many to list here. Some of the top ones include: Reducing inflammation Boosting...

If you’re active on social media and scout around for recipes, you have probably heard about the cauliflower crust craze. And if you’ve ever tried making it yourself, you know how intensive a process it is. And I don’t know about yours, but mine came...

In Atlanta, where I lived for 7 years before moving to Chicago, there was a super popular popsicle company that grew from a pop-up concept (think ice cream carts on street corners) to a large-scale pop culture phenomenon (just wanted to see how many times I could use...

70% of women are unhappy with their bodies. Other surprising (or not?) statistics: 45% of women with normal BMIs (normal, healthy weight range) consider themselves to be overweight. 90% of people with anorexia and bulimia are female. Millions of dollars are spent...

This is a guest post from Berkeley, California-based psychotherapist Ben Ringler (who also happens to be my brother): If you’ve been in a silent struggle for a long time with overeating, desperately hoping that the NEXT meal will leave you pleasantly full rather than...

Energy bars are convenient little doses of fuel that can come in super handy when we need to eat something on the go. Unfortunately, many are packed with ingredients that I recommend avoiding, like soy protein isolate, too much sugar or artificial sugars, and other...