What Healthy Frozen Dessert Entrepreneur Chloe Epstein Eats at Home
Chloe Epstein was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan before a new role—motherhood—inspired her to change her path. As her focus shifted to making better eating decisions for herself and her future children, she honed in on finding a healthier alternative to one of her favorite foods: froyo. (Remember when froyo was everyone’s favorite food?!) Chloe’s Fruit—serving up delicious soft serve made with just fruit, water, and a hint of organic cane sugar (seriously, have you tried it?!)—is now seven years old. The company originally focused on individual stores and then created pops. Its products are now available nationwide. Meanwhile, Epstein is now a mother of three. How does she manage it all while still taking care of herself (she exercises six to seven days a week, people!) and her family? “I so believe that success is all mind over matter,” she says. “If you have a positive mantra, you can accomplish anything.” Here’s how she applies that to her own diet and wellness habits, so you can follow her lead (or at least follow her to one of her stores to experience Dark Chocolate Soft Serve Fruit). How Does Chloe Epstein Live a Nutritious Life? What’s your go-to breakfast? A green smoothie with collagen and other fun stuff. Your go-to workday lunch? Palm Beach salad with chicken from Chop’t. What’s the one food you always have in your fridge? Chloe’s Pops and avocados. RELATED: What You Need to Know About Omega-3s The snack you always have with you when traveling? A green apple. Your favorite food indulgence? A warm soft pretzel or Swedish Fish. How often do you exercise, and what’s your workout of choice? 6–7 days a week. It’s an addiction. I love mixing it up with a cocktail of different classes—spin, SLT, Tracy Anderson, Core Fusion Cardio classes at Exhale, etc. Which workout would you NEVER do? An all rowing workout. Not my thing. How do you stay active outside the gym? Keeping up with three kids’ absurd schedules and running around the city all day. RELATED: How to Create a Mindful Morning Routine for You and Your Kids What’s your go-to tool for managing stress? Still searching for that. Does TV count? I’m also trying to plan one-on-one simple activities with each of my children. Time alone with each one really relaxes and grounds me and reminds me of how truly lucky I am. Do you have a favorite health gadget? Old-school headphones from the 80s. They are the only ones that fit me right. What’s your weirdest healthy habit? Replacing mustard with almost every other condiment. Which healthy habit do you wish you had more time for? Yoga. Lightning Round Meditation or massage? Massage. Is that really a question? A hot shower or a soothing bath? Hot shower. I’m not sure I know how to work the bath. It’s been a while. Almond butter or peanut butter? Almond. Coffee or tea? Coffee. A long run outside or a dark spin class? Dark spin. My running days are over due to injury. 🙁
The Most Unexpected Way to Serve Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a healthy staple that land on your grocery list regularly. You’ve roasted, mashed, and baked them, but have you used them in cupcakes? Yes, sweet potato desserts are actually delicious and can be amazingly healthy. You’ve already ditched all-purpose flour and begun baking with healthier flours, but maybe it’s time for you serve the tasty tubers in a whole new way? Solana Nolfo, NLC, is here to help. Nolfo is a star holistic health coach and baker who’s a graduate of The Nutrition School and is also certified by The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She dreamed up the recipe for these Chocolate Sweet Potato Cupcakes, which also happen to be gluten-free (in case your mother-in-law has celiac disease, naturally) and are packed with other nutritious ingredients. Sweet Potato Dessert To Shake Up Your Baking Routine While the sweet potatoes provide powerful antioxidants like beta carotene, you’ll get servings of healthy fats from both the coconut oil and almond flour. Not to mention the presence of cacao, that magical food linked to cardiovascular health, stress relief, and so much more. Of course, you can keep all that to yourself if your family is really just interested in biting into and savoring the sweet, gooey goodness. They won’t even know you’ve baked a health boost into their sweet potato dessert. You may also want to keep this one on hand for your gluten-free girlfriend’s upcoming birthday (just add candles). Get the recipe here, and learn more about getting Nutritious Life Certified like Nolfo, here. Just imagine all of the desserts you could end up adding sweet potatoes to.
The Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you know anything about Nutritious Life, you know we’re all about our conscious indulgences (and I’m all about the chocolate chip cookies)! But we also believe in them having their own special time and place. Every one of Rachel Mansfield’s recipes always have my mouth watering, and her Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies are no different – they totally hit the spot. You can check out the full recipe here! Ingredients: 3 tablespoons coconut flour 2 eggs at room temperature ¼ cup coconut oil melted and cooled 1 cup sunflower seed butter ½ cup coconut sugar ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ cup dark chocolate chips
3 of the Worst Traditional Holiday Dishes
If the holidays were meant to be healthy, you’d eat the gravy every day of the year. Thank the heavens above that holiday dishes are not in your daily rotation, or you’d wind up with mashed potatoes in your veins and stuffing under your skin. Today we’re focusing on three of the worst of the worst of the worst traditional holiday dishes for your waistline. It’s not meant to be a trash your feast sesh, I’m just shedding some light and promise you tips you can really dig in to! 3 of the Worst Traditional Holiday Dishes Eggnog is made with whipping cream, sugar, eggs and bourbon. What’s not to love? Ummmm the nearly 400 calories in a cup, all that saturated fat and the impending food coma that comes after the third sip. Nobody needs to chase their prime rib feast with a glass full of food porn. If you’re a lover of this thick and decadent holiday treat, why not place it center stage in your holiday repertoire and make a healthful version and meal out of it? I’m loving the idea of a healthy eggnog with all the flavor you love, plus a boost of nutrition with coconut milk and avocado undertones. With a splash of spirits or without, this drink is a total holiday DO. Green Bean Casserole takes healthful, fiber rich, low calorie, crispy, crunchy and satisfying green beans and ups the calories from 31 calories a cup and no fat to a whopping 230 calories plus 10 grams of fat. I guess that’s what happens when you add a can of creamed mushroom soup and fried onions. Sigh. Try green beans with lemon and garlic and save the creamyliciousness for dessert time. You’ll love the modern take on the classic. So will your abs. Pecan Pie is full of pecans, corn syrup and butter and then surrounded by a crispy, crumbly crust of flour and butter. Pecans are absolutely healthful and should be in your munching routine, but ten halves are roughly 100 calories, so a little goes a long way. An average piece of pecan pie runs you roughly 500 calories and nearly 30 grams of fat. Rather than all of that fat and sugar surrounding your precious pecans, center stage these nuts with a spiced pecan recipe (swap the walnuts for pecans) that will wow your guests and you’ll feel great about eating. They’re versatile little suckers and work on both your appetizer tray as well as the dessert table. So, there you have it. Tweak your holiday dishes into healthy foods, and sticking to your healthy eating plan during the holidays will be a piece of cake pie.
10 Sweet Snacks That Are Also Amazingly Healthy
I have tons of clients who are self-sabotaged by their own sweet tooth. Some bemoan the vending machine that calls their name at 3 p.m. every day. Others dread the group dinner with friends, knowing the multiple forks presented with the molten lava cake may as well be shovels because they will not practice the three-bite rule. And, finally there are those who feel like failures because they cannot resist twice-weekly trips to the fro yo shop where they can top their flavor of the week with everything from malted milk balls to Captain Crunch. If your wild sweet tooth is a part of your identity that you have accepted (no judgement here), I have some suggestions for you to keep it tamed: Healthy, sweet snacks that will not derail your healthful eating but will fulfill your desire for something decadent. I even have one on this list that you can indulge in daily (it feels legitimately decadent, but it’s really healthful.) 10 Sweet and Healthy Snacks to Savor 1. Matt’s Munchies are dried fruit treats, with an upgraded twist. At 35-80 calories per pack, these dried fruit puree snacks offer long enjoyment due to their strip-sized bites. It’s a bonus that they are portable and perfectly portioned for you. There is even one for you chocoholics out there! 2. Frozen Bananas aren’t just a summer lovin’ treat. They are an all year long fiber-, potassium- and antioxidant-packed sweet snack (or dessert) that is naturally portion controlled. 3. Fresh fruit is an underrated but amazing sweet treat. If you’re aiming for something lower on the glycemic index, skip the bananas and citrus and go for these low-sugar fruits instead. 4. A frozen fruit bar is a solid sweet staple. Look for whole food ingredients only and no added corn syrup, dyes or chemicals. I recommend: Edy’s, Whole Fruit, 365. 5. Dark chocolate that is 70% or higher helps you to indulge your sweet tooth and get a dose of antioxidants, so enjoy it on occasion in a 1-oz. portion. There are literally hundreds of brands out there on the market, readily portioned for you and you’ll often find them at checkout lines across the land. A couple faves: Green & Black’s, Alter Eco truffles. 6. Angel food cake is mostly sugar and egg whites. For less than 100 calories, it is OK that this indulgence isn’t very nutrient-dense because it is a great vehicle for berries, which are! Plus, who doesn’t have a little nostalgia for this old-school treat? 7. The Good Bean makes roasted chickpeas in a cinnamon flavor that are perfect for a sweet snack. High in fiber and protein, your waistline will not budge over this indulgence, even if it is frequent. 8. Peanut butter is not just for jelly and you don’t have to bake to turn yourself into a nutrition scientist. Simply place 2 teaspoons of natural peanut butter and 1 teaspoon cocoa powder in a mug in the microwave on high for 20 seconds. Mix and top with 1 teaspoon unsweetened coconut flakes. Eat with a spoon! 9. Grilled peaches are the warm weather staple you’ve been missing. Brush a little honey over peach halves and sprinkle with nutmeg. Toss on a hot grill for up to 3 minutes per side so the sugars caramelize. Yum!! We also love to combine them with burrata, honey and basil for a stellar summer crowd-pleaser. (Yes, you’ll have to share this treat with others!) This brings me to number 10 … the treat I mentioned before that gets the green light as a daily taste: 10. Caramel Tea by Yogi is a sweet treat for your waistline that you can have any time you feel the need for sweetness. It feels indulgent, but it’s really a healthful choice, as it has no calories, is full of antioxidants and contributes to your hydration efforts. This is food/drink working for you! There you have it, sweets for my sweets. Remember: go slowly and savor your mouthfuls, so your relationship with your sweet tooth is at peace with your relationship with your health-mindedness!
3 Deliciously Healthy Fruit Desserts
When your sweet tooth is calling and you’re torn between making healthful choices and your uncontrollable urge for a “treat”, delicious and easy fruit desserts can appease the angel and the devil on your shoulders. While it is possible to remind you of all the health benefits in each of these fruit desserts, sometimes it is best to see your sweet treat for what it is: an indulgence. In this case, one with some benefits. Pat yourself on the back when you choose one of these fruity pleasures, knowing that you made a healthful and delicious choice. Rock your palate’s world – you’ll never be happier getting a serving of fruit in! 3 of my most favorite, delicious, easy fruit desserts: Delicate Poached Pears Dessert made in a crockpot? Yep! What could be easier? Get the Recipe Broiled Grapefruit Satisfy your sweet tooth in 5 minutes…you’re welcome. Get the Recipe Perfect Pumpkin Custard Portion controlled and delicious – the perfect pair. Get the Recipe So long mixed feelings about having dessert! Bon appetite!
