Happy Winter Solstice! Today is the darkest day and the longest night of the year in the Northern hemisphere. It is a time of pause and reflection; a time to clear space for a new year. What do you want to release? What do you want to create for yourself in the coming year?

Cold and flu season is in full swing—here are some simple home remedies you can make to keep yourself from getting taken out by the viruses that are spreading right now. Immunity shots can now be found in most grocery stores, but they usually cost over $3 or $4 for just a few tablespoons!

A "detoxification diet" is actually something you can do everyday by incorporating certain foods into your diet. Think of it as an inclusion diet where the focus is to bring in a variety of detoxification-supporting foods each day. Kohlrabi is an excellent food to support detoxification! It is a cruciferous vegetable like broccoli, cabbage, radishes, and kale, and it's part of the Brassicaceae family of vegetables.

An Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker, and it's a lot easier and safer to use than a stovetop pressure cooker. Once you've started using one, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it! Many Nourishing Meals members have asked me to do a video demonstrating how to use an Instant Pot in order to utilize the hundreds of Instant Pot recipes I have tagged in our membership section. 

Chia pudding made with real food ingredients is a powerhouse of nutrients—especially important for growing, active children! This nut- and dairy-free pudding recipe is rich in polyphenols, protein, healthy fats, fiber, complex carbohydrates, calcium, and magnesium. In fact, one serving contains over 13 grams of protein, 29 grams of healthy fats, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of fiber, and over 230mg of calcium!

Full body health begins with the little things we do every day. That's right....every day! Did you know that incorporating fresh herbs and spices into your meals adds thousands of flavonoid compounds that benefit your health and the health of your microbiome?

Honor your mothers and grandmothers by creating a nourishing meal with whole food ingredients this Mother's Day. Whether you are cooking breakfast, brunch, or a family dinner, I have some healthy gluten-free recipes to inspire you on this special day.

I absolutely love baking with buckwheat flour. It has a robust, earthy flavor and impressive nutritional profile. Paired with a high-quality raw cacao powder and extra virgin olive oil, you get a phytonutrient-rich healing dessert! Both buckwheat flour and cacao powder are rich sources of flavonoids and polyphenols. These compounds have numerous beneficial impacts on different systems in the body. Did you know that polyphenols interact with the gut microbiota and act as prebiotics for beneficial bacteria?

Today I am going to focus on how food sensitivities create a cascade of inflammation in the body and what you can do about it. The immune reaction to a virus or bacteria is the same response the body uses when reacting to a food. This is called a food hypersensitivity.

Panang curry is one of my favorite types of Thai curries. It is deeply flavored with spicy chili paste, hints of lime, and a nutty richness from the peanut butter. It is best to find a good quality panang curry paste for this recipe. Look for one at your local food co-op or health food store. Panang curry paste is typically made from Thai red chilies, shallots, lemongrass, garlic, coriander, galangal (Thai ginger), kaffir lime peel, cumin, and sea salt.