Remember Molly McButter, the fake butter of the 90’s?

I used to dump that stuff on everything.

It was “fat-free” and heaven forbid I ate real butter. It had fat!

These days, I know better.

The idea that fat makes you fat is just false.

Good fats, including organic pasture-raised butter, are light years better for my health and waistline than those partially hydrogenated sprinkles.

And I’m not just bashing ole’ Molly here.

Remember the Special K Diet?

Eat two square bowls of Special K cereal a day and you’ll be rocking a bikini.

How about Diet Coke being a weight loss alternative to Coke? (That one is such a fat lie, it just makes me sweat. Diet Coke increases your appetite exponentially more than Coke)

If you’ve fallen for one of these gimmicks, it’s not your fault.

Most of what stocks supermarket shelves are lab creations, craftily marketed to you by a multi-billion dollar food industry.

It’s caused a lot of confusion about fat, calories and exercise.

But no worries, I’ve got your back.

I’ve broken it down for you, so you can start being the healthiest person you know.

5 Biggest Healthy Eating Lies 

Lie #1 “Eating “low-fat” or “fat-free” keeps the fat off”

Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Healthy fats help you lose weight!

They help the body absorb vitamins, give you energy and make you feel more satisfied after a meal.

Food manufacturers make up for the lack of fat in products by using artificial sugars, iodized salt and cheap refined oils like soy and canola(Canola oil, which is so refined it’s practically not fit for human consumption, is a whole other health food lie).

The real culprit behind diabetes and obesity is eating too much sugar and refined carbs, which is pretty much all that is contained in low-fat and fat-free products.

Here are some great healthy fats you can start eating today: olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil, walnuts, sunflower seeds, avocados, ground flaxseed, sardines and wild salmon.

Lie #2 “Eat less calories, lose weight”

The idea that weight loss is simply calories in, calories out is a lie.

Your digestive system is not a math equation.

First, counting calories is useless if you’re not eating the right foods.

Take 100 calories of broccoli versus a 100 calorie bag of pretzels.

The broccoli delivers fiber, protein, antioxidants and will help you maintain a normal blood sugar level, so you won’t crash and crave sweets.

The bag of pretzels, however, has practically no nutrition, has inflammatory properties and will spike your blood sugar, leaving you sluggish and hungry.

Focusing on calories ignores whether you’re getting the right nutrition. Restricting calories is also not a long-term solution for weight loss, which if you’ve tried it you already know.

But worse, it destroys the joy of eating and teaches you to ignore your body’s natural ability to sense when you’re full.

Instead, start eating more leafy greens and plant-based foods. Eat less sugar and processed food. When you sit down, chew your food, put down your fork in between bites and breathe.

 Lie #3 “Gluten-Free products are healthy”

If you go home and stock your pantry with gluten free pretzels, muffins and pancake mix, you won’t see any improvements in health.

The bulk of gluten free products on the market are pure junk.

Most of it is made with refined white rice (stripped of fiber), sugar, salt and about a billion additives.

Cutting out wheat and gluten can reduce the body’s inflammation, which in turn can help dramatically with weight loss and other health issues.

But if you’re replacing wheat with a sugar bomb, you’ll never experience the benefits of a gluten-free diet. Instead of relying on gluten-free products, stick with naturally gluten-free foods like brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, beans, fruits and vegetables.

Check out my blog or the Gluten Free Goddess for easy gluten free recipes. 

Lie #4 “Replacing meals with green smoothies is healthy”

I love green smoothies. They’re delicious and it’s a fantastic way to put my veggie scraps to use. Hello broccoli stems in the kids’ chocolate shakes!

Some of you may have even seen me doing a green smoothie demonstration.

But while smoothies are great once in a while, blending all your meals is not great.

Humans were designed to chew their food. Chewing releases enzymes that prepare the body for digestion.

And you don’t want to mess with digestion.

Getting those bowels flowing is key to a healthy immune system.

Blending large batches of fruits and veggies can also be a lot of compact calories to drink in one sitting.

So enjoy an occasional green smoothie. Just make sure most of your food is going down the old fashioned way.

Side note: skip the bottled smoothies at the supermarket. Those are mostly sugary fruit juices.

 Lie #5 “Exercise your way to weight lose”

Unfortunately, exercise can’t wipe away a bad diet.

To burn off one 20-ounce soda, you would have to walk four and a half miles and to burn off one supersized fast-food meal, you’d have to run four miles a day, every day for a week, according to author and physician Mark Hyman.

Don’t get me wrong, exercise is fantastic!

Walking 30 minutes a day helps you maintain a healthy blood sugar level, is a natural anti-depressant and extends your life.

But without changing what you're eating, exercise won’t help you lose much weight.

First, focus on eating more foods grown in nature. Then cut back on sugar and processed foods and you’ll start getting more results from your workout.

The idea of growing vegetables used to really intimidate me. I could barely keep a houseplant alive.

Then with kids and a dog, fugetaboutit.

Being responsible for one more living organism would have sent me over the edge.

So, it surprised me when I found my love for gardening (if you can call it that, since I don’t do much) living in an apartment.

Thinking it would entertain the kids, we rented a raised bed in a tiny community garden and stuck a random smattering of pre-sprouted veggies from Home Depot in the soil.

A little water and organic fertilizer later, we were pulling torpedo-sized zucchinis from a dense jungle of leaves and vines.

I can’t tell you how insanely satisfying cooking from my own garden has been. Not to mention, the amount of money I’m saving on groceries.

Do you know how much an organic zucchini can cost?

Don't worry if your not growing your own, you can totally snag some affordable ones from your local Farmer's Market.

What I love most about this Zucchini Basil Soup is that it doesn’t need any vegetable broth. You simply use water and you still get a delicious pop of flavor.

It’s one of those soups you have to try. It’s fantastic!

Garden Zucchini Basil Soup

Ingrediants: 

1/3 cup olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves minced

1 inch ginger root grated

1 medium or large onion chopped

7 cups roughly chopped zucchini with skin

1 tsp salt

3 cup water

handful of basil chopped

In a large pot place oil on medium-high heat. When hot, put in garlic and ginger and stir. Add onions, stirring until they are translucent. Next, add zucchini and salt. Stir until zucchini is very tender, about 5 minutes. Add water. Let it get to a low boil and partially cover pot with lid. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

Through in basil and use an immersion blender until smooth.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer it carefully to a blender. You might have to do this is two batches.

Season to taste and enjoy!

Serves 4-6

I’ve been going to town on this blueberry sauce.

Pouring it over oatmeal, spreading it on waffles, mixing it up with plain yogurt.
 
It started with my son spotting the Greek blueberry yogurt my husband squirrels away in our fridge (grrr!).
 
Instead of giving my preschooler the four teaspoons of sugar with “natural flavors”(which can be a blend of a dozen different chemicals), I told him I’d make him something better.
 
Enter the no-added-sugar Blueberry Sauce!
 
You can always find a bag of organic blueberries in my freezer, simply because they rock.
 
They’re packed with antioxidants, fiber, magnesium and have anti-inflammatory properties.

They even help you get glowing skin! 
 
Even more, they have a low glycemic index, which means it won’t spike your blood sugar and leave you feeling like a slug an hour later.
 
But most important, they're freaking delicious!
   

Blueberry Sauce (No added sugar)

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Bring to a low boil in a small saucepan for 5-6 minutes. While boiling, Mash with fork or get fancy and use an immersion blender when done. Don't over cook or it won't have enough liquid.

Serve over pancakes, oatmeal or cool and eat with plain yogurt or frozen desserts.

Keep in airtight container in fridge. 

I was checking out the explosion of budding flowers that have improved the view from my porch, when my husband asked, “Aren’t your allergies killing you?”

This is the first spring in years that I’m not a snotty mess with a pocket full of damp tissues.

Not too long ago, I was buying Claritin in bulk.

Have you ever read the possible side effects on those OTC antihistamines?  

Here’s a few: Constipation, weight gain, skin rash, mouth dryness, congestion…congestion, really?

Sounds worse than why I was taking it!

I’m sure you know plenty of people devoutly taking their allergy medication but still not enjoying the outdoors.

Taking the natural route to healing your allergies (instead of masking them) can be just as effective, or in my case, more effective, than medication.

Here are simple steps to naturally start feeling better today.

Use a Neti Pot

I discovered this while pregnant and have been obsessed ever since.

Like a mini teapot, you fill it with warm water and a bit of salt, breathing through your mouth as you tip it into one nostril at a time.

Yes, rinsing out your nasal passage might seem like self-imposed waterboarding but I promise, once you get over the initial weirdness, it feels fantastic.

After the mucus is washed away, you will have superhuman breathing powers!

At the peak of allergy season, I do this once in the morning and before bed. Here’s a simple kit to get started. 

Hydrate

Drinking lots of water will thin the mucus. You know that “Uh-hem” throat clearing thingy you hear people do 20 times a day? Yeah, it will help with that.

Hot decaffeinated tea or just hot water with lemon is great too.

Stay away from sugary beverages like fruit juice, soda and sports drinks. Too much sugar suppresses the immune system and prolongs inflammation.

Eat this

Leafy Greens clear out toxins and are jam packed with vitamins that pump up your immune system. Try kale, mustard greens, romaine and broccoli (Not a leafy green but eat it anyway!).

Raw honey

Start adding local raw honey and bee pollen to your diet. You can find both at local farmer's markets.

It’s really important it’s local because it acts as a vaccine to the pollen in your area. So if you’re in Chicago and your honey is from New Zealand, it’s not going to work.

In the future, start adding it to your diet six weeks before allergy season.

Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are a fantastic anti-inflammatory.

I’m sure you’ve heard that children who are breastfed are less likely to have allergies. It’s the Omega-3 in the breast milk that helps give them that advantage.

Omega-3 rich foods include wild salmon, sardines, walnuts, ground flaxseed or fish oil. Food is always the best way to get your nutrition but these are quality fish oil supplements.

Avoid this

Dairy, alcohol and sugar are all mucus forming foods and will make you more congested.

Until your symptoms clear up, swap out your beloved ice cream and wine with an alternative treat you can look forward to. 

Probiotic

I swear by this probiotic. Take on an empty stomach each morning. However, fermented foods are also a fantastic way to get in your probiotics.

Fermented foods include miso, kimchi and sauerkraut (not the kind in a can).

On a recent grocery run with the kids, I knew I wasn’t getting passed the wall of granola bars without my 4-year-old's snack detector going off.

"Can I have a snack?" he quickly shouted.

I picked up the healthiest looking bars of the bunch(Kashi), thinking, “How bad could it be?”

Crappy oils, GMO corn, lots of GMO soy, processed sugar, way too much salt, natural flavoring(aka mystery chemicals)…Holy Hell, more than 30 ingredients!

What kind of granola bar needs 30 ingredients?

I’d like to say I didn’t buy it but I did.

My son’s pleading broke me.

But I went home with a plan to create some seriously easy granola bars to keep in the freezer and whip out on our next grocery trip.

This one is my favorite granola bar recipe.

It’s nine ingredients and it kicks the store bought kind’s ass!

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Adapted from the minimalist baker

Ingredients:

2 cups pitted dates


1 teaspoon cinnamon


1/4 teaspoon sea salt


*3 cups old fashioned or rolled oats(I use Gluten Free)


1/2 cup raisins


1 cup unsalted peanuts


1/2 cup pumpkin seeds


3/4 cup unsalted peanut butter


1/2 cup brown rice syrup or honey

Directions:

1. If your dates are moist, blend them in food processor until paste-like. If they’re a little hard, put them in a bowl and cover with warm water for about 10 minutes and drain before processing.
2. Mix peanut butter and syrup in a small saucepan on low and heat briefly until melted.
3. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients and mix well. You're arm might get a little tired here but keep going.
4. Dump mixture into a parchment paper or plastic wrap lined 13 x 9 baking dish (pretty much any dish size will work. It will just change the thickness of bars). Using another piece of plastic wrap firmly press mixture evenly into dish.
5. Cover and place in fridge for 20 minutes. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Yields about 14 squares

* Toasting the oats on 350F for 12 minutes gives it a bit of a nuttier flavor but it’s totally not necessary.

I can’t remember exactly when dessert became a guilt thing.

In college, I had no problem polishing off a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.

My boyfriend (now my husband) even gave me an ice cream cozy to keep my pint-holding hand warm.

Ah, romance!

Actually, not so romantic, considering I spent most of my twenties bloated and feeling like an emotional time bomb.

These days, I still love dessert but there’s no way I’m diving into a bowl of sugar that will throw my body and emotions out of whack.

So does eating healthy mean not indulging in sweets? 

Oh, hells no! 

Since ditching most processed food, I probably eat dessert more than ever. 

When you try my ridiculously easy 5 Ingredient Coconut Chia Pudding, you'll see how sweet and delicious eating real food can be.

And they're made with Ch-ch-cha chia!

Yup, the same seeds made famous for the 1980’s gag gift Chia Pets.

Chai seeds are now getting attention for being an amazing health food and rightfully so.

They’re rich in inflammation fighting Omega-3, filled with antioxidants and are a good source of fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.

Besides being lick-your-bowl-clean delicious, my favorite thing about this chia pudding is that it’s so damn easy to make!

Here’s to never feeling guilty about dessert again! 

Coconut Chia Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (the canned kind)

1/3 cup chia seeds

¼ cup honey or maple syrup

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional: berries or sliced fruit

Directions

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl or container and store in fridge overnight. The chia seeds will take on a tapioca consistency.

If you just can’t wait, you can dig in after four hours but it’s better if you can hold out.

Top with berries and enjoy!