Creamy Risotto with Peas and Greens

I had this risotto for the first time last year when I was at a cycling camp in Spain.  We were all blown away at how creamy this dish is without any cheese or cream.  There is a wonderful alchemy that takes place between the starch from the rice and the lemon juice that gives the dish its wonderful creamy texture. I was inspired to make this dish…


Tags: Main Course, Recipes

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Two Favorite Upper Back Mobility Exercises

  Keeping your upper back moving well is important for good posture and pain free neck, shoulders and low back. Unlike our lower back (lumbar spine), our thoracic spine or upper back is designed to extend and to rotate and when the upper back gets stiff, the lower back and the neck compensate causing pain. Why does the upper back lose mobility or…


Tags: Fitness

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My Interview with The Happy Healthy Librarian, Debby Kastner

Debby Kastner’s blog and now FB page is one of my favorite and most reliable sources for information on healthy living.  I discovered Debby Kastner’s blog, Happy Healthy Long Life about seven years ago, just a few years after I started transitioning to a plant based diet. Debby is a medical librarian at a leading US medical center who's been in the…


Tags: Breakfast, Fitness, Inspiration, Main Course, Recipes, Salads

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Squat Lunge Variations

Hip strength is super important. Strong hips support your back, help keep your knees track properly,  keeps you moving well, especially as we age and  and key for getting you up if you fall. I am a big fan of doing single leg work.  Single leg work is  great for  developing balance, core strength and hip strength.  When we walk or run at least 50%…


Tags: Fitness

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Salad Samurai

It has been unseasonably warm here in Aspen and I have spring fever which means I have been  craving big interesting salads.  Enter, Terry Hope Romero's fabulous book, "Salad Samurai." I made the "Spring Herb Salad with Maple Orange Tempeh Nibbles" last night for dinner and it was SO good!  Othe recipes I am dying to try are "Almond Falafel Crunch…


Tags: Recipes

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My Interview with Olympic Athlete Dotsie Bausch

 Olympic athlete, Dotsie Bausch is on my list of “People Who Really Inspire Me.” I am very excited to share her story.  I first learned about Dotsie Bausch after watching her TED Talk “Olympic Level Compassion.” You can see her TED talk here. She has overcome so much and turned adversity into victory for herself, her country and for animals.  Before…


Tags: Fitness, Inspiration

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Kosmic Cornbread

This is the best cornbread recipe ever!  It is super moist and stays moist the next day unlike so many other cornbread recipes.  It is super nutrient dense with cornmeal, quinoa, tofu and spelt flour.  Packed with protein and fiber, this bread is a nutritional power house.  I serve this with spicy two bean chili, and a big green salad.   This recipe…


Tags: Bread, Recipes

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The Best Way to Beat Back Pain is to Keep Moving and Wait It Out

  About 25% of Americans say that they have had back pain within the past three months.  Treatment of back pain with opioids has been a contributing factor to the crisis of drug addiction in this country.   New guidelines recommended by the American College of Physicians say that non drug therapies such as massage, superficial heat, spinal manipulation,…


Tags: Fitness

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Dreena's Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake

Dreena Burton is an amazing recipe creator.  This cake is sweetened partially with cooked sweet potato, which also adds moisture and a tender texture. Pair it with the Chocolate Sweets Frosting, and you have a real winner! I made and served this cake to my dinner guests last night and I think it is safe to say that they enjoyed it. Makes 1 cake layer  Ingredients  3/4…


Tags: Dessert, Recipes

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My Talk with Dr. Eric Goodman, Creator of Foundation Training

 A few years ago my friend Dave, who was dealing with back pain, asked me if I had heard about Foundation Training.  I said, I think so, but let me take a look.” So I looked.  Foundation Training is a strengthening and movement program designed to help people get out of back pain.   After reading Eric’s first book, Foundation, I decided to take a deep…


Tags: Fitness, Inspiration

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