REAL Damn Good Food

healthy eating REAL Damn Good Food

BY CHELSIE SAVAGE

COURTESY CHELSIE SAVAGE

As a society, food remains one of the most personal things we talk about. We will gossip all day long to a room full of strangers about personal relationships, goals, or even finances. But have you ever noticed how quickly one will clam up when the topic of diet is discussed? Well—we’re going there!

Our relationship with food is one of the most intimate relationships we maintain, and this relationship is crucial to our existence. Some say they just want to “eat the way they eat and not live as long,” rather than eating healthy, and that would be fine if that’s the way it was… but it’s not. If we could just eat whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, feel amazing, and then just not wake up one morning, we would all do it! But the reality is, when we’re not choosing appropriate foods, we develop chronic diseases, become dependent on antibiotics, subject ourselves to intrusive and expensive surgeries; our bodies become self-limiting, and over time, the quality of our lives (and the lives of those who love us most) greatly depreciates.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Things like bypass surgery, chemotherapy, and being insulin dependent have become the accepted way of dealing with illnesses, while consuming a diet centered around foods grown from the earth and minimally processed is considered “too extreme”. As a holistic nutritionist, I consistently run into people who are committed to wanting to eat better but not wanting to give up the communion around food that is in our DNA. And they shouldn’t! Eating healthy is easy when it tastes good. In fact—that’s the number one reason why I became an accidental restaurateur. As I became aware of how incredibly uninformed and disconnected the restaurant industry was in making good food that was good for you, I became committed to creating restaurants that provided healthy, healing food made from quality ingredients that were also approachable, fun, and delicious—and that is the principles that my restaurants (The Sanctum and Proper & Wild) are founded on.

But in an age of thousands of fad diets, contradicting philosophies of nutrition, and a multibillion-dollar health-food industry, how does one start to navigate this? What are the principles YOU can do today, in your home, to start making the transition to health for you and your family? 1)Every single person can benefit from eating more plants. Fill your plates daily with mostly plants prepared raw or cooked and do your best to eat the rainbow to maximize phyto-nutrient consumption.

2)Eat REAL food… food made from food, and not a bunch of processed, chemical- ridden ingredients. Read your labels and get rid of the food dyes, the hydrogenated oils, the preservatives, and the refined flours & sugars, and source organic as often as possible.

3)Trade up. No need to purge your pantry all at once—slowly start combing through and upgrading current ingredients for healthier alternatives when it comes time to replenish!

4)There is no time more well spent than preparing healthy food for people you love.

Healthy food does not have to be complex, but it is also not always fast, cheap, or easy.

Take the time to invest in your health and teach and share with your family the value of investing in your health.

Start making those small changes and see how you feel. Cook dinner with a loved one or a friend and enjoy the communion over that time and what’s on your plates. Come to one of our restaurants and feel the love and care with which your food is prepared. I hope you begin to fall in love with this relationship with food.

Chelsie Savage is a board certified clinical & holistic nutritionist and Chef/Owner of The Sanctum Cafe–Orlando, The Sanctum Coffee & Juice Bar–Altamonte Springs and Proper & Wild–Winter Park. She is committed to elevating the way people thing about healthy food by serving good for you food from the healthiest ingredient she can source that also tastes damn good. Taking health promoting ingredients front and center and making people fall in love with good for you food.

The "Perfect" Pumpkin Pie [GO AHEAD—TAKE ANOTHER PIECE] BY DR. BROOKE STUART

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees 2. Then stir up the filling: • ½ Cup Coconut Palm Sugar • 1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice (aka cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg) • Pinch of Sea Salt • Dash of Vanilla • 2 Large Eggs • 1 Can (15 oz.) 100% Pure Pumpkin • 1 Can (13.5 oz.) Full Fat Coconut Milk 3. Pour the filling into the crust, which you can either make your own, or pick on up at your local health-food store. I chose a “Wholly Wholesome Gluten Free Pie Crust”. 4. Bake for about 50 min.; check with a toothpick. 5. Cool on a rack for about an hour, then refrigerate. 6. Top with Coconut Cream before serving! I simply use... • 1 Can of Coconut Cream • 2 Teaspoons of Coconut Palm Sugar • ½ Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract Whip for about 30 seconds and voilá! The perfect pumpkin pie! < ALTERNATIVE SUGAR OPTIONS: Raw Honey, Maple Syrup, Coconut Palm Sugar, Date Sugar, Molasses, Liquid Stevia, Monk Fruit Sweetener, Erythritol, Xylitol.

Dr. Brooke Stuart, our IJY resident holistic medical expert, shares with us the health benefits of pumpkin pie. “We all know that pumpkin pie is a traditional holiday dessert. But did you know: Pumpkin has been shown to clear and tighten the skin, calm the nervous system, sharpen the eyes, deepen sleep, boost mood, improve digestion and elimination, curb cravings, burn fat and regulate blood sugar? Pumpkins have all of these effects and more because they are a rich source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Anyone deficient in the nutrients pumpkin has to offer will notice the very many benefits that come from eating this nature-made whole food. With that said, pumpkin is quite the seasonal super food and a great fall addition to a healthy mindset, diet and lifestyle.”

Dr. Brooke is sharing with us her pumpkin pie recipe, using an alternative sugar source. IJY Staff believes that all of these benefits entitle us to take a second piece!

Dr. Brooke Stuart is the creator of the Let Go & Grow Program as well as a holistic doctor in private practice. Over the past ten years, Dr. Stuart has worked with thousands of people through her online platform, speaking engagements and one-on-one in practice. Holding degrees in medical anthropology, psychology, and integrative medicine, Dr. Stuart uses a unique combination of holistic counseling and functional medicine to personalize and tailor treatments for her patients, particularly women and professional athletes, locally in Central FL and around the world. As a physician, she is deeply committed to her patient’s personal growth and development as she uses solution-oriented methods to clear issues, create health and assist them in realizing and actualizing their true potential.