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• Happy Summer!!

  04Jun
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  I’m back guys!  Since summer has unofficially begun, I thought it would be a good idea to start the season off right with a super healthy, super delicious meal before we let the burgers, hot dogs and potato salad take over for the next 3 months!

  One of my absolute FAVORITES this time of year is basil.  I can’t get enough of it, and luckily, it’s usually sold in large bunches.  So for this super summer meal, I’m giving you a basil-quinoa-veggie salad.

  Sort of like a bean salad, but without the beans (although they’d make a lovely addition), this salad uses up any veggies in your fridge you need to think of something to do with before they go bad.  I specifically chose sugar snap peas and red peppers because that’s what was available in my fridge, but you could use anything you like- raw, steamed, sauteed, or roasted.

  Prepare one cup of quinoa according to the package directions and then mix in your chopped veggies.  Leave some of them raw for extra nutrients and added crunch if you can, but things like sauteed leeks and roasted eggplant chunks would be delicious add-ins.  Especially the leeks, as they get an almost sweet, buttery flavor.

  I chopped up a handful of basil and incorporated that as well, but I also made a very quick pesto with the rest of the basil, a heavy drizzling of olive oil, a handful of walnuts, the juice of half a lemon and a large pinch of coarse sea salt.  Food process that all together, adding the oil as you go until the consistency appeals to you.  I prefer mine a little chunky.

  Serve your quinoa (keen-wa for newbies to this super healthy grain) salad with a side of steamed kale and a small chicken breast, and drizzle the whole plate with some pesto and an extra squirt of lemon juice and you’ve got a meal I couldn’t make healthier if I tried!

  The best thing is that the longest part of this whole process is making the quinoa, which takes about 15 minutes.  While it’s cooking, you can put some chicken on another burner, chop a few veggies, process the pesto, AND steam the kale all in that time.

  And to make this even more filling for the vegetarians, throw in some white cannelini beans or adzuki beans.  While quinoa is conveniently already a complete protein (unlike all other grains and beans), it can’t hurt to add a little more.

  Focus on this at your next BBQ and I guarantee a guiltless morning after!

• Soda Tax Vent

  31Mar
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 1

  I just have to blow off some steam here and need to know that I’m not alone…  Has anyone seen the commercials encouraging people to oppose the “fat tax” on sugary drinks?  Every time I see it I feel the violent urge to throw something at the television.  Ameesh would be mad if that happened, so I turn to writing.  In said commercial, a woman who is supposed to represent a lower socio-economic status (although she’s in what appears to be a very nice homey kitchen larger than my own) is encouraging viewers to feel bad for the plight of people who can’t afford to pay a couple extra dollars for sweetened beverages.  She takes a bottle of generic cola out of a grocery bag and hands it to her son, while complaining that even instant drinks like lemonade might be affected by this evil tax.  Her counter is full of brand-less drinks, obviously standing in for things like Coke and Sunny Delight.

  “Families already struggling to get by may have to pay up to $5 extra dollars for these beverages!” she pleads.  This is where I begin to lose it.  I mean seriously lose it.  If there is anyone out there who honestly doesn’t think to themselves “SO DON’T BUY THE DRINKS!” and thinks that these commercials will work, I need a show of hands.  The really sad thing is that people truly ARE that clueless to come to that conclusion and actually DO think that a sugary drink tax is pure evil!

  I’ve mentioned it before, but I find it absolutely dumbfounding that people are literally throwing money down the drain to buy things like this to begin with.  How much money would you save in a month or in a year if you didn’t always need to have sugary drink options?

  Water is FREE.  Lemonade needs 3 ingredients: lemons, water, table sugar.  Done and done.  Make a cup of tea- they come in many flavors these days.

  The entire point of the proposed tax is that so people buy less of the product and LOSE WEIGHT, thus curbing the progression of so many dietary related chronic diseases, all while earning a little extra government mulah from the people who insist on still drinking that stuff regularly.  Isn’t that a step in the right direction?  Who do you know out there that wouldn’t like to lose a pound or two and save money at the same time?

  Sigh…I’m just one frustrated voice in a sea of declining health!  I look forward to the day when the corporate world food system finally kills itself and people have no choice but to go back to growing their own food!

  We’re probably closer to that than we realize…

• Noshies!!!!

  06Mar
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  So, if you think trail mix is your only “healthy” snack that involves something nutty, something sweet and something satiating, I’ve got some good news for you.

  Welcome to the world…..Noshies, the brainchild of fitness and nutritional champion (and very trusted friend) Debra Duby.  Complete with protein, fiber and the perfect balance of amino acids, and let’s not forget- deliciousness, these things trump most “nutritious” snacks on the market.  I met Debra on Friday for a late afternoon snack.  She gave me a sample pack of the goods to see if I liked them and if so…my mission was to blog about them.  I got one of each of her 8 flavors.  These suckers are filling, they are delicious, and to me…oddly reminiscent of my younger years stealing raw cookie dough from the freezer when Mom wasn’t looking.  I tried two flavors at first, and loved them so much I couldn’t wait to try another flavor to see if it was as tasty as the previous.  By the end of the night, woops- I’d eaten all of them.

  I HIGHLY recommend getting a tray of these for your next social gathering…. or if you’ve been looking for the perfect energy bar, but haven’t stumbled across anything you really enjoy quite yet- these have your name all over them.

  From super chocolate-y varieties, like chocolate covered apricot or chocolate trail mix to child hood favorite flavors like peanut butter and jelly, your mouth will dance with joy.  No really.  Mine seriously did. The best part about them is they’re all organic and they don’t have a stitch of chemical ANYTHING.  They run the gamut of organic ingredients from whey protein to whole oats, flax and chia seeds, nut butters and dried fruits, these little nuggets of nutrition offer more than just that.  My favorite flavors were the apple pecan, banana chocolate chip, and peanut butter and jelly I think.  Although there wasn’t a single flavor that I wouldn’t eat twice, or thrice even..

  Here’s the complete list of available flavors:

  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
  • Chocolate Almond Macaroon
  • Chocolate Chip Banana Nut
  • PB & J
  • Cinnamon Apple Pecan
  • Super Chocolately Trail Mix
  • Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip
  • Chocolate Covered Apricots

  They’ve all got approximately 5 grams of protein and 3 or 4 grams of fiber per treat, so they’re definitely filling and satisfying!

  So for my birthday coming up in less than 6 weeks (hint, hint) you know what to do…

  So give my friend Debra a shout and order up a batch of your own…and for me. (PB & J please!)

  Debra Duby: debra@soulsaladltd.com  She delivers to almost all of Manhattan, Westchester and southern Connecticut.

• Puttin’ the Family on the Right Track

  11Jan
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 4

  Hello friends!  How’s everyone coming along with their start of the year healthy resolutions?  Need some motivation?  Just ask my sister, Liz, how much better she feels when she’s eating healthfully.  While she may live in another city, if I could see her walking I’m sure there’d be more of a bounce to her step, because there’s certainly more bounce to her voice.  In talking with her I can tell she actually FEELS HAPPIER when she’s eating well.  She just sounds more positive and optimistic.  She was a little bummed after getting on the scale post-holidays, which she quickly used to launch a new attitude.  Now she’s telling me how delicious of a salad she made for dinner last night, and she actually sounds happy about it!  Way to go, Liz.  I commend you.

  Things with my mother tend to be a bit more challenging.  She doesn’t embrace the food changes quite as easily as my sister does, but even more important now is her coping mechanism for stress:  bottling it up inside.  Every time I talk to her she tells me that she found some new yoga studio she wants to try out, but she has yet to step foot inside one.  I gave her an ultimatum last night.  I told her the next time I talk to her about yoga, it better be about what the studio looks like on the inside or how difficult/relaxing/mind-opening her first class was.  So I have an idea-  any of you regular yoga attendees out there- please send me in an email, or post as a comment how you feel after a yoga class.  Write about your personal experiences with the practice, how you got started or whatever words of encouragement you may have.  If you’d like to address my mother personally (her name is Joyce), it might be all the more fire under her ass that she needs to courageously take that first class.  I will compile all the the stories and comments and send them to her by next week.  She is a highly anxious person, dealing with a lot of stress with my rapidly aging grandparents right now, and she has no other work-out routine to speak of.  It is sooooo important that she starts doing SOMETHING and she’s been talking about wanting to try yoga for almost a year now.  I am running out of ways to convince her to get over her fear of that first class.  So I’m recruiting help!

  It would be amazing if all of you yogis out there, whether you know me or not could help out!  Please send emails to caitlin@graterhealth.com and title them “YOGA” or post a comment under this post or on the Facebook link.  Not only might you inspire my very dear to me, mother, but you may inspire others out there reading to go for it themselves!  And if you know of anyone who enjoys yoga, but may not be familiar with my blog, please forward this along to them and ask for their participation!  I’d love to hear from as many people as possible.

  Thank you!!

• SEE THIS MOVIE NOW

  31Jul
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 1

  If you live somewhere where Food, Inc. is playing, GO.  It’s amazingly eye opening.  It’s at Film Forum in NYC, and I know it’s playing in Pittsburgh, too.  I think Squirrel Hill.  Go!!

• Martha

  24Sep
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  Don’t you just love Martha Stewart, the woman who does it all? Well, I’ve submitted my blog for review to hopefully be featured on her own blog. Her blog:The Martha Blog has pretty much everything you can think of, but hopefully my faithful readers will continue to turn to me for advice on being happy and healthy!

  Wish me luck!

• Welcome!

  23Aug
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 1

  Welcome everyone as I enter the world of blogging! As I imagine, only my friends are reading this right now, and introducing myself would be a bit unnecessary. However, for those who may have stumbled upon this through some distant social networking connection, I will make my first post brief and to the point. My name is Caitlin Grater, and as a holistic nutritionist, and health world enthusiast, people are always asking for advice. Have I read this book and that?; how much fruit is too much?; what do I eat on a daily basis for breakfast, lunch, dinner? The list goes on. My mission is to educate and inspire people to make healthy changes in their lives through diet, exercise, and by just thinking more positively. I hope to reach a regularly attending audience through this blog and to open a window in my life to those reading. I won’t always be healthy, and I won’t always be happy, but that’s important for people to know. Life isn’t always a bowl of cherries, but I make a daily effort to stay balanced. In this blog I plan to write about really basic things, for example meals I’ve had that day. Not to be boring (which sometimes it will be), but to give people ideas to think outside the cereal box. I’ll also use it as a forum to answer questions that I may get during the day, or as an outlet to express frustrations in the struggle against Big Food. I make dietary suggestions to clients regularly, but I could secretly be waking up every morning to doughnuts. I want people to know that I really live what I preach: whole, unprocessed foods, dietary experimentations, trying not to get too down-trodden when stressors intensify, etc. Health isn’t just about what you eat, and how much you move. It’s a complex scientific equation, and everyone’s equation is different from the person next to you. I’m not trying to say emulate mine and you’ll be healthy, but to look into the life of a generally healthy person so that you can say, “it’s worth a try.” Thanks for reading, and here’s to your health!

  Tags: food, health, wellness