Curious how to boost the nutrition in every meal while at the same time enjoying something truly delicious? Try these 4 Pro Tips for boosting the nutrition and the FLAVOR of your healthy meals this week from RISE nutritionist and healing foods expert, Jenny Ross! Chef Jenny has over 20 years of restaurant experience under her belt and we guarantee you will love these simple healthy hacks...

Add Fresh Herbs
Fresh herbs add an incredible boost of flavor while at the same time delivering extra health benefits with every bite!

Cilantro is great for circulation, basil is high in antioxidants and green onions are a great source of Vitamin K! All 3 are full of chlorophyll, reducing inflammation in the body. PLUS, they add that burst of flavor to any entrée dish.

Superfoods = Super YOU!
Superfoods make a simple garnish and can deliver functional nutrition for each meal. For example, hemp seeds add 14 grams of protein in just 1 tablespoon! But did you know cinnamon, raw cacao and turmeric are ...

With the warm weather of summer upon us and more salads on our menus, here are a few fun ideas from Chef Sally Cameron on how to build a better salad. Enjoy using her ideas to up your salad game while delighting your palate and banish boring salads not just in summer but all year long!

And for a complete look at her delicious recipes, make sure to check out all the yummy goodness at A Food Centric Life!

Try Different Greens

With so many options now at the market, do you grab the same old thing each time? Red lettuce is my favorite, but peppery arugula, baby kale, tender butterhead lettuces (Bibb, Boston), curly Frisee, escarole, elegant endive, sturdy Romaine, watercress, a classic crisp wedge of iceberg, and baby green spinach make for wonderful salads. Add thinly sliced red cabbage or radicchio for color. Mix up your greens! 

Add Some Crunchies

Crunchy things give salads texture and are a way to add flavor, protein, fat, and color. Sprinkle on hemp hearts, adding protein and cru...

This week we thought it would be fun and timely to focus one of our favorite strategies to transform your health! It’s our favorite as it’s delightfully simple and it works!

Bottom line, if you want to get healthy, your top priority should be to dive into a community of like-minded individuals to watch your health soar!

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, “You are more likely to be overweight if your friend’s, friend’s friend is overweight than if your parents are overweight. Your social networks may matter more than your genetic networks. If your friends have healthy habits you are more likely to as well.  So, get healthy friends!”

Community: The Best Medicine for Change

Research shows that community is definitely the best medicine to foster long-term change and improve health.

Group models of intensive lifestyle change like the one modeled by Dr. Dean Ornish for heart disease and prostate cancer, are more effective and save more lives than using medication and surgery for diseases caus...

Ingredients

8 ounces organic kale shredded
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
2 cara cara or navel oranges 1 juiced for dressing and 1 peeled and diced for salad
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon organic honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/8 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons raw pecans roughly chopped
3 cups chicken grilled or baked free-range, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, chopped

Instructions

1. Place kale and cilantro in large bowl.
2. In small bowl, whisk together the juice of 1 orange, sea salt, ground pepper, honey and sesame oil. Whisk until blended.
3. Toss diced orange, raisins, sesame seeds, pecans and dressing with the kale and cilantro. Refrigerate for 30 minutes prior to serving.
4. Serve salad on plates and top with chicken. Enjoy!

Recipe provided by Tana Amen - https://tanaamen.com/recipes/sesame-citrus-kale-salad-with-chicken/ please visit her website for more delicious recipes.

For the crust

1 cup raw chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup gluten-free quick cook oats
6 soft pitted dates
2 tbsp coconut flakes
2 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
2 tbsp melted coconut oil.
Mixed fruit, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries

Directions

Process until you get a nice, sticky crumb and push into a pie plate. Allow to freeze for about an hour or until firm. Top with your favorite coconut yogurt and freeze again for an hour. Finish with your mix of freshly washed fruit and start calling every one of your favorite sweet tarts to have a bite.

If you’d looking for some fun new recipes check out Mareya’s new book, Eat Like You Give a Fork: The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive.

We pray you are learning to RISE in all areas of your life!

This week, we have the incredible honor and opportunity to learn from a dear friend, amazing pastor, husband, father of six (yes six) boys and author of the incredible newly released book “Dirt Grenades: And other Explosive Parenting Moments”, Kent Kraning! 

Here’s a beautiful excerpt from his new book, we hope you enjoy:

“In the 1980s, my parents were asked to produce a video series on parenting called “Roots to Grow, Wings to Fly.” I still have the tapes packaged in vinyl on a shelf somewhere. When these were produced, my brother and I each received a copy. Now, mind you, we were not involved in the production nor were we even consulted, but my parents had “arrived” on VHS and we were excited to celebrate their premier. 

Sometime after we had received our copy, my wife Robin and I decided to unwrap the gift. We inserted the tape, pressed play and waited in anticipation as my father began.

He is an excellent storyteller ...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups raw almond butter (roughly 1 jar)
1/2 cup raw honey or agave
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
Coconut to coat

Directions

1. Process all ingredients, save coconut, in a food processor with the blade attachment in place/ alternatively process by hand mixing in a bowl.
2. Section into 1 tbsp bites and roll in coconut.
3. Refrigerate and enjoy!

 This recipe is a favorite of our Group Coaching Program at RISE from Chef Jenny, our nutritionist.  

We all know that we need to exercise, but did you know you can also improve your health – and your waistline – just by adding a little more movement to your day? Americans sit for an average of 13 hours a day, and experts say sitting for more than eight hours a day is so bad for you, it can even negate the positive effects of regular exercise!

Take steps to combat that. Literally. Experts recommend we take an average of 10,000 steps per day to maintain good health. Unfortunately, the average American takes only 1,000 to 3,000 per day, a difference that contributes to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

So, step it up! These tips will help you get moving:

Take the stairs. Whether you skip up one flight or trek up eight, taking the stairs instead of the elevator you will help you burn calories, increase your energy and help clear out the cobwebs. And by using your own power to move between floors, taking the stairs is also an easy way to go green!

Give up Your Parking Spot. Have a p...

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons raw coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1½ to 2 pounds raw chicken sausage, chopped into ½-inch chunks and casings removed (for a vegan swap, try Beyond Meat sausage)
1 cup uncooked spelt
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups sliced, stemmed cremini mushrooms
Two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with their juices
2 teaspoons dried oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a heavy cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and chili powder, and cook until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add the spelt and broth to the skillet, then reduce the heat to medium and bring to a simmer.
   
   
3. Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes with their juices and oregano. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the vegetables and s...