Ingredients:

• 1 package Miyokos cultured vegan butter
• 6 figs sliced
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1 cup basil
• 4 cloves garlic

Directions:

1. Soften butter by leaving to sit out for 1 hour before use.
2. Press out butter over wooden cutting board or plate evenly.
3. In the Personal Blender, pulse the basil and the garlic. Add this mix throughout the board. 
4. Layer on pomegranate seeds and figs. 
5. Enjoy with a fresh gluten-free bread like Carbonaut, grain-free crackers, or your favorite dippable square.

This recipe is by Chef Jenny Ross. Check out her blog here.

These days, no matter what stage of life you’re at or what season you’re in, it’s crucial to always have hope. According to Psychology Today, hope is much more than wishful thinking. It’s a powerful tool in the life toolbox that’s built on strategies for strengthening well-being, resilience, and accomplishment. Hope can empower you to create and sustain a more positive future in many areas of your life—at work, at school, and at home. It can strengthen your emotional health and happiness, augment your stress reduction skills, and amplify your ability to achieve goals. Furthermore, clinical neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf said, “Hope leads to expectation, which creates peace, excitement, and health in our minds, thus increasing brain and body health.”

So how do we harness the power of hope in our lives? An organization called Hopeful Minds came up with the acronym SHINE as five keys to create hope.

S - Stress Skills
You can strengthen your resilience by learning and practicing str...

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower head large (about 4 cups medium to large diced)
• 1 tablespoon macadamia nut oil
• 3 ribs celery (about 1 1/2 cups small diced)
• 1/2 red onion (about 1/2 cup small diced)
• 1 cup cilantro chopped
• 1/2 cup vegenaise or mayonnaise organic sugarless
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard organic (yellow or grain mustards are great too)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• salt (optional) - to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F (convection roast is great).
2. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Toss the cauliflower pieces with macadamia nut oil and spread out on the sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until browned and roasted, but not dark. Once roasted, remove from the oven to cool completely.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the diced celery, red onion, chopped cilantro, mayonnaise or vegenaise, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. Hold in refrigerator until cauliflower has completely cooled.
4. Fold cauliflower into
   ...

Spring is here and nature beckons to us to enjoy it. It’s not coincidental that we celebrated Earth Day on April 22nd. We are made from earth and to earth our bodies will return. We were meant to be in touch with nature. In fact Dr. Will Cole, a functional medicine expert and one of our faculty at RISE, tells us that by making a conscious effort to reconnect with the earth we can experience the wide range of health benefits that go hand in hand with spending time in nature. Dr. Cole shares with us 8 ways to do this:

1. Try forest bathing
Known as shinrin-yoku in Japan, forest bathing and spending time in nature has been shown to help lower stress hormones like cortisol, calm inflammation levels, and improve a variety of other biomarkers involved in overall health. Since most of us can’t spend hours hiking every day, I recommend carving out 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted time outside. For me, I take a walk during lunch without my phone or any other distractions. Even better, take you...

“I’m too old to exercise!”

“I’ll hurt myself.”

“I don’t move like I used to.”

These are some common excuses that older individuals say about exercise. Are these statements true though to the point that a person, as they get older, can no longer become more active? Is it really too late to start?

Dr. Beth Templin holds a Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy and is a board-certified specialist in geriatric physical therapy. Here’s what she has to say:

“Myth 1: I’m too old to start exercising.
This is completely false. Age does not play a role in your ability to exercise. Research on healthy aging shows that exercise for aging adults is not only safe but beneficial. People can safely begin to exercise in their 70s, 80s, and beyond. It’s never too late to get started, and it does not matter if you’ve never exercised before.

No matter what your current age or fitness level, your body benefits from exercise. In fact, exercise is such an important part of healthy aging that the Worl...

Do you ever feel like sometimes your life seems out of balance? Do you feel that work sometimes gets in the way of life? According to Psychology Today, “Work-life balance” describes the equilibrium between the demands of “work,” and the activities that make up the rest of our lives. “Work” may represent working for income, but also includes caring for loved ones, and performing other essential activities. We each need quality personal time outside of work. Yet it's not always easy to reconcile your personal life with things you must do. Before we can balance work with life, we need to establish the starting point. Ask yourself: How much of my energy goes to me and my family/friends, compared with time spent working?

“It is not work but rather the pursuit of things outside of work that are often the most rewarding. From travel to family time, personal time, socializing, volunteering, and other recreation, these activities are enriching. However, many of us are so bound to work and es...

Salads can be fun and easy to make! They can also be full of flavor that you might just find yourself craving for them. Don’t think of it as “diet” food. Instead see them as exciting and interesting meals that can pack flavor and texture. If your salad looks the same and boring on your plate, well then you need to try these strategies by health expert JJ Virgin.

Strategy 1: Add Some Crunch or Chew
For fun salad recipes, the crunchy stuff is often the best part. It adds texture and makes the dish more interesting and enjoyable. Most of the time this is achieved with croutons, but you don’t need any high food intolerance (Hi-Fi) foods to get the crunch you’re looking for.

Instead, try:
• Chopped fresh veggies like onions, cucumbers, carrots, etc.
• Slivered almonds
• Raw walnuts
• Beans and legumes (roasted or air-fried until crisp)
• Gluten-free black bean chip

Strategy 2: Include Low-Sugar Impact Fruit
Don’t forget, you can add fruit to your salad, too. Low-sugar fruits like berries ad...

Ingredients:

•  ⅓ cup raw walnuts
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 spicy red chili, thinly sliced (we used a thai chili)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 citrus of choice, we used a mix and match of Cara Cara orange, Navel orange, and grapefruit
• 2 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, reserve fronds as garnish
• ⅓ cup fresh mint leaves
• 5 cups baby arugula
• ¼ cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 3 minutes, remove from the oven. Set aside to cool.

2. Add the shallots and chili to a bowl together with the fish sauce and red wine vinegar to pickle while preparing the rest.

3. Section the citrus by slicing off the ends, removing the peel, then using a sharp knife to cut clean sections out between the membranes.

4. Transfer all the citrus segments into the bowl with the shallots and chili. Squeeze the citrus mixture, using your hands, to release some of the juices.

5. Toss the fennel, mint, ...