Zema's "March Madness" Nutrition Month Month: Week 3

Zema’s is entering into its 3rd guest blogger week in celebration of National Nutrition Month. Meet Karen Malkin, a certified Nutrition Counselor who graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. She has her own practice for Health Counseling in Northfield and Chicago, IL. Karen has decades of holistic and health nutrition training and research and her strengths lie in helping you attain your health goals through easy, everyday practices that keep you motivated and energetic. She helps some of her clients learn how to eat a healthy gluten free diet while also helping them to understand what gluten is and what it is doing inside your body so you understand the full scope of your new daily diet. Karen is also sharing some her easy to make recipes just for Zema’s fans. Enjoy!

“Going Gluten Free”
by Karen Malkin,
Holistic Health and Nutrition Counselor

Gluten free eating is a hot topic these days. Gluten is a very hard to digest protein that requires a very strong stomach acid to process it. Gluten is anything made from wheat, kamut, rye, barley, spelt, and malt. Grains and starches that are gluten- free are rice, corn, millet, sorghum, quinoa, soybean, potato, tapioca, amaranth, peas, and beans. Buckwheat and oat flours are gluten free, but are often cross-contaminated in facilities using wheat. Approximately 1 in 3 people are found to be gluten sensitive. The most common symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity are: an inability to lose weight, abdominal bloating and pain, fatigue, mental fogginess, unstable moods, cravings, leaky gut, gas, chronic diarrhea, and acid reflux. The best way to test if you are gluten sensitive is an experimental diet and completely eliminate gluten for two-four weeks and then re-introduce it. Many of my clients who eat a gluten free diet feel happier, lighter, more energized, have better quality sleep, less cravings for processed foods and definitely feel less bloated. Some of my female clients came to me with complaints of hormonal imbalances when it was really an intolerance to gluten that caused low mood and unstable blood sugar. When blood sugar is constantly rising and falling, so are our moods! Additionally, avoiding gluten naturally keeps you away from processed packaged goods that contain chemical additives, inflammatory trans fats and genetically modified wheat. Two slices of whole wheat or white bread bread raises blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar. Foods with a high glycemic index cause spikes in insulin which makes people store belly fat. Gluten may also cause inflammation in the body by damaging the gut lining. Inflammation is the root cause of all age related diseases such as cancer, autoimmune, heart, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s and dementia and thyroid disease. Eating a diet void of gluten and adding in whole foods and superfoods that contain all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals we need to prevent and reverse age-related diseases. I invite you to visit my website at www.karenmalkin.com for over 400 healthy healthy recipes, many of them gluten-free. To learn more about gluten-free eating, please e-mail me for a health consultation at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

To your good health,
Karen

Karen’s Gluten Free Oatmeal

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 cup Bob’s Gluten Free steel cut oats
1 teaspoon Flaxseed per serving
1 tablespoons Chia Seeds per serving
2 tablespoons Hemp seeds per serving
2 tablespoons Raw Walnuts
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoons berries or fruit of your choice
1 teaspoon Raw Coconut (optional)
6 cups water
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions:
1. Boil water and add 1/2 tsp sea salt
2. Add Oatmeal and reduce to simmer stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes
3. Remove from heat and add coconut oil
4. Serve and add toppings
5. Refrigerate the remainder in a glass container and reheat for the remainder of the week
Karen Malkin Health Counseling

Scrambled Eggs and Greens

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 12 minutes
Yield: 1-2 servings

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, chopped into small pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 cup chopped spinach, dandelion, watercress or chard

Directions:
1. Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
3. Sauté leek for 3 minutes.
4. Add garlic and sauté for one minute.
5. Add carrots, cover and cook 5 minutes on low heat until carrots are softened.
6. Remove vegetables and put on a plate.
7. Add a little oil to the pan if it’s dry, add the eggs and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes until eggs are mostly cooked.
8. Add greens and other vegetables back into pan.
9. Stir all ingredients together until eggs are completely cooked.
10. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Karen Malkin Health Counseling

Five Flavor Kale Salad

Prep and Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 large bunch raw Dino Kale, washed and chopped
Tahini dressing:
3 tablespoons raw tahini (sesame paste)
3 tablespoons lemon juice (add more to taste)
1 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove crushed raw or roasted garlic (optional)
Sea salt to taste

Directions:
1. Mix dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Chop kale into 1 inch trips, removing the dense stalks
3. Toss kale and dressing well and let it sit for 15-30 minutes before serving.
Option: Add shredded carrots and/or raw sunflower seeds for more crunch.
Karen Malkin Health Counseling

Hemp Seed Power Balls

Prep and Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup almond butter
4 dates pitted
¼ cup raw cacao nibs
½ cup hemp seed
¼ cup ground flaxseed
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup dried cranberries

Directions:
1. In a food processor, blend dates, almond butter, flaxseed, vanilla, cinnamon and cranberries, set aside.
2. Wearing gloves, roll almond butter mixture into 2-inch balls. Then roll balls in hempseed.
Karen Malkin Health Counseling