Spicy Pork and Collard Soup

This soup is loaded with flavor and healthy nutrients thanks to a delicious mix of collards, scallions, ginger and spices to compliment the savory ground pork. I haven’t tried it with a protein other than pork, but I’m sure it would work well with ground turkey, beef or crumbled tofu, if you want a vegetarian option.

Ginger is widely used as a spice and as a digestive remedy. Additonally, ginger is antiinflammatory and antiviral. So it’s pretty much the perfect ingredient for winter time and with COVID floating around. Fresh ginger and honey in tea or water when I have a cold is my go to, but this soup has been my recent ginger favorite. The ginger adds warmth and spice, and this feels like the perfect, easy warming and nourishing meal for this time of year. Serves four (or two people who like to eat with some leftovers).

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp cumin seeds lightly crushed

2 tbsp oil (I’ve used avocado, but use another if you like)

4 cups broth - vegetable or chicken

1 bunch collard greens

4 scallions, chopped

2 tbs gluten free soy sauce or Braggs amino acids

4 oz rice noodles

Instructions

Mix pork, garlic, ginger, red pepper and cumin in a medium bowl.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the pork mixture and stir until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add collards, scallions and soy sauce and stir occasionally until greens are tender, about 5-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook rice noodles, drain and divide noodle among bowls and ladle the soup over the noodles and enjoy!

What Health Coaching Can Do for You

What is health coaching, and how can working with a health coach (such as me!) improve your wellness? I thought I would share a little bit about how I work with people to support their health and well-being.

I know what it’s like to not feel well. When I was struggling to get to the bottom of my health issues, and to slowly put the pieces in place to feel well, I found various healers and coaches that made up my “healing team.” Having this support network was really powerful in supporting my body’s capacity to heal. I learned so much through my journey, and it’s my hope that I can help others in feeling their best.

What we eat can be hugely impactful to our health, but it really only starts there. In a health coaching session, we will also look at your sleep habits, your stress levels and nervous system, exercise, and a variety of other things that can impact your overall health. When we work together, we work in a partnership, compassionately listening to your body and giving you the support you need.

You don’t need to want to lose weight or make drastic dietary changes to work with me. Most of my clients are pleasantly surprised that the changes we make are gentle and small (but add up over time to make a big impact in their well-being).

Health coaching can also be for people who already feel healthy but still want and can benefit from support. Health coaching can help you take your wellness to an optimal level.

How we work together:

• Start with a free discovery call where I learn more about what your goals are and if we are a good fit.

• Initial evaluation where we will go over in detail your goals and set up a plan for support. Your plan might include Pilates and somatic sessions, and might include bi-monthly or monthly health coaching sessions. This will really depend on your goals and what kind of support you would like.

• You’ll feel supported in your health goals and feel your best!

If you are curious about what working together is like, please reach out. I’d love to chat more and support you!

The Best Chicken and Rice Soup

This soup is loaded with fresh garlic and ginger, which are both great for supporting the immune system. That’s especially important this time of year. Creamy rice and fresh lemon and spinach add brightness and help nourish the bones (and the soul) during winter. This is another of my favorite recipes from Run Fast, Eat Slow by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 carrots, sliced

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 teaspoons sea salt (you can leave this out if broth is not low-sodium)

8 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1/4- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on your spice preference)

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast and/or thighs

1 cup short-grain brown rice

3 cups fresh packed spinach

1 cup chopped parsley leaves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cooking Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute.

Add the broth, chicken and rice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked and rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot, place on a cutting board and shred chicken.

Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the spinach, parsley and lemon juice. If the soup is too thick, add additional water or broth. Add additional salt and pepper if desired.

Serves 5.

Restorative Pilates Class for Holiday Stress

Movement helps so much with how we feel physically and emotionally. Your workouts don’t have to be super intense to be beneficial. This gentle, 45-minute class will strengthen and stretch your body, and help you feel good with any holiday stress you are experiencing. Enjoy!

*Cats, dogs or children might want to join you on the mat!

Carrot-Ginger Soup for the Winter Comfort Win

This carrot-ginger soup is simple, warming and delicious. Around the holidays, there are so many more options to eat rich sugar- and fat-filled foods that, while they may be enjoyable in the moment, often leave us feeling foggy and over-indulged. This soup is perfect to support and nurture your body in between richer meals. I love the fresh ginger (great for immune support!) and the bright, fresh taste lemon. Another plus is how easy this is to make! The recipe is from Run Fast Eat Slow by Shalane Flanagan and Elsye Kopecky, and I highly recommend their book, which is packed full of easy and yummy recipes!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)

2 yellow onions, sliced

1 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable, to make it vegetarian)

2 tablespoons uncooked rice

2 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions

In a large pot over medium/high heat, melt the butter and add onions, carrots and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften; about 8 minutes.

Add the broth and rice to the pot, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer covered, until the carrots are tender and the rice is cooked; about 35-40 minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow soup to cool for 10-15 minutes. If you have an immersion blender, blend until soup is smooth. You can also blend soup by carefully transferring the soup to a blender, just be careful to hold the lid in place so the hot soup doesn’t blow the lid off!

Once the mixture is blended, stir in the lemon juice, ginger and black pepper. Add more salt, if needed.

This soup is perfect just like this, but is also good with toasted pumpkin seeds and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.