Green Garlic Almond Cheese

Nothing says Spring like fresh green garlic at the farmer’s market. I grabbed a bunch the other day, and before I could put it into my bag this idea to make fresh raw almond cheese with green garlic popped into my head. This is a fresh, quick cheese that slightly resembles the consistency of a ricotta, and offers a nice, nutritious, dairy-free creaminess. The green garlic made it heavenly. You can use it on a sandwich with vine tomatoes, as an hors d’oeuvre filling or topping- as pictured, or try it in layers of lasagna. Enjoy!

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Why Diets Don’t Work- 5 Possible Reasons

why diets don't work

Are you contemplating a diet, or currently dieting? Or, have you tried several diets only to find yourself back to your old unhealthy or overweight self after a couple months? Do you ever start to wonder why diets don’t work? There is a statistic flying around that 95% of all diets fail. I honestly had to search, a lot, to try to find the origin of this statistic. I could only find one article, The 95% Myth, that referenced a 40 year old study of just 100 participants. What I did find, however, is an overwhelming consensus

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Nutritional Cleanse- How to Know What’s Best for You

nutritional cleanse

Detox, fast, cleanse, master cleanse, fat flush, nutritional cleanse…I’ll bet if you try to follow a fairly clean and healthy lifestyle, that you have run into each of these terms a few times. Some people love trying different approaches to improving their well being, and may have tried all these approaches, yet others see the popularity of a detox as just a fad or even a product scam. I suppose there are some inferior products out there, and that could lead to poor results, and the impression that one is being scammed. But in general, it is widely believed, and supported, that ridding your body of toxins, resetting your metabolism, and interrupting addictive eating behaviors is a really good idea.

So how do you know who to trust, or which products are not going to leave you feeling “scammed?” I have some basic guidelines that you can easily

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More Variety Coming to the Whole Dish!

healthy meal planner

When I started blogging on the Whole Dish a handful of years ago, I just wanted a way to document my healthy journey and share all the new stuff I was learning about how food can be delicious and therapeutic for the body at the same time.

Since that first day, when I posted a recipe for quinoa blini, my journey has grown into a full blown nutrition practice and multi-media health coaching business. With that, we’re bringing the Whole Dish up to speed, by introducing a wider variety of education, recipes, tips and resources to empower our readers to lead healthier, happier lives in the most enjoyable and efficient way possible.

If you are used to only seeing recipes on here, you will start to see articles and other featured information, designed to give your experience here a lot more value. Check out this quick video to learn more about it! And let us know how you love the changes in the comments!


Niçoise Tuna Salad Finger Sandwiches

Used to be that tuna salad was considered the “healthy choice.” But now who knows? Is the tuna wild? Is the mayo used to make the salad healthy? What about the bread for the sandwich? Is it gluten free? We can drive ourselves bonkers trying to keep up with all the information. And, this may  be part of the reason why tuna salad has lost popularity lately.  So, if you ever just get a taste for a tuna salad sandwich, why not just try it from a different angle? This recipe combines a dairy-egg free variation of tuna salad with Life Changing Bread, to bring you a clean(er) nutritional powerhouse of a tuna sandwich, with fiber, complete proteins from the fish and also plants, healthy fats, and other vitamins and minerals.

So, forget about “whether a tuna sandwich is okay” and dig in!

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Korean Daikon Radish Wrap with Vegetables

So, I guess I have thought in the past about slicing a daikon radish thin to use as a wrap. But for some reason, when my airbnb guests from Korea introduced this dish to me, it seemed like a totally groovy new thing. I think what did it was the fact that the daikon radish came already sliced into perfect round sheets, and packaged. At first, I thought it was a gyoza (pot sticker) wrapper, but when I saw that it was radish, I was pleasantly surprised. So, today we have a couple of unwitting guest bloggers,  Hyoungwoo & Silhui from Seol, Korea, and their super simple, daikon veggie rolls. I see these being very versatile, stuffed with shrimp, seared tofu, smoked mushrooms, all sorts of things. This recipe is just a basic veggie roll, just like the ones that were prepared in my home the other day.

The pickled radish has sugar, so if you want to avoid that, make your own and use a healthier substitute for the sugar, like stevia, or jaggery sugar. Besides that though, this is a great way to get some raw, nutrient density into your body in a very simple and delicious way.

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Tuscan Kale Soup with Sausage

Many of my recent clients are following a Paleo-leaning or AIP (Autoimmune Paleo) diet, part of which requires obtaining high nutrient density per calorie. So, I have been delving into meals that fit that profile. I am finding that this style of cooking does not have to be complicated at all. I love it when something really simple comes out delicious and nutritionally complex. Enter this quick, rainy day soup. Not only is it Paleo, but it’s clean, weight management friendly, and can be converted to vegan very easily. If you want to go vegan and are not concerned about avoiding certain plant based foods, you can replace the sausage with cannellini beans, but since the sausage brings some flavor to the soup, you may need to ramp up the herbs and garlic to compensate.

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Vegan Grilled Gouda & Portobello Sandwich

I couldn’t decide whether throwing together a list of somewhat obscure plant based stabilizers and coconut milk would appeal to any readers. But if you know how awesome it is to find a vegan cheese that is easy to make, and has a really wonderful MELT, you can understand why I had to finally break down and share this. Factor in the current chilly wet weather we have been having, and well, there you go!

The cheese recipe is a slight adaptation from a quick cheese recipe found on one of my favorite plant- based living blogs. The obscure ingredients can be found at a mom and pop health market, Sprouts, or Whole Foods.

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Healing Carrot, Ginger & Turmeric Soup

Have you ever picked up some fresh turmeric root at the market, just to have it sort of sit in your kitchen and shrivel up? Well, here is an easy, season-appropriate way to put that turmeric root to really good use. This soup will make you want to curl up under a blanket and turn the phone off.

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Bullet Proof Golden Milk Turmeric Latte

Here is a wonderful way to get some warm, satiating healthy fats into your body with the awesome benefits of turmeric and other spices, featuring a Turmeric Spice Blend from Create Your Health Teas. This recipe is inspired by the classic Golden Milk recipe, but the emersion blender gives it a modern twist inspired by the Bulletproof diet, and adds to the creamy aesthetics. This is sure to comfort your soul on a chilly evening or morning. The fat from the almond milk and coconut oil makes the turmeric more bioavailable, for an overall wonderful, healing cup of wellness– fuel for the body and the mind! Enjoy!!

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