Great summer side or appetizer recipe (with a little kick!)

Cantaloupe and Mozzarella with Prosciutto and Basil
- 1 cantaloupe halved and seeded
- 3/4 pound bocconcini (bite-size fresh mozzarella balls)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
- Coarse salt and pepper
- 1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

With a large melon baller, scoop melon flesh into a large bowl (or cut into bite-size pieces). Add bocconcini, oil, and red-pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Arrange prosciutto along edges of a large serving platter. Stir basil into melon mixture, transfer to center of platter and serve.

This recipe is from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food July edition.

Rainbow Birthday Party

My neighbor loves to throw parties. And when it comes to her daughter, she does not hold back. This year's theme, Rainbow.

For a 5 year old's birthday, I was completely impressed with not only her decorations, but her food choices as well. You would have thought this woman was a dietitian. Her tips and tricks were enough to inspire me to share them with you only moments after leaving the festivities.

Let's start with the kiddie bags!
She filled a rainbow pinata with small craft supplies like
- mini marker sets
- mini glitter glues
- small ziploc bags containing 1 colored pipe cleaner & 15 or so small colored beads to make bracelets
-Other ideas to add: chapstick, funky shaped straws, hacky sacs

The Food Spread!
- Bowl of Blueberries
- Bowl of Raspberries
- Bowl of Strawberries
- Tray of Green & Red Grapes
- Radishes cut into flowers
- Watermelon Radishes from the Farmer's Market sliced thinly and spread in a fan
- Yellow, Orange, & Purple Carrot slices
- White Bean Dip
- Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
- Red Corn Tortilla Chips
- Then she made pizza puffs filled with a wonderful veggies and small doses of cheese to represent each color of the rainbow (using artichoke hearts, scallions, olives, blue potatoes, red peppers, etc to naturally color each one)

The cake was a Rainbow Cake. She separated out her cake batter to make 6 layers & used all natural food coloring to represent the theme. Homemade icing with sprinkles served to top the simple, yet sophisticated cake.

Keep posted to her blog if you're interested in reading more about her creative ventures: Brass Paper Clip

Odd things happen for the Best of Reasons

I received a late night email from a client asking me, "Is full recovery possible? What is your definition of full recovery if such exists?" The following morning I pondered how to respond as I got in my car to drive to the office. I had no intentions of stopping at our local coffee shop on the way, yet the next thing I knew I was parking the car.

As I locked my car and stepped forward towards the cafe, I noticed an older woman walking past me. She was about my height (a little over 5 ft), short dark hair, and in brightly colored rain boots. Two simultaneous thoughts came to me just then. 1. Why am I here? I feel like I'm moving but by no action of my own accord. This is a little weird and surreal. 2. That lady is probably going to get coffee and she will be in front of me in line.

I was right, she was in front of me in a long line. By this point, I surrendered to the fact that "I'm here, might as well get my decaf rice milk latte." We smiled at one another and within moments of saying hello we were deep in an intimate conversation. She asked my profession. When I told her I'm a dietitian and work with eating disorders she gushed words of encouragement to me.

"What you do is SO SO important. You will never know how valuable you are to your clients." Not expecting such a gloating compliment at 7:30am I smiled sheepishly and gave her my thanks, with a hint of question in my tone. She explained to me that she has been fully recovered from a severe eating disorder for over 20 years. She also shared with  me that she moved to Seattle about 15 years ago from New Orleans.

I felt immediately connected to this woman. A new neighbor friend from my home town (I am from Louisiana as well) & someone with her own history of eating problems. What a God moment this was for me. Now I understood why I felt compelled to turn into the coffee shop and strike up a conversation with this woman.

Hearing her story inspired the email response to my client.

The question "is recovery possible" is one almost every person asks themselves at some point in their recovery from an eating disorder. Here are few responses the to help shape your own definition:

"I believe in the possibility of complete recovery though it may take a long time and require lots of resources and effort, but it is worth it. To protect recovery, one must not jeopardize it by dieting, over exercising, and criticizing one's body, but instead focus on developing and supporting a clear, unapologetic sense of self. I wouldn't be in this work if I didn't believe in complete recovery. My own recovery, solid now for 40 years, still inspires me." Marcia Herrin, Ed.D., M.P.H., R.D

"The recovery process takes time and can often feel like it is not working. It took time to become so disordered around food, and so the recovery and healing will also take time. But it IS possible with enough determination, support and patience with yourself." Nina V. (recovered for 3 years)

"The eating disorder, although powerful in this moment, does not have to stay powerful forever. The essence of treatment is to find a path where change will occur because it is not preordained that you wont get better. Getting better is one possible outcome and moving into full recovery is the outcome that we seek. For most people motivation, commitment, effective treatment, a solid support system, and extended support throughout your community can lead to changes much greater than you may imagine possible." Sarah Emerman Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders

Getting Your Gut in Shape

Our GI systems are quite remarkable organs. Technically your GI system begins in the mouth and ends in the rectum/anus area. My favorite part is the small intestine. It is like it's own little ecosystem. Each section processes a specific set of nutrients from the foods we eat. And in those areas are a delicate balance of microflora (healthy gut bacteria) and yeast that helps promote the breakdown and utilization of the foods we eat.

If you can, imagine a long tube. Inside this tube are millions of little hairs. The tube is the lumen of the small intestine and those little hairs are actually called microvilli. See below:










(Image from the Encyclopedia of Science)
After years of improper nutrition, taking antibiotics and other medications, and not trusting our bodies to tell us when we are hungry and satisfied, the little ecosystem that sustains us gets out of balance and loses its focus.

Many of you have health goals of gaining more energy, feeling less fatigued, and realizing what peace with food looks like. Part of your journey to achieving these goals is to get your gut into shape.

Here are a few tips to start the balancing act:
1. Balance the Yeast: When it comes to sugar, go o'natural by choosing succanat, maple syrup, honey, molasses, or brown rice sugar in place of refined or brown sugars-even in baking.
2. Improve the function of those microvilli by choosing whole grains, following the plate model at each meal, and reducing the amount of wheat you eat. Try different grains like quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat (kasha).
3. Balance the Bacteria by taking 1-2 probiotics each day (separately) for at least 3 months or longer. Don't settle on any probiotic at the store. Look for one that has 4+ different TYPES of bacteria, not just a large number of one or 2 types.

Farmer Market Blooms

We are nearing summer (even though the weather may not always feel like it) and that means that most farmers markets are up and running! This is a great time of year to get outside, enjoy time communing with others, try new foods, and even buy plants for starting a garden.

I wanted to share a resource with you this week: The Seattle Farmer’s Market Website. Specifically, I have linked you to a portion of the website that introduces new food and products each week. Scrolling through the page can be slightly daunting, especially if you are new to it, so I wanted to explain a few things:

1)      At the top of the page you will see “New This Week”

This section introduces food and products new to the markets this week.

2)      The next section is the “The full list”

This part of the site offers an extensive list of what is available at the market besides the new items above. The subsections are divided by food types: vegetables, fruits, fresh eggs, cheese/dairy,  meats and poultry, grains and flours, wines, seafood, dried items, breads, pastries etc. The headings at the bottom of the page start to blend together because there is just a smorgasbord of great items available. Categorizing them looks like a task of its own!

3)      Under the section above you will see: “available at UD” or “at WS” or “UD, WS, BW”. These abbreviations stand for the various farmers’ markets available in the Seattle Area. The abbreviations stand for the following markets:

BW	Broadway (Sundays, 11am - 3pm, May 8 through Dec 18, 2011) Broadway & Pine at Seattle Central Comm. College on Capitol Hill, 98102
CC	Columbia City (Wednesdays, 3pm - 7pm, April 27 through Oct 19, 2011) 37th Ave S & S Edmunds St, South Seattle, 98118
LC	Lake City (Thursdays, 3pm - 7pm, June 2 through Oct 6, 2011) NE 125th & 28th NE, next to the Library off Lake City Way, 98125
M	Magnolia (Saturdays, 10am - 2pm, June 18 through Oct 8, 2011) 33rd Ave W & W Smith Str in the Magnolia Village
Not open yet	Phinney (Fridays, 3pm - 7pm, June 3 through October 7, 2011) 67th & Phinney Ave N, in lower lot of the Phinney Neighborhood Ctr, 98103
UD	University District (Saturdays, 9am - 2pm, Year-round) Corner of 50th and University Way NE, in the University Heights lot, 98105
WS	West Seattle (Sundays, 10am - 2pm, Year-round) California Ave SW & SW Alaska, in the heart of the West Seattle Junction, 98116

I hope you are able to visit and enjoy a farmers’ market sometime in the next few weekends! Whether you try something new, find something interesting, buy plant starts, or just do some “window shopping”, we would love to hear about your experience. Please share your comments with us.