Last month was the Live the Smart Way Expo. I was lucky enough to have worked with holistic nutritionist Kathy Smart, the Expo's host, during the filming of the first ever North American gluten-free cooking show as one of the food stylists.
I've always been interested in healthy cooking.. but healthy is such a relative term. Science has come a long way in healing wounds and diseases but I feel that there is an onus on healing what has been suffered by someone vs what can be prevented. It is preventative medicine that has yet to be regulated or taught in a decisive way. Maybe that's because our bodies are all so uniquely different, it's hard for a mass of people to follow any particular lifestyle regiment.
Health and wellness books and conferences are a great way to see what could work for your if you prefer to approach an alternative and conscientious way to live well. What's even better is to READ! Read many books with scientific data from reliable sources and really keep track if a particular diet or lifestyle is helping you.
We are not little individual human islands (says the blogger who works from home a lot of the time). Share your story, be part of a community, find support.
And, of course, cooking from scratch can't hurt to make sure you're eating right! The recipe below is super simple.
Grilled Apple & Chicken Salad
Grilling the apple brings out its sweetness while making it a smokey and delicious accompaniment to the chicken. I developed this recipe in order to use up left over chicken that I trimmed off of enormous chicken breasts. If you don't have any scrappy bits, use chicken thigh!
3/4 lb raw chicken pieces (thigh is best!)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 cup vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 gala apple, cored and sliced into 1/2" wedges
4 tbsp mayo
4 tbsp honey mustard tbsp (alternatively 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp mustard)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Toss chicken with olive oil, garlic clove, salt & pepper Grill chicken on a BBQ or grill pan until cooked through. Set aside to rest. Cook apple slices on the same grill until definitive grill marks are seen on both sides, flipping once. Chop chicken and apple into 2cm cubes (or bite sized). Mix all ingredients together and enjoy with sliced veggies or in your favourite sandwich bread.
