Blog — eat to thrive

If you’ve found yourself struggling with keeping a positive mindset lately, you are not alone. The stress of and unprecedented global pandemic and the aftermath – from a fluctuating economy closing businesses, job instability, school closures and disrupted routines combined with the fear of potentially getting sick has professionals calling depression the ‘second wave’ of the pandemic. According to renowned brain health Dr. Daniel Amen, all of us are being traumatized in some way. The human brain is wired to remember traumatic experiences, and in some people, this biological reality may lead to PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. I have...

There’s nothing better than feeling like everything is running smoothly in your body. You feel energetic after you eat, your tummy looks nice and flat, you get a restful sleep every night and your skin has never looked so radiant. Well, that would be an amazing scenario to talk about, right? The truth is, most of us have a hard time check-marking all the boxes. Often times, the well-oiled machine starts to feel a little frayed around the edges. Digestion slows down. You feel a little (a lot) bloated. Your skin is looking kind of blotchy and your giddy up...

I grew up in a Middle Eastern household where mealtime was sacred. If you weren’t coming home for the family meal, you weren’t coming home. We would help our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends – the neighbors and anyone else who decided to show up for a meal – to prepare the food together. Young and old would have a role, from peeling and grating to serving and collecting dishes. The ingredients were gathered from the produce seller, the meat vendor, the dairy guy, the fishmonger, the spice market and all of the vendors and purveyors we shopped...

I often get funny looks when I tell people I’m a chef. But you don’t look like a chef. Have you heard the expression, Never trust a skinny chef? Then I ask, if you’re eating for health, vitality, to feel your best and to maybe even look 10-20 years younger, you might want to think about that question again. My confession is, I struggled with a food addiction for years. I was a total wreck around food. And I guess I’m certainly not alone. Apparently, about 40% of the US population struggles with some type of eating disorder. My obsessive...