Ok, folks. It’s time to get real here. I find that when I get honest about what’s going on in my life, it helps more people. So here’s a little tale for you.

At the beginning of last week, I twisted my ankle somehow. I had been walking around in the park for 2 hours and felt totally fine, but when I got home I could hardly get up the stairs. I thought maybe it was some phantom pain that would go away in a few hours so I tried to ignore it. Much to my frustration, though, this biting pain in my ankle lasted all week and I could hardly walk.

I work from home, and I make a point every single day to get out of the house and exercise. Whether it’s a jog in the park, a yoga class or just a short walk, I need that time outside of my home/workspace to feel balanced. Also, working from home makes it more necessary to get out and socialize with people.

Well – having a twisted ankle made none of this possible. I couldn’t leave the apartment or really even walk around at all for about 5 days. I have to admit, feeling isolated really took a toll on me emotionally.

I’ve heard a lot of people say (especially active people, athletes, etc) that getting injured causes them to become depressed. Although my injury was just a minor ankle twist, and I have no idea what it would be like to be seriously injured, I can totally relate to the feeling.

After going through some serious ups and downs last week I realized a few things that made me feel better and a few things that made me feel worse, so I wanted to share them here.

These tips aren’t just for people who are suffering from injuries and feel depressed – it’s for anyone feeling down, in general!

Injury & Depression Do’s & Don’ts:

DON’T:

• Sit around moping and feeling sorry for yourself.
• Compare yourself to others and assume everyone else is having the best time ever.
• Eat sugar. Sugar makes bad moods so much worse.
• Isolate and ignore emails and phone calls.
• Sit around analyzing your life.
• Focus only on what’s going wrong.
• Give up on moving your body at all.
• Sit around on Facebook all day.
• Watch only mindless TV.
• Think about all of the things you’re missing out on.

DO:

• Try to exercise in whatever way you can – even if it’s just stretching.
• Call people. Reaching out to others is the best medicine in the world.
• Try to help someone. The phrase “when you’re feeling helpless, help someone” is so true. Even if you feel down in the dumps, there’s probably someone’s day you could brighten just by saying “how are you?”
• Use your down time to catch up on a great book, write a new business plan, or work on something creative.
• Write in your journal. Morning pages can work miracles.
• Write gratitude lists. When we’re feeling crappy, it’s so easy to focus on what’s not going right. Focus on what is great.
• Read a little bit of an uplifting book every day – I recommend “Journey to the Heart” by Melody Beattie. It has just one snippet for each day of the year. Easy.
• Drink a lot of water and eat leafy greens. (Leafy greens are like sunlight to the body).
• Rest. Chances are, if you injured yourself, you’re probably like me and don’t take enough time to rest in your normal life.
• Meditate. Sit quietly and try to focus on your breath, just for a few minutes.
• Light candles. Play soothing music. Turn your home into a healing atmosphere.
• Check out these foods that fight depression and other effective natural remedies for depression.
  
• Again…reach out to people! Seriously, make that phone call. It’s the hardest thing to do but also the best.

Anyone relate to getting injured or feeling depressed or isolated? What works for you (or doesn’t work for you)? Your comments help so many people. Please share!

Last week, I held a NibMor healthy hot chocolate giveaway. To enter, you had to submit your favorite healthier version of comfort food. I picked the one that made my mouth water the most!

The winner was Lea, and her recipe was for cauliflower alfredo sauce made with almond milk and white beans.

She sent me the link to the original recipe, but I altered it, because yo, I need garlic. And after I tasted it, I thought to myself, “this needs acid!” At that moment, I knew I had been watching too much Top Chef. And I added lemon juice.

I don’t know about you, but when I was younger I LOVED alfredo sauce. I used to order it at every restaurant. Now, there’s a dairy free alternative that uses awesome whole, natural ingredients! No soy, either, if you’re wondering. Win win win!! Thanks Lea, for the inspiration!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup cooked white beans
• 1 large shallot
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Add cauliflower to pot of boiling water and boil until tender (a few mins).

Add 1 tbsp olive oil, sliced shallot and chopped garlic cloves to a pan. Heat until tender.

Add almond milk, beans, cauliflower, shallot, garlic, lemon juice, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to blender. Blend until smooth.

Taste, add salt & pepper as needed, & blend again. I had to add a good amount of salt and pepper to get it to my liking. Be your own judge.

Pour over your favorite pasta, protein or veggies! Top with red pepper flakes, if desired.

Kiss your cheesy alfredo cravings goodbye! See ya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya.

Got a killer sauce recipe you want to share? Comment below. I love sauce.

The thing I loved most about attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is that they have such a well-rounded, no-nonsense approach when it comes to being healthy. When I graduated from the program, I felt so much more relaxed about what it meant to be healthy. I realized it doesn’t have to be one specific/strict way all the time for every person – that different ways of eating can work for me at different times of my life. There’s no magic pill or method that works for everyone all the time. That’s awesome. Sometimes I feel more drawn to juices and raw foods. Sometimes I feel more drawn to organic eggs or fish. Sometimes I want to eat lots of soups and roasted veggies. And none of them are “the right way” for everybody every day. For me, as long as I’m eating the most natural, whole foods possible and limiting the foods that suck the life out of me, I’m good.

The other day I was reading through the Integrative Nutrition book (get it for free here), and I came across this 12 Step Nutrition Plan. I love it, and I have it saved on my desktop now so I can always have it as a gentle reminder.

Feeling good and eating healthy doesn’t need to be a strict, insane thing. There are guidelines here, that if you follow for the most part, your life will improve immensely.

Here they are. What do you think?

Are there any habits here that you know you could add to your life? For me, at the moment, I’d love to increase my water intake and focus more on my relationships. Oh, and do more things that excite me.

Intuitively, one or more of these steps probably jumped out at you. Which ones?

By the way – today (2/16/12) is the last day to take advantage of my $1,000 scholarship to the IIN program! One of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself. Call the school at 877-730-5444 and tell them Jenny Sansouci sent you in order to claim it.

xo!
J

LADIES!

I know this may be an uncomfortable subject, but let’s face it – it’s a monthly fact for most of us, and it’s not always pleasant. Since our monthly menstrual cycle closely mirrors the cycles of the moon, I like to call it “moon time.” (In 8th grade, my friends and I used to call it “George.” Not sure why, but it made sense to us). “Moon time” sounds much more pleasant and sort of mystical, right?

Since ancient times, this moon time has been celebrated as a time when women are more intuitive and wise. If we let ourselves to rest, feel deeply, and allow our intuitive nature to shine through, we can start to honor the moon time instead of dreading it. However you look at it, it’s no secret that our energy levels can drop and our emotions can be totally draining during this time of the month.

Eating nourishing foods, and limiting foods that will cause more physical and emotional chaos, can make it so much easier.

PMS can feel different for everyone. For me, personally, I tend to get tired and emotional. Food-wise, I crave more caffeine, since my energy levels feel low. In actuality, caffeine can make your PMS symptoms worse. Drinking lots of water instead, even if you’re seriously craving a huge coffee – can really work wonders. And listen, I’m not suggesting that you completely cut out chocolate (no way!), but try not to use chocolate as a drug when you’re feeling tender. (And, please, choose quality chocolate!)

Emotionally, I cry easier during this time and things feel a little more dramatic. I don’t know about you, but when I’m emotional, sometimes I crave sweets. And once again, as many of you know…sugar can cause your emotions to go even more haywire! So in reality it’s best to steer clear of the sugar and caffeine and stick to more natural, loving foods.

SO – if you want to have an easier “moon time,” physically and emotionally, here are a few general guidelines to keep in mind:

Foods to reduce:

• Caffeine
• Sugar
• Flour
• Milk
• Gluten
• Alcohol
• Salt

Foods to amp up:

• Water
• Veggies – especially leafy greens
• Healthy fats and Omega 3s (avocado, olive oil, fish, nuts)
• Clean, healthy protein (organic animal food, beans, whatever protein works best for you)
• Gluten-free whole grains (quinoa, brown rice)
• Herbal teas (ginger, chamomile, moon cycle tea)
• Naturally sweet foods – fruit and sweet vegetables

“If we honored the inherent wisdom of our bodies, we would learn to listen, to treat them with respect instead of judgment, and to experience them as sacred messengers that bring us information about our physical needs, our innermost feelings, and our individual internal rhythms.” -Anita Johnston, Eating in the Light of the Moon

If you have a lot of trouble with your moon time and want to smooth things out, you should definitely be on this FREE Webinar – “Menstruation Madness.” It’s tonight!! (Feb 15, 2012).

On the free webinar, you’ll learn:

• How to master the four phases of your cycle so you have smoother months and a smoother period
• What to do about your crazy cravings and our #1 food for keeping cravings at bay
• To “Pill” or not to “Pill”, learn your options for hormonal balance and natural birth control
• Our top 3 solutions for making your next period less painful
• How to make lifestyle changes easy, so you can finally fix your period!

More info about the webinar hosts, Nicole and Kerri

If you sign up, please let them know I sent you by typing “Jenny Sansouci” in the “how did you hear about the webinar?” box!

Now…I’d love to hear if you have any favorite healing methods for moon time symptoms.

Share your wisdom with me!!

I love chocolate! I’ve always been a chocolate lover, and when I got into healthy/natural eating, that didn’t change. In fact, I probably love chocolate more now than I ever did in the past. I’ve found new and improved ways of eating chocolate that taste WAY better than that sugary, corn-syrupy processed stuff!

There are tons of brands of chocolate out there that are doing an incredible job creating chocolate with integrity - using minimally processed, nutrient-dense ingredients, and putting a lot of love and consideration into their creations.

First things first – I tend to only buy raw chocolate.

Why?

Raw chocolate is one of the highest antioxidant foods out there. Raw means the ingredients are in their natural state and crafted at the lowest temperatures possible to keep the integrity of the nutrients. Raw chocolate is usually free of sugar, dairy and chemicals/additives. IT’S THE BEST!!

I don’t buy anything with sugar, even if it’s organic cane sugar. (If I do, it’s extremely rare or probably was an accident).

Why?

Quite frankly…it makes me feel like crap! I prefer more natural sweeteners that don’t spike your blood sugar so much. I’m super sensitive to the “sugar blues”, and I don’t need more of an emotional rollercoaster than is absolutely necessary.

That being said, it can be overwhelming trying to choose a raw chocolate bar among the masses of new brands popping up, but I’ll tell you…there are actually only 2 brands that I buy on a regular basis. I try other brands once in awhile, but these are the constants in my life:

#1: Fine and Raw

This was the first raw chocolate I ever tried – and much like a first true love, this chocolate dove straight into the center of my heart and hasn’t left. In my opinion, it’s the best tasting raw chocolate around. It’s made right down the street from me in Brooklyn, and I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t knocked on the door of founder Daniel Sklaar’s apartment in need of a chocolate fix.

This chocolate is rich, smooth, delicious…everything I’ve ever wanted. Ha. Judge me all you want, but I am truly, madly, deeply in love with it.

My favorite? The cacao & coconut bonbon. OMG.

#2: Gnosis Chocolate

Gnosis Chocolate does it RIGHT. These raw, vegan chocolates are packed with superfoods and herbs! It really is the world’s most nutritious chocolate. With tons of different flavors, there is something for everyone – and they’re constantly coming out with new chocolate masterpieces. Vanessa Barg, the founder of Gnosis, went to IIN with me. She is extremely conscious about every ingredient and process that goes into her chocolate, and you can trust that what’s going into your body is the highest quality available on the planet.

My favorite? The Fleur de Sel bar. Salt + chocolate will win me over every time. SWOON FEST!

Ok, so those are my favorites. But there are other chocolate brands out there that have me crushing.

Some other awesome chocolate brands:

Sacred Chocolate

David Wolfe’s chocolate brand. David Wolfe is awesome, and I’ve been a fan of his for years. The only reason I don’t buy this chocolate more is because I don’t find it at a lot of stores around me, so it tends to take the back burner. It tastes amazing, though, and is also loaded with superfoods and super herbs.

NibMor

Although I must admit, I love their Drinking Chocolate more than I love their chocolate bars, they are putting out some products that have a lot of integrity. The founders of NibMor are fellow IIN grads, too! My favorite is the Extreme bar – it has cacao nibs in it, so it’s crunchy. I like that.

I know there are so many awesome raw chocolate companies out there and I love supporting them!!! If you own a raw chocolate company and you think I should add you to this list, you’re welcome to send me some and I’ll test it out! Email me. But don’t send me chocolate with cane sugar in it! Pretty please.

Do you have a favorite healthier-for-you chocolate brand I need to try!? Please let me know!

Cheers to conscious indulgence!!

xx

Jenny

Whoa!

I’m a sucker for delicious treats that contain no dairy or sugar. Especially chocolately ones. When I saw this recipe in Healthy Cooking Camp, I knew I had to make it. Robyn assured me that I would, in fact, flip out when I made them. So today I decided to try, especially since it’s so close to Chocolate Day (I mean…Valentine’s Day).

I remember one very magical Valentine’s Day a few years back. The guy I was sort-of-dating blew me off, and my mom sent me a big heart-shaped box of fudge. I spent that Valentine’s Day alone in bed with fudge and Sex & The City reruns.

Aw. I know. That was a special day.

My point is, I think most people gravitate towards indulging in chocolate around Valentine’s Day, so why not try doing it without overloading your body with sugar and dairy? This is a recipe so decadent, it rivals any fudge or brownie!! Whattttt! BELIEVE IT.

Raw Brownie Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 1/2 cups medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

So listen. I don’t have a food processor (ah!) so I used a Vita-Mix blender for this. If if you have a food processor, use that. I did manage to make it work in my blender, although it was a bit of a process, as I had to keep scooping the mixture out of the blender and re-mixing it, blending a little bit at a time.

Directions:

Add walnuts and almonds to food processor and blend until finely ground.

Add cacao and salt, blend.

Add dates, nut butter and vanilla. Blend until all ingredients are well combined.

This is what the batter will look like:

Spread the batter down into a cake pan.

Freeze until ready to eat (they are easier to cut when they are cold).

When I bit into one of these brownies, I couldn’t believe how much it tasted like an actual brownie!

They are so decadent and rich, you really don’t need more than one.

Yum!!
CHOCOLATE FOR THE WIN!!

xo
Jenny

Hot chocolate is the ultimate comfort drink in the cold weather. Last year at the Union Square holiday market in NYC, I tried NibMor’s Organic Vegan “Drinking Chocolate” for the first time. Immediately, I was smitten. It was rich, decadent, sweet, comforting — everything you want a hot chocolate to be!

I already knew NibMor was legit because the ladies behind the brand, Heather Terry and Jennifer Love, are both fellow Institute for Integrative Nutrition grads. I trust just about any IIN grad to make a spectacularly healthy product. But after taking the first sip of my hot chocolate, I paused. It was too good. I was skeptical. I wanted answers. What, exactly, is in this?

After all, these are the ingredients in one of the leading conventional brands of hot chocolate, Swiss Miss:

Sugar, corn syrup modified, whey, cocoa (processed with alkali), hydrogenated coconut oil, nonfat dry milk, salt, dipotassium phosphate, carrageenan, artificial flavor, mono- and diglycerides.

Ew. Ew! SICK!

Luckily…I found out quickly:

NibMor Organic Vegan Drinking Chocolate Ingredients:

Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Organic Cacao Powder, Sea Salt.

That’s it!!!!!! Of course, when I learned this information, my heart soared to the high heavens.

FYI : Mineral-rich coconut palm sugar is derived from the nectar of the coconut palm tree. It’s more natural and has a lower glycemic index than regular sugar. While I don’t consider any sweeteners truly a “health food,” this is one of the best natural choices!

You can see why I had an instant healthy crush on this hot chocolate. Admittedly, during that holiday season I stopped by the NibMor tent so many times that I started to feel like a hot chocolate stalker. It’s that good. ESPECIALLY when made with almond milk!

Ok so you get it – NibMor drinking chocolate is the new must-have for chocolate lovers.

And I’M GIVING SOME AWAY, to one lucky winner, right here on Healthy Crush! YES!

The prize:

1 canister of NibMor 6-Spice Organic Vegan Drinking Chocolate
Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Organic Cacao Powder, Organic Cayenne Pepper, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Fennel, Organic Cloves, Organic Star of Anise, Organic White Pepper, Sea Salt

1 canister of NibMor Mint Organic Vegan Drinking Chocolate
Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, Organic Cacao Powder, Organic Mint Flavor, Sea Salt

How to enter:

Comment below and tell me — what is your favorite healthier version of comfort food?

***UPDATE***

The winner has been chosen!! I picked the one that made my mouth water the most.

Winner: Lea

Lea’s comfort food: Dairy free/gluten free alfredo sauce made with steamed cauliflower, white beans, almond milk, cooked shallots over brown rice pasta with tons of roasted veggies

I’m going to try Lea’s recipe soon and will post a link to it asap! Congrats, Lea!!!

Buy NibMor products here!

I’m a sauce person. Always have been. In my opinion, a great sauce can totally bring a meal to life. When I come across a great sauce at a restaurant, I always try to re-create it. (One of my all-time favorites? This cilantro garlic sauce).

Last night, I was having dinner at Souen last night with 2 of my roommates from when I lived in Australia a few years back. One of them ordered the squash tofu entree, and I remembered how delicious their miso-tahini sauce is.

I created a miso-tahini sauce that’s way too good to keep to myself. It’s not the same as Souen’s, but it’s incredibly awesome. Creamy, savory, a hint of sweetness – oh man!!! It’s good!

Spicy Miso-Tahini Sauce

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp white miso
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth!

Add more red pepper flakes to the top of the sauce, just to make it pretty.

This sauce is awesome for all kinds of dishes – ESPECIALLY roasted veggies. For instance….maybe brussels sprouts? I know. It’s completely and utterly genius.

Go on! Make it. Love it.

“Hell or glory, I don’t want anything in between.” {fall out boy}

Oh, all or nothing mindset…you’ve made me feel, at times, both fiercely motivated and hopelessly paralyzed.

The all or nothing mindset goes along with my little friend perfectionism. Either you do it the best way possible, or you don’t do anything. Have you ever felt that way? Chances are, you have. I see it every day in myself and almost everyone else in my life.

Especially when it comes to exercise.

Sometimes, I get an idea in my head of what the “perfect” amount of exercise is - whether it’s a 60-minute jog, a 90-minute yoga class, or something else. If I do anything less than that, it’s not worth it, so why bother doing anything?

That mindset can lead to being inactive on days where I could have easily gotten in a nice 20 minute run or done 15 awesome minutes of yoga at home.

Do you find, that if you have too many days in a row of not exercising at all, it suddenly turns into two weeks? The thing is…if you just make SOME type of movement or exercise a priority in your day, you’ll get into a routine where it’s not even a question - you just do SOMETHING. That way you won’t wake up 2 weeks later groaning and stressing about not working out for so long.

Things to remember for people who have the all or nothing mindset, like me:

• Walking is exercise. It truly is. Even if you can’t fit in your usual workout, take a break and walk somewhere.
• 15 minutes of yoga at home can get things flowing.
• Push ups or crunches don’t take long. You can even do push-ups against the wall in bathroom stalls, like Tim Ferriss in the 4-Hour Body.
• The Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD is just 20 mins long – totally doable.
• If you’re going out to run errands or going anywhere that you don’t have to dress up, wear your running shoes. Walk a little faster than normal. Take the long route. Walk a few extra blocks.

I know how hard it is to bust out of that all or nothing mindset, especially with exercise. I always want to get my “ideal workout” in – but it’s not always the reality, so these are great things to remember!

Anything else to add? Do you have the all or nothing mindset when it comes to exercising?

If you live in New York or California, listen up! Get excited!

Has eating healthier changed your life?

My friends over at Clean Plates are putting on an awesome contest right now — and the prizes are so incredibly sweet that I actually had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Yep, yep…I seem to be awake…

Check it out:

A lot of you have been emailing me recently about wanting to attend the Institute for Integrative Nutrition – well, if you’re the Grand Prize Winner of the Clean Plates contest, you’ll win a FULL scholarship!!! ($5,000 + an iPad). So. Awesome.

Second prize -

A month membership to Equinox Gym, an hour-long consultation with Clean Plates founder and nutritionist Jared Koch, a case of Vita-Coco Coconut Water and a 3-day BluePrint Cleanse!!!

WHAT!

There are even more prizes, too. Check out the details.

All winners will get a copy of the Clean Plates Manhattan, Brooklyn and Los Angeles books, too. These babies are jam-packed with healthy, sustainable restaurant options as well as top-notch nutrition info.

Ok, ok I get it – you’re ready to enter. How does it work?

All you have to do is head over to the Official Contest Entry Page. From there, in 150 words to 500 words, share how you overcame a significant life challenge to eat healthier, or how eating healthier has positively changed your life.

Contest ends Feb 14, 2012.

Go!