cinnamon apple sangria

Sangria is one of my favorite cocktails. This is the perfect sangria drink for the cooler weather. You could even serve it warm.

no sugar added whole wheat banana cinnamon muffins

This is a really simple recipe that only uses one bowl and has no added sugar (ok, unless you count the chocolate chips, and you know you want chocolate chips in the muffin. Everyone does :) )

This recipe is now at suzyandco.com.

suzy&co is my a site dedicated to inspiring well-being through nutrition, natural products and simplicity. 

20 in 30 challenge for October | no sugar

My October 20 in 30 challenge is....(well I guess you can see it up there in the picture) no sugar.

Sugar can be so detrimental to our health, as we all know, but that doesn't mean a cookie, a piece of cake, a couple M&Ms, a homemade doughnut, etc.

20 in 30 challenge | a review

Every month since the beginning of this year I have been doing a challenge called the 20 in 30. I do something healthy for myself for 20 out of 30 (or 31 or 28) days of the month.

If you are looking for a way to make some healthy goals in a simple way, this is for you.

low carb, no sugar added, cinnamon pancakes

This is a very simple, 4 ingredient pancake recipe. It is healthy and yummy!

This recipe is now at suzyandco.com.

suzy&co is my a site dedicated to inspiring well-being through nutrition, natural products and simplicity. 

4 ingredient - 5 minute homemade mayonnaise

If you are buying mayonnaise from the store because you think you don't have time to make homemade, this 4 ingredient 5 minute mayonnaise will change your mind.

With all real food ingredients, no GMO soy or canola, no preservatives, and no scary ingredients, this is a much healthier option and so quick and easy.

*Note: so I edited the video below during the addition of oil and sped it up so you wouldn't have to watch the most boring and longest part. Then when I uploaded the video, the sound was completely off. My mouth was moving, but the words did not match at all. I couldn't even watch it, it was so annoying. So I had to re-upload this longer video without speeding up the boring part. I have no idea why that happened. I recommend skipping past the part where I am slowly adding oil, unless for some reason you find it mesmerizing :)

20 in 30 challenge | march - smoothie bowls

Each month I will be doing a different 20 in 30 challenge: 

doing something healthy for 20 out of 30 days of the month.

Another month, another healthy challenge. I so happy I decided to challenge myself each month to do something healthy instead of making a few goals for the entire year. Now each month can be a fresh start. 

nutrition basics | the nutrients

This basics series offers simple nutrition education to help you eat healthier and make better food choices. 

Nutrition articles are now at suzyandco.com.

suzy&co is my a site dedicated to inspiring well-being through nutrition, natural products and simplicity. 

If you are looking for more tips, real food recipes, and nutrition education, join suzy&co today!

* This post is for informational use only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease or illness. If you feel you need more advice and help on your diet and/or health, please consult with a qualified professional, such as a doctor, nurse, nutritionist or dietitian.

food & nutrition tip 3 | frozen fruits and veggies

This food and nutrition tip about frozen fruits and vegetables will help save you time, money, and frustration.

toasted sesame ginger dressing

This toasted sesame ginger dressing is one of my favorites! I think it was the second homemade dressing I ever made. I was playing with ingredients one night, knowing I wanted a sesame ginger type dressing to go with a Chinese chicken salad.

I love the flavor of toasted sesame oil. It has such a rich deep flavor. And I knew I wanted ginger and soy sauce as well.

Recipes are now at suzyandco.com.

suzy&co is my a site dedicated to inspiring well-being through nutrition, natural products and simplicity. 

the nutrition basics series

The basics of nutrition is grat to start with when you want to eat a healthy diet. All my nutrition education posts are now on my home site suzyandco.com.

You can start with the basics of Nutrients. 

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teaching kids about sugar in juice

Juice comes from fruit, so it should be healthy. But juice ends up being a concentrated source of sugar. Although it is all-natural and not added sugar, it can still be a lot of sugar and simply is not needed in a real food diet. Juice should be a once-in-a-while treat, not an everyday beverage.

100% real fruit juice, like orange juice, has ~ 21 grams of sugar per cup, that equals just over 5 teaspoons of sugar. A suggested serving of juice for kids 6 and under is 1/2 cup per day, which is still over 2.5 teaspoons of sugar.

Teaching kids nutrition is not easy. It is important to make it fun and not seem like a lecture. To help teach kids why eating a whole piece of fruit is healthier than drinking juice, consider this juicing activity.

creamy cilantro spice dressing

This is one of my favorite homemade salad dressings (do I say that every time?) I love cilantro and lime together and I am always trying to find new ways to use that combination. This dressing not only has the great flavors of cilantro and lime, it also has a nice kick with addition of cayenne and cumin. If you don't like spicy things, don't worry. This is not too spicy.

This is actually a creamy, kicked-up version of my 7 ingredient cilantro lime vinaigrette. By just adding 3 ingredients to that dressing, you will get this wonderful creamy dressing that gives a whole new dimension to a taco salad.

20 in 30 challenge | february - liver support

Each month I will be doing a different 20 in 30 challenge: 
doing something healthy for 20 out of 30 days of the month.

February I decided to focus on liver support.

The liver is the main organ in our body responsible for detoxing. It filters and processes nutrients, hormones, toxins, pesticides, medicines, alcohol. It has quite an important job. In fact, after you eat, and all your food has been broken down into the nutrients, those nutrients go into the blood stream. But before they get to go all the tissues in your body, they first make a pit stop in the liver. The liver than filters and processes them and then shuttles those nutrients out to the body.

(yes, this is just a very rudimentary explanation, for more info you can buy this* :) )

Why I am not calling it a liver detox

cocoa coconut butter oatmeal bites

These cocoa coconut butter oatmeal bites are a perfect quick breakfast or snack. This is a simple recipe that takes about 20 minutes and only has 7 real food ingredients!

I am always looking for easy things to eat in the morning. I do not consider myself a morning person at all. I want my coffee first thing and something simple to eat. I created several of these versions of oatmeal bites including pumpkin, pumpkin cocoa, and peanut butter and cocoa.

5 minute homemade coconut butter

This is a simple way to make coconut butter that takes only 5 minutes and is much cheaper than pre-made coconut butter.

Coconut butter is basically shredded coconut that has been creamed to create a butter with nut butter-like consistency, although it is a bit thicker and dryer. It is a great substitute for those with nut allergies. It is also great for those wanting to get more healthy fats into their diet.

why I am not anti "fad" diets

Fad diets seem to be a constant health topic. Being a nutritionist most might assume that I am against all fad diets and do not recommend them.

For the most part, I don't think fad diets are the best way to go, however, I do think they can be very beneficial to some people and they have their place.

blue cheese balsamic vinaigrette | 2 ways

This simple, homemade dressing has a great combination of tanginess and sweetness with the blue cheese and balsamic vinegar.

Blue cheese dressing is definitely a favorite in our house. For the longest time I would just make a standard creamy blue cheese from scratch. Then years ago my brother asked if it was possible to make a non-creamy version. I tinkered (yes, I tinker) and I came up with a blue cheese vinaigrette with only 4 pantry* ingredients.

20 in 30 challenge | January - green salads update

This year, each month, I am doing a 20 in 30 challenge: challenging myself to do something healthy for 20 out of the 30 days of each month. For January I chose to do green salads.

You can follow along on Instagram

food & nutrition tip 2 | hormones in chicken

Chickens raised in the United States are not treated with hormones. When you go to the grocery store, you will often see on the label that a company will prominently display:

"Raised without hormones"

Then if you look very closely, you will usually see (in teeny-tiny font) the words

10 foods I don't make from scratch

Do you read food and nutrition blogs and get the feeling everyone else is making all their food from scratch? That no one buys anything processed or convenient? It is not true.

Despite wanting to eat healthier, less processed foods, I will even go for convenience over scratch cooking.

Here are 10 foods that I more-often-than-not end up buying instead of making from scratch.

whole wheat apple & dulce de leche mini muffins

I know you are thinking that these must be unhealthy with dulce de leche in the title. But I can assure you they do not have much added sugar at all and are super moist even though they are made with whole wheat flour.

These are really easy, healthy, low in sugar, and the best part? You only use one bowl.

With only have 7 real food ingredients, they can be made start to finish in 20 minutes!

food & nutrition tip 1 | butter

Real food does not have to be difficult. Sometimes eating healthy can seem overwhelming with a lot of steps and a lot of new learning. 

The goal is real food simple is just that...to make real food seem simple and uncomplicated. Attainable. 

So I am posting real food tips* to help you on your journey to eating better. 

5 health and wellness apps

I already listed 7 food related apps to help you eat healthier in 2015. Now I have a list of health and wellness apps to also help you with your 2105 health goals.

All of these apps are ones currently on my phone that I use. If I don't find an app useful after a few weeks, I will delete it, so the ones that are kept are ones that I find really provide value to me.

7 real food apps

With the new year finally here, getting the tools to help with your resolutions is important. And with smart phones, it is so nice how many tools there are to help keep you on the right path.

Although I love simplicity and minimalism, I tend to be an app hoarder. When I hear of a good app, especially relating to food, I will download it.

These apps are ones that I use regularly and love. They will help you on your real food journey.