Launch of the New StudioEats.com!!

Hi everyone,

I am SO thrilled to announce the launch of the brand new StudioEats.com. Over the last few months, I’ve worked with an incredible team to create exactly what I had envisioned.

I wanted a fun and refreshing place for people to come who are struggling with food. I didn’t want my website to be about diets, grams of carbs, or the latest juice cleanse. I wanted it to be about living a great life- one where you’re so fulfilled and in tune with what makes you tick that you don’t have time to scrutinize yourself for eating an extra couple of fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies.

I wanted my website to encourage you to create beautiful eating experiences and to enjoy the moment, regardless of whether you’re eating chocolate cake or kale. You deserve to eat delicious food and to feel satisfied every time you eat.

And finally, I wanted you to have a place that talks about forgetting all of the “should’s” in your life and gives you permission to learn more about yourself. I wanted you to feel empowered to eat, exercise, socialize, and live your life in a way that speaks to you.

 

Thank you to everyone who has helped shape what this website is. It is a product of a ton of hard work and I couldn’t be happier with the result.

A special shout out to Josh over at Arrowtech Solutions who developed the website and put in SO much hard work. He completely exceeded all of my highest expectations and often times anticipated what I would want before I even knew I wanted it.

Also, thank you to Jenny for her gorgeous graphic design work and Michelle for the beautiful photos.

And of course, all of YOU who have supported the growth of StudioEats and inspired me every step of the way. This website is what it is because of you.

I hope you love it!

Check it out here.

xo,

Jamie

VideoBlog: Life Design- Defend Your Bare Essentials

Hi guys!

Here is another video in my Life Design series. This ones talks about defending your “bare essentials” or your non-negotioables. These are the things that you absolutely need in order to feel your best. During the busiest of times, it’s important to know what yours are and do anything you can to make sure that they’re in your life.

I give an example of one of my clients, what she figured out her “bare essentials” are, and how she is going to defend having them in her life at all times.

What are your “bare essentials”?? I challenge you to tell me three of them! 

VideoBlog: Life Design – Does Your Home Inspire and Support You?

Hi guys!

In my last post about gaining a few pounds this winter, I mentioned that I was going to do a series of posts going over some little strategies I try to implement in my life when trying to take care of myself better. I decided to call these strategies “Life Design”, because it’s really all about designing a life that fills you up in every way.

Today I have the first of those posts… in video form!

I even added a fun little shin-dig at the beginning. The volume may be a little screwy so I’m sorry if One Republic starts blasting in your office 🙂

Today’s topic is all about how important our physical environment is to our health. Does your home make you feel inspired, at ease and peaceful? Or does it make you feel dull, chaotic and stressed?

Check out the video which explains why this matters so much. And I’d love to hear your thoughts as always. Enjoy!! Xo.

 

Does your home/apartment/office support you living a healthy life? What is one change you can make to your physical space to spruce it up and make you feel how you want to feel every day? 

Dear body, thank you for taking on these extra 5 pounds.

This winter, I gained a solid five pounds. Maybe a couple more, I’m not entirely sure to be honest.

Initially, I was kind of upset about this extra weight. But lately, I’ve gained a tremendous, deep appreciation for it.

I talk to women all the time about body image and I believe that our bodies tell a story. When we naturally lose weight, it is typically a result of us being relaxed, happy, and less stressed in our lives. Many women talk about losing weight on vacation when they are chilling out and at ease. When we gain weight, it is usually a sign of something else going on. Stress, boredom, lack of excitement in our lives, overwhelm.

I’m pretty in touch with my emotions and how to take care of myself on all levels, but I have to say that starting a business threw me for a big loop. As hard set I was on keeping some sort of peace, balance and sanity during this new venture, I’ve quickly learned that I have to get used to NOT necessarily having those things right now. I’ve become increasingly comfortable with this, but I struggled with it at first. And I see the reflection of that in my body.

However, when I look at my body, with the extra weight it’s holding onto, I look at it in such a loving way.

When I look in the mirror, I see a body that supported me starting a business from scratch.

I see a body that had my back as I faced a lot of fears and took a lot of risks.

I see a body that was with me through making some of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make with little idea as to how to make them.

I see a body that supported many sleepless nights when my brain wouldn’t stop churning about who knows what.

I see a body that helped me get up after those sleepless nights and devote my full attention to talking to my amazing clients all day.

I see a body that gave me energy to keep my relationships strong, exciting and healthy during times when I felt worn down.

I see a body that took me for runs when I needed to clear my head and let me sleep like a baby when I truly needed it.

I see a body that fueled me to go out dancing with my friends for hours on end when I needed to let it all go.

I see a body that let me eat cereal at 3am to get me through a project I needed to get through, and occasionally rely on ice cream to mentally check out when I just didn’t know what else to do.

When I look in the mirror and see that my cheeks are a little fuller, my thighs a little thicker and my stomach a little rounder, I see a girl who ventured into unknown territory and a new phase of her life and a body that supported that.

I’m not superwoman (dang, wish I was), and although I talk about emotional eating and self-care, I also tell people that sometimes you just have to do the best you can. Sometimes we get thrown curve balls, or we move into a new chapter of our lives and aren’t quite sure how to handle the new lifestyle and challenges that it brings. We need to relearn how to take care of ourselves, how to adjust, and how to grow.

Although I have taken care of myself in the best way that I know how, I’m still learning as I go through a new phase of my life, and I’ve learned that the best thing I can do for myself right now is be understanding, patient, and compassionate with myself. There have been days that I’ve overeaten to comfort or distract myself, weeks when I haven’t gotten enough sleep, times when I haven’t managed my stress as well as I could have, and many days I haven’t gotten outside and stretched my legs as much as I know my body has wanted to.

But I’m still here, and I’m still kickin’.

And I’m starting to get the hang of it. And I know that each day I’m learning more about what I need and how to make this all work. How to balance taking care of myself, taking care of my business, and taking care of everything else.

So for now, here is a little letter to my body…

Thanks for being patient with me and supporting me through so much unknown and uncertainty lately. I look at those extra 5 lbs and I see them as a reflection of everything we’ve pushed through in the last several months. I know I haven’t treated you perfectly, but thank you for being there for me anyway. We’ve accomplished a ton, and I couldn’t have done any of it without you. As I get used to this new life and keep figuring it all out, I know that I will be able to  focus more and more on taking care of you and giving you what you need. Thank you for hanging in there with me.

I want you to look at your body the next time you’re in front of the mirror and thank it for something. For something it has gotten you through. Are those extra pounds a reflection of something you’ve gone through and an example of where your body has taken one for the team? Did you eat to get through something, or stop working out because you were dealing with another area of your life that needed attention? Is that extra tummy roll there because you can’t stand your job but you’re doing it anyway and constantly hitting the M&M jar to get through the day? Are you going through changes in your life and still trying to figure out how to take care of yourself under those new circumstances? Where has your body supported your decisions and kept you afloat? Where has it taken on some physical weight because it was too hard for you to take on the emotional weight? Can you compassionately thank your body for that?

Weight fluctuations are normal. We go through things in our lives and constantly have to adjust. We go through break ups, we deal with extreme joy and pain, we change jobs, we move, we build families. And its normal that as we go through changes, our bodies do too.

So what’s next? How about these 5 pounds?

Well, I’m not too concerned about the weight. I know that it will go away eventually, and my number one job right now is to just keep working on creating a lifestyle where I am able to pay attention to my body in the way it deserves. In these past few weeks I’ve felt like I am kinda sorta getting better at this new entrepreneurial territory I am swimming in, and I am going to continue to just keep figuring out how to make it all work for me.

I plan on sharing a series of posts over the next several weeks explaining what lifestyle changes I’ve been/will be making in my own life in order to take care of myself even better. It will be a combination of what has worked for me in the past plus new strategies that I’ve been trying out lately. It’s going to be a lot of little things, no drastic changes, but I figure I might as well share how I’m learning to take care of myself with a very unstructured schedule and a lot of uncertainty, change and unknown going on in my life right now.

So if you’re interested, stay tuned!

I’d love to hear from you. Regarding the questions above– can you compassionately thank your body for something its helped you get through, even if it has taken on some weight? Do you have any ideas of something you can shift in your life right now in order to create more room for taking care of yourself and giving your body more of what it needs? 

Meditating through an Ice Cream Cone

(This is a recycled pic but I got this exact same cone yesterday, so just roll with me here…)

So yesterday I had an interesting experience with this ice cream cone that I’d like to share.

It was a warm day in the city (finally!) and I was coming back from meeting up with a friend in Union Square at around noon when suddenly the thought of having a vanilla ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles sounded like the absolute best idea.

As soon as I got off the subway, I went ahead and got it. No questions asked.

And let me tell you… this ice cream cone was amazing.

Once I got it, I slowed down my pace, walked really slowly over the three blocks to my apartment, and just basked in the sun and the pure enjoyment of the ice cream. I felt like a little kid again, licking all the sprinkles off first and catching the ice cream as it dripped off and melted.

I was so immersed in the experience. I didn’t notice anything around me, and for the first time in weeks, I realized that I wasn’t thinking about work, or where I needed to be, or my to-do list. My mind was completely present and I was extracting every ounce of pleasure from the experience.

The next thing I knew, I was on the wrong block. I started laughing to myself, because I was literally so involved in the ice cream cone joy that I forgot where I lived and started walking down a different block.

Now if that’s not true “presence”, then I don’t know what is.

When I got back to my apartment and finished the last bite of my ice cream cone, I felt on top of the world. I was beaming. I was so happy. That ice cream cone, although it only lasted a few minutes, gave me so much satisfaction. And I enjoyed, literally, every single second of it.

I’m joking when I say that I meditated through the ice cream cone, but my point is that being totally present and immersed in our food can bring us so much joy, satisfaction and pleasure.

And when we realize how much enjoyment we can get from our food, we don’t need to eat as much of it. Alternatively, if I had walked back to my apartment thinking about a million different things, the cone would have been gone before I knew it, and I would not have even noticed the amount of pleasure I could have gotten from it. Then, I would have been left feeling unsatisfied and wanting more.

So my challenge for you is… the next time you eat something today, try to be FULLY present and extract as much enjoyment as you possibly can from it. Whether you are sipping on a cup of coffee or eating a sandwich off the side of the street, spend at least a few extra seconds focusing on the food. The taste, the feel, the texture, the smell. And see how much more satisfied you feel afterward. Maybe you even find yourself eating less, but that’s not even the point. I just want you to walk away feeling happy and saying to yourself “damn, that was good”.

Have you had an experience like my ice cream cone experience lately? And if you give this a shot today, tell me how it goes! 

Hummus and Veggie Collard Green Wraps

Alright are we ready to be super healthy for a few minutes? This may go down as one of the most healthy recipes on StudioEats.

I present to you….

Collard Greens.

When I told my Mom I made a Collard Green recipe she didn’t even let me finish my sentence before saying “Ew!!!”

Her memories of collard greens are apparently very unpleasant. She complained about the smell of cooked collard greens that she was around when growing up and I said “yea yea I know what you mean but these are different”.

Eating Collard Greens raw is a piece of cake and much different than eating them cooked. When you keep them raw, they don’t really taste like anything, which makes them extremely easy to use in recipes and very versatile. They are commonly used as a wrap, replacing bread for a health boost.

Want to know some healthy benefits?

– Virtually no calories

– Helps to lower cholesterol

– Cancer fighting

– PACKED with vitamins and antioxidants (read more about the health benefits here)

Ok, so are you willing to try it? If so, here is how you make these cute little healthy wraps.

You want to start with some basic ingredients. You can use just hummus, or shred some carrots and cut up some of your other favorite vegetables into small pieces:

Then, you want to simply wash the green leaves, cut each leaf in half, and cut out the stem. So you will have two halves, separated. I followed this short video to learn how to do the wrap and roll. I’d recommend just taking a look at this, but you don’t need to worry about steaming the leaves like she does. I just used them totally raw.

So you take your green leaf, already separated, and you overlap the two halves of the leaves. Then, you just add on your hummus and veggies:

And then you get rollin’! Fold in the sides first, then fold from the bottom and roll upwards (again, watch video for a very clear description).

You can keep them in burrito/wrap form or slice them down the middle if you want them to look all pretty.

What I love about these is that you can create a bunch ahead of time, and wrap them individually in foil. Then, you have all these little mini healthy burritos sitting in your fridge that you can pull out for a snack whenever.

These are great as a snack, anytime, or if you eat enough of them, for a full meal. You can also get creative in terms of what you put in here. Some ideas:

• Just hummus
• Hummus/veggies
• Cheese/hummus/veggies
• Beans
• Avocado
• Chicken
• Leftovers from dinner
• Roasted veggies
• Refried Beans/Cheese/Guac
• Edited to add: smoked salmon since so many of you mentioned it… great idea!

I hope you give these a shot if you’re looking to expand your “leafy greens” repertoire. I’m always a proponent of finding new ways to get leafy greens in my diet as they are some of the healthiest foods out there for us. Enjoy!

Hummus and Veggie Collard Green Wraps

• Bundle of Collard Greens
• Hummus
• Sliced/chopped veggies

1. Wash the greens, and cut them according to this video. No need to steam them.

2. Use the video’s method of overlapping the leaves. Then, layer on the hummus/veggies and roll into burrito form.

3. Eat now or wrap them in foil for an easy snack or meal later on.

Banana Coconut Protein Oats

Oh, oatmeal. I kind of like you, kind of don’t.

Oatmeal is one of those foods that I am just “eh” about. Yes it is really good for you and helps to lower cholesterol, has a lot of fiber, and is one of those unprocessed carbohydrates straight from the earth (WIN).

But it can also be very plain Jane. Ya know?

The other issue I have with oatmeal is that it’s like this big ball of carbs in the morning and I am someone who likes a little protein to round it all out and keep me going throughout the first few hours of my day.

If you can relate to any of these “eh” feelings about oatmeal, fear no more. I have some solutions.

First, let’s discuss the boring issue. Nobody should have a plain Jane breakfast. Breakfast should be delicious, exciting and sexy.

The great thing about oatmeal is that you can dress it up big time. Here, I’ve added in cinnamon, vanilla almond milk, a banana, coconut, and some new-to-me AMAZING peanut butter called “Coconut and Peanut Spread” by Earth Balance. Have you guys seen this before? It caught my eye at the grocery story and I was transported to another place when I tried it. It is SO good and will make you feel like you’re in the tropics. Really.

Next, let’s discuss the protein issue. To get in some extra protein, I stirred in about 1/4 cup of egg whites at the last second while cooking the oats. This not only gave me a protein boost but it made my oats super FLUFFY. Yum.

Additionally, adding a spoonful of peanut butter also adds in some protein. Sounds like a rounded out bowl of oats to me.

This oatmeal was neither plain Jane nor a heavy bowl of carbs. It was smooth, sweet, hearty, fluffy, well-rounded, and totally satisfying.

What are your thoughts on oats? Love them? Hate them? “Eh”?

See these other oatmeal recipes for more ideas:

Strawberry Overnight Oats

Mango Coconut Oats

Banana Coconut Protein Oats (serves 1)

• 1/2 cup dry oats- old fashioned or instant
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• spoonful of nut butter
• 1 T unsweetened coconut
• dashes of cinnamon

1. In a small sauce pan, add in the oats, water, milk, cinnamon and sliced banana pieces. Allow to come to a boil, then stir over medium/low heat until oats cook and absorb the liquid to your desired consistency. By adding in the banana in the beginning, it gives it time to break down and get really sweet.

2. Add in the egg white, and keep stirring for another minute or so while they cook into the oatmeal, making it fluffy!

3. Add to a bowl and top with coconut and nut butter. Additional cinnamon if you’d like!

Brunch with Friends and an Egg White, Veggie and Herb Frittata

This weekend I had two my of best gal pals over for some catching up . The three of us hadn’t had the chance to actually talk in weeks, which was unusual for us considering that we usually talk almost every day. I sent out a cute little Evite about two weeks ago and we all committed to a homemade brunch at my place.

After a fun night out on Saturday night, I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and excited to see my girls. Even more excited to cook for them.

First things first, the studio needed a bit of a tune up. She was lookin’ a little sleepy and was not ready for guests.

Just a few minutes later, we were ready:

Much better.

Now, on to the food. I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few last minute ingredients, and then got cooking.

First up, ‘taters. One of my friends is Gluten Free so I designed the menu to have zero gluten. Potatoes were therefore the carb of choice, and I decided to keep them simple by roasting them with some garlic, spices, and herbs.

Popped these babies into the oven and moved on.

Next up was the star of the day, an egg white and loaded veggie frittata that I had on my mind. These girls like to keep it healthy, as do I, and I will find any way to sneak my friends some extra veggies without them even noticing. I am only looking out for their best interest and health ya know?

Oh yes, this turned out so well! I was very very happy with the result and will be making this one again, for sure.

I also chopped up some fruit for a colorful fruit salad. Plums, banana, strawberries, blueberries and pear.

One of my friends, Amanda, is in culinary school at ICE and just finished up “baked goods” week. HA, how convenient. Lucky for us, she brought over many, many of her leftover treats. The perfect complement to a healthy brunch.

We loaded up on coffee and sat around finally catching up for a few hours. You know how it goes… we could have talked forever and literally lost track of time. A girls brunch success!

We didn’t get a good picture of us (we tried the selfie thing a few times and pretty much failed) but here is a pic of us from last year:

What I loved most about the frittata was the fresh herbs. If you do make this, I would say don’t skimp on the herbs! They added such a fresh, garden taste to the eggs. This can also be made at the start of a week and cut into slices that can be used for a pre-made breakfast throughout the week. This morning, I had leftovers and just heated the slice for about 30 seconds in the microwave, added some hot sauce, and avocado toast on the side. It was great having this made ahead of the time and not having to think about it.

Roasted Potatoes

• several red and brown potatoes, of any kind
• parsley
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika
• olive oil
• garlic

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil

2. Chop a few garlic cloves into tiny pieces, set aside.

3. Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Top with garlic, a couple tablespoons of EVOO, salt, pepper, and a generous helping of cayenne and paprika, depending on how spicy you like it. Top with parsley. Mix with hands and then spread out on baking sheet.

4. Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring once.

Egg White, Veggie and Herb Frittata

(serves 5 or 6)

• About 1 cup of egg whites (I used the ones in the carton)
• 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 large mushrooms
• 1/2 cup assorted bell pepper, chopped
• handful or two of kale, chopped
• 2 T fresh dill
• 2 T fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup feta
• EVOO, S&P

1. Add a couple tablespoons of EVOO to a skillet. Add chopped garlic and let it cook for a couple of minutes over medium heat.

2. Add sliced onions and let them caramelize for about 10 minutes while you are chopping everything else up. Stir them occasionally and season with S&P.

3. Add mushrooms and peppers and let them cook until soft. Finally, add Kale and herbs. Allow everything to cook for a few more minutes. Season with additional S&P if desired.

4. Line a quiche dish or pie dish (or you can just keep it in the skillet) with some cooking spray.

5. Add your cooked veggies to the pie dish and then top with the cup of egg whites. Feel free to use real eggs and adjust the amount of eggs/egg whites so that the frittata is as thick as you’d like.

6. Top with a sprinkle of feta, salt and pepper.

7. Pop into a 350 degree oven. Once the egg whites are mainly cooked (after about 20 minutes), put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Watch it closely so it doesn’t burn! You just want the top to get slightly brown and crusty.

8. Cut and serve! Top with hot sauce if you like a kick.

Honey Rosemary Roasted Carrots

I have carrots for you today. Carrots. But they are special carrots….

I picked these bad boys up from the Farmer’s Market the other day and couldn’t get over how oddly creepy yet beautiful they looked.

Rainbow carrots, they are called.

And they were even prettier once I did a little makeover to them. All nicely washed, peeled, and chopped. Much better:

I love finding new vegetable recipes that I love. Because what’s better than eating vegetables that you know are super healthy that are also really delicious?

I added some Olive Oil, a drizzle of honey, S&P, and chopped rosemary to the carrots and stuck them in the oven for about 30 minutes.

That’s all. Just some perfectly sweet, beautiful, healthy carrots.

I’ve already enjoyed them two ways. I can’t get enough of them!

Once with fish and brown rice:

And another as an addition to a brown rice “taco bowl”:

Mmm…. I hope you like these as much as I do. They’re great to store in your fridge all week to add to salads, or as a side to your lunch/dinner. Even add them to omelettes in the morning for breakfast. Or just snack on them with a little feta? Possibilities are endless!

Honey Rosemary Roasted Carrots

• about 4 cups of sliced carrots
• about 2 T olive oil
• about 2 T honey
• S&P
• 1 or 2 T of chopped rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2. Combine everything and lay out on a lined baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes, checking on them midway and giving them a little stir.

Last Day to Sign Up for April Intuitive Eating Challenge

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post to say that today will be the last day to sign up for the April Intuitive Eating Challenge. We’ve gotten a good group of people so I am going to close the sign up a bit early… if you’re on the fence and still want to sign up, just let me know by the end of the day.

Thanks!