It’s the first in Cake to Kale‘s recipe series! My goal in this series is to provide macronutrient-friendly (meaning, optimal ratio of protein, carbs and fats) recipes that are perfect as post-workout meals or snacks. I will be writing more about macronutrients (“macros”) in an upcoming post. But for now, I present these warm and delicious (I made them the other night) apple cinnamon protein muffins!

Ingredients:

1 diced apple
2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (I used Trutein’s Cinnabun flavor to bring out the cinnamon!)
1/2 cup fat-free greek yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup stevia or splenda
1.5 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 egg whites, 1 whole egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place ingredients into bowl and stir. Spray non-stick cooking spray on muffin pan. Pour batter evenly into muffin holes. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 servings. Per Serving:
Macros: 100 calories. Carbs: 15g Protein: 8g Fat 1g

Jessica Rothschild (caketokale.com) offers private coaching which specializes in kickstarting metabolism, deconstructing cravings and personal training. Her mission is to inspire, educate and empower people to become rock stars in their bodies and minds.

The post Eat yourself healthy: Apple cinnamon protein muffins first appeared on Lesbian.com.

BY JESSICA ROTHSCHILD

Some girls are naturally blessed enough to not have their periods ruin their lives on a monthly basis. Meaning, these fortunate women have no need for a vibrating hot water bottle while curled up in the fetal position for the monthly 5-7. I am not one of these women. The headaches, cramping, cravings, bloating, feelings and “period brain” are all common experiences in our menstrual culture today and seemingly come OUT OF NOWHERE every month. Well, I have come to enlighten you with the news that this is all preventable! In fact, the single most significant factor contributing to your PMS is the food you put in your mouth. Our diet has a direct correlation to our hormone imbalances and it turns out that all of these symptoms are NOT natural — we aren’t supposed to feel this way! All we need to do is gravitate toward the right foods and vitamins and these symptoms will drastically decrease, if not disappear altogether and balance your hormones naturally. I KNOW.

Here we have it: foods to swear by, especially the week before and during your period.

+ Magnesium relieves physical symptoms of PMS like water retention, weight gain and bloating (what to eat: leafy greens, nuts, pumpkin seeds, beans/lentils, fish, brown rice)
+ Vitamin B6 for cramp relief (what to eat: fish, bananas and walnuts)
+ Vitamin E to relieve inflammation (what to eat: kale, leafy greens, nuts and seeds)
+ Increase fiber to help absorb the excess estrogen from going into the blood and causing inflammation (what to eat: fruit, veggies, legumes, seeds and grains).
+ Start adding flaxmeal in your oatmeal, smoothies, cereal and wholegrain pancakes. My favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill Whole Ground Flaxseed Meal.
+ Warm tea with raw honey relaxes the muscles and is a natural pain reliever.
+ Calcium helps prevent PMS (what to eat: broccoli, kale, figs, oranges)
+ Pineapples contain proteolytic enzymes which aid in muscle relaxation
+ Beets to reduce pain. Fun fact: Beets are fantastic to prevent against heart disease, so get them in your diet! They will help reduce your pain and protect your <3.
+ Dark chocolate (look for cacao content of 85% or higher) contains less sugar and no milk. Even better is RAW unsweetened dark chocolate for a ton of antioxidants and essential vitamins.

Also! Be sure to try what I like to call Magical Cramp Relieving Juice:
2 medium beets (not the greens)
1 small lemon with peel
3 – 4 leaves of kale
1/2 green apple
2 stalks celery
1 inch cube of ginger
Water + ice

Foods to avoid during PMS because they will actually make your symptoms worse:

+ Sugar
+ Foods high in sodium
+ Milk or white chocolate
+ Flour-based food
+ French fries
+ Caffeine
+ Breads and pastas
+ Rich foods like aged cheese
+ Alcohol
+ Anything with preservatives

And finally, skipping meals triggers symptoms such as headaches and fatigue due to a drop in blood sugar level. So be sure to eat three square meals (all with protein) plus snacks. A full tummy will also help curb sudden emotional food cravings (a topic we will cover in an upcoming blog post). If you’ve made it this far on the period train, do not miss My Period Takes Me Shopping.

Please share your own food-as-medicine remedies for preventing cramps and PMS in the comments below!

Jessica Rothschild is a Holistic Nutrition + Fitness Coach helping people create a completely personalized roadmap to health that suits their unique body, lifestyle and goals. Jess offers private coaching specializing in deconstructing cravings, disordered eating and personal training. Her mission is to inspire, educate and empower people to become rockstars in their bodies and minds. Check out her work at www.facebook.com/caketokale.com.

The post How to eat your way out of PMS first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Back in 2004, at 21 years old, I literally woke up one day, changed everything about the way I ate and joined the gym a few blocks from my New York City apartment.  And, over the last 9 years, I never once reverted to my previous daily diet of greasy take-out and fast food (though I’m sure McDonald’s chicken nuggets and Pizza Hut breadsticks are still delish). See, living on my own post-college finally provided me the space I needed to embrace the fact that I was gay and begin dating. My aforementioned diet (and its effects on my body) wasn’t exactly helping my confidence when I was already self-conscious about my sexuality. So, I decided to make a change — something I could control — and altered my mind-set. This whole idea of “eating clean” and working out was surprisingly simple and I saw instant, affirming results.

And then it got complicated. Throughout my twenties, I inched closer to the “disordered eating” lifestyle which is basically a wide range of irregular eating behaviors that do not warrant a diagnosis of a specific eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia.  I became increasingly restrictive (read: obsessed) with what foods I deemed “clean enough to eat” and began exhibiting some of the physiological symptoms of under-eating/nutrient deficiency, like thinning hair and disruption in my menstrual cycle. There were birthday parties and weddings I spent avoiding the catering, convincing myself I wasn’t hungry and setting myself up for the inevitable binge on the sugary sweet foods I absolutely loved. Trust me, the body is a lot smarter than the mind and it will get the calories it needs one way or another!  Interestingly, my relationship with the gym has been nothing but productive and I was never an obsessive cardio bunny (you know, the girl you see on the same elliptical year after year, her body never changing). I fell in love with a bodybuilding-esque training style and am proud to say I never spend more than 30 minutes at a time doing cardio.

In action at the gym. (Photo courtesy Jessica Rothschild)

Desperately searching for answers and a way to end the perpetual rollercoaster (that was now affecting my relationship with the woman I loved), I was innately drawn to holistic nutrition and training blogs, coaches and YouTube channels. Using the knowledge I gained, I slowly reverse-dieted my way into metabolic repair and am currently eating more food on a daily basis than I have in the last 10 years(!), surging my metabolism and feeling more at home in my own body than ever before. I realized that food is medicine and if I got myself into this mess with food, I could absolutely heal with energetic, wholesome superfoods in quantities that would eliminate my cravings and calm my mind. Finally free from the metaphorical chase from my own body, I decided to follow my ignited passion for nutrition and fitness and become certified as a Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and guide the countless women (and men) out there who struggle with various permutations of my own story.

I received my cutting-edge nutrition training through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I studied the major dietary theories from East to West, including Ayurveda, Macrobiotics and Blood Type as well as a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods and now help people create a completely personalized roadmap to health that suits their unique body, lifestyle and goals.

My mission with this new column is to inspire, educate and empower you to become a rockstar in your body and mind.

Jessica Rothschild is a Holistic Nutrition + Fitness Coach helping people create a completely personalized roadmap to health that suits their unique body, lifestyle and goals. Jess offers private coaching specializing in deconstructing cravings, disordered eating and personal training. Her mission is to inspire, educate and empower people to become rockstars in their bodies and minds. Check out her work at www.facebook.com/caketokale.com.

The post How I found my passion through my fight with food first appeared on Lesbian.com.