As Heard in FR EP #307 Understanding Food and Fitness in Midlife with Fit Foodie Chef Mareya, check out the episode to hear my interview with Gina Farrar!

Today on Feminine Roadmap we are talking about understanding food and fitness for midlife with Fit Foodie Chef Mareya. Chef Mareya is on a mission to help women to live their best lives after 40. Her story really began at 40 when she found herself starting over completely. Those drastic changes caused a major shift in how she viewed food, ingredients and healthiness. She wants listeners to know that even as their bodies and hormones are changing, you do not have to be miserable. Midlife is a season of metamorphosis, changes that are physical, mental and psychological. While fear is built into our DNA, we do not have to live from fear. We get to choose what we focus on, how we define healthy and whole. As women in midlife, we can make countercultural choices that are in alignment with who we are becoming. Midlife is a season...

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons finely minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons coconut amino acids or tamari
• 1 pound ground bison or grass-fed beef
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked sea salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

• Grilled onions
• Sliced tomato
• Quickles (page 76)
• Lettuce
• Sliced avocado
• Feta cheese
• Yogurt sauce

Directions: 

1) Heat a grill to medium.
2) In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, onion, cilantro, and coconut aminos. Add the ground bison and mix with clean hands to combine. Add the coriander, cumin, salt, cayenne, and black pepper and mix until evenly distributed.
3) Form the meat mixture into 3½- to 4-inch patties, about ½ inch thick. Grill for 6 to 7 minutes on each side for a medium-well burger, or to your desired doneness.
4) Serve with the toppings of your choice. I like to serve...

The fragrance of this slow-cooked pork is so insanely good, it's going to waft into your neighbor's home, so don't be surprised if you eat this with unexpected guests. Oh, wait, you didn't want that? Make sure to leave a bowl on your doorstep as a goodwill offering. When you add the greens, quickled veggies, and black rice, it doesn't get any better. This is the perfect meal-prep dish, and a feast for the eyes. ... Love manifested in a bowl.

Ingredients

PULLED PORK

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• ½ cup red cooking wine
• ¼ cup coconut amino acids
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• Juice of 1 large orange
• 3 star anise pods
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder

BOWLS

• 3 cups cooked black rice
• 2 tablespoons Homemade Furikake Rice Seasoning (page 104)
• Rainbow Veggie Quickles (page 76)
• Collard greens, sautéed

Directions

1) MAKE THE PULLED PORK: In a medium...

We know breakfast helps to set the tone for how successful your day will be but how the heck do we really make it healthier?  Here are 10 easy tips to take to the bank when it comes to setting yourself up for a better morning.

1. Avoid your triggers: The reality is that you crave what you eat, so as you make healthier choices, your old cravings will weaken. So if you are in the habit of going out for donuts, guess what? You’re going to eat the donuts!  Time to change the habit and retrain your tastebuds, which I talk about in-depth in my book “Eat Like You Give a Fork: The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive.”

2. Balance your blood sugar: Research studies indicate that low blood sugar levels are associated with lower overall blood flow to the brain, which can jeopardize your ability to make good decisions. To keep your blood sugar stable, eat a nutritious breakfast with protein and fat such as eggs, protein shakes, avocado, or nut butter. Plan to...

This is a perfect example of a fat filler that, while you are eating it, you won't believe it's guilt-free. SO creamy and delish, it's a treat you can look forward to daily in between meals, with fresh sliced apples, pears or strawberries! 

Here is what you need

• 2 cups cashews 
• 1/4 cup raw coconut oil (see Note) 
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 6 drops of liquid stevia, or 1 teaspoon granulated stevia 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

This is how you do it

1. In a large dry skillet comatose the cashews over low heat until lightly golden. Transfer them to a food processor and pulse until broken down into a smooth butter. Add the coconut oil and pulse until smooth and creamy.
2.  Add cocoa powder, Stevia, and cinnamon. Pulse until well Inc. Transfer to a glass jar and stored at room temperature for up to a month (If you can get it to last that long).
3.  Wash your favorite fruit or berries with our EatCleaner fruit and vegetable wash.
4. Plate it,...

For me, this Is Hawaii on a plate. There is nothing more decadently delicious than the combination of buttery, rich macadamia nuts with bananas and coconut syrup. Just thinking about this right now makes me want to cry, it's so delicious. Takes Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes" song to the next level.

Ingredients

MACADAMIA NUT BANANA PANCAKES

• 1½ cups all-purpose gluten- free flour
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
• 2 medium-large very ripe bananas, peels on (see Note, page 99)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts

COCONUT SYRUP

• 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• ½ cup simple syrup (see Note)

Directions

1. MAKE THE PANCAKES: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
2. Place the eggs, almond milk, bananas, and vanilla in a...

Episode Overview

In this episode, we are diving into the benefits of red light therapy and near-infra-red. If you've never heard of those, we'll listen. What if I told you there's a completely natural way to get better skin reducing formation in pain, enhancing brain and cognitive function, helping with cardiovascular health, improving circulation, healing wounds faster, and even easing depression without a pill or lifting a finger or any negative side effects? Would you be on board?

To listen to this episode's entirety, just follow the link here! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cSLlBatOecL7_Bf8nmmPnnHQEA6GVQxt?usp=share_link

 “Smart healthy cells are the foundation of life, you guys, if your cells are happy and vibrant, everything else falls into place.”

-Mareya Ibrahim

“We want those healthy cells turning over and staying healthy all the time. So by stimulating collagen production and cell turnover, that leads to younger looking...

How to Retrain Your Taste Buds and take a Spring Break

My son was a phenomenal eater as a baby. He’d slurp up his sweet potatoes and pound his peas. Apples were his favorite, and he’d down the pureed pears and plums like a champ. I’d mix veggies with bananas, wheat cereal and even a little in his milk. But when he turned two, the little tyrant started throwing it down every meal. It was gruesome, and many peas paid the price.

At two years old, Neophobia or a fear of trying new foods sets in. Children have the ability to express their displeasure for foods at a very early age, and they show it by spitting it out, throwing it onto the floor, across the room or painting the walls and the ceiling with it. That was my son. Anything green flew from his mouth in a projectile explosion that left us both ugly-sobbing. When our little ones start making the transition from the wondrous, complete nutrition that is breast milk to solid food, they soon shifted to fruit and...

Episode Overview

Sometimes when you meet someone, you feel like you've known them your whole life. Well, that's what it was like for me to meet Andrea Shaw. Known to her friends and now to me as Draya. What impressed me about her was not just her incredible physique, but also her humility, light, her personality and the kind of person that she exudes. We'll find out a lot about what sets her apart, how her mindset has taken her this far in her sport and where the rubber met the road for her in terms of her making a decision to take this route in the first place.

 “Don't let the environment control you. You control the environment and take charge of what you can.”

- Andrea Shaw 

“Pick a day! Once you take action, there's definitely going to be some sort of follow up step, or something else is going to happen to help move you into that next phase and that next dimension

- Andrea Shaw 

Episode Timestamps:

02:17 How did Andrea get started in...