With Thanksgiving less than 2 weeks away, now is a great time to do a test-run of any recipes you would like to include on your holiday menu, but have never made before.  I will not actually be cooking this week because my husband and I will be following the Fasting Mimicking Diet, a 5-day fast with food.  Everything you need to consume over the 5-day fast is sent to you in a box, so you don’t have to think about doing much.  I don’t do juice cleanses, diets, detoxes, or anything else.  But I have done this fast twice before and I felt fantastic.  I have done a lot of research on the subject of fasting and I am sold on its benefits for longevity.  My friend Dr. Vivian Chen @plateful.health did a wonderful Instagram post with other benefits of fasting which include:

• improved insulin sensitivity – better sugar control = less insulin, with the potential downstream effect of fat loss, particularly visceral ie belly fat (because insulin is the fat storage hormone.)
• repair and detoxification – much of the body’s energy expenditure goes on digestion. when you fast, your body is ‘freed up’ to perform other functions – a nightly 12 hour ‘fast’ will also serve this function.
• preliminary studies also show fasting may increase beneficial gut bacteria strains such as Akkermansia Mucinophilia. (Akkermansia has been implicated in healthy weight control and more recently in cancer therapies.)
• If you want to find out more about fasting, register for the FREE Global Fasting week organized by @Fastingtalks and listen to experts like @drjkahn @joelfuhrmanmd @drjasonfung.
• If you want to join me in Prolon’s Fasting Mimicking Diet, use my code: pamela25 to receive a discount on a kit or subscription.  Feel free to ask me any questions here.  I will also be documenting the process on Instagram stories.

Speaking of Instagram, I will continue the Thanksgiving theme LIVE on Monday, November 12th at 5:00 pm PST/8:00 pm EST.  Bring all your questions!  After the video disappears, I will post on my Facebook page where you can find previous Instagram LIVES.

I will be doing a bonus Instagram Live with Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, on Thursday, November 15th at 2:30 pm PST/5:30 pm EST.  We will discuss making pie dough and pies!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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I have already cooked 4 turkeys this week and I am cooking 5-6 next week and 4-5 the week after – and that’s all before my own Thanksgiving holiday!  I have a lot of experience cooking turkeys and Thanksgiving recipes, in general.  If I am an expert in one thing, it’s pulling off a delicious and balanced Thanksgiving dinner without any stress.  My Thanksgiving ebook is now available and it contains all recipes I have ever served, including the coffeecake I make every Thanksgiving morning + all my tips and tricks and pre-ahead strategies.  And it’s only $5!  Click here for more info.

Monday Instagram LIVE continues this Monday at 5:00 pm PST/8:00 pm EST.  This week I will discuss equipment for Thanksgiving and I will (by request) do some demonstrations on my food processor.  Instagram only gives me an hour, so don’t be late! 😉 @pamelasalzman

Over the last year or so, I have been doing a tremendous amount of research on fasting and longevity.  The data and science that positively correlate the two is very strong.  I became fascinated by the work of Dr. Valter Longo and subsequently his Fasting Mimicking Diet.  I have done his fast, which is a 5-day calorie-restricted, fully supplied plan, twice and I was blown away by the results both times.  I felt the best I have felt in years, and it was also an education for me in how psychological eating is. One of the benefits of fasting is to help with cellular rejuvenation, metabolic balance and healthy aging.  I also lost weight both weeks and kept off most of the pounds.  In August, my husband did the fast with me and we are doing it again the week of November 12th to coincide with World Fasting Week.  I reached out to Prolon, the company behind the Fasting Mimicking Diet, to see if they would offer my followers a discount and they obliged.  First, check out the program here. Then, if you’d like to try it, use the code pamela25 to receive a discount on a kit or subscription.  Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.  For medical advice, please contact Prolon.

Lastly, I will be speaking on the Essential Nutrition Panel at the 5th Annual SoCal Wellness event on Friday, November 9th at the Westlake Village Inn! Details and tickets online at www.socalwellnessexpo.com.  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:Continue reading

This was a great week!  I was in NY for a few days and spent some time with my family.  I also cooked the chipotle turkey chili from my cookbook in an Instagram Live at The Feed Feed.  You can find that footage here if you missed it. And, I taped a fantastic segment with one of my faves, Rachael Ray, on what you can do to get ahead of the game three weeks before Thanksgiving!  That episode airs Friday, November 2nd.  Check your local listings for channel and time.  My girls are home for the weekend because we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of my husband’s parents.  I am beyond excited to spend time with them!!

For my online cooking class subscribers, join me for our monthly private Facebook LIVE on Saturday, October 27 at 8:45 am PST/11:45 am EST!

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Happy weekend!  I have a busy schedule in the next week.  If you are in the El Segundo area on Saturday (Oct 20th), please come say hello while I do a cooking demo and sign books at the annual El Segundo Public Library Author Fair.  I’m up at 2:00 pm.  I’ll be in NYC for most of next week.  Tune into my Instagram feed on Monday at 9:00 am PST/12:00 pm EST while I do some fall cooking at The Feed Feed.  I am also taping a TV segment on Wednesday at one of my favorite shows!  Check my stories on Wednesday to find out which one!Continue reading

As many of you know, my husband adopted a plant-based diet a year ago.  He was the biggest carnivore, cheese and ice cream eater who I never thought in a MILLION years would give up animal products.  He happened to watch a documentary about people going plant-based and weaning off their medications, reducing inflammation, and reversing certain chronic diseases and decided he had nothing to lose (except weight, inflammation, and cholesterol) by going plant-based for a month.  To be clear, vegan and the new term, whole food-plant-based (sometimes referred to as WFPB), are different.  Vegan just means the food or product (shoes or clothing) contains no animal products – no beef, pork, poultry, fish, etc.; no dairy; no eggs; no honey.  A vegan diet could be potato chips, processed soy hot dogs, Oreos, Coca-Cola, you get the idea.  Whole food-plant-based means minimizing or eliminating animal-based products, including meat, dairy, and eggs. But unlike the vegan diet, processed foods, including refined oil, white flour, and refined sugar are minimized or avoided. The diet focuses on unprocessed or minimally processed fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

I have updated my students and social media followers on his progress and I am happy to say he is still committed to this way of eating.  He has significantly reduced his inflammation, aches and pains, lowered his cholesterol by 150 points, and lost 20 pounds.  Plus, he seems lighter on his feet and generally happier.  I am personally not vegan since I do eat a little fish, and the occasional egg or dairy.  And I am not trying to convert anyone to this way of eating.  BUT, I do not think factory-farmed animals are healthful for us or worth eating, and I can make an argument that speaks to factory-farmed animals having a negative impact on the environment as well.  I also do not think non-organic dairy is good for our bodies.  I am going to do an Instagram Live on Monday, October 15th at 5:00 pm PST/8:00 pm EST to discuss the pros and cons of a plant-based diet and how to change recipes which include animal products to be plant-based. You should absolutely join the discussion and bring your questions or just listen while I chat and answer what other people bring up.  

This week I am proposing a plant-based dinner planner if you’re interested in trying a few non-animal protein meals on your family.  Hit me with any questions below and I will happily answer as soon as I can!Continue reading

My younger daughter just came home for the weekend.  It’s fall break and I am so excited to have her with us for a few days.  She’s been cooking in her apartment at school but has already announced that she is so happy that I will be cooking all her meals for the next few days!  LOL.  It’s nice to be needed, I guess!  This is a great time of year for produce with the tail end of the summer veggies (summer fruit is pretty much over) and the beginning of the cruciferous veg and winter squash.  There’s a lot of choose from!

In other news, I had the pleasure and privilege of talking to Ann Romney about family, food, and the simple steps we can take towards more healthful eating. Mrs. Romney posted our conversation on her blog here on Thrive Global where she has a regular column on brain health.  I hope you enjoy it!

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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Meatless Monday: Vegan Mac and Cheese to which I am going to add steamed cauliflower and bake it all together.  I’m also going to double the sauce and use it tomorrow.

Tuesday: Baked potato night with steamed broccoli, sautéed mushrooms and onions, recipe here + mac and cheese sauce

Wednesday: Baked Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives, and Capers served with a simple fresh green salad

Thursday: Lemongrass Tofu Bowl from Sprouted Kitchen 

Friday: Sweet Potato Coconut Soup, Spice Rubbed Wild Salmon, sautéed greens (use this method)

Saturday Brunch/Lunch: Chickpea “Tuna” Salad in lettuce cups, optional to sip with an energizing Pumpkin Spice Yerba Mate Latte

Sunday: Slow Cooker Italian Pot Roast from my cookbook, serve with a fresh green salad (example here)

 

Here’s what you can do ahead if you need to:

Sunday

Make Vegan Mac and Cheese sauce

Wash and prep all veggies

Make all dressings, marinades, sauces

 

Wednesday:

Make Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

Cook brown rice for Lemongrass Tofu Bowl

Make salmon spice rub

 

Here’s a link to my previous dinner planners.

I have LOVED seeing all your creations of my recipes on Instagram.  If you make any of my recipes, please tag me @pamelasalzman #pamelasalzman so I can check them out!

Click here to learn more about my online cooking classes!

If you like my recipes, you’ll LOVE my cookbook!

 

Good gracious, it’s already October on Monday!  If you’ve struggled getting back into a cooking routine, start small.  Commit to cooking one or two days a week.   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we have to cook from scratch as much as possible with unrefined foods if we want to reduce inflammation and support good health.  You don’t have to follow my dinner planner.  This is just to give you ideas.  I personally cannot follow this dinner planner because I use dinner to test recipes for future classes and for my upcoming cookbook.  My actual dinner planners would be quite boring to you since they are often repeating dishes over and over again and I wouldn’t have the recipes to share yet with you.  But I still always have a plan.  This past week, I wasn’t home for a few dinners, so I took the opportunity to order a OnePotatoBox.  One Potato is a meal kit company which provides family-friendly, organic, prepped meal kits that you cook.  They’re easy and delicious and a great option for those weeks when you just can’t get into the kitchen or it would make a nice gift for a new mom who is just coming home from the hospital.  I am not sponsored at all by One Potato, but I like supporting small businesses run by moms!  I asked them for a discount code for my followers and if you want to try One Potato, you can use the code PAMELA30 for 30% off your first box.

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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What a week! It was all good stuff, as they say, but I am sure happy it’s the weekend.  Between the Jewish holiday I hosted for 26 very hungry people + 2 local tv segments that will air next week + my segment on Hallmark’s Home & Family (which you can catch here) + 2 cooking classes, I am toast! I am putting my pajamas on at 6:00 pm and watching Ozark until I fall asleep (probably around 8:00 pm LOL.)

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

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