Healing Arts Lifestyle: NYC Restaurants

There is no question about it: ditching bad habits and adopting healthier ones can get challenging. Here at Healing Arts we are all about lifestyle changes that help you get your health back on track and allow your body to heal itself. Food changes like cutting out grains and sugar or switching to organic produce can allow the body to cleanse itself, but sometimes this leaves patients unsure about where to go if they want to eat out or grab a bite on the run. Well, stress no more! I have eaten my way through a small fraction of New York City to come up with a list that can help you navigate what can sometimes feel like a maze, so you can feel comfortable and healthy when stepping outside your kitchen.

For lunch and snacks:

Minigrow

Brought to you by honeygrow, they have wonderful zucchini noodles and organic greens with delicious homemade sauces 

Hu kitchen

I love their hot bar and they make the best grain-free and sugar-free pancakes. Not to mention their chocolate (which we sell at the office)!

Dr Smood

They have tasty treats and great salads to grab if you on the go. Their Greek salad with cashew feta is delicious!

Ancolie

Thoughtful meals prepared in glass jars. Their menu is constantly changing so you’ll never get bored at lunch.

Inday

Indian-inspired nourish bowls. They make yummy cauliflower rice.

Juice Press

Organic juices and soup—how can you go wrong? Tasty salads, too.

By Chloe

Vegan, plant-based meals with full flavor. Their air dried sweet potato fries are seriously good.

Spring Bone

Organic bone broth with no additives. I love their broth with zucchini noodles as an option for lunch.

Brodo

Homemade organic bone broth that packs a flavor punch. My favorite is their oishi oishi.

Cafes:

Café Clover

Local, organic and elegant. Their quinoa tagliatelle is delicious.

Dimes

Californian vibes with yummy fruity and savory breakfast options.

Hearth

Local, organic meals. Try their beef tartare—extremely tasty. Think meat, veggies, fish, broth.

The Butcher’s Daughter

They have great avocado toast and it’s a great place to sit and work with mint water on tap!

Abracadabra

Organic and sugar free. They make tasty homemade chocolate and nourishing savory plates.

Restaurants:

ABC V

Vegan/vegetarian share plates exploding with flavor—in my top 5! Try the avocado dosa, whole roasted cauliflower and the slow roasted beets. They are rocking the breakfast scene.

ABC Cocina

Local and organic. Their salmon and charred octopus is a must-try.

Mulberry and Vine

Clean eating with lots of salad and snacks. Try their Thai curry.

L’estuidio

Local Mediterranean and Latin cuisine. Their scrambled eggs and potato rösti is a must-try for breakfast.

This is the beginning of what will soon be a long list of healthy options that will make you feel satisfied and comforted. These options offer meals and snacks that are healing and in line with your new lifestyle changes. Don’t be afraid to go out and adventure yourself—you may just find some on your own.

The Benefits of Ka'Chava Protein Powder

Ka'Chava is the best tasting protein powder I have ever come across. My daughter even calls it a milkshake! Yes, add water and it is that tasty! I like to use it as a great breakfast on the go or a quick snack. It can even be used before a workout as fuel or post workout for recovery. It is a great protein source that is free of cholesterol, allergens, estrogens, antibiotics, gluten, egg, soy, or dairy that is completely vegan. Just two scoops mixed with water and you're good to go!

To help your blood sugar not have the ups and downs leaving you reaching for sugary snacks, caffeinated drinks and simple carbs (for a synthetic boost of energy that quickly turns into feelings of fatigue and lack of concentration), have a Ka'Chava. Ka'Chava provides over 70 superfoods and nutrients along with natural, unrefined carbohydrates that provide slow-release endurance energy to power your body and help you push on through the day.

The unique soluble fiber in Ka'Chava absorbs up to 10x its weight in water and fills your stomach giving you that full and satisfied feeling. In addition, Ka'Chava delivers a perfect balance of complete protein, healthy fiber, and essential fats to keep your hunger at bay, while sustaining you with nutrient dense whole foods instead of loading up on empty calories.

Ka'Chava's 100% plant-based protein blend offers the best choice for people who are serious about their health. With a perfectly balanced protein profile, it contains all nine essential amino acids as well as the other key amino acids required for lean muscle growth and overall health. It's derived from a blend of pea protein, rice protein and sacha inchi protein using the latest techniques to produce a smooth texture, high protein count and easy absorption into the body. It's also completely hypoallergenic so you get all the benefits of a whey protein without any of the digestive side effects associated with whey such as gas, bloating or intestinal disturbances.

If that wasn't enough reasons, Ka'Chava helps your digestion too! The digestive tract is an important part of your immune system and your body's first line of defense. Ka'Chava has prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes, alkalizing greens and dietary fiber. The prebiotics and probiotics help maintain healthy intestinal flora, boost digestive health and improve your immune response. Digestive enzymes help facilitate the breakdown of nutrients for better absorption into your body, thus increasing their bioavailability. A blend of alkalizing greens helps remove waste from the body and keep pH levels balanced, while dietary fiber helps to normalize elimination of the bowels.

For brain health the brain must be provided with the right set of nutrients to ensure it functions optimally. Omega 3 EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) can help improve focus, memory and emotional balance, while plant-based adaptogens enhance the body's natural ability to withstand stress and fight disease by supporting the endocrine system. Adaptogens in Ka'Chava also support the adrenal gland function, which helps to increase performance under mental and physical stress.  

So many good things about this protein powder! We have it in stock at the office for your convenience or you can order online here.

Healthy Nails by Addison Landry

Who doesn’t love a little pampering; a relaxing mani/pedi for the perfect color complement or to match the season trend? Recently, we have started to see beauty products being shamed for their use of harmful and toxic ingredients. This has caused us all to begin cleaning our make-up cabinets and switching to non-toxic beauty products, but what about our nails? You may not be aware but we now have more ways to make this luxury experience a healthier one. With the average nail polish, harsh, toxic chemicals create that shine and durable coat -- and this can affect the toxic load in our body. 

You might be thinking "Wait, why would polish on hard nails have any effect on our body?" Well, nails are actually quite absorbent -- especially when exposed to the solvents and chemicals found in our nail polish. The absorption of our cuticles and surrounding skin actually acts as a gateway for the chemicals to enter into our bodily systems. Our skin (including our nails) is the largest organ of the body and we want to ensure we care for it by keeping it safe form as many of these toxic chemicals as possible. These chemicals have the ability to disrupt our hormones and therefore affect our metabolism, mood and energy. 

We do come across these chemicals with our patients and are able to help them detox these nasty chemicals safely through Nutrition Response Testing. I want to be clear that there is no such thing as a chemical-free nail polish, but there are brands that are making the formula much safer. What we want to look for are brands that label their nail polish "5-free" or even up to "10-free". Looking for these labels will indicate they do not use a number of the toxic chemicals most commonly used to create nail polish. So, let's start with the chemicals you want to avoid.

TOP CHEMICALS TO AVOID:

·       formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin

·       dibutyl phthalate (DBP)

·       toluene

·       camphor

·       triphenyl phosphate (TPHP)

·       xylene

·       lead and other heavy metals

·       ethyl tosylamide

·       parabens

·       sulfates

I also wanted to give you some options and brands that take pride in making nail polish and nail polish remover, that are safer and less toxic to our bodies, and some nail salons that are safer, as well. This way, we can really relax knowing that when we are having our toes painted, it’s the healthiest option.

My go-to nail polish brands:

RMS BEAUTY

·       6-free (formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, camphor, xylene, and formaldehyde resin)

·       Also paraben-free

·       Vegan

ZOYA

·       10-free (formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, camphor, TPHP, parabens, xylene, formaldehyde resin, ethyl tosylamide and lead)

·       Vegan

PACIFICA

·       7-free (parabéns, phthalates (dibutyl phthalate), toluene, xylene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin)

Nail polish remover:

ELLA AND MILA
     ·       Made from soy
     ·       Designed to remove more natural-based polishes without the use of toxic chemicals

Usually nail polish remover is made from harsh acetates (also known as paint thinners) and severely toxic isopropyl alcohol that can wreak havoc on the nervous system and function of the hormones in the body.

Nail salon:

SUNDAYS

      ·      Offers non-toxic, cruelty-free, and vegan nail polish

There are many non-toxic salons but Sundays is my favorite one. It's also beautifully-designed with organic treatments and tea to help you truly chill out!

There are lots of ways to still have a cute mani/pedi without the toxic overload. If you want to learn more about the skin, how important it is to know what you’re putting on it, and how to look after it the best way possible, come to my free workshop Beauty From the Inside Out Wednesday October 4th at 6:30pm. I would love to see you there!!!

Juicing and the Benefits of Celery Juice

Juicing has become all the rage with juice stores popping up all over New York city and lining fridges at Whole Foods. So, what’s behind the colorful garden in a bottle? It’s not just the next craze—it’s actually a great way to help the body cleanse, repair and get its daily dose of nourishment. Juicing has many healing benefits such as boosting your immune system, increasing your energy, supporting brain health and promoting weight loss. This all occurs as the nutrient dense juice floods the body with vital micronutrients, giving your digestive tract a break from solids to allow for rest and repair. Juicing helps break up and flush out any unwanted crud that accumulates from your diet and lifestyle, and has a role to play in the alkalinity of the body, bringing balance to your system.

There are many options out there and it can seem daunting knowing what to choose. Not all juices are potent health healers, so I would like to give you some tips on how to maximize all these wonderful benefits when juicing yourself:

-       Fresh is best: Within 20 minutes, those powerful vitamins and minerals tend to deteriorate being exposed to oxygen so the juice just isn’t as potent (but still healthy to drink). Juicing yourself or buying a freshly made juice at store is your best bet.

-       80-20 rule: 80% vegetables, 20% fruit. This ratio allows for a variety of micronutrients without flooding the body with fruit sugar. Some veggies can be quite powerful so a little bit of fruit can help balance out the taste. Using green apples and berries will add great flavor and they are lowest in fruit sugar.

-       Eat the rainbow: You need some of every color to benefit from the wide variety of nutrients, compounds and antioxidants they contain. So think of the rainbow when your selecting you veggies and fruit.

-       Organic produce: I feel it’s key to buy organic produce as it is farmed without the use toxic of chemicals. Steering clear of conventional veggies and fruit will keep the juice as clean and healthy as possible.

-       Daily routine: There are many juice cleansing routines, but you can easily incorporate juicing into your daily routine by simply adding a freshly made green juice in the morning. It will really help clear out the body after an evening of resting. Make sure to still keep you water intake high as well.

-       Make the swap: Try swapping out your morning coffee or tea for an energy boosting green juice. Green juices are full of chlorophyll, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which are all powerful energy boosters. You’ll feel the natural buzz!

-       Glass jars: It's best to use glass jars to drink and store your juice. This keeps the juice fresh and allows you to avoid leaching (which can occur when using plastic). You can even bring your own glass jars to the store as it's less waste and no leaching! I also recommend stainless steel straws, which you can buy on Amazon. Keep some in your bag or at work—it will also save on waste. Winning!

All veggies have healing and restorative properties which vary depending on the type, where they were grown and the quality. Celery juice is the queen of anti-inflammatory and healing with extensive health benefits. You’ll want to have a glass every morning.

Acidity: The important minerals in this magical juice effectively balance the body’s blood pH, neutralizing acidity.

Energy: Celery juice acts as the perfect post-workout tonic as it replaces lost electrolytes and rehydrates the body with its rich minerals.

Blood pressure: Celery has organic sodium that actually reduces blood pressure rather than increasing it. Drinking celery juice every day for a week significantly helps lower blood pressure. A compound called phthalides help relax the muscle around arteries, dilating the vessels and allowing blood to flow normally.

Cancer: Celery is known to contain at least eight families of anti-cancer compounds. Among them are acetylenics, which have been shown to stop the growth of tumor cells; phenolic acids, which block the action of prostaglandins that encourage the growth of tumor cells; and coumarins, which help prevent free radicals from damaging cells.

Cleansing and detoxifying: Celery is a great internal cleanser and detoxifier due to its hydrating and alkalizing properties that aid in kidney function. It's a powerful diuretic as well, helping remove excess water weight from the body and flushing out toxins more effectively. 

Skin: With antioxidants and a high vitamin K content, celery helps preserve and repair the skin's firmness and elasticity. It's also a good source of vitamin A, C and B for healthy skin tone and color.

You can know see why this humble vegetable wears a crown, with an abundant amount of healing properties to keep our bodies healthy and in balance. Celery juice would be a great staple to add to your daily morning routine. Do so today and watch your health kick into gear!!

Celery Juice recipe:

From Medical Medium Blog

Ingredients

1 bunch celery* (makes approx 16oz juice)

*organic when possible

Preparation

Wash 1 bunch of celery and run through a juicer. Drink immediately for most therapeutic benefits. If you prefer, you can also blend the celery in a Vitamix, Nutribullet, or any high speed blender with a little water and either drink as-is, or strain as desired.

Optional: If you you find the taste of straight celery juice too strong, you can add a cucumber and/or an apple to the juice. Be advised, though, that this will slightly dilute its effectiveness. If you prefer a more gentle juice you can make straight cucumber juice instead, which is also very healing and beneficial.