Healthy Hollywood: A Wellness Guru’s #1 Rule On Healthy Eating!

When it comes to healthy living, wellness guru Maria Rodale is ground zero for how to feed your mind and body. After all, she’s the brains behind Rodale, which publishes Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention and countless wellness books. Her grandfather founded the organic movement in America. So, you might say healthy living is in her DNA.

Maria’s most recent mission is a specialty ecommerce destination, Rodale’s, where every product sold (from food to home to clothes to more) is “responsibly sourced.”

So, with millions of Americans increasingly interested in eating well and sourcing better information, Maria’s the ultimate source to sort through the wellness noise and offer up some advice on what to eat and not eat.

And, with the holidays nearly here and foods starring role at seasonal festivities, it’s a good time for all of us to look at what’s on our plate!

Maria’s number one rule is to go organic. “Organic food is so much healthier for you! For your friends and family! For the environment! Plus it tastes better. By eating organic foods you are keeping tons and tons of artificial and dangerous chemicals out of the soil, water and air and out of your body.”

Look for foods that are labelled USDA Certified Organic Food. Also, it’s also healthier to sit down and eat a meal with family and/or friends. “It’s a time when you connect, laugh, and share the pleasure of a home cooked meal. And the best thing is that it doesn’t have to be fancy, complicated food. When you eat organic you are starting with ingredients that taste better to begin with, and your family will notice! Everyone will start to feel better. And that’s the best way to understand the importance of organic. Keep dinner simple and easy, and enjoy the time together with your family (and friends) because time flies,” notes Maria.

Maria shared with Healthy Hollywood a few of her favorite recipes – perfect for the holidays or anytime.

Chicken with Crispy Skin with Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 1 organic chicken

Directions:

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees. Put the chicken in the roasting pan breast-side up (don’t laugh, someone in my house did put the chicken breast-side down once, and it was a serious error in crispy skinness!). Cook for about an hour or two, depending on the size of the chicken. DO NOT BASTE!

How can you tell if it’s done? Well, the leg will be a little jiggly and easy to pull on, the juices will run clear if it happens to be stabbed with a fork, and the skin looks good and crispy!

And now for the gravy…

Gravy

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup flour
  • ¾ cup water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Take the chicken out of the pan and put it on a serving dish (make sure to tilt the chicken as you move it so all the juices from inside pour out into the pan). Put the pan on top of the stove and turn the burner heat to high. Put the flour in the measuring cup (or any cup), add the water, and stir until smooth, and then add it to the drippings. Scrape the pan and stir until the gravy is thick…literally, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Three Tips:

Our favorite accompaniment is brown rice. So put the rice on right after you put the chicken in and they will both be done around the same time.

After you are done eating the chicken, the carcass makes a great chicken broth base. Just put it in a saucepan, cover the carcass with water, and add salt and boil for an hour or two. Strain and you now have homemade broth—which tastes better than anything store-bought, and you have now made it for free.

My favorite leftovers? Take a good crusty piece of whole wheat bread and toast it. Then microwave some of the leftover chicken pieces and gravy and pour over the toast, and DEVOUR.
 

Quick Homemade Mashed Potatoes from Scratch

Ingredients:

  • 4 large potatoes, peeled perfectly (no spots or skin!!)
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 4 Tablespoons butter

Directions:

Boil the potatoes (cut up into smaller pieces so they cook more quickly). If the potatoes have “eyes” (sprouted) or bad spots, just cut them off. Drain the water and mash the potatoes with a hand masher.

Add milk and butter and mash some more. Add milk as needed to get the right consistency, depending on the type of potato—some need more milk and some need less. Start with less and add more if you need it.

Depending on your love of butter, some potatoes need more butter or less. If you are super health conscious, you can use olive oil instead of butter. YOU are the boss!

For more information visit www.rodales.com!

— Terri MacLeod

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