3 Healthy Recipes from a Health Nut

Tamara Iglesias is my go-to for good, healthy and delicious recipes. Her extensive resume includes holistic health counselor, a master herbalist, a raw and living foods chef and creator and founder of UnCookMe, a successful health coaching and lifestyle consulting company. If it’s healthy and it tastes good, Tamara knows the ingredients and with her recent launch of Wellyfish, an online wellness company, Tamara is about to take the health industry by storm. So you better believe, with all her expertise and passion, I wanted the inside scoop to some of her delicious and incredibly healthy recipes to share with all of you.

So eat up, enjoy and spread the health!

**CHIA SEED PUDDING  **

• 1 cup & 12 oz. (28 oz) nut milk  - my favorite: Brazil Nut Milk for the selenium & creaminess
• ½ cup chia seeds
• 2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• 1 tsp ground vanilla powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup of superfoods (try: ¼ cup raw walnuts, ¼ cup inca berries, ¼ cup blueberries & ¼ cup raspberries)
• Pinch of sea salt or himalayan or pink salt
* For best results, use organic ingredients

Pour the 28 ounces of nut milk into a bowl and add your chia. Mix well until all the chia seeds are separated (to prevent clumping). Let the chia seeds thicken until it forms a pudding consistency. Then add your spices, salt, and coconut palm sugar and mix well. Finally, add your cup of mixed superfoods, mix again and top with cacao nibs!

HEALTH BENEFITS:
Chia seeds are a complete protein, high in omega-3's and calcium, that are easily digested. They are a great anti-inflammatory as well. Superfoods offer incredible anti-oxidants that reverse the aging process and provide abundant amounts of essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs to feel great! Brazil nuts are a powerful source of selenium which is incredible for beauty, healthy hair, skin and nails.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

• 3 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch rounds
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ½ - 1 tbsp cinnamon (depending on preference)
• 2 tsp pink, himalayan or celtic sea salt (or salt to taste)
* For best results, use organic ingredients

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large saucepan over very low heat, melt the coconut oil. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cinnamon. Add the potato rounds to the coconut oil and toss to combine. Season the potatoes with the salt.

Spread the potatoes in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast potatoes until tender and brown (about 25 to 40 minutes depending on oven power). Remove from the oven and into a serving dish and serve.

HEALTH BENEFITS:
In addition to sweet potatoes containing health-promoting beta-carotene, potassium, vitamin C and D, and more, they are amazing at curbing sweet cravings. After the holidays is a perfect time to snack on these to help rid the body of all those holiday sweets and alcohol. Make extra and keep in your fridge, as these are also super delicious served cold. Cinnamon is a warming spice that is great for stabilizing your blood sugar which can help with weight loss. Coconut oil, derived from coconut, is a very powerful superfood. It is anti-microbial, anti-fungal, great for hair, skin and nail health, and even lowers cholesterol. It is a healthy fat which is great for vitamin and amino acid absorption, calcium and magnesium absorption, and long lasting energy.

“CHEEZY” QUINOA STUFFED PEPPERS

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups filtered water or veggie broth
• 2 scallions, chopped
• ½ cup Quantum Nutritional Yeast
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 red peppers, stems removed and cut in half
• 1 tsp pink, himalayan or celtic sea salt (or salt to taste)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced
* For best results, use organic ingredients

Cook quinoa in a saucepan in water or broth until soft, about 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa and transfer to a large bowl and allow it to cool slightly. In a sauté pan, add the coconut oil, garlic, scallions, and salt. Allow garlic to lightly brown. Add cilantro to the pan right before turning off the heat. Pour mixture over quinoa and add nutritional yeast. Mix well. Core and halve the peppers. Then stuff them with quinoa mixture. For added enzymes and crunch, you can leave your peppers raw; if cooking the peppers, lay them on a lightly greased pan (using coconut oil to grease) and bake them at 375°F for 35 to 45 minutes or until peppers are soft.

HEALTH BENEFITS:
Quinoa is a great complete protein, providing the essential amino acids our body needs to build strong, healthy muscles. Garlic is an effective immune boosting agent and is especially great during the winter months when immune systems can be compromised. Red peppers are one of our best sources of vitamin C and when eaten raw, we also benefit from all the live enzymes that help us break down and digest our food. Cilantro is a wonderful heavy metal detoxifier, helping bodies rid themselves of harmful toxins. And good, quality nutritional yeast like Quantum’s provides a full spectrum of B vitamins, amino acids, protein, folic acid, and minerals. It is also one of the best foods to help lactating moms (for all you ladies nursing out there).

Kit Rich is Los Angeles-based fitness trainer with endless exercise and nutritional know-how. Hollywood's hottest stars are addicted to Kit's unique, multi-disciplined approach that combines cardio, yoga, Pilates, and weight training. Kit's clients are immediately taken by her funny and honest approach to health and fitness. She treats her clients as she treats herself, "with a hard challenge, sensibility, sensitively, and a good laugh." Follow Kit on Twitter @kitrichfitness.