{Sponsored by Simply Whole by Devi, but all opinions are my own. I received some healthy snacks and recipes in exchange for my honest review.}
It feels like just yesterday when I was eating out at nice restaurants in my fast-paced Los Angeles lifestyle. I would eat what I wanted when I wanted with no care about how it may affect my body or my health. I was always within a healthy weight range and, as long as my clothes fit me just right, I was happy. Now, as a working mom with a few extra pounds and a toddler and a baby, I’m constantly brainstorming ways to cook up quick, healthy meals for my demanding kids. I have suffered more than once of buying the blue box of Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. Hey, they eat it so what can I do?
Then, I met Devi from Simply Whole by Devi. She reminded me about the importance of eating healthy and maintaining an active lifestyle. I also realized that my eating habits (good or bad) would eventually project onto my children, which could be good, or bad. Devi’s story inspired me and reignited a passion in myself to eat better. Between a gestational diabetes diagnosis in my first pregnancy and some minor food allergies/sensitives that the medical community struggled to discover, I realized that whole eating was a path I must take (and drag my family along with me).
Devi offers several different opportunities for clients who are looking to improve their eating habits. Her background working with several internal medicine physicians and training with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition give her a true understanding of the intersection between healthy eating and medical issues.
So, in true mom fashion, I reminded her that I’m a busy, working mom and wanted to know what can she really do for me living that struggle each day. Here’s what she offers:
1) 3-Month/6-Month Program: By signing up for one of these programs, busy moms are guaranteed one-on-one counseling that will allow Devi to better understand you and your profile. Once she’s established an understanding of your preferences, she’ll work with you to decide how to help you reach the goals you have in mind. She’ll also use the time to educate you based on your needs. If you’re a mom with kids who have food sensitivities, she’s been there and done that so she can be a great resource for you. The opportunity comes with sessions that are held every other week along with email/text/phone access to her if and when you have questions about recipes, cooking or have a really bad craving!
2) Healthy Shopping Tour: Get a unique opportunity to walk through a grocery store to learn how to read the ingredients, be strategic in purchasing and better understand how to cook better meals for the family. The interesting part about our conversation was that it’s not all about the nutrition label but it can also be about the ingredients.
What I really liked about my meeting with Devi was that there’s no one size fits all solution. She genuinely cares about people’s path to great physical and mental health. I asked her for any specialized advice to moms and loved what she had to say!
- Experiment with foods: Taking different flavors and versions of meals or even vegetables can go a long way. If they don’t like it steamed, maybe they’ll like it roasted? She recently came up with a kid-friendly mac n’ cheese that’s actually healthy and instead of cheese, it’s seasoned with a cashew and spice sauce! It’s fantastic and has NO dairy!
- Involve the kids: Part of working with Devi includes some specialized recipes. I walked away with a few recipes and had my son cooking in the kitchen with me in sheer joy.
- Talk Ingredients: At the dinner table, when her kids were young, she would take the time to teach them about ingredients. This education of foods that we eat was priceless in helping her children grow up to make their own better decisions about their eating.
As the holidays continue, it’s always hard to make the best decisions about eating. Devi advises moms to fill up on as many veggies as possible and then take one to two bites of the “not-so-good-for-you foods” if you must.
Thinking about eating healthier for yourself or your family? Have a little one suffering from food allergies or struggling on how to cook nutritious AND yummy meals? Give Simply Whole by Devi a call. I highly recommend her since she didn’t judge me when I confessed I don’t like vegetables!
Devi Moss
503-720-2951
[email protected]
www.simplywholebydevi.com
Facebook: SimplyWholebyDevi
Pinterest: SimplyWhole
Google+: Simply Whole by Devi
Check out this awesome recipe for her kid friendly Mac N’ Cheese! For even more recipes check out her site www.SimplyWholebyDevi.com
- 10 oz large macaroni shells (gluten free)
- ½ white onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours or overnight, then drained
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 Tbs cornstarch
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¾ tsp chili powder
- 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
- 1 4-oz can died chili’s (scoop half into the sauce, reserve half for the finished mac n cheese)
- Optional: 1 cup tortilla chips, fresh cilantro for topping
- If topping with tortilla chips, crush chips into fine crumbs and add to a baking pan lined with parchment paper or foil. Spritz with olive or canola oil, sprinkle with salt and stir, then bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Boil macaroni according to package instructions.
- In a medium skillet over medium low heat, sautee onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, stir and cook until soft and fragrant – about 7 minutes. Set aside.
- Add onions and garlic to a blender with remaining ingredients, omitting the tortilla chips and adding only half of the green chilies. Blend until smooth, using the liquefy setting if you have it to get it really smooth. Otherwise just blend for up to a minute, scraping down sides as necessary, until smooth and creamy.
- Drain the noodles, set aside and cover (with a towel). To the same pot you boiled the noodles in, add the cashew cheese and cook on low stirring frequently until slightly thickened.
- Add the macaroni noodles to the cheese, along with the remaining green chilies and stir. Serve immediately, topping with the crushed toasted tortilla chips and cilantro (optional).
Wow! Thank you for writing this article.
Devi is incredible. I love her vegan mac.
Have you ever experimented with being vegan or vegetarian?
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What to feed our children is often such a hard question. At one end of the spectrum, you want to feed them well. You want them to eat vegetables and quinoa.. But kids. normally, don’t like brussels sprouts.
They want to eat hot dogs.
We all know what is healthy for them.
It’s easy to make them some healthy food…. but it’s also easy not to do it.
I think the choice comes down to us.
Thanks, again, for writing.
Thanks Eric. I loved meeting Devi and understanding her background and experience. Many families need a Devi to keep them on track and educated on healthy eating!
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