November Simple Pure Whole Favorites: Health | Lifestyle | Happiness

This month has been packed with healthy motivation, festive gatherings, holiday preparations and fall recipes! I have been loving interacting with and supporting my Fun and Festive Holiday Challenge participants and hope you will join us for the next Challenge session to join in on the fun, stay calm during this busy season, win amazing prizes and stick with healthy habits into the New Year!

In the meantime, check out my favorite healthy recipes/foods/products/links/exercises/inspiration from the past month. My Favorites feature is a regular part of
the new Simple | Pure | Whole^TMBlog allowing me to share some great healthy solutions with you each month! 

I only share resources that I have personal experience with and can therefore recommend without reservation. Remember that each person is unique so check with your health care provider before making any major changes to your diet or lifestyle. This is not intended as medical advice. This post may contain affiliate links. Prices are the same for you and affiliate commission helps to support the maintenance of my blog so I can continue to bring you free, value-filled resources. Thank you for your support!

Here are some of my Simple | Pure | Whole^TM Healthy Favorites for November!

Favorite Ingredient: Cannellini Beans

This month I have been learning new strategies to support my clients who struggle with exhaustion and adrenal fatigue. One element of the diet which can play a crucial role in the health of our microbiome and therefore our metabolisms and energy is fiber. One special type of fiber is resistant starch.This functional food actually resists digestion so that they are less likely to be stored as fat and can help control blood sugar levels. Well-cooked cannellini beans are a good source of resistant fiber. 

These white Italian kidney beans help keep us full while providing various nutrition benefits. They are rich in molybdenum which is a trace element that supports detoxification enzymes. In addition, cannellini beans are rich in antioxidants that protect the body from free radicals. 

They are perfect in soups and stews like my Hearty Spiced Vegetable Soup for the Soul!

Simple Pure Whole Solutions

• Try cannellini beans in your next pot of chili or whip up a batch of my  Hearty Spiced Vegetable Soup for the Soul
• Since many canned goods are lined with BPA, an endocrine-disrupting chemical that can alter our hormones, look for frozen cooked beans or soak your dry uncooked beans overnight and cook them yourself. You can prepare a large batch of beans this way and freeze them in smaller serving sizes for convenient meal prep!
• Check out these 12 easy ways to cook cannellini beans from Bon Appetit for more recipe inspiration
• Since most beans, including cannellini, contain lectins and phytates. These naturally-occurring anti-nutrients protect plants from predators and also support immunologic functions. Some people do better avoiding large amounts of lectins, while others tolerate them when foods are soaked, sprouted and/or fermented in preparation. 

Favorite Inspirational Article: In your 20s it’s quantity, in your 30s it’s quality: the prognostic value of social activity across 30 years of adulthood

A new longitudinal study published in the journal Psychology of Aging suggests that we need a lot of social contact when we’re younger but as we age, we need to focus on emotional closeness through quality friendships.

Over the course of several decades, the researchers looked at the frequency and duration of social contact, as well the intimacy and pleasantness of the interactions. They collected data on subjects’ mental health and social relations as they aged from undergraduate students into their 40s and 50s. 

Interestingly, the study found that we seem to have different social needs at different ages. Having a greater quantity of social interactions in one’s 20’s predicted better social connections and better mental health outcomes. Conversely, as participants entered their 30’s they benefited most from cultivating higher quality friendships.

It appears that different aspects of friendship may be more important at one point in time than another due to how developmental goals change with age. During our younger years, having many different social contacts may help us learn basic social skills and better understand our place in a social world. But, as we enter our 30’s our goals for intimacy change, and this seems to call for less quantity and more quality social interaction.

Simple Pure Whole Solutions

Favorite Farmer’s Market Find: Winter Squash

In the autumn and early winter, we can benefit from warm, cooked, soft, grounding and moisturizing foods. Winter squashes like butternut, acorn, kabocha, spaghetti and pumpkins are delicious and versatile seasonal treats.

The creamy orange flesh of a butternut squash is sweet and earthy in flavor and can be prepared in a variety of sweet and savory ways. Similarly, kabocha, hubbard, delicata and acorn squashes are fantastic roasted, stuffed, tossed into a risotto or pureed into a soup. 

Many of the health benefits of winter squashes come from their fiber and antioxidant content. Orange and dark green pigments contain high levels of chlorophyll and carotenoids, which contain antioxidants which can help support the immune system to fend off pesky pathogens all winter long.

When you roast squash it brings out the natural sweetness and a wonderful flavor. Enjoy squash simply roasted or add roasted squash to pilafs, frittatas, soups and salads!

Don’t forget the seeds too! The seeds of both squash and pumpkins have the amazing ability to specifically target the elimination of tapeworms and other parasites. 

Simple Pure Whole Solutions

• Find your favorite winter squash with this visual guide from TheKitchn.
• Winter squashes should be organically-grown when possible, as conventionally grown plants can concentrate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soils

Try these hearty fall recipes for some creative ways to enjoy winter squash:

• My Gluten-Free Vegan Autumn Harvest Skillet makes a delicious breakfast, side, brunch or breakfast for dinner meal with its satisfying flavors of winter squash, apples, cranberries, cinnamon and ginger!
• Spaghetti squash is a unique winter squash with stringy flesh that makes a terrific low-carb replacement for pasta. Try it with your favorite pasta sauce or simply with some ghee and cinnamon.
• For an aromatic dish that incorporates many warming spices, try this Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry.
• The Fall Action Plan Cookbook has a variety of healthy, gluten-free, vegan recipes for incorporating more winter squash into your day!

This Month’s Favorite Quotes

    

Which of these powerful quotes resonates the most with you?

This Month’s Features from The Simple | Pure | Whole^TM Blog  

   

   

    

Do you enjoy white beans?

What is your favorite winter squash variety?

Please let me know in the comments below or on Facebook or Instagram if you have tried any of these or if you find something new you love so I can check it out!

If you enjoyed these healthy tips, I welcome you to join my free Insider’s Community for special offers, members-only opportunities, wellness news, recipes and more! 

As the holiday season gets into full swing, I invite you to join our Fun & Festive Holiday Challenge! You can also get personalized mobile health coaching for healthy on your terms!! Stay healthy through the holidays and start the New Year right!

This post was shared with: Healthy Living Link Party, Create It Thursday, Pin Worhty Wednesday, Create and Share Party, Weekend Retreat, Family Fun Friday, Crafty & Delicious Party, Friday’s Five Features

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this email and related resources is for informational purposes only. The information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. Every body is unique so be sure to check with your health care professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes taking any medication or nutritional supplement or using any treatment for a health issue.. Do not use this information provided for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you suspect you have a medical problem please contact your healthcare provider promptly and do not disregard professional medical advice based on anything in this email. This correspondence and related resources are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease and do not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Jennifer Weinberg.

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