Power of Purple

Running With Forks Purple Basil

My favorite color as a child was purple.  Everything...from backpacks, to lunch boxes, to my jellies sandals, was some shade of purple royalty.  But purple foods as a child, forget it.  I was an eater of anything and everything white (scoffing at my child-self as I write this): angel hair pasta, parmesan cheese, butter, smart food popcorn, white pizza, vanilla ice cream, clear gummy bears, you name it. Fast forward 20 years and it's a complete flip.  Just about everything I choose in my material life is either white, or black (boring, I know). Yet, my foods, are LOADED with this majestic purple. Now that color in food, is beauty. And power.

Not only are these shades simply pretty to look at on a plate, it is scientifically-proven that the darker the shade, the higher the antioxidant level. Thus, dark foods with this glorious purple pigment, such as blackberries, grapes, purple figs, purple onions, cabbage, lavender and purple basil have amazing healing powers.

One of the primary antioxidants in purple produce is the flavanoids, more specifically, Resveratrol, which helps decrease inflammation, relax the arterial walls, increases circulation and leads to decreased blood pressure.

Purple foods also kill cancer cells.  And that even includes red wine (whaaaaaaat?!).  And to add to that, turmeric, which has curcumin in it, seems to boost this cancer cell fighting activity. So when having your next curry dish, here's your excuse to have that glass of red wine with dinner. 

Blueberries have anthocyanins in them which are excellent for your liver, BUT, black/purple rice, has more per gram than the blueberries. This boost can help reduce damage to the liver incurred from excess alcohol intake.  Pass the purple grains, por favor. (curry with purple rice and your glass of red wine, perhaps?)

And to get even more anthocyanin than blueberries AND black rice, we pass the black currants and bilberries to help reduce LDL (the bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (the good) cholesterol.

And let's not forget to mention that these little purple powerhouses make you look and feel younger and help you relaaaaax. On goes the lavender eye mask.

Vegetables: purple cabbage, eggplant, purple potatoes, purple peppers, purple onions

Fruits: blackberries, grapes, prunes, plums, figs

Plants: lavendar and purple basil

*the purple basil in this photo above has super high doses of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Calcium and is great for your skin, eyes and hair.  This just makes it that much easier to put purple on our plate. 

Summer Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

Running With Forks Summer Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

You know that delicious groundbreaking salad that you start to see everywhere when the summer solstice hits? Yep, it deserves to shine.  So damn delicious, I am making it over and over again already, and maybe only forgetting the star of the show, basil, a handful of times.  (Gahhhh, without fail, I forget one ingredient - every. single. time.)

This salad is an incredibly simple and easy dish to throw together.  The perfect summer salad. Bring it to your next barbecue and eyes will light up, serve next to a simple grilled steak for a quick and easy weeknight dinner or serve straight up for lunch or a snack.  So worth it. 


SUMMER HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND NECTARINE SALAD

Prep Time: 5 min  |  Total Time: 10 min  |  Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 mixed heirloom tomatoes

  • 1/2 c baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes, halved

  • 2 ripe nectarines, thinly sliced

  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

  • 1/2 c pickled red onions

  • 1/2 c fresh torn basil leaves or micro greens

  • olive oil

  • fresh cracked peppercorns

  • maldon sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Thinly slice 2 of the large heirloom tomatoes and quarter 1 heirloom tomato.

  2. On a platter, arrange tomatoes, mozzarella and nectarines.

  3. Drizzle entire salad with olive oil, a generous sprinkle of maldon sea salt and fresh cracked peppercorns. Let sit 5 minutes

  4. Arrange pickled red onions and basil on top and finish with additional salt and pepper. Voila, gorgeous!

 

 

 

10 LIFESTYLE CHANGES FOR LASTING HEALTH

Running With Forks 10 Lifestlye Changes for Lasting Health MindBodyGreen

Head on over to MindBodyGreen to read my latest post on healthy, lasting lifestyle changes for a better you!

The path to a healthy lifestyle, reaching your goals and making lasting changes has great rewards, but also plenty of obstacles that attempt to steer you off track. 

After years of working with a variety of clientele, as well as pushing myself, I've established a few tips and tricks I give all my clients to help them make a permanent shift to a healthier life. I hope these tools help guide you along the road to becoming your best self as well.

  1. Take a moment and determine what makes you happy...

  2. Set a schedule for your workouts, put them in your weekly calendar and stick to it...

  3. Make deeply restful shut-eye a priority...

  4. Think of food as high quality fuel...

  5. Add weights to lose weight...

  6. Cultivate a support system...

  7. Incorporate radical forgiveness into your life...

  8. Practice santosha...

  9. Ditch self-doubt, stay positive and trust in the universe...

  10. Don't take shortcuts...

ENJOY THE JOURNEY, HAVE FUN AND DO WHAT MAKES YOUR HEART SING!

WWW.MINDBODYGREEN.COM

 

Healthy, Healing...Soup.

Running With Forks Warm Ginger Miso Broth and Roasted Wild King Salmon and Bok Choy and Sugar Snap Peas and English Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms

A few weeks ago, on a rainy afternoon after an intense spin class, my body craved a big bowl of healthy, healing...soup. That meant a a flavorful , healing broth packed with plenty of goodness to warm me up from the inside out, filled with some healthy delicious protein and delicious spring veggies.  After multiple requests for the recipe, here you go! Simple, easy and absolutely delicious.

WARM GINGER MISO BROTH + ROASTED WILD KING SALMON + BOK CHOY + SUGAR SNAP PEAS + ENGLISH PEAS + SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

Prep Time : 15 min  |  Cooking Time : 20 min  |  Serves : 2

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tsp sesame oil

  • 1/2 a small yellow onion, minced

  • 1/2 small leek, thinly sliced

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

  • 2 tbsp tamari

  • 4 c vegetable broth

  • 2 tbsp white miso

  • sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

  • 2 tsp sesame oil

  • 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

  • 1 baby bok choy, trimmed and divided

  • 1 c sugar snap peas, trimmed

  • 1/2 c english peas, blanched

  • 1 tsp sesame oil

  • 2-4oz pieces wild king salmon fillet

  • 1 tbsp black sesame seeds

  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

  • 1 green onion, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Ginger Miso Broth: Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion and leek and cook for a few minutes until translucent and softened, but not browned. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, until fragrant and softened. Stir in the tamari to meld the flavors. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Ladle 1 c of the broth into a small bowl and whisk in the miso until dissolved. Add miso broth back into pot and let simmer. Adjust seasoning with tamari or miso if desired.

  2. Season salmon with salt and pepper and let sit to bring to room temperature.

  3. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and add 2 tsp sesame oil until shimmering. Add shiitake mushrooms in a single layer and brown on each side, until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Add bok choy and sugar snap peas and cook until lightly cooked through and beginning to brown in spots. Remove from pan and set aside with mushrooms.

  4. Add 1 tsp sesame oil to same pan and heat until shimmering. Add salmon fillets and cook 3-4 minutes each side, depending on thickness. Remove from heat and let rest.

  5. Assemble Soup: Arrange bok choy, sugar snap peas, english peas and shiitake mushrooms in two bowls. Pour broth over the top and place salmon in center. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve warm.

A new take on adventuring

Running With Forks Carpe Weekend PNW Adventure

The damp, cool air of the Pacific Northwest can be just as refreshing and soul-nourishing as sunbeams soaking into my skin and bones. While I miss the daily dose of Vitamin D and my community in sunny Venice, I've discovered what makes my adventures tick with soul-boosting energy - do it with people I love and bring food, really really good food.  

Living in Seattle, we leave the bustling city that excites us on a weekly basis in search of nature, tree tops, perfect waves, expanse and quiet.  For me, there's nothing more satisfying than sitting above the clouds, perched on a mountain top sipping coffee after a heart pumping climb, camping in the middle of nowhere and whipping up hearty fare over a warm open fire, crafting a delicious spread on a sandy beach with the hum of waves as your music, or like this day, foraging in the rain for nettles and harvesting clams and oysters at dusk, knowing that a comforting meal is at the tip of your fingers. Hiking, ski touring, summiting, surfing, beaching, mountain biking, city pedaling, flower sniffing, you name it: forget the nuts and seeds, I'll carry ten extra pounds on my back to have a better-than-average picnic and be able to share that experience with friends and family, gazing over an infinite valley of dust and snow. That's what makes my soul sing.

Running With Forks Kirsten McCormick Razor Clamming
Running With Forks PNW Foraging
Running With Forks Kirsten McCormick PNW Clam Harvesting

I fully grasp that not everyone seeks adventure in this way, including my main squeeze, and that's ok.  Some get out there purely for the thrill of achievement and the pushing the edge of personal limits, getting outside in nature away from the daily woes of a desk, accomplishing climbs and rides to compare notes with friends on who completed it with a faster time, climbed a higher elevation or who envisioned something more epic than the time before. I can get on board with that, for sure, but what really awakens the adventure-seeker in me is looking at each experience as an opportunity to simultaneously impart a sense of freedom to break the rules a bit and create an eternal memory and inspired menu, no matter what we're about to do. And the most exciting part, is sharing that part of my soul with friends and family and toasting life over a majestic view. This is my canvas. What's yours?

Running With Forks Kirsten McCormick Nettle Foraging
Running With Forks Kirsten McCormick Nettle Foraging
Running With Forks Kirsten McCormick Nettle Foraging