Brown rice cakes with all-natural almond or peanut butter and raspberry or blueberry chia jam
DINNER
Quinoa with roasted vegetables, topped with crispy kale (optional: top with poached or over-easy runny egg)
Tuesday
LUNCH
Butternut squash soup with crispy leeks and toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
SNACK
Stacey Smoothie*
DINNER
Gray sole in parchment paper with cherry tomatoes, over small bed of jasmine rice
Wednesday
LUNCH
Overnight oats with peanut butter and jelly
SNACK
Stacey Smoothie*
DINNER
Chicken Milanese on bed of arugula with cherry tomatoes
Thursday
LUNCH
Out with friends
SNACK
Matcha tea granola with rolled oats, buckwheat groats, and goji berries
DINNER
Stuffed baked sweet potato on bed of quinoa
Friday
LUNCH
Brown rice with roasted vegetables, grilled firm tofu with sesame seeds and cashew cream sauce
DINNER
Pasta Three Ways*
Saturday
BREAKFAST
Avocado Toast Galore*
SNACK
Crunchy peanut butter bars
DINNER
Would be our night out at a restaurant. If not, it’s our special steak night, made in a cast-iron skillet, with baked fries.
Sunday
BREAKFAST
Steel-Cut Oats*
SNACK
Lots of watermelon triangles and clementines
DINNER
Massaman chicken or veggie curry over bed of jasmine rice
KITCHEN MUST-HAVES
TOOLS
Cast-iron or nonstick skillet
Cookie sheets
Cutting boards
Food processor
Grater/slicer
Measuring cups and spoons Nonreactive pots and pans, including a large soup pot
Knives—This is one tool where you can’t skimp. Get a really good set.
Strainer and fine strainer
Vitamix—This blender is the bomb, but it is very expensive. You do need a blender, so pick one that’s sturdy and powerful and fits your budget.
Tongs
Wooden or rubber spoons
FOOD ITEMS
Berries—Keep them in little bowls in the fridge so you snack on them instead of candy.
Coconut oil
Extra-virgin olive oil
Herbs and spices—Buy small quantities so they stay fresh.
Greek yogurt
Maple syrup or honey
Mustard
Nuts—Use cashews or almonds to make your own nut milk.
Palm sugar
Rolled oats and steel-cut oats
Sea salt
Vinegar
MY FAVORITE RECIPES
These are the go-to recipes for me and my girlfriend. They’re not only super nutritious, but super filling and super easy, too.
BREAKFAST
Avocado Toast Galore
Pesto sauce (optional)
1 slice of toasted sourdough bread, or 1 brown rice cake
A few arugula leaves
½ lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
½ avocado, sliced
1 egg, cooked to your preference
Seasonings of your choice
1.If desired, spread a thin layer of pesto on the bread.
2.Layer on arugula.
3.Squeeze most of the lemon juice over it. Drizzle on a bit of olive or coconut oil
4.Top with the avocado slices.
5.Place the egg carefully on top.
6.Season with some of your favorites: sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt and black pepper, and the rest of the lemon juice.
Overnight Oats
This needs to be started the night before you want to eat it.
⅔ cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 teaspoon chia seeds
¼ cup frozen raspberries (see Note)
¼ cup frozen strawberries
1 teaspoon raw almond or peanut butter
1 to 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup
½ to 1 cup nut milk or pressed apple juice
Toppings of your choice
1.Choose your favorite glass tumbler or mason jar. Line the bottom with ⅓ cup of the rolled oats. Top with the chia seeds.
2.Add the raspberries and strawberries.
3.Add the almond or peanut butter.
4.Pour on the maple syrup (more if you like it very sweet; I only use a little).
5.Top with the remaining ⅓ cup oats.
6.Pour the nut milk or pressed apple juice over all the ingredients to fill the jar.
7.Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate overnight.
8.In the morning, add your favorite toppings (granola, more nut butter, chia jam, pomegranate seeds, flax seeds, cashew cream, and smoothies are some of my favorites).
Note: You can use any fruit you like. Try passion fruit mango, or blackberries instead of the raspberries and strawberries.
Cashew Cream/Cashew Milk
Experiment with how much water you add to the nuts, as less water makes a thicker cream, and more water makes a thinner milk. You really don’t need to measure the nuts.
Raw cashews
Cold water
1.In a large bowl or pitcher, soak raw cashew nuts overnight in enough cold water to completely submerge them.
2.In the morning, drain the nuts and put them in a blender with fresh filtered water and blend to the desired thickness. Add more or less water as desired.
Note: For sweetness and taste you can add 1 to 3 pitted fresh dates to the blender along with a dash of vanilla.
SNACKS
For all smoothies, make large batches and freeze the extra in ice pop molds.
Stacey Smoothie #1
1 cup frozen or fresh ripe pineapple
1 frozen banana (see Note)
1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup almond milk, fresh orange juice, or coconut water
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch of black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add a few ice cubes if the fruit is not frozen.
Note: To freeze bananas, wait for the bananas to fully ripen, break them into four sections, and wrap in parchment paper, then store in the freezer until ready to use in smoothies. Or you can mash them up and freeze them that way, too.
Stacey Smoothie #2
1 cup almond milk
½ cup frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana (see Note, above)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 to 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
Stacey Smoothie #3
2 big handfuls kale
1 big handful spinach
½ avocado, pitted and peeled
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored
⅓ cucumber, skin on
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 to 1½ cups cold water or coconut water, depending on desired thickness
Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
BREAKFAST
Steel-Cut Oats
This is great for a family-style breakfast or a brunch.
1 cup steel-cut oats
Toppings: fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, palm sugar, pure maple syrup, pomegranate seeds, flaxseeds, sliced almonds, caramelized bananas, sautéed figs or nectarines, loose granola, cashew cream, ground cinnamon, and/or chia jam
1.Bring 4 cups water to a boil in
a saucepan. Add the oatmeal and return to a boil.
2.Cook until the mixture becomes smoother and thicker, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
3.Set up a smorgasbord of topping options.
4.Place a few ladles of oats in each bowl, then add whatever you like from the toppings bar.
DINNER
Pasta Three Ways
SERVES 2
Pasta #1—Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs
This sauce tastes great the next day, and is easy to double or triple—so make enough for leftovers. Add extra tomatoes to the recipe if you like it very saucy!
10 to 20 cherry tomatoes on the vine, halved
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
Sea salt and black pepper
1 or 2 (14-ounce) cans unsalted diced tomatoes (or use all fresh tomatoes)
1 pound ground turkey, pork, beef, or ground vegetables
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
Garlic powder
Onion powder
8 ounces dried or fresh pasta (egg, spinach, tomato, gluten-free—whatever works for your diet)
1.Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
2.In a bowl, toss the cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
3.Spread them on a baking sheet and roast for about 12 minutes, or until the tomatoes have shriveled a bit.
4.Transfer the cherry tomato mixture to a medium saucepan. Add the canned tomatoes, stir well, and heat over low heat.
5.In a bowl, mix the ground meat or veggies with the egg and bread crumbs, and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Form into medium-sized balls (about the size of a golf ball).
6.In a saucepan, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and brown them, turning often to make sure all sides brown evenly.
7.Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for at least 1 hour. Stir occasionally, making sure the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
8.Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to directions on the package until al dente. Drain.
9.Place the pasta in a serving bowl and add the meatballs with as much extra sauce as you prefer.
Pasta #2—Pesto Sauce
Use leftover pesto sauce for your weekend Avocado Toasts.
2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups fresh basil
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup walnuts
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves
1 to 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast, plus more for serving
Salt and black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
8 ounces dried fusilli or capellini
1.In a blender, combine the spinach, basil, pine nuts, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, and cheese or nutritional yeast. Blend until well mixed. Stir in salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. For thinner pesto, add a bit of water.
2.Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain.
3.Pour the pesto over the hot pasta and stir until well mixed. Top with additional cheese or nutritional yeast, if desired.
Pasta #3—Spicy Garlic and Oil with Shrimp
If you want to add veggies, add trimmed Brussels sprouts in step 2.
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¼ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 to 8 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces dried spaghetti or fettuccini
1.In a saucepan, heat ¼ cup of the olive oil with the salt and black pepper over medium-low heat until simmering.
2.Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown but not burned. Add the red pepper flakes, using more or less to taste, and sauté for 2 minutes more.
3.In a separate pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the shrimp and sauté until pink, then transfer the shrimp to the spicy oil and cook for another minute or so to blend the flavors.
4.Meanwhile, cook pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain. Pour the sauce on top and enjoy.
“Every body should be a strong body.”
EIGHT
TRAIN
Everybody says exercise is something they have to do. The magic comes when you make it something you love to do—and especially when you make working out a tool to change your life.
I’m going to give you the motivation to push yourself into a zone where moving your muscles becomes as vital as brushing your teeth! Think of it as “brush your muscles/brush your teeth!”
You’ll crave some kind of motion every day. . . . It’s incredibly powerful, because it becomes a part of who you are!
So how do we train your body to get into that zone?
Well, it doesn’t just happen with weights or machines or a new pair of running shoes. You get there with your state of mind. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but your sense of physicality comes from the way you think, not just how you move your muscles (and joints and bones and everything else).
Everybody needs physical power in their lives. You need to be physically connected to your body—it’s called physical presence. You gotta move it—or you’re gonna lose it.
Knowing how and why exercise so profoundly affects your body and your brain can help you get into that mind-set.
According to Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women’s Heart Health at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and author of Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum’s Heart Book, “Exercise is by far the best medicine you can take for your health. Nothing else can do for your body what exercise does.”
You know what else? Dr. Nick Cavill, a public health specialist and research associate at the University of Oxford in the UK, said, “If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented.”
Want proof? Take Isabel, who is one of my favorite students. We just celebrated her seventy-sixth birthday—with a ninety-minute ride! She knows better than anybody that adding movement into your regular routine can change your own world in a day.
Our celebration came at the end of a rough year for Isabel. And I can tell you that if anyone had every legitimate excuse possible to miss my class, she did. It all started with a diagnosis of breast cancer. She needed to have multiple surgeries and that was followed by chemotherapy. That’s enough to sock anybody and drain them of the energy we all need to move our bodies.
But Isabel was determined that instead of letting go of exercise during this time, she was going to make it as much a part of her cure as her medical treatments.
She is living proof of what Dr. Cavill said—that if exercise were a prescription, every doctor would give it to his or her patients. (Informed doctors, like Dr. Steinbaum, regularly prescribe exercise for many of their patients—and I’m here to fill those prescriptions! I certainly wish more of them would do so.) I know from firsthand experience that exercise is the best medicine you can give yourself for whatever is ailing you, as well as to keep you strong, fit, and on an even keel.
I’m happy to report that Isabel is doing well and still comes to class to kick ass four times a week, without fail!
Francesca is another of my longtime friends and students. She’s eighty-four years old and going strong, and began working out with me when she was in her mid-sixties. Franny and I became so close that when her slumlord kicked her out of her apartment, she came and lived with me for three months. This woman is inspiration, spunk, and determination all rolled into one person. She’s also living proof that exercise kept her alive during those awful months of not knowing where or how she would keep on living. It is still amazing to me the Franny can r
ide that bike. She is ninety-seven pounds of lean muscle!
While I’m sure you know how exercise helps you maintain healthy weight loss, and makes you look and feel better, it’s just as important to believe that it makes you feel better, too. Let’s dig into some detail about why that happens.
Me and Franny, Beverly Hills, 2015
HOW EXERCISE AFFECTS YOUR BODY
“This is what exercise does for you,” Dr. Steinbaum told me. “It dilates your arteries, which lowers your blood pressure. It lowers your bad cholesterol level and raises your good one. It keeps your blood sugar down. It releases serotonin, the feel-good brain chemical. It keeps your weight down. It gives you energy. And, of course, it keeps you young.”
The best thing about exercise is that anyone can do it. If you have access to a gym or if you can attend classes, that’s great, but it’s not necessary because movement is movement and all of it is good. Walking is terrific exercise, especially when you walk fast, and walking is free. Knowing that you can walk your way to health means there are no excuses for not tying on your shoes!
Even better, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym to begin reaping the health benefits of exercise. While as little as an hour a week—about nine minutes a day—will start to have an effect, according to the National Institute of Health, aiming for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week is a key factor in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases. That’s a mere two and a half hours a week. I know you can do that!
How Exercise Affects Your Cardiorespiratory (Heart and Lung) Health
According to the American Heart Association, more than a third of American adults are at risk for cardiovascular disease. And while one in thirty-one American women dies from breast cancer every year, which is terrifying enough, one in three dies of heart disease. Hundreds of thousands of men and women die unnecessarily every year because of conditions they might have prevented—especially if they exercised.
The National Institutes of Health also make it clear how important exercise is, by stating, “The benefits of physical activity on cardiorespiratory health (affecting the heart, lungs, and blood vessels) are some of the most extensively documented of all the health benefits. . . . People who do moderate-or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity have a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease than do inactive people. Regularly active adults have lower rates of heart disease and stroke, and have lower blood pressure, better blood lipid profiles, and fitness.”
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