Author Archives: Nutritious_America

About Nutritious_America

Owners Karen Sherwood and Abra Pappa, life-long friends and holistic nutritionists, are on a mission to radically improve the health of Americans. Using the principles of whole natural food, mindful lifestyle changes, innovative and easy healthy recipes, fitness tricks, and a healthy sprinkle of fun they have inspired thousands to reach their health and weight loss goals via NutritiousAmerica.com.

Healthy Across America on a Budget: The Nutritious America Road Trip

By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

3000 miles, 8 days, and 500 bucks to get across the country. Could you do it?

Last week my business partner (and best friend), Karen, and I embarked on an adventure across the country to see if it was possible to eat healthy in as many states as we could for as little money as possible.

For nearly a decade Karen and I have been counseling clients on the benefits of a natural, organic, whole food diet. Our company, Nutritious America, works to inspire people around the country to lose weight and clear up various health problems by changing how and what they eat.

In our work we tend to hear a lot of the same “issues” from clients about their struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Topping the list is, “It’s too expensive” and, “Healthy food is not convenient or readily available.” It was time Karen and I put these “issues” to the test.

We have both lived in large urban environments for over 15 years, where healthy food is readily available. I have a farmers market literally 3 blocks from my apartment, not to mention multiple juice bars, organic restaurants, and a Whole Foods Market all within walking distance. Is healthy food expensive? It depends on how you look at it. I spend money on food. I spend money on healthy food. I live by the philosophy, “pay the farmer today or the doctor tomorrow.” I choose to spend my money on food rather than expensive clothes, shoes, or bags. It’s a choice I make. However, I have always firmly believed that healthy food should be affordable for all people in this country. Is it possible to eat healthy and not break the bank? Is healthy food readily available in small towns across the country?

We wanted to find out. This was clearly just a small sampling. In 8 days we stopped in 8 different cities and had less than $30 per day per person for food. (more…)

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Abra Pappa’s Plate for National Nutrition Month

Each time I prepare a plate of food I see it as an amazing opportunity to build layers of functional ingredients that work to keep me at my optimal healthy best.

My plate, seen here, is filled half full with a raw kale and chia seed salad, dressed with cold pressed organic olive oil and lemon juice, to the left is baked dijon salmon atop roasted garlic millet. This was my dinner the evening before a long flight. I wanted to be sure that I had immunity boosting foods on my plate (kale, lemon for vitamin C and roasted garlic), and mood boosting and anxiety reducing foods (because I don’t love to fly). (more…)

Posted on March 8, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Reduce Cravings with Tongue Scraping

By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

There is a science behind food cravings, and I don’t use the word “science” lightly. It is an honest to goodness, white-lab-coat-Bunsen burner-protective-goggles science. Food “scientists” know exactly what it takes to create a food that is “crave-able.” They research and experiment and come up with specific addictive qualities or additives that food must contain in order to rank as a food that you will keep reaching for.

Salt, sugar, and fat, or chemical products that taste buds recognize as salt, sugar or fat, are key flavors that enhance a foods crave-ability.

When you eat, food residue or food particles can be left behind on your tongue. When those particles mix together with the bacteria in your mouth a coating or film is created. This coating “feeds” our craving mechanism. For instance, if you eat a fast food hamburger on a Monday, on Tuesday you may find yourself thinking about that burger again. This is not a sign of poor “willpower” or an “inability” to eat healthy food, rather it can literally be your tongue coating that is sending a signal to your brain that you want more of the food that has been left behind.

This is one of the key reasons fast food restaurants advertise to children. They know when a child “develops a taste” for their food at a young age they become life long customers.

Furthermore, when your diet is full of processed “food-like” products that are loaded with extra fat, sugar, and salt your taste buds suffer and become desensitized. Desensitized taste buds are greedy little buggers, requiring more and more food for you to feel satisfied, as satiety is signaled by flavor.

Enter the tongue scraper. (more…)

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Nutritious_America

No-Tox “Botox” at Home with a Kale and Brazil Nut Pesto Recipe

By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

Skin is the body’s largest organ working in partnership with the liver, kidneys, and colon to remove waste and toxins from your system. Wrinkles, blemishes, clogged pores, acne, and poor skin color or tone are all the result of the body’s elimination process not functioning properly.

If you are struggling with dull, blemished skin and looking to achieve a dewy, youthful glow you are closer than you think. Take a few steps into your kitchen and get to work!

Yes, what you eat absolutely affects what your skin looks like. You can certainly go out and spend hundreds of dollars on potions and lotions, but if you aren’t nourishing your skin from the inside out you are fighting a losing battle (and wasting a ton of money in the process).

Let’s get cooking. Here is a recipe for amazing skin rejuvenation that is jam packed with essential skin-beautiful ingredients. I recommend adding this to your weekly meal plan and as spring blooms you will have the youthful glow you are looking for.

For optimal beautiful skin health focus on these four nutrients (and the foods they are found in): (more…)

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Switch Hands During Meals or Snacks to Prevent Mindless Eating

By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

Have you ever sat in front of the TV with a full pint of ice cream and before you know it your spoon is scraping the bottom of the container, yet you have no memory of tasting beyond the first five bites? Or, how about that full bowl of popcorn that you were just going to have a few nibbles of, why is there nothing but salt and butter residue on the bottom of the bowl? How did it happen? How did you go from knowingly consuming a few bites to unknowingly finishing the entire thing? This, my friends, is mindless eating. Mindless eating is one of the biggest dietary pitfalls that keeps you trapped in an unhealthy relationship with food and your body.

Mindless eating happens for a variety of reasons, from eating out of boredom to eating out of sadness. The eating functions to block an uncomfortable emotion and as its name suggests it happens without any awareness at all, it is of course, mind-less.

Mindless eating is best addressed with a good healthy dose of mindfulness. Bringing a sense of mindfulness to all instances of eating can literally stop the compulsion in its tracks. Geneen Roth, New York Times Bestselling author and weight loss guru, says it best, “Awareness and compulsion cannot coexist.” As we begin to tap into awareness, or mindfulness, eating compulsion can begin to subside.

As it turns out, tapping into mindfulness can be as simple as the ‘ol switch-a-roo. (more…)

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Eat Maca to Boost Your Sex Power

By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America.com

We are just days away from Valentine’s Day, which means buckets of chocolates and red roses to symbolize the ubiquitous love fest that is February 14th are being snatched up across the globe. Roses and chocolates are nice, but what if I told you there is one food that you could add to your diet today to get you revved up for the best night of your life on February 14th? I am talking about a great night, a long amazing night…. okay, I’ll just say it…. a night of great SEX!

I am always fascinated by the extreme power of food, not just because it can be delicious and healthy, but because food, certain foods, have the power to be medicinal. These foods are called superfoods, and they truly straddle the line between being a food and a powerful medicinal compound.

The superfood that I am talking about here is called maca, and it is thought of as nature’s version of Viagra.

Maca has been used for thousands of years as a staple food in the Andes Mountains of Peru. It is a root vegetable that resembles a radish. You will find it dried and ground into a powder in most natural markets across the country, but before you run out and chow down on an entire bag… listen up, there are guidelines.

(more…)

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Throw a Dip Party for Super Bowl Sunday

Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

I am not a sports fan… but I do love a great football movie (like Rudy, oh I cry and cry). I imagine that’s what the actual game feels like to sports fans? Regardless, I am a healthy food advocate and I know what goes on at Super Bowl parties. The food is typically a wasteland of processed, packaged food, filled with weird chemicals and fake flavors, and of course tons of unhealthy fat, sodium and sugar. I don’t want to spoil your Super Bowl fun, I want to increase it. After all, wouldn’t it be better to eat food that gives you tons of energy to emphatically scream at the TV screen all the way through the fourth quarter?

I love the idea of hosting a Super Bowl dip party, snack-y food that you can continue to munch on throughout the game. Just don’t tell your guests they are healthy dips, that’s your little secret. So put down that pre-made grocery store dip (food-like-product) and walk away from the shelf.

Here are some healthy dips and dipping agents worthy of an endzone dance. (more…)

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Increase Your Body’s Fuel Efficiency in the Winter

By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

We all know what a fuel efficient car is, well at least the basic idea behind it. I mean, I couldn’t point one out to you on the street’ and if you wanted to tell me to look for one you would have to say something like, “Abra, the red one, the small red car” then I would get it. A fuel efficient car reserves energy so as not to gobble up fuel, it saves money, it’s better for the environment, and overall makes a lot of logical sense.

But when I tell people that in the winter our bodies are looking for ways to conserve energy, to be more fuel efficient, I am met with resistance. Slow down? Conserve energy?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that people should live in harmony with their environment, to honor the seasons and their affect on our bodies.

In winter nature slows down, hibernates, the energy of the earth goes inward and internally begins the process of renewal for spring. To live in harmony with your environment during the season of winter means to honor the same principle: slow down, calm down, conserve energy allowing your body to prepare for renewal in the spring. Winter health in TCM is focused on the kidneys. Kidney health is the core of vitality, the source of strength throughout the body. When the kidneys are weak we age faster than we should, we feel more tired, our sex drive is decreased and their is an overall lethargy throughout the body.

To embrace winter and all the glorious peaceful qualities that come along with it align your food and exercise regimen with the season. (more…)

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Nutritious_America

2024 Trends in Corporate Wellness Programs

Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

In recent years there has certainly been a shift toward a more holistic understanding of health, seen in the rise in alternative therapies and a deeper understanding and interest in food and its affect on ones health. In corporate America, this same “holistic” seed has been planted. With insurance premiums on the rise corporations are working hard to reduce healthcare cost and improve the health of their employees. Corporate wellness managers are focusing deeper on disease prevention, understanding that a true ROI (return on investment) comes not just from claims reduction but also from claims avoidance. As the Centers for Disease Control reports that chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol count for 75% of health care spending and 45% of Americans have at least one chronic disease, corporations know that prevention is key because disease management is expensive.

So what’s new for 2024 in the corporate health world? How are corporations looking to get in the disease prevention game?

Incentives, incentives, incentives. The biggest trend for 2024 is offering incentives for staying healthy. I am talking cold hard cash incentives. At a recent corporate wellness event I attended employees were signing up for a cash incentive program with the company gym; the more times they went to the gym, the more points they accumulated, the more points they accumulated the more cash they would receive at the end of the year. They could also accumulate points by reducing some core health numbers like BMI, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Many companies are also offering large incentives by way of reduced health care cost to the employee including lowered deductible. However, these incentive programs have been met with some controversy. Some feel that offering incentives naturally means that employees that do not reduce their health numbers or do not participate in “work related” health events are being penalized. Some report that incentive programs feel a bit too Big Brother and that it is an infringement on the employee’s personal and private life.

(more…)

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Cool Chicks Know It’s OK to Eat Egg Yolks

Karen Sherwood for Nutritious America

A 44-year-old, weight-obsessed, female client walked into my office with a punch-drunk look on her face. “My doctor says I have high cholesterol”, she said.

I asked her what she’s been eating the last six months. She quickly pulled a list from her doctor out of her purse, detailing all the things she was to omit from her diet. I took it and read, while she scanned my facial expression for reassurance. On this list I saw butter, cheese, red meats, ice-cream, shell-fish, and egg yolks. Then she told me that a typical breakfast for her was three egg whites, a large glass of no-pulp orange juice, vanilla skim latte, and a low-carb bagel. “I stay away from egg yolks all all cost,” she said. Her lunch was typically a 6-inch Subway sandwich, fat-free chips, and a Diet Coke. She told me that sugary sodas and salty chips were necessary for her to beat her typical afternoon slump (along with two more cups of coffee), but they were all “fat-free” so the doctor said it was fine. Later, dinner was a Chinese-chicken salad and a few glasses of wine.

I see this over and over again. It is the situation of a client who has been given partial information. What I don’t understand is, when did something as natural as an egg become villainized and substituted with baked Goldfish crackers in efforts to control cholesterol levels? Sometimes, in an attempt to be healthy, a client can end up causing more harm than good to his or her body. It’s simply a matter of not knowing the facts.

So Let’s Take a Look at the Egg. (more…)

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Will the Real Fat Trap Please Stand Up? A Response to Tara Parker Pope

Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

I read an article in the New York Times a few days ago called “The Fat Trap” and I can’t seem to shake it. The article, written by Tara Parker Pope, highlights the newest research in what she called the ‘fat trap’, losing weight but not being able to keep it off.

I found the article to be a somewhat fatalistic snapshot of the journey from weight loss to maintaining a new weight. Some of the points made were valid, like the call to focus on prevention; helping people before weight gain becomes an issue, but most of the research sited in the article seemed fatally flawed to me.

“The Fat Trap” opened with a research study of 50 obese men and women. In the study they had the participants lose weight by going on an extremely low calorie diet of a mere 500-550 calories per day.

The research showed that despite best effort, the 34 participants that ultimately remained in the study regained an average of 11 of the pounds lost and also reported feeling far more hungry and preoccupied with food than they had been before.

What is most perplexing to me is why we continue to conduct research on obesity using the same methods that we know have failed time and time again. Of course, a dramatically reduced calorie diet will result in cravings. When one’s body is depleted of the very sustenance it needs to be satiated there will be cravings to follow. (more…)

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Nutritious_America