Do you find it hard to talk about nutrition with your kids?
Do you find the nutritional information out there confusing?
Do your kids “tune you out” when you talk about nutrition?

Dates TBD
Please join me to learn everything about juicing! In this class, you will not only learn how to make delicious juices and gain a better understanding of the nutritional value and importance of juicing but I will also give you recipes to take home with you and personal recommendations on which juicers to buy based upon your needs! For anyone who would like to start juicing but is intimidated by the whole process, this is the class for you!

Dates TBD
In this class, I will demystify the whole trendy raw food thing! As a raw food chef and educator, I will go over just what raw food is and show you simple, easy recipes that you can integrate in your life. There is no better way to nourish your body, lose weight, and heal disease than to eat raw, living foods! For anyone who has heard of “raw food” and is interested in learning more about it, this class is for you!

Dates TBD
Get ready for Halloween with some “spooky”, healthy halloween treats and arm yourself for the next birthday party! I am always told by clients and friends that they just can’t seem to get their children to eat healthy snacks! In this class, I will make my delicious vegan, sugar and nut-free cupcakes as well as a scrumptious chocolate pudding, a vegan sugar-free banana bread, and chocolate coconut macaroons! I literally have to fend my children (as well as their friends) off when I make these recipes!

Dates TBD
Do you have trouble deciding what to cook your families in the craziness of the early morning rush? Would you like to have a few more healthy ideas on hand, and some fail safe tips for making your morning less stressful? If so, then this class is for you. Not only will I show you how to make some of my families (and clients) favorite recipes, but I will also give you tools about how to streamline your morning routine. Come with an empty stomach because we will be doing lots of tasting!
Cost is $55 per class or $220 for the series of 4. To reserve a space in any of the above classes, please email Katherine@be-n-balance.com and send a check made out to Be in Balance to 306 E. 81st Street, New York, New York 10028. Classes will be held at 306 E. 81st Street.

Do you find it hard to talk about nutrition with your kids?
Do you find the nutritional information out there confusing?
Do your kids “tune you out” when you talk about nutrition?

Are you confused about what is and what is not healthy in your pantry?
For more information, contact me at katherine@ be-n-balance.com. Cost is $185/hr or current clients can use one session.
Be in balance offers diet and lifestyle counseling in New York for women and men who want to lose weight, gain energy, sleep better, reduce stress, get in shape and achieve a greater sense of well-being, balance and happiness in their own lives as well as those of their families.
Most of my clients are active, intelligent and successful people who know they are not doing all they can for their health and seek help from an expert who can give them guidance and support to achieve their goals. Specific issues tied to lifestyle changes that I also deal with are insomnia, high blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety, stress, PMS and ADHD in children.
I am a certified raw food chef and teacher and have been trained by Allisa Cohen, Natalia Rose and Raw Chef Dan, owner of Quintessence in New York City. Additionally, I am i the process of completing a plant-based degree with T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, at Cornell. In my work, I help people who want to do a juice fast or who would like to learn more about how to eat raw to lose weight and gain more energy in their lives.
Being a mother myself, as an extension of my practice I also focus on the whole family and work with families to help improve their childrens’ diets. Through my Kids in the Kitch program, I offer cooking demonstrations and private instruction for moms who would like to feed their families better and use their time more efficiently!
As a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition / Columbia Teachers College, I have studied with the health educators Drs. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, Barry Sears, Paul Pritchford, and David Wolfe among others as well as studying all the major dietary theories. I work with clients on an individualized basis to find out strategies that work for you. After an initial health consultation, I will tailor make a program for you and work with you to help you achieve your goals.
There is no calorie counting, no excluding food groups from your diet such as carbohydrates or protein, and no feelings of deprivation. Life should be fun, and my job is to make yours even better!
Can I help you?
Are you an active person with a busy life who has tried time and time again to lose weight?
Have you been taking care of others so much that you have forgotten to take care of yourself?
With all the differing information on health out there, are you confused about what to eat?
Are you just too busy and need someone to help you?
Are you “sick and tired” of feeling sick and tired all the time?
Have you had a hard time losing the weight after the baby?
Do you order in or go out all the time and find it hard to cook?
Do you feel low energy in the afternoon and have a cup of coffee or diet coke to keep you going?
Do you struggle with cravings?
Do you have other chronic problems that run in your family such as diabetes or high blood pressure?
Do you experience extreme PMS?
Do you have a child with ADHD?
Do you find it hard to find the time to cook nutritious meals for your family?
Would you like to learn how to integrate exercise into your life?
What is our philosophy?
No diet is right for everyone. It is up to each one of us to find our path. It is not my job as your nutritional consultant to tell you what to eat or not to eat but to help you find your own way. It is a collaborative effort involving mutual trust. I will do my best to listen to your needs and desires and we will come up with a strategy and program based on your individual needs. My ultimate goal is to teach you to teach yourself to be in balance in your life.
If there is one thing that I recommend to my clients and to people who would like to improve their health and re-boot in the New Year is to juice!!! I am not talking about the Tropicana OJ or apple cider in a bottle juice but specifically about green juices and homemade veggie and fruit juices! Since it is the New Year and the time of the year when many of us are making resolutions for the year to come, make yourself and your health a priority and start the year off by cleansing your body and mind by integrating juices into your diet.
Fasting is not some new-age 20th Century fad but has been an integral part of different religions and cultures around the world for thousands of years. Fasting is described as intentionally abstaining from food, and is usually done for religious and health reasons. Fasting is nature’s way of giving the body a chance to overcome disease and rest. When animals are sick they instinctively quit eating until they feel better. This internal awareness is even present in our children who do not eat when they are not hungry. Somewhere along the line we lost the knowledge of the importance of fasting to regain and restore health.
While fasting is used for weight-loss, it is also a …
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Excerpted from my monthly column in The Family Groove
I have to admit that I have been procrastinating about writing this article for over a year! I have a confession to make. Even though I know better, as a busy mother with two children, when I am in a rush I use the microwave! Because there is nothing worse than a hypocrite, I knew when I wrote this article it would be the end of the microwave in my house. The days of heating up dinner in 5 minutes were gone!
There is really nothing worse that you can do to your food than to microwave it! When we microwave food, we literally change the molecular structure of that food. The human body cannot recognize, therefore, understandably has a hard time metabolizing and digesting the unknown by-products created in a microwave.
Not only are we not able to assimilate and absorb the minerals, vitamins and nutrients in that food but microwaving food literally strips food of its nutritional value decreasing it by 60-90% in some cases as well as creating carcinogens.
In addition, female and male hormones can be shut down or altered by microwaving food. With all of the reproductive problems our generation has had, I have to wonder whether the microwave …
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When it comes to whether it is beneficial to take supplements, there is so much conflicting information out there! We are constantly bombarded with information in magazines and the media about vitamins creating almost a fearful, panicked state. If we don’t take a certain vitamin, we are being led to believe that somehow we won’t be healthy, happy and vibrant! Even foods like cereals, orange juice and even water are being fortified with vitamins!
We are spending 22 million dollars in the United States on supplements alone but the important question is “are we getting any healthier?”
Do we really need those 20 bottles of various vitamins that you have been sold at the health food shop? Do we need to take a multi-vitamin and give one to our children? As a diet and lifestyle counselor and a working mother of two children, this is a question that hits close to home in my own heart! Before we discuss what to take, we have to go into the basics of what vitamins are and what they can do!
Can vitamins replace the nutrients in foods?
No! The sad truth is that many people eat terrible, nutrient-deficient lives and think they can put a band-aid on the problem by taking a good multi-vitamin. Vitamins do not replace food! Popping a vitamin C …
Most of us have been taught that the only way that we will get ample protein in our diets is by eating animal protein such as meat, fish, chicken, eggs and cheese. This could not be farther from the truth! Contrary to what most people might believe, you can easily obtain all your protein from good old fruits and vegetables.
Although we Americans are on non-stop low-fat, low-carb, low-whatever diets and, as a nation, spend 100 billion dollars on health care, we are reaching near epidemics with respect to cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease! In our country, 47% males and 38% females at risk for getting cancer, 1 out of 3 adults is considered obese, 1 out of 13 have diabetes, and 1 out of every 3 adults are at risk dying from heart disease. We are killing ourselves with “disease of affluence.”
In The China Study, the distinguished Cornell professor Dr. T. Colin Campbell shows through his research studies that we can literally turn off or on our cancer genes by eating a diet consisting of fewer than 20% and as close to 5% of animal protein. So, why don’t doctors tell us this? We may lose weight eating high-protein diets, but at what cost?
Since I don’t eat meat, I am constantly being bombarded with questions about how I get my protein …
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Nothing quite warms me up like a cup of delicious hot chocolate when it is cold outside, and there is something about the holidays that make this even a more enticing treat! The kids and I love to come home after our school and work days and make a hot steaming mug… YUM! This is our favorite recipe. Not only it this recipe healthy but it is down right decadent and a nice pick me up in the afternoons!
Chocolate contains natural antioxidants (photonutrients flavonol and polyphenol,) the alkaloids (theobromine, phenethylamine and anandamide) and is rich in magnesium. Chocolate can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes and dementia, balance brain chemistry, help build strong bones, help prevent cancerous activity and, last but not least, help with weight loss. On top of all that, it contains and has been linked to higher levels of the mood-altering serotonin, which boosts our energy and mood, and is a natural aphrodisiac!
As a sidenote, when you are shopping for the ingredients, it is important to look at the label and make sure that the chocolate powder you are buying is pure chocolate and does not contain sugar, butter or oil. Try to find raw cacoa, which is the actual pure cocoa bean and not only tastes better but has not been roasted and processed into powder and …
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Laughing Giraffe’s Raw, Gluten and Peanut-Free Granola!!!
$9.00
Comes in these delicious flavors:
Pineapple, Macadamia, Coconut and Cacao Walnut, Pecan, Cherry and Ginger Cranberry, Orange, Cacao
These all organic, raw, gluten, and peanut-free granolas are sweetened with agave nectar and are bursting with coconut, cashews, cacao and other delicious ingredients. This cereal is truly addicting!!! Throw some fresh blueberries on top and you have a nutrient-dense, power packed way to start your day!
I am absolutely addicted to the Raw Chocolate Love chocolate, which is made with real, high quality, dairy-free dark chocolate and raw, organic ingredients heated under “90° F” and created with ‘love.” This chocolate comes in 1-oz. and 2-oz. bars and in a variety of flavors such as Dark Espresso Love, Double Love (chili), Coconut Love , Almond Love, Goji Berry to name a few. To find out more go to www.rawchocolatelovenyc.com.

“Nickelodeon’s Parents Pick Award for Best Art Class in NYC”
Most often I write about things to nurture your childrens’ bodies but this month I am writing about something to nuture their minds with the beyond impressive ArtKids classes and interactive website ArtExplorers founded and run by Natasha Schlesinger, an independent art historian and consultant and fellow mom!
ArtKids holds regular weekly, monthly, and specially arranged interactive art tours that introduce children 3 yrs and above (us adults included!) to visiting museums and learning about art. ArtKids has recently introduced I-Pod tours and is developing an art website called ArtXplorers. If you have children, this is a definite must to check out!
© 2008 Be in Balance