Holli Thompson

Nutty Butter Granola Balls I made these this morning for my talk with Middleburg Polo Academy.  They are quick, easy and use ingredients you normally have in your cupboard  Let’s hope the kids love ’em! There are different substitutions offered so that if you are missing an ingredient, you might have another option. Ingredients 1/3 cup honey (or agave or coconut nectar) 1/4 cup peanut butter, almond butter or tahini 2 tbsp coconut butter or unsalted butter 1 cup crisp O cereal or rice cereal 1 cup old fashioned oats 1/4 cup dried fruit For today’s treats, I used honey, tahini, coconut butter, O’s, oats, and cranberries. 1. Add cereal, oats and fruit to a large mixing bowl. 2. Melt  honey, nut butter and butter over medium heat until smooth. This will take a minute or two. Add to the dried mixture and fold gently.  Scoop onto a lined baking sheet or mini cupcake liners on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes or so. 3. These tasty treats will last in the refrigerator for up to a week covered.   Nutty Butter Freezer Fudge Ingredients 2 cups almond or peanut butter 1/4 cup cocao powder, sift to remove…

Do you wear sunscreen every day under your foundation? Heading to the beach soon? There’s something you need to know. The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/) has released new information stating that “traditional” sunscreen use may decrease the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma, that it has no demonstrated influence on basal cell carcinoma, and may actually increase the risk of melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Their claim is that “traditional” sunscreen protection, which is more than likely the popular sunscreens you are using contain harmful chemicals like oxybenzone, a hormone disruptor correlating to lower birth rates in pregnant women and that the chemicals in sunscreens are absorbed by the body with unknown effects. “Natural” sunscreens are the recommended choice by the EWG, and they offer an analysis of brands and safety on their website. (www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/finding-the-best-sunscreens/) The Natural sunscreen ingredient list reads more organic and user friendly, with green tea extracts, beeswax or organic hemp seed oil. But do they work? According to Jeffrey Dover, the president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, natural sunscreens do work, but cautions consumers to apply enough product to be effective. Dover recommends enough sunscreen to fill a shot glass for the…

As a Health and Nutrition Coach I speak to people all the time about the benefits of good nutrition. We talk about high energy, gorgeous glowing skin and weight control. But very seldom do we get into the topic of “good hair”.  We all know that our health affects our hair, but as a nutrition goal?  Well, it takes a pretty long time to see results.  Hair grows about 6 inches a year. Last week, I went to my hair stylist for a little trim and when she was finished blowing it dry I looked up from my iPhone. “You know”, my hair stylist said, “this is really healthy hair.  It’s about two years worth of healthy hair.” Two years worth? What had changed?And then it dawned on me– this was my “great nutrition hair”! It’s been two years since I tweaked my already rather healthy diet, and got serious about adding in more greens and veggies.  It’s been two years since I began making daily smoothies by juicing greens, vegetables, fruit and plant based protein.  It’s been two years since I began eating more raw foods, and taking in more antioxidants!  And here was the payoff looking back at…

If you are in New York and love vegetarian, vegan, organic ,clean, sustainable and local foods, and want to feel like a grown up, head uptown to Candle 79 for a fine dining experience. Here is a place vegan girls can take their pasta eating boyfriends or husbands and everybody’s happy. The wine list is excellent, and choices are organic or biodynamic from all over the world. They also offer a sake bar- served chilled and up, of course. And for the non-drinkers, a fresh list of tonics , juices and smoothies are sure to entice. Dinner choices range from creamy homemade pastas to a few “live” options (raw) that were delicious (lasagna anyone?). Being a vegetarian restaurant, they offer sides of tempeh (fermented soy bean cake) or seitan (gluten protein) as options with salads. Seitan is actually featured throughout the menu. The Seitan Piccata is a best seller but for the gluten-free crowd there’s plenty more to satisfy you. The salads are creative and fresh. My friend loved her Wild Mushroom Salad- arugula, cippolini onions, wild mushrooms, tomatoes, and creamy horseradish dressing…and my favorite is the Seaweed Salad – carrots, cabbage, grilled shitake mushrooms, edamame, radishes, wasabi leaves, and…

Last Fall, Less Cancer founder Bill Couzens asked me to go to Detroit to film a movie.  Detroit?  I had volunteered time to Less Cancer that summer because our message is similar. Unlike other Cancer organizations interested in funding mammagram machines, Bill’s message is about prevention and eliminating or becoming more aware of environmental causes of cancer and other disease. But Detroit? It turns out Bill grew up there and watched his family and friends contract and sometimes die from Cancer. Years later he wanted to shine the light on the social entrepreneurs of the city who are trying to bring the city back. And I was being asked to go as the non professional on camera correspondent along with a talented wedding photographer who also related to the cause. We did not have much of a plan, but we discovered that sometimes that works best. Arriving in Detroit in November, I stared in disbelief at the miles of burned out buildings, charred and half fallen, and when arriving at the downtown area of tall pretty office buildings, city street parking was a breeze. It turns out most of the buildings were vacant, and much like a disaster film ending,…

If you follow “Miss A.” (an online magazine I write for at  www.askmissa.com), you’ve heard about Editor in Chief Andrea Rodger’s recent photo shoot with Vogue magazine and her subsequent last minute diet to trim down a few pounds.  Andrea is an ideal weight for her size, and looks fabulous, but she felt the need to be more “camera ready” to prepare for the 10 pounds that the camera adds. I recently went through something similar when Style FX called and asked me to fly out to LA for a guest Health Coach TV appearance.  Knowing that the camera adds weight, what’s a girl to do? I’m a Nutrition Coach and work with people daily on long term weight loss programs, and I KNOW that slow and long term weight loss is the healthiest way to lose; it also insures that the weight stays off.  We have all been through quick weight loss schemes and diets to gain back everything and more. Try telling that to a woman who is facing a Vogue camera lens in couple of weeks.  She needed to do something fast and it had to be very comfortable for her to do, so Andrea included her own…