Find comfort in your life.

OK, & sometimes in your food!

What are your favorite comfort foods? They are the foods that you crave when you're sick, stressed, sad, lonely or even bored. Comfort foods make us feel all warm and cozy inside - like when we were kids and our parents hugged us and told us everything was going to be okay.

The problem is, a lot of comfort foods have the tendency to be unhealthy. Huge bummer, because who doesn't love pizza, ice cream and chocolate cake? However, be bummed no more! Below is a great alternative to everyone's favorite comfort food...mac n' cheese! Gluten free/dairy free.

It's important to check in with yourself when you do have strong desires for "comfort foods." Our bodies can't clearly communicate with us to tell us that they need something, so sometimes the comfort that they're seeking isn't really from food, but rather from another area of your life. Perhaps you need a hug, or some down time, or a call to a good friend, or a walk outside, etc. During your next strong comfort food craving, ask yourself honestly what you need. Ask yourself a few times and see what comes up. Your body usually isn't truly asking for pizza. The answer that comes up may not actually be food-related at all! It's important that we nourish and feed our bodies in non-food related ways. In the meantime, enjoy some comforting and healthy mac n' cheese!

Namaste,

Lauren Forney, HHC, RYT * Holistic Health Coach * Registered Yoga Teacher
Please visit my website at Center Your Health & follow me on

or Instagram

Art Journaling & Yoga Workshop

Awaken creativity & promote relaxation through the practice of art journaling & yoga in this 2-hour workshop.

Art journaling has been one of my favorite comfort foods for my soul these past few years. I'm thrilled to share this amazing technique with my friend Steph at our workshop later this month!

Artist/Blogger, Stephanie Martel & Graphic Designer/Holistic Health Coach/Registered Yoga Teacher, Lauren Forney, will host this workshop on Saturday, March 22nd from 2 - 4pm at Evenflow Yoga in Red Bank. Please bring a yoga mat, journal or notebook, your favorite pens or pencils, & an open mind. There will be other supplies offered for your inspiration.

$25 before, or $30 the day of. Register HERE.

Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients:
1½ cups raw cashews
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¾ cup filtered water
1½ tsp. sea salt
¼ cup nutritional yeast
½ tsp. chili powder
1 clove garlic
pinch of turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
½ tsp. dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper
paprika, for garnish

8 oz. of brown rice pasta elbows or shell pasta of choice
veggies: steamed or roasted broccoli and sautéed mushrooms
gluten free breadcrumbs (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. (If you are adding roasted broccoli to your dish, this would be a good time to start preparing that, so it can roast in the oven while you work on the rest! Otherwise, steam a head of broccoli florets on the stove.) You should also start boiling some water (with a pinch of sea salt) to prepare your pasta of choice.
2. If you have a Nutri Bullet or high-powered blender, making this sauce is incredibly easy. Simply throw the first group of ingredients into the blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. If you do not have a high-powered blender, don't worry- you'll just need to process the cashews first, until they are finely ground into a nut-butter-like consistency. Once your cashews are thoroughly processed, add the rest of the ingredients and process until thick and smooth. Now you've got cashew cheese!
3. Chop about 4-5 baby bellos (or mushroom of choice) very fine. Sauté in pan with coconut oil or grass fed butter until soft.
4. Once your pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and rinse it, then return the pasta to the pot to be mixed with the cheese sauce.
5. If you're adding any roasted or sautéed veggies, this would be the time to do it.
6. Serve immediately while hot, or move on to the next step for baking (which is highly recommended and worth the wait!).

Baking Instructions: (optional but recommended)
1. Once you've mixed the pasta, sauce and broccoli together, pour the mac n' cheese into a casserole dish, toss sautéed mushrooms on top and garnish with a sprinkle of gluten free breadcrumbs (optional), paprika and black pepper. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
2. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve! Add more sea salt to taste, if desired.
3. To reheat, especially if you're using brown rice pasta, add a splash of water to the dish to bring it back to life.

Recipe adapted from the Detoxinista.

Center Your Health's BLOG & Archive

Here's what I've been blogging about during this past month:

Creative Juices Flowing
Watch More Sunsets
Relax, NOW.
Orange Infused Chocolate

If you're behind on some newsletters, here is a full archive!