At Tendwell, we are proud to offer services by an Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) certified practitioner. IFM is the nation’s premier institution dedicated to research and training on the functional medicine approach to health. Learn more in this blog post.

Many cultures have been drinking green tea for centuries. In fact, in places like Asia, consuming tea is a daily practice for young and old alike. Tea is used in cooking and baking. You’ll see teas used medicinally and for recreation. When I lived in Beijing China in 2005, I was able to enjoy this amazing aspect of Chinese culture. I took in tea in the many tea houses in parks around the city, and enjoyed restaurants serving unlimited green, black or flower teas. Tea culture is beautiful. Certainly, from the functional medicine perspective, teas can be considered a functional food, containing powerful phytonutrients bodies can harness to positive impact. Today I would like to put a spotlight on green tea and it’s most famous catechin: EGCG.

Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup or Nick’s Cabbage Soup. This is an old classic adapted to my liking. You could likely use another ground meat like lamb or turkey for this if you prefer. We have always used beef. There are lots of great veggies you can sneak into this one.

This recipe is for 1-2 people at most unless you double it. I think of this as a quick meal for lunch at home or even dinner. This recipe was inspired by my friend, who described this as a “basic meal” she used to make for her young son “miso-butter noodles”. I thought it sounded deliciously comforting. This is my own take on the recipe, which I often make for lunch when I am in a hurry and need to eat something warm.

Does your provider check glutathione levels? At Tendwell, we routinely check for glutathione status because it plays a pivotal role in the human body. Glutathione is a tripeptide that, when present at the right levels, helps to reduce oxidative stress, enhance detoxification and regulate the immune system. A growing body of evidence suggests that glutathione status may be an important biomarker and treatment target in various chronic, age-related diseases: especially cancer, neurodegeneration and mitochondrial dysfunction. There is increasing awareness of glutathione’s impact on mitigating toxic load through enhanced hepatic (liver) conversion, and excretion of toxicants like mercury and persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

This is literally my seven-year-old son’s favorite meal. It can be adapted to be vegan and dairy free. Delicious on a cold day!

I recently bought a nut-milk maker (Nutr brand), and I love it. I never loved Golden Milk Lattes before but with my homemade milk (made with: 1T organic almonds, 1T cashew pieces, a pinch of salt, ¼ tsp vanilla & ½ T pure maple syrup), it was a delicious afternoon treat on a cold wintery day. Next time, I will make a double-batch.

These muffins are a riff on classic Morning Glory Muffins, using ingredients we usually have around the house. I like these muffins for sneaking a couple veggies into my 7-year-old, who only “likes” a couple green vegetables at this point. I’m constantly tweaking this recipe to see what I can get away with. This is the most up-to-date iteration. This recipe makes about 16 muffins.

Serve alone or over rice. Serve with hummus and a dollop of yogurt on top. Chopped cilantro or chopped Italian parsley. Delicious!

I am trying to incorporate more organ meat into my diet. This organic chicken liver pate is super easy to make and quite tasty. My 7 year old has no idea what he is eating but loves this on gluten-free bread lightly toasted. Also great on crackers. Chicken livers are surprisingly difficult to find at the grocery store…I have found them at old fashioned butcher shops & at Whole Foods.

Everyone wants to easily and conveniently optimize their health. This often leads to buying (and hopefully taking) vitamins and supplements. But which ones to focus on? There are so many to choose from!