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We’re all looking for balance in our lives, but just as important is balance on our plates. By eating foods that work together as a team, instead of against one another, we can regain energy, create healthy cravings, and leave behind the bloated feeling. To avoid “ping-pong” dieting, eating one type of extreme food to alleviate the effects of the other, you can learn about what we call contracting and expanding foods to find balance in your meals and quickly increase your energy, concentration, and positive mood.

Contracting foods include salty foods and animal protein. When we eat too much, we create an imbalance and start to feel bloated, heavy, sluggish, and mentally slow. The more contracting foods we eat, the tighter our bodies become. As a result, we begin to crave expanding foods to find balance.

Expanding foods include refined white sugar and flour, such as breads, pastas, and cookies. These foods give us a brief feeling of elevated mood, but in the long run can give us feelings of depression, low energy, anxiety, and loss of concentration.

We all look for inspiration from time-to-time to mix up our regular meals and try something new. Nicole Smith, a recent Integrative Nutrition graduate from More Beets Please, shares a unique recipe for eggplant tacos. The quinoa offers a nutritious source of vegetarian protein, and the spices add a delicious kick of flavor. Not a fan of eggplant? Try mushrooms, lentils, or tofu instead.

These tacos are not only customizable; you can easily make the quinoa and vegetables ahead of time. Reheat the ingredients for a quick and nourishing dinner, or turn the leftovers into a taco salad for lunch the following day!

Eggplant Tacos with Quinoa

Vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients:

• 1 c cooked quinoa
• 2 c vegetable broth
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Olive oil
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 t paprika
• 1 t cumin
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• Cilantro
• 1 avocado, diced
• Corn tortillas

Directions:

One of the best perks of working at Integrative Nutrition is the recommendations for healthy products that our staff is always sharing. We decided to share the wealth and put together a list of some of the things that we are really loving this month!

SW Basics Vegan Lip Balm
This all-natural, Brooklyn made lip balm from 2006 grad Adina Grigore is the perfect relief from winter’s harsh dry weather. It comes in four delicious (and vegan!) flavors to choose from - cinnamon, peppermint, cocoa and citrus.

Blood Oranges
We can’t get enough of this beautiful fruit! One of winter’s true gems, blood oranges are in peak season from December to March. They are a bit sweeter than navel oranges, and make the perfect snack for an afternoon pick me up.

Farmers Market Bag
This handmade tote bag from Etsy shop Yours is the Earth is the perfect size to bring to the farmers market and load up on all of your favorite seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Autism is a complicated development disorder with a multitude of contributing factors and no known single cause or cure. A surprising new study, however, shows that a common vitamin found in our foods and supplements can dramatically reduce the risk of a woman having a child with autism – by 40 percent!

Folic acid, a B vitamin found in foods such as spinach, beans, and meat, has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of autism when the vitamin is taken as a supplement for at least several weeks before and during pregnancy, according to the study.

To get the full benefits, women are recommended to start taking folic acid supplements four weeks before conceiving, and to continue taking it during the first eight weeks of pregnancy. In a piece by NPR, study author Ian Lipkin explains that while certain foods are a great source of the B vitamin, it is not necessarily enough because we only absorb about half of the folate from foods that we take in.

"The notion that a very simple, nontoxic food supplement could reduce your risk is profound,” Lipkin says.