All posts filed under: Feel Good Lifestyle

Top 10 Feel Good Pregnancy Tips

When I found out I was pregnant I was expecting the experience to be somewhat of nightmare. We’ve all heard a grumpy mom-to-be complaining about how dreadful the whole growing a baby thing is and how they just can’t wait to GET IT OUT. So it was to my surprise that I found out that I actually liked being pregnant. Rather than feeling tortured by the process I felt it was a time of profound growth- and not just in the obvious way. There was a shift as a new grounded sense of responsibility took hold. I also felt that something bordering on miraculous was taking place inside of me as a little body parts were in constant development, even as I went about my daily business of taking out the trash or doing dishes. While every pregnancy is different and there is a good deal of luck involved when it comes to feeling morning sickness, I also believe there are some steps you can take to give yourself the best chance to feel your best …

Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook by Abbie Cornish & Jacqueline King

What is Pescan? The Easy Way to Eat Well and Feel Even Better!

Published by Jacqueline King

In the book Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook Abbie Cornish and I share our favorite healthy and delicious recipes. We also go over basic cooking techniques and batch cooking at home. At the foundation of the book is the way we prefer to cook and eat, choosing foods that are not only tasty, but that also make us feel good. It’s a lifestyle that we both feel changed our lives for the better. We call this lifestyle “Pescan” Personally, eating pescan has given me a newfound sense of freedom around food. I can eat whenever I’m hungry, stop when I’m full, and always feel satisfied and nourished. Gone are the days of counting calories or yo-yo diets. I maintain a healthy weight without ever having to think about it, which is a welcome relief to someone who spent years dieting. I’m able to feed myself and my family in a way that is super nutritious but still feels like a joy rather than a burden. But what is pescan exactly? Read on to find out more… …

Abbie Cornish and Jacqueline King Schiller

The Story Behind Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook (Available Now!)

Published by Jacqueline King

It was nearly 3 years ago that my best friend Abbie Cornish and I started working on the proposal for what would become Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook. In fact, in the photo below, which we shot for the proposal, I was 3 months pregnant and now my baby is 2 years old! In the proposal we shared a bit of backstory and outlined our vision for the stories and recipes in the book. Now that the book has been written and is available now, I thought it would be nice to share that overview here to give you an idea of how we came to this project and what the book is all about. From Abbie: A few years ago I was standing in the family kitchen of a lakeside cottage in the wilds of Canada. It was one of those beautiful end of summer days. Dappled sunshine filtered through the pine trees and reflected off the well-worn pots and pans simmering on the stove, giving the room an ethereal glow. In one hand I was …

Food for Thought- A New Kind of New Year’s Resolution

Published by Jacqueline King

I had trouble deciding on a New Year’s resolution this year. I couldn’t really come up with anything that felt right. After a year of very clean living throughout my pregnancy and into the first couple of months of motherhood, I didn’t have any major vices to give up. More generic resolutions like “be kinder” didn’t feel proactive enough. After racking my brain I decided to stop thinking about it and trust that the right idea would eventually reveal itself. Finally on New Year’s Eve my yoga teacher casually threw out a little gem at the end of class, somewhere between “drink lots of water today” and “namaste”. I knew right then I had found an ideal mantra for the new year… What I love about it is rather than thinking of giving something up or framing things in the context of deprivation, this message encourages us to place value on the things that feed our growth, health and well-being. Let’s face it, sometimes we get attached to things that aren’t necessarily the best for …

Cooking School: How to Make Delicious Oven Roasted Vegetables

Published by Jacqueline King

Roasting in the oven is the easiest way to make the most out of any vegetable. It’s my favorite way to cook veggies for many reasons: It brings out natural sweetness in vegetables giving them a caramelized exterior while keeping the inside moist and tender. It’s versatile, you can use whatever produce is in season at the market. Roasting is the perfect technique for batch cooking or feeding a crowd. Since you cook on a sheet pan, you can make a large quantity all at once. That means you can turn on your oven once, cook up a couple different types of veggies and have them ready to go in the fridge for the rest of the week. (3-5 days) You can roast without a recipe. Every vegetable will be enhanced by the simple addition of olive oil, salt, pepper and a little time in a hot oven. That being said, roasting is a great opportunity to get creative with your favorite spices. Once you are comfortable with the basic technique, you can have fun experimenting …

The Top 10 Foods to Buy Organic to Avoid Toxic Pesticides

Published by Jacqueline King

We all know buying organic produce is the best choice for our bodies and the environment, but sometimes we have to make choices based on what’s in our wallet. Growing food without the use of powerful chemical insecticides and fertilizers often has higher production costs. Maintaining an organic certification can also cost farmers thousands of dollars in certification fees, which seems like an unfair burden to farmers who are trying to do the right thing, but that’s another conversation. The added expenses for the farmers translate to higher prices for us on organic produce at the grocery store. So every year the good people at EWG rank pesticide contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables so we know which are the worst offenders. Their analysis is based on results of thousands of samples tested by the USDA and the FDA. They’ve found a total of 146 different pesticides residues that remain on fruits and vegetables even after they are washed and in some cases peeled. While some of the chemicals are relatively benign, others have been …

Why I Gave Up Dairy and Why it May Or May Not Be Right For You.

Published by Jacqueline King

There are lots of factors that may lead someone to go dairy-free. For many it’s in the hope of relieving symptoms of lactose intolerance or irritable bowel syndrome. For others it’s to avoid inflammatory responses like heartburn, lack of energy, and joint pain. Some are trying to lower their cholesterol, others are trying to lose excess weight. If you’re suffering from any of these issues you may want to experiment with cutting it out to see if you feel better. While those are all great reasons to give up dairy, the catalyst for me was not an upset tummy or bloat, in fact it was not a physical symptom at all. For me it was all thanks to a spunky little goat named Ice Cream. I met Ice Cream, ironically enough, at a cheese making class held at a farm in Alta Dena. In class there was a step-by-step discussion on cheese-making, from choosing the right milk to aging. I also learned a few facts that I found somewhat disturbing. For example, one bottle of commercial milk …

Happy Anniversary to Us! Lessons from the first year and a Valentine’s Giveaway!

Published by Jacqueline King

No my husband didn’t propose on Valentine’s. The “us” in the headline is you and me! It’s been a year since I started The Feel Good Kitchen and I wanted to write a bit about what I’ve learned, what’s to come, and announce our first giveaway. These lessons are in regards to blogging, but I think they can also apply to other businesses, projects or relationships which is why I wanted to share. 1. Commitment is Key- I dabbled in blogging for a couple of years before I started The Feel Good Kitchen. I never really gained any traction or audience before now because I wasn’t taking it seriously. If you don’t believe what you are doing is important, no one else will either. Why would people think my content had special value if I didn’t feel that way myself? Since I started FGK things have grown relatively quickly because I am committed to sharing healthy recipes and a lifestyle that has been life-changing for me. It’s a lot of work and there is still …

10 Small Changes that can Make a BIG Difference to your Health

Published by Jacqueline King

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season! After much family time and fabulous feasting over the holidays, I decided to kick off the new year with a 4 day cleanse at a spa called We Care in Desert Hot Springs, California. In addition to following their liquid fasting program for a few days I was able to attend several classes on nutrition and wellness. While most of the ideas weren’t new to me, (Eat veggies. Check. Exercise. Check. Meditate. Check. Be Grateful. Double check.) it was a great refresher and reminded me that little steps toward healthier living can make a big difference in how we look and feel. There’s no need for bold proclamations like- “I’m never eating carbs again!” or “I’m going to go to the gym for 2 hours everyday!” Those types of unrealistic goals usually fall by the wayside and lead to disappointment by spring. Instead, I challenge you (and myself!) to make some (or all!) of these smaller changes in 2016. Instead of a short-lived resolution, these ideas …

10 Things Everyone Should Know About GMOs

Published by Jacqueline King

We’ve all heard rumblings about genetically modified organisms or GMOs but there is so much information out there on both sides that it’s easy to tune out. Being a food blogger, I come into contact with information on food issues more often than most so I thought I would share, in a nutshell, what I’ve learned about GMO ingredients and why I try to avoid them at home and in my recipes. Now I know this is not a fun or sexy topic but it’s GMO awareness month so let’s bite the bullet and take a look. First a quick intro- GMOs are living organisms whose genetic material has been manipulated in a lab to create combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and/or viral genes that don’t occur in nature. Almost all commercial GMO crops are engineered to withstand direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. The companies that sell these genetically modified seeds also sell the herbicide that can be sprayed on them in large amounts without killing them. The most common of these herbicides is …