Cathy is the Senior Manager of Nutrition and Healthy Living Programs at SAS Institute Inc in Cary, NC. She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, functional medicine nutritionist, blogger and food photographer. Cathy's specialties include integrative and functional nutrition, gut health, food allergies and intolerances and culinary nutrition. She is also a Certified Biofeedback instructor. An avid lover of the outdoors, Cathy spends her free time biking, golfing, kayaking, paddleboarding, sitting under the stars and spending time with her grandson. Follow @CmazanecRD on Twitter.
I’m not usually an early adopter when it comes to electronics so I followed the same philosophy with the Instant Pot in its infancy. I feared that it would end up in the attic waiting for the next yard sale like so many other kitchen electronics in my lifetime. So,
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” L.M. Montgomery I don’t believe I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t love October. My mom always said the sunsets in October are the best …. I agree with her! October’s crisp temps and clean air put an
We North Carolinians frequently find ourselves in the paths of hurricanes. And, this year was no different. Much of our state is still recovering from Hurricane Florence with many residents still unable to return to their flooded or ravaged homes. Our hearts and prayers remain with our fellow NC families
One thing that inspires me is hearing two super minds who are thought leaders in their fields discussing new ways to make our planet better. This happened recently when I listened to an episode of Mark Hyman’s Doctor’s Farmacy Podcast where Dr. Hyman was interviewing environmentalist Miriam Horn. Miriam Horn
This is my grandson, Easton. He won the lottery by being the first-born grandchild on both sides of our families. We won the lottery when he entered our lives! Putting it mildly, he has an abundance of love in his life. In my eyes, he hung the moon! At one
Awww, little Brussels sprouts…so tiny…yet so deceiving! Many love them while others can’t get past their strong flavor. I personally tried to like them my entire life without success until 5 years ago when I tasted one in a restaurant that had been prepared in a new way. It was
Gut Health has become the new health buzz and for good reason because, like Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.” Getting your GI tract in tip top shape requires making adjustments to your diet and lifestyle to heal inflammation, repair any damage, and weed and feed your gut
It’s been quite an interesting Winter, one that was predicted by the Farmer’s Almanac to be cold and wet. Cold? Not so much. Wet? Painfully so! Parts of it have been beautiful, though, including an unexpected snow storm in January that covered our area in 10 – 12 inches of
Winter squashes have risen in the ranks of foodie popularity over the past few years due to their delicious sweet flavor and versatility. And, BONUS...nutritionally they are off the charts! Their bright flesh colors of yellow, apricot and orange indicate they supply high amounts of the antioxidant, beta carotene.
It’s not unusual to hear women in their 50’s and 60’s discuss physical symptoms they’re experiencing associated with menopause.
The North Georgia Candy Roaster I’m a North Carolina native, born and raised. So, it was quite a surprise at a recent trip to the farmers market when I came across this odd looking, large pink banana-shaped pumpkin-squash that I had never laid eyes on. When I asked what it
In spite of years of research and recommendations on bone health, we still have considerably high rates of osteopenia and osteoporosis in the US. That leads us to believe we haven’t yet uncovered all we need to know about protecting our bones. But, thanks to new research we’re learning new
With busy week nights, some foods don’t make it to the table until the weekend simply due to lack of prep time. But, it’s a shame to narrow some of our favorite foods to only a few nights of the week. So, a quick solution when you’re in time crunch
Let’s face it, we’re all ridiculously busy...and tired. Did I mention tired?? So, one of the last things we look forward to after a long work day is spending an hour or more in the kitchen.
With new health recommendations suggesting 8-10 servings of low carbohydrate vegetables daily, it’s been exciting to see how the creative foodie community is using vegetables in place of high carb starches in recipes. If you haven’t heard, cauliflower rice is the newest kid on the block. The premise behind the
We’ve become a lower carb household in the past few years due to family health history and genetics that strongly encourage it. As a result, our decades-old breakfast of eating cereal with milk went out with the trash leaving the challenge of finding low carb, nutrient-dense options.
If you’ve worked hard to reduce added sugars in your eating plan, the looming holiday sugar fest can send shivers down your spine. It’s not visions of sugar plums causing concern; it’s the fear of turning into the blueberry girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
As a nutritionist, I have consulted with many clients over the years about how to eat to improve their health. Since every individual has different nutritional needs based on their genetics, lab results and current lifestyle, each nutrition consult is different than the one before. In addition, nutrition messages have
I’m a productivity junkie! Living in a culture where productivity is highly valued, cutting corners on sleep is often a life survival skill. We’ve been trained to function this way (at least in the US) for over 50 years. As a result, being tired and fatigued is the status quo
It’s hard to pick up a medical journal or news article these days without reading something about the gut microbiome. Thanks to the NIH Human Microbiome Project established in 2008, health professionals and the general public have learned much about the link between the condition of our gut microbiome and
If you’ve followed recent health news, you’ve read reports confirming the negative health effects of excess sugar consumption. High sugar intake has been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, brain diseases and more. Numerous health organizations including the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine (IOM) and
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Not So Virgin Studies on the Mediterranean Diet have shown that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is one of the healthiest culinary fats on the planet. EVOO is high in polyphenols that provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in our bodies and for the oil itself. EVOO
I recently attended a Fat Summit hosted by Integrative and Functional Medicine physician, Mark Hyman, MD, Director of the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hyman invited some of the most prestigious U.S. researchers to join this online Summit to share their individual research data. This academic
With all the holiday treats and fixins’, it’s nice to find some healthy options in the mix. These two recipes are as much fun to make as they are to eat. Create them with your children, grandchildren or significant other and enjoy eating them without guilt. Either recipe will make
In my previous blog post, I took you through the amazing adventure of Grape Camp in Sonoma, California. As you learned in that post, Sonoma Valley is near and dear to my heart because of its beautiful terrain, quaint boutique wineries, sustainable agricultural practices and, of course, it’s award winning
After several years of visiting the wine country of California, my husband and I have grown to love Sonoma Valley – it’s climate, it’s laid back atmosphere, it’s sustainability mindset, and of course, the Wine. Yes, Napa Valley is the big dog in wine country where most of the large
Updated Oct 2023 You may have heard that the World Health Organization (WHO) released its new Sugar Guidelines which recommend keeping Added Sugar to less than 5% of our total calories or 6 teaspoons of Added Sugar per day. To give you an idea of what 5% of your total
Summer temps are here and that’s fine by me! (I REALLY don’t like winter!!) And, now that it’s warm outside it’s time to catch up on fresh air, sunshine and balmy breezes. No more winter-imposed, nature deprivation! Playing hard in warm weather requires good fuel, powerful nutrition and, of course,
Thank goodness, winter is behind us! Hopefully it took all the germs with it. I hope you were able to dodge the cold and flu bullets this winter. If not, now’s the time to give your body, immune system and eating plan a refreshing kick start. Starting today, build these
Ole Man Winter has taken his sweet time getting out of here this year challenging even the most complacent weather watchers. But, last night I finally heard it - the beautiful trill of the Spring Peeper frogs. If you’re not from North Carolina or parts nearby, you may be unfamiliar
