Reviewed by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move

Copyright © 2020 Gia On The Move

As it seemed, it was a totally ordinary night traveling over to the Wonderful Pistachio branded, Heart & Hustle event hosted by Trainer Republic, West Hollywood. But not really.

Along with celebrity and athlete trainer Brian Mazza (@BrianMazza) and meal prep expert Amanda Meixner (@MeowMeix), here gathered a multitude of women – influencers, nutritionists and Wonderful representatives (and yes, they were! Lol) of all ages, backgrounds and points of view, to partake in a two-part workout & discussion about health, nutrition, meal prepping and life – with the intention of moving forward in the most conscientious of ways. Starting with ourselves and what we eat.

Being one of the older persons in the group it would have been easy for me to dismiss much of what was presented. Including the health, sustainability and climate control ideas on plant-based proteins, none of them were new. Some of them even felt a little crusty – ideas that have been rolling around since the late 50s and 60s like the eating habits of serious bodybuilders, which as a competitive athlete I already knew. Or the benefits of eating greens in the first place. Or experimenting with alternative lifestyles to combat all kinds of aging and nutrition-based illnesses. Unless you are a Millennial or younger, most of it from the HITT training to the food discussion was pure common sense and already available knowledge rather than fad. And, as I verbally pointed out, veganism, vegetarianism, plant-based nutrition-ism – all the isms that we deal with in our new world – can also easily become new religions that take us to unsustainable and unhealthy extremes.

But that’s the negative flip side of discovering and boldly undertaking next-level pathways to living.

What awoke in me, honestly, in the empty spaces and silences of the ongoing conversation, was the realization of how important it all was that like minds of completely different people were merging and rising together in agreement. That every idea we have about food needs to change.

As far as nuts go, I’ve personally been a strong proponent of pistachios since childhood. Delicious and abundant, and free of most of the allergy concerns that come with peanuts and even almonds at times, these beautiful little snacks are nutritionally dense with healthy fats and more. And the socially sustainable Wonderful brand has gone to great lengths to bring them to market with all of the goodness intact. Farmed organically and handled gently in California (which for us locals is a huge factor), plus the ease of shelling them and investing in sweet (Honey roasted) and hot (Chili roasted) flavors that are inviting to even a nut’s worst critic.

The night also featured an exquisite pistachio-based tasting menu of Goat Cheese Crostini, Salmon Quinoa Bowls with Winter Vegetables, Roasted Kabocha Squash, and Pistachio Dark Chocolate Bark.

My personal hands down favorite was the Salad Jar.  Best meal prep tip for anyone on the run.  Amanda has upgraded entirely from plastic to glass in all her recipes. This one was a combo lettuce, peppers, garbanzo beans and celery with dressing only at the bottom of the jar. I left this in my fridge for two days before I ate it. The greens were 100% crisp and it was so tasty, I ran out and bought a set of Mason jars just to get myself started.  No better way to eat salad when you are on a timer.

Wonderful Pistachios are in stores nationwide.  Both new flavors of No Shells Pistachios are made with non-GMO ingredients and are available in 5.5oz bags for approximately $6.99 and 2.25oz bags for $3.29

• Chili Roasted big bold flavors include red pepper, garlic and vinegar.
• Honey Roasted are kissed with honey, sugar and a pink of salt for a sweet and savory taste.

Copyright © 2020 Gia On The Move

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