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Book early and get up to 50% off your trip to the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels of Mexico and the Dominican Republic.18 AZFOOTHILLS.COM HI, DR. STEPHENSON: PLEASE GIVE A SHORT BACKGROUND ON YOURSELF AND YOUR NUTRITION, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS? WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO GO INTO THIS FIELD AND HELP INDIVIDUALS TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR OWN HEALTH? After an accident ended my figure-skating career in my early 20s, I decided to focus on health as an alternative career — because let’s be honest, all com- petitive athletes have an expira- tion date anyway! At the time, as I was involved in a long and complex rehabilitation process, I was disillusioned that my own doctors weren’t able to offer more than pharmaceutical solu- tions, I thought as a doctor, I could do better. When I discov- ered functional medicine and integrative therapies like nu- trition, acupuncture, and anti- aging medicine, I knew I was right where I was meant to be. Looking back, I also recognized that I had been wearing myself down and not taking care of my own health, contributing to my accident in the first place. I had been so singularly focused on achievement that I ignored my body’s signals of overwhelm and burnout. I made it my mission to help others avoid that same fate through a more tuned-in awareness of the body’s feed- back, and an understanding of the foundations of health: what you eat, how you move, and how you connect with other people. This is what creates vibrant health, and everything I do now is oriented toward spreading that message. WITH SO MANY BOOKS AND NUTRITIONAL GUIDES ON THE SHELVES TODAY FOR READERS, WHAT DIFFERENTIATES VIBRANT? Vibrant’s message is health empowerment. Many books tell you what to eat and how to exercise. I believe everyone is different, so I give people the information they need to make their own decisions about what to eat and how to exercise. What I like to eat and do may be completely different from what someone else likes to eat and do, but that doesn’t mean we can’t both be vibrant! I give more guidance to those who want it, but I keep the program ultimately flexible. Another thing I believe differ- entiates Vibrant is my focus on human connection. What do we all have to do every day? We have to eat food, move our bodies, and connect with other people. I believe each one of those things is equally impor- V!BRANTDOC D R. ST AC IE ST E PH ENS O N Ph oto by Bob & Dawn Davis Ph otogr aphy & Design 1 2@azfoothills #azfoothills 19 SUMMER TURMERIC CHICKEN OVER SAUTÉED PURPLE KALE AND MUSHROOMS Prep time: 45 min Serves 4 INGREDIENTS For chicken: 12 medium-sized chicken tender cutlets • or 4 (6-ounce) chicken breasts 2 teaspoons turmeric • 1 teaspoon garlic powder • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika • ½ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon pepper • 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided • 1 package sliced baby bella • mushrooms 2 heads destemmed red curly kale or • dinosaur kale 2 cloves garlic, chopped • Avocado topping (optional) • INSTRUC TIONS Place the chicken, turmeric, garlic 1 powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a nonreactive mixing bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of olive oil so the chicken is equally seasoned and marinating. While the chicken is marinating, heat a 2 medium-sized skillet on medium. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the 3 skillet and allow to heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the baby bella mushrooms until 4 they begin to brown slightly. (If the pan is too dry, you may splash a few tablespoons of water or chicken stock to deglaze the pan.) Once mushrooms have softened, stir in 5 the kale until it’s wilted yet maintains its bright color. At the very end, add the garlic and cook 6 until fragrant. Set aside. Heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet 7 over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, spread equally over the pan. Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken 8 and sear each side for 4–6 minutes, until it is browned on both sides. (To expedite cooking, you may place a lid over the skillet after you brown the chicken.) Place kale mixture on plates or platters 9 and serve the chicken over the kale and mushrooms. An optional avocado topping is a great 10 addition to this earthy dish. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ tant, so part of the book is about the importance of supportive, loving relationships for health. There is quite a lot of research supporting this — people who are lonely, iso- lated, or don’t have a strong support system tend to have higher rates of chronic disease. I talk about how to nurture relationships and how to make love a more central focus in life and for health. The book is based around the Vibrant Triad, which is like a three-legged table: food, movement, connection. Take away any of those legs, and the table falls. WHAT DO THE SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOLS THAT AID INDIVIDUALS LISTEN TO THEIR BODIES ENTAIL? ARE THEY FOR NUTRITION, SLEEP, POSITIVE AFFIR- MATIONS, ETC.? Health is all of those things. It is a whole-body affair, and your whole body will tell you how healthy you are. That’s why I have people do frank examinations of all the aspects of their life. Yes, diet and exercise are part of that, and so is sleep, but even looking at yourself in the mir- ror can tell you a lot about how you are living and how your habits are working out for you. What does your skin look like? How about your hair and nails? Are your eyes bright and lively? Do you move gracefully or stiffly? What does your outline re- veal? And how is your digestion? Your concentration? Your pain level? Do you eat enough vegetables? Too much sugar? Do you drink enough water? Do you have friends you can confide in? Do you feel loved? It’s all relevant, and in the book I take you through it all, so you have a much more clear picture of where you are. You can’t know where you want to go until you know where you are. CAN YOU PROVIDE ONE OR TWO OF THOSE 40 CHEF-CREATED RECIPES FOR OUR READERS? DID YOU CREATE THOSE YOURSELF, OR WHO ASSISTED YOU ON THOSE RECIPES? I work closely with a wonderful chef, Quenby Schuyler, whom we all call Chef Q. She healed her own life- threatening health crisis through healthy food, so we share a passion for using vibrant food as powerful medicine. All the recipes in the book are simple but gorgeous. I’m sharing the Summer Turmeric Chicken over Sautéed Purple Kale and Mush- rooms recipe, which is a good exam- ple of the kind of meal I eat for dinner. I know you’ll enjoy it! WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP INDIVID- UALS SHOULD TAKE WHEN BUILDING THEIR NEW HEALTHY HABITS? Don’t try to change too much at once! That’s a recipe for defeat and frustration. Small changes practiced regularly over time are much more transformative than big changes you can’t sustain. Instead of telling ev- eryone they should be changing the same thing, what I’d rather do is suggest that readers spend a bit of time considering how they live right now and how they feel. Listen to your body! It will tell you what you need. Most of us know, at least on some level, where we could do better, but bring that knowledge to the forefront of your mind. What’s that one habit you know isn’t doing you any favors? Think about how you would feel if you were free from it. Maybe it’s caffeine, sugar add- iction, or overeating, or maybe it’s something you don’t do, like drink enough water or exercise. Think of one small way you can make a dif- ference. Can you cut your four cups of coffee to two cups? (I call this the Rule of Halves.) Can you go on a walk three days a week, or limit sugar to the weekends? Can you pull back on second helpings, or start learning yoga, or can you make a new rule for yourself that you don’t ever look at your phone while having a meal with your family? Whatever it is, it should feel do-able and hope- ful, not oppressive or impossible, and it should be something you know that you personally need and want to do for yourself. Make that one change, and keep at it until it becomes a solid habit. Then you can think about adding another positive habit, but until you’ve got the first one down, just focus on that. This is how change begins, and it’s power- ful. Every time you successfully make a small change, you build your confidence and will be more empowered to make additional changes. Set yourself up for success and you will be on your way to vibrant health! SMALL CHANGES PRACTICED REGULARLY OVER TIME ARE MUCH MORE TRANSFORMATIVE THAN BIG CHANGES YOU CAN’T SUSTAIN. 3 4 5Next >