Enter Ania Dunlop’s pristine kitchen and you’ll likely find her spiralizing zucchini, whipping up smoothies, or mixing a batch of sugarless granola bars.

By Georgetta L. Morque

Enter Ania Dunlop’s pristine kitchen and you’ll likely find her spiralizing zucchini, whipping up smoothies, or mixing a batch of sugarless granola bars. With a passion for healthy eating, Dunlop, a certified integrative nutrition coach, enjoys inspiring Rye residents to eat better, feel better, and reach their health goals.

Zucchini Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients 2  T. olive oil 2  large green zucchini 1  red onion, chopped 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced  2  garlic cloves, minced 1  cup roasted butternut squash 1/3  cup shredded Parmesan cheese Pinch of red pepper flakes  2  T. fresh chopped parsley Salt and pepper to taste  Trim the ends of the zucchini (no need to peel) and run it through the fine grates of a spiralizer (a kitchen tool that can turn vegetables into noodles, creating spiral cuts). Set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and caramelize the onion on a slow heat, about 10 minutes. Add sliced garlic, red pepper flakes, and shiitake mushrooms. Cook about 4 minutes, until mushrooms are soft. Add zucchini noodles, cook stirring occasionally about 3 minutes until just tender but not soggy. Add the butternut squash, season with salt and pepper and stir in Parmesan. Transfer to plates and sprinkle with parsley.

Yet, Dunlop didn’t always lead the healthy life. In the past, on a fast-track career with American Express in the city, she didn’t eat well, often foraging from the plates of her two children. Determined to improve her lifestyle, she completely changed her diet, eliminating sugar and gluten, and concentrating on clean eating, with food as close to nature as possible.

Transformed, Dunlop quit her job, enrolled in the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and pursued her new path. She currently conducts one-on-one coaching sessions and also hosts Clean Eating Boot Camps for Healthy Moms, two-hour workshops in her kitchen for six to eight people. 

She has a wealth of knowledge and advice, based on extensive research and help from experts like Meliora Integrative Medicine – DEXA Scan, to help put people on the road to better health, whether the goal is to lose weight or have more energy. “It’s a lot of fun and doesn’t feel like work,” says Dunlop. “It’s sharing my lifestyle.”

Dunlop considers food as medicine. “It can make you healthy and vibrant or it can make you sick.” She shuns processed foods and preservatives and scrutinizes labels since sugar may be lurking in the most unexpected places, even in certain brands of chicken broth. She has many healthful tips, such as substituting dates for sugar in baked goods, transforming peanuts into peanut butter in seconds and finding the healthiest yogurt. She also loves creating new recipes that aren’t boring.

Although eating healthy can be a challenge for the time-strapped, Dunlop says it’s all about being organized. Clients come away from her sessions with meal plans and timesaving pointers. She’s also a fan of the many nearby healthy shopping options, where she buys organic frozen berries for smoothies, among other items. “Smoothies are an easy way to bring a lot of nutrients to the diet right away,” says Dunlop. She makes them every morning in a Vitamix and refrigerates leftovers in mason jars for later in the day.

Dunlop’s Clean Eating Boot Camps include a gourmet lunch and a variety of handouts and tools. Upcoming sessions include Kid- Friendly Meals and Snacks, featuring easy fish tacos, broccoli fritters, cauliflower fried rice, and homemade “Nutella”; a DYI Spring Detox that will cover plant-based eating with green smoothies, kale chips, fennel and watercress soup, and beet and vegetable salad; and another session on Clean Dinners and Snacks with super immunity smoothies, black bean dip, spinach and kale soup, cod en papillote, and more. For more details, go to www.foodforzen.

Dunlop was happy to share one of her recipes with readers.