Healthy living family-style.(FAVORITE THINGS)(Interview)

The Larsons have mastered the art of healthy living as a family, but perhaps it isn't surprising Ivy is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist and Andrew is a physician. Together, they developed a health program, described in their books The Gold Coast Cure and Fitter Firmer Faster Program. And, their 7-year-old son Blake is learning how to start life the healthy way. Ivy shares some of their favorites here.

What are your favorite family meals?

For breakfast, we love flourless flax pancakes (see recipe below) with fresh fruit on top, especially strawberries or raspberries. Or, sprouted whole-grain toast with 2 tsp. of all-natural almond, cashew or peanut butter, 3/4 cup of fresh berries and a hard boiled omega-3 egg.

Since we usually don't have time for a leisurely lunch, we often rely on a healthful prepared food, such as canned soup or a frozen entree, plus a fresh salad. For example:

* Fresh spinach salad with chopped vegetables (carrots, red peppers, red onion) plus nuts and vinaigrette made with extra virgin olive oil or flax oil.

* Canned bean-based soup, such as Amy's Black Bean Vegetable with melted organic cheese; or Amy's Kitchen Tofu Vegetables Lasagna or Kashrs Lemon Rosemary Chicken frozen entrees.

One of the easiest ways to make a quick but nutritious dinner is to use a convenience food as a base and add fresh food. We love A.C. La Rocca's Spinach and Artichoke Pizza. After the pizza is baked, I add extra vegetables on top, usually diced red peppers, red onions, chopped garlic and carrots sauteed in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. 1 serve the pizza with a side salad of fresh spinach topped with chopped hearts of palm and sliced mushrooms, and tossed with simple flax-oil-based ...