Blog 2.0

It's Wednesday, officially the middle of the week! One thing that helps me conquer the later half of a crazy busy week is to tantalize my taste-buds. Yes I am still like a little kid waiting for that sweet treat after a job well done :). And yes during the week I would absolutely love to run to my fav restaurant for a hearty meal but realistically that is not a healthy ritual for my wallet or my waistline. But as always I am determined to have my cake and eat it too!

This is one of my favorite simply delicious lunches at home or on the go (I am usually the later...gotta love a good lunch box!).

Serves: 1

Time: 15 mins

Why I love this dish:

• tasty
• cheap
• travels great!
• high in nutrition
• simple
• restaurant quality

Ingredients:

• 2 c arugula
• 1 tbsp crumbled goat cheese
• 1 sliced beet (Trader Joe's pre-cooked...check the refrigerated section)
• 1/4 toasted walnuts (or raw)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• fresh crushed black pepper

Directions:

1. If you would like the walnuts toasted. Sometimes I am in my 5 min lunch rush and I just throw them in raw. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread walnuts onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.
3. Allow walnuts to cool.
4. Layer arugula, beets, walnuts, and goat cheese. Drizzle the balsamic and olive oil onto the salad. Top with fresh crushed black pepper.

Nutritionally Dense?:

• Arugula- high in fiber, B6, A, C, K, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, and low in calories and fat
• Walnuts- high in protein, calcium, omega-3 and iron
• Goat Cheese- high in calcium, protein, and A
• Beets- high in fiber, C, Potassium, Folate, and Iron

What's for dinner? It's Thursday almost the end of the week! I am usually zapped by the evening and cooking isn't really something I would truly like to do. This recipe is one of my ultimate go tos...simple, quick, full of flavor, packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and does not require any pre planning of meat.

Serves: 4 (Great for lunch the next day!)

Time: 20-30mins

Ingredients:

• 1 sliced red bell pepper
• 1 sliced green bell pepper
• 1 1/2 c chopped mushrooms
• 1 chopped shallot
• 1/2 c lentils (I recommend the Trader Joe's pre-cooked)
• 1 can black beans (I recommend the Trader Joe's Cajun/Cuban style black beans)
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tbsp freeze dried cilantro
• 1/2 c salsa
• 1 avocado
• 4 Ezekiel, brown rice, or whole grain tortillas

Directions:

1. Heat garlic, grape seed oil, and shallots on medium high for 3-5 minutes until shallots have cooked down.
2. Add the bell pepper and mushrooms, cook for 5-10 minutes until veggies have cooked down a bit.
3. Add the black beans, lentils, red chili pepper, cilantro, and salsa. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 10-12 minutes.
4. Load up tortilla top with salsa, avocado, cilantro &/or hot sauce.
5. Enjoy!

I have often run into this issue…only one burner but multiple needed for the fancy creation in my head. The trick?  Always cook the starch first and then the saucey veggies. Once cooking is complete place edibles into a Tupperware and into the micro for insulation.

This gluten free vegan pasta creation is one of our new favorites for our Sunday Italian nights! This recipe does take some time due to the single burner. So we like to crack a bottle of vino and set out this delish goat cheese blueberry appetizer (goat chevre topped with blueberry preserves served with some savory rice crackers).

Why I love this dish:

• Tastes like comfort food!
• Low in calories and fat
• High in vitamins and minerals
• Great for lunch the next day...I love dishes that make enough and tastes amazing enough to have the next day...saves on time
• Wonderful for family gatherings....the best part...they won't even know it's good for them!
• The multi-colors are visually stimulating!

Cooking Time: 45mins-1 Hour

Serves: 4 (Great for lunch leftovers)

Ingredients:

• ½ bag of white or brown rice pasta (my fav Tinkyada)
• 2 c sliced zucchini squash
• 2 c sliced yellow squash
• 1 c chopped mushrooms
• 2 c spinach leaves
• 1 chopped shallot
• 2 c cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Fresh crushed black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and start your pasta. Prep all other ingredients while pasta cooks.
2. Once pasta is complete strain. (HINT: for white rice pasta rinse in cold water to prevent sticking). Set to the side.
3. In a fry pan heat olive oil, garlic, basil, and shallots to medium. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add yellow squash and zucchini to the yummy sauce mixture! Stir thoroughly. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add mushrooms. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Stir the mixture and add the final ingredients: tomatoes, spinach, lemon juice, and black pepper. Cover and let simmer 5-10 minutes until spinach has wilted.
7. Plate the pasta and top with the sauce. Finish with a bit of crushed red pepper. Enjoy!

NoStove.NoOven.NoProblem

I love Mexican food but hate the bloat I'm left with after. This weekend with the help of my picky taste buds I created this Black Bean Quinoa Goodness; high in fiber, protein and packed with an amazing nutritional punch!

Servers: 4 GREAT FOR LUNCH NEXT DAY!

Time: 30-40mins

Ingredients:

• 1 c cooked quinoa
• 1 can low sodium black beans
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 2 c chopped broccoli
• 1 c sliced mushrooms
• 2 c raw spinach leaves
• 1 diced shallot
• 1 tbsp goat feta
• 1 avocado
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried chives
• 1 jar salsa

Directions:

1. In a rice cooker start the quinoa (1/2 c quinoa to 1 c water).
2. Heat the fry pan to medium, add olive oil, shallots and broccoli. Cook for five minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add bell pepper, mushrooms, chives and chili powder cook down for another five minutes.
4. Quinoa should be complete. Check and see if all water is evaporated; if so unplug rice cooker and uncover.
5. Add spinach, quinoa and black beans to the fry pan. Stir until evenly mixed. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until spinach has wilted.
6. Serve the delish mix with salsa, feta cheese, and avocado...yum yum delish!

Spring is in the air, the evenings are brighter longer, and the air is fresh and crisp. Dust off that winter-stored BBQ and get grillin'! BBQin is a great way to infuse meat and veggies with deliciousness and to allow fat to drip off the meat.

My new favorite protein source is the buffalo burger. Buffalo is very lean and high in protein! 4oz of buffalo weighs in at 126 calories, 19 calories from fat and 24.5 grams of protein!! Buffalo meat is also a great source of B12, B6, potassium, iron, zinc, copper and selenium. I get my grass fed and hormone free buffalo at Whole Foods; $10 for 16 oz, that's 4 burgers!

Here's my recipe for these yummy treats-

Serves: 4

Time: 15-20mins

Ingredients:

• 1 package of grass fed hormone free ground buffalo (16 oz)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 tbsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. Heat up the grill or if your grill-less like me a fry      pan on the hot plate to medium high (if using the pan coat with a bit of      olive oil).
2. In a mixing bowl combine the meat, bell pepper, red      onion, and garlic.
3. Cook the burgers completely (about 5 mins per side).      You don't want any rare burgers...ground beef is different than a steak,      burger meat comes into contact with metal...metal that can carry bacteria!
4. Serve the burger on a healthy bed of mixed greens, top      with tomato avocado and ketchup...or if you need the man burger place      between two slices of whole grain bread, a bun, or gluten free options.

Anthony and I decided to make this into a romantic evening. I mean why not it looks and tastes like fine dining! I served our burgers with a fresh beet walnut salad, Trader Joe's sweet potato fries and a nice bottle of wine. A really nice evening created in less than an hour and much more affordable than a night on the town!

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil, onion, and garlic on medium high for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add squash, bell pepper, and chili powder stirring occasionally for approximately 5 minutes.
3. Add black beans and ¼ c salsa; reduce to medium low and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add spinach; stir in once wilted.
5. Serve taco filling in individual corn tortillas and top with avocado, cilantro and salsa.

Vitamins now come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. We all know how important vitamins are for us because realistically sometimes our diet just doesn’t cut it. But truthfully how do we make the right choice? Other than the fancy logo, catchy slogan, or colorful packaging what makes one vitamin different from the next?

In 2008, multivitamins brought in $4.7 billion. There are no direct standards on vitamins so how do we know what we are paying for isn’t just some sugar pill?

First things first, get personal! Talk to a nutrition specialist or doctor about your medical history, your diet, and your current medications to see what you really need. He/she may even suggest a blood test to see where you are lacking.

How can you do your own brand research? Check out the following and see if your desired supplement measures up:

• Check out the vitamin at consumerslab.com
• Read the labels- the ingredients should be as organic as possible
• Has it been tested- make sure that the dietary substance has been tested for toxic substances
• Is it old?- check the expiration date…how long has that bottle been in the back of the cupboard or on that drug store shelf
• Do you have food allergies?- vitamins often contain wheat, dairy and other allergies…just because it’s not in its standard form doesn’t mean you won’t have an allergic reaction
• Is what’s on the label really what’s in the bottle?- dietary supplements are not regulated so the amount claimed on the label might be different than what is really in the pill. Contact the lab that makes the pill. Can’t seem to get a human being? Toss that brand and try another!
• You get what you pay for- invest in a good vitamin or just skip taking vitamins altogether
• Does the vitamin dissolve adequately?- place the multivitamin in a glass of warm water, if it doesn’t dissolve in an hour you basically just have really pricey urine. When a vitamin does not breakdown in the stomach before passing through the intestine, it is not absorbed through the intestinal walls.

I use and recommend Usana. Their product is friendly even on my sensitive tummy and has greatly improved my energy and immune system. For more info send me an email!

If you would like to do some more vitamin research check out about.com and alignlife.com.

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Do what you love and you never work a day in your life!

Welcome dear Artists!!! About today? I am rehearsing and creating a new piece in the air.... Grateful to be an Artist and live from my artistry!!  invite you to share my vision of beauty, art and entertainment by coming to my show " L effleur des Sens" This Sunday and Monday...visit www.leffleurdessens.com and book your ticket through "showtime".