Summer is the time to kick back, relax and enjoy lazy days by the pool.  With it also comes sporadic schedules, sleeping in and a lack of motivation to plan evening meals.  For me, summer with the kids changes on a weekly basis.  Different camps each week means our mealtimes are random and totally unplanned.  That is not exactly a healthy recipe for nutrient-dense meals, so when school starts back up I like to try and get back into the kitchen and focus on healthy and wholesome meals.  Tonight I began my quest to gain my creativity again while using fresh ingredients.

I tend to not usually follow recipes in a book, but like to use them as inspiration to make my own meals.  I will substitute this or add in that to make the meal fit my own dietary needs and create something my husband will eat and enjoy.  It is fun to experiment with different foods and seasonings; I find it as a way to tap into my “left brain” tendencies when I lack the time to focus on writing.  And bottom line is, I love food, especially when it fuels my body and keeps me on track with my health goals.

Tonight I used Instagram and Facebook to post my first attempt to get back to clean eating with an off-the-cuff zucchini ribbon bowl.  I was trying to use up a few things in the fridge before it spoiled, and it turned into something I think I could definitely eat again.  Here is my “recipe.”

You will need a few simple ingredients:  3 small zucchini, 1/4 of a red onion (diced), minced garlic, some good olive oil, 4 to 5 pieces of crumbled bacon (I try and stick to a brand that is organic), 1 cup of cherry tomatoes (I used yellow since I had them on hand), 1 avocado (diced), 1/2 cup crushed walnuts, 2 or 3 oz. of feta cheese (this is a sheep milk cheese).

To start off, use a spiralizer on the zucchini and set it aside in a bowl.  I have a spiralizer set for my Kitchen Aid mixer which is very easy to use.  Best. Gift. Ever!  I also cooked my bacon in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.  So much easier than a skillet and microwave.  After it cooled I crumbled it and set the bacon aside.  Watch out for bacon lovers in your home, they will try and devour your ingredient because the smell waifs throughout the house while it cooks in the oven.

The next step was getting my “sauce” created for the ribbons.  I used around 2 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil and turned the skillet on a medium-high heat.  After the oil heated up I added my diced red onion and garlic.  It only takes a couple of minutes for the onion and garlic to soften and open up, so when this happens you want to add your bacon bits and let the flavors start to mesh together.  This is when I added my spices:  a good pinch of cracked black pepper and around 1/3 to a 1/2 teaspoon of Beau Monde seasoning.  You don’t really need salt for this dish because the bacon gives you enough seasoning for that ingredient.  I gently stirred everything together before adding in my tomatoes.   You want to stir them in and let them saute a bit to soften up the skins.  Once this was all combined and heated through I threw in my zucchini ribbons to warm them up in the skillet and coat it with my olive oil sauce.  I actually added a little more olive oil because some of my liquid had evaporated during the cooking process.

After the ribbons heated thoroughly I tossed in the walnuts, feta and avocado then plated it up for my husband and myself.  It was light, not overly acidic and low in carbohydrates.  The avocado and walnuts added in some healthy fat and Omega-3s too.  This is just my own creation, but with zucchini noodles, you can let your creativity flow with whatever your kitchen has to offer.  Last, but not least, finding a wine to pair with the meal (if you are not completely eating clean).  I would choose a nice, crisp Sauvignon Blanc or summer Rose.  Either would nicely compliment the freshness of the ribbons.  Sit, sip and hopefully you enjoy this light and healthy meal while getting back into the groove of #backtoschool.

In lieu of my attempt to eat wholesome, minimally processed foods, I thought it might be interesting to look up some of those “wonder foods” and really find out why so many people are touting their health benefits.  The one I see pop up the most is the avocado.

Besides being a beautiful green color when split open (mind you, if overripe you get an ugly brown-bleh!), this little miracle fruit finds itself mixed, diced and folded into a slew of my whole food recipes.  And yes, I did type fruit because, much to my chagrin, I discovered the avocado is a member of the fruit family.  In case you needed some useless fun facts to throw out at your next soiree, avocados are native to Central and South America and did not reach the United States until the early twentieth century.  These tasty treats are best grown in tropical and subtropical climates, which explains why you see the majority distributed from Mexico and Central America.

Avocados come in three major categories, the West Indian, Guatemalan and Mexican varieties.  Where they are grown determines the type of climate best needed for optimal development.  The West Indian varieties do better in tropical climates; Guatemalan fare better in higher altitudes and Mexican avocados can withstand dry, arid conditions.  Therefore, you may want to think twice before trying to plant and grow avocados in this year’s backyard garden.

Aside from finding out where they come from, avocados used to receive a bad reputation for being high-fat, unhealthy foods.  So if you ever needed an excuse to have an extra dip into the guacamole bowl at your favorite Mexican eatery, then remind yourself of this: avocados are an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids, potassium, vitamins A, B, E and K.  Besides also containing minerals like magnesium, iron and copper, avocados are also an excellent source of fiber.  In fact, according to some of my nutrition books I keep on the shelf, avocados are known to have as much potassium as 2 or 3 bananas! Maybe this is why I see so many smoothie recipes require me to throw in part of one in my morning shake.

The downside is of course the avocado’s high calorie and fat content.  But if you look at all the health benefits that go with this magical fruit, it might behoove you to swap out a serving of tree nuts or legumes and eat some avocado instead.  The monounsaturated fat found in avocados (which explains the high fat content) are good for the body, much like olive oil, because it can help lower cholesterol thanks to the oleic and linoleic acids. This means avocados may help lower those bad LDL cholesterol levels and keep the good HDL levels high, which can help decrease your chance of heart disease and cholesterol build-up in your arteries.  Avocados have recently been discovered to help with adrenal fatigue, most likely because of the high magnesium content.  Research suggests eating an avocado once a day to help combat adrenal fatigue, something know to contribute to a slew of health issues ranging from depression to weight gain.  Avocados may not completely eliminate this syndrome, but it definitely can’t make it worse.  So if you think or know you suffer from adrenal fatigue, it might do you good to get some testing done and throw in an avocado into your daily eating routine.

Avocados are simple to add to your diet thanks to their mild flavor and soft texture. Besides making a great homemade guacamole, you can dice avocados up in to just about any salad, top off your morning eggs with a few slices, or even mash half an avocado on your bread instead of mayonnaise.  The flavor of avocados make it easy to mix and blend into sauces and dressings.  It all depends on the type of taste you or your family prefers.

So the next time you are at your local grocery store, consider picking up an avocado or two to have on hand at home.  To choose the perfect avocado look for a dark green to almost purple skin and it should be easy to indent the side with just a slight push of your thumb. If you only have bright green avocados to choose from, simply stick them in a brown paper bag when you get home and they will quickly ripen in just a few days. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on these amazing fruits and the health benefits they bring to your body!

To be sitting at my laptop and actually typing is such a treat. I have not had a chance to write in a LONG while for the simple fact I have been back in school. Wait, school-seriously? Why would someone at my age want to go back to school and deal with homework, study groups, projects and such…all while juggling children, family and life in general? Well, it is something I have found that fits into my niche of health, exercise and doing things daily to improve one’s self, as well as the improvement of others around me. I am studying to be a Healthy Lifestyle Coach, and so far my classes have been very challenging, but extremely interesting! (This is good because there have been many late nights when my eyes would rather close at 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.)

So writing on my blog has not been a top priority for me, but there are many things I plan to write about, and I have been diligently keeping a log of ideas with pictures to show the two or three people who may read my words.

One thing I have put off doing in recent weeks (besides making my Kombucha brew-see a previous article on that one) is making my own preserved lemons. Preserved lemons are typically found in Moroccan cuisine. They are tangy, tart and add amazing flavor to anything from chicken to beef stew. I first discovered this culinary treat when I purchased a cookbook by the über-famous, somewhat quirky, Gwyneth Paltrow. She has several cookbooks out, all of which I have sitting on my kitchen counter. I just love her simple love of ingredients and wholesome goodness when it comes to cooking. But some of her recipes have a few hard-to-find items that I needed to order online just to try the recipe. One of those being “preserved lemons.” And when you order something like that off Amazon, it amazingly comes in a small jar with maybe two lemons in it instead of a five-gallon jar of lemons floating in a salt solution. All for the awesome price of, well, let’s not go there.

Never using something like this before in my recipes, I needed to figure out what the taste was going to be like for my meal. So I took a small piece and popped it nonchalantly in my mouth. WOW! Imagine a Sour Patch Kid on crack and that can give you the idea of the level of acidity this product has in one small jar. But it just mellowed so beautifully in my chicken dish! Imagine the possibilities this same mouth-puckering morsel could do to other dishes that maybe needed a little pick-me-up. Of course, now I was fully sold on the beauty this simple culinary addition could add to my cooking capabilities.

But ordering online is a pain, and when you don’t use things frequently enough, they go bad. Then you have to re-order online, wait and wait some more. Now, if I lived in a thriving metropolitan community, this would be a different story. But I don’t, so I have to get a little creative. Luckily I am an avid watcher of Food Network Television. One day, Ina Garten was making some sort of French-inspired dish, but she used preserved lemons and demonstrated how to make them! Of course I didn’t have the chance to finish the episode, but it got me thinking…if Ina can make her own preserved lemons, why can’t I do it?

On to research and Google. I located a simple, simple recipe to make preserved lemons and grew giddy with excitement over all the money I was going to save in shipping fees! The recipe is simple and inexpensive, so if you want to take a shot at cooking with preserved lemons, this is the way to go without paying a lot of money for a small amount of product. Your patience will be well rewarded with a yummy accent to your daily cooking.

Here is what you will need for making homemade preserved lemons:

I used a small bag, around 5 lb. bag, of seedless lemons. The recipe called for Meyer lemons but my grocery store was out. Meyer lemons are a bit “sweeter” than a traditional lemon. If you can’t find Meyer, hang loose and just get regular lemons.

You will also need some lemon juice on hand, around 1 or 2 cups. Kosher salt or regular sea salt is another item needed. Finally, you need some sterile mason jars with lids.

Recipe:

Scrub clean 4 to 6 lemons. Cut ¼ off one end of each lemon and then make a cut into the lemon that divides it in half, but do NOT cut all the way through the lemon. Make another cut so the lemon is now divided in quarters. Again, don’t cut all the way through the lemon. It needs to stay together at the base.

Next, take your kosher salt and rub on the outside of the cut lemons. Then take the wedges (still connected), spread open and put more kosher salt on the inside of each lemon.

Place 1 or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt in the bottom of your mason jars (probably 2 is enough for 4-6 lemons).

Now, place the salted lemon pieces into the salted mason jars. Gently press the lemons down so that all the juice can come out and start to cover the lemons in the jar. You will need to add more lemon juice at this point so that the lemons are completely covered in the jar.

Once the lemons are packed into their salty nest, completely covered in lemony liquid, you can screw the lid on the jar and set it on your counter. The jar needs to sit for around 3 days at room temperature. During this time you need to be sure to flip the jar upside down several times to get all the liquid around the lemons. This also helps to dissolve the salt.

After the three days, put the lemons in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Remember to turn the jar upside down every so often. The rinds of the lemons will soften during this time.

When the three weeks or so is up, the lemons are ready to use for cooking. When you use a lemon, one wedge at a time, cut the pulp out from the rind. You are only after that part of the lemon at this point. The rind can be diced up and used in sauces, soups, marinades and salad dressings. Whenever you want to have a “lemony essence” in a dish, here is your answer. But a little goes a long way, so try a small slice and if you want more zing, then add more. You don’t want to overpower your dish. I love to use these little treasures in my sauces for chicken, lamb or turkey dishes. Another great idea is to mix in plain Greek yogurt with some garlic and chives. It can become a great mix to put over roasted broccoli or smoked salmon.

Of course when I talk of food I love to talk wine. So when I think of preserved lemons I lean towards a wine with more acidity. This brings me to some great Sauvignon Blancs and White Burgundies. There is no need to break the bank on a bottle either. Kim Crawford, out of Australia, has one of the best Sauvignon Blancs in my own opinion. Another great label to look for is the Macôn-Villages label from the Burgundy region of France. Some of these wines are very inexpensive, delicious to drink on their own or enjoy with a great meal…including your newly made preserved lemons, of course.

Either route you choose, remember you want to ask or find a wine that has some great acidity to it. Don’t go for oak-based whites. That will mute the flavor of your lemons. So go out, preserve, cook and drink…and may you be merry in it all!

Until next time,

Cheers

I am a person who loves color. Red, yellow, blue, pink, oh how the list goes on and on. But one place I do not like to have color in is my food. Now, I am not talking about the “rainbow” of colors you get from fruits and vegetables. I am talking about the artificial colors used in a majority of our processed foods you find in grocery stores across the county, even the world. If you have missed the memo on artificial dyes found in foods, don’t feel bad. It is not a widely publicized topic of conversation on your local news. You probably hear more about Kim Kardashian’s outrageous style disasters before you hear the term “Yellow 6” or “Red 40.” If you have come across this information, then you have an idea of where this article is going to go.

In this latest post, I am not going to bog you down with scientific details or research explanations. It would take too much time, and quite frankly, I think you would loose interest. I just want to highlight the nitty-gritties of this so you can become more aware of what you are putting into your body, and the bodies of those around you.

I recently became interested in learning more about artificial food dyes after talking with a health professional about my daughter’s rather limited diet. My oldest has been a picky eater since she could self-feed. And it has been hands-down one of the most frustrating experiences as a parent. Sitting at the kitchen table until nine o’clock at night, tempers flared and still not a single green bean has left the plate. Battles over limiting candy and fighting off soda cravings. And the ironic thing is, as my friends would tell you, I am an extremely health-conscious person. Don’t get me wrong; I do indulge in fried foods, delicious desserts and frozen margaritas. But I also find a way to balance my indulgences with sensible eating and moderation.   I want to put forward a positive example for my family, and honestly, I love learning about healthy nutrition. So having a kid that is the exact opposite of me when it comes to food has been exasperating, to say the least.

The problem is, our children (and ourselves) are engulfed on a daily basis with unhealthy foods and treats. You see it in gas stations, on billboards, television commercials and in most of your grocery aisles. These tempting items smack us in the face constantly, and when you dive into the forbidden pleasure, it leaves you wanting more. It is the world we live in, so can you blame a 7-year-old child for wanting all those delicious treats offered by large food corporations? When parents or caregivers don’t make healthy choices, how are we supposed to expect children to do the same? They have to depend on us to teach them how to make good choices (when they want to actually listen to us). Yet, Oreos and Cheesy Puffs still land in the grocery cart more often than we care to admit because the fight gets tiresome. I totally get it, and I am completely guilty of this crime.

But now that I have read some information from published research studies (check out new research done by Purdue University on dyes in foods), I now look at food labels much differently. And I have cleaned out my pantry and eliminated the foods that have these dyes. Sound impossible? It really isn’t too hard once you know what to look for and how to find substantial substitutes.

What exactly are you looking for on a label? The most common dyes you will see in your boxes of macaroni and cheese, fruity kids cereals and powdered drink mixes are Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Companies also use Blue 1 (think candy-coated chocolates). These dyes are listed for all to see, usually at the bottom of the ingredients, underneath the Nutrition Facts.

When dyes first came into play during the 1950’s, not much information was available on the long-term effects they posed on the general public. But now that food companies put them in so many things we eat each day, the consequences are becoming greater and people want answers. More and more information is coming out each year about this subject, and in 2011 the FDA acknowledged that food dyes could cause behavioral problems. The findings from Purdue University’s research I mentioned earlier (Journal of Clinical Pediatrics) have found that when dyes are consumed in large quantities daily (100 mg or more), behaviors in children are affected.

To put this in perspective, if your kid eats a bag of Skittles, he or she will consume around 33 mg of dye per serving. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was found to have a little over 17mg of artificial dye per serving. My kids eat this particular item almost once a day. Start adding things together and there is a good chance you run well over 100 mg on a daily basis. Remember, some kids will be more sensitive than others, but if you have a child that has repeated behavioral problems (outside the normal tantrums and struggles you see at each developmental stage) and trouble in school, you may want to make a food diary of what he or she is eating. This includes the things they eat when they are not in your presence. Just remember the saying, “you are what you eat!”

After pulling out a few things my daughter eats daily, (eh-hem) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, I found out she not only eats too much sugar, but the foods I thought were okay turned out to have these dyes. It makes sense when you start connecting the dots, especially if your kid is acting out-of-the-ordinary. I am not throwing the gauntlet down and telling all of you to go crazy and throw out your entire pantry. But maybe just take some baby steps, like I am doing, and start eliminating/replacing certain items eaten most often with healthier alternatives. Look for organic items that use natural vegetable extracts for coloring. They will list these extracts on the ingredients, same spot where a dye would be located. And many organic candies, although use sugar, do eliminate artificial dyes. Drinks are the most notorious for using dyes, so try and find organic juices and sodas (this means no more low-calorie powdered drink mixes). I just found a company that makes flavored extracts for your water so you can still get a low-calorie option without the harmful side-affects (www.flavrzdrinkmix.com). And you have to remember the taste of what you replace your favorite snacks with will be a bit different, but isn’t it worth a try?

My biggest smile from all this research is that it has NOT come to my attention to find Red 40 in any of my favorite red wine labels. Dodged that bullet, thank goodness! So open up a bottle of wine and start looking at your food labels. Let’s try and get awareness out amongst friends and family about why the FDA needs to really start regulating and eliminating these harmful dyes in our everyday foods.