A Sailor's Spinach Smoothie

Oh you know that Sailor. 

Do you have a hard time with even the thought of eating spinach? Are you afraid of that slightly bitter tough little leaf? Does a spinach smoothie sound hideous to you?  Well you have come to the right place. I was also apprehensive until my sweet sweet hubbie made me this sweet sweet smoothie. NO CALORIE sweetness. I know. This green monster is very tasty, filling, and packed with nutrients. 

Ingredients:
2 cups spinach
1 cup blueberries
2 cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons truvia or zero calorie sweetener

  Fill bottom half of your blender with ice and water. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend!

Well many people have taken the high road to green goodness before me, so I would like to direct you to my friend Krista's blog and her 

post about juicing.

Oh and hey moms out there-if your kids don't like the idea of a green drink, put the smoothie in a non-see through cup and call it the Popeye special. Ooh ooh OR you could freeze the mixture using this blend and call them Popeye Popsicles!

Capturing Nicholas Novak

We had a great photo session with singer, dancer and actor Nichols Novak last week. Caught the last bit of warm weather before things got crazy cold. Don't worry studio shots are available all winter so please check out Jason Campbell Photography for details!

Maple Baked Lentils with Sweet Potato – Healthy Comfort Food

Yes Lentils! Yes Sweet Potatoes! Yes! 

Ugh.This looks amazing. It's happening. 

This is not mine, so I am directing you to the recipe and directions here at:

Oh She Glows. 

Wow. That looks just fabulous on this cold January afternoon in NYC...and speaking of January

I love what she writes about dieting and "resolutions" this month:

Oh, January. Your detoxes, cleanses, juice fasts, diet commercials, and cellulite cream jeans are starting to get on my nerves. Just so you know I’m tuning you out, so don’t bother trying to lure me in with 6 easy payments or strict diet plans. It’s just not my thing. My approach to January – or any other month for that matter – is to eat food that makes me feel good and less of what doesn’t.

Love it. So simple. A healthy non-extreme approach to our relationship with food! What a concept!

A Superfood Crepe...and it's Gluten free!!

Superfood. Crepe. Gluten Free. Those words should not go together. Today they do.
Are you so excited??

I am obsessed with crepes. I love those little luscious french pancakes filled with anything from tons of fruit (so healthy) to Nutella (not so much but who cares if you have so much fruit). During our gluten free experiment I had my weekly crepe-crave, so I set out to make a gluten free superfood version. :)

Ingredients

1 cup white rice flour

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup Almond milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons melted butter, plus 3 tablespoons for cooking the crepes

You can fill your crepe with anything you wish...but if you really want to make yourself feel healthy fill with my faves:

1 carton low fat greek yogurt

2 Bananas

2 cups Blueberries

Directions

Batter:

In a mixing bowl, add the flour and salt and make a well in the center. Add the remaining ingredients, except the melted butter, into the center of the well and whisk together until just combined. The mixture should be like VERY loose.  If the mixture is a little thick, whisk in a little more milk. Let the batter sit for at least 30 minutes before using.

*Tip: Crepe batter can be made up to 2 days in advance, covered and refrigerated.

Crepes:
Melt about a 1/2 teaspoon of butter in a small nonstick saute pan. It should coat the bottom of the pan, if there is a lot of excess, wipe it out with a paper towel. Keep the paper towel handy in case you need it again (you will).

Put the pan over medium heat. Fill a 2-ounce ladle, almost to the top, with batter and pour it into the preheated pan, tipping and rolling the pan, as you ladle the batter, to evenly cover the bottom.

When the edges of the crepe begin to pull away from the edges of the pan and the bottom begins to brown a little, turn the crepe over and cook it for about 1 minute on the other side. Remove the crepe from the pan to a plate and let cool. Stack the crepes as they are cooked between parchment paper squares. Repeat this process, until all the batter is used, wiping the pan with your paper towel or melting a little more butter to the pan, as needed.
Fill with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Capturing Kyle Harris

I wanted to give Kyle Harris a shout out this weekend because he is making his prime-time television debut on
The Carrie Diaries 
which premieres Monday Jan 14th at 8pm on the CW.

We had the pleasure of taking this talented young gentleman's photos a few years back and it is so nice to see his career continue to take off! Set your DVR's for the prequel to Sex and the City where Kyle plays one of the "it" boys in Carrie's circle of friends. I was a huge fan of the series, and even though Carrie Diaries is geared towards a younger demographic (ahem ahem) I am intrigued to see what Carrie was up to in her early days.

Gluten Free Vegan Mexican Lasagna

Sub title:

It's delicious I swear.

I can't believe this is happening, but I made a quite tasty gluten-free-vegan-Mexican lasagna this week. Wow that's a mouthful. No really it's a mouthful...of deliciousness!! Groan...

I took Rachel Ray's recipe from the Food Network and just did an easy swap out. Remember just do it? Easy swap out. Easy to make and great for parents who need a lot of healthy food in little time. Make double the portion and have leftovers-Jason and I did and it was just as good reheated.

Gluten Free Vegan Mexican Lasagna

Total Time: 30 min

Prep: 10min

Cook: 20 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• Salt
• 8 (8 inch) gluten free tortillas 
• 2 1/2 cups soy cheese
• 2 scallions finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cook Quinoa according to package. Add taco sauce or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn.
Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of quinoa and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: quinoa, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

 

Quinoa. The Ultimate Superfood.

Quinoa.

I cannot stress enough the power of this beautiful beautiful grain.  This delightful gluten free filler delivers all of the nutritional benefits of animal protein without the fat and calories. Please please I am begging you to cook this up and have it in your fridge all week!! Your possibilities are endless as you can add it to soups, cold salads, side dishes, pilafs...I have been using it in particular as a meat substitution in all my Mexican dishes and I don't miss the meat one bit.

Directions:

Using two cups of liquid per cup of quinoa. combine liquid and quinoa in a sauce pan or rice cooker. Bring the mixture to a vigorous boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, until quinoa is tender but still chewy and white spiral-like threads appear around each grain, about 15 minutes. 

You can make a larger batch of quinoa and store it in your refrigerator. During the week as you need it, pull the desired amount of cooked quinoa from your refrigerator and add to your favorite recipes.

I am pretty sure they sell it at most local grocery stores...we get ours at BJs (similar to Costco) and it lasts FOREVER. 

Here is where to get it online:

Amazon 

Nature's Earthly Source 

Vegan cuisine?!?

What the? Can Moosewood recipes be next? 

I just found this awesome page

 DETOXINISTA

 and I can't WAIT to make this Vegan mac and Cheese.

Far cry from the easy mac days.

Please check her out-I have no idea who she is, but I had to post right away because I know I am going to be trying out many of her dishes. Mine will absolutely be gluten free as well using this pasta:

Trader Joe’s Sodium Free, Wheat Free, Cholesterol Free, Gluten Free, Organic Brown Rice Penne Pasta

Resolve to be Resolute

No resolutions this year. 

Crazy right? But maybe I have your attention now. 

Instead of resolutions I am  

resolving to be resolute.

I usually make a list, maybe even a vision board, or two or three (who are we kidding?), but this year I am embracing being resolute instead. Resolutions are what the future will be or how we will change, but without action they will not happen in the present.  So I'm thinking instead of lofty futuristic goals I will pull up my boot straps and be presently resolute. How you may ask? How can we just do something in the present without a plan, without seeing it in front of us? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe in making lists, but there may be a couple of actions will help one to be resolute in the present.

•  Just do it. Do is the word that is stressed in that famous phrase but I want to stress the it.  Just do it.  One thing. That one thing will lead to another, and yet another, and then maybe you won't have to consult it anymore because it's just... happening.  Try to pick an "it" that will have a big effect. For example I am currently wanting to eat healthier. Who doesn't? But it's a lofty futuristic goal. Well instead of getting all overwhelmed by a diet I am merely doing gluten free substitutions. One thing. My small action of resolving to buy gluten free flour and pasta is going to have huge effects without much effort.  Am I going gluten free cold turkey? No. Just want to explore how severely decreasing gluten will improve my health. Ever hear of rice chex mix "bread crumbs?" I am so getting on that. Oh wait, I already did.  See the resolute already happening?  Just do it. Stress the it.

• Second. Build upon with you already love. Take your little obsessions already in place and draw from the passion you have for them. You know you have them. Ok the healthy ones, not like that obsession with the Real Housewives of New Jersey.  For example, I'm already a yoga and Pilates fanatic but I don't think I do enough cardio to get more intense results.  So now when I go to my yoga classes, I think, oh 10min before on the elliptical won't hurt, how about this abs class that is happening right after? Maybe those 10min will lead to 15 or 20... Link an easy action to something you already love.

• Third. Don't look to the past and say you failed. Just say...I haven't gotten to that "it" yet. But I will link that "it" to something I love... today.

Don't throw out your lists or vision boards! I love them! I'm just saying add to the recipe a present day action to encourage realistic improvements and resolve to be resolute.

Here's to a Happy and Healthy 2013!!