health

Gottavote

Have you voted yet? As many of you already know, I am not an American citizen and therefore cannot vote today. However, that has obviously not stopped me from being glued to the TV over the past few weeks and months in the lead up to today’s US Presidential Elections, partly to indulge my inner geeky politico (I was a PoliSci major at Stanford) but also because whatever happens today will not only have a big impact on America, but also on the rest of the world. So…if you haven’t voted already, you should definitely go exercise your priviledge to be part of this very important decision (locate your polling place here).

If I could vote today, I would vote for Barack Obama. Four years ago I was an avid fan of his, and although I am considerably less enchanted with him today than I was in 2008 (I think he can afford to take a firmer stance about many topics), I still think the man oozes intelligence and charisma.  Not to mention that, in my humble opinion Obama is clearly the better choice BY FAR for America -and for the world at large- than Mitt Romney. I’m sure at this point you are wondering why this polisci geek is talking politics on a food blog, but I may have found at east one very good foodie-endorsed reason why Obama-Biden is the right answer today. So if all else fails, if you are still undecided, confused, or indifferent about which candidate to vote for, consider Bill Clinton’s words from his electrifying DNC speech in September, and vote for the man “who had the good sense to marry Michelle Obama.” Yes, my dear foodies, you guessed it: she’s one of us.

Since her husband entered office, First Lady Michelle Obama has become a high-profile spokeswoman for healthy eating and the importance of fitness, launching programs like her “Let’s Move” initiative to fight childhood obesity. In Spring 2009, Michelle launched a garden initiative which included planting a fruit and vegetable garden on the iconic White House South lawn, something that has not been done since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden, to focus public attention on the importance of eating healthy and natural foods. The first Lady has invited school children, scouts, and celebrity chefs alike into her garden to participate in planting and learning, and has published a cookbook, American Grown, to tell “the story of the White House Kitchen Garden and gardens across America.”  Sigh, darlings, a lady after our own foodie hearts. Need I say more?

…Because reaaaaaally, people, Anne Romney as First Lady? I don’t think so.

In good health,

F

* Photo credit: Washington Post

Introducing Nutrivise

Hello darlings!

My prolonged absence this time around can be explained by the fact that I have been working on an awesome facelift for the blog…sadly it has been taking longer than expected, but stay tuned. In the meantime I wanted to introduced you to Nutrivise– an great new app developed by one of my best friends from Stanford.

Don’t we all just love it when technology finds little ways to make our hectic, crazy lives just a bit easier? Well if, like me, you sometimes struggle to find healthy meal options during busy days at the office or mad dashes through airports, hotels, and random client locations, you will love Nutrivise. The app is designed to be a “pocket nutritionist” that tells you what and where to eat based on your personalized nutrition needs and health goals. You can select among a number of health goals, such as “build muscle” or “lose weight” and Nutrivise will parse through its database to find suitable meals for you in your vicinity. The app currently covers restaurants in the Bay Area and will eventually expand to include many other locations. You can also search for dishes or cuisines you are craving and the app will find nearby options for you. So if you are an iPhone user living in the Bay Area and interested in testing it out, you can sign up here. Nutrivise also has an awesome blog updated daily with healthy tips and recipes.

In good health,

F

Summer entertaining: roasted chicken with quinoa stuffing

Yesterday I posted about the homemade peach and basil ravioli that I served as a starter at my latest dinner party. As a main course for the same dinner, I served roasted whole chickens with a pomegranate molasses glaze, stuffed with lemon-herb quinoa.

Roasted chicken is definitely my go-to dish when I want a foolproof and unfussy but yummy dinner, and I hardly think I’m the only cook who feels that way. The beauty of roasted chicken is that it is a really difficult dish to fuck up, and the possibilities for how to prepare it are endless. Of all the times I have made roasted chicken (and there have been quite a few), I think my end product was always slightly different every single time – but it has always been good. I am very much an improv type of cook, so I usually get my inspiration from recipes, but I rarely stick to them. Unlike baking, when I cook I always find a way to tweak the recipe, to mix-and-match several recipes, or to cook without a recipe altogether. And with something as classic as oven-roasted chicken, I always end up seasoning it based on my mood, the weather, and whatever is available in my kitchen so the outcome is always unique. This time, I decided to brine my birds first, to ensure extra moist and juicy chicken. I then stuffed the birds with a healthier version of bread stuffing, made of lemon-herb quinoa, and then brushed them with a pomegranate molasses mixture to give them a glaze. I made two chickens for this dinner party, but depending on the number of people you are cooking for, you can always scale the recipe up or down.

You will need:

For the brine:

• 8 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups salt
• 2/3 cups honey
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 lemons

Combine brine ingredients in a large stock pot and whisk until salt and honey dissolve completely.

For the stuffing:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• handful chopped basil
• handful chopped mint
• handful chopped parsley

Place quinoa, water, and 1/4 cup lemon juice into a medium pot, and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to bring pot down to a simmer, cover with a lid, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. In the meantime, combine remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs. Fluff cooked quinoa with a fork and stir in the lemon-oil-herb mixture, tossing to combine evenly.

For the chicken:

• 2 medium chickens (about 2.5 kg each)
• 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly-ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• handful chopped parsley
• handful chopped mint
• 1 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes (I used a mix of red, orange, and yellow ones)

Wash chickens thoroughly with water, including inside cavity, and place into pot containing brine. Refrigerate pot for 4-6 hours.

Remove chickens from brine and drain liquid from inside cavity. Pat dry with paper towels. Place 1/2 tbsp butter into the cavity of each chicken, and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper. Next, loosely spoon quinoa mixture into the cavities. Place chickens in a roasting pan.

Preheat oven to 175C/350F.

Combine pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, chili flakes, minced garlic, and chopped herbs. Pulse in a food processor to combine well. Brush outside of each chicken with the mixture using a pastry brush, making sure to coat the entire surface. Place roasting pan in oven, and immediately turn down oven temperature to 120C/250F, and roast for about 60-90 minutes, basting occasionally using pan juices. About 20 minutes before the chicken is ready, add cherry tomatoes to the pan in the oven. Roast chicken until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.

Take chicken out of the oven and cover in aluminum foil. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.

(You can use the pan drippings to make a gravy for your chicken: over the hob, de-glaze the roasting pan with 1/4 cup white wine. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, and cook until it reduces by about 1/3. Add flour as needed to thicken the gravy, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a gravy boat.)

In good health

F

The dirty dozen

I know I posted about the wonderfulness of eating seasonal produce earlier today, but I just came across this article about pesticide-heavy fruits and veggies on the Huffington Post and I thought it was too important not to share. Some really surprising offenders on that list. Yikes!

In good health,

F

All in good time: “The Bountiful Year”

I am a huge believer in the superiority of seasonal produce. I cannot complain that these days you can pretty much find whatever fruits/vegetables you want whenever you want them at the supermarket, because it does come in handy more than just occasionally. But it also always makes me so happy how much juicier cucumbers taste in the summer, or how much crunchier french fries turn out in the peak harvest season of potatoes (late summer/early fall). So when I came across this awesome chart about produce seasonality while browsing through Fast Company yesterday, I had to share it with all of you. The chart details what is at its peak season when based on the climate and environment of the Western United States, so obviously it will vary slightly depending on where you live…but still a very useful guide. Hurry up and enjoy the last of the season’s artichokes and asparagus before July arrives! And contrary to what we were taught as kids, according to this chart it might not be the season for an apple a day. But how about strawberries, or peaches, or plums every day? Not too shabby.

In good health,

F

Red juice

…just wanted to share a photo of the afternoon “red juice” that I just improvised. Juice 1/4 watermelon, a handful of blueberries, 15 strawberries and 20 red cherries (pitted of course) with a few mint leaves. Green juice is fine and well, but with such a low calorie intake, I felt the need for a sugar boost. Mmmmm, perfectly refreshing on this hot summer day!

In good health,

F

For the love of juice

Hello, my much-neglected blog! It feels so great to be back in the blogosphere! I know, I know. I have said this before. And I have no excuse for my long absence except the fact that I had a busy patch in May that kept me away from my computer, after which I discovered that the longer you put something off, the harder it is to restart.

Anyway, I’m back now. I am super excited that summer is here, because it means plenty of fun summer parties (and plenty of room for creative cookery!). I now also finally own a nice SLR for taking yummy pictures, and I am working on an exciting face lift for this blog…so there are definitely a few exciting things to come.

BluePrintCleanse bottles are delivered to your doorstep

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you my recent experience with juice fasts. It seems that somewhere between all the travel and eating out that I have done over the past few months (tough life), my body decided to go on strike. My indulgence and utter lack of routine are now being punished with chronic fatigue and unexplained stomach and headaches. Given how often I get sick and the pill-popping that requires, I thought it best to avoid any medication unless absolutely necessary, which got me researching home remedies for these problems. One of the suggestions that I found was to do a detox. It turns out that my fatigue, headaches, digestive problems, chronic dark circles under my eyes even after a good night’s sleep, and skin that just won’t cooperate despite my intricate daily skincare routine, are all symptoms that could be explained by the fact that my body is very possibly not detoxifying itself very well on its own.

After reading about several different types of detox programs, I decided to go with a juice fast. This basically means consuming nothing but freshly-squeezed juices of fruits and veggies for a period of anywhere between 2-7 days. The science behind this is that by juicing a fruit or vegetable, you are getting rid of all the fiber (ie- the “solids” and extracting only the water content, nutrients, vitamins and enzymes. This “liquid diet” provides your body with highly accessible nutrition, and gives it a short break from digesting solid food. And since it turns out that the human body spends an average of 70% of its daily energy digesting the food we eat (think about it…3 meals, several snacks, maybe a drink or two in the evening), freeing up a large chunk of this energy gives your body more “capacity” to focus on other activities, such as cell renewal and deep detoxification. Think of it as a “spring cleaning.”

The Organic Avenue cleanse is similar to BPC, but only available in the NY area as far as I know.

This liquid detox idea is nothing new. We’ve all heard of the “Master Cleanse,” which instructs you to consume only lemon juice mixed with water, grade B maple syrup, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper for several days. For a brief history of juice fasts, find here a NYT article about it. The relative newcomer into the liquid diet arena is the now-famous drink known as “green juice,” made of many different permutations of green fruit and vegetable combinations.The idea is that green produce contains the chemical chlorophyll, which is an alkaline substance that helps neutralize the body’s internal pH against acidic waste material. Clever huh? The best-known commerical juice fast program is probably BluePrintCleanse, which comes in three tiers of difficulty, and if you live in the US, you can sign up for it and have fresh juices delivered right to your doorstep for 5-6 days. There are also others, such as the Organic Avenue popularized by Gwyneth Paltrow, which is only available in the New York area. I myself don’t have access to any of these services, but it turns out that making my own green juice is much easier -and tastier!- than I thought.

Since beach and wedding season is upon us, this is a great way to kick-start your way to a healthier body inside and out (I know, I sound like a commercial), and even lose a few pounds in the process. Today is Day3 for me, and I’m pleasantly surprised to say that I do not feel excessively hungry or tired. Just be careful not to do it for too long, as excessive dieting and chronic low calorie intake can really damage your metabolism! To find out if you fit the “detox profile,” take this quiz here.

Here is my green juice recipe, but feel free to experiment with your own combo of green produce.You definitely need a proper juicer for this, as drinkingjuice is not the same as eating pureed produce baby-style. I use a Kenwood centrifugal juicer, see here. Just toss everything into your juicer and let it do the work!

You will need:

• 3 romaine leaves
• 3 kale leaves
• 1 large cucumber or 2 medium
• 5 ribs celery
• 5 ribs parsley
• 2 bunches (handfuls) rocket leaves – spinach also works
• 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• lemon juice to taste
• salt to taste

In good health,

F

Salad for dinner

In keeping with my healthy eating streak (see here for yesterday’s post about Food&Wine’s 4-week diet), here is a great find that I couldn’t resist sharing: Tasha DeSerio’s new cookbook, Salad for Dinner. DeSerio’s career began at the famous Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and she has long been a big advocate of simplicity in food. According to the tag line, this cookbook is a collection of “simple recipes for salads that make a meal” and has been recommended by both Martha Stewart in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living, AND by Alice Waters on Twitter…so it can only be amazing, right?!  The cookbook was published just yesterday, March 13th, and will be in stock on Amazon by the 15th. Are you ordering your copy yet? I know I am!

In good health,

F

* Image compliments of Amazon

Countdown to summer: Food&Wine’s 4-week diet plan

Grilled shrimp with avocado and orange salad - lunch, week 2, day 7

Back in January I blogged about Bon Appétit magazine’s new year cleanse, a healthy 2-week plan for post-holiday detox. The best part about the plan – aside from the detailed meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, and the user-friendly shopping guides – was the fact that every recipe on there looked absolutely delicious, so it was hardly a “diet” in the usual sense of the word.

Well, if any of you are looking for something similar to get you bikini-ready, you’re in luck. Food&Wine magazine has put together a 4-week diet plan with similarly delicious-looking and healthy but wholesome recipes. Capped at a daily intake of 1,400 calories, this plan was originally created as January diet, but it seems to have re-surfaced in the latest F&W newsletter in preparation for the impending arrival of spring and summer.  And it’s so much better to get started now in order to tone up gradually, rather than resort to metabolism-busting crash diets at the last minute. The objective is “to show it’s possible to eat something delicious every single day and still lose weight.” Agreed. It’s possible, it’s easy, and it has never tasted better!

In good health,

F

Fennel, beet and blood orange salad

This gorgeous winter salad quickly became one of my favorites after I discovered it in Bon Appétit’s January detox issue. As excited as I am for spring’s imminent arrival, I must admit that winter has some pretty fantastic ingredients to offer (think of all those luscious dark leafy greens, squashes, and oranges), and I will definitely miss them come spring and summer. Plus, blood oranges and beets may be classic winter produce, but the light citrus feel and the colorfulness of this salad definitely has a touch of spring in it..so this may just be the perfect winter-spring transitional salad. To top it all off, this salad has fennel in it, which is probably my favorite vegetable, so anything with fennel in it makes my list. I adjusted Bon Appétit’s recipe slightly in terms of proportions and preparation method (mostly to increase the quantity of fennel in the salad!), but used all the same ingredients.

I particularly love this salad because not only is it gorgeous to look at and delicious to eat, but it’s also virtually guilt free…and who doesn’t love guilt-free food?! Low calorie, low fat, low sodium, and packed with nutritional benefits. Beets are a rich source of anti-oxidants that lower the risk of blood platelet clots and therefore reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Both beets and oranges are packed with immunity-boosting Vitamin C, great in the winter and during this transitional period for fighting off illnesses like the flu, as well as fiber which promotes digestive health. According to Bon Appétit, this recipe makes 4-6 servings, and each has under 100 calories.

You willl need:

• 3-4 small blood oranges
• 1 large or 2 medium regular oranges
• 1 medium bulb of fennel
• 2 red beets
• 2 golden beets
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 1 small red onion, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400F. Wash beets and pat dry with a paper towel, but leave the skins a little damp. Wrap each beet in foil and place on a baking sheet in the oven until beets are tender (about 1 hour). Allow beets to cool.

In the meantime, thinly shave fennel and onion using a mandolin and place in a medium bowl. Toss fennel with 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Using a sharp knife, cut and peel skin and pith from all oranges. Slice the blood oranges cross-sectionally into slices, and cut the regular orange into wedges by cutting between membranes with a knife. Do the same with the beets; cut 2 cross-wise and 2 into wedges. Arrange oranges and beets on a flat dish, avoiding layering as much as possible to minimize staining. Drizzle remaining lemon and lime juices on oranges and beets. Do not combine ingredients until ready to serve, as the oranges and beets will stain the fennel.

When ready to serve, place a generous amount of shaved fennel on individual plates, top with orange and beet slices. Garnish with cilantro and red onion, and drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top as desired. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper if needed. Allow salad to sit for a few minutes so that the flavors combine.

Another great variation of this salad that I love has spicy rocket or arugula leaves the tossed with the fennel, oranges but no beets, and mint instead of cilantro. Yumyum.

In good health,

F

* Photo credit: bonappetit.com. Recipe adjusted from Bon Appétit, January 2012 issue.