There is something so….healthy about starting your day off with vegetables. It just feels so good.

Don’t roll your eyes, I swear it’s true!

Ideally, we would eat vegetables at every meal, not just lunch and dinner. I know that vegetables at breakfast really throw some people off, but it doesn’t have to. It can be delicious, nutritious and totally normal.

Here are my favorite ways to incorporate vegetables into breakfast. Try it!

Top 5 Ways to Eat Vegetables at Breakfast 

• Eggs + Greens: I’m a big fan of eggs and greens – sauteed or raw! Try  sauteed kale or chard or fresh arugula or herb salad greens.

• Fresh Juice or Smoothie: Vegetable juices are great (need to get out the juicer) and adding some spinach into a smoothie is an easy way to get a few servings of vegetables in.

• Salads: They aren’t just for lunch! Try a breakfast inspired salad, like Breakfast Cobb Salad or a salad with fresh fruit and nuts.

• Scrambled Eggs or Omelet: This is probably the way most people are most accustomed to eating vegetables in the morning. Try peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, etc in your next scramble or omelet.

• Asian Inspiration: Brown Rice + Sauteed Vegetables + Splash of Sesame Oil & Soy Sauce.

Are you scared of vegetables in the morning or do you add them to breakfast? 

(source)

Now that I live in a sunny, warm climate year-round, I’ve found myself turning to smoothies on a more regular basis than I did when we lived in Minneapolis. Smoothies in the winter just never worked for me. But spring is here and summer is around the corner so it is officially smoothie season!

Smoothies are typically a breakfast meal for me, (I’m not so sure they could work as a lunch or dinner) and my current favorite is a combination of frozen pineapple, spinach, almond milk and greek yogurt. To turn a smoothie into a meal, you’ve got to be sure to include protein, some healthy fat and some volume in the form of fruit or vegetables.

Here are some of my favorite fats, proteins and flavors for smoothies! Blend away!

Fats:

• nut butter or nuts
• avocado
• ground flaxseed
• chia seeds

Proteins:

• protein powder (there are ENDLESS amounts of protein powder – find one that you like!)
• greek yogurt
• milk

Flavor:

• frozen or fresh fruit
• splash of juice
• small amount of honey or agave
• dates
• coconut

Extras:

• vegetables! (spinach or other delicate greens work well)
• green super food powder

Inspiration:

• Sunrise Tea Smoothie 
• Apple Pie Protein Shake 
• Green Machine Smoothie
• Avocado-Vanilla Smoothie
• Rainbow Smoothies
• Greek Yogurt Mango Lassi
• Alexa’s Green Monster Smoothie

What always ends up in your smoothies? 

This past Wednesday, I was invited to try out Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop restaurant and meet with Chef Kristi, the corporate chef for Greenleaf.

The decor is bright, clean and green. In other words, I loved it! We visited the new Century City location.  And while it was a quick drive (by LA standards), the parking situation isn’t exactly easy (the majority of their patrons looked to be walk-ins from office buildings in the area).

Greenleaf is a healthy restaurant concept that uses eco-friendly products and creates gourmet food. They even have green bikes used to deliver the food! They have a number of salads, sandwiches, pizzas (made on tortillas, like me!) and take into consideration food intolerances, which is great.

Chef Kristi suggested a few of her favorites, and we stuck to those. I always figure that the people who work with and around the food probably know the best dishes – usually that works out very well for me.

Greenleaf was no exception.

It was tough to make the final decision, but, we went with a salad, sandwich and a side.

The Antioxidant Orchard Salad (suggested to add salmon) is one of their most popular salads and for good reason. It is bright, refreshing, flavorful and crunchy. Just what a salad should be. The salmon was perfectly cooked – it almost melted in my mouth and reminded me how much I love salmon. The salad contains scarborough farms baby mixed greens, grapes, celery, apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, apples, blue cheese, mint, red onion, cucumbers, strawberries and blueberries with pomegranate whole grain mustard vinaigrette. Yup. As good as it sounds.

Now I’m the one who typically orders salads and just eats a little bit of the sandwich, but I was soooo into this sandwich. The grilled chicken panini with avocado pesto on whole grain bread sounded good and I wanted something a little more substantial than a salad after an intense workout. (Ok, I guess I wanted some carbs?!) Back to the sandwich. It was so very lovely. Most of the time, panini’s are super greasy from lots of butter and cheese but the bread was grilled sans butter and the only cheese used was a small amount in a dressing that goes onto the chicken. (I seriously had to ask because I didn’t think there was cheese but it was so creamy!) Gotta love that avocado! The chicken was chopped into little pieces, tossed in a dressing, slathered with avocado pesto and stacked with spinach. A little messy but so worth it.

A very impressive aspect of this restaurant is that they do not have a fryer. I’m all for truffle fries, duck-fat fries, tator-tots, etc. but obviously not on a daily basis. I just couldn’t pass up the BAKED sweet potato fries with avocado pesto. Can you blame me? They were….um how should I put it…I could live on them. They were crunchy and sweet (not sure how they do it without oil) and were delicious alongside the pesto guacamole.

Yeah, everything was pretty average.

I can’t wait to go back to Greenleaf – I’ve got a list of things to try!!

 

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop

1888 Century Park East

Los Angeles, CA 90067

424.239.8700

http://www.greenleafchopshop.com/

I’ve been loving white wine this summer. In the past, I’ve always struggled with drinking red wine in the heat of summer but after learning more about wine this winter and trying different wines, I think I’m definitely a lot more open to varieties other than cabernet.

Finally!

I used a fruity pinot grigio (my favorite white) for this drink. I definitely tasted more of the cucumber than the mango and it gave the wine less of a sweet flavor and more of a mellow cucumber flavor which I LOVED. I had planned on taking it to a girls night, but unfortunately my friends weren’t able to try it because after I poured the wine into a transportable plastic pitcher, it was knocked off the counter, cracked on the floor, and all of the delicious wine leaked out. I stood in the kitchen frozen and screaming. I managed to save a glass and after trying it out? I was a little heartbroken there wasn’t any left and I wouldn’t be able to share it.

So now I owe my friends, and myself, more of this delicious Mango Cucumber Wine Cooler.

I think I’ve shared my slight obsession with Indian food with you all, but instead of chicken curry or dal, today I’ve got a recipe for mango lassi, the popular Indian smoothie.

The typical mango lassi recipes often contain added sugar, along with the store versions I’ve seen, which just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s not that I am anti-sugar, but I’d rather have sugar in the form of cookies, ice cream, etc. – NOT in a smoothie. Fruit is enough sweetness in smoothies for me!

This drink is perfect for breakfast or a snack in the warmer months and very filling due to the protein in the greek yogurt (20 grams!). I used 2% greek yogurt because I think it is so much more creamy than 0% and I love a little fat at all my meals.

Getting a juicer was beyond exciting for me as I love love LOVE fresh juice, but at $7/juice – it can be a rather expensive habit.

For the most part I love it, but am still learning the ins and outs, what we like in juice (the Taster does NOT like wheat grass powder mixed in) and how different fruits/veggies can change a juice.

Love:

• fresh green juices with whatever ingredients I want!
• not spending $7 for a single juice at the coop
• so easy and fast
• you can use produce that is a little past its prime (an apple that I may hesitate to eat, I have no problem with juicing!)
• when heading out of town I throw in all of the leftover produce – no wasting and love starting a trip or vacation with healthy juice
• starting my day out with a burst of vitamins and nutrients

Learning to Love:

• cleaning up – it isn’t terrible, but our kitchen is somewhat covered in juice pulp (exaggeration)
• the pulp! I need to figure out a way to use it – throwing it away makes me feel like an awful human being

Favorite Juicing Ingredients So Far:

• romaine
• apples
• cucumber
• lemon

Do you like fresh juice?  Do you have any great juice combos?

Spring is finally here, although it is currently snowing in Minnesota. I’m ignoring it and moving on with Spring.

I’ve been ready for warm weather meals like yogurt & granola, cereal and smoothies for the last few months (or maybe I’ve just been longing for warm sun) but they often leave me hungry by 10am. Luckily there are a couple of ways to make these breakfasts last the entire morning:

• Yogurt: Use Greek yogurt or Skyrr as it has a lot more protein than regular yogurt (and it is worth the extra $)
• Cereal or Granola: Should be whole grain, high fiber and extra points for protein and good fats (Uncle Sam Cereal or Kashi Go Lean are great ones)
• Good Fats: Will add staying power to your meal – chopped nuts or nut butter are great, easy additions
• Fresh Fruit: For flavor, sweetness, something fresh and some natural beauty

Your typical yogurt and granola is probably full of added sugars and lacking in protein, fiber and good fats. Make a few of the changes I’ve suggested and you’re starting your day in a great way.

Nutrition Stats: 428 calories, 13 g fat, 30 g protein, 17 g fiber (Using 1 cup 2% Fage Greek Yogurt, 3/4 cup Uncle Sams Cereal, 1/4 oz almonds (about 6), 3/4 cup raspberries)

What do you add to breakfast so that it stays with you until lunch?

I was a little hesitant to try out Rokit Fuel cereals because I do not consider myself to be an endurance athlete and I had gotten the feeling that is who Rokit Fuel is geared towards. (I’m much more yogi than runner ) And while some may think 370 calories for oatmeal is a lot, it sounds just about right calorie-wise for breakfast – endurance athlete or not!

I know oatmeal is really easy to make, but in an effort to slow down (and not be preparing food at 11 pm), I am accepting the fact that not everything will be made from scratch.  So when a day came along that I had nothing ready for breakfast? This little container of Rokit Fuel came in very handy.

They also have these energy packets (these are really geared towards on-the-go athletes) that only require some water and they are ready to squirt! No spoon required. I especially love that they offer the “Ugly Bag” – no fancy packaging, or single servings, which in addition to being pretty eco-friendly, also brings the price down significantly.

Fan Of:

• High Protein – 9 grams
• High Fiber – 6 grams
• Performance Ingredients like bee pollen, gotu kola, maca root
• Nuts, Seeds and Dried Fruit like flax, dates, raisins, cherries, sunflower seeds, pecans, almonds, walnuts
• So convieneint! It was nice to not have to prep anything for breakfast and just add water. It would be perfect to take traveling.

Wished:

• There wasn’t sugar in it – I really don’t like to start my morning with sugar and with the other dried fruits, it isn’t necessary! (I think people can add their own sugars if they need it) With that said, it didn’t taste overly sweet.
• Wasn’t so expensive, BUT, I will say that it comes out to about $3/serving which is how much you would pay at Starbucks, etc. except I haven’t seen oatmeal with bee pollen, flax, etc at a coffee shop yet. Because I work in the food industry, I know ingredients like those are very expensive, and I appreciate them continuing to use them instead of just eliminating them.

Where to Buy: Specialty Bike/Cycle Stores, Search for a store in your area, Order online (FREE Shipping!)

Disclosure Statement: Rokit Fuel sent me samples to review free of charge. The opinions are entirely my own.

March is National Nutrition Month and I love the American Dietetic Association’s (ADA) message this year - Eat Right with Color.

I really believe in focusing on what we should be eating instead of what we shouldn’t be eating. Color is a great place to start. The ADA recommends:

To get the most nutrition out of your calories, choose foods packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients—and lower in calories. Pick fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat dairy more often. Be aware of portion sizes. Even low-calorie foods can add up when portions are larger than you need.

My translation? Make sure you are eating different types and colors of fruits and vegetables. (Notice how whole grains are typically varying colors, as well?) Salads are a great way to get a lot of veggies – both type and color – in at one sitting. Start with dark leafy greens. My favorites are spinach, herb salad mix and romaine. Then add as many other vegetables as you can. Think cucumbers; broccoli; red, orange or yellow peppers;  shredded purple cabbage; sliced carrots; tomatoes; squash;  zucchini;  sprouts and you’ve got a range of colors and a good portion of your veggie quota in for the day. Not a fan of raw veggies? Try a huge stir-fry!

Add another veggie or two at dinner, some fruit at breakfast and dessert and dessert and keep those fruits and you’ll easily surpass the measly 5 cups of fruit and vegetables recommended per day. I’d recommend more like 7-8 cups of fruit and vegetables per day and the easiest way to get them in is to make sure they are accessible  - cleaned and ready to eat! Now go, eat your colors!

Visit the ADA site for resources, quizzes, games and recipe ideas to promote National Nutrition Month.

Along with the heavy sides of stuffing and mashed potatoes, a light and healthy spinach salad is welcomed on any Thanksgiving spread. The combination is a classic one, and ever since my boss recently made it, I knew it needed a place on my table. And soon. Couldn’t your Thanksgiving plate use a little something healthy?

I’ve never prepared an entire Thanksgiving meal (and that’s probably a good thing) but I can only imagine that if you do, some of the dishes need to come together without much prep and come together quickly. So this salad is everything you want for a hectic, calorie-laden day: easy to make, a healthy dose of greens and delicious to boot!

Spinach Salad - 4 servings

• 1 – 5 oz bag of Organic Baby Spinach
• 1/8 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 1/2 cup Brianna’s Poppyseed Dressing

Toss together spinach, onion, strawberries and dressing. Sprinkle walnuts on top and serve.