My Mom left a day and a half ago and I’m still in mourning.

We had such a good time – it was filled with cousins, touring LA (movies, Venice beach, Hollywood Blvd), and many, many amazing meals.

After an amazing last breakfast (bld) and a trip to the airport, I came home utterly bummed and super sad. I ate a brownie for lunch. I sulked around. And then I pulled myself together and made these green beans. Even though I’ve been in a bit of a cooking slump lately, spending some time in the kitchen is always something I enjoy and usually makes me feel better. (If the recipe turns out well, I enjoy it even more!)

These green beans are simply delicious. I had torn out a recipe from Bon Appetit for Green Beans with Miso Butter, but the ingredient list was long and the process a bit tedious for me. I skipped most of the ingredients and process, leaving only my favorite parts. The miso adds wonderful savory flavor to standard green beans and comes together in minutes!

Eat them on a depressing afternoon, a sunny, fun afternoon or alongside some grilled fish, chicken or tofu with a side of brown rice.

Hey Friends! I’m here with another post of daily eats! I mentioned that I’ve been getting more into raw foods again (happens every spring/summer) which is why you’ll see some more raw foods than normal added into the day.

5.14.12 

Morning: For some reason this morning I didn’t feel like coffee so I had some green tea.

Breakfast 1: I got out the juicer (hadn’t used it since we moved to California) and made a lovely green juice. This one contained: cucumber, celery, pear, lemon and spinach. Juicing pros: what leafy greens produce the most juice? I didn’t seem to get much from the spinach…

Breakfast 2: 1/2 pear leftover from juice + almond butter

Workout: I took a 75 minute yoga class and it was perfect – really tough, but in a good way. Some of the people in my yoga classes are amazing and I kind of stare with my mouth open at the ways they can move their body. Someday?

Lunch: Was supposed to be an amazing salad, but my avocado decided it wasn’t quite ripe yet, so I was only able to use a small piece of it. This salad, though not perfect, was still delicious. A bed of herb green mix was topped with tomatoes, goat cheese and seasoned with balsamic + olive oil + salt & pepper.

On the side I had some carrots and celery + hummus and olive tapenade.

Snack 1: bowl of hail merry grawnola + coconut milk

Snack 2: scoop of impromptu ice cream while we were at the bike shop.

Dinner: teriyaki quinoa from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan + shrimp + bok choy. I’m clearly still on a quinoa kick, and this was a fun and flavorful way to have it for dinner.

 With a few bites of cookie and some good old crime drama on TV, I called it a day. My Mom is arriving today and I couldn’t be more excited to see her!

I go through a love-hate relationship with quinoa. I’ll go through phases where I make a batch every week and eat it up for quick lunches or dinners but then I’ll go months without making it.

After a pretty long quinoa dry spell, I needed something enticing to bring it back into my life. And I decided that something would be quinoa spring salad.

I combined cooked quinoa with a bright vinaigrette and then topped it with sauteed leeks and asparagus with some salty feta cheese and shrimp for extra protein and flavor. It was delicious! Since most of it can be made ahead of time, it is perfect for rushed weeknight dinners or packed lunches.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the wise words on my “lack of posting” post. I just wanted to let you know what was going on with me these days.

I’m thinking that my next daily eats post should be another themed “diet or meal plan” post like I have done previously! They are so fun for me to do – hopefully for you as well.

5.2.12

Beverages: coffee + 1/2 & 1/2, water, green tea. The standards.

Breakfast: It had been a few days since I had eaten eggs so I was majorly craving them. 2 eggs + 1/2 hemp bagel topped with coconut oil. Possibly one of the best breakfasts ever…

Workout: 45 spin class with my favorite teacher. It was hard, sweaty and wonderful – all at the same time.

Lunch: Was eaten in two parts – I had some things that absolutely needed to be shipped out for work today, so I had to get them ready and drop them off before I could take the time to eat a real meal.

part I: kale & spinach dip (trader joe’s) + crunchmaster ancient grain crackers (that I brought home from the Celiac Disease Foundation Conference last weekend).

part II: lemon chicken & arugula salad (trader joe’s) on a bed of spinach. The salad is delicious and has a couscous and quinoa mix with arugula and chicken, but pretty small (about 300 calories) and definitely lacking in the veggies.

Snack: bowl of strawberries + kashi cereal (honey sunshine) + coconut milk.

Wine:

Dinner: I am working on a quinoa salad recipe, so this was the test run. It contained quinoa with a dressing, asparagus, leeks and shrimp. It was delicious and I’ll get the recipe for you soon! I served it on about 2 cups of spinach, wilted to bulk it up a bit.

I’m nibbling on some jelly beans that we’ve had for months now and headed to bed!

Have a wonderful weekend! Any fun plans?

I can’t give up avocados.

Not just yet. Last week my life changed with a simple little sandwich of whole grain bread + avocado + parmesan – broiled and topped with a fried egg. Thanks to reader Kelli for the suggestion – it is a combination worth trying!

But as much as I loved that sandwich, I needed something new and I had been wanting to combine basil + avocados for quite some time now. Originally I set out to make a avocado inspired pesto, but the feta cheese in the refrigerator caught my eye and I decided that it would be the perfect addition to the spread.

It turned out to be a very tasty addition.

The spread is delicious and so very versatile – it was delicious eaten with crackers and veggies and was just as scrumptious on a burger, I imagine the same would be the case on a sandwich.

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I’ve been doing some (delicious) experimenting with avocados lately.

The health benefits of avocado are wonderful ones: lots of fiber, potassium, vitamins C,K, folate and B6 so they are something that I like to make sure I’m eating on a regular basis and I find it can satisfy me in a way similar to animal protein. It is high in monounsaturated fat but – don’t fear the fat! Monounsaturated fats can help lower blood cholesterol.

Favorite Ways to Eat Avocado

• chopped and sprinkled on salads
• blended in smoothie (makes it extra creamy)
• smashed, and used as a spread on sandwiches, wraps, bread, etc.
• guacamole – probably my favorite!

How else can I add avocado to my meals? 

I have always loved a good egg salad. I mean, I absolutely love eggs so it is only natural for me to love them in every form. When I came across a recipe for a Cucumber-Basil Egg Salad on the epicurious app (do you have it? you should!) it just sounded like my new favorite egg salad recipe.

The basil and cucumber add a fresh flavor to the egg salad and I decided to use a blend of mayonnaise and greek yogurt after it worked so well in the spring chicken salad. It is the perfect egg salad for spring and summer. Serve over greens with bread or crackers.

Last weekend we had good friends in town and we had a BLAST! We ate great food (Umami, Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR and our neighborhood favorite Basix Cafe), went out on the Sunset Strip (Chateau Marmont, The Standard, The Hollywood Den) and then I needed to detox.

I throw around the word “detox” a lot, but all it means to me, is that I eat well (lots of veggies) and get back into my exercise and real-life routine.

Early AM: Coffee + 1/2 & 1/2 and lots of water.

Breakfast: I tried something new for breakfast today – Rush Bowls. It is essentially like eating frozen fruit sorbet + crunchy granola for breakfast. I preferred the “Power” bowl and Richie preferred the “Yoga” bowl, but they were both very good and are great for busy mornings as the only prep involved is taking them out of the freezer to thaw a bit.

Workout: 45 min spin class. I had a month membership via groupon to UpDog Yoga + Cycling and it is almost over. I loved that I could walk to the studio and that they offered both spin and yoga but the classes are pretty expensive and with my current working situation up in the air/part-time, it probably isn’t very smart to buy a monthly package. (But I want to!)

Lunch: Curried tuna salad over greens + leftover sauteed kale (in coconut oil) + triscuits. This lunch hit the spot and I managed to get in two forms of greens!

Snack: I spent the afternoon sampling Sprouted Cinnamon Raisin Bread (one of my favorites!) and snacked on the natural food version of Ranch Doritos (2 servings?). They are very good – also organic, 100% whole grain and really flavorful.

I stopped by Starbucks to do a little work and wait for Richie to finish up work before picking him up. Can you believe we have been in LA seven months and still only have one car?! I sipped on a green tea + splash of lemonade. (Need to make Michelle’s version)!

Dinner: I had a nice meal of veggies and lean protein planned, but we decided that Japanese-inspired burgers at Fuku Burger would be a much better choice. We have a few groupons for Fuku Burger and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to grab a burger in LA. I had some wine, the Karai “Spicy” Burger (Fuku-patty with pickled cucumbers, avocado cream, finished with habanero kabyaki), and some edamame and fries. I felt pretty full half-way through the meal, so I probably ate about 2/3 of the burger.

I should also admit that the social media geek in me absolutely loves that they have a screen displaying tweets – see me?

Nice detox, huh? I finished off the night with some ginger chews and lots of water.

Thoughts on the day: It definitely wasn’t a “detox” day, but I’m fine with days of not-so-perfect eating. It is the whole reason I started doing daily eats posts – to show you that you can eat a very healthy diet, but still have room for burgers and fries. Being healthy isn’t about being perfect! 

 Happy Thursday friends!

Most of us know that we should be including green leafy vegetables in our diets, but we may not know the what, why and how behind them. A combination of greens is best, so while kale is my absolute favorite, I make sure that I’m getting a wide variety of all of them (and additionally a variety of raw + cooked) in as often as I can! Aim for at least one serving of greens per day.

Greens to Eat:

• Kale, Chard, Collard Greens
• Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage
• Broccoli Rabb, Beet Greens
• Lettuce: Romaine, Bibb, Green/Red Leaf
• Spinach, Arugula, Mache

Why Eat Greens:

• High in antioxidants
• High in manganese, zinc and vitamins A, C, and K
• Good levels of calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium
• Full of fiber
• Can help to promote blood purification
• Can help to prevent cancer

How to Eat Greens:

• Salads
• Sauteed (my current favorite)
• Baked (Kale Chips)
• Steamed
• Recipes to try: creamed kale, spaghetti with broccoli rabe, toasted garlic and bread crumbs, garlic sauteed spinach, rainbow chopped salad

How do you feel about greens? What is your favorite way to eat greens? 

When it comes to Anthony Bourdain, most people fall under the love or the hate categories.

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I am one of the people who love him. Yes, he can be a little rude, a little crass and sometimes a total ass, but I find him to be completely real, very unapologetic and totally hilarious. In fact, if I had to choose one person to have a drink with, it would be him.

When you have a drink with Anthony Bourdain, you are most certainly going to eat some delicious food as well so it really is the best of both worlds.

During his new show The Layover, he stops in LA.  He stays at the Chateau Marmont (his favorite hotel in the world) and visits a number of restaurants – Korean BBQ, Mexican dives, etc. and we scribbled down every spot he visited. The next day we found ourselves at Ham Ji Park celebrating my birthday with Korean BBQ. The rest of the restaurants are added to the ridiculously long “LA Restaurant List.” Breakfast though, he made for himself in the kitchen of his private bungalow. It was a simple egg recipe – bacon & chive scrambled eggs.

I love it when chefs share their standard meals, and especially when they are nothing more than simple elements that come together in a very delicious way.  This was no exception – it is an easy egg recipe that has become a staple in our home. 

Obviously bacon and chives are the perfect pair for eggs and the addition of sour cream at the end of cooking ensures that you’ll have creamy, silky eggs – even if you over-cook them!