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.

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!

I was visiting some friends at Intelligentsia (super cool coffee shop) a few weeks ago and I decided to stay and work through lunch after they left. There was a farro salad on the menu which sounded amazing.

I normally don’t order grain salads when I’m out, but the Warm Farro & Artichoke Salad on their menu sounded too good. As luck would have it they were out, so I had the pear salad (also delicious) but I couldn’t get the Farro & Artichoke Salad out of my mind. And when that happens, I usually find myself needing to make it the following day.

You may be wondering – what is farro? It was certainly my first time cooking with farro and I’m not even so sure that I had ever eaten it before! Farro is a whole grain that is similar to barley. It has a nice chew to it – like al dente pasta – and is related to wheat. Nutritionally speaking, farro has 100 cal, 27 g carbohydrates, 3.5 g fiber, 4 g protein per 1/2 cup cooked. More fiber than quinoa and almost as much protein!

This warm grain salad, with marinated artichokes, shallots, leeks and parmesan was just the salad I was craving. And it was really good. Really good! I packed it in Richie’s lunch (yes, I pack his lunch), I ate it for lunch, I ate it for brunch with wilted arugula and a fried egg on top (amazing!) and we ate it alongside vegetables for dinner.

I hope you all are enjoying my simple & healthy meal ideas. The whole purpose is to give you meal ideas that are delicious and nutritious while at the same time satisfying your family and going from the kitchen to table in less than 30 minutes.

Todays meal, Sausage & Peppers, is one that you can go in many different directions with. Richie loves it over pasta, I’m a huge fan of it stuffed in bread, but you could also serve it over brown rice or even use it as a pizza topping or in a calzone.

Serve with a fresh side salad for a complete meal.

The process is fast and simple:

1. Prepare grain component if necessary.
2. Grill or saute sausage, slicing after grilling or before sautéing.
3. Saute peppers, onions and other vegetables, sliced into bite size pieces.
4. Top with “extra flavor” if desired.

Grain:

• brown rice
• whole grain pasta (or a whole grain/white blend)
• sub roll
• on pizza dough or wrapped in it for a calzone

Protein:

• chicken sausage
• pork or blend sausage
• veggie sausage

Vegetables:

• bell peppers
• onions
• mushrooms
• spinach (thrown in at the last minute to quickly wilt)

Extra Flavor:

• marinara sauce
• roasted or canned tomatoes
• parmesan cheese
• smoked mozzarella cheese

Food was the main priority at our wedding. Well, I guess you could say our priority was that our guests have a great time, and to me, that means eating and drinking well.

We didn’t have a sit-down meal, but instead had stations – each station had a few different items (salad, entree, sides) with lots of passed hors d’oeuvres. One of the sides that our catering planner strongly suggested was angel hair pasta cakes. She said that they were a big crowd-pleaser and while I thought it would go over well with kids, I really didn’t think adults would be into it. I cut the order way down, but somehow she convinced me to order more and I’m so glad we did. Everyone loved them. It was actually one of the only things I ate that night and even I thought they were delicious.

Sometimes the simplest foods are the best.

When you combine the pasta with an egg, some cream and parmesan, it bakes into portable little cups that can work as an appetizer, main meal or packed in a lunch. I served our spaghetti cakes with some roasted tomatoes (tomatoes + olive oil + s & p), but marinara or a drizzle of pesto would be delicious as well.

Hello Friends and Happy Spring!

3.20.12

Coffee: Still on the 1/2 & 1/2 kick…

Breakfast 1: 1 packet instant oats + 1 Tbsp almond butter. I ate about half of it as I was leaving to work out shortly after and needed something, but didn’t want too much.  Pretty ugly and very boring!

Workout: Today I checked out up dog fitness, a yoga and cycling studio in my neighborhood. I’ve been wanting to try it out for a long time and I saw a groupon last week so I grabbed it! I took a great 45 min spin class. It was part motivational speech/part gospel church/ part gay dance club all rolled up into a spinning workout. It was fabulous.

Breakfast 2: egg + kale chips (sample from Expo West) Kind of random, but kind of like greens and eggs!

Lunch: 1 can tuna (with touch of mayo, onion, celery and shredded cheese) broiled on 1 slice sprouted bread + salad (romaine, arugula, olive oil, red wine vinegar, raw parmesan cheese, salt & pepper) + raw sauerkraut

Snack 1: small apple x 2

Snack 2: I had to take a few pictures (so embarrassing) so we had a photo shoot and wine on the roof!

Dinner: I didn’t have anything planned for dinner so we decided to finally check out the sushi restaurant around the corner. We’ve been a little nervous because it always looks empty, but I think we’ve been looking too early. I’m still not really used to the later dinner life of LA. (I’m used to my 5:00 happy hours, which really don’t occur here).  I’ve also been a little nervous that we would like it and then want to go all of the time.  It was about 8pm by the time we went and the restaurant was pretty busy and continued to get even busier as we were there. I had another glass of wine (rebel) and we shared 5 rolls that were all delicious. I kind of want to go back tomorrow for lunch…

 I’m snacking on a square of dark chocolate and getting ready for bed. Have a great Wednesday!

So I kind of got fired from one of my side jobs last week.  Oddly enough, I was actually more proud than upset. I’ve never been one to really stand up for myself and tell people exactly how I feel, but I was pushing back on most of the procedures this company wanted me to follow. Not because I simply didn’t want to do it, but because I have many years experience in the natural food industry and I guess I wanted to share my expertise with them. I’ve never been fired in my life, but I feel like you have to get fired at least once, right?

Anyway, onto the food from yesterday! Who can NOT believe it is March?! I turn 29 this month…

Coffee: coffee + 1/2 & 1/2. I haven’t gotten to Whole Foods yet to pick up my coconut creamer, but I must say, the 1/2 & 1/2 tastes great. Mornings have been really easy this week, after waking up naturally at 8am in Mexico (6am LA time) my body is used to waking earlier which makes it possible to fit in a few hours of work before breakfast! I’m hoping this will stay with me forever!

Workout: I haven’t gone to yoga in a few weeks and I’ve really been missing the effects. Now that yoga isn’t a matter of walking across the street, I need to make a much better effort to ensure I’m getting it in. I really do need it. I took a hot-power fusion class, sweat a ton and could tell that it had been a while, it was really hard! Post-yoga I rehydrated with some coconut water on the way home.

I put some steel cut oats on the stove for breakfast and then got distracted with a work phone call. Sure enough, 20 minutes later, and my oats were black. I decided toast and eggs would be a much quicker breakfast and considering that it was 11am, I needed food ASAP!

Breakfast: 2 eggs + 2 slices french meadow sprouted bread with earth balance.

Lunch: romaine lettuce + 2 slices turkey + mustard + mayo with a few carrots + celery. This was a meal of pure convenience and something I could eat during the 5 minutes at home between a friend date and some work errands. It did the trick. The Taster saw the picture and said, “that looks awful and why are you eating my turkey?”

After my errands I took my work to a coffee shop for a change of pace. A little more coffee + 1/2 & 1/2. I’m hoping this helps me stay up past 9pm tonight…

Snack: miso soup x 2 while I was getting things ready for dinner. I’m loving miso soup. I heat up water, add a scoop of miso, a few dashes of ume plum vinegar, wakame and some green onions if I have them.

Dinner: wild cod + tartar sauce +asparagus + sweet potato rounds. The vegetable components of this meal were great and very tasty – the fish? Not so much. The texture was terrible, not sure if it is the quality at Trader Joe’s or the fact that it had been frozen/thawed a few times.

I think I’ll finish off the day with some chocolate…

Spill – have you ever been fired from a job? I want to hear some good stories!! 

I’m going to guess that a lot of you are fans of sushi.

If you aren’t…I don’t know what to say…

We love sushi and would probably eat it on a daily basis if there wasn’t that annoying thing money, standing in the way.

Michelle from The Lively Kitchen makes her family Buddha Bowls and I’ve always loved the idea so I de-veganized them and added some typical sushi fillings. We have a really nice store in our neighborhood that has sushi-grade fish, but I realize not everyone has access, nor has the desire to use raw fish so don’t worry, there are a ton of options for protein in these bowls.

Everyone chooses their own toppings and they contain everything you need in a meal: whole grains, vegetables, protein and flavor!

Rice: 

• I would of course, recommend brown rice, but it doesn’t need to be special sushi rice
• the perfect use for leftover rice!

Nori: 

• can be found in natural food stores or asian grocery stores (much cheaper at the latter)
• best to roast with some sesame oil if it isn’t already roasted

Vegetables:

• julienned cucumber, carrots or spinach
• sauteed mushrooms, asparagus, bok choy
• sliced scallions, avocado

Protein:

• cooked fish like tuna or salmon
• raw sushi-grade fish
• cooked chicken, steak, shrimp or tofu

Toppings:

• sesame seeds, pickled ginger,
• sauces like miso, soy sauce, sriracha, peanut sauce, spicy mayo (mayo + sriracha)

What kind of sushi do you order? 

(source)

There are times when you need a snack.

Immediately.

Or is that just me?

There are often a few options – plain carrots (sometimes boring) or processed vending machine snacks (sometimes not very healthy, rarely filling). And then there are the snacks that fall somewhere in between. Ideally, they’ll contain a combination of fresh foods, protein, a bit of fat and some fiber so that they stick with you for longer than 5 minutes.

Here are some of the quick snacks I rely on, please add your own to the list, I’m always looking for new snack ideas!

Quick 1 Minute Snack Ideas: 

• tortilla + pesto + cheese  - microwaved for about 30 seconds
• apple slices + nut butter
• hot pita bread + hummus
• tortilla chips + salsa + refried or black beans
• toast + nut butter
• frozen waffle + apple slices + slice of cheese – broiled until cheese melts
• cottage cheese + fruit chunks
• smoothie: frozen fruit + spinach + milk + greek yogurt – blend until smooth
• slice of whole grain toast + smashed avocado
• handful of almonds + square of dark chocolate
• sliced cheese + triscuits
• greek yogurt + granola, cereal or fresh fruit
• quick deviled egg – halve hard boiled egg, mix yolk with 1-2 tsp mayo + salt + pepper, put mixture in egg whites