Since letting the world know I am knocked up I have been getting a ton of questions about my diet.  Most frequently I get asked, “have you had any cravings or aversions?” My slightly boring answer is no. Despite what a few friends predicted I have not found myself face deep in a bag of potato chips, French fries or bagels. I have not been making secret trips to Shake Shack for burgers and milkshakes (gross!). I haven’t even been turned off from my daily green juice as so many thought I would be. In fact, my food desires have changed very little since becoming pregnant. I still drink a ton of green juice every morning and I still usually have nutrient dense green smoothies for lunch. Yes, there are foods that turn me off but they are the same ones that have always turned me off- meat, dairy, grains, sugar, processed junk etc!

If I have anything at all that resembles a craving it is for even more vegetables than I usually consume. All my body seems to want to eat are plants, plants, and more plants! In an effort to change up my at home dinner routine I have been experimenting with different salads most nights. This recent combination of fennel, Brussels sprouts and avocado has been a real winner. The avocado gives me a much needed dose of healthy fat (good for baby’s brain development!), and adds a delicious creamy layer to an otherwise crunchy salad. This delicious salad is sure to be a hit whether you are expecting or not!

Brussels Sprout and Avocado Salad

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! While Doug may not be as enthusiastic about birthday celebrations as I am, he still let me organize a little get together tonight to toast him. If I had my way we would be having much more of a party (perhaps involving ice-skating?) but it is his birthday after all so I (against my will) respected his wishes to keep things very low key.

Doug’s real birthday wish was to spend the weekend with me and Maddy in Boston seeing a Celtics game, walking around the North End and watching football in his favorite Boston sports bars so tomorrow morning we are packing up the car and heading north. It is always special for us to spend time in the city where we first met (11 years ago!!!), especially for a romantic pre-Christmas/Birthday weekend. I love trips that involve car travel instead of airplanes, as they tend to be much less stressful! After the weekend we will head to his parents house in upstate New York to celebrate Christmas as we do each year.

For Christmas Eve dinner this year Doug’s mother asked for some suggestions for new, healthy recipes to include in the meal. It was very hard to limit myself to just a few ideas! For a healthful holiday dinner my favorite dishes are Cauliflower Puree, Curried Cauliflower with Pomegranate, and Truffle Roasted Brussels Sprouts. All of these dishes are easy to prepare, crowd pleasing, and compliment any holiday table. On top of these favorites I also wanted to send along a salad suggestion that felt both hearty and festive. Somehow a normal green salad just doesn’t seem right on Christmas Eve! This Apple Fennel and Arugula Salad has a nice balance of spicy and sweet with a lovely added crunch from the pumpkin seeds.. The extra dose of zinc that pumpkin seeds provide is an added bonus! If you have never used umeboshi plum vinegar I urge you to give it a try. Easily found in the Asian section of most markets it adds an extra dimension of “umami” to this dressing. Don’t stress if you don’t have any on hand, any type of vinegar works great here!

Happy Holidays!

Apple Fennel and Arugula Salad

1. Toss the diced apples and shaved fennel w/ olive oil, lemon and umebishi
2. Allow apple and fennel mixture to marinate in refridgerator for about 30 minutes.
3. Place a handful of arugula on plate and top with apple/fennel mixture.

I hope you enjoyed my video on How To Throw a Healthy Holiday Party! Over the next few days I am going to be sharing more details on the tips featured in the video starting with party food and cocktails.

A great party is nothing without delicious food for your guests to enjoy. Sadly, most holiday party fare tends to be rich and heavy. Nothing makes me feel lees like celebrating than being put into a food coma! Instead of the typical bloating holiday bites try some of my healthier ideas. You want your guests merry, not miserable!

All of these recipes are easy to make and can be made either entirely or partially ahead of time. In the hours before you party you should be focusing on getting yourself gorgeous and party ready, not catering! The one exception is the guacamole which tastes and looks best when made fresh. However, as long as you have all of your ingredients ready to go it can be thrown together right before your guests walk in the door.

Black Truffle Salted Almond Bark 

Instead of traditional holiday cakes, candies and cookies try making this Almond Bark. Dark chocolate is low in sugar and there is an added bonus of healthy fats and protein from the almonds.

Pomegranate Guacamole

I like to update guacamole for the holidays with the addition of pomegranate seeds, one of the few fruits in season during the winter.  They are packed with antioxidants, have a wonderful sweet-tart taste, and the color is oh so holiday appropriate. I serve my guacamole inside of a romaine leaf, and as a dip for crudités!

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms 

Stuffed mushroom caps are a party favorite. Most recipes call for breadcrumbs and tons of cheese. Gross! I stuff mine with a delicious dairy free pesto, which can be made days or weeks ahead of time and frozen. The day of your party just defrost the pesto, stuff the mushrooms and pop them in the oven a few minutes before your guests arrive. You may want to go easy on the garlic in your pesto when making these for a party. Nothing is worse than being caught in an intimate situation with garlic breath!

Food is great but let’s be honest, most people go to holiday parties for the drinks! Instead of a full bar I always serve a signature drink or two at my parties. Picking one or two speciality drinks saves you the time and money of offering a fully stocked bar. Everyone loves a great cocktail!

Almond Nog 

While delicious, traditional egg nog is loaded with sugar and fat. For my holiday gatherings I make Almond Nog with OMilk Almond Milk and a few extra spices. It’s a delicious alternative that is great on it’s own or for a more “adult” beverage add a few ounces of rum!

Prosecco with Pomegranate

While festive, champagne is quite pricy. Instead, I like to toast with glasses of Prosecco. A few pomegranate seeds at the bottom of the glass make for a very merry glass of bubbly!

Rosemary Ginger Lemonade

I always make sure to have a special non-alcoholic drink on hand for any guests who are not drinkers. Drinking plain water at a party just doesn’t feel special. Adding fresh ginger to homemade stevia sweetened rosemary lemonade gives a spicy, savory twist!

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed  lemon juice
• 3 cups of water
• 6 springs of rosemary
• 1″ knob peeled ginger chopped
• 2 squirts liquid stevia

1. Combine all ingredients in a pitcher or large bottle
2. Allow to “steep” for 30 minutes or so
3. Adjust sweetness to taste and serve!

 

 

The holiday season always makes me think of traditions. The traditions I grew up with and the new ones Doug and I are creating together. I grew up Jewish but we always had a Christmas tree and exchanged presents on Christmas day. This was partly because my mom was born on Christmas Day (and named Holly), and partly because we were always together on a family vacation on December 25th.

Now Doug and I have started some special holiday traditions of our own. We decorate our apartment for the season while listening to Christmas music and drinking peppermint hot chocolate made with almond milk. We light Hanukkah candles and let them flicker in our window. It’s the only time we ever burn candles in our home, as we do not like inhaling smoke. We exchange gifts with each other at home before we head to his parents house upstate for the holiday. And we always, always watch The Preachers Wife and Love Actually. Sometimes if I’m lucky A Muppet Christmas Carol get’s thrown in too!

One of the many holiday traditions that Doug grew up with that I did not is baking Christmas cookies. Every year he asks me if we can make cookies and for one reason or another it never quite happens. However, last week I made his wish come true with these Sugar Cookies. They are so decadent tasting that Doug calls them “butter cookies” although they contain no butter. I plan on making several batches over the next two weeks to bring as hostess gifts to the various holiday parties we are attending. These keep quite awhile in the fridge so go ahead and triple or quadruple the recipe to get you from now until the end of the holiday season!

Sugar Cookies

• 2 cups almonds ( I use blanched here) or 2 cups almond flour
• 3 T coconut oil melted
• 2 T coconut nectar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grind almonds in a high speed blender or Vitamix for about 20 seconds until they resemble a coarse flour. If you do not have a powerful blender you can use store bought almond flour.
3. In a small bowl throughly combine the coconut oil, coconut nectar, vanilla and stevia.
4. Add the ground almonds (or almond flour), baking soda and sea salt and mix until  you have a thick, even dough.
5. Using your hands form the dough into teaspoon sized balls and place on a Silpat lined baking sheet.
6. Gently flatten each dough ball and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.
7. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely before eating or storing.

New York City is an amazing place to live for someone devoted to healthy, clean, plant based eating.  I am so lucky to be surrounded by many options for pressed juice, smoothies, raw food, plant based meals, and farm to table fine dining. I am constantly discovering new places to add to my list of favorites!

Recently, a girlfriend introduced me to Hu Kitchen, which has quickly become my newest obsession. Hu Kitchen is an eat in/take out mecca of my favorite kinds of food. They have a great juice and smoothie bar (I love to add kale to the Smooth Avocado for a nutrient dense liquid lunch), delicious prepared foods, and best of all a “mashbar.” The “mashbar,” is a clean eater’s version of the frozen yogurt or sundae bar. You start with a base such as their divine chocolate chia pudding and add toppings from there. So far my favorite combination is chocolate and vanilla chia pudding with strawberries and coconut cream. I fully admit to getting two per visit so I can have multiple nights worth of dessert in my fridge! This stuff is beyond amazing. I desperately want them to open in TriBeCa ( hint hint).

Sadly I cannot visit Hu Kitchen every day. So, with their “mashbar” as my inspiration I decided to make my own at home Chia Pudding Bar. I have been enjoying chocolate and vanilla chia pudding at home for years, but never thought to add multiple toppings into the mix. Chia pudding lasts a few days in the fridge so I like to make batch of each flavor and then top with whatever I have on hand when the mood hits! It has been tiding me over until I can get back to Hu Kitchen.

Today is also my niece and nephew’s 1st Birthday! Happy Birthday Ben and Grace! They are not quite eating desserts yet, but how much fun would a Chia Pudding Bar be at a kid’s birthday party? Much better than a sundae bar in my opinion. Maybe next year their aunt will set one up at their party! Or take them to Hu Kitchen? Or both?

Chocolate Chia Pudding

• 2 cups light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 tsp liquid stevia

1. Combine coconut milk, cocoa powder, vanilla and stevia in blender. You could also do this by hand but cocoa powder can be hard to incorporate evenly in liquid so a blender works best.
2. Pour blended coconut milk over chia seeds and stir.
3. Allow chia pudding to sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour stirring occasionally  until it thickens and the chia seeds absorb all of the liquid.

Vanilla Chia Pudding

• 2 cups almond milk ( I use OMilk)
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1 T vanilla
• 1 tsp stevia

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust sweetness and vanilla flavor to your liking.
2. Allow chia pudding to sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour stirring occasionally until it thickens and the chia seeds absorb all of the liquid.

Some Toppings Ideas

Are their certain movies you could watch over and over? Some guilty pleasure you have to pause on every time it’s on cable? While I tend to like movies and shows I have not seen before, Doug has several movies that he has watched thousands of times. If Knocked Up, I Love You Man or The Preacher’s Wife is on he just can’t look away. Maybe it’s a male female thing? Maybe I just bore easily?

While I can’t handle watching the same movie over and over I do love certain dishes so much that I can eat them night after night. This Cauliflower Purée is one of those dishes. I must have made it every other night for dinner last winter before I burned out on it’s deliciousness. Recently while flipping through my recipe notes I discovered it again and re-ignited my obsession. Smooth, creamy and utterly delicious I think I may be be eating these night after night again this winter!

Cauliflower Purée

• 1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
• 1-2 tsp black truffle salt
• 1/ 4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 T garlic powder
• 2-4 T almond milk ( I use OMilk)

1. Gently steam cauliflower in a steamer basket over a pan of boiling water.
2. Purée cauliflower in a Vitamix or high speed blender with remaining ingredients until smooth. You may need to add more almond milk to facilitate blending.
3. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve hot.

I have many habits that most people would consider odd. I call them quirky. I won’t wear my heaviest winter coat until at least January. My thinking is if I break out “the big guns” in November I will be too used to the extra warmth come January when it is REALLY cold. If I start a book or TV series I always stick with it, even if it is really cheesy or just bad because I feel guilty abandoning fictional characters.  I only drink white wine never red (rose in the summer) no matter what I am eating or what time of year. I can eat ceviche, which most people consider a summer food anytime of year. While I prefer my ceviche served with margaritas on the beaches of Mexico I am happy to get my fix in freezing cold New York City as well!

Tonight a good friend and I are checking out another friend’s brother’s new Mexican restaurant (whew!), El Toro Blanco. I am always excited when a new Mexican spot opens as I sometimes feel my options in New York are limited. While it seems like there is a lot of Mexican food to be had, most of it is Tex-Mex or just not authentic enough for my taste.

In celebration of my impending guacamole and ceviche feast I wanted to share this recipe for Vegetable Ceviche. You could use almost any vegetables you like but I find the combination of mushrooms, corn, tomatoes, turnips and radishes works best. Serve this alongside My Favorite Margarita, Pomegranate Guacamole, and some Spiced MexicanTruffles and you will have quite the feast of your own!

Vegetable Ceviche

 

Something about the holiday season makes me feel a little bit like a kid again. All of a sudden I want to go ice-skating, wrap presents, decorate a tree, light a menorah and drink hot chocolate. Frozen Hot Chocolate that is. Growing up my most favorite treat on the planet was the Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity. This incredibly decadent treat is/was served in a giant glass and topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. One of them is enough to give four kids a major sugar high. I have not touched the stuff in at least twenty years but I can still recall the experience vividly.

The other day I picked up some NibMor Organic Vegan Drinking Chocolate  with every intention of making a cup of steaming hot chocolate with almond milk. I love NibMor because it is vegan, organic, gluten free and sweetened with coconut sugar. My favorite is the Mint flavor- a perfect minty chocolaty combination. However, come dessert time that night a hot beverage was no longer what I was craving. Looking around my kitchen for an alternative treat I noticed a tray of OMilk ice cubes in my freezer. I like to keep frozen cubes of almond milk and coconut water on hand to use in my smoothies; they make them frosty cold without watering them down like regular ice cubes do. Also, making almond milk ice cubes is useful when I have more OMilk than I can drink before it expires! Into my Vitamix went some OMilk, a packet of Mint NibMor and two large almond milk ice cubes. The result was a creamy, frosty treat that reminded me of the Frozen Hot Chocolate of my past. Yum!

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Happy almost Thanksgiving! We are celebrating with Doug’s family at a restaurant this year instead of cooking at home. While this may seem like an a-typical choice I am very much looking forward to it. It means we get to dress up, be served delicious food…and no body has to do dishes! Since I do not have the opportunity to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal this year I have been making some of my favorite dishes for dinner this week to get my fix! Lot’s of pumpkin pie, roasted sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts!

If you ask me Brussels sprouts get a bad wrap. I don’t remember exactly but when I was growing up there was a television show where the punishment for doing something bad was eating Brussels sprouts. Pee Wee’s Playhouse maybe? Not sure. In any case, if Brussels sprouts were a typical punishment I probably would have been much more of a rule breaker growing up!

I like my Brussels sprouts roasted until slightly crispy, yet still tender on the inside. The addition of truffle sea salt (found at most gourmet markets) and truffle oil really makes this a special treat! I have been known to eat a whole bowl in one sitting.

Whatever your plans are tomorrow I hope you have a happy and healthy holiday.

Truffle Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I have loved pumpkin pie ever since I was a little girl. The rest of a traditional Thanksgiving meal never really appealed to me. Even in my omnivore days I was not a fan of turkey. I never understood exactly what gravy was. I didn’t like the taste or texture of stuffing. But pumpkin pie? Yes please! I would often have two pieces at Thanksgiving dinner, and if I was lucky my mom would let me have a piece for breakfast. Hey, I never said my childhood was the healthiest!

This crustless pumpkin pie is incredibly easy to make and so delicious! I have already gone through three of them in the past few weeks! If you do not have a Vitamix make sure you soak your almonds overnight and add a little extra almond milk when blending. One friend who has tried this recipe reported that it broke her non-high powered blender so please be careful. I personally prefer my pumpkin pie to be all filling and no crust, but if you prefer a crust feel free to use your favorite (preferably vegan). A combination of almond, dates and cinnamon in the food processor would also make a lovely crust for this pie!

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

• 1 can organic pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix!)
• 1 cup almonds soaked for a few hours or overnight
• 1/2 cup organic maple syrup
• 20 drops liquid stevia
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2-3 T almond milk ( I use OMilk)
• pinch of sea salt
• coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Grease a pie pan with coconut oil.
3. Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or Vitamix  (if you are using a regular blender add a little more almond milk slowly to facilitate blending).
4. Pour into pie pan and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an aditional 30 minutes or until a fork inserted into the center come out clean.
6. Allow to cool completely.
7. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.