I never thought I would be inspired by an airport. Stressed? Yes. Dehydrated? Yes. Inspired? Unlikely. That is until our recent visits to Turks and Caicos and Arizona, both of which departed from the lovely (by airport standards) JetBlue terminal at JFK.

Although I always pack my own snacks while traveling I do like to check out the airport stores to see what healthy options they have. Knowing not everyone travels with a mini-cooler, this gives me ideas to share with my friends and clients when they are on the road/in the air.

It was at JFK that I discovered Simple Squares. These savory-sweet, nut and honey treats are free of wheat, gluten, dairy, soy and refined sugar. I picked up a few to try and was delighted with how satisfying, simple, clean, and just sweet enough they were.

Sadly I have not been able to find these delicious treats anywhere in NYC other than the airport. Yet. So, the other day I decided to make my own sweet treat inspired by Simple Squares. These delicious little bites are incredibly easy to make and last quite awhile in the fridge.

I have to admit I was struggling for awhile with what to call these. Anything with the word “balls” in the name is less than appealing to me.

Then the other night Doug asked me, “do we have any of those donut holes left?”

“Donut holes?”

“The little balls that were in the fridge.”

“Oh, those… baby, those aren’t donut holes.”

And so the Rosemary Donut Hole was named. Thanks honey!

Rosemary Donut Holes

• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 3 springs of rosemary de-sprigged
• pinch of sea salt

1. Pulse almonds in food processor for a few seconds until they are broken into smaller pieces
2. Add all other ingredients and let food processor run until a sticky “dough” is formed
3. Using your hands pinch off small pieces of the “dough” and roll into balls
4. Allow to set in refrigerator or eat immediately!

Skeletons in the closet? How about in the freezer?

I currently have about 20 cups of frozen almond pulp in my freezer. Hey, I make a lot of almond milk! The other day I decided to spring clean my freezer and put some of that pulp to good use. What I came up with were these delicious brownie cookies. They vaguely remind me of the Two Bite Brownies from Whole Foods, but oh so much better for you. They are fully approved by my resident Cookie Monster, who devoured about five of them the other night!

 Brownie Cookies

Ever heard someone mention their “secret single behavior?” The things they do when no one is watching? Like Britney karaoke with a hairbrush? Or eating peanut butter from the jar with a spoon?

Well, Doug and I have “secret couples behavior.” We watch the Bachelor and Bachelorette (current and old seasons). We talk to our dog as if she were a person. We seek out and explore the local Whole Foods wherever we travel.

Yup, we love the giant Whole Foods you find as soon as you leave NYC. You thought the TriBeCa Whole Foods was good? You should see Scottsdale, AZ!

Seriously, this place was awesome, huge and well laid out.

I found fresh chunks of coconut pre-scraped and ready for snacking!

My favorite discovery was the juice and smoothie bar. Usually, at a smoothie bar I have to ask them to make me a special concoction involving greens. Not here. They had a whole “Green Smoothie” section of the menu. I tried both the Dark Star and the Scottsdale Green. Yum!

Notice anything about the names of the smoothies? Most of them come from Grateful Dead song titles. When Doug realized this he was so happy! “Fire on the Mountain” is one of his favorite Dead songs and now one of his favorite smoothies.

The morning after my dad’s birthday party we were both feeling a little sluggish (hungover). We headed back to Whole Foods to try one of their green juices. 

We both got the “Jellyfish” which was a perfect combo of kale, spinach, parsley, celery and cucumber. 

My juice was so large is lasted me the entire  20 minute drive home! On Monday we left AZ at 11 am and did not arrive home in NYC until 9pm that evening ( traveling West-East is rough!) Thanks to Whole Foods I was able to stock us up with healthy snacks for the flight. When we pulled everything out of my cooler the man next to us looked over and said, “that’s some picnic.” Hey, I’m nothing if not prepared!

Does the Whole Foods near you have a juice and smoothie bar? I wish the TriBeCa one did!

This past weekend Doug and I headed to Scottsdale, AZ to visit my dad and step-mother and celebrate my dad’s birthday. It is a rare and special treat to celebrate my dad’s birthday with him and I loved every minute of it. We had a great, relaxing weekend in the perfectly warm desert sun.

On the day of our arrival we had a late afternoon snack outside. This is one of my favorite go to’s and can be made super fast. Romaine + mustard + avocado = a light and delicious wrap!

My dad’s birthday dinner was just perfect. So much fun in such a beautiful setting. I didn’t get any pictures at dinner, but it truly was delicious including a tomato and guacamole “caprese salad” that I cannot wait to recreate. 

The next day my dad, Doug and I went to the brand new Salt River Field to see the Rockies vs. the Reds in a spring training game. Even though neither of our teams were playing (Red Sox for me and Doug, Yankees for my dad) we still had a great time. Knowing it was unlikely I would find any healthy snacks at the game I planned ahead with a trip to the (amazing) Scottsdale Whole Foods. In fact, the local Whole Foods was so awesome that it deserves it’s own post (coming tomorrow). Into my purse went a small tub of guacamole, baby carrots, Go Raw Carrot Cake Super Cookies, Sea Tangle Snacks, and a Larabar for Doug (heard of Cookie Monster? I call Doug Larabar Monster).

My dad especially loved the Go Raw cookies ( he even had the brilliant idea to dip them into guac!). I may just send him a care package of them!

Check in tomorrow to find out just how awesome the Whole Foods in Scottsdale is!

I was not born with an aptitude in the kitchen. My mother didn’t cook when I was growing up (although she made a mean cinnamon toast). My husband will tell you a now infamous story of the first dinner I made him back when we were dating. It was so bad we had to order takeout.

So how did I get here? Practice, experimenting, a short stint co-owning a catering company, and more practice.

I am a firm believer that anyone can cook for themselves and enjoy the process. However, you need some basics.

I have had this conversation so many times:

Kitchen Newbie: How do you (insert basic kitchen skill here)?

SJM: Um… you just open it/cut it/peel it/slice it?

Instead of giving the above snarky answer I decided to film a series of Clean, Pure and Simple How To videos. These videos will show you tips and tricks about how to engage with some of my favorite things to eat.

The first video is available here. Happy avocado opening!

As I mentioned yesterday I tend to be a food monogamist. As with my salads, I will drink the same green smoothie everyday for weeks ( and weeks) at a time. A great smoothie is like the perfect pair of dark skinny jeans, it can be hard to break out of the box and try on something new.

With the early onset of spring in NYC (loving it!) I have been trading in my perfect dark skinnies for this spring’s pastels, florals, and neons. Like my denim, my greens are also getting a spring update! With the warm weather I am pulling away from my usual wintery kale and towards lighter greens such as arugula and romaine in my salads and smoothies.

This combination of creamy almond milk, sweet pear, spicy arugula and ginger is my latest smoothie obsession. Yes, I have been drinking it everyday this week. Guess I’ve found a new perfect pair of skinny jeans…

Arugula Pear Spice Smoothie

• 1 cup almond milk (if you do not feel like making your own I highly recommend OMilk!)
• 1 pear cored
• big handful of arugula
• 1″ knob of fresh ginger peeled
• 1/4 of an avocado
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• liquid stevia to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a high powered blender or Vitamix
2. Adjust sweetness to taste and enjoy!

I am a salad monogamist. I find one I love, eat it until we both can no longer stand each other and then move on to the next. For the past month or so I have been making a version of this salad  almost every night. It was getting out of control. I couldn’t stop. It was just going too well between us. Then I left town for a few days and everything changed. I met my new love The Big Salad, and the rest was history!

This crispy, crunchy bowl of chopped raw veggies is easy to make, impossible to mess up and just so good. Feel free to add or omit and anything you like. Once tomatoes are back in season I plan on including them as well. You can top it with any dressing, but I personally find a simple vinaigrette to be the perfect pairing.

My Big Salad 

• 1 cup green cabbage shredded
• 1 cup red cabbage shredded
• 2-3 medium carrots thinly sliced or peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 1 cup mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 an avocado cubed
• 1/4 cup sprouts ( any kind will do)
• 1/2 cup broccoli

1. Place the shredded cabbage in the bottom of a large salad bowl
2. Top with carrots, mushrooms, avocado, broccoli and sprouts.
3. Lightly dress with Simple Apple Cider Viniagrette
4. Devour!

Simple Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• 2 T mustard
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T olive oil
• 3-4 drops liquid stevia
• sea salt
• black pepper

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Recently I have eluded to this being a “very stressful time” in our lives. I hate being vague and mysterious. Here’s the deal. My father in law has cancer. Brain cancer to be specific. His is a particularly nasty, mean, aggressive, incurable (yet thankfully treatable) type. As you can imagine his diagnosis shocked and terrified our whole family. Thankfully he has a wonderful team of doctors, a loving supportive family, and we are all going to do everything we can to keep him around as long as possible.

What does this have to do with cookies? My father in law adores cookies. However with his new Cancer Survivor (thanks Kris Carr for coining that term!) status he can no longer eat cookies laden with sugar and flour. You see cancer cells thrive, feed, grow and multiply on sugar and simple carbs. Want to starve cancer and slow it’s growth? Get rid of the junk in your diet!

Knowing my father in law will be living with cancer the rest of his life I wanted to create a few recipes for him that would satisfy his cookie craving, without feeding his cancer. These chocolate chunk cookies were a true winner!  I plan on making many, many more batches for him. I also have to note they have been a hit with his son. The Cookie Monster gene runs in the family!

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 3 tablesoons water
• 1 3oz bar of 70 percent or higher dark chocolate (I like to use the Endangered Species brand)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid stevia

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a small bowl combine the ground flax and water to form a “flax egg”. Place in refrigerator for about 5 minutes until a gel like texture is achieved.
3. With a sharp knife cut the chocolate bar into small chunks
4. In a medium bowl, throughly combine all ingredients except the chocolate chunks until a sticky dough is formed
5. Gently fold the chocolate chunks into the cookie dough
6. Drop the dough onto a lined baking sheet by the tablespoon and gently flatten
7. Bake for 10mins rotating the pan halfway through
8. Allow to cool completely before handling. This step is very important! If they are not totally cool they will crumble and fall apart.

These cookies do best when stored in the refrigerator.

While it is hard to complain on a stunning 70 degree day in NYC, looking over these photos has made me want to go back on vacation in the worst way!

The only non-vegan dish I enjoyed during our stay was this amazing salmon. I eat fish fairly rarely and when I do I am very picky about it’s origins and how it is prepared. This one was a true winner. Served with a cauliflower and pomegranate “tabouleh” that reminded me of this recipe  and a smoky eggplant puree that reminded me of this one  it was light and extremely flavorful. I am now inspired to combine some of my cauliflower and eggplant recipes. What a great pair they make!
On to dessert. I very rarely order dessert at restaurants. To be perfectly honest, some dark chocolate or one of my own creations is usually more appealing to me than any heavy restaurant dessert. However, given the healthful nature of the desserts at Parrot Cay I just had to try a few. The most decadent by far was this raw chocolate mousse tart. Topped with bananas and young coconut I could only manage a few bites. Ok, they were a few BIG bites.

More often than not when I mention my dietary preferences at a restaurant I am steered towards sorbet for dessert. I never actually order the sorbet as it is usually loaded with TONS of white sugar which is something I refuse to put in my body. How lucky was I that Parrot Cay had sugar free chocolate and coconut sorbet? This icy treat was just barely sweet yet incredibly refreshing. There was a little bit of raw honey at the bottom of the plate which made for the best “topping” ever!

I love macaroons but don’t buy or order them that often. Not to be an ego maniac but I just don’t like anyone’s macaroons as much as I like mine. These were a very close second to my own. We ordered a bowl of them to go one night so we could have dessert while we watched The Bachelor. Hey, the couple that eat’s raw food and watches cheesy TV together…

Traveling home from a vacation can be tough. I am never that thrilled to go back to reality. Although I did miss Maddy something fierce. To make the journey home that much easier I ordered one last Big Salad to go. Knowing we were departing from a small island airport and would not have access to food until we got home to New York that evening I wanted to make sure I was prepared. This salad made a great late lunch on the plane.

At the last minute I also had the hotel pack up some of these raw carob cookies for me. They were just barely sweet, a little nutty and really satisfying. They were great to pull out the last hour of the flight when both Doug and I were getting slightly hungry again.

It is rare for me to find a restaurant or a hotel where I feel confident ordering directly off the menu. I usually have a million modifications to make to every dish. I do not mind asking questions and making special requests if it means I am going to get a meal I love. But sometime it is nice to have a break and simply order.

While we were at Parrot Cay I was fully confident ordering directly from the menu with ease. Every dish was loaded with vegetables and greens. It was truly paradise. That is not to say I didn’t come up with a few custom creations for them!

Waiting for us in our room were water bottles that we could use during our stay. All around the resort were water stations so I had no trouble filling my bottle constantly. It’s so important to stay hydrated in the sun!

I started everyday with two “Kryptonite” green juices. On the menu this juice includes apple but I asked them to leave it out as I do not like fruit in my green juice.  What made this juice truly delicious and special was the addition of fennel and spirulina. Such a different taste! I have to remember to try adding fennel the next time I make my own juice at home. Ok, let’s be honest. I need to find a pressed green juice that includes fennel. My poor juicer gets no attention!

At home I usually have a smoothie for lunch. This is a practice I tend to give up on vacation as a good green smoothie can be hard to find. However, while browsing the menu at the pool the first day I noticed that they had all of my favorite green smoothie ingredients (including fresh raw coconut water!). I tried my luck and asked the waiter for a smoothie with coconut water, spinach, avocado, cucumber and pineapple. At first he looked at me like I was nut. Then I said, ” trust me, just ask the chef to throw all those things in the blender.” Again he looked at me like I was crazy but off he went to place my order. I received a delicious smoothie that was exactly the light  lunch I was looking for. I proceeded to order one every day! Funny side note: they didn’t know how to charge me for this concoction so the bill simply said “Healthy Drink.”
Our first night at dinner I decided to go all raw. It is so rare that I get to eat raw food on vacation! I started with a raw corn taco with guacamole and cashew sour cream. It was truly delicious and reminded me of the raw tacos at One Lucky Duck that I adore.

Next I had the “Big Salad.” What can I say about the Big Salad? It is perfection in a bowl. Simply the Best. Salad. Ever. Shredded red and white cabbage, spiralized beets and carrots, sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms, avocado, and tomatoes in an apple cider vinaigrette. I became so obsessed with this salad that I ordered it at every diner. I have already begun to plot making my own version at home!

Next time I will share some of the delicious desserts I enjoyed as well I what I took to eat on the plane home. Yum!