Green Goodness

Have you given up on your New Year's Resolution Diet yet?  Forget the diet.   Diet has DIE in it.  Why not GO GREEN instead.  Instead of thinking about things you have to give up eating why not think about adding better tasting healthy things to your daily meals.  Green foods are powerhouses of Goodness and they can taste great if you know what to do with them. Get your Green Goodness on.

I am not a fan of diets because you think about foods you can't eat all day long and then you feel deprived and want to eat those foods even more.  My New Year's Resolution is to eat more better foods to feel better.  People go on their crazy diets in January because it's the time of year when all of the high fat, high sugar and high sodium foods and alcohol start catching up with you.  You start to feel horrible and then there is the weather that makes you feel even worse.  It's cold so you don't go outside as much and it's dark so you don't get the much needed vitamin D.  And then there are the germs everyone is picking up from being stuck inside in dry heated and germ loaded stale air.  No wonder you feel crappy.  And then you get hit with all the after holiday cleanup and then the credit card bills..  Who wants to stick to a diet when you have to deal with all of this stuff.

Here's a better idea.   Eat more GREEN foods.

Start with Green Tea   

I love the taste of really good Green Tea.  It's high in antioxidants which are much needed in the winter.

Switch up your daily coffee for Green Tea or if you love your coffee then just add a cup of Green Tea to your day.  I drink a lot more green tea in the winter because it's very comforting and warm.   Some of my favourite Green Teas are NUMI  Organic Gunpowder Green which is what's in this cup of tea.

I also love Kusmi Detox Tea because it has a great lemongrass flavour.   I first tried the NUMI tea when I stopped into a coffee shop when I was at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah and it tasted so good that I grabbed a couple of packs to take with me.   I first tried the Kusmi tea at a consumer food show and learned that it's from France.  It's pretty pricey but it tastes great.  I know that Pusateri's and the Detox Market in Toronto carry it.   Try it and let me know if you like it.

I  decided to do this Green Post because I was watching the lovely super energetic Julie Daniluk healthy guru do a segment on the Marilyn Denis show.  Julie was making a hot green smoothie type of drink with spinach and I realized that I had spinach in my fridge that I needed to use so I decided to make a green Spinach soup that was kicked up with flavour and healthy things.

Here's my version of this GREEN SPINACH Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups of baby spinach washed

1 carrot

1/4 medium onion

2 green onions

2 garlic cloves

1 kaffir lime leaf

1 tbsp grated ginger

3 cups of chicken broth or water

1 bunch fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

hemp hearts for garnish

Directions:

In a soup pot boil the water or chicken stock.  I added some bouillon powder to water for flavour because I didn't have any stock handy but I didn't add much salt because the bouillon has a lot of sodium in it.

I grated the frozen ginger into the stock and added chunks of onion.   You don't need to worry about chopping because you will blend it after.

I added the cloves of garlic and then the seasonings of pepper and a pinch of salt.  You can add nutmeg or other seasonings if you like.

I took a vegetable peeler and just peeled strands of carrot into the soup.  Because it's think it cooks quickly.  You can use a box grater or microplane as well.  

I tossed in a Kaffir Lime leaf that I had in the freezer for some added flavour.  1 leaf is enough because you only want a hint of it.   Use it like you would use a bay leaf.  Let the soup simmer to extract the flavours and then remove the lime leaf.

Once you are happy with the flavour of the stock then add the spinach and parsley.  Cook until it turns an emerald green color.   Once it's the bright green color turn it off and either blend with a stick blender which is what I did.  Less cleaning up.. but if you don't have one then use a blender or food processor or your magic bullet.  Anything that will liquify it.

Pour into a soup bowl and top with a garnish of hemp seeds for added Omega 3's and crunch.   You can drizzle a bit of yoghurt or cream if you want a creamier texture but it doesn't really need it.  

Because of all the aromatic vegetables and seasonings this soup is packed with flavour and blending it will make it feel very hearty and smooth.

Let's move on to a Tasty GREEN GOODNESS SALAD

I made this salad after seeing a similar salad but using what I had in the fridge.

In an effort to eat more Kale and kick up my healthy vegetable quotient.   As I sit here with the sniffles and think I may be getting a cold.  I blame my subway trip with loads of coughing and gross people who spread their germs all over the subway.   This is the time to Green Load up on my body to fight it.

So here's my version

Ingredients:

1 bunch of Black Kale or whatever Kale you like

1 hard boiled egg

1 avocado

4 inch cucumber

1 green onion

1/2 cup cilantro

juice of 2 limes

1 tbsp olive oil

6 grape tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste and you can add hot sauce if you like it spicy.

Hemp heart seeds for garnish

Directions:

Strip the kale from the stems and chiffonade the leaves.. If you don't know what that means it's to cut into thin strips.  Wash and drain and add to a bowl and add a bit of lime juice and massage the kale until it breaks down and turns a bright color.   Set aside and make the dressing.

In a blender add the avocado, half of the cucumber, green onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper.  Add olive oil or water if you want a thinner dressing.  You can add lemon juice too.   Blend until smooth.

Mix a couple of tablespoons of the dressing into the bowl of kale.

To the salad add the grape tomatoes cut in half and cut up the remaining cucumber into half moons and add on top.  Cut the boiled egg into slices and put on top.

Add a bit more of the dressing on top of the garnishes and then add the hemp seeds.  You can mix when you are ready to eat.  

This salad will keep for a while so it will work great for a work lunch or potluck.

I didn't add any hot spices but I think if I do it again I will add a few chili flakes for a little kick.

You can add whatever vegetables you like or omit the egg and tomato for a truly green salad.   Make it your own way.   If you try this let me know what you did and if you make my version let me know what you think.

Holiday Hangover

Do you have a Holiday Hangover?

It's the start of a New Year and we are just starting into January 2015.  Did you notice that the ads for weight loss services and products started on January 1st?  There's no coincidence in that fact.   Everyone spends most of December over indulging in Food and Alcohol while being social and trying to keep up with all the social obligations that they have whether it's a work Holiday Party or a Traditional Family Dinner or even just a party with friends.  You either can't say No or you don't want to say No to events and food and drink.  But then the marketers cash in to your guilt after all the gluttony is over and you look at your expanding waistline and shrinking pocketbook and the total lack of energy you have after trying to be everywhere and eat everything over the Holidays.

Are you feeling the effects of a Holiday Hangover?  Here's the thing.   It's not your fault.  Well some of it is but really you just fell into the trap that is set up by savvy marketers.   Starting from our Canadian Thanksgiving in October the marketers start pushing the Holiday Decorations, the entertaining tips, the gifts you need to buy and all the food shows really ramp up all the perfect holiday events that you need to host or attend.   Yes I have fallen into that trap and probably perpetuated it myself as well.
It's hard not to fall into it.  Everyone wants a better life and to spend time eating great food and drinking with our friends and family and enjoying our life.  We are encouraged to make the Holidays the best they can be.   Well it's not always a great time of year for everyone.  For myself it's a rough time of year because I don't have a family and I don't have a job other than this blog right now so the pressure to buy gifts and bring things to parties and host events is high but I end up alone on the key holidays because people spend it with their families.  Depression is at an increased level for a lot of people at this time of year because they just can't keep up or measure up to what's expected in their life.

Then the New Year hits and you are expected to magically shed all the Holiday weight and achieve impossibly high goals by a certain time.  But you still have a Holiday Hangover.   You probably have a huge amount of holiday bills to pay.  If you go back to work you are probably overloaded with work that didn't get done while you were busy attending all the parties.   If you drink you may be getting over the Christmas and New Year hangovers.   Yes you feel like crap in more ways than one and those smart marketers are going to help you fix all of your problems.   They will sell you gym memberships, weight loss services and products and make you feel like your life isn't good enough as it is and you need to change into a NEW YOU.   Yes,  I have been guilty of writing articles about this in the past but this year I am going to tell you that it's not your fault.

As I look around my home and see all the remaining treats from generous friends and even companies and my own cooking and buying of treats for entertaining I realize that it's hard to start your weight loss goals while all of these things are still around your house.   But you don't want to throw them out because people have thought about you and brought you sweet treats or your secret Santa gift exchanges contained treats or you received hostess gifts.  It's really easy to just pick up a gift basket from Costco or a box of Chocolate from the drugstore because it can keep and you don't have to do anything with it.  Who doesn't love chocolate or cookies or candies or cakes?
 I made a few food gifts because I didn't have money to spend on gifts.

I hosted a small party because I realized that I accumulated a lot of food from attending all my food blogging events and I told my friends not to bring any munchie foods but one of my friends still brought a box of chocolate because it's what you think you are supposed to do.   My same friend dropped by on the weekend totting a box of Cinnabons to have with tea.  
So you see that food is still all around you and this is why your New Year's resolutions to lose weight fail a week into January.  It's cold out and you feel like crap and this food makes you feel better right away until the guilt and television reminders kick in and then you beat yourself up about it.

This year my resolutions are to no make a diet and weight loss resolution but to drink more tea with great health properties like Oprah's Chai Tea or Green Tea.   I am also trying to clean up my life by making sure I don't waste food and keeping clutter to a minimum.   My big goal is to get a job that pays enough to live the life I want while still leaving me time to keep up on this blog because I enjoy it but it's not supporting me at this time unfortunately.

I am working on getting rid of my Holiday Hangover and all the after effects of a couple of months of buying and doing things I shouldn't be doing.   But I am going to try and ditch the guilt and just move forward and try and spend less and eat better.

Ditch the Holiday Hangover and the guilt and just keep moving forward.
My advice to ditch your Holiday Hangover is to take more time for Tea..
Drink the good stuff and Detox and take the time to sit back and enjoy it and re focus where you are going in this New Year.

Enjoy 2015 and be prepared to do it all again next year.

New Year's Day Fresh Start

It's New Year's Day today and every show on TV is now telling you how to lose weight, save money, have better relationships and do more.  If you are hungover you may be sleeping today off and you aren't reading this right now.  But if you didn't get drunk last night you could be either a non -drinker, you stayed in like I did or you have house guests staying over and you had to wake up to take care of them.  A lot of people think they need to start their Food and diet resolutions on January 1st.  I say start on the day you go back to a routine or better yet just eat real food and forget deprivation.  Deprivation only lasts so long and a few days later you give up.  If you just resolve to eat better quality food you will be better off in the long run.  Michael Pollan says in his book "Cooked" that you should just cook your own food at home and skip the diets because you are less likely to eat burgers and fries if you make them at home.  Nobody deep fry's everyday and if they do they got a whole other problem.

Last night I  stayed in and was prepared in case anyone wanted to come over and watch the ball drop on TV with me.  Sadly everyone had other plans so I stayed home alone and watched all the shows while munching on things I didn't plan on eating.   So today I decided to make a couple of things I was going to make for snacks in case anyone dropped by.  These are things you can make for a New Year's Eve cocktail snack or for a New Year's Day Brunch.   For me it was my lunch.

I had a package of already rolled puff pastry that just needed to be defrosted in the fridge and unrolled onto a cookie sheet.  So far easy.  I used to buy the packages you have to roll but this stuff is so easy and a lot less messy.   It even comes rolled in parchment paper that I used to cook the whole thing on in the oven.   I made it really simply two different ways.   A savoury Leek Tart and a Sweet  Fig and Goat Cheese Tart.

The Leek Tart

Cut leeks into 1/4 inch rings and wash in a bowl of water separating the rings and letting the dirt float to the bottom.

I cooked bacon in a pan just before and had the bacon fat to cook the leek in.  Butter or oil works fine if you don't have bacon fat.  

Saute the leeks on medium heat until they have softened and become translucent.  

Add Thyme, Parsley, salt and pepper to the leek mixture.   Set aside to cool.

Grate about 1/3 of a cup of gruyere cheese or you could use Fontina, feta or goat cheese even.

Roll out your puff pastry and place it on a cookie sheet and if it comes with parchment paper use that between the cookie sheet and dough to make it easy to take out and clean up.

I added a bit of the gruyere on top of the dough and then just spread the leek mixture lightly all over the puff pastry and left a tiny edge without leek around the tart.   Sprinkle the rest of the gruyere on top or whatever cheese you decide to use.

Bake in a hot oven as per Puff pastry directions but probably about 450F.   Bake for 10-15 minutes making sure the dough puffs up and is golden brown underneath.  Cut into slices with a pizza cutter to make it easier to serve.

Sweet Fig and Goat Cheese Tart

This is the easiest recipe ever.  All you need is a jar of Fig Jam and a package of soft goat cheese.

Roll out the puff pastry dough and then spread the fig jam over it and crumble the goat cheese on top.

Bake the same directions as above or per package directions for 10-15 min.  This one is great to assembly for a quick sweet dessert even.   You don't have to prep anything ahead.. Just assemble and bake.  It looks like you are fancy when you make this.  

I have also made these as turnovers or in muffin cups if you want them individual but if you are tired and you have to feed a lot of guests then this is the easiest way possible.   I was just lazy because it was just for me so I did it this way.



I also had a package of cheese fondue that I was going to heat up and eat with some crusty baguette and I also had some grapes and grape tomatoes to go with it.   You could still have this for brunch and just set it out and let people plunk what they want into the gooey cheese or you can melt up some good chocolate and have some fruits like grapes, apples, pineapple, bananas or clementines for a quick pick me up fruity dip.

Have things in your fridge and pantry that you can just take out and place on a platter and they are ready to eat.   Like cheese, charcuterie, olives, pickles etc.   Cut up veggies like celery, carrots and celery the day before even so you have them ready to go with a hummus dip or something for a healthy and quick and easy snack.   If you have some great breads and spreads you can set up a sandwich station where people can just make their own sandwiches.  

Sandwich options:

Sliced cheeses
Sliced tomatoes
Washed lettuce
Smoked Salmon
Cream Cheese
Egg or Tuna Salad
Hummus
Deli meats
Even the leftover sauteed leeks and bacon can be added to a sandwich.

Set yourself up for an effortless or little effort and lazy New Year's Day while still fuelling up on some tasty food.

Having a bowl of fruit with Clementines, Apples and Bananas will allow guests to just grab a fruit if it's first thing in the morning.   Just try and keep the bananas separate from the apples because they release gases that will over ripen other fruits.

If you need to DETOX after the wild New Year's Eve that you had you might want to set up a jug of water with lemons in your fridge.

You can add things like fresh mint or sliced cucumbers or pomegranate seeds if you want to jazz it up.    Even just citrus slices of lemon and lime or orange and clementine.   Pick things that will flavour your water and add some anti oxidants and vitamins and help flush out some of the toxins from the night before.

You can always make a Mimosa cocktail if you like with leftover champagne and orange juice if you have any left.

A great Green Tea is also a great idea to detox and boost your metabolism.

The most important thing is to forget the pressure to start your resolution or diet and think about refuelling for a fresh start to the New Year and rest and recharge for a big year ahead.