Healthy restaurants, recipes and more

I am way behind on my review and upgrades, so let’s get started! But I guess I should take a second to announce that I have two VERY exciting guests coming up on the blog—so please stay tuned!

Oh, I also wanted to mention that I recently won a contest on Hadley’s blog!  I won Clean Plates NYC This cute little healthy restaurant bible is a really great idea–I would actually love to write a book like this. Definitely check out Hadley’s review.  I thought the book would be a healthy restaurant guide version of my Shecky’s Nightlife Guide, but it’s actually much more than a Zagat.

The first half is packed with great information on nutrition and healthy eating. I loved that allow the author is clearly a raw food fan, he totally acknowledges that there are people who eat meat, dairy and everything in between and gives plenty of great restaurant options for all tastes and preferences.  This is particularly great for those who like to go on dates minus the granola. I also appreciate that he tastes the time to explain that soy products are health superfoods and that fake meats should really be consumed in limited quantities.  I was totally on board with the soy discussion.  What I didn’t love was how many times he mentioned how great the book was. I was like, friend, it’s a good resource, but this is not going to win a nobel prize for your contributions to health in NYC.  However, there were tons of restaurants I hadn’t heard of or been to, so that is exciting.  I recommend NYers check it out.  Obviously because the restaurants have to meet very high health standards, they tend to be on the expensive side, but I was really happy to learn more about restaurants that make an effort to be environmentally friendly.  That is definitely a food-industry issue near and dear to my heart.

So now time for some upgrades!

First off PIZZA!

 

I am not surprised many of you asked for a healthy pizza version!  I am going to be real with ya’ll about my views on food and indulging, please take it or leave it. Pizza is not one of my non-negotiables.  I like it, but I have always been a Sicilian-style girl, and NYC floppy thin crust has never really done it for me.  I probably eat pizza 3-4 times a year, and when I do, I only go for the good stuff: famous places and high quality ingredients, not a greasy slice on the go.

I am not saying this is everyone, in fact, I think pizza gets a bad rap for a food that is a good balance of food groups and quite satiating.  I also have a great pizza recipe in just a sec.  But for me, if I happen to be at a place who has a worthy Sicilian slice, here is my general game plan, this has been always, not just post-Bethenny.  I always order a nice salad and do everything in my power to skip the bread, bread sticks or garlic knots.  I am all about the doughy crust, so I save my appetite for that! So I get the pizza I want, but a word about veggies.  Most articles say load up, I say not quite so fast.  If the veggies are fresh and vibrant, pile them on.  If they are soaked in oil, skip them.  Veggies can really absorb oil.  Eggplant—one of my favorites—for instance, soaks up 45 calories worth of oil per piece.  An ordered of sautéed eggplant at an Asian restaurant can be over 1,000 calories!  So while my eye is instantly drawn to eggplant on the menu, I do my best to wait and prepare it at home with cold pressed olive oil cooking spray. While we are speaking of oil, go ahead a do a little blot blot, but there is no need to pound your pizza through your plate.

So now I have filled up on salad and ready to dive into my delicious melty, doughy slice.  Depending on the size, and sometimes in NYC, one slice is more like 3 or 4 (i once got “a slice” that was 8” by 8”!), I might eat 1/3, 1/2 or, if it’s small and I am actually still hungry, two slices.  It really depends on my hunger and the size. When I say 1/3 of a slice, the slice was like 4x the size of a dominos slice. Oh, great tip from an upcoming guest poster, just because it is there doesn’t mean you have to finish it, eat 3/4 and access how much you need the last 1/4. For some reason, I always have more control out than at home!

Fortunately, pizza is pretty easy and healthy to make at home.  I have never been a pita or english muffin pizza gal, as if you hadn’t noticed, I like doughy crust.

So I prefer to go with whole wheat flatbread.  I couldn’t find my usually 100% whole wheat brand, so I had to go with Kontos which lists whole wheat first and enriched wheat after.  Try to find a nice 100% whole grain pocketless pita or flatbread whenever possible!  They give the illusion of real pizza dough and only take a few seconds to prepare. Plus, they clock in around 200 calories, less than most ready-made crusts, which I never enjoyed anyways.

So basically I threw a bunch of assorted veggies in the oven with garlic, sea salt and cooking spray for 10 minutes and when they had a couple minutes left, I put the pita in the toaster to get it crusty.

Then I spread two tablespoons of sauce, sprinkled it with 1/4 low fat cheese and a couple tablespoons whipped cottage cheese and sprinkled it with baby spinach.  I popped that in the oven for about 8 minutes and viola, pizzeria-style pizza.  This is a super large serving for around 375 calories, you could serve half with a big salad and keep the total around 300.

After

 

Ingredients: (i didn’t measure, so these are estimates.)

• 1 Kontos WW Pocketless Pita
• 1-1 1/2 generous cups zucchini, summer squash, onion, garlic and broccoli.
• 2 chopped sundried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 2tbs sauce
• 1/4 cup LF cheese
• 2 tbs whipped cottage cheese

If you don’t like my version, Roni has a stromboli recipe that looks AMAZING!

And of course you know that everyone loves Amy’s pizzas.   I haven’t tried Amy’s yet, but I like that they now offer SINGLE SERVE options! Definitely  a healthy pizza option.

Next Up: NACHOS

Nachos can be a great, filling, yet light meal.  While this is sort of a “what I had on hand version,” I will list my ideal recipe below—note measurements approximate.

• 6 black bean Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla chips and 6 Guiltless Gourmet tortilla chips.  These are by far the best baked tortilla chips out there!  They come in tons of awesome flavors and have a very generous serving size, in fact, I didn’t even need the whole serving. The best part is, you would never know they are baked, unlike many bland baked brands.
• 1 1/2 cups grilled, steamed or roasted veggies
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup low fat cheese (i didn’t have low fat so I used a little less, you can even try whipped cottage cheese  or a blend)
• sprinkle parm
• 1/4 black beans (I only had chickpeas)

I reheated the leftover veggies for 30 seconds in microwave, then I put the chips in a glass baking dish, layered on the baby spinach, then the veggies, salsa and beans.  Topped it evenly with the cheese and baked at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Yum!  All this for under 300 calories!

I also came across this great Eggplant, Tomato and Spinach Nacho recipe. 

Last up for today, SCONES.

While I have never really liked scones, I thought I would give this one a stab.  Besides the ones I had in England in Feb, were much better than I remembered.  You could give the low fat blueberry scone recipe  from the May issue of Women’s Health Magazine a try—it’s not online yet, but this recipe is really close, only chances 1 cup white, 1 cup whole ww flour, .5 cup buttermilk instead of regular and the addition of 1/2 cup sugar.  But my honest suggestion?  This might be a food where it is best to have the rare splurge on the real thing.  Sometimes you just can’t accept substitutes.  I would suggest making it a nice occasion, such as a afternoon at Alice’s Tea Cup with a friend. Enjoy every bite and make it the one treat of the day.

That’s all for now folks!

For the love of salad

I think it’s great so many of you are doing the salad challenge.  I rarely go a day without a salad!  My parents served a salad before every dinner, so I could either wait until everyone was done with salads and the entree was finished and ready to be served or I could eat the salad to keep myself occupied.  Since I was always one to fit in with the adults, I started by picking the carrots out and worked my way to being a full blown salad lover pretty early on in life.  I think serving salad before (as opposed to alongside) a meal is one of my parents’ healthiest habits. This week I decided to take photos of a few of my daily greens.  I typically go for baby spinach as my base of choice, but I mixed it up this week. #1 Beet, goat cheese and globe grape Mixed baby greens, beets, with sliced globe grapes (scrummy), cucumber (I can’t eat salad without cuc), whipped cottage cheese and a slight drizzle of Blanchard and Blanchard Low-fat honey dijon.   #2 Cucumber and Three-pepper salad.  This was inspired by one of the best salads I ever had!  I was in Germany, and I think I was so happy to have a meal of incredible fresh, locally grown veggies that I wanted to BE this salad.  I will give you the recipe to the original, which I modified slightly based on what I had in the fridge. Base of thinly sliced cucumber (no lettuce in the real salad actually—i think that was the secret!), tri colored bell peppers, roma tomato, thinly sliced red onion, fresh basil and oregano and feta, it was tossed with EVOO, sea salt and lemon I believe.  This is the most incredibly cleansing salad. Due to the high water content I couldn’t even finish it, and believe me, I can take down a salad!    Sorry I didn’t realize that the drizzle of balsamic vinegar would ruin the picture. #3 One version of the Daily Avocado Classic-copy right Natalia Rose .  Mixed greens, avocado, sun dried tomato, grape tomato, carrot and cucumber with LF honey dijon.  I eat this salad a lot; my classic version is avo, sun dried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, baby spinach and sprouts tossed with a touch of spicy mustard, agave, lemon and sea salt. If you need protein, I suggest adding edamamme or rosemary crackers.      #4 When in Spain Salad I can’t get enough brussels lately, even though they have always been a fav! This salad was romaine, lightly roasted brussels, sun dried tomato, sugar snap peas, grape tomato, carrots and cucumber with an amazing organic raw spanish sheep’s milk cheese that was on sale for $7.99 a pound from $19.99 a pound. Just a touch of lemon and sea salt to dress.      #5 Soho Chic Salad This salad was inspired by the absolutely amazing salad I had at 202 Cafe in London, which had roasted fresh figs, pistachios and goat cheese on toasted baguette rounds.  While I could reach the levels of divinity provided by the original, it was still a fabulous blend of textures and flavors.  Romaine, sliced plum, sliced dried figs, cucumber, sugar snap peas, and goat cheese, served with WW flat bread.      By the end of the weekend I will have a ton of product reviews and the recap of the more half marathon and expo! Later skaters!

Anything that can go wrong….and a little bit of luck

Okay, today’s race was a challenge almost from the start.
I hadn’t planned on going out last night, but my roommate and I each got invited to parties in the building, and went to both. Lappin up the vino, not a great pre-race plan–thank god the Fitness Women’s Race start time was 9:30…late for races! I had to be there before number pick up and registration closed at 9:15

8:06 So this morning I woke up feeling okay, but a little less than 100% on the clarity side of things. I brushed my teeth, removed last night’s mascara (finally tried my givenchy phenomen’ eyes–good, but not worth the hype), threw a few things in a bag, and was running a little late. I made down a few floors in the elevator when I decided to go back and grab some cash, just in case.

Good news, there was no hurricane and it was not pouring, or even raining! But there was at least 90% humidity! Thank god for my ultra thin Hind running shirt, this thing is so light I almost feel naked in it!

When I went back up I got my key stuck in the door. I was definitely not happy because I hate hate hate to be late. I am extremely laid back, but something about being late freaks me out! So I went to the front desk and the maintenance guy was right there! So I asked him to go retrieve my key and leave it for me at the desk. The guy being right there was super lucky!

8:32AM I ran out of the building got a much needed SF Red Bull and the Duane Reade downstairs, and alternated that and water on my run to the subway.

8:36AM The train was pulling in when I arrived.

8:41AM I arrive at Grand Central and transfer to the 6 uptown-holla JLO

8:45AM I get off the subway and my ipod speakers stop working! WTF PS My ipod made a miraculous recovery after the white screen incident! So now I am ipodless for my race! I really was hoping to get a good time as I had been training a lot and had a good shot at improving!

8:46-9:05AM-I search desperately for a Duane Reade to buy new headphones, but on Lex, Madison and Park on the upper east side, Duane Reade does not mix with Dolce and Gabbana. So I make a last ditch effort to head east–out of my way–to see if the less classy 3rd ave has a DR.

9:06 No luck. There is nothing open that would sell headphones, so I hurry west to the park and check in around 9:10, enough time to pick up my goody bag and a t-shirt and an extra bag for my roomie, they said it was fine! (see below)

Magazine, Quaker Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bar, Mini Luna PB Cookie Bar (ate it on the way home), Body Wash Gel, Quattro Razor, Girl Scout Alumnae Registration Card

Function Light Weight Acai Pomegrante drink with ECGG. Tasted just like Diet Snapple Raspberry Iced Tea. Fine tasting, but nothing special.

9:15-I put on bib and secure chip to shoe. and head to corrals

9:30-Race starts. Despite the fact that I had no tunes for the first time in forever, I actually liked being aware of what was going on around me. I could focus on finishing. I could listen to others conversations. (People listening on the run.) There were a lot of first timers in the race!

Mile 1 I took easy

Mile 2 I was feeling good so I speed up

Mile 3 I concentrated on short strides and low arms during the uphills. Lifting my knees and flicking my feet back to make the hills easier. Then widening my arms and my stride during the downhills. You really run with your arms as much as your legs, the legs will do what the arms do as Ramon says.

Mile 4 I tried to speed up a bit, even though I was breathing harder than normal for me. I tried to relax my face, arms, shoulders and hands and put the energy in my legs. I was actually freezing at this point because I was so soggy, most people were just pouring sweat from the crazy humidity!

10:15ish At the end of the race, I felt pretty good. A girl came up to me and asked me how the race went. I said pretty good and asked her how hers went. She said she didn’t feel very well and it was her first race. I made sure she got some water and told her that it was common to feel a little sick to the stomach in the beginning. She asked if I had run any races or marathons and I said that I was doing the NYRR races to qualify for the NYC Marathon in 2009 and I had run the Nike Women’s last fall. She was signed up for this fall’s Nike Marathon with TNT. I lost it! I was so excited for her, I probably scared her. I told her it would be the best experience of her life; the TNT coaches would be right there on the course; there were massages, pedicures, chocolate and Tiffany’s, and it was basically the greatest race ever. I wished her luck and assured her she would be fine!

I ended up getting my best time of the season, and the worst Age/Graded Percentage of the year. Kind of funny!

I am slow, but clearly training more helped. Imagine if I had my ipod! lol

Here is a look at my NYRR Race History–I am not a speedster!:
Race Name, Date
Distance(miles)
NetTimeOverallPlace
AgeGraded %

Fitness Games Women 4M September 6, 2008
4.0
37:54
50.7 %
Run for Central Park July 19, 2008
4.0
39:08
49.1 %
WABC Fight/Prostate Cancer June 15, 2008
5.0
49:56
48.4 %
Japan Day June 1, 2008
4.0
38:26
50.0 %
Run As One, TGL Classic April 13, 2008
4.0
38:29
49.9 %
Scotland Run 10K March 30, 2008
6.2
1:00:47
49.9 %
NYRR Fred Lebow Classic January 12, 2008
5.0
48:07
50.2 %
Norwegian Festival Grete’s Grea… October 6, 2007
13.1
2:25:41
45.1 %
NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: … September 23, 2007
13.1 miles
2:14:00
49.1 %

12:00ish When I got home I had my 3rd shower in 24 hours–so humid and made a big salad ( i never use ice berg, but somehow I got it and had to use it before moving onto my beloved spinach and purple cabbage) and two big oat bran, kamut flake, double vanilla kashi oatmeal pancakes with banana.


Check out this CRAZY variety of sprouts from the Sproutman!

I have about 50 different oatmeal pancake versions. This was the first time I used oatbran, it was a bit dry, so use oatmeal to increase moistness. Plus I got a call during the first one and forgot to add in the sliced banana!

Here is the recipe–I don’t measure anything, so these are estimates:

1/3 cup oatbran, about 11/2 TBSP kamut flake and kashi creamy vanilla instant oatmeal, a dollop chobani vanilla (plus another big dollop to top), two egg whites, pinch baking soda and celtic sea salt, 1/2 banana, best to add before flipping or mashed in.

My classic recipe is

roughly 1/3 cup oats, generous sprinkle kamut flakes and coconut flakes, 1/4 cup egg whites, dollop plain yogurt (although flavors are yummy also), dollop whipped cottage cheese, pinch cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda.

Fruit of choice added to top while cooking first side and before flipping.

Favs include: banana, berries, sugar free apple pie filling or sugar free cherry pie filling-so creamy and delish for special indulgences, fresh chopped peaches, dried unsulphured cherries.

Depending on type of fruit I usually top with about two teaspoons ( i estimate)of high grade 100% maple syrup or raw almond butter.

Yum-O

I just noticed these fabulous vegetarian recipes on Foodnetwork. They all look so good, I don’t know which I want to make first. Maybe I’ll just 1/4 the recipes and make a bunch of little plates and eat them tapas-style. My fav!

The Art of Salad Making

Several readers have asked me about salads, and I have to say salad making is an art. The proper combinations of creamy, crunchy, sweet, bitter, acidic, and rich paired with a stunning dressing can make each salad a sumptuous meal. Conversely, over doing it with way too many ingredients or under doing by limiting the beautiful potential of vegetables can turn one off to salads rather quickly.

I could probably post pages upon pages about salads, but I will do my best to be as succinct as possible!

I have pretty much always loved salads, but two women in particular taught me the art of salad making, and I would love to share the lessons I have learned, and where you can get more detail too.

Reading Raw Food Real World by Sarma Melngalis taught me how to balance flavors and textures, after a few weeks of using her techniques all I ever wanted to eat was salad–at least one massive one a day. Obviously I can’t copy the amazing passage on salad making directly, but I will leave you with a few great quotes and a summary of the advice. Read the book for more info and recipes.

“We think salads are a great opportunity for creativity because you can easily combine many ingredients, and because you can unite so many varying textures and flavors and get them all in one bite…Constructing salads is easy but keep in mind that some factors do apply to making a great salad. Think of them as vegetable sundaes…” Raw Food Real World page 99.

The most important rules are to make sure you balance your flavors and textures. Contrast acidic ingredients like balsamic and citrus fruits with rich, creamy ingredients like avocados or goat cheese. You might use a soft mild lettuce like butter lettuce with a crunchy sharp vegetables and nuts.

Aim to have a delicate balance of:

- acid/citrus

-creamy/rich

-tart/bitter with sweet

-chewy/crunchy with smooth

-salty/watery or juicy ingredients–celtic sea salt tends to balance and intensify flavors in recipes.

You don’t need every single one of these elements in each, but having some contrasts in texture and depths of flavor makes salad more interesting.

Sundried tomatoes, heirloom Tomatoes, goat cheese (raw of regular), with fresh basil and oregano, red and green peppers, cucumber and jicama tossed with balsamic and some sea salt, is a delicious example. You might not need to include all of those ingredients, but I wanted to give options. There are so many textures: crunchy, creamy, crisp, and chewy, and flavors rich, salty, spicy, acidic.

Here’s one last classic example: Pecan crusted goat/gorgonzola cheese with pears and dried cherries and balasamic. So you have got a rich creamy cheese contrasting a sweet juicy fruit, crunchy nutty pecans, and tart/sweet/chewy dried cherries, balanced with acid from the dressing.

Remember that your choose of base greens in limitless, you can find soft lettuces like mesclun, peppery greens like arugula, watery ones like romaine, bold flavors like spinach, bitter ones such as chard or kale, and sweet, substantial bases like shredded cabbages. Research and explore your options they all offer different benefits. Personally I love baby spinach and purple cabbage.

For one of my favorite salads look here, for one of Sarma’s favorites look here. (I was really into raw a while back, but I found that I needed more balance in my life although clearly I enjoy raw food.)

Rule number two, you are creating a salad not a chopped meal. This is from Natalia Rose. Her books are worth buying for the salad recipes alone, totally amazing!

While many restaurants chop up a meal throw it on lettuce and call it a salad. A really salad consists of mainly vegetables with one or two other elements like a protein or nuts. If you are eating a salad with lettuce, chicken, cheese, beans and croutons, you are not going to feel light energized and radiant afterwards.

Which brings me to my third tip. Limit your salads to one or two fatty items, such as avocado (which I encourage you to try until you love. It took me a long time, but they are amazing for you! To start, make sure they are the perfect ripeness (too hard and they taste like soap) and spread them on whole grain toast–then tell me you don’t love them!) cheese, nuts, or dressing. Although when you are starting don’t worry too much about the dressing, if it makes you love salad and it is made of high quality ingredients, you should digest it seamlessly. That being said you need at least one fat to keep you full and to digest the fat soluble vitamins in vegetables. Fat is really essential to feel all the amazing effects of the nutrients you are consuming.

Keep ingredients to around 5. Too many more than that and you start to lose the individual tastes. I count cucumber, jicama and diakon radish as freebies.

Tip four, add sweet, juicy and chewy and you will be diving in for more. When I started adding mango to my salad, I couldn’t get enough. Juicy fruits like mango, kiwi and grapefruit makes salads refreshing, hydrating and uber delicious.

Apples and pears make them crunchy and hearty.

The vast array of dried fruits like golden raisins, dried cherries, etc. add a great sweet flavor and chewy texture that is just divine. Corn is also a great sweet, chewy addition, fresh not canned!

If you are confused on salty-sea vegetables, dulse, many seeds, corn, tomatoes, cheeses are just a few examples of salty.

Now that you now how to make salads sinfully delicious through flavor combinations, here are some tips to keep you full and lean:

Start with your leafy base
-add 3+ fresh vegetables, with no more than one starchy-like corn or peas
-add protein of choice
-add fat
-add an optional fun ingredient, such as nuts, fresh/dried fruit, or other item you love-1-2 TBSP.
-somethings, like laughing cow cheese fall into many categories (protein, fat, creamy) so you can get some bang for your buck and a nice dressing as well.
-Nuts and dried fruits go very well together with an all vegetable salad, so think of nuts as your fat/protein and dried fruit as your fun item. Top with balsamic, agave, or a fruity dressing like the All Natural Maple Grove Farms ones.

If that’s not enough to get you started, I went through the menus of some NYC restaurants that make great salads (Chopt, tossed, FreeFoods NYC, benvenuto, Angelica Kitchen, Candle 79, Caravan of Dreams–look them up on menupages or google them for full menus, I was too lazy to include all the links!)and listed them as ideas for you to make your own! Some may not follow all the rules, but I tried to pick ones that came close.

Summer Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette baby field greens, roasted corn, grape tomatoes, cucumber, golden raisins, strawberries, homemade plantain chips.

Chopped Greek with Two Virgins baby field greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, feta, fresh peppers, red onion.

Garden Salad baby field greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, golden raisins, sunflower seeds.

Spinach Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette baby spinach, shiitake mushrooms, roasted portobello, roasted sweet onions, toasted hazelnuts, homemade croutons.

Chop’t Ten Vegetable iceberg lettuce, grilled asparagus, green peas, hearts of palm, carrots, broccoli, beets, white mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes and corn we recommend chop’t secret house blend

Teriaki Shrimp a blend of spinach and romaine lettuces, carrots, slivered almonds, real oranges, snow peas.

Sea Caesar crisp romaine lettuce tossed with creamy garlic dressing. Topped with seasoned sourdough croutons, a sprinkle of smoked dulse & nori strips

Orchard mesclun lettuces, apple, toasted pecans, dried bing cherries & sourdough croutons; tossed in a rosemary vinaigrette

Mixed Sprout a refreshing toss of snow pea shoots, sunflower sprouts & seeds, & mint; mixed with cabbage, daikon & carrots in a cool mint vinaigrette. Adorned with toasted peanuts, onion sprouts & watercress

Balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes & basil marinated chickpeas, over local greens tossed with extra virgin olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, & coarse sea salt.

Baby Greens Salad baby greens, cranberry beans, roasted butternut squash, quinoa, avocado, toasted sunflower seeds, poblano dressing

Roasted Beet Salad mache, arugula, beets, baby carrots, haricots verts, ginger gold apples, fennel, toasted pecans, vanilla-fig dressing

Formaggio Di Capra E Noci pistachio encrusted goal cheese, beets and seasoned pecans, on a bed of arugula, endive and radicchio

Final notes: The salad above is a mix of all kinds of romaines and rainbow chards, carrots, snow peas, kiwi, a sprinkle of pure food and wine cheesy raw crackers (to make it more fun for you guys), cucumber, and cherry tomatoes. After I dressed it lightly with Newman’s Light Honey Dijon. I served it fage mixed with cinnamon and strawberries.