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Watermelon Lime Slushy

July 22, 2023August 3, 2016 by Kristi

Happy National Watermelon Day!!

This morning I packed up my four littles and we headed to the farm (Seton Harvest–our CSA–is one of our absolute favorite places) to put in some volunteer hours. Even at 8:30 this morning it was HOT! I knew after an hour or two of weeding we would all need a cool treat. So in honor of National Watermelon Day, I put some watermelon in the freezer before we left home.

Watermelon is a summer classic for good reason. There is nothing quite as refreshing on a hot summer day. Not only is it delicious, but it is great for hydrating and detoxifying the body. Watermelon is high in Viatmins A and C, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It contains fiber, a bit of protein (protein! who knew?) and a number of antioxidants including lycopene and lutein.

It has been found to improve the immune system, reduce inflammation, strengthen vision, aid in weight loss and reduce depression. Research indicates it may also help prevent heart disease.

What’s not to love?

This quick and easy slushy is one of my favorite summer drinks. It’s a fun and refreshing way to add watermelon to my family’s diet and the perfect way to celebrate National Watermelon Day. It sure beats instant lemonade or one of those gas station freezes from a health and taste perspective! Because watermelon already contains so much water, you don’t even need a juicer. Just put the cubed, frozen watermelon into your VitaMix or any high powered blender and blend until it’s smooth. The lime juice and zest really brighten the flavor. Even my child who doesn’t like watermelon (crazy!!) loves this. He says it tastes like lemonade.

A quick note about kitchen equipment: I’m not big on single use appliances and gadgets. But one thing that is absolutely essential in my kitchen is my VitaMix blender. It never leaves the counter. If you want to make smoothies, slushes, healthy dips, sauces or soups, homemade mousse or pudding or Popsicles … it is absolutely essential and worth every penny!

Print Recipe

Watermelon Lime Slushy

Ingredients

1/2 medium size seedless watermelon approx 8 cups, cubed
zest and juice of one lime

Instructions

Make sure you have a good ripe watermelon! Cut the watermelon into 1-2 inch cubes. Put the watermelon cubes in a freezer safe container and freeze for 2-3 hours.
When the watermelon is frozen, put the cubes into your [Vitamix|http://amzn.to/2avPUDC] or any high powered blender.
Add the lime juice and zest. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.
Enjoy immediately while its chilled and slushy!
!Note: If you would rather not take time to freeze your watermelon, this still makes a yummy juice! Just blend, pour over ice and enjoy.

Summer Salad with Berries and Avocado

July 22, 2023August 1, 2016 by Kristi

One of my favorite ways to get more fruits and vegetables into my diet is green smoothies. You can read about why I love green smoothies so much and get two of my favorite recipes here.

Another favorite way is to have a big green salad for lunch. My sister just did the Whole 30 plan a few months ago and she has been a good influence on my lunch habits. While we were on vacation earlier in the summer in St. Joseph, Michigan (a beautiful beach town on Lake Michigan with an amazing farmer’s market!) she got me back in the habit of having a big salad for lunch. It is such a great way to boost your nutrition for the day. My mom also often adds fruit to her salads. So I have been taking lessons from both of them and getting more creative with my salads. I just wish we had access to these beautiful farmer’s market berries all year long.

This is currently one of my favorite lunches. I even packed it for lunch on the beach several days. Mixed greens with fresh berries, avocado and pistachios for a little crunch. In place of dressing I just squeeze half a lemon over my salad and drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Loaded with nutrition, satisfying and delicious–this salad keeps me feeling good all afternoon!

This salad has 2 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit and packs a huge nutritional punch. Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries are all low glycemic and among the most nutrient dense fruits you can eat, containing more antioxidants than almost any other fruit. Blueberries, specifically, are rich in proanthocyanidin, an important antioxidant that has been found to fight cancer, promote weight loss and give you healthy glowing skin. I used blueberries and strawberries this time, but blackberries are in season here right now and are delicious in this salad too.

Avocado is also often considered a super fruit because of its nutritional content (high in folate, Vitamin K, and potassium among other things) and because it is high in healthy, monounsaturated fat. The healthy fats from the avocado, olive oil and nuts increase the satiety factor and help keep you feeling full. In addition, salad greens such as romain, kale, chard and spinach are all great sources of carotenoids, and studies have found adding avocado to your salad increases the rate at which your cells absorb and utilize these important antioxidants by two to six times. And, of course, the addition of healthy fats also increases the bio-availability of fat-soluable vitamins A, D, E, and K.

So enjoy this nutrient dense salad for lunch and you can feel good all day knowing you are giving your body a good dose of the nourishment it needs to fight inflammation, prevent disease and stay healthy!

But don’t worry …

If you glaze over reading all of this nutritional information, I’m with you. I share it just to motivate you (and me), but the truth is you don’t need to remember one word of it. I don’t believe in counting calories or fat grams or even tracking RDAs of specific nutrients, unless you need to address a specific health concern. If you want to skip to the bottom line, all you really need to know (to paraphrase Michael Pollan) is:

Eat real whole foods. Mostly vegetables, fruits and healthy fats.

Skip the sugar and processed junk.

And watch your health soar.

Print Recipe

Summer Salad with Berries and Avocado

Ingredients

5 oz approx. 4 cups fresh mixed salad greens*
1 cup fresh berries* I used blueberries and strawberries here but blackberries are in season right now and I love them too!
1/2 of an avocado cut in thin slices
1/4 cup pistachios

Dressing

1/2 lemon
Approx. 2 T
Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Please use organic greens and berries, where possible.
Spread salad on a dinner plate and top with berries.
Make sure your avocado is ripe. It should feel soft when you squeeze it. Cut it in half, slicing around the seed, and twist the halves apart. Use the side without the seed. With the avocado still in the peel,slice through the flesh lengthwise with a knife, then use a spoon to scoop it out of the peel. Make sure you get all of the green parts and leave only the peel, as most of the nutrients are in the darkest green parts of the avocado closest to the peel. Spread the slices on your salad. Leave the seed in the other half. Rub the flesh with a bit of lemon juice, wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator for another meal.
Sprinkle with pistachios or the nut of your choice. Walnuts are great here too.
Drizzle with the juice of 1/2 a lemon (I squeeze mine right over the salad) and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Enjoy and feel good knowing you've given yourself a great dose of the nourishment your body needs to feel great and stay healthy!

Sources for nutritional information:

World’s Healthiest Foods — www.whfoods.com

Self Nutrition Data — www.nutritiondata.self.com

Garlic & Herb Wild Salmon with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

July 22, 2023July 22, 2016 by Kristi

By now we all know how important omega-3 essential fatty acids are to our health. There are two essential fatty acids (essential meaning we have to get them from our diet): omega-3s and omega-6s. We should consume a diet with a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 EFAs to omega-3s. The Standard American Diet has a ratio of 12:1. We are eating far too many omega 6s (primarily from processed vegetable oils and processed foods containing them) and far too few omega-3s.

Too many omega-6s promote inflammation, and inflammation is the root of many diseases. A balance of omega 3s to omega 6s is absolutely vital for brain health, vision, joint health, cardiovascular health, digestive health and so much more. Trading pro-inflammatory foods for healing foods high in Omega-3s will have a huge impact on your health!

Wild salmon is one of the best sources of omega-3 EFAs. The International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids and the US National Institutes of Health both recommend at least 600 milligrams of omega-3s per day. According to Dr. William Sears, a renowned pediatrician, author and nutrition expert, eating 6 oz of wild salmon twice/week would give you the equivalent of this. (Sears, MD, William and Martha, Prime Time Health: A Scientifically Proven Plan for Feeling Young and Living Longer, p. 192-93.).

The health benefits of salmon are so great, even if it’s not your favorite it’s worth the effort to acquire a taste for it. When I was pregnant with my trio and on bedrest, sweet friends brought us dinner and asked if I’d rather have chicken or salmon. I answered chicken–I liked some fish but never really cared for salmon. If only I’d known then how much my babies and I all 4 needed that salmon! The year they turned two, I made a New Years resolution to cook fish once a week. One of my boys liked tuna and any white fish but always found salmon too fishy. For several years I kept making salmon and always made him eat 2 small bites, until one day out of the blue (maybe when I first made this recipe!) he suddenly decided he liked it.

Major mom victory! Persistence pays off!!

If you’re going to go to the trouble of eating salmon, make sure you’re buying wild salmon, not farmed. Even though it’s more expensive, it’s well worth it. Farmed salmon is much lower in omega-3s because the fish isn’t eating its natural diet of sea plants and creatures such as shrimp and krill. Farmed salmon is usually raised with antibiotics in its feed just like commercially raised land animals. And farmed salmon is almost always fed artificial coloring to try to mimic the rich orange color of wild caught salmon. The color of wild salmon comes from two potent anti-oxidants found in its natural diet: astaxanthin and canthaxanthin. Synthetic, petrochemical versions of these anti-oxidants, used to artificially color the salmon’s flesh, has turned into a big and lucrative business. Maybe someday I’ll write a post about all of the concerns with the salmon industry. For now, just know farmed salmon is giving you few health benefits and some harmful things as well. Stick with wild caught Alaskan salmon.

This is my family’s favorite salmon recipe. I get complaints if I try anything new (and I’m so thrilled that all of my kiddos love salmon that I rarely try anything new on them anymore!) It’s quick, really simple, can be prepared ahead of time and bakes in 20-25 minutes. All things I love in a meal. I love it with fresh herbs in the summer when my patio pots are overflowing, but it’s still very good with a generous rubbing of dried herbs, when you don’t have fresh on hand.

Roasted Brussels sprouts are one of our favorite veggies too, but this method is delicious with almost any vegetable (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, summer squash, sweet bell peppers …). It’s a great way to introduce new vegetables to resistant family members. Toss just about any vegetable with coconut, avocado or extra virgin olive oil and a generous sprinkling of sea salt. Add black pepper, garlic powder or dried herbs if you like. Roast til they’re starting to brown and are just al dente. All six of my clan will polish roasted vegetables off without any complaints. Or at least no complaints from the husband and daughters and minimal complaints from the boys, if I let them have ketchup. I still consider that a win!

Print Recipe

Garlic and Herb Wild Salmon with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

Garlic and Herb Wild Salmon

2 lbs. Wild Alaskan salmon thawed, if using frozen
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (I use
Celtic Sea Salt
or
Redmond Real Sea Salt
)
1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I use
California Olive Ranch
)
2 Large or 4 small cloves of fresh garlic minced
1/2 c. Fresh herbs such as basil parsley and rosemary, chopped

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

1 lb. Brussels sprouts rinsed and cut in half
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
to taste

Instructions

For the salmon

Pre-heat oven to 335 degrees. Lay thawed salmon fillets skin side down in a glass casserole dish or a baking pan pan. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of sea salt and a small pinch of black pepper.
In a small bowl mix the olive oil, minced garlic and chopped herbs. Rub mixture evenly over the salmon fillets. The dish can be made up to this point and refrigerated until you're ready to bake.
If you've refrigerated the fish, let it come to room temperature before baking, Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes, until the fish is tender and flakes easily with a fork.

For the Brussels Sprouts

Rinse your sprouts in a colander and cut them in half, unless they are already very small. Toss with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. Feel free to add garlic powder or other herbs if you like. Roast at 335 degrees, while the fish is cooking, 20-25 minutes or until the sprouts are starting to turn golden brown and are tender, but not too soft, when pricked with a fork.
Enjoy!

Start Your Day Right Smoothies

July 22, 2023July 18, 2016 by Kristi

Good morning, friends! I thought today I’d let you in on one of my favorite “secrets” to improving your health and feeling great all day–green smoothies.

I can’t even tell you what a difference it makes in my whole day when I begin it with a green smoothie. I’m happier, I have more energy, my mind is focused and clear and I’m far less likely to make poor food choices throughout the rest of day. If I don’t take time to have a smoothie with breakfast or AS my breakfast, it’s bad news for the rest of the day. I’m more likely to be tired and crabby, I have less energy, I’m more prone to brain fog and I’m much more likely to give in to cravings and snack on unhealthy food choices which make me feel even worse. It starts a bad downward spiral for the day.

How, you might be asking, can one tiny little habit like a morning green smoothie do ALL of this?

Smoothies are packed with nutrients. Most nutrition experts currently recommend that we eat at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which isn’t always easy. I work hard at it and I don’t always achieve this. Unless I start my day with a green smoothie that gets in 4-6 servings right off the bat. These phytonutrients, especially first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, go straight into your blood stream and fuel every single cell in your body. Your body will say: “Yes! Thank you!! THIS is the fuel I need to perform my very best and feel great today.” No really, it will. You can almost hear it.

Imagine what would happen if I filled my car up with Diet Coke or Gatorade instead of gasoline. You would look at me and think, “You idiot. No wonder your car won’t start.” And yet that’s exactly what we do with our bodies. We try to fuel our bodies with sugar and processed junk and then we wonder why they don’t run well. Why we don’t feel good and why we, as individuals and as a society, are getting sicker and sicker.

A recent study validated my own personal green smoothie experience, finding that in addition to all of the other amazing short and long term health benefits, people who eat more fruits and vegetables are actually happier and have greater psychological well-being!

Smoothies are high in fiber, but partially-digested (the blender does some of the work for you) so it’s easy on your digestive system. And all of this fiber keeps things moving. Did you know you should have at least 2 bowel movements per day? (Sorry, but it’s really important!) This helps you avoid bloating, gas and constipation, which gives you a flat tummy and helps you feel great. And when your elimination system is working properly, it is promptly removing toxins that make you feel bad and cause inflammation and harm to your health. This is a critical part of your body’s detoxification, or “garbage removal” system. Smoothies literally help move toxic waste from your waist.

I always add 2 tablespoons of good fat to my smoothies. Coconut oil, flax oil, flax seeds, chia seeds, avocado or a nut butter. It’s a great way to get in those brain-boosting and oh-so-important Omega-3 fatty acids. Healthy fats are essential because every single cell in our body uses them for energy. Your body doesn’t store good fats, a healthy balanced body burns good fats for energy. (Sugar and simple carbs are actually what your body primarily stores as fat.) Healthy fats are released slowly into your bloodstream, giving you sustained energy. And healthy fats make our foods taste better and more satisfying. If you’re trying to loose weight, sipping on a smoothie for breakfast and throughout the morning as a snack is a great way to satisfy your hunger and nutritional needs without a lot of calories.

So, here are my favorite Start Your Day Out Right Smoothies. These are the recipes I recommend for green smoothie beginners because they’re mild tasting, delicious and kid-friendly. If you already love green smoothies, or as you acquire a taste for them, you should up the nutritional value even more by adding stronger greens like chard, kale, collards and dandelion greens and using more vegetables and less fruit.

Try it every day for a week and see if it revolutionizes your day! I’d love to hear what you think if you do! And if you have a favorite green smoothie recipe please share in the comments!

Print Recipe

Start Your Day Right Smoothies

Ingredients

Tropical Green Smoothie

10 oz. package of spinach leaves or any dark leafy green
2 T Coconut oil
1 c. Water
1 Frozen banana
2 c. Frozen mixed yellow and orange fruit I like a blend of pinespple, mango and peaches

Banana Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

10 oz. package of spinach leaves or any dark leafy green
2 T Peanut butter all natural/no sugar added, use organic where possible( or substitute all natural almond butter)
1 c. Water or Almond milk
2 Frozen bananas
*Use organic greens and peanut butter when possible. Most leafy greens are on the EWG's Dirty Dozen list of produce with the highest levels of pesticide residue and peanuts are also one of the most heavily sprayed crops.

Instructions

Add the greens, oil or nut butter and liquid to your blender first and blend on high until the greens are completely puréed. Then add the frozen fruit and blend until smooth. You may want to add more or less liquid or some ice, depending on how thick and creamy you like your smoothies. I like to be able to drink mine with a straw, so I make them fairly thin.
These recipes make approximately 2-4 small servings for a family for breakfast or one larger smoothie for one person for breakfast and to sip throughout the morning, Enjoy your new morning habit and see how great you feel!

Tuscan White Bean and Tuna Salad

July 22, 2023July 12, 2016 by Kristi

Twelve years ago my husband and I got married in an 800 year old church overlooking the Adriatic, in a tiny hilltop town in Italy. The same church his great-grandparents were married in before they emigrated to the US. After a beautiful wedding day, we spent a week near Lucca, in Tuscany. Nearly every evening we ate dinner at a little wood fired pizza shop just down the mountain from our cottage. We still reminisce about our favorite “rucola e prosciutto” pizza, the simple fresh salads and the kind owner/pizza chef who came out from the kitchen every night to check on us and bring us gifts of biscotti, espresso and Lemoncello.

This was the beginning of my love affair with food. Italians are experts at taking the highest quality, fresh, healthy ingredients and preparing them with love and a simplicity that lets their natural flavors shine. The results are incredible in both their simplicity and deliciousness. (In my world, food must be healthy AND delicious!)

The closest we have come to repeating this authentic Italian experience here in the US is at our favorite Italian trattoria and pizzeria in Pittsburgh, PA called Il Piccolo Forno. This Tuscan White Bean and Tuna Salad was my attempt to recreate the flavors of an amazing salad we enjoyed there. A perfect combination of simple, fresh, healthy ingredients that made up a perfect summer salad.

This salad is delicious served on its own as a healthy lunch or a light dinner. Two of my four littles prefer it plain as pictured above or with some whole grain crackers. Nick has been known to turn it into a sandwich. But we really love it on a bed of mixed greens. Drizzle with a bit more extra virgin olive oil and an authentic, high quality balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with a few shaves of parmigiano reggiano and you’ll feel like you’re sitting at a trattoria in Tuscany.

Print Recipe

Tuscan White Bean and Tuna Salad

Ingredients

3 c. cooked Cannellini or Great Northern beans or 2 15.5 oz cans, drained and rinsed
2 cans tuna fish (I like
Genova yellowfin tuna in olive oil
)
1 shallot minced
1/2 c. Flat leaf Italian parsley chopped
1/3 c. Extra virgin olive oil (I use
California Olive Ranch
)
1/4 c. Red wine vinegar
Mixed greens balsamic vinegar and parmigiano reggiano, optional for serving

Instructions

In a bowl, combine beans, tuna, shallot and parsley. Add olive oil and red wine vinegar and stir to combine. Ideally, if you can wait, let the salad sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to allow the flavors to meld.
Serve alone or over a bed of mixed greens and drizzle with a high quality balsamic vinegar and shaved parmigiano reggiano.

Matteo’s Buckwheat Pancakes

July 22, 2023July 5, 2016 by Kristi

Five years ago when my son Matteo was diagnosed with intolerances to gluten, dairy and soy, I had a really steep learning curve. For the longest time we lived on clean meat, fruit, vegetables and rice while I tried to learn how to cook and bake with our limitations. In the end, we’ve adjusted quite well and our whole family is healthier for it. Aside from eating a lot more fruits and vegetables (did you know we should all eat at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day?) we’ve learned to enjoy quinoa, buckwheat and a variety of nutrient dense grains, seeds and other whole foods.

Buckwheat isn’t actually wheat at all, or even a grain. It’s an incredibly nutrient dense fruit seed with over 80 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients including manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorus and folate. It is low glycemic and high in protein, fiber and antioxidants. Among its many health benefits, buckwheat has been found to help reduce inflammation and lower unhealthy LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels. It’s a great alternative for those with celiac or gluten sensitivities and a good source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. But you should add buckwheat to your diet even if you aren’t vegetarian and don’t avoid gluten. Especially these pancakes.

These buckwheat pancakes were one of my first successful efforts in the world of gluten free baking so it seems fitting the recipe should be part of my first blog post. There was a time when Matteo would eat them two (or even three) times/day. They’re that good. Kid and in-law approved. The recipe is very forgiving and endlessly adaptable. If you’re used to white buttermilk style pancakes, try substituting unbleached all-purpose flour (or your favorite all-purpose gluten free blend) for one-third to one-half of the buckwheat flour and gradually increase the buckwheat as you acquire a taste for it.

Serve them with 100% real maple syrup (none of that fake artificially flavored corn syrup stuff please!!) And whatever you do, don’t skip the cinnamon and orange extract. Trust me on this one. Cinnamon has many healing properties, and cinnamon and orange are fantastic together and in combination with real maple syrup.

I’ve made several dozen batches of these pancakes in the last week to photograph. As I sorted through all of the too dark, too light or mis-shaped pancakes looking for the perfect ones I decided these aren’t picture perfect, food stylist pancakes. They’re better. Thick, hearty, nutrient-dense, delicious, four-hungy-kids-waiting-impatiently-for-their-breakfast pancakes. No need for perfection. Your hungry family will love them just as much as mine does.

Print Recipe

Matteo’s Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients

6 oz. approx. 1-1/4 c. buckwheat flour
2 oz. 1/2 c. ground flaxseed (flax meal)
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Sea salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 eggs at room temperature* (or flax gel for vegan option, see note below)
4 oz. 1/2 c. Melted coconut oil (applesauce also works well as a substitute in this recipe, it will just make your pancakes a bit cakier)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 tsp. Orange extract
8 fl.oz. 1 cup almond or coconut milk, at room temperature*
1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Mix milk and Apple cider vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes.
Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl or a large measuring cup, mix wet ingredients together. Then add to dry ingredients and stir until combined. These are fairly thick and hearty pancakes. If you like your pancakes thinner, feel free to add a bit more almond milk or water to the batter.
Lightly oil your pancake pan and warm it over medium-high heat. Cook pancakes 3-5 minutes per side, flipping to the second side when you start to see a few bubbles form.
Serve with 100% real maple syrup.