Happy Thanksgiving

Be thankful for all you have, tell people you love them, and remember, there is no shame in taking off your pants if it means a third helping of potatoes.

No shame.  None.

In love and gluttony,
Melissa

Regarding the Whole Twinkie Hysteria

Everyone just calm the f**k down.  It's going to be okay.

Peace and ho-hos,

Mel

Thanksgiving Blog

Hey guys,

Life has been interesting lately, and by interesting, I mean an all out shit show.  Due to the shit showiness, I am probably not cooking anything this year.  I'll still eat a lot, but someone else will probably prepare it.  However, I wanted to post at least once about our upcoming national day of glutton and the New York Times has provided the right stuff.  Check out this interactive Thanksgiving-erator to help you decide what your menu says about you.  It mostly just made me hungry, but maybe you'll be inspired.  Enjoy!

Also, because I said "the right stuff":

Hang tough y'all,

Mel

Wine: It's What's For Dinner

Greetings fellow boozebags,

Let's just all agree that wine is swell.  It's great for cooking, you get to use fancy glasses, it's good for your heart (in "moderation", whatever that means), and it's a great gift for people whose personalities you don't care about but you can't show up to their home and eat all their fancy cheese without a little barter.  Is that just me?  I love fancy cheese.  I ain't even sorry.

Anyway, wine.  It's lovely.  Now, I happen to be a broke ass mutha trucker, so the wine I drink usually costs around $6.99 per bottle, maybe $12.99 if I want to impress somebody.  However, I do try to give slightly nicer bottles as gifts around the holiday season (to people I do care about and know them well enough to know they love booze).  **cough** Jaime **cough**.

If you want to give the gift of booze or just get fancy drunk by yourself, here's a great article from the New York Times featuring 20 Autumn Wines for $20.

Go forth, enjoy, and get drunk.

Peace & Vino,
Mel

Thursday Night

I spout a lot of shit about "healthy foods" and "food is fuel" and "vegetables", so I feel it is only right to share that last night, not only did I not cook or prepare one gd fresh piece of food, I stuffed myself with this:

and also this....

I also did nothing but watch two seasons of The League on Netflix.  

I regret nothing.

Happy weekend,

Mel

Everyone Stop Eating My Favorite Stuff

Hey guys,

I'm wicked serious today.



 Alright, look, I'm a pretty low maintenance, zen kind of gal**, but this shit is getting ridiculous.  Although Buzzfeed has given me 40 adorable reasons to be happy about it, I'm not okay with this bacon shortage.  You know why?  I mean, other than the fact that bacon is the crack of foods.  Even my vegetarian friends are like, "dude, bacon smells sooooo gooooood!".  That's a true story.  But back to my rant.

Bacon is just the latest in a long line of my favorite foods to be caught in the midst of a shortage scandal.  First, coffee, then strawberries and salmon, now bacon and that's just the tip of the shortage iceberg.  This is simply unacceptable. 

First of all, are we such greedy, greedy, bastards, that we need to make this?

Bacon shortage?  Color me shocked!

Look, I don't want to get all preachy on your interweb asses, but can't we all enjoy our favorite things without gluttonous, environment-destroying behavior?  Everybody just be cool, know where your food is coming from, and take care of the planet.  Plants and creatures should not be in shortage because of human greed and blissful ignorance.  Let's all play nice and share the bacon....

That sounds dirty, right?  Like hide the sausage?  Ew, anyway....

Here are some links I like that teach me about this stuff:

For information on fishes and seafood, visit the Seafood Watch site

For general environmental news and information visit the Environmental Working Group

and, for veggie-friendly recipes and tips (eating less meat really is good for you and the earth), visit Meatless Mondays

Alright, no more ranting about food, unless we actually do run out of coffee, then god help you all.

Peace, Love, and Bacon,
Mel

** I'm only low maintenance is my mind

Mental for Lentils

Hi food eaters,

I threw some sh*t in a bowl and it was delicious and I'd like to share it with you.  One word: Lentils.  A few additional words: garlic, feta, arugula, in my face.

First, giving credit where credit deserves to be given, my inspiration was found here.  The original recipe, found on Epicurious, sounded delicious, but I did a few modifications based on personal tastes and the ingredients at my disposal. 

Lentil & Arugula Salad w/ Feta & Cherry Tomatoes

You'll need:

2 cups brown lentils
2 cloves garlic (mashed to paste)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup arugula leaves
1 cup cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
sea salt (to taste)
lemon juice (optional)

Boil lentils until tender, but still firm (15-20 mins).  Whilst the lentils boil, mince & mash your two garlic cloves into a paste and mix with 1/2 cup of olive oil and a dash of sea salt.  Drain lentils, mix with olive oil, and let cool.**

Mix in arugula, tomatoes, and feta, and serve.  I also squeezed half a lemon over the salad.  I love citrus.

That's it.  Easy, breezy, filled with protein & fiber, and delicious.  In fact, lentils are pretty badass.  You can read more about them here.

**Technically, I should have let the lentils cool completely (3 hours minimum), but frankly, I didn't have that kind of time, so my bowl of lentils only cooled for about 40 mins.  The salad was served warm and it kicked ass, as did leftovers for lunch.

With my lentil salad, I served lemon & chive seared salmon, toasted pita bread, and a wonderful bottle of cheap Prosecco.  It was amazing.  The meal was overall one of the best I've accomplished.  It scored high on the nutrition, taste, and thrifty scales, which is really all I hope for in life.**

**that's a lie.  I'm a total greedy biznitch.

Here are some pictures:

Garlic paste & olive oil

My boyfriend "helping" me cook dinner.  :)

Fin

That Chicken is Sexy as Hell

I want this book.  I'm quite possibly in love with this book. 

Smooth(ie) Sailing

Greetings cooks, food lovers, and people who stumbled here accidentally,

Today, we're talking kale & blenders.  Kale is awesome for you.  If your body was the class geek, kale is the super model your body marries after it invents some wicked cool technology thingie later in life.  Wait, maybe kale is the money you make?  Maybe it's just the wicked cool thingie...

I don't know.  That's not the point.  The point is kale = goodness.  Learn some more about kale goodness.  I'll wait.....

Great, moving on. I don't yet own a juicer, but if I did, I would be a juicing fool.  However, I do own a blender and it lets me create healthy & wholesome smoothies, such as:

Kale Raspberry Smoothie

You'll need:

1 cup chopped & rinsed kale
1 cup rinsed raspberries
1 sliced banana
1 cup milk

Combine all your ingredients in the blender and blend for at least 1 minute.  If you don't blend enough, you'll get a nice mushy, chunk of kale out of nowhere and it is NOT pleasant.  Trust me.

A couple of notes about smoothies from personal experience.  First, my favorite milk to use is coconut because I like the consistency & flavor, however, since using coconut or almond milk could potentially kill my fella, I've switched to 1% mooing milk for my smoothie mix.  Soy milk is also a good choice if you're non-dairy only.  Second, this particular combo was missing something.  First, I think it needed more berries.  Second, I planned to add a drop of vanilla, but discovered I had no vanilla to add (smoothie fail).  It was still delicious, but mostly tasted like a green banana (as the fella accurately pointed out).  It was good, but it could be better.  Fo sho.

One of my favorite things about morning smoothies (or juices) is the number of fruit & veggie servings you can knock out as soon as you start your day.  For instance, this smoothie contained 1 serving of each ingredient and I easily could have added more kale and berries to up that number.  It's a great way to help you get your 8-10 reccomended servings in per day and not feel like you're munching on kale leaves and twigs non-stop.  Unless you really like those things, in which case, carry on.

As always, thanks for reading.  Play outside and eat your veggies!

Rainbows & Kale love,
Mel

Recipe: Lemon Chive Seared Salmon with Lemon Soy Broccoli and Cinnamon Batsami Rice

Hi gang,

This is an exciting post for me.  It's been a busy couple of seasons around my life.  Lots of jobs, travel, snot, and random activity has kept me out of the kitchen more than I like.  As a result, I've also been a lot less healthy than I like.  But everything is getting back on track.  I've had time to chop and prepare on the go salad lunches.  I got in four full work-outs this week (and didn't die, which frankly surprises me), and now, I HAVE TIME TO COOK!!!!!  Like, make a real dinner, in my kitchen, including sauteing shit, cook.  It made me so happy to cook a meal.  It made me more happy that it turned out healthy and delicious.

First the ingredients: 

Lemon Chive Seared Salmon
1 14-16 oz salmon filet
1/4 cup chives
2 lemons
salt
pepper
1-2 TSP butter

Lemon Soy Broccoli
2 cups broccoli
1/2 lemon (juice)
2 tsp soy sauce
sesame seeds

Cinnamon Batsami Rice
1 cup batsami rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 TSP butter
1 TBSP cinnamon

Let's begin with the salmon.

Evenly season the filet with the salt, pepper, and chives, squeeze the juice of half of one lemon over the salmon, slice the remaining half and place on top of the filet.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

If you tilt your head and squint, it's a face.  

Next, we sear the salmon.  Evenly line your pan with butter (you won't need much, 1-2 tsp) and turn the heat on high.  Sear the salmon, skin side down for 4-5 minutes (depending on thickness), flip and sear for an additional 4-5 minutes.  I also squeeze a little more lemon juice into the pan once the salmon is flipped.  A lot of recipes/chefs will tell you not to flip, but this method works well for me.  It helps me evenly cook the fish, without it getting overdone or being raw in the middle (both have happened to me in the past).  This piece of fish was really thick in the middle and it turned out perfectly.  Medium in the middle, not overdone on the edges.  Happy salmon!

While your salmon is sitting in lemon & chive land.  Let's prepare our sides.  First up, is broccoli. 

I love steamed broccoli and this is one of my favorite broccoli recipes.  Steam your broccoli until soft, but still firm.  For me, this was approximately a 5 minute steam.  Move to a bowl and let cool.  Toss in the juice from one half of a lemon, 2 TSP of low sodium soy sauce, and mix well.  Top with 1 TBSP of sesame seeds.  Be careful not to use too much soy sauce.  Broccoli absorbs flavors so well, too much soy sauce and you'll lose all the other flavors.

Lastly, let's look at our rice.  Saute your onions & garlic until soft, but not browned.  Boil 1 cup of batsami rice and let cool for 3-5 minutes.  Mix in your onions & garlic, add 1 TSP of butter and 1 TBSP of cinnamon and mix well.

I felt like I overused the cinnamon, or perhaps needed an additional flavor.  I also considered the possibility that this dish just didn't match the other flavors of the meal.  I feel it might go better with a savory meal and this plate was more citrus-centric.  However, my man loved it exactly as prepared.  

The finished plate:

...and a cat with salmon fever:

Give me that fish or I will kill you slowly

So that's it.  The meal was delicious, our plates empty, my cats pissed that I didn't share.  

Thanks for reading!  Hope you like the recipes!

Melissa

Snacks Your Mom Would Approve Of

Hola,

It's summer!  Still!  I know, I already made a big deal about summer and it's luscious fruits.  Although, I really shouldn't.  It's basically summer all the time in Los Angeles and the rest of the country seems pretty pissed about the whole thing, so.....

Yay, air conditioning!  Better?  Great!

Today, I want to talk about snacks, healthy ones.  Sorry if I misled you, but the title should have been a give away that we weren't talking Doritos and cupcakes, which may or may not be my dinner once in a while. 


Yay!  Dinner!

I have a couple of very simple and healthy snack ideas that have proven successful.  We'll start with the one that my friends love so much you would think I sprinkled crack & diamond juice on top of veggies, but really it's just limes.


I make life taste good!

 You'll need:

1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 avocados
2 cucumber
1 lime

Get ready for the bull-shittiest recipe ever.  It's not even a recipe, it's a snack idea, and some of you might say, "duh" and to you I say, "shut it". 

Thinly slice your peppers, avocados, and cucumbers, squeeze the juice of one whole lime over the top, add sea salt and/or cayenne pepper, if you'd like a salty and/or spicy zing to your healthy treat.  Commence face stuffing.  It's easy, it's yummy, and it takes about 10 minutes to prep.  I make stuff from scratch, I plan menus for days, I cry from fear and excitement when Thanksgiving rolls around and my friends have never made a bigger deal over something served at my table...except my guacamole, which is equally "duh" worthy but delicious.

Which brings me to....

Guacamole (Healthy, except for all the tortilla chips you'll eat)

6 avocados
1 roma tomato
2 jalapenos
1 small white onion
5-6 cloves of garlic
2 limes
cilantro
sea salt
pepper

Alright kids, everyone thinks they make good guac.  Seriously, every person I've ever spoken to who has at some point in their life assembled guacamole thinks they are king of the mutha f**kin guac kingdom.  I think mine is decent, however, let the record show that the last time I made guacamole for some party guests, it was gone before I had finished setting out the rest of the party snacks.  Long live the king of MFGK.


King of lameness

Begin by finely dicing your onions, garlic, and jalapenos*, throw those in your mixing bowl and juice one lime over the diced ingredients.  While they mingle, slice, peel, and pit your avocados, finely chop a handful of cilantro (yes, that's my real measurement), and dice and deseed the roma tomato.  Add salt & pepper to taste and mix.  Begin the mixing process with a fork to mash up your avocados, once they're smashed to your pleasure, add the juice of your second lime and stir until you're happy.  I mix my guacamole until almost completely smooth, but chunky is good.  There's no judgement here, this is a safe place.

A couple of additional notes about this particular guacamole.  First, regarding the jalapenos, I completely deseed them.  I love spicy, but in my opinion, too much heat takes away from the guacamole.  Next, I use very little salt in my mix and a lot of lime juice.  Tortilla chips are almost always salted, so you don't need extra, but you can never have too much lime....unless you've done too many tequila shots and limes now make you puke.  Seriously, I know a guy.*

So those are my picks for quick, delicious, summertime snacks.  Enjoy responsibly.

Footnotes:

*Be careful deseeding jalapenos and for the love of Jesus do not touch your face until your hands have been washed.  I learned this the hard way.

*I know no such guy.

Peace, love, and snacks,
Mel

Dirty, dirty...

Let's see if I can bump my blog traffic with that title.

Anyway, hi!  Welcome to another blog entry.  Its summer and summer is my favorite season for fruits and veggies, but mainly fruits.  The pluots, nectarines, avocados, and berries are off the chain and I love all of them. 

This post is not about the foods I love stuffing in my face (although, that list is extensive), this is about knowing stuff.

The Environmental Working Group recently released their list of the Dirty Dozen.  A list of produce found to have the highest pesticide residue as well as a list of the produce found to be the cleanest. 

A general rule of thumb: if it's not something you peel, it's a higher risk, because you're consuming something a pesticide has actually touched.  That's where buying organic becomes helpful.  I personally don't think you need to buy all organic, but in certain cases, like pesticides on your food, organic rules.

In my experience, even when buying organic or direct from a farmer's market, a good rinse and scrub is always helpful.  Better safe than sorry when it comes to health.

So go forth, do your homework, buy fruits and veggies, live long and prosper.  Also, get outside and do stuff (after reading my blog, of course).

Peace & happy summer,
Mel

I almost died....

Okay, that's dramatic.  But the reason I disappeared after this post was because I was sick...for a month...like, sleep 19 hours a day, no appetite, face & chest filled with snot and sickness, sick.  It was awful* and I could not bounce back from it.  It was gross, but now I am better, so I will get back to blog business. 

While I was busy blowing my nose over the last month, a lot happened in the world.  The zombie apocalypse is upon us.  See here and here.  My niece graduated from high school....I was very young when she was born.  My parents are coming to visit Californ I.A. in a matter of days.  Last, but not least, especially considering this is a blog about food, National Vegetarian Week occurred!  May 21st - May 27th.

I'm not a full vegetarian, but I eat a lot of vegetables and I'm a huge, huge, HUGE fan of compassionate, sustainable eating.  It's good to pay attention to what goes in your face - not only for the healthy impact on your body, but for the good it does the earth.

I frequent the Environmental Working Group website for information on food and health.  If something is going in my body, I like to know where it came from and what the potential risks are (minds out of the gutter people, my mom reads this).  Anyway, I found this article on a less meat-centric diet very informative and helpful.  Maybe you will too.

So that's it folks - all I got today is links, but they're good links.  Eat your veggies, avoid the gross head colds/flu viruses/zombie attacks going around, and have a great weekend!

*side note: while being sick was awful, my boyfriend took excellent care of me.  Frankly, it was kind of nice lying around and having a handsome man bring me soup and 7-Up.  Silver lining folks, silver lining.

Love & Veggies!
Mel

Day 2: Green Food

Yo,

Day 2 of the five-day "get back on the health wagon" cleanse was much better planned than Day 1.  Lots of water, healthy snacks, and green food.

I came to the realization at lunch that I hate green food.  I think it's temporary, but all green foods are on my sh*t list.

Despite being mad at vegetables, I feel good about today.  I doubled yesterday's calorie intake and came in at 1400 calories, plus approximately 90 ounces of water.  Below is today's menu and a recipe.  Yay, recipes!  Enjoy folks.

Day 2 Menu:

Breakfast:
Coffee with coconut milk (this cured what I think was a minor caffeine headache this morning)
1 cup green grapes

Morning Snack:
Go Raw Real Live Flax Bar

Lunch:
Steamed brussel sprouts
Mixed greens w/ cucumbers, red pepper, carrots, kidney beans, sunflower seeds, flax seed, and dried cranberries
1 serving roasted almonds

Dinner (with prep instructions below!):
Whole wheat cous cous
Broiled asparagus, brussel sprouts, & grape tomatoes.

Whole Wheat Cous Cous & Broiled Veggies


You'll need:
1 lb. asparagus (ends trimmed)
1 lb. brussel sprouts (cut in halves)
2 cups grape tomatoes (cut in halves)
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP olive oil
Sea salt & pepper

Preheat oven to broil at 450.  In a large bowl, combine asparagus, brussel sprouts, balsamic and olive oil and toss until the vegetables are well covered.  Combine with tomatoes on a large cooking sheet and broil for 10 minutes. Stir and broil for an additional 5-10 minutes (depending on your oven).

Toss this veggie mix over the cous cous and you have a great meal.  I like it because sweetness of the tomatoes paired with the bitterness of the brussel sprouts is a nice contrast, and asparagus is always a winner.   Wanna see?  Of course you do!

Behold, this wonderful tray of nutrients!

...and complete!

Thanks for reading!  Do you have some healthy habits that work for you?  I'd love to hear about them!  Share with me!  Comment!  Validate my blog!

Peace, love, & greens
Mel

Day 1: Detox

Yo!

Monday was Day 1 of my five-day super cleanse: no meat, dairy, gluten, wheat, or alcohol.  Basically, no sh*tty stuff.  I started off well, but I didn't plan for my long day and that was a huge mistake.

I work in an office during most days, which has its negatives (sitting too long, fluorescent lighting, being nice to idiots), and its positives (paying my rent, buying stuff, planning meals).  Let's just focus on that last one for now....

I'm able to bring portioned little meals to eat throughout the day.  This, I did well.  My daytime meals were:

Breakfast:
1 cup green grapes
2 cups hot green tea

Morning Snack:
1 large pink lady apple (which always makes me think of Grease II, but never Grease)

Lunch:
Mixed green salad w broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, corn, and balsamic vinegar

Afternoon Snack:
2 servings of roasted almonds

Here's where I screwed the pooch....

I worked until 6:30 pm, then went straight to a four hour rehearsal....with nothing in my giant ass purse to snack on.  This, makes me an idiot (like the ones I hate talking to).

By 9:30 pm, I had a raging headache, and by 10:30 pm, when I got in the car to drive home, I thought I was going to pass out...which is what I did as soon as I got home, which means I didn't eat dinner, and this makes me an even gianter idiot.

I only consumed 730 calories yesterday, which is not healthy nor okay.  Today is better, I have more portioned meals to munch on, I will be home this evening to prepare a healthy dinner, and I've purchased a crap ton of Go Raw bars.  They're good and really healthy, filled with nutrients you need, and not crap you do not.  I'll be keeping those in my desk & my purse for quick, healthy pick-me-up snacking.

The other thing I did well yesterday was water: I drank approximately 80 oz.  I peed a lot and it was nice.

Eat your veggies!
Mel

Spring Cleaning

Hey guys,

It's been a while!  Let's catch up!  March is officially my least favorite month so far...

It was wildly chaotic, busy, stressful, and rainy (what the eff, LA?), which means my healthy habits went right out the window.  I basically ate like a stoned frat boy all month.  It was gross and my body feels gross from it.  But now it is April, and sunny (thank you, LA), and I am less chaotic, and getting back on track.

Next week, I am going to attempt to make up for all the damage I did during March.  Starting Monday, my fellow and I are doing a five-day cleanse.  No meat, dairy, gluten, wheat, or sugar.  Sounds fun, right?  No, it doesn't, but that's the thing about diet.  It's not supposed to be fun.  Food is our fuel, not our driving force in life, and putting the right things in your body is important.  That being said, here are the things I will miss most next week:

Coffee - I like my coffee light & sweet, which strangely enough is not  how I like my men.  I like them dark and snarky.  I'm joking.  I'm not joking.

Cheese - all of it.  I will miss all of it.

Bacon - I don't actually eat bacon very often, but I always want to.  Next week will not be different.

Til next time!
Melissa

Because I Love You, Here is a Dose of Self-Sabotage

Hello dear friends,

Today I am blogging to recommend a cookbook.  One that, if purchased, will give you tons of recipes, tips, and info about eating healthy and having ample time to do so in your busy schedule.  In other words, you'll have no reason to ever read this blog again.  I can only hope that you'll choose me over Williams-Sonoma, or at least think of me fondly once in a while.

Okay, enough dramatics!  Seriously, people should own this cookbook:

A wonderful friend gave me this book for Christmas and I'm a huge fan, HUGE!  Not only does it have wonderful recipes and yummy pictures, it has a list of what to stock in the kitchen, recipes you can make in advance, ideas with no cooking required, and a guide to the super foods!  Each recipe gives you the caloric value per serving and the health benefits on the main ingredients.  It is fantastic!  There are vegetarian and vegan friendly ideas, as well as carnivorous delights.  You will learn about nutrition and cooking with this glorious little book.  Go buy it and then tell me what recipes you want to stuff in your face first.

Your neighborhood Saboteur,
Melissa

P.S. Since we're talking Sabotage and all....

Confessions of an Awful Baker

I love to cook and when it comes to searing, roasting, broiling, mixing, spicing, dicing and eating, I've come a long way.  I'd say I'm even good at this point.  But baking, what an elusive temptress she is.  I'm awful at it.  Even recipes I've successfully created before are always at risk of going horribly awry.

Take the pumpkin bourbon cheesecake I made on Thanksgiving.  I've made it for other occasions and it was great.  Thankgiving? Well, it tasted okay, but it looked disgusting.  I think I may have purchased light cream cheese by mistake, but I'm not sure.  Whatever I did, the pumpkin and cream cheese were a worse mix than the Jets & Sharks during that dance scene in West Side Story - they refused to mingle and as a result, my cheesecake looked like week-old oatmeal.  Not exactly an appetizing dessert.  Luckily, two of my beautiful attendees also provided post-dinner sweets.  Baking is a bitch.  So high & mighty with her exact instructions.  Whatevs.  I don't get it, and I don't like that I don't get it.  I'm over you...

That's not true, I totally want to be awesome at everything related to a stove and/or oven. Next year, I want to bake Christmas cookies that make Santa bring me a gd Mercedes.

I write this blog for a couple of reasons: sympathy (let's be real, everyone loves sympathy), but mostly as warning.  You see, dear friends, I'm going to master the art of baking.  I will own that bitch called baking if it kills me.  As a result, I'll probably be posting about burning stuff, ruining cakes, drinking wine, and crying a bit more than usual.  If you have any tips, suggestions, or word of encouragement (see sympathy above), please send them my way.

Love and dough,
Mel

Hey Cupid....Stuff It!

Hi gang,

It's almost Valentine's Day and while some of us will be consuming our body weight in chocolate candy, others will be preparing delicious meals for loved ones.

Is anyone still looking for ideas?  Maybe wishing there was some source out there to provide inspiration?

You're in luck!  My insanely talented friends at Herbivore Productions have a video to help you!  Herbivore Productions makes awesome movies, and now, awesome cooking shows.

Watch, laugh, learn, and tell your friends.  I told my friends.  Hello, friends.

If you like the video, show them some love where it counts....on Facebook.  Like 'em here: Feed The Beast

Enjoy!

CSAs (or the sh*t we stuff in our bodies)

Word up blog readers!

Although I am neither overly strict or obsessive about it, health is of great importance to me.  Veggies, fruits, nutrients, activity, all that jazz - it's important, not because we should all strive to look like some computer generated H&M body, but because later in life, we want to look & feel twenty years younger, play baseball with our grandkids, and tell the pharmaceutical companies to kiss our still hot asses. (sorry, I'll keep the social commentary to a minimum).

Be health-conscious now, reap the benefits for years to come.  Makes sense, yes?  Good, great, badass.

Moving on....

The reason I bring up health on this beautiful Tuesday is I've decided to look into joining a CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture).  You give money to local farmers, they give you a pesticide free, fresh off the farm, box of fruit and vegetables (there are also programs for raw dairy products, grass-fed beef, bread, etc).  Most of the organizations I've researched range in cost from $25 - $50 per box, depending on size and what's included, you can sign up for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly boxes, and quite a few of them deliver.

I know it's a financial commitment, but if you make a promise to yourself to cook more, try new things, and kick start that healthier lifestyle we all talk about, I think you'll find it a good investment.  Added bonus: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS!  Help these guys out!  They get up before the sun most days....do you know how pissed I am when I have to wake up while the sun is still sleeping?  Help your bodies, family, farmers, and communities.  Look into a CSA today!

For more info and to find programs in your area visit the USDA website today!

Plus, you might get dino broccoli...my friend got dino broccoli in her CSA box last week (that sounded kinda dirty).

Check it:



The ever elusive Broccolisaurus

 Does anyone already participate in a CSA?  Tell me about it!  Who are you? Who are they? What strange looking foods do you receive?  How do you prepare these fresh delicacies?

Peace, love, & veggies,

Mel

A Tale of Two Kales

Kale is my new BFF.  I have a long standing appreciation for the dark and leafy, but lately, Kale and I have developed a bond that is deep, real, and helping me get rid of my holiday booze gut.  Kale, I thank thee.

Now, because I've been on the lean, mean, veggie wagon of late, I've been trying a bunch of new nutritious and delicious recipes, and I would like to share two with you.  One vegetarian, one almost vegetarian, both quick, yummy, and healthy.

First up:

Kale & Fruit Salad w/ Mustard Dressing

Salad:
3 cups Kale (chopped)
1 cup Strawberries (sliced)
1 cup Pomegranate Seeds
1 cup Pink Grapefruit (sliced)

Dressing:
Juice of 2 Lemons
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
Salt & Pepper

Combine kale & fruit in one big bowl.  Mix dressing ingredients in large measuring cup and whisk until thoroughly blended.  That's it.  Some quick chopping & whisking, and you have yourself a great, light meal.  What I liked most about this salad was the combination of flavors.  Bitter, sweet, & tart all blended nicely and the seeds added some much needed texture to the dish.  The dressing could easily be adjusted to include any citrus fruit and vinegar of your choice, but this mix was great.

I don't have pictures of this, but it was pretty.  Bright red strawberries, pretty pink grapefruit, pomegranate colored...pomegranate seeds, all over a dark green bed of nutrients.  Uh-huh.  Give it a whirl, your body & taste buds will be delighted.

Next up:

Whole Grain Pasta with Kale, Tomatoes, and Shrimp

This recipe is very easy, and packed with good crap for your body.  Leave out the shrimp for a light vegetarian pasta, and it would be just as good.

1 16 oz pack Whole Grain This Spaghetti
4 cups Kale (chopped)
2 cups Grape Tomatoes (cut in halves)
1 head Garlic (chopped)
1 lb Shrimp (medium sized, pre-cooked, with tails)
2 Lemons
1/2 cup olive oil

Saute kale, tomatoes, and garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil over a low heat for 5-10 minutes - enough to soften kale & tomatoes, and allow the flavors to blend.

Preheat broiler to 450, and broil shrimp for 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them.  Since I used pre-cooked shrimp to save time, I had to watch these little guys pretty closely to keep them from drying out.

Boil & drain pasta, then return to original pot.  Add in the sauteed vegetables, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil and the juice of two lemons (approx. 1 cup).  Mix together and add shrimp.

The final product looks like this:

Total prep time for this dish was 30 minutes, and another 15-20 to cook all the separate parts.  While not the quickest pasta dish one could prepare, it's damn good for you and the lemon juice was a great addition to a common pasta dish.  I enjoyed it with a nice glass of red wine, and two beautiful women, so I give it an A+.

That concludes the story of the little kale that could....or something.

Hope you'll try these nutrient packed noshes and have some fun coming up with your own healthy dinners.

Peace & Kale Tales,

Mel

My bad

Okay, so, I know, I didn't write, I didn't call, I just posted a bunch of Thanksgiving crap and then disappeared for two months.  It was wrong, and I'm sorry.

I didn't cook much in December, and I got lazy.  My apologies.  But I'm back now, and isn't that really all that matters?  No?  Oh, well, then I'll get right to it.

I am back on the health food wagon and I've been eating lots of veggies and fruits like a good little Hollywood actress.  I've also become more enthusiastic about the Meatfree Monday campaign and as such, will be filling this blog with lots of yummy pasta, veggie, & salad ideas in the days to come, with a few carnivorous treasures thrown in.

For today, I'll simply leave you with a brief little article that I think is packed with good info on healthy and more sustainable eating habits.

Eat More Compassionately in 2012

Peace & Greens!
Melissa