https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/halogen-x-atlantic-pacific-anastasia-double-strap-flat-women/5010420?country=US¤cy=USD&mrkgcl=760&mrkgadid=3313962867&utm_content=9383573633&utm_term=pla-316852329085&utm_channel=shopping_ret_p&sp_source=google&sp_campaign=645528200&rkg_id=0&adpos=1o5&creative=57187812113&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkdyI8d7A3gIVT4GzCh3Xaw0qEAkYBSABEgJJr_D_BwE I have gone through a period of vegan diet where I cut completely dairy and meat. I had to stop because my blood levels were very low, but regardless of this I still prefer eating vegetables over meat. There are many recipes that I created or adopted from others and I'll like to share with you.

Fresh  Brussel Sprouts & Sweet Sprouts Salad

INGREDIENTS (you can adapt the recipe based on your liking)
2 cups freshly cut Brussel sprouts (uncooked). I bought the ones already washed and cut from Whole Foods
1/4 cup chopped red onion marinated for few minutes in vinegar (so it won't be too bitter)
1/4 chopped pecan
1/2 cup of yellow cherry tomatoes cut in half (they are so good)
1/4 of a bag of fresh sweet sprouts the ones sold in a plastic square container at Whole Foods. Those are usually used in sandwiches.
1/4 chopped green bell pepper
2 TBSP vinaigrette dressing (You can buy the pre-made dressing by Whole Foods)

OPTIONAL:
You can grilled any meat or tofu and add it
You can add crumble blue cheese (yummy)
Avocado is laso a nice addition

METHOD:
Once you chopped everything, take a bowl or a large plate and start building your salad in layers. I start with the Brussel sprouts, then red onions, green bell pepper, pecans, and cherries. I always leave the sweet sprouts last. Pour the dressing moving quickly to ensure it gets everywhere. Add meat or tofu if desired. ENJOY!

I find salads to be fast, filling and refreshing especially in the summer. For another delicious vegan recipe check out these raw vegan lasagne made with zucchini and pine nuts.

Ever wonder what are the most delicious and popular recipes these days? Here's you'll find 5 top recipes on Pinterest. Now you can impress your family and friends.

1. Cardamon Rolls with Pistachio with Rose Frosting from the Baking Bird.

Credit to bakingbird.com

2. Vegan Chocolate Pudding Cake from It Does Not Taste Like Chicken.

Credit to ItDoesntTasteLikeChicken

3. Blood Orange Cake from Beyond Sweet and Savory.

Credit to Beyond Sweet and Savory

 4. Easy Thai Tea Latte from WhiteOnRiceCouple.

Credit to WhiteOnRiceCouple

5.  Avocado dressing on top of raw zucchini from my blog.

What do you do if you have too many avocados around your house? You make a delicious avocado mayo or avocado dressing - a healthy avocado dressing. I started searching through Pinterest to get some inspiration and soon enough I came across Tiffany's recipe from Creme de La Crumb's food blog. You know that I like to try recipes from other sites and then write about them, so this was just another opportunity. Let me tell you she is a genius! This is one of my favorite and easy healthy recipes, especially if you are trying to cut on carbs like pasta or meat. You can't go wrong. I can see how this avocado dressing can be used for zucchini spaghetti, as a spread for sandwiches and also as an avocado pasta sauce. I am posting the exact ingredients from Tiffany's recipe below, with notes on what I did differently. I encourage you to visit her site to see more of her delicious recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 large or 3-4 small zucchinis. [Gin's notes: I bought them already cut in spiral at Whole Foods. They cost between $5.00 and $8.00. Well worth the money). 
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 avocados [I added 2.5 to get a creamy denser dressing]
• juice of 1 lime
• large handful of cilantro (about ⅓ cup loosely packed)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic OR 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• water, as needed [This helps if you want to have a liquid dressing, otherwise retain from water if you want a more mayo consistency.]
• I added half tomatillo and it turned out to be a great addition. I just had it around the house. 

Preparation

I used the food processor, but you could use your blender or hand mixer. Put all ingredients together except for the water.  Mix together until super smooth. If it is too dense add water a little at the time. Taste for salt and pepper.

Place the zucchini (raw) (already cut from Whole Foods) into a large bowl or a plate. Pour the avocado dressing or avocado mayao(however you want to call it) on top of the zucchini spaghetti. You can use a spoon and just put a big spoon of the avocado dressing on top of your zucchini. Pour the remaining dressing in a small bowl in case your guests want to add more.

That's it. Again, I can't rave enough about this recipe. It's healthy, low in calories, delicious, vegan, and just perfect. 

What time is the super Bowl 50, this year? If you clicked here to figure out the answer the Super Bowl this year is February 7, 6:30PM ET, 2016. You can watch the game between the Panthers and Broncos on CBS.

Now that is enough said about a bunch of guys running with a ball. Let's talk about Super Bowl food. I don't want to do the same old chicken wings and since my parents are in town we will go all Italian. My cousin who ironically lives in Singapore passed me this delicious recipes

INGREDIENTS

For the dough
1 Kg of flour // 4 cups
6 eggs
1 KG of spinach // 4 cups
1 KG of other type of leaf like collards // 4 cups

Place the flour on the counter top of your kitchen and create a well in the center. Place the eggs in the center. Slowly with afford whisk the eggs and start dragging the flour in the center working it into the egg mixture. Knead by hand until smooth and roll into a ball.Wrap in plastic paper and set aside for at least 30 minutes. At room temperature and in a dry environment. Start working on your filling.

For the filling
5 eggs
200 grams of parmesan cheese // 1 cup
250 grams of ricotta cheese // 1 cup and 1/3
Salt
Majorana // teaspoon
nutmeg // teaspoon

In a large bowl place the ricotta cheese, cheese, eggs and the other ingredients and start combining together until you get a nice and smooth dense cream. Taste in salt and add more if desired. You can add spinach (1 KG) to this feeling but be aware that you need to make sure your spinach are drained of any water. 

PREPARATION

Now the fun part. Work the dough into the pasta machine. If you have any electric one lucky you otherwise your arms will be sore. Make sure you pass each piece of pasta multiple times in the pasta machine until it is smooth and very very thin. It needs to be super thin to taste good. 

Place the long sheet of pasta on a clean counter top. Use a ravioli mould cut the sheet into circle. We the edge with water and add about 2 teaspoons of filling for each. Cover with another circle and with the fork mark the edge to seal the two sheets together. This is why you need water so they will stick together. Alternatively, you can use egg yolk. You can use a spoon to place the filling in each sheet or you can have one of those fancy pastry bags like in the picture. You can serve them with just sage and butter or whatever you like. They are very versatile especially if you keep your filling just with cheese.

It's cold which makes me want to eat, sip on hot chocolate and bake some chocolate chip cookies. Here I found the best chocolate chip cookie recipes. I never liked cookies because they are either dry or too chewy, but I came across this recipe by Taste Better From Scratch and decided to try it out. No regrets here. The easiest and yummiest chocolate chip cookie recipe. They are the perfect balance between soft, sweet and delicious. I used semi sweet chocolate chips by Ghirardelli but you could use any. I just don't like sweet sweet chocolate.

INGREDIENTS (taken from Lauren's blog post. Here is the original post)

1. 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 tsp baking soda
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 12 Tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted and cooled until warm
5. 1 cup brown sugar
6. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
7. 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
8. 2 tsp vanilla extract
9. 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
10. PROCESS
11. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
12. In a medium bowl mix together all dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking soda.
13. In a separate large mixing bowl beat the butter  melted in the microwave for 30 seconds 
14. and sugars together with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the egg, egg yolk, and 
15. vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently stir in the chocolate 
16. chips. The dough will be somewhat soft but not running.
17. Gently scoop dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until gold 
18. on top. Store in an airtight container.

 In September Shawn and I visited Paris. It was Shawn's first time but I have been there before a couple of times. This time was different because it was our first time taking a break from having the baby, it was with Shawn and we were looking to explore what Paris has to offer in food and drinks.  I was already obsessed with Paris before but this time made me realize even more why I am obsessed. In 2012 I even tried to get a job there and was applying for jobs in Paris. I never got it but was taking French language lessons and making home-made macaroons. If I could find a job I would move there right away. Paris is my favorite city in the world. To combine our trip in just one blog it is impossible. I decided to start with 5 spot to eat in Paris.

[DISCLAIMER: All content is all rights reserved. Please contact me at Fashion For Real People if you are interested in working with me. I ask not to re-publish my content without my permission]

Top places to Eat in Paris

1. Breakfast: Station République 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010 Paris, France 

This the most authentic patisserie/bakery we found.  It was so delicious that I can't even describe what happened in my mouth as I was enjoying a cheese croissant and a danish pastry. This is not quite a tourist location but you can walk up to San Martin canal. The patisserie has an outside large picnic table and there is a small supermarket nearby so you can get a drink and enjoy your meal. 

2. Snack: Aurore Capucine 3 Rue de Rochechouart, 75009 Paris, France

We found this tiny patisserie specializing in dessert and tea as we walked down from Montmartre. We passed the fabric district and kept walking down until we saw this window full of tarts. We enjoyed a chocolate coffe tart as we kept walking and checking the surrounding areas. 

3. Lunch: Marche Des Enfants Rouges: Marché des Enfants Rouges, 75003 Paris, France

Determined to find a cheese store we stumbled upon this authentic and crowded outdoor food market with different cuisines from America, French, Greek, Italian and so on. It was packed and difficult to order if you don't know French but totally worth going and eating there. nearby I even found a clothing boutique where I bought a pair of awesome suede shoes for $35. The only thing I bought while in Paris.

4. Dinner: La Cuisine De Phillipe 25 Rue Servandoni, 75006 Paris, France

There are plenty of tourist food traps in Paris as in any big city. These are located in the most popular locations. However, it is not impossible to find amazing food at a decent price. Be wary that you need to make reservations in advance if you want to reserve a spot but we found a trick. We would go in advance to see if they had any availability for the night. Most places would tell you no and to check back later at 8:45pm, kind of the last call. This is how we were able to secure a spot at this restaurant with a Michelin chef. The menu was a fixed menu priced at 40 euro, a steal if you consider we had lobster soufflé, duck and maroons soufflé. Oh and pate foie gras. Wine is an additional charge. I loved everything about the simple decor with the elegant and sophisticated menu.  Another trick to get a table at a great restaurant is to reserve through the hotel which is hosting the restaurant. Hotel Relais Saint-Germain takes reservation for its nearby restaurant and again we were able to get a table for dinner. The couple next to us said they reserved a table six months in advance and that the top chef in Denmark recommended that specific restaurant. We were very lucky!! 

5. Late snack:  L'avant Comptoir 9 Carrefour de l'Odéon, 75006 Paris, France

We tried multiple times to get inside here. This place is so packed you can't even make it to the front door. This is a tapas place where you order and eat standing up. It is packed. I mean packed!! Finally we went so early like 5PM that we were able to get in and order some tapas and wine. The menu hangs from the ceiling and they have a little bit of everything from shrimp, to ossobuco, to french fries. Prices are cheap. We talked to the bartender and he said the place is always packed from 8PM to 12 when they close. They also have an outdoor crepes stand for late snacks. This is a good alternative to an expensive dinner. I have more recommendations and pictures but wanted to start with my top places to eat in Paris. 

Olivia turned 1 September 13, 2015. It seems like yesterday she literally came out of me. The first 4 months were pure hell but now that she turned one I have totally forgotten what it was like being pregnant, giving birth and going through the first months of having a new born. For the occasion of her first birthday we had a party in Italy. This was very special as Olivia met many of her cousins, uncles, etc. I wanted to have an american first birthday party with a theme, cute decorations and awesome pretty food. This is how I managed to organize her first birthday party. 

First Birthday Party Ideas:

1. I bought a party kit at Marshalls containing cupcake wraps, balloons, decoration for the table, straws, and name tags. For the price of $14. The theme was glittery and pink. 

2. I made vanilla cupcakes with a prune butter cream icing, wrapped them in cute paper and embellished with glittery gold tags.

3. Drinks were served in glass jars and we decided to have grapefruit (pink), pineapple (yellow) and just water. We then served coffee with desserts which we had in a thermo.

4. To make it simple but impressive we bought from a local farmer some pecorino and served it on a big fig leaf. It was gone by the end of the party.

5. The easy way to decorate with food and fill a table is to use long toothpicks filled with cherry tomatoes, small mozzarella or feta. Then cut a watermelon in half and place it upside down on a cake stand. Insert all the toothpicks in the watermelon as seen in the picture.

Five easy ways to glamor up your baby first birthday party. We had tons of food and took one week to plan it, but it was all worth it. The cakes were ordered in this local pastry shops that specialized in chocolate (Caniparoli) and everything else my mom cook. It was much easier to divide core. I set up the tables and room, my mom cooked, and we bought desserts and few other things in local places. That way we actually enjoyed the party. 

I had in the past done Pinterest Challenges. What is that? I picked something I pinned from Pinterest and do a test to see whether it is really that easy to replicate or that good. I have done hair, cleaning and now it is time to try some food recipes. I have heard a lot of complains from readers about Pinterest recipes - that they are aesthetically pretty but once you make the recipe the food is disgusting. So I gave it a try. I just randomly picked a recipe that I had pinned. In this case it was Danelle's mini no bake key lime cheesecake. The original recipe can be found on Let's Dish so I encourage you to check it out. I am just replicating the recipe.

Ingredients (from Let's Dish website)

1. 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2. 3 tablespoons butter, melted
3. 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4. 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
5. 1/3 cup bottled key lime juice
6. 1 teaspoon lime zest
7. 1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
8. 1-2 drops green food coloring (optional)

Instructions

1. Line 12 muffin pan cups with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and and melted butter. Press one tablespoon of crumbs into the bottom of each liner.
3. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
4. Add the condensed milk and lime juice and mix well. Mix in the food coloring, if using. Fold in the lime zest and 1 cup of the whipped topping.
5. Divide the mixture evenly among the lined muffin cups. Cover pan with foil or plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.

Results: This recipe was easy (literally 10 minutes and you were done) and AMAZING! It was so good I could have eaten all 12 muffin cups by myself. I think I would try to bake the cracker crumbs to create more stability when you grab a mini cheesecake with your hands. My advice would also to spread the mixture and level it on each muffin pan cup. I did not do that so the cheesecake did not look pretty as Danelle's but the taste was there. This is a super easy recipe if you have people over and you want to Wow them with something that only take few minutes and does not require baking. So Pinterest success!!!

From time to time I review places in town whether it is a store, a pub or a restaurant. This week review is about Moda the 'Italian' restaurant located by Madison Social. Now, let me just tell you that I am Italian so my standards for decent real Italian cuisine are very high. I also studied Italian history in details which  I will use to explain why there is no such a thing as authentic Italian cuisine in the States unless you are in Miami or New York.

Italians migrated in the States in mass during different phases but predominately at the end of the 1800s and after War World 1 and 2. Italians who migrated came predominately from southern regions of Italy with dinstict cuisines. As a matter of fact because of the geographical territory of Italy each region and even city has their own traditions and cusines. For example, the south is rich in fish, the north is based more on heavy, starchy foods, using butter rather than olive oil and so on. This is again just a result of geography and invasions back in the day (e.g. Arabic influence in Sicily). Italian immigrants were also predominately poor, escaping poverty to make enough money to buy land back in Italy. {This is a very simplistic explanation of Italian immigration, which explains Italo-American cuisines in the States}.

How does this relate to Italian Food in America? Let me state here that according to research in food studies, authentic Italian food accounts for only one third of Italian food purchased in the States. Everything else that is called Italian cheese, wine, etc. is a product of American marketing. In addition, food regulations around authenticity of food in the United States are low if not inexistent, making every cheese a possible parmesan cheese. {Real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese needs to follow rigid processes and validation checks to be called parmesan cheese, same with real pizza (e.g. diameters, water, etc.)}

American advertising played a crucial role in framing American food as Italian. Advertisers perceived Italian language as exotic and a way to sell more products. Here why we got some crazy Italian names for 'Italian dishes'.

So, are we or not eating something that is close to Italian cuisine? Here, I will get back to the story of immigrants. The answer is yes and no. The lack of Italian ingredients in the United States has led immigrants to readapt and re-invent Italian popular dishes. This is exactly why I consider Italian food that I eat in the States Italo-American. There is nothing wrong with this cuisine, but it is not Italian and purely for the simple reason of ingredients. Take a simple pizza dough. The flour used in the States is very high in gluten if I remember correctly. In Italy we use Farina 00 (can be found in speciality stores). Dishes that are 'Italian' but you will probably never find in Italy are: pizza pepperoni. Try order it in Italy and you will get bell peppers. Garlic bread covered in butter and toasted. Italians do like their garlic, but Americans have an obsession with Italian garlic. Anything Alfredo, Vodka, and lasagne with ricotta cheese..... fried mozzarella sticks, cheese bread sticks, gigantic meatballs served with spaghetti and marinara tomato sauce.....
Pretty much everything on the menu of so called Italian restaurants in the States is not authentic. These dishes are creations of either Italian immigrants from specific regions or pure advertisers and American entrepreneurs.

With this said, please find my review for Moda, an "Italian" restaurant in Tallahassee. I never eat in Italian restaurants in the States unless I am in Miami, but I thought I should have an open minded since the restaurant claims to be authentic Italian. [Foolish me.]

There are many things that are wrong with the restaurant in my opinion from the service, to the atmosphere of the restaurant, to the table outside with dripping water from the ceiling to the food which is overpriced and bland. I will only focus on the food.

The first red flag was the length of the menu - There are too many dishes ranging from pizza, focaccia, fish, meat, jumping from Tuscan dishes to southern dishes to ravioli with lobster. Italian good restaurants focus on few items that are local. If you are in Lucca, Tuscany you will be eating dishes based on that territory. This means fresh ingredients and well-done. We ordered the fritto misto, a combination of calamari and zucchini. We also ordered a focaccia with prosciutto crudo. Then we ordered wine, which in itself was a story, the waitress referred to moscato as a prosecco (cute, but scary at the same time). Before we even started we got complimentary house bread, the one that looks like garlic 'Italian' rolls from a fast food chain like Fazoli. They were burned, drenched in butter or some unknown liquid and they were just hard. They tasted like something you keep in the freezer for a year, you forgot about it so you cook it but does not quite turn the way you remember it: fresh.

The calamari fritti $14: Not too bad but again too oily and saggy, not crispy and light like those you eat in Sardegna. The batter was off the zucchini, so not really a fried zucchini at that point and they were served with a marinara sauce. Why? Why everything Italian and fried must be accompanied by a marinara sauce? That is not Italian. It kills the flavors of the entire dish.  And why serving a tomato base sauce with a lemon? Acidity with acidity on top of fried fish?

Focaccia with prosciutto $12-14: we received a pizza. I was confused but that was a pizza, not a focaccia. It had tomato sauce, cheese, arugula and prosciutto: a pizza and not even a good one. The dough seemed home-made because it tasted like when I used to make it as a child (not that great), also the shape of the pizza and the edges were not smooth, again like when a child makes a pizza. The wrinkles on the edges of the pizza were an indication of dry and not crispy. Seemed like the dough was sprinkled with too much extra flour before working it. Not an Italian pizza.


Here you have it, a review of an Italian restaurant from a real Italian. I know I am super picky about Italian food and that is why I cook it myself in my house, but I don't understand why it is so hard to make and sell good Italian food. It's bread and pasta with some tomato or herbs. How hard can it be? I don't mind if a restaurant serves Italo-American food, but don't call it authentic Italian. If only people knew what authentic Italian food was.... They will be shocked and probably they would either hate it or love it.

Olivia will turn 1 year in September. We will be in Italy to celebrate her birthday and I want to make one of those cool cakes you see on Pinterest. Given that my baking skills suck I decided to start practicing in advance so I made a Bloody Orange and Raspberry Cake I saw on Pinterest. The original recipe can be found on the Cake Blog. I am not going to re-write the recipe but I will add few tricks for dummies like me. The baker from the blog assumes that you have some basic baking skills. Well, I did not and I ended up trowing away the first two cakes and also managed to grated my thumb in the cheese grater.

FIRST TIP: Do exactly as the recipe reads. Do not skip steps, do not mix sugar with flour when you are not supposed to. Read the recipe in advance. Trust me!

SECOND TIP: Buy the proper pans to bake the cake. Do not try to bake this cake in those cheesecake baking pans because the batter will leak in the oven. (yes, that happened too when I was making it). You need to get those simple round oven pans you get at the supermarket. They are $5.

THIRD TIP: Buy tons of butter. Don't think the recipe asks for too much butter. You really need it.

FOURTH TIP: To make it easy to spread the icing on the cake, making sure you cover the entire surface, spread a layer, then put the cake in the fridge for 5-10 minutes, then take it out level it with a knife or special spatula and add more icing. Repeat until you achieve the desire look. More tips on how to frost cakes here.

The cake was amazing. I did not use all of the icing because I did not make 3 or 4 cakes. But the cake was extraordinary. So total success!! Good Luck if you make it and share your pictures!!

Here I share my disaster and my results. You can see my kitchen was a mess.

I have been wanting to make home-made healthy granola bars but just did not have time or thought it would take a lot of time to make them. After searching for the best recipes and ingredients I came up with this simple but delicious recipe for healthy organic granola bars. There are great for snacks in the office or at home. If  you store them in a dry place they will last few weeks.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup sunflowers seeds
3/4 cup dry cranberry and raisin
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup honey
1/4 pecan
(optional) some peanuts

METHOD:
in a large bowl mix all ingredients until they are sticky. Use a spatula so it will be easier to get the mixture on the pan.
Pre-heat the oven at 350.
Line a 9X13 inches (or smaller depending how thick you want the bars to be) pan with parchment paper.
With the help of the spatula spread the nut mixture evenly.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until gold on top.
Let it cool off and then cut in squares.
Store in a glass or plastic container layering each nut bar with parchment paper.
Enjoy!! I hope you liked this home made healthy granola bar recipe.

Avocado Spread 

We have seen so many posts on avocado lately, especially on Instagram. Avocado spread has replaced heavy breakfasts and there is a reason for it. Avocados are said to provide 20 essentials nutrients and despite their high content of fat we can't resist the temptation of starting out our day with such a vibrant breakfast. The most common and shared avocado's recipe online is the avocado spread. This recipe consists of a wheat toast with smashed avocado on top. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and you are done.

I like my avocado with eggs or in a salad. However, my trainer told me not to overdo it. It is still has high percentage of fat (good fat). With anything moderation is key.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
So here we go again. It is the new year and we all write down goals we want to accomplish. According to a study I read the other day, the most common goal for new year is hitting the gym or/and losing weight. So we all rush to the gym and we run on the treadmill, our elbows touching the other 100 sweaty elbows who joined the gym at the same time. Then we hit Valentine's Day and we never go back to the gym or our healthy diet. So why do we even bother setting up unrealistic goals? We set up for failure, don't we? This is why I started working out at BodyTrac the week of Thanksgiving. Crazy I know, but a date should not matter when you are trying to change something in your life. Plus, after 10 months of pregnancy I was ready to be active. (you can read about my pregnancy on here).

Now, I did have my cupcakes which did not help, of course, but I feel very good about my small achievements. What I need to work on in January is my diet. This is my resolution. I eat healthy but I am not consistent. I like my wine, bread, and pasta, oh and my chocolate. I also have a problem with the so-called diet recipes because they are so boring. I love food. I love cooking, preparing it, inviting friends for dinners. For me eating is a special occasion. A smoothie or sad poached chicken won't satisfy me.

In search for fun recipes I ordered the Kayla's Help Guide. If you don't know who Kayla is shame on you. She is the rock star of Instagram right now for getting girls to lose weight and gain muscle the right way.  I bought her online food guide as well as work out. If you are interested January 5th she is doing a #kaylamovement: whoever wants to change using her program will post pictures of their progress on Instagram motivating each other. Of course my friend and I are doing it. I hope this program will give me the kick I need to be consistent with my 'healthy eating.' #nomorecupcakesforgin.

If your goal includes working out and eating yummy recipes, then follow me because I will be posting recipes, yummy recipes that do not look like diet recipes. I will also discuss my progress going to the gym at Body Trac and also using Kayla's program. We shall see. Subscribe to my channel on Instagram.

Carrots with lemon-thyme vinaigrette 

lemon-thyme-vinaigrette

As you all know, I am on a diet and fitness regime post baby partum. If you like to check out my progress go to the Fitness section of this blog. Since the holidays are approaching I had to come up with ideas for healthy and low calories dishes that still look fabulous on the plate. This recipe is from Thanksgiving and it's just perfect. The recipe is for 4 people

WHAT YOU NEED:

A bunch of long carrots with the green attached to them. You can find them at Publix, Whole Foods. They need to be very long. 

Dry or Fresh Thyme (one table spoon)

1/4 cup of extra verging olive oil

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

1 tsp of minced garlic (optional)

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

1 tsp of honey

Mix all ingredients in a glass jar. Set aside. 

Peel the carrots with the green still attached and boil them in water for 5-8 minutes. be careful because the first time we made this carrots they came out so mushy they were not that great. I would suggest using a fork to pinch in the carrots at 5 minutes. They need to be medium soft, not saggy. 

Serve the carrots on a tray (trim the green leaving some stems for decoration). Pour the vinaigrette on top and serve. 

Tips to Stay in Shape during the Holidays

#1. Don't skip your workout. Just because it is the holiday it does not mean you need to lay on the sofa eating pie and watching TV all day. Take walks after big party meals and keep that training session at the gym. Even a 10 minutes job will make the difference. Keep your metabolism up. You can also do burpees for 10 minutes. A great quick exercise can be found here -

#2. Choose your food wisely. You might have to attend multiple Christmas parties in just one week. You will be tempted with brownies, chocolate mousse, egg nog, and who knows what else. This is where you need to pull your will power. If I go to a party and have just one bad item, I get disappointed with myself and I just keep eating all night. Just scan through the menu or buffet and see what food they have that is suitable for a diet. Most likely they will have something. Avoid alcoholic drinks and opt for water or sparkly water. Focus on talking to people rather than hitting the buffet. I know it's hard. Trust me, I started a fitness regime right before Thanksgiving.

You probably want  to avoid heavy breakfasts like this picture. Keep it simple with eggs and fresh fruit. 

#3. Cook/eat with nuts. You don't have to limit you cooking during the holidays. You can still have a memorable feast without going over your daily calories count. How? Choose to cook a roasted turkey marinated in olive oil and herbs. Serve with a side of glazed carrots, salted spinach, or a salad. Provide your guests with a wide variety of natural unsalted nuts and mandarins. Finish dinner with caramelized fruits in the oven served with vanilla ice cream. You can replace the meat with grilled fish. As a matter of fact, in Italy the New Year dinner can be very simple and healthy consisting of broiled meat, including the tongue. Everything is served with a green sauce made with parsley, olive oil, lemon and anchovies.

Sorbetto can be a healthier choice for a dessert. In the picture chocolate ice cream from SPQR in San Francisco. To make it less rich, don't include the chocolate crumbs. It is that simple. Simplify.

Chocolate Rum Coffee Banana Bread

One of my favorite food blogs is the Smitten Kitchen. It's one of those blogs that really gets me to cook and try new recipes. Today, I adapted one of the recipes from the Smitten Kitchen to my craving for coffee, rum, chocolate, coconut and banana. The original recipe for a double chocolate banana bread can be found here. This was my base for measurements. What I added is coconut milk, coffee rum, and shredded coconut. I added about one full teaspoon for each ingredients but you can try to add more. Just be careful because the dough should not be running. I also added a chocolate glazed with about 50 -100 grams of dark chocolate bar melt with a tablespoon of heavy cream. Melt it over boiling water. When it's ready sprinkle each slice with the glaze, cover with coconut and you are ready to serve. Rather than making a plumcake shape I made it into a cake shape. 

double chocolate rum coffee bread

double chocolate rum coffee bread

double chocolate rum coffee bread

Raw Vegan Lasagne

This is going to be known as one of my best recipes. First I want to say that this is an adaptation to a Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne that appears on the recipe book Raw Food, Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. I will mention through out the recipe if I take some of the sauces from them. I have made many similar recipes to this one before even reading about their version. If you think about it, it’s a carpaccio with zucchini (popular in Italy) or a caprese without the cheese. Though they really take a step forward making it an entree that is superb. I would recommend anyone to buy their book. It taught me a lot in terms of grains, nuts, natural sugar products, etc.

This is a pretty time consuming recipe for a raw lasagne:) You need to make 3 different sauces. I am writing here my adaptation.

1 Sauce Marinate

Fresh herbs from my organic garden (oregano, Italian and Greek basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, one leaf of arugula, clove of garlic). These herbs must be chopped finely. You can use a half moon or blender or knife. Add half lemon juice. Cover with olive oil, extra virgin. Add salt and pepper and put on a side.

2 Sauce Ricotta Like (Taken from the Book)

2 cups of pine nuts; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 table spoons nutriotinal yeast; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 6 tablespoons filtered water. I personally added some other type of nuts because I did not have a lot of pine nuts.

“Place the pignoli nuts, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times, until throughly combined, Gradually add the water and process until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta” (p. 174). 

3 Sauce Tomato

one cup of sun dried tomatoes including the oil they come with; one big spoon of chopped red onion, one small red tomato chopped, some lemon juice and olive oil. Add 1/4 cup of cured black olives in salt (Greek ones). I also added some small pieces of a lemon. Yes a lemon not its juice.;)

Mix all ingredients in a blender or mixer until you get a sauce that reminds of gazpacho. 

4. For the assemble:

One zucchini

3 different types of tomatoes: one green, one black, and one yellow. They are expensive. I pay 6 dollars for one!! But they are so beautiful and good. 

Slice the zucchini with a peeler along the side. They need to be very thin and long. Do this until you are done. Place in a bowl with the first sauce to marinate. Leave some sauce for decoration (one big spoon).

Slice the tomatoes thin. Set aside.

Now take a nice beautiful plate. In the middle lay 2 zucchini next to each other. Top with the sauce #2, then Sauce #3; top with tomatoes (probably 2 at the time, so you can do one green, one yellow, etc). Top the tomatoes with the zucchini and keep going until all ingredients are gone. Top with sauce #1, basil leaves, fennel, and arugula. 

For more pictures refer to the old post on my food blog