My absolute favorite kitchen gadget, second only to my cappuccino maker, is The Inspiralizer. I think it is the best invention ever for anyone who likes to cook and wishes to eat healthier. (The link to the product website is available at the bottom of this post for anyone who would like an inspiralizer for themselves or a friend.) 

I jumped on this product when I heard that I could replace linguini noodles with zucchini, because as much as I love pasta, my body does not. Truthfully, most pastas are not particularly healthy for us in large quantities. This includes brown rice pasta, and even quinoa pasta which is usually combined with either starchy corn or rice flour. When the starch in the pasta breaks down, it turns to sugar. This sugar is metabolized through the liver where it turns into fatty acids that are released back into the blood stream, so that they can be transported to other areas of the body for storage. Yes, whole grain and alternative pastas are "healthier" than traditional wheat pasta in terms of nutritional content and stress on the digestive tract, but the starchy aspect is not-so-great for those looking to keep their weight down and blood sugar regulated. 

While I would never deter anyone from enjoying pasta (I love it too!), I do advocate giving the body a rest once in awhile by cleaning things up with greater vegetable consumption. Especially during the festive season when we allow ourselves more indulgences than we normally would.

This particular dish is very easy. Run your veggies through the inspiralizer and roast them for about 15-20 minutes until al dente. For the gravy, no need to make a roux - just simmer a few vegetables in broth, purée until smooth and add your spices and salt. Then toss the peas and chicken with the noodles and drizzle on the gravy.

The roasted noodles have a wonderful buttery flavor. The gravy is spicy with a bit of kick from the pepper. And the twirly noodles actually make eating vegetables fun!

Ingredients:

Gravy:
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

​Noodles:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 parsnips, peeled and de-stemmed
2 thick organic carrots, washed and de-stemmed
1 medium onion, peeled and de-stemmed
salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups sliced cooked chicken, optional*
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 cups gravy
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine the carrot, celery, onion and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour into a blender and purée until smooth. Press the purée through a mesh sieve back into the saucepan. Stir in the seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper. Heat the gravy until it begins to bubble, lower the heat and allow to simmer until ready to use.

Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil, then drizzle with oil. Spiralize the parsnips, carrots and onion into linguini size noodles. Place the noodles on the baking sheet, drizzle with a touch more oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until al dente. Remove from oven and transfer the noodles onto the serving plates. Toss with the chicken and peas. Drizzle with gravy and sprinkle the parsley overtop. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

Click the banner below to access The Inspiralizer website:

A savory dinner dish is in the works. In the meantime here is a quick, healthy breakfast bowl to start the day. Only six ingredients! 

As cold and flu season begins, I've adopted a new healthy habit. Each morning, before I have anything else, I eat an apple. This one small change sets the tone for the rest of my day, because I find myself wanting to build on it with more healthy foods. It's so easy to pick up a frozen bag of mixed vegetables, toss it with pesto or tamari sauce and maybe some leftover chicken. Then I just pop it in the microwave or sauté pan for lunch. When other people around me are ordering pizza and sandwiches, it isn't hard at all to ask for a hearty bean and vegetable soup instead. From a physical standpoint, my body is less stressed with the absence of processed starchy foods, and I don't feel any guilt over my habits this holiday season.

As for direct health benefits, studies increasingly show a possible correlation between a high intake of apples per week (at least 3-5) and a reduction in respiratory illness, particularly asthma. Apples also contain vitamins A & C, potassium, plenty of fiber and a variety of chronic disease fighting phytochemicals.

Let's set ourselves up for an anti-cold and flu season with proper nutrition. We'll talk about the exercise end of things come January... (coughcough). 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1 tablespoon raisins
1 small apple, diced
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon chopped pecans

Directions:
Toss the oats, raisins, apple and spice in a bowl. Drizzle with milk. Sprinkle with pecans. Serve immediately.

Yield: 1 serving

This blog is still in cranberry land. And it may continue to reside there with half a bag hanging around in the freezer. 

If you skip down to the recipe, you might notice that these muffins have a lot going on. Ginger, cranberry, orange, vanilla! After baking and cooling, the ginger tends to mellow out a bit. Predominantly, however, the ginger and cranberry are the boldest flavors with just hints of vanilla and orange. If you're not crazy about ginger, you may want to reduce the amounts that I have listed to about one-and-a-half tablespoons. Or if you absolutely love it, you may want to bump it up. Whatever you decide, one thing is for sure, your kitchen will smell heavenly!

Being whole grain, these muffins are pretty filling. I can usually enjoy just one for breakfast and stay full for awhile. Although I confess to chowing down on three of them right after finishing up the photography for this post. If there is one downfall to running a food blog, its that constantly thinking about and looking at food makes you hungry — even when you're not hungry!

​Enjoy, and may your Thanksgiving holiday be festive and stress-free!

Ingredients:
2 cups gluten free oat flour
3/4 cup gluten free almond meal/flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dairy-free buttermilk: 1/2 cup almond milk + 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
​1/2 cup orange juice
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
​1/2 cup coconut or light brown sugar
2 cups cranberries, chopped

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Line a muffin tin or baking sheet with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, ​whisk together the buttermilk, juice, eggs, vanilla, ginger, oil and sugar. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir half of the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, then repeat just until a batter forms. Gently fold the cranberries into the batter.

Fill the liners about 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops are golden.

Remove from the oven and place the muffins on a cooling rack to prevent moisture build-up. 

​Yield: 12 muffins

Alright, I have a confession. Halloween aside, I really, REALLY dislike the holidays. Frankly, if there were no family obligations to consider, I would choose not to celebrate at all. My reasoning goes something like this. Holidays are expensive, a ton of work and filled with heightened expectations where someone always winds up disappointed. Not to mention that many businesses go on a month long hiatus, making it difficult to get any work done. Currently my husband and I are neck-deep in a major house renovation project, scrambling to get things like kitchen cabinets ordered and major projects finished before the experts and their businesses shut down for the festivities.

The one aspect of the holidays I actually do enjoy is the food. Planning it, cooking it, eating it - I love it all! 

For the most part, I try to make people happy by cooking the traditional foods everyone expects. Once that's done, it frees me up to make a couple of new dishes, many of which become requests for future gatherings.

This salad is an idea I am considering serving this year. It turns seasonal ingredients into a light, quick and healthy side dish that everyone will love. The creamy sweet and sour cranberry dressing is balanced by the sugary raisins, nutty pecans, spicy ginger and seasoned couscous. The jewel tones are so pretty and festive that everyone will want to try a bite. 

If you choose to garnish the salad with fresh cranberries, be sure to warn your guests that they are only for looks!

​Happy Eating!

Ingredients:

Salad:
​1 cup uncooked couscous
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup feta cheese
handful baby spinach

Dressing:
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, plus 1/4 cup reserved
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons water, optional*

Directions:

To make the salad:​ Bring 1 & 1/4 cups of water to a boil in saucepan. Add the couscous and simmer for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. In a large bowl, combine the couscous with the pecans, raisins, ginger, salt and pepper. Gently fold in the cheese and spinach. Spoon onto a serving platter, garnish with reserved cranberries and set aside. 

To make the dressing: place all of the ingredients except the water in a high speed blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If the mixture seems a little dry, add the water one tablespoon at a time until smooth. Pour the dressing into a dish to serve alongside the salad.

​Yield: 4 servings

Lately, the term healthier is getting some attention because of how confusing it is to a lot of people. Generally, the way I define a product as being healthier than its original version is to say that it contains a nutrient-rich base, as opposed to being deficient of any nutritional value at all, without any added chemicals or artificial ingredients, while also retaining a less healthy component such as sugar, sodium or fat. 

In simpler terms, healthier just means containing something good-for-you while still having an element that is not-so-great for your health if eaten in large quantities. 

Let's break down this healthier recipe, comparing it to a traditional rice krispie treat as an example. Unlike puffed rice cereal, Kamut is a nutrient-dense whole grain, which I describe below in more detail. The nut (or seed) butter replacing the dairy butter, is protein rich with heart-healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats that provide the body with energy. Instead of gelatin and artificial ingredient filled marshmallows, brown rice syrup serves as both a sweetener and a binder. However, this syrup is essentially just glucose (sugar), meaning that it is not any healthier than table sugar, even though it is derived from brown rice. So why use it? Because it is a single ingredient product that produces a flavor and consistency much closer to a traditional rice krispie treat than any other plant-based item can provide. The vanilla in this recipe is also free of chemicals, additives or artificial ingredients.

What is kamut? It is an ancient form of wheat originally found in the Middle-Eastern region of Asia. Kamut is a registered trademark, therefore all products must satisfy a strict set of standards in order to be sold under that name. These include being organically grown, pure and uncontaminated by modern varieties of wheat, non-GMO and free of disease. Kamut must also contain 12-18% protein and 400-1000 ppb selenium. Finally, it must be marketed in a non-deceptive way, assuring the consumer that the product is the pure ancient variety. In addition to protein and selenium, Kamut contains the essential nutrients fiber, niacin, magnesium, manganese and B-vitamins. These are all nutrients that are not naturally produced by our bodies and are essential to our ability to function.

This recipe is as easy as the original rice krispies version. Just four to five ingredients. Same method: melt, mix, press and cool. But packed with whole grains and protein to keep you full and energized for hours.

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup unsweetened, unsalted almond, cashew, peanut or sunflower seed butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste or extract
pinch of salt to taste, optional*
6 cups puffed kamut cereal

​Directions:
*Make in two separate batches.

Start out by heating water in a large double-boiler. Or improvise by placing a medium size metal mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water. Melt half of the the syrup in the boiler, then stir in half of the butter, vanilla and salt, if using. Gently fold 3 cups of the cereal into the mixture until coated.

Line an 8" cake pan with parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the pan and using a rubber spatula, press into an even layer. Repeat the same steps to make the second batch and firmly press it overtop of the first layer.

Allow to set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Slice into bars or squares. Store at room temperature in mild-to-colder climates, refrigerate in warmer climates.

Yield: 8-10 servings