Green Power Juice

So, I'm always on the look out to add even more leafy greens into my diet.  (I know I'm a freak, you don't have to say it.) Then, as luck would have, my new 'Eating Well' magazine arrived in the mailbox the other day. 

Soon after opening, the crisp glossy pages, I was thrilled to see a recipe called 'The Green Smoothie' on page 40.  I got even more excited to know that I already had all the ingredients, score!  It's a creamy blend of dark, leafy greens, green apple, orange juice and banana. 

Green Smoothie
yields: 1 serving 
prep time: 5 minutes tops!

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1/2 green apple, chopped into small cubes
1 cup kale or spinach leaves, stems removed
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cold water
4-6 ice cubes
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed
*you can swap out kefir for the orange juice, makes it extra creamy
* I added the drinkable aloe vera juice for the water

Place all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. 

This is so light and refreshing, it makes me smile a green mustache.  I hope you'll make this for yourself today.  This is a great way to begin September.  

'Leave the drugs in the chemist's pot if you can cure the patient with food.' -Hippocrates 420BC

Vegetable Baked Ziti

Hurricane Irene has come and gone, and we are thankfully all doing well.  We enjoyed a relaxing day, expecting to stay in, and not move too far from the couch.   However, curiosity got the best of us, so we had to check out our neighborhood. 

Pretending to swim...here's me on our corner that always floods... it's a lovely shade of toxic green....yuck!  We started to see people walking about and more cars making there way back into town. 

Since we were recovering from our hurricane party from Saturday night, we had decided to use up some leftovers from last week...a lovely vegetable baked ziti.  I was trying to use up all the vegetables hanging around in our fridge.  This is a great way to enjoy them up and sneak them into your husband's diet.  You can use any combination of veggies, whatever you have is perfect! On the side, I added a spinach salad and some bread and roasted garlic olive oil and dinner was served! 

Vegetable Baked Ziti

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pound of whole wheat pasta (I used rigatoni style)

1 zucchini grated

1 orange pepper, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 eggs

1 18oz tub of ricotta cheese

1 large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1  25 oz. jar of marinara sauce, or homemade tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. 

2.  Meanwhile, start to prepare all the vegetables.  Heat up a large skillet, with the tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Grate the zucchini, dice up the peppers and onion.  Mince the garlic.  Add peppers & onions to the pan, saute 8-10 minutes until soft.  Add tablespoon of Italian seasoning, and stir.  Then add the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.  And then add the zucchini.  Cook for another 3-5 minutes and remove from heat. 

3.  In a large mixing bowl, crack 2 eggs and whisk together.  Then add the ricotta cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese, cubed and  1 cup of marinara sauce and mix together. 

4.  Once the pasta is done,  drain it and add to the cheese mixture.  Then add the sauteed vegetables, and stir to combine. 

5.  In a oven safe pan, spoon a 1/4 cup of marinara sauce and spread along the bottom.  Add the pasta and cheese mixture to the pan. 

6.  Add 1/2 cup marinara sauce on top of pasta, and spread the remaining mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs on top.  Cover with aluminum foil. 

7.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove foil and finish ziti for another 20-25 minutes, or until cheese and breadcrumbs are toasty brown.   

Dinner is served!! Sorry we ate it so fast, I forgot to take pictures of the finished product.  You'll have to trust me on this,  it's beautiful!  You will love this dish, and the leftovers are fantastic! 

Wishing you all a great week!  Give this a try for dinner, your family will love it.  Be well. 

Moving Forward

Do you ever feel that life is moving forward very fast?!!! I swear it was just Memorial Day and the kick off to summer, and now I smell the crispness of fall moving closer. 

I like this idea of moving forward, looking ahead, staying positive.  It has been a mantra I use very often.  It's nice to look back, and remember, but it can take away from living fully in the present moment.  Recently I went back to the town I grew up in, lovely little Tolland, Connecticut.  A quiet cozy, corner of New England.  Joe & I were on our way to a friend's wedding up in New Hampshire, and since we were passing right through I had to see it again! 

As I pulled off the highway, it was all too familiar.  I knew each curve of Mile Hill Road, and when I got to the house I grew up in, it was just as I remembered it.  Hello, old friend. Since both of my parents have passed away, we sold the house years ago, so it's a bittersweet feeling to go back.  Looking at the house, and remembering the past, and all that has changed, is a good reminder that life moves fast and you need to make the most of everyday.

 As I ride my bike all over Hoboken, and feel the soft, summer breezes, I'm grateful to be young, happy and healthy.  Each day I make conscious choices to take care of myself, eating well and exercising so I can live life to the fullest. 

How do you make the most of each day? What are some of your healthy mantras?  Please feel free to leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you. 

Yesterday, my cousin Susan & I had a wonderful lunch.  It was our 'Fieldtrip Thursday', and we had a busy afternoon planned.  It all started with a colorful lunch.

This was so delicious, leftover black bean and mango salad, (I'll be posting this recipe soon) topped with roasted asparagus, avocado, lavender sea salt, and a side of fruit! Yum!  I love using whatever I have in the fridge and creating something beautiful.  Pairing leftovers with something fresh and healthy, takes only minutes and is good for your body and your budget. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! We are bracing ourselves for Hurricane Irene with a dinner party Saturday night.  Woohoo!! Be well & stay safe. 

Healthy Living Summit 2011: Philadelphia City of 'Sisterly' Love

Feel so blessed and fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend the Healthy Living Summit in Philadelphia, PA this past weekend.  There were 225 healthy living passionate people...mostly bloggers there to come together as a community and meet one another face to face. 

It kicked off Friday night with a wonderful cocktail party at Reading Terminal Market, where most of us newbie bloggers got star-struck meeting the 'celebrities' of the healthy living blog world. 

I finally met Kath from Katheats....amazing! 

And lots of other wonderful and talented women.  Some of my new blogger buddies are:

Toni of  Running Loving Living (shout out to my Long Island girl)

Ashley of Coffee Cake and Cardio

CJ of Happy Healthy Whole

Erin of the Grass Skirt Blog

Alli of Alli Learns Life

Brittney of Life in Holding Pattern

Tanya of Vegan Faith

Kelly of Foodie Fresh

Stephanie of Food and Fitness 4 Real

Andrea of Thin and Sweet

Heather of Running with Sass

Mary of Sisters Running to the Kitchen

Barbara of Bodyworks Integrative Health

No Philly cheese steaks for us, but pictures...absolutely!!

Lots to see and do, the weekend was packed with a full schedule of events.  We were treated to a wonderful lunch with sandwiches and fresh baked bread from Great Harvest Bread Company.  It was so delicious and wonderful to have everything made for you and prepared so nice. 

The keynote speaker was Dawn Jackson Blatner the author of the new book 'The Flexitarian Diet'.  She was outstanding.  We all learned so much from her presentation and enjoyed hearing about her passion for living a healthy lifestyle.  I even won a copy of her book and got her to sign it.  She was a delight to meet in person, very funny and down to earth. 



Saturday night dinner with the all the ladies! It was so great to be with others that take pictures of their food!

Ended with creamy, lovely gelato...yum!

hazelnut & chocolate for me, please

Sunday morning started with a 5K run/walk/talk to the Rocky steps and the summit ended with an delicious, warm oatmeal breakfast sponsored by Quaker Oats.  Wonderful!

Have you had your oats today? 

Lots to catch up on I'm outta here.. 

Be well! 





Warm & Toasty

My new favorite breakfast sandwich...thanks to Mama Pea and her wonderful new cookbook 'Peas & Thank You'.

Think grill cheese meets almond butter, cinnamon, banana and strawberries.  Yum! This warm & toasty sandwich is a beautiful way to start your day.  The recipe called for just strawberries, but I added banana and a little nutella.  It was so wonderful...you must make this immediately! 

There are really just no words to describe this gooey goodness....you need to make this today!!

Happy Friday everyone, have a wonderful weekend!  Headed down to the Healthy Living Summit.  I'm sure I'll have some great information to share with you next week. 

Be well.



Black Bean Burgers

Tonight was a first....made my own homemade veggie burger! 

It was so much fun! The recipe came from my new 'Peas & Thank You' cookbook.  Very easy to put together, the flavor was perfect, however it came out a little too mushy.  The recipe called for 1/2 cup of ground oats, but I think it could have used a bit more.  You can make veggie burgers with just about anything.  Ours had black beans, oats, mushrooms, onions, garlic, cumin, soy sauce, lemon juice, and lots of other spices. 

On the side a wonderful and refreshing watermelon, tomato & mango salad with a white wine vinegar dressing.

Don't you just love a good summer burger night?!

Hope you all are having a wonderful week...get into your kitchen, crack open a cookbook and try making your own unique burger. 

Have fun & be well!

 



Eat your Peas & Thank You

Happy rainy Sunday morning...a perfect time to blog about my new favorite cookbook. 

This cookbook is written by Sarah Matheny who is another healthy living blogger/lawyer/mother of two.  

I can't wait to try all these beautiful recipes.  The photography is just gorgeous. This week I'm excited to have my two nieces staying in town, and they want to make the black bean and oat burgers (p. 136).  Stay tuned for our post.  

So far we've been having a fun day in Hoboken...lunched at The Taco Truck..great avocado & lime salad.  Sorry I ate it so fast, I forgot to snap a photo.  Walked around the waterfront. 

Made a stop at LePore's Chocolates...for a few goodies.

And then to round out (us) and our food tour of Hoboken....

Johnny Pepperoni's for dinner! 

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. 

Pick up a copy of 'Peas and Thank You' it will inspire you to make new,delicious, healthy meals for your family. 

Summer Oats

I'm completely hooked on overnight oats!  It's a cool and satisfying breakfast that will keep you happy all morning.  If you haven't heard about them, I'll explain. 

Overnight Oats

This does require thought and preparation the night before, but it takes minutes...and is so worth it in the morning! 

The mix:  1/3 raw old fashioned oats & 1/2 cup of milk (or almond/soy milk)

Combine in a container the night before cover and refrigerate. 

In the morning...add the rest of the yummy toppings.  I usually add sliced fresh fruit, chia seeds, buckwheat groats and cinnamon.  Lately I've also been crumbling a small slice of zucchini bread on top...oh my it takes it to a whole different level!!! 

Give this a try for breakfast tomorrow.  It's a wonderful way to start your day. 

Let me know what you think?

My favorite part, no messy oatmeal pot to clean!!

A Peaceful Plate

Back Home in New Jersey...and missing Vermont.  It's such a peaceful place that people spell it out for all to see....

Lake Champlain was so pretty, we biked about 10 miles, and saw some wonderful views. 

Renting bikes was the best, a great workout for your legs & outdoor activity to share with the ones you love. 

The bike path was easy to follow, filled with shady places to keep cool.

As I fall back to my normal daily routine here in Hoboken, I'll try to keep calm and remember the peace and serenity of Vermont, with her gentle summer breezes and clean mountain air.   I'll fill myself with the fresh produce of the summer...that looked so pretty in my basket at Sobsey's Market. 


And I'll feel good about eating clean non-processed foods, salads and summer tomatoes!!!

Have a great day everyone, have lots to catch up on....get outside and enjoy!

What's your favorite summer fruit? 



Greetings from Vermont!

I'm just peachy up here in the green mountain state...loving the fresh AIR and summer breezes. 

Ahhhhh!!!!! We cooked out on the grill and made smores last night, fun times!

On the menu, rosemary roasted potatoes...

Summer spinach salad with lavender sea salt, red peppers, cucumbers, avocado and tomato.

and corn in a pot....limited dishes up here!  Hope you're having a great week....
Tomorrow's plan:  Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and biking at the lake in Burlington.  Be well, and try to get in all the beautiful colors and flavors of summer!