Category Archives: low-calorie

July 24, 2012 · 4:13 pm

Summer Fruit Ice Pops

Summer is not my favorite season I must admit. There are however certain things that you can do that will help make the 3 months of hot, sticky weather can easily be cooled of and soothed with non-other but homemade ice pops. These fine treats remind me of summers of my childhood. Crisp freshly washed laundry hanging from clothes pins, water runs through the sprinkler and evening parties with friends and enjoying homemade ice pops in the crisp burnt grass.
When I finally decided it was time to take summer into my own hands, ice pops were the perfect step in the right direction. I bought the molds and I was off. I started out scanning the internet for ideas. It is generally known to be okay to copy when you are inspired and newly starting out on the path to creativity. Drawing inspiration from your muses, idols and then molding them into your own. This is, I’m told,  steps to finding your own voice. So of course I would be urged to take those steps.

These pops I made weren’t necessarily inspired by anyone else, hey, maybe I’m closer than I thought to that whole voice thing than I thought. No, these pops were rather inspired by a ready-to-eat pineapple and ready-to-eat kiwis that were in abundance in the fridge. Here’s the recipe

1 cup chopped fresh organic pineapple

2 large ripe kiwi fruits, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint

1/4 cup low fat organic yogurt ( I used almond milk yogurt)

1/2 cup pineapple juice

In a food processor combine all the ingredients and process till smooth and creamy, then fill your molds and freeze. Easy, simple and one hell of a way to cut the hot summer with a knife of cool, tasteful goodness.

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June 28, 2012 · 10:12 pm

Fresh Salsa

The ways in which I love thee…

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1. Fresh, cold, tangy and with a little spice

2. Perfect for accompanying most things; omelets, chips, crackers 

3. Fun and easy to make using fresh ingredients 

Need I say more?…

Salsa from the bottle is just not the same. In my mind, I don’t even consider it Salsa. It is canned tomatoes and other stuff. Fresh salsa on the other hand is tangy, refreshing and has an underlying bite that can always be adjusted on your taste. Hot, mild, medium is your choice, just depends on the amount of jalapenos you decide to add( keep in mind the seeds are where most of the spice comes from). 

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I had an easy time deciding how hot I wanted, in fact, I ended up opting out most of the seeds, just a few landed inside. The rest was easy. I made this a little pre season (tomatoes are best in July/August) but it seemed to work out alright regardless.

Recipe for Fresh Salsa:

4 Medium ripe tomatoes from the vine( for a sweeter salsa you can use roma tomatoes)

1/2 fresh jalapeno (remember about the seeds, the more the seeds the hotter the sauce) 

1 heavy handful of fresh cilantro

1/2 large yellow onion

1 small garlic clove

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse till at your desired consistency. If you want more of a chunky salsa quit early. And yes, it really is that easy. Enjoy and bon appetit

 

 

 

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June 3, 2012 · 2:22 am

Fresh Green Asparagus Salad with Peas and Summer Squash

I don’t feel like cooking every night. It is on occasion where I have to be my own cheerleader when it comes to encouraging myself to make something to eat that is wholesome and healthy. As I am sure you all can relate. It is only after the delicious meal that we are appreciative of actually taking the time to nourish ourselves and this is the reward, of course as well is the meal that we get to enjoy. This is another reason why I totally like to keep things simple. Simple is easy, beautiful and usually pretty tasty. This salad I whipped up the  tonight and really enjoyed its simplicity and how tasty it was. I was tired and it did the trick, energizing and was so simple to prepare. 

 

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Here’s how: 

 

1 Head of Lettuce of Choice ( I used fresh red leaf lettuce)

1 Small Handful of Crumbled Gorgonzola (this can of course be opted out for a dairy free delight)

1/2 Cup Fresh Organic Garden Peas

4 Garlic Stuffed Green Olives

1/4 Whole Organic Cucumber

1 Small Summer Squash

5 Stalks Asparagus

 

 

 

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In a hot pan with olive oil, I added sliced summer squash and asparagus before I added them to the rest of the salad. I hand ripped the lettuce and then added on top the olives sliced, cucumber, cheese and then lightly sprinkled the salad with olive oil, and white wine vinegar. See as I said, so easy. 

 

Of course there are so many combinations of healthy options, just as there are in life! What is your combo? What are the things in your life that combine together to make your life living? Mine are art, people, yoga, food, play and creating challenges! 

 

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Filed under Dinner, gluten-free, low-calorie, Lunch Foods, Salads, vegan, vegetarian

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March 5, 2012 · 11:29 pm

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Hello again friends. I have been super busy making things, selling things and enjoying life’s surprises. I started a new contracted job at a beautiful salon and I love the family that runs it and things are well. In the spring we might be moving to a town called Rhinebeck a few miles north of us now. It’s all up in the air right now but I will keep you posted. There are lots of exciting things happening that I can’t divulge quite yet so hang in there. More of this is for me not you.

 

The community that we have found in Beacon has been so wonderful, supportive, artistic and opened their doors. If we do leave it will be sad to leave them behind. We wont be going that far so we can still keep in touch. 

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The other day we had my friend Shannon over for lunch. A mid-day feast that was “thrown” together, but ended up turning out delicious aside from the rushImage. We had a Lima bean salad with a Jerusalem Artichoke Creamy soup. It was delish’. I love these morsels. They are often referred to as sun-chokes, earth apples, and apparently are family to the sunflower plant. They are root vegetables/tubers (with a lower starch count than potatoes, so they are lower in sugar) and have a very funny appearance.

Aside from their unusual appearance they have a similar taste and consistency to an artichoke heart; hence the name, or a water chestnut. They can be eaten raw, made into flour, or alcohol. I personally like to add them to soups, roasted veggie dishes and slice them thin to make “chips” out of them (I will share the recipe for this soon) . Below is a recipe for a delicious simple soup. So enjoy and bon appetite!!! 

 

Recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke Cream Soup

 

Serves 3

7-10 medium/large sized chokes, chopped into small enough to bite

1 yellow onion diced

1 can coconut milk

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons Ghee (or your choice of butter/oil, olive oil would make a great substituteImage

 

In a cast iron pan I sauteed the onions in the Ghee till soft. Then I added the roots to the pan and cooked for 10-15 mins to let them brown, then I added the coconut milk and let simmer till the artichokes were cooked through. With the salt and pepper I added the dish into a blender or you could use a food processor. It is so simple!!! Try this at your next party, you never know it might just be a hit! 

 

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January 4, 2012 · 2:12 pm

What to do with Celeriac Root


What do I do with these? It was one of the last crops of the season that we got these from our CSA. Celery Roots or also referred to as Celeriac. These are not the most appealing vegetables from the outside however inside, is a sweet and flavorful morsel. These Roots arrive from the farm looking pretty knarley and they even have hair. ( a bunch of fine pieces of the root grow off it to give it the appearance of hair), lots of dirt. These don’t however need a whole lot of washing as you end up cutting off most of the outer shell to get into the good stuff.

Honestly I was a bit of a loss as to what to do with these unusual roots. This doesn’t happen very often, but having no sight of them before, I really needed to do my research and find out just what these roots were all about.

And I did. I looked high and low for different ways to prepare and enjoy. Basically I came to the conclusion that they were mostly a root with flavor and consistency with a crunch. Great for salads, sliced thinly (think fennel) and tossed with a light vinaigrette, added to latkes for celebrating or like what I did with them, a great flavor to your favorite mashed potatoes. They are basically a nice addition to anything where you want to enhance a fresh flavor. They are sometimes compared to parsley for a description of their flavor.


Recipe for Celeriac Root Mashed Potatoes

4 New Potatoes (cooked and mashed)
2 Celeriac (peeled, diced and cooked)
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste (just as most of my recipes are this is SIMPLE)
1 tbs butter

Add all the ingredients together and mash. Be careful, the more you mash potatoes you risk the chance of creating a starchy mess. Just mash enough to get a good consistency you enjoy and go no further. Remember to enjoy!!

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Filed under Dinner, gluten-free, low-calorie, vegan, vegetarian

November 26, 2011 · 4:14 pm

What to do with Rainbow Radishes?

I remember when I became vegetarian for the first time, and all of the adjustments I had to make surrounding the decision. When I made the decision I was determined to make it for the right reasons and to not become unhealthy doing it. That is always a risk when you take the plunge in to the sea of vegetarianism. I got by eating what was familiar for the first year, and then as I read more books about the inhumanity of the meat and dairy world, I found myself wanting to hop onto the vegan train as well. Starting out with a dairy allergy and an intolerance to wheat as well, I decided to cut these things out of my diet as well. For two years I ate this way. I learned how to make things I had never imagined I would, I also found out about many different foods I might not have if I didn’t take this certain path. To say the least I was pleased with my new found diet, as it literally forced me out of my box. When telling others my diet, people’s almost automatic response was; Well, what do you eat? When I picked these unusual radishes up at the farmers market, I had a flash back to these times of experimentation and giggled to myself as I felt fearful for what was I going to do with these. Having a good sense of humor about why I was fearful of the radishes; of course helped out in the end. I found these fine looking vegetables at the Farmers’ Market just this past weekend.

For a couple of days I still pondered the question of what I was going to do with them. And….I did what everyone does when confronted with something fearful, I just avoided it. Until one day they just couldn’t be avoided. They lay in the fridge looking at me pleading me to be amused with flavor and curiosity. The funniest part about this story is where I found some of the inspiration for this salad. Of course I went right to google which directed me to many different lovely blogs and by the end of it I had an idea and even an excitement about what I was going to do with the radishes.
I had a cabbage that was dying to be eaten, so they to me were a perfect match.
It was getting close to Thanksgiving at this time so I had some cranberries. The vinaigrette came together easily in the blender. Here’s the recipe

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
salt and pepper
1 small handful of fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Then slicing the vegetables was second. The French Watermelon Radish has a beautiful inside. (yes, make sure you peel it)

The reason they call it Watermelon Radish is for its green and red inside, closely resembling a watermelon. Secondly, for consistency purposes with aesthetics (which if you don’t know by now is really important to me), I chopped both the radish and cabbage in half and then cut both into thin slices. Mixing the dressing with the veggies came third, and voila there you go. A delicious new way to eat your watermelon radish. Perhaps with this post and recipe I can hep you avoid this fear driven question of what am I going to eat? And. What am I going to do with that?

Enjoy and Bon appetite!!

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November 21, 2011 · 5:39 pm

Scalloped Potatoes and Roasted Roots

This dish I originally contributed to the website Food52. A great website that is acts as a forum for recipes, cooking tips and a way to share. In other words I love it and I hope to keep contributing to this wonderful idea.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is here already. I caught myself thinking about Christmas presents already. Christmas presents are actually on my mind for the whole year. I am always on the lookout. But the holidays were never about giving presents to me. Holidays meant I got to spend time with the people I loved and eat food!!! In my mind presents are for all year round!

Community and food in life are really important and really what could be better? With the holidays swiftly approaching, these two things are on everyone’s minds. How can we collaborate, bring joy and eat delicious foods?
Well we should being doing this year round, but when the holidays come, it gives us even more of a reason and TIME, to do so. With harmony and mind, this dish is a perfect representation of harmony happening on the plate.


Well we should being doing this year round, but when the holidays come, it gives us even more of a reason and TIME, to do so. With harmony and mind, this dish is a perfect representation of harmony happening on the plate.

During the holidays, it is especially nice to bring a different and exciting dish to the table. A way to mix up the bag a bit.

This dish is perfect for that. It is twist on something oh so typical and traditional, but with added value.

I can see this accompanying a Christmas dinner celebration or just fine right along side a turkey for that matter. What ever it is placed near, it is bound to bring a pop of fresh color and gasps of interest for your guests, relatives, or friends.
All of the different kinds of roots, and non-roots are working together to ignite your taste buds, but with added color. The traditional scalloped potatoes is an ingenious idea, yet somehow a little blah blah and not full of nutrients.
This dish skips the blah and goes right to the punch with extra nutrition without loosing out on the taste. Having a lighter sauce of cream and butter, it skips the heaviness of scalloped potatoes, and it also had a few different textures happening as well.
I hope you can try it out and ENJOY!! ((Preferably with friends and family around this delicious holiday season))

Serves 4

2 Red Potatoes

1 Carrot

2 Yukon Gold Potatoes

3 Seckel Pears

3 Yellow Beets

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

2 tablespoons Table Wine

2 pinches Salt

1 pinch Pepper

1 ounce Vegetable Bouillon

1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 sprig Thyme


  1. Cover the bottom of one 9×9 baking pan with 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

  2. Slice by hand or Mandolin veggies into 1/4 inch slices

  3. Starting with the potatoes and filling the bottom layer one layer after the other, alternating veggies each layer, pour rest of Olive oil over filled pan. I layered, potatoes, beets, potatoes, carrots, beets, potatoes, pears. You can be creative.

  4. In a sauce pan simmer milk, spice, butter, wine and veggie bouillon for 5 minutes

  5. Pour mixture over layered vegetables

  6. Bake in oven for 30 minutes uncovered at 400.

  7. Cover and bake another 30 minutes covered at 350.

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November 18, 2011 · 11:31 pm

Gluten Free Spicy Sweet Potato Parmesan Balls

Hi everyone. I was having technical difficulties uploading images onto my interface. I apologize for no photos and post recently, however things seem to be back and working properly.These honestly were inspired by my friend telling me of her making butter nut squash gnocchi. My mind automatically went to; How could I make them gluten free? Then my thoughts went to, well what if you used sweet potatoes instead of squash, (it is also what I had around)
Then my mind came up with almond flour. How good would almonds with sweet potatoes be? So good, that’s how.

So I mixed up a batch of mashed sweet potatoes then coated them in almond flour and Parmesan (see more detailed description below). These also could be done without chees
In fact I did some with and some without. They were both delicious. What a nice different way to have sweet potatoes with Thanksgiving dinner…Just sayin’

Recipe for Spicy Sweet Potato Balls
Pre Heat Oven to 350
2 Large Sweet Potatoes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ground almond four
Boil cubed potatoes until soft; then with an electric mixer blend till smooth (you don’t want to mix them too long, that is how they become starchy, a common holiday potato blunder) then add your almond four and mix till they become malleable and easy to work with. This is the fun part, form your mixture into balls and then rub into the Parmesan, coating the outer surface of the balls. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minute till golden brown on the outside. Serve heated and along side that infamous turkey dish we will all scour upon this Thanksgiving!!
Enjoy and bon appetite!!

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November 10, 2011 · 8:18 pm

Simply Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe is the easiest recipe you have ever seen.

Seriously. All you need is one head of cauliflower, salt and pepper, olive oil and a little curry spice.

Cutting cauliflower to me is pretty enjoyable. When I am cutting broccoli (which happens to be in the same family as cauliflower) I imagine cutting a tree branch by branch when all you are left with is a stump. But with cauliflower; things are different. There are no stumps to be found. That is unless you decide to cut the tiniest of tiniest little trees off the big trees.

In this recipe I opted out of being a lumberjack. Instead I kept the pieces in medium size. Which gives a nice look and makes a great main dish or great on top of a salad, or even on pizza.

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· 8:18 pm

Simply Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe is the easiest recipe you have ever seen.

Seriously. All you need is one head of cauliflower, salt and pepper, olive oil and a little curry spice.

Cutting cauliflower to me is pretty enjoyable. When I am cutting broccoli (which happens to be in the same family as cauliflower) I imagine cutting a tree branch by branch when all you are left with is a stump. But with cauliflower; things are different. There are no stumps to be found. That is unless you decide to cut the tiniest of tiniest little trees off the big trees.

In this recipe I opted out of being a lumberjack. Instead I kept the pieces in medium size. Which gives a nice look and makes a great main dish or great on top of a salad, or even on pizza.

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Filed under Dinner, gluten-free, low-calorie, vegetarian