Recipe: Sweet Cilantro Salad

Juice of the week: Carrot, Pineapple & Ginger

Courtesy Shutterbean

So I love to juice! One of these days I will finish this book about juicing. There are so many benefits to juicing. The idea behind juicing is that you are getting an instant liquid source of natural vitamins and nutrients. It is more effective then actually eating the vegetable or fruit (which you should still do) because you can juice more carrots then you can eat; thus getting more vitamins.

My favorite juice this week happens to be an oldie but a goodie: Carrot, Pineapple & Ginger.

This drink is not only delicious but it is an amazing nutrient boost for your body. The benefits:

Calcium Rich

800% of Vitamin A (8oz)

Potassium boost to maintain electrolyte balance

B vitamins which boost your metabolism

Immune system booster

The Recipe: ¼ of a Fresh Whole pineapple, 4 carrots and a small chunk  of Ginger. Juice and server!

Make this and let me know how it taste! Happy Juicing. 

Food: Stuffed Zucchini

I made this tonight and I literally danced when I took it out the oven. It was beyond delicious! I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

Large Zucchini

½ Red pepper chopped

¼ Crown of Broccoli chopped

1 Garlic Clove

1 Green Scallion chopped

½ table spoon of sea salt

¼ table spoon of pepper

¼ table spoon of garlic, cumin, onion power mix (I used Sazon )

1 table spoon of olive oil

Preheat your oven to 375

In a sauce pan heat up ¾ tablespoon of olive oil and mix in your chopped garlic clove. Let simmer for a few minutes.

Half your zucchini the long way. Scoop out the insides of the zucchini (you may need a knife) till you have a 1 inch canal through your zucchini half

Take the scooping from the zucchini and add to pan along with the scallion, red pepper and broccoli. Sauté till all items are semi-tender. Season using the salt, pepper and Sazon.

Drizzle olive oil on the zucchini halves along with salt and pepper. Scoop your cooked sauté inside of the halves.

Push the halves together so it makes a whole zucchini and wrap in foil. Bake for 40 minutes (Make sure you put a pan under the zucchini because it will drip).

Open your foil roll carefully and try to place zucchini on the side so when you open the foil the ingredients don’t go everywhere.

Eat and enjoy!

Food: Where to find cheap produce…

Last week's groceries which only cost me $42.50

So the other night I posted a picture on Instagram of the goods from my weekly shopping trip which amounted to $42.50. I got several messages and comments from people who were astonished that I spent so little on produce. So today I wanted to share some places you can get your produce that won’t break the bank. It is quite possible to eat healthy on a budget but you have to think outside of the box. Mainstream grocery and convenience stores over price produce because of the daily cost of shipping, gas and delivery; which are built into the cost of the item. The smaller the store the greater chances you will find a steal. So, here are some of my favorite places:

Farmer’s Market: This is a great time of year to get fresh produce at a bargain. Saturday is a great day to head to a farmer’s market. Even flea markets offer vendors selling fresh produce.

Mom and Pop store: There are so many small fruit and vegetable markets in my area. These places usually have a local produce supplier and their produce is dirt cheap. Google or ask your neighbors chances are there is one near you.

Aldi: One of the few chain grocers that offers cheap produce. I don’t understand how their produce is so inexpensive and great; but I don’t ask I just buy!

Local CSA: CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Basically local farmers provide produce to people for a yearly or a season fee. This works out great because the produce is at a discount and you are eating seasonal fresh items. The average CSA runs about $30 per week for 10 pounds of produce.

Food Co-op: A food co-op is a collectively owned grocery store that is not run for profit, and is used to benefit the people of the surrounding community. Typically you can find produce EXTREMELY discounted at a co-op, the only thing is you have to become a member. Memberships are either paid, or you can work at the co-op a few hours a month in exchange for membership. This is a great way to eat healthy on a budget. Here is the link to the NYC fourth street co-op.

These are some of my favorite options for cheap produce. Do you have any suggestions to where I can find bargain produce? If you do please share! 

Don't Buy it. Won't Eat it.

At times hunger is so hard to manage. If we go too long without giving into our hunger we over eat and if we are constantly feeding ourselves to avoid hunger then we become over weight. It is very tricky. This weekend I was in yet another hunger balancing act, when I headed to the kitchen for some food. To my dismay there was nothing there I could eat quickly. I searched through the cupboards only to find lentils, quinoa, brown rice and oatmeal. I went through the fridge only to find leafy greens, carrots, tofu and squash. I wanted to scream. I had subconsciously grocery shopped my way out of overeating.

Let me explain. You see while grocery shopping the week prior I brought nothing that I could eat right away (expect for fruit, however when I am hungry for a meal that does little to help the cause). All of my food took time to prepare. If I was going to eat it was going to be fresh and it was going to be something that was well thought out (patting myself on the back).

Just think, no one puts a gun to out head and tells us to buy cookies. There is no one standing there about to stab us if we don’t buy the ice cream. Yet we struggle and we do it to ourselves over and over again. Yes our food addictions and trials stem further than a trip to the grocery store, but why not start there? Shop on purpose. If you don’t buy the bad food then you won’t eat it, right?

Well I had to pass on my trick to you all. Avoiding purchasing snacks and quick eats at the grocery store has helped me to maintain my weight and eat more nutritious meals.

How do you manage your hunger? Do you think it is as simple as not buying bad food? Share your thoughts and comments.