Here’s my latest discovery – Two Moms In The Raw. Nope, it’s not a video you can get fired for looking at on your work computer. It’s the name of an amazing brand of gluten-free, organic, 100% raw crackers and granola bars made from millet, buckwheat, flaxseeds and sunflower seeds. And they’re delish.
What started out as a quest for wellness resulted in a product line dedicated to creating these convenient, nutritious, raw products for the whole family. Thanks to Two Moms In The Raw, you and your kids can enjoy dairy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free, organic and raw treats that are not only super good for you, they are addicting!
Try their granola bars in goji berry, raisin, cranberry or blueberry or have their sea crackers made with flaxseed and kombu in garden herb, pesto or tomato basil. You won’t regret it.
But the real story here is how I discovered just how delicious these products are. I tried them right in the aisle at Whole Foods.
As I contemplated purchasing these products, I must admit I hesitated slightly because they are a little pricey. So I did what I normally do and ask around if anyone has ever tried them before I spend my hard earned cash on them. No one had so the Whole Foods guys told me I could just open the bag and try them. Imagine that! Of course I shared them and everyone loved them.
Next up, I try the same tactic at the Hermés store.
I love onions. It seems that I use them in almost everything that I cook. Not only are they delicious these members of the Allium family are good for you. They are chock-full of chromium, vitamin C and many different flavonoids, plus they make your breath smell like roses. Or am I confusing that last part with something else?
Anyway, that said, I would never be able to slice onions without my onion goggles. Certainly not known for their attractive design these kitchen must-haves certainly do the trick. It used to be that when I sliced onions I would cry like I was my husband watching Rudy. Now, I can cut event the most pungent of onions without so much as a sniffle.
Whenever I eat wild strawberries I can’t help recalling the classic Bergman film, Wild Strawberries….or as the Swedish refer to it as Smultronstallet
Strawberries are in season and, for those of you keeping track, they are by far my favorite fruit. Did you know there are over 600 varieties? When available, I go for the small wild ones, which are unbelievable!
A few quick tips:
Strawberries are delicious as is, but you can add them to most anything. Try them in smoothies, pancakes, salads, oatmeal, dipped in chocolate, frozen into pops, you name it. The possibilities are endless.
Strawberries are a great source of vitamins A and C. They also contain fiber, potassium, folate and antioxidants and flavonoids.
Don’t wash your strawberries until you are ready to eat them because they spoil quickly.
Be sure to purchase your strawberries organic since they are a regular on the “dirty dozen list.” (You can download a wallet size version of the list here. http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php. )
Here is a super easy recipe for Stawberry and Rhubarb Popsicles:
Ingredients
8-10 medium strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 cup rhubarb,chopped
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons water
Method
Simmer the berries with rhubarb and water until very soft about 8-10 minutes.Puree in a blender or processor.Cool a little.Pour in the molds.Freeze for 6-8 hours.
To get the Popsicle out,dip or run under warm water,and slowly pull them out.
And finally, for my fellow strawberry fanatics, check out the next strawberry festival here:
Celebs, dignitaries and, of course, yours truly have all embraced Meatless Monday. Now we can add Japan to the mix.
Four of Japan’s top colleges are hosting monthly veggie Mondays (http://veggiemonday.japanteam.net/) to encourage their country to follow more of a plant-based diet.
In celebration of their Meatless Monday solidarity, here is an easy recipe for nori rolls that kids love. Nori has the highest amount of protein of all seaweeds and is the easiest to digest. Kind of like this blog.
Vegetable Nori Rolls
2 cups sushi rice *
3 cups water
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
10 sheets toasted nori
1 small cucumber, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into strips
Combine rice, water and salt in large pot and bring to boil. Cover then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In small saucepan, heat vinegar and rice syrup until dissolved, pour over rice and mix until combined. While rice is cooking, prepare vegetables.
* you can substitute short grain brown rice for sushi rice just use 4 cups of water
Assembling Nori Rolls
Place a sheet of nori, shiny side down, or work surface or bamboo rolling mat, http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/category/sushi-accessory with short edge facing you. Press a layer of rice ¼- inch thick along the edge of the sheet closest to you. Place vegetables in a long thin strip across the middle of the rice. Carefully fold the end of nori over the rice and continue rolling away from you to form a log. Moisten the edge with water to seal, and let sit briefly until nori is soft enough to cut easily. Cut into ½-inch pieces and arrange on platter. Serve with tamari, pickled ginger and wasabi.
You know those pregnant women who are just gorgeous? The ones with glowing skin, shiny lustrous hair and endless energy? Yeah, that wasn’t me. Picture frizzy hair, varicose veins, constipation, bloating, fatigue, you get the picture. For every sparkly pregnant princess there are those of us who just aren’t blessed with that tell-tale pregnancy glow.
But we could be.
Treat yourself to Maternal Massage and More, a haven for NYC mommies. The brainchild of Janet Markovits, not only does Maternal Massage and More take care of you when you are pregnant, they also offer postpartum massages and baby massage. Getting massages when you are pregnant can reduce your stress, increase your flexibility, ease your constipation and slow the process of varicose veins. Getting them afterwards, well, just feels awesome.
And those of you who aren’t pregnant and don’t plan to be, relax. You’re covered. Maternal Massage and More has a Maya Abdominal Massage to relieve common female symptoms such as frequent urination, infertility, painful or irregular menses or a Sports Massage to help prevent injuries and relieve cramps. They even offer Lymphatic Drainage, a system that drains fluids, reduces puffiness and stimulates your immune system.
My favorite thing at Maternal Massage and More is their Massage During Labor. Yep, during. Janet will teach your husband or partner specific massage techniques to alleviate your discomfort during labor.
If nothing else, it gives your husband something to do besides check baseball scores on his blackberry and ask your gyno why they call it a “crown” anyway.
I’m busy in the MMMunch kitchen making my world famous pumpkin muffins to share with you all Thursday night at the Mommybites Summit, or as I refer to it as Mamapalooza. Join me to nosh, shop, shmooze, booze, win prizes and even leave with swag bags. Listen to knowledgeable speakers, find fabulous products and most importantly get some face time with yours truly.
Who is it for? Mom’s-to-be, moms of babies, toddlers, school-aged children and yes, even Dads welcome.
The Child Nutrition Act still has not been passed. Ugh. If the Senate doesn’t act soon there will not be a Child Nutrition Bill this year at all. That means next year there will still be junk in schools, new funding for expanding farm to school programs will be scrapped and it will be virtually impossible for schools to serve free meals to all students in low income schools.
The Community Food Security Coalition has an action alert that spells out what you can do to move this bill along. Check out http://bit.ly/aRgqEl
Your voice matters. Help turn school food reform dreams into a reality and take action. As Michelle Obama said, “We are calling upon mayors and governors; and parents and educators; business owners and health care providers. Anyone who has a stake in giving out children the healthy, happy future we know they deserve. All we need is the motivation, the opportunity and the willpower to do what needs to be done.” And then she gave Sasha and Malia the mommy look and they quickly gulped down their green peas and strawberries. I’m just saying she walks the walk.
I’m headed off to the farmer’s market to pick up some Rhubarb. Why? Oh, nothing. Not only is Rhubarb high in fiber, low in calories and cholesterol free, it is a good source of Vitamin A and potassium. Betcha didn’t know one cup of cooked rhubarb has as much calcium as a glass of milk.
When choosing rhubarb, look for stalks that are bright and colorful with no wilting leaves. If you are not using the rhubarb right away, cut off the leaves as soon as you get home, put the stalks in bags and store in the fridge. And remember: Do not eat the leaves. They are poisonous!
Here’s a Meatless Monday Recipe for Rhubarb Tart. Look, if it’s good enough for John Cleese…
p.s. I’m not going to lie. This recipe takes time. If you’re a person of leisure, by all means make your own crust, but if you’re a busy bee, I suggest buying your pie crust at wholly wholesome (http://whollywholesome.com/products/pie-shells.php). I like to have a few organic whole wheat crusts in my freezer for special occasions. Like when I make a pie.
INGREDIENTS
FILLING
2 cups diced fresh rhubarb
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced, divided
1/4 cup sugar,
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
3 tablespoons red currant jelly
CRUST
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3 tablespoons 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
PREPARATION
To prepare filling: Combine rhubarb, 1 cup strawberries, sugar and lemon zest in a large nonreactive saucepan. Let stand for 20 minutes (35 minutes if rhubarb is frozen). Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the rhubarb is tender but still holds its shape, 5 to 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into the simmering fruit. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is clear and very thick, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until chilled.
To prepare crust & assemble tart: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray.
Spread oats in a small baking dish and bake, stirring occasionally, until toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool. Place the oats in a food processor and process until finely ground.
Combine milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk the ground oats, flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Drizzle oil onto the dry ingredients and stir with a fork or your fingers until crumbly. Use a fork to stir in the milk mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead 7 to 8 times. Roll the dough out to an 11-inch circle, dusting with flour if necessary. Transfer to the prepared pan, pressing to fit. Trim the edges.
Line the tart shell with a piece of foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tart shell until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove weights and foil or paper and bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes more. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Shortly before serving, spread the strawberry-rhubarb filling evenly into the tart shell. Arrange the remaining 2 cups strawberries decoratively over the filling.
Heat jelly in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. With a pastry brush, glaze the strawberries with the jelly.
Many of my clients harbor nightmares from their childhood of being forced to eat their Brussels sprouts and hating every minute of it. Even as adults, it’s hard to convince them that Brussels sprouts actually taste good, even delicious. But they are.
If you make them right.
Here is one of the easiest and most scrumptious ways to cook Brussels sprouts that will not only turn those naysayers around but have them begging for more. FYI, Brussels sprouts are are full of many essential vitamins, folate and fiber as well as an excellent source of Vitamin C. And now they supply 100% of your daily recommend dose of Na-Na-Na-Na-Told-You-So.
3 or 3 1/2 cups of Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 425.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Cut each sprout in half lengthwise.
Place sprouts in a plastic bag with oil and toss to coat.
Place sprouts in a plastic bag with oil and toss to coat.
Place sprouts on baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and bake for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.
Bake until outside leaves begin to brown and crisp and inside is tender.
Imagine gelato, sorbet or frozen yogurt made fresh daily, using only hormone-free milk, locally sourced ingredients, no high-fructose corn syrup, gluten free (depending on your creations), no artificial colorings or flavorings and preservative free. Not only that, what if it came on a stick and (control freaks get ready) you could customize it to your own personal taste by dipping it in chocolate, rolling it in stuff like pistachios and brownie chunks and biscotti chunks.
Oh, now you’re listening.
I’d like to introduce you to my new best friend Popbar. Here’s how it works. You choose your basic popbar and then pick your “poppings” (their word, not mine). Poppings include almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, shredded coconut, granola, coffee grains, biscotti crumbles and brownie chunks. If that is not enough, then you get to choose a signature dip dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate. Double dipping is not only allowed, it’s encouraged.
If you’re not in the mood to make your own, don’t worry they have many pre-made flavors to choose from. And by pre-made, I mean made that day. As in, just before you walked in to Popbar, some dedicated Pop-nician (my word) was lovingly slathering chocolate and brownies on the gelato you were dreaming of. It’s like they’re reading your mind.
From vanilla gelato dipped in chocolate with drizzled chocolate on the bottom to chocolate gelato dipped in dark chocolate with hazlenut poppings, the choices are pretty much endless. You can even go guilt-free with their popsorbetto, made with 100% fruit. Which is fine. More brownie chunks for me.
MMMunch 