Check it (me) out!!

Many thanks to Lady Foot Locker for featuring me as a guest food blogger on their new blog: The Club. Be sure to check it out for the newest (and coolest) kicks on the block, work out gear that will attract that special someone, interesting knowledge from fitness and nutritional experts, and of course (in case you haven't gotten enough of me) more of my healthy recipes!

For those of you who know me-how fitting? For those of you who don't, I wear work out gear every day of my life whether or not I'm exercising.  I happen to think it's a good look.

I'm actually off to the gym but will blog ya' later with tonight's din din.



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Guilt-Free Thanksgiving:

We all say the same thing 'this year is going to be different, I'm not going to eat myself silly' at Thanksgiving.  However, somehow or other it just happens.  If you enjoy being sickly full, then good for you and if you don't, then follow these rules for a more enjoyable Turkey Day experience:

1.Eat Before Dinner: Going to the table hungry will make you more likely to choose larger portion sizes and more decadent foods. Make sure to eat a low calorie breakfast such as a bowl of whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk. Then have a light snack like a piece of fruit a couple hours before dinner.

2.Eat Slowly: It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you're full. Take a second to look at every bite before you eat it to help you keep a mental checklist of how much you're consuming. Put your fork down between bites, and savor each mouthful to better enjoy your meal.

3. Watch your portions: If you find yourself wanting to heap a huge pile of food on your plate, stop yourself and resist. Start by having only a small portion of each option to prevent yourself from over eating.

4. Eat the Special Stuff: Don't set yourself up for failure by depriving yourself of the special foods that are served only on Thanksgiving. Instead fill your plate with small portions of holiday favorites that only come around once a year. Be careful not to eat large portions of food you can eat everyday.

5. No Seconds: Consider this your one shot. Fill up your plate with anything you want, no matter how unhealthy it may be and get it all in one go.

6. Get in the game: There are more ways to spend time with family on Thanksgiving than just sitting around eating. Go for a walk or get a game of touch football going after dinner. Or help clear the table and wash the dishes to get brownie points and burn a few more calories.

7. Don't stress about weight gain: The holidays and stress go hand in hand. Myth holds that people put on five to seven pounds during the holidays. However, the average weight gain during the six-week span from Thanksgiving to New Year's is just under one pound, according to a study published in "The New England Journal of Medicine."

The key to a guilt free Thanksgiving is everything in moderation. Keep up your exercise plan, and try to make Thanksgiving a day more about family and friends than food. You'll be thankful you did in the upcoming months. PC: The Buchtelite

Green with Envy

I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to make more soup! The following recipe can be altered by using celery root or cauliflower (with or without the broccoli).

Last night I made Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Crisps (from my post 'One Pot Wonders') and it was awesome! I had to add a lot of salt/pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a tablespoon of light cream, but otherwise than that, it was delicious and healthy. The cheddar crisps were a synch and can be used with any semi-hard cheese. I used reduced fat shredded cheddar.

For dinner I made 'buffalo' chicken wings (skinless, boneless chicken tenders marinated in hot buffalo sauce, and baked at 350 for 35 minutes covered in foil).  Annie's Organic White Cheddar Mac n' Cheese (topped with panko and parmesan cheese) and some celery sticks on the side. 

I think next time I'll bread the chicken tenders but they were still really good.

Recipe: Food &Wine

The Trifecta

Here is a gorgeous look from Save-on-Crafts.com: Mint Julep vases filled with preserved roses and Texan berry bundles with matching napkin rings. Preserved flowers are the new black.
Silver Plated 3 1/4" Julep Cups @ $4.99/piece

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  Cream & Rose Pink Parchment Roses

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Peach, Pink, and Cream Parchment Roses

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Black Cherry Burgundy Parchment Roses

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Priceless

And additional add-on:

Texas Tallow Berry Bundles

(For the ambitious diy'er:)

Texas Tallow Berry Bundles
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Grapevine Twig Napkin Ring (with help of a glue gun)

Save-on-crafts.com,

One Pot Wonders

One of my New Year's resolutions for '10 is to make more soup (must admit I miss saying the '0' followed by a #). I know, I'm so unoriginal but nonetheless here are some soups that have worked for me in the past (Celery and Apple Root) and some I intend to try.  Let me know if you make any of these...

Cream of Broccoli with Cheddar Crisps

White Bean Soup with Bacon and Herbs

Celery Root And Apple Soup

*I recommend sprinkling pomegranate seeds on the celery root & apple soup.

Food & Wine, Gourmet, & Martha Stewart

Turkey Time (Sung to the tune of 'Cookie Time')

Although Thanksgiving is just a few days away, it's never too late to talk turkey.  Whether you're thankful for your health, your family, your friends, or even that your health is just ok and Thanksgiving is only a few hours long in case you can't stand your family/friends, it's time to gear up that menu to make this year's turkey time a good time.

Here is a menu that is outrageously easy and savory and made last year's Thanksgiving a memorable one.  I omitted my husband's Stuffed Jalapenos that almost landed my Mom and me in the hospital. All I can say is thank goodness for medicated oral rinses. Otherwise than that, it truly was a success!

Happy Turkey Day and email me if you need anything.

To start:

Rosemary Flatbread with blue cheese, grapes, and honey

Butternut Squash Soup with Pancetta (I also top with pomegranate seeds)

Main:

Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Turkey

Corn Bread & Chorizo Stuffing

Baby Brussel Sprouts with Buttered Pecans

Dessert:

Inverted Apple Toffee Upside Down Cake

or

Pumpkin Pie from 'Oh my Pumpkin'

Happy Thanksgiving!

PC: Gourmet (cornbread & brussel), Food & Wine, Tyler Florence, Inn Cuisine,

Thanksgiving Decor for $50.00 or less

save-on-crafts.com

Technologically Sexy

I know what's at the top of my holiday list: The Demy Kitchen Safe Touchscreen Recipe Reader! It can upload up to 2500 recipes and you'll never have to lug your computer into the kitchen (like I do) again! Plus, it'll save paper which is just another way to improve your carbon footprint.

To all the technology bloggers who hate this piece-sorry, I love it and I'm pretty sure it loves me too.

PC: Amazon.com

Quickie

Sometimes a quickie is the perfect ending to a long day. As we all know, the success to good one involves a pinch of creativity and a dash of open-mindedness.

Quickie of the week:

Toasted Butternut Squash Ravioli in a Balsamic Glaze with Chicken Apple Sausage and Roasted Asparagus (all topped with honey roasted almonds).

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Ooooutrageous

The Butternut Squash was pre-made and frozen in my freezer from Whole Foods. It's a great staple to have on hand.  The apple sausage can also be frozen, but I happened to have some in my fridge left over from making chili. And the same goes for asparagus. Instead of using a brown butter sauce which is very popular for ravioli, I just drizzled on a thick balsamic glaze (found in the Italian section or specialty stores) which saved me a lot of fat.

PC: WineKitz.com, Cravingideas.com, thecnj.com

Gearing up for Thanksgiving

 Turkey cupcakes-the newest Thanksgiving staple. 

Left to right: Martha Stewart, Family Fun, Bright Ideas, Family Fun, Bake Space, Betty Crocker.
The Celebration Shoppe

Last Minute Dinner Party

Yesterday around 4 PM, my husband and I decided to host a couples dinner at our house at 8:30 PM... Luckily with the help of good groceries and Chelsea Market, we were able to pull it off with flying colors and had a perfect night with our friends.

Appetizers:

Cheese Plate (served on a lazy susan) with Manchego, White Cheddar, Brie, and Parmesan with fresh green grapes and fig jam

Accompaniments: sliced baguette, Carr's crackers, Italian breadsticks, and Rice crackers
Meat plate: Sweet and hot soppressata, proscuitto and pepperoni

Other: Trail mix by the new nut place at Chelsea Market

Drink: Red Wine (few different kinds of Cabernet)

The decor:

Fresh flowers from Gramercy Flowers at Chelsea Market. I made a bouquet (and wrapped two leaves around the inside of the vase) for the appetizer table and purchased some extra roses to make mini bouquets for each place setting.  I also purchased the most adorable lotus votive candles that I lined down the table.

Notice the mini bouquets-they add the perfect splash of color to the table and allow

everyone to see each other easily-unlike large flower arrangements.

Le Menu:

Iceberg Wedge: with chopped onion, tomato, blue cheese and low fat bacon. My husband prepared the bacon per my blog (with a dash of brown sugar thrown into the oven for 15-20) and we threw it together with a wedge of iceberg lettuce, fresh blue cheese, tomatoes, onion and a balsamic vinegar (next time I plan to make blue cheese dressing from scratch)

Entree:

Filet Mignon with Potato Kugel, and Roasted Asaparus

Dessert:

Brownies (from the box) served in ramekins with low fat vanilla ice cream

Other:

My favorite steak knives: Wusthof Steak Knives. I registered for the Ikon Blackwood, but I'm sure the other varieties are just as good. (They're just more expensive because of the handle).

Food images: Food & Wine, Whole Foods, PMSMeatsRI, Williams-Sonoma, reallynatural.com

Hostess with the Mostess

Hostess gifts are a must when someone invites you over for the holidays. The purpose of the gift to show your appreciation for the invitation and meal, so try to find something thoughtful that the host/hostess would enjoy. It does not need to be expensive. In fact, that would defeat the purpose of the holidays/invitation.

Of course you can take the wine route-everyone loves a bottle of wine... or flowers-the only thing here is if you expect them to go on the main dining room table you have to make sure it matches the hostess's decor/theme.

I happen to love the following gifts and think most entertainers would agree with me:

1) Pottery Barn Cloisonne Bottle Stoppers (I think that anything with colorful dragonflies and butterflies is gorgeous) $19.00/set of two

2) Decorative Hand Soap for the guest bathroom: Three Wise Monkeys and Three Little Pigs (I own the piggies and love them!) Can be purchased at one of my favorite French Home Stores: Bon Maison

$20.00/set

3) Cuisinart 3-Cup Mini-Prep Food Processor .(Love that they're in color)! $39.95/piece

4) French themed Cookie Tin (in red or blue): These are a wonderful gift because the tin can be reused. If you're ambitious, fill them with homemade cookies/brownies/blondies (or s'mores) or else go to your local bakery. ($15-$25.00) Also purchased at Bon Maison

5) Glass Trifle Bowl filled with your favorite trifle recipe(Peach and Berry Trifle)

$21.95 + ingredients

Happy Holidays!

Pig image: Vintage Weave, monkeys: nothingandeverything, Trifle image: trendir, bon maison, sur la table, pottery barn

Who you calling Shrimp?

Stir-Fried Ginger Shrimp with Brown Rice

This dish is extremely easy to prepare (the stir-frying process is under 10 minutes) and is equally delicious as it is healthy. 'Pretty good' is all I have to say.

You can also add a few of your favorite veggies-I added asparagus.

 Whatever you end up doing, (please) do not get rid of the onion and celery since they truly complement the meal.

Note: Have your fishmonger devein and peel the shrimp to save you the hassle (and your appetite).

Bon Appetit!

Recipe: Cooking Light

Les Salades

Here are some tasty salads I I just added to my cookbook:

Brussel Sprouts Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts and Parmesan (they serve something similar at one of my fave's: Morandi)

Mediterranean Salad with Proscuitto and pomegranates (I omit the fennel)

Winter Greens with Goat Cheese Croutons and Black Olive Vinaigrette (I omit the anchovies)

And some wonderful serving pieces:

Michael Aram's Coral Reef (I own this in white)

Atticus Madison Bowl with tongs:

Nambe:
 

***I actually sell these through my business if interested

101 Cookbooks, Epicurious, Bon Appetit, & Fine cooking, Michael Aram, Atticus and Nambe